HOP...SKIP...& BUMP!

Staying away from home kinda makes you homesick. The tendency to sulk and brood over the comforts of your home, craving for home cooked food, love, caring and attention accentuated every time I returned Delhi after a break and promised myself to cut down on my home coming trips so that I could do away with this lingering feeling of missing home so much. So strong was this feeling that once me and a couple of friends literally screamed in sheer delight when we spotted a Maruti 800 bearing Assam registration near India Gate!
The episode which made me scribble this in the first place is rather interesting.
It’s about a person called Tamuli. Tamuli is my Aita’s tenant; he still is a tenant as on date. He frequented Delhi quite often and Aita would send me cakes, biscuits, pickles, pithas and sometimes even vegetable tenga through him. During those days I had a pager and he would send me the weirdest of message to come and collect my things from him. He usually stayed in one particular hotel in Ashoka Road. I burst out laughing out loud and so did my class mate Pooja when my pager beeped and I read this “Please meet me at room no.102 after 6.00 p.m. – Tamuli”!
It was so amusing that the message was relayed to everyone in the class and we all had a good laugh. As I got ready to visit Tamuli, by the grace of God I chanced upon to meet Silver! I tagged Silver along with me, I told him that I had some urgent work and that if he’d accompany me I’d treat him to momos in Dilli Haat later in the evening. Silver readily agreed and we hopped in a DTC bus to meet Tamuli.
Tamuli was in the lobby and was walking up and down the aisle impatiently. As he saw me with Silver tagged along his smile slightly paled!
He said, “I thought you’d come alone”.
“Well, we had some work together and so thought of dropping here and meeting you, why?” I asked
He didn’t say anything and suggested that we either go to his room or sit in the restaurant. He asked “Are you people hungry?”
Before I could say anything Silver said “Oh! Yes! We are famished”.
So we went to the restaurant – Coconut Grove which incidentally was famous for its South Indian cuisine during those days. I don’t know whether it still holds true after these long years. We ordered chicken dosas and filter coffee. The dosas, I must tell you were one of the best I’ve ever tasted and it was big enough for three people actually!
Tamuli’s wallet was slimmer by a thousand rupees for three dosas and three filter coffees. Having filled our appetite as we walked out of the restaurant I asked Tamuli if Aita had sent anything.
He sheepishly looked at me and said “No”. He further added that he “wanted to meet me”; that I should take him “shopping” and also earnestly urged me not to tell a soul (read Aita & his WIFE) that he had met me in this visit of his. The reason was simple, my semester exams were approaching. Aita knew it and hence she didn’t send anything this time.
We decided to meet the next day since I didn’t have classes. I said I’d arrive by noon and would show him around.
The next day as promised I reached the hotel right on dot. I called him from the reception and within ten minutes or so he came. This time he was rather pleased to find that Silver was not tagging along with me. I took him to the British Council Library first where I had to return a few books and he was left speechless to see the library. Our very own District library was the only one he thought was a magnum opus!
Then I took him shopping. We first walked through Janpath, since he couldn’t make up his mind what to pick and what not to we headed to Sarojini market where he picked up a few odd stuff. And he kept suggesting me that I should buy something for myself too. I kept declining this offer. From Sarojini we went to Ansal Plaza and finally to Dilli Haat where he bought a few bed covers. He handed me one inspite of me repeated Nos. he said he wouldn’t have my No as an answer and we parted our ways, though I am hundred and one percent sure he would have loved to kept me latched on to him longer.
When I narrated this to my friends they were amused and at the same time they said I was an “Idiot” not to have shopped at his expense!
The story doesn’t ends here.
I kept recalling how he pleaded me not to tell anyone back home that he met me in his this visit. I didn’t understand what was wrong in telling Aita about it.
My exams were over and I decided to visit home before our summer projects started, very gleefully forgetting about the “homesick” part!
It was good to be home again. I t was good to be treated like a princess and all I did the whole day was eat, sleep and meet friends or go for long drives.
It was quite “routine” for Tamuli and his wife to have a cuppa tea with Aita at 7.30 p.m. I never understood this arrangement and I was never keen to be part of their conversations in any ways.
It was just this routine thing going on when I reached home after meeting some friends. Aita asked to me sit down with them and try the “kata nimkis” Tamuli’s wife had made. I tasted them and I must appreciate that she did a fairly nice job.
Suddenly the Devil in me came to the forefront. I asked Tamuli’s wife offhandedly “Bou, has the colour of the bed covers faded?”
She asked me “Which bed covers?”
“The ones Tamuli da bought the last time he was in Delhi, in fact he gave me one and when I washed the colours came out.” I also advised her to wash the bed spreads separately just in case!
To this date I’ll never forget how constipated and cramped Tamuli’s face looked, the erroneous hunch on his wife’s look and my poor Aita all bewildered!
And as for my own self I never thought I could get this bitchy!
Bou – in Assamese brother’s wife is referred as bou
Da: short form for dada – brother.
Aita: Grandmother

