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Scene: A group of 5 boys aged about 8 to 12 years.
Circa 1974
Time: About 11 in the morning
Venue: G Zone – the triangular piece of land within the intersection of three roads...1. The perpendicular arterial road from the rear gate of the HAL hospital going down to H Zone, the primary vernacular school via G Zone, 2. The road adjacent to the Nursery (later the deer park) winding in to the G Zone to merge with the former, 3. The ‘blind-end’ road from the type IV quarters (that then housed the Tiwaris, the Singhs, the Sahas, the Madhava Rao’s, the Kadagatturs, the Heatons et al) converging into a kutcha path cutting across the ‘Hospital road’ and the ‘Nursery Road’…….(uff..! identifying the venue is good as writing an entire episode, wonder why the roads were never named in the township!....on the flip side this at least necessitates the need to rekindle one’s memory, thereby drawing interest from some of the named constituents!)
The smell of the rain-soaked earth after a bountiful downpour is typical of a hill region. I loiter barefoot around surveying the triangular piece of land. My olfactory nerves seemed to be overworking on my cerebellum so much so that my salivary glands adamantly reciprocates back to the brain. I stop short of picking up a handful from the ground, thanks to the prying eyes of Mahinder who just descends on the scene. Mahi is the unquestioned leader and a “proclaimed” dada of the mohalla. Mahi and I show up in front of G-125 and yell out for Madura Venu to join us. Venu, ignoring a frown from his mom, gladly jumps out of his verandah again ignoring his mom’s warning, “Orey donga, vellu..vellu..malli ikkada vachina tarvata champestanu". While Mahi enjoyed an unbridled freedom to roam around the neighbourhood like a sacred temple bull, I found it generally convenient to slip out noiselessly without anyone noticing at home. We then go further down the road in the direction of the nursery and stand in front of Ravi’s place like carol singers, pull him out and walk back. We soon meet Ashish, a thin lanky bhadralok neighbor, who pleads company for whatever the gang was planning to do.
The boys gang up and arrive at the scene. One could notices the boys trying to pound something to shreds on the flat ground, each of them religiously taking turns to decimate it using a sharp slender iron rod by flinging it on the damp surface. Drawing oneself closer to the boys, one notices that there is no specimen of any insect or any reptile for that matter. The boys, one after another, seemed to be merely trying to deeply embed the sharp weapon within a circle marked for the purpose into the ground with all their might. One of them, Venu, fails to secure a hold on the ground as the rod falls flat on the ground, much to his chagrin. The others in the gang yell out victoriously and rejoice by dancing around the poor guy whose face turns pale on the prospect of undergoing something not very pleasant. Venu, a short stocky boy of 9, nevertheless looked sporty enough to take up an unseen challenge.
Mahi, the well built and muscular 'Punjabi Puttar' instantly took charge, picked up the rod from the ground, looked menacingly at Venu, bullying him, “Ab ayega mazaa, dekthe raho…tu aaj ghar nahin lautega”. Venu: “Abe chal chal…mere paanv mein utna hi dam hai jitney tere haath mein”. Mahi now goes about his job seriously, pricking away with the rod into the earth as he walks mechanically in the direction of the OCC market. All others follow him hurriedly in awe, struggling to keep pace with him until they are confronted with a road running up to the sub post office. The gang advises him to take the footpath running to the post office to avoid the macadam road. But Mahi is not the one to step back…he first issues a stony glance at the gang then turns around, sets his sight on the sparse grassland across the width of the road, and takes aim. Hurling his body into the air, he releases the rod mid-air with all his might, falls about three feet short on the road, slightly injuring his knee in the process. But Lo and behold…the rod stuck deep into terra firma about two feet from the edge of the road at a saving gradient of 20 degrees from the surface. Hurrah!, exclaimed the gang, giving a well deserved pat to Mahi, who held his head high despite the injury. Mahi, now, brimming with over-confidence, speeds away his way to the road overlooking the K Zone. He stops here at the next obstacle, does a repeat of his earlier stunt…..but fails miserably this time!
The ferrous weapon landed on the road a little short of the footpath and pathetically rolled back bringing a couple of speeding cyclists to a sudden halt. They gave a strange look at the boys, gesturing warnings by waving their forefingers in air and cycled away.
Now Ravi, a sober guy of few words, picked up the relay rod, walked back to the edge of the road from where Mahi flung it, and took position. He surveyed the earth across the road, held the rod at its edge and unassumingly flung it across the road. Hey presto! The weapon stuck on the ground across the road like a javelin at a 45 degree angle from the surface. Shabbash Ravi….all of them jumped and yelled in chorus. Now Mahi was acutely embarrassed, but hid his emotions and instructed the boys to get going with the marathon. Nobody dare compare this feat with his long jump stunt for fear of being thrashed by the bully!
Ravi went about his work mechanically, much to the dismay and panic of Venu, worked along the nursery border, took a detour from OCC market and set his sights in the direction of the factory siding. But as luck would have it, he faltered in his next step, fell flat on the ground but not before releasing the rod. It rolled down after hitting a stone.
