#TrueStory I was in either in first or second standard I guess, when it happened. It was monsoon time, but clouds were making us wait for some rain. It was a hot and humid evening but being a kid full of energy, I was pleading my mother to let me go out and play cricket with my friends. But she wasn’t paying any heed to my request. “Mom I want to go out and play with Adil!” I said. “Go ask your father!” she said while making some tea in the kitchen. I barefoot ran towards my father, who was sitting in the narrow street outside our main gate, trying to fix his old Bajaj scooter. “Papa, I want to go out and play, but mummy is not letting me!” I said as he was trying to kick start the scooter. It didn’t start, so he bended and removed the cowl of the engine to observe it with an eye of an engineer. Just about then, our neighbor, Khan uncle came riding on his new Vespa scooter and put it on stand in front of his house. “Rathore ji, it’s high time that you sell this old scooter and buy a new one!” Khan Uncle chuckled as he removed his helmet. My dad didn’t respond to him and Khan Uncle walked into his house with a grin on his face. I thought my dad didn’t hear me, so I asked again, “Papa, I want to go out and…” “Don’t eat my head, get away from here! Can’t you see I am busy!” he shouted. “But she is not giving me my slippers! She has kept them on the top of the cooler and I can’t reach it,” I tried to reason with him. I could see the drops of sweat gathering on his forehead, and I realized the weather was getting on his nerves now so I ran away from him before he could grab me. I came back to my mom with only one aim, to eat her brains out. “Mummy, give me my slippers na, my friends would be waiting for me! I’m their captain you see, if I don’t go then Adil will get to be the captain! Mummy please give me my slippers na!” I cried. My mother never liked my friend Adil, as Adil’s mother was always the cause of nuisance to my mother’s social life in our colony. She would often ask me not to go to their home or play with Adil, but my 6 year old brain never gave in to her reasoning. Finally after 10 minutes of bellyaching, her patience gave up and she shouted,” Go play if you could find your slippers!” She pretended to slap me, but I ran away again. I admit I was a little too much to handle when I was a kid. Soon, she got busy in the kitchen again while dad was busy in fixing the scooter outside. In the adjoining room my 4 years old sister was peacefully sleeping; despite the desert cooler positioned next to the grilled window, which was making a lot of noise as it was turned on without water. Dad had taken off its covers as well due to humidity. I wasn’t tall enough to reach the top of the cooler and pick up my slippers myself. We didn’t have any chair in those days which I could drag in front of the cooler. Dad used to park the scooter just next to cooler, and I use to climb up on it to reach the cooler at times. But right now, even that was not available. I was wondering how to reach the top and pick up my slippers, when I saw the grills on the window. I realized I could climb up using them. I was of mind that I was very good climber at that time, so I stealthily began to climb up on that grill. The cooler was running with its covers open and I was aware that it can shred me down in no time if I got too close. I took utmost care that I remain out of its blades’ reach. I was nearly on the top and I could see my slippers while dangling from the window grill. I extended my hands to pick them up, and began to climb down in rush. I was so full of enthusiasm that I forgot that I needed to climb down with care as well. As soon as I began to come down, I don’t know how or when my left foot got caught in the sharp blades of the running cooler and within seconds my screams surpassed the noise of cooler or of my dad’s scooter. I fell down on the ground and saw the whole adjacent wall was painted with my blood. My foot was bleeding profusely and I was squirming in pain. I only have bits of memory about what happened next. I saw my father rushing towards me and taking me in his arms. My mother was crying as she watched me bleed, my sister was weeping as I’d disturbed her sleep. Then I saw Khan Uncle coming towards me and then I passed out. I gain senses after few minutes again and I began to cry. I was in Khan Uncle’s lap, who was sitting pillion on his Vespa scooter and my father was driving it to the nearest doctor available. He tried to console me and wiped my tears but soon I became unconscious again.Then I once wake up when doctor was stitching my cut and after seeing so much blood, I again passed out. Then I woke up in my house, it must be around 7pm. I was lying in the bed and the first thing I saw after waking up was the same cooler standing there, staring at me. “Do you need anything my child?” Khan Uncle said and twitched my cheeks. “He only needs some discipline! It had not happened if he was not troubling her mother to go out and play! Now play all your cricket in this bed for next 4 weeks!” dad said, staring at me. Ashamed, I looked away at my left foot, luckily none of my fingers had suffered major cut. “Doctor said that your prince was very lucky!” I overheard my father saying this to my mother or I should better say criticizing her for not keeping a proper eye on me. “Don’t worry Rathore ji, God has been kind, Rohan didn’t suffer any major injury!” Khan Uncle said. Dad took a deep breath and controlled his urge to shout. “I know Khan sahib, and I want to thank you for helping us on time. Oh I almost forgot, today is your festival right? Eid-Mubarak!” dad said. “Eid-mubarak to you and your family too Rathore ji, May Allah bless us all!” Khan Uncle said. Later, Khan Uncle sent Adil to visit me along with sweets and Sewaiyan that night and he told me that they didn’t play that day as I their self-acclaimed “captain” didn’t show up; everybody prayed for my well-being instead. This is the fondest memory I have from my childhood, and while I carry deep scars of cuts on my left foot today, I will never forget the sweetness I felt in my heart that day. Eid-Mubarak to all! #seekerohan
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:47:53 +0000
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