103 Shivajinagar, Nagpur

103, Shivajinagar;

That is the address of what used to be my grandfather's home in Nagpur. Every summer and Diwali vacation was spent in the loving environs of that house. I thought that it would be good to write down my memories of that house. If you stood in front of it you would see a small gate and a big gate for cars to enter and exit and very convenient to swing on. As you entered the small side gate with its unique grill made of a whole lot of a pattern very much like the letter U, all painted in black and sky blue, you came into a front yard. On the left was a small garden. This was fenced in with a grill, about waist high, with bars painted black and sky blue as well. In this garden you would find every conceivable variety of flowers. Starting with roses, kanheri, bougainvillea, shevanti, sadafuli, hibiscus, jai, shevanti, madhumalati and at the far end mogra. Mogra (jasmine), the kind that is hard to get now, thick with multiple layers of petals and extremely fragrant.

All these flowers and vines were planted around a lawn. At the far end was the little pond in which we learnt how to swim, and which at some later point in time had frogs and lotus in it. On the right of the pond as you went to the side of the house in order to make your way to the back of the house, there were various fruit trees planted.

There were pomegranate and three orange trees. These never bore fruit in the entire time that I remember. As you made your way behind the house, you could see banana trees, a mango tree, 2 guava trees with different varieties of guava. The guava trees were very climber friendly and therefore great fun. In addition, they bore the most delicious guavas. As you reached the backyard of the house you would see a big lime tree, hanging low , filled with green limes. There were vegetable beds and there was a drumstick tree. We had neem trees, yellow bell flowers , parijatak tree and many Ashoka trees. In the back aangan was a tulsi vrundavan. Around this was where the Diwali fort was built with miniature plastic players acting as the soldiers.

If the grounds were bursting with fruit and flowers, it was only a reflection of the extremely vibrant atmosphere inside. A true picture of a hara bhara parivaar. My grandparents at the helm, my parents, uncles and aunts, us 8 cousins and Pandit the cook and maids.

The house itself was 2 levels, a veranda at the ground level and a balcony at the top. A big terrace at the back of the house on the upper level. Every summer my grandfather would set out the folding iron beds in the front lawn and we would sleep there. One of the distinct memories that I love to go over and over again is waking up to the fragrance of mogra right beside my cot. I remember rolling out mattresses in the terrace and sleeping there only to have to run in when it started drizzling. The old record player and the most amazing collection of records. The freedom to do just as we pleased.

Madhumalati

I visit that house many many times in my dreams and thoughts. I find it very difficult to reconcile to the fact that it doesn't exist anymore. My grandfather passed away and a few years later so did my grandmother. The house had be leveled to make way for multistorey apartments keeping with the current trends. But for me it's a place that exists in a very physical way inside my mind.