I am afraid I cannot remember how we used to drink water in Swarna School or St. Lawrence School in Calcutta. Possibly we used to carry those horrendous plastic water bottles. But I think the first time I came across a series of taps for us to go at will and drink without intermediaries like filters etc. was at St. George’s Boys Grammar School, Hyderabad.

It was a small cluster of push-up taps, almost a quiet aside in a blockbuster play. But willy-nilly most of us boys would congregate here at sometime or the other. Friendly confabulations and silly fights took place at this watering hole. Also, many were the boys who were caned by the late Terence Gardner (Tiyaan) who would catch their misdemeanours while he was in ‘Roaming’ mode. Yes, we used this phrase much before Idea and the rest.

I will always remember this place for my several scuffles with classmates and contemporaries who decided that my new found need to wear spectacles had to be recognized by my being teased and taunted with a choice Hyderabadi ‘Chaar Khandeel’. Strange, I took my ‘Motu’ jibes with equanimity but got riled at the ‘four eyes’ reference.

HPS, by its very nature and by its being spread over 500 acres of land did not foster any permanent ‘addas’ as such. Each group used to have its own little nook or corner depending on its interests and numbers.

But when I got to Loyola College, we found a round traffic island near the hostel that became our ‘adda’ by night and the college car park became our haunt by day. And many a friendship (and possibility an enmity or two) were born in these places.

During college, especially on holidays in Hyderabad, we discovered our very own Irani Hotels…Cafes. Tehran was a favourite. Hill Top was privileged to have us as regulars. Mohini treated as regulars. And so did My Friends at Masab Tank.

With age and maturity and the ability to pay our hangouts became fancier. With increased mobility and extended timelines they became more dispersed. And with a family in tow, they also became social…i.e. clubs were fine but Irani Cafes were frowned upon. Inspite of that I took my wife many a time to Tehran for chai biskoot…

But my mind today is not travelling through the various spots that we adopted at different times in my life to ‘adda’…it’s only wondering about the sheer innocence of drinking water straight from the tap…and innocence lost.

Oh where are the tube wells we used to pump on our outdoor shoots, drink water thirstily…and even bathe with the water sometimes…where are those days when we used to walk into small wayside restaurants and cafes and ask for a glass of water without hesitation…and when did Mineral Water enter our lives?

Where are the pots…the koojas…and when did our surroundings have to accommodate filters, refrigerators and pure water dispensers…

Saala, paani peeney ka mazaa he alag tha…