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Sunday, March 2, 2008

I remember..what about you??

I wrote this one a long time ago but went back to it again today after talking about the past with a few friends last night. How those days were so different and how things have changed so much now that though more luxurious, our lifestyle can never be the way it was. Here are a list of things that I remember from good old days..

I remember those days.........

  • When Wednesday and Friday evenings were spent watching Chitrahaar in Black and White..
  • When the use of a remote control (the size of a brick) was only to increase/decrease the volume or to turn the TV on/off..
  • When Saturday nights were reserved for movie rentals from the one and only rental store in the area...
  • When relatives used to gather every Saturday evening to watch that one special movie...
  • When the remote control connected to the VCR through a long wire...
  • When I used to listen to Binaca Geet Maala (later known as Cibaca Geet Mala) hosted by Amin Sayani religiously every Tuesday night on Vividh Bharti...
  • When the people in my apartment complex gathered at my place to see the new color TV...the only one that they had ever seen...
  • When DD-2 released, people were ecstatic that they could now watch a second channel.
  • When cable TV released, it had only 5 channels.
  • When going to the airport or the railway station meant I would get to drink Thums Up...
  • When we did not have a cassette player in our car and used to carry a portable one with me everytime I travelled in it...
  • When having a cordless phone was not only a big deal but was also the size of a vanity case with the shrillest sound possible...
  • When letting my hair loose was a privilege...
  • When I saw QSQT for the third time and told my mom that I was in love with Aamir Khan and I was allowed to buy a poster of him...
  • When cellphones were the size of a cordless phone and each minute used to cost 16 rupees...
  • When I asked the store keeper if he could copy a CD for me just like an audio cassette and he laughed at me and said that it was not possible...
  • When I used to play solitaire on the black and white monitor of my computer...
  • When opening an internet site like hotmail would take ten minutes...
  • When the family used to make special plans to go eat pizza at the only restaurant in town that served pizza with mozzarella cheese...
  • When Maggi used to cost only 5 rupees and was known to be sold in Prawn, Sweet and Sour, Capsica, Masala, and Chicken flavors....
  • When I was allowed to have Maggi only on Thursdays and I used to count down the days to Thursday....
  • When Frooti was available only in Mumbai and we used to request people to buy us a crate when they visited the city...
  • When the milkman used to bring milk to our place in a big container and sell it to us according the quantity we needed as opposed to today's poly packs...
  • When people used to ask relatives to buy them jeans from abroad because they were not sold in India...
  • When being seen talking to a boy would mean that you are going out with him...
  • When I was young and innocent..ignorant of the responsibilities that adulthood brings with it...when my life was about smiling, laughing, dancing, and singing...and not about careers, education, bills, money, cars...

I remember those days...the days of my childhood...which remain only a memory.

What do you remember? Put in a comment and I will add it to your list with your name next to it!

111 Words of Wisdom:

Cosmic Joy said...

Good old days? I am sure our lives dont take a turn for the worse. Yes, technology advances, our responsibilities increase, things change, lives change. But it aint that bad :)

Neetal said...

What I cherish is lazy sunday afternoons. :) soon after watching Vikram Vetal ... and everytime Vetal used to come screen I used to close my eyes... to me he is still actual Ghost I am scared off!

But what I really cherish is, Sunday story section for kids of Gujarat Samachar ! I used to Run to Dada with his glasses and ask him to read short stories for me :) ! Ah ! I so much want to be a kiddo again :)

Thanks sneha for bringing this up. I feel so nostalgic now !

Solitaire said...

@ Cosmic, sometimes they do and sometimes, even if they don't good times always seem better because we tend to remember good things..You do not have any special memory that you want to point out?

@ Neeku, oh ya! I remember those Sundays full of TV. Would get so excited about it!

Sunshine said...

School memories: Getting in line with classmates according to our heights to go for prayers with rest of the school before beginning classes for the day.. Those 30 min. lunch recess where we all used to get together and share our lunch-boxes.. Dreading to get up early on Saturday mornings since it meant having to go for Mass drill (exercise) sessions.. Where going home after school meant playing games with neighbors and getting the homework done and arranging school bag for classes the next day..

In addition to Vikram Vetal as Neeku mentioned above.. I guess it was like a ritual in most families on Sunday mornings at 10 to watch Mahabharata.. By then most people would finish everything including lunch and huddle around the TV to watch it.

badshah khan said...

yeah I guess those days were some the best times of my life. The most loved day used to be sunday. We had plans for sunday from the previous tuesday. Well obsessed with cricket. I used to travel for may be aout 2.5 KMs .It used to seem pretty long those days. We had to get up early to find a Pitch (better pitch). Used to wake up at 5:30. get My YELLOW atlas rebel go to a frnds house pick him up and then start cycling. Reaching the ground finding the centre Pitch. Stick our stumps and then water just a lil bit and start playing.After the match a halt at the "BHAIYAS" sherbet and gola wala. Always used to go home back late and my mom used to shout. as if that wasnt enough used to have lunch and then back again near my building for some restricted version of CRICKET again. Again a fantasic snack at home on speciality SUNDAYs. Had a pretty packed schedule on SUNDAY. Apart from those epic serials. I guess will post about the lunch sessions in my Blog.

