There is a small pond
with fishes and many flowering plants along the bund. Unlike here everyone
takes bath in these ponds. We can even eat some of the fruits, tiny ones;
hand-picked, washed and eaten…my elder cousins would swim nicely while our
aunties wash clothes. They put oil for all children before the washing chore
and bathe us after that…We are free to play all along. The expert swimming
fellows would dive from top of the bunds…splashing water all round…
There’s a temple
inside the big compound. It’s a small temple where all of us go together and
light lamps all round the outside at dusk. That’s the only time when there’s
a restriction. Grandma wants utter silence during that one hour. But if we
behave well and chant our hymns, we get sweets.
Having food is
another enjoyable experience there. By the time food is ready, we would all
be hungry and awaiting to be summoned!!! {Back home, our maid would be
behind us for an hour to get us on the table…} I used to feel amazed at my
own speed of food consumption there. Fresh home made and handpicked and
manually prepared food; yummy yum yum yum… It’s a genuine fight between my
hungry stomach and urge to continue playing outdoors to the maximum.
Festivals are all the
more colourful too. Sadya is served in the verandah for children on plantain
leaves and we sit in rows on woven mats on the floor!!!
On such days,
children get a stage with curtains. (It’s a big chain of pinned sarees and
bed sheets each sponsored by one member and hung on ropes; handled with care
and returned with pleasure…
“Here can we ever
imagine getting some like that??? My Mama might give one if we plead, but
would others, I don’t think!!!”)
All of us exhibit our
talents making the day all the more memorable. Each of us used to get prizes
of our taste for the participation…
I still remember one
of those stages where my cousin who was supposed to act as a King couldn’t
control his laughter on stage when he saw another of the team in a funny
costume. His team mates patiently controlled themselves for quite sometime
and what came next…better I leave you to imagine…
At home, festive
occasions are minimum celebrated with a sweet payasam and a sadya, just few
of us around the table…new clothes and yaar finished…that’s it.
“It’s so nice you
know. We seldom go out of that compound; there aren’t any compound walls to
prosecute trespassers though… but still the days are as diverse as any, with
something to add on to each day…every night we would have something to
narrate to Mama and Papa was all the more happy…
(It
was an era of very few telephones that too only landline numbers…no
mobiles…can you imagine that to???)
“Won’t you feel sad
as you return?” asked one of my friends. How can I answer this? So I
remained silent. That gave more than adequate an explanation.
The very thought of
my Grandmas cute toothless tidy little face and Grandpas pseudo-serious mask
covered face flashed before me. Oh, how much I miss them during the
year…their affectionate hugs and kisses and care are real motivations to
work hard during the gap down here at such a distance…it conveys so much of
security…Oh God life is so beautiful…
At this moment, my
friends sang in unison and in chorus, the famous nursery rhyme:
“If I were a
butterfly……robin…fish…elephant….kangaroo….bear… for you give me a heart, you
give me a smile, you give me my parents and you make me your child; But I
just Thank You God for making me me me me…”
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Authors recent work:
Stranger:
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By
Alisha Sajidali for CalicutNet.com
