naming ceremony- live a moment.

the bell rang and it was ashish , our tenant who had been living for a couple of months in my brother in laws home . Which was just two or three blocks away from us , no so far but in the same plot in same society .It was just that ashish his wife sumita and their newly born son were living at the first floor and the ground was occupied by my sister and her husband. A typical mhada row housing , one plus one type.
        i opened the door , he asked , is there anyone at home ?
yes i said and let his way into the room .we never did spoke also we never had a conversation.
        he said , majhya mulacha barsa aahe .. ya ho ..(my sons naming ceremony is there so come ) and greeted us with small cards . He had two cards one for my sister and one for us , for my sister as they were the land lords and the separate one for our family. Luckily my sister had just been there at our home only this  made his job easier .
        I asked purposefully , so whats the name of your kid. ?All laughed and smiled even he replied .. aree tech tar vaishishtya aahe tya divsacha .( that is only the specialty of that day).Actually to say this naming ceremony had been a very old and long living tradition which we Hindus are following from many generations . every new kid after born is named after few days ,wherein all the members of the family try being present and give there blessings to the young one welcoming him/her to their family by naming them on this day
          Finally the evening came where we had to go to attend the ceremony, but the question was the money envelope to be given. Herein we take a amount this amount gradually increases or decreases as per the relations we have with the person.To say giving 400 to them was something my father didn't meant right . He said , ashi paishyachi udhalpatti kashala ( why do bless so many money ) while we don't have much inherit relations with them. its in fact they should be the one who should be paying you , i guess their last months rent. My father questioned to my sister. But my sister was like the generous type she said its we who should help them as they are just couple in this city with no one to come forward and help.
           and what about their personal relatives who are coming to have a free meal.? my father questioned again.So yes they are coming for a free meal and we have to lend a helping hand, my sister insisted.
            But my father still defended what is the meaning behind two 'lifafe' envelopes, and my sister again replied they gave two cards na dada .And they went on further nothing much to speak .I had always been a listener and was doing that job only.
            So to just summarize the whole thing is that how people living in these small niches and corners of city actually spent a day or so in their life .Thinking about other body except for us at times and even arguing at a positive level with their own family men and coming to a point a point which every men shall not satisfy with. How the naming ceremony in India is considered so auspicious and is done by gathering of the whole community.Rather than in states wherein they have to name the fellow as and when he is born .Well for me its this small things in life that make our life a bigger than we expect we live a moment that cannot be cherished anytime else .

P.S: The boy was named Kevin , again a thing to be amazed for a marathi to be named as Kevin how shall it sound when spelled . well that's the whole scene adapting something new as we grow..

Mamledar-Tc office-home (bombay)

         As we had planned to go at the Mamledars in thane a very short and all the time busy with people with some rush in their minds. Me, nikhil, reu, kaustubh and kevin had been to this place many times but for niyati it was the very first time that the would be visiting a hub like this , and i guess she didn't was very impressed with the place .Its like if she had not been there would had not mind much by then.Well we ate their misal paav , as every one at every table did ,also that misal was the most famous delicacy of that hotel.So all an all we ate chaar thika and two light wale misal (to mention those two light were what i and niyati ordered which were the most left in the last) plus teen half lassi.So we did ate kaustubh was the one who coughed a lot while eating , don't know was it the oil or red chillies that made him cough.As we moved kevin introduced us to Shimla juice waale , again a road side joint it was some what i remember the guy selling and singing as well in bandra station.So i had a sip of chikoo ka juice as kevin bought and so did kaustubh. It costed 20 a glass .

