CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IN INDIA
Many people often forget most of their childhood memories..but i simply remember them,the events of my life from just da age of 2 n a half. My mom said i was born in dehradun,india.I didnt remember my days in dehran coz I was rather infant but I remembr my days aftr da age of 2 n a half in Bihar,India.
IN BIHAR--Bihar is a hot place.mom said I talkd vry quickly n so i remembr playing,singing n dancing then.Mostly, i remembr fighting wid a bengali gal of my age.c was alwez teasing me n i 2 was giving tit 4 tat.i remembr 1 most funny event.we usually fight pulling eachothers hair.so our moms thought n idea.we both wer shoved..bt no our teasing didnt stop. a new way of teasing started-'bel munda bel bel,kuwe me dhakel tel' hahaha... it was 2 offend eachother's baldness..another event was dat once i accidentally swallowd a marble while putting in my mouth.i started choking,my mom immediately put her finger by opening my mouth n pushed da marble.then only i was back breathing well.i got a good scolding from mom 4 putting marble in mouth. da next morning,dat marble alone came out in toilet.haha.I remembr swinging under a big mango tree 8 our yard. there my 2 bros were born.as i was a vry curious child,i askd my mom 'how did my bros come mom?' then c replied 'i bought him from da market 4u my dear.' n i really blivd that i bgan 2 tell evry1 dat my mom had bought me bro from da market,n then evry1 used 2 laugh 8me whereas i used 2 wonder y?
IN SHIMLA--aftr bihar,we wer transferred 2 shimla as my dad was n indan gurkha.there, I was just 3 yrs.old.i started my nursery grade there.b4 admitting me 2 school,my mom taught me 'ka kha' in hindi from a book.i learnt 'ka se kachhuwa, kha se khargos' vry soon dat from next day,my mom didnt hav 2 taught me agen. then my school days bgan in that beautiful shimla. a small primary school was there wid big classrooms. in nursery, there was a big round table wher all the students usedto sit around n study. i was disciplind.quiet n fast learning child that my teachers used 2 praise me in front of my mom during home-visit n there i used 2 wonder,'did i do any good or bad?'.i also remmbr singing nursery songs like 'twinkle twinkle little star..' or sometimes overlapping 2 hands n moving da thumbs as a sign of fish n singing 'machchli jalki rani hai,uska jiwan pani hai....'
there our houses wer mostly old, built by british in eng style. da doors n windows were half-glass n half-wood. da climate is vry cold there as it's a mountainous place. it was 1 of da major hill stations during da british rule in india n da british had really developd dis place wid roadways n railway access. i heard it lied in nepal b4 da sugauli treaty.
later wen i was in u.kg,we wer transferred 2 anothr house wid 4 flats.that house was lonesome 1 coz it was in da middle of da jungle. n above all, there wer too much monkey trouble. MONKEYS! oh doz mischivious monkeys.i can nevr forget their mischiefs. wenevr we forgot 2 close da doors or windows,monkey used 2 steal da food. it was vry difficult 2 shooe dem away coz de could dare 2 attack us in return. especially de could only b shooed by adult males for de nevr stand any women or children.Once,our vegetable garden was attacked all of a sudden.Mom n her friends tried to shooe dem but de cudnt b.Indeed de tried to counter-attack.When mom n her friends fail to shooe doz monkeys,immediately c thought n idea.c went inside da room ncame back in a minute wearing my dad's army uniform,a cap on her head,a long stick in her hand n a whistle in her mouth.All aunts burst in laugh 2 c my mom in man's clothes.c went to da garden whistling n moving da stick n wat a surprise !doz monkeys rly thought mam a man n de all soon ran away.Another incident, mom thought of n idea 2 kill all da monkeys by using rat poison bcoz c was frustrated from da monkey trouble.So as per her idea,c made 30-40 small circular doughs of wheat flour,made a whole in da middle,put da poison n agen kneade in circle.C took special attention so as not 2 spill da poison out. Aftr de wer ready,mom kept dem at our yard n called da monkeys lurking on trees 'laa baandar laa..'doz monkeys undstanding de wer summoned came overwhelming wid their herd.Me n mom went inside da room n watchd from da window glass.Doz monkeys came n grabbed da small doughs but b4 de eat,de smelt wid gret caution. de not only smelt demselves but also let their frenz smell by taking doz doughs near their frnz's nose.Soon aftr dat,all doz monkeys left all da doughs on da ground as it was laid b4 n de all went back their home,trees.Oh then me n mom got astonished.
