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.