|
|
|
 |
|
In Home
 In home-may in its parochial sense, be limited to one's house or residense, but to me ,it well spans over all the creation of thy God that rejuvenates me with the old memories of being close to Bokaro, celebrating festival in my village, cracking jokes with friends or revelling in those yearly arranged picnics that kept me refreshed for another one year.So the two simple looking words,"In Home" carries a lot of meaning -when guhed out of my mouth in this evocative sense.This could then, ofcourse unarguably, includes all my uncle,aunts & my neighbour and all those non-living but not dumb establishment--Viz the parks,restaurants,cinema halls & those animals that I loved dearly since my childhood.All these ingredients when mixed emotionally, creates for me an aura That I would aptly call--In Home.
When I trace my memory back to that infinite time, I see myself horelling for 10 Paise & 20 Paise to my papa-and the year is 1982-when he was about to go to plant, or else ,"Let me also go with you".papa had always preferred giving me some alms to taking me to plant.(Bokaro Steel Plant).Now, I could easily guess why?.(Actually you gotta be above 14 to enter plant premises and that you get pass from plant security)Just before leaving to plant, papa always tossed one sentence to mommy,"Don't let the baby go outside the 'ghar' to play alone, and I hated the most -this unsolicited advice.It, then takes almost an hour - and sometimes even more-persuading mommy that I should no wrong, will only playand that too gentlemanly,will not end up quarelling with anyone, but the active intervention all my pleading had gone unheard.It was didi who come to my rescue in such dire-straits.She, in her, melodius & magical voice always told mommy,"Ja ne de mommy, mai iska khyal rakhungi".(let him go mommy I will take care of him).And, now it seems as if these were the final words , my mommy always kept waiting for.No sooner than she nodded her head giving approval, I'd latched-off the door, got outside quickly in notime fearing mom rethinking her decision.Waiting outside ,were the hillarious team of all Bachhalog (This was exactly how we were referred by uncles) that my block comprised(16 families and some 25 children).Didi always kept her word of having a watch on me but I can,t say to what extent I was able to keep my words of behaving gentlemanly.Now, It's anybody guess that why and how all my milky tooth vanished before I became 8 year old.On most of the occasion I'd quarelled with someone or had fallen from stairs and it was didi who has
to see mommy red--back home.Now, I feel the indebtness to didi for those
untold suffering that she had undergone , inevitably for me.
The name of Sri Swaminath singh uncle and aunty needs a special mention here, for from the day I got my conscience & memory I'd keep seeing them daily, without any exception.They lived next to our house and are very to our family.Nandini didi & Ninu didi were the closest pals of my didi.While nandini didi was senior in age to my didi, ninu didi was of the same age of my didi.S.n uncle(the way we called him) third kin was Neeraj who was five yr junior to me.Many time the two families had gone picnic together and visited holy places(like Rajreppa Temple)together that it would had been tremendously hard for any stranger to decipher that we were actually two different families.I loved and admired Nandini didi--the most for one evident reason that she and my didi had always advocated for getting me included in the playing team and just remaining on "doodh-bhat".(Milk-rice-as should be the simple english translation of doodh-bhat; and it stand for those beleagured tiny-tots who were actually not included
in the team but have been given a false sense of being in team so that
he or she would not end up crying).Nandini didi is now happily married
to an excise officerand I misses no less than my own didi who; incidentally,
is also happily married to excise officer.Ninu didi is about to get married
and I always pray to God to lend me that little time to visit her on that
occasion.Nerraj is preparing for Medical entrances.And, I know for sure
that he should surely find himself ensconced in some good medico college
next year.They all are close , how much to me, could easily be guessed
by the fact that even now whenevr I'm in bokaro,I use to spend some time
daily their house.
 If there is anything true about the oft-quoted words--"A home way from home" the truthness could never be more vindicated without having a mention of my frequent patna stay.There my bade-papa ( simply lalka-papa-as named by my didi for he always keep chewing pan)
and chacha just next to my papa live.Pappu, who is the youngest son bade-papa, and I shared some common interest that brought us very close together and that at times had become a pain in neck for other people.Pappu was mischevious to the extreme and I swear of him getting the largest share of thrashing by vijay bhaiya.But, one thing that everybody unarguably approve of pappu is that he is
among those few talented guys who are able to chat with almost any type
person.So not surprisingly he is equally demanding among girls,children,adult
and boodhe people.Presently he is preparing for a career in banking.Whenever in patna
I had spent most of the time strolling in Gandhi-maidan or Maurya Complex
with pappu.
|
|
|
