It caresses like a gentle breeze, But like a raging tempest it uproots too. Unannounced it appears and enraptures you, Sometimes cradling you like fragile porcelain, And sometimes puncturing your core with its menacing harrow. It brings sunshine, poetry, songs and beauty one day, And on another, leaves you desolate in loneliness, longing, misery and pain. It overwhelmes and overpowers, A potent melange! It is enchanting, illuminating, eluding and beguiling. And whether you rise in it or fall, is obscure! But LOVE it is and love alone… That gives all, Takes all, Makes all, and Breaks all…
The other day I was having selroti and tea. Selroti, as the name suggests is a type of a ring shaped sweet roti that we make during special occassions. When we were kids, it was made only during Diwali and we had a fun way of eating it. We used to break it into two, dip one end of one part in tea and suck the tea from the other end… like a straw!
That day while I was eating it, I remembered this and several other things that we did as children. While I was at it, I thought it would be great to go down memory lane, revisit my childhood and write about those things.
So here are some of those ‘crazy’ things we did:
– We got new clothes once a year, only for Dasai(Duserrha) and the day we got them, we used to go around the neighborhood proudly showing it to our friends and their families. 😅
– The boy gang(with Daju, my elder bro as their leader) used to dig up pits on empty land, put thorny branches and thorny leaves inside, cover them neatly and lure the kids there. You can imagine what happend next. I have been lured and have put my foot in those pits multiple times… sooo cruel of them.😕
– Whenever we felt like eating anything that was not regularly made in our homes in those days we used to collect money (Rs.25 each) from all our friends and organize a quick picnic. I don’t think there is any spot in my neighbourhood where we haven’t picnicked in. We had multiple ‘tin fish sandwich’ picnics in our childhood.😋
– Nandidi, my youngest elder sister (the one who made the selrotis up there) and I used to eat Dalda… yes, you read it right… the vanaspati ghee. Spoonfulls, right out of the dabba and into our mouths. When I think of it now… ewwwww!!!😬
Pic: Google images
– We used to play ‘Chitrahaar chittha.’ Those of you who don’t belong to that age, Chitrahaar was a Hindi Movies song show on Doordarshan, aired every Wednesday at 8p.m. We used to go around collecting money and distributing chitthas(with song names written) on Wednesday evenings. If anyone got lucky and their song got featured that night, they won.🤑
– During Football World Cups or the Olympics, amidst the massive sports fever, the whole neighborhood used to go for morning walks. Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, boys, girls, children, dogs, cats, everyone would be on the road around 4:30a.m, walk for 2kms and return home.😁
– We used to catch tadpoles from streams and put them(one each) in jars filled with water and wait for them to grow into frogs… they never did!🙄
– When I wasn’t big enough to play with older kids, sandidi (my middle elder sister; I have three) used to go to play, with me tied on her back with a shawl. Also, she used to take me to her school sometimes and keep me under the desk. Only when there was no teacher, I could come out. This whole thing is really weird. Firstly, it is odd that our folks allowed her to take me to school and second, I was a toddler but still stayed under the desk without any tantrum.🙃
– Now this one must have been a common favourite and everyone must’ve done it. We used to put our fingers into gold fingers (finger chips) and eat them one by one.😊
🤩
– We used to travel to town in shared taxis, we still do! Those days there used to be Land Rovers at the syndicate. Three passengers used to sit in the front seat and sometimes we had to sit next to the driver. The gear between our legs (I will leave the rest to your imagination) and the driver’s elbow hitting our chest every now and then, we sat for 3kms. I cannot imagine this happening now and what people would make of it. Back then it didn’t bother anyone… not at all! It was just a way of life.😀
– We used to go to see road accidents, esp. where lorries and other vehicles would have rolled down the hills. The entire neighbourhood turned up at the spot. That may not be as weird but we once went to see a man hanging from a tree (suicide), when I was probably in Grade IV. I still remember the sight vividly. I wonder why no one objected to children seeing such things.🤦♀️
– We used to play a game called ‘khopda’ with cigerette pack covers. To get that, nandidi and I used to walk along the railway track and pick up packs from everywhere, even drains and gutters, get ’em home, wash ’em, dry ’em by placing ’em on the lid of a big dish where water was boiled and then made ’em ready to be used for khopda.😛
– Sometimes during our exams, nandidi and I used to make coffee to stay awake to do late night studying, drink the coffee at 9p.m. and sleep.🤭
– Thuldidi, my eldest elder sister used to read in bed every night. She used to sit up against the pillow and prop up her kness. Since I shared her bed, I used to climb on her knees to reach the bookshelf on the wall against the bed. Now you would think that this is normal and I got down after picking a book. No! I used to stand on her knees, one hand holding the shelf for support and read Tinkle. She used to be so engrossed that she wouldn’t even notice how many times I fell off and then climbed back again. This was my everyday night time ritual until I got a room in Grade VII.🙆♀️
– Daju did body building for a few years. He was really enthusiastic about it and even took part in professional contests. Sometimes he used to do squat press with me. I mean I was his barbell and he used to lift me right up.😳
Imagine me instead of the barbell (Pic: Google images)
– I find this one very funny. We used to play ‘Tarzan.’ For some reason, there was only one Tarzan on a given day. I don’t remember how we chose but the chosen one used to hang from tree branches or other places and shout, ‘aw haw aw haw haw haw aw’… while the rest watched the stunt in fascination.😆
– Now the weirdest of all. During school holidays, we used to leave the house around 9 a.m. after early lunch and return only for dinner. God knows where we went and why no one was worried. In today’s context… it is OMG!😱
That was my list of some funny, silly, scary, creative and weird things that we did in my childhood. Do you remember anything like this from yours? Do share your experiences in the comments. Would love to read them.
