TOPNO DIDI

The very mention of this name presents a very strict, ferocious person on my memory screen. The way she stared at us sent shivers down our spine. She was highly committed towards her job and took it upon herself to discipline her students. She could not take any nonsense from us. Anything and everything could irritate her. Flashy ear studs or hangings, glass bangles, big bindis, colourful ribbons were all forbidden items. If she spotted any girl sporting any of these, she would call them close and help them remove each and every item then and there. She would call them  'Chalta-phirta Meenabazaar' ( Mobile fancy shop ).

She didn't want the girls to get distracted with these things.She would ridicule the system of child marriages and if some girl got married, she would insist that they should not apply Sindoor and come to school. She hated the sight of girls with unruly or uncombed hair. She would pull their hair and blast them then and there.She would also warn us sternly against buying eatables from the roadside vendors outside the school premises.

She had zero tolerance to girls making noise in the class. One entry scream of  'Band karo ye chapar chapar' would ensure pin drop silence during the entire class.She took social sciences for us and would explain various social issues in a very detailed, interesting manner.Once some girls at the back giggled and she threw the wooden duster at them Thankfully, nobody was hurt! The day we got back our test papers would be   hilarious for some and dreadful for others. First, she would read out the most absurd answers and honour them in the class by calling 'Budhua bakrol' no. one, two and so on. She would beat them mercilessly. The children would never go home and complain to the parents because they would be thrashed at home also!

By the end of the beating session, the entire class would sit in utter stillness. Then the other side of the teacher would emerge. She would be all sugar and honey to girls who would have performed well. She would pat them, pamper them and praise them like anything. Once, when she was in a very good mood, I was at the receiving end.She called me close to her and wrote 'Very good' on my cheeks with red ink.

As we grew we understood that underneath the rough and tough exterior there was a lot of love and concern for her students.She wanted them to be disciplined and hard working. She would get very friend with children and inquire about their parents and family.She would be very concerned and kind if any child fell sick or got hurt. 

JOHAR DIDI

My first memory of Johar didi goes back to the years when I was in class Six. She taught us maths then. Since she appeared to be very strict we were all scared of her and maintained our distance from her. Gradually, we developed a liking for mathematics mainly because of her unique way of teaching. She told us to learn tables in Hindi in a rhythmic manner which I remember even to this day. She asked us to practice tables even as we played games in the ground.Even before we realized, we had learnt the tables from 1 to 20 by heart!
Didi was the no nonsense kind of a person and she would not like to hear excuses for the work not done or half-done.So we learnt to be regular in our work. Her soft nature surfaced whenever we did well in our tests or asked doubts. She would not mind explaining the sums again and again till it became clear to us. It was a pleasure to watch her laughing and joking with her colleagues. As we got used to her, our fear was replaced by respect.
In class 8, she took Mathematics and chemistry ( Rasayan Shastra) for us.I always longed to be in her good books and therefore studied very hard. Once, after our exams she gave us maths paper in which I had scored 93%. When I checked the marks, the total was only 83%. For a while, I wondered what to do but then I went to her and got the marks reduced.She appreciated my honesty and said, "Honesty always pays".
My rank in the class had fallen lower and I was quite upset. In the afternoon, Didi gave us the chemistry paper in which I had scored only 87%. When I checked the paper, I found the total lesser by 10 marks. Again I approached her and she increased my marks saying with a smile,"Didn't I say honesty always pays?"

This memory of her and this valuable teaching about honesty has stayed with me over the past three and half decades. My joy knew no bounds when I got to speak to her after so many years.She not only remembered me but also my sister and friends. Well into her seventies, she proclaimed with pride that she remembers each of her students and the year of their passing out to.She has been coaching generations of students for competitive exams. She simply said,"I teach even now..........whoever comes home with a doubt in maths or science subjects, I clarify their doubts........even now my mind is very sharp beta! I agree with you didi with lot of pride, regard and love. Waiting to meet you in person and seek your blessings......  

