A Soliloquy (ಸ್ವಗತ) Lying solitary in a vast field with blue barren white clouds floating high in the sky, enjoying the melodious songs of the birds and the enticing beauty of the dancing peacock appearing on the bank of the backwater of Almatti dam, is the breathtaking pleasure to me. Writing on the passage of time is like writing in the flowing water or on the sand in a desert and on the seashore too perhaps, extremely volatile. Despite, here is an effort to catch a few vanishing memories and solidify them, lest they are lost in such a passage! In such a pensive mood my mind runs down the memory lane mostly half a century back now. Those were the days when literally 1/64 of a rupee (Ana) had lots of value. The ironing of the dresses was one of the luxuries. In a brass container I used to put some red hot coal and used to press my half pant and half shirt. Later the container used to remain in a corner in search of which my aunty used to waste half an hour. When it was found she lifted with a horrifying scream as it burnt her fingers! In her entire remaining days, perhaps she never dared to touch the empty vessel lying in a corner! With all sacred words poured on me, I was made to swear not to iron in future. Being extremely creative I had another splendid idea to iron my clothes, else how could I put up with shabby wrinkled dresses, especially on the great occasions of Independence day & Republic day? I used to keep them under my pillow very neatly folded while sleeping. Next day morning my dresses used to be perfectly ready decorated with numerous random geometrical lines! I had the worst habit of stealing and eating the sweets prepared for the festival (Panchami) occasion. Knowing this, my aunt used to keep them at the highest place beyond my reach! Never discouraged by any odd circumstance or being the things beyond my reach, my friend in need was always ready to rise to the occasion. He used to bend, getting on his back the box used to be handled carefully and after removing a small part of it, normalcy restored. Nothing was beyond my reach. The next day when she found some contents missing, she used to be shocked! She couldn’t even think of foul play as it was beyond my reach!. Always extremely active, I rarely used to fall ill. Once I was very heavily suffering from cough & cold. She directed me to go into the Govt. hospital which was nearly 2 kms away. Walking such a long distance in the scorching sun, and consuming the bitter liquid medicine was beyond my imagination. I cooked up a plan. Played for an hour with my friends, and filled the bottle with some colored water in a soda shop. Presenting a tiresome look, I sat in a corner with a cup and sugar box to consume the medicine. I was being watched closely by my aunty from a distance! Pouring some medicine in a cup drank it fast. Later took a pinch of sugar to overcome the medicine’s bitter taste. My speed of consuming medicine turned her suspicion in to confirmation. She took the bottle and smelt it, and tasted! Her next actions are obvious! Though I was a bit destructive, I used to be first in my class in studies. Our class teacher had asked us to come to the school at night to study. After our supper, we all used to go to our school and after studies sleep there. I was a group leader assigned with the responsibility of making my group to get up early in the morning and study. All used to obey except one Kumbhakarna. Furious at his behavior, I took the lamp and held its glass against his back, which resulted in a burn and a large bubble on his back. Needless to explain the next day morning consequences! Gone were the childhood days, I had entered the college and was staying in a Brahmin hostel where strict traditional rituals had to be followed like performing “sandhyavandana’ after early morning bath. It was new to me. Observed a few times the performance of my colleagues and imitated their mutterings and sprinkling a few drops of water around. It went on for a few days. The lady cook was shrewd enough to catch me and warned against moistening of the surrounding unnecessarily, threatening to reveal my act to the convener of the hostel. Consequently, I learnt to perform it genuinely!
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 13:31:36 +0000
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