As a part of the course, internships/ apprenticeships were compulsory for us. My classes started at 2.00 p.m and it continued till 8.00 p.m, six days a week. We had two classes everyday – a set of two classes stretching for three grueling hours.

I thoroughly enjoyed a few classes – especially the ones in Creative taken by Mr Sujit Sanyal, we never looked in our watches no matter even if the class stretched beyond 8.00 p.m. But that was not the case always, our craving for bunking classes were at its highest when we had our Market Research or Statistics classes. And it was simple to do that. Our classrooms were on the ground floor and the windows had no iron grills or railings whatsoever. So what we did was when we had a stats class at the 5.00p.m-8.00p.m slot, we’d attend the first half i.e. from 5.00 p.m to 6.30 p.m – after which we had a ten minutes break to freshen up. In this ten minutes we did stash our bags out off the windows, go out and before anyone could get a hold of a thing or two we were as free as birds!

Our mornings were kept free for our apprenticeships.

I remember my first assignment. Someone form the Indian Express Group came over to brief us about the Company and explained us what we were required to do. The publication had some sets of tabloids (the Business publication division) which were not on the stands for sale but one had to subscribe those – example there was one called Express Computers, then there was one for Hotels, one on beverages so on and so forth. So our job was to get subscriptions for these tabloids.

http://www.expressbusinesspublications.com/

We were handed a kit with a bunch of papers – a track sheet to keep a list of people visited, daily sales record, daily traveling expenses and a pack of visiting cards with the Indian Express logo where we had to write our names ourselves in the “Represented by…………………….” space.

I was elated. My first job, so what it was just part time termed as “Apprenticeship”. When I called home and told my people they couldn’t believe their ears. Just two months in Delhi and I have a job with such a renowned publication…

So every morning I would take out the map and read the Connaught Place carefully and then make my visits – one day it was the Barakhamba Road, the next day it was Kasturba Gandhi Marg and the next was Janpath - it was here in Janpath that for a moment I lost my interest towards my job and the lines of shop – be it clothes, accessories and all the jing bang which lured me! And I decided that the next Sunday that was on its way would be spent exploring the beauty of Janpath – of the shops, of gorging on the road side veggie burgers and cold coffees and yes indulging on those aromatic essential oils and perfumes…

The Indian Express work continued till our classes ended for the Diwali break. I got ready to come home after five rigorous months of living on my own.

It was the last day before our Diwali break, when our Dean surprised us by handing us chocolate boxes when we all anticipated she would give us our 1st term mark sheets as well as a dressing down! The icing on the cake was when we all received our pays, a cheque of HSBC bank – the sum was nominal – it was around 2800/- but its worth was more than the figures it reflected.

It was after all my first pay cheque!

