Swanand Kirkire

A few months back, I heard a radio interview. The interviewee was telling the interviewer his favorite five songs from the Hindi Film Industry. After that the interviewer asked him to name his own favorite composition.

"Banwara mann" he replied instantly.

That was the first time, I heard this amazing song. The interviewee was Swanand Kirkire. I googled to read about him. And to my amazement found out that some of the beautiful songs rendered in the last 3-4 years had his lyrics. "Behti Hawa sa tha wo" from 3 idiots and "Bande me tha dum - Vande Matharam" from Lage Raho Munnabhai had also won him national awards. He is one of the finest lyricist and singer in the Hindi Film Industry today.

Please find a more complete write up over here.

In this post I am going to share with you three songs sung by him.

O Ri Chiraiya - Sung on the sets of Amir Khan's serial 'Satyamev Jayate'

Khoya Khoya Chand - For the movie Khoya Khoya Chand

Khoya Khoya Chand - 2007 - Khoya Khoya Chand - Khoya Khoya Chand 2007 - Swanand Kirkire & Ajay Jhingran - eSnips

Banwara Mann - For the movie Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

Banwara Man Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna - eSnips

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Ganjam

One fine day as we were travelling in JP Nagar, Bangalore, something made me stop. And look back. It was a huge banner of a lady wearing something that looked like red satin. She was sitting with her head resting lightly on her knee and her hand encircled the knee as if she was tired or probably waiting. Her hand holding the knee came right across the center of the picture and she was wearing a single gold bracelet on that hand.

It was impossible not to notice the beautiful bracelet with intricate designs on it.

The beauty of the picture stayed in my mind so much that, after that day, I would make it a point to go on that road just to watch the poster. The poster was an advertisement of the Ganjam Jewelers.

Most businesses advertise themselves. Which means there are lakhs and lakhs of advertisements and advertisement posters all over the world. Also the point an advertisement makes is simple - "Come look at our product..."

But how many of those lakhs of advertisement are actually successful in saying it? How many advertisements are successful in showing their product tastefully enough to make people remember them long after they have seen them?

I did not find the picture that I have mentioned above on the internet. But I did find a few more Ganjam ads. Do have a look and make your own opinion.

As I was looking for the Ganjam ad pictures on the net, I came across a lot of fashion sites commending the ads done. Also I came across a curious observation made by the experts on these sites. Most of the models who are posing for these Ganjam ads are not what people would call "conventionally beautiful". People and experts are commending the ace fashion photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta for the very successful experiment he has done by using these models.

To conclude, I would say that these ads are very creatively and artistically done. Hats off to Ganjam and Prabuddha Dasgupta for creating these ads!

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Che Guevara

Che Guevara at the La Coubre memorial service. Taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960

I had not heard about Che Guevara until I saw the movie 'The Motorcycle Dairies'. I had heard about the book and the movie 'The Motorcycle Dairies' though. So last year, when we had spotted the DVD in the landmark book store, we bought it instantly.

The movie starts with a 23 year old Ernesto Guevara (as he was called then), taking a year off from his medical studies to take a tour across South America with his 29 year old friend, Alberto Granado in the year 1952. Guevara along with Granado undertook this journey on an old motorcycle and went across Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and to Miami, before returning home to Buenos Aires.

As he travelled through the various countries, he moved by the conditions of the people he met. He was greatly enraged by the poor conditions of the people working in the copper mines in Chile. The persecuted communist couple (who did not even own a blanket,) with whom he needed to spend a night in the Atacama Desert moved him to no ends. He saw capitalism and Imperialism as the cause for all oppression in South America. By the end of his travel, he saw Latin America not as a collection of nations but as a single entity having a ‘Latino’ heritage and having similar issues to handle.

