CHILDHOOD DAYS
A piece of chalk which strangely decided to go ballistic in a classroom strikes the nose of Mr. Allen, a newly recruited teacher. It takes him precious seconds to recover by which time the perpetrator composes himself and merges with the sombre appearances of the fellow students.
'Who is this bloody brat!' bellows Mr. Allen, trying to salvage the last vestiges of his dignity in front of the deathly quiet, but inwardly giggling bunch of no do-gooders.
'If no one owns up, I won't take the class,' promises Mr. Allen.
There is a feigned expression of guilt on every face but no one would mind Mr. Allen keeping to his promise. Very few wanted to listen to his boring History lessons and the select few who did, could not afford to cause grief to the Three Musketeers, a dreaded trio, studying in the same Class.
'Three Musketeers' was the title adopted by the trio and aptly summed up the taut alliance between its three members: Simmy, Rusky and Jamie. Simmy, the leader of the rogue gang did not have any nickname. Rusky and Jamie were the nicknames of Ruskin and James. They had been classmates since kindergarten in a fairly reputed school in Dehradun. Keeping the reputation of the school intact was the last thing on their minds, whenever they were unleashing the full range of their dare devilry, which was quite often.
All the three had been marked down for their deviant behavior and they would have been readily chucked out of the school by successive Principals, with none of the teachers cringing in disapproval, but for the accolades brought to the school by all the three in various sports. In fact the school had won the Inter-School Sporting competitions in Dehradun for many years running, mainly because of the brilliance of these three.
All of them were great runners and Simmy was a wizard at badminton. People often wondered as to how these rogues could tame their streaks of indiscipline and perform so well, while participating in athletic events. But then, strange are the ways of life.
Ingenious efforts were made to break the gang. Sentences like...' Simmy, you are a nice girl, they are rascally boys'..... 'Do you want to grow up to be wild animals?'.....'You are so good, they are spoiling your future'.....were thrown at them. Alas all these weakly thrown words of wisdom cut no ice with the gang members, least of all causing fission in the group. There was a strong bond between the three of them which no ordinary mortal could shake.
One fine day when they were in Class Seven ( by a strange coincidence, barring a year or two, they studied in the same sections throughout their school days... perhaps the power at the helm decided that it was better for rotten mangoes to be kept in isolation to prevent their rottenness from spreading and causing more harm) a new Arts teacher, Suman Ghosh, joined the Class. And she was exquisitely pretty!!
The whole class was smitten by Suman, none more than Rusky, much to the chagrin of Simmy who did not know how to repair her badly smitten soldier. Rusky issued open threats that he would end his life if he did not get to meet the lady of his dreams and that too... in private!!!
Simmy was alarmed! Finally she decided to go direct and approached Ms Suman with the life and death problem of her friend. Surprisingly the ever smiling teacher was sympathetic to the cause and agreed to grant a private audience to her most ardent admirer in the Teachers' Room. And the meeting materialized as per plan one day. Simmy heaved a huge sigh of relief and out of sheer curiosity watched the proceedings of this strange rendezvous, from outside the room.
But what was this! A most comic scene was unfolding inside. A befuddled and tongue tied Rusky was unable to even raise his eyes to the level of Suman's face and instead spent his entire dating session watching the floor. Ms Suman tried her level best to make her juvenile lover utter a word or two; but in vain. Rusky always remained the butt of the jokes of his other two group members because of this misadventure.
Time passed for the trio in fun and frolic, for the next few years, till an unforeseen turn of events put a sudden brake on it.
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THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS
Simmy's family, though not very rich, was fairly well off. They ran a very busy bakery shop near the railway station at Dehradun, with another outlet in Mussoorie. Both of the shops did good business. As the only child of the family, Simmy was pampered by her parents, Vinita and Ranjit. She adored her mother, Vinita, who was a real beauty, all slim and lithe, unlike her father, who was short and stocky.
Her father was overtly fond of her mother to the point of spoiling her. Simmy and her mother were the two focal points in his life. Simmy's mother used to spend a lot of money in makeup kits and fashionable clothes and would always crib for more. Ranjit would of course waste no time in complying with her demands. Much as Simmy adored her mother, this aspect of hers, irritated her thoroughly. She would have preferred her soft spoken father to stand up for his dignity, at least for once.
And then something untoward happened. One day, her mother left their home and moved in with a Major, freshly retired from the Army. They started living in a different part of Dehradun. Understandably this came as a real shocker to Simmy.
Soon, skeletons started tumbling out of the cupboard. Her mother seemed to know this man from some time in her past .
Simmy was crestfallen at this most deplorable action on the part of her mother. Her vulnerable teenage mind was shattered. She felt that her mother had badly betrayed the trust of both her father and her. But the feeling of betrayal was only the tip of the iceberg. She now had to contend with the fact that the students of her class took great pleasure in poking fun at her.