IncorrigibleV said...

i remember watchin potli baba, alif laila, chandrakanta and other stuff on DD
i remember our old fiat and goin to school on a cycle with our helper bhaiya
i remember having a kitchen set set up in my room 24*7 and me makin fake tea and biscuits for mum and dad.
i remember how excited we had become when the old fashioned number ghumane waala landphone was installed in our house
i remember talkin to the plants every friday in the club...
aah so much has changed!

ceedy said...

I like this post..like few other already said - the sunday TV - then a goooood gujju lunch and siesta is what I miss the most

besides here are other things -
- atari - TV games
- TV ads and their jingles....
- Shaleya Chitravani and other programs of UGC
- The early cartoon - Ek Chidiya Anek Chidiya on DD
- My tailor who could sew anything
- School and those days the most - studying, bunking (damn cant bunk work so easily)
- lots and lots of great TV serials

Good old days but these are not bad either - guess after 20 years we will miss the 486, and slow T1 line internet, and 2 inch flat screen tv's etc etc.

BTW I did not know Frooti was only available in Bombay!!

kyamaloom said...

-> "Chandrakanta" every Sunday 9am.
-> Every inch of my bedroom wall was covered with posters, ranging from Cricketers,actors,cartoons and WWF players.
-> Tiff with mom when I see even a single layer of "malai" in my milk early morning going to school.
-> Comics : Chacha Chaudhary, Nagraj, Super Commando Dhruv, Doga :P
-> Jingles like - "Bole mere lips, I love uncle chips", "Hamara Bajaj", "Washing powder Nirma".
-> First a handy video-game with TETRIS fever, then the one which you put in your TV. Getting a free cassette with it which says "999999999 in 1" and contains just 5-6 games including "MARIO". Followed by discussions with friends as to how many levels have they cleared. "Contra" was obsession too.
-> Except from cricket n all playing hide n seek, "Oonch Neech", Seven Marbles, "Gadha Maar", "Ghoda badam Chaai", Pakdam-pakdai, Poshum Pa bhai Poshum Pa, Doctor-doctor, Ghar-ghar, Dark room. :P
-> Remembering the words "in-pin-safety-pin" and Akkad bakkad.
-> Watching corny dubbed versions of "Small Wonder", "I dream of Genie", "Bewitched". Dennis the Mennace, 3 Stooges.
-> "Jungle jungle baat chali hai, pata chala hai. Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai, phool khila!" This will remind ALOT. :)
-> Collecting trump cards of cricketers,wrestlers etcetera. Free sticky tattoo with "Big Babool" and Boom boom "Boomer".
-> When you would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and really think that Undertaker had 7 lives and he made an "actual" appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.
-> Trip to village visiting grandparents, in 2 long months Summer vacations. Getting hurt each time playing in your very own "Aam ka bageecha" and getting scolded by mom in the end days for holiday homework not being completed.
-> Being the coolest person both amongst school and colony friends coz you had a COMPUTER, which had nothing but DOS, used for playing Prince of Persia, DAVE, Mario. It didn't even had a mouse and CPU was upside down. ;)
-> When whatever SRK wears, HAS to be copied by you. DDLJ's pathan suit- long loose shirts-locket saying "COOL"-friendship bands. And later dramatizing a headache to your parents just coz you wanted specs like Hrithik had in Kaho Na Pyar Hai. :P
-> You couldn’t wait to start 4th/6th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!
-> First English movies ever seen includes Jurassic Park, and after watching TITANIC discussing the nude scenes with friends in school as if you had a trip to heaven. :P
-> Hot-wheels cars, GI-JOES. Barbie for girls.
-> At some point or other, "Cool" was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.
-> Watching Baywatch on Star World even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.
-> The immense pleasure when Dad brought first car, Maruti 800.
-> The first trip to Mumbai and all you want is "Essel world mein rahunga main, ghar nahi jaunga main." :)
-> The best part i remember is when I often use to wonder, how great it would be when I grew up. No more getting early for schools and I'll have money and can stop at any damn shop whenever I want and have pepsi and chocolates on my own. Unaware of the fact, how it "actually" feels to be grown up. Strange, I want to go back to those days again. :)

Phew!

P.S. - See, I can write long comments too. :)

Lovely post!

kyamaloom said...

I still can write on n on. But sorry, the lazy bug hit me now. :P

Ekta said...

When foreign chocolates were available only through "uncles living abroad" and each choc used to be fought over with sibling!!!

When kabaddi and stapoo were the games we played in the evening after school homework was done!

Deepti said...

I remember rushing back home from school , to be in time to watch the last 5 minutes of Swabhimaan on DD1. The whole family and many neighbours watching Ramayan and Mahabharat. The 2 months of summer holidays when we used to rush to our native place :) ( how i wish for 2 months of vacation now :()
This blog just opened a flood gate of memories!! and for so many of yours i want to say ditto!!! :D

Rho Tau GWIS said...

I remember the days when Sundays meant that the whole family would go out for dinner (some of my fav restaurants were Jahnvi and Sankalp), followed by icecream (go-kool, dollops etc) at Vijay Char-rasta.

I remember the 'chaniya-choli' and jewelery shopping craze at 'Rani no hajiro' and 'Law garden'.

I remember waiting for 12 hours straight, with bumper to bumper cars, trying to get tickets for Baazigar at the Drive-in cinema. I even remember that going to the Drive-in cinema, meant that it was a great excuse to hook-up with cute boys from Loyola!!

