It was our spiritual and cultural upbringing that made us think in pairs from the start. It all began with the persons we first ever knew on the planet : Papa-Mummy (Baba-Ma for some) and family elders, Dadu-Thamma, Kaka-Kaki, Dada-Didi and so on, to the devoted Naukar-Chakar and Gadi-Ghoda in the house and it all had a musical ring to it. This spilled over to school arena with Padai-Likhai, Yaar-Dost, Khel-Kood and all our Gods in the daily prayers that we chanted in the morning assembly !When we saw elder siblings get married (in arranged alliances without knowing the partner) seniors advised- everyone was destined to be paired with someone. Sure, that was in the ‘1970s!
As we grew up with our studies, books, literature lessons and teachers we realised that apart from the different kinds of pairs that figured in our simple lives there were very “Famous pairs” that had reference to so many types& varieties of well-known duos, including fictional characters like Tom& Jerry and Veeru & Jai (from cult film Sholay), legendary lovers Romeo-Juliet and Heer-Ranjha, historical figures such as Cleopatra and Mark Antony and contemporary celebrity couples of likes of Big B& Jaya Bachan. The term also applied to notable partnerships in politics (there are quite a few across the board), and sports such as Cricket God Sachin & Dada Ganguly as openers for India andtennis players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, till they separated. From the Bollywood music industry, came a galaxy of composer duos, song writers, film makers.
The penchant for ‘pairs’ are not confined only to characters but to inanimate objects. All of us have at some point of time, taken a fancy to vintage prized possessions starting from favourite pens& books, study tables & chairs, meccano sets&scrabble boards, old diaries&marriage albums, school ties &children’s’ uniforms, special gifts & cards received on milestone birthdays & stacks of jeans, jackets, saris – the list can be endless and maddening since sentiments and emotions come in the way of the spring cleaning of closets and cupboards and getting the best deals out of the local ‘kabariwallas’ !
That brings me to the pair I feel most sentimental about today: Me & my Bajaj Scooter. After having a bicycle for my entire academic life, as did all my friends, Dad bought me a new Bajaj Super scooter in 1977, when I landed a job with a Bank. However, call it a propitious start, my Dad in an effort to show acquired driving skills, crashed the new scooter & caused a lucky mark in front. I then went on to use it as a lifeline for the next fifteen years in tune with the then famous tagline ‘Hamara Bajaj’. It taught me many life experiences including about rash driving, an accident and hand fracture but also a lot of adventurous times in the initial first years of marriage, family of wife and two boys lent romance of scooting around! Later, a ‘Maruti’ came in & my ‘Bajaj’ went out.
Working on Living 