As a last part of their journey, Guevara and Granado spent a few weeks working at the leprosium in the Amazon Rain Forest. (Those days leprosy was considered as incurable and contagious. Hence people who had leprosy (called lepers) were kept in a separate place called the leprosium, which would typically be located at a place cut off from the general civilization or on a highway, where it would be easy to collect funds for the running of the leprosium.) The poor conditions of the lepers and the camaraderie shown between the ostracized lepers deeply affected them both. The movie ends with both of them returning back from the leprosium and Guevara getting back to his studies and Granado joining a leprosium in Venezuela. Guevara went on to complete his medical studies and become a doctor in 1953. The complete journey took them 9 months and and a travel of 8000 miles.

Guevara’s experiences on his motorcycle journey impacted him enough to want to do something about it. He got involved in Marxist activities to abolish capitalism and imperialism. He joined hands with Fidel Castro and was one of the key members who led the Cuban revolution that revolted against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. As a result of the revolution, Batista was ousted and Fidel Castro went on to form a government on the Communist lines. Che Guevara became the second in line to him.

Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian land reform as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Such positions also allowed him to play a central role in training the militia forces who repelled the “Bay of Pigs Invasion” and bringing the Soviet nuclear-armed ballistic missiles to Cuba which precipitated the 1962 “Cuban Missile Crisis”.

Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed on October 9, 1967.

His execution was perceived as martyrdom by many and he became an inspiration for many leftist movements across the globe. Times magazine named him as one of the 100 most influencial people of the 20th century in 1999.

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Source : Wikipedia, The Motorcycle Dairies( movie ).

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M Vishweshwaraya

A few days back, when we were travelling on the Magadi road, Bangalore, we had a glimpse of this reservoir.

( Picture from the site 'Treks and Travels'. Due credit goes to the photographer. )

The beauty of the reservoir and the temple standing out in the middle left us awestruck. On inquiring with the locals and doing a bit of research we got to know that this was the Tippagodannahalli reservoir formed by the TG Halli dam built on the Arkavathy river. I dug a little deeper into the story and found out that M Vishweshwaraya, the famous engineer of yesteryear, had got this dam built as a source of water to Bangalore in the 1933.

According to a local, there was a village at the site where the reservoir currently lies. When the dam was decided to be built, M Vishweshwaraya requested the people of the village to relocate to nearby locations. A village temple was left untouched. The Arkavathy river was diverted to the reservoir site and the water that gushed into the reservoir site submerged the temple.

The temple is not visible for most part of the year. However, during the summers, when the water levels get low, the temple emerges out and view of the temple in the middle of a huge reservoir and pristine surroundings can only be experienced. For security reasons, entry to the TG Halli reservoir is currently prohibited to the general public.

I have not studied in Karnataka. So I had not heard about M Vishweshwarya. But this work of his, made me curious enough to know more about this famous engineer.

Visvesvaraya was born on 15 September 1861, near Kingdom of Mysore, to a Telugu Brahmin family of Mokshagundam Srinivasa Sastry and Venkatalakshmamma in present day Muddenahalli village, 40 miles from Bangalore, India. Visvesvaraya lost his father at the age of 15. He enrolled for primary school in Chikballapur, and attended high school in Bangalore. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Madras University in 1881 and later studied civil engineering at the Government Science College, Pune; now renamed College of Engineering, Pune. He expired on April 14, 1962 at the age of 101 years.

Some of his engineering ‘Feats and Achievements’ are listed below -

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Sir MV’s first job was as an Assistant Engineer at the Public Works Department under the government of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency. He had a long and eventful career in the field of engineering, during which he also served as the Chief Engineer of the erstwhile State of Mysore.

The use of automatic sluice gates, an engineering innovation applied in many dams across the country, was Sir MV’s idea. These gates were employed to raise the flood supply level of storage in the reservoir to the highest level likely to be attained by a flood without causing any damage to the dam. The gates were first installed in 1903 at the Khadakvasla Reservoir near Pune.

