02/02/2016
The Surgo-Tex Story!
Why I want to tell you all this stuff? I don’t know. But sure there is an urge inside me. Want to tell you and to explore the very self within me.
As a kid of say 8 years of age I was looking around the premises of the very residence at the old (and golden too!); Koliwada (the fishermen colony; the native inhabitants) of Thane city just 3 minutes away from Thane station. My parents had shifted from Dadar, Mumbai when I was of 4years i.e. in 1958. What a quiet place it was! After 8.00pm you would not have found anybody on the streets except drunkards. Deem yellow lamps were glowing, just below the lampposts and no farther! At 8.00pm Thane Municipality shall blow a siren indicating al business establishments should pull down the shutters till 8.30pm! Thereafter if anybody if found doing business shall be punished! The people were obedient and no hue of Human rights people, as the residents were of opinion that it was for the good of the society and not for the selfish individuals! Discipline First was the thought that time!
The landlord was a businessman dealing in roofing tiles and teak wood for furniture and timber for firewood. That time teak wood and roofing tiles were the only construction material required for building house. Thane Creek was just adjacent to our residential premises. It was so close that sometimes the high tide water would encroach our play ground.
The Landlord used to purchase full shipload of 400,000 tiles which was shipped from Mangalore, Karnataka state, and offloaded at the creek near the premises. That time it was indeed a huge business! He was so busy with his work that sometimes his two younger sons out of four and me used to help him counting the tiles while uploading in bullock cart which was the only means of transportation. There were no tar roads available inside the city except for station road starting from Ashok Talkies to Court Naka and another was from Ashok Talkies towards Naupada which was connected to the only Highway of that time Mumbai Agra Road.
Coming back to roofing tile business, at times he was so busy; he would request my father who was Central Government servant, to take leave from office just to count the money. That was time when I had seen Rs. 1000/- currency note of size bigger than palm! It was huge amount.
Let me give you some idea about the value of money when I was a kid. Balcony ticket of Ashok Talkies was Rs. 1; we used to get handful of sweets (confectionery) for 3 Paise.
If you go to a grocer with Rs. 100/- currency note he shall not accept it and shall tell you to send your parents for the purchase!
To be continued………
