Bittu in Dhule

Bittu had finished his Intermediate with a good percentage in Vignan Dhule and then the struggle started for getting a seat into an engennering College. I took him to Dharmapuri which was about two hours distance from bangalore. he was willing to study here but I decided that the culture was very different . We next tried for mahrahtra and here Bittu got a seat in Electronics in Dhule. I travelled to Dhule many times and felt very bad that Bittu had to struggle so much. The place was dusty, except during rainy season. Those days there were not many engeneerin g Colleges in South also and I had takebn a stand that we will not be paying any capitation fees. Here Bittu had got a seat based on his merit and he too felt that this was better than paying a huge donation. The District of Dhulia was previously known as West Khandesh district. The ancient name of this region was Rasika. Subsequently its name was changed to Khandes to suit the title Khan given to the Faruqi kings by Ahmad I of Gujrat. Dhule became part of the Mughal Empire in 1601, during the regime of Akbar. In the 18th century Dhule came under the Maratha regime. In 1818, after being taken over by the British. Khandesh is mainly comprising of two districts Dhulia and Jalgaon and the three talukas Malegaon , Nandgaon and Baglan of Nashik District with headquarter at Dhule or Dhulia . Bittu found some good friends here though his engeneering days were very difficult but he learnt the harder way and was very clear that Tarun Varun would study only in Hyderabad and not go out of the state.

Getting Tarun , Varun ready

It was always a big task to get Tarun Varun ready for school and there would be a lot of commotions in the house. Bittu though seven years elder to them really grew up fast and had to take care of himself and dress himself up. I had a lot of help from Lakshmi, Shaheen and they would also dress the children. They would dress up very smartly while going to school and would come back very untidy with shoe laces open, the shirt coming out of the nicker. It was a real difficult task to get them to do their home work. If I paid attention to one the other would try to run away and escape. Tarun was a little on the quiter side and he did

his work a little seriously but it was very difficult to make Chottu or Varun sit in a place and do hisa school home work. They would tell me many many stories and all that happended in the school. I had to listen to them other wise they would make a big rucus that i was not paying attention to them. I would have a tape of the nursery rhymes always ready for them to listen and they would sing the rhymes with me. They picked up a large number of rhymes while I did my cooking and continued to sing with them.

Visit to North with Children

I am today writing this blog after nearly a month. The month of May was spent in going home to the North visiting Mummy in Haldwani. Mummy is now alone but she is managing quite well with out Baooji. I think we get our inner strength from mummy who has always been a very strong person in her life. Going back to North today brought back many memories of visiting North India earlier with Somu, Bittu, Tarun and Varun. It was always fun and we would visit Haldwani, Nainital and Dehradoon. We would stop in small dhabas to have food. The vegetation was so different that the children would be very excited and find every thing new. Once we went to Rishikesh, Haridwar, Ranikhet and Nainital. The children loved Nainital and the lake but we enjoyed Ranikhet with all the beautiful trees of Cheed , Cedar, Deodar and the lovely smell of its leaves.

Somu is very much a nature lover and he made us walk in the deep jungles of Ranikhet. Ranikhet is a small town in the Kumaon region and the peace and tranquility here takes us to another world. As one enters this place the green and yellow gateway of the Kumaon Regiment Centre (KRC) stands out. Since the time the Britishers discovered this celestial piece of earth to the outside world, the ambience of the place seems almost unchanged. Norman Troupe, who built his homestead, Holm Farm, here, would probably agree. This estate, now converted into a heritage hotel, maintaining its old world charm, still stands atop a hill surrounded by coniferous forests. What strikes one about Ranikhet is that it has still not been commercialised and unlike the other hill stations there is no hustle-bustle and no one cajoling for a sightseeing tour. One is very close to nature and being close to nature one can feel being close to God. Here nature is at its best, in all its purity and grandeur. One can watch the sun, slowly turning orange, slipping from behind the clouds down towards the last leg of its journey for the day, saying goodbye with a splash of geometrical designs filled with different hues of orange and white colors across the sky. One can only thank God for having witnessed this great moment in all its glory. The pines, deodhars, oaks, tiny mountain flowers, the jungle shrubs, the undulating hills, the tree line, soothing breezes, and last but not the least the unpoluted air, all add to the magic of this place.

