Up Birders hills & vales Buddies

મમ્મી પપ્પા

Setting aside a handful of papa’s childhood memories, the lasting ones start in Surat. I have written about his Surat adventures on another page. His close friends from his younger days are all from Surat, and the hostels of Vadodara and Poona, when he was studying there.

Shashikant, Jaidev, Jai’nti & Jai’nti were his closest friends from Surat. All were of similar ages, so I suspect they were classmates in school, as well as neighbours in the Nanavat area of Surat. Shashikant (given name Purshottam) Dalal, and Jaidev (given name Chimanlal) Tijoriwala,  had moved to Bombay at some point of time, before papa got there. Both the Jai’nti’s (given name Jayantilal) Mamawala and Shethiyaji respectively, stayed on in Surat.  Jai’nti Shethiyaji, I don’t know much about, except that papa and he played a lot of bridge whenever we visited Surat. Jai’nti Mamawala lived in a family  mansion nearby. His older brother was described as “Nagar Sheth” (an urban squire) in those days, and the family was quite well off.  He was a scholar and a patron of the arts, particularly of Hindustani Classical music, and Gujarati literature. There were many a “bethak” – musical soiree’s (no parties though!) - at his place, when he invited budding artistes of that period – later to become famed master musicians – to present their skills. This is how papa got hooked on Hindustani Classical music. He was not allowed into the mansion (even though his friend and classmate lived there) especially to the first floor salon! He would sit on the porch and listen to these artistes sing or play instruments. And nights were so quiet in the inner town of Surat, that he could hear all the comments and discussions as well! As it happened, the fortunes of the Mamawala family turned later.

Shashikant kaka was established in Bombay, and we visited him at least once a month. He was a senior executive in Scindia’s (Scindia Steam Navigation Co.), and papa was quite fed up with his job in Metro theatre, primarily because of the enclosed air-conditioned environment of the premises, and as soon as a vacancy was spotted, Shashikantkaka got papa to apply and get the job. Papa was stationed in the warehouse office by the quay in Bombay port. He was thrilled with the open space and sea air! His wife Kokilakaki was a live wire, full off humour, a jolly person. She would describe her as well mummy-papa’s marriage as “rationing marriage”. For those who have not experienced “rationing”, it is how grain was sold in post WW-II India, at controlled prices and quality was “as is”. The shopkeeper’s attitude was “this is what I have, take it, or walk away!” So also with these two girls and boys. No one willing to marry their daughter to the boy, and no boy willing to marry the girl!  She would tease papa, “Sumantbhai, why do you have to go all the way to the Himalayas to climb up and down? Use the staircase of my house, I will not charge you for the wear and tear”. Papa responded with, “come with me just once to the Himalayas, and you will understand the lure”. Kokila kaki said, “I will not climb more than 10 feet, and not walk more than 10 feet”. Papa accepted that challenge with “you pay for the car!”. Three weeks together around Himachal and Kumaon, and Kokila kaki conceded! Their house was loaded with books, and Preserved issues of National Geographic magazine, and Life magazine. Papa mummy would sit and chat, and I would disappear in front of the magazines. Shashikant kaka was the one who motivated me to aim for IIT’s.

Papa was particularly close to Jaidev kaka. He lived with Jaidev kaka for nearly 6 months when papa first came to Bombay looking for a job. He got the Metro theatre job while waiting for Jaidev kaka – who was already employed there – to finish the workday, and the theatre manager came out of his office saw papa waiting in the corridor, “what are you doing here?” started a conversation that ended with papa being offered a job! We have rambled all over the hills around Bombay with Jaidev kaka. He had a motorbike, and got a side car after two fractures in accidents. He was from the same family tree as mummy. He was very health conscious, but did have a few quirks. He ate only raw vegetables for lunch for quite a few years. Whip thin, but wiry.  

I have an inkling that While Karnik was from Surat, they met in Vadodara at MS University. V R Karnik (always called “Karnik”, I don’t even know what the “V” stands for) was from a Marathi family of Poona, settled in Surat, and his command of Gujarati was “better than mine”, said papa. He was an electronics man, and had joined the Indian Air Force and rose to be Air Commodore,  heading the communications group. Papa knew the whole family, and Karnik kaka’s sisters thought of papa as a brother too. Induben, the older of the two, married a fire brigade officer in Bombay – Mr. Shilotri. Shilotri would call papa “Morarajibhai”. Shilotri was a Marathi person, and Bombay city was a bone of contention between the two of three states that were to be spun off from the old Bombay Presidency after independence. Maharashtra – of Marathi speaking peoples, wanted Bombay, and so did the Gujarati’s, who had greater influence in Bombay whose incumbent chief minister was Mr. Morarji Desai. So, the “Morarajibhai” was a bit of a derisive nick name! the roof in our kitchen collapsed in 1962, and I escaped within a hair breadth of injury. As soon as the alert of a house collapse reached the fire brigade control room, Shilotri recognised our address, arrived immediately. After verifying the safety of the remaining structure, he asked papa if he wanted anything specific retrieved from the debris. Papa said, we had some “hafus” (alfanso) mangoes in a basket handing from the beam! Shilotri could not stop laughing, but got his staff to get the mangoes out. Papa was very fond of mangoes, but the first mangoes of the season came to our house only on Ram Navami day. That was mummy’s birthday according to the traditional lunar calendar.

It was 1956, and we were returning from our Kashmir trip. We spent a week at Karnik kaka’s place. He took us all around Delhi.  His younger son Ashok is perhaps 4 years older than me, and later was to join IIT-Delhi. That was inspirational for me too, to aim for IIT after school. Karnik kaka and papa were both smokers. Papa had a “tin” of State Express 555 cigarettes – a top end brand – containing 50 cigarettes. Mummy was always after papa to stop smoking, and I was her devoted disciple in this matter. So, one day in Delhi, I simply flung that tin of cigarettes out of the window, and quickly received a tight slap from papa – my first one!

Karnik kaka retired from the Air Force and moved to Poona. He had always been a heavy smoker, and that caught up with him, and he died of lung cancer soon there after. Papa went to Poona for the funeral, and on return, never touched a cigarette for the rest of his days! The shock of Karnik kaka’s passing was too great for him.

One Poona friend that I know of was Rajabhau Gokhale. They must have been in the same hostel, because Rajabhau was studying law and papa was in the science stream. Soon after I left for IIT-Bombay and hostel life there, mummy and papa decided to visit the tiger sanctuary at Melghat, near Nagpur. Papa realised that the train to Nagpur would stop at Amravati, and that Rajabhau was an advocate practicing at the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. So, he wrote a post card addressed to “Vasant Shripad Gokhale, Advocate, Nagpur Bench, Bombay High Court”, and further wrote, “I don’t know whether you are alive or dead!, but my wife and I will be passing through Amravati railway station on xxx date, in yyy train. It would be wonderful, if you could come to the station, and we could meet for a short time there! Well! Rajabhau and Kusumtai came to the station, dragged papa and mummy out of the train, took them home, and spent a few days together before sending them on, to Melghat! That rekindled contact continued well after we came to Singapore, because Rajabhau’s son, Gopal was also stationed here.