School vacations ignites childhood memories @ Brindavan Soc.

School vacations have begun. We are planning to spend the summer in Dubai, but I still took a trip down memory lane.

School vacations in India were something else. More so in our time; these days, kids vacations are somewhat different. More clinical if you understand what I mean. Mostly playing with gadgets or travelling to ‘phoren’ lands.

Could be that the housing society which was my home during my childhood, was unique. Some great people lived there (most still do, but others like me are settled all over the world.) And growing up in “Brindavan Society” I think was the best part of childhood.

The chikoo and mango trees, the slides and see-saws, and how many remember the handle bars behind the club house? The club house cum office was also used for Exercise (Oh I still have the abs I worked up there, I hide them under the fat…J) and how can I forget the table tennis games. Cyrus used to play me with his left hand and still win. I think he should have tried for the Olympics.

Dabba eise pyse, marbles, and the amazing Dracula stories that I and my bro used to tell. We loved to scare with these stories, but I guess we did not come close to the horror one feels when you reach for your pocket and don’t feel your phone there… LOL

And then comes the sports day. Slow cycling was my favourite. And ‘Baldeet chendu takne’ (throwing the ball in the bucket). And was it Deepali or have I got the name wrong, she used to win the Skipping championship.

Vacations meant jogging and cycling with my buddy Salil. We used to wake up pretty early, wear our shorts and sneakers and go jogging around the neighbourhood. As we entered college, we expanded that to going to a Gym somewhere in Jogeshwari.

The cricket matches in the society were just awesome too. Well they come a little down-hill in my memory lane, only becoz I wasn’t that good at cricket. I enjoyed Hockey and Football. Those were fun. Especially playing in the rains, sliding in the mud to make that winning goal.

Although all the people in my childhood are stars in their own way, one of them happens to be a Bollywood star today. He lived in Jumbo Darshan, a society opposite ours. My school friend Smarty used to stay there. And I used to play with his gang too. One of them was John Abraham, a very polite and well-mannered boy; he had these cute dimples which made his smile quite striking. His father was in the gulf, and he had some of the best toys. We used to borrow his tennis rackets and play in the parking. Even in those days he had the best bike in the neighbourhood. A BMX bicycle.

Festivals were fully enjoyed with lots of energy, Holi and Diwali were the noisiest. Satyanarayan pooja brought in a flavour of spirituality whilst Eid meant shirkhumma at home.

Sankranti would be enjoyed with lots of fun, with ‘tilgul gya godh godh bola’ (eat a sweet and speak sweet always)

Many more memories than can be captured in a blog article, I wish my kids could have also grown up there and known the same great families that I grew up with.

But life moves on, and I hope years later when their kids are on vacation, they will also get nostalgic and remember their childhood with the same pleasure like me.

Hey readers, do share your own vacation/growing up memories, especially those of you who grew up with me.

Let’s keep the conversation rolling…

Shabbir Bandukwala

www.GoMadinc.com/ShabbirBandukwala