Bangalore
was still Bengaluru, a clean and tidy city, with lots of trees and a salubrious
climate to support a relaxed life style. Those were the days when there was
very little vehicular traffic on the streets. People would be in bed by ten and
the streets practically deserted by nine thirty. As an eight year old boy, my
parents found it safe to let me walk up to school and back – from Gavipuram to
Mahila Seva Samaj in Shankarpuram – a distance of 4 to 5 Kms. In the fifties
Bengaluru was relatively small and the population lived in self contained developed
localities such as the Cantonment, Malleshwaram, Shankarpuram, Gandhi Bazar, Ulsoor,
Wilson Gardens and a few more. Beyond first block, there was no Jayanagar. Hebbal,
Kengeri, Madivala, Hessargatta and other outlying areas were considered far and
beyond city limits.
The essence
of the Bengaluru of yesteryears was in its bungalows, unlike the high rise
buildings and apartment complexes one sees today. The bungalows were spacious
with a garden in front and a little house at the back called the ‘outhouse’,
normally given on rent. As a rule, all the houses had a ‘Gachi’ (Terrace) on
top. The Gachi served many purposes – drying clothes, airing beds, sun bathing,
drying food preparations such as ‘sandige’, hapla or papad, stuffed salted
chillies and so on. It was also a venue for ‘Beladingalu Oota’.
Come summer,
all my out station cousins would come to Bengaluru to spend their holidays with
the grandparents. Our GP’s house in Gavipuram, located on ‘Masti Venkatesha
Iyengar’ Road, was fairly large with all the attributes of a bungalow, with a
garden, out house et al. The summers were very mild with a touch of sun at midday.
The nights were cool with a fresh summer breeze wafting all around. On the days
when it did not rain, the skies were clear and filled with bright and shining
stars. All of us waited anxiously for the ‘Hunnime’ (full moon) to arrive so
that we could enjoy ‘Beladingalu Oota’ on the Gachi.
Moonlight is
always associated with romance, adventure and a desire to come out in the open
and enjoy the bounties of nature. It has a strange effect on people – it eases
the mood, lightens one’s heart and fills the evening with endless possibilities
– anything can happen on a moonlit night.
Moonlight
Dinners were a common tradition in Bangalore. The entire family would gather on
the Gachi and prepare for the dinner. Ground sheets would be spread and
littered with mattresses, pillows and light woollen shawls. My eldest cousin Madhu had
devised an ingenious method of transporting food from the kitchen to the
terrace. The kitchen had an unused chimney and Madhu had installed a pulley and
chain to hoist the utensils. The whole process of hoisting the food was a very
interesting engineering feat and invariably attracted all of us. We later took
turns to hoist the food.
The menu used to be drawn up especially for the
occasion. Bisibele Hulli Anna (a masala rice and dal combo) with Sandige, Hapla
and Upperi (Potato Chips) as accompaniments were a must. Curd Rice was another
compulsory item on the menu. The dinner had to have a sweet dish; it was either
Gulab Jamun or Carrot Halwa. I still remember walking across to VB Bakery in
Vishweshpuram to buy ‘Khoya’ (reduced dry milk) for preparing Jamun – one of my
mother’s signature dishes.
Another
highlight of the evening would be ‘Kai Tuthu Oota’ meaning food served by hand.
All of us toddlers would sit in a circle around one of the aunts who would give
a mouthful of food to each one of us in turn. This feeding would always be
accompanied by storytelling. Singing was also a part of the programme.
These social
occasions provided the family with an opportunity to bond. ‘Beladingalu Oota’
was often extended to other relatives and friends. Pot Luck dinners added an
element of surprise and increased the variety. In the absence of TV, picture
halls, restaurants, clubs and such other outlets for entertainment – these
simple gatherings provided the much needed opening for social interaction and
bonhomie.
My
grandfather was a homegrown astronomer. He had a star globe and would set it up
for the night. After dinner, all of us would sit around listening to him and would
gaze at the stars – that is when I first heard of Sapta Rishi, Ashvini,
Dhruva,Kruttika and a few more wonders of the night sky.
As the night
progressed each one of us would fall asleep peacefully under the gaze of a
benevolent moon. An evening well spent. Times have changed and Bengaluru has
become Bangalore. Bungalows are things of the past. People are busy and forever
on a fast track and have hardly any time to look up at the moon, leave alone
having ‘Beladingalu Oota’.
I invariably
go down memory line, whenever I read ‘Asterix’. At the end of each adventure,
the whole Gaulish village in the province of Armorica gathers around a camp
fire and eats and drinks to its heart’s content under the glorious night sky. "