Keshi said...

omg I dread the memory of cellphones that were as big as cordless phones LOL!

Keshi.

Mez said...

Carolingal dedication for u..dono if u have seen already.chk it.

Occasional Brilliance said...

i remember watching "mogli" with my mom... my dad would be cooking... there was actually laughter in the house back then...

Sam said...

-When I got two ruppes from my mom every Saturday to buy that orange bar sold in my school..and I felt RICH!!

Mirage said...

Well I remember some of the stuff u've listed down. Gosh ya, it's amazing wht nostalgia can do to u... it sure would be great to be a kid again. Actually, just to be simple again.

The Keeper of the Keys said...

when diamond comics were hotter than archies...and people knew who pinki and kutkut and chacha chowdhary and billoo were...
or, when people read comic books anyways...

The Keeper of the Keys said...

and like sunshine says--mahabharat...u cud never EVER take my dad out of the house on sundays...even if there was an earthquake or someting!!

thanks for this post...tho i must admit...u are a lot older than me...

ps--oh wow...rohit has such a wonderful list!!!

Pri said...

nice post! :)
brought back the warm feeling of yesteryears...
had written a post on similar lines remniscing in nostalgia, a long tiome back...
here's the link...check it out-
http://lifeofpri.blogspot.com/2007/10/life-those-days.html

take care!

rayshma said...

oh yeah...
- days when incoming calls *mobile* were charged! :)
- days when i used to fight with dad so i could read the comic strips in the newspaper before going to school... :)
- days when we used to wait eagerly for the "dabba-waala" to get our dabbas.
- days when 'tetris' was the kewlest game! hahaa...
- lining up at the school canteen to buy "pepsi colas" how i loved those! :))
- the gold foiled coin-shaped chocolates? :)

aww... now u've made me all nostalgic... :)

aneri_masi said...

This one's cool :) I'm going to take this one up as a tag...will let you know when my post is up :)

Cinderella said...

What I rem'ber ??
Loads girl...loads...

Sunday rangolis,
Chandrakanta,
Guchhe,
Chhuti Chhuti during summer vacations,
Wednesday chitrahaars,
Cycling to school,
Puppy love days,
First kiss,
First crush,
Late night drives on Marine Drive in our Ambassador,
Occasional angrezi flick rented home by Dad,
Becoming school prefect and being hounded by juniors during functions and competitions....

Ah...here I dive again. Deep into the abyss called nostalgia.

Mansi Trivedi said...

When I hummed "ding dang ding..ek do teen" all along the day. :)

Mansi Trivedi said...

@ Creedy
Daal Dhokli on sunday lunch. man i agree with you. miss those the most. :)

La vida Loca said...

When windows was new, using a mouse was a new thing

Unknown said...

another frequently updated blog... another green card.. good god, where do you get the time to write.

btw, the reason you were undetectable before, none of the bloggers I visited had your name..therefore the only conclusion cn be, your blog resides in a different social circle...
thus, while its fun to find someone new...you have brought me more hours of sifting through your top bloggers and their fav..and their fav and so on until this circle is completed...

...just when I thought i had finished :P

Unknown said...

aila!
gujju!

I finally have another gujju blogger.. thought I was alone...

Solitaire said...

@ Sunshine, sigh!! How I miss school. I used to be the prefect and in charge of making everyone stand according to their heights. :)

@ Badshah, you have not changed much. Your life is still very much about playing cricket and eating meals.

@ Vandita, wow! Old fashioned phones. I had forgotten all about them. Truly, how things have changed!

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy, at one point it was only available in Mumbai. I remember how excited I was when the Italian Bakery near my place started to sell it one day.
You are right about missing certain things after 20 years. We might be saying things like "aah those days when we used to drive ourselves to work"..as opposed to autodriver cars!

@ Rohittttt! OMG!!! You actually wrote a blog in the form of a comment! Seriously, maybe you should put this up on your blog!

Solitaire said...

@ Ekta, what is stapoo? Never heard of it. Foreign chocolates! hehe! I still cannot believe that everything is available in India now!! I am still living in the past.

@ Deepti, I guess Ramayan and Mahabharat are evergreen in everyone's memories!

@ Carolinagal, you just opened a flood of memories. Drive-In!! I remember doing the same thing for Rangeela and my mom's clutch plate broke because of the constant pressing!!

Solitaire said...

@ Keshi, we might even dread the size of today's cellphones 20 years from now.

@ Bubbles, oh yes! And did you collect those gold spot caps for some contests for the jungle book?

@ Sam, wow! How we cherished money. I had a piggy bank and would use all the money in it every 2-3 months to buy myself a treat in a restaurant. It would always be a King Cone!

Solitaire said...

@ Mirage, I dont want to be a kid again because I would have to grow up all over again but I wish I were that simple and innocent.

@ the keeper, you know what?! I do not know who all those people are. *sheepish*
Am I that ancient? :(

@ Pri, will do doc! You doing fine?

@

Solitaire said...

@ Rayshma, what are tetris? I remember lining up near our canteen for yummy samosas on anyone's birthday. Those were special samosas.

@ Aneri, sure thing.

@ Cinderella, WOW!! I used to school prefect every year and all my memories of school are surrounded around that.

Solitaire said...