GET TOGETHERS ON THE FULL MOON NIGHTS

We were blessed with many family friends in the Telco colony.The full moon nights were usually spent on the terraces of the Noris or the GRK uncle's house. The planning for these get togethers would start atleast a week ahead at a 'Pre get-together' meeting. Since there were no phones, even the minute detail would be discussed and confirmed.By the end of the meeting, the guest list and the menu list would be ready. There would obviously be one or two people without their family around, they would also be invited. Those who would have joined Telco recently would be added too.

Each family would offer to contribute one delicacy....we kids would have our own demands....'Nori aunty, ice cream please', 'Sita aunty must make 'Aviyal'. Even among elders, they would request for their favourite delicacies to be prepared.The ladies would prepare the item allotted to them.We kids would be ready with our list of games to be played.....Most of the building terraces would be occupied by different groups of family friends. The ladies would settle down to catch up with gossip. The men would carry and arrange the utensils on the terrace. The elders would be chatting happily enjoying the cool bright moon and the children would be busy playing. One game we all loved to play was 'The dark room'. One child had to search for other kids, touch and identify them in a dark room!

After an elaborate, relaxed dinner, the families would join in some fun games. The activities would continue late into the night till the kids were tired and sleepy.....There were no TV serials to be watched or friends to be chatted on the internet. The people connected directly and happily..........           

PICNIC

The winter vacation meant a series of picnics. The weekends were reserved for picnics with family friends. We kids could have picnics with friends from the neighborhood during the weekdays. We normally went to places very close to our home. The forest behind our quarters was full of dry shrubs and very suitable for our picnics.Even at one day's notice we could arrange our picnic. The previous day normally was spent seeking permission from parents and putting together items needed for cooking. Yes, those days picnics meant cooking at the spot!

We would usually carry a big vessel in aluminium, kerosene, match box, rice, moong dal, onions, tomatoes, chillies, salt n other masala items. Water was also carried along with a few glasses.Someone carried oil. All the items came from different households.We had to carry our younger brothers or sisters also if they were   too tiny. The parents never bothered or worried about our safety. It was taken for granted that we would be responsible for the younger ones too!

We would choose a place and clean it first. After spreading two or three durries on the floor, we would arrange all the items. The oldest kids would arrange bricks for chulha...they would sprinkle little kerosene on the cowdung cakes and place them inside the chulha. The younger ones would collect dry leaves and twigs also. After lighting the chulha, the big degchi with water would be placed on it.We could cook only khichdi and chatny. The rice and dal would be washed and added to the water. After placing a lid on the degchi, onions, tomatoes and chillies would be cut for the chatny. After rice was cooked, turmeric and salt were added.Then onion-tomato gravy would be made, little sugar was added to this to make it sweet n sour chatny.

We took great pride in cooking our own food and having it too.......all by ourselves.I don't think it occurred to anyone that we should carry homemade food for cooking.Ordering food from outside was totally non existent! Our parents allowed us to indulge in such fun activities. Though nobody knew cooking properly, we were excited to try our hand at it. The taste of sweet-sour chatny still lingers in my memory......

Once the cooking was over, it would first be served to the younger ones and then others would feast wholeheartedly. The afternoons were packed with some games or anthakshari. Spending the entire day in the softness of the winter sun was such a pleasant experience. By four in the evening we would be back to the safety of our homes.By five or so it would start getting dark and the foxes in the nearby forests would start howling........           

GUDIYA KI SHAADI

One of our favourite fun activity used to be performing 'Gudiya' ki shaadi......the actual event preceded with hectic discussions regarding the selection of the doll to be married, selection of the groom. Most of the girls had she dolls only n it was difficult to find a he doll for her! Once the selection was over, we hunted for shiny pieces of cloth to make bride's saree or lahanga. Usually, some kind aunty would provide this. Then we would look for old broken chains or jewellery pieces to make the bride's jewellery.

On the day of marriage, we would select an open place, collect new bricks and mark bride's house. Almost all the children liked to be on bride's side because it meant lots of action.We would bring out the kitchen utensils bought during melas (fairs).......leaves n flowers would be collected for decoration........a variety of stones, sand, clay would take the form of fake food items......after everything was put in order, word would be sent to the groom's side.

