To dear Anu :)
( Photo courtesy - Mr. A. K. Kaul )
With in two days though, aunty came to the neighbouring house and with her was a beautiful bundle of joy ! Gosh ! was she beautiful ! Aunty had been in the hospital to deliver Anu .. !
Meenu was my age - we went to the same class - to a different school though. Between Meenu and Anu was the quiet, understanding, balanced Suchi. Meenu was a friend for sure. But it was with Anu that I shared a very special bond. I would wait to get back from school so that I could rush to the neighbouring house's kitchen ( there was a out door sink to the kitchen, where all the kids had to wash their feet , before entering the house - a rule set by aunty that none of us dared disobey ;) )
Anu and I spent hours playing with each other. God knows what bond we struck together. We had our own language and our own secret jokes. On the holidays, I would sleep for longer than 7 am . And for sure, I would be woken up by a tiny little body with tiny little hands shaking the whole of 8 years old of me and saying "Uuuuthna Veena" ( :) I was Veena for her - pls note -no didi and all ). And grudgingly and reluctantly and ofcourse happily to the sound of a friend's voice, I would quickly brush my teeth to start my exciting day.
We spent blissful 4 years with our dear neighbours- Me playing with the 3 girls and spending time with their parents and grandfather. After which , Dad got transferred and we moved on . After 3-4 years when I went back to meet the Kaul family, Anu had grown to be a 8 year old, and Suchi to a 11 year old. Now both the younger girls called me 'Didi'. My heart tugged when I heard that. When did I become a Didi !!
But then that was the reality then. And now Anu has grown to be beautiful, confident lady who holds her own in the advertising section of one of the leading newspapers in India.
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Anu, Suchi, Meenu - This post goes out to your family and our friendship :)
4 comments:
Thank you so much Veena Di. This is such a special post. Brought back such beautiful memories of the time we spent in Swayambhu Apartment.
Though I don't remember much about Anu's birth, but I still have the memories of playing at your place especially the summer vacations.
I remember Uncle asking me my rank in the class every time the results came out. I remember that room, I remember your and Vinay bhaiya's study tables and big stone mortar that Usha used to make cocunut chutney in that room... hmmm... and I remember Usha the maid. Can't stop smiling!. Thanks a lot. :)
Veena your write up brought tears in my eyes..miss everything about our childhood..miss you all,
love
meenu
Beautiful post, Veena. So heartfelt. I don't know why but your description of Anu brought Lakshmi to mind. When her tiny little hands touch my face and ears at night, I feel a tug at my heart that is too strong for words. When I was reading your blog, that was the picture that danced before my eyes.
Suchi, your's and meenu's comments filled my heart :) know what we still have the study table :) it has the comments we wrote on it as children and the stickers we stuck on it at that time. :) Yaa.. the stone mortar - Mom has it even now.. though we dont use it much. And our maid's name was Pushpa .
I remember Usha aunty's cooking.. I remember the typical kashmiri food smell that used to waft around the house when she has finished cooking. I remember how ultra clean she would keep the house. Oh ! I remember so many things about the time we spent together :)
Meenu, Thank you so much - Maybe we should plan a get together. Why dont you all come to Bangalore - is it possible ?
Suchi, Meenu - BTW, where is the chief guest ??
Shruti , All children are beautiful na.. !
Anu used to be so very cute when she was around 2-3 years old. Her memories were always with me even as I was growing up !
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