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Things I Remember |
Sunday, June 8, 2003
Toys I grew up in Agra. Up until I was 10ish, my maternal grandparents and my youngest aunt lived in India. My mother, brother and I would visit them every summer during our school vacations. Whenever one of my aunts returned to India for a visit from abroad, they would bring my brother and me toys. Occasionally, my grandparents or my aunt (who was still in College then) would buy us toys too. This was all very well and generous. However, we never got to play with these toys. My grandparents had a "showcase" which was basically sets of shelves staggered on one of the walls in their sitting room. All toys that were given to us at the grandparents house went up on this showcase. We were not allowed to take any of them home. They thought we would ruin the toys. Once in a while, if my grandparents or my aunt felt magnanimous, they would take down the toys from the shelf and let us hold them. A specific toy I remember is a doll one of my aunts brought from the US or UK or Canada. I remember being awed by this doll. It had interchangeable heads - one blonde and the other brunette. Both heads had eyelids that would shut if you lay the doll down. My aunt who gave it to me took a picture of me with the doll. After the photo however, the doll in all it's blonde glory went right up in the showcase. The brunette head was put away safely as well. The other toy I remember is a miniature furniture set my aunt bought for me in a flea-market style bazaar. The set had sofas, a chair, a table, and a cot. The sofas were covered in green felt. The cot had a wooden frame with a white cotton ribbon lattice which made the sleeping surface on the bed. I never got to play with this set either. I also remember a cactus like plant in a nook in the front verandah that we could sort of play with...well, we got to put eggshells on it as decoration. My brother and I did eventually get those toys from the showcase when my grandparents and aunt moved to Canada. We were a little too old to play with them then. Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Tolerance The house that I lived in till I was 11 was in a predominantly Islamic neighbourhood. Now that I look back, I marvel at the religious tolerance of the people in that little section of the town. Our house was 5 feet away from the Hindu temple and maybe 15 feet from the mosque. We were the only Sikh family in the area. However, I don't ever remember anyone teasing me or bothering me about my religion. I never felt like an outsider. I remember our family being invited to weddings and other celebrations in Muslim families in the neighbourhood and I also recall the Hindu families extending similar invitations to the Muslims. During the festival of Holi especially, I remember all the kids joined in (that might just be because it is a fun festival, and the religious meaning is not played upon much). I wonder how things are in that neighbourhood now. On the other hand, I remember a rich Brahmin girl named Nupur Tiwari making fun of the only Muslim girl Albana (I forget her last name now, but I do remember her telling the class that her name meant 'yogurt' in Arabic.) in our class at school. I remember Nupur making sure that none of her friends spoke to Albana unless it was to tell her that she was unclean, ate meat and was inferior. I felt uncomfortable at school because of my religion too. And, I was the smallest kid in the class. Hmmm....I guess I experienced higher tolerance in the uneducated, poor social strata than I did in the catholic school environment catering to the upper-middle and richer classes. Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Agra When I tell an Indian person I was born in Agra, they never fail to tell me that Agra has the largest mental hospital in India. When riding my bike to school, I passed a large gated, high walled building every day. I assumed this was the famous mental hospital. Years later I found out that it was an "ice making factory". Wednesday, February 12, 2003
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