Like many of you, I have got some beautiful memories of my childhood in my then homeland(I'm a typical HYDERABADI now).
Born in the land popularly termed as the "GOD's own country", my life's journey began amidst picturesque landscape as our house stood on the banks of the River Periyar, densely surrounded by coconut trees, Areca nut trees, plantains and all kind of trees and bushes. Greenary all around, I enjoyed every beat of nature's music. Its a feel I thoroughly miss today. In our backyard, one could spot a good variety of fauna.To name a few, bees,crickets,centipedes,snails,frogs,scorpions and snakes occasionally by the river side, birds like cuckoos,sparrows,crows(they're common), a few unknown species(unknown to me). There were little squirrels with their tri-stroked backs, chirping as they jumped around the trees, it was a treat to watch them play.
The house had a beautiful PEACOCK gate augmented with creepers. The creepers had violet flowers blooming every morning with the rising sun. The flowers, I remember my mom telling me, were called the 'Morning Glory' and indeed they were gloriously beautiful. There were a wide variety of hibiscuses, poppies,bougainvillea and bunches of tiny red flowers(donno what they are called...). The days were pleasantly beautiful, but the nights were queer and frightening. The surroundings plunged into complete darkness.
Even during the daytime, I was never allowed to go backyard, unless someone accompanied me ( you can guess why...). Occassionally we went to the river for a bath. The flowing water has lots of fishes, ever ready to tickle you skin with their slippery fins, as you take a dip. Being pure veggies, I never got a chance to don the angler's cap. The water level rose and fell will the tides and the monsoon. The monsoons brought a lot of self growing white mushrooms(Guess they are always white...) sheltering the frogs, I used to think of them as frog's umbrella. Thorny pineapple bushes grew out of nowhere and I feared nearing them. The leaves of wild potatoes gathered water droplets that looked as if they were pearls.
My favourite pass time then was to swing along the peacock gate, to and fro, until someone came running after me with a stick. If not that, I were busy aiming crows. (I'm sure I never hit one). My mom used to grow pumpkins and a kind of peas, for which she made a cubic support with stick and wooden tweaks. One of my childhood achievements was to destroy that, with dried coconuts as my football and the wooden structure, my goal post (This time, I was bang on target...hi hi hi). Cricket was played with tiny coconuts, pecked down by birds... and bats made out of coconut pattas( trunks that held the leaves together). The only other sport I then knew was tennis.(Still longing to get a hand on it...)
Well..well..well....Seems like blogs are turning books... Let me conclude to prevent that...
My stint in the nature's lap extended no longer that my first six years on this planet. Time turned a page which landed me here...And a new JOURNEY began...........