The 'Baaraat' would come with dancing boys and singing girls. They would be welcomed and seated outside the bride's house.The bride would be brought out to the mandap with a lot of fanfare and seated next to the groom. One of the boys would become 'Panditji' and perform the marriage with 'Anaap-shanaap' mantras!
After the wedding, the grooms side would be served the fake wedding delicacies. They would all relish and
eat!

The children on the bride's side would pretend to cry at 'Bidaii' and bid farewell to the bride. The 'Baaraat' would return to the groom's side.The bride and the groom would never be left alone to live happily forever because the owner of the doll would be anxious to take her home!  

HOLI

Holi is just round the corner.....the very mention of it brings back colourful memories of this lovely festival from my childhood spent in Telco Colony.
The preparation for holi usually started with collecting material for 'Holika dahan'. We children used to roam around to collect dry sticks and branches. As we piled these into a single large heap, the elders would also join us with their contribution....we would imagine the size of the bonafire and feel very happy. After all, we had to give tough competition to other neighbourhoods in the vicinity!

 The mythology says that 'Holika', Prahalad's aunt, was asked to sit on a pyre with Prahalad in her lap. Since Holika had the boon that fire couldn't destroy her, it was a sure death for Prahalad. But the fire engulfed Holika leaving Prahalad intact. People celebrate the death of Holika, the demon sister of Hiranyakashipu, by lighting a huge bonafire. The fire engulfs all that is evil on the eve of holi to pave way for the celebration of love and goodness.

As it got darker and darker on the eve of holi, people used to gather around the large bonafire. After lighting it, people went around the bonafire singing songs. It used to be a wonderful sight to see the huge flames trying to reach the sky.

After going home, we selected some old, faded dresses to be worn the next day. We kept our colour packets and pichkaris in the balcony. My sister and I found it very difficult to sleep the previous night with so much excitement in the air......we discussed ways of attacking other kids with water colours.

Our day started very early on the day of holi. After a quick breakfast we changed into our old dresses and rushed out with the pichkaaris and packets of colours. We ran to our friends' homes with the intent of surprising them but we in turn were attacked by others spraying water colours on us. Within minutes, all of us turned colourful. The water didn't bother us much because we ran here and there chasing our friends.........screaming and laughing all the way....most of the households kept buckets of water outside so that we kids did not mess the homes.Some older kids especially boys annoyed us with Gobar paani ( Cow dung water) and oil paints which were difficult to remove!

 There was no scope of getting upset and wasting time on the day of Holi! The elders would join the celebrations........greeting one another and applying colours on each other' s faces in a polite manner. The civility wouldn't last long as they would also be caught up in the whirlpool of excitement!

The cries of 'Bura na mano holi hai' would fill the air......groups of men would sing bhojpuri holi songs to the beats of dholak.......after having 'Bhang', an intoxicating drink prepared especially for holi. The drink induces a lot of laughter and unsteady gait adding to the fun and frolic around.

 By noon, our parents would start calling us for lunch. We would try to ignore their calls and continue playing for some more time. We would form our own toli n attack other tolis to drench them with wet colours. Exhausted but not yet contented, we would return home to find our mother waiting with hot water, she would spend considerable time decolouring us! Thankfully, the colours would last for 2-3 days reminding us of the fun we had. After lunch, we were forced to stay home so we would spend the afternoon watching people playing holi from our balcony.

It was great to watch people with playing like small kids irrespective of their religion, caste, creed or mother tongue. Ofcourse, the youth had their own agenda and I bet a lot of love stories bloomed during Holi. The evenings were usually spent visiting family and friends and playing only with dry colours 'Abeer'.

The ladies brought out the snacks and sweets prepared for the occassion especially Gujhiya! I do remember visiting our teachers who lived nearby to apply abeer on their feet as a mark of respect. They applied on our cheeks with blessings. The sweetness of holi still lingers in my memory............the memory still drenches my heart with the colours of joy, love, fun and frolik  which the festival truly represented those days.