We would tease her and say that she wanted to build the fort, but an old woman like her could never do it. Later, as Dada grew older, she took to instructing him while sitting on the steps of the house. When she was in excellent health and Dada was very young, she would collect stones and soil herself. She was self-contained and happy with herself. Our mother never discouraged us from building a fort. She was from Pune district, and it was tradition there to build a fort in the courtyard. I was the only company for Dada.ĭada got into the habit of building a fort because of our grandmother. Raju would respond ‘all good’ to anything we said. Pintya in Mokashi’s house was very young. Ramesh didn’t dare to touch our fort again. I’ll break his leg if he is caught again, and you will find that this will cost him dearly for his behaviour.’Īs Aaji’s outraged tones pierced the chawl, the neighbours peered through their windows and doors. She said to him, ‘Mr Gumle, discipline him well. Remember, you will have to face me if you do such a thing again.’ ‘Don’t you dare touch my grandson’s fort ever again! I am not a coward like you to break the fort in the darkness of the night.

She stormed off and kicked Ramesh’s fort and demolished it. When we were discussing Ramesh’s act at home, our mother told us not to touch his fort because we hadn’t actually seen him breaking our fort. Dada would not break Ramesh’s fort even though he smashed ours. No one had seen his vandalism but our Aaji. But once he realized our fort was better, he demolished ours. We had seen how mean he could be the year we had quarrelled for the first time. In fact, Ramesh was mean and we had to keep an eye on him so that he didn’t create any problems. But we were at loggerheads with the Gumles. His chief adviser in the fort-making activity was our grandmother, Aaji, and I was his assistant. Throughout the year, he would look at photographs of different forts and discuss them with us so as to decide which fort he should take up next.

Dada would come up with a different design every year. The construction of a mound for the hill was easy once the space between the two walls had been filled with stone and soil. Besides, the fort would get support from walls on both sides. So, the fort construction took place at this corner. There was no free space in front of any resident’s house in our chawl. The wall of the landlord’s house extended a little outside and formed a corner by the side of the wall. Every year, Dada would start constructing a fort a day before Vasu Baras, the first day of Diwali.

Shala by milind bokil