Growing up in Hyderabad old city - Part 5

One of the things i disliked is to attend a tuition class. The more i protested the more i got. The House adjascent was the Mandliks Residence. The first floor was rested out to a Kannada family. A lady in that family was my first tutor. The evening time around 5 pm or later was perfect time to play. But i had to go to the tuition. Being in second standard i did not get much attention for my protests. My point was that i enjoy studying by myself. I was never a topper, did not bother my standing in the class. I enjoyed reading stories. The English reader in Class I, had nice stories that I would read on chapters in text book like the way some watch multiple episodes on Netflix. I remember only one story from my English reader of Class I, "Kutchus Glasses". The story had a middle aged Kutchu looking for his reading glasses. When he asks his wife to look for it, she points to his nose. they are on him all the time.

That's me in 1980.

In the Mandlik residence lived one of my school teachers, Mrs. Gokhle. She was also staying on rent in a portion of the ground floor. She would ask me to do some or the other task. Once she sent me to another teacher, Lata madam staying on the first floor at Gangakhedkars house at Bela Cross road. I was to bring a tree made of think wires decorated with thin green wire shaped like leaves and a number of marble(Goti for old timers) balls enclosed in a web of thin wire, to appear like fruits. It was a nice piece of art.  I went and collected it and started walking back. It started raining. I ran as fast as i could. When i handed over the tree to Mr Gokhale, she pointed to a hallow place. One of the marbles fell out. I got scolding from both the teachers for not walking carefully. Then on whenever I entered Mandlik house, either for tuition on the first floor or while playing with the Mandlik sisters, Rupali and Sonali, I would try to avoid Gokhale madam. Mandliks had a baby boy Neelesh, still a toddler then. On one occasion my mother and Mandlik aunty were chatting in front of the house, I went and stood close to Aunty holding Neelesh in her arms. The baby got interested in my hair, he clutched and pulled up my hairs with both hands. I had to be rescued. After a few months my parents stopped sending me to tuition. I was very happy for few days. Then I had to go to Lata madam. I found a few of my class mates there, including Ramesh. This tuition continued until my school was changed.

My mother took us to Telegu movies at Sudha Talkies and Menaka Talkies. Most of them were black and white mythological movies. Few in Colour were “Lava Kusha”, “Sardar Paparayudu”. Occasionally mother took us to watch Kannada movies at Padmavati theater in Kachiguda. I can recall “Halu Jenu”, “Keralida Simha”, “Shehnayi Appanna”. When my elder brother was here on leave, he took me and Diwakar to hindi movie Naseeb in Sudha. My father took us to Qurbani, Shaan, Dostana and a kannada movie “Onde Guri”. There used to be theater by name Royal and Dishaad at Sultan bazar. Watched Shree 420 at Dishad and Sangam in Royal.

My mother with my Sis-in-Law.

 Across the street was the Pathak Building. I saw two very white kids but never ventured across the road to play with them. I know they were not in same school as me. They would be my friends in future. The younger one Ullahas Pathak would be my class mate after about a year, in Raghavendra High School. Until then they were a curiosity.

That year saw another communal violence and curfew. A bus was burnt right in front of Sudha talkies. The smoke flew across and above the house for entire day. Around this time my mother had an accident. She was to carry boiling hot water from kitchen to bath room, the utensil turned spilling hot water on her left leg and hand. Her leg has burns up to knee. Took several months for her to heal. The scars remained permanently.

She was better by the time of brother’s wedding. The wedding was held at Pingali Venkatarama Reddy Function Hall, Opposite to Indira park. My relatives arrived from Hubli, Banglore and Lonavla. The three younger brothers of my dad, Mohan kaka, Ranganna kaka, Venkatesh kaka and my Grandma arrived form Hubli, my Aunt (fathers sister) Chandrawathi arrived from Bangalore. My mothers side arrivals from Hubli included, my mom’s elder sister, my cousin Laxmana Koliwad with family, Vahini,  Ravi, Shaila, Vijayalakshmi, Veena and Vani. Muralidhar unle, a cousin of my dad arrived from Lonavla , another cousin Chudamani kaka lived in Hyderabad at Ramnagar. Those who could not attend my brothers marriage included, two aunts Manjakka (Tadas) and Shantakka(Dharwad). Shantakka passed away recently in 2020. Chandrawathi passed away in 2019 at Banglore. I tried to find any photos of that time. The marriage album is in my brother home. Have to look up on my next visit.