                         
 Kevin and other guys had always been flamboyant  while taking ticket and neither did the ticket checkers at Navi mumbai bothered to chech the ticket , except for vashi I suppose .But i went throught my way, i had coupons . I readily punched a 5 ka coupon .
 *rush*rush*
people sticking each other in the stairway
*rush*rush*
Platform No : 6 CST 5:58....
As i saw the indicator i gushed down the stairs again at platform no 6.
Just then when the train came i hopped in it. I was so very happy that i could get a train so easily.For a moment i did thought to ask where shall Mulund come? But then i was sure on myself that it would come where i expected.It was all silent for few minutes and all i could see few people standing hanging on the doors , there hairs waving with the wind .Releasing all the summer from the head in the evening.
                         But just as the wind was passing i could even see that mulund station had passed by , and i could get that i had been to a fast train . It was second time that i had been to a fast train unknowingly and and would be stopping at ghatkopar . Somewhere or the other i was getting an intuition that i could get caught by ticket checker.But still i believed my luck and went to the bridge to take the ticket for mulund and get back home as quickly as i could.But what i could see was a ticket checker. He stopped me askd for ticket, all i could show him some coupons were the one from thane to mulund of 5 rs the coupon was falling short of 1 rs ,While he told me to wait there was even another guy who was being caught , he was pleading like a hell lot he wanted to go some where and was frequently getting call , he said.While my expressions were , like a boss.Once me and my friend had discussed among ourselves that we never get caught by TC and all the time we have tickets , and just then I had said the day when we don't have naa that day only shall mark the day where the TC catches you .And today was that day.
        He took us to the TC office a slope behind the ticket counter at platform no 1 at ghatkopar station .It was room 3*5 i suppose covered with flooring tiles placed on the wall for about 1 feet as we see in udipi hotels painted with rusted yellow . A table at the center made of glass while a few other caught like me by the tc who were sitting on a wooden bench made of wooden battens . Also there was anotehr table where a man was sitting drinking tea and having a smiley yet questionable conversation among themselves , i could not get the language what they were speaking .
       The TC made a bill of about 254 rs from the man who was pleading and who was caught by me . They argued , tc took his wallet and without his permission snatched 254 bucks from it.After a lot of time he felt his pleading not successful and surrendered.He took his receipt , the tc told that now its not necessary to take atikcet and this recepit would act as a ticket till the midnight . No worry now you are a free bird.He told him and turned to me ,
 TC: kya bhai tumhare koi aa rahe hai kay ??? kidar hai paise ??
Myself : haan abhi call kiya hai .. aa hi rahe hai .. !!
TC : accha jaldi kar ... !!
            And then there was another man in mid 20s , welder of iron by profession he said when asked by another man from the group of TC's .
   CHIEF TC : kya batao abhi kya karne ka tumhare saath ?
   man(welder): sahab .. chod do .. iss shere mein humaara koi nhi hai .. rehem kar do
 
while they exchanged few words of concession , another guy from team of TC uninterrupted and said,
aree give him the 17 no ka form .Tell him to fill in that , che mahine (six months) jail mein rahega toh free ka doo time ka khaana bhi naseeb ho jayega .. waha kaam kar ne ki bhi jarurat nahi .He was indeed explaining how benefit he had in the cell of the jail rather than living in the city all alone and working.The man sat aside sweating.
             Infatct there were many people around trying doing some sort of jugad and all . Calling some friends calling at their homes. There was this boy , 7 th std he said . When the Tc asked him.He had a story that he was going to kurla to return a book to his friend , but then the Tc said ,
''ab jaa kurla ke jail mein hi tere baap ko aane bol , yaha pe kuch nahi hoga tera''
             All the while the time was passing , there were talks among themselves over tea,about how the kids dont tell their parents if they get caught and all the other talks regarding their personal issues.
             But all i could find a way from all this was, i too k my Louis I Kahn book from my bag and was reading it . At times they do ask what you do and others things as in where you stay what yoou dad does. I was just waiting so some one may ask me , and i shall say architecture.
             Reintroduction of mass ........ the hard , exposed structure of kahn's gallery , which harboured exposed utilities , did not go unnoticed abroad as a departure from the smootehr, seamless volumes of orthodox modernism...just where i stopped and cloed the book.I had messaged my sister and told her to get the money and come here at ghatkoapr . she was on her way by then .
      She is at mulund , I told the TC who caught me as he asked me is there on the way to pay for receipt ?
As time passed on it had been 20 mins i was waiting in the room.Just then another boy was caught and bought , well he did had his own story about some visit to a doctor who does practice or visits once in a month to the city.He was even ready to keep his mobile , but e did wanted to go to doctor as fast as possible.I would say he also did lost the race in pleading before the TC.They did caught hold of him .
     Herein I would mention there were two men , who had been from karjat to mulund .They were adivasis said the man who had come to bail for them.The man and his fellows had adopted a village in karjat and they were celebrating some sort of wedding, so these men where coming from karjat to mulund for this occasion .
The both were telling and explaing their village policy to the officers at the station that , after a while a senoir TC officer said
                 '' jao jara bahar jaake paise deke aao '' i did felt that the people got a bail by bribe lesser than the receipt .So all this was happening around , when suddenly the TC who caught hold of me asked about me.

