d labourers wer workin outside in front of my neighbour's house.It was getting late,but they wer still workin.They had been workin all along d month of May n even b4 dat.My mom told me they were abt 2 finish d work d next day...since i was in my study hols everyday rite 4m d time i wake up till dusk i cud hear all sorts of noises,..d rollin of drums,d tong tong of d hammer,d constant ranting of d ppl..d smell of d fresh paint then lingered around..d old house was completely changed,d window panes wer changed 4m purplish white 2 d formulaic brown/yellow combination,d dotted mosaic 2 plain white marble...

i somehow lyk d new luk.i thought hard but cudn' remember d color of d old paint..i still miss d twin polyalthia trees,which once stood tall n proud,d richly scented tropical almond which gav away nuts every season!!every building s unique..whenever v really luk @ it,it triggers a flow of memories..

wen i think abt dis house,it s not without pain..dis neighbour i'm talkin abt has always been a part of my childhood...her family is an entourage of lively individuals,but wen put 2gether they make such a noisy family.durin any tym of d day u cud hear sounds at varyin decibels n emotions rangin 4m a loud yelling 2 hellish shots of laughter..it was lyk they wer runnin mad most of d tym!!

d aunty made wonderful gravies,tended 2 her flower pots wid so much care as if it was her child..,but it was her constant pujas n d bell sounds dat comes 2 d fore weneva i think of her!her 'golus' wer famous in d colony n v all wud go der without leave d whole week 4 d delicious 'prasadams' she wud make everyday..durin bathin i cud hear d aunty's shouts 4m her kitchen @ any one of her daughters,it wud b so funny dat i'd smile 2 myself..

n then der was rohin!he'd make me laugh everytym i luk @ him..i don' know whether they still hav him in their new home..he was so funny n foolish n fat..a chubby white pomeranian!!he wud run,rotate,revolve,do anythin 2 catch his own tail,..wen he was 1st brought 2 their home he was little n puffy,now even after 6 r 7 years i don' think he had grown more than a feet in d vertical direction..all his growth had been confined horizontally..how i miss him!!if @ all der s anothr birth,i'd luv 2 b born as rohin,i'd always tell my mom!!

d last few months they had been here r indeed painful 2 remember..der had been no sounds,even rohin had been quiet..financially broken they had moved 2 another house..

now dis house luks new,but every room has stories 2 tell,..d walls ring of d laughter,sorrrow,excitement n tears..even now at times durin bathin wen i hear a female voice my memory drifts back 2 an image of d aunty standin in her kitchen..was der really a sound r had it been my imagination..?