Monday, September 29, 2008

We Dreamed of Africa

The Asoka pillar at the center of the assembly area was also the center stage for much of our six and a half year olds play activities. Perhaps it made us seem the center of the universe. To six somethings the universe is pretty small. It was around the pillar that several things revolved. That’s where Supriya (I wonder what happened to her?) tied her five year old brother’s hands when Sow and I were playing (the fool apart from simply running around and trying to catch each other). “Supriya why ya (“ya” was in our vocabulary an extremely hip term then!) you’re tying his hands?” Engrossed in tying his hands with a blue checked handkerchief she responds wiith a profundity that baffled me then (and even now). “He (what his name was eludes my memory) is very naughty. I don’t want him to run about ya, so I’m tying his hands because if I tie his legs together he’ll open it no- so only I’m tying his hands!”

Another sunny afternoon it was my turn to give profound answers. Sow and I were playing some vague game around the Asoka pillar. Green has always been one of my favorite colours. The cactus by virtue of it being green must have inspired some totally random neuro chemical reactions causing a short circuit in my already hyperactive brain. A reaction that was most often contagious. A plan is hatched. Sow and I all of six years are transported to some African desert (I’m certain we imagined a name- we were full of particulars and it was always all about the details) dying of thirst. (Our imaginations would not have let imagine that we would be dying of hunger considering we used to find eating an ordeal and had a truly “good” friend Neetha throw our tiffen/ and lunch into the next door quary- an activity code named “dabdab"! Or she could eat it if she wanted!). Anyway, we’re broken out of our spell by Sr Stanisless (who I fondly in my speech constantly called “Stainless steel” without any malice- only it seemed to me simpler to simplify what I thought was a mistake in how she referred to herself!) “Girls what do you think you’re doing?” Matter of factly or trying to include her (foolishly) in our make believe play I say boldly “We are in Africa. There is no water. Sister we are thirsty”. Kindly she says “You can carry a bottle of water into the desert children. Stop eating my cacti!” Having devoured between the two of us a large part of a fleshy non thorny cactus, sour faced we look up “Sister Stainless steel but we are in Africa! Are you thirsty too?”

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stainless steal indeed..great imaganation..:(..again writing overtakes it.a bit more cud have created water there..green cud have been everyone's favorite colour
in africa..more time..even ashoka pillar there..then distance wud become less..may be even thirst..

Anonymous said...

sry spell check..imagination..one more add..lets
have a cutting chaai in africa:)

cc said...

anon i thank you for your constructive criticism. i don't know who you are. i don't cut chaai with people without names and faces!

Anonymous said...

I'm curious to know who Sow is! U've mentioned her in ur other blogs where u two were upto no good :-)

Anonymous said...

sry..i take the criticism for indulging to add imagination ..us was not referred to the author .it was all of us who tried to imagine africa..again have to say writing was so impressive with combo of great imagination..
me.. failed even to write a good comment

Ann Choolackal said...

hey ya!!! you seem to have a very vivid memory memory of ur school days....dats absolutely coool ya;)

Truth said...

Hey it was "Fadfad"..... the secretive act of emptying the contents of the tiffin into the big quary all honours done by Neeta! And dear our Stainless steal was Sr.Stanislis!!

Anonymous said...

great read!!!stainless steel ha ha...u ate the cactus? bravo!!!yes, the make believe play is quite akin to childhoods.

at 17yrs, on the sea shore i made tempting ladoos out of sparkling wet sand and offered to my beloved
(up to lips, actually) saying "have tasty ladoos"-quite shocking him(he confessed).

cc said...

anon 1: there is no need to get defensive. you are entitled to your openions and i respect them.

anon2: Sow is a very very naughty girl who got me into a lot of trouble with all her ideas (i was always the angel!!!!) somehow i escaped her ideas for over 10 years and she found me again!!!! lol! actually sow is my partner in crime since we were in kindergarden- we cemented our friendship through dust bin burning cacti eating and several other such rituals and we still are the best of friends despite our having lost touch for a long while..... when we found each other nothing had changed. i guess that saying about friendships being forged in kindergarden being lasting and all is what we're an example of! what say sow?

Sow: I stand corrected. fadfad it is! well i spelt her name the way it was pronounced!!!! i stand corrected again!

Bhuwalika: i couldn't help laughing when i read your comment! :0) you know sow n i used to make diyas by making a small mountain of dirt/mud stick our finger/ thumb in it's center and then pour water into the depression. that bit hardens and you remove it it becomes a diya! boy how creative we were! we used to build nests too.... sow i miss all that :/

Unknown said...

You make really good reading.... Couldn't help but laugh :) Nice one yet again....

Truth said...

I am so proud to have found you back dear... Time we start giving our devil brains some work so that we can do something that will leave us unforgettable!!

cc said...

sow i'm simply so happy to have you back im my life too :) mwah!