Electricity

Funny how we take certain things for granted.
Some time ago my eldest bua told me , that when my grandfather went to meet the boy she was to marry , he saw an electric bulb hanging over the desk. He saw here and there but couls not find a wire leading to it. He asked him whether they had electricity in village, the reply was no, but he liked the look . So grand father came back and said , that the boy is shaukeen.
It made me wonder whether my parents had access to electricity all their lives. No , was papa's reply, only few people had the connection. Infact he and his friend, grewal rented a room with a bulb together to prepare for matric exams. No, mum said. There wasn't any when she lived in the village as child. That's why she said people in the evening used to eat dinner early and then light a lamp and sit and do embroidery or spin or knit and sing songs. The other day the scene was enacted in a punjabi show. it was known as tiranjan, which was where women got together in the evenings and did all that.