192/C,RASH BEHARI AVENUE.-THE PLEASANT AND BAD MEMORIES.
Hi all............This is remembering my childhood and early teenage years in Kolkata. We lived in a tall three storied building with about six flats. Mostly South Indians inhabited the building. Mr. Nandy the caretaker of the building lived in the top floor. Mr.Paul, the owner of the building was in Bangladesh.
Nandy babu was the caretaker of the house and was called in for any problems we faced.He also collected rent and probably deposited same in the owner's bank account.I remember ,he had several kids. One four year daughter of Nandy babu was one day killed by a tram of all things.
We had traffic both ways on the main road in front of our house. And the famous Kolkata tram consisting of two compartments,first class and second class ran along the middle of the road.They ran on electricity supplied by lines and cables from above. A very slow mode of travel, but imagine the pollution factor was nil! Those were glorious days. My father used to travel in a tram to his office in Dalhousie square.
I too had a mishap with the tram once. I was wearing a new dress on my birthday, a golden color ghagra (long skirt ) made from "Twinkle nylon" which material was in vogue then. A bit longer than my height! So when I was crossing the tram track, I fell down in front of a tram, but was luckily saved by driver who applied the brake.
A dress similar to this and made with golden colour shiny nylon. And the picture is not mine.Just taken from the internet to show the design.
I am very prone to accidents,but by God's grace I come out shaken but unscathed.I have fallen in front of an express train on the railway tracks and survived! But my grandmother made sure that the "evil eye" can no more harm me by mantras and burning coal and herbs.Probably there is an "evil eye" since whenever I dress up in new clothes, the dress somehow tears at least slightly!!!
So I LIVED HAPPILY IN THAT HOUSE BECAUSE OF MY PARENTS WHO MADE IT INTO A LOVABLE HOME AND NOT JUST A HOUSE.
Nandy babu was the caretaker of the house and was called in for any problems we faced.He also collected rent and probably deposited same in the owner's bank account.I remember ,he had several kids. One four year daughter of Nandy babu was one day killed by a tram of all things.
We had traffic both ways on the main road in front of our house. And the famous Kolkata tram consisting of two compartments,first class and second class ran along the middle of the road.They ran on electricity supplied by lines and cables from above. A very slow mode of travel, but imagine the pollution factor was nil! Those were glorious days. My father used to travel in a tram to his office in Dalhousie square.
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| KOLKATA TRAMS RUN BY ELECTRICITY |
I am very prone to accidents,but by God's grace I come out shaken but unscathed.I have fallen in front of an express train on the railway tracks and survived! But my grandmother made sure that the "evil eye" can no more harm me by mantras and burning coal and herbs.Probably there is an "evil eye" since whenever I dress up in new clothes, the dress somehow tears at least slightly!!!
We lived in the front ground floor flat. The flat contained two bedrooms and was part of an old style Bengali house. And a very long open outdoor corridor with a wide shade and a tin door with a latch.Very unsafe. But once the doors of the flat were locked,the flat was secure. There were two cement tanks in the corner of the corridor, one for storing water and one for storing coal.
The compound wall of the corridor was not very tall. I used to peep into the backyard garden of the next house by climbing on the water tank, as a child. This was used to store water for washing utensils and clothes. And the long clothesline was also in the corridor.
Once when I went to the corridor to remove dried clothes from outside, I saw a young thief,a boy sitting on the shade over the door.I was frightened and shouted.Before anyone could come the boy jumped from the shade,from about ten feet and ran off through the tin door unharmed.He must have been a professional thief. But the incident happened before anything could be stolen.And I was frightened stiff. And before locking the doors of the flat, I took extra care and checked the outside shade and latches carefully.
Back then, we did not have the facilities of washing machine, dish washer etc. So the cement storage tanks were used for storing water which was used to wash utensils and clothes. Even pressure cooker and cooking gas came later on.
My mother used to cook on the charcoal oven lighted by charcoal freely available then.And there was a big bronze cooking pot for cooking rice.And she used the kerosene stove for additional cooking,making coffee and tea etc.The oven was lighted twice a day for cooking lunch and dinner. My mother was an awesome cook.She used to cook varieties of dishes everyday. So from my childhood,I had the fortune of eating very tasty dishes. Now I am diabetic with two stents in my heart and still I have trained my cook to cook tasty,bland, heart friendly, diabetic dishes. Sometimes I cook. So even now I get to eat tasty dishes.But I remember my mother's cooking almost daily.