N so i was alwez in fear.there wer 2 roads wich lead 2 my school from our house. 1 was thru da jungle n it was shorter whereas da anothr was thru da army camps but it was longer. howevr,mom alwez adviced me 2take da long way bcoz there was low risk of monkey trouble n so i simply obeyed her. alone,i used2 walk 2 my school alwez in fear 2 b encountered by monkeys. 1 day,i had just come from school n it was sunny. mom gave me snacks n told 2sit under da sun. mom was just sitting beside me n i had just eaten 2 spoons when a big fierceful male monkey came immediately rushing towards me n snatchd my bowl n began 2 eat da food. i turned all white n pale n mom also couldnt do anything coz da male monkeys r vry aggressive.so c told me just 2b still n silent until da monkey itself goes. da monkey ate my snacks in a hurry staring 8 my n mom's face agen n agen n 8 dat moment,an uncle came making loud thumps n dat monkey ran away. once my mom was washing clothes in bathroom n da door was open facing da outer view. immediately there a big monkey came 2 attack my mom making a loud 'wham' sound. immediately my mom tried 2 close da door but dat idiot monkey was also pulling it from outside.mom screamed 4 help.my dad was out. so anothr uncle came 4 help n shooed da monkey away. n an aunt who was new in our place laughd 8 mom 4 fearing a mere monkey.c warnd her not 2 mock coz da shimla monkeys r rathr dangerous.it's n incredible truth dat shimla monkeys dont leave any females or children without deep bruises n harsh scratches..n so later da same aunt was attackd by da same monkey n there c did fear a lot n asked my mom 4 pardon.later 4 som mnths,i got a new companion, a boy 2come n go 2 school togethr.wen we were 2,we often used da jungle way n most of da time,we used 2 c only white monkeys who werent aggressive as da red ones.
now 1 day,it was xam time.my xam finishd earlier dan his.i waited him 2 finish his xam n return home along. but dat day,he was in bad mood.he told me-'dont wait 4me.u r big enough 2 go on ur own.so go urself.take da jungle way.there r only 'langurs'[white monkeys].u can reach home in a minute.' He told me quite rudely n so i bcame sad n started 2 return home taking da shorter way. there wen i was just a little away from my home, 4-5 red small monkeys came blocking my way,chattering n mocking me wid thier face. i cried loudly in fear.they were all holding their hands n blocking my way. but thank god, they couldnt harm me for n army uncle came out of his office n savd me. He escorted me upto my house. i was so greatly afraid dat i couldnt even speak 2 my mom. n due to da excessive fear, i fell very ill 4 nearly 1 month.
later da boy in da neibourhood left 4 another place n i was lonely again.i nvr took da jungle way agen.But new fear arose on da army camp's way as da locals had started raring pigs.evrytime i was on my way 2 school,doz astrayd pigs on da lawn alwez blockd my way grunting ejecting their big hole-like nose. i was afraid of them too though they dint harm.I hardly avoided doz pigs n 1 day i told my mom abt dem but my mom couldnt escort me 2 school coz c had 2 take care of my lttle bros. so i was sad.on dat day,it so hapend dat our newly tamed dog named 'seti' heard my complain n wat a surprise! da next morning as i started 4 school, seti came along wid me wagging its tail.i stroke her n from dat day c began coming wid me 8 school.seti was indeed a black dog,n alsatian breed.c had come 2 our place 1 rainy day.c was all wet n we kept her warm n waited 4 her old master to come bt her master dint come.so c was ours after dat. since c came,da fear of monkeys 8 home wer gone. c used 2 guard our house vry well dat doz monkeys couldnt dare steal our things anymore.c was n intelligent,well-traind n faithful dog.c was quiet n could protect me from da monkeys. so i managed to ask my teacher 2 let me take her 8 school. I dunno how but I was allowd 2 take her even in my class. c used 2 sit below my bench quietly until my school time was over n we 2 used 2 return home fearlessly. i wonder c may have even studied along wid me. but 1 day during break time,a girl accused me for turning her tiffin upside down. i hadnt done dat n so i tried 2 assure her but c attempted 2 hit me. then in da meantime,seti barked 8 da gal but dint bite her. aftr dis da gal complaind da teachr against my dog n from dat day onwards,i wasnt allowd 2 take her 2 school. i was so sad.from next day,mom leashd her n i went school avoiding doz fatty pigs thru da same army camps way.
