It’s been on my mind for a while, but I was procrastinating writing them down!
This morning, a usual Sunday morning, I sat listening to one of my favourite- Tracy Lawrence. In all his numbers, what caught my attention was the track “Time marches on…”. And there it was!
A smile across my face, like a flash right in front were the years that have gone by and memories sweet & sour. Time really had marched on! Memories of us all in school uniform, Khaki bags- the old military bags, kept in a long winding line. From far it would look like a long brown Python!
The boys played and we girls stood aside making small talks – topics? Well difficult to recollect. We would wait for the school bus. The rush & the push began at the sight of the chocolate cream coloured outline at a distance.
“ Bus aa rehee hai…”( The bus is arriving!) would be a shout from someone who spotted the bus. At the door of the bus would be Gopal ji one of the many assistants – we called him “Conductor ji”. He was famous as he would say “Bus chho baaje aayegee.” ( Bus would arrive at 6 o clock). There used to be an unnecessary emphasis on the “Chho” !
As I moved backwards in time, I recollect having a routine and busy evening, after school. Unlike most children today, who spend time in front of the TV or young girls who hang around chatting, we were a rather active bunch. Back from school at 4 p.m., barely had the time to kick off our shoes, a quick wash & some food, we were right out of our houses to play for a clear two hours. No one wanted to get home before the street lights came on! That meant it was 6pm & time to go home, Buddy.
The games we played? Oh there were so many, the simple Hopskotch with its mutations – the 8, 6 or 9 blocks! All had different rules! Then the boys joined in to play, the games changed to a Football, a Hide & Seek, a “Gulli Danda” or a “Pitto” - a game with seven stones & a tennis ball. How it hurt when someone hit you with the ball! OOuch!
The streets rather lanes would resound with the screams of Victory! And sometimes the boys would get into fist fights! I used to be very scared of that! All of this formed the DNA of our childhood & am sure it was more or less the same for us all across India!
Often had wondered, where were these friends of mine, first from the school, then college and some friends I made during my career journey. There were so many names that would come back & forth and so many an incident that would bring a smile on my face. And when my brother & I sat down talking, we would exchange notes on some main stories & people we could recollect. Each time wondered where were these people!
As if like a magic, technology answered my question. The networking sites- an Orkut which was probably the first of its kind. Heard of it but did not log in. Then came Facebook. O My God! Here were all those lost friends of mine – year on year, almost all those people were right in here! The world suddenly became so small, distances reduced, I feel as if I can hear them talk! In some cases – it was just a call away! Its now a truly small world!
This morning, a usual Sunday morning, I sat listening to one of my favourite- Tracy Lawrence. In all his numbers, what caught my attention was the track “Time marches on…”. And there it was!
A smile across my face, like a flash right in front were the years that have gone by and memories sweet & sour. Time really had marched on! Memories of us all in school uniform, Khaki bags- the old military bags, kept in a long winding line. From far it would look like a long brown Python!
The boys played and we girls stood aside making small talks – topics? Well difficult to recollect. We would wait for the school bus. The rush & the push began at the sight of the chocolate cream coloured outline at a distance.
“ Bus aa rehee hai…”( The bus is arriving!) would be a shout from someone who spotted the bus. At the door of the bus would be Gopal ji one of the many assistants – we called him “Conductor ji”. He was famous as he would say “Bus chho baaje aayegee.” ( Bus would arrive at 6 o clock). There used to be an unnecessary emphasis on the “Chho” !
As I moved backwards in time, I recollect having a routine and busy evening, after school. Unlike most children today, who spend time in front of the TV or young girls who hang around chatting, we were a rather active bunch. Back from school at 4 p.m., barely had the time to kick off our shoes, a quick wash & some food, we were right out of our houses to play for a clear two hours. No one wanted to get home before the street lights came on! That meant it was 6pm & time to go home, Buddy.
The games we played? Oh there were so many, the simple Hopskotch with its mutations – the 8, 6 or 9 blocks! All had different rules! Then the boys joined in to play, the games changed to a Football, a Hide & Seek, a “Gulli Danda” or a “Pitto” - a game with seven stones & a tennis ball. How it hurt when someone hit you with the ball! OOuch!
The streets rather lanes would resound with the screams of Victory! And sometimes the boys would get into fist fights! I used to be very scared of that! All of this formed the DNA of our childhood & am sure it was more or less the same for us all across India!
Often had wondered, where were these friends of mine, first from the school, then college and some friends I made during my career journey. There were so many names that would come back & forth and so many an incident that would bring a smile on my face. And when my brother & I sat down talking, we would exchange notes on some main stories & people we could recollect. Each time wondered where were these people!
As if like a magic, technology answered my question. The networking sites- an Orkut which was probably the first of its kind. Heard of it but did not log in. Then came Facebook. O My God! Here were all those lost friends of mine – year on year, almost all those people were right in here! The world suddenly became so small, distances reduced, I feel as if I can hear them talk! In some cases – it was just a call away! Its now a truly small world!
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