A New Beginning

The past few weeks have been about change. I’ve seen quite a lot changing for people around me. Both my sisters have decided to get married. Friends have got married, few others have been blessed with children. In the midst of all this, I decided to change jobs. Well, those of you who know me well and have been on my page earlier, would know that I was not enjoying my stint in my previous organization. I wanted to do something that I was passionate about. The right offer came at the right time and I jumped ship.

It has been a month now in the new organization and so far it has been great. Though the name is not as big as my previous organization, the role here is a lot more challenging. A lot is expected of me and I’m trying to deliver as best as I can.  People are a lot warmer and friendlier. Yes, processes are not in place, things are a bit all over the place, but then I have the mandate to fix them. Exciting, isn’t it?

Games People Play…in Jamshedpur

How many of you have heard of ‘dadhi chhua’? Now, what was that? No? Never? Well, how about ‘Padda Kudi’ or ‘Atti Patti’?  ‘Gobar Danda’? No? No clue? I don’t blame you. If you are not from Jamshedpur, you wouldn’t have heard any of these names ever in your life. These are games that kids play, or at least, used to play in Jamshedpur.  Mention any of these games to a Jamshedpur guy and you can be sure of sending them on a trip down memory lane evoking a strong sense of nostalgia. Hell, you might even see them secretly shed a tear in the memory of those golden days that will never come back. Yes we used to play the usual cricket, football, basketball, badminton and hockey, albeit with tree branches, not hockey sticks. But then, during the long summer holidays, when we got bored playing the usual games, we would go back to ‘Atti Patti’ and ‘Gobar Danda’. My limited research in the field indicates that these games are completely indigenous to Jamshedpur. Nowhere else have I seen or heard of kids playing ‘Dadhi Chhua’ for instance.

A Million Flavors

I was introduced to golgappas by a neighbor in Jamshedpur. I was very young then, about 6 years old. I had just moved in to my parents’ house from my grandparents’ where I had stayed till that time. It is so long ago, but somehow I still remember that evening distinctly. My neighbor rang the bell and asked me if I would like to eat golgappas. I wasn’t so sure as my grandparents did not allow me to eat any street food. But I was at my parents’ place now, and I thought, let me ask Mom and see what she says. We asked Mom for her permission to go out and eat and to my surprise she readily agreed.  We ran out excitedly.

There was a ‘golgappawallah’, right outside our building, which for some queer reason is called ‘block’ in Jamshedpur. I still remember the tangy taste of the first golgappa, which was too big for my little mouth. From that day on, I became a golgappa fanatic. My growing up years in Jamshedpur has a very close link with this delicious snack. My friends and I used to frequent the various golgappa stalls in Telco Colony. This is how we used to celebrate our small successes and treat each others.