i still remembr da snow-clad mountains dat could b seen from my house. there big hailstones used 2 fall during rain n a full 7 colourd rainbow could also be seen there. sometimes i even used2 go 2collect firewoods in da jungle wid frenz.there in da lovly woods,i even learnt 2 knit woollen scarfs.
IN DELHI-after 2yrs in shimla,we were transferred 2 delhi,da capital of india.wen we were leaving shimla,seti has just given birth 2 beautiful 3 puppies. we had 2 leave her there wid anothr family who came 2 our place.we left when seti was suckling her babies but soon c heard da sound of our jeep. then c began running after us. mom asked da driver 2 stop da jeep n c gave a good scolding 2 seti,-'go seti go,go back 2 ur puppies n live wid ur new master.' n then seti returnd sadly..
oh !actually i lov animals so much.wenevr i see dem on animal planet or national geo channel,especially seeing da babies,i like dem so much dat i wish i held dem n kissd dem many times. :-)
Now in delhi, i started my grade 1. i was grown up a little n i was beginning 2 undstnd things more. delhi is vry hot place.i still remembr wen i was beginning 2 learn how 2 pronounce words.i was happy wen i could read da words dsplayed on tv. my school's name was 'kendriya vidyalay',n army school+college. my school was big 3 storeyd building wid big playground.my classroom was also big. it had 3 rows of desk n 4 fans n 4 tubelights.my section was alwez 'C'. frenz wer manisha,manju n alka. Manju Dutt was my best fren as c was good 2me but c was quiet talkative.c alwez used 2 brag dat Sunjay Dutt was her uncle n I rly blivd dat.:-) there wer 3 monitors in my class puja,rita n keresmi. de wer vry arrogant n ill-mannered. de used 2 bit me without any reason but i nevr complaind abt dem wid teacher or even wid my mom.
Once our mam had taken us out 4 playing. I was just standing on da ground n watching othrs play. Meanwhile a boy,who was my classmate fell down in front of me. I wondrd y n helpd da boy to stand up but he was being furious at me.he was accusing me that i had pushed him.before i could say anything.he went away swiftly n complaind mam against me. in class,dat guy came in front n accused me-'mam,aruna pushd me from back n i fell down.' i was also calld in front. as i was innocent, i cudnt stop my tears,crying i replied-'no mam,i dint push him,he had fallen down from my back' n badly cried wid overflowing tears. but den mam consoled me lovingly-'i kno u r innocent.c'mon don cry.a good student never cries,go n wash ur face'. then c also told dat da fallen boy was actually pushd by 'Rita'[da arrogant monitor of my class who had actually provokd da boy to complain against me].but thank god dat mam had seen Rita pushing wid her own eyes.n c gave her a stick-punishment on her hand.
I was also a good singer n dancer dat my teachers used 2 praise me in my musical class but to my dismay,evrytime I finished my practising n on da very day of showing my talent on stage,I used 2 fell ill unable 2 go school.so I cud nvr show my talent back then.
