Ethnographic Research

A family involved in craft work

Snehal Somkuwar New Media Design 2011-13

Research Question
To understand the breadth of what constitute sounds to the social group. To understand what sounds constitute the life world of the Social Group and how these sounds create meaning in their daily communal activity.

Researchers Frame (synthesized from the autobiography)

Amongst many categories emerging out of my autobiography, major one is studies. Since first standard till engineering, studying and staying amongst top students had been something for which I have put in too much effort. I have equally spoken about my mother and elder brother. Sense of responsibility and caring is something my mother made sure is imbibed in me. In field, I should take care of not stepping forward for taking any kind of responsibility which might deviate me from the required research. My elder brother is a companion and usually the one who sets things right when there is no scope of amendment and when I create too much blunder. There would be no scope of a superman here. I have mentioned my father many times but not as much as my mother and brother. I have been pampered by him, though within limits, and I have always looked upto him for his achievements and reputation. I have used the word remember a lot many times in my entire autobiography. May be I like recalling past events, ponder over them and connect or compare present events with them. I should avoid this, when I am in the field as such personal involvement might affect my observations. Also, I might lose focus. My inhibition to talk to strangers or new people,especially men, because of past experience and because I stammer at times, might create a problem. I might have difficulties in interacting with a social group and making them feel comfortable with me. I have thought of focusing on finding an all womens group or a family. Language is going to create a problem, as I am not very comfortable with the native language. I should be able to converse with the social group well.

Demographics

1. Radha Ben: Female Age: approx. 40yrs Employment: Self-employed, Works from home, teaches other ladies the craft work as well Education : Studied till 10th std Income: 4000 to 5000 per month (approximately) About: Perfectionist (in her work), Soft spoken, Talkative, Eager to teach craft work, Education is important to her 2. Asha Ben (Amma): Female Age: approx. 60yrs Employment: Self-employed, Works from home, teaches other ladies the craft work as well Education : Not known Income: Not known About: Talkative, caring, dominant, sharp. 3. Bijalalji (Radhabens Husband): Male Age: approx. 45+ Employment: self- employed Education: not known Income: not known About: lighthearted person, holds his wife on a higher position. 4. Ashish: Male Age: 20 yrs Employment: Self-employed, Helps in family business Education :Student, Failed in tenth twice, preparing for exams. Income: Not known About: Money minded, talkative, proud about his work, doesnt like his relatives much and the area he stays in.

5. Sharda Ben (Shardi mausi): Female Age: approx. 25 yrs Employment: Self-employed Education :not known Income: Not known About: Treated as a family member, shy. 6. Reena (Reenu): Female Age: approx. 16 yrs Employment: self-employed, Helps in family business Education :Student, Studying in 9th standard. Income: Not known About: Shy, Seems to be pampered at home by elders. 7. Rajanji (Babba): Male Age: approx. 65+ Employment: Worked in a movie theatre, now retired. Education: not known Income: Rs.300 at that time. About: cheery with a good sense of humor

Background
After failing twice to find a suitable group, I was looking for a group in which ladies were equally involved. The group is a family with six members and a tenant, whom they have kept. They are involved in craft and stitching work. Ladies do most of the work, like getting orders, delivering them, teaching other ladies. Children in the house are studying but help in the work too. They have worked with NID people before and have a fair idea of the students and their works. Before visiting them for the first time, I had a fair idea of the family members and who does what, as told by my colleague.

Participant Observations

Date : 2nd Jan 13 Time : 3:30 PM Location : Near Juna Vadaj, Ahmedabad Actors: Radha Ben, Asha Ben, Husband, Father, Reena, Sharda, Guest Uncle. PO : One to Many
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Before leaving from hostel, I had called Radha Ben, asking if she will be home and if she can meet me. She told me to come by and asked if I know the address. I told her I got the address from Nazuk (girl who told me about her). She told me to come till Union Bank and she will come and fetch me from there. I reached Union Bank around 3:30 PM. And called Radha Ben. A male voice answered the phone but soon gave the phone to Radha ben when I asked for her. Radha Ben, Snehal bol rahi hun. Aapse baat ki thi thodi der pehle. Main yahan Union Bank ke paas khadi hun. Radha ben: Haan haan, achha. Main aati hun wahan tumko lene. Ji While waiting for her, I kept wondering which direction she will come from. She came after around ten minutes. Aapne phone kiya tha naShe asked. I nodded and said namaste. Namaste. Aao yahan se. wahan se jana hai and pointed straight ahead across the road. There was so much traffic that it she was almost inaudible and I strained to hear what she was saying. iss time par bahot traffic rehta hai. Mushkil ho jata hai cross karna. Aa jao. Dhyan se. kahan se gandhinagar se hi aaye ho na. haan ji I answered. to kaise aaye? bus se. yahan utar gayi thi bank ke paas. As we crossed the road, she pointed towards a shop named, Azad Sweets and said ye azad sweets hai. Ye yaad rakhna. Yahin se baju se mudna hai fir. Ye yaad raha to asaan hai fir. She kept silence for a few seconds before speaking again Abhi to bahot kaam hai humare paas. Ghar ka bhi baahar ka bhi. Bahot kaam hai patch work ka. abhi kaam shuru hai aapka? I asked. haan kaam chalu hai na. baahar ke order hain. To wohi kar rahe hain. mujhe na dekhna hai aap kaise kaam karte ho. Report banani hai. To main kuch din aapke paas aaungi. Aapke paas time hai na? I said. haan haan. Aa jana. Hum dikhayenge tumhe kaam.patch work ka kaam karte hain na. Hum aate hain gandhinagar mein bhi seekhane. Prem ji bhai ko jante ho? Bhai hain wo humare. Baju mein hi rehte hain. Unke sath aate hain gandhinagar. Unse bhi mila denge chahiye to. Bharat bhai bhi hai na Gandhinagar mein? Hum unko bhi jante hain. As we took a turn, the traffic noise faded and it was almost quiet except a few vehicles passing now and then. She continued talking.

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Gaon mein bhi jate hain beheno ko seekhane. To ek mahina wahin rehte hain.night mein bhi. Sarkar bhejti hai. To rehne ka, aane jane ka wohi karke deti hai sab. 30 beheno ko seekhate hain. 1 se 4 baje tak. Abhi bhi jana hai 4 5 dino mein. Baroda jana hai. Wahan se phone aayega to kuch dino mein jayenge. Nazuk nahi aayi?She asked nahi use kuch kaam tha to wo nahi aa payi. I answered. haan. Uska phone aaya tha. Keh rahi thi ki 2 3 din mein aayegi. Kabse ho tum yahan? 1.5 saal se I answered. Achha, kitne 4 saalo ki padhai thi? She asked again. nahi meri 2 saal ki hai. As we continued walking, the road narrowed down to a street and there were kids playing and yelling and flying kites. aap shuru se yahin rehte hain I asked. haan hum to hamesha se yahin rehte hain. Bharat Pakistan hua na, to mahatma Gandhi Bapu ne ye jameen di thi rehne ko. Mummy papa tabse yahin rehte hain. A man on the scooter honked and she paused and looked at him and gave him side. Fir shadi ho gayi. to humara khud ka bhai nahi hai na, to hum mummy papa ke sath hi rehte hain. Yahan, and she turned towards a house and pointed there. dekha na, seedhe seedhe aaye aur bas yahan aake tumhe ye ghar dikhenge na, to yahan ye humara ghar. I nodded. It was a remarkable change in the scenery, from the busy roads, where there was a constant chaos of vehicles to a comparably quiet open area with small houses everywhere. like a change from a city to a small village. She entered the house and removed her chappals at one side and I did the same. A man ( her husband) was sitting on a rolling chair reading a newspaper in a small room beside the one we just entered. He stood up looking at me and gave me a broad smile. I said Namaste and smilingly he asked me to come in and sit on the chair, he was sitting on. Radha ben left the room and went inside the house. I looked around the room. It was a small room, with a chair that made croaky sound when moved, and a small wooden bed. There was a sewing machine kept at one side. Rest of the room was filled with small and big plastic bags of pieces of clothes. Radha ben came with a glass of water and offered me. I took it readily as I was thirsty. She then showed me small buttons and said ye buttons banate hain hum. Haath se. order k e rehte hain boutique ke. Kapda wo dete hain, aur ye jo ring dekh rahe ho na, pointing towards the metallic part in the button, ye humara rehta hai. 10 rupaye dozen ke hisab se banate hain. Vaise rehne wale kahan ke ho? Mummy papa kahan rehte hain she suddenly asked me while talking. Nagpur I answered. She pulled out a kurta and spread it on the bed. ye hain na, ye bhi boutique ka hai. Ismein ye dori ka kaam kiya hai maine. Ye sab bhi karte hain. Baki ka kaam to pehle se tha. Aao andar aajao. Pani chahiye aur? She took the glass from me as I shook my head. An old lady came and smiled at me. I said Namaste. She asked tum gandhinagar se aayi ho? ji. Mera naam snehal hai. Achha achha.

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Radha ben told her. ye nazuk ke college se aayi hain kaam dekhne ke liye. Ye humari amma hain. Asked me to follow her and told her husband kursi le aao aap andar inke baithne ke liye. Arre nahi nahi thik hai. Nahi chahiye kursi. I tried to refuse to which Amma said andar baithne ke liye to lagegi hi na. lane do She had a tone of authority in her voice and I dint say anything after that. They took me to another room, bigger than the previous one and had a kitchen attached. Two old men were sitting there, one on chair and one on a bed. As I entered I said Namaste and both of them smiled. Even this room had lots of plastic bags with clothes. Husband kept the chair on one side. Radha ben kept a piece of cloth on the floor. Old man on the bed (Radha Bens father, I guess) started speaking, aao beta, baitho. Kursi par baithna hai to kursi par baith jao, nahi to neeche baith jao. Jahan tumaha ra man kare. The other old man (Probably a guest, but a close one as he seemed quite comfortable there ) asked kahan se aaye ho beta ji gandhinagar I answered while sitting on the floor. achha. Good good. Aur rehne wale kahan ke ho proper?He asked again. ji Nagpur seI replied. He smiled and seemed to be thinking something, and then he said, kanhal nadi, kya naam hai uss nadi ka? kanhan nadi I answered promptly. haan. Kanhan nadi. Main gaya tha wahan ek do baar kafi pehle. Government contract deti thi na, sand ka. To jate the wahan. I dint understand and questioned kiska contract? Very patiently he replied,nadi mein ret hoti hai na. to uska contract milta tha, ret nikalne ka. Fir wo hum leke aate the. By this time, amma came and sat on a bed in front of me. Radha ben put one more cloth on the floor and sat. Her husband took his place on the chair. Radha ben picked up a pile of clothes from under the bed. Amma showed me a cloth on which she was working and said ye dekho. Aise sab kaam karte hain. Radha ben also started putting different clothes showing the work they do and both of them explained me different patterns. ye fool patti wala pattern hai. Ise kaat kaat ke kapde ke upar rakh ke, jaise turpai karte hain na, vaise kiya hai. Ye mayur ka pattern hai. Ye parde ka kapda hai. Tijori mein parda lagta hai na. aise kaam karke table ke upar bhi daal sakte hain. Humne mandir mein bhi bana ke dala hai. Yehi sab sikhate bhi hain. Ise patch work kehte hain. Do tarah ke kaam hote hain. Ye patch work hai aur dusra appliqu work hota hai. Wo jo pehle amma ne dikhaya tha na wo. Patch work mein kapda kaat ke upar se lagata hain aur appliqu work mein kapda neeche lagate hain, upar ke kapde ko kaat-te hain. Dono seekhate hain hum. Amma got a piece of cloth with embroidery on it, and showed me. bharat kaam bhi sikhate hain hum. kaunsa kaam? I asked. bharat kaam, embroidery kehte hain na, wo bharat kaam. Pehle thoda thoda seekhate hain, fir jab unko achha aa jata hai to order ka kaam dete hain. I observed, while Radhaben was soft-spoken and calm, ammas voice was more dominant and strong. Beside me there was a refrigerator, and at that moment, it made a gurgling sound and I was surprised at the sudden sound. The two old men were discussing about some files and papers. The guest, kept turning pages in a file, and saying something about not able to find a paper.

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Radha ben showed me the gowns she was working on. ismein kadhai ka kaam chalu hai. Order ke hain. 6 mile hain karne ke liye. Ye dekh rahe ho, ye kaam humne kiya hai. Ismein patch work bhi kar rahe hain. Aise 6 hain. Ye sab design humare hain. Hum kahin se dekh ke nahi banate. Jo dimag mein rehta hai wo banate hain. Aise designer log drawing karke fir banate hain na, hum vaisa nahi karte. Amma added, sab dimag se hi banate hain, kuch design humara rehta hai. Aap order doge to wo bhi bana denge. Kuch design aapka, kuch humara, aise karke banate hain. Radhaben told amma, ye padhai vaaste aayi hain. Report banake ke liye, wo exam hoti hai na, uske liye. Order nahi dengi. Seekhogi bhi tum? she asked me. aap sikhaoge mujhe? Ye patch work? haan na, sikha dungi. Tum dekho tumhe kya pasand aata hai, wo sikha denge. Amma asked Radha bens husband, Bijalalji, to show godhri and guided him where it is kept. He started searching in big plastic bags. In the crackling sound of plastic bags, old man(guest) raised his voice a bit and asked me, tum gandhinagar vapas kaise jaoge fir? I replied,5 baje bus rehti hai college ki vapa s jane ke liye. Wo le lungi. Nahi to ek 7 baje bhi rehti hai. To yahin se pakad lungi. There was a beep sound that kept coming continuously after every 10-15 minutes or so. And every time it came, I looked for the source of it. Husband got a bundle of clothes and kept it on the pile. Radha ben started showing me godhri and explained how it is made. ye gol pattern ki hai. Ek ek piece kaata hai aur use saath mein sila hai. Aise koi nahi banata ab. Ye Pakistan mein banti hai. Yahan hum banate hain. Sab haath se bana hai ye. Amma added, ye dekh rahi ho, ye star pattern hai, wo gol pattern tha. Bahot time lagta hai ye banane mein. Old man(guest) said, Pakistan mein bhi apne log hi banate hain. Amma : haan haan, apne log hi banate hain. Old man, pointing towards a pattern, asked, ye ek ek karke kaata hai kya? to which Amma replied, ye to ek lambi patti kaati hai, aur sila aise hai ki lagta hai ek ek kaat ke lagaya hai. Old man was amused, haan fir to bahot time lagta, ek ek lagane mein. Par de khne se lagta hai ki ek ek hai. Radha ben said, bedsheets bhi banate hain. Ruko main dikhati hun tumko. Saying she got up and went to search for the bedsheets. Amma was telling old man, about an invitation card that they got for a puja. Radha bens father joined in, mera saala hai na, usne ghar banaya hai naya, uski puja hai. 23 ki hai. Guest said, itne baad mein hai, abhi se card diya hai, aise to bhool jayenge. Radha ben got a pile of bedsheets. She opened the bedsheets, and started telling me about the different works, that they have done. ye single bedsheet hai. Chaaro taraf patch work kiya hai. Beech mein to nahi karte, sote hain to plain hi rakho to thik hai. Amma added, ye jo chadar hai na, ye agarbatti se jal gayi thi, to maine ismein patch work kar diya, ab dekho to dikhta hai kya kahin par bhi. Koi nahi bolega ki ye kone mein jal gayi thi. Dekho to kisi kone mein hoga. I picked up a corner but found nothing. She took another corner and showed from where it was burnt. Radha ben, order ki chadar thi, par jal gayi to fir li nahi. 50 rupaye kaate the. 25 saal ho gaye iss chaadar ko. 25 saal, bilkul lagta nahi hai, I was amazed. Guest added, nayi hi lagti hai ye to. Kapda bhi achha hi hai. Amma said, haan tab to kapde bhi ache milte th e. Aajkal kahan milte hain aise kapde. Tab 3 rupaye metre mein achha kapda milta tha. Ab to quality bhi vaise nahi rahi.

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After a pause, Amma asked, kuch chai coffee kya loge? nahi kuch nahi, I replied. Nahi aise to nahi chalega kuch to lena padega. Amma said which sounded more like an order. chai le lungi. I answered. She told Radha ben to make tea and joined the two old men in their talk. Mila wo paper aapko? I looked around the room. There was a jhoola at the end of the room. Wall in front of me was decorated with mirrors and beads. The room was much decorated with small show pieces and framed pieces of their work. Bijalalji was silent all this while. Speaking very less, and when required. I noticed, the women in this house talk more and I think they hold a good position in the house. All the time, there was chattering of kids, playing and yelling outside. It was a constant sound that kept occupying the background of all our conversations. 3 4 times mobile phone rang but every time, there was a different ringtone. Aapne kahan se seekha ye kaam? I asked amma, while folding the clothes and Bijalalji helping me in that. Amma : arre hum rakh lenge tum rehne do. Humne to kahin se nahi seekha. Peedhi dar peedhi ghar pe kaam hota aaya hai, to humein aa hi jata hai. Ab ma ko aata ho to bachhe bhi ghar par seekh hi jate hain. To this statement, Radha ben came out of the kitchen and added, gujrati mein kahavat hai, mor ke ando ko rang nahi karte, unke pankh range hi rehte hain. vaise hi hum log seekhte nahi hain kahin class mein jake. Ghar par hi kaam karte karte aa jata hai. She got cups of tea and gave all of us. She got a plate of namkeen and kept in front of me, snehal, lo nashta karo. Then she came and sat at her place and started sipping her tea in the saucer. Amma had started working on one of the gowns, and as she was sewing, the bangles in her hand were making a rhythmic sound following her hand movement. There was a sound of payal, and Radha ben called someone by her name.Reena. She paused and started telling me. beti hai meri. Abhi nahake aayi. Navi mein padhti hai. Use bhi aata hai ye kaam. Aise sikhaya nahi hai par humein karte karte dekh, wo bhi karne lagi hai. Reena, didi ko dikha tune jo kaam kiya hai. Wo kurta banaya hai na,leke aa. Tum nashta karo na, kuch kha nahi rahi ho. As Reena went and got the kurta, again there were series of sounds of ghungroo.achha hai na kaam, khud hi kiya hai, ye wala appliqu work hai, upar se cut karke neeche kapda lagaya hai.Radha ben was explaining. Guest and Father, got up and went outside, talking about visiting someone in the neighbourhood. Radha ben took a gown from her side, and started stitching.And similar sound of bangles, filled the room. ye kaam karte karte, aankho mein chashma lag gaya. Tum kitna padhi ho? 12 ke baad yahan aayi? Ji maine 12 Ke baad 4 saal aur kahin padhai ki, fir yahan aayi. Ye 2 saal ka hai. I replied. Achha, pehle 4 saal aur fir 2 saal.bahot paisa lagta hoga na. kitna lagta hai fir bhi?She asked. kafi lagta hai. Loan lete hain. Fir naukri milti hai to loan chukate hain. I answered. haan, padhai ke liye loan bhi milta hai na. achha hai. ab tum dekho itna padhi ho. Fir naukri bhi karogi. Par pata nahi shadi ke baad sasural wale naukri karne denge ki nahi. Kyunki humne dekha hai aisa bahot baar.