Based on the success of these gates, the same system was installed at the Tigra Dam in Gwalior and the Krishnaraja Sagara (KRS) Dam in Mandya/ Mysore,Karnataka.

Visvesvaraya supervised the construction of the KRS Dam in Mysore, across the Cauvery River from concept to inauguration. This dam created the biggest reservoir in Asia when it was built.

He attained a celebrity status when he designed a flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad. He was instrumental in developing a system to protect Visakhapatnam port from sea erosion.

He became the Dewan of the State of Mysore in 1912 and during his tenure; he took immense interest in shaping new developments in education and other fields. During his period of service with the Government of Mysore state, he was responsible for the founding of, (under the Patronage of Mysore Government), the Mysore Soap Factory, the Parasitoide Laboratory, the Mysore Iron & Steel Works (now known as Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited) in Bhadravathi.

He was instrumental in founding the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic Institute, the Bangalore Agricultural University, University Vishweshwaraiah College of Engineering, the State Bank of Mysore, The Century Club, Mysore Chambers of Commerce and numerous other industrial ventures.

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These are just few of his achievements. He was given the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Commander of the British Indian Empire by King George V for his myriad contributions to the public good.

15th September (his birthdate) is marked as Engineer's Day in India in his memory.

Note : Most information for this post has been taken from wikipedia and Karnataka.com site

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Mother

This week's post is very special to me since it has been written by my mother in law. She lost her 87 year old mother a few days back and she wrote this post as a tribute to her. My mother in law has studied in the marathi medium school and has studied till the 10th standard. Whatever knowledge she has today( including this writing in english) is what she has learnt out of her own interest and quest for learning.

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Have you seen the picture "Mother India"? Every mother treats her children like that mother. These days children have no patience and don’t understand their Janamdata( the person who has given birth to them). They especially don’t understand their mother's feelings.

My beloved mother is no more. She expired on the 18th of December 2011. She loved us a lot.

My mother ! Oh ! My mother ! She was love and happiness itself. She was a teacher but she loved her children like their mother.

I was in the second standard and my class teacher was my Aai( I used to call my mother as Aai, which stands for mother in Marathi ). Those days annual examination was held by AEO( Assistant Education Officer ). That year, I got the first rank. My mother told the headmistress that "Good that my daughter got first rank in an examination conducted by the AEO. If I had conducted the exam and my daughter would have got first rank, people would have teased me." This incident taught me that I should not make a difference between my own people and others.

She had gone through many difficulties in life but she never grumbled. She never complained.

Those days most women had a lot of gold jewellery. My mother too had more than 5000 grams of gold ornaments. She lost all the jewellery to handle family problems. But she never uttered a word about it. She lived her life like any other person. What a wonderful personality my mom was! I have always been very impressed by this character of my mother. From this I learned that we should not be attached to material things.

I was in my fifth standard. I wanted to participate in the Nishani drill in which I was supposed to be holding a small national flag. I needed to wear a white dress while doing the drill. My Aai did not have enough money to buy me a white frock but my little mind could not understand her problems. I would cling on to her pallu and be after her about wanting the dress. She would always provide me for my needs, even though she would later struggle to manage the household expenditure.

She studied in the teachers training college in 1950s. There in one of the functions she sung a song in Marathi

Mana mi Kiti tuz shikavoo re

Ram smarawa ghadi ghadiss Ram smarava re

Mana mi kiti tuz shivavoo re

Saandooni Sukh he smaran hariche

Fukat kal ka davadi re

Mana mi…

Durlabha nar tan jaayeel jevha

Kay karil dhan raashi re..

Mana mi…

Patit pavan prabhoo hari smarata

Jashil moksha padhala re..

Mana mi…

( Oh! Mind! How many times should I guide you?

Remember Ram moment to moment.. .

Oh! Mind! How many times should I guide you?

You lose the happiness of remember God

By wasting your time in useless activities

Oh! Mind!…

The human body that you value so much, will be soon gone,

What will you do of your wealth then,

Oh! Mind!...

