The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. Also one of the best ways to make yourself happy in the present is to recall happy times from the past.
My memories mean a lot to me, and I hold them close to my heart. The memories we make with our family, is everything.
My Dada's home was a huge two-storeyed bungalow with a garden. It was situated on the main road. It had a Gulmohar tree, a Moringa (drumsticks) tree and some shrubs. It was named using the first few letters of their names.The house had many huge rooms and a lovely terrace. The main attraction of the hall was it's large swing, which we called 'Hichko'. The hichko was placed in such a way that a huge window opened in front of it. A person sitting on the hichko could spend hours and hours watching the world go by through the window. And my dadi or my dada would be found swinging on it passing leisurely hours, talking with each other and having a pan. Yes, you read it right! They were very fancier and had a fine taste for the good things in life. A hot summer breeze, the walk of the sun from morning to evening, the hoot of gola wala, the chirping of birds on the tree and the hush of a tired day - a window is too small for the wide world outside. But nonetheless, it did bring a small piece of the world to us.
I was very dear to my dada-dadi. They saw in me their long lost daughter, who had died at a very young age. I was rather named after her. Whenever I visited them during vacations, they used to shower me with lots of love. They kept all my favourite snacks (varieties of typical snacks available in Bhuj) ready for me to devour. My dadi used to make different varieties of yummy vegetables during lunch and I still remember the taste of dal (which I try to make it even today). There was a store room next to the kitchen. I used to be fascinated by it because it contained huge drums filled with grains and huge ceramic jars full of pickles. She made awesome pickles and would take me inside the store room with her to fetch some of her delicious pickles for lunch.
I used to spend my afternoons listening to lots of stories about ghosts and supernatural happenings in Bhuj told by my dadi. She used to rub her fingers in my hair and I used to fall asleep in a matter of seconds.She used to take me to a nearby park in the evenings. I would like to add that my dadi was of a supercilious personality. She was a member of a reputed Ladies' club. I also accompanied her to her club meetings.where I would see her talking animatedly to her friends, flaunting her saree or her jewellery or her long hair. She would proudly introduce me to her friends saying that I live in Mumbai and that I speak flawless English. She was very proud of me. I would immediately be in awe of her. I remember her red nailpolish painted fingers and toe nails, a big red bindi on her forehead and different dark coloured sarees claded on her fair figure. These three things formed an integral part of her personality so much that one cannot think of her devoid of any of these. Even in my dreams I still see her in the same way.
I remember a weird incident which opened my insight into the world of spirits and life after death. There was a window in the kitchen at dadi's place. Everyday when dadi used to make rotis, a crow from nowhere would suddenly come and perch on the window frame. It would wait for my dadi to go and give it a fresh roti. The crow would have it only from her hands and if we all tried feeding him he would either fly away or try to peck us. On asking the reason behind such a weird bahviour of the crow, my dadi would tell me that the crow is a form of some ancestor of the family, who comes everyday for his share and blesses us all. From then on I understood the terms related to the Hindu rites and rituals like Shraadh, Pind daan, Besna , etc. But on growing up I learnt that, crows are not our ancestors. They are the vehicles which are occasionally used by our ancestors to get temporary entry into this material world. So, let's move on....
Diwali was a fabulous time of the year. We used to wait eagerly to visit Bhuj especially during those days. It used to be very cold in Bhuj. But even in such a cold, it was mandatory for us to attend the early morning 'Mangla Aarti' in the three main temples of Bhuj. We used to get up at 4 am in the morning, got ready in an elaborate manner wearing new clothes with flashy jewellery and elegant shawls as it would be very cold. We used to walk all the way to the three important temples, shivering with cold but having fun. It was imperative for us to maintain the aarti timings of each temple and so the temple visit sequence was planned in such a manner. The reverberating sounds of the huge bells and people singing and chanting verses in loud voices with clear pronounciation and in fast pace will always remain in my memory. It's simply impossible to forget such a divine atmosphere with the sun just rising in the horizon , the twitter of the birds, the peals of the temple bells and the early morning chatter of so many people around us. The perfect harmony of all of these has enchanted me year after year. I guess this was what I used to wait for, throughout the year. We used to meet many relatives, only a few of whom we were familiar with like my maternal maasi, mama and nani. We have a huge lake in Bhuj and all the important festive activities like organising public fairs, food stalls, toy stalls, etc. used to be held along the road encircling the lake. On New Years' day. the whole population of Bhuj would come together at the lake side and burst firecrackers for almost two hours. It was and is worth watching. The sights and the sounds of a variety of firecrackers get to your nerves and leave you feeling exuberant with the spirit of Diwali. The real fun was on reaching home after the aarti and darshan. Amazingly after all this hustle and bustle from early morning, we used to reach home by 7.30 am to maximum 8.00 am. My dadi used to serve all of us the special snacks made for Diwali (popularly known as 'Ghari - Raatdan') and I literally devoured all of it. I would like to mention here that there are countless varieties of sweet and savoury snacks, which are specially prepared during Diwali.
My dada's birthday fell on Dhanteras, so the menu for all four days of Diwali was planned from that day onwards. My dadi loved to follow certain traditions and rituals. One such ritual was to oust the evil or negativity from the house on the second day of Diwali. It has a proper proceedure. I used to go along with my dadi on the night of Kali Chaudas - the second day of the festival, to banish all the evils and negative energies from our lives and houses. We used to take along with us a plate full of different delicacies made at home, most importantly the fried wadas and a pot of water. We would walk quietly till the crossroads. My dadi would make a circle using the water from the pot at the crossroads, place the food from the plate in the centre of the circle, pray in her mind and then turn around with me and we would start walking back home. She would instruct me not to talk or look behind till we reach home. She used to tell me that if we looked behind then the evil spirits would follow us all the way back home and there would not be peace in the house. It was such an exciting thought that the ghosts and spirits are following us and would catch hold of us if we looked behind. I believed every word of this till I grew up and then laughed off this belief when I saw the dogs and cows eating away the food kept there.
But interestingly enough, if we apprehend the whole episode , we get an insight, that truly enough every person is haunted by the ghosts of his past. And if the person keeps on recollecting his past, then surely the demons of his past will take over his present and ruin his future. I miss my dadi....
Hey I seem to forget telling you all about my dada. He was in the field of education and principal of one of the prestigious schools of Bhuj. But he had a dignified personality. During vacations, my dada used to take me to the library and from there I developed my reading of gujarati language books. He took me to the market for routine shopping. My dada was a quiet and a bit lazy person. He used to lay on his couch and would read newspaper and books. At other times he would help dadi by doing kitchen chores like chopping vegetables and fruits. I remember he used to ask me to press his legs as they would pain a lot. He said that if I did so then God will bless me with good marks. I used to happily believe in him and would fervently wish for good marks. Silly me ! Such a child ! Dada, I love you.
There were unpleasant memories too, which I try to avoid thinking of, because I don't want to ruin my good old times.
So moving on, I think these are a few of my best of the memories of my vacations in my native. When sometimes, I sit ruminating the bliss of close bonding with all of my grandparents, the affection and warmth, a sense of belongingness and the sheer thought that I have enjoyed a quality time with them, makes me thank my karmas. God has indeed showered me with blessings.
It is believed that actions affect the quality of life and the quality of future lives. There's a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out of their way to hurt others, will end up broke and alone. If you give a good thing to the world, then over time your karma will be good, and you'll receive good. I believe in Karma. If the good is sown, the good is collected.
I think my good karmas are rewarded in many ways.
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