How I Met Navratri...

Navratri, was a festival that was closest to my dads`s heart. I just love the way he introduced me to this festival. He was the Garba poster boy of our cosmopolitan St Martins rd, Bandra, where young and old, danced to the beautiful folk songs that he sang.

Pa had an unconditional love for Gujarati folk music & art. One of his earliest business ventures as young student was visiting Kutch, Patan over the weekend, buying handicrafts,  kutchi bharat( embroidery of Kutch> material and selling them  from a stall on linking road.

I must have been in my mother’s womb, when Pa introduced me to his favorite Gujarati garba songs, singing for me. As I grew up, he would sing them for me to put me to sleep. When I must have been 4-5 he told me about the Rabarans( women from Gujarat who dressed up in colourful clothes with beautiful embroidery and lots of oxidized jewelry)

The way he described them to me, they seemed like truly beautiful women. He would spend hours dressing me up, to look like a Rabaran. He would plait my hair, drape the chaniya choli, exquisitely embroidered by the local artists of Gujarat. This would be paired with the most authentic oxidized jewelry. 

As I grew up he tried hard to teach me the garba and dandiya dance, well I think he must have  been disappointed, as I could not match up to his expectations. But soon he taught me to sing the  rhythmic gujarati folk songs, like Rangalo, Dholeeda, Mehndi tai Vavi,  Jodhe re jodhar, Tara aakhien na awifle. Thankfully I was able to sing them, although would often forget the gujrati words. Somewhere in him he wanted to expose me to the depth and beauty of gujarati folk culture and arts.

Each Navratri with Papa was a different, fun and exciting. I still remember the last Navratri with Papa, he was recovering from jaundice, not in the best of his health, but he still sang his favourite garba song Rangalo in our new gujrati neighborhood. Navrati now days has become to commercialized and more like the disco, this is something which had started even when my dad was around, and he has never really appreciated the sub standardization of one of the purest form of Gujarati  folk art.

This is how I was introduced to this beautiful festival, But Navratri has never been & never will be the same without Pa..

Out at 97... A life well played..

It was a buzzing morning in one of Bandra`s middle class neighborhood. Nutan Nagar, located on the banks of the Bandra talao was home to young couples, immigrants and nuclear families who started their modest living in one room kitchens away from the hustle bustle of the so called proper Bombay.

In one such household of this buzzing neighborhood, a young mother was busy completing some house hold chores, and supervising her 9month old young daughter. Her 5 year old son, Gautam came running in like a hurricane ‘ Subhabi, Subhabhi he uttered enthusiastically, in a tone signifying that he had discovered his biggest invention. “There is lady who stays on the top floor, He name in Nimbuben and she knows how to make beautiful clothes, let’s go right now and meet her. She can make frocks for my sister’

Subhabhi tried to calm her son down and told him she would go and visit her later in the day. When Subhabhi  meet Vimuben( not nimbu ben), both of them would never have imagined that this simple meeting would be transformed into such strong friendship between them and their families(Patels & Shahs)

Both of them bonded immediately, while Vimuben stitched frocks for Hema, she taught Subhabhi to knit, sew and dream. Subhabhi introduced her to her cuisine and her husband Satish an engineer helped repair her sewing machines. Hema become sister to the Patel brothers.

When Vimuben`s family decided to move from Nutan Nagar to a suave apartment on St Martins road, Subhabhi`s humble request to Vimuben was to sell the bigger room of Nutan Nagar they lived when they vacated it . Vimuben insisted, Subhabhi to come and have a look at the apartment, and purchase a flat in the same complex .  Subhabhi could not afford to buy such an expensive apartment, but once she visited the place, she promised herself to buy the apartment at any cost and she did.

Anand Vihar began a new chapter in the life of these 2 friends and their respective families. Vimuben started her sewing and knitting classes in her house. She also made unique bags, and dolls with cloth and crotchet.

Vimu Dadi was always a loving grand mother to me. She stitched  a beautiful white dress for my first birthday and many more through my entire childhood. I still have very fond memories of eating the handva she made. I used to really like it and she would always send it, whenever she made it. I applaud  her enthusiasm,  in  the last few years in spite of a weak eye sight she was determined to teach and share her knowledge of cloth and wool craft. Unfortunately, I was never interested in learning any of this, although Vimu Dadi did try to teach me one summer.

   

We have often laughed on her birthdays and spoken about her celebrating her 100^th birthday. She was determined to celebrate a century. But unfortunately she had to get out at 97.

