A trip down memory lane…

Wadala..

I came to this neighborhood in 1993 after having spent the first 3 and a half years of my life in UAE..

I moved out of this place in 2015 after my marriage..

Three years later;

The present – June 2018.

My parents move out of Wadala to a new neighborhood, unlocking a new diary with blank pages for new memories to be recorded.

A very rainy July..

This weekend I offered to come over to Wadala to help Mom with the unpacking-packing-trashing routine that she’s been upto for a month now! It was high time she let the expert take control! 😛

I also hoped to take some time out and do my routine Temple visit that’s lately become infrequent.

Having got the chance, I thought I’d ditch the car and take a walk just like old times! Fingers crossed, counting on the rains to not pour down on me, I plugged in my earphones, set the player on repeat mode and settled on an instrumental piece.

What happened next was something I hadn’t accounted for.

The moment I looked up from my phone the place looked different!
Was it my Time Turner finally working its wonder?
I realized what I was on. A trip down memory lane..

Standing at the rear gate of my building I figured the real reasons behind my loving a ground floor home!

First, the balcony. A number of things had been exchanged through those grills over the years; from Letters to Garlic bread..
Having conversations with one inside and the other outside, behind the bars, was a daily ritual.. Prisoners of Azkaban?

Second, the backyard that was the last-minute perfect venue for birthday and new year parties! The place brought alive the images of a bunch of extremely excited blue-frocked girls mastering the dance steps of Dil Dooba!!

Two buildings down the road I paused to look at the third floor window. Five years of running up the stairs, it was a race to grab the best seat in our Hindi-Marathi tuition teacher’s home! I bet every student of hers, among other things, remembers her most for the ’tilgul’ that she offered us every Sankranti. Also, it was there that I discovered my inborn talent – I was a natural bully magnet! 😛

Laughing to myself I proceeded down the street only to change my path midway.. at the end of the street used to be a gang of football lovers that considered its business to tease me! Back then I used to deliberately walk past them because I had no less ‘keede’ in me! 😀

When I reached the Devi Temple, my first intended stop on this trip, I excitedly told Her (Devi!) ‘BRB’ and ran ahead to take one look at the entrance to the dilapidated building, on the third floor of which was our ‘Ramus’!! The coaching class that taught what I don’t remember but brought students from different schools together resulting in everlasting bonds of friendship!

I headed back to the temple and after my talking and praying I took a path that led me to two other places of memories.

First, the Franky waala! The famous hangout place for us Ramu-ites that was pocket friendly too!
Second, Naturals! Those days their logo wasn’t as neony as it now is but the parlor served as a conference room for our strategic meetings! The grumpy old guy behind the counter never really liked us, the noisy bunch, but he’d be only an idiot to stop US!

Recollecting the crazy episodes at Naturals, I continued walking toward the Krishna Temple, my next stop.

On my way back from the temple I took another route that led to a friend’s house.. the house that nurtured my ‘Malluness’ and got me eating idlis without a fuss! By habit, I took a glance at her window to check for her mom who used to grill us from behind the grills!

I got back on the road that was now leading me to the point where this whole memory trip had begun.. the rear gate of my building.