Pampered summers

I think, in fact, I can vouch for it, that children are pampered more by siblings of parents than parents. Whether they came home or we went to theirs during holidays, in Bangalore and Mysore, we were pampered. And I was particularly the favoured one in my extended family.

During holidays, I was not only treated to feasts at home but also taken to various well-known eateries in (then) Bangalore every other day. You name it: Janatha Hotel in Balepet, Kamath, Kanthi Sweets, and whatnot. If not in hotels, bajjis, bondas, and hot idlis from Idli Amma’s Kitchen were always there.

A stroll in Cubbon Park, Tulsi Tota (we called it Chikka Lalbhag), or Lalbhag meant eating groundnut churmuri, slices of cucumber, kadle mithai, and totapuri mangos. I particularly relished cucumbers topped with green spicy chutney and small pieces of kobri mithai sold in front of the Kempe Gowda Theatre.

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Summers weren’t complete without cinemas. While my uncle took me to Galaxy, Plaza, Opera, and Vijayalakshmi to sharpen my English, my aunt took me to theatres closer to her office on K G Road, like Alankar, Prabhath, Nartaki, sometimes Navarang, Sujatha, and very rarely to Shivaji and Super.

Looking back, I realise my aunts and uncles never considered the pinch on their salaries that my constant demands for one thing or another entailed. Right from Parry chocolates and mouthwatering gulab jamuns in hotels to stationery items like pencils and ‘rubbers’ and the prized original Hero fountain pens, all my demands were met!

And I wasn’t easy to please. Once in Bangalore in the 1970s, I fancied a bath using ‘Mysore Sandal’ and refused to bathe until I was given one! I woke up the next morning to find my dream bath soap on the pillow. On another day, I went on a hunger strike for Gandhi Bazar Dosa. My uncle took me there in bus Route No 36 and bought me a hot dosa.

My uncle was an inspiration to me in exploring the roads and by-lanes of old Bangalore. He liked me because I always accompanied him on his walks and runs. We were even taken to their friends’ homes in the Cantonment area, where we were served dry fruits and occasionally cakes and puffs.

It’s a pity that fast-paced life now seems to have diminished the expressions of love and affection among family members. I miss those days of pampering, which had a human touch and stayed with me all my life. Every pampering at the end also had a moral lesson to learn.