Gone are the days...

Gone are the days...

When the school reopened in July,
And we settled in our new desks and benches.
When we queued up in book shops and tailors shop,
And got our new books and notes along with the new uniform.
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, yet
Managed to sit line up daily for the morning prayers.

We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and
Progressed To fountain pens and then ball pens .
We started calculating first with tables
and then advanced to calculators and computers.
When we chased one another in the corridors in Intervals,
and returned to the classrooms drenched in sweat.

When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds, under the trees and even in cycle shed.
When all in the whites,
Decorated the campus on the Saturdays.
When a single 'games' period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons.

When cricket was played with wooden patas as bats,
And stones and socks rolled into balls.
When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While others simply played "book cricket" in the confines of classroom.
Of fights but no conspiracies,Of Competitions but seldom jealousy.

When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house of our friend after school.
When few rushed at 1:30 to "Conquer" window seats in our School bus.
While others played 'aiis paais' and 'gippdi fod'

Gone are the days Of Houses Day, and the annual School Day,
And the one-month long preparations for them.
Gone are the days Of the stressful Quarterly,Half Yearly and Annual Exams,
And the most enjoyed holidays after them.
Of tenth and twelfth standards,
when we Spent almost the whole year writing practise tests in tuitions.

We learnt, we enjoyed, we played, we won, we lost,
We laughed, we cried, we fought, we thought.
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more.

Gone are the days when we used to talk for hours with our friends.
Now we don't have time to say a HI.

Gone are the days when we played games on the road.
Now we code on the road with laptop

Gone are the days when we sat to chat with friends on grounds.
Now we chat in chat rooms.....

Gone are the days where we had no money in our pockets and fun filled on our hearts
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart

Gone are the days where we got lectures from all.
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....

Gone are the days
But not the memories, which will be
Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and Ever and ever and Ever.....

The Fall......and the Rise...

It started off one Tuesday evening about 11 years back when WE came out of one of the Tuition Classes from our teachers Place.

'We ' here includes my friends and classmates . Friends are the boys and When I say classmates I mean girls because in our school culture you are not supposed to be friends with them . At least you don't call them friends even if you are one.We were like India and Pakistan. You have to defeat the Pakistani at any cost .

So when We came out after a Dravidian lecture( innings of dravid 200 balls(Min's) faced and 10(problems) runs scored...) on similarity topic from our teachers Place , we were trying to relax our self , taking our vehicles out. When I looked towards to the main way , I saw one of our friends who had left the school a year ago waiting for us to come out. I was excited to meet him for one I was frustrated after the 2 hr lecture.

Back Then I used to come in one of the Luna Super..'Turrruu..." as we used to call it. It was so light frail and old that some times YOU had to carry IT rather than IT carrying YOU. 'Self Start ' and 'Kick Start' are the terms we had never heard in those days. It was always a drag start .....at least for my Turrruuu.That means you had to drag it at a real high speed to some distance manually before its engine used to start. Drag start or Dhakka Start..whatever you like you can call it.

That was about the luna , now few facts about me.I was a healthy boy.(yes i am trying to be moderate to myself here...those who know me from those days will say...A bulky fat elephant...) But then that would be other extreme and I was somewhere in between those two versions...moderate and extreme version.....I was wearing a jeans ....a black jeans...brand was Killer ...I remember it so well because it was my first jeans... ... and that was the first day I was wearing it. It was brand new .Add to that a real tight one...

Now the visualisation,(a bulky..........wearing a black killer....).sitting on the turru (light an Old...) and trying to drag start it by running along with it. Suddenly it started and I jumped onto it and sat . But somehow I lost the balance . Very Difficult to explain how I lost it ,since the light frail luna was supposed to carry a modest healthy boy easily. I fell on one side and Luna on the other side , my black killer turning dark brown with dirt .

Indian and Pakis seeing from behind.

Were They Seeing?? I wasn't sure... Any spectators.... I got up before I became a matter of shame to my Nation . Dint have the time to turn around.

Tried to make jeans look black again as quickly as possible by beating it and picked up the Turru .It happened all so fast that turru's engine was still on.Fearing it might switch off again I hurried further lest I have to run that much again...Dhakka start...Moreover I had to save the nations pride and may be ...just may be...my own pride. After all who would like to become a subject of dishonour.I was successful in my attempts .Yes I Was. I reached to my friend and wished him 'Hi' thinking he might be the only one who would have seen it. Even he dint notice it.His reaction told it. My lightening rescue act was too fast for anyone to notice.I was too good.

I was happy . I did it. What was the happiness about...Was it Meeting the old friend or.. getting out of the lecture ... Or Protection of honour of THE nation... I think it was the last. I saved myself from being a matter of entertainment.

Then...

A voice...

"Anything Happened....Are you OK ?"...Asked the first friend coming....

" What Boy....be careful..." asked the next one...

Few smiles ,giggles...and laughs from the Pakis as well.....some comments..

" Hmm that was quick....how did u do that.."

Soon my happiness went off with the whole batch coming one by one and smiling ,some laughing, commenting.The realisation came soon ...Everybody had seen it....

Later they told it wasn't me falling that made them laugh but me getting up so lightening fast that became the subject of their entertainment.I had lost it.. and some of them even remember the incident even today and ask me about the turru and some even about Killer.