Chintu ? :)

That is what I asked *Guru Mathur, the person who had requested to add himself as my friend on facebook.


*Chintu ? :)


Rewind 25 years. Our family of four had just come to a new city - far away from the hustle bustle of Mumbai. We had come to a different state and had found a house in a brand new apartment. I was around 8 years and my brother 10 years. I befriended a few neighbourhood girls and my brother befriended two or three boys.


One of the boys whom my brother had befriended was a young boy of eight. He wore tight, rexin, short, shorts and a tighter t-shirt. They played cricket, cards together and practically lived in each other's houses. We called him Chintu.


Those were the days of fiat and ambassador cars. The maruti 800 had not yet come in. The *bank with which my dad used to work, had given dad too a brand new ambassador car. It was grey, had a huge chest and big round bum and we loved it. On a lazy sunday morning, for the want of engaging the bratty two of us into some useful activity, dad asked us to clean our brand new ambassador car. I got the bucket out and my brother got few wiping clothes and within no time, we were cleaning the car. Me atop the front part vigorously wiping it, my brother atop the back one, and each of our numerous friends swinging on and cleaning each of the doors - and Chintu on the top!


One another day my brother was playing cricket with a few of his friends and I saw Chintu standing behind our big grey ambassador. I glanced at my brother inquiringly, and my brother barely able to conceal his smile, pointed at a sleeping dog nearby. Apparently Chintu was frightened of dogs and he was hiding from it. Somewhere in all the playing and fun together, we had also heard that he was called Gurunandan in school.


Chintu's father used to be a business man and they lived in a joint family and had the fiat car. My father used to work in a bank. This meant that Chintu's family was a little better off than ours. It hardly mattered to us.


Eventually we all grew up. We all went our own ways and lost touch. We all went through life! We went through the ups and downs of it. I heard from a few old friends that, today, Chintu is a senior manager in a Media firm. They said his pictures look like he is partying and rubbing shoulders with hob-snobs of the industry. My brother himself has worked hard his way up to senior management of a leading Telecom* company. But then that was just heard and forgotten. And after all who remembers friends from 25 years back when life is happening now!


On the other hand should I say, who forgets such friends!


Because one fine day, as I was busy with my life and going through it, something made me stop. And smile. It was a friend request. It said Guru Mathur - Media director. Was it Gurunandan after all these years? – I had goose bumps.


I accepted the friend request, smiled and asked him -


Chintu ?:)


I waited eagerly.


I was not disappointed.


The reply to my question said - Ya.. ! How are you doing ?Feels nice to hear that !:) Its been a while since anyone has called me by that name !
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*some details have been changed to protect privacy

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The day I set out cooking

It was a sunday morning. My in-laws with whom we stay had gone outstation - which meant my husband, me and our four and half month old daughter had the whole house to ourselves to fool around with. My mother in law's absence also meant that I now had the control and charge of the kitchen and could try out and enjoy a few dishes for the afternoon feast. So then, I combed my hair back into a clip, tied up an apron, took on a belan and like the super cook they show in the cookery shows I was ready to go - when I realized I needed some chillies, tomatoes, bhindi for making pulav.

We have an in-house vegetable shop in the apartment, but woe of woes! I did not have his number. My husband proudly fetched out the intercom book and with a ever helpful voice said - The number is 3-6-2.

I said - ok! 3 – 6 - 0 !

A pause on other side and I hear him shouting - No ! 3 – 6 - 2

Funny ! Why did he have to speak so loud I thought and said - Ok..Ok ! 3 – 6 - 2 !

I dail the number and all charged up that I am, I say- "is it the vegetable shop ?"

The voice on the other end goes blank and says - "Bejitable shop ? ..."

I pause. I frown and I reply - "Isnt it the vegetable shop ? .."

And the voice says - "No madam.. Bejitable shop nahin hai... Security hai !" ( No madam.. its not the Bejitable shop… it is the security ).

Uh ! I pass a very silent long 5 seconds with the receiver on my ear.

I recover first and before anyone else can deduce anything I say confidently and sweetly-"Is it 3 - 6 - 0 ?"

The voice seemed pleased as it replied - "Haan Madam.. !"( Yes.. Madam !)

"Do you have the number of the vegetable shop?" - I ask. I continue to have the confident sweet smile on my face and the sweetness in my voice.

"Nahin madam... hamare paass nahin hain... "( No madam... I dont have it ... )

And then, as an after thought - "ruko madam.. Bejitable shop ka number chahiye na... Book me check karta hoon..." ( Wait Madam... you want the no. of the Bejitable shop.... Let me check in my book ... )

And I hear him fluttering some pages and mutter to himself -" B .. A... G... I ....."

( Uh! I couldnt believe my ears. I am unable to suppress my smile that is forming on my face. I sit back and give myself a few seconds before I continue. )

"Thats Ok.."( barely able to speak between my giggles..) "I have the no.. Its 3 - 6 - 2..."

"Achcha madam !" ( I can hear the relief and happiness in his voice ) .. (Ok... madam..)

