L-R Daddy, Mommy, Bauji & Beeji ( paternal grandparents), Tayiji and Tayaji
Sitting down: Neetu, Arun, Guria and yours truly

A few of my early childhood memories are of our house in Rohtak which was the official residence of my mother Sharda Gulati who served as the Public Relations Officer of Rohtak district in Haryana from 1971 – 76. Constructed during the British era, a portion of the building was the residence and the rest the PR office. Built on a plot of about two kanal, it was a massive house with high ceilings and thick walls. Three 24 by 24 ft rooms, parallel to each other, the doors as tall as 18 ft all in one line, if all doors were open, standing outside the house, one could see right through the last room. There were no cupboards but only a few inbuilt cement shelves where we kept out clothes, books etc. The outside room mainly used as a passage had only a folding sofa and a few chairs. There was also a store room next to the outside room from whose ceiling the mud fell sometimes. The two large rooms were enough for a family of five –our parents and we three sisters. The middle room was used as drawing cum dining and in the last room, we lay cots to sleep. As compared to the mammoth rooms, the kitchen was small and dark where one had to sit down to cook. The house had one bathroom, an attached one to the bedroom but the toilet was situated at the extreme corner of the house after crossing the rear veranda and huge open space. When it rained, we had to take an umbrella to go to the toilet. Interestingly and funnily, the toilet neither had a roof nor a door. A mug or a stick placed on its wall was an indication that it was currently occupied.

Pic shot in the backyard

The backyard was lined with tall eucalyptus trees but due to sandy soil no vegetation could be grown there.

The house was built on a 4ft porch. The ground outside the house was full of sand where we played with the neighbourhood children in the evening. Throwing sand into each other’s hair was the most common expression of anger.

Mother’s office also had an entry from the residence. During the office hours, we were at school but on holidays and in the evenings, we loved to play office office in her cabin. Her cushy chair, a hand towel hung on its back, a table crowded with files and paper, her office had a natural air of authority. Workers, office people, visitors sauntered in and out of the house the entire day and into the evening. Since mother was a district PRO, people came in with all kinds of issues. After my mother was transferred to Chandigarh, the house was demolished. I remember my friends Leela Saini whose family reared buffaloes and sold milk, Anju Khanna, Choti.