The three of us stood there in awe looking at the grandeur, majesty, artistry and intricacy of the ancient structure sprawling in front of us and a uniform expression escaped our lips… Aaaaambowooooo!*
My elder bro is in town and we are on an ‘ancient temple visit’ spree but unlike most people, our interest lies not in the religious but in the architectural aspect.
The Chennakeshava Temple in Belur, Karnataka is one of the many temples believed to have been built by the Hoysala Empire kings in different parts of their kingdom over centuries.
The beauty, symmetry, precision, accuracy and finish of the temple is mind-boggling and it exudes a peculiar rustic charm.
The stone carvings in the exterior are sophisticated, intricate and mysterious to an extent… literally out of this world! There is hardly any empty space in the facade. There are carvings in every nook and corner, in places where it’s impossible to even push a pencil through.
The stone pillars inside the temple are magnificent. They gleam like they are made of some metal. The precision and symmetry of the vertical and horizontal rows on them is incredible. We watched them with our mouths agape and the same expression breaking out… Aaaambowoooo!
The ceiling again is abstrusely carved. I have always wondered how the sculptors shielded their eyes while facing up to carve. After all it was the ancient times and on a lighter note, I don’t think history has records of anyone wearing goggles or face-shields then.
That at the centre is a chandeliar around two feet long… everything stone and carved
In the past, my bro and we (husband, kids and I) have made some trips to visit monuments like Hampi, Ajanta and Ellora and several temples around Bangalore. Whenever I see these ancient structures, a thousand questions arise in my mind. But I don’t know if I can find an answer to even one of these…
– Why did they build such inexplicable structures in the first place and what do they actually signify? – Who designed them? – Who would have had that kind of time and patience? – Were they made somewhere and transported and assembled at the site or were they built on site… and in both cases, how? (The Kailasha Temple, Cave 16, Ellora, is believed to be a megalith). – What gadgets or instruments (since I am referring to bygone ages) did they use to build the structures and then carve on them like a sketch on paper? (It would be ardous for a sketch artist to beat that finesse by the way). – What kind of strength and skill did the people have to work with boulders/monoliths of those proportions? – Where did the debris go (especially in the case of The Kailasha Temple)? – How are the structures so symmetrical, precise and flawless? – How many people worked on these and for how long?
… and many more.
I am sure every person who looks at these structures with an eye apart from that of devotion will surely ask these questions as no new-age technology can construct anything even close. It is evident in the repair/restoration work that has been carried out in certain parts of every monument. They are chuckle worthy! And like the monuments, the blue prints must have had been carved on stone to be able to withstand the changing climatic conditions through centuries. How else can you build something that takes so long?(History says that the Chennakeshava Temple took over a 100 years to be completed).
As a culture we blindly believe what is told to us as our ability to question is impaired. Moreover, faith is blind too, so that aspect takes away the inquisitiveness altogether. My bro says that we either rubbish or worship things that we don’t understand, no questions asked… true that!
But I still have this question. How and who on earth built these baffling, elaborate and complicated structures? Could there be a possibility that the ‘who’ were not from this earth?
I certainly believe there is room for this speculation… What about you?
☆~~~~☆
*Aaaaambowooooo – an expression in my mother-tongue that somewhat means OMG!
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