It is a golden era of learning, creativity, joy, fun and love. All those memories still haunt me every day, like my first crush and my last sex. It offers many stories to share with my kids and the generations that follow. It restores my lost smile, reminds on the forgotten innocence, re-kindles back latent curiosity and revives again all the wild excitement. Ladies and Gentlemen it’s all about the ice-cream of life, which was so good and sweet but melted very fast. What else it can be other than anyone’s child Hood days….
Childhood is very special for me. It is the best season of my life and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have spent all my childhood in India growing up in semi urban areas along with nature and friends.
I can still hear that loud and long school bell which made all of friends to run wildly and madly. We were all over the place like honey bees shaken over a hive. There are many moments that are still afresh even after many years.
If I have remember any funny moments, it was during my young days, we used to go to pee together along with my friends in the urinal section; we used to watch and learn from each other how to shake that thing after we are done and before we zip it back. Learning shaking at an early age really helped all the boys greatly at a later point of time. We witnessed many more emotions during our school days
I have developed fear of public speaking at a very early age and my school provided a platform for it. There was rule in my school that everyone should read news in our Morning Prayer meetings to improve on speaking skills. I used to freeze to fear when I realized that my turn will be there after next 10 occurrences. My fear turned into physical shivering on the d-day of the assembly meeting.
Examinations of course provided an opportunity to experience a roller coaster ride for free. During a roller coaster ride we feel anxious and nervous, when we are about to put on seat belts before take-off. During peak of the ride, we feel as if we are thrown out of world. It’s a nice feeling of joy when we realize it’s the end of the ride. Similarly before start of the examinations, there used to be a feeling of curiosity of seating order to know my mate beside me in order to copy or to exchange answers, followed by nervousness looking at question paper. We were thrown out of the world when progress reports were shared. We used to be eager to know other ‘score than individuals. It’s a bad feeling when my friend scores fewer marks than me, its even worse feeling when he scores more. As every storm the night leaves a pleasant sight in the morning. All the hardship during examinations resulted in a good 2 month break in the form of summer vacations.
Summer in India is a nightmare. Temperatures reach around 50 degrees; half the boiling point of water. That is the reason you see half of the Country Rivers drying up. Summer is very special for me as I used to visit my grandparents house. I used to write a letter by hand to my grandfather before I used to visit them. This is where my first love towards writing has developed. My Grandparents used to live in a small village surrounded by beautiful beaches. The place is a nature’s gift. I used to spend time on the terrace of their house looking at sun how it is being swallowed by sea, , listening to the high waves which hit the shore, observing galaxy of stars during night and waking up early to witness sunrise from the sea. We used to bath in sea on all the auspicious days to get more virtues. I still remember how we used to build sand buildings & forts, run behind crabs, hiding them and even daring to even put our fingers in their houses. Its fun to see fishing nets and fishermen, the way they carry big sharks on their shoulders after hunting.
Watching sea tides rising high even after falling low and constant urge to reach sky taught some good lessons in life. Summer holidays also reminds me of 3 more things which are Mangoes, Melas & Many friends….
I can relate those days to a nice ice-cream and a good perfume. I did my best to taste the ice-cream till the last bite and relish the fragrance till the last drop. As every season ends with time, I couldn’t hold it longer. I wish if I was child again I would re-do all my mistakes, repeat all the mischief, and relate all the joy to purpose of my life. Every season also comes back again with time, and I feel it’s true when I raise my kid, watch him playing with toys, time spent taking him for a stroll and observe his mischief. Thanks to life and thanks to audience.
