Reminiscences of a childhood...

A recent visit took me back to my summer holidays.. summer holidays meant playing in the sun, eating juicy mangoes and sticky jackfruit.. it meant learning to identify birds from their sounds and to identify plants..

You got your share of "puchcham" (scorn) because you were city-bred and were ignorant..

It meant lights out at 8:30 pm, temples in the morning, updating your Malayalam slang with the help of your cousins and the latest Malayalam movies..

After you got older, it wasn't so much fun.. the mud and the frogs got to you.. the early nights were annoying.. the sprawling old house accumulated dust and spiders and what not.. the affectionate neighbours seemed nosy.. the puchcham shifted.. you were the one scorning..

Now.. none of it matters.. what you want is your child to have a childhood which has its share of the warm sun, the green pond, the "ola" puppet, the coconut shells..The flowers and the leaves.. and some of the conveniences which a city life offers.. and he/ she learns to appreciate all of them.. and be CONTENT.. isn't that what matters more than happiness?

THE GULMOHUR

I don’t know what draws me to it..but I surely have started noticing it everywhere I go. Almost as if it is waiting for me so that I can admire it - The Gulmohur Tree..

It is this year that I can’t help noticing the way the very green leaves turn into flaming red flowers just before the monsoon. It looks as if the tree is on fire..shades of orange and red..and an occasional yellow. And there is always a carpet of these bright colours below the tree. It is soooooooo pretty!!!!

There is one Gulmohur at my bus-stop which I keep on looking at..while waiting for my bus which arrives according to IST.

There was one in my college ground. The red on the very brown earth used to look..er…hmm..lovely..I used to feel like getting out of the library and sit under the tree with my books spread around and a light breeze playing..with the mynahs chirping happily. Zzzzzzzzzzz…I am daydreaming.

There is one just at the corner of the road where I take a turn. Again as if expecting me to stop and just look admiringly.

Hmmmmm…I look out of the window. Onto the Yeoor hills…all green..very green..and there it is…a tree on fire..here..and hey..there too..trying to hide itself behind the vast green foliage.

The flower of the tree is also a beauty. Five petals - each one as bright as a flame..yellow merging into the orange..the orange merging into the red. Actually a flame is blue and yellow..I guess..what the heck!! IMAGINE IT! ;)

And there are five “things” other than petals. I have no idea what it is. Some rectangular pointy things..as kids..we used to scrape off the red part on it..and that part would be a little sticky. We would stick that onto our nails..and pretend to be witches and monsters. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO…

Moral of the story: I like the tree :D

The beginning..

The Teacher already knows my name

“Teacher ko mera naam pehle se pata hai!!!!”…

This was supposed to be the coolest retort in school if a kid threatened to complain about you to the Teacher.

It usually started with a fight and then the person who gets hit the worst starts whining… “Main teacher ko tera naam bataunga…"

And if you responded with the statement mentioned earlier…you are bound to get applause from the other kids around you…

Yeah.. I am speaking from personal experience…

Funny.. how the definitions of “cool” keep changing!!

(This is an old post written in 2004 - might as well start with that)