My mother used to use the metal charcoal oven also depicted above. Then there were the kerosene stoves for other uses.
The other two varieties came later on and are still used in rural Bengal.Kerosene could be obtained freely in shops and in Public distribution stores also called "Ration" shops.But the effort put in by mother was considerably greater. Nowadays easy cooking devices are available and have reduced cooking time and efforts considerably.I thing how my poor mother had her hands full with cooking,shopping for grocery etc throughout the day.
But my mother used to take me and my first brother to an occasional epic movie or to the Kalighat Kali temple once a week.We walked to the temple, to the nearest movie theatre or the grocery shops. We also walked to school.
The temple visits were even more wonderful because we got to eat the delicious milk "pedas"which was consecrated by the temple priest as prasad.
My second younger brother,who is famous as S.L.Naanu in Chennai theatre circles, was born later on, when I was twelve years old. So I was the motherly protective sister to him. But Myself and the first younger brother, Hariharan used to fight for silly causes.He is a bank officer and only five years younger to me. We once had such a fight and I pricked him with a sharp pencil.The pencil nib broke and was embedded in the tissues of his leg.Out of fright both of us did not tell anything to our parents.This happened when we were both young.I forgot about this incident.
Much later on, after studying Medicine and becoming a surgeon, my brother Hariharan told me about that incident. The pencil nib was still embedded in the leg.So I arranged for sterile surgical instruments and removed it under local anaesthesia on our dining table. So what I did I rectified myself.
Later my maternal uncle and aunty also came to stay with us.The flat was small but my father's heart was large. I was here that my cousin Seetha who is a dedicated educationist now in Chennai was born.
The neighbours were close friends of my mother and father. It was like one jolly family. There was Chuppu mami (aunty) and chuppu nick name for Subbulakashmi. She stayed in the adjacent flat with her husband, four kids and her brother in law who got married in the same house. There was Saroja mami (actually she was then only a few years older to me ,but her married status earned her the name mami (aunty).Her daughter Rama Rangan is now my Facebook friend and she is settled in London.
I have not seen Saroja mami for decades.And her husband was my father's friend and a gem of a man. I did not even hear about his passing away. Saroja mami like my lucky mascot accompanied me to see the results of entrance to medical college. We were then given seats on merit basis only.I could not believe my eyes when I saw the list. Saroja mami was probably more glad than I was.I miss her. So it was in this house that I got admission to the Medical college.
And there were this Ayyangar couple with four children. There was Venkat the eldest,and a brilliant student. The second daughter was a great friend of mine.Then there was this Pammi who was much younger and the last son Viji who was a mathematical prodigy and a great friend of my brother Hariharan.
Tired of the eating habits of the children the mother used to make Sambar rice and curd rice in two huge vessels and veggies added to the sambar rice.There was also papad in another tin.So the children used to take out the food whenever they felt hungry and eat it.I have also had my share of the delicious food now and then.
The eldest son and daughter initiated me in to the wonderful world of ENYD BLYTON, ARCHIE,RICHIE RICH AND DENIS THE MENACE. There were also some serious books. So I developed the habit of reading books and enjoying them.
So I have many pleasant childhood memories about that house.But I have certain disturbed memories about the place as well. When I was very young a neighbour came to pick me up from school one day instead of my mother. He told me that my mother was hurt and had been taken to the hospital. I was frightened ,my mouth went dry and I started imagining worse things only a young immature mind can. When I reached home, my mother was not there and I saw a huge pool of blood in the corridor.The kind neighbour told me that my mother had made tiffin for me and once I ate it,she will take me to the hospital. I was so frightened at the site of so much blood that I could not even swallow the food.
And later I was told that my mother had a compound fracture involving both bones of her leg. The bones were jutting out of the skin. It took six months to heal and my mother was in hospital for almost one month. She suffered a lot while bones were being set. There was no modern anaesthetic techniques at that time.But my mother had a very strong will power and fighting ability. Ultimately she was completely cured due to divine grace and the excellent Orthopedic surgeon who attended her.It was then that I decided to be a surgeon.
