I was happily writing to my friends it is 8 degrees Celsius here with a lot of fog! Nay, when the newspaper came it was 5 degrees plus. The present day climate is much beyond the olden times and many a times too below normal if it is cold and too high if it is hot.
The fog makes visibility very poor keeping everyone indoors and sipping at their hot cup of ginger tea! Families will be happy that all their inmates will be in place and there could be found some time to chit chat except for those who are on fb or google.
Still nearness is something. It brings in talks of times which we went past, memories of times we lived and loved, times we got our first child, second child and times we grew them up and now sitting as early nesters!
There was a time I used to bargain with the next door auto rikshaw walla and neighbour for a sum of 250 Rupees to take 5 children from Mayur Vihar to New Delhi. Money was hard to come by. The only thing which went up in those days were the petrol prices and not salaries!
He agreed and started and at the end of the year we had to shift residence. On a second visit to the same place next year, our old neighbours brought up the subject of transporting children to the New Delhi school. They said the present day rate for the auto rikshaw walla is 2500 Rupees and he has given ab ultimatum that if the rate is not revised to 3000 Rupees check for other modes!
Lived through all that, got school buses inside Delhi where we shifted ! The children slogged at Schools and we slogged in Government offices and Schools and the timing was only on record as we worked all the time, went to office in the early mornings to reach before 9 am and never looked at the clock for coming home. 5 pm was tea time, 7 pm was officer's meetings end, and 7-9 was work times. 9.30 pm was pack up time thinking of the first thing of next day..!
Time much before was still curious and interesting to muse now. It was a time salary was too low and the jobbers at the lower end was provided with an ex gratia called overtime allowance, which was commonly referred as 'Overtime". A posting in a seat which will want you to sit late after office hours was considered to be a gratis by those, who wanted some extra money due to extreme family needs, This could be got only if you had some good officers at the administration. Otherwise you got an exactly 5 pm out office and the month will pass by without any extra remuneration.
But the slate reversed after some time. After a long while in which several exams are passed, promotions are granted one became not entitled for any extra allowance, ie. overtime, then from day one, one got a place where there was a lot of room where one had to sit late to complete the day's work! But then, all is in the game of life and work. Those who were worldly wise and cunning kept away from such places! The innocent accepted it in the name of all the good traditions and principles!
But still the climate was not this bad. During cold there was the fire place in each office to keep one warm and in summer there was surahis issued for pure drinking water! The plastic bottles were not needed in those days!
The day had passed by and the sun light never appeared. The slight drum beat can be heard to set the rythm of the Lori festival which suggests a change in the movement of the sun to the down south. Once it changes course, more sunny days will be ahead. The festival is mainly celebrated in the north of India, mainly in Punjab, Haryana and nearby states. In other states various festivals known as Bihu, Makar Samkranti, Pongal etc. are celebrated.Generally, these festivals happen in a matter of three weeks after Christmas!
The sufferings of the poor will lessen with more warmth in coming months with the next festival of Holi.!
A tooth ache selected this time to show up! He is a bad guest, indeed! Eating is affected straight away and the medicine allergies take you off your feet! Now grapple with it with anti allergants and come around to see the dentist! Really a pain! Will go away along with the cold! Lucky to get medicines, but when I think of the millions who do not get any treatment and medicines thoughts go to the local way side dentist who pulls out a tooth just putting his fingers into your mouth. These days I see less of them in Delhi. Years back, one or two used to sit near Central Secretariat and at other joints where people used to come a lot. They sit on the road side with a few pictures and a few old teeth already plucked from other patients who had presented themselves to get their tooth or teeth plucked out! They used to charge two Rupees in those days!
Now dental doctors are coming out in large numbers every year, still dental help is elusive or not easy! The best bet is to keep our oral hygiene and train children to do the same!
Now I have started to get one of my troubling teeth fixed and it has lessened the pain! And then, Lo..! The other tooth on the other side has taken up the pain. It is not paining heavily. But is starting to. That is how it start. First it will be a jump when one drink a glass of normal water at room temperature. Then every now and then or one chews a piece of hard food. It will be followed up with a slight pain every now and then. If you don't go to the Dentist still, then when you go to the Dentist your face will be contorted..!
Youth and children do not know of it! There is scant education regarding dental hygiene! The cold affects those who are elderly more readily! The limbs will get it fast if one is not protected with good foot wear and socks. Likewise, one has to be well covered with woollen jackets or sweaters and a head gear or a muffler!
After four days, today, the third week of January is cold and rainy. A mild breeze increases the effect ! In a cosy atmosphere in the in doors of houses with good heating, it will not affect any one. It is when one goes out and all those poor people who do not have any where to go who really get it!
