Crazy Mind, Beautiful Life

Some days every kid likes to be grownup, they never likes to be kids, they try to act like grownup. Other funny part of life is when we grownup and beaten up enough by life want to stay as kids!!!. Probably, if grownup had an option to go back in life and be a kid none of them want to be grownup again! I feel the life from age ten to nineteen is that one everybody want to be. You know what is around you but some one else there to take care of you(I felt fortunate to be in this group of kids, because I do know some kids unfortunately don’t have this luxury also).

My parents made us to know what we were better off compare to some other kids who don’t have parents. My dad studied only 4th STD but he has seen enough life, He is well educated himself, even though he is not graduated.  He speak and under stand English, Hindi, Kannada. He spoke Malayalam, Tamil, and a bit of Telugu. He also spoke well Konkani with his mother tongue of two types of Tulu(they are different from each other person speak and understand one can’t understand and speak the other!!).

My mother studied 5th STD(one more than my dad as always she proudly announce her self!!). But she cant speak or understand English or Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam or Konkani. she can understand Hindi but cant speak. Her biggest concern even today is she can’t speak or write English. I am proud of her because she has that vision that English is a global language and all girls should learn English, only by learning English girls can be equal to boys!!!!!!. She made sure that her girls learn English and every girl come in her influence does the same!!. She always said to me marry any girl I don’t care which cast or religion she is from but she should be able to write read and speak English!!. She always told my sister as well ‘My life is wasted because I don’t know ABCD’

I always wondered my parents, even though they didn’t had good education they made sure that we had that. My oldest sister didn’t want to continue her education after her higher secondary, she was interested in craft works so my mom gave her an option of learning the same. She married early in her life. My second sister was good in study (better than me!!!!) so my mom want her to learn as much as she can.

I was 1st in study in the class till the 3rd STD. I feel I was started attracted towards the extracurricular activities at that time. I started dreaming I wanted to be an astronomer!. Shivaram Karanth(Gyana Peeta award winning Kannada writer) influenced me around the same time to be a writer!! I wanted to act!!!, I wanted to be a bus owner, I wanted to be a carpenter etc. I wanted to be a different one in every day. I started thinking why should I be the first in the class?!!

All the time I was in my dream world. I read for my exams only on the examination day morning and the day I got my progress report!!!! we had a class exam every month so after the each exam we had a progress report which need to be signed by parents and returned to the class teacher. From the 1st place I slipped to  3rd or the 4th place in 4th STD

So it was a sad day every time I get my press report!. My routine during school days use to be, get up morning around 6am and do some work at home like washing cows, some help of mom in the kitchen(not always), taking the cows to the ground, or some paddy work, then take bath and finish my daily prayers and ready to go to school by 9am. Then leave to school and reach the school by 9:15am I will be in school and 9:30 school starts. 12:30 noon back to home finish lunch and back in the school for 2pm and finish the school by 4:30pm reach home by 5 pm and finish the home work and go to play by 6pm. A strange thing we(me and 2 of my cousins who was in my class)  use to do those days is we use to run home from the school, we use to have competition to reach home first!!. I never figured out why!!!. I never studied everyday. Finish playing at the ground and come home by 7:30pm and finish my daily prayers and sit with my sisters and sing bhajans. If I had to do some work at the paddy then no play go to paddy after the school home works.

As I mentioned before I was a only boy of my age at the time near my house which made me some times introvert. I was funny and very active but somewhere inside me I love to be silent some times. I was looking for a leader with out my knowledge. A person whom I can believe, a person whom I can talk with, a person whom pass all his wealth of knowledge!!!!! And I found him!! He was Govinda!!!.

Reflections 2

The years use to be a long ones when we were kids. It was proud moments when we had more than one text book in 3rd STD, got promotion to pencil and note book from slate (but still slate was the main note book till 5th STD!!). But still had only bench to sit and write! We were waiting to be in 5th STD to have desk to write and a little compartment to keep our things underneath the desk. It was in the 3rd STD 2 of my cousins joined me in the same school and same class!!(One of them followed me till I finish my BSc.!!).

My dad was the only bread earner at home, lots of works at home to do he use to get up early in the morning and leave home by 6:30am and back only after 5pm. He use to ride his bicycle till udupi and then take a buss provided by his employer to manipal. I never remember him using bus for transport. He never let me touch his bicycle.

