Born in Mumbai, bred in small colonies, far away from nearest towns, I am blessed with a life, that is rich and palpable, in fine tune with nature.
My dad was at that time serving the Department of Atomic Energy and he was posted in a remote place called Jadugoda, famous for its uranium mines. The housing colony lay at the foot hills of Rajmahal range in Bihar. Rippling and flowing along side was the cool waters of Suvarnarekha. At sundown, chorous cries of the fox emanated from the bushes around the colony. Some awesome evenings would be aglow with the forest fires on the hill.
Close to our houses lived the santhal tribes. Their huts looked picturesque with the dim glow of oil lamps. A thin cloud of smoke rose from the furnaces cooking the family supper. On Sundays, a young Santhal would perch himself on the culvert and played soulful music on his flute. Captivated, I only listened...
During their festive season, our old trustworthy maid, also a Santhal would carry me on her shoulders across the crystal clear Suvarnarekha with a jubiliant Santhal crowd and we would dance together encircling each other's arms.
During monsoon, when Suvarnarekha would swell up and overflow a submergeable bridge, my dad would drive me and mom in a station wagon (similar to today's Toyota Qualis) and cross the bridge, defying the fury of a wild Suvarnarekha. The thrill to stand in the middle of a furious river and yet untouched by it is such an awesome experience.
Dad was extremely fond of driving and he would if he could drive to all parts of our country. We have toured Digha, Puri, Darjeeling,Jamshedpur to Mumbai, Rajasthan, Ahmedabad all in our lovely white fiat 1100D number BRX 361 (since we were in Bihar at that time). Those days the sea beaches were wide and uninhabited, dad would race the car on the long beaches along the Bay of Bengal.
Every Saturday mom and dad picked me up from school and we'd drive down to Purulia, where my grand parents lived and my brother also studied in Ram Krishna Mission. My grandfather served the West Bengal State Electricity Board as a resident engineer and lived in a palatial office-cum residence. He owned an Opel which could be identified from a long distance.
I would be extremely busy amidst huge German Shepherds and clean, white furry cat. Dad captured in the movie camera (like a handycam) the animals' and my mutual liking for each other. I was grandma's pet. She'd feed me, tell me stories and in summer nights when we lay outside the bungalow on wooden cots, we'd identify stars together.
Rajasthan is also a beautiful place. Dad's next posting was in Kota, Rajasthan. Again amidst nature, dry and arid on one hand, deep blue waters of Chambal on the other. Sheep and flocks came from distant arid desert in seach of grass. Dad picked up one such a lamb for me at the price of Rs.10/- I called her Mary. It moved around the house like a pet dog or a cat and was left to graze in the sprawling lawn encircling our bungalow.
We had a small swimming pool in our backyard and dad brought in a tortoise that was moving in the hot sun, in search of water. Summer afternoons would be so hot that the tar on the road melted and small bubbles emanated here and there on the road. The gypsies moving from place to place would halt in the open area close to our housing colony and light a small fire in the evenings and have their usual music and dance. The dry arid desert often stole the lives of the cows and sheep as a result of which there were many vultures and the dogs were almost hyena like.
Chambal hid in its depth varieties of fish. Dad's colleague would show us his skills in fishing with bare hands, as is common in his home town in Kerala. Come monsoon, the Chambal would swell and water was released from the Rana Pratap Sagar Dam. Water would gush with such ferocity that it formed a huge fountain and all of us would gather on the bridge to witness the spectacular sight.
Rajasthan is a land of fortesses, palaces, sand dunes and lot of romance.
I am fortunate yet another time to be living in a house surrounded by trees and open sky. While my husband and son relish the benefits of being in a megapolis, I enjoy the blissful journey of life in the inimitable company of nature.
