AVOSKA

My father had started his career in the 1940s as a telegraphist. In those pre-war days, a bicycle was a luxury. The proud owner of a Hercules bicycle, he would go to work riding it. He always had a cloth bag on the carrier of the bicycle. On days he forgot the bag, he would call out to one of us to fetch it.

On many days, when he returned from work, there would be nothing in the bag, but he insisted on carrying one whenever he ventured out, wherever he went. One day when going to work, he realised he didn't have the bag and asked me to get it. While handing it over, I asked him why he needed the bag if it had to come  back empty. He said, "Just in case."

Now I know what he meant. Those were the early years after India had attained independence and shortages were rampant. Forget victuals, even old newspaper to wrap groceries in was in short supply. (The present generation may not believe, but coarse cloth used to be distributed through ration shops. When I try recycling or upcycling stuff - like using the 'other side' of the cash memos from shops for noting down things to buy, my children comment "Hangover of scarcity") So keep a bag handy because if you found something (and had the money to purchase it), you could carry home the trophy! 

Why am I speaking of this today? Because I came across the word "avoska". Yes, you guessed it right: it is a Russian word. The literal meaning of the word is "perhaps" but is used for referring to a light and transparent shopping bag made of closely-knit cords. Think of it as a basketball net with its bottom closed. Sometimes they have a cloth base.

It would easily fit in a lady’s handbag and could be unfolded in a grocery store. When most things were hard to come by and there were shortages of essentials, the avoska was a kind of scoop-net. People took it with them in the morning just in case, they might catch a certain goody by the end of the day. Just in case.