Dehradun is an average sized city, with its inhabitants having conservative mindsets, as hilly folks are wont to have. Simmy always felt that she was being ridiculed by everyone, including her friends. Fifteen is a very tender age and at that age one is bound to be overly sensitive. Simmy's case was no different. Both Rusky and Jamie, tried their level best, to assuage her grief. Between the two of them, Jamie was the graver one, more capable of giving solace to her. But the wound was way too deep beyond any consolation. Simmy even confided in Jamie that she wished that her mother were dead!!
Her father had also changed overnight. Gone was the cheerful nature and charming ways. Simmy often found him sitting alone in his room, staring at the walls, with a dead pan expression on his face. This continued for a few days. One evening over dinner, Simmy's father turned towards her and said that her uncle living in Delhi had offered to get her admitted in a good school over there, with boarding facilities. If she agreed, he would ask him to do the needful. Simmy readily accepted the offer. Life here had become very suffocating for her, and she could do with a change.
Time moved on........
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A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS
It's a bright and sunny morning with the flora swaying and dancing, in all their resplendent glory, to the tune of the gentle breeze. The insects are buzzing around with an extra zing in their flight. In the midst of it all, lies a grassy path, in which a garden snail, sporting pointy and probing tentacles and having a dark brown, artistically patterned shell, riding on its back, is gliding about, without a care in the world. The strong muscular foot, which aided as it is, by the mucous produced by the gastropod, enables it to move in successive waves of muscular contractions.
Suddenly a stray dog crosses the path of the snail and all hell breaks loose. The tentacles and the mouth of the snail retract with amazing speed. So does the belly and the muscular base; into the calciferous shell. The shell is the ultimate refuge for the snail, its safe haven.
'Simmy !! Oh God! Not again!' A shrill piercing war cry knocks Simmy off from her reverie, from her snaily world and her eyes meet the glowering gaze of her boss, boring right through her, while she lay slumped at her desk. She has to admit, this is not a one off incident. During the past six months, she had often zoned out during working hours, ever since she joined her current job, in a reputed MNC. She shrugs her shoulders in the direction of her boss. The gesture is partly in apology, but mostly a promise, not to repeat the lapse. After all, she couldn't blame her boss. He has risen from the ranks through strict discipline in his work, and such lapses in workplace were not tolerated by him.
Besides, she could never fathom the reason, why she had picked up this habit of day dreaming, of late. This was a new problem with her. She had always been a sharp and agile person, through all her academic years. And the very thought that snails had become the focal point of her dreams, was puzzling, to say the least! Even keeping in mind that right since her childhood days, she loved to watch snails while they glided about, and also poked sticks or pebbles near the snails' radar like tentacles which made them quirkily withdraw into their shells; full time preoccupation with them, was unwarranted.
Simmy got up to fill a cup of coffee from the dispensing machine and moved towards the large window of her tenth floor office. There was a good view of the Central Park, over the metro station, with a huge national flag fluttering, at one corner of it. The park was surrounded by the magnificent Indira Gandhi Chowk, erstwhile Connaught Place, a memorable legacy, left behind by the British. She was proud of her swanky office. The pay though not much to gloat about, was not bad, especially for a starter. All in all, life had healed to a large extent the hurt caused to her in the distant past.
Not that she was the type of person who dwell in the past. She had never visited Dehradun after shifting to Delhi, though she communicated occasionally with her father and more often with Jamie, who had grown up into a grave young man and was now looking after his father's garments shop, on the Mall Road, in Mussoorie. He used to render her good advice whenever she used to seek the same from him, always being careful to evade any references to the events in the past. Through Jamie, Simmy also came to know that Rusky had become quite a playboy in Dehradun, and had had a string of affairs. At least he was luckier with other ladies than with Ms Suman! In his spare time, Rusky helped his father in his family's hotel business.
Simmy decided that it was high time that she broke her vow about not visiting her home place ever again. On the contrary the fresh air of the hills would do her no harm. She applied for leave from her office which her boss okay-ed at once. He knew, she needed it. She booked her ticket to Dehradun, by train.
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THE RETURN TO THE ROOTS
Simmy's journey to Dehradun was uneventful, but pleasant.
The sight of her father at the station was so mellowing for her!
'My daughter seems to have become a grown up lady; where are the chubby cheeks?' quipped her father, 'No good pastry shops in Delhi, eh?'
'Just work, Pa,'replied Simmy, 'After all, this is my first job.'
'True. I have booked a hotel for you near Kalsang Restaurant in Mussoorie,' said her father with a wink.
Both of them had a weakness for the delicious Oriental food being served at that joint, located at one corner of the Mussoorie Mall road.
'Cheer up beta. And get rid of these dark circles under the eyes,'remarked her father with a touch of concern, 'You don't get your nine hour sleep, any longer?'
'Have mercy Papa. I am lucky if I get five hours of sleep everyday,' thought Simmy, but she didn't voice her thought. No point in upsetting her father.