I still remember 2 of my favourite things at home were one of a tin box (my drums) which I always use to play (making sure dad is not around !!!) and a wooden plate made of a packing box had 3 metal wires fit it to it (was my guitar!!!!). I had lot of liking for music and writing at that time. I always dream to be a musician who writs. Another thing which I liked was a big bag which had all my playing things in it. I still remember I use to keep it out side the cattle's hut on a platform. When the first rain come I use to run and same my bag from rain it may be in the day or night I use to run for it like I had kept million pound in it and drag it in to the hut!!!!!. I had all my self made toys in it we never had the luxury of buying the toys from shop those days. I use to make lots of toys by myself I use to make my toy buses and trucks using the tonic bottle boxes and the rubber cork of the injection bottles!. I used every bit of wastages and created some thing out of it to play!!. I had lots of screws, nuts, wire pieces, nails etc in my bag. Lots of times when my dad needed nails I supplied him from my bag!!!!.

I loved sports, we use to have a heap of sand always by the side of our backyard. I use to do long jump and high jump on it by hiding from dad again. If he see me jumping on the sand heap he gathered he would beat me because by playing on them they scatter all over the place. I use to play and make the heap again and vacate the place before dad come home!!!. My mother always scold me but never cared even she beat me I never bothered about it much!!!!. I use to make my cricket bat with the coconut plant or pam tree branches!! Because I was the only boy near my house, I sue to collect lots of small stones and throw them in the air and hit them with my self made bat!! It use to be purely one man show I was the bats man, bowler, commentator and use to imagine playing in Lords with full of posh British spectators who just clap for a boundary or a wicket and pin drop silence after that!!!!!. I use to bowel at a plant, with stones thinking that it was wicket!!!!. It was hard to get wickets because I never new where my bowl will swing to because of their shape!!!!!!

In the evenings after finishing all the home work from the school and home work I had the chance to go and play in the ground. Because I we were leaving very close to the ground I had lots of chance to play cricket and volleyball.

In the 3rd STD first time in my life I had the chance to act in the drama. That was my another dream. I had a lead role in a drama as Beerbal (King Akbar’s friend). It was a great hit. I found one thing that I had nervousness before going in to the stage once I get in I am the boss I don’t have any problems. I still love to perform on the stage.

Around the time I was in 3rd STD once I wanted to learn the Tabla (Kind of indian drums). I put my request to mom which was rejected! I never had dare to speak to dad, I went on a hunger strike for one after noon my mom wont budge. I know my parents never had that much money, but it was one of those childish instincts after reading Gandhi’s hunger strikes!!!!!

We never had electricity at home till I was in 7th STD. It was such a fun 3 kids sitting under one kerosene lamp and read the books. In the rainy season we had a routine that we had to read one chapter of Ramayana, Mahabharatha everyday loudly so that all the member of family can sit and hear!! We three kids a time table that one person read each day!! I still miss those days, out side heavy thunder shower with lighting in side spiritual journey. All kids has to go to bed by 8:30pm get up by 5am. All home works should be finished in the evening, only reading in the morning.

I still love to go home in the rainy season and sit at home watching the rain drops bubbling and spilling the water when the bubble breaks. I would happily watch them sitting by the edge of the roof for hours. I some times think those bubbles represents lots of our dreams!!!           

Reflections1

Mind is full of footprints,  some are clear some are not, some of them are ready to erase needs a brush up once a while to keep them fresh because we relish them. Some we want to brush off because we don’t like them there because they caused pain, but all of them will be there faded or bold. I feel we need them to be there and call them experience. With out them we may do the same mistakes again.

I never been to pre school. I had been in my grand parents house(My mothers parents) for most of my pre school days then my father decided to stop all his business ventures and lead a normal life!!! He moved to kuthpady his parents house. That was the time he moved us also from punaroor to kuthpady.

After the marriage my parents were together for a while in different parts of Karnataka and my father doing the hotel business. My mother seen the good and worst time with my father.

