Life is easy kya karein

Plaza Cinema at Dadar has been an iconic landmark to the local Mumbaikar. Earlier days when people traveled by bus and trains and so many cars did not exist, Plaza was the middle point of Mumbai. Mumbai map is more or less a straight line and Plaza cinema at Dadar was treated as a mid point. From there you moved to the suburbs. When I used to visit my Masi (my Mother's sister)at Chembur from the hostel, once the bus crossed Plaza, I felt I was almost close to Masi's house. Her house symbolised love, care and warmth for me. Plaza Cinema is at a circle where three roads meet. You can travel between central and western suburbs from this circle. You can also switch from Dadar East to West near Plaza. It connects South Mumbai to the suburbs. The Cinema hall was known for screening Marathi movies. The building has a circular facade with sculptures of men and women dancing in erotic poses. When they painted it a few years back, the sculptures on the walls were painted golden yellow....

There is an old lady who lives in the building next to ours (colloqially referred to as 'baaju ki building'). I am sure the building and the lady has a name but I fail to connect with the name. She is so warm. Talks to the children through the iron gates which are always shut for human beings. This gate opens only for the building cars. So we talk through the iron railings. She gives money to the children to buy them gifts ( 'Khau' is the marathi term when an elder gives you some money as a gift and asks you to buy food of your choice). She is back from the Old Age Home after eight months. She said her daughter in law had gone to Japan and kept her there as an old woman cant go and stay with relatives for long. Our lady was wearing a sky blue Lucknowi saree with a matching blouse. She is  looking very happy and healthy. She said she prefers staying in the Old Age Home as there are people to talk to. At home, there is no one to talk to. The home where she was, she also...

The younger one dipped the Pears soap in a bucket full of water to see if it was actually transparent. I was raving mad at her for a moment. I love Pears soap but I don't like it all 'pichku' or soggy. Pears in my mind is still the most expensive, exclusive and classy soap. A Dove though more expensive, doesn't come close. May be because during my childhood, we used only Hamam soap. Green coloured soap bar which hardly melted when children dipped it in water. Ten of us in the joint family used one bar of soap till its almost last bit. There was no soap case in the bathroom. The soap was kept on a cemented shelf which was used to keep dirty clothes. One iron bucket, two separate taps for hot and cold water and one shower with only cold water. There was no Jaguar Mixer for the taps. The bath mug was plastic. This was just a bathroom without any toilet attached. I think it was a much cleaner concept. There was a largish ventilator window near the shower. The bathroom had...

We grow up with memories and memories make us. Bedrooms have a special significance in our lives. In Jharia, they were called rooms not bedrooms. The servants/ house help would not understand if you said 'Clean my bedroom'. They understood instructions which said  " Sahab waala kamra saaf karna' which meant 'clean the master bedroom'. When my parents decided to put furniture in their bed room, it was a big event for all of us. Carpenters were called. Drawings were made. Dad got some furniture books from Kolkata or Delhi. We poured over them. Everything looked so complicated to make. Mom was clear that she will keep the two Godrej Almirahs in her room. Now the furniture had to be made around it. The furniture was made to divide room into a walk in wardrobe and a sleeping area. Since my parents bedroom was the biggest and quietest, the guests were almost always put up in that room along with them. A sofa cum bed with storage was built for this purpose. It was a...

Last week, I was showing off to a new friend how I have been practising Yog for years. He asked me, 'How many years?' I was little hesitant and then said 'Almost six years, though not regularly'. His response was that in five years you should have been able to master it. I squirmed and did not explain to him that even now I cannot touch my toes and Shirshaasan is still a faraway dream for me. That's the thing with new friends, they do not know you well and can shake you up completely. I seem to have woken up from my slumber. What is it with me? Why don't I want to master Yog? Why am I not committed enough to learn my stretches and Aasanas well? My idea of learning something 'well' is definitely not the same as my teacher's or my new friend's idea of 'well'. In school , students always had a desire to score high marks and come first in class. I was never into sports, but I did want to win a race and excel in a game. At work, I did want t...

During monsoons, I keep looking at the sea which is invisible from most of the windows including the bathroom ones. The sea plays luka chhipi ( hide and seek) with the intensity of the rain. This time the internal chatter actually slows down. I feel light. The summer dust settles down and the feet feel cleaner at home. The sunlight is easy on the eye and I do not miss the afternoon glare and the heat. I have no concerns about not having rain shoes and I am okay spoiling any pair of shoes. I like the washed clothes hanging on the clothes racks inside the living room and am not embarrassed about it. Years back, a friend's wife had visited me from Delhi. She had later conveyed to her husband how I had clothes drying in the living room windows instead of plants. My friend used to visit us when we were just married. The house was full of plants and knick knacks. With two small children, anything which can be put in the mouth, had mud in it or could topple or had sharp edges was gradua...

Evening snack during the summer months was water melon. We call it 'turbooz' in Hindi. Mumbai calls it 'Kalingar'. The water melon was cut into half moon shape for all of us children. Due to shortage of water and electricity, the refrigerator barely worked. We children hardly opened it to keep it cool even when there was a power cut. Dad and Uncle liked cold 'Chaas' and water. During the 'loo' ( not toilet) when the afternoon heat and a wind was at its peak, we shut all windows and stayed indoors. The joy was watching Amitabh Bachchan movies on VCR while the electricity was there. Earlier when I was the only child in my house, we slept on the neighbour's terrace. This was 'Ratan Kaki' s terrace. We called it ' saamey waadi chhat' .  That was in our compound. The single ground floor houses had a common terrace with no boundary. All neighbours came up to sleep like community living. Each one put their own 'Chattaai' or mats...