Have you ever thought how a normal place becomes
special? I also thought a numerous times about why sudden places feel so exceptionally
beautiful and special and it never changes though time passes by.
Let me introduce to one of the most special
places that have occupied my heart and soul till date. I am talking about my
maternal uncle`s home at Durgapur. Whenever I remember the childhood vacations I
remember this small town Durgapur with countless memory.
Being a kid made the small world of mine look
bigger which always began with school and ended with the school friends. The
school had different taste altogether – new friends, new curiosities, new
excitements and ‘new’ everything. But what was major missing in the school was
my grandmother whom I fondly call ‘Didun’. As every time me with my siblings –
Ena and Rivu along with my mom landed in Durgapur; a sheer excitement used to
crawl in our souls.
The place used to excite me from top to
bottom and used to always leave asking for more. My grandfather was always a
story teller whose stories used to end in middle while he ended up snoring. While Didun was busy making pickles and cooking normal dishes in a special way.
Mama had his own majestic way of valuing us more as he returned from his
beloved office much early than the normal reserved time. My mom`s sister whom
we fondly called ‘Manni’ used to be the ‘RINGMASTER’ of the family CIRCUS and
was an absolute disciplined PRINCIPAL of the amazing home.
As we reached there every bit of the nature
around us seemed to be different. There was a ground in front of the quarter
and we used to generally play and return home with muddy legs and few scratches
here and there. The pain of the scratches used to vanish as we panicked seeing Manni
introspecting the bruises and wounds.
Other than the big green ground the other thing
that excited me was the food. It started with amazing but fat-free breakfast, lunch
with delicious fish curry ,evening was generally favored with deep fried ‘pakoras’
and tea (though we were not allowed to have tea- being ‘KID’) and night ended
with watering yummy vegetable curry.
I always looked for an option to go up to the
rooftop. The plants that were nurtured with care was often the most beautiful
thing to see and feel. Going up and down by the stairs either with the water
cans or bringing down the pickle or carrying the dried clothes were the little
reasons I always looked forward to make my way to the rooftop.
Those days were different and stealing milk
powder with bro from kitchen in the afternoon was an absolute pleasure or a little more of
being at playground with sis made it seem more special or asking for a little
bit of sleep in the daylight everything little thing had its own pleasures.
It was always fun how a normal place stands to
be special because of the people you are around. I feel every person has their
own little but special memories and is always connected to a place where
actually it is always connected to the people and the souls with whom we spend
our time.
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| The view from rooftop now... |
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| The Quarter |
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| The ground |
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| Trikon Park |
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| Lanes |
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| Roof |
