Jammu & Kashmir
Three years in Assam. Rain forest and humidity...GOSH !!!! I was quite young then.
I remember I would sometimes get 50 paise for spending. Sitting down at the back of my school bus. I was too little and I used to wonder looking at the Bus Driver Uncle. He must be a superman pulling this huge a bus with his bare hands sitting in a small seat. However the front seat would make sense...HELL!!! it was to see where is he driving the bus to.
Anyways, would have the 50 paise saved for lunch time. Here is the menu card...which I thought gave me a maximum ROI-
10 paise- ice cream
20 paise- googni( cholle chat)
20 paise - same after school/ milk ice cream (after school)
Well, it was fun to be too little to know the worth of 50 paise and simultaneously know how to spend it.
An evening, I came back from school, threw my bag as usual, smashed shoes to the wall and socks still on, knew the least possible about grooming so didn't even wash myself after a hectic day of PLAY at school. Maa gave me a plate of food which I ate hastily so as to meet y friends soon and cover the field before elder boys could....to be frank..didn't make any difference..howsoever we were always thrown out of it.
I came back around dusk and wash my face and hands with water. The grass with dew on it would really sting on my legs..
I went up to Maa and Papa was already home. He told me we were going away. I, however was tender at age, knew what it meant. I asked him where. "SRINAGAR", with excitement he said. I was thrilled. I knew nothing of it. Hell, I didn't know which part of the map is it at. But i had heard about it. I was excited, although I knew it was not a safe place.
Some days passed by. Well about days passing by, I always wanted to say it. Feels grown up.
Again.... some days passed by and it was the day we had to leave for Jammu. We had to get on the train from a station called BARPETA in Assam. It still there, like 7-8 hours down the line from Guwahati. Papa told me it was a 2 days trip and we would cross 7 states to finally reach Jammu.
I was a kid, RIGHT? As common, I got some comics and DAD got me Readers digest...well I liked the way it would make me look intelligent on the train but who was I kidding, it was BORING. But still I started reading and looking for shortest of stanzas.
Got bored and to pass the time, I
started with ways to pass it...but I had to days...what could I have done.....
I started peeping out of the glass window. I was dark and all I could see is lights....far off..nothing to be seen. But the lights through the glass falling on the pebbles beside the tracks was enticing enough...well at-least for 15 min.
Maa told me to sleep and so I
climbed the vertical iron pentagon people assume to be stairs for getting on to the upper berth. WHAT LOOSERS....
It was nice..a neat and clean sheet and a blanket to cover myself up. I cant remember when did I sleep. But I sure do know I woke up in the morning and the train was still moving. I asked my dad where are we. He said something and I accepted it. The day was the same and I knew I had a whole day to spend but nothing good to do. No friends, no cricket. It was much boring than I had imagined it to be.
The second day was almost the same as well. We were to reach Jammu at night. I was getting more anxious. I guess it was punjab, we were passing by. I hope so..
Night was falling. I could sense that and everyone was packing up. We were almost there. JAMMU. We were to stay the night at the Officer's Mess. This is all I knew. I realized the train came to a hault and Papa asked me to grab my stuff. My stuff..oh the comics and the stupid READERS digest.
I wanted to maroon it so that it would pay for its sins.....of boring me to death so much so that I couldn't even read my comics. Anyways I picked it up and came down. I was little so I jumped off the first stair of the train. It was hot. I thought Jammu was on Himalayas and so it must be cold...Well.....I was STUPID..
At the end I was there..JAMMU....
I remember I would sometimes get 50 paise for spending. Sitting down at the back of my school bus. I was too little and I used to wonder looking at the Bus Driver Uncle. He must be a superman pulling this huge a bus with his bare hands sitting in a small seat. However the front seat would make sense...HELL!!! it was to see where is he driving the bus to.
Anyways, would have the 50 paise saved for lunch time. Here is the menu card...which I thought gave me a maximum ROI-
10 paise- ice cream
20 paise- googni( cholle chat)
20 paise - same after school/ milk ice cream (after school)
Well, it was fun to be too little to know the worth of 50 paise and simultaneously know how to spend it.
An evening, I came back from school, threw my bag as usual, smashed shoes to the wall and socks still on, knew the least possible about grooming so didn't even wash myself after a hectic day of PLAY at school. Maa gave me a plate of food which I ate hastily so as to meet y friends soon and cover the field before elder boys could....to be frank..didn't make any difference..howsoever we were always thrown out of it.
I came back around dusk and wash my face and hands with water. The grass with dew on it would really sting on my legs..
I went up to Maa and Papa was already home. He told me we were going away. I, however was tender at age, knew what it meant. I asked him where. "SRINAGAR", with excitement he said. I was thrilled. I knew nothing of it. Hell, I didn't know which part of the map is it at. But i had heard about it. I was excited, although I knew it was not a safe place.
Some days passed by. Well about days passing by, I always wanted to say it. Feels grown up.
Again.... some days passed by and it was the day we had to leave for Jammu. We had to get on the train from a station called BARPETA in Assam. It still there, like 7-8 hours down the line from Guwahati. Papa told me it was a 2 days trip and we would cross 7 states to finally reach Jammu.
I was a kid, RIGHT? As common, I got some comics and DAD got me Readers digest...well I liked the way it would make me look intelligent on the train but who was I kidding, it was BORING. But still I started reading and looking for shortest of stanzas.
Got bored and to pass the time, I
started with ways to pass it...but I had to days...what could I have done.....
I started peeping out of the glass window. I was dark and all I could see is lights....far off..nothing to be seen. But the lights through the glass falling on the pebbles beside the tracks was enticing enough...well at-least for 15 min.
Maa told me to sleep and so I
climbed the vertical iron pentagon people assume to be stairs for getting on to the upper berth. WHAT LOOSERS....
It was nice..a neat and clean sheet and a blanket to cover myself up. I cant remember when did I sleep. But I sure do know I woke up in the morning and the train was still moving. I asked my dad where are we. He said something and I accepted it. The day was the same and I knew I had a whole day to spend but nothing good to do. No friends, no cricket. It was much boring than I had imagined it to be.
The second day was almost the same as well. We were to reach Jammu at night. I was getting more anxious. I guess it was punjab, we were passing by. I hope so..
Night was falling. I could sense that and everyone was packing up. We were almost there. JAMMU. We were to stay the night at the Officer's Mess. This is all I knew. I realized the train came to a hault and Papa asked me to grab my stuff. My stuff..oh the comics and the stupid READERS digest.
I wanted to maroon it so that it would pay for its sins.....of boring me to death so much so that I couldn't even read my comics. Anyways I picked it up and came down. I was little so I jumped off the first stair of the train. It was hot. I thought Jammu was on Himalayas and so it must be cold...Well.....I was STUPID..
At the end I was there..JAMMU....
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