I still have the smile on my face as I call the Bejitable shop to order for the chillies, ladiesfinger and tomatoes that I needed for my cooking. This time I am more relaxed and slow.

"Kul milake kitna hua?" ( How much will it cost .... ), I ask the Bejitable shop owner, Sanjay.

"60 rupees", he tells me after a bit of mental calculation..

"Ok, please have it sent immediately", I say

"Thik hai madam"( Ok, Madam), He answers. And then lowering his otherwise very loud voice down to a whisper, he asks a little cautiously -

"Madam, Maa ji nahin hai... ?" ( Madam, is maaji( motherinlaw ) not there ? )

Uh... !!!!!!!

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My bird journey - The sunbirds...

It was a fine morning, when I spotted this bird. I couldnt believe that there were such beautiful tiny birds in my garden. I immediately googled to find out more about these birds and found out that these birds were called the sunbirds.

Name : Purple Rumped Sunbird ( Male )

Name : Sunbird ( Female )

Name : Purple Rumped Sunbird ( Male and Female )- Male at the back and female in front

Location observed : Garden below the balcony of my house at BG Road, Bangalore

Size : 3-4 inches

Season Observed in : Have noticed this in the months of june, july, august, sept. Sometime, mid august onwards, the birds started building a nest.

Physical Characteristics : Male - Shiny, bluish green head, upper body. Lower wings brownish grey in colour. The portion where the wings meet the tail, called the rump is purple in colour. Hence the name Purple Rumped Sunbird.

The female is light brown in colour.

Both the male and female have a black short tail. The chest of both the male and female sunbird is lemon yellow in colour.

All in all , a very beautiful bird to look at.

Other characteristics observed : They have a very sweet melodious , not so loud, tweep. One thing that I found really strange about them is that, inspite of the fact that they are so small, they fly very high ( they fly at atleast 40 feet from the ground level ) and for long distances ( They travel for about 1/2 km to one km, without pausing to take a break ).

Generally the male and the female birds are observed together.

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It was all about a pen

I was in the kitchen cleaning up a few utensils and my dad and FIL (Father in law) were having their evening tea. (Both my Dad and FIL are above sixty years of age).


Where is the “cross” pen that I gave you? - Dad (Eyes searching eagerly in the pocket of my FIL’s shirt)


It’s lying inside in my drawer somewhere - FIL (lazily reclining back on his chair and smiling back. He has woken up from his afternoon siesta and was obviously enjoying the evening tea.)


That answer hasn’t satisfied my Dad. He pursues – It’s not meant to be kept in the drawer! Put it in your pocket and show it off when you go to Apollo* sir! Look at how your status grows in the eyes of everyone around!


(My FIL is a pediatrician* at the Apollo* hospital. My Dad has retired as a very senior official in the bank* that he has served for more than 30 years. Both my dad and FIL have started small - meaning they have had a difficult childhood in terms of financial support. But with their intellect, dedication and hard work they today have semi-retired having achieved everything that a man could aim for. Today they earn the respect of one and all in the society. )


FIL - Yaa.. I will do that. I took it to the hospital a few days back. (Still unfazed and enjoying his tea.)


(Then he continues with a childlike smile)Since I have to write a lot, I don’t want to take it regularly.


Dad - No! No! You shouldn’t write with it! It’s only a status symbol! Put it your pocket and walk with pride. Know what! My friend was saying, it would cost around Rs. 8000 to Rs. 9000 as of today.


( My dad worked in a age, where the best salary one could earn was around 30-35 K. He worked in an age where money was spent prudentially and every paisa earned was saved so that the family could have a good life).


FIL - Really! You shouldn’t give me such costly pens Sir! (That has obviously woken him up.)

(With a concerned look on his face) Hmm.. I think I gave it to my wife a few days back. Let’s see.


(Goes in and looks in his drawer)


FIL - Its there sir. (The relieved childlike excitement in his voice can barely be concealed.) Look! I knew I wouldn’t have misplaced it!

(With a broad smile on his face, he proudly flashes thin golden colored pen which has CROSS written on it.)


Why did you gift me such a costly pen Sir!! (The relief has now worn off.)


Dad – Who says I bought the pen? Someone gifted it to me - I gifted it to you. (Smiling mischievously)


You will need it when you are walking around with the high profile doctors in the hospital. .


You know what! The high price is because the whole pen is gold plated. Use it in conferences when you need to sign on important documents!


FIL (nodding his head) - Hmm . Hmmm. (My dad has managed to get his full attention now.)


...................


A little while later, FIL got ready for his evening duty at the hospital. I notice that he has taken care to wear a white shirt to match the regal of the pen. I can’t suppress a smile as I am working on my laptop.


Just as he is leaving, my husband comes in from office. Places his bag and looks at his dad readying to leave to Apollo and he exclaims - Aiiieee! NEW PEN ! WOoooW ! (He has an ear to ear smile and admiration written all over his face.)


I dig deeper into my laptop as I try hard to hide my broad smile.


My FIL smiles back and goes to Apollo with a embarrassed beam on his face!

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Note – “ * ” indicates that some of the details in this post have been hidden to protect privacy.

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