It is now my turn to work the baton away. Venu heaved a sigh of relief, now that the stalwarts of the game are out. I am not a known expert in the game nor had I a physique like Mahi to boast of. All the same, I trudged about 300 metres before I slipped on a marshy land with the baton being unable to secure ground in the process.
Ashish, a slim and lanky tailender, finally took charge of the relay. He sped away in the direction of the sukku railroad. Surprisingly, he emerged a dark horse as he worked his way professionally for a good distance. Worry was writ large in Venu’s countenance when he started to plead with Ashish to stop and declare! But Mahi intervened and refused to relent and ordered Ashish to carry on, all the while holding Venu by the scuff, lest he runs away! Finally Venu begs of Mahi to stop the process with tears welling up in his eyes! The noon siren then blows out from the distant Sunabeda HAL factory premises, signaling the obvious!
Mahi, after all, had a soft heart hidden within a tough and cantankerous outer demeanour. The leader calls off the onslaught finally at an approximate distance of a kilometer and a half from the “G Zone Capital”.
Venu now was faced the onerous challenge of literally hopping back all the way to the “Circle” whence the onward journey commenced. Embarking on the hop-trot, he initially covers a distance of about 300 metres before he tires himself out and pleads for a few minutes of rest. “ok”, says, Mahi, “but don’t ever dare to rest your other feet on the ground until we reach the game circle”. The poor victim meekly agrees.
After a few minutes, Venu is back on track, Mahi leading “responsibly” from the front and with the rest of the gang bringing up the rear. Shortly before reaching the “OCC market bend”, the burly husk of Mahinder panics all of a sudden and retraces his steps towards the gang!
The gang then looks above their shoulders across the landscape and are shocked! Venu’s dad is seen walking down hurriedly from the OCC (with his eldest daughter in tow). This is a surefire promise of a disaster looming large in front of the gang! This short elderly no-nonsense person soon accosts the gang. Seeing the plight of his only son, he swiftly delivers a resounding slap on Mahi’s face with a reprimand marked by the madrasi-telugu slang…”tum kya samjta apne ko..tumara baap ko bolke aisa peetega…tum gar ka bahar kabi neiy ayenga”. Then turning towards me, he warns in tamil (slang) “unga appa ta solliduvaan, nalla adi vaangi taruvaan” (meaning…will tell your dad and ensure that you are adequately beaten up by him). He seemed to be unaware of Ravi’s identity. Ashish hid behind some bushes well in advance and hence escaped the wrath of the aggrieved father.
Pulling away Venu, catching hold of his large locks, he is dragged away with intermittent slaps and kicks all the way back home!
Circa 1974
Time: About 11 in the morning
Venue: G Zone – the triangular piece of land within the intersection of three roads...1. The perpendicular arterial road from the rear gate of the HAL hospital going down to H Zone, the primary vernacular school via G Zone, 2. The road adjacent to the Nursery (later the deer park) winding in to the G Zone to merge with the former, 3. The ‘blind-end’ road from the type IV quarters (that then housed the Tiwaris, the Singhs, the Sahas, the Madhava Rao’s, the Kadagatturs, the Heatons et al) converging into a kutcha path cutting across the ‘Hospital road’ and the ‘Nursery Road’…….(uff..! identifying the venue is good as writing an entire episode, wonder why the roads were never named in the township!....on the flip side this at least necessitates the need to rekindle one’s memory, thereby drawing interest from some of the named constituents!)
The smell of the rain-soaked earth after a bountiful downpour is typical of a hill region. I loiter barefoot around surveying the triangular piece of land. My olfactory nerves seemed to be overworking on my cerebellum so much so that my salivary glands adamantly reciprocates back to the brain. I stop short of picking up a handful from the ground, thanks to the prying eyes of Mahinder who just descends on the scene. Mahi is the unquestioned leader and a “proclaimed” dada of the mohalla. Mahi and I show up in front of G-125 and yell out for Madura Venu to join us. Venu, ignoring a frown from his mom, gladly jumps out of his verandah again ignoring his mom’s warning, “Orey donga, vellu..vellu..malli ikkada vachina tarvata champestanu". While Mahi enjoyed an unbridled freedom to roam around the neighbourhood like a sacred temple bull, I found it generally convenient to slip out noiselessly without anyone noticing at home. We then go further down the road in the direction of the nursery and stand in front of Ravi’s place like carol singers, pull him out and walk back. We soon meet Ashish, a thin lanky bhadralok neighbor, who pleads company for whatever the gang was planning to do.
The boys gang up and arrive at the scene. One could notices the boys trying to pound something to shreds on the flat ground, each of them religiously taking turns to decimate it using a sharp slender iron rod by flinging it on the damp surface. Drawing oneself closer to the boys, one notices that there is no specimen of any insect or any reptile for that matter. The boys, one after another, seemed to be merely trying to deeply embed the sharp weapon within a circle marked for the purpose into the ground with all their might. One of them, Venu, fails to secure a hold on the ground as the rod falls flat on the ground, much to his chagrin. The others in the gang yell out victoriously and rejoice by dancing around the poor guy whose face turns pale on the prospect of undergoing something not very pleasant. Venu, a short stocky boy of 9, nevertheless looked sporty enough to take up an unseen challenge.