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Humare khud ke ghar mein hua hai. Humari fufi ki beti hai na, use bahot padhaya. Engineer banaya. Dekhne mein bhi sundar hai. Use naukri bhi lagi thi. Achha kamati thi. 13000 kamati thi mahine ka. Fir humare samaj mein shadi kari.karni padti hai. Nahi to log baate karte hain. ab ladka zyada padha likha nahi tha. Usko 7000 milta tha. To shadi ke baad dono mein kaha suni hone lagi. Fir mana kar diya use naukri karne se. ab dekho humare saamne hi aisa hua hai, baahar ki bhi baat nahi hai. hum dusvi tak padhe hain. Fir yahi kaam karte hain. Ab dekho ghar baithe baithe kaam bhi ho jata hai, ghar ka bhi kaam ho jata hai. bachho ko bhi sambhal lete hain. Kama bhi lete hain. Ab mehengai itni hai. ghar ke sablogo ko kamana padta hai. ek se nahi hota. Pehle to chal jata tha. mere papa cinema chalate the pehle.theatre mein. 300 rupaye mahina milta tha. Pura ghar chal jata tha tab. Ab nahi hota. Hum bhi kuch 3 -4000 kama lete hain. A lady came in and was asking about Ashish. Radha ben told her that he has gone out. Then she enquired about me and Radha ben answered that I am there to learn their craft. She left and sat on the wooden sofa outside and started working on her cloth. upar ka room kiraye pe diya hai. 2000 rupaye mahina. To wo bhi kaam mein aa jata hai. ye sharda hai, upar hi rehti hai. tum kal aaogi to tumhare liye aise kapde ki cutting karke rakhenge. Fir tum bhi kar sakti ho. Abhi se karna hai chalu to abhi bhi kar sakti ho. haan abhi bhi kar sakte hain. I replied. Amma started telling radhaben, wo wahan plastic rakhi hai na wo leke aa, usmein kapde hain, main kaat ke deti hun. I wondered about the position that amma hold in the house, as her commands to everyone were clear and they all listened to her. Radha ben got the plastic bag for amma, and 2 pair of scissors. She took out a cloth and started cutting. Amma also, took a cloth and started cutting the patterns to stitch in. And then there were only the sounds of two scissors. ye le, ise kapde pe tape maar de amma was telling Radha ben. Radha ben took the patterns and arranged them on the cloth. Husband who was quiet till now, and observing the whole sequence, said,aa jayega ek kapde mein, haan haan aa jayega. Bata do use kaise karna hai. Radha ben explained me how to do the stitching and gave me the needle and the thread to start. Her husband saw the whole process of she explaining me and after she was done, he went and sat on the bed. aise hi sikhate hain hum shuru shuru mein. Aise phool bana ke. Fir jab haath baith jata hai to bade kapde dete hain. Dheere dheere haath baith jayega. Amma was telling me. And then she left the room. Nisha bhi aayi thi humare paas, tumhare college ki hai. uska kuch fashion show ka kaam tha. Uske liye. Nisha hi naam hai kya to mujhe yaad nahi hai. Radha Ben was saying. Haan Nisha hai na college mein. She pronounced sh as s and wondered for a while if I should do the same, and when second time I took her name, I said Nisa instead of Nisha. Radhaben continued talking. hum gaon mein seekhane jate hain na, to fir wahin rehte hain ek mahina. 1 se 4 baje tak seekhate hain. Sarkar deti hai rehne ke liye ghar aur aane jane ka kharcha bhi. 30 beheno ko seekhate hain. Sarkar hi deti hai sab saman, kapda, sui dhaga. Aur jo seekhne aata hai unhe 50 rupaye din ka. Achha hai na. seekh bhi jati hain. Fir ghar baithe baithe kama bhi leti hain, kuch kaam karke. Nahi to kuch logo ko to sui bhi pakadna nahi aata tha. Ab humne seekha diya to bolti hain ki teacher, achha hua

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aapne seekha diya. Button-vutton toot jaye to khud see sakti hain, nahi to pehle darji ko deti thi. To kharcha bhi bach gaya. Fir aajkal to mehengai itni hai ki, kamana padta hi hai. college mein aaye the, tab mile the nazuk se. wo kuch 5 rupaye ka kuch to m ela laga tha. Tabse humari baatcheet hai. Mera ladka hai na Ashish, wo bhi bahot achha patch work kar leta hai. dusvi mein hai. Use kaha ki design school mein padh ke degree le le. Aise to 3 4 hazaar rupaye hi milte hain. Degree ho to naukri bhi lag jati hai. 18 saal ka hai abhi. Umar bhi kam hai. ho jayega abhi. to isliye use kehte hain ki seekh le. Machine bhi chala leta hai. saadhe teen hazaar ki machine li hai. chala leta hai wo. Par mana karta hai. She kept monitoring how I was doing the stitching. Her husband started the TV, and there was a noise that kept coming continuously in the every channel he changed. There was a sound of payal announcing Reenas enterance. She came and sat there. NID mein Anshu madam bhi hain na. jaanti ho? Radha ben asked. nahi. I replied. unke yahan bhi kaam karne jate hain. 2 din wahin rahe the. Godhri bana ke aaye the. Unke bhai ko ladka hua to unhone godhri banwayi thi. Wo khud bhi kar leti hain ye kaam par kehti hain ki hum zyada achha karte hain to humse karwayengi. Photo bhi hoga uska. Reenu wo phone mein photo to dikha. Reena started searching for the photo in the phone with constant beep sound of the keypad.Husband also joined reenu and was looking in the phone. She gave the phone to radhaben on finding the photo. ye dekho, ye godhri banai thi.design bhi humne hi kiya. Then she changed the photo and showed me all the photos of the phone. She stopped at a photo, ye mera ladka hai ashish. Bahot shauk hai use photo ka. At another, ye jahan sikhane jate hain, wahan par banwaya tha, abhi sab yahin ghar par frame karke lagaya hai, koi aaya to dikhane ke liye chahiye na. ye ghar ke mandir ka photo hai. iska parda bhi banaya hai. Reena got a container and offered modak. ye kal chaturthi ki pooja thi na, to banaya tha. Radha ben kept talking. Reenu bhi bata degi kaise karna hai patch work. Reenu, bata zara didi ko kaise karna hai. gaon jate hain to inki chuttiyaan thi to inhe bhi le gaye the saath mein.hum to ise kehte hai jitna padhna hai padh le, jo padhna hai padh le.fir aajkal to shaadi bhi samaj ke baahar ho jati hai. to chalta hai. Iski dusvi ho jayegi to silai ke classes lagwa dungi ise. Ek blouse bhi bana liya to 250 300 rupaye to aa jate hain. Baahar isi kaam ka boutique wale kitna paisa lete hain.to ye seekh jayegi to achha ho jayega. haan, thoda sa design daal denge aur kafi paisa lete hain. I agreed. I could hear some sound since last 15 minutes, but couldnt figure it out. On searching for the source, I found a handpump, and shardaben using it. I asked radha ben, Pani aane ka time hai kya? haan, subah ek ghanta aur sham ko aadha ghanta aata hai. hum subah hi bhar lete hain. Shaam ko zarurat nahi padti. Motor hai, pani bharne ke liye. She told me my mistakes in stitching. And showed me again how to do it. Her husband who was silently observing, said support lo neeche, to achha hoga. Aise haath bhi dukhega. To neeche ghutne ke sahara le ke karo. I followed his instructions and started stitching again. As it was getting dark, noise of children playing outside became low. Radha bens phone started ringing,(again a different ringtone) her

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husband answered but gave the phone to Radhaben. She spoke in gujrati, informing that Asha ben is not home but has gone to temple and she will tell her to call once she is back. tum kisi ko bol do, bus wahan se niklegi to tumhe phone kar denge. To wahan jake khade nahi rehna padega. Radha ben told me. Sharda ben got her piece of cloth and sat on the bed and started working. She asked me if I got the patch work. haan thoda thoda I answered. Then she and husband started talking about the gruh pravesh Puja. Asha ben(amma) entered at that time and looked at my work asking aa gaya? Aa jayega dheere dheere. Jiska mann ho seekhne ka wo jaldi seekh jata hai. pehle din mein tumne achha hi kiya hai. pehle sui pakdi hai haath mein? haanji bharat kaam kiya hai thoda bahot pehle.I answered. badhiya, aa jayega ek do din mein, haath baith jayega to. Khana milta hai hostel mein.? She asked. Haanji. 8 baje se milna shuru hota hai.I replied. abhi time dekha hai tumne? Milega abhi? She asked in a way, I wondered if she is thinking Ill skip my dinner. Haan, sawa 6 ho rahe hain na, main nikal jaungi abhi thodi der mein. I said. kal aana to aur bhi pattern batayenge, fir ek metre kapda leke aana to usmein seekhna bhi ho jayega and kahin par fir use prayog bhi kar sakte ho. Dhaga aur sui rakh lo, ghar par jitna ho sakega ise pura kar lena. Amma said. She had got coconut from the temple, I think Prasad, which Radhabens husband was breaking on the floor with a khalbatta. Baahar thand hai,sweater hai na tumhare paas? Nahi ho to main dun sweater Amma asked .ji hai. leke aayi thi main. I answered. As I packed my things, radha bens father came and told Radha ben in gujrati to leave me till the main road. I protested, nahi nahi main chali jaungi, ab rasta pata hai to main chali jaungi. arre wo raste mein chhokre log sharab peeke khade rehte hain. Fir wo chhedkhani karnege to kaise karogi. Isliye keh raha hun. Ye chhod degi wahan tak. He said. haan kabhi bhi aana ho na to phone kar dena, main lene aa jaungi Radha ben added. Radha ben and Reena wore sweaters and we left from the house. We took the same route, we had taken in the afternoon. kal bhi isi time par aa jana, dopahar ki bus leti ho na. to 3, saadhe 3 baje tak aa jaogi.Radhaben was saying. 2 3 din mein haath baith jayega aapka. Reena added smiling. And I smiled back. yahan par sabhi yehi kaam karte hain. Ghar ghar mein. Kamane ka achha tareeka hai na. Aadmi daru peeke aata hai to ghar chalane ke liye paise nahi deta. Isse kuch paise aajate hain to ghar kakharcha ho jata hai. There were a very few kids on the street. Plaiying and Flying kites and almost empty roads. abhi paldi jaogi na. to auto le lena. Nahi to time lagega. Bahot traffic rehta hai iss time par. 50 rupaye lega auto wala. Sharing wala loge to 10 mein le jayega. Uss din mujhe 2 baje pahochna tha to main paune 1 baje se nikli thi. Fir bhi time ho gaya tha. Bus kitne baje hai tumhari?Radha ben asked. 7, sawa 7 tak niklegi. I answered. haan fir to mil jayegi. Ye road hai na, ye yaad rakhna. Azad sweets se mud ke seedha seedha hi hai. asaan hai. We reached the main road, traffic noise was too prominent. She pointed towards the auto and asked wo lena hai? nahi to ye cross karte karte hi time ho jayega. haan main ye le lti hun. Achha Namaste. Kal milti hun main aapse.I said. Haan Namaste. Sambhal kar jana.her rest of the words were drowned in the traffic noise. Reena waved bye and I waved back. It was 6:30 when I got into the auto and left for Paldi.

Date: 4th Jan 2013 Time: 2:45 pm to 5 pm Location : Near Juna Vadaj, Ahmedabad PO : One to Many Actors: Radha Ben, Her Husband, Amma, ShardaBen, Reena, Ashish, Babba, Uncle
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Radhaben had gone out somewhere yesterday, so she had made her daughter call and tell me not to come. So today, before leaving for her place, I called and checked if she is at home. She called me in the afternoon. I reached the Union bank at 2:45 pm. Again there was ear deafening traffic noise. I started walking towards her house. And as soon as I left the main road and enetered the street to her home, traffic noise was gone. I reached her home, and saw a car in front of her house, and then voices of too many people. I guessed there were guests at her place and I paused outside. Her Father was sitting in the first room. I said Namaste to him. Radha ben entered at that moment. Amma was standing in the door to the next room. Aa gayi tum. She said with a smile and declaration. Haanji, Namaste. I said.In the next room, many people were sitting and chatting and laughing. Radha ben took me to the other room, small one, Reena was sleeping there. Reenu, uthja, didi ko bitha. Radha ben said and left.She woke up and made space for me. Mehman aaye hain? I asked. Haan, mausi log kutch gaye the to aaj vapas aaye hain. She answered. Achha, tumhari chuttiyan chal rahi hain school mein? I asked again. Nahi chuttiyan nahi hai. school tha na. school se aayi abhi. Subah 7 se chalu hota hai 1.30 tak. Bahot neend aa rahi thi. To aake so gayi. She replied. kahan hai tumhara school? Wo bata ka showroom dekha hai na? wahan par hi hai. paas mein hai. She said.kal tumne call kiya tha na nazuk ko. I asked.haan mummy bahar gayi thi na. to mujhe laga aap pareshan hoke itne duur se aaogi aur mummy nahi hogi to fir bekaar ho jayega. Isliye pehle hi phone karke bata diya. Aap nikal gaye the kya ghar se? She asked. nahi, main bas bus mein jake baithi hi thi, to nazuk ne bataya to main fir utar gayi. I answered. Radha bens husband got a glass of water for me. I took it and said dhanyawad. Reena got out of the bed and left. And there was a music of payal following her. Radhaben came and asked kiya wo tumne kal patch work? I nodded and showed her the homework she had given me. haan, achha kiya hai. baith raha hai haath tumhara, safai bhi hai. Reena dekh to ye didi ne kiya hai. Radhaben called Reena. achha dikh raha hai. aa jayega aapko to jaldi. Reena said. Abhi tumhe naya deti hun. Fir wo karna. Radhaben was saying. haan naya design de do, karti rahegi wo apna dheere dheere. Bijalalji added. Kal bank gayi thi na, kuch kaam tha, isliye fir tumhe mana kar diya. mehmaan aaye hain aapke yahan, kaam bhi hoga aapke paas bahot. I said haan kaam to rehta hi hai. ghar ka bhi. Abhi bhi subah bank jake aayi. to der ho gayi. Khana bhi nahi banaya. Amma abhi bana rahi hai khana. Wo meri behen aur uski saheli aaye hain. Ghumne gaye the kutch, to abhi vapas aaye hain. Main kapda lati hun. Tumhe kaat ke deti hun. Radha ben said and left. Tum kaise bus se aayi. Bijalalji asked. Ji, college ki bus se. I answered. He started noticing a kid who was flying kite just outside the house and kept yelling for his friend. After a while, ye machine se kya

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hota hai? I tried starting the conversation with him, asking him about a small machine kept beside the sewing machine. Isse buttons banate hain, wo tumhe dikhaya tha na. Ek min, dikhata hun. Haan ye wala, kapda aise gol kaat lete hain. Aur iske rings aate hain, to uske upar lapet ke, yahan rakh dete hain, aur ye handle ghuma dete hain, to ban jata hai. He demonstrated how the button is made. Whi le rotating the handle, it made a sound similar to rotating a tap and then a punch. sab size ke bante hain, isse bade, isse chhote. ek hi machine se sare size ke bante hain? I asked. Haan, ye jo grid hain na neeche, isse badalna padta hai. ye alag size ka aata hai. to ye badal diya na, to jis size ka chahiye us size ka banta hai. He explained. Then he went outside and started chatting with Radhabens Father and the old uncle from the previous day. Ashish came searching for something, kem chho? Maja ma? He asked. And I nodded.Main bula ke lata hun mummy ko, wo bata degi aapko kuch fir aap wo karna. Ruko.he said and left. From the next room, I could hear the guests talking loudly. They were discussing their kutch trip and laughing and giggling. Radha ben came searching for her glasses. chashma kahan rakha maine apna. Aye Reenu, reenu. Chashma dhund to mera. Ashish got her glasses. Radhaben checked in the plastic bags for a cloth for me. Pehle chashma to pehen le, tab dikhega na kapda Ashish chuckled. tumhare liye neeche kuch daal dun? Bijalalji asked me.Radhaben got a cloth and started cutting pieces out of it. nahi upar hi baithegi wo. Ye dekh, na aise chaurus karke design kaatne ka. Ye aise moda, fir aise, aur abhi kaatenge na, to barabar sab taraf se kat jayega. Dekha na. hum aise drawing karke nahi banate. Dimag se hi banate hain. Radha ben was telling me. arre usko teacher jaise bata na, ek ek ache se. ki yahan se ab kaata, fir aise mod ke kaata.Radhabens husband said and started laughing. ye dekho, aise kaata hai na, abhi ise tank dete hain kapde par aur fir tum sil lena. Wo paper do wahan se. Radhaben asked her husband. He picked up a paper from the floor and gave it to her . aise tum paper par kaat kaat ke bana sakti ho. Pehle ispe bana ke dekh lena, fir kapde mein kaatna. Aa jayega She explained. Her husband got a small kid with him and was talking to him in baby language in gujrati.Even I started playing with him. ye meri behen ka beta hai. abhi aayi thi na thodi der pehle, dekh ke gayi, wo meri behen hai chhoti. Radha ben said. Amma came and called Radhaben for lunch. tumne khana khaya? she asked me. haanji main khake aayi. Dhai baje tak hi milta hai na. to nikalne se pehle kha liya tha. I answered. achha achha. Chalo thik hai. Radha tu khana kha le. Aaja ashish tu bhi kha le, she said and left. Radhaben showed me the gowns she was making that day. ye dekho, us din kaam kar rahe the na. 6 the. Abhi ek bacha hai. kal dena hai ye sab. achha lag raha hai ye. Ye to us din amma bana rahi thi na. bharat kaam bhi achha lag raha hai. I added. As Radhaben left for lunch, I started my stitching. Shardaben came and sat there. She was talking with someone on the phone. And it was almost like a whisper, ashish kept asking her to give the phone in gujrati. After she kept the phone she asked, tum gandhinagar se ho na? Main bhi gayi thi gandhinagar tumhare college. Classes the. Patch work ke. Ruko mere paas foto hai main wo dikhati hun tumhe. She came beside me and started showing me the fotos on her phone. ye dekho, ye sikhaya tha. Ye sab patch work hi hai. ye hai na tumhara campus, peeche ki jagah. ye NIFT ka hai. Main NID se hun. I said. Achha. Wo bhi gandhinagar mein hi hai na. I nodded and she continued talking. y e dekho. Ye mera bhai

