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The phone call came at 10.04 Monday night. My dad spoke on the phone for a couple of minutes, mostly nodding his head and saying, “theek che.” My mom looked worried. Dad placed the phone down and looked towards my mom and sighed.

“When?” My mom asked

“Thursday,” Dad replied.

My brothers and I knew what was happening. We were happy. We couldn’t wait till Thursday. Thursday night, there will be a feast of Kesar Pendas and Kaju Katri.

Kanji kaka lived in Surat. He came to Bombay every month for a couple of days, went to Zaveri Bazar, delivered the goods, took payment, and returned in the evening. We kids loved him. He got us, sweets, had funny stories to tell and played Mindicot with us till late at night. The days he was at our place, there was no night curfew. Dad couldn’t tell him anything. He was Dad’s Uncle and had helped a lot when he started his business.

Mom knew all this but still hated the time Kanji kaka was here. Not that he bothered mom or asked for any particular food. Mom would have graciously done that. There was only one problem; Every morning, when Kanji Kaka went to the bathroom to do his business, he would smoke a ‘Bidi’ in the bathroom, and the entire bathroom would smell of Bidi throughout the day.

We had only one bathroom in the house. Mom had asthma, and her coughing wouldn’t stop. Dad tried to explain to him, but Kanji Kaka’s bowels wouldn’t move without his Bidi, and he couldn’t leave for work.

After he left the house, mom had us put the table fan in the bathroom and point it toward the small bathroom window. She poured white vinegar in a bowl and kept it on top of the flush tank. She thought it helped to curb the smell. It amused us, but we did it. For those two days, our mild-mannered mom became very irritable, and nobody dared answer her back. The best option was to do as she says.

This story continued for several years until my father bought a new apartment. Mom’s first criterion was that is should have at least two bathrooms.

Photo Credit: Gervyn Louis