 Well played is all I can say… 

Jab we Meet.. Celebrating 64years of Togetherness

Circa  18 Feb 1949

It was a pleasant February morning when Satish Shah  a handsome young boy dressed in a lovely white sherwani and  dhoti, walked with his family from Hargovindas ni chawl, in Bhuleshwar to his brides house in Kishore Bhuvan barely a 50 yard  distance. The only music element he has with him was nagada wala.  The bride, Ashru the daughter of a goldsmith was dressed in a lovely white and red saree, the traditional paneetar, and armed with  giant size elephant teeth bangles embedded with pure gold. 9am in the morning was the auspicious time for the wedding,  The groom was welcomed by Ashruben`s eldest sister, who we lovingly called Behn. He was saved from the nose pulling ceremony, as he had a bad cold. In those day neighbours had such a lovely bond with each other. The entire building of Kishore Bhuvan acted as a host for the wedding, while some game their home, for accommodating the barratis, some opened up their kitchen to make food.

A small shamina was built in the chowk( passage) of Kishore  Bhuvan where Satish & Ashru began their journey together. 64 years later, the chowk still stands there amidst the dilapidated building as a testimony of the times gone by

 

Wedding lunch

In those days of food shortage, one was not allowed to have banquets for weddings, so lunch was made in the choksey household with the help of a maharaj( cook). Ashru`s bua Shantiben was the food manager for the day.  The spread include Magnidal no siro, dal, puri , sabji & vatana pattice. A big blopper happened, the Maharaj accidently put the packet of soda in the pattice  instead of  ala lot( corn flour). All pattice turned black, within no time, another set of potatos were boiled and immediately pattices  were remade.  The immediate family itself consisted about 100 people

Few days before the wedding, someone had come to sell silver dinning set a 100 pieces at the shop. All the guests were served lunch in silver thalis, bowls,spoons. The entire big  hall of Ashru`s house in Kishore bhuvan was beaming with people, A seating of 50 ( pangat of 50) were served lunch at one time.  The guests sat down on traditional patlas and plate would be placed in front of them on another patla. First all the men ate and then the women and children.

Satish`s sister in laws( 6  real and many cousins) decided to have some fun, they actually put some cotton in Dadaji`s pattice, which he cant recollect any more

The Reception

In the Ram baug wadi, probably the first ever wedding reception of the community was held. In those days of food shortage, you could not feed people, so they just served icecream to the guests. The reception had loads of guests from the community(nath), to Ashru`s father friends from Jhaveri Bazzar

 

Northern Adventures

Soon after the reception Ashru and Satish boarded a train from Bombay with the family and went to the ancestral house in Agra, where there was practice of Mardaana, Janna( separate area for men and separate for women. A  21 year old Bombay girl  Ashru was amazed with these practices.She was even more amazed when they visited Haldwani. She has never in her life seen snow, or had milk in an aluminium glass. While she was still trying to come to terms with this kind of farm life, Satish got a message from  his landlord in Bombay, telling him to come back quickly else he would be giving away the room in Nutan Nagar, Bandra

 

Nutan Nagar

After the adventures of Agra & Haldwani, Ashru & Satish were both happy to come to their own little room in Bandra. Facing the lovely Bandra talao, and close to the railway station, their small one room was a beautiful world for them. In a matter of 3 days they set up their house, all the home vessels in stainless still were purchased for  Rs 500. Ashru`s mom lent her 2 metal chairs, a small table, mattresses and a bag full of  vessels, on condition that it should be returned once  she  purchased her on.  For months they lived out of their own single suitcases, * more like trunks as they could not afford a cupboard.  The only luxury item in their house was a radio( which costed 100 bucks at that time) was a gift from Sarla bhabhi to Satish.

As a young 22year old Ashru was quite excited and happy about her new life in Nutan Nagar. In Satish she found a great friend, he would always help her with the household chores. As Satish an engineer left for work in a mill, Ashru too would quickly leave, leaving the house to her servant( who cleaned the house for 4 rupees a month) and take the train to Charni road. She claims in those days there used to be super fast trains, which directly stopped at charni road, she would reach Charni road in 15minutes. She visited her Mothers family home every day from Bandra to charni road, as her family didn’t want her to be staying alone at home during the  day, in a chawl in Bandra. Her sisters & brothers also visited her very often in Nutan Nagar, curious to know about her new life. Her mom Liliba,  would come but she would not even have a glass of water considering the old school of thought u cant have anything at  your married daughters house. Her father, Gordhandas who was also very fond of his new son in law often visited, he would eat at Ashru`s  and quietly slide in a 10rupee note and say, "I am going to eat, tell your mom I paid for the food". Years later, Satish purchased a Austin 8 car Made in England and Ashru would often drive down from Bandra to Charni road with the children.

 

From humble beginnings, Ashru & Satish have come a long way together. 64years back when they began their journey as 2 young people, they would never have imagined what life would have in store for them. Its amazing how  beautiful their bond is.  I am truly blessed to have them as my grand parents, and i am so glad that atleast grannie remembers that day and she could describe it so well for me.