Madhur Jaffrey: How close have you come to death?

How close have you come to death?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Madhur Jaffrey said elsewhere, not written here

It’s nearly happened twice, each time after an operation.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 February 2021 source ↗

Others on this question

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Irvine Welsh Scottish novelist

When a pal grabbed hold of me as I fell into an unbanistered stairwell at a rave. Would have been curtains, but for his sharp reaction.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 December 2016 source ↗

Krishnan Guru-Murthy British journalist

I’ve dodged a couple of bullets in dodgy war zones, but I suspect the closest I’ve come to death was a reckless, drunken brush with a waltzer at a student funfair. It nearly chopped me in half.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 2 January 2021 source ↗

Martin Sheen American actor

Making Apocalypse Now. I had a close call with a heart ailment due to anxiety, fear and physical abuse: I was not taking care of myself.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 March 2017 source ↗

Suzanne Vega American singer-songwriter

A death threat at Glastonbury festival in 1989. The police told me not to go on, but I said I had to because I was headlining. So I wore a bullet-proof vest. It seemed unlikely that I would be assassinated, but it was shocking and very stressful.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 September 2017 source ↗