By Pragyananda Mishra
When I was a kid,
The honking school bus was my ultimate driving machine, The fear and loathing of Zee horror show made sure that I don’t wake up for a pee. The only time I devoured 3 chapatis was when mom served the left-over mutton curry @dinner. The ideal Sunday was cartoonscomics and cricket. The securest place (where no god-damn-ghost could enter) was sleeping between paa and mom. Subjects like dictation, craft and moral science were somehow a fearful proposition; the only thing that I bothered to wipe my hands and face with after a meal was my mom’s saree. Evening prayer was an effort to battle mosquitoes and keep singing in unison at the same time. To avoid interruption of Rangoli - I kept the toilet door open and did the needful.
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| Photo credit - Chakradhar Nemani |
Big Babol (and big fun!) cards were something more than merely precious. The only plea/excuse at exams was a loud cry. Knees and elbows seemed to be the infinitely skin rich parts of the body. The birthdays were all about gifts and “whistle blowing”. The PTA meetings always ensured that my lunch was served only when my father came back from work. A very late night sleep meant going to bed at 10:20 PM after being bored by the TV commercials during the Friday DD movie. Superheroes came in dreams and lasted for 8 hours. Bravery was
rushing 5 metres into the sea and coming back escaping the waters. Sachin winning the match
for India meant a glass of Pepsi at the next meal. Being sick meant sitting on the best chair with mom by my side serving apples and soup, brother tuning Cartoon network and papa saying “okay you won’t go to school tomorrow”. Train travel meant a ruckus as I often ended up
holding hands with the wrong parent. Clearing Contra and Mario stages meant pride among friend circles. Ass meant a beast of burden, rubber indicated an eraser and cats and pussies were recited in aplomb in rhymes...........
Dylan’s-Times they are a changing never was more true.
Pragyananda Mishra
20 something-year old taciturn hobbledehoy; I try to win but a loss is always heartening. Presently bewildered and still not sure that 0% of everything is better than 100% of nothing.
20 something-year old taciturn hobbledehoy; I try to win but a loss is always heartening. Presently bewildered and still not sure that 0% of everything is better than 100% of nothing.
