When I think of my childhood,in that little colony called ECL Colony,Borachak House,quite a few pictures conjures up on my mind. A few being the chaad cricket with Tupai,waiting for the bus with Sunny(His family too left the colony) and of course Chotur Dokan.
Well this is the year 2010. Now I am in Mumbai,last two and a half years I had been in Bangalore. On every corner you will find a departmental store,which will claim they have everything under the sun in their stores. But do they at all have all the things? Chotur Dokan had. And it was 20 years ago. As Rico Da would have said from Mercedes Wheels to Maps of India.
I actually hated this person Chotu. A bald mustachioed heavily built Bihari. He was no way Chotu (Small). Anyways I hated him because his shop's goods were always over priced by our standards.
But alas!! We could not ignore him. His shop was the only place where I could chocolates.My stationaries,maps and what not. And yes..aah off course Swad and later Hajmolas.
His shop used to open at 8AM and would be open till 9PM in winters,10PM in the summers. Although in the afternoon it used to be closed. Everyday life in that small colony of ours would be unimaginable without chotur dokan. I still remember,once he went on a vacation for few days,the colony went into a collective mourning.
His shop was the hub of then neuve adult,our dadas(Big B's) who were experiencing their first puff. Hub of us ,who were just kids to these dadas,for our stationaries. For our India and World maps.Maps for our pencil,ink pens and erasers and sharpners,and what not.
His shops had all kinds of rice and potatoes. Which were always over priced. People wanted to avoid those,but during emergencies still they had to buy. During Diwali and Kali Pujo Chotur Dokan was our 'Ad Hoc' destination to buy crackers. Though they were twice the price of the crackers available in the open market,but who cared. Who would travel to the Asansol Market..Chotur dokan hai na!!
As days changed,Chotu also caught up with the changing times. The shop,the very old shop now had CDs. Bhojpuri CDs ruled the roost. Chotu,undoubtedly knew the pulse of his customers.
Well after sometime he started keeping cold drinks,and bought a fridge,
It was 2002. Suddenly I was jolted out my daily life. I left my colony. A new journey started,that took me to Durgapur,to Kolkata to Bangalore and finally Mumbai.
But whenever I go back home,I used to still see the same old Chotur Dokan,being the nerve centre of my small colony. Still the heart of the colony,pumping the blood into her arteries and veins.
Day before yesterday,I got the news Chotu has died a sudden death. I was numb. Memories came back. Memories of my carefree days. memories of my buying the India/World maps,to escape the next day's scolding from my geography teacher. Memories of me and Tupai going to buy a high quality plastic ball;our budget being a princely sum of Rs.8. days I will never get back. Days that will always sooth my nerves.
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4 comments:
Chotur Dokan was indeed the nerve centre of Borachak Colony.It was the most indispensable crisis solver in the area.Though his shop will surely continue to run,Chotu will leave a void in the lives of the people in the colony.
Indeed it is shocking to hear the sudden demise of "Chotu",but the legacy of the shop would continue through his son. I will never forget the man though, he was the first to allow credit to buy cigarettes thud nurturing an addiction and making a permanent customer. RIP Chotu.
Can't believe Chotu has died. His shop was right next to my house. He gave me credit to buy maggie noodles, my staple diet when my folks at home would leave outstation. The colony would never be the same without Chotu. God bless Sanjay & family. RIP Chotu
hmmm.... touches a nerve somewhere... though hv never seen chotu's dokan, bt can well visualize it... got me a lil nostalgic bout kolkata, college days.... nywaz will b following ur blog frm now on :)
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