My Bhandup Diwali

Bhandup Diwali as I Remember…. Year 1971

 

4pm the school bell rings, books are stuffed to my khaki bag. The bag sure has seen better days. There are spots of ink and stitches on the handle. That bag fight with CS Raman proved costly for me. But then we have our own sewing machine at home. Teacher wished us all Happy Diwali with some serious vacation homework. Anyways, those are to be done only on the last few days of Diwali. The front benchers wished her back in unison

Teacher reminds me in particular that she expects me to have brown cover once again for all my note books. I muttered and cursed slightly to get a hot stare back.

Of course, one dharavi student gets picked for bursting one atom bomb ( that square one) in the hallway.

I was glad not to be picked for that too. Time to go home for that shopping at chavan bros. Not sure whether I can get trouser /shirt and also a footwear for Diwali this time. The footwear is also used as stump for playing cricket and also as crease for runner.

In the evening, I go with Appa, to Chawan Bros and get greeted with a broad smile and the owner conveys with gusto he was wondering as to when we were coming. He does some profiling on his own and decides to show the mid-range first and then the lower one. Tags are prominent and what is written on that determines our budget for home for the rest of the month. Technicalities are discussed and it is conveyed for umpteen time that color will not fade.

I express my unavailability to my building friends Suresh, Mukund and Bhagu for cricket they had planned to play at night. We used to roll and flatten the ground to play cricket during vacation.

We reach Bhandup a day or two before Diwali. For us it is like boarding an outstation train. This is once or twice in a year the most awaited event. Working Chithees will have a a dabba or two of sweet box. The division and distribution is invariably Venguttu Mama’s forte and so is the distribution of crackers.

I still remember the first year when that thing made out of injection bottle was displayed. If I am not mistaken, it was a joint effort of Mama and Radhai.

Get up by 5.30 am… Manni will apply oil on our head and will be joined by Amma and Kamali for that epic song…. Someone help me here…. Which one is it?..”

Rafi and Lata’s songs will be played in the Bush or Philip Radio amidst karrrrrrrrrrrrr sound and Indira will write the wordings on the wall.

Indira, Radha, Kannan and myself were then the dare devils then for bursting the noisiest firecrackers. The whole stock of firecrackers will get over in some 20 min. or so amidst shouting of parthu, parthu, saree mela pidichukko from balcony. Best balcony accordingly to me built by any builder in Mumbai. This gets over by 6.00 am. We then have our Diwali sweets . By 8.30am I will have some mark or the other on my shirt… chutney or mulagapudi to invite the wrath of someone…. Ivan urupuddavai mattan..

Evening plan will be to visit back waters and then the next day first movie on a screen for me in Krishna…. CARAVAN… staring Jitendra.