I remember Dipli (my cousin again who was doing her Literature studies & working for Katha) advising me not to join any sort of associations when in Delhi. I didn't ask her why she said that, she must have had her good reasons to caution me and at the same time even I am not the type of some who’d be interested to join any groups!
During those days the number of Kharkhowas was quite less compared to what it is now. I chanced to meet a few whacko’s who camped behind NDSE-I – they stayed on the fifth floor of a building – it was a big open space with two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. They were seven of them – two girls and five guys – a bunch of crazy people who lived life totally on the razor’s edge.
During those days cell phones were by no means a commodity as common as it is now. Only the rich and the affluent owned these gadgets. The seven wretched souls who lived on that terrace had a fine arrangement made – there was a PCO in the ground floor. The agreement was made that whenever a call was made to any of the seven fellas, the PCO guy should press a bell which rang on the fifth floor. And if that wasn’t enough, they had a chart stuck on the PCO with their names written and the number of times the PCO guy should ring the bell. For example if the bell was buzzed once it was for Mac, if it was buzzed twice it was for Partha, if buzzed thrice it was for Pomi…. so on… till it buzzed for seven times! It was funny to see them listen to the annoying buzz attentively and then run down hurriedly the entire flight of stairs to speak to whoever called…!
Many a weekends were spent partying on that terrace. There had been times when all of a sudden the gas cylinder would be exhausted in the middle of our partying sessions and the guys would burn stacks of newspapers to cook the food! They used the same set of bucket and immersion rod to heat water for a bath as well as boil pork! And I’ve seen Mac washing and cleaning cabbage with a scrubber!
Mac is one of those rare people I could go on and on writing – he has made us walk to Chanakya cinema to watch movies… he once took me & another girl called pinky for snacks and tea in Bengali sweets in NDSE-I and as we were through Mac asked both of us very seriously “Are you girls wearing high heel?”
“No” came the reply from both of us.
“Good” said Mac. He further added, “How fast can you girls run?”
We got an inkling of what he would suggest next, so both Pinki and me decided to pay the bill!

Winters make me nostalgic and remind me of my days in Delhi. I loved the winters in Delhi. Chilling cold and good enough to make you forget the gory summers plus an opportunity to smartly adorn jackets, pullovers and oh yes! Gorging tandoori chicken with shots of “Rums-Up” (that is rum & Thums Up)!
There are numerous incidents, instances and experiences which makes those moments truly some of the “best days of my life”.
I landed in the New Dlehi Railway Station one hot June afternoon. Getting down from the Rajdhani Express, the heat seemed to rip me and my senses off for at least some time. The train was on time and I spotted Ron & Rupa Pehi waiting for me. This was however now my first time, it was the second.
The first visit to this capital city was four months earlier in the month of February to clear my psychometric tests, group discussions and one grueling round of interview to get myself admitted into Delhi School of Communication for my PG studies. It was a two day visit and I didn’t have much time in hand. All I did was visit PVR in Saket and watched Air Force 1 with another cousin of mine Viki and his friend, both of whom were doing their MBAs from MDI Gurgaon.
But things would be different this time. My stay would not be mere 2 days. It would be counted in years and I knew I had to make the best use of it.
The year was 1998. I had just completed my B.com and awaited results. But I had cleared my MAT even before appearing for my B.com finals for I didn’t wanted to waste time thinking hard what to do next. Advertising was my call and DSC was the institute I knew I could not go wrong in choosing.
I was feeling quite at home because I was camping with my cousins for a few days in GK Enclave1, until Preeti my would be room mate (someone I’d known since my Gauhati Commerce College days, senior to me by two years with a big crush on Niki- another Guwahati Cousin) arrived from her vacation. Preeti was doing her MBA from EMPI Business School and stayed in a PG accommodation in the K block of South Extention II.
She called me once she was back i.e about two days after I had arrived. I hadn’t seen much of Delhi, but just passed by the Ring Road every morning when Ron & I went to drop Ron’s sister Paro to IP College I kept my own landmarks – just in case I found myself lost!
I moved into K2, NDSEII and lucky enough I was just a walking distance from my institute if I took the short cut through Masjid Moth. And the swanky shops and malls in the either side of the Ring Road – NDSEI & NDSE II would keep me quite occupied I pacified myself. Preeti and I shared a room with another girl called Juhi who was a Gujrati and an architect. But I hardly got to see her much as our timings were set in such a way that when she was in the room I was attending my classes and when I was indoors she was out on her assignments!
The next room had two more girls – their names I cannot recall now but they were good. And very soon this place became my home. We shared all our day’s experiences, we laughed, bullied each other, came to each other’s rescue when any one of the girls exceeded the “curfew” time!
There was one more lesson to be learnt though. I realized that spending time with friends’ everyday for a few hours and staying with the same friends together were quite different! I am not complaining.
My stay in K2 NDSEII lasted for about three months. I knew I had to move out when one fine day I found the unimaginable – there was a scratchy feeling in my head and to my utter horror i realized that the ugly little devils also known as “lice” had built their nest on my mane and when I took up this issue others seemed okay with it! For them it was something very mundane. And for you it might seem a bit over the top but I decided to pack my bags and move out!

