I,Me,My,Mine

Panchmarhi was [and still is] absolutely divine place because much of Gujju consumerism is years away from it, still! And there is a reason for it. All the spots in Panchmarhi are situated far away from the maddening crowd so to devour the real beauty of the nature one has to be literally on his own feet to reach the place, walking. No direct motor-able road so that, you move your heavy posterior just to have a glimpse, eat khakra from the wrinkled paper and throw it away when the task is finished, is not a done thing. It can not be. One has to walk miles to reach fairy pool, now named as Apsara Vihar. Same for Chhota Mahadeo, Gupt Mahadeo or Jata Shankar. Naturally all happy go lucky, merrymaking crowd gets out, actually like in cricket, 'OUT'!

The entire area was under the control of Military so the village Panchmarhi was there but only for the namesake. It was on the other side of the river and one has to cross a smallish bridge on 'Ranee Kund' A lone cinema theatre 'Pearl was in Military area and used to screen popular Hindi flicks for the military men. The night of the viewing was an event in itself. Open trucks in dark green colour used to ferry us from our houses, many a time on such occasions be it a cinema outing, 15th August parade or flag hoisting on 26th Jan. Being on higher rank our family travelled to a cinema hall in Red-coloured car, the model I forget but the 1st movie that I saw in my lifetime, I still distinctly remember, was ' Tilottama'.  The moving frames of hero singing a song for the heroine in an ornate boat, decorated with lots of flowers still linger, sometimes, rest of the details are erased, naturally. Oh, so many memories, I myself even sometimes wonder, how for a lad of just 4 or 5, some still at a younger age, so many things left their vivid impressions, that still could be relived again and again!

I with my wife visited Panchmarhi 30 years after we left it but I could take her to all the places which I was remembering like lines on my palms!

I was enrolled in Preprimary, nowadays called as KG, in Laxmi Balak Mandir just opposite Nana Classes in Sadashiv Peth Pune, after we left Panchmarhi. Quite a distance from my home in Narayan Peth. But many times I repeated my 'Zaria' feat, that is running away from the school to reach home, again at the age of 5 or so.  So Mrs Phansalkar was appointed for the task. She used to carry 3 or 4 like-minded kids in a wheelbarrow type, 4 wheeled pushcart, that was enclosed, almost like a cage. I was a NAUGHTY child no doubt, in spite of all these watertight arrangements I still used to run away from school to reach home to play! One impression of those days is still alive in the back corners of the mind. In a lane between Sadashiv Peth Houd and Umbrya Ganapati Chowk in the by lane on the left side there lived eunuchs. Particularly one eunuch, no he did do anything to me, nor did he come within 100 meters distance from me, I was the one who was curious and used to observe him keenly. I never understood in those days, why he used to wear spik n span clean white male dhoti in the morning though with a neatly tied bun on the top and used to be in complete female attire as the dusk descended. Many years later I read about the clan and still don't know what I feel about them even now, sympathy mostly!

Without knowing the 'A' of Marathi and speaking fluent Hindi, in early years in Pune, we were treated like animals exhibited in the zoo. All the aunts from both the sides used to harass us by making us recite the verses we knew in Hindi. One that was based on me I still distinctly remember.

                              'Nanga Dhadanga, Dhobika ladka

                               Thalibhar Mithaee Chura Churakay Khayee'

I must have recited it ad nauceum.  In those days a toy named 'Toka' was very popular. I was rotund and with full cheeks so I was forced to sit in the pose of 'Toka' in front of every visitor. Legs folded at the knees, hands kept on them with head resting on them in a tilted way, with eyes opened well rounded, exposing your entire iris [Like Ramaya in Bahubali] When I realized the game I started demanding a bribe, which I happily used to get.
She did not teach us anything, never ventured near the school hall, even though she resided in the same premises of school with her only daughter. But she carried a distinct pleasant aura around her that was almost palpable and amounted to simplicity adorned with piousness. Years after when I passed out my secondary board, I came to know that she was the widow of Mr Narayan Apte accomplice of Mr Nathuram Godse. But she always wore her 'Mangalsutra and other married woman's adornments according to the last wish of her executed husband, till her last! Today I feel we were deliberately enrolled in such schools and I am still proud to be a part of them. Gandhism never died, true, but Godse philosophy too Congress could never kill!