Friday, December 19, 2008

A Walk down the memory lane..

  • I was 12 years old, maybe. It was pouring cats and dogs. I had an exam to write that day in school. My auto-walah (the guy who picked me up from home and dropped me off to school) didn't turn up. I was anxious. I was tensed. And then my hero, my dad came into the living room and scooped me up in his arms and carried me all the way to the main road from our house which was located somewhere in the interiors. I huddled close to him, hugging him tightly all the time. He was wearing his rain coat and gum boots and was busy protecting me from the rain. He was knee deep in water and he still continued carrying me with a vigor that is visible only when you are a father. Struggling and fighting with the rain, we reached the main road. He hailed an auto and dropped me off at the school. I reached just in time..
  • I must have been 14-15 years old. There used to be a vegetable seller who would put his vegetable cart in our society. He had covered it with tarpaulin one afternoon and gone somewhere for a nap. My friend and I, lifted up the tarpaulin and stole some money from the cart. It was the vegetable vendor's hard earned money. Something that he had earned after roaming on the streets under the scorching sun, trying to sell vegetables. And we did the ghastly act of putting that money in our pockets. I could not live with that guilt. The next day, I summed up all the courage I had and went and confessed in front of my mother. I went down upon my knees and cried like a baby. I begged and pleaded for her forgiveness, because no one is more important in my life than my mother and father. Her forgiveness was the most important thing in the world. And she did. She forgave me. And I vowed to stick to honesty for the rest of my life...
As a child, I have millions of moments which taught me important lessons on every step I took. My first bicycle, my first prize on the stage, the look of pride in my parents eyes when they saw me perform on the stage for the first time, the times when I used to play cricket like a carefree bird with all the boys and girls of my colony, the times when I wouldn't be bothered by any complications that life has to offer me today..
These incidents in my childhood, shaped me into the person that I am today. Whether good or bad, it doesn't matter because my beautiful childhood taught me something everyday. How I wish I could go back to those days when trivial issues became huge matters and huge matters seemed trivial. That was the time when you knew that no matter how bad your day had been, you had a wonderful home to go to. A place where your family was waiting with open arms to make you forget all the pain prevailing outside...

1 comment:

Sejal Wani said...

Hey baby we all have amazing childhood stories !!!! Now we have grown up and left our parents very far... Reading your story even I remembered my story, even I had stolen money from my mom's purse to buy smiley erasiers...
I regrated the whole night and told her the truth next morning...
She smiled and said "beta sachu kahi didhu ne atle tane hu punish nathi karti.." She tought me the lesson " Never lie" that day...