@ Mansi and Ceedy, Daal dhokli!!? I dont remember when was the last time I ate that. Aah yes I do! At this one place in Houston which serves Gujju buffet. :)

So Mansi, you were Madhuri in the making huh?

@ La Vida, oh my god!! Computers is fairly new to us right? I was introduced to computers in my 5th grade.

@ Hershey, you thought you were alone?? Check my blog roll? At least 4 gujjus there if not more!

kyamaloom said...

Guess what? I've been thinking the same. Maybe, its too long to be a comment eh? :P

Neetal said...

wait a sec... Houston has Gujarati Jaman/ Khavanu... God its been ages I am craving for Khaman and patudi :( Which I had know... Sneha.. if you know the recipe do share it with me!

Neetal said...

P.S: Like your new picture.. looks nice :)

Pri said...

@ solitaire
yes im fine now..was jus a little disturbed the day i posted that...thanks for asking :)

ceedy said...

@mansi and solitaire

you are both invited to NJ. There are two great places one Jhupdi in Edison and another was Vatan in NYC - they have recently changed their name....

both serve good gujju food....but its no where compared to home cooked :)

Anonymous said...

I remember seeing on Doordarshan
Mawgli jungle jungle pata chala hai
chaddi pehn ke phool khila hai



then that filmi song i think it was called Rangoli!

I remember the first mobile dad owned was a Nokia.. and it was as huge as the cordless!

Owning a carom-board meant yu r the leader of the gang of kids!

ahh well lemme think of more!

then yea.. bdays were dne for gifts ONLY gifts ;))
puri-alloo was the fav dish on bdays :D


gajjar ka halwa was a treat, waited whole summer for the gajjar ka season to cme :)

Solitaire said...

@ Rohit, maybe it is. But it gave everyone something great to read about!

@ Neeku, What is Patudi?? :(
Sorry, as I have said earlier, I am not really a true gujju. I mean I was born gujju but no one believes I am.
And yes Houston has a place called Vishala which serves gujju buffet everyday.

Solitaire said...

@ Neeku, thanks!

@ Pri, goood!! We can have a barter system. Exchange of psychotherapy in lieu of medical advice. What say?

@ Ceedy, You know what? I am coming to NJ in the summer. Haa! Now you have to treat me to one of those two places. Then will waive off a few dollars from your pending charges.

Solitaire said...

@ Veens, its how strange everyone remembers Rangoli and even though I do, I never used to wake up early enough to watch it! You all were good children! And I was as lazy as ever.

maverick said...

hmm..good old days...

what i remember is taking the girl who was my neighbour on my cycle on rides when i was a kid...

when i could go cycling around the colony blocks n win the cycle races..

when i could go fishing at the lake near my house when i was in mayur vihar..

when i could watch space above n beyond n x files..

when i would watch tht russian xxx channel which used to come after 1am in d nite on d pretext of studyng..lol

lol.. :D

Neetal said...

Patudi, is a synonym for Khandvi... those rolled up yellow... thin... besan's stuff.... my mom makes it... you kinda spread it thin and roll it up cut into tiny peices and Vaghar it with rai, coconut and corriander!

Pavi!!!! said...

Awesome Idea..nice post!Its a feel good thingy rite?To lookback @ old times.
My childhood memories include

-> The wait for B'days n mom-dads Anniversary- Those were pretty much the only evenings we would go to a restaurant for dinner. n Sis n I would sleep off in the car on the drive back home.
-> The long drives in our Fiat to Tirupati/chennai
->School used to get over @ 3 pm n we would stay back until 5 pm playing elastic, aeroplane,chain-game, mud or stone, crocodile-whch clr do u choose? etc etc etc
->Summer vaccations in Chennai. WE would play outside after dinner until midnite while nanaji and his friends sat on the easy-chair and looked over us.The kulfi-wala would come @ sharp 12 and we would have one each before being asked to goto bed.
->Going to the Sunday "Art of Living" classes
->Walking and studying on our terrace.
->Preparing dances and other programmes for Diwali, Diwali shopping, Dressing up on Diwali, Distributing Mithai to all our neighbors, being called the "best-looking sisters" and the grand performance of our much-rehearsed dance!

.. BTW Were we asked to list only one memory? If yes, sorry :P

ceedy said...

@neeku n solitaire

never heard of the term "patudi

knew it all my life as khandvi or dahi wadi (jains call it that)

again like mansi n solitaire, neeku you are welcome to NJ....you get it here in the local stores...like rajbhog

Neetal said...

@Ceedy, Yeah lotsa people know it as Khandvi... I think Patudi must be my family code word for it... wonder how they came up with that word! Like seriously, its silly to believe... we have this code language thing going in our family... so must have got confused!

for instance, Sapai is coded as Paisa! My clan is somehow full of wannabe sherlock holmes!

P.S: Thank you for the invitation :) Thats very nice of you! Rajbhog is in New Jersey too! Man they are everywhere!

Anonymous said...

i remember this :

1) baarish me bheegne ke baad adrak wali chai aur bhajiye
2)buniyaad and humlog, yeh jo hai zindagi on dd followed by saturday and sunday movies with chitrahhar
3) summers me kulfi
4) 50 paise wali pepsi :))
5) maruti car which gave an impression how rich the owner wud be
6) relatives visiting us in rickshaw
7) english and hindi exams me long essays
8) christmas holidays
9) buying fatake in diwali days
10) dusshera wale din ravan ko marne jana (seeing it burn is like killing it)
11) buying new clothes
12) college ki canteen
13) preparing bhel
14) goin to a movie planning 2-3 weeks in advance and saving money for it
15) first 2 wheeler
16) school last day
17) first day in college

and many many more!!

