Relationship with our Neighbours - the more it changes, the more it remains the same.
As I was growing up in a small cosmopolitan Steel Township, our neighbours played a very important role. I discovered amazing food wonderlands: steaming Idli, appam, crispy dosa from Iyer Aunty; lip-smacking Litti Choka from Dubey mousi, Punjabi paratha from Baskshi aunty… and the memory list is endless; a few of them took special liking for me for my good-student, good-boy reputation and I used to get special treats at their places.
It was long before the days of free-home-delivery. So if a padoshi aunty used to run out of Sugar in the middle of kheer making, obedient neighbourhood kids like me came to the rescue. Such requests were made over the flimsy fence. Immediately, I was rushed with a small stainless steel container of sugar, baking powder, dry imli, jaggery, coconut grater… it could be anything that was needed ‘Thoda sa and Now’. And I knew soon after the free home delivery, an equal amount of love in the form of yumminess would come in a return bowl for me. This ‘stainless steel container exchange program’ was also the precise indicator of the bilateral relationship between two families in the neighbourhood. In fact for most of us they were our family next door.
Today we share likes, smileys and recipe ingredients mostly online. Our offline connections with neighbours are limited at best.
But the other night my cordial phoren-return padosi called me with a unique request. “Surajit, can I use thoda sa your wi-fi?” With some internal introspection, the small town guy inside me won over the cynical city-zen and I extended the courtesy. And in return I got a smiling, cheerful family on the adjacent balcony.
Cheers to all my past-present and future Padoshis. Wi-fi never connected me better!
Writer Surajit Guha is a political Science graduate and a certified behavior-change soft skills trainer, Surajit has a
passion for live audience interaction and has been doing theatre in India and abroad.
In 2000, he took the challenge with a team to set up the Shell business at a JWT Associate
Agency in Muscat. After awesome experience and award winning work in an alien country, Surajit
came to India to popularize KFC in Jalandhar in 2005. Delivered Pizza to promote Cisco
Enterprise Solutions and did conceptualized campaigns across IT and non-IT industry sectors at
Solutions Publicis till 2007. Came to JWT-rmg connect and organized Police raid at college
campuses to promote Nokia Mobile Money and went to dodgy coaching centres to write film scripts
for Pearson. Joined Bates CHI Sercon in 2012 and is helping create memorable content around
Intelligent Activation and Digital experiences such as a Talking Bottle that interacts with
Seagram's Imperial Blue Whisky customers .
Surajit believes inside every guy in a suit, there’s a kid in a t-shirt restless to come out.
Enjoy the journey, cheers.
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