Memories of a Bygone Era
Many years ago, I had the occasion to travel from Lucknow to Allahabad (Prayagraj) by bus, and to come back to Lucknow the same night, by a local passenger train. The outstanding memory of this trip was the “timepass”. This was a skillfully rolled newspaper containing whole peanuts and a small packet of crushed rock salt, both enclosed in a small plastic pouch, into which one could deposit the peanut shells after eating.
What one had to do was to eat the peanuts, while at the same time touching the tip of one’s finger, first to the rock salt and then the tongue – in effect it became the salted peanuts – Ganga Jamuni style ! And believe me, they did taste exquisite. The hawkers would get on to the train, jostling each other while moving down the aisle, yelling “timepass le lo, timepass” and “safar kat jayega, le lo timepass”. Quite a number of passengers opted for them, and not to be left out, I took one too. It really worked. Engrossed in tackling the “timepass”
Rai Bareilly, the halfway mark, arrived all too soon. Most of the hawkers got off the train here, having finished their business on this train, and clambered onto another headed back, looking for new customers. We went on to our destination, Lucknow, much amused by the quaint “timepass”. Every place, in this great land of ours, has its own colourful ethos.
