Friday, November 17, 2006

Geo the brat!

Ok. Quills the princess has ordered me to write about my childhood :) Its called ‘The Wonder Years Tag’. The tag is to list 8-10 things that you liked as a child (0-12 years) and 8-10 things you disliked. I don’t remember too much about my childhood, guess I am getting old. Just some vague images flashing…


1. When I think about the happy times of my childhood, the best memory I have is about a Christmas Eve night journey. I was very young. All my dad’s siblings and their families gather together at my ancestral home for all the major occasions. So this time, for some reason I couldn’t reach my ancestral home until the day before xmas (I don’t remember the reason now). All my cousins were enjoying there. My dad’s youngest bro came to pick me up late in the evening, and that night journey to my ancestral home, where all my relatives were waiting for me, all the houses on both sides of the road decorated with stars and lightings, all the people on the roads and junctions celebrating xmas… that journey was too good. One of the best memories I have about my childhood.

2. The next thing that comes to my mind is about the time I have enjoyed on play grounds. As a kid, I (and my friends) used to play cricket in the rubber plantations, football in paddy fields (after harvest), shuttle in our courtyard and then a lot of other simpler games. We used to play till our moms practically dragged us in.

3. Theres a somewhat big water stream near my place. Its not as big as a river, but it still had enough and more adventures packed for us kids, especially during monsoon. We used to spend hours and hours there taking bath, swimming, diving, and fishing with our towels etc.

4. Daytime was entirely dedicated to games or water sports :_) When I was doing neither, I was cycling. I used to go cycling through the inner roads, ‘inventing’ a new route whenever possible. Used to enjoy those cycle rides through the countryside.

5. I remember the school annual celebrations. It used to be so much fun. All of us participating in something or the other… Me being the shameless exhibitionist I am, I used to be part of as many events as I could. I still remember those dramas with painted faces, skits etc… One added advantage was the prizes and cash awards which we used to get on the annual day.

6. In line with what I have written as point 1, the time I have spent with my family is truly priceless. The thing that I miss most these days. Whenever we all are together, it’s a real festival.



Now the things that I dislike.

1. First and foremost – Sunday school :_) Used to have endless negotiations with my mom to arrive at treaties where by I was to attend one, and then bunk the next two and so on :_). The threat that they wont let us marry if we don’t pass 10th grade catechism was the only factor which motivated me to drag myself in ;_) (Looking back, I should be proud that I was very clear about my priorities in life from a very young age ;)

2. I used to hate it when we were forced by the school authorities to attend ‘first Friday’ prayers, retreats or any such religious activities.

Cant think of anything else. I don’t remember hating any specific food items, or studies or anything like that. I don’t even regret having a lot of ‘street fights’ ‘school fights’ (corrected after Venus's exclamation) with my class mates. That too was fun. I think I really enjoyed most of the other things about my childhood.

11 comments:

quills said...

Thanks so much for taking this tag up. :) Lovely Sat morning read too.

I can almost picture your Christmas eve journey. Glimmers of light breaking through the dense rubber plantations, as you travel, like fireflies, lit sky ...ok getting carried away here.:) But I get the picture. Christmases with family..nothing to beat that. I totally agree.

Games..all the usual suspects like shuttle, policum kalanum, seven tiles, cricket..what fun!! And some of my most memorable holiday memories are summer vacations at my dad's ancestral home, playing in the river, trying to catch those tiny fishes with a "thorthu" and all. And as a kid during those visits, one of my favorite pasttimes was to watch the "vettukaran" take the rubber milk from the trees, transfering it into aluminium trays (i attempted once but could never get it right :( )and then running it through the machine to make the sheets.

It is so wonderful to look back and relive those precious and fun memories.

Oh and one more thing..impressive how you had your priorities right from such an early age. ;) Hats off to you my friend!! :)

Mind Curry said...

hello g..you have deliberately abstained from mentioning two more childhood memories or what?

i think fishing was (is too) so much fun..those tiny ones..what are they called..manatthu kannu or something right..with a whitish spot on their head..

cool one man.

venus said...

Geo, the brat!
you, and street fights!
unbelievable! :)

water sports, cycling... where is your this passion now dude?

hope and love said...

my son was bunking the sunday school.. we came to know it when he didnt get his certificate .
happy know that boys like that grow up to be smart fellas like geo
:))

-Poison- said...

u dont like religious stuff!
:)
good!

Anonymous said...

എന്നെ കണ്ടുവൊ ഇവിടെ വന്നപ്പൊ? ശരിക്കും?
ഞാന്‍ തടിച്ചിട്ടൊന്നുമല്ലാല്ലൊ..പക്ഷെ മെലിഞ്ഞിട്ടുമല്ല. ഞാന്‍ ദേ പിന്നേം പോയി വെയിറ്റ് നോക്കീ.....ഇനി സ്കെയിലെങ്ങാനും പൊട്ടിപോയതാണൊ ഈശ്വരാ? :(
- ഇത് ഞാനാ

Sujith said...

dey, did u totally ignored this blog of urs?

venus said...

it's the update time dude!

Anonymous said...

wat happnd been a long tme?waitng forward for te nxt one.

Anonymous said...

hey u planng to chk into ur blog anytme??missng te blog

shelly said...

I am getting to know u better through these blogs... u dnt look as naughty as u sound in ur blogs...
gr8 blogs, i really enjoyed all
This is my fav but :)