All your sins will be washed away if you remember God

You will attain moksha(salvation),

Oh! Mind!...)

She lived like this song. With this writing, I am doing a "Aakhri Salam" to my mother.

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The baby...

I will go slowly and sweep and mop the room. I will be careful not to disturb the sleeping baby...- said Kamala, our maid.

Hmm... I said - ok!

After five mins, I went into the bedroom for some work, I saw Kamala transfixed near the baby's bed, broom in one hand, a beatific smile on her face and saying helplessly - The baby is awake ! I turn to look at the three month old baby - with her legs folded over her tummy and hands tugging at the blanket, and cooing to herself - she seemed to be in her own world thoroughly in bliss. I smile.

Waaaa.. Waaaa.. Waaa.. she cried on my legs - as I was cooing to her massaging her body. Hearing her wails, Sahida, the cook runs in from the kitchen. 'Kya ho rahi hai sooo. Baby kyon ro rahi hai sooo. Thel dal rahin. Baby! Baby.. ! Idhar dekho .. !'( What is happening ? Why is the baby crying ? Are you having a oil massage ? Baby! Baby ! See here ..! ) She calls her in Urdu with a heart filled motherly smile. She tries pacifying her - but the little one is angry at being massaged without her agreement. And just when Sahida and me are succeeding in pacifying the baby - Sahida gets up in an exclaimation ! Oh ho ! Meri roti jal rahi hai !!! Beti ka awaaz sunkar mein aayee.. ! Offfooo!( oh ho ! The roti I have kept to cook is getting burnt !!! Because I heard the little one crying, I came running to see whats happening. Offfooo ! )Shaking her head helplessly, she turns to run back to the kitchen with a chuckle.

The baby is three and a half month old now. As a mother, I have hardly had the opportunity to go out and shop for her. Well, when there is a baby in the house, there are so many people visiting. Every visitor who comes gets a gift for her - and most of them end up buying a dress. So most of the dresses the little one has, is a gift from the umpteen number of uncles and aunties, grandpas and grannys, bhaiyas and didis she has. "The dresses are beautiful and more than sufficient, but, When will I ever get an opportunity to buy her a dress!" I complain to my ever patient husband. So last sunday, we pack her bag and set out shopping! Shopping in a shop that sold dreams!

Once we enter the shop, I cant just wait to get to the kids section. In the section that sold the girls dresses - it was almost as if I was in a fairy land. Blissful whites, pretty pinks, playful reds and navy blues, teasing lacy mauves and greens - the dresses were in all colours. Oh ! What was I supposed to buy and what was I supposed to leave ? All of them looked so - so beautiful. My princess would look beautiful in any one of them..! I debated and argued with myself in my mind and I picked up two dresses - a white dress with little blue flowers and a thick blue velvet ribbon tied into a bow in the middle, and another white dress with huge splashes of velvet and purple flowers, again with a huge purple ribbon in the middle.

My heart filled with joy !

Just three months back, all of us seemed to be preoccupied. Kamala and Sahida were busy in their daily routines. I was in my own world - complaining and being bitter about anything and everything. And today as the baby seems to complete around 3 and half months, mine and everybody's life around me had changed for ever. My cup of joy seemed to overflow.

As I get back to the car with my hubby and the darling, I think to myself - If there is anything called bliss - I guess I am experiencing it now. Dear God - Thank you for everything.. !

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The journey that was...

We came from all different backgrounds - Some of us ran engineering firms, some of us ran Flour Mills, some of us ran Project Management Consultancy, some of us were jewellers, some of us were Handicraft exporters, some of us made business out of Agriculture, some of us ran non profit organizations like a Trust, some of us were into Fashion design – so on and so forth. We all came from different parts of India and the world - Mumbai, Ludhiana, Calcutta, Meerut, Chhattisgarh, Nagpur, Kurukshetra, Chennai, Tirupati, Rajkot, Mysore, Germany etc. We spoke different languages, some of us spoke the same language differently, and some of us couldn't understand when the majority spoke in Hindi. Some of us were flashy in the way we dressed, some of us were sober. Some of us were neatly shaven and had our hair cleanly trimmed, some of us wore our tresses long.