Gazal said...

i watched QSQT for the first time and fell in love with aamir.my mother was scandalized!!!!!

i think you have covered a piece from everybodys life.

cheers

Solitaire said...

@ Maverick, LOL at the russian channel! Gosh! I think a lot of boys will identify with that.

@ Neeku, I know what Khandvi is but Patudi??? Do you know what khichu is? Ohhhh I love it!!!!!!!

@ Pavi, wow! Kulfi at midnight? And playing until midnight? I do not think I ever did that as a child!

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy, are you going to pay for my gujju meals in NJ?

@ Ashu, oh man! I remember all those hindi essays we had to write. "Ek sikke ki atmakatha"...I hated those atmakathas! And those TV programs..remember khaandan? And Jeevan Rekha?

@ Gazal, realllllllllllly? My mom was so supportive. Not only did she allow me to buy one poster but as my ardor for Aamir increased over time, I was allowed to buy everything that I could set my hands on and eventually my whole room had Aamir Khan posters on it, at least 17 at one point!!!!

ceedy said...

@neeku and solitaire

sure i will treat you....y not

and you added khichiu....damn...now this is getting worse....hope its the fluffy white thingy out of rice flour fresh and hot that you are talking abt...

and its really easy to make - i will make it - thanks for reminding

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy, yes it is! My grandmother made it the best! I still do not know how to make it and when I do, it tastes raw and lumpy!

ceedy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Neetal said...

@ Ceedy & Solitaire: its lunch hour now... and you two all ga ga about Gujarati food...

Hey Bhagwan haave mane Bhuukh lage che... I wish my mom could mail some Kicchu .... sigh! only if it was possible.

And Ceedy pachu vicharile... you will be dealing with three ravenous Gujju ben's hungry for Gujju food!

we might end up exceeding your credit card limit just for that ;)

radiohead said...

1. When we used to play cricket/other games almost daily.
2. When guyz went crazy over collecting those wrestling/cricket cards free
3. Reading comics on rent, Rs 1/2 per day.
4. wearing those heavy woolen sweaters for the fear of mom, and taking them off as soon as out of her eyes ;)
5. When going school on a bicycle was a big deal, and fighting for the cause of getting a bike for d same :D
6. obviously, Tv and all. Alif Laila if you remember.

And a lot more stuff ..

ceedy said...

@3 ravenous gujjubens

naa dont worry about my credit....eat all you can...(cliche - atithi devo bhava)

radiohead said...

I used to study maths while listening to a lot of songs on the cassette player, I used to hear a lot about this from my parents, but then its not easy to control children .. is it :D

and I was so into music even then that I even used to listen it late in the night, while my 2 bros were pissed at me and would complain to momma, and then I had to put my ears right next to the speakers, turn off the light and slow down the voice. such fun it was.

my moms still crazy over me being over interested in music and hollywood *sigh*

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy, why did you delete your comment?

ceedy said...

i found it to be kiddish!!!

Solitaire said...

@ anuj, I used to do the same..music had to be absolutely on. And my grandmother would yell out from the other room! and guess what? when my mom was young, she used to put her ear close to the transistor and sleep so that her parents would not get disturbed!

Mansi Trivedi said...

@Ceedy
Okay daal dhokli it is :)
NJ, here come to gujjubens!!!!

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy, Mansi, Neeku,

I want bhakhri, khichu, haandvo, khaandvi, khaman, patra, ras-puri-dhokla, kachori...

:(

ceedy said...

@gujju angels :)

you can get all that and much more...bajri rotla, chass, undhiyu, shrikand.....

y do you think i have not left NJ in 9 yrs !!!

Pavi!!!! said...

@ Ceedy : where in NJ do u get all this? A few mths back coz i was craving chaat we drove down to NJ , i think Oak Hill Rd or sumthing like tht and I found Nothing!!(Tearing up)
my mouth is watering reading the comments on this blog..mite emotianally blackmail hubby into driving down to NJ this wknd!

ceedy said...

@pavi

http://www.jhupdirestaurant.com/

http://www.rajbhog.com/get_retail_locations.asp?store_id=7

http://www.sukhadia.com/nj_main.asp?sid=649890090

These are all on Oak Tree Road, Edison NJ

Best bet for a complete meal is Jhupdi....see their menu on the website....

Enjoy...and I dont think you might have to blackmail your husband...just show him the websites :)

Neetal said...

@ My Fellow Gujarati Bhaiyo ane Behno,

Please! Puh Leezz! Lets stop here!

And Please lets not remind eachother of all this mouth watering dishes...(specially you Ceedy, just becuase you live in NJ... you shouldn't go on Jalavofying us with all that you get in NJ!)

You don't understand guys... this will make my dinner... Vaghareli Khichidi tastes sour... in anticipation of such good garam garam Gujju food!

Rho Tau GWIS said...

Hey Solitaire
Just saw your comment to someone about you being the prefect. This reminded me of something I think everyone will get a kick out of.


