Category Archives: Bangalore in the 70s

Bangalore in the 70s, Musings, Nostalgia

Meera Aunty

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Meera Aunty with a steaming cup of coffee

It was a lazy afternoon, during our summer holidays, I hopped over to our neighbor Meera Aunty’s house as usual, opening the gate, I went in and rang the door bell. Nobody opened the door. I hung around for a bit, went over to her little garden of beautiful flowers – purple sweet williams and magenta zinnias were nodding to the breeze, right beside the huge papaya tree. Continue reading →

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Bangalore in the 70s, India, Kannada, Musings, Nostalgia

Barbed wire Fence…and Kannada

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We were watching the movie, “Boy in the striped Pajamas,” where Bruno meets Shmuel. Bruno is a privileged nine-year-old while Shmuel, is in striped pajamas. What separates them is the barbed wire fence.  Bruno envies Shmuel, as he imagines him playing with other kids his own age behind the fence, in the comfort of his Pajamas, while he is all alone in the open world outside the fence. Bruno is unable to comprehend the horrors of living in a camp, as he offers simplistic solutions to Shmuel’s problems. When Shmuel talks about being hungry all the time, Bruno gets him food from home.

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Bangalore in the 70s, India, Musings, Nostalgia

Cacophony – Adjust Maadi (Hallmark of India)

I was making matar paneer, – Peas with homemade cheese, when the aroma jolted me back  to my childhood, in India. It used to be my favorite dish, especially the way my mother made it. Cubed pieces of paneer – homemade cheese floating in a delicious orange colored sauce. I could hear ” Chalte Chalte ” Farewell –  blaring  from a neighbor’s radio at 6:00 in the morning. Watching movies and listening to movie songs is a huge part of people’s lives  in India. All my friends saw movies. So, I expressed my desire to see the movie Chalte Chalte  a popular movie in the mid 70s,  my mother glared at me and firmly declared, “No more movies  for the next few years, they promote wrong values.”

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Bangalore in the 70s, India, Kannada, Musings

O for Oota ( food)

O is for “Ordinary”. Yes Ordinary is regular, mundane and then special too.. and Ordinary is “Oota” ( food in Kannada) …actually the only greeting I know that is related to food in the world ” Oota aayita” (had your food) is actually an Ordinary greeting like “How are you?” Often times complete strangers on the streets in Bangalore are bound to ask you, “Oota aayita”? I am often tempted to say , “illa” ( No) , but have always nodded my head and Ordinarily said, ” Howdo” ( Yes)……

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