"Udhna hai mujhe"

“Pachas rupaiya aur chauvan paise…..aaj din bhar yehi mila babuji…..ye kuch samaan hai jo nahi beeke….machine mein daal ke hawa nikaal lio….kal subah phir dekhte hai”…..this was my daily routine after a hard day at work……taking a shower in our nearby “pokhariya”….came back home to help out mom making the dinner….lavish dinner for us happened to be four pieces of chapatti with onions…..some day if mom used to get some extra food from her “malkins”…..it used to be a treat for us…..me and my brother “baabu”…..but I loved them….i loved their colours…..green, red, blue, magenta…..speciallly when you tied them together in a bunch….it was as if a bouqet of fresh flowers..readily plucked in the morning..to be offered for Puja……I loved the smile on a child’s lips when it became his property….. “aur bhi lio naa babua…..ye he naa…kutta, khargos, cycle, fool…tumko kaun sa bhaata hai”…..i loved standing at the traffic signal & watching the lights change colours….red..yellow..green…..the numbers on the signal plate had actually taught me  bit of mathematics….i could calculate now…..i loved moving from window to window….. i loved touching those shiny smiling glasses….which used to roll down and take my colourful friends inside…..i loved the red colour most…coz it made those racing cars come to a screeching halt……my work used to start from 9:00 A.M in the morning…..azad nagar traffic signal was my office cabin….had managed to get a stand from the local “alu kulcha wala’….my brother “Baabu”  used to accompany me to work……managing  my colourful companions …..blowing them, tying them in neat bunches, making various shapes out of them…….the cacophony of the increasing traffic used to allure me…..no matter it was the scorching heat of the summer or the chilly breeze  of winters….my employment at “Azad Nagar Traffic signal” was permanent……Diwali was near….and I had prayed to God for a new salwar kameez this time….the once that I wore had become tattered…yet mom had done some patchwork and it was “kaam chalau” for sometime….needed to buy a pair of new slippers for baabu too….his old ones had worn out and there was no money to buy him a new pair…..our sole  breadwinners were my mom…..she used to work as a domestic help in 4 houses in azad nagar DDA society…..earning a meager of Rs.400 per house  “har kaam 200 rupaiya…..jaaru pocha…bartan”…..and I was “Chunmun Baloonwala”…..It was babuji’s “naamkaran”…….mom used to recite stories about his bravery at the battlefield…and her marriage to a “brave soldier”….in those days it was  brilliant luck to get married to a valiant man…..little did she know that once considered “luck” would make her marriage life so painful…..that she would have to wash soiled utensils at someone’s place…..manage her lunch and dinner on left overs….never send her children to school…and the worst of all…..feed and take care of an ailing husband…who had lost his limbs at the war……all our relatives had deserted us….we came from “ Fatehganj”…a small village in the interiors of north west UP…….where the birth of a girl child was still a sin…..and getting married at the tender age of 10 for a sum of money considered lucky. “Arre ai ladki…..vo hara wala dena…..kitne ki hai?” “Panch rupaiya madame……kiske lie chawat ho?...gudiya ke lie….to yeh laal wala le jawat ho..aur acha lagega”….the five rupee coin glittered in babu’s eyes…as he rolled into the small tin can…supposedly our account box “aaj ki pehli baouni ho gayi didi”…..i was 11….the blue uniform and the red ribbons with that grey shoulder bag used to often disturb me in my dreams…..someday I felt I could go to “Padmini Devi Senior Secondary School” the big board waved at me from a distance to the Azad nagar traffic signal…..but mom’s wailings every night and babuji’s sufferings everyday used to bring me back to my reality…..we were destined to be here…..morning 9 to evening 9…..what could we have asked for more……my balloons used to be my only amigos…..a new one ..a new colour ..a new shape…..it had everything wrapped in it…..new wishes..new desires….new beginning….new hopes….some day I wished..i will accumulate all my piggy bank savings to cure babuji….to buy mom a new saari…..to gift baabu a new school uniform…….i wanted to be like my colourful freinds…..so fresh..so colourful..so enigmatic….bringing a smile on everyone’s face….from a child to a grown up..from a boy to a girl…..i could be lifted in the air….played with …..used for birthday parties in big hotels and restaurants….mark independence day and republic day……the best part of all….fly with my wings spread out….like an aeroplane….fly past meadows….rivers…fly past schools..colleges…..fly past….Hotel Chandan….(the biggest five star hotel in Azadpur)…..fly past Governor’s House,..fly past GT road…..fly past dilli..bumbai..kulkutta….fly past everything “udhna hai mujhe….yehi to chahti thi mai”………yes I had dreams….i had hopes….every morning sun ray through my window mesemerised me….coming so far way from us..it used to light up entire earth…I wanted to fly….fly with my dreams..run with my hopes…..play with my desires…..someday I wanted to grow up….set up my shop…..study….live in a big house….have a green garden…..some day..somewhere…where mom wouldn’t hve to work….babuji was cured….babu could go to school “Was I making too BIG a wish ……..today??  “Chunmum uth jaa….kaam pe jaana hai”…..came mom’s husky voice in anger…..suraj mama was still smiling on me…..slowly I gathered myself up…there was lot of sunlight in our “do by do” kholi……

"La kumaoni affaire"