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hai. hum 3 log gaye the. Aur ye wahan ki didiya. Ye sab humne unhe sikhaya tha. achha dikh raha hai ye bahot. I appreciated. She went and sat on her previous place. Took out a newspaper clipping from her purse and showed me. didi ye dekho to ismein clinic ka naam diya hai kya kahin? ye to gujrati mein hai, mujhe gujrati padhna nahi aata ache se. bas thoda thoda hi padh sakti hun.I took it from her and tried decoding. ye to bas bata rahe hain ki baal kaise colour karte hain. Is mein kahin naam nahi hai shayad se.I said. mere baal safed ho rahe hain na.And she started laughing. Ashish took the clipping and they both started discussing something. I went back to my work. Amma was using khalbatta in the kitchen, and ashish yelled amma kya koot rahi ho itne der se? shardaben giggled and left. Ashish saw my work from previous day. ye to thik kiya hai. abhi dikhao kya kar rahe ho. Ye to ulta ho gaya. Aise karo. Is taraf se asaan padega. And he showed me how to do it. Outside there were too many voices of guests and they were discussing about a phone, how much they bought it for and what all features it has. Radhaben got her work and sat near me. Her husband also came and started reading newspaper. snehal, papa kya karte hain tumhare? She asked. sarkari naukri hain unki. I answered. kahan naukri karte hain? She enquired again. wo railway mein hain I said. usmein to bahot paisa milta hai na. Her husband said. abhi zyada hui tankhwah, kuch to bill pass hua tha kuch din pehle. I said with slight hesitation. A lady came in the house and Bijalalji called her, Bhanu idhar to aa, radha bula rahi hai. Radhaben started talking, 9 mahine ke paise bhar ke aayi, abhi duswa mahina hai, wahan likha hi nahi hai unke paas, mere paas likha hua hai ek ek paise ka hisaab. Wo kaise keh sakte hain ki nahi diya. Tu Mumbai gayi thi pichli baar, tab deke aayi thi. Tu nahi thi teri devrani thi. Usko pata hai. ab wo koi parchi bhi nahi dete to kaise bolu main unko. Radhabeen was disappointed but dint loose her calm and was talking coolly. Bhanu was silently listening. Radhabens sister asha came and she started talking to her loudly. They both started arguing for some money matter in gujrati. Radhaben told me,har mahine bank mein hafta bharne jati hun. Unke paas pichle teen mahino ka likha hi nahi hai. par mere paas likha hua hai, mere hisab ki copy mein. Aap hafta kis cheez ka dete ho? I asked. Her husband replied,bank se loan liya hai na, to uska hafta dena padta hai har mahine. Radhaben started saying, mahilaon ko bank loan deta hai ye sab kaam shuru karne ke liye. Ab humare paas to itne paise nahi rehte na shuruat mein daalne ke liye. To bank se milte hain. Maine 10000 ka loan liya tha. Saal ke dusre mahine mein. Tabse har mahine hafta bharne jati hun main bank mein. Kal gayi to bank wale ne bola ki teen mahino se maine hafta nahi diya. Ab wo ghar par lene aata tha to paper mein likhke jata tha. Fir computer mein daalte ho na. to maine usko bola ki paper nikalo. Aap yahan se likh ke le jao aur wahan par entry karna bhool jao, aisa bhi ho sakta hai na. main pura hisab rakhti hun apni copy mein, 30 rupaye mere paas aaye usmein se dus kisko diye 20 kahan kharcha kiya sab likha hua hai mere paas. Aane aur jane ke paise. Ab Nazuk ne mujhe 3500 rupaye diye the, wo maine likha. Ab uske baad wo kahan kahan kharcha kiya sab likhti hun na main. To maine kal aake dekha usmein, ab us tareekh par maine likha hai ki paise diye. To main kaise maanu unki baat. Ab itne paiso ki baat hai to lagta to hai hi na. raat mein 2 2 baje tak kaam karte hai. ye dekho kal raat bhi 2 baje tak baith ke ye khatam kiya. To itna kaamkarte hain to paise ka to hisaab rakhna padta hai na. Her husband was saying. All this time fight outside was going on. Ashish was also saying a few things and Radhabens husband told him to keep quiet. Then Amma came and stopped the fight and all the guests and Bhanu left after that.

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Radhabens father and old uncle went and sat outside. Babba walks with a walking stick and as he walks, placing the stick makes sound. Amma came to me and pulled the cloth away from my eyes, duur se dekho, number lag jayega aankhon mein itne paas se dekhogi to. Hum sabko lag gaya chashma isse. and she joined the two old men outside. Shardaben came with her work and sat near us. Bijalalji showed her some papers, bedsheet ke design mile the ye. Order ke liye. Radhaben took the papers from him and showed me, ye bedsheet ke design dekho. Wahan se aaye the. To bana ke de diya order. Aye ashish, chai to bana didi ke liye, 4 bhi baj gaya, chai ka samay ho gaya. She said. Nahi nahi mujhe chai nahi chahiye I said. Shardaben said, arre banane do, mujhe bhi chahiye. Ashish achhi chai bana ekdum kadak. Doodh hai ki nahi? Pappa la denge doodh ki thaili nahi to. Ashish left for the kitchen. After few minutes he started calling her mother on top of his voice. Radhaben went. abhi naya chashma banwaya, number badh gaya tha. Purane kaanch bhi rakh liye. Bahot mehengai ho gayi hai. Her husband was saying. Radhaben came and put money in his hand and told him to get milk. He left and she started working again. Reena came after a while and shardaben said, payal ki awaaz aaye to pata chal jata hai reena aa rahi hai. She smiled and asked, papa kahan gaye? doodh ki thaili lene. Radhaben answered. arre par copy lene jani thi na. mujhe bhi jana tha, chale gaye bataya bhi nahi. She was cribbing. haan aa jayenge sham ko chale jana. 6 baje. Radhaben said. Babba , Uncle and Amma were discussing about loan. Amma was telling uncle about some lady. wo baahar uncle baithe hain na, wo loan dete hain. Ab kal ek aurat aayi aur boli ki paise hi nahi lautayegi. Bahot kuch boli. Bahot gaaliyan bhi di, radha ben ko, amma ko, ashish ko. Kaisi bhasha thi uski. Bahot jhagda kiya yahan raat mein. Sharda ben was telling me. I dint know what to say and I just nodded. Bijalalji returned soon and came and sat on his place. patange uda rahe hain baahar bachhe fad fad ekdum. Hawa achhi hai Amma came and called radhaben outside jaldi aa. su thayu? Radhaben asked. arre aa to jaldi she said. Radhben left. Shardaben left too in a hurry saying, mujhe bhi sunna hai jhagde ke bare mein. raat mein ek aurat ne aake yahan khoob jhagda kiya. auraton ka jhagda tha na. aadmiyon ko hota to talwarein nikal jati. Bahot danga karte hain yahan raat mein daru peeke. Ghar par shanti se darwaza band karke baith jane ka 10 baje hi. Bijalalji added. par yahan to band hai na daru? I asked. wo to bas paper mein likhne ke liye. Kahan hota hai aise. Sab milti hai, peete hain log. He said. Shardaben came and sat, kya milti hai? daru, bolti hai ki band hai to bata raha hun, milti hai daru yahan bhi. He replied. Radhaben got tea for me and her husband and sat for her work. yahan aati ho to batake aana padta hai sir ko? She asked me. yahan aane ke liye nahi batana padta. Raat mein vapas jati hun na. agar do teen din ke liye baahar jao to batake jana padta hai. I answered. aur khana sab time milta hai? She asked again. haan teen time to milta hi hai.beech mein kabhi bhookh lagi to canteen hai. wahan bhi samosa vagareh mil jata hai I answered. Ashish came telling radhaben about some house, wo wahan ka ghar hai na, uski keemat 55 lakh hai. apna ghar to use kitna bada hai. neeche do kamre, upar bhi hai, use to zyada hi hoga. arre aajkal ghar kitne mehenge ho gaye hain. Kahan milte hain ache ghar. Bijalalji was saying. Amma

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called radhaben again. After a while Reena came and told Bijalalji to get more milk, doodh ki thaili le aao ek abhi to laya 10 rupaye ka doodh. He said. par abhi chahiye na, aur chai banana hai. she answered. And he left. Phone rang and shardaben answered, again whispering on the phone and left. Ashish came and asked, kitna hua? ho raha hai dheere dheere. Bahot dheere hun main. I answered. aa jayega jaldi. He paused before asking, abhi dusvi ke baad seedhe 12vi ki pareeksha de dun to admission ho jayega? 12vi mein admission kaise hoga 11vi nahi karoge to? I asked. arre wo to ghar par hi padhai karke exam hoti hai na. tution laga ke 12vi ki. Wo dunga. Abhi dusvi mein do paper mein fail hua tha na. to uski bhi pareeksha hai. agle saal dunga. Padhai hi nahi kar paya tha. Tab kaam aa gaya tha bahot sara. Fir seedhe 12vi ki pareeksha de dunga. Sab bolte hain ki dusvi mushkil hai 12vi se. 12vi aaram se ho jayega. To main soch raha tha ki seedhe 12vi kar lun, fir fashion designing mein admission le lunga. Ab umar bhi ho hi rahi hai. to gyarahvi kyun dun He was saying. aise exam doge to sab marksheet bhi milega barabar se? marksheet to zaruri hai college mein admission ke liye. I told him. haan wo marksheet dete hain na. yahan ek ITI college bhi hai. wahan bhi fashion designing seekhate hain. Par fir logo ne bola ki wo utna achha nahi hai. pata nahi, maine suna nahi kabhi uska naam. Par college ke naam ka bhi farak padta hai. achha college hoga to naukri bhi jaldi mil jati hai. I said. naukri nahi karni mujhe. Apna hi kuch karna hai. mujhse nahi hogi naukri. Mujhe apne hisaab se karna hai jab mann kiya tab kaam karna, time ka koi panga nahi. Aisa chahiye mujhe. Naukri ki to bandh jayenge. tum apna bhi shuru kar sakte ho kuch. Padhai khatam karo to samjhega kya karna hai. college wale naukri bhi lagwate hain kya?He asked. college mein companiyaan aati hain, fir tumhara kaam pasand aata hai to naukri de deti hain. I answered. chalo dekh lenge. Abhi to time hai. main to mummy ko bol raha tha ki reena ko bhi pura padhana chahiye. Wo bol rahi thi ki bas dusvi karke silai ka kaam seekha denge use. Par mujhe lagta hai ki use aur padhana chahiye. He was saying. haan padhana to chahiye use aur.I agreed. Radhaben came and ashish started telling her, 12vi ke baad college ja sakte hain. 4 saal ka hota hai. tum keh rahi thi dusvi ke baad hi hota hai. nahi 12vi ke baad hota hai. didi ne bataya kal mujhe, She answered in a low voice, as if thinking something. Nazuk aayegi milne? She asked me. abhi to uski class chal rahi hai to aana nahi ho pata. Abhi chutti hai ravivar ko to aa sakti hai. Ashish found the papers of bedsheets and he yelled in excitement, arre ye order to maine pura kiya tha. Time bhi nahi laga tha zyada. He paused and told me, abhi bhi 70 kurte ka order hai. 40 ho gaye hain. diwali ke pehle ka order hai. ek kurte ka 500 rupaye dete hain wo. Ruko dikhata hun. He went and got a kurta to show. ye safed tha pehle. Fir ise colour karwa ke ispar kaam kar rahe hain. Bijalalji came and asked me, tumhari bus hogi na abhi? I saw the time, I replied haan. Chalti hun main. Fir bahot traffic ho jata hai to deri ho jati hai pahochte pahochte. Radhaben agreed, haan tereko bataya tha na maine. Bahot traffic ho jata hai. kal aayegi to ek kapda le aana. Ek metre ka. Ya tujhe kurta banana hai to kurte ka. Jaisa tera man kare. Main kaat dungi fir uspar kaam kar lena. Nahi to table par daalne ke liye hi ho jayega. ji main leke aati hun kal. I said. chali jayegi ki chhodne aaun? nahi nahi. Chali jaungi. Abhi ujala bhi hai na. to zarurat nahi hai. I said. achha, sambhal ke jana. She said. ji. Namste. I said and went out of the house. Amma asked, ja rahi hai? seekha kuch aaj? Ji seekha na. dheere dheere aa raha hai.I replied. Haan aa jayega kuch dino mein. She said. 12 mahino mein aa jayega tumko Babba said and started laughing. arra 12 mahine

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kyun. Jaldi aa jayega ise. abhi kaise jayegi? Amma asked. 5 baje bus rehti hai na uski.Guest Uncle said. ji bus hai abhi. Nikalti hun main. Namste. I said. All of them said Namaste and I left. It was 5 PM when I left their house.

Date : 8th Jan 13 Time : 2:50 PM Location : Near Juna Vadaj, Ahmedabad Actors: Radha Ben, Husband, Father, Reena, Shardaben,Ashish PO : One to Many
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Its been three days since I visited Radhabens house. She was busy twice, and once I couldnt go. Today, I reached there at 2:50. Following the same road as usual, getting down from bus near Union bank, amidst the chaos of vehicles and then walking through the quiet streets of her neighbourhood. On reaching her house, visual was same as before, kids flying kite in front, few ladies and teenagers talking in groups and Radhabens father sitting in the front room facing the door. As I entered he smiled and I said Namaste to him. aao beta, aao. Yahan utaar lo chappal. Andar chale jao. He directed me towards the first room. Shardaben and Ashaben (Radhabens sister) were sitting there. Shardaben working on her cloth and Ashaben feeding her son. kya bus se aaye? Shardaben asked. ji. achha. Aao baitho. She said. I was playing with the kid when Reena came, followed by the payal sounds. kem chho. maja ma I said and smiled. Radhaben came. Aayi nahi tu fir kal ? she asked. ji kal kaam tha thoda college mein hi. To aa nahi payi. I answered. koi nahi. Kiya tha wo kaam? she asked. haanji kiya tha. Kapda bhi leke aayi hun. I removed the cloth from bag and showed her. safed hai. kya karna hai iske saath? She asked. jo a ap bolo. Kya achha lagega? I asked. kafi kapda hai, jo tu bole main vaisa kaat dungi. Kyun Sharda, kya achha lagega ismein? She asked Shardaben. takiya ke khol bana sakti hai.Shardaben said. Haan thik hai, wohi karte hain. I said. thik hai. pehle wala thik bana tha na? Radhaben asked. Haan, bas thoda sa kahin kahin galat kar diya tha, bas baki thik tha. I answered. Aa jayega. She said and left. Reena got water for me and started playing with the kid. Radhabens husband came and asked smilingly, kaise ho. ji thik hun. I answered after saying Namaste. I saw a rat in a shelf and said in excitement, ye chuha kitna chhota hai. Shardaben started laughing, kahin se to aajate hain, pure ghar bhar mein ghumte hain.plastics ke andar jake baith jate hain,awaaz aati hai to pata chalta hai. A song started playing very loudly, on TV. Ashaben said, ye ashish ne ekdum zor se hi laga deta hai TV. Kaan fatt jaye apne. Ashish came dancing and started pulling her cheeks. Shardaben said, isko naukri lagwa do kahin par, bahot achha kaam karta hai. lag jayegi naukri to use, padhai to puri kar le. I said. Haan padhai bhi ho jayegi, par subah 10 se 1 ke liye kahin par naukri lag jayegi to thik hoga. Sab kaam aata hai, aur safai bhi bahot hai. kuch bhi karwa lo fir usse. Padhta kahan hai wo. Shardaben was saying. arre padhta to hun. Ashish defended and left, dancing. Shardaben and ashaben were talking in gujrati about a phone call when Reena came calling, aapko bula rahi hain mummy andar. I went to the room inside. Radhaben was holding the cloth I had got. iske upar ke liye bhi kapda layi hai? nahi wo nahi layi. Samjha nahi kaunsa laun.I replied. Ashish was making cuts in a cloth for appliqu, using a hammer and a sharp edged tool. As he used to hammer, there was a loud sound. And I remembered the sound from the previous day, which I couldnt understand. kya banayegi ispar? Batakh banayegi ki mor banayegi? Ek par batakh bana le, ek par mor bana le. Kyun ashish? Kaisa dikhega? Radhaben was saying. Haan, titli bhi hai apne paas. Aapko kya banana hai?

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He asked me. Tum batao kya achha dikhega ispar. Wo banayenge. I replied. Jhaad banayegi? Ye jo laga hai yahan par? Radhaben asked. ji jhaad sikhaiye. I said. Ruk main kapda leke aati hun. Radhaben went to the end of the room and started searching in the plastic bags. Her husband switched on the television and said choti design batana, sikhana hi hai na. dekh to ashish kaunsa rang ka kapda achha dikhega? Radhaben returned with a few pieces of clothes. ye laga do, ye achha hai, fancy dikhega achha. Ashish said.itna kaat de? To yahan aa jayega.Radhaben was saying. ye bada nahi ho jayega? Iska bhi adha karenge ne. takiya ke khol ke liye to kapda modenge na. to ye to bada ho jayega. I said. nahi. Aisa parda banate hai. ismein aa jayega. To itna thik hai. Radhaben said. achha, mujhe laga khol, isliye maine aadha kaha. Haan itna thik hai. I said. do main kaat dun. Ise pakdo. Safed wala bhi kaat dun itna. Ashish said. He cut both the clothes with the scissors. baki bache kapde ka kya karogi? Kafi hai. kurta ban jayega. Short kurti bana lena jeans par pehenne ke liye ho jayega. Dekho itna hai kapda. Iss par appliqu kar lena. Neeche black laga dena. Abhi kaat dun? Ashish was asking. Nahi abhi mat kaat. Pehle ye khatam karne de. Fir ye kar lenge. jhaad bhi kaat de. Radhaben told Ashish and started working on the gown. ye bhi khatam nahi hua ab tak. Kal baahar gaye the na. tijori ke kaam se. tumne jab phone kiya to wahin thi main city mein. She said tum aayi abhi nahi to hum baahar jane wale the. her husband said. meri bua ka ladka bimar hai. civil hospital mein hai. use hi milne jana tha. Radhaben said. kyun jana tha. Main bimar pada tha to koi mujhe dekhne nahi aaya. Bolo didi, to hum kyun jane ka? Ashish was saying. arre sabne jaisa kiya apne ne bhi vaisa kyun Karein, hain na snehal? radhaben said and I nodded. samaj mein rehte hain to karna padta hai. She said. sab bekar ka hai. main nahi rakhunga ye sab. Ashish said. After a while, Radhaben said, Snehal, main beech mein thodi der ke liye baahar jaungi, thik hai na? Wo tijori ka kaam hai na. Ashish rahega yahan pe. Sikhayega tumko. Kal phone kiya na tumne, tab wahin par thi main. City ke liye. Bhai ki beti ki shadi hui na, to usko dena hai tijori bana ke. Shadi mein dena padta hai ye sab. 25 jodi kapde, rasoi ka saman, sone ka. Tumhare yahan bhi dete hain? Radha ben asked. ji, humare yahan bhi dete hain. I answered. Shadi ke time par dete hain na? She asked again. haan shadi ke time par hi. Kabki hai shadi? I replied. Shadi to ho gayi. Ek saal ho gaya shadi hoke. Par abhi jayegi sasural. 5 din pehle reh ke aayi. Par ek saal se ghar par hi hai. gaon mein samuh lagan mein shadi hui thi na. to unhone bahot kuch diya tha. Ghar ka saman, bartan. Abhi humein firse dena hai. mujhe to bekar hi lagta hai. kyun itna paisa kharcha karte hain. isse achha court mein shadi kar lo. Paise bach jayenge. Ashish said. haan na. mujhe bhi lagta hai. court mein karne ka. Utne paise se kuch aur le sakte hain. I agreed. 2 3 lakh se zyada kharcha to ho jata hai. kahin par laga denge wo paise. Baahar khane ja sakte hain. hum baahar nahi jate khana khane. Ghar par hi khate hain. Chinese bhi ghar par banati hai mummy. Ashish said. ghar ka hi khana achha hota hai. I said. Amma kahan hain? I asked Radhaben. wo rajasthan gayi hai. Sab log gaye the, baki vapas aa gaye wo reh gayi. 5 din ke liye.Bijalalji said. Mere mami ki devrani ka bhai khatam ho gaya na, to isliiye gayi hai. Ashish said. Reena came and searched for something on the fridge, ye kisne khatam kiya itna? She asked, sounded a bit angry, showing a tube of facewash. maine. Ashish took one sec to reply. kyun hath lagaya. Tu lake dega ab mujhe. She was yelling at him. Arre maine nahi kiya. Aise hi bola. Dekho didi, kal ye log 15 15