Our dear Solitaire was quite the entertainer even back in the day. Soon after the movie MPK was released, she must have watched that movie like a zillion times!!! So whenever our teacher was out, and the prefect (Miss. Solitaire) was asked to mind the class, she very cleverly made everyone quiet, in exchange for reciting MPK dialogues WORD FOR WORD!!! She did it so well, that all week long everyone would wait in anticipation of that one 'free period' in the week, during which she would do her MPK thing..she especially played an awesome Suman! I can't believe I
still have such a clear memory of that in my head!!!

Another sweet memory I have is when we all went to Mt. Abu, and Hingolgadh for trips. Remember Solitaire, those nights when we all sang 'Pehla Nasha' and danced to 'Galyan Sankli'!!! OMG,,and those fun bus trips when we all sang 'In the morning by the sea....if I were a single girl and if I were to marry..."
Gosh I'm getting so nostalgic now.

Solitaire said...

@ Ceedy and Neeku,
Just came back from an Indian buffet so all these things are not tempting me.

But it reminds me of how going to eat out to a restaurant was such a big deal in those days and now all that we do is eat out!!!

Solitaire said...

@ Carolinagal,

Would you believe it if I told you that I asked my roommate to bring me MPK's DVD from India when she went last year? She did. And since then I watch that movie at least once a month. Sometimes, multiple times! My friends are fed up of me. My nickname in our group of friends IS suman. And I have also given all my other friends each the character of MPK. Some of them had not even watched the movie and I was so offended that I made them watch it! They think I am crazy. I say I am still the same!!

Gosh!! Brings back sooo many memories!

ceedy said...

@neeku

ohoh...but beleive me I am willing to have home made vaghareli khichdi...

like solitaire said...once you have some indian food this urge subsides.....

ok no I stop

Pavi!!!! said...

@Ceedy : Thanks for the info.

@Carolingal .. Awww..those are amazing memories u guys share!Felt good just reading it and makes me miss my school friends!

@Solitare.. I hv seen only bits n pieces of MPK. Never completely.Now, pls don be mad wit me!

WritingsForLife said...

wow... that is a very touchy post.
I remember Chitarhaar as well... i was a really little kid back then but i remember it being colored though :)

Rho Tau GWIS said...

Thanks for your reply on Mez's blog :)

Rho Tau GWIS said...

OMG!!! I can't believe you are still crazy about MPK!! I feel like watching it now too!

Rho Tau GWIS said...

@Pavi
Thanks :) Can you believe Solitaire and I have not seen each other for *umpteen* years!!

badshah khan said...

yeah I guess that is the problem . I havent yet grown up. I mean irresponsible Kid then and now

Satish Bolla said...

seems like there's going to be a feast soon @ ceedy's place in NJ.
a good post, buddy. the past haunts me everyday. i love to be the way my elders are, being content with what they used to get etc. you can find a not-so-similar post at
http://satishbolla.blogspot.com/2007/10/lost-heritage-i-hope-you-all-agree-with.html

Mez said...

babe nice pic. Ceedy replies to u.

A said...

I used to look and I still feel I look like a guy but a sardar kid :-)

I used to make a lil sweet bun (joodi)out of my hair (I had long hair then) and used to make moustache with kajal and roam around the whole house...

one more...

I had a printed skirt elastic wali...I used to wear it on my head in a way that only my face used to be visible and I used to call myself a flower!

can u beat this, I used to do it everytime I used to wear that skirt!

Vasanthan said...

Very very interesting. growing up in India is such fun.

Mez said...

divya reply n neekuz dedicaion.see it.

Phew! am tired now..lol

Mez said...

Ok ghost particle too crushes on u..

Sneha kya charm hai beta...bas karo yeh charm ab. am geting tired ;)

Anonymous said...

Oh man, the serials Jeevan rekha every wednesday right was superb!!! and nukkad too

ceedy said...

Hey...

Look at what Ifound - goes well wid your post
http://www.flixster.com/user/deeksha1/quiz/doordarshan-again

I rememeber some of them...

Dholidaaa

ceedy said...

One more - last one (I dont even know how much my bill is now ) - I dont want to hijack this comment box :)

http://alicein.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/11/22/Jingles-kuch-yaadein-purani.html

divya said...

when we bought out first car- the fiat and i would climb up on the bumper and sit their...or sunday mornings when the entire family would gather and papa would ocme in from the clinic and all his patients would also join us in watching ramayan...i do miss those good old days..we hav come a long way but somehow it nevers feels like that..

Rahul... in City of Dreamz said...

Thanks for bringing all the memories back sneha :)

loved it..

one of my distinct memories : getting boondi ka laddoo from school after the parade on independence day...

used to wait for that laddoo man :)

and yeah.. TV mein my favourite.. he-man and the masters of the universe..

btw.. i forgot mentioning your name in Mez's blog crush post..

Just wanna say that you are charming.. really!

:) .. ok stop smiling yaar!

Satanic Angel said...

lovely post..
wat i remember most vividly is playing with a neighbor didi with barbie dolls and super shoppe (a toy shopping mall) where we went shopping on sundays!

Solitaire said...

@ Pavi, You have to watch MPK this weekend!! Go to NJ and buy the DVD after you eat at Rajbhog!

@ Raaji, I am a fossil!

@ Carolinagal, you must watch it!!! Want me to send you the DVD?

@ Badshah, good to be childlike but not childish..you must read Dr. Pri's post on this.

