You've always gone to Rhythm House to pick up tickets for plays, but did you remember to thank Neeta Daru? She is the lady behind the largest ticketing network in Mumbai. But is in no hurry for curtain calls. Or standing ovations.

Well, she's been at the job for 15 years and doesn't know how the years have gone by. Of course, she's never regretted a moment of it.

Not for a day?

Not a chance. She loves meeting all kinds of people through the day that come through the door at Rhythm House. In fact, she hasn't a clue how her day goes by... but she wouldn't trade this for anything. And she would never have done anything else.

So how did she end up taking her post at Rhythm House?

Ever since a producer requested this retail music store to lend a table to hawk theatre tickets, Neeta found herself there. And since then everyday from 10.00 am to 8.00pm, for as long as she can remember. And the Karmalis have not charged her a dime for it.

But now we hear that from ticketing she's moved on to licensing and censor certificates, too. What exactly does the process entail?

As a producer one has to submit two scripts -- with full details like playwright, production company et al -- to the Censor office at Mantralaya. A neat, clean script can take upto 15 to 20 minutes to get cleared. It's the vulgar ones that take much longer.

For Neeta, this service is just an extension of her table at Rhythm House bringing theatre closer to the people.

Has she actually seen any of the plays she has ticketed for or got clearances for?

Not really, since she's quite tied up with her accounts till the intervals. Otherwise, when she's free she has peeped into Tumhari Amrita, Saalgirah and the Bottoms Up series. Feroz Khan productions seem to be her pets. She also loved Salesman Ramlal and All the Best in Hindi.

Does she do only theatretickets?

No way, Jose. Every conceivable artist who has performed in Mumbai is on her list. From Bryan Adams to Kishori Amonkar, from Hariprasad Chaurasia to Europe, Shubha Mudgal to Sivamani. No one escapes Neeta's nifty ticketing hands.

Her best loved ticketing memory...

During the Mumbai-run of Legend of Rama, she found nearly 200 people queuing up outside Rhythm House to pick up tickets. At that time monthly collections sometimes used to total upto even Rs one crore. "I have never seen crowds like that."

Does she get to meet any celebrities?

Waving modestly she says she has always been in touch with Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Shabana, Farooque. All part of the job!

And with the new age of the internet, will computerised reservations affect her working relationships?

C'est La Vie. "What has to happen will happen. It's important we do our work with sincerity."

-- Meherangiz Acharia