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rupaye mein leke aaye. 15 rupaye mein milta hai kiya. Main bola iski date nikal gayi hogi isliye itne mein diya. He said. dikha to. I asked her. She gave it in my hand. ismein to date hi nahi likhi hai. dusra dikha, haan ye to purana hai, 2008 ka hai. 3 saal tak hi chalta hai. I told her. lagana nahi ye, allergy ho jayegi nahi to kuch. Bijalalji told Reena Ashish finished cutting, fevicol se chipka dene ka ise fevicol se nahi. Daag lag jayega. Kapda kharab ho jayega. Bijalalji said. arre jaldi hoga, aur neeche hi rahega Ashish said. Bijalalji went and got fevicol. Radhaben was working on the gown. When he got the fevicol, all three of us started sticking the cut piece of cloth on white cloth. Bijalalji reduced the volume of TV. Ashish took the remote and changed the channel. dama dum mast kalandar song started playing, to which, Ashish said, meri mummy gayi hai Pakistan. haan, aap Pakistan gaye ho? I asked her. haan bahot time ho gaya. 1990 mein gayi thi. Hindustan Pakistan hua tha na, tab kuch log aa gaye the, baki reh gaye the wahin. To rishtedaaron se milne gayi thi. Mere papa ki sagi mami rehti thi wahan. Maine dekha hain unhe. 108 saal ki thi. Radhaben said. haan!! Sahi. To uske baad aapka milna nahi ho paya hoga?I said. wo to nahi rahi ab. Par unke ladke hain. par hamesha kuch na kuch adchan aa jati hai to reh jata hai jana. Pehle jana tha to ghar ka kaam aa gaya. Fir ashish ka passport khatam ho gaya. 5 saal ka rehta hai na. shadi thi unke ladke ke ladki ki, jana tha, par ho nahi paya. Tab 7500 mein hum teeno ka ticket hua tha. Teeno ka. Aane jane ka. Ab to 10000 hai ek ka sirf jane ka. Tab shadi nahi hui thi meri. Radhaben was saying. Aapki shadi kab hui thi? I asked. 1993 mein. Bijalalji replied. nahi. 94 mein hui. Pakistan se aane ke 4 saal baad. Radhaben said that and ashish and I started laughing, yaad bhi nahi hai Ashish said. 15.2.94 mein shadi hui. Usi saal ashish hua 27.11 ko. 18 saal khatam kiya na, 19 shuru kiya. Wo dekho photos lage hain she pointed towards a few photos on the wall. Wo shadi ke baad ka hai. wo mere mummy papa hain. wo ashish ke bachpan ka. aap kitne bhai behen ho. I asked. ek behen hai badi. Bhai nahi hai humein. She replied. I remembered she telling me that before. mama ke ladke hain. par aise sage koi bhai nahi hai. badi behen ko bhi bachhe nahi hai. vidhwa hai. yahin rehti hai. aati rehti hai. humare saath kaam karati hai. aayegi abhi thodi der mein. Tijori ke liye jana hai na. to aayegi. Meri ma ko bhi bhai behen nahi hai. akeli hai wo. She paused for a while and then asked. khana khaya tumne? Haan, main khake aayi thi. Wo time hai na hostel mein khana milne ka, to tabhi kha leti hun. dhai baje tak milta hai. I answered. aur tabhi nahi kha payi to nahi dete fir? She asked. fir mess band ho jati hai. I answered. hostel mein to strict rehte hain. Bijalalji added. fir bhookh lagi to kya karti hai. Radhaben asked. canteen hai, wahan samosa vagairah mil jata hai. I replied. achha , nashta milta hoga. She seemed satisfied with it. We finished sticking the cloth. ashish, thoda shuru kar de, fir didi kar legi. radhaben told Ashish and he started with stitching. And suddenly he jumped and asked, aapke paas design hoga kya? kiska design. I asked. aurat pani bharte hue. Gaon mein. Oont hote hain na. gaon ka scene chahiye. Doli wale log hote hain na. vaisa bhi. Maine pehle kahin to dekha tha. To banana ka hai mujhe vaisa, ghar ke liye wall piece. Patch work se. embroidery bhi kar sakta hun. Aapke paas hoga to mujhe dena na. He said. main dhundti hun. Milega to leke aaungi. Kitna bada chahiye? I said. ye jo laga hai na yahan par. Itna chahiye. He pointed towards a painting on the wall. Thik hai. mujhe milega to kal leke aati hun apne sath. I said. ye

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bhi maine class mein banwaya tha. Silai machine pe. Class mein jata tha na. unhe aata hi nahi tha silai machine chalana. To maine kaha sab ghar se kuch kuch bana ke le aao. Ashish said. tumhe aata hai silai machine chalana. I asked him. haan aata hai na. mere paas hai silai machine. He said. abhi fall interlock ki machine leni hai. abhi to sadi hai ghar par. Radhaben said. Her bangles kept making rhythmic sound as she was stitching. kitna kitna rupaya lete hain fall lagane ka. 25 se 30. Fall aata hai 7 8 rupaye ka. To 10 15 rupaye ka to fayda rahega na. dus fall bhi laga liye to 150 rupaye to kamaye hi. Isliye bhi fall-interlock wala machine lena hai. fir sikha bhi sakta hun main. Class ke liye to jata hi hun. He said and started smiling and started talking again. Maine moti ke kaam ki class bhi li thi. Aata nahi tha fir bhi gaya tha sikhane. Gale ka, kaan ka banana sikhata tha. Papa ne sikhaya tha thoda sa usi din. Aur chala gaya. Par sikha ke bhi aaya tha he seemed very happy with it and kept smiling. Bahot thandi hai aajkal to. Dilli mein 0 degree tak chala gaya. Raat mein to aur ho jati hai. Bijalalji said. haan gandhinagar mein to zyada hai yahan se. I added. khula hai na. isliye zyada hoti hai wahan. He said. haan. Teen teen sweater pehen ke rakhte hain hum log raat mein. I said. main jab school jata tha na, to subah jata tha. Tab bahot thand rehti thi. Kitne sweater pehen ke jata tha. Apna, uske neeche mummy ka, nani ka. Ladies sweater bhi pehen leta tha. Uske upar apna school ka jacket. Kambal bhi odh leta tha. Sir kehte the bimar ladka aa gaya. Ashish said and started laughing. After a while he asked. Allahabad kahan hai? UP mein hai. I answered. Paas mein hai kya. He asked again. nahi duur hai hai bahot. Bijalalji said. Duur hai, main lucknow mein rehti hun na. wahan se paas hai. I said. L ucknow mein bhi to bahot thand hai. Bijalalji said, shaking his head. ji bahot hai. I nodded. Ashish gave me the cloth for stitching and went back to his work of cutting the cloth with hammer and a sharp tool. ye aise kaat-te hain appliqu ke liye. Patchwork jaise nahi kaat sakte na. to aise kaat-te hain. ispar nishan laga lete hain butter paper se. chhap lete hain aur fir kaat-te hain. sir mein dard ho jata hai thok peet sunke. Par ab kya karein karna to padta hai. fir kuch der mein aadat ho jati hai. Radhaben was saying. gana lagta hai fir. Ashish said chuckling. After a while Bijalalji said, arre 4 baj gaye, chai banao to. And I was smiling to myself thinking every day at 4pm he gets reminded of tea. He was changing channels when a middle aged lady entered and Ashish greeted her very lovingly. ye meri badi mausi hai.He told me. Radhaben told her in gujrati to sit and th at she is making tea. She seemed a quiet person and not as talkative as her sister. She came and sat near me and enquired Radhabens husband about me. gandhinagar se aayi hai. seekhne ke liye kaam. He answered and stopped on a radio channel on TV, in which old songs were playing. Aye Radha chai bana na. He reminded radhaben again. She left the gown she was working on and we nt to the kitchen. Reena called for her mausi from other room and she got up and left. Music of a song was playing, papa batao to kaunsa gana hai ye. Ashish asked his father. hawa ke sath sath hai ye to. He replied. Ashish and I waited to see if it was the same song. It wasnt and to that Ashish said, nahi hai, alag nikla. Pehle ke gane alag hote the. Aajkal ke gaano ka koi matlab hi nahi hota. Photo ko fevicol se chipka le. Ye koi gana hota hai. He said and started laughing. Sab bekar ke gane hote h ain. sun ke ache bhi nahi lagte. Bijalalji said. Radhaben got the tea, Snehal, chai pi lo. Ji. She gave the tea to her husband and Ashish and went to the other room.

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ye dekho, moti ka kaam sikhane jata tha na. ye banvaya tha wahan. Mobile ka cover hai ye. Ashish showed me. It was a colourful thing made by small beads. Radhaben entered and saw that I havn t touched the tea. chai pi lo Snehal pehle, thandi ho jayegi. She said. haanji. Ye to bahot hai, itna nahi pi paungi. I told her. zyada nahi hai. pi sakti ho. Nahi to Ashish ke cup mein daal do. She told me. I asked for his cup and poured the tea in it, dropped some on the floor and I panicked a bit as there were clothes kept there. Ashish cleaned it with a rag and i kept newpaper over it. Snehal, main jati hun, hai na. Tijori ka kaam hai na. Ashish rahega. She told me again. haan haan I answered. She left with her sister. main bhi thoda so jata hun. Tum yahan kursi par baith jao Her husband told me. nahi thik hai, bas tik ke baith jati hun. Haan wahan baith jao. Jahan tumhe thik lage. He said and left. I shifted my place, and took the bed as back rest. Shardaben came with her work, put her phone on charging and sat on the bed. phone par baat kar rahi thi? Ashish asked her. nahi phone aayega abhi. To charge khatam ho gaya isliye. She replied. He was smiling teasingly at her. shadi hone wali hai shardi mausi ki. He told me. haan, kab hai? I asked. agle mahine honi chahiye unke papa maan jayenge to ho jayegi. Isliye itni khush rehti hai aajkal. He said. I smiled thinking thats why she wanted to colour her hair and talks on phone so shyly. Her phone rang and she left everything and shifted. Ashish took the phone by then. Missed call ho gaya ye to. He said. laga to, loud speaker par laga. She said. loud speaker par. He said and called back. suno mere pati ki awaaz. She told me shyly . As the call got connected, kyun phone kaat diya? Ashish asked. There was no response from the other side. mausa, ashish bol raha hun. Phone kyun kaat diya? Charging pe tha phone, uthate uthate kaat diya. He was saying. haan? Awaaz nahi aa rahi hai. came the response from other side, and the call was cut. loud speaker par awaaz nahi jati kya. Shardaben asked. kya pata. Ashish replied and called again, this time not on speaker. awaaz nahi aa rahi thi kya? Cut raha tha phone. Lo shardi mausi se baat karo. He said and gave the phone to shardaben. She started talking in her typical way, whispering. dinbhar phone par rehti hai ye. 10 dino se ye kapda haath mein liya hai. 2 line karti hai aur baki time phone par rehti hai. After she kept the phone, ashish told her, ek din pura bina baat kiye nahi reh sakti tu. reh sakti hun. She said. thik hai to reh ke dikha, shart lagate hain. Ashish said. nahi shart nahi lagana. She said and shied. He started laughing, nahi shart to lagayenge. Dekhte hain kitni der baat nahi karti. All of us started laughing. Babba went outside the house, accompanying by the usual beats of his walking stick, every evening he goes out and sits in the sun. Ashish asked me to show how I was doing. dikhao, haan achha aa raha hai. ekdum badhiya. Dekho shardi mausi, achha lag raha hai na. He said. haan, aa jayega jaldi tumko. She said. mummy papa civil hospital nahi gaye kya? She asked ashish after a while. nahi. Kyun jana chahiye. Kyun didi, main kehta hun, jo mera nahi dekhta, main kyun uska dekhun? Hai na. Ashish said. fir to aise koi kisi ka nahi dekhega. Sab apne apne mein rahenge. I said. hai na. main to yahi kehti hun isko. Main to hamesha iska dekhungi. Pagal logo ka to dekhna hi padta hai na. nahi to pata nahi kya karenge. She said and we both started laughing. pagal hun kya main? He said and he was laughing too. Shardaben went to the kitchen and started searching something in the pile of utensils, making too much noise. Ashish went back to his work. ye kaatne ke liye neeche plastic ka aata hai. mere paas nahi hai. usmein aise nishan

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nahi padte he showed me the cut marks on the wooden plank he was using as support for cutting the cloth. isko kaatne ke liye bhi baahar 20 rupaye lagte hain. main ek din mein 7 kar leta hun. To bachaye ne 140 rupaye. He said proudly and I smiled. didi se paisa lene wale ho sikhane ka? Shardaben asked him. nahi main to aisa keh raha hun ki kapde kaatne ke liye paisa lagta hai. He told me. haan haan pata hai. I said. itni duur se sikhne aati hai wo, paisa nahi lena use She said. paisa kyun lun. Main to chahta hun zyada se zyada logo ko ye kaam aaye. Zyada log seekhe. He said. Itna dimag chalata hai, kaam karna chahiye na ise. Shardaben said. kar lega, padhai karega na pehle puri. Fashion designing karna hai na ise, achha kaam bhi seekh jayega. I said. arre didi, kitna paisa lagega fashion design ing karne mein. Meri mummy ke upar dedh lakh ka loan hai. ab mere liye wo aur kitna loan legi. Abhi main kaam karta hun to thoda paisa aa jata hai. padhne ke liye to bahot paisa lagega. Main kaise bolu usko. Ashish said . I kept quiet as I dint know how to react. Everyone kept doing their work without talking for a while. Shardabens phone started ringing and she answered the phone. Ashish started jumping, shart lagayi thi, haar gayi. Shart haar gayi He was dancing when shardaben slapped his back. And all of us started laughing. Fridge made a gurgling sound to which shardaben said, aise awaaz karta hai jaise bahot sara khana kha ke dakaar maarta hai And ashish and she started laughing. aye, shardi mausi, papa nahi mane to court mein shadi kar le. Main chaluga sath mein. Wo rehte hain na sign karne ke liye. Main ja sakta hun na? He asked me. 18 saal ke upar ho to ja sakta hai shayad. I replied. bhai banke ja sakta hun. Shadi ho jayegi fir teri. arre dekhte hain. ho jayega. She said and kept quiet. As few minutes passed, Ashish said, paanch baj gaye hain. I saw the clock and said haan jati hun. nahi main to islilye keh raha tha ki bus chali jayegi. haan haan, jati hun main 5 minute mein. I said and started packing my stuff. Shardabens phone started ringing again. I waved her bye and left the room. As I left the house, babba said, ja rahi ho beta? ji. Bus hai abhi. I replied. Achha thik hai. chalo sambhal ke jana. He said. ji. Namaste. I said. Namaste. Ashish called from behind, didi please wo design leke aana. I said yes and left. By the time I reached the noisy roads, it was 5:15 pm. And I stood there waiting for the college bus.

Date : 11th Jan 13 Time : 2:50 PM Location : Near Juna Vadaj, Ahmedabad Actors: Radha Ben, Husband, Father, Reena, Shardaben, Ashish, Amma PO : One to Many
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I fell ill, and so couldnt visit Radhaben and her family for two days. When I reached at her place today, Shardaben was sitting outside and she asked why I dint come yesterday. I told her I wasnt well. Radhaben was standing in the first room and she asked me the same question. Reena was studying there, Ashish was playing on mobile phone and Radhabens husband was reading a newspaper. homework kar rahi hai? I asked Reena. haan. Abhi thodi der pehle aayi school se. kaam khatam kar rahi hun bas. She replied. I had got the designs Ashish had asked for and gave him those. He happily took it and started going through them. ismein se dekh lo kaunsa achha lagta hai. jo pasand aaye use bada karwa lenge. I told him. Ismein se jaldi kaunsa ban jayega? He asked. ye ban jayega. Ye bhi. Ye oont wala bhi achha hai. I said. ye dono to ek jaise ho jayegnge. Oont wala to main aise hi bana sakta hun. Jo bahot achha lage na jo kisi ke yahan nahi ho, wo karke le aana. He said. haan to tum pasand kar lo. Wo kar dungi. I said. TV was on in the other room on a high volume. Some movie was going on and people were laughing. bol na mummy, kaunsa achha hai. He asked Radhaben. piche takiya le lo. Lag jayega nahi to. Bijalal ji gave me a takiya to lean on. dikha kaisa banaya. Radhaben asked me. do din kuch nahi kiya. Bimar thi to. Aur dhaga bhi yahin chhoot gaya tha. I told her. yahin chhoot gaya tha? Kahan tha? And she start ed searching for the thread in her boxes. patli sui de didi ko. Itni jaadi hai ye. Reena said. aapko kaunsa designer ko dikhana hai. aa jayega dheere dheere. Supervisor to nahi hai na koi. Chalta hai fir. Bijalalji said. Ashish was still absorbed in the designs. aisa hai na, ismein peeche ye jhopdi ped nahi ho aisa le ke aana. Sada hi chahiye. Ye to main bana sakta hun. Aisa banaun na jo bana na saku, kuch naya. Aap ye wala le aana. Itna bada karke. He gestured me with his hands to show how big a prin t he wants. Reena kept her books aside and left the room. aisi aurat ki photo to hai mere paas. To ye to nahi chahiye. He was saying, still sounding confused about his choice. ye nahi bana sakte ho tum, simple nahi hai ye? I asked him for a design. mere liye to sab hi simple hai. par aisa jo sabke ghar mein nahi ho wo chahiye. He said. haan, to ye hai na kuch naya. Ye le aaungi main. I told him. ye aapne nikale internet mein se?He asked. haan, college mein hai na. to nikal liye. I answered. achha hai. he said. Reena got water for me. matke ka pani kitna thanda lagta hai na.hum log fridge mein pani hi nahi rakhte. Reena was saying smilingly and sat for her studies. I smiled back. Radhaben was still searching for the thread. kahan rakh ke gayi thi? She asked. Us kamre mein reh gaya tha. I told her. She was removing bags from top of the shelf. There was a small cow bell which made sound as she was sorting through the bags. On hearing it I wondered how I missed it in all these days. It was at a place that it would make sound everytime a bag is removed from there. taiyar bhi milte hain, par mujhe acche nahi lagte. He suddenly started speaking and I couldnt get what he was saying. kya? I aksed him. Wall pieces. Taiyar milte hain na dukan mein. Taiyar ka kya hai, kahin se design milta hai, kisi ke ghar mein, to wo apne ghar mein bhi bana leta hain. main nahi deta apne designs. Sahi hai na, kyun dun main kisi ko apne design. He was continuously speaking. hmm. I dint know what else to say. paused and asked. Amma aa gayi ? haan, aa gayi na, rajasthan se. kya hua tha, thik nahi tha. aaye nahi do din. He asked. haan tabiyat thik