Mahi, the well built and muscular 'Punjabi Puttar' instantly took charge, picked up the rod from the ground, looked menacingly at Venu, bullying him, “Ab ayega mazaa, dekthe raho…tu aaj ghar nahin lautega”. Venu: “Abe chal chal…mere paanv mein utna hi dam hai jitney tere haath mein”. Mahi now goes about his job seriously, pricking away with the rod into the earth as he walks mechanically in the direction of the OCC market. All others follow him hurriedly in awe, struggling to keep pace with him until they are confronted with a road running up to the sub post office. The gang advises him to take the footpath running to the post office to avoid the macadam road. But Mahi is not the one to step back…he first issues a stony glance at the gang then turns around, sets his sight on the sparse grassland across the width of the road, and takes aim. Hurling his body into the air, he releases the rod mid-air with all his might, falls about three feet short on the road, slightly injuring his knee in the process. But Lo and behold…the rod stuck deep into terra firma about two feet from the edge of the road at a saving gradient of 20 degrees from the surface. Hurrah!, exclaimed the gang, giving a well deserved pat to Mahi, who held his head high despite the injury. Mahi, now, brimming with over-confidence, speeds away his way to the road overlooking the K Zone. He stops here at the next obstacle, does a repeat of his earlier stunt…..but fails miserably this time!
The ferrous weapon landed on the road a little short of the footpath and pathetically rolled back bringing a couple of speeding cyclists to a sudden halt. They gave a strange look at the boys, gesturing warnings by waving their forefingers in air and cycled away.
Now Ravi, a sober guy of few words, picked up the relay rod, walked back to the edge of the road from where Mahi flung it, and took position. He surveyed the earth across the road, held the rod at its edge and unassumingly flung it across the road. Hey presto! The weapon stuck on the ground across the road like a javelin at a 45 degree angle from the surface. Shabbash Ravi….all of them jumped and yelled in chorus. Now Mahi was acutely embarrassed, but hid his emotions and instructed the boys to get going with the marathon. Nobody dare compare this feat with his long jump stunt for fear of being thrashed by the bully!
Ravi went about his work mechanically, much to the dismay and panic of Venu, worked along the nursery border, took a detour from OCC market and set his sights in the direction of the factory siding. But as luck would have it, he faltered in his next step, fell flat on the ground but not before releasing the rod. It rolled down after hitting a stone.
It is now my turn to work the baton away. Venu heaved a sigh of relief, now that the stalwarts of the game are out. I am not a known expert in the game nor had I a physique like Mahi to boast of. All the same, I trudged about 300 metres before I slipped on a marshy land with the baton being unable to secure ground in the process.
Ashish, a slim and lanky tailender, finally took charge of the relay. He sped away in the direction of the sukku railroad. Surprisingly, he emerged a dark horse as he worked his way professionally for a good distance. Worry was writ large in Venu’s countenance when he started to plead with Ashish to stop and declare! But Mahi intervened and refused to relent and ordered Ashish to carry on, all the while holding Venu by the scuff, lest he runs away! Finally Venu begs of Mahi to stop the process with tears welling up in his eyes! The noon siren then blows out from the distant Sunabeda HAL factory premises, signaling the obvious!
Mahi, after all, had a soft heart hidden within a tough and cantankerous outer demeanour. The leader calls off the onslaught finally at an approximate distance of a kilometer and a half from the “G Zone Capital”.
Venu now was faced the onerous challenge of literally hopping back all the way to the “Circle” whence the onward journey commenced. Embarking on the hop-trot, he initially covers a distance of about 300 metres before he tires himself out and pleads for a few minutes of rest. “ok”, says, Mahi, “but don’t ever dare to rest your other feet on the ground until we reach the game circle”. The poor victim meekly agrees.
After a few minutes, Venu is back on track, Mahi leading “responsibly” from the front and with the rest of the gang bringing up the rear. Shortly before reaching the “OCC market bend”, the burly husk of Mahinder panics all of a sudden and retraces his steps towards the gang!
The gang then looks above their shoulders across the landscape and are shocked! Venu’s dad is seen walking down hurriedly from the OCC (with his eldest daughter in tow). This is a surefire promise of a disaster looming large in front of the gang! This short elderly no-nonsense person soon accosts the gang. Seeing the plight of his only son, he swiftly delivers a resounding slap on Mahi’s face with a reprimand marked by the madrasi-telugu slang…”tum kya samjta apne ko..tumara baap ko bolke aisa peetega…tum gar ka bahar kabi neiy ayenga”. Then turning towards me, he warns in tamil (slang) “unga appa ta solliduvaan, nalla adi vaangi taruvaan” (meaning…will tell your dad and ensure that you are adequately beaten up by him). He seemed to be unaware of Ravi’s identity. Ashish hid behind some bushes well in advance and hence escaped the wrath of the aggrieved father.
Pulling away Venu, catching hold of his large locks, he is dragged away with intermittent slaps and kicks all the way back home!
