It was like I had a rewind button on my brain, I pressed the
button and it took me about fifteen years back, the house was vacated and it
remained no more of my aunt’s she has moved into a different place a big
bungalow, but the house that stands on the national high-way is still the same
and the influence it has on the life is just too incredible. That is the house
that stood in pride with the walls narrating the stories of the most beautiful
moments spent with my loved ones “CHILDHOOD”, the best thing that can happen to
any human-being during his stint here; the mango tree was once with full of mangoes
hanging down the leaves; an abode to ants still remains still with the swing we
had made for ourselves.
Summer vacation of two months with all the cousins jammed at
a single point, tantalizing the taste-buds with mom-made yummy pickles and
other delicious cuisines, reading stories from Tinkle digest where the characters
like Shikari Shambu, Supandi, Shakti man, Spider-man existed the way they were
described in the books; Tom and Jerry, Scooby-doo were cartoons and they were real
tranquilizers to lungs, cricket enthusiasts enjoyed cricket commentary by just
listening to a transistor with a cup of hot coffee and a plate of hot pakoras, celebrating
festivals by inviting the neighbors and spreading
the happiness, best-wishes went in the form of greeting cards with a stamp on
it; waiving hands at strangers sitting inside the bus and whistling at the
moving bus just to get inside the crowded bus.
I remember a long distance travel just to reunite with my
relatives, using postal services to post a hand-written letter to a cousin far
away with a sketch of me and her holding hands together and jumping in the air,
exchanging the well-being of each family member. The way I stopped the post-man
anxiously by hand every time he crossed my house to check if a reply to my
letter has arrived; the memories of how our childhood days were can never be
forgotten, the way the ground beneath stood still when the word “TELEGRAM” was
heard with a ring of the cycle bell from a post-man just to know if everything
was fine with the closest ones or not; gone are the days when phones were used
only for communication of something which really meant an emergency.
Gone are the days when the old granny from the closest shop
nearby called me by my name and handed over a pocket full of toffees and bid me
good-bye to school with her blessings, the days when I went crying to school asking
mom or dad to fetch me hot food during the lunch-break just to have a glimpse of
them while at school, the pranks at school and getting back a bag of complaints
from a friend’s mother; getting irritated with a classmate of yours when she
spoke to the girl or boy who you admired or had a crush on, trying to be the
class teacher’s all-time favorite student, days when you sought help of your
friend to complete the home-work by bribing him with a toffee. The way you
waited for a friend at the bus-station just to receive or bid good bye to her
with tears in your eyes, a small hug from a closest friend meant the world and
the spark of jealous in each one’s eyes when the topper of class was announced.
The farewell day which brought tears, a book called “SLAM”- “Some lines about
me” – did really matter the most to each one of us.
Mom everyday woke me up at 7:00 am, but I never remember
getting up so early, but the remembrance of me making her run over the entire
house for the misplaced shoes, socks and ribbons still dawdles on my mind, the
way I ran with half-dressed when the school-bus arrived and sometimes running
behind the bus while my friends in the bus laughed at my plight, the screams
that you let out jut for a pencil which your sibling stole away during your
absence at home, the way you stole the half eaten chocolate away from your
sister or brother immediately after gulping up the entire bar of yours, getting
annoyed when your mother compared your marks with your friend’s marks sheet,
the way you dirtied your white uniform and expecting the reprimands, the way
you ran with a gang of friends with a piggy-bank, jamming-up for a cause. These
are the days that are still as fresh as a morning daisy waiting for the first
ray of sun, the list is never-ending and the words in the English dictionary
are not enough to describe the life back then.
The world then was so simple, harsh words were spoken even
then but the words spoken were forgotten but now we forget people and not the
words, we need a phone call just to catch up with an old pal of ours who sat beside
during school-days, things seemed stupid and illogical then but those are the
moments we would love to cherish and not the days now where SLAM is replaced
with Likes and Comments on Social Networking Websites, re-union means formally
meeting up with friends in an exorbitant resorts, walking means going to a
well-equipped gym which has a treadmill and laughing means joining a laughter
club, the world is beautiful and it is us who makes it to be and not the
technology or logical thinking always. The mango tree that has a swing tied to
it still stands still with pride, the memories it beings to me is just too enormous
and I know every one of us have a mango tree story for ourselves to cherish,
saying this I sign-off. Happy memories
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