Something’s don’t change a wee bit! They are not meant to.
My exams were over! Good bad or ugly, it didn’t matter a tad. What mattered was the tickets were booked and we were headed to ‘nanihal.’ Oh! What fun it actually was.
Train journey meant open windows, breeze blowing on the face, Potato chips ka packet, a tinkle comic to read and a walkman- gifted by the aunt who lives abroad, bhel, cald drinksss, wada pav, lectures on not to talk to strangers, do not put your hands outta that window etcetera etcetera. The train journey was not ‘gosh it’s a tiring loooooonnnnggg journey,’ rather it was- the excitement of a nearing tunnel, the coin throwing and wish making act when we crossed the river-bridge, fighting for the window seat with my sister and bro, enjoying the picturesque view, waving to strangers and when bored climbing to the top most berth and monkeying around. Mom and dad, one would shout at us and the other would just let us have fun.
Most of it is still the same, only that open fresh air is replaced with AC, walkman with iPod. The tinkle comics are still there, though I do add a Reader’s Digest or an Outlook Express as I am a big girl now. The tunnel does not excite us now but surely brings back the memories of a time where we would scream pretending to be scared of the dark tunnel and then burst in to a loud guffaw. My sister, my little bro and I still fight for the window seat, but, now we ‘adjust’.
Summer was always spent at my nani’s place in Jabalpur, MP- a small town, where evening ‘long drive’ took us only half an hour. What makes it the most beautiful place on the face of the earth for me, is not that it has a amazing water fall, but the fact that we were treated like prince and princess once we entered the gate of ‘2120, wright town, Jabalpur.’ This was the place where all our wishes came true. We would get ALL that we demanded.
The ‘genie’ there didn’t just restrict us with three wishes but infinite ones- Nana, who would tell us new jokes he did written; my elder cousin sister who would treat us with unlimited ice creams at the most popular ice cream joint almost every day; the brothers, who would take us on those long drives, the other sisters who would play with us, the aunt’s who would make mouth watering delicacies, my mama whose scooty I would ride for ten minutes every morning, last but not the least my nani for all her stories, advices and she is my genie coz she bore with all our ‘notoriety’. These things made the summer spent at Jabalpur very very special.
This summer, as I sit alone in my room, cursing the sun, I recall those cool days spent at the water fall. I feel the urge to live those moments again, I wish my genie’s could ‘Give me another chance to grow up once again…’
Train journey meant open windows, breeze blowing on the face, Potato chips ka packet, a tinkle comic to read and a walkman- gifted by the aunt who lives abroad, bhel, cald drinksss, wada pav, lectures on not to talk to strangers, do not put your hands outta that window etcetera etcetera. The train journey was not ‘gosh it’s a tiring loooooonnnnggg journey,’ rather it was- the excitement of a nearing tunnel, the coin throwing and wish making act when we crossed the river-bridge, fighting for the window seat with my sister and bro, enjoying the picturesque view, waving to strangers and when bored climbing to the top most berth and monkeying around. Mom and dad, one would shout at us and the other would just let us have fun.
Most of it is still the same, only that open fresh air is replaced with AC, walkman with iPod. The tinkle comics are still there, though I do add a Reader’s Digest or an Outlook Express as I am a big girl now. The tunnel does not excite us now but surely brings back the memories of a time where we would scream pretending to be scared of the dark tunnel and then burst in to a loud guffaw. My sister, my little bro and I still fight for the window seat, but, now we ‘adjust’.
Summer was always spent at my nani’s place in Jabalpur, MP- a small town, where evening ‘long drive’ took us only half an hour. What makes it the most beautiful place on the face of the earth for me, is not that it has a amazing water fall, but the fact that we were treated like prince and princess once we entered the gate of ‘2120, wright town, Jabalpur.’ This was the place where all our wishes came true. We would get ALL that we demanded.
The ‘genie’ there didn’t just restrict us with three wishes but infinite ones- Nana, who would tell us new jokes he did written; my elder cousin sister who would treat us with unlimited ice creams at the most popular ice cream joint almost every day; the brothers, who would take us on those long drives, the other sisters who would play with us, the aunt’s who would make mouth watering delicacies, my mama whose scooty I would ride for ten minutes every morning, last but not the least my nani for all her stories, advices and she is my genie coz she bore with all our ‘notoriety’. These things made the summer spent at Jabalpur very very special.
This summer, as I sit alone in my room, cursing the sun, I recall those cool days spent at the water fall. I feel the urge to live those moments again, I wish my genie’s could ‘Give me another chance to grow up once again…’
3 comments:
Time flies by so fast...the three musketeers are now all grown up and settled. All remains are the memories. The brother still remembers the audio cassette taped for him when he left the "small town".
BTW we should all once plan to meet up together one summer and i'll Royally make sure the long drive is much longer than that :)
@ Sachin: yeh time really flies. I also do remember the casette nd all the masti and mehnat we did to make it. What fun it was! I would love to be a part of such a plan... make it fast :)
Madhavi, Wow this stuff is amazing... it actually brought tears into my eyes.. I went back to my days of "Nanihal" too(nostalgic) ... I love the way you put it, the genie... seriously grandparents can do wonders in little kids hearts and minds and leave such beautiful memories ... and now i see my own parents do it for my children... its super amazing... Maybe its now time for us to become genie's in someone's life... like i want to fulfil every dream my children dream off... lovely... tc... nupur
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