I like what I do..whatever I do

Well, the title may seem a little odd, but look deep into it and there is much more than what you can just read. Still don't get it? I have a short story that will explain this.

While I was a quiet kid, I was also quite a kid. I had excessive energy in me that I had to let out in different forms. Sometimes, the excessive energy got my parents annoyed and I'd land up in trouble. One day after coming back from school, I think I used the excessive energy to jump all over the house in the afternoon. Dad got damn annoyed and locked me in the bathroom for unruly conduct. Now, I hated being locked in bathrooms. It was just not my thing. Most of the times I would cry and beg to come out promising that I won't do any mischief again. But for some reason, that particular day, I just didn't feel like doing it. I was just not in the mood to cry. So as soon as I was thrown into the bathroom, I looked around to see what I can do here. I looked at the toothpastes, the toothbrushes, the soap, the shampoo and the lot. And then it happened. I had a brilliant idea. I decided I will wash my socks. 

After about half an hour of no crying and pleading from the bathroom, I think dad got curious as to what I am upto and decided to check on me. What he saw when he opened the bathroom door was definitely not what he had expected. Here I was, washing my socks, with lux soap..happy, content..with no sign of remorse over all the jumping that I had been doing. In fact I remember washing my socks vigorously like it was some competition. My dad couldn't help but laugh. I was called in. I did go back, though only after I finished washing my socks.

Mom, dad and di often recalled this and we would have a good laugh over it. However when I think of it today, I feel the incident was more than just a little kid washing his socks to pass his time. It was about not being bogged down by the situation and making the most of whatever you have in hand. It was a natural instinct for me. There was no point in complaining. There is no point complaining. There is not point in screaming and shouting, pleading to get out of the bathroom. You will get out when the time is right. Meanwhile, the best that you can do is have fun with what you have. 

So the next time the lights go out at your house, instead of complaining you can't watch TV, pick up a book and read it. Instead of complaining that you aren't in the right school or college, look for what is right in the school or college.

Next time you complain or crib, don't. You don't have to. Every situation is the same, you make it good or bad. The next time you get locked in a bathroom..look around, you might just find something interesting.

boots & berets: Sarkanda

boots & berets: Sarkanda: "After finishing his tenure in Jabalpur dad got posted to Jalandhar (Suranasi). So as usual we had to pack all our stuff, dump it in a truck ..."

boots & berets: did u hear anything?

boots & berets: did u hear anything?: "I thought I should write my blog on something close to my heart. And then I thought what better than the experiences I got being an army kid..."

Sarkanda

After finishing his tenure in Jabalpur dad got posted to Jalandhar (Suranasi). So as usual we had to pack all our stuff, dump it in a truck and move to Punjab. I can’t remember the number of times we have shifted from one house to another. But that’s a different story altogether. I took admission in K.V Suranasi into my first standard. I hated attending classes right from the time I was a kid. So one day I got up in the morning and told ma I have a stomach pain. Ma was, and still is, so gullible that she would say “take rest don’t go for classes today”, and it was followed by more pampering during the day. 
So after spending the morning watching cartoons and playing with my G.I Joe I was out of ideas to pass my time and was feeling a little bored. Ma had just finished puja and after lighting the agarbattis she kept the match box on the dining table. Now, just a day back, while waiting for the bus after school, I saw this uncle on the road do an awesome trick with the matches. I really wanted to try it. I took the matches and went out. I tried the trick a couple of times but it just wasn’t working, I had to flick the matchstick placed in between my index finger and the match box, but with my little fingers I just couldn’t keep a good grip on the matchbox for long. So I was moving around trying the trick when finally it worked. 
By that time I had strayed away from my house and gone near my neighbours. My neighbour had this fence made of thin bamboo sticks called ‘sarkanda’ (tall dry grass growing wildly in Punjab which looks like thin bamboo sticks). So as soon as the matchstick flicked out of my hand it flew and landed on one of the bamboo sticks. It quickly caught fire and started spreading. My instinct was to blow it away but that only helped it to spread more rapidly. And then the unthinkable happened. A whole section of the fence caught fire. I didn’t know what to do so I went back my house straight to the bathroom and filled a mug of water. I came out and splashed it on the fence. Then I thought the mug is too small, so I went to the kitchen and filled a patila instead. My sister was watching TV in the drawing room when she saw her little brother going out with a patila filled with water and coming back in to repeat the same process. She asked me what I was upto and I said “didi jaldi aa Raina aunty ki fence mein aag lag gayi hai!”. Di couldn’t believe what I had just told her but the sweetheart that she was she helped me splash water on the burning fence but that hardly made any difference. She was such a sweetheart that she happily went and complained to ma. Ma found out and took a back flip when she saw the whole fence burnt to ashes.
Fortunately Major Raina and family had gone out of station for vacations. When they returned they were shocked to see that they didn’t have a fence anymore. Mrs Raina came over and told ma “hai Mrs Deb, is bar toh itni garmi padi humari puri fence jal ke rakh ho gayi”, ma was quick to respond “haan Mrs Raina aap bachcho ko dhoop mein ghoomne mat dena loo lag sakti hai”. Kudos ma, what rocking improvisation.. :) 

did u hear anything?

I thought I should write my blog on something close to my heart. And then I thought what better than the experiences I got being an army kid. I spent my childhood looking at dad in olive green uniform with brass stars shining on his shoulders. There’s a lot I’ve learnt - thanks to his sheer presence and the environment that army provides and I’d like to share some of these with you.


My dad joined IMA (Indian Military Academy) in ’77 as a Direct Entry cadet. He got commissioned in ‘78 into the Army Ordnance Corps. I was born 10 years later in the city of Ludhiana where dad was posted. After spending my initial years in Ludhiana dad got posted to CMM Jabalpur (College of Materials Management).
Now, since it’s my first post I'm starting on a lighter note
So here it goes..
As I began to comprehend my surroundings I think my experiences as an army kid grew. We lived in a double storey block with four houses in it, two on each side. We lived on the first floor. As a kid I used to jump around like crazy. Jumping from the sofa to the dinning table and back to the sofa was my favourite pass time. And mum and dad would get really mad since a senior officer lived downstairs and they didn’t want my jumping to disturb him. 


Yet, as a kid I wondered how this ‘jumping around’ could penetrate all the way through the floor and reach his ear drums. Also, I was curious as to what intensity of jumping would actually disturb him. One day I decided to check it out for myself. I began jumping and slowly increased the intensity. As I reached my peak I wondered why there was no response from below. So I ran downstairs and rang the bell at Colonel KP Singh’s house at 3 in the afternoon. This was the time he used to get back from office, eat food and take rest. He stood six feet two inches tall (and I was barely at his knees being merely three feet nothing at the age of three) and when he opened the door he didn’t see anything. Just as he was about to close the door he looked down and saw this little boy staring up at him with a quizzical look. He asked why I was at his door at this hour and I replied, “Good Afternoon Uncle, did you hear anything?” He said, “No” and burst out into laughter when he realised what I was asking. He called me inside and offered salted kaju. I ate all the kaju and felt quite happy that uncle was not angry. 


Colonel KP Singh told the incident to my parents over tea that day and I was really scared I would get a bad scolding. Ironically mum and dad didn’t say anything this time, instead mum gave me a kiss and dad picked me up on his shoulders.