Gole Bazaar 1960s - Locksmithy

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Frankly I am scared of all locks and believe that no lock is pick-proof for a sufficiently talented prick.

Ask Feynman who not only picked several safes containing atomic secrets but also some of Nature.

Raam Bhakts say that there were no locks in Raam Rajya. I suppose the closest to it was the Stalin-Rajya of the Soviet Russia where everyone had unlimited loaves of the same black bread and crates of the self-same Vodka and little else.

Within six months of joining IIT KGP I found myself with a locked suitcase on my lap whose (suitcase's) key I lost. The lock was of the Elephant Brand popular those days. And the suitcase had the only pair of my spare shirt and pant. Everyone told me that IIT Campus had no locksmith (Virtual Raam Rajya) and I had to take the thing to Gole Bazaar in the lane leading to the Veg Market, nowadays called Rytu Bazaar in AP.

I engaged a rickshaw to and fro for Rs 5. And discovered that the place was teeming with locksmiths on the pavement, all with blackboards from which were dangling several locks...locksmiths of KGP not only picked locks and made keys but also sold some. The young one picked my Elephant lock under one minute and made a duplicate in a couple of minutes. And charged me Rs 1 (one only).

That convinced me that we are all living in several fools' paradises of our own making.

My wife however is obsessed with locks. The other day there was this Laxmi Puja and my wife suddenly discovered that her antique silver Laxmi Idol is locked up buried under several other silverware of hers in her steel 'trunk' and its key is found nowhere. And that I had to get it out. I had to load the trunk in my Maruti Car and hunt for locksmiths in this new locality. After I found one and was in the process of getting it unlocked, she rang me up jubilantly that she found the key in the folds of her marriage silk sari...

Talking of our Maruti Car, myself and my friend N (my Driving Instructor) one day found ourselves outside it with its ignition key safely inside on the High Road of Gole Bazaar. And had to ring up my son to fetch its duplicate from our Godrej almirah (whose key luckily was not lost) all the way to Gole Bazaar on his moped whose ignition key he happened to misplace...

When we were living in our previous place near Banjara Hills, I discovered a Master Locksmith (Baba) in the nearby Chintal Basthi. He had a pucca shop and style. And three or four latest key-making machines which were a pleasure to watch. He would insert the key of my Maruti Car in the Master Slot and a blank in the Slave Slot and switch the machine on. And in a few minutes the machine spews out both.

I think it works on the DNA principle.

I got half a dozen copies of my Car-key made by Baba; two for me, two for my son, and two for the li'l dame he married lately. Only my two survive...they are in each of my pant pockets. But what is the use...one morning when I wanted to drop my D-i-L in her Office ten km away, I found that the car didn't start although the battery was new and the gas tank was full...only it was not...it showed Empty...the gas burglars of Banjara Hills emptied it in the wee hours. I had to take an auto, go to my Maruti Doctor who asked his teenage Boy to carry a liter of petrol and a pipe to my home on his scooter which had no locks at all.

My IAS B-i-L was once visiting us for a few days and he had with him a fancy zip bag to which he said he was very much attached. It was unlocked because its hook was held up by a Number Lock which he said was in that locked condition for half a dozen years dating to his Delhi Posting. And he forgot its numeric password...apparently he tried his birthday, his wife's birthday, their wedding day, his son's birthday...but it didn't open up. He asked me if there is anyone in Hyderabad who could open it without damaging it...non-destructively.

I told him that my Chintal Basthi Baba can open anything that is locked and took him with his bag in my car, dropped him at Baba's and asked him to wait a minute till I park my car and walk down. By when he was jubilantly asking me to fetch my car, with his zip bag triumphantly sporting its unlocked and re-locked Number Lock which he said had cost him Rs 120 in his Delhi shop while Baba charged Rs 100 only (Baba can unlock the secrets of IAS wallets). And my B-i-L told me that it was Baba's grandson who did it in one second by merely 'feeling' it...Feynman in the making...And the key code was 123. Baba set it for 321 henceforth. But I doubt if he can recall it...he has to remember both the mirror images and hope that there is no symmetry breaking...

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Great Train Robbery half a dozen times...it is all about lock-picking.

And the Code Book by Simon Singh that was gifted By Sougato Bose who I think was into the Quantum Encryption thing.

Late one evening in 1999, Aniket entered my Room C-236 at KGP and we started chatting. And he was looking at his watch. And he said he was waiting for Kedar to arrive, so he can send some important mails. And I asked him what happened to his mailing system.

He said he forgot his latest password...



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