The evening lights

 The evening lights

                                           (Image created with picsart using a simple text prompt) 

Some of our favourite stories that we asked Aji to repeat over and over again were of little Aji and her exploits with her siblings. And one of the stories I remember vividly is the one I narrate here. 

To give you some context, there was a lone streetlamp at the end of our lane, by our gate. That was supposed to be enough for the six houses in our lane and unfortunately left dark stretches that one had to navigate. Often, this light would stop working and the electricity department would take a week or so to repair it and then the cycle repeated itself.  

Residents from our lane kept the lights in their verandah on at least till around 8 pm making it easier for everyone. We also carried pencil torches if we went out late or regularly came back late. 

Every time our streetlamp stopped working Aji would mention how they had gas lamps when she was growing up. A gaslightwale Uncle came with a ladder every evening and lighted each of the lamps on the street and they had one right in front of their house. According to her, that was a way more reliable system then the current electric streetlamps. 

That sounded fascinating and then she would elaborate how the lighting of the gas lamp was a cue for then to stop playing for that afternoon and come back indoors. So as the lightwale Uncle arrived they would greet him and wait for him to light the lamp and then dash home. That was also the time the lamps in their pooja room and the little oil lamp in their garden was lit. All the children of the household had to then say the evening prayers together and then have their supper. 

I tried creating an image based on a text prompt in picsart and have the image I have shared above. 

Aji and her sisters would be wearing parkar – polka; would be like long skirts and crop tops of today. They had a two-story vada (house with a courtyard) with a tiled roof by the lake and so there was no other building on the opposite side. I don’t suppose the kids were allowed up the ladder but other than that, it is wonderful how we can have a digital visual representation.