नीलू (५)

NILU (5)
In Doranda I and Surendra Pd lived together for nine months. Chandramohan often visited my residence for a few months. He was doing his PHD in Chemistry under Dr H C Mishra. When selected for UGC grant, he left Ramgarh and started to live at Ranchi with me permanently. One of my cousins was living at Harmu Housing Colony with his villager in a rental flat. He was studying and maintaining his expenditure by giving tuition to some students. He frequently came to us on holidays. The rental flat was on the name of his friend’s father who was his villager also. His villager also came to us with him. After sometime, his friend’s father was transferred. They were vacating the house and wanted to let the house on rent to a close person. The rental flats meant to give accommodation to the government employees of Ranchi by the Housing Board, on nominal rent compared to market rent. As per rule, when an employee is transferred, he should vacate the flat and hand-over it to the board. However, few people vacated and gave it to their kith and kin on rent, which was illegal. When complaint was lodged, the relatives denied the rent matter. My cousin and his friend offered me to take the flat on rent on a bit higher to that of the board. I was in a mood to think over the matter because of the distance between Harmu and Doranda (where my office was situated) but Chanramohan was hastening seeing the large rent difference and more facilities. One day my cousin came told about the final decision. We decided to shift and went to Harmu.
The rental flats were two roomed flats having one verandah in the front and one in the back. Both rooms opened in both verandahs. There was no connection between the two rooms, hence there was full privacy between the rooms. Kitchen in one side and bathroom in another side opened in the back verandah. There was one front courtyard having three and half feet high boundary. Back courtyard had eight feet high enclosure wall. There were six units (flats) in one block of two storeys. Four flats were on GF and two on FF. In the middle, there was staircase. The FF units were just beside the staircase. There was open terrace for each of FF flats. There was a big triangular park. The triangle was equilateral having every side of about five hundred feet. There was a road along the three sides of the park. Flats were situated beside the road. Residence having full ventilation along with park and road is a very costlier thing today. I can say it very good arrangement of two roomed flats having special planning of land. When I look back, greed surrounds me for the location, seeing the present thronged and congested locations of Patna. When I started to go to office, I took Nilu on my scooter and gave one round around the park. The same action was repeated, when I returned from the office. Once, he was sleeping when I returned from the office. I kept the scooter on the verandah quietly. When he awoke, began to roll on the ground and did not stop until I took him on the scooter and gave a round of the park.
Nilu was nine month old when I took him and his mother to Ranchi in the flat. The neighbors were good. Nilu’s mother enjoyed the company. Nilu had started walking on his foot. Sometimes, he came out on the road and went near the cows grazing in the park. Once a cow shook her head, Nilu fell down and began to cry. Her mother ran but the cow had not harmed. Fearing from the cow, he had himself fallen down. Sometimes we locked the gate to keep Nilu inside. But, to our surprise! Nilu came out from the gap in the grill. Several times, he fled and we became too much anxious searching him. One day, I was in office. Nilu’s mother was cooking food. Nilu was playing in the front courtyard. A hawker came with some toys. Nilu came out of the grill and went with the hawker. When his mother did not feel her lal’s (son’s) presence, came out of the kitchen. She did not see him and began to cry. Fortunately, Mahendra (my younger) was with us. He ran to search and found him in the market with the toys-seller. Harmu market was very small; so he was easily found out. Had it been bigger, I would have faced more difficulties.