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nahi thi. Thand hai bahot gandhinagar mein. I answered. ye log aaye na rajasthan se, bahot thand hai wahan bhi. He said. Radhaben was asking her husband about going somewhere. kya karun jaun ki na jaun? phone leke ja sath mein. Bijalalji said. kyun pareshan ho rahi hai. mat ja nahi jana to. Reena butted in. itne time baad meeting hai. chale ja. Ashish added. kaam denge to kaise karenge. Bedsheet bhi hai karne ke liye. She said. arre to keh dena kaam hai bahot mere paas. Ja to sahi pehle. He added and left from the room. Radhaben stood there for a while thinking something when phone started ringing. Reena answered. She was speaking in gujarati and told her father to give the phone to ashish, saying pappi mausi called. He took the phone from her and went to fetch ashish. After a while Ashish came with his work and pulled the chair from under Reenas feet. She gave him an angry stare and he was grinning at her. I told her, even my brother used to do things like this. She smiled and said, batana to chahiye na le raha hai. Fan laga dun? Bijalal ji asked and I declined telling him its cold. thaili do to wahan se Radhaben asked her husband. Snehal, main school ja rahi hun. Wo hum SMC ke sabhya hai na. to aaj Meeting hai. humko bulaya hai. to wahan ja rahi hun. Thik hai? She told me. haanji thik hai. I answered. mana kar rahi hai jane se. Par bulaya hai to jana chahiye na. ek hi baar meeting hui hai. Ashish told me. ye diya tha na kisi ko banana ke liye to bade bade taanke laga diye. Pura kholna pada. Isliye ab main bana raha hun. He was explaining his work. Reenu, aye Reenu. He called. Su thayu? She asked from the next room. aaja baith na yahan par. He called back. padhai ho gayi uski? I asked. Kya pata.ho gayi hogi. Aaj to jagi hai. nahi to so jati hai. school ke liye subah uthti hai na. to abhi so jati hai. usko achha hai. auto hai lene ke liye. Auto chhod ke jata hai. mujhe to subah subah bus mein latak ke jana padta hai. subah bus bhi full rehti hai na. Ashish said. Radhaben was still in the house, searching for something. Snehal, sweater de de na wahan se. She asked me to pass her sweater, which I did and then she left the house. Ek baar na, bus mein dosto ke saath ja raha tha. Sabke paas pass tha. Mere paas nahi tha. To checking karne aaye. Ek ladki ke paas bhi pass nahi tha. Uski purse mein dhunda na, to sirf 2 rupaye the. Jeans pant tshirt pehna tha. Bade ghar ki ladki, uske paas paise bhi nahi. Uska kachra kaise hua hoga. Mere paas bhi ticket nahi thi, 3 rupaye the to de diye. Mujhe jane diya. School ka ladka tha na. Mumbai gaye the ek baar, shadi mein. To ticket mere nani ke paas tha. Wo alag train mein chadh gayi. Hum alag train mein chadh gaye. To checking hua na, to humse ticket nahi maangi. Achha hua na. nahi to ticket maangte to kya hota. Dund bharna padta na. Ashish was enjoying telling his stories. abhi to train ka kiraya bhi badh gaya hahi na. paper mein padha tha.ek km pe 10paisa badha. Matlab double ho gaya na. He kept quiet for a while. Shardaben was talking to someone on the phone in the other room, telling that Radhaben has gone for the meeting. Ashish started talking again, somwar ko uttarayana hai na. wahan manate hain, college mein? he asked me. haan college mein manate hain na. patang aati hai. bas udana nahi aata. I replied. hum log to kya karte hain na. mama ka ghar hai na, wahan jate hain, taabe par jake baith jate hain. gaane lagate hain zor se aur kuch nahi karte. Fir sab chale jate hain to dance karte hain. He paused. Ganpati mein to bahot dance karte hain. yahan baithte hain ganpati. Visarjan ke time par bahot dhamaal karte hain. navratra bhi yahin hoti hai. hum log vibrant Gujarat gaye the. Bahot mast hota hai. roz naye naye kalakar aate hain. stall bhi lagte hain. delhi mein bahot mast hota hai. haat lagta hai na. 60 rupaye ki cheez 250 mein bikti hai. ek ek kurti 250 300 mein. Bedsheet 2500 mein.humne nahi rakha ab tak. Mera aa jayega na, to main rakhunga. haan melo mein to mehengi bikti hi hai cheeze. I said. Reena was sitting at the door step

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singing the song playing in the TV. Mujhe ne mandir ke paas mitti ka kuch banana hai. wo mudwork kehte hain na. wo. Uttarayan ke baad banaunga. Ashish said. Reena got a kid with her, ye meri mummy ki bua ki beti ka ladka hai. I took a while to make the connection. Bahot rishtedaar rehte hain yahan aas paas. Ashish said. Achha hai na I replied. Kya achha hai, kisi kaam ke nahi hai. takleef mein aate hi nahi hain.unse to dusre ache, baahar ke log. I sensed disappointment in his voice. Sharda ben came after a while. shahrukh khan ki film aa rahi hai. chamtkar. Achha lagta hai shahrukh khan? she asked me. thik hi hai. aisa kuch khas nahi. Amir khan sahi lagta hai. I replied. mujhe to pasand hai, ye ashish ko salman khan pasand hai, vaise hi paaglo jaisi harkat karta hai. She said and started laughing. achha hai to achha lagega na. He said. aap ka kaam ho gaya kurte ka aap us din kar rahe the. I asked her. Bacha hai thoda sa. She replied. Babba called her at that time and she left. abhi shadi aa rahi hai na sab logo ki to mehendi ka bhi order lunga main. Ashish toldme. mehendi bhi lagate ho tum? I asked him. haan. Abhi order lunga. Ek ka to order le liya hai. 20 tareekh ka. 23 ki shadi hai. aaram se 2 ghante mein 500 rupaye mil jate hain, achha hai na. He said. haan achha hai. shadi mein to bahot saare haath mein lagti hai, rishtedaar bhi lagwate hain na. I said. nahi main khali dulhan ka lagata hun. Dusre logo ko 50 50 rupaye ka thoda sa lagate hain. par main nahi lagata. Khali dulha dulhan ko. Mehendi ke cone apne. to mehendi ghar par bhigote hain ki taiyar lete ho. I asked. taiyar cone milte hain na. wo. Abhi to maine marwar, rajasthan se mangwaye hain. wahan ache milte hain. kali mehendi rachti hain. pichli baar to dulhan set mangwa mangwa ke beche the. 1000 1000 mein laye the. 1500 mein bech diye. He sounded proud while saying this. Happy by himself. He left and got a box of mehendi cones to show me. ye amma layi kya rajasthan se? I asked him. haan. Par rakhe rakhe kharab nahi hoga? I asked. nahi 10 din mein to bik jayega. Abhi uttarayan hai na. to lagate hain log. 5 6 to bik bhi gaye. Wo aata hai na nilgiri ka tel, usko lagane se aur achhi rachti hai. sab log to chuna lagate hain. He told me. chuna kaunsa? Wo kattha hota hai na. par usse nahi hota. Haath hi jhulas jata hai. he paused for a while. meri behen ko bolta hun ki parlour ka course kar le. Fir wo dulhan ko taiyar karne jayegi. 2500 rupaye milte hain. main mehendi laga ke dunga. Achha hai na. sahi hai. I said and wondered how many plans he makes for making money. shadi thi na gaon mein to sab ladke log 150 rupaye ka golden facial leke aaye the. Bole muh saaf kar do humara. Maine kahan ki ek jan ka 100 rupaye lagega. An auto came nearby the house, he quickly got up to see who has come, came back and sat. thode dino mein camera bhi lena hai. kahin pe deisgn dekha to foto lene ke liye. He said. phone mein hoga na. I said. haan par utna achha nahi hai. wo memory card wala aata hai na, charging wala. Wo l ena hai. He told me. Suddenly his phone started ringing loudly and both of us got startled. He answered hello, main wo designer aaya na, to baitha tha sath mein. Su thayu? Haan to aao na. le jao. Fatafat. And he cut the call. He sat silent for a while. Working. Few kids were flying kites outside and were making a lot of noise, running and chasing kites. TV was on the top of its volume. I could hear someone cleaning the grains in winnow, which I initially thought is a broom. I thought it must be amma. A little girl came with a 500 rs note in her hand and gave it to Ashish. He took it and gave her 200rs and she left. kurta diya

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tha na banana ke liye. Uske paise lene aayi thi. Khali ho gaya ab purse. Sabke bill mere paas rakhe hain. cake ka bhi. He told me. cake ka order de diya? I asked. haan kal diya na 750 ka. Wo bol raha tha ki chalo order de do. Ki tum log laboratory mein check karwa ke leke jana. Koi kya bolta hai ki bina ande ka hai par ande wala hi de deta hai. yahan vadaj mein aise hi karte ha in. to main city mein order deke aaya. A dog entered the house. And he shooed him away. bahot bada kutta hai. I said. Reena came and sat at the same time. Saamne walo ka hai. Julie Julie bolte hain. kutti hai. samne wale bade kameene hain. kutte ke pille baithte hain. kukde paal rakhe hain. kabutar baithte hain. chidiyaghar bana ke rakha hai. English ki bottle bechte hain. do teen din pehle police aayi thi. He said. kyun? I asked. daru bechte hain. English ki bottle bechte hain. usmein to bangl a banaya hai. mehnat ki kamai se thodi. He said. main bhi leke aayi pinjra. Popat ke liye. Baad mein leke aaungi. Abhi thandi hai na bahot. Meri mummy ko bahot shauk hai popat ka. Reena continued. mere ghar mein khargosh hai. I told her. khargosh hai? usko kya khilana padta hai. She asked. Sab khata hai. gajar patta gobhi roti chawal. I replied. She seemed pleased, sat for a while and then left. Ashish opened an old almirah kept in the corner. It made a squeaky loud noise. He pulled out a box to show me. ye dekho aisa leke aaye rajasthan se. chuda, shadi meein pehente hain na. do to bech diye. bechte kaise ho? Logo ko pata rehta hai tumhare paas ye sab saman rehta hai? I asked. haan. Koi bole na ki mangwa do, to lake bech dete hain. class mein jate hain na. to bata dete hain ki hum rakhte hain kisi ko lena hai kya. Gaon ki auratein to le leti hain. bole ki ahmedabad ki hai. abhi hum toran leke gaye the. 60 60 mein. 150 150 mein bech diye. Jaane aane ka bhada to nikal gaya. Wo log bolte hain, hum log ko moti ki cheez ghar par banana ho to moti kahan se laye, main bola, mere paas hai na, khareedna ho to. Class ka rehta hai na material. Maine 20 20 rupaye ke moti beche, kamar pe latkane ka aata hai na saree pe, wo beche 30 30 mein, 100 rupaye kama liya. He told me. Amma was still cleaning the grains and putting it in a steel container. Reenu, chai bana na He called Reena. I saw the watch and it was 4 pm. Bijalalji was sitting outside and he also added in, haan 10 rupaye ka doodh le aa, chai bana, 4 baj gaye honge na. He started tickling Reena. She started cribbing refused to make tea. Ashish tickled her more and went outside running. He got tea after a while, for me in a cup, and in a large steel bowl for himself. I asked him to reduce the tea in my cup. He asked me to put in his bowl. Shakkar to kam hai chai mein. Mere nana ko diabetes hai na. to kam shakkar dalta hun. Fir upar se dalna ho to daal sakte hain na. meri mummy bahot shakkar daalti hai. bahot meethi peeti hai chai. Shakkar laun? Chahiye? He asked. I refused. He went and got a steel container with sugar in it, put a spoonful of sugar in his tea and started mixing. There was a constant sound of steel on steel which he noticed too and started playing with it, making different sounds. After a while, he got bored of it and started speaking again maine chai chhod di thi. Raat mein kaam karte hain na 2 baje tak to neend aati hain. kya karein fir. To chai peete hain. junagarh gaya tha na, to utni sari seedhiyaan chadha tha. Tabse chhod di thi chai. Baad mein fir shuru ki. I noticed a tattoo on back of his palm, something written in gujrati. I had seen it before too. But dint ask about it. There was one more on wrist too, alphabet A. Similar was on Reenas wrist, letter R. I asked him, ye kya likha hai haath pe? ye to meri behen chali na, to bola bhagwan ka naam to likhwao, to main likhwaya. Jai ambe likha hai. par jab ye likhwaya na, mujhe bahot dar lagta tha sui se. aspatal mein jao na sui lagwane main bhaag jata tha. Par ye karwaya na, to darr chala gaya. Fir bimar pada na, to main dawai

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nahi leta hun. Aise hi pada rehta hun. To mere magaj mein bukhar chadh gaya. To aspatal leke gaye, botal chadhai na, sui lagai na to mujhe pata bhi nahi chala ki laga hai. nahi to main bahot da rta tha. He said. achha hai fir to fayda ho gaya tumhe iska, I said. haan. Aur jab ye banwaya na, maine use kaha ki nayi sui lagwao. Kya pata kisi ko kya bimari ho. Pausing, he started again, kal dekha tha TV mein tattoo bana rahe the, colour colour ke. Khoon nikal raha tha fir bhi banwa rahe the. Thoda to nikalta hi hai na. haddi pe zyada dukhta hai. I said. Tv mein na ek ladki aayi thi.uski shadi hone wali thi. To ladke ka naam likh rahi thi.Uski behen aayi thi saath mein. Rone lagi wo dekh ke. Fir bhi likhwaya. Mujhe wo pasand nahi hai. ladke ka naam likhwana. Fir agar jama nahi to usko nahi bulati, kisi aur ko bulati hai. aajkal ki ladkiyaan aisi hi hoti hain. shadi ke baad mein likhwana chahiye. I started laughing. fir nikalwana ho to, chhuri garam karke chipkate hain. kitna dukhega usse? usse to kitna zakham ho jayega.I said. meri class mein na, haath pe patri maarte hain, kehte hain dekh ke ladki rone lagti hai. maine kaha dard nahi hoga pagal ho tum sab log.He was saying. Bijalal ji came and sat on a stool. He asked, abhi college mein kya chal raha hai tumhare? ji abhi to college khatam hone aaya hai. project dhundna hai karne ke liye. I told him. 15 din ka project.? He asked. nahi 6 mahine ka. Uske marks milenge fir. Wohi dhundna shuru hai abhi. I told him. Achha achha. He said and started humming a song. aap print nikaal ke laoge na, kitna bada laoge. Ashish asked me. itna bada. I gestured with hands. haan thik hai. kispe nikal ke laoge.He asked again. saade paper pe. haan thik hai. fir main butter paper par trace kar lunga. He said. haan wohi karna padega. Butter paper par print nahi niklega. I told him. humare yahan shadi hoti hai na. to dahej mein ye bhi dete hain. wall piece bade bade. Bijalal ji said. ab hi shadi thi na, to bade bade mast banaye the. Matlab thik the ghar ke hisab se. bahot samaan tha. Fridge tv. AShish said. humare yahan kya karte hain, arya samaj mein 2000 rupaye jama karte hain. nashta mangwate hain kuch, somose vagairah. Sabko dish mein daalke 10 15 logo ko de dete hain. fere dekho, nashta khao aur jao. Aisa ho gaya aajkal. Bijalal ji was saying. achha. Ye kya samuh vivah ka hai kya? I asked. Nahi nahi. Ye to khud se karate hain. samuh vivah gayatri parivar mein hota hai. sath shad i karate hain. saman bhi dete hain wo log kafi sara. ladki wale 2000 rupaye jama karte hain. He said bas ladki wale? Ladke wale nahi karte?I asked. haan, sirf ladki wale. Karna to dono ko chahiye. Humare yahan hui thi. 25 shadi. 500 500 rupaye jama kiye the. Ladke aur ladki waalon ne. bahot achhi ki thi shadi. He said. Amma came and asked, aa gayi tum? Namaste amma. I said. Namaste. aa gaya? She asked. aa raha hai dheere dheere. I said. She looked at my cloth haan barabar hai. aa jayega. Achha hai. She said. Kab aaye aap? Rajasthan ghoom ke aaye. I asked. haan do din ho gaya. Bahot thandi hai wahan. She replied and went back to cleaning grains. tum gaye ho NID, paldi wale? I asked Ashish. nahi wo nahi dekha maine. Aurato ko hi bulate hain kaam karne. Gandhinagar wala dekha hai. ek saal hum gaye the na. modelling tha. Humne gown banaya tha. Patte patte wala, upar ka top aur neeche patti patti join join karke. Usko pehnake modeling kiya tha. Mast lag raha tha. Mere mama ne chappal banaya tha. Aapko bhi aisa hota hai? modeling wala banana ko? He

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asked me. cheeze banana rehti hain. par kapde ki nahi banate. Computer ka kaam zyada hota hai. I answered. yahan pe ek jagah computer ka class lagta hai. wahan seekhunga pehle. Fir kharee dna hai laptop. Hona chahiye ghar pe nahi? He said. designing seekh loge to hona chaihye. I said. Haan, design ke liye to hona hi chahiye, par aise bhi hona chahiye, har koi ke ghar mein hota hai. He was saying. school mein tha tumhe? I asked. Haan than a, par ladke pareshan karte the na, to seekhate nahi the. He answered. Reena ko hai? I asked. Haan usko bhi hai na, mere hi school mein hai wo. Par seekhate na hi hai. zyada dhyan nahi dete. isse to achha extra kar lena paise deke. Dhyan bhi to denge. Gandhi ashram ke paas sikhate hain. 2000- 5000 bhar ke. Jaisa jaisa coursemujhe na khud ka hi kholna hai kuch. Bandish achha nahi lagta, apna hi kuch karna hai. He said. hamesha yehi kehta hai, apna kholna hai kuch. Par aise kisi ke saath kaam karna bhi aana chahiye, nahi? Ekdum se apna to nahi khol payega na. Bijalalji were saying. Phone started ringing, bhajan was playing as the ringtone. Bijalalji answered the phone and left the room. There was increasing sound of payal as Reena entered. ho gaya? She asked. Sahi kehti hai shardaben, tu aati hai to payal se pata chalta hai. I said. She started smiling.Achha lag raha hai ye. Aapka hai na ye. Rang sahi hai.deisgn isne kaati na? She asked. meri design pata chal jati hai kisi ko bhi. Ashish said. Reena, wall piece ke liye ismein se kaunsa deisgn achha hai? He asked reena, showing the designs I had got. mujhe kya pata She said, studied the design for a while and started searching for something in the cupboard. TVs volume suddenly dropped and I assumed its been switched off. do teen mahine ka kaam hai, fir do exam de dunga, tution rakhwa ke. He said. Kab hai exam? I asked. Exam to iske sath mein hoga. School mein to achha nahi padhate hain. to tution hi lagana padhega. He said. Haan, kar lena chahiye. I agreed. 2000 bol rahe hain saal ka tution. Achha hai na. He said. Achha padhayenge na lekin? I asked. Haan ek wakil hai yahan. Wo padhayenge. Wakil to achha hi padhayenge na. He answered. Kya padhayenge? I asked. Maths aur vigyan. Padh bhi lunga aur beech beech mein kaam bhi kar lunga. To mummy ke paas kharcha nahi hoga.he answered. mama nahi hai na mere. Mama hota to yahan rehne ko bhi nahi milta. Mere dadi ka ghar anand mein hai. chacha chachi rehte hain wahan. Gaon jaisa hai isliye rehne ko nahi achha lagta. Pehle se yahan raha hun na. ek din bhi jata hun na to nana nani ko achha nahi lagta. Hum log gaye the na naukri pe baroda. Roz phone karta tha. Daily. 1 2 ghante kaam rehta tha bas. Achha hai na. pehle to shuru mein kuch kaam hi nahi tha. Khali 20 din kaam kiya dedh mahine mein. Mera class kitna yahan se 5 km duur. Jaun na to bus ya truck khatara se mile. Aaun na to kuch bhi na mile. Peeche khet, aage khet, aur road khali. Koi manas bhi nahi. Fir main paidal paidal aaun. 5 km. ek ghante ka class aur ek ghanta chalne ko lage. Fir aage koi nahi peeche koi nahi to darr nahi lagega. Koi janwar aa jaye to. Darr lagega na. maine to mera pagaar le liya. Nani ka fans gaya. He was saying. nani ka kyun fans gaya? I asked. abhi aaya nahi hai, aayega do 4 din mein. He answered. tabhi ka tabhi nahi dete? I asked. mera to maine le liya. Maine kaha maine paise bhare hai na. sona khareedna hai, to wahan pe 4000 bhare hain to mujhe de do. To mujhe to de diya. As the sun was setting, chaos of the kids was decreasing. Amma was still cleaning the grains. Shardaben started helping her too. ek lakh rupaye dete hain na designer logo ko 15 din mein. Ashish said. kisko dete hain? I asked. Designer ko He replied. jo seekhane aate hain? pata nahi kitna dete hain. I answered. kabhi nahi kiya tumne project? He asked. humein project ke liye paise nahi milte na.