The fog makes visibility very poor keeping everyone indoors and sipping at their hot cup of ginger tea! Families will be happy that all their inmates will be in place and there could be found some time to chit chat except for those who are on fb or google.
Still nearness is something. It brings in talks of times which we went past, memories of times we lived and loved, times we got our first child, second child and times we grew them up and now sitting as early nesters!
There was a time I used to bargain with the next door auto rikshaw walla and neighbour for a sum of 250 Rupees to take 5 children from Mayur Vihar to New Delhi. Money was hard to come by. The only thing which went up in those days were the petrol prices and not salaries!
He agreed and started and at the end of the year we had to shift residence. On a second visit to the same place next year, our old neighbours brought up the subject of transporting children to the New Delhi school. They said the present day rate for the auto rikshaw walla is 2500 Rupees and he has given ab ultimatum that if the rate is not revised to 3000 Rupees check for other modes!
Lived through all that, got school buses inside Delhi where we shifted ! The children slogged at Schools and we slogged in Government offices and Schools and the timing was only on record as we worked all the time, went to office in the early mornings to reach before 9 am and never looked at the clock for coming home. 5 pm was tea time, 7 pm was officer's meetings end, and 7-9 was work times. 9.30 pm was pack up time thinking of the first thing of next day..!
Time much before was still curious and interesting to muse now. It was a time salary was too low and the jobbers at the lower end was provided with an ex gratia called overtime allowance, which was commonly referred as 'Overtime". A posting in a seat which will want you to sit late after office hours was considered to be a gratis by those, who wanted some extra money due to extreme family needs, This could be got only if you had some good officers at the administration. Otherwise you got an exactly 5 pm out office and the month will pass by without any extra remuneration.
But the slate reversed after some time. After a long while in which several exams are passed, promotions are granted one became not entitled for any extra allowance, ie. overtime, then from day one, one got a place where there was a lot of room where one had to sit late to complete the day's work! But then, all is in the game of life and work. Those who were worldly wise and cunning kept away from such places! The innocent accepted it in the name of all the good traditions and principles!
But still the climate was not this bad. During cold there was the fire place in each office to keep one warm and in summer there was surahis issued for pure drinking water! The plastic bottles were not needed in those days!
The day had passed by and the sun light never appeared. The slight drum beat can be heard to set the rythm of the Lori festival which suggests a change in the movement of the sun to the down south. Once it changes course, more sunny days will be ahead. The festival is mainly celebrated in the north of India, mainly in Punjab, Haryana and nearby states. In other states various festivals known as Bihu, Makar Samkranti, Pongal etc. are celebrated.Generally, these festivals happen in a matter of three weeks after Christmas!
The sufferings of the poor will lessen with more warmth in coming months with the next festival of Holi.!
A tooth ache selected this time to show up! He is a bad guest, indeed! Eating is affected straight away and the medicine allergies take you off your feet! Now grapple with it with anti allergants and come around to see the dentist! Really a pain! Will go away along with the cold! Lucky to get medicines, but when I think of the millions who do not get any treatment and medicines thoughts go to the local way side dentist who pulls out a tooth just putting his fingers into your mouth. These days I see less of them in Delhi. Years back, one or two used to sit near Central Secretariat and at other joints where people used to come a lot. They sit on the road side with a few pictures and a few old teeth already plucked from other patients who had presented themselves to get their tooth or teeth plucked out! They used to charge two Rupees in those days!
Now dental doctors are coming out in large numbers every year, still dental help is elusive or not easy! The best bet is to keep our oral hygiene and train children to do the same!
Now I have started to get one of my troubling teeth fixed and it has lessened the pain! And then, Lo..! The other tooth on the other side has taken up the pain. It is not paining heavily. But is starting to. That is how it start. First it will be a jump when one drink a glass of normal water at room temperature. Then every now and then or one chews a piece of hard food. It will be followed up with a slight pain every now and then. If you don't go to the Dentist still, then when you go to the Dentist your face will be contorted..!
Youth and children do not know of it! There is scant education regarding dental hygiene! The cold affects those who are elderly more readily! The limbs will get it fast if one is not protected with good foot wear and socks. Likewise, one has to be well covered with woollen jackets or sweaters and a head gear or a muffler!
After four days, today, the third week of January is cold and rainy. A mild breeze increases the effect ! In a cosy atmosphere in the in doors of houses with good heating, it will not affect any one. It is when one goes out and all those poor people who do not have any where to go who really get it!
No comments:
Post a Comment