   TC: tumhare papa kya karte hai .. ?

   Myself: Alok textiles ... vashi-sanpada .. sanpada .ummm .. udahr hi hai kidar toh .. !!

   Other TC: ya ya (nodding affirmative) .. !

   TC : ohh accha its near sanpada - mhape .. !!

  Myself : haan wahi hai shayad .. sanpada-mhape ..

  TC: aap kya karte ho ?? job ??

  Myself: nahi mein toh sikh raha hoon .. architecture first year mein hoon .. !

  TC: aree waah .. firr toh khub kamaoge .. (indicating the money with teh fingers)

         lakho mein kamaoge .. 

 Myself : haan ji shayad .. (with a smile) 

 TC: hmm architecture karo .karo .. accha hai .. design karo.. bahut creative log hote hai woh .. drawing banAte hain .. na ?

 Myself : haan .. (again a smile on face)..

 TC: kidar tak pahunce hai .. tumhare ?? 

 Myself : vikhroli .. bass a a hi jayenge 

 7:15 ... i watch outside the oor frame as i read my sisters message that she had reached to ghatkopar .All the whiel reaching out the doors my eyes in search of my sister again.

In between one TC  lights a cigar .. hold in a very interesting manner as the we hold for a chilum some what those babas full of hairs and hairs at the ghats hold.Stars saying to a boy that see how our parents each not to indulge in bad deeds , we are replicates of our parents ( speaking like being complete high).

            And herein my sister does entry into the picture frame .I stand in pride , i say she is my sister .

The TC rubbing off his cigar with his toes .Says is she ur sister , i say yes ofcourse .

And then he does allround flip. He says why did you made a women came al over here to pay for .

       TC: Itne kast (hardhips) lene ki kya jarurat thi .. !aap mulund se aaye abhi ?

       My sister : ya !!

       TC: aree aapne bata dena chaiye tah naa .. ki unhe aana padega hum kuch adjust kar lete .. khaama kha madam ko yaha aana pada !! pandey ji ab kuch kam kar lete hai .. inhe 150 rs hi dene do.. woh dusra waala bill banao .. 

        My sister : actually usse train ka pata nhi na itna .. galti se fast me chadh gaya woh .. uska colg koparkhairane mein hai .. 

        TC: yaa .. koi baat nahi .. waise bhi woh acche hai .. shant hai khafi .. but he should have said that there what his problem was.. neways accha hai architect kar rahe hai .. lakhoo meiin milenge ... ( again indications of money with his hands ) chalo receipt pe sign kar lo .. aur next tiem se dhyan se chado thiek .. ? baki aap sach mein shant kisam ke ho !!

       Myself : thike ji ... thank you ... 

       Other tc : yeh receipt de raha hoon .. aaj ka ticket nikal ne ki jarurat nah ihai .. accha ..

       Myself: accha !(smile).

So after that got into the train halted at mulund , just went to temple closed and prayed then had a watermelon juice got my issue of timeout mumbai magazine and came home . Coming home and explaining all the way was an interesting part i would say .

           All an all i could conclude that the whole experience was a good one though , in fact i never knew taht if we travel and not pay fine we could be jailed for about 6 months .What if we bribe and let off , whats the fun of experiencing the whole thing done by a right way. Paying all the dues and letting know a few things how people get caught what reasons they make , what do they do when it comes to seriousness.Do people really get jailed for not carrying ticket ? How the public get mild after seeing women in to the whole picture ac in how women got a place in society.It does reflects a lot, such small incidents do let make a lot difference. In fact I m the most happiest, that i got few moments to spent .Other wise i would have just gone off paying bribe or some few amount as bill.

             Your close ones get to know what you are , you gey to know about the city . YOU learn you grow and you live.Well thats how i saw the day today .Right from the Mamaledar  till my small encounter with the TC.

PS: Niayti did mention about her dad at level one , but then the my imagination about him got cleared when she shown me his image from her mobile :P