the jodhpur-noamundi connection

@ Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur.

I had similar clay dolls, bought at a Durga Puja fair (way back)
I had christened them as Mr. and Mrs. Dutta.

Mrs. Dutta was voluptuous in a green saree and red blouse
and wore a big red bindi
Mr. Dutta wore white dhoti-kurta and carried a black umbrella
What better name than Mr. and Mrs. Dutta, right?

They were quite famous with my kid-neighbour
The kid would love to shake their spring-heads
Jing-jing-jing
Up and down….
He would make Mr. Dutta look down
And Mrs. Dutta, head up, as if she was commanding Mr. Dutta, “To-bey Thaak…”

One day Gopal- the kid, came running to our house
asking to play with Mr. and Mrs. Dutta
Mr. and Mrs. Dutta, the real ones (who were Dad’s friends) had come visiting us that evening,
Needless to say, they did not look too amused

Nevertheless they said….. “yeh bachey…”.

The real Mrs. Dutta was actually really good
She would make out-of-the-world dal-luchi
(back then, Durga Pujas used to be quite a treat)

The real Mr. and Mrs. Dutta had a parrot called Polly.
Polly would screech himself shrill….. “P-A-U-L-L-L-E-E…tumor naam ki”
“P-A-U-L-L-L-E-E…tumor naam ki”
“P-A-U-L-L-L-E-E…tumor naam ki”
“P-A-U-L-L-L-E-E…tumor naam ki”

Could and Would anyone be able to resist pulling his long tail?

I should have introduced Gopal-the–kid to Polly
He would have made P-A-U-L-L-L-E-E’s head go jing-jing-jing….
Up and down…

shoe-flowers @ quarter # 6

i ve always wanted to have an unruly bush of shoe-flowers by my gate.

red-pink-white...

single layered-double layered...all types of shoe-flower

like the ones i had at quarter # 6, noamundi (jharkhand)...

we were in that township for 3 years. this old house beside the forest, was called quarter no. 6.

quarter # 6 where ...

i had my 1st malaria (and many others followed, till we moved from that house) there..

i learnt (to my embarrasment) that bhindi (okra) should not be washed after cutting...

i learnt that being differently-abled does not rob a person from enjoying life

i learnt that the said man could effortlessly drink tea with his toes..

and would not be embarrased at being stared upon

i discovered that guavas taste the best when stolen from neighbours' gardens

i learnt that hiding quinine inside your mouth will only make you throw up

i learnt that aches and pains proclaim themselves only in the night

i learnt that mothers do not believe you when you writhe of stomach ache in the morning

i learnt that hiding behind the big oak, waiting for the school bus to leave..

would only make 'bansi' the driver, honk the blue bus with red seats, till mother would come out

i learnt that there was no need for a net between compounds for a badminton match

i learnt that triple riding on your hero-cycle, with little children of the neighbourbood would always, not be safe

i learnt that the mother cat of your one-day old adopted kitten can eat up your pet guinea pigs

i learnt that crying as you bury them will not rid you of the guilt

i learnt that calling out for your pet puppy 'timmy', with dad's boss 'jimmy' around, was actually funny

i learnt that brother's friends will treat you as a kid even if you suddenly turn coquettish

i learnt that your 1st crush may not appreciate it if you name him after your handsome dog 'buzzo'

i learnt that shifting from quarter # 6 to quarter # 15 had more of "i learnt's"...

i also learnt that i shall forever want those pink-red-white shoe-flowers around my compound and by my gate..

single-layered, double-layered...all kinds

:)