But more important than what we wore, how we spoke, or how we carried ourselves, we all had something in common - we had a dream and a passion and an ambition to live our dream. Did not matter which path we chose to fulfill our dreams! Each one of us had a drive. Each of us had a story to tell. We had Vineet who started his journey with a 5000 rupee loaned from his dad and went on to become a successful retailer of garments. We had Surabhi who at the time when everyone was choosing the "science" stream for their career had the courage to choose fashion design and become successful designer. We had Jagadeesh who studied engineering, and quit his job to pursue agriculture and went on to do research and marketing of agricultural products. This list is long and much more interesting – I just put the names of the few students I have interacted a little closely. To my classmates – my apologies! We had students from family businesses who had stories to tell how their fathers toiled through it all and today manage firms that are internationally reputed. The most important responsibility the students now had was to manage and maintain the hard earned relationships and reputation that was already built up.

And through it all we had teachers who guided us to think - Think simply and think big! The knowledge and the commitment and the guiding hand of our teachers helped us walk towards our goals. More important than what they taught verbally in the classes, the hazaar personal and non personal experiences and the stories of the various entrepreneurs they shared with us, gave us ideals and role models to study, debate and follow.

How can I not mention the wonderful campus! I personally would love being in the campus. No matter what thoughts one would have, once you get into the gates of IIMB, you are greeted by the calm, serene surroundings that gradually settle your thoughts down. The beautiful trees, the long corridors, the high ceilings, and the deadly silence - how can anyone ever forget that ? Not to mention the hours of discussions spent sitting in the cafe coffee day or the java green or at one of random spacious staircases. In the silence and the discussions that broke the silence, was our creativity nourished.

Its not that everything went right all the year through - we had our share of issues and altercations and disagreements with the management. I am sure the ones who stayed at MDC would have many more stories to tell of the fights and the patch ups. But I am sure at the end of it - we can all say without a second thought and say this with pride that "I had the privilege of studying a course on entrepreneurship at IIMB and it will remain one of the most memorable experiences of my life"

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She came, she conquered !

When I opened my eyes in the hospital, she was there.. She looked dark, short, friendly and in the latter half of her life (read above 50s). Her hair was neatly bunned up, had a red bindi on her for-head, and wore a printed cotton sari, the worth of which showed that she came from the lower middle class section of the society. One end of the sari was tucked in and she looked ready to take on a task if given. More important than whatever else she wore on herself, she wore a lively smile.


I had just delivered a beautiful angelic baby girl and she was the nanny who would help me to take care of the child for the critical first 40 days of my daughter's life. Though I had spoken to her on the phone earlier, I was seeing her for the first time.


Once the morning visitors at the hospital left and boredom set in, we got talking. She was easy to talk. She trusted people easily and within ten mins into our chat, she told me that she was a manglorean married to a malayali( a keralite ). "Yenkulna love marriage "(Mine is a love marriage- in tulu) she said with a broad smile and a hint of blush :) Sounded nice to hear that!


Over the next forty days she was with us, she told me about her four children - two girls and two boys and her husband. She had known her husband since she was young, fat, round and was 16. But love struck only when she was 21 she said. Acquaintance of 6 years, courtship of one, married to the person you love and respect - you couldn’t have asked more, right? But life hadn’t been exactly kind to her. At the young age of 32.. She is 54 now, her husband to whom she had been married for about 11 years now - and with whom she had four children - got into an accident and lost mobility in both the legs. Doctors had given up and said he wouldn’t be able to walk any more.

Life couldn't have turned worse, right.. ?

