Everyday life in the Valivade estate was mostly filled with mundane activities related to the rhythm of the day, meals, and free time. The care and attention of most women were absorbed by running individual households, relatively few men were active in the social sphere or in the estate administration. The youth studied in schools, organized in scout groups, were also busy with extracurricular activities, and sports brought them a lot of joy. Education (including vocational education), including cultivating national dignity, concerned everyone to some extent, which is understandable given the specific fate of refugees, especially in the context of the ongoing war turmoil and the uncertain fate of Poland for a long time, which was then falling into the orbit of the Kremlin’s power. This forced them to prepare for emigration, to think about the post-war future. But the course of life in the estate was primarily regulated by everyday duties: cooking, cleaning, raising children… The rest was somehow second place. Life, apart from religious and Polish-state holidays, was enriched by correspondence received from family (through the estate post office), trips to Kolhapur (e.g. to the bazaar, where one could buy wonderful citrus fruits), or sports or cultural events.

One of the most important things was food. Bread was brought from the bakery in Kolhapur to the local shop every day, it was white, available in any quantity. There were also rolls. Everything at affordable prices. Wheat flour was sold by Indian door-to-door salesmen. It was hard to get. It was easier to get flour made from jugara. It was hung from the ceilings on a wire to protect it from rats that would eat through the bags. The main groats were rice, sometimes sago or oatmeal. Fresh milk was delivered by Indian women to the homes of their clients. This milk had to be boiled to kill bacteria and avoid the “Maltese fever”, which could plague a patient for several months before it subsided. Eggs and meat were brought to the Poles at the beginning of the settlement by Indians. The latter was sold outside the settlement or on its premises in a butcher’s shop (also Indian). Lamb, goat and buffalo meat were available, and pork was rare. Only with time did Polish shops open in Valivade, where you could even buy sausages. The shops also sold canned food: beans, corn, peas… The drinks that refugees drank at that time were mainly tea, and less often cocoa. There was also orangeade (lemonade in glass bottles), mineral water. Sweets, cookies bought from Indians at the bazaar, and ice cream made by refugees themselves were a source of fun for the youngest. There was no shortage of spices, as is the case in India. Cinnamon, pepper, and cloves were popular.

The shops in the estate attracted people with their advertisements, so life flourished in this area, as in a real small town. Indian women also advertised their services in the estate. Their main specialty was “smearing” the clay floors of the estate’s apartments. In a hot climate, clay dried quickly and became dusty when walked on, but its upper layer mixed with cow dung fixed this surface for longer than water alone. Indian women also offered to wash underwear (however, a significant number of Poles did their own washing – in the Panchganga River, or in laundries by the bathrooms). So they walked between the blocks dressed in saris, straight as strings and carried wide bowls with their precious goods on their heads, loudly calling: “Wash, smear, mummy, fresh shit, pounding shit!” It should be added that the durability of the surface depended on the amount of dung mixed with the clay.

Cinema was one of the most interesting forms of entertainment. It always attracted a large audience, hungry for sensations from the big screen. The repertoire at the cinema consisted mainly of American films, including crime stories, westerns and romances. It was no different, in terms of popularity, with all other events: theatre performances, exhibitions or artistic shows prepared by the refugees themselves. Sometimes this was connected with the arrival of important guests to the settlement. This was the case, for example, in February 1944, when it welcomed foreigners, among whom were representatives of the British government in Kolhapur, representatives of the British army, representatives of the government of the principality of Kolhapur, English authorities, the American mission and many people representing the Hindu intelligentsia of Kolhapur. The guests viewed a special exhibition and then, after a modest afternoon tea in the community centre, toured the settlement. In the evening they attended a Polish music concert, during which works by Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Paderewski and Henryk Wieniawski were performed.

Polish refugees were also attracted by events outside the settlement – ​​festivals in Kolhapur, celebrations related to the life of the local maharaja (e.g. the coronation of the new ruler of the principality of Kolhapur in 1947), or global events, such as the tragic death of Mahatma Gandhi (co-founder of Indian statehood, who died in 1948), or India’s independence in 1947. Polish refugees were not only witnesses to India welcoming freedom (until then under British colonial rule), but also actively participated in all the celebrations initiated at that time (on 15 August). In the Polish settlement of Valivade, Indians were only a small minority, despite this, the celebrations organized by the Indian commandant of the settlement had a group character thanks to the fact that the small group of Indians was supported by an organized Polish society, headed by the district governor.

All Polish schools, scouts, representatives of the pastoral ministry and all Polish organizations and a large crowd of residents of the estate stood. The ceremony began with raising the flag of free India in front of the estate headquarters, while the Indian national anthem was sung, then the Polish flag was raised and the Polish anthem was also sung. Then a procession through the estate was initiated, followed by occasional speeches. After the official part, in the evening, the entertainment part began, which everyone had been waiting for, especially since Poles loved to celebrate at every opportunity. These included visits to the estate by Polish soldiers, who often spent their holidays in Valivade, among their families, who were safely waiting here for the end of the war and their future fate. Whatever the case, the memories of Poles who spent many years in Valivade – or more broadly in Polish refugee centres in India – always bore witness to the fact that after the period of exile deep into the Soviet Union and after the successful evacuation to the subcontinent, life among the Indians was a breakthrough for them, an opportunity for rest, also mental rest, a time remembered as wonderful, although not free from worries about the future.