Baba often used to remember his morning and evening strolls in his pram from Parsee Bagan Lane to Rishikesh Park at Amherst Street. With a gleeful twinkle in his eyes, he would reminisce the sight of fruit bats hanging upside down from the branches of a tree beside the park. Often screeching while flying off their perch only to hang upside down from some other branch of the tree. Infant Baba would gaze at them with amazement wondering how these birds could hang upside down but fly just like any other birds do. He would often question his Nurse how it was possible and had to satisfy himself with the same reply "Baba, those are night birds, they sleep during the day and fly around at night."
There was an agreement between Baba and his cousin uncle Dhiren Ray. According to the agreement, Every morning Dhiren Ray would drive Baba in his car up and down the length of the lane before driving off to his office.
Hand pulled rickshaw-wallah was Baba's superhero! He would marvel at the rickshaw wallah's strength and tenacity. Wonder how he could pull the rickshaw with Baba and his Didi in it. He could pull the rickshaw all the way to the temple or a relative's house, where ever Didi would ask him to take them. On reaching the destination the rickshaw-wallah would put the rails of the rickshaw on the ground for them to alight from it. A sudden dip of the rickshaw to the ground level would make Baba frantically cling to Didi's arm fearing he would tumble off the rickshaw.
Early one morning a thundering sound broke the peace and quiet of Parsee Bagan Lane. It made Baba rush out of the house to its main gate closely followed by his Nurse and uncle trying to stop him from rushing into the street. No sooner had Baba seen a monstrous black machine trundling down the road belching black smoke; he stood rooted to his place, gazing at the machine in awe. The machine had heavy metal wheels that thundered like rain clouds. He whispered to his Nurse who stood close to him, "What is this monster? What is it doing here?!" The Nurse smiled at Baba and told him it was a road-roller that made the roads. They would now have a tar metaled road in front of their house. The enormity of the road-roller mesmerised Baba and he refused to go indoors and stood by the main gate gazing at the road-roller and its driver busy doing their work.
Every evening Baba would go with his nurse for a walk down the main road. One fine evening, while walking down the road, Baba's Nurse chanced upon a friend from his village. Both he and his friend crouched by the concrete water trough engrossed in conversation puffing Beedi (Indian cigarette) while infant Baba clambered up on the edge of a concrete water trough built on the pavement and got busy walking on the edge of the trough trying to balance his each and every step. Suddenly the loud sound of a large truck honking its horn while driving down the road made Baba lose his foothold on the trough's edge and fall headlong into it. His Nurse, on hearing a loud splash from the trough jumped up on his feet, dipped his hands into the trough to pull Baba out of it in the nick of time.
Once out of the water trough Baba who was wet to the bone was shivering and gasping for breath. His Nurse picked him up and rushed into a nearby tea shop. The owner of the tea shop was his friend. The nurse pulled an iron chair by the large cooking stove and placed Baba on it. He undressed Baba and put his wet clothes by the rim of the stove for them to dry. Baba remained seated on the chair while waiting for his clothes to dry. He enjoyed the tea shop's hustle and bustle. The shop owner was busy preparing and serving tea and snacks to the people. People stepped into the shop, took a place at a table, ordered tea and snacks, enjoyed a hot cup of tea with biscuits and snacks engrossed in their banter. Spending an evening in a tea shop as a silent observer was like reading an evening newspaper.
After some time, Baba's Nurse checked his clothes. Satisfied the clothes were dry, he dressed Baba up in them and they returned home to an unusual sight. Every evening, they used to return home before Baba's Dadi and uncles returned home from their work, but this evening, they met with Baba's uncle, Shri Prashant Kumar Ray, who had lines of worry and anger running visibly across his forehead. On seeing Baba and his nurse he lost his cool and yelled at them. He asked the Nurse why they were late to return home from an evening walk. When the Nurse explained the reason to Mama Babu (Shri Prashant Kumar Ray). He had the face his verbal fury. That made Baba pipe in quite innocently, "Babu (Baba used to address his uncle, Shri Prashant Kumar Ray, as Babu), why are you scolding him. It was my fault. I lost balance and fell into the water trough. He pulled me out of it and dried me up in a tea shop!"
When Baba had narrated this incidence to me, I had asked him what was the need to make concrete water troughs on the pavements by the roadside. He had sketched this image of concrete water trough with a horse beside it to explain the need for the water trough by the roadside. Concrete water troughs were made by the roadside for the animals to drink from. Particularly for horses drawing tanga and carts.
Mama Babu, Shri Prashant Kumar Ray was a father figure to Baba. He introduced Baba to the amazing world of children's literature both in Bengali and English language. The colourful illustrations of children's books would fascinate Baba. He would ask his uncle to read the stories and limericks to him. Mama Babu would recite nursery rhymes to Baba. Colourful pictures and the catchy tunes of nursery rhymes easily caught Baba's imagination and these books became his best friends.
Baba would coax Dadi and Didi for bedtime stories. They would regale him with the fairy tales that he narrated to me when I was a child.
Additional Information:
Calcutta's Taana (Hand-Pulled) Rickshaws. Source:
1. FirstPost: https://www.firstpost.com/photos/130-years-of-kolkatas-hand-pulled-rickshaws-a-brief-history-of-the-city-of-joys-most-recognisable-symbols-4443015.html
2. Rickshawwallah.com: www.rickshawwallah.com
About Amherst Street: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amherst_Street_(Kolkata)
Parsee Bagan Lane, Calcutta, Source: Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parsi+Bagan+Ln,+Machuabazar,+Kolkata,+West+Bengal+700009/@22.5794146,88.3707569,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3a02764585dba8bf:0xec5df8d81bd1ab51!8m2!3d22.5794146!4d88.3729456
Rishikesh Park, Amherst Street,Calcutta. Source: Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/place/%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6+%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95+%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%AC/@22.581424,88.3687489,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3a02764f3a39d771:0xae32fc8aa855aaf5!8m2!3d22.581424!4d88.3709376
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