Not for her. Challenges come up so that you can experience life. She groomed her children to strengthen themselves- took the help of a few close friends - braced herself up for the challenge. Her faith in God and life intact - she boosted the doctors to not give up hope. Not losing her characteristic humor and good nature - working very hard, putting all her savings of 16 years ( she had been working since she was 16 ) into her husband's treatment, she got her husband's life and mobility ( partially - he is able to walk slowly with some limp ) back from the very clutches of fate. I don’t mind spending my money - I got my husband back - she says with a relieved smile that betrays the tear that moists her eye.

Today her children are all grown up and are all earning members of the family. The family together earns around 25K per month- Hardly sufficient for a decent life. But I couldn’t have had a better example of living!


She tells me - Once in fifteen days if not in a week, we go out a restaurant and have food together and then end the day with a movie. My husband has no other outing - I need to give him at least this entertainment - he used to love eating out earlier - now because of the accident, why should I deny him this pleasure.


My second daughter is dark - but beautiful. I think people find her eyes and hair beautiful. What do I say akka - all the guys who come to see my elder daughter, end up asking my younger daughter's hand in marriage. I have said no to a lot of proposals - but this time, when an hotelier came and asked my daughter in marriage - I couldn’t say no -she told me once.

My daughter was not interested too much (she says with a giggle) - he is crazy about her! - She tells me with a mischievous happy contended smile.


She loves her job and is extremely good at it. All the newborns find a second mother in her. She took care of my angel from the day of her birth to the 40th day - understanding and decoding her every cry. Whether it was hunger, sleep, to be cleaned, or some discomfort - Aunty( as we called her ) would understand her. A slightest sound from the angel would wake her up in the night from the deepest of her slumber.

No wonder as the days of her assignment with our family is getting over; she is finding it difficult to hand over the child's responsibilities that she had been taking care to us.

Yesterday, I asked her - you might be finding it difficult to leave the newborns after your assignment na.

Yes beta.. Yesterday I had tears in my eyes..If I had not taken on the next assignment, I would have stayed back..

I could see she had fallen in love with my angel.. :)

I don’t do outstation assignments these days.. But somehow I ended up taking this assignment. I guess there was some favour left from the previous births, which I had to return, to this kid and you. - She says with a smile and trying hard to gulp down the lump that is beginning to choke her throat.

I agree aunty! My thoughts too!

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Dodda..

Words fail me as I try to describe my grand mom. Let me try and put down my earliest memories of her. Imagine a house like I have described here.

In this house,On the left side of the house lived my grand mom ( with my grandpa when he was alive ) and her children ( before they were married ) and on the right side lived my grandpa's brother and his family.

After the long trek home when we reached our house, we would be greeted with a huge exclamation, heartfelt happiness of both the set of grandparents. As we would settle down, we would be served breakfast by my grandmom. She was our loving Dodda.

With a smile on her face and grit and determination as she carried herself through the house maneuvering her arthritis infected legs, she ordered the workers around and got her work done. She knew her neighbors well and she was well in control of her environment.

Life when the children were growing up must have been tough - Grand pa was a Yakshagana artist and would be on tour for months together. Taking care of the household and the children alone , even though my other grandpa was around, must have been tough for her.

The last few years of her life , she stayed with her children - 2-3 months at a stretch she would stay with each of her children. The best part of her was the way she would blend herself into the culture of the family and become an asset to the house. She had an excellent memory and learnt like a child. She knew the names of all the cricketers - Indian, Australian and a few from other countries by name and loved watching cricket matches. She recognised models and could tell a Aishwarya Rai and a Sushmita Sen. She knew where each of her grandchildren lived ( US, Australia or parts of India ) and where they worked ( Wipro, Infosys etc. ) .

She would spend time watching her favorite kannada serials. She had a great sense of humour and would laugh like a child at any joke. She was 85 this year.

