1940-45
My memories are vivid about this period as if they just happened yesterday……..
One day we heard that a German aircraft was downed (the word used to describe the shooting down of an enemy aircraft) about 25 km from our home. We saw the engines of the plane scattered in bits and pieces and the air craft frame was damaged but it wasn’t burnt. To a child it was of heart thudding excitement! I don’t know who I had gone with but there must have been someone with me. The German pilot and crew who had all bailed out before the plane crashed were brought to the katchery (The local court) and later handed over to the British officials. We all gaped at them like we do at animals in a zoo! It was the sensational news of the week.
This was soon followed by more war scenes. We saw British convoys of tanks and weapon carriers pass by. What we noticed is that these convoys were filled with all- white soldiers. They passed through what was then known as the Cuttack-Ranchi road. The tanks were like elephants, huge and unwieldy. They used to avoid going over the culverts and would pass below them. What was memorable was the fact that the soldiers used to throw chocolates to the boys while passing. Chocolates those days were rare and this was quite a treat for us.
The war, as we know now, was highly destructive but it did not touch India as badly as it did the rest of the world. The sound of War Air crafts passing overhead; the sound of sirens; the staying indoors after dark are some of the things that is retained within me. The news of the war was fascinating! I of course heard all this from either my father or some uncle reading from the only one newspaper which was available to us- The Hindustan Times. I used to pour over the pictures published in the paper. The one picture that I vividly remember is Hitler in his Nazi uniform putting his foot on a glove after the attack on Poland. The strength, power and arrogance on his face are etched in my memory!
The war was also the days of rationing- food, clothes, books everything was rationed. Petrol too was rationed and my father used to collect petrol in two-gallon Jerry cans for his beloved car. For the repair and replacement of this car he was very innovative- he replaced the worn out car parts by the readily available jeep parts! And life went on…..
In spite of all the hardships that people faced during these trying times, the children, living in their own world never realized this facet of life. It was very exciting - the shops were filled with lots of Japanese toys which had most probably been smuggled in; the ones that fascinated us were six annas and two paisa ones (These currencies are not used anymore so it will be difficult for the readers to understand). These toys were packed in sealed boxes of identical size, and you had to buy one without knowing what was in it at the fixed price. Then we would run home and open them to find a car or airplane or a house. It was very thrilling. Simple pleasures but wonderful feelings!
During these tense times the king of Keonjhar or the state to create some kind of entertaining diversion used to have elephant khedas, in which wild elephants were driven into an enclosure made of heavy wooden logs. After they were captured they were domesticated by mahants (elephant riders). We witnessed the breaking in and taming of these wild animals from a safe distance outside the enclosure.
We used to have wonderful family picnics at Sanghagra, a small waterfall and at Gonasika the source of river Baitarani. Once all of us were in a hurry and we went off, leaving the entire foodstuff behind! A lot of confusion occurred- this one blaming that one, but a huge family had to be fed so we got raw mangoes for curry and rice was purchased from local adivasis (The tribals of that area), with red chilies as appetizers! What a feast! We were so hungry that anything would have tasted like a feast!
We did not have the TV or the internet but I bet our General Knowledge was much better than many of the children of today!
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