PYARA'S QUARTER K2/7

"Rupa ki mummy, ration store main gayhoun aaya hai, Punkaj ke papa abi lekar aaye hai" then you can hear Bapppi Bhaiya of the colony teasing the youngest one "Oye Pontho Chai" as Pontho Chai used to stammer while talking. Every day he had 'paratha and tea' for his breakfast and in his stammering speech he would say Pontho Chai instead of paratha and Chai; hence the tag stayed with him for years. 'Madhu Choosh' was another tag that haunts the silent ears. 'Budhan' or 'Bibbi Berr' names given after the buffalo that was taken away by another keeper; is a teaser even today during our casual catch-ups among the oldies. These tags were bestowed to bring humour to the surrounding amongst the masses where the 'less is more' attitude prevails in times of  'need is luxury'. 

Power cuts were the opportunities looked forward to. Children will break open the door to run around in the colony to play games like, hide and seek or chain cook. Saat Patti was also famous along with Saat Goti which were street games of growing up years of a child living in the colony. Women of the houses will gather together to share their struggles with each other finding solace in the gossips. Exchange of bowls of goodies was common practice. Sometimes borrowing a dress to wear for a marriage ceremony or visiting their villages were casual.

Tantrums at home will lead to treats at neighbours. School teacher's sight was like a curse, running away from those routes were opted at. Sunday afternoons were aromatic with delicacies expected to be relished during the 12-noon lunch. By 4 warm tea will be served with dry snacks. Six o'clock - one has to hold the books to revise and be ready for the next morning routine. By 8, dinner would be served. Ten was the maximum one was allowed to be awake. 

Throughout the day there would be vendors calling out for goodies to be sold. Sari or suits pieces or ice-candies or Sondesh or Dosa or my favourite golgupas; would keep the Road No 27 busy. 

Pyara's Quarter was adorned by a Guava tree, which grew watching 'rupa ki mummy' nurturing it along with us. Afternoons nap is still prevalent in Telco Colony. All four of us will be seen on the Guava Tree sitting, eating the raw guavas; playing while being siblings. We four were enough to kill the boredom which our children cry for every now and then. If it rained, then, all will forget their nap to run around to pick mangoes from the trees owned by the neighbours which were otherwise prohibited to pluck. Stealing the mangoes from those trees still lingers and warms my lonely hearts. 

I wish to relish the salt with red chilly powder mix to eat those rained dipped watered mangoes with Pyara and my younger lot again. The sourness is still tickling my soul away from Pyara and my younger lot. Pyara's Quarter is missed today in the luxurious lifestyle of a metropolitan city like Pune.