आजोबा...

आजोबा - आमचे नाना आजोबा
उंच, ताठ, सदपातळ बांधा,
पांढरे शुभ्र केस - अन् पांढरे शुभ्र च धोतर.
Extremely disciplined.
आई म्हणते - "भाजी कितीही आवडती असो -
रोजची त्यांची ठरलेली - अर्धीच खायचे भाकर..."
काका म्हणतो - "आमच्या लहानपणी खूप होते ते रागीट...
पत्त्यांचा डाव दिसतच - टाकून द्यायचे बम्बा च्या आगीत!"
मला मात्र आठवत नाहीत कधीच ते चिडलेले...
मला आठवतात - शांत आबा - मला फिरायला घेऊन जाणारे...
शाळेतला result घ्यायला जाता जाता - हात मी पटकन दिला सोडून...
अन् येणार्‍या बाइक सोबत accident बसला होऊन...
तेव्हा सुद्धा आठवते - केला नाही त्यांनी त्रागा -
शांतपणे जवळ घेऊन म्हणाले, " खूप लागले आहे का बाळा? "

माझे आजोबा - आमचे आण्णा
त्यांच्या साठी अन् त्यांच्या बद्द्ल लिहावे तितके थोडेच...
मला ते फारसे आठवत नाहीत - पण त्यांच्या गोष्टी ऐकून वाटते -
खरच असणारच ते इथे - आमच्या सगळ्यांसोबत!
प्रत्येक decision - as if - guide करत...
आणि ते असतील बघत - म्हणूनच जाणवते एक अनामिक बळ...
एक अनामिक ओढ - दिलखुलास जगायची - खूप खूप शिकायची!

आजोबा - उगार चे आजोबा
हसत खेळत - जोक्स सांगत - chess च्या moves शिकवणारे...
दर सुट्टीत - ह्या वेळी हरवणार का मला - असा challenge देणारे!
रोज लाइब्ररीत जाऊन पुत्सक बदलून आणणारे -
अन् मला - कोणते नवीन पुस्तक वाचलेस - सांग बघू -
अस excitedly विचारणारे!

आजोबा - अनू चे आजोबा.
बॅडमिंटन चा आमचा डाव चालू असताना -
असायचे ते बाजूला फेर्‍या मारीत - अंगाणातल्या बेंच वर पेपर वाचत...
संध्याकाळ होताच - "लवकर आत या पोरांनो, नाहीतर डास येतील..." अशी हळूच हाक मारत.
पण आम्ही काही जायचो नाही लवकर - तेथेच असायचो खेळत दारात ...
मग काय - डास यायचेच invariably त्यांचा घरात...
आजोबांना asthma, आजी स्वयंपाक घरात -
मग आलेल्या डसांशी आम्ही करायचो दोन हात - त्यांच्या वर मारायचो आम्ही 'Flit' मन मुराद!
खुर्चीवर, कॉट वर, पन्ख्या च्या पात्या वर - दारात अन् खिडकीत -
"We made sure every mosquito was hit!"

आजोबा - अदिती चे आजोबा
बुधवार दुपार चे आजी चे दासबोध मंडळ
सगळ्या आज्यांचे चाले मनोभावे भजन - वाचन...
आम्ही मुले मात्र करत असू अजोबान्शी संभाषण...
आजोबांचे श्रवण यंत्र कसे चालते याचे वाटे - त्या वेळी भलतेच attraction!
खूप खूप गप्पा, खूप खूप गोष्टी - यात मस्त पैकी रमायचो -
आणि पुढया वेळी पुन्हा येऊ म्हणत - दर बुधवारी घरी परत निघायचो...

आजोबा - लट्टू आजोबा.
सुरांची अजिबतच ओळख नसलेल्या मला - पेटी वाजवायला शिकवणारे...
S/W Engg शिकते म्हणल्यावर - त्यांच्या संस्थेचे 'project' करून बघा सुचवणारे...
Second year च्या आम्हा मुलांवर केवढा तो विश्वास दाखवणारे!
"भातुकलीच्या खेळा मधले" गाणे शिकवणारे - आज सुद्धा भेटले की -
Conveyance Deed & Society bylaws हे माहिती हवेच असा आग्रह धरणारे...
दर वेळी भेटले की नवीन काही positive शिकवणारे!

