Bauji : A family man

Bauji was a well-organized and disciplined man who had a particular way of doing things. In the summer, he would wear a dhoti & shirt, while in winter, he would wear a pajama & shirt. He adorned his forehead with a clean and well-pressed black cap daily, and his clothes were starched with rice water before ironing. Despite his orthodox views, his relatives loved him for his candid simplicity and clean, slim handsome appearance.

Bauji used to travel a lot between Amritsar and Delhi, and during one such trip, Sh. Banarsi Dass ji joked that he should keep a wife in Delhi to solve his cooking problem. This did not go down well with Bauji, who warned Sh. Banarsi Dass never to make such cheap shots at him again. Sh. Banarsi Dass immediately got up from his chair and fell on Bauji's feet asking for forgiveness. When it came to defining his character and class, Bauji drew a line that no one dared to cross.

Bauji was very particular about organization, and all his belongings had a broadcasted, fixed place in his room. He even folded his dirty clothes as a backup in case Chai ji was unavailable or unwell to prepare washed clothes for him. We kids never picked up the discipline needed to fold either new or old clothes. We played in the dirt after school, our clothes and bodies needed a fierce scrub everyday!

Bauji was fond of good food and preferred it simple, hot, and cooked to perfection. His requirements nudged Chai ji (and her daughter-in-laws) to strive for culinary excellence. After all, food was nutrition, power, love, culture and family for him.

On Sundays, Bauji fed us Kharbooja (cantaloupe) for breakfast. He would purchase 10 of them, and cut each cantaloupe into 10 portions so that we could savor it for longer. It was followed by sharbat (a cold drink made with sugar water and ice). To compensate for the expense of the cantaloupes, there was no milk served on Sunday. On other days, he would sometimes mix mangoes, water, ice-cold milk and hand us a full glass of mango shake.  Chai ji wouldn't be bothered with these delicacies. They tasted heavenly; the juices in our stomachs cannot be stirred the same way by any abundance in current times.

Every alternate week, Bauji would take us for sightseeing in Amritsar or  a picnic in a garden. We would walk 7-10 kilometers to get there and then walk back. He celebrated all festivals with full spirit. He was a skilled kite flier, and he owned his share of sky.

Bauji was skilled in buying merchandise for his shop and home. He would consult many people even for simple decisions as buying good shoes for his children at a reasonable price. He harvested wisdom of crowd before making his own decision. Once decided, he didn't care what others thought of him.

He was very helpful in assisting Chai ji with daily work in the morning and would fetch milk from the dairy and do grocery shopping, and help us prepare for school.

At that time, we were already eight siblings.