When we moved to Kuthpady I didn’t know what school is my eldest sister was in 8th STD next sister was in 7th STD and I wasn’t in any!!!! So on the first day of the school I still remember my dad came with his brother(Sadu uncle) to the school and filled some forms and they asked me to go to the 1st STD and someone gave me some space on the wooden bench, I kept my bag with the slate and one Kannada book and sat there I saw my dad and uncle leaving the school with eye filled with tears. I think I would have run behind them but I was so scared of both of them.

Kuthpady aided higher primary school was a village school with 7th class. My second sister was in the same school in the 7th SDT. She came around to see me in the class between her classes I was still with tears. My teacher told her to sit with me for a while because this was the first time I was ever away from the home. In the afternoon my sister took me to home for lunch after the lunch I don’t want to go back to school. My sister told Sadu uncle  he just looked at me I picked up my stuff and on my way to school. I was so angry with my sister I didn’t spoke to her on the way just cried.

We had Kamala teacher as our class teacher(She was the teacher to my dad as well!!!!) She was a old lady but lots a enthusiasm to teach and she had two wooden rulers to beat students! She want to beat the students but she don’t want them to get hurt. She use to hold them together and beat the students which gives a big noise but little pain. We use to think she was hitting hard but later on when we get beaten by other teachers with one rulers we realise Kamala teacher was better!!

Recently someone asked me that can you remember the names of the teachers names. I was surprised by that questions I do and I can very well recognise them if they come in front of me and the incidents in the school as well.

I do remember very well in the school days I never had a full slate always my slate use to be a broken!!. Three things lacking in my school days were full slate!, slippers!! and bum part of my school shorts!!! I did sincerely tried to have them but in my remembrance I never had them in  a stretch for more than a month!!. Till the 3rd STD there was no practice of having foot wear after that when my dad bought me one with cheap quality I use to drag my feet when I am walking so the later part of the slipper use to get torn off !!!. We had a cement sliding at the school and I love to playing in that, new shorts, slide in the slider one slide torn off then no bum part. Couple of times my sisters stich them for me then they also got fed up!!!!

I loved to have umbrella but my dad would not let me have one because he thought I would get wet more in umbrella. So he use to get me rain coat. I think I had a feeling that rain coat was for kids only but I am not the one!!!!!

We have an Ayurvedic College on our way to the school. I use to watch all these students with thick books and dream about owning a thick book one day. We had one book for 1st STD(Kannada)!, 2 for 2nd STD (Kannada and Maths) plus maths tables book!!, 4 for 3rd STD(Kannada, Maths, Science, Social studies)!!!

2nd Standard I had lots of friends. I always had lots of stories to tell when I came back form for school I always love to tell stories. My mom never discouraged me even though my sisters did.

Our 2nd STD teacher and 3rd STD teacher had a love affair we never know what was that in those days. Our 2nd STD teacher use to give me or one of my friend a small piece of folded paper to give it to the 3rd STD teacher and we use to take it to the 3rd STD and give it to the teacher there and back to the class. Later another boy form that class use to bring a letter back. For us it was just a fun. Later on when I was in the 3rd STD once our teacher was very upset and 2nd STD teacher didn’t come to the school for weeks me and my friends prayed god please god let the 2nd STD teacher come to the school and let out teacher be happy. We have a temple in front of the school and we offered offerings to the god as well!!! After couple of weeks when the 2nd STD teacher came back she was married and our teacher was very upset and he left the school for couple of days. One way we were very happy that till he come back no class and nice fun. If the head master didn’t come to the school then it is festival for us!!!

When our teacher came back he took a transfer from our school to other school. He was a very nice teacher we all cried because he was leaving us. Those were so emotional days and no barriers for the emotions.

We had a poem call ‘Govina Kathe’ (story of a cow) in our curriculum in the 3rd STD. Whole of the class together recite it loudly.  It is a beautiful poem which explains the honesty of a cow. A cow(Punyakoti) faces a tiger and tiger want to eat because of hunger but cow want to see her son once before the death so she requests the tiger to leave to see her son once and whenshe comes back he can eat her. After a bit of negotiation  tiger leave the cow to go and have a last visit of her calf. When calf realises that his mother is going back to eaten by the tiger he start crying and the cow try to console the son, at this part of the poem most of us start cry in the middle of the recitation.Those days we really thought the story is true.