ह्या सगळ्यांचीच आज कुणास ठाऊक का -
खूप खूप आठवण आली ...
आणि आजोबांची काठी घेऊन - हळूच एक चक्कर मारली -
आठवणींच्या गावी...

~Written on 17th April 2016 #Original

I remember...

I remember her when I get up, look at my hands and say the "karagre vasate" prayer and the teaching of being grateful for yet another new day - yet another beginning - that she taught us as kids.
I remember the times she taught us - lots of things - simple things about good habits, discipline, to more complex stuff (Well, stuff that seems complex now, in hindsight) - stuff that we never thought would be so important in life...
I remember those - and appreciate how the little things ingrained over the years have made me who I am today - and I am proud and grateful that I have the privilege of being her grand-daughter.

I remember how she used to scold me for being forgetful and absent minded with school books and stationery. The way she disciplined me when I forgot to keep my bag and books at proper places.

I remember the afternoons spent sleeping next to her - she in her warm, soft cotton saree - well oiled pleated hair, and the soft touch of her hands as she ran them over our foreheads...
I remember her soft yet strong voice as she wove stories for us - stories of heroism - stories of Ramayan, Mahabharat, Krishna - stories of Aesop's fables and Hitopdeshi - sometimes stories from her and grandfather's lives - sometimes completely original stories too - extra-ordinary tales of extremely ordinary people. Stories that sometimes still resonate - that I can still recreate from memory when some DejaVu feeling strikes...
The times spent with her have the power to transport me back to childhood - instantly - and create a warm, soft, very very protective bubble around me - a world I can go back to, whenever the real world becomes a bit too much to handle.

I remember how she taught us to appreciate every day "poli + bhaji" for snacks after school and how "poha/upma" @snack time were "special" occasion dishes - and I can't but appreciate that wisdom - especially now - when eating out/eating special food has become so common in my life, that every day "poli+bhaji / varan+bhaat" seems like a treat...:-|

I remember the times she used to cook my favorite "Golyachi Aamti" - the elaborate way in which she used to make the dough balls and fry them (and I used to hover around the kitchen and wait eagerly to sample them) - and then make the dal to put the balls in.
I remember the spicy comforting aroma that enveloped the kitchen when she added tadka  making the "every day" dal that much more special.
I remember the extremely hot, finger-burning "varan+bhaat" and the super cold dahi she used to mix together - hastily - lest I get late for school.
I remember her urge to make us drink buttermilk - every single day.

Ajji and I :)

I remember the evening ramraksha stotram she used to sing in tune as she went about her daily chores - the tune, her voice, still resonate with me - it is my goto strategy even today, whenever I need "peace".

I remember the long iron scissors with which she used to ask us to cut her nails - how she never trusted a nail cutter - and I remember my apprehension and fear of hurting her as she insisted I always cut a little bit more deeper...

I remember how soft her hands are - just like wisps of cotton - and how she says that's because her आई used to put oil on them.
I remember her smell - warm, comforting - with a mixture of Parachute + Hamam + some kitchen masala.

I remember how her eyes light up whenever she talks about her parents - her childhood home - times spent with अण्णा (my grandfather), and the times मावशी, मामा and आई were growing up.

I remember her strength - strength of character - strength amidst all hardships life hurled - strength to not become bitter - strength to keep helping people - strength to not conform to society's views of things - of strength to bring everyone together - strength she gave us, just by being there - a rock solid support.

I remember all this - and a lot more - and pray that she gets well soon.

I love you very very much Ajji :)
You are my rock :)

PS: I had always wanted to write down the thoughts inside my head - ever since Ajji started keeping unwell - but could never bring myself to do it.
The other day, some writing workshop @office gave us this writing prompt - "I remember..." and I decided to finally pen down all those memories floating around in my head.