Simmy and her father reached the taxi stand near the station and hired a taxi for Mussoorie. As per plan, Simmy would go to Mussoorie first for a few days and then return to stay with her father at Dehradun.
The drive from Dehradun to Mussoorie is a visual treat for any human being. The hills overlapping into one another and towering over everyone, tends to dwarf a person, thereby deflating their vanity. Even those residing in these parts can never claim to be too familiar with them. For mountains tend to hide secrets inside their folds.
Simmy wished that she could find her answers here. She had called Jamie earlier. Jamie the man with all the answers, would perhaps help her get out of this hole as well. She reached the Hotel booked by her father and was pleasantly surprised to find Jamie loitering about in the lobby. He had lost oodles of weight which he carried during his schooldays, and now looked slim and propah. His good taste in clothes reflected in the lovely jacket and matching jeans that he wore.
Simmy wasted no time in changing her clothes into something warmer and hitting the road. The fresh air and the all too familiar sights caused a torrent of emotions to gush over her. On seeing the Gun Hill, she remembered how the Three Musketeers had set a record timing for their school, by clambering up the Mall to the Gun Hill, a good four hundred feet uphill. The sight of Lal Tibba, filled her with awe, as it did then. As the two of them were strolling down the Mall Road, they crossed one of the many overhanging balcony like enclosed spaces, each having a panoramic view of the valley beneath.
They then reached the very enclosure where one special anecdote close to her heart, had happened, years ago. For it was here that she had received the first kiss in her life.... from Jamie!!
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One sunny day during her school days, while Jamie and Simmy were walking down the Mall after having an apple pie from Simmy's bakery shop, both of them sat down at one of those iron chairs fixed in the balcony. There were seemingly no one else in the enclosure, when all of a sudden, Jamie swept her in his arms and gave her a deep and lingering kiss. Though caught by surprise at first, Simmy warmed up to tingling sensations of pleasure expected to happen to any untouched girl of her age. Time stood still for the young lovers. It was the fear of being seen by others, which put an awkward brake on their small romantic liaison. Simmy had silently cursed the two onlookers, who had newly arrived in the enclosure and were gaping at them, their mouths wide open. They had changed their line of vision, from the lovely scenes in the valley to the more exciting rendezvous by the two lovers.
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REALIZATION DAWNS
Simmy looked all around her. The sheer beauty of the place and the memories associated with it was overwhelming. Why was this place to blame for the grudges that she carried? Had she not been as insensitive as her mother by not caring about the hurt that she caused to the people around her. Simmy sat down on a chair and broke into uncontrollable sobs. Jamie let her vent her emotions. After some time, he tenderly placed his hand on her shoulders to comfort her. Simmy composed herself.
Jamie felt the time was ripe to tell her what he had been feeling all along. In a low voice, he said, 'I am sorry for all that you have gone through, for no fault of yours. But these are the ways of destiny.'
After a brief pause, he added, 'I am proud of the way in which you have handled it all. You have always been a fighter and you have proved it.'
Simmy came to know from him that after she had gone to Delhi, her father used to meet both Rusky and Jamie at school, during lunch hours, and give them freshly baked cakes from his bakery, to be distributed among the classmates. He relived the times spent with his daughter through them. And Jamie could feel in her father's gestures, how badly he missed Simmy. Though her father was not responsible for her mother's actions, he strangely blamed himself for it.
Jamie never talked about Simmy's mother. He knew Simmy had no interest in knowing about her at this stage.
The ice having been broken, they recalled the numerous pranks that they had done in school. The clouds of melancholy had lifted and given way to the unadulterated laughter of yore. Both wished that Rusky were here to share all this. Jamie had a hunch that the crazy guy must be chasing a skirt right now, but this was wishful thinking. After all Rusky had also grown up to be a responsible young person like them.
After a long period of mirth filled time, Jamie put on a slightly serious air and said, 'Do you know, I have also given a lot of thought to your dreams about snails.'
Simmy was all ears.
Jamie went on, 'For a snail, its shell is its haven, its feel safe place, into which it withdraws, whenever it feels threatened by an outside force. In its shell, it finds immunity from all the threats in this world. But since it cannot remain in the shell forever; after all, it has to forage for food; it carries the shell on its back, to be used as a transportable refuge, whenever it is faced with threats. Even for you, Simmy, the beautiful memories that you have enjoyed in life, are your safe haven, akin to the shell of the snail. You carry these memories with you and whenever you are exposed to any adverse situation in life, you retreat into this shell of sweet memories. They are your insurance against bad times. Hence your recurrent thoughts about SNAILS!!'
Jamie gave her a serious look, but couldn't carry on the pretense. Both of them burst out laughing at the far fetched logic.
And then Jamie received the second kiss from the lady of his life! Only this kiss lingered a lot longer than the first one!
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