As was decided in my last post in this blog marathon which me and Himanshu are holding, this post is dedicated to my days in Baheti Colony, Sanawad.
My family shifted to Baheti Colony in 1990 in a rented house, when I was 8 years old and my class 3 exams just got over. Back in those days, it was a new colony and not many houses around. It was a farmland earlier with many trees and muddy grounds. Sighting of snakes was a common thing.
The families who lived there had some kids like Rajesh Bhai, Shrikant Bhai, Pappu Bhaiya and others but my only friend in the neighborhood was the girl next door, Sapana, who was about my age. In less than 10 months time, my family built our own house on the plot next to the rented house and shifted. I admitted to the nearest school, the Sarasvati Vidhya Mandir for 4th standard.
Then other kids came to live in the colony. Priyank, Ashwin, Hitesh Bhai, Himanshu, Dipali, Bhupendra, Akhilesh Bhai, Tina, Nikhil, Amit and Sumit and many more. We become friends and spent most of the time playing hide and seek in under construction houses in the colony in never ending noons, after school.
Older kids used to bath in The Bavdi (a big well), which is just outside my home and I always dreamed of learning to swim and jump from the top into the water. Until one day, the municipality of the city decided to clean the Bavdi and started distributing drinking water from the same.
In summer days, we used to play cards under the street light with all out beds joined together and gossip till late night before going to sleep in still warm summer air.
Music and dance was another part of life. Technology was changing and our colony got its first cable connections. Many of the homes decided to stay away from the ‘unnecessary’ expense of Rs.50/- a month on the extra channel and kids were doing just fine with one and only Doordarshan.
On TV, it was all about Jungle Book, Disney’s Tail Spin and Duck Tales, Discovery hour and weekly sops. It always left us with a lot of time to spend outdoors doing nothing and just be happy.
One hour tuitions, dinner at 7:30, wiring to get electricity at the roof and audio cassettes were the norms for every kid. In exam times, we used to study in the small huts or tents prepared on the roofs, declaring sovereignty from parents. I can remember my BIG hut was made of a iron beam, a ladder, old rugs and window panes which were removed in the summer time to let air flow in the kitchen.
Many kids played marbles and used to fly kites, but honestly, I was not that good in marbles and my kites never took off. I learned Cricket only after the Cricket World Cup in 1996.
Every year, there used to be stray puppies all around the place. Moti, Bhuru and Rani were the most popular dogs around and had designated owners. Moti and Bhuru were Indian Labradors while Rani was a Pomeranian. Bhuru disappeared in 1995, Rani Died in 1996 and Moti died of a wound in its neck in 1999 on my doorstep.
After all these years and living far away from the good old memories, it has changed drastically. All the kids are now grown ups and just like me, moved far away to make a living.
I still call Baheti Colony my home and love it from the core of my heart.
So there!
Dear Himanshu,
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