The other incident was something more despicable.But no harm done except to the scoundrel who tried to molest me.
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| BUILT IN CEMENT STORAGE TANK WITH CONCRETE LID |
Once when I went to the corridor to remove dried clothes from outside, I saw a young thief,a boy sitting on the shade over the door.I was frightened and shouted.Before anyone could come the boy jumped from the shade,from about ten feet and ran off through the tin door unharmed.He must have been a professional thief. But the incident happened before anything could be stolen.And I was frightened stiff. And before locking the doors of the flat, I took extra care and checked the outside shade and latches carefully.
Back then, we did not have the facilities of washing machine, dish washer etc. So the cement storage tanks were used for storing water which was used to wash utensils and clothes. Even pressure cooker and cooking gas came later on.
My mother used to cook on the charcoal oven lighted by charcoal freely available then.And there was a big bronze cooking pot for cooking rice.And she used the kerosene stove for additional cooking,making coffee and tea etc.The oven was lighted twice a day for cooking lunch and dinner. My mother was an awesome cook.She used to cook varieties of dishes everyday. So from my childhood,I had the fortune of eating very tasty dishes. Now I am diabetic with two stents in my heart and still I have trained my cook to cook tasty,bland, heart friendly, diabetic dishes. Sometimes I cook. So even now I get to eat tasty dishes.But I remember my mother's cooking almost daily.
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| BRONZE POT USED FOR COOKING RICE. |
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| A BRONZE POT USED FOR COOKING RICE. |
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| CHARCOAL OVEN |
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| LIGHTED CHARCOAL OVEN |
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| METAL CHARCOAL OVEN |
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| THE KEROSENE BURNER STOVE THAT MY MOTHER USED. |
But my mother used to take me and my first brother to an occasional epic movie or to the Kalighat Kali temple once a week.We walked to the temple, to the nearest movie theatre or the grocery shops. We also walked to school.
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| KALIGHAT KALI TEMPLE ,WALKABLE DISTANCE FROM MY HOUSE. |
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| KALIGHAT KALI MA |
My second younger brother,who is famous as S.L.Naanu in Chennai theatre circles, was born later on, when I was twelve years old. So I was the motherly protective sister to him. But Myself and the first younger brother, Hariharan used to fight for silly causes.He is a bank officer and only five years younger to me. We once had such a fight and I pricked him with a sharp pencil.The pencil nib broke and was embedded in the tissues of his leg.Out of fright both of us did not tell anything to our parents.This happened when we were both young.I forgot about this incident.
Much later on, after studying Medicine and becoming a surgeon, my brother Hariharan told me about that incident. The pencil nib was still embedded in the leg.So I arranged for sterile surgical instruments and removed it under local anaesthesia on our dining table. So what I did I rectified myself.
Later my maternal uncle and aunty also came to stay with us.The flat was small but my father's heart was large. I was here that my cousin Seetha who is a dedicated educationist now in Chennai was born.
I have not seen Saroja mami for decades.And her husband was my father's friend and a gem of a man. I did not even hear about his passing away. Saroja mami like my lucky mascot accompanied me to see the results of entrance to medical college. We were then given seats on merit basis only.I could not believe my eyes when I saw the list. Saroja mami was probably more glad than I was.I miss her. So it was in this house that I got admission to the Medical college.
And there were this Ayyangar couple with four children. There was Venkat the eldest,and a brilliant student. The second daughter was a great friend of mine.Then there was this Pammi who was much younger and the last son Viji who was a mathematical prodigy and a great friend of my brother Hariharan.
Tired of the eating habits of the children the mother used to make Sambar rice and curd rice in two huge vessels and veggies added to the sambar rice.There was also papad in another tin.So the children used to take out the food whenever they felt hungry and eat it.I have also had my share of the delicious food now and then.
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| PAPADS FRIED IN OIL |
The eldest son and daughter initiated me in to the wonderful world of ENYD BLYTON, ARCHIE,RICHIE RICH AND DENIS THE MENACE. There were also some serious books. So I developed the habit of reading books and enjoying them.
