With changing times, luxury increased and problems increased manifoldSome time ago, many people could not even dream of having all these luxuries
A doctor from Delhi set out to get relief from the heat. Where will he go? In such weather, people from Delhi go to the mountains. Doctor sahab also headed towards Uttarakhand. Reached Ranikhet. He had already booked a guest house. Stayed and roamed around. At night, the family was boiling with heat. He asked the guest house people- ‘Please put a fan.’ They replied bluntly- “Sir, we have never needed a fan here before, so we don’t have one.” Somehow they spent the night. Seeing the trouble of the children living in AC, finally they had to return to Delhi. By the way, Ranikhet was left behind, fans are already being sold in Nainital, the most relieving destination in summer. Doctor sahab’s story was mentioned to tell that now fans and ACs are needed almost everywhere even in the mountains. Whereas two decades ago, even Delhi had a non-AC life.
It is not very old
I remember that in the nineties, this writer also worked in the INS building on Rafi Marg without any AC or cooler. The newspaper office was on the top floor of the building. There were hot winds. But it was bearable or maybe it was bearable. There was a cooler in the office. It caused humidity. So I was fired. Journalism continued smoothly there for about one and a half years. This is not just my story. In that era, a large population of Delhi used to go to work by unruly private or box-like DTC buses.
Memories of lost scent
Children used to play at India Gate during holidays. If it got too hot, they would wet themselves in the water flowing at the Boat Club and the showers. The life of small cities and towns is just present in the mind like some lost fragrance. There, the time after two or three o’clock was considered to be the time of decline. From 11:30 to 12:00, life standing at the red light of the heat of summer would move fast. That is, if one had to consider the heat, it would be only for two or two and a half hours. The rest of the day, no one would have any concern.
Travelling in AC coach means wealth
This year, there were even reports of people falling sick in trains. Very few people could afford to travel in AC coaches. This is not a very old thing. It can be said that before 2000, people who used to travel in AC coaches would mention it every now and then. Those who heard about it would call it a sign of being rich. Generally, people were happy to get reservation in sleeper class. The difference in fares of AC and sleeper was also quite high. People with ordinary jobs kept booking in sleeper class. Whereas educated youth kept travelling distances of one and a half thousand kilometres by jumping around in unreserved class coaches. Later, the police started making lines for people boarding the ordinary class at New Delhi Railway Station. So that chaos could be avoided.
Schools without fans
Forget about AC, coolers were available only in the rooms of some principals in schools. Naughty children were seen hanging from the fans or doing headstands for unknown reasons. When it was very hot, teachers would close the windows and doors to protect the children from the heat. Now even the middle class tries to get their children admitted in schools with AC. Parents who are not successful cannot even think of getting their children admitted in schools without fans.
Also read: ‘Seeing the hot afternoon of Jyeshtha, I want shade’ – fans being sold in Nainital, no relief in Lansdowne either
There were no fans, even the spinning tops were not made
Since we are talking about youth and students, let me remind you that many students used to spend the entire summer without a fan. This has been seen not in villages but in big cities like Allahabad. In those days, Allahabad University did not take care of Allahabad Hindu Hostel. Students used to live there in their own way. Many did not have fans. If they felt like it after class, they would sit under a tree and study and the night would pass comfortably under the open sky. This was the situation not of just one but many cities. Those who came to Delhi and started their studies or job by living in someone’s barsaati could hardly arrange for a fan. Still, life went on comfortably in the capital.
The era of ‘herd immunity’
In the days when people’s lives were non-AC, they used to gulp down the water at any shop. If someone wanted to drink cold water on the road, he would drink a glass of water for 8 paise or one rupee from the buckets that are probably seen in towns now. Bottled water was only for the sahibs. That too at government expense. It was not that more people suffered from water-borne diseases than today. Actually, they had an immunity.
When immunity is mentioned, we are reminded of the Corona period. Even at that time, experts were talking about herd immunity. Actually, it is the natural power of people to fight diseases. By strengthening it, a person was saved from diseases. One such mental immunity was regarding heat.
Why do we get heat stroke in a short while?
Until the beginning of the 21st century, not all cars had AC. Maruti had become very popular among people. But only Maruti Zen had AC facility. But most people used to buy Maruti 800. Which had AC buttons, but no working AC. Now almost all cars have AC. If we talk about Delhi or other such metros, then the cars where people go to work are also fitted with AC. Employed people have somehow installed AC in their homes as well. So they now live in coolness. Wherever one has to bear the heat in between, it is easy to get heat stroke.
Tags: Lifestyle
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 20, 2024, 19:00 IST