Me and the Biscuit Factory

I spend my tea time in leisure. While reading what’s world been upto while I sleep. I see the world through the my phone, as the open air and greens in the balcony soothes me and prepares me to tackle tasks at work, and just in the middle of this, a few uniformed man are farming on a square patch of land. From top it looks like they are playing farmville in real life. The open lands in heart of mumbai is part of Parle Agro Factory or as we fondly called it ‘Biscuit Factory’ in Vile Parle.

There is a lot of nostalgia attached to this place. I have spent all my life around this factory, but it took me 21 years before I could peek inside. In school days, my friends used to tell me stories how their school arranged a day trip to Parle-G factory, and they had loads of biscuits and candies while watching how biscuits and candies are made. Curious though I was, my school never took us to a Parle-G factory visit, they never arranged any trip in that matter. Even though I had never peeked inside, I was interacting with the factory with my other senses. In my childhood they had this massive Siren, which they used to blow at specific times, and my mom used to get the idea of time through that sound. She used to wake up us all when the trumpet blew in the morning at 8. We knew it was time for lunch when it screamed at 1. The evening 5 pm blow worked as an alarm for my mom to wake up from her afternoon nap. Times changed, under new city regulations, they stopped blowing the trumpet to stay under the noise pollution levels.

Wherever I travelled, and people asked about my home location, I used to say I stay in Vile Parle , Parle g factory is in my backyard. It was a known landmark which I used to pinpoint location in peoples mind. Well, I can’t say that now.

Then 5 years back, my residence got redeveloped, and I have a view. I almost fell in love with the view, the first time I saw it. and is very much a part of the way I like my home. The backyard of Biscuit Factory, which is lush green with big trees and with a perfect mild disruption of local train’s occasional rhytdm on the other side of it. There factory part, which I can see barely, sometimes sends romantic aroma of biscuits and candies.

Times have changed, parle factory is shutting down for good, the 3 acre of land is in prime locality of friendly parle neighbourhood. Just hope they keep it as green, after there redevelopment plan. Let it be a good change.