Landing at Bundi: I was five years old when our father moved from Banswara to Bundi. sometimes in the middle of the year 1930. At that time Banswara and Bundi were not connected directly by rail. Nearest railway station of Banswara was at Ratlam and that for Bundi was Kota Junction. There were very few highways or through roads during that period and the condition of local roads was generally very poor. I have absolutely no idea, as to how, we moved from Banswara to Bundi during that period. However, one of the photographs of that period in the family album makes the whole thing look very intriguing. We have been shown coming out of a bullackcart, which had a semi-circular thatched roof. Our first stop at Bundi was in a spacious house located on the eastern side of the walled city of Bundi. It seems, that, we stayed in that house as an interim arrangement for a few months.
Balchand Para: The hill ranges on the north side and south side of the city join in the form of a horseshoe, forming the western end of the city. The valley lying between the hills is narrow and has gradually developed into a neat, clean and open locality with a large number of spacious houses and havelis. The neighbourhood is known as Balchand Para. The main street of Bundi opens from the western gate of the city and after passing through Balchand Para, it runs through the heart of the city and slides down to the eastern and southern gates of the town. The valley and the surrounding hills of Balchand Para are lush green and give a very scenic look. The hills are dotted by all types of houses at almost all levels and are connected by winding paths. Most of the state government offices, including the office of our father were located in this valley. Darbar High School which used to be the only high school in the state was also functioning in this locality. The central part of the valley had a tank known as Nawal Sagar with a temple in the middle. The tank was a centre of attraction for all people of the locality for drawing water for household purposes and for bathing, swimming and frolicking. The palaces of the Maharao Raja of Bundi were located on the eastern flank of the tank. There used to be a big garden on the western flank of the tank, which was later on converted into a big green park. The park was the hub of the locality, where almost everybody spent a few leisure hours, giving it the look of a community centre.
Our habitats in the valley: After a short stay in our first house on the eastern side of the city, we moved to the western end of the city. Our first house in Balchand Para was located on the foothills of the northern part of the hill ranges. It was close to the main street running through the town and had a temple facing it, at the tri-junction. It was a double storeyed house with living rooms on the first floor and baithaks (office-cum drawing room) on the ground floor. The ground floor also accommodated servants quarters and stables and open space for horses, cows and buffalos and for stocking their feed and fodder. We stayed in that house for about four years and then shifted to another house, which was even bigger and had much more accommodation, than what all of us needed. Apart from that, the house also had an open well in the compound for drawing drinking water. There used to be a black cobra living on the ground floor of the house, in the recesses of the main door. The cobra used to roam about freely on the ground floor of the house. The cobra did not harm anybody and was treated as a deity. Finally, we moved to another house on the main street. The house had two independent courts with
living accommodation in one court and baithaks (office-cum meeting room) in another court, which also had sufficient space for servants and stables and open space for horse, cows and buffalows and for stocking cattlefeed and fodder. In addition to our regular accommodation, we used to move to a big house outside the walled city from time to time for a change. Initially, the city did not have piped watersupply, electricity, fans and air-conditioners and any of those gadgets and appliances, which are a normal part of comfortable living these days. But, in retrospect, we feel that, we always felt more comfortable, spending time under the rising sun, with free flow of fresh air and sleeping on the roof tops under the stars. Those days, the doors of our house remained open for anybody and everybody and we grew in an environment, where everybody who knocked the door was welcome.
Our parents: The parents always have a unique place in the lives of children. Love, affection, care and concern of the parents for their children survives all the ups and downs of life. Children are great observers and wonderful learners. They look to the parents, their daily routines, their struggles at home and at work, their interaction with the outside world and their unsatiable desire to equip the children to excel, in whatever the children decide to to. Initially, the children need all the spoon feeding and attention. But, as the children grow, they gradually pick up the spark and thereafter, the role of the parents undergoes a seachange.
Our mother was a simple down to earth lady, who rose from Janupara a small village in Meerut District of UP. She dedicated all her life for the upbringing of the children and was inextricably tied to the household. She would get up early in the morning and could be found turning the grinding wheel ( Atta Chakki ) for providing day’s flour for the family. Soon after, she could be seen in the courtyard feeding the cattle. Thereafter, she would sit on the floor, churning curd with a wooden rai (churner) in a big earthen pot for the separation of butter and buttermilk. Those were the days, when there was no dearth of helpers or attendants at her call, in the house. But, the lady of the house found a sort of satisfaction by undertaking certain tasks herself. Attendants looked after the cattle, but mother was always there, when the cattle were fed. She would personally provide morning refreshment to the attendants and preserved different types of pickles in big jars for distribution to the servants at meals. Those days fresh buttermilk was commonly distributed free to the people in the neighbourhood. Women and children would line up with their pots and get their fill and in the process, mother always had few words with everybody. Those were the bonds, which people had those days with their neighbours. .Mother was always in the kitchen, when the members of the family took breakfast, lunch or dinner. Mother knew the specific preferences of every child and satisfied their needs accordingly. Mother was also a fabulus host. She would fill the tables with all types of delicacies for the guests. As an individual, she was very pious and a sort of stickler for her daily religious routines. Decoration of the house lavishly on all festivals and particularly during Janamasthmi and Deepawali was more or less an obsession for her. She would spend days for the preparation of different types of food for prasad for Annakut. Similarly, she spent months for the preparation, painting and polishing of clay ornaments and tunic of devi sanjhi during deepawali.
Our father spent most of his morning hours on works and evenings in the office. He was normally very quiet and composed and a man of few words. He was always very formal and meticulous about his dress. He used to wear turbans in the office and on works, which were washed and starched everyday. At home, he was fond of furnishing the drawing room with best available carpets and furniture. His shelves in the study room were always full of books. He spent most of his time there, working on his ongoing projects. He looked after all the educational and other needs of the children, without anybody having the need to ask for it. He was good to almost everybody, who came in contact with him. Father also had a small cohesive circle of friends. They were mostly senior officers of the state. He used to invite some of them off and on for dinner. These friends looked after us, whenever father and mother went out of the state for fulfilling family commitments. Father was basically very caring and used to distribute free homeopathic medicines to anybody and everybody, who needed them in the neighbourhood. Snakes, scorpions and water worms were very common in the area at that time. People with scorpion bites used to come to him seething with cracking pain. Father would put few drops of a light rose-coloured liquid in their eyes and within a few minutes the pain would disappear. Even after his working years, his homeopathic medicine chests remained full and were available for all and sundry at all times and provided inspiration to a number of inquisitive youngsters to take on to homeopathy.