By the time, reached Dehradun, half of the school life was done, I don't have much to share from first half expect, changing school and places every couple on years.
It was a moment, to arrive in Dehradun, amazed at it's beauty smelling of freedom. It's of course mustnot have been like as it once was and covered by various previous admirer. It's was still hot there, once could manage with a fan. It was green, our rented accommodation would have trees, and almost most of houses had some patch with few trees.
On other side, I was thrown in a new world, students who seemed to be good their work and busy in their semi cosmopolitan life. I was tough to match both of them, but I being and outsider, I wasn't able to follow much about their world issues, but I for sure started to explore mine. So this bunking started with bunking evening cricket match or playing time to roam rounds and cycle the up and down the roads of Dehradun.
In a year or so, the town start too take over than its people and friends, and the started as stealing some time in evening became a full time hobby. Some time a day would start early with end up late, just to have a extented bunking session. It's was mix of everything, exploring town, hills around, sitting near river side, watching movies, making new friends, altercations, and sometime just plane bunking, and sometime spending time in cannaught place or a shop which used to rent out books, I still remember the location however neither name of place or person running it. I don't remember, I of my school friend who might have matched the record in this, though most of them sincere good kids in their own nice world. But I was mostly either dazed or intimidated, finally lost in the parralell world, with friends from across schools and town, it became a cricuit, team up, plan, chill, and repeat. I wish now, we had Facebook at that time or some other medium to know how are those co conspirators doing. Barely remember names, it's seems like another life.
I still remember vividly, first one bunk, people became aware of, I was almost 50 away at Dakpathar, small hill town on bank Yamuna with a small dam. And first explanation i had, was being in physics project. Talking of physics, the teacher of physics and English, at school made it their life mission, to collect information about these bunks and appropriately awards me for the same. However, after being cross hair with English teacher, Mrs Chettri, it become more of friendship, she would always ask what and why am up being a jacka#@. Asking something to measure length and breath of town.
In retrospect, I think, bunking was great escape from the semincosmopolitan world of doon and not able to sink in the disaspora around myself. At same time, it kept me connected to nature and people, then TV and class room competition. However, after initial couple of years of experience, the excitement went away and it become just going out and explore, and reading filled up the vacuum created by rest of the activities. It gave important life lessons, valuing friendships, blocking enemies :p, being in sync with nature of oneself within and outside. Also memories of long lost friends, their borrowed bikes, regular trips to Massouri and bruises.
And here I am now, grown of travelling too, cobbling up my perspectives in words daily.
No comments:
Post a Comment