Parking his cycle he tried to sneak into his
class line at the morning assembly unnoticed, and hoped no one would notice
him, for he is not the tallest, to stand at the back. He would come somewhere
between Ashish and Gangadhar, and of course there was an unsettled quarrel
between him and Aparna, on which of them is taller.
Sister Vinitha, his class teacher, saw all
this and Ravi being her favorite student was torn between admonishing him and
remaining silent. She caught his eye and rased one of her eyebrows which
clearly meant this is the last warning. Ravi gave a barely noticeable nod,
which meant I swear I'd never be late again.
Except for a couple of Ravi's friends no one
noticed this exchange of warnings and apologies, for all of them are still
trying their voices at the prayer song lazily, while the more lazier bunch were
just moving their lips giving an impression of singing.
Their nascent minds still lingering in the
fair their family had gone to over the weekend, that awesome roundabout, the
pink cotton candy; and the Scooby Doo show that morning, which was granted after
so many protests and pleadings with mom, “I can watch the show and still can
get ready in time, please ma.”
These implorations were a daily happening,
each hoping the other would eventually get used to it. Kids hoping their
mothers would realize how important the show is to them, mothers hoping their
kids would come out of it so that they can get them ready to school in time for
school bus / rickshaw. But neither of their hopes seem to be fulfilled, ever.
----O----
Once inside, sharing his bench with
Sireesha, Ravi brought out his pencil and gave it a contemptuous look. He hoped
that he can use a pen that year, but to his utter melancholy they were told
that students of grades one, two, and three are only to use pencil. The crest
fallen Ravi counted on his fingers and said to himself, “that's three more
years of waiting to write with a pen.”
His only consolation was the thought that
his brother, elder to him by two years, would also not be allowed to use a pen
yet, somehow this news seemed to lessen his grief. But then with a shock he had
realized his brother was born in the first half of the year and he in the
second half of the year, making the difference in their academic years three.
So his brother was in fourth grade, and sure
enough their dad has gifted him a nice Parker pen for a new and auspicious
beginning. All this came to his mind whenever Ravi brought out his pencil from
his bag.
Just two years and 10 months more, he
whispered to himself. He whispered something in Siri’s ears and she left for a
back bench when the sister was not watching. And upon the cue Rakesh came and
occupied the place. Best friends.
They talked in suppressed tones.
“So did you catch the winged horses?” Ravi
asked Rakesh.
“I tried, but they are very fast.”
“No, you are just being lazy, that's all.”
A little incensed Rakesh said, “Then why
don't you catch yourselves?”
“You know why.”
Sure enough Rakesh knows why. Ravi hated
insects, though actually he feared them, he would never admit that he was
afraid of anything.
There were these little thorny trees near
their school, beside the big banyan tree. Those thorny trees had no fruits, and
do they flower? No one was sure. Their sole purpose seemed to provide shelter
for some queer looking insect sorta things that colonized only on those trees.
Everyone knew as a fact that those grew into winged horses if properly fed and
cared for. Those trees were always crowded with boys and few tomboyish girls of
lower grades, usually in their initial years of primary school.
Did anyone ever succeed in feeding one
properly and making a beautiful winged horse from those? No one was sure, but
when asked almost everyone said with a strong certainty that he / she knew a
certain someone near their house who actually groomed one, but alas, in the
end, all their enchanting narratives ended with the horse being flown away as
soon as they sprouted big enough wings.
And to have their own winged horses and
proudly showcase it to all others, Ravi and Rakesh decided to catch one, feed
it and groom it.
“Tomorrow you’re going to catch one, at any
cost, ok? Or else I’ll, Dishkyoon,” he said, making a killing gesture with his
finger gun.
Thanx bro for sharing ur memories. I want u to share more of ur memories from our school days. It means a lot to me.
ReplyDeleteWow to this nostalgic feeling
ReplyDeleteeagerly waiting for the third part