A Walk Down Memory Lane

FICTION

For the sake of convenience, despite having a house of his own, my father had chosen to live in an official residence (offered by the government department) that was located at a stone's throw distance from this lively spot. In those days I was a movie addict and I remember seeing seven movies of my favourite hero Dev Anand in the movie hall Talkie House when a festival of Dev Anand films was underway. By feigning sickness (to be excused from class) and by cooking up a million other smart ploys I had achieved this feat.

I visited the house that I was born in. After visiting the old house and the specific room in which I was born I felt sad for I knew that after a few days this very house would cease to exist. Leaving my sadness and my sentiments in the dingy old room I decided to take a walk to the marketplace. It was a long walk from the area called Chiring Chapori to the main centre of Dibrugarh city. While walking, I came across faces that looked really familiar. However, I could not identify the people for decades had passed since my last visit. Many among them however recognized me and greeted me.

One among them turned out to be my old classmate and a couple of them turned out to be relatives. My purpose of the two day visit to Dibrugarh was simple. I wanted to have a last look at the century old house of my birth and catch up with relatives, friends and past acquaintances. It was my ardent desire actually to see the house before it was razed to the ground. The solid structured Assam Type house was built by my grandfather around 1920. Now it had been sold to someone who was planning to build a RCC structure in its place.

Strolling down towards the downtown I reached the spot called Rangghar Chariali -the prime area of Dibrugarh city.It was evening and was getting dark. The place derived the name Rangghar Chariali from the nearly hundred years old cinema hall called Rangghar Talkies. Here again the story was similar- the old structure had gone out of fashion and had lost its utility. Moreover exhibition of cinemas in large halls were not as lucrative a proposition as it used to be till the end of the previous century and therefore this cinema hall too ceased to exist. It was razed to the ground and a huge multi storeyed building was coming up in its place. A shopping mall, restaurants and cineplex were in the anvil.

As a teen-ager living in Dibrugarh during the mid-sixties, I had been in love with this particular spot. My main attraction points were the three cinema halls--Rangghar,Aurora and Talkie House located close to one another. The evenings were lively with young boys and girls crowding the cinema halls and the restaurants.

For the sake of convenience, despite having a house of his own, my father had chosen to live in an official residence (offered by the government department) that was located at a stone's throw distance from this lively spot. In those days I was a movie addict and I remember seeing seven movies of my favourite hero Dev Anand in the movie hall Talkie House when a festival of Dev Anand films was underway. By feigning sickness (to be excused from class) and by cooking up a million other smart ploys I had achieved this feat.

In those days there was a famous eatery named Grand Hotel almost opposite the Rangghar Cinema and memories of snacking in at this place also started crowding my now nostalgic mind. This Grand Hotel too is no longer in existence.

Yet another joint too has become history- a restaurant called Jewel. It was the veritable site for an evening rendezvous as far as the debonairs of the town were concerned. The well dressed young men of the town visited Jewel for a cup of coffee and light refreshments. It was a classy and comparatively costly place that attracted young boys and girls. I remember meeting Biju Phukan (then a college student and later a star of Assamese movies) and few others in the evenings at the spot close to the restaurant. They were all regulars at the Jewel Restaurant.

It was getting dark and after a considerably long walk I felt a little tired and hungry. I entered a restaurant for some snacks and a cup of coffee. I ordered for a plate of sandwiches and a cup of coffee and was fiddling with my mobile (making a call or two and sending a few SMSes) till the food arrived. I finished eating and was almost through with the cup of coffee when I noticed a person of around seventy sitting at the next table with his wife. He was giving me a knowing smile.I responded with a smile too and saw that he had risen from his chair and was coming towards me. He called me by my name and that really surprised me.

Next he narrated an incident I had long forgotten. It was about an informal cultural function at a locality called Kartik Para where we lived during school days. The occasion was Durga Puja that was celebrated pompously at the locality. I was to act in a play and was given the role of a policeman. One of my friends from Kartik Para was friendly with a policeman who lived in the police reserve close to the locality. The policeman was kind enough to lend me a police uniform for a few hours. He was an assistant sub inspector of Police during that period .

The man in front of me was Kiran Changmai. He was a retired cop and was seventy years of age. His words made me drift into a world that had existed more than forty years ago and I started feeling like a teen-ager exploring my favourite places in Dibrugarh. But the mirror placed at the counter, where I went to make payments, brought me back to the moment. Only when I saw myself in the mirror I realised that I was not the 15 year old boy that the retired policeman had reminded me of .In reality I was a person past my middle age and sported a look that by no measure could be called young.

Bhaskar Phukan

bhaskarphukan67@gmail.com

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