If someone needed to set his watch , he ought to have observed my Grandpa's routine. There couldn't have been a more accurate way of keeping time . In one of my posts , I had mentioned that he was a stickler for time . So, I decided to write about it today.
Vacations at Grandpa's are now beautiful memories of our childhood. The fun filled outings and sumptuous meals fitted into a well planned routine that stood on the pillars of punctuality and discipline.
Wing Commander M.K Dutt , my maternal grandfather was called 'Dadu' by us . His career in the RIAF and later IAF, took him on an adventurous trail stretching from Peshawar to Rangoon and a few years in Southern India.
Post retirement, he built a beautiful house in Kalyani , West Bengal; the compound had some fruit trees of the likes of Jackfruit , Grapefruit , Banana and such.
He earned considerable admiration and respect from the local community in the neighborhood . There may have been good reason for this since he was known to be very meticulous, disciplined and a man of scruples. I remember an occasion when he came back from the market and sat down to fill in the expenses in his notebook. He grew restless for he couldn't figure out how he had an extra rupee ! An hour of brain storming yielded a probable answer. So, he hopped on to his cycle and went back to the confectioner to return his rupee.
Dadu's day began at 3:30 am every single day of the week all through the year, until his last day. He filled up water in all the buckets and jars , since the municipality cut the water supply for a few hours in the morning every day in their area. Then he would get ready for his walk and be out of the house at 4:00 am sharp . In order to keep things undisturbed, he locked the collapsible gate from outside and threw the keys towards my grandma (didima) who had developed the skill to catch the bunch of keys sitting half asleep at the far end of the verandah!
With the rest of us still asleep, Dadu was out with his cap, walking stick in one hand and a shopping bag in the other. He was tall and as straight as a ram rod. His military shoulders and long legs lent him an impressive gait . After the brisk walk, he'd return via the daily market for fish , vegetables , sweets and 'mishti doi' for us. Raw provisions were never stocked, always freshly bought.
Once back home, he'd call out from the gate for the keys , " Beee" to Grandma , whose name was Biva and the house was named Bivasree after her. From 5:30 to 6:30 , a few odd jobs such as lighting some coal fire and switching on the water pump and preparations for tea and breakfast, kept Dadu engaged .
Then exactly at the dot of 7:00 am sharp came the call "BREAKFAST!" on the rather confident assumption that we had woken up, brushed and were ready to sit at the table and join him for breakfast. I can't describe the feeling at that moment. Like zombies on fast forward mode , we were at the table within five minutes of that call !
"Good morning!" His enthusiasm set the tone for the day. Then came the soldier's breakfast ..corn flakes , milk , bananas, boiled eggs and toast. The breakfast menu was a constant like the Earth's rotation and revolution. It seemed next to impossible for us to finish our breakfast before an hour . I remember Dadu allowing us to have our favorite 'Bonny Mix ' cereal that had finally triumphed over the corn flakes !
Breakfast done , it was time for an hour of Mathematics followed by music lessons , both tutored by Dadu himself . His love for Tagore's songs and poetry, many of which he had translated into English , made him the subject of veneration among his peers. Accordingly, most of his children , especially my mother , inherited the musical strain from him .
After the lessons were over, we were free to jump over the common boundary wall to play with the neighbor's kids . A bath at 12 pm was followed by lunch and an inescapable siesta. Evenings usually meant a walk to the park or visits to neighbors with our grandparents.
Dinner was usually over by 9:30. Then came the part of making arrangements for all of us to sleep. A large mattress was put out in the living room and the kids loved sleeping on it. The highlight of the evening would be the theatrics involved in hanging the mosquito net with a 6 feet tall Dadu holding a corner of the net while a 4feet some inches Didima was made to stand on a peg table and hold another end of it ! Sometimes, we slept with Didima , on the terrace . It was beautiful ; watching the star lit sky lying on earthy jute mats while Didima sang us to sleep..it was ethereal.
They waited the whole year to have their children and grandchildren over for the vacations ..we were the little stars they longed to see , we lit up their world for a few days in a year .