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padhai wala rehta hai. to marks milte hain. I explained. achha. Padhai wala rehta hai. humare yahan lakh rupaya dete hain. par kya hota hai na, product banate hain na do do piece, to ek delhi bhejna padta hai, ghar pe rakhna padta hai. aise sample banana mein hi 30-40 hazar lag jate hain. to 50 60 to rakhenge na, 15 din ka. Material khud ka hota hai. ek lakh dete hain to khud ka hi hoga na. he said. hum to abhi padh hi rahe hain na, to seekh rahe hain. humein paisa nahi milta. I told him. A hawker was selling something, he passed from the front of the house. And was ringing the temple bell to attract peoples attention. pehle kiya hai embroidery? He asked me. haan kiya hai. meri didi ka boutique hai. to wo sikhati hai. to usne hi sikhaya hai thoda thoda. I told him. mujhe to kisi ne nahi sikhaya. Mummy karti hai na kaam. To mujhe aise hi aa gaya. Par ye logo se zyada meko aa gaya. Class mein bhi jaun na to sab mujhe sir bulati hain. badi badi meri amma jaise auratein bhi sir bulati hain. He said and I sensed the pride in his voice. mera aanganwadi mein class tha. Bachho ka hota hai na. wahan pe jo madam thi wo bhi mujhe sir hi bulati thi. Mujhe sharam aa jati thi. Wahan pe na makai ki roti banate hain, gehu ki nahi. To mummy ne bola ekdin leke aane ko. To wo itni mast thi. Ghar pe bhi aise nahi bane. Chulhe pe banate the na wahan pe. Taste ekdum badhiya. He said. haan chulhe ka alag hi taste aata hai. gao jao to khane ko milta hai. I said. Phone started ringing again, same bhajan. sab missed call hi maarte hain. itna gussa aata hai na. Ashish said and called back. hello, kem cho? Aaram se. bahot dino baad yaad aayi. Chaud be ko aai rahi. Valentine day ke din. Bija mahina ni chaud tareekh. Kem, tumko khabar nahi? Sab theek, nani bhi achhi hai. kiya karo, phone vone to kiya karo. Mummy bhi theek hai, school gayi che. Baki sab thik. he cut the call. button bana ke rakhe hain. abhi lene nahi aaye. He said. order ke hain? kitna time lagta hai button banane mein? I asked. ek ghante mein 100 ho jate hain. he replied. kab kal banaya? I asked. He nodded. mujhe dikhana kaise banate hain. I asked him. Haan, fir banayenge na tab dikhata hun. 5 baj gaye. Bus hogi na. He said. haan dusri bus se jaungi. I said. 6 baje wali na. main jane ke liye nahi keh raha hun. Bas bata raha hun. Nahi to lagega ki bhaga raha hun. He said and started laughing. Bijalal ji came and took the cup plates and left. I thought he is not shy of doing household work too, as most of the men are. kitna duur hai school yahan se? I asked. Yahin paas mein hi hai, usmanpura mein. He answered. seekhane gayi hain wahan? I asked. nahi seekhati nahi hain wahan. Reenu ki school hai na, pehle padhti thi na municipality mein, to wahan SMC ke sabhya hai ye log. He explained. SMC kya hai? I asked again.jaise ye ho na ek area, jahan ke bachhe nahi jate padhte school mein to dhyan rakhne ka. Fir koi function ho na, to wahan jane ka. School mein koi program ho, padhate hain ki nahi, ye sab confirm karne ka ki thik hai ki nahi hai, aise sabhya hai. to wahan pe board mein naam likha hai to jana pade na. ye padhti thi na, tabhi sabhya the. Teen saal ho gaye. To abhi to mana kiya tha, par wo bole ki nahi tumko hi rakhna hai. He paused. bachhe jate hi nahi hai na school. Ye area hi achha nahi hai. mujhe pasand hi nahi hai. sab bachhe bas gaaliya hi dete hain. main jata hi nahi hun bahar. Ghar pe hi rehta hun, kaam karta hun. Isliye mummy ko bolta hun. Ghar badalne ko. 6 lakh mein mil raha hai. chandkheda hai na wahan pe. Ek kitchen 2 room, ek hall aur ek balcony. achha hai fir to. Nahi to ghar to bahot mehenge hain. I said. haan, usmein na hafta bharne ka, 5000 kuch. He said. Bijalal ji came and Ashish asked him, Kya hua? Kuch nahi hua. Then he said somethi ng in gujrati and I could just make out pani. I asked, pani aaya hai kya? nahi, pani garam karna hai aisa keh rahe hain.

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abhi gas pe kahan garam karte hain pani. Kerosene par karte hain. 900 rupaya ho gaya bottle gas ki. 6 bottle hai na, 413 rupaye ki, aur saatvi lo na to 900 rupaye ki. Humari to abhi chauthi chal rahi hai. abhi bol rahe hain ki march aayega na tab denge dusri 413 ki, aur ek 900 ki leni padegi. Wahan pe likhwa liya, fir baad mein de denge. Nahi laga to bech dunga bahar. He said. gas ka cylinder? I asked, as I dint understand what he meant by bottle. haan wohi, gas ki bottle, cylinder. 30 kilo wale. 250 mein khareedte the. Vaise to wo line aati hai na, wohi achhi hoti hai, cylinder lene ka jhanjhat nahi. He said. kaunsi line?I asked. Gas ki. Gandhinagar mein hai na. vaise to yahan bhi hai. 10000 jama karne ka aur fir ghar mein aati hai. par ye area jhopadpatti area hota hai na, to yahan nahi aata. Ye ghar humare kayde ke liye nahi hai. aise jaise india Pakistan ho gaya na, to Gandhi bapuji ne zameen di thi ye, to yahin reh gaye. Yahan so koi uthane wala nahi hai. 4 4 male ke ghar bana liye to kaise uthayenge. Jo road mein aata hai na, wo utha lete hain. road mein aaya na ek ghar, to fir tod diya, ye samne wala. Bahot danga hota hai yahan. Ek baar tear gas chhode the. Wo aankh jalti hai na. fir navratra mein ek baar police bithayi thi. Wo hai na ladke ladki ki chhedti karte hain na to bahot jhagde hote hain. He was saying. daru peeke? I asked. Haan. Par asie bhi karte hain. navratra mein chaniya choli pehenti hai na, to wo ghagra pehna ho na to wo kheechte hain to jhagda hoga hi na. hum log to baahar jate hi nahi hai. He paused for a while. Someone was washing utensils in the kitchen as I could water flowing and noise of utensils together . And TVs volume was again up, someone was listening to news. He started talking again, Mount abu kitna thanda hoga abhi. Haan pahadi ilaka hai na. I said. pehle mein har poonam par jata tha wahan. Amba ji ka mandir hai na wahan. 7 8 mahina gaya. Dekha hai aapne Mt. Abu? he asked. nahi maine nahi dekha. I answered. A two wheeler came and both of us peeped outside to see who it was. Guest uncle had come and he sat with Babba talking. A kid was continuously yelling on top of his voice outside. After keeping quiet for a few minutes, he left the room and got a colourful folder. ye dekho maine ye sab sambhal ke rakhe hain. certificates. Kaam aate hain kya? He asked. aata hai na, admission vagairah ke liye aata hai na. I told him. He showed all the certificates he had for different exams and competitions. He showed a few photos also. ye teachers day ka hai. sab log ne bhaag nahi liya tha. To bole koi to lo. To maine ungli unchi kar di. Sab bole, ye kya padhayega. To maine path padha aur shabdarth padhe aur board par likhe. Aadhe ghante ka tha na period to sabko utha utha ke path padhvaya. Jiski paas kitab nahi thi, usko khada rakha. Aur principal na wo peeche baithe the,mere period mein dekhne ke liye ki ye kya padhayega. Peeche baithe na to main bola ki itna bada ladka kaun baitha hai. to bole meko bhool gaya, pehchanta nahi. He started laughing while telling this. Meri chachi hai na mere photo nahi rakhti hai. achhi nahi hai. He showed me o ne more snap in which he was too small and started telling me about it. humare ghar ke baaju mein na talab hai, aisa. Jhopda hi hai dadi ka to. 2 lakh bol rahe hain bechne ka. Mana kiya papa ne. pada rahega to achha hai na. fir 2 lakh mila to bhaag dena padega mere chacha ko. He sifted through a few papers and showed me one. meri nani ka papa ka bhi paper rakha hai mere paas. Wo police mein the na to pension aati thi unko. Uska kagaj hai. achha lagta hai na aise purane purane kagaj dekh ke? I asked. Meko achha lagta hai. ikattha karne ko bhi. Mere paas koi bhi bill hota hai na wo bhi sambhal ke rakhta hun. Zevar bhi lete hain to bill bina to lete nahi hai. he sounded excited. Babba was talking to guest Uncle loudly and they were sharing jokes and Laughing. Reena was screaming, telling Shardaben to call Radhaben. Shardaben called and put the phone on loudspeaker. A female voice in gujrati said that phone is out of

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coverage area. Shardaben kept trying for a few times. Ashish started talking again, ye dekho meko inaam mila tha. 20 rupaye. Navratri pe. Abhi bhi rakha hai tumne. I asked. sabne kharcha kiya. maine nahi kiya. He said proudly. ek din kya hua tha na, ghar pe jhagda kiya to main ghar chhodke chala gaya tha. Mausi ke yahan. Wahan kuch bataya nahi. Khana khaya aur so gaya. Mausa ne hotel se khana mangwaya tha mere liye. Sab log yahan pe dhundte hi rahe. Iss jagah, pool pe,bahot dhunda. rone hi lage. Fir dusre din mummy papa aaye wahan lene ke liye. Gussa hue na to bole chala ja ghar chhod ke. To main chala gaya. To fir rone lage. Ab nahi teko kuch bolenege, vapas aaja. Mobile bhi nahi leke gaya tha. Paise bhi nahi the. 7 rupaye the. Yahan se bus mein gaya, to bola ticket hai mere paas. Fir kalupur utra, wahan se 7 rupaye mein auto karke pahoch gaya. he was telling me and I realized he was not at all regretting that he troubled his family so much by that. He called shardaben and asked her to sit with us. She came and asked, su thayu? thodi der baat to karu? He said. kya baat karun? Tu bol to raha hai tabse. And she started laughing. didi puch rahi thi. Ki shardaben kahan hai, phone pe baat kar rahi hai kya.He said. aaj nahi kiya maine phone pe baat. Time hi nahi mila. She said. aapke paas ki unke paas? I asked. mere paas. Uske paas to pura hi time hai. she said shyly. wo to kaam hi chhod deta hai agar main phone karu to. Bolta hai nahi kaam karna. kya kaam karte hain wo? I asked. palang banate hain. fur niture ka kaam karte hain. She replied. Ashish showed her a photo of a bride. aisi mehendi lagayegi? He asked her. itni zyada nahi. She answered. ek hi baar to lagana hota hai. He said. Reena called her from the other room to attend a phone call. Ashish and I started laughing as she got the phone call. She left shying. agle mahine shadi hai na? I asked. Nahi issi mahine hai. agle mahine 14 tareekh hai na, us din bahot sari shaadi hai, to ye log aa nahi payenge na, isliye jaldi kar rahe hain. fir ye log birthday par aayenge. Dono jan. yahan par humare ghar pe. Agle saal tha na mataji ka birthday, to shardi mausi ne bola tha, ki agle saal main apne ghar se aaungi. To iss saal to chali jayegi wo apne ghar pe, to dono aayenge. Maine kaha tumhari to sun li bhagwan ne. he was happy while telling me this. jab sab jaye na bahar aur mere haath mein aa jaye khana banane ka to main zyada zyada banaun. Aur achha achha banau. Mausi sab log aaye, kya banaya kya banaya puchte, ki ghar pe nahi hai to achha hi banaya hoga. Fir sab log ikattha baith ke khaye. Hum log auto karke dakor gaye the. He said. dakor kahan hai? I asked. He answered, anand ke paas. Ranchhod das bhagwan hai na, dwarkadheesh. Wahan se dakor aaye the. Bahot bada mandir hai wahan pe Krishna bhagwan ka. To wahan gaye the. Subah 4 baje uthke maine nashta banaya sabke liye. Puri banai, sabzi banai, to wahan leke gaye the. Ek ek thali khaye to 40 40 rupaye ki to ho jaye na. to sabne ghar ka khana pet bhar ke khaya. Aur auto ka khali diya, 1200 rupa ye. kitna duur hai yahan se? I asked. 100 km. fir do teen aur jagah gaye the. Mandir mein. Shankar bhagwan ka bhi mandir hai. patal se ganga nikalti hai. 1200 diya tha. 4 jane gaye the. He said. I was wondering how much he talks, and how he get all sorts of different topics to talk about. He went outside and got Soham, the small kid. He was playing with him while telling me that he fell ill yesterday. thand bhi bahot hai na. I said. He nodded and gave him a clutch pin to play. machine ka bhi kaam pada hai. 1 saal hua li to. 3000 mein padi thi. He told me. kya kya sil lete ho? I asked him. abhi to wo godhri hoti hai na wo banata hun machine pe. Dress fitting karana hai to wo bhi kar deta hun. 10 godhri ka order hai, ek ka 300 rupaye milta hai. H e was saying when Soham started crying as he hurt his finger by the pin. Ashish took him outside to his mother. He came back and started playing songs in phone loudly. City mein bhi jana hai. kapda khareedna hai. He was saying while changing songs on the phone. Reena came and asked for the phone. kyun? Ek

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rupaya balance bacha hai khali. He told her. haan na, nahi laga rahi phone. She said and took it from him. Even he went outside after a while and was baby talking to Soham. After few minutes shardaben came and sat. she saw the designs on the paper I had got. ye kya hai? She asked. ye ashish ne wall piece ke liye designs mangwaye the. Wo hain. I told her. He got soham again and was playing with the small cow bell hanging on the wall. shardi mausi kahan hai? He was talking to soham. kho gayi shardi mausi Reena said. Ashish took him to his nana and was still baby talking to him. He came after a while and sat playing with his phone. Ho gaya tumhara kaam. I asked him. He shook his head, making a face. thoda hi bacha hai. abhi kapda kaatna hai na. raat mein kaatunga. Kal jo kaata tha wo to de diya banane ko. 250 250 mein de deta hun. Mujhe 500 milta hai ek kurte ka. To 250 to mile na mujhe. Cutting aur chhapne ka. Vaise hi kamai hoti hai. ye to kholne ka hai na isliye main kar raha hun. He said. Sharda ben was talking to someone on the phone and Ashish kept yelling mane aapjo, asking for the phone. Few kids were running on the first floor and amma shouted from below, asking them to come downstairs or to keep quiet. Bijalal ji came and asked smiling, design ho gayi, baki hai? He peeped into the cloth I was working on and nodded and left. It was 5:15 when water came and shardaben was using hand pump. I asked, pani aa gaya kya? sham ko aata hai 10 15 min ke liye. Subah ek ghante. Nal mein nahi aata. Motor to laga nahi sakte. Sab pani kheech leta hai. Sab ke ghar mein pani nahi jayega na fir. He said. achha isliye handpump hai yahan. Aata kahan se hai pani? Tanki hai kya kahin? I asked. Tanki nahi hai, wahan khod ke rakha hai. wahin bharta hai pani. Abhi hi bana hai. bhajap wala aaye na, bhajpa party. To un logo ne line layi. 5 saal to baahar se pani late the. Koi bharne bhi nahi deta tha. Kuch log achhe hote hain na wohi bharne dete hain. He called Reena and asked her if she has gone to paavagarh. nahi. She said. nani ke sath nahi gayi tu? Main to gaya tha. Amaranth bhe dekha hai. bahot kuch dekha hai maine. He said. amrika bhi dekha hai? She asked sarcastically. amrika nahi dekhunga. Wahan to phone karne ka bhi kitna paisa lagta hai. 10 min baat karne ka 250 rupaya. Phone stared ringing, Ashish answered and told Reena, it was for her. mujhe nahi baat karni. She said and started laughing. Ashish was laughing too and put the phone on loud speaker. It was a recorded call from the service provider. He started going through the songs on the phone. meri behen ne sab naye naye gaane dale hain. mere phone mein to hai hi nahi . He said. ye design le aana na bada karke. Chhote mein bahot jheeni jheeni ho jayegi. To zyada time lagega. Bada fatafat ho jayega. Dikkat nahi hogi na karne mein? He asked. nahi nahi, college mein nikalta hai na print. Wahin se nikaal lungi. I answered and started packing my bag to leave. I went out of the room wh en Babba called me from the other room. He asked me to show what I worked on today. I showed him the cloth. Amma was also lying down there. achha aa gaya hai. Bahot of them said. Babba asked why I dint come yesterday. I told him I wasnt well. thandi lag gayi hogi na. He said. And I said yes. Chalo thik hai. khayal rakho. He said and put his hand on my head blessing me. Amma asked if I would be able to go alone. I told her yes. I left the house. Bijalal ji was sitting outside on a khaat watching a kid flying kite. sambhal ke jana he told me and said Namaste. I joined my hands and left. It was 6 when I reached the main road and took an auto for paldi.

