The clock still ticks somewhere in the heavens - Remembering my Nanaji
Recently a friend who knew my nanaji (maternal grand father) asked me “Does the clock still tick at your grand father’s Ghadiwala ghar?” That one sentence sent me years back to my childhood when a trip to Patna and a stay at Nanaji’s Ashiana (the name he had given to his house) was at the minimum an annual affair for us. It has been a long time since nanaji left the world and I visited the house but the memories are still fresh in my mind.
“Ghadiwala ghar” - the house with the clock, that’s how the locals of Patna used to refer to my nanaji’s villa. A two storey house with a huge clock at the top, it was quite a landmark house in Nala road area if not in entire Patna.
The size of the house offered my cousins & me ample space to play and do things on our own without the interference of elders. But that was not all which was on offer.
Nanaji personally did ensure that we all had a gala time. On days when he played golf, my day there used to start by accompanying him to the Patna Golf Club. For, back then I was an early starter unlike many of my cousins; a habit which can do me a world of good today. The bait for me used to be a lavish breakfast at some of the top hotels of Patna.
And on other days when at home, while getting his head and body messaged by his maalish wala (masseur); he used to ask us kids “aaj kya khaoge baua?”. He would then direct one of his sons to ensure that our demands were met. This was the time when all the women in the house - my mother and my aunts used to give us a stare depending on the magnitude of our demands. By chance if nanaji saw the stare, then his single line response - “Aap log samajhte nahin hain” was enough to silence the women and a boost in our armoury.
Once nanaji left for work, we would either play on the terrace or with the lift. Yes, the two-storey house had a lift back in early 1990s and it was a source of amusement for us. The game with the lift used to continue until the time we were caught by an elder.
Upon return in the evening, nanaji used to survey the house to see if any corner needed a facelift or if he wanted something new in the house. And this casual stroll would invariably result in the construction of something big like a library, bird house, tandoor etc. in the house. This was also the time when the workers (carpenter, painter, gardener etc) or the darbaris as one of my uncle referred to them as would try their best to impress their master with many out of the box ideas.
The rest of the evenings were then reserved for a couple of drinks with my dad and uncles. During this time he would entertain everyone with his many stories. The plot of his stories could range from his student days in England to his childhood in Dumka or Biharsharif. And in between these stories he would ask us what we wanted to become in life. I never had an answer to this question (nor do I have now) of his and would just smile.
Then on one of the visits (I don’t remember when) he organised a drawing competition for all the cousins who were present and this became a norm for few years. I am not sure who used to win these competitions, but I do recall that all of us used to get adequate prizes. One of my prized childhood possession was a drawing set which I had got as a gift from him after a drawing competition.
He used to ensure that he saw all our paintings and then used to take us out in the evening so that we could select our gifts. I never heard him say that he was tired and could not accompany us out. This was despite the fact that his average day would start before sunrise and go on till at least midnight.
Another fond memory and a day on which I always remember him is the new years day. He celebrated his birthday on January 1st and it used to be done in a grand style either at his home or at his farmhouse in Danapur.
Today being January 1st, I am sure my nanaji - Padma Shri Dr Lala Suraj Nandan Prasad is throwing up a big bash and the clock would still be ticking at his mansion up there in the heavens. And if at all you end up reading this - Happy 103rd Birthday Nanaji!
“Ghadiwala ghar” - the house with the clock, that’s how the locals of Patna used to refer to my nanaji’s villa. A two storey house with a huge clock at the top, it was quite a landmark house in Nala road area if not in entire Patna.
The size of the house offered my cousins & me ample space to play and do things on our own without the interference of elders. But that was not all which was on offer.
Nanaji personally did ensure that we all had a gala time. On days when he played golf, my day there used to start by accompanying him to the Patna Golf Club. For, back then I was an early starter unlike many of my cousins; a habit which can do me a world of good today. The bait for me used to be a lavish breakfast at some of the top hotels of Patna.
And on other days when at home, while getting his head and body messaged by his maalish wala (masseur); he used to ask us kids “aaj kya khaoge baua?”. He would then direct one of his sons to ensure that our demands were met. This was the time when all the women in the house - my mother and my aunts used to give us a stare depending on the magnitude of our demands. By chance if nanaji saw the stare, then his single line response - “Aap log samajhte nahin hain” was enough to silence the women and a boost in our armoury.
Once nanaji left for work, we would either play on the terrace or with the lift. Yes, the two-storey house had a lift back in early 1990s and it was a source of amusement for us. The game with the lift used to continue until the time we were caught by an elder.
Upon return in the evening, nanaji used to survey the house to see if any corner needed a facelift or if he wanted something new in the house. And this casual stroll would invariably result in the construction of something big like a library, bird house, tandoor etc. in the house. This was also the time when the workers (carpenter, painter, gardener etc) or the darbaris as one of my uncle referred to them as would try their best to impress their master with many out of the box ideas.
The rest of the evenings were then reserved for a couple of drinks with my dad and uncles. During this time he would entertain everyone with his many stories. The plot of his stories could range from his student days in England to his childhood in Dumka or Biharsharif. And in between these stories he would ask us what we wanted to become in life. I never had an answer to this question (nor do I have now) of his and would just smile.
Then on one of the visits (I don’t remember when) he organised a drawing competition for all the cousins who were present and this became a norm for few years. I am not sure who used to win these competitions, but I do recall that all of us used to get adequate prizes. One of my prized childhood possession was a drawing set which I had got as a gift from him after a drawing competition.
He used to ensure that he saw all our paintings and then used to take us out in the evening so that we could select our gifts. I never heard him say that he was tired and could not accompany us out. This was despite the fact that his average day would start before sunrise and go on till at least midnight.
Another fond memory and a day on which I always remember him is the new years day. He celebrated his birthday on January 1st and it used to be done in a grand style either at his home or at his farmhouse in Danapur.
Today being January 1st, I am sure my nanaji - Padma Shri Dr Lala Suraj Nandan Prasad is throwing up a big bash and the clock would still be ticking at his mansion up there in the heavens. And if at all you end up reading this - Happy 103rd Birthday Nanaji!
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