from grade 1,i begin 2 like reading books.specially,i used 2 memorise beautiful hindi poems n sing dem in my own accord. I still remmbr doz nice stories n poems.One of my fav stories is abt a man named Kutchu.he was a 4getful man.Once he kept his glasses at the end of his long nose n was searching evrywer 4 his glasses.He saw dem on his own nose only aftr his daughter told him. N nxt time,he went 2 da tailor n askd 2 make him a shirt wid big pockets.Aftr smtime,da tailor made it.He was happy n wore his shirt. 8 night he took out da shirt n went 2 bed. da nxt morning,he wore his shirt agen bt was astonishd coz he dint find his big pockets.For 1 week,he dint complain da tailor bt finally,he went there.He complaind 'O mr.tailor,wat kinda shirt u hav made me,huh?My big pockets appear 1 day n disappears da next day.see today also my pockets r disappeared' da tailor too bcome astonished fnding how foolish is Kutchu bcoz he had actually put on the opposite side of shirt without turning it 2 da right side.He laughd but calmly told Kutchu 2 put on da right side of da shirt so dat his pockets can nvr disappear.Aftr knowing da good idea,Kutchu returnd home happily.hahaha...:-)
Anothr story was abt a king n a queen who had a beautiful small daughter named phulkumari.if c was happy,da whole world including da birds,da flowers n also da children would also b happy othrwise if c turnd sad,all da birds would stop chirping,flowers wud stop blooming n da children wud stop playing.One day it so happend dat c was playing in her garden n c laughd so loudly wich disturbd da king n so he rebuked slightly-'hey ! Phulkumari, y ru laughing so loudly?cant u laugh in a low voice?' Da rebuke of da king made her sad n it bcame a gret problem coz da flowers had stopped blooming,da birds had stopped singing n even all da children had stopped playing.Da king tried his best 2 please phulkumari but he failed.So finally he set a big reward 4 any1 who'll b able 2 please her.Then some men showed monkey tricks,some showd bear dance n som showd snake tricks.evry1 laughd but phulkumari dint. Finally a man wid long beard came riding on a goat.he made his face like a joker.evry1 laughd bt not phulkumari.he had a big pot belly.he was hardly comfortable on da goat. In da meantime,he lost his balance n his big belly which was actually a big clay pot slips down from his kurta n breks into pieces.At da same time,phulkumari laughs clapping her hands.N so dat clown was awarded a big sum.:-)
There r many stories wich I still remembr.Among dem I had read 'kabuliwala' wen I was in grade-2 from a hindi book of a bro studying in grade-3. N I was surprised wen I found da same story in da eng textbook in BBS 1st yrs level.
In Delhi,there was a little yard at da back of my house where my mom had made me a swing.There I used 2 swing keeping da hindi book on my lap n sing da poems. There r many poems n songs I still remembr.Among dem,I'd like 2 mention 3 here bcoz de r still heart-touchng 2 me.I dint kno da depth of doz words back den but 2de,I rly do know...
'कौन'
अगर न होती सुरज दिनको,
सोनेसा चमकता कौन?
अगर न होती चाँद रातमे,
हमको दिशा दिखाता कौन?
अगर न होती पेड भाला,
फिर हरियाली फैलाता कौन?
अगर न होती निर्मल नदियाँ,
जगकी प्यास बुझाता कौन?
अगर न होती बादल नभमे,
ईन्द्रधनुष रच पाता कौन?
अगर न होती फूल बताओ,
खिल-खिलकर मुस्काता कौन?
अगर न होते हम तो बोलो,
ये सब प्रश्न उठाता कौन?
'ये वक्त न ठहरा है...'
ये वक्त न ठहरा है,ये वक्त न ठहरेगा,युंही गुजर जायेगा घबराना कैसा?
हिम्मतसे काम लेंगे,घबराना कैसा?
जब कदम बढाएँगे,मन्जिल मिल जायेगी,हर राह पे मुस्किल,घबराना कैसा?
हिम्मतसे काम लेंगे घबराना कैसा?
ये सुख-दुख जिवनमे आते और जाते हैं,दुख पहले भी आ जाए घबराना कैसा?
हिम्मतसे काम लेंगे,घबराना कैसा?
ये महक गुलाबोंकी महकाती है गुलशन,काँटा कभी लग जाए घबराना कैसा?
हिम्मतसे काम लेंगे,घबराना कैसा?
'होंगे कामयाब...'
होंगे कामयाब,होंगे कामयाब,हम होंगे कामयाब,एक दिन होहो मनमे है विश्वास,हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन..
हम चलेंगे साथ-साथ,डाले हाथोंमे हाथ-हाथ,हम चलेंगे साथ-साथ,होहो मनमे है विश्वास,पुरा है विश्वास हम चलेंगे साथ-साथ एक दिन..
होगी शान्ति चारो ओर,होगी शान्ति चारो ओर,एक दिन,होहो मनमे है विश्वास.पुरा है विश्वास,होगी शान्ति चारो ओर एक दिन..
होंगे कामयाब.................
The above last two songs give me strength when I'm sad.They really give me hope when m desperate.I can nvr forget 'em.