Bittu's Visa and Trip down North in 2003

The beautiful hills of Uttrakhand filled with morning mist

With Anil Mausaji, Baby Mausi and Mamaji and mami ji and Avikal and Avani

With Dadji and dadiji and Mamaji in Dehradoon

Bittu with Nanji and Naniji and at Godhakhal temple

Bittu at home in Survasant before leaving for Delhi to get his Visa

Bittu had finished his B. tech and had got a job in GE. He was enjoying his job and would get ready every day and go in his scooter. Soon with in a span of two months he got admission in to Governor State University. He had to then travel to Delhi to get a visa. He dressed up in the morning and left with his dad to go to Delhi. They planned that if he gets his visa they would travel North and meet all the relatives before he flies away to the US. It was early morning that he stood in the que before the American Consulate. Soon he was out in an hours time waving very happily that he had got his visa. Then he and Papa travelled first to Haldwani and met his Nanaji and Naniji. From here they went to Ghodakhal Temple and worshipped there by tying a bell. Next they went to Dehradoon where he met his dadaji and dadfdiji and Kusum Bua and Phuphaji. On his return they met papu mama and Anil mausaji and Baby Mausi. They also spent some time with dev and deva Bua. hence bittu had a very nice trip where he met every one from the extended family. Uttrakhand was beautiful and in the morning when there was mist in the mountains the whole environment looked very serene and beautiful.

Tarun Varun's Nepal Trip with Suresh, 1998

The children travelled to Nepal with Suresh and this was a very beautiful experience for them. They took the long journey by road and stopped on the way to admire nature a lot. Somu has been doing a lot of Projects in Nepal and travel there very often. , Nepal is a land of sublime scenery, time-worn temples, and some of the best hiking trails on earth. It's a poor country, but it is rich in scenic splendour and cultural treasures make up for waht it lacks in terms of material wealth. Nepal has a strip of level land that is partly forested, partly cultivated. North of that is the slope of the main section of the Himalayan range, including Everest and many other peaks higher than 8,000 m. Nepal has a very long and turbulent history.In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, gained a lot of following and threatened to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003. 2001, was a very violent period in the history of Nepal . its crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. The whole world reacted with a lot of surprise and many in nepal found it very difficult to come to terms with this incident. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. Again in June 2004 , the King Gyanendra, reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency and corruption, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency, imprisoned party leaders, and assumed power. The king's government subsequently released party leaders and officially ended the state of emergency in May 2005, but the monarch retained absolute power until April 2006. This was followed by large scale mass protests organized by the opposition and the Maoists and the king was forced to allow parliament to reconvene in April 2006. Following a November 2006 peace accord between the government and the Maoists, an interim constitution was promulgated and the Maoists were allowed to enter parliament in January 2007. The peace accord calls for the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. The Constituent Assembly elections, already twice delayed, were held in April 2008 and the Maoist swept the polls forming the Government. This was a very good example of a group which was labeled as a terrorist organization coming to the table to discuss power and then succeded in exercising it through the ballot. i wish all the other terrorist groupsd could also come to the table to discuss problmatic issues and search for solutions not through the bullet but through the ballot.

