Bombay Trip at age four !

In 1956, when I was four years old, my father, mother, sister and I made a trip to Bombay. My paternal aunt and uncle with four of their five sons lived in Chembur. As a young kid I was fascinated by trains and yearned to travel in them. I was not too aware of the differences between the inter-city trains and the suburban trains of Bombay and I considered my cousins who traveled by trains everyday the luckiest youngsters alive. I remember to have had a really nice time at my uncle's house in Bombay and that was when I became familiar with Bill Haley and the Comets. I remember my uncle charming me by singing 'Mambo Rock'. I think the roads in Chembur were just then being laid, or at least being relaid, for I have a mental picture of I, my sister and my cousin munching at crisp rusks smeared with tomato ketchup as we were up on the terrace of the house in the hot afternoon sun watching road rollers ply in the distance over the freshly tarred roads again and again. That was the first time I had tasted tomato ketchup and simply loved it with the rusk. We would frequently course through the city in suburban trains and visit various relatives who were scattered over Bombay. I clearly remember my first experience of bhel-puri and paani-puri at the Marine Drive Chowpatty,  and if I remember right, one couldn't get them in Bangalore in 1956. At least I had not heard of it in Bangalore.

Well, it was a wonderful time at Bombay save for the statutory misadventure that I must have everywhere.  On a particular day my parents felt like leaving me with my cousin who was, at 13 years of age, nine years older than me, as they along with my sister went visiting. I was at home with my cousin who was busy with his affairs when at around 5:30 p.m. a friend of his visits. My cousin and his friend are chatting up in the garden of the house as I keep myself busy with some random toys strewn on the floor. At this stage everything with the universe is normal and is just as it should be. I am not complaining and my cousin is chatting up with a friend. After a considerable while, as I am playing with my toys, my cousin comes up to me and says in Kannada -

"Deepak! Naanu ninnage chocolate thogondubarakke hogutthaiddini, neenu illay irrutthiya?"

Meaning "Deepak! I am going out to get chocolates for you, can you remain here?"

I had not even thought of chocolates and suddenly this grand offer was like a divine gift. I agreed with alacrity and abandoned my toys.

"Neenu illay iru gotthaitha? Naanu ninage chocolate thogondu barokke hogutha iddini. Yellu hogabeda!"

Meaning "You remain here understood? I'm going to get chocolates for you. Don't go anywhere!"

As my mind was now keenly fixated on chocolates, I readily agreed to his words. And so it happens that he asks me to bolt the door from inside and quietly departs with his friend. Till about five minutes ago, the thought of chocolate had not even entered my mind. Now that my cousin had tempted me, I couldn't remove my mind from the thought of chocolate.  So I get to abandon my toys and my solo game with them, and stand by the door waiting for my cousin to return with the chocolates. Five minutes (?) pass and he doesn't come. Five more minutes (?) and still there is no sign. I keep waiting and am getting more and more anxious for those delectable chocolates and there seems to be no sign of my cousin. I remember his warning "Don't go anywhere" and decide to wait some more. A long while seems to pass and there is still no sign of him. Where the heck has he gone? Shall I just go across and check up? I decide to wait some more, and after a while I can wait no longer. "Let me check up where he has gone", I say to myself and quietly open the door and venture outside. It is already getting a little dark as I go out looking for him. As I traverse the road I see hawkers peddling large heaps of marbles under the light of kerosene lamps. Over a period of time the thoughts of my cousin and his chocolates vanish. I think of those marbles and gradually move on along the road. As I pass a considerable distance, I think of railway trains and at the same instant think of the Chembur suburban train station. I decide to move thence and with a firm purpose proceed to the Chembur station. I enter and keep scanning the various trains that arrive and depart, when a police constable notices that a very young kid seems to be left alone in the station.  He comes and asks something in a strange tongue. I don't understand what he is saying. I speak something. He realizes it is in Kannada.  He seems to know of a Kannada family that lives a short distance away and hoping that I may belong to that family leads me out of the station. We walk up the road and turn right into one of the crossroads and take a few steps when both the cop and I notice that my cousin has returned in the meanwhile and is anxiously peering out of the window.

I immediately went to bed and the next morning the usual things that happen in such circumstances followed!!

                                xxx