So I have many pleasant childhood memories about that house.But I have certain disturbed memories about the place as well. When I was very young a neighbour came to pick me up from school one day instead of my mother. He told me that my mother was hurt and had been taken to the hospital. I was frightened ,my mouth went dry and I started imagining worse things only a young immature mind can. When I reached home, my mother was not there and I saw a huge pool of blood in the corridor.The kind neighbour told me that my mother had made tiffin for me and once I ate it,she will take me to the hospital. I was so frightened at the site of so much blood that I could not even swallow the food.
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| XRAY OF BROKEN LEG BONES |
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| COMPOUND FRACTURE OF THE LEG WITH BONES PROTRUDING THROUGH THE SKIN. |
And later I was told that my mother had a compound fracture involving both bones of her leg. The bones were jutting out of the skin. It took six months to heal and my mother was in hospital for almost one month. She suffered a lot while bones were being set. There was no modern anaesthetic techniques at that time.But my mother had a very strong will power and fighting ability. Ultimately she was completely cured due to divine grace and the excellent Orthopedic surgeon who attended her.It was then that I decided to be a surgeon.
The other incident was something more despicable.But no harm done except to the scoundrel who tried to molest me.
IT WAS NOT A MEEK,PATHETIC "ME TOO" .IT WAS A TRIUMPHANT "HE TOO".
MY BROTHER HARIHARAN TELLS ME "WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTERS IS AKIN TO SHOUTING".BUT I WANT TO SHOUT AND SAY THAT "NO WOMAN NO CRY".
I WANT TO TELL ALL WOMEN OUT THERE THAT YOU ARE SHAKTHI, THE GODDESS OF POWER INCARNATE.DO NOT EVER THINK THAT YOU ARE WEAK.
THIS HAPPENED WHEN I WAS THIRTEEN OR FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. I WAS HEALTHY AND FIT (WELL MAYBE A BIT ON THE FAT SIDE,BUT FIT ). THE HOUSE WHERE WE WERE STAYING IN KOLKATA HAD A LONG ALLEY (GULLEY) IN FRONT LEADING TO THE MAIN ROAD. IT WAS DARK AND VERY POORLY LIGHTED
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I HAD GONE TO A SHOP FOR GETTING SUGAR AND WAS RETURNING HOME.SUDDENLY A BOY CAUGHT MY HAND AND TRIED TO PULL ME INTO THE DARKNESS. I WAS FURIOUS AND BIT HIS FOREARM SO DEEPLY THAT I STRUCK BONE AND BLOOD WAS POURING OUT FROM HIS FOREARM. THE BOY SHOUTED WITH PAIN AND TOOK TO HIS HEELS. THE SUGAR WAS ALL SPILLED ON THE FLOOR. THE NEXT DAY I COULD SEE BLOOD ON THE FLOOR OF THE ALLEY.
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I HAD GONE TO A SHOP FOR GETTING SUGAR AND WAS RETURNING HOME.SUDDENLY A BOY CAUGHT MY HAND AND TRIED TO PULL ME INTO THE DARKNESS. I WAS FURIOUS AND BIT HIS FOREARM SO DEEPLY THAT I STRUCK BONE AND BLOOD WAS POURING OUT FROM HIS FOREARM. THE BOY SHOUTED WITH PAIN AND TOOK TO HIS HEELS. THE SUGAR WAS ALL SPILLED ON THE FLOOR. THE NEXT DAY I COULD SEE BLOOD ON THE FLOOR OF THE ALLEY.
AFTER THAT THE PARTICULAR BOY WHOSE FACE I HAD VAGUELY SEEN WAS NOT SEEN IN THE LOCALITY.NEVER AGAIN.
BUT MY MOTHER BECAME CAREFUL AND STOPPED SENDING ME OUT ALONE AT NIGHT.POOR THING ,SHE WAS VERY SCARED.BUT I FELT VERY TRIUMPHANT.
NOW I AM A RECYCLED OLD TEENAGER. BUT I CAN STILL REMEMBER THAT INCIDENT AND SMILE.
SO YOU LADIES OUT THERE, GOD HAS GIVEN YOU POWERFUL WEAPONS LIKE TEETH AND NAILS.MAKE USE OF THEM .FIGHT. YOU ARE POWER. IT SHOULD BE A "HE TOO" AND NOT "ME TOO"
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So I LIVED HAPPILY IN THAT HOUSE BECAUSE OF MY PARENTS WHO MADE IT INTO A LOVABLE HOME AND NOT JUST A HOUSE.
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