Date : 12th Jan 13 Time : 3:30 PM Location : Near Juna Vadaj, Ahmedabad Actors: Radha Ben, Asha Ben, Husband, Father, Reena, Sharda, Guest Uncle. PO : One to Many
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Today I got late. As I walked towards Radhabens house, I saw a lady hawker, she was selling toys. I had seen her before but never noticed that she uses a whistle to attract attention of kids. I crossed her and reached the house, Babba were sitting outside in sun. Shardaben was sitting in the first room and asked, aaj late ho gaya aane mein, 3:30 baj gaye. Haan, aaj college ki bus nahi thi, ST se aate aate der ho gayi. I told her. Radha ben was sitting in the inside room, sorting through papers. Her husband was sitting on stool and welcomed me. I sat beside Radhaben and said namaste. Namaste. Aao baitho. Bahot kagaj patri ho gayi thi bag mein to safai kar rahi hun. She told me. Bijalal ji asked me to show what I have learnt. I showed him the cloth I was working on. Lady hawker passed from the front of the house. As the sound of her whistle approached, crying Soham got quiet and started looking outside; and started crying again when she left. aaj late ho gaya Radhaben asked. haan, bus nahi thi aaj. Isliye late ho gaya I told her. Bijalalji got water for me. I asked if Reena and Ashish arent home. hai na. He replied. school ka kaam ho gaya aapka? I asked Radhaben. haan, meeting hi thi. Ho gayi. She said. Today she seemed unusually quiet. Even the usual hustle bustle of the house was missing. Radhaben saw my work and gave me a few tips on how to improve. Then she went back to her sorting. I realized she is a perfectionist. Same work for which Amma and Ashish praised me, Radhaben told me that I still have scope to improve. Radhaben asked bijalal ji to switch on the fan. House was so quiet that fans noise was too prominent. aapka bank ka hafta wala sulajh gaya kya? I asked her. bank ka? Haan. Bole to entry mili hai. par ab tak computer mein nahi dali. Fir se bulaya hai. She paused. bahot tension hai abhi to . Light ka bill 3500 aaya is mahine ka. Makaan kiraye pe diya hai na upar ka. 2000 mein. To usne kiraya nahi diya is mahine ka. 10 tareekh ko hafta bharna padta hai na. to wahan paise diye. 750 ka saman laya. Ab light ka bill aaya. She paused again and asked Bijalal ji, Ashish kahan hai? Hansaben ke yahan gaya hai shayad. Bijalal ji said. Radhaben started mending a necklace. After few minutes, she said, garmi ho rahi hai na. haan. Kam ho gayi hai thandi. I said. Abhi uttarayan ke baad aur kam ho jayegi. She said. aapko aata hai patang udana? I asked. She smiled before answering, nahi mujhe nahi aata. Ghar pe bhi koi nahi udata. Ashish bhi nahi, Reena bhi nahi. She paused before asking, tum ghar nahi ja rahi ho? Haan jana to hai ghar. Hua to isi mahine ke aakhir mein jaungi. Pehle Mumbai jana hai agle hafte. Interview hai. I told her. Achha. Kiska interview hai. She asked. Project karna hai na 6 mahine ka. To wohi dhundne ke liye. Uska interview hai. I replied. to wahan khane peene ka kaise karogi? She asked me. 2 3 din ke liye hi jana hai abhi to. To kisi ke ghar par ruk jaungi. I answered. She nodded. Bijalal ji were baby talking with Soham, showing him different kites in the sky. Diwali pe ghar gayi thi main. Uske baad se nahi gayi. I told her. kaun kaun hai ghar pe? She asked. Mummy papa. Bhaiya hai bada. I answered. Sath nahi rehta bhai? she asked again. Nahi. Kaam dusre shehar mein hai. to alag rehta hai. Wo bhi diwali pe aaya tha. bas tum dono bhai behen ho. Shadi hui hai uski? Haan. Shadi ho gayi hai.

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Bachhe hain? Nahi abhi shadi hui hai. ek saal hua hai bas She finished a rapid fire round of questions. She collected the papers she wanted to throw and put them in a plastic bag. Rest she kept back in the bag. abhi bus mein kitna lagta hai kiraya? She asked. 18 rupaye paldi tak. I told her. 18 ho gaya. Main aati thi na jab. Sector 7 se, wahan kaam sikhati thi. Time ek baje se 4 baje tak ka. Time achha tha. Yahan se 11 baje tak niklo to 12 1 tak pahoch jati thi. Fir wahan se se 4:30 5 baje tak nikle, uske baad main niklu to 6 7 baje tak pahoch jati thi. Pura 6 mahina kiya ye. Tab 7 8 rupaye hi kiraya tha. Radhaben was speaking to Bijalal ji in gujrati, about mothaben, delievering bedsheets. He just nodded. Ashish ko phone lagao to. She asked him. He took out his phone and called him up. His phone was out of coverage area. abhi tak ruka tha Ashish, raah dekh raha tha. Fir bola ki mummy aaj nahi aayegi shayad didi, to chala gaya fir baahar. She told me. city bus se aayi na isliye der ho gayi aaj I said. Everyone was quiet again for sometime, busy in their work. gandhinagar mein patang udate hain tumhare wahan pe? Radhaben asked. haan. College mein udate hain. I answered. le aayi tum patang khareed ke? She asked again. Nahi. College mein hi aati hai patang sabke liye. Par udana nahi aata. I told her. hum log bhi patang nahi udate. Achha sa khana banate hain, aur khate hain. She was saying. Makar sankrant bhi hota hai na. til gud khate hain. I said. haan til ke laddu khate hain. main to taiyar hi lati hun baahar se. ghar pe nahi banati. She said. I heard guest Uncles voice, he was calling sharda ben. She shouted back saying that she is coming. I wondered if he comes daily to their place. Someone started the TV and songs were playing on a very low volume. I guessed it might be babba and that uncle. A lady came and Bijalal ji offered her the wooden stool to sit. They all started speaking in Gujarati and after a while I lost track. I got that her name was Hansaben, and Ashish was at her place, doing something on the computer. They discussed someones marriage and Radhaben told her about her meeting in school. One more lady came, Bijalalji addressed her as Jagrutiben. She was telling them about someone who met with an accident. Bijalalji asked her about construction of a house. She gave him the updates. pani? Bijalal ji asked her. She declined. mata ka birthday hai na 27 ko. To mana rahe hain. aana. Radhaben told her. har saal manate ho? She asked her. haan. Agle saal 1000 diye lagaye the mandir mein. Photo hai na. photo dikhao to. Snehal ko bhi dikhana. Almari mein rakhi hai. She told her husband. He opened the almirah and got a bundle of photos out and handed them over to the ladies. mandir dekha tumne, baahar hai? Radhaben asked me. Nahi dekha. I replied. achha, dikhati hun tumhe baad mein. She said. Bijalalji was telling the two ladies about the photos, showing the mandir and diyas, as they were seeing the snaps. 27 tareekh ko aana, birthday pe. Raat ko. Aayegi na? Radhaben asked me. bus nahi rehti tab, khud se aana padega. I told her. Aisa ho to yahin ruk jana. Yahan rukna ho to mana to nahi karenge? She asked. nahi, batake aana padega. I said. 27 tareekh ko to yahin aake rehna. Puja hoti hai, aur diye lagate hain hum. She said.

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Ashish kahan gaya? Jagruti ben asked. Ashish Harshaben ke ghar pe hai. Reenu so rahi hai. Radhaben said. Jagrutiben suddenly looked at me asking, to ye kaun hai? kaam seekhne aayi hai. gandhinagar se. Radhaben told her. mujhe laga reenu hi baithi hai tabse She said. Bijal al ji asked the two ladies for tea, they refused saying they are just leaving. In a few minutes they left. Radhaben and Bijalal ji discussing about some order and I was seeing the photos when Ashish arrived. phone kyun nahi lag raha tha tera? Bijalalji asked him. memory card computer mein dala tha to kaise lagta. memory card mein virus aa gaya tha. To computer mein daal ke nikal diyaHe answered. Phone started ringing to which Bijalalji said, Vodafone company ka phone hai. kitni baar karte hain. Ashish answered the phone and cut at the same time. company he said. nani ke phone pe to dinbhar karte hi rehte hain. Bijalalji said. Ashish had a got a wall piece which he showed me. ye mama ke ghar pe tha. Mast hai na. aisa mujhe banane ka hai abhi. Aapko dikhane ke liye laya abhi to. He said. He pulled the chair near me and sat. agle saal ke birthday ke photo hain ye. He said and started telling me about the people in the photos, the arrangements they had done. meri mummy ka to ek hi photo aaya hai saare photos mein. He said and started laughing. tere hi sabse zyada hain shayad. Bijalal ji told him. Radhaben wore the necklace, she was mending and asked Bijalal ji, barabar che? Mereko mat puch. He said. She looked at me and said, bahot dino se pada hua tha, pendant daal diya ismein fir. nahi achha lag raha. Chain mein daalo ye. Ashish said. Le aa to tu chain. Radhaben was teasing him. Main kahan se laun? Paisa hota to le aata. Ashish said. ek lakh rupaya loan le aur le aa. Nahi snehal? She said. ek lakh mein kitna sona aayega abhi, kuch bhi nahi. He said. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes when Ashish asked Radhaben, Nani se 200 rupaye leke do na. kyun? Kaunse 200 rupaye? Radhaben asked. Us din ahmedabad ja rahi thi to maange the na. Ashish said. haan to de degi nani. Bijalalji joined in. nahi tum maang ke do. Tere maangne se de degi. Ashish told Radhaben. Abhi thoda rehne de na,meherbani karke.She told him. 400 rupaye aaye the haath mein, ab kuch bhi nahi hai. kisi ko dunga nahi main ab se. He started cribbing. abhi dekh, loan ke paise diye Bijalal ji started speaking and Ashish interrupted, to maine loan to nahi liya hai na. main apni chain bech ke bank mein paisa jama karwa dunga. Radhaben kept quiet all this while. mera koi nahi hai, main dekh raha hun Ashish said while leaving the room. At this comment, his Nana yelled from the other room, kya bol raha hai Ashish? mar hi jaunga main. Ja raha hun main nadi mein kudne. Ashish was continuously cribbing. Nana came to him, his walking stick announcing his approach. He came close to him and stopped. tu keh raha hai ki mera koi nahi hai, to yahan ye sab log jo hain ye kaun hai? He said. haan na koi nahi hai, par dekho nana. Mujhse udhar agar liya hai, to mujhe vapas dena chahiye na? Ashish asked him. Haan dena chahiye. Ye baat to thik hai. kisne liya tha?Nana asked. 200 rupaye liya tha, mummy ne, to abhi dena chahiye na. button ka 450 aaya to dena chahiye na usmein se. Ashish said. 450 aaya to kharcha bhi hua na. Always quiet, Bijalalji yelled. de do bhai de do iska paisa. Nana said and went inside the room. Ashish came back with his cloth, sat and started working quietly. Radhaben went outside and no one said anything for quite a while. He called sharda mausi after a while, to sit with us. thode dino mein jane wali ho to humare sath baitho to. He said. main yahan se roz usko awaaz deta hun, kahan gayi, kahan gayi. Abhi sun lo, chali jaugi to wahan awaaz dunga kya. He told me. Ek din main aur meri mausi

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bahot jhagde. Fir main usko nahi bulaun, wo mujhe nahi bulaye. Fir hum log naukri pe gaye. Designer ke sath. Usko bhi wohi designer. Mera bhi wohi designer. Mujhko wo bola kankaria aana. Main wahan jake khada ho gaya. Kya dekhta hun, ye bhi wahin khadi hai. hum dono paas paas khade hain. fir bhi baat nahi kar rahe. Fir designer aaya aur ek ek karke leke gaya. He chuckled. Radhaben came searching for something. Ashish started cribbing again about money. Silai ka paisa diya. Button ka samaan lana hai. ye to vichar kar. Fokut mein nahi aata na sab. Kaam karte hain. mehnat ka paisa hai sab. Silai ka paisa to dena rehta hai na. Radhaben sounded disappointed. to mujhe bhi to samaan lena hai. mujhe chain leni hai. Ashish said. pehle dekh ke to aa chain. Baad mein lena na. Shardaben souted. dekh ke aaya na. 14000 ki hai. 4 gram. Dekh ke aaya hun. Paisa bharna hai. He said. uttarayana ka hisaab kiya hai? undiyo lena hai to. He yelled after a few seconds. Cheezo ka bhaav badhega fir bhi cheese to khareedenge hi na log. He was talking to me now. I nodded. He started singing, Lage raho munnabhai on top of his voice. Shardaben came teasing him, kya zor zor se gana ga raha hai. station ke baahar baithna hai kya? she started giggling. He tried pulling her hair and she ran. He ran outside too and started telling an incidence to Bijalalji, malai lagane se chehra saaf hota hai na. to shardi mausi raat bhar malai laga ke rakhi. Fir ulti kar di. Baas nahi marega puri raat malai laga ke rakhi to. Everyone started laughing. ya to log missed call maarte hain, ya to company ka hi phone aata hai, bas He came inside saying. mera itna sa hi kapda baki hai karne ka. He told. Shardi mausi ka ho gaya? I asked him. unka bhi itna hi baki hai, bas do line. He said and ran outside to answer phone. I was thinking if he cant sit at a place for long. He came back saying, mera na raat mein hi kaam hota hai. dus cheese yaad aati hain din mein. He started fiddling with the phone. Shardi mausi mera ringtone suna kya? He yelled and put a loud song. He seemed to be bored to work and he confirmed by yawning, to which nana shouted from the other room, kya hua tujhe? neend aa rahi hai. He yelled back. to chai banwa na. haan ban rahi hai. He said. There was a significant change in the surrounding when Ashish came from neighbours house. The quiet, silent house was no more quiet. char baar amma puch chuki hai mujhse khana khaya kya? Har baar bhool jati hai. He told me. Sharda ben got tea for me and told Ashish to go out as Nana is calling him. Radhaben and Bijalal ji came and sat with their cups of tea. Snehal chai pi le. Thandi ho jayegi. Radhaben said. order ke kapde de diye na kal? Bijalalji asked Ashish. 8 tape kiye the na. He said. 6 kiye the. Bijalal ji said. 6 kiye the, to nanda mausi kitne leke gayi? 5 piece leke gayi na He asked. 7 piece leke gayi 15 piece the, 8 tape kiye, to 7 bache. 7 ke 7 leke gayi? Maine 5 nikal ke rakhe the. Dekho 10 piece honge kahin pe. Nani se pucho kitne leke gayi. Ashish was saying. Bijalal ji went to ask. Radhaben came saying, 5 piece leke gayi hai. Mummy mujhe khane ko bhi de na chai ke sath. Ashish said. rotli kha le. Nahi, bhookh lage to roti khane ki. Radhaben said. Design laya kya? Ashish asked. nahi aaj band tha. I told him. uttarayan ki chutti hogi na aaj. Radhaben said. Aap aaoge uttarayana ke din? Ashish asked me. mujhe patang udana nahi aata. I answered. Aise hi aana. Hum kahan patang udate hain. Ashish said. Janamdin ke liye bulaya hai. Radhaben said. haan fir yahin ruk jana raat mein. Mummy aa jayegi chhodne fir. Ashish said. Bijalal ji came saying only 3 pieces were found. Ashish went outside yelling for his nani, asking how many pieces were given. Bijalalji came and sat, button ka saman lene jana hai na? He asked Radhaben. button chale gaye? I asked. haan, aa j lene aaya tha. 450 rupaye aaye. To abhi dusra maal lena padega na. purana khallas ho gaya. Leke rakh denge to kaam aave na. 300 rupaye ke to

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box aate hain. zyada munafa nahi hota hai ismein. Reena came, kab aaye? She asked me. 3:30 baje. I replied. main laagi didi ke yahan thi, baju mein. Project banana hai. par aaj aapko pata nahi chala main aayi to, payal nahi baji na. She said laughing. I smiled too. Ashish and Reena said something in gujrati and started laughing. I smiled too. She asked if I understood. I said I smiled at the way she made fun of him. aadha bhi nahi hua aapka to abhi. She said. Haan bahot dheere ho raha hai. I said. Ashish started changing the radio channels on his phone and noise was too dominat ing. He was too restless today. He stopped at a song and yelled, Shardi mausi, tumhare liye gana aa raha hai. He put the volume on top. Entire house could have heard it. Babba and the guest Uncle were sitting in the sun and chatting. They turned and gave him a look and went back to chatting. He got bored of the song in a while and switched it off. Guest Uncle left after a few minutes. I asked Ashish if comes daily. He said yes. Unka naam kya hai? I asked him. Sharmaji hain wo. Nana aur wo dost hain pehle se. He said. arre, shardaben to upar se aa rahi hai. maine yahan gana lagaya uske liye. He exclaimed. oye shardaben, tere liye main gana lagaya tune suna bhi nahi. He was telling her. Radhaben came and reminded Ashish to finish his tea. chai to mujhe yaad hi nahi thi. Thandi ho gayi. Kaisi chai banayi hai thandi. Cold tea. Cold coffee ki jagah cold tea. He was laughing on his joke. to mama ke yahan jaoge uttarayan ke liye? I asked him. haan, wahin pe jayenge. Yahin pe hai paas mein. Abhi main wahin pe gaya tha. Mobile mein na virus tha memory card mein. To uske paas laptop hai na. to nikal ke aaya. Wahan jayenge nahi to kahin baahar chala jaunga. Hum log bhi nahi patang udate. Khali bas pura din naye kapde pehente hain. fir wo undiyo banate hain na, wo banaye, puri banaye aur fir khana khaye achha achha. Ghar pe hi banate hain hum. Taiyar lene jaye na to 400 rupae kilo hai undiya. Wo bhi pata nahi kaise banate hain. pura tel wala hi hota hai na. acidity hoti hai usse. Meri mummy taiyar cheez khareedti hai. main nahi khareedta. He said. An auto stopped in front of the house. He yelled, kaun aaya shardi mausi? She dint reply. Radhaben came, saamne aaya hai koi. nana ka phone yahan hai kya?She asked. Ashish gave it to her. She was searching fo r a bag. When she found, she pulled out a cloth, for which Ashish said to put it in almirah. itne bade bag mein kya leke aati ho. He asked me. sham ko jate time thand ho jati hai na, to sweater hai usmein. I replied. 2 baje nikli thi kya bus? He asked again. nahi aaj bus nahi thi college ki. To St bus se aayi. I answered. achha isliye late ho gaya. He said. After pausing he asked again,Uttarayana ko wahin honge na college mein? haan. College mein aati hain na patang. I said. college mein aata hai kisiko udana? He asked. aata nahi hai kisiko udana par koshish karte hain. I said. tennis pe? he asked. I dint understand. Ground hai wahan I replied. taabe pe nahi chadhte hain? He asked again. I couldnt understand what he was asking so aksed, kispe nahi chadhte? taabe pe. He said. Radhaben said, chhat pe. ohh. Nahi chhat pe nahi chadhte. Neeche se hi. Ground hai ek chhota to wahin pe. I replied. Then I asked again. Ch hat ko taaba bolte hain? Radhaben nodded. Ashish was laughing. tennis bhi bolte hain na, chhat ko? terrace bolte hain. tennis khelne wala hota hai. I corrected him. terrace. Haan tennis wo racket wala na. He said. I nodded. Radhaben was getting ready to go somewhere. Ashish asked, mummy, city mein ja rahi ho? Kapda lete aana na. He said. Kaunsa kapda she aksed. black colour ka. Wall piece banana ke liye. He said. arre ghar pe pada hai itna sara black kapda. She said. ambe ma ke liye chaniya choli ka kapda lete aaogi