Solitaire said...

@ Satish, the link got cut off.

@ Anjuli, oh oh!! That is sooooo cute.....and pagal! But I can imagine you doing that!

@ Mez, thanks a lot babe..for that compliment and all your efforts. Time mile toh batana what you remember about your childhood the most.

@ Vasanthan, I am sure it is in Singapore too..Waiting for the time when you can buy tau huey for breakfast, getting 30 cents for pocket money and buying curry puffs with it, jumping up and down everytime durian comes into the house...

Solitaire said...

@ Ashu, Jeevan Rekha tuesday ko aata tha nahi? Khandaan was on Wednesdays. That 9 pm slot was so exciting.

@ Ceedy, links are getting cut off!! Email kar.

@ Divya, wow! Patients would sit and watch Ramayan? I am sure that day must be a busy day!

Solitaire said...

@ Rahul, awww!

*blushing*

Thanks a ton!

He-man!! And Spiderman too!! I used to love them too. And remember Stone Boy on Sundays? I always used to have chocolate tarts while watching it.

@ Elusive, WOW! You must be young. When I was introduced to Barbies, I was too old to play with them!

anamika said...

Nice and a very nostalgic post. I am new to blogs but really enjoyed reading yours and would like to add some of my memories.
1 waiting for Khel khilone every friday evenings.
2) getting pocket money once a week to eat vada pav in the school canteen.
3) reading the stories of harkisan mehta in chitraleka.
4)Spiderman on tv
5) watching Remington Steele on cable.

Deepali said...

I don't remember too many things off hand but here are a few that I do.

Waking up on Sundays and watching Ramayan and Mahabharat (must say for back then, Ramayana was a very nicely made serial in terms of the effects and stuff).

Reading famous five in the vacations.

Playing catch or 'baby' cricket with my cousins every evening. It was funny too cause we were all girls. Except when cousins came from abroad.

Sitting on dads car bonnet and eating pani puri or dosa on a night we went out.

Getting all excited every time we had guest and took them to a 'coffee shop' after dinner. No CCDs. No Baristas. Back then it was the coffee shops in 5 star hotels. Not only was it the whole 'I'm drinking cold coffee at The Palms' (I think that's what the Oberoi one use to be called), but also cause staying up till 1 or 2 am.

Watching this brilliant show on Discovery Channel 5 days a week. The idiot that I am, I don't remember what it was called :(

Getting my report card and having decent grades but having fabulous remarks by my teachers. They were all so great. Even the ones I wasn't very fond of.

Over and above everything though, being content and conflict free. The simple/ignorant life calls for no or little conflict.

Rho Tau GWIS said...

Oh no no. Don't worry about sending me the DVD. I can watch in online I'm sure. Might do it this weekend :)

A Confused soul said...

I miss
-Jungle book series on Sundays
-Got a chance to ride Sunny (bajaj) for the first time
-When going to restaurants or railway stations meant that i could buy the Tinkle digest/magazine.
Thanks Sneha for this wonderful post and also the blog.

Solitaire said...

@ Anamika, welcome to my blog! I do not remember Khel Khilone..what year was that in? Remington Steele..nice!!

@ Deepali, I remember famous five and secret seven too!! I loved Anne so much. Wow, everything that you said is soo nostalgic. I remember the remarks on my report card too. Those days....

@ Teju, you are most welcome!! I also used to always buy something when I went to the railway station.

Subhasis Chattopadhyay said...

Liked your list...made me nostalgic too...

Deepali said...

@ solitaire - :)
my memory is a select kind of memory - usually only remember the basic structure or bigger picture so I don't remember who Anne was but famous 5, secret 7 and nancy drew I use to love - at least the few that I read - then it became some sweet valley something which was average but was always around cause my sis use to read them so use to just end up read them too.
Kids today read so much crap though and worse watch TV instead. It's kinda sad.

I'm glad my memories brought back memories to you too :)

Vik Rajagopalan said...

Wow .. nice recollection :-]

reminded me of the old days. Chitrahaar takes the pie.

Amit said...

oh god...what a fantastic post..! believe i would have post this if you wld have not...hhehee... one of the most interesting topic of my friends...

we often goes to our past n remember those moments we cherished. things r changed now but still find a lil kid in us sometimes.

> i remember "ek chidiya...anek chidiya.." and "ekta ka vruksh" animation came on DD.
omg i want to see that again.

>the way u did... i remember we use to contribute for getting frooti every sunday and "mahacola-thumbsup" on saturday night.

> desperately reach home in time to some to the teleserials like campus and all based on collegelife.

oh....there are plenty... I think I better write a log...but then who will call a plagiarism..! Ooof...forget it..!
-amit

nik said...

i remember those days when owning an ambassador car was a status symbol of its own (no offense to bharath who is still living the illusion today as well). Besides driving it on empty roads was a pleasure.

"maruti 100 miles per hour, ambassador 100 potholes per hour !!!"

Prachi said...

for the above mentioned things.....i guess i was too young then.....i really dont remember binaca geet mama
though i remember watching chitrahaar every wednesday and rangoli....every sunday morning..... used to get up early morning for tht....

and ya..... my bro is 11 yrs elder to me.... so when i was 5 or so...i didnt knw anything abt studies....and i used to force him to leave all his buks and give me a cycle ride......he used to take me out on his new cycle for a 10 mins ride everyday. :)

Joy deep Majumder said...

