My Vizag days....

I have very fond memories of Vizag.That was almost my first job.I say almost. as i did have one before that, not much to talk about,but IOL,Vizag, was the one which shaped me.

I landed up in Vizag, with a trunk and a bedding, did not know anything about the place,all of 22 years of age,naive,innocent, not knowing much, and to discover,what I could do at work.

The language,Telegu, was greek to me.But I wanted to rent a place, and went about seeing the places around my office.Very soon, I started my life, there.

This was a very eventful period in my  life.I was alone initially,then my mother joined me.My Dad was with my elder brother.Within 1 year,I borrowed Rs.2500,from my Dad, to buy a second hand lambretta scooter, which used to start after 7 kicks, and fail, very often.I also did not have enough money to buy, more than 2 litres of petrol at a time,so used to run out of petrol,very often.

I had a great boss.Mr.Balagopalan. I have learnt so much from him including,how you can be a perfect gentleman, and command respect.He was fairly young, and we together started our work in Vizag.

I was given a company jeep to drive,and use.Within 3 years,It became  quite easy to lead my life.

I bought a mobike, this time a new one.Had lots of friends, boys and girls, attended lots of parties,did well at work, and life was on.

One of my close friends,Sohan, had a restaurant called Pink Elephant,and we used to all assemble at the restaurant in the evening,for our evening session.I had a "khata" system, that means,I pay monthly, after getting my salary,and the restaurant had a bar license.

I used almost eat every day there.There was a Bong cook who used to cook for me, special dishes,and it was all great fun.

Then suddenly, I had Amoebaosis .Very severe attack.I was 25 years old, that time.My parents came over, and the doc said,you need timely home cooked food,no cigarettes, and alcohol,and relaxed life.

That was the time, it dawned on me, if this is where I have reached,in my life,I should consider getting married and settle down.No one,including my mother was prepared to accept,that, I was open for an arranged marriage.They said, its fine,but who is the girl?Let us talk to her parents.

I told them ,there are so many of them,that you will lose count, you might as well do it yourself,and get one for me.

During that time, I had developed a relationship with Deepak,who used to sell Kusum Products

in Andhra Pradesh,as an Area Manager.Deepak,in one of his trips, brought his wife, Noton,along.

We hit it off, very well,as friends.Noton, then, started talking about getting a good girl for me,to marry.

That is how things started,rest is history.It is a very compelling period, so I would write it separately, some other time.

But Vizag, with its beaches,friends, mobikes, and bachelor hood, was a great period in my life.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

15,Tagore Park

Tagore Park has many fond memories with me.I was between 9 years and 13 years,when we were there.My Dad was in the peak of his career, a very hardworking, conscientious person,and was very involved with his work.My mother, who in any case, is/was the most accomplished lady, I have met in my life, was immaculate, graceful, and social.She had this charm in her,that all his brother's friends, like khokon mama,rathin mama, nemai mama,they used to after work come to meet her, and enjoy her company.She used to cook for them,etc.She was the most popular "didi".

She was also active in Mahila Samity,where she was the President.She was very strict with us, in terms of doing our studies,but used to encourage us a lot in extracurricular activities.

I was very keen on sports,always.

She also used to love seeing movies.The good thing was, she always travelled to movies in a taxi,that was a big bonus for us,as my Dad, would never take a taxi,ever, and wanted all of us, to travel in a bus,always.After movies, the buses were always very crowded.

15,Tagore Park, was artist Mukul Dey's house, bought over along with a parcel of land, by the Government of India.My dad got this huge bungalow as an allotment for him.It was a huge house, with playgrounds,lawns,two outhouses,and a summer cottage shaped building, with big rooms,a huge veranda, etc.etc.

The good thing was, there was enough space to play cricket, which I loved.

We had a whole enclosure for support staff, and Bahadur with his wife, used to stay there, apart from other domestic help people.

Bahadur's job was to look after me.He used to take me to school, bring me back,help me with my games,etc.I still remember his face.A very nice guy.

Every year in 15.Tagore Park, we used to have many parties and get togethers.My mother was great at those.Once we had a huge picnic for all writers, composers, literary people, very famous those days,and they spend a entire day with us.There were about 60/70 of them.They were all, my Dad's friends.My Dad was very attached to children's literature,and he used write poems for children, which were extremely well written.He was a natural,and an extremely talented person.

Then, my famous Mama Bari,which we were very attached to, used to assemble at least once in a year,for a get together,and picnic.Over 100 of them.We used to have a huge photo session in the afternoon, and that used to go into the albums.

My neighbours in 15,Tagore Park, were,Rana,Raja,Debu,Anjan,Barsha,Khokon,and they all used to stay very close by.Debu's dad,was a very senior business person, very serious, had a driver, car, and looked always very serious.He used to wear a gown ,when at home.I was a little bit in awe of him.I thought, he must be a huge "boro lok",with lots of money.

Rana/Raja's Dad,was  great fun.He was very loving,and was very keen on sports.He used to play with us on Sundays.Both his sons,were good in sports.I remember he had long nails.I did not understand why.

Anjan was a little older than us, but was a leader.We used to listen to him.He used to stay close to the main road.Khokon/Barsha,were brother and sister, and their mother was a very charming lady,but gave us a feeling,of being a little too well off.So, we were a little scared of them.But she was otherwise, a very pleasant lady.Barsha was the only girl in the group.Everybody fell for her.She was petite,good looking,and smart.We felt, she could be a little too good for all of us.She used to give attention to me and Debu,a little more than others, but never got to find out more from her,about her feelings.

All these friends of mine, are lost today.At times, when I pass through South City,which was were Jay Engineering was earlier, and the entry of 15,Tagore Park, was a road opposite to where the wall of Jay Engineering started.At times, I feel,I will get down from the car, walk around that place, and may be,I will suddenly meet one of them.

I still see the Jewellery shop,on the road, where my mother used to go,Sarat Jewellery Works,it is still there.I thought, one day,I will go and ask them.But I have never done that.

They must have heard about me,but whether they have been able to place me,I don't know.

By writing this note about 15,Tagore Park,I am going back to those days of joy and having an opportunity to acknowledge people, who played a role in my life.This is my way of expressing my gratitude to them.   

Ankur

I remember very clearly, it was class nine for me, in Andrews School,which is a co-ed school in South Kolkata,where in our Bengali teacher Mr. Kar,decided to direct a Bengali play called ANKUR,for our School Annual day.I was selected to play the lead role in that play.This role was of a boy who is a spoiled guy, bad in studies,and how he transforms himself,with the guidance of a good teacher, into a transformed individual.
There were some 6 scenes in the play.There was a scene,where I stole a pen from a fellow student's desk,etc.
What happened was, as I went through the play, and at the end of every scene,there were announcement getting made in the microphone to say, that, some one in the audience has offered a gold medal to me, being impressed with my acting.I received 5 gold medals that day, for my acting.Everyone felt ,I was outstanding.I did not realise it.But felt good.All the girls in the class,were very impressed with me.They immediately wanted to become friends with me, as over night I became a hero in the school.Adulation always makes you feel good, no matter what age you are.I was very young.It really good.
It was one of the memorable incidents in that age for me.Perhaps, after that incident, my relationships, in general with girls improved significantly.I was a lot more relaxed with girls after that.This carried on to my IIT days,and even later.
One does not really know, what incident influences what in your life.But, it is interesting to investigate those moments and think about them today.
Thank you, Ankur.