Rediff Logo Life/Style Banner Ads Find/Feedback/Site Index
HOME | LIFE/STYLE | COLUMNISTS | VILLAGE VIGNETTES
April 3, 1997

PERSONALITY
TREND
FASHION
SPECIALS
ARCHIVES

A Ganesh Nadar

Dominic Xavier's illustration

My dad seemed pleased
to be rid of me

I used to rise at 7 am to face my mom's disapproving look. "Daddy is already in the shop" was the morning rhyme. I ignored her, grimaced and wondered what I was doing here.

Life in Bombay, when you were running a grocery shop, was existence in its purest form. The question of living never arises. From 8 o'clock in the morning to 11 o'clock in the night, it was the same routine - smile at your customers, take their orders, pack the goods and hand it over. In those days, packed goods were not the trend. The customers liked to see, feel and sometimes taste what they were buying.

In the afternoon, after lunch, I barely had time to yawn. I used to go to Masjid Bunder on the harbour line. That's where the wholesale market was. One does feel sleepy after a good meal, but I had to take a local train. The locals in Bombay have pickpockets who know that the shopping hours for Bombay's retailers are in the afternoon. They also know that shopkeepers carry a lot of cash because issuing cheques means accounting, which leads to income tax.

Masjid Bunder's roads are clogged with lorries, mini vans, bullock carts, hand carts and bicycles. They are either loading or unloading. Coolies run at phenomenal speed, even when they are carrying 100 kg bags of rice on their backs. I avoided the vehicles and the coolies with great difficulty. One brush with a coolie and the stink of sweat won't leave you for the rest of the day.

To add to my woes, there are vendors on the footpath. Navigating these roads, bargaining for the goods and then paying my bills... I was usually sick by the time I had to return. On the return journey by the local, I had the company of Bombay's irresistible office goers. Jam-packed was an understatement.

I reached home crushed, had time for one cup of tea before I was back in the shop. In bed at midnight, I confided to my wife that I had decided to call it a day. She, dear girl, was thrilled as she was a pure-bred village girl. I expected my Dad to explode, but nothing like that happened. He seemed pleased to be rid of me. My friends were surprised, but nobody dissuaded me.

Dominic Xavier's illustration The journey from Bombay VT to Madras by the Janata Express was hot and uneventful. In Madras, we stayed with my married younger sister. She was shocked that I was retiring at 30 years. But she kept her counsel.

In the evening, I boarded the Nellai Express on the metre gauge to Tirunelveli. Here it was more entertaining because Tamilians are very friendly and love to gossip. We chatted all the way on the 15 hour journey. By the time we got off, we knew the life history of all our neighbours. From Tirunelveli, we boarded a passenger train to Tiruchendur. This was pulled by a coal engine.

It took one hour 45 minutes to travel the 40 km to my village. At Kurumbur station, we alighted. The station master made sure that we had got off and had removed all our luggage before he showed the green flag. I smiled as I wondered what would happen in Bombay if the guard paused to check if the passengers were all right every time he flagged off a train.

I had to walk one kilometre to get a cab, which would take us two kilometres to my village. The minute we landed up in the village, we were swamped with relatives. Everybody had somebody in Bombay. They all wanted messages or assurances of good news. Some had sent money for their families which I dutifully handed over. Others had wanted to send packages which I had refused.

Cleaning the house was quite a pain as it was huge, compared to Bombay standards. My wife did it with the help of my numerous aunts and cousin sisters. Here, everybody was related. It was, sometimes, a blessing. But if you needed privacy, you were doomed. Everybody interfered in everybody's business.

Illustrations: Dominic Xavier

CONTINUED

HOME | NEWS | BUSINESS | CRICKET | MOVIES | CHAT
INFOTECH | TRAVEL | LIFE/STYLE | FREEDOM | FEEDBACK