Keeping Up With Tradition

Today my post is based  on the age-old tradition of Indian armed forces - sharing accommodation.  I'll be recounting my experiences , pros & cons of each experience that I ever had. Here I go-


With increasing population & less space people  have to often compromise  & make choices  like sharing your quarter with another family.  two families in three rooms sharing bathroom & other facilities. Of course there's some cash flow but at the same time bid adieu to privacy.  It can be either just a good choice or a good choice turned bad. I'll give you an exclusive peek  into our lifestyle  in this blog post- "keeping up with tradition".


1. Mumbai
I was in 1st std when I had the first taste of this tradition. We shared the quarter with  a Brahmin family. They had one daughter  & one son like ours. The girl was my age so we became good friends. We lived for 2 years together. Till now we are very good family friends. 


Pros- We learnt a few  Aartis & that's how we were  introduced  to spirituality.  There were sharing of foods too. If something special was  cooked in their home they would share it with us & vise versa.


Cons- I turned into a vegetarian.


2. Mumbai
When I reached 3rd std we shifted to another quarter as sharers.  They had 2 sons & aunti's brother yani mama. Both their kids were quite a few years older than me & my elder brother. Spent a peaceful time with them. Being the only girl in both the  families they used to bring me gifts. They too are in touch with us & very good friends.


Pros-  Mamaji used to help me in studies & once drew a sketch  for me  For which I got prize in my school. You must be thinking 'cheating' but my prize was a bar of Doy soap. I also learnt the first english song  of my life "we will rock you" by queen. Of course I didn't understand the lyrics but picked it up as one bhaiya used to sing it quite often.


Cons-  Sadly only for one year.


3. Gujrat
After the completion of my 3rd std my dad was transferred to Gujrat. In Gujrat we lived with  another family for a brief time. They had no kids. The house was spacious.  


Pros-  Our TV was packed so we used to watch their "much better" TV.


Cons- Uncle was talkative & used to recite poems every now & then. Dad was a bit irritated.


4. Delhi
My dad's next transfer was Delhi. A Rajsthani family  came to live with us. They had three kids - one boy & two girls. The eldest girl used to live in a hostel in orissa. She  only came during holidays. We lived together for one year. It was a 'good choice turned bad' experience. Both the families had a fall out with reasons unknown to me.


Pros-  They had a computer, we were often allowed to move the mouse. My love for music enhanced from there as the quality of music  coming from the computer's speaker was so much better.


Cons- We didn't used to go to their room when they were eating but they used to visit our room mostly when we were eating. We used to  feel uncomfortable. The boy was notorious & turned out to be a bad influence on my brother.


5. Back to Mumbai
We moved to a new quarter due to urgency. The owner was a teacher from south India.  It was kinda mini zoo with parrots & a dog. The owner behaved like a typical "padosan". Asking for things now & then.


Pros- The house was near to the panipuri stall. That's all.


Cons-  The dog was not toilet trained. Room was not spacious. Cleanliness was the big issue which prompted us to shift again & thank god we found a good place to live.


 There we come to the end of my compilation of shifting experiences.  shifting  to a new place is an arduous process but in a way good too. You get to learn adjustment & your social skills will skyrocket like   mine ( lying).