Growing up in Hyderabad old city - Part 4

In the summer of 1981 it was again time for annual mango pickle preparation. A relative Kahsikar, who lived in Ramnagar, Adikmet has come home. My father and Kashikar kaka together had gone to buy the dry mangoes along with Kashikar kaka. They purchased the mangoes, had them chopped to pieces. They started walking towards the main road to find a cycle rikshaw. My father slipped and as he hit the ground the bag in his left hand went under his left thigh. He could not get up. Kashikar kaka brought him to home and left with is bags. In the evening our neighbor Prasad suggested not to wait till next day. My father was taken to a bone setting center at Shalibanda. There he was told that it could be fracture. He was taken to Osmania general hospital. My father underwent a surgery to insert stainless-steel plate and screws. My father remained admitted for more than a month. My mother had tough time for next few months. My mother got us bothers bathed, dressed for school. Packed our lunch boxes and for my father. After we left for school she would go to the hospital. She would be back by 3 pm to pick the children, then we all went to the hospital. On some days I did not want to go. It must have been difficult to leave me with neighbor.

Osmania general Hospital

My father liked to talk about interesting things or tell stories. He continued that during hospitalization. He told me about the tree in the Osmania General Hospital premises that was used by many during Musi river flood. He told me that Musi river had flood in 1908.The flood created a big craters on the road from afzulgunj to Chadarthat. About 150 people climbed on to the branches of the Tamarind Tree in the Osmania General Hospital. My mother showed the tree on one of the days . My father spoke of the Central library in afzulgunj. He frequented the library to refer books on Astrology. Astrology was a hobby. There would be many requests to my father to prepare horoscope for newborns, to check on horoscopes for marriage. My father had a trunk full of Panchangs one for each year. Oldest was from 1950. 

My father was discharged from hospital after along stay. But after few weeks he went again. The steel plate and screws used did not allow him to fold his leg. He could not sit on floor. I learnt some days later that left leg is about a inch shorter. The join to hip bone using the steel plate and screws was a little higher than the normal position. The doctor who operated it planned another surgery to set it right. Two days before the scheduled date another senior doctor advised against it. The bone has joined nicely and it does not make sense to break for adjustment. The alternative was to customize the footwear. From then onwards my father had the left shoe and left sandals or chappals attached with about 1-inch high heel. The the steel plate and screws remained in his body until January, 1998. I recovered them along with Asti (bones and ashes) after cremation.   

Tamarind tree on Musi bank near Osmania general Hospital

I remember in my child hood days a colorful calendar hanged in my home. It was a Russian calendar for four years. 1978 to 1982. It had beautiful photos of Russians gymnasts, different cultural dresses, dancers, buildings, snow filled scenes. I wish it was preserved. My father had bought books on freedom fighters. One was a big book with comic like illustrations on Subhash Chandra Bose. Vishalaandhra Book House on Bank street, Abids was a favorite shop for my father. I heard from my uncle, Mohan M Kulkarni that my father would take my uncle to abids on Sundays. There was and still is a street market for old and second-hand books. My book collection started around that age. I started going to Vishalaandhra Book house with my father. The collections continue to this day. My father had Kannada Mahabharata. We did not see him read to us. He had entire Mahabharata in his head. Based on his mood he would narrate one or the other part of it. He used to tell about M. S. Golwalkars visit to Hyderabad and speeches at Goshamahal grounds.

He used ot tell about Savarkars journey from his days in England to his death. My father being born in 1927 was only 17 during quit india call of 1942. He said many leaders from Bombay had to flee arrests overnight. Some reached belgavi. Some reached Shiggavi 2 days later and stayed our home. My grand father being a teacher and government employee was not suspected. But there was house to house search in many villages in coming weeks. He said the Army would surround the village. The police would scan through the village. He did confirm that in those days RSS did not openly join the quit India movement. He mentioned of watching movies in theaters in Hubli for viewing news reels. The News reels contained the current progress of world war.

My grandfather was sitting with some of the villagers who were back after serving in WW II. They were narrating their experiences. They were talking of having to us English. When they saw someone coming from a distance they would say “Hukums der”, “Pondra po”. Actually these words were  mispronunciation for “Who comes there” and “Friend or foe”. Soldiers were not literate or some new to read and write in mother tongue, but would pick up languages based on where they went. Some could speak french. Some picked persian. My grand father would get transferred, he was in places like, Shiggavi, Savanur, Haveri, Dharwad. Our ancestral home was in Aralikatti. Hubli was nearest city and that is where my grans father moved in with family. My father had three brother and four sisters. The youngest brother was only 6 years older than his eldest son, my brother Dattatraya. They had good time together until my father moved to Hyderabad. My grandfather never visited Hyderabad. He passed away in Hubli. My grandmother, Tungabai is well known among our neighbours in old city. He used to spend 4-6 months with her eldest son, my dad in Hyderabad, rest of the time with my uncle Venkatesh M Kulkarni. The other two uncles Ranganath and Mohan grew up in Hubli. Ranganath moved to bangalore. Mohan lives in Hubli.