This may seem totally unbelievable but old-timers will vouch for it! There was a time, so very, very long ago, when one rupee was the prized possession that I received from my parents as pocket money on each day of the Bandra Fair. Well, it was not inadequate, it was not extravagant, it was just enough!
In case you are not aware, there are 100 paise in each rupee. That time I would use all of it very diligently: 25 paise (also known as four annas) was the price of an amusement ride. I would either sit on the merry-go-round with horses that went up and down, round and round, or I would try the sea-on-land in the compound of Carmel View, opposite Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. This was a sort of boat ride with the boats going further and a bit higher with every turn. Sometimes, I would opt for the wall-of-death with motorbike riders and car drivers doing stunts inside a wooden wall. Standing on the edge of the rim I would feel scared, maybe more so than the acrobatic performers. There was also the giant’s wheel but I would be apprehensive of venturing on that as I would feel giddy as the car of the wheel reached the top and then descended.
The next 25 paise was spent for a snack like a batata-vada with yet another 25 paise for a soft drink or an ice-cream stick with flavours of mango and chocolate, my favourite being the plain white vanilla one that I could bite slowly since I did not want the sudden chill to affect my tender teeth.
Now, that left 25 paise of the one rupee. This was enough for a game of skill, not so much as nine pins where you had to hurl a ball and knock off nine cans, but instead the hoopla or what was known as the ringing game. Standing behind a bamboo barricade I would throw those wooden rings on a low table, hoping to ring a slab of soap, a packet of biscuits, a cigarette pack or even a pocket transistor. The transistor seemed impossible but very often I would ring a cigarette packet, mostly a soft pack non-filter Panama that I would give to an uncle since I did not smoke in those days (not that I smoke now).
And today I recall the days of the September Garden at the annexe in the church compound with various contests like fancy dress, king and queen. Upstairs, there was the jam session with jive music and songs on request with messages like ‘To the baby-faced girl in red, meet me at the graveyard!’
It was so much fun to visit the Bandra Fair and the September Garden each day. Sometimes, I would decide to skip one day at the Bandra Fair and carry forward the one rupee to the next. Well, two rupees was a double whammy!
And it’s nice to hear that the Bandra Fair is back after a two-year gap. But it does not seem likely that there will be contests like the king and queen or even jam sessions in the September Garden. Anyhow, today we can always click a selfie!
