Bharat / Baba A little school boy studying in Mumbai
Baa/ Lalee, Bharat’s mother
Chhagan Mama Son of Baa’s phooi (Her father’s sister)
Ichha phooi / Phooibaa As above, Baa’s aunt, the ‘Baa’ added after the relative’s name is out of respect
Torangaam & Ajrai Two mid size villages on the banks of the river Ambica that runs from Dangs into the Arabian sea
Gandevi The Taluka to which Torangaam and Ajrai belong; about 2- 3 kms east of Torangaam
Kakuji/ Kasanji/ Bapa Baa’s father – the eldest in the joint family;
My maternal Grandpa
Lalji The grand father of Baa; Kasanji’s father, long dead;
The entire family is referred to as Lalji family / clan
Kaki The wife of Mohan kaka, Baa’s middle uncle; Kakuji’s brother
Mohan Kaka As above Kakuji’s younger brother who was married
Nana/ Nana Kaka the youngest brother of Kakuji who remained a bachelor through his life
Bhimbhai / Nayak Bhimbhai, Bharat’s father in Mumbai, typically addressed as “Nayak’ by all, All sons-in-law of the village are addressed as ‘Nayak” respectfully
Dikraa Common expression for ‘son’ or sometimes even for daughter – roughly translated as ‘my dear child’
Manu & Ashok Two of the countless children of Mohan Kaka and Kaki – I had to address them as Mama, officially though they were much younger to me
Bhagu/ Bhagu fua Ichchha phooi’s deceased husband
Lalu Neighbor’s boy who lived opposite Chhagan’s house
Dudheli A solid sweet made out of cane juice and milk
Ravji The bullock cart driver
Allu kaka An elderly eccentric man living across the street opposite Kakuji’s house
Pali Allukaka’s aged wife
Satish Allukaka’s young son of the age of Bharat
Ganpat Cobbler at Gandevi bazaar
Ajit Desai the local General Practitioner Doctor at Gandevi
Chotra a round raised platform, under a huge pipal tree, serving as the bus depot in the heart of the taluka town of Gandevi
Gadat Name of another village close to Gandevi town
Reva The taawaif of Gandevi, who was secretly married to Chhagan mama
Vijay Son of Reva & Chhagan mama
Excellent story again from you, Rajendrabhai.
You created an excellent ‘maahol’ of a village. I remembered my childhood days when I and my mother used to visit my ‘masi’ in a small village in Saurashtra during school vacation. I always looked forward to this visit and enjoyed my stay there every moment. There was no electricity. However, I loved the evenings after dinner. Masi allowed me to play her harmonium. She and my mother sang bhajans while I played harmonium. Masi was a master harmonium player. Village folks used to gather and enjoy bhajans. There are many other memories………
I am so overwhelmed with the kind of response I am getting to this particular story. A lot of respondents describe their own memories of childhood visits to their respective villages. Thanks Vyas Saheb. Didn’t know you play harmonium! We can have a jugalbandi then!