It has been quite some time now but I still remember the days vividly as if they happened just yesterday only. It was June, 2001. We had just bought the new flat situated just below our 1st floor flat. I and brother had shifted to the older flat and mom and dad shifted downstairs. We had so many plans; wanted to convert the flat into a library and our innovation lab. But as it happens generally in UP, summer months mean the months of 14 hour power cuts, so the torture begun.
That day I was returning from Delhi, went to get my admission done at Deshbandhu College for Physics honors course. I returned at around 4 pm, only to find that electric supply was not there since morning and the inverter has run out of power. By night, that day, it had became evident that electric supply will not be restored. Anyways the night passed, somehow. It was hell on earth. The heat was not that a botheration than the mosquitoes and the sweat, which would drench your clothes, if you are wearing any, or would drip down your body.
Anyways the next day came, without any sign of the electric supply. We prepared ourselves for the harsh day ahead. In the mean time a guy named Prakash, from our locality and quite older than us, went to the electric supply office to enquire about the reason. He was told that the transformer of the locality was down and that they didn't have an engineer to get the transformer mended. So we will have to "cooperate" for another four days!
Four days!!! We all nearly fainted at the news. " How are we going to survive ?", Mr. Sharma recoiled in horror. "But we need to do something. We can't sit like this", Mr. Suri echoed.
I just watched them, and my dad, talk to each other animatedly.
Nearly an hour later they decided to call for a meeting of the locality people. In the meeting it was decided that we will hire someone to get the transformer mended ourselves.
After a lot of deliberation Mr. Pandey's name cropped up.
Mr. Pandey was a retired engineer from state electricity board, at least that is what he claimed to be though I had serious doubts over his credentials from the day he replaced our thin fuse wire with a thick copper wire and that arrangement blew up our main switch !!!
Anyways, for the want of anyone better we had to stick to Mr. Pandey.
That very evening he went into the compound, that housed the transformer, with the entire locality trailing him in expectation. After a long inspection he came out with a sombre expression, " the fuse seems to have been blown off. The path is incomplete. Needs to be changed."
I thought, "Not the fuse again !!!".
The cost of that fuse was around 2500 bucks. We all pooled in our money and bought such a fuse from the electrical market at delhi.
On the D-day Mr. Pandey with his instruments went inside the transformer compound. The entire locality was standing outside. Three days and nights of sweltering heat had literally made us crazy.
Three hours later Mr. Pandey emerged out of the compound with a victorious smile on his face. He told us to get the electric supply from the main station to be restored.
We all waited with bated breath. The electric supply from the main station was switched on.
It was not diwali yet, but the evening sky was filled with light of the burning transformer. We looked at Mr. Pandey as he sheepishly smiled, " The fuse must have been faulty....". He slipped away.
We turned our gaze back to the transformer and started preparing ourselves for some more miserable nights, and days ahead.
Till date the transformer stands at the very same place, reminding us of its power and the evening diwali show which we will never forget.
That day I was returning from Delhi, went to get my admission done at Deshbandhu College for Physics honors course. I returned at around 4 pm, only to find that electric supply was not there since morning and the inverter has run out of power. By night, that day, it had became evident that electric supply will not be restored. Anyways the night passed, somehow. It was hell on earth. The heat was not that a botheration than the mosquitoes and the sweat, which would drench your clothes, if you are wearing any, or would drip down your body.
Anyways the next day came, without any sign of the electric supply. We prepared ourselves for the harsh day ahead. In the mean time a guy named Prakash, from our locality and quite older than us, went to the electric supply office to enquire about the reason. He was told that the transformer of the locality was down and that they didn't have an engineer to get the transformer mended. So we will have to "cooperate" for another four days!
Four days!!! We all nearly fainted at the news. " How are we going to survive ?", Mr. Sharma recoiled in horror. "But we need to do something. We can't sit like this", Mr. Suri echoed.
I just watched them, and my dad, talk to each other animatedly.
Nearly an hour later they decided to call for a meeting of the locality people. In the meeting it was decided that we will hire someone to get the transformer mended ourselves.
After a lot of deliberation Mr. Pandey's name cropped up.
Mr. Pandey was a retired engineer from state electricity board, at least that is what he claimed to be though I had serious doubts over his credentials from the day he replaced our thin fuse wire with a thick copper wire and that arrangement blew up our main switch !!!
Anyways, for the want of anyone better we had to stick to Mr. Pandey.
That very evening he went into the compound, that housed the transformer, with the entire locality trailing him in expectation. After a long inspection he came out with a sombre expression, " the fuse seems to have been blown off. The path is incomplete. Needs to be changed."
I thought, "Not the fuse again !!!".
The cost of that fuse was around 2500 bucks. We all pooled in our money and bought such a fuse from the electrical market at delhi.
On the D-day Mr. Pandey with his instruments went inside the transformer compound. The entire locality was standing outside. Three days and nights of sweltering heat had literally made us crazy.
Three hours later Mr. Pandey emerged out of the compound with a victorious smile on his face. He told us to get the electric supply from the main station to be restored.
We all waited with bated breath. The electric supply from the main station was switched on.
It was not diwali yet, but the evening sky was filled with light of the burning transformer. We looked at Mr. Pandey as he sheepishly smiled, " The fuse must have been faulty....". He slipped away.
We turned our gaze back to the transformer and started preparing ourselves for some more miserable nights, and days ahead.
Till date the transformer stands at the very same place, reminding us of its power and the evening diwali show which we will never forget.
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