Fragments from my childhood

It was 1990 and I was 5 years old. I was with my sister waiting for the driver to pick us up from school. It was 3:30pm and he hadn't shown up yet. The mischevious side of me started to take precedence. An idea struck. I suggested we do something new....Walk all alone without having someone guide us..I took my sister's hand and we started walking. She was nervous and wasn't sure where we were going...and me...well, neither did I :). But the excitement was worth a try.

We started walking. We talked lot...We talked about the lake beneath the bridge, the temple on roadside, the need for a railway crossing, the reason for billboards, and all other crap. We chased butterflies, tore pages from our notebooks to set paper boats sailing on the lake, laughed and enjoyed, oblivious of the surroundings and people. It was fun, and for sometime, we had completely lost track of time and place. All the other school buses and autos (vow..I miss them) were long gone. We were there hanging around the the lake side and playing some random games, until we realized we had to go home. That was when the crying started for my sis. I on the another hand, like a macho, consoled her and took out the 5 rupee "emergency-expense-only" bill from my bag and headed to the local booth to call my dad. This was pre-cell phones era. So, I had to call my dad's office and have the office assistant connect the call to my dad. Chaos had already set in at his office. My dad had already left looking for us and the only way for the office assistant to let my dad know was to follow him in his Bajaj scooter. He eventually did and finally got us back home.

Well, life does open up certain moments that eventually turn memorable in ones life. They might be a mistake at that point of time, but it does leave behind good memories to think back and smile upon. Truly enough, that wasn't a good decision to walk alone, my parents weren't happy about my mischief, I was cut off from my allowance for a month...but hey...it was worth it.. :)

To this day, that's one of the most memorable walks I've ever had in my life.