For the last year and half I had a job to die for… a job my friends envied… being associated and working for one of the most renowned and oldest brand not only of India but of overseas as well, I thought nothing could go wrong, I mean nothing could be more perfect than this. But somehow the world does not stop revolving there.
People acknowledged me with a new found respect when I said I was with Hindustan Lever Ltd (then) and later it was Unilever. A company as big and mighty as Unilever surely knows how to keep employees happy and satisfied.
I’ve come across people who’d ask for my visiting card not because they wanted to know about my official details but because of the Company logo that glittered on the right hand top corner of the 3x2 card!
And when I finally said goodbye to my job, people in the immediate circle were left perplexed. The reason I shall come in due course, but at first let me tell you about the job I loved so much.
My job was that of a product trainer. Though I didn’t have targets every month, it was all the trainings and workshops we did that finally showed the rise in the excel sheets every month end in terms of products sold and revenue earned. So I was indirectly helping increase sales. The scenario is different now, there are four or five T.Os (training Officers) now, but when I was around I was solely responsible for the NESA region. This meant extensive and rigorous traveling.
Travelling is perhaps a major criterion why I accepted the job with a glee. I got to see many places… some places which otherwise would have never even occurred in my travel itinerary to have a “dekho”.
Traveling also meant facing all odds when not at all expected- be it unanticipated delays, road blockades, landslides, getting stuck in knee deep water, missing the last bus home, finding the hotel room not up to the standards.. you name it and I’ve faced it! But it’s these odds which have turned me more practical and logical for once, persuaded me to think of the box because no two situations were alike and I was on my own amidst a swarm of total strangers. A big lesson I learnt was having cash not necessarily comes in rescue. It’s the 3 Cs which has helped me overcome unforeseen situations – the 3 Cs rightly being COOL … CALM… & COLLECTED… and oh yes! I forgot to mention my portable MP3 who like a loyal spouse kept me company in my numerous sojourns and during that phase of my life when I felt I was actually living a life out of a suitcase!
And during these sojourns some faces I saw quite regularly, so much that except for their names I knew them by their faces and vice versa! The drivers & conductors of two Volvos – Dibrugarh & Itanagar route. Infact once my mother-in-law was traveling to Kohima and Nirav went to drop her at the Volvo point. The driver came up to Nirav and asked him “Aji baideo najai?” He further explained Nirav that usually he driven on the Guwahati-Itanagar route but henceforth his route has been changed to Guwahati-Kohima!
And how cold I forget the guy sitting behind the cash counter in Nahar restaurant in Koliabor junction where the Volvos stop for midnight meals? Then there are the two Marwari brothers of Jain Hotel in Jagiroad where you get the lip smacking poori-sabji – especially if you travel early morning and make it to Jain Hotel by 7.00 am. That was my regular halt if I travelled by Company cab to Tezpur or other places…. Here’s also this famous shop where you get the best of pedas in Bokakhat, thanks to Bimal ji… even if I go to Bokakhat after a gap of ten years I just need to make all to him and my wishes will be granted…(pedas off course!). And there were the lobby managers – Subansiri in Itanagar, Kristina in Imphal, Saramati in Dimapur… and a few bell boys! Every time I checked in these hotels their smiles would be same as welcoming a family member home!