26^th May,2012………7:00 A.M…………

A cool breakway passage in sveltering 45 degress….…..sitting back in my office on  a Friday evening flipping sightseeing areas on “google baba’……nainital hit me….alternate Saturdays being a weekly off, devising the plan was not difficult at all…”Redbus" came to the rescue….and my brief escape for 2 days to 25 degrees was hitched……additional assistance on hotel booking  was made by Cleartrip.com….thanks to the online industry client partner association I enjoyed….so here started the caravan….travelling 300 kms overnight on road by Kingsway Roadway Travels from Ramakrishna Ashram Marg ,(Delhi) to Mall Road (nainital)…..the Ac was quite effective in the bus…despite occasional brawls between fellow passengers  popping up enroute……the morning sun rays woke me up at Haldwani….and the farsighted silhouette of the hills beckoned me more as the bus started taking the meandering terrain……groups of deodar and pine winked through the glass pane window…..it took us 45 mins to finally get down at nainital mall road from haldwani….Deepakji was ready with his santro with his “mehmaan nawazi”…….and soon we were making way to Bhowali (Bhimtal) to our home for 2 days – “Hotel Maya Regency”……we happened to be “memsahibs from the capitol” considering the welcome received from “Nandanji’ the “hotel caretaker”…mom easily by that time had developed a son like rapport with him….very soon we came to know his originality from ‘Almora” and he  got a warm invitation to the Roy family home in delhi…….a sumptuous breakfast followed…”poha’, maggi and paranthas with milk coffee….was enough to keep our stomachs filled till evening……a quick shower and getting into travel attire, off we were again in Deepakji’s grey santro…..amongst the chuckling deodars…..nitanjali’s Nikon Coolpix was a better version than my Kodak C480…so the video clips were mine and the still ones her’s………our first halt was the hanuman mandir at nainital…..since it is always consideed auspicious to start your day with blessings from the “sankat mochan”;…….while coming down from the temple we were summoned by his living lookalikes……were freed only after the ‘prashad’ was distributed…..our next destination was “Dorothy’s seat”…”khurpatal lake”….”suicide point”….specifically to mention “on horses”….deepakji  used to cite stories of Britishraaj way back in 1800’s……their architectural intellect, and their creations…noteworthy was the White coloured “Governor house” and the “court building” we got to see as proof on our way …..it was 11 in the morning….”suraj mama” was smiling with his soft rays but the breeze apast our ears carried a lot of freshness with it..it was like sipping a mint mojito….in air conditioned restaurant in delhi….finally we reached the horse station……………..the tout charged us Rs.650 each , since we were 3 ladies…special “khidmat’ was for us….for the next 3 hours...we were no less than “jhansi ki raanis’…..aboard on new means of travel…the total distance was 21 kms uphill..and den returning back …..mom got “sultan’….nitanjali’s hero was “jugnu” and mine was “raju”…….soon we were trotting past pine, deodar oak &spruce jungles….there was no pukka road….the jerks were casual…..the jungle insects kept the adventure intimidating…..it was approx.. 20 mins….dat we passed "suicide point" and reached "Tiifin top" & Khurpatal lake…..the view was stunning…blue waters in the shape of a cow’s feet…amidst the hilly stepped meadows from great height…..Hamid , Rashid and Altaf were ready for the photo clicking session and they were truly experts in the trade…….Rashid was the main horse instructor..and soon we became adept at horse riding…..specially mom..who was taught to pull the Chords of the horse in a similar manner as a “car steering”…….my knee bruised itself as it got kissed by a dead tree trunk…..and I was bitten by a jungle fly too…..”Dorothy seat” was the next halt…..Dorothy madame used to paint her canvas siting here…and once one of her pictures had flown away in the mind..in the pursuit of getting it she had fallen off and died….at a height of2300 metres above sea level… the scenic view was phenomenal….we spotted “St.Johns’ Church" at a distance and "Nainital zoo' was also waving at us…….the ride again began downhill…..we were carefully taken to our place of start……next halt was “Cave gardens”…..6 caves……swarmed with children inside……my main area of interest was the ropeway and boating in “Naini Lake”…..but lack of time made us miss the ropeway and China peak(2600 metres above sea level)…since there were forest fires..and the smoke shrouded the mightly Himalayas……it was already 4.30 P.M …..and deepakji insisted that boat ride was relaxing in Sattal”…..enroute..there were small halts with photo sessions….of Ramtaal…Laxmantaal and Sitaltaal…Purna Taal, Nal Damyanti taal (named after King Nala who drowned in this lake), Garud taal and Sukha Taal( dried up lake). An evening amidst oak trees and rich greenery was a complete stressbuster ……we found ourselves kayaking in “suresh’s Boat’……fondly referred as “pal tola nouka”(in Bengali) by me……the placid waters  refreshed us with its coldness,vitality and exuberance…….my heart wanted me to stay there for ages…such was the silence of the woods….no fear..no pain..no strain……nitanjali insisted on “cuppa chai and challi”…..but maggi was the requirement of the day tooo……amidst the giigling waters of the lake…it was truly a feast for the occasion…….it was already 8:00 P.M …..and we needed sleep….so room no 210 was the only choice….           

Continued…next day – Mukteshwar………….28 th May,2012