Bellampalli literally means Gud-gaon. Gud as in jaggery. We lived there for around 7 years, from 1970 to 1977. I was a teen then. It's a small mining town in Adilabad district.
It was a one-horse town, and I will concentrate on the merchants there.
We had a cloth store. It was run by a sweet-talking Marwari called Banwarilal. His patented dialogue, once you selected something to buy, was "Hum aapko purane rate se deta hai. (I will give it to you at the old price)."
Then there was a tailor, Laxmi Tailors by name. The proprietor's name was Mondi. We went and sat in his shop to collect clothes left for stitching, and it usually was a fairly long wait, because the clothes had gone for ironing, or for fixing buttons.
And then there was Jeetmal Moolchand Chitalangi, where we got our monthly groceries. In a narrow lane, the shop was badly lit. But Mr. Jeetmal was always bright, and made good conversation with us, his customers. Maybe we got a free toffee once in a while, or a cold drink if we were lucky. All in all, a pleasant experience.
There was a movie hall, Rama talkies, where I remember watching Haathi Mere Saathi, Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Saawan Bhadon, Navin Nischol's debut film.
It was a one-horse town, and I will concentrate on the merchants there.
We had a cloth store. It was run by a sweet-talking Marwari called Banwarilal. His patented dialogue, once you selected something to buy, was "Hum aapko purane rate se deta hai. (I will give it to you at the old price)."
Then there was a tailor, Laxmi Tailors by name. The proprietor's name was Mondi. We went and sat in his shop to collect clothes left for stitching, and it usually was a fairly long wait, because the clothes had gone for ironing, or for fixing buttons.
And then there was Jeetmal Moolchand Chitalangi, where we got our monthly groceries. In a narrow lane, the shop was badly lit. But Mr. Jeetmal was always bright, and made good conversation with us, his customers. Maybe we got a free toffee once in a while, or a cold drink if we were lucky. All in all, a pleasant experience.
There was a movie hall, Rama talkies, where I remember watching Haathi Mere Saathi, Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Saawan Bhadon, Navin Nischol's debut film.