Last few months had been tough for her. She had had strokes in her head which would leave her immobile for a few days - but then she would recover. But this time she decided to move on to the other world. On the next day of Diwali, she suffered another stroke - and was hospitalized. And somehow at the back of everyone's minds and hearts, as well as her own heart, I guess she knew her job in this world is done - and I am sure she proud of who she had been and how she had carried herself. On Tuesday morning, she had a heart attack and passed away peacefully in her bed.

Its hard to believe that the silent, strong, child-like presence Dodda had at my parents or my aunt’s houses will not be around anymore - It has been tough even typing that up. Dodda, I will always miss you for the respect, determination, and dignity with which you carried yourself and when I am at your age – one thing that I am going to strive at - is to live a life of dignity the way you have.

Once again , Dodda we will miss you !

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To dear Anu :)

( Photo courtesy - Mr. A. K. Kaul )

Must have been in my 4th std when we moved into the new house in Ahmedabad. The day we shifted, only the uncle and his eldest daughter ( Meenu ) in our neighbouring house family, came to visit us. Uncle said something to mummy about where his rest of the family was- something that I neither understood nor cared.

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 :)

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Bread Uncle

Its never the people with riches, looks or position that we remember. Its the simple people who we meet in our day to day lives, who leave an everlasting impression. Its not about how knowledgeable, or accomplished they are, that our mind retains the moments we spend with them. Its about how they carried themselves about , how they behaved, how they spoke, and made us feel that makes us cherish their memories.

I must have been in my 8th std at that time. We used to be in Baroda. Baroda used to be a nice quite town those days. For my Bangalore friends, its much like Mysore in ambiance, climate and culture. We stayed in a nice big independent rented house in a peaceful quiet residential locality. Our house used to be behind the beautiful , princely, and cute 'summer palace' known as the Shiv Mahal palace. Within the radius of two kms from my home used to be the five star hotel - Welcome Hotel and the four star hotel - Express hotel. The neighbourhood and the place was beautiful! and just right for me and my brother's growth and education.

Those used to be busy days- what with my brother and me studying in secondary school and both my parents working. On those days when everyone in the house needed to get ready soon - and we needed to have a quick breakfast - we would generally have some variation of bread- Bread Omlette, Bread Toast or Bread Butter Jam. It would be my brother's or my job to go to the near by friendly shop and get the bread. One of the days like that, as my brother was going to get bread, we spotted a neatly and simply dressed, clothed in white, young man in his early thirties on a black colour hero bicycle, shouting - Bread ! Fresh bakery bread !

Bread at our doorstep ! wow ! My brother called him in and we were introduced to a packet of bread that had the softest feel that I had ever known. Can you imagine ! This bread uncle's job was to deliver bread from the bakery of the "FOUR STAR"-"EXPRESS HOTEL" !

Bread uncle had the nicest smile and was very kind and friendly. He would talk to us sometimes about our school. He would also tell us about his family. He would treat us as a favorite uncle treats his young friends and you bet ! we responded ! On the days we would want bread, we would actually wait for this uncle to make his daily rounds. We would then cherish and celebrate the moment when the uncle arrived. It was this uncle who introduced us to brown bread. Twenty years back when Express Hotel had started making Brown breads, this uncle urged us to try it. And boy ! Did we enjoy the brown bread ! :)

I distinctly remember one particular day. Mom was getting late to go out and she requested us to get bread. Secretly I was waiting for the bread uncle . But when he did not come, slightly disappointed and a little worried too, I took my cycle to go out - when- thankfully! I saw the bread uncle coming from around the corner of the street. Excitedly running to him, I bought the bread and I told him that had he come 5 mins late, I would have left to get the local shop bread. To which , he looked so disappointed and disheartened that- After 20 odd years - I still remember that look on his face.

We enjoyed the companionship of bread uncle and savoured the bread from the Express Hotel for as long as we stayed in Baroda. And then Dad got transferred again, and we left Baroda - but those memories of the Bread uncle are there deep in my mind and heart.

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