Waking up on sundays for He man and star trek..

sunday mornings wd be the dosa morning..dad making the yesspecial coconut chutney in the mixer..mom making crispy dosa.

the saturday evening (the preparation for sunday .. day)standing in a que to get the dosa dough made in the big whirling machine at the neigbourhood chakki wala, and bringing it back home in a steel can.

My dads lamberata scooter days..we four..my bro dad and mom wd go out to seee films on sundays..

helping mom washing "gehu" and drying them on the roof..and taking it to the "Chakki peeseeing and peeesinng" machine..i remember i used to carry 10 kgs bags then fot atleat an km...so the dole shole i guess :)

climbing the walls ..taking shortcut to reach the dooodh wala...who would squeeze out streams of foamy milk from his cows in a balti..

the poppins and chikki days..rasna days..

the .50 paise an hour hire charges for a cycle..

the new hobby of posting letters to russian embassy..and in return receiveing colourful magazine from those countries...i wondered why they were sending me those free stuffs..i cdnt understand what the content said..but i loved the feel of the paper..the pictures..

Our first "Sears elcot black and white Tv" it had a shutter..with a key :)we had lost the channel changer knob ..and i remember we using the kitchen tong to twist it...:)

the days when dd transmisson wd be bad i wd be at the teraace turning the antenaa with the minutest of angles..and dad at the tv..i wd say..."ab" he wd say "nahi"..that conversation wd go on till the signal was clear..this happened every time the wind blew hard..or a crow sat on the thing...

The days when i fell in love with veronica of archies..i loved her nose..

The days when many families wd get together to hire a VCR and few cassetes of films till early in the morning.....and we wd all watch it together...the vcr man wd come and install the system...the tapes wd never be clear..and we were still happy..


The cable tv had just come in, and i remember me and my bro secretly slitting the cable & tapping some signal from the neigbours terrace onto out tv ..i still remember seing a bit of cleavage on star TV..and my heartbeat was beating faster than my dads lamberata :))

those were the days of collecting Goldspot stickers.

Days when most of us..incuding us had a pp.."Parosi ka phone "ha ha..
wiating in lines to make std calls..(it used to be 1/4 after some time)

the days of "Chunauti" , Hum Log , Circus..fauji..ye jo hai zindagi...

I remember i fell in love with alisha chenoy along with pooja bhatt of dil hai ki mnata nahi then..alisha had come out with an album .i felt she was singing for me..i absolutley loved her picture on the cassete cover..for those days it was quite hot..one day i found my dad had cut half her lower part of the picture from the cover..he must have seen me ogling at her often..and perhaps thought his beta wd get spoilt....ha ha ha..

Those days..when we would go to the tailor to get our trousers stiched..i remember once having a baggy pant...a ballon at the centre & tapering down..at the bottom..

the days me and bhai wd make a closed tent out of two chairs and few bedsheets on those winter afternoons..on the terrace..and wd doze off after few nonsical..yet innocent talks..

Those summer humid nights when all the apartments families wd sleep on the open terrace..waking up to...dews..on yr face..and geeli bedsheets..and the sun shining on yr face..

when school holidays meant..cricket..climbing trees..chupan chupaee..fighting.frequent much awaited load sheddings ...playing ghar ghar with girls..comics...coming back home...dirty...scratched...or going to ones hometown...in second class bogie..train..

the gullak..as i grew up..i knew how to squeeze out the coins from it..ha ha

the ek chidiya ad..the gal in a flowery frock in a stadiuim.some chocolate ad ..and that beautiful smile........mile sur mera tumhara..i still remember the expressions of all the chracters in that album..

those days were good..much more purer..days of innocence..and i guess those of us from that period were lucky..the few generations after that..had technolgy and media at their steps..and that engulfed them...social interaction reduced..the media and internet was suddenly a new attraction...and they compartmentalized many of us into their private little worlds..

Mujhhe wapas jana hai..un dino me.. the days when simpler things wd give me more kicks..

Mujhe gehu sukhana hai chaat pe..mujhe unpe apna naam likna hai...


:))

Joy deep Majumder said...

Yes the report cards..those days were the days when i wd count the step to my house..i wd reach the door..and wd go down again..wd climb up..and go down again..i had a classmate a "pandey ji" in class 6th who once had a grt idea of dropping his report card on cow dung..their by covering the marks he had scored, we reached our repective homes..and i cd hear his dad with big moustache ..shouting and belting him later......

Joy deep Majumder said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joy deep Majumder said...

i remember the song from "chunauti now" it went like this..

Man ek seepi hai..asha moti hai
har pal jeevan ka ek chunauti hai
sone na de aag seene ki..
.......forgot..forgot..
aawaz deke bula le too
tere liye hai jaha ...

their was one more...from "Chatritraheen"

sheetal ..manjul komal tera anchaal
mere soodhiyo me samayi..
jhal mal..jhal mal..

or ek shaam ..maine tere naam likh di..

:)

Joy deep Majumder said...

The TV carboard box kept on a higher shelf served a purpose too..everytime i didnt like the vegetables mom made i wd push down one piece of roti down my throat..and the next peice wd be thrown in a perfect tragectory in the box on the celing shelf..this trick was passed over to my younger bro later..mom wd be happy ..and we wd be happy too..and i guess the rats too..:))