One last time...

One last time I want to hit snooze until it's 9.25 on the clock. One last time I want to go tap-tap-tap at A#43 and ask a sleepy K to come for breakfast ASAP. One last time I want to be woken up by K knocking away at my door and me requesting her to let me sleep for 5 more mins. One last time I want to have a night out and walk back to the hostel early morning, to have fresh hot breakfast. One last time I want to sit at my favourite spot in the mess near the window,with upma+sev+corn flakes and a tumbler of hot chai and day dream like there's no tomorrow. One last time I want to forget about the time and have debates/discussions with S&M over any arbit issue @ the breakfast table. One last time I want to read and funnily interpret our horoscopes in all the papers@h11 with C&K. One last time I want to wait at the bus stop near h11, start walking after some time and watch an almost empty tumtum drive past just as I reach staffH. One last time I want to buy the (now rarely adrakwali) chai and 'tilwala' biscuit at Badlu. One last time I want to go to shakti with P and gorge on the unexpected puranpoli/thalipeeth special on the menu. One last time I want to be a part of the registration frenzy at ASC. One last time I want to get frustrated attending calls from Mr.K during MtechApp. One last time I want to doubt the mtechapp algo, spend a long time decoding it with P, only to conclude (for a hundredth time) that 'we should be trusting our algo'. One last time I want to request a song, ask for biscuits or some munchies at teatime@asc.

One last time I want to skip a heartbeat as soon as I see an unread email from my guide in my project folder. One last time I want to have a meeting with sir, discuss/brainstorm/nod, come out confused, totally blank, go in and discuss the same thing again. One last time I want to work like crazy on a paper deadline. One last time I want to forget to eat/sleep/bathe and pore over the bug in my code. One last time I want to curse the traffic and autowallahs at Kanjur for not plying till IIT. One last time I want to carry heavy bags and a laptop and get frustrated looking for an auto at Vikroli on a rainy Monday morning. One last time I want to tease (the now working from 9am-3am) D as Mr.Cinderella because of that one rdb project. One last time I want to have Saturday snacks@mess with C&K. One last time I want to promise C/M to go swimming @6.30 and doze off. One last time I want to swim in the rain till the sky and the rain blurs and merges into one. One last time I want to sit by myself and read a book by the lakeside. One last time I want to take off on the lake side road on a breezy evening and meet AM on her daily walk. One last time I want to go just in time for the aarti at DeviTemple. One last time I want K to forget her room keys,watch youtube lockpicking videos and try breaking the lock on her door. One last time I want to share my craziest ideas/whims/fancies with C. One last time I want to go for aarti@Siddhivinayak and dinner@Visawa with K. One last time I want to go to M's lab and raid her lab 'kitchen'. One last time I want to go on a shopping spree by myself to dmart and crosswords. One last time I want to have crispy roomali masala and sizzling brownie@gullu. One last time I want to (try to)whistle 'kisiki muskurahton pe' (out of tune ofcourse, it's me afterall!) and do the step-dance with K on A wing ground floor. One last time I want to get and give peptalks during placement season. One last time I want to bug D and pull his leg over silly issues. One last time I want to say (and believe) 'sab moh maya hai' during trying times. One last time I want to trip on the uneven road on the way to hostel. One last time I want read athvankar mam's warning of stopping the stipend and rush to sign the kresit attendance register.

One last time I want to zooom down the slope to hostel on my blue bicycle. One last time I want to order a cheeseburst pizza and watch FRIENDS re-runs with C&K and laugh till our sides ache. One last time I want to sit @the porch lazily on a Monday morning, reading newspapers and watch the sprinklers water the hostel gardens. One last time I want to come home dead tired, drop down on the bed and find the moon peeking at me through the window. One last time I want to wake up to the glimmer of powai lake outside my window. One last time want to relive the past three years of my life. One last time...

PS: One last time I want to wait impatiently with A and wish the clock on the asc wall ticks as fast as it can. One last time I want to hear A say his golden words 'ayushya asach asta...*sigh*'...'