Life, pre-1947
Academics: In school we were taught Greek, Roman and British history primarily.
Indian history comprised the Mughals, the 1857 'Mutiny', the history of Bengal (the nawabs and rajas like Chand Rai, Pratap Rai).
The map of India included Pakistan and Bangladesh; it was so beautiful and easy to draw.
Kabuliwallas: There was a legend that they would kidnap children and eat us up.
So we would call out to them from the verandah and then hide.
They used to sell surma, attar, dry fruits and hing.
I would buy surma from them when I was in college. My mother used to buy hing, which was sold as chunks of crystal.
Opium: My granduncle would mix a daub of opium in his milk every night to make him sleep. It was easily available.
Charkha: I wasn't allowed to spin, but I learnt how to make thread using the device called the tokli from the balls of cotton.
Gas-lit street lamps: Gaslights were used for street lamps before the use of electricity became widespread.
Every evening after dusk a man with a ladder would light the wick of the street lamps. The illumination was mellow.
