In My Life...

There are places I'll remember
All my life
Though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain

Saket, My home in Vile Parle. The bungalow still stands but gone are the 'Otlaa's - where we sat and passed many idle moments in our childhood. Gone is the 'Paachad no compound' - where we collected 'lucky stones' for a game of Hop-skotch. Gone are those artistic metal gates on which we stood and kicked them to open and shut. Gone is that corner where I spent making mud cakes.

Namiella, the neighbourhood building. That too stands till now...looking ill-maintained and old. The pre-school in it's compound still exists. That's where we all studied. We called it the 'Alvares' school - after Mrs. Alvares, the principal and the owner.

Nagrecha Nivas, another building in the neighbourhood. A joint family seperated and living on different floors. With fights galore. Abuses, insults and some very entertaining and hilarious episodes.

All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I love them all.

Saket - Playing on the terrace with my best friend Jawamai Raje - kaai karu kaaje. I've never had another friend like her. We were like twin sisters. The whole road knew of us to be the most inseperable friends. It's been 10 years since we parted ways. Jawa...may you be happy wherever you are.

My dear Sundarabai who took great care of us - just like a mother.

Sakharaambhai, our old drunken driver.

Parshyabhai, Papa's old retired spotboy. He was a drunkard too, but I've never seen a sweeter drunkard than him. My father even went for his funeral. He was my favourite and I would stay only with him when I was on Papa's sets.

The Punjabi sweeper woman with black glasses that were broken for years. She always blessed our family for helping her in her daughter's marriage.

The Chana-kurmura wale Bhaiyyaji. His voice still echoes in my ears. We would spend time chatting with him every evening while he made small pudis of sing-chana for us.

The Quirks of Nagrecha Niwas -
The older brother abuses his own mother and then wants to kill his brother. Shouts from the compound and asks his wife to send his knife down. His wife actually sends a knife with her 8 year old daughter!!! The same brother bought an auto-rickshaw for his personal use. Once when he was going somewhere, someone called out to him and asked him if he would go to so and so place. He got out of the rickshaw and abused that person - 'Do I look like an auto-rickshaw wala??' One month later the rickshaw was converted into a mini-car - painted white with doors and lace curtains!!

Then there was the eccentric Homoeopath Dr. Pushpa Raja - Pushpaben we called her. She loved children but never got married. We often asked her for the white homeopathy pills and she readily gave them to us. She would take us to her place and give us toffees that her sister from Pakistan sent. The sister's name was Shanti. When the song 'Om Shanti Om' from Karz would be played in Chayageet, she would sob and sob!!! Our's was one of the few homes with a TV in those days and Pushpaben would come home to see Chayageet and the Sunday movie. We still remember how she would make us say sorry for faults that we didn't even know we had commited! 'Say sorry, say sorry!' She was a sweetheart, though a little crazy. She was also a victim of an attempted murder. She had run out of her house bleeding profusely one late night and had shouted my father's name for help. We had all switched on our lights and the culprit ran off.

She lived alone for a few years and sadly she isn't alive anymore. She died alone with no will made. Her house is sealed and people are still fighting over it.

Namiella too had it's share of interesting people. Alvares Aunty- the land lady. She ran a nursery school in her garages. That's where all of studied. Jehangir Uncle in whose house there was a swing where we sat and saw Ganpati processions every year. Being the oldest tenant, he would perpetually be fighting with Mrs. Alvares. Bhatt uncle and his sons, Sandeep and Deepak. We were very good friends. And who can forget Mary Aunty, their maid since childhood?! Deepak had named her 'AIR' as in All India Radio because she knew the ins and outs of most of the people living on the road and would enjoy spreading a little gossip to everyone she knew! Mahesh, J Aunty and her daughter who liked a Gujarati guy staying in the opposite building. Jawa and I played a naughty prank on her which made them meet and they actually started seeing each other secretly! Ultimately she married a Christian fellow. Then there was this complexed friend, Rachana who made stories about how a boy was in love with her, when there was no boy at all! Well, Jawa and I played a similar prank on her and she had to tell us the truth finally! Patel Uncle and his son's wife Renuka Aunty. She loved me a lot. She had no children for many years and so would call me to her place and spoil me with all nice goodies to eat. She too died some years back leaving two young children. There was Jawa's family - Aaji, Namu, Monaben, Zarirbhai and little Karmen - who's little no more! She's 21 now! Theirs was my second home. I can never forget any of them, ever.

Then there are my previous work places - Karishma and Activ8. Working here was fun but it's in these places that I learnt how people use you for their own advantage. A naive me smartened up. I never could play dirty politics, being a very straightforward person that I am. I always called a spade, a spade and confronted people without fear. Well, I willfully left both these places and in hindsight, it was for the best.But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
As I think of love as something new
I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop to think about them
In my life I love you more.

All these places and people are a thing of the past. But it was worth living these moments. I learnt to let go of the past when we moved out from Saket. I realised that as long as you had a family you loved, it was easy to get by. It was easy to forget. And the experience of leaving everything behind has taught us all some very important lessons in life. Papa's gone...Life goes on. Past has gone, Present is here. Future is yet to come. Today I am married to a wonderful man and have become a mother to a little angel. My family is happy. What more do I need...in my life?

*Thanks to the Beatles for making this song.