Birth of Twins

We had all gone for my brothers wedding in Haldwani and after the wedding we were all sitting and talking with Chandola Uncle who was a principal in D.A.V Public schjool but we knew him as Uncle and a pamist. All of us were in a great mood and started showing him our palms asking him to read and tell us our future. When he looked at my hand he sauid there are three boys in you hand and we all started laughing. With my job it was difficult to manage even one kid and to think of three. i told him, Uncle now adays who goes for three and do you think children are in the hand. We all made fun of his pamistry and joked a lot. When I returned to Hyderabad and had some doubts and went for scanning I discovered that I had twins. I had started crying on the scanning table only and asked the technician to look properly. He brough in another person and told me Madam why are you crying, it means only two chaddis and two baniyans instead of one. I was very upset and kept wondering how I will mange with two. My University was nearlly 15km away and I kept wondering how I would manage. I was advised bed rest by the Doctors. My due date for the kids was june mid but they were born premature on 4th April. I also got full summer vaccations and could join the University when it reopened in June. For this period I own a lot to Lakshmi. A Nepali couple came looking for a job abnd since Somu could speak Nepali he spoke to them and they agred to work for us. They stayed in outr garage down stairs and Bahadur was given a job of a Cowkidar in our Flats. I own so mucvh to Lakshmi . She stayed with me for five years and brought up the kids so well. I found her very sincere and she really relieved me of the burden of child care and took care of the house and the Kida. She was very fond of dressing them up and in the evening as we got home after work, the kids would be neatlly dressed and playing in the flat. Soime times she would tie a single pony tail and some time Tarun would have two ponuy tails. it was primarily due to Lakshmi who would dress up Tarun and Varun so neatlky and put a lto of Baby poweder that the kids became great favouritews of every one in the flats. It was fun with two kids. After my initial worry about managing both it was really fun bringing up twins and now I feel that it is no fun bringing up a single kid. Bittu adored his twin brothers thaough they would often fight. We were staying in the fourth floor and the flats at Vijaya Towers had huge corridors which are not found in todays flats. The kids grew up here playing football, running,, skating and making a lot of noise. They ahd favourite aunties like Shorey Aunty, Reddy aunty, Rizvis. Their favourite friens were Vikki and Chetan.

My Lucknow Trip, 1973

I had given my intermediate exams and was free , so during the summer vaccation I visited Lucknow to visit my Mausi and Mamaji, who lived there. This was the first time that I was travelling and staying at a placew on my opown with out being chaperoned by my parents. I had a lot of fun with Deepa Mausiji, Hem Mamu,. Vijay and Jayshree. Though it was hot we travelled all over the place and took photographs with our black and white camera. The beauty of Lucknow and the happy time I spent there has always left a very memorable mark on my mind and remains for ever fresh.

The courtly manners, beautiful gardens, poetry, music, and fine cuisine and the rich life styles of the royals had already maade an impression on me when I had read some books related to Lucknow and later on saw Satyajeet Rays, Satranj Ke Khiladi. I longed to see this place in person for it was the city of Wajid Ali Shah, a very loving , emotional and caring nawab who had an artistic bent of mind. It is believed that the city has been named after Lakshman, the younger brother of Lord Rama. The city was earlier called Lakshman Pore that later turned in to Lucknow. The city later passed to East India Company after Nawabs lost the battle of Buxar in the year 1764. The city remained the capital of Awadh or Oudh province of the British and went on to become the capital Central Province and in turn Uttar Pradesh.

In Lucknow we travelled all over the place visiting the Imambara. There are lots of Imambara in Lucknow but the most famous ones are Chota Imambara, Bada Imambara and Shah Najaf Imambara. These are the sites of annual 'Azadari' or mourning sessions that occur in the Islamic Month of Mohharum and called 'Asura'. The Tazia processions and Marsia sessions of the old city are trademarks of Lucknow. We would keep roaming around, chatting till tweleve or one o,clock at night. We would eat a lot of Dushari mangoes . We remebered Mirza Galib who was very founfd of Dushari Mangoes and would say that dushari mangoes should always be eaten alone and no one should be watching for it is ibn eating the dry part of the seed that one really gets the taste of the dushari. India produces many diifferent varieties of mangoes including langra, chosa, malda, sipya, malka, amarpali, ratoul, Baganpally, Rasaal but is is dushari which has a special corner in my heart, not so much due to the taste but all the fun and happy times associated with it in Lucknow. I remember that my first story which was published by a Allahabad Newspaper came out when I was in Lucknow. My inter results were also declared when I was here. I was very nervous and kept walking up and down but at around two thirty in the afternoon Harish mamaji brought the nwespaper and we looked for my roll number. I saw that I had got a first division. This was a very happy day. i will always chrish the memory of my travle to Lucknow and all the love and affection which i got from ChChachi ji, Buwan Mamu, Hem and Papu Mamu. I met Deepa Mausi after a gap of nearly thirty years in Toronto Canada, which she has now made her home. We could still chat and pick up the threads from the past. We spoke of all the fun that we had in Lucknow when i was a girl and had just pased my intermediate.