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kya? Kaunsa net wala laogi? He asked. dekhti hun. She replied. She came an inspected my work. dhaga thoda alag hai na isliye zyada dikh raha hai. achha hi kiya hai vaise to. Ye thoda thoda reh gaya hai ye baad mein barabar kar dena. Main city mein ja rahi hun. Wo button ka material lana hai na. She said. I nodded. mummy jayegi to wo chunnat wali pant ka puchke aana to. Ashish said. kaunsi chunnat wali pant? Legging? She asked. haan, wo nayi aayi hai na, yahan neeche chunnat aati hai. sherwani ke sath batayi thi na, ratan pol gaye the tab. Kisi bhi ek dukan mein puchna to. He said. He asked Bijalalji, light bill bharne ja rahe ho? Nani ke naam se hai na, to cheque se bhar do na. sab log jo bangl e mein rehte hain wo to cheque se hi bharte hain. achha hai na. cheque se dena. He told me. Kaise achha hai? I asked him. bank mein account mein paise daalne ka, aur fir cheque de dene ka. Light bill bharne jao to. He told me. I told him it doesnt make much difference. BIjalalji asked Ashish about some calculation. Ashish told him the whole calculation and told him to get 550 Rs from someone. Bijalalji and Radhaben took their sweaters and were about to leave when Ashish called her. chakeda milega to leke aana diamond wala. Stone wala aata hai sawa sau mein. Madhavpura nahi ja rahi hun main. She said. farmaishe bata raha hai. Bijalalji said. ratanpol se 10 rupaye ki dhabeli le aana. 10 nahi 12 ki ho gayi ab. 6 rupaye mein khate the, ab 12 ki ho gayi. He said again. ratanpol nahi ja rahi hun baba. Radhaben was irritated now. to manik chowk ki icecream le aana. He said giggling. Radhaben ignored him this time and they left. Sometime later, I could hear the creaking handpump, and I knew water has come. Shardaben started filling water and washed utensils simultaneously. kal gayi thi na mummy, wo log pravas ke liye le ja rahe hain, He told me. kahan le ja rahe hain? I asked. akshardham He said. school ki taraf se? I asked. haan. Saatvi, aanthvi kaksha ko. Meeting hui thi na. to mummy boli ki main nahi aaungi, bachhe mein se kisi ko bhej dungi. Maine bola mujhe bhej dena. Sawa sau mein achha nahi? Sawa sau bhada dena. Khane peene ka sabka unka kharch aur amaranth, Maudi, vaishnodevi yahan ka, Tirupati balaji, akshardham, achha nahi? Maine kaha mera likhwa dena naam. Sab bachho ke saath chhote chhote. School mein ek din ka hi pravas hota hai na to achha nahi lagta. Gaon mein pravas hota tha na school ka to do teen din ke liye le jate the. Sab duur duur jagah. kal hum jayenge saman lene. Sunday hai na. peeche bazaar bharta hai. ravivari bolte hain use. Sab purani cheese wahan mil jati hai. bahot mast rehta hai. main to har Sunday ko jata hun. Kal jane wale hain sab. Purani sab cheeze peetal ki bahot mast rehti hain. He said. kitne baje tak rehta hai? I asked. sham ko 6 baje tak. aisa rehta hai ki subah achhi cheeze milti hain aur baad mein khatam ho jati hain? I asked. Haan vaise to rehta hai. par pura din rehta hai, 6 baje tak. He answered. Reena came and said bye. Bye. Tu bhi ja rahi hai? I asked. abhi aa rahi hun vapas. Bas chakki tak ja rahi hun. She said. aata piswane ja rahi hai. Ashish said. pehle main jata tha city. Saman lene ke liye. Sabzi khareedne. Wahan kilo kilo mein hi dete hain. badi market mein. Hmm. Tumahara ho gaya kaam? I asked. ho jayega, aaj. Aisa kaam koi leta nahi hai haath mein. Thoda hi bacha hai. jaldi ho jata hai. He said. He got a call on his phone. He answered and it was a promotional call from service provider. ghar wale jitna nahi sambhalte, company wale utna yaad karte hain. mere din ki shuruat company ke call se hoti hai. I told him. mera uninor ka hai na isliye itna aata hai he said. Aisa nahi hai sab mein aata hai. mera Vodafone ka hai. 5 10 call aate hain din bhar mein. I told him. subah kab uthte ho aap? He asked me. raat mein kaam karte hain, to subah uthte uthte der ho hi jati hai. nashta 10 baje tak milta hai. to tab tak to

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uth hi jate hain. I told him. mera din mein kuch kaam nahi hota hai. sab raat ko hi hota hai. he said. Kids had started playing outside and they were all creating a chaos over kites. tumhara gaon to Mumbai taraf aaya na? he asked me. haan. wahan se shirdi nazdeek hai? He asked me. 5 6 ghante lagte hain Mumbai se. main gayi thi jab chhoti thi. I replied. abhi to bahot achha banaya hai na sone ka. Shingnapur bhi paas mein hoga na, shani shingnapur? haan wo paas hai. I told him. dekhna hai merko. Mere mausi ki ladki hai na, to wo vasai mein rehti hai. Mumbai ke paas hi hai na? he asked. haan. I nodded. unki ladki ki shadi thi na tab dekha tha Mumbai. Siddhivinayak mandir. Tumahre wahan ganpati ka bahot hoga na? he asked again. haan. Ganpati ko maante hain. I said. lalbagh ke raja. Wo dekha hai tumne kabhi? he asked. haan dekha hai na. I answered. sab hero heroine bhi aate hain na wahan. He said and I smiled. visarjan tha na. Tabhi subah tak visrajan dekha puri raat. To subah 5 baje lalbag ke raja ka visrajan dekha. Bolte hain subah 10 baje nikalti hai murti. Fir pure Mumbai mein ghumate hain aur fir subah 4 baje visarjan karte hain. har saal ek hi type ki murti banate hain. He was telling. Tirupati bhi hai na. mere nani gayi thi. 3 din lage the. Chennai ke paas. Abhi wahan pe sone ka hai na, to yahan pe chandi ka banaya hai. sab log southindian walo ne, iskon temple ke paas. Tirupati ko bhi bahot maante hain. I said. haan. Paper mein aaya tha, ek bhai ne to kitne crore ki murti di thi wahan, pure asl i diamond ki. Mumbai mein bhi aisa hua. Ek bhai ne heere ki murti visarjan kar di. Ek crore ki. Ek saal usne sone ki banwai, ek saal chandi ki banwai. Usne mannat rakhi thi ki 5 saal tak main sab dhatu ki murti visarjan karunga. Padmanabham mandir se bhi kitna sona nikla tha. wo kahan hai? I asked. pata nahi. 7 darwaza hai. uske ek darwaza khola tha na, to bahot badi murti nikli thi Vishnu bhagwan ki. Puri sone ki aur diamond ki. Aur zevar to alag. Akkhi duniya bole ki use chal sakti hai. 7 darwaza kholte to kitnahi sona nikalta. Naag tha na, uski rakhwali karta tha. Aur saatve darwaze pe likha tha ki ye darwaza khologe na to ye duniya nashta ho jayegi. To wo nahi khola. Roz aata tha news mein. Abhi yahan pe bhi dev sthaan ban raha hai to kitne makan gira diye. Sabarmati mein. 4 4 maalo ke ghar bhi gira diye. Diye unko flat. Ek room aur kitchen. Par chhote chhote. Aur usmein bhi paise bharne padte hain. I wondered how much of his stories are true and mentally made a note to go check for padmanabham mandir. After keeping quiet for a while he asked if it was a holiday today. And I told him that Saturdays and Sundays are off. He left and got shardabens cloth to show me. itna hi bacha hai. mere nana gaane laga ke baithe hain. He chuckled. I tried listening to TV, but couldnt and thought, what a difference when Ashish watches the TV. kal to free rehta hai uninor ka. To achha hai. uninor to uninor Sunday ko free. 24 ghante. Achha hai uninor mein. 99 ki scheme karao na to koi bhi mobile mein free. 5000 min. aur 10000 uninor to uninor free. Par pura balance khatam karna pade. To achha hai na. Par ismein kya hai na, kahin par jate hain na, abhi to ye naya naya card hai na, to kahin pe tower nahi pakadta hai. he was saying. He paused for a few minutes before starting again, kabhi koi wrong number lag jata hai na, to pareshan kar deta hai. ek din to kya hua na, wrong number lag gaya, to pareshan kar diya. Raat raat bhar call karta. Maine uthaya na phone pucha kaun bol rahe ho, to bola naam nahi bataunga, maine bola yahin ka hoga tu. To wo bola teri mummy ne bola hai phone karne ko. Maine bola dhai baje meri mummy bolegi tujhe phone karne ko. Maine mummy ko uthaya aur use pucha. To mana ki wo.fir wo gaaliya dene laga. Maine kaha, abhi dusri baar phone aaya na tera, to main kal police chowki jake complaint kar dunga. Tera number de dunga. Fir dusre din to mobile hi switch off kar diya. Phone hi nahi aaya uska. Aur us number pe koi ladki baat kare na, jaise meri behen bole, to baat karta tha, main baat karu tu gaaliya deta tha. Aisa kamina tha

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wo. Police ki dhamki di to phone hi band kar diya. Yahan pe raat ko na ladke pareshan karte hai. raat mein dhai dhai baje tak awaaz karte hain, chillate hain. to ek baar maine bathroom mein jake 100 number par call kiya. Aur bola ki yahan par ladke pareshan karte hain, raat raat bhar match khelte hain. bole naam to batao. Par maine naam nahi bataya. Fir raat ko aayi police. To sabko dande mare. Ab khelna hi band kar diya. Darte hain ki kisi ne phone kar diya police ko to raat mein aati hai. He was happy telling his story. It was 6 pm when I started packing my stuff. He asked if I will come on uttarayana. I told him I will give him a call if I am coming for uttarayana. Babba were sitting outside and asked me if ashish should come to drop me. I declined politely. sambhal ke jana he told me and waved. Hustle bustle on the streets had increased and I could sense the festive spirit in the kids as they were competing with each others kites. I left the streets and reached the traffic chaos in 5 minutes.

Emerging Categories

1. Noise:
a. Inside the house: made a gurgling sound, kids playing and yelling, scooter honked, croaky sound when moved, beep sound that kept coming continuously, chattering of kids, fad fad ekdum playing and yelling outside, noise that kept coming continuously in the every channel he changed, kept yelling for his friend, pile of utensils, making too much noise, Fridge made a gurgling sound, aise awaaz karta hai jaise bahot sara khana kha ke dakaar maarta hai, awaaz aati hai to pata chalta hai. TV was on in the other room on a high volume, Few kids were flying kites outside and were making a lot of noise, running and chasing kites. TV was on the top of its volume. I could hear someone cleaning the grains in winnow, which I initially thought is a broom, It made a squeaky loud noise, Someone was washing utensils in the kitchen as I could water flowing and noise of utensils together . And TVs volume was again up, someone was listening to news, kid was continuously yelling on top of his voice outside, they were all creating a chaos over kites b. Surrounding area: traffic noise was too prominent, words were drowned in the traffic noise, ear deafening traffic noise, amidst the chaos of vehicles, I reached the noisy roads, I left the streets and reached the traffic chaos in 5 minutes.

2. Identity:
a. Place : traffic noise faded and it was almost quiet, from the busy roads where there was a constant chaos of vehicles to a comparably quiet open area, entered the street to her home, traffic noise was gone, the quiet streets of her neighborhood, small cow bell which made sound as she was sorting through the bags. b. People: Amma : Strong, Dominating She had a tone of authority in her voice and I dint say anything after that, Amma said which sounded more like an order, She asked in a way I wondered if she is thinking Ill skip my dinner, She said with a smile and declaration, ammas voice was more dominant and strong, her commands to everyone were clear and they all listened to her, Amma came and stopped the fight, amma shouted from below,

Radhaben: Calm she was almost inaudible, She kept silence for a few seconds before speaking again, Radhaben was soft-spoken and calm, Radhabeen was disappointed but dint loose her calm and was talking coolly, She answered in a low voice, Today she seemed unusually quiet , Radhaben kept quiet all this while,

Bijalalji : Quiet Bijalalji was silent all this while. Speaking very less, and when required, who was quiet till now, silently observing, told him to keep quiet, Bijalalji reduced the volume of TV, bhajan was playing as the ringtone, Phone started ringing again, same bhajan, Always quiet Bijalalji yelled Reena: Payal as her identity sound of payal, series of sounds of ghungroo, sound of payal announcing Reenas enterance, music of payal following her, payal ki awaaz aaye to pata chal jata hai reena aa rahi hai, Reena came, followed by the payal sounds, There was increasing sound of payal as Reena entered, tu aati hai to payal se pata chalta hai, par aaj aapko pata nahi chala main aayi to, payal nahi baji na Shardaben: Shy almost like a whisper, whispering on the phone, talks on phone so shyly, suno mere pati ki awaaz., She told me shyly, She started talking in her typical way, whispering Babba: Walking stick his identity placing the stick makes sound, usual beats of his walking stick, his walking stick announcing his approach Ashish: Loud, Talkative ashish yelled , he started calling her mother on top of his voice, he yelled in excitement, ye ashish ne ekdum zor se hi laga deta hai TV. Kaan fatt jaye apne, song started playing very loudly, gaane lagate hain zor se, his phone started ringing loudly and both of us got startled, There was a constant sound of steel on steel which he noticed too and started playing with it, making different sounds, sounded excited, started playing songs in phone loudly, Ashish kept yelling, put the phone on loud speaker, He started singing, Lage raho munnabhai on top of his voice, He yelled and put a loud song. He seemed to be bored to work and he confirmed by yawning, There was a significant change in the surrounding when Ashish came from neighbours house. The quiet, silent house was no more quiet, Ashish started changing the radio channels on his phone and noise was too dominating, He stopped at a song and yelled, He yelled, kaun aaya shardi mausi, I tried listening to TV, but couldnt and thought, what a difference when Ashish watches the TV

He was continuously speaking, was enjoying telling his stories, Ashish started talking again, Pausing, he started again, I was wondering how much he talks, and how he get all sorts of different topics to talk about

3. Defining Work:
crackling sound of plastic bags, making a rhythmic sound following her hand movement, And similar sound of bangles, filled the room, sounds of two scissors, sound similar to rotating a tap and then a punch, Radhaben checked in the plastic bags, As he used to hammer, there was a loud sound. And I remembered the sound from the previous day, Her bangles kept making rhythmic sound as she was stitching, sir mein dard ho jata hai thok peet sunke, gana lagta hai fir. Ashish said chuckling,

4. Signalling Time:
could hear some sound since last 15 minutes, but couldnt figure it out. On searching for the source, I found a hand pump, I could hear the creaking hand pump, and I knew water has come, It was 5:15 when water came and shardaben was using hand pump As it was getting dark, noise of children playing outside became low, As the sun was setting, chaos of the kids was decreasing chai to bana didi ke liye, 4 bhi baj gaya, arre 4 baj gaye, chai banao to, at 4pm he gets reminded of tea, Reenu, chai bana na He called Reena. I saw the watch and it was 4 pm, chai bana, 4 baj gaye honge na

Synthesis of the categories emerged

Synthesis of the categories: The first category of sound that is present is Noise. Starting from the main road where there is ear deafening chaos, till we reach the house, where there are children creating a ruckus, mobile ringtones, loud TV etc. This category is further divided into Noise inside the house and in the surrounding area. People in the social group have become used to these sounds but unconsciously mentioned a few of them a few times. The second category present is Identity. Quietness and kids playing, these sounds are very noticeable in the area they live in, that is different from the chaos of the traffic and vehicles. Also, few sounds and the peculiar way, members of the social group talk defines their identity. It also says about the power dynamics present. Since the major earning of the house is because of the work ladies do, they have equal right in all the household matters. Amma and Radhaben hold a strong position in the house and it is evident from the way they speak. The third category is Work. It has sounds that are work related. Few of these sounds, they were aware of and also mentioned. But these were the sounds affecting their daily life, like cutting the cloth with hammer and sharp edged tool, which cause headache. Also, there were sounds which could be heard while they were working but they were taken for granted by the social group like bangles, scissors. The fourth category of sound that comes up is Time. There were few sounds which were time specific. Spending some time there, one could tell what time is it when listening to these sounds, like mention of chai every evening at 4pm; handpump creaking at 5:15pm.

Soundscape
Walking from a busy road, where there was ear deafening chaos of the vehicles, towards a comparatively quiet area was something I noticed everyday I went there. Kids playing and yelling was the first sight after reaching their house. Even a person sitting inside could clearly hear the kids in the outside area. In the house, there was a huge difference between the days when Ashish used to be home and when away. In his absence, the house used to be unusually quiet. Television and utensils were the major source of Noise in the house. Also, different ringtones of the mobile phones, some loud and some low bhajans, were the major part of the soundscape. While working, hammering and the punching sound of the machine used to dominate the house. I found hand pump as an interesting element in the soundscape.

Research Plan
After failing to find a social group for a lot of days, I visited this family who do patch work and other stitching work for living. The first day I visited, I needed to see the setup and people involved. I asked them if I could spend some time with them and see how they work. They readily agreed. Since all of them were talkative and easy going, it dint take much time to gain considerable access. When offered, I decided to learn the craft as I thought it will be a good reason to spend as much time as possible there. When asked about my college fees and how much my father is earning, I did not answer the exact thing but still gave a satisfactory answer. I decided to keep these kind of information from them as the major topic of discussion in their house was money and education. After spending two days, I realized they think I am from accessory or fashion designing. I decided to let the confusion be as I wasnt sure if I would be able to make them understand my discipline. Instead l told them my work is more computer related. Since the time of visiting them was specific, I had to focus on getting more and more information from them as possible in limited time.

Reflexivity
It is a close knit family. All of them are proud of the work they do and are eager to teach their craft. They even boasted their kids got the craft just by looking and need not have to teach them. Most of the earning of the house is because of the craft and stitching work that the ladies of the house do and so they hold a good position in the house. I found amma, dominant in the family, more like family head. Where Radhaben understands the importance of education, Ashish is more into money making. I found him different from the other family members with respect to his feelings towards their relatives and the society and the area they live in. It was comaparatively easier for me to gain access as gender was not a problem. Also, as they have worked with NID before, they were familiar with the concept of college projects.