Mes Souvernirs

Today, early in the morning I was walking clumsily to my bus stop with the wind blowing considerately hard at my face. I love rains and there were all signs of a light drizzle.
Well, from what I can remember, I was longing for yet another picnic and this time, a longer one (at least more than yesterday’s 2. 5 hours picnic). You see, my bus stop is only 2-3 minutes from my house, on foot. So, naturally, I could only long for another picnic until when I was overwhelmed by a feeling stronger than the most powerful nostalgia that confiscated me from the forlorn road to my childhood days.
I talk of a time around 1994-95 when I was in nursery and kindergarten. Yes, I remember those days and I’m proud of that. Besides, my long-term memory of such things is really good.
Each morning, my dad would dress me up and pack my bag and then wait with me for my school van to come. Yes, my dad cause I never let my mom do all this for me at that time…I guess, I was too scared of her…now, of course times have changed and once scary mother has now become one of my best friends but still not better than my dad…I guess, will never and can never (mom if u r reading this then… then all I can say is that I mean it).

Now, coming back to the cause of my experiencing the feeling, which was though, most amazing yet disturbing. Well, you see I had been noticing this little girl standing with her mother in my previous school – St. Thomas’ dress, for quite some time now. This made me wonder why my previous school had changed the timings for the little angels, still too small to get up at a time as early as six o’clock.
Today, I saw her stepping into the van. I knew, in an instant that it was the same van by which I had traveled and the driver was my same Somnath bhaiya who used to lift me and put me in the seat. I have a lot of memories of that van. I saw the driver’s seat door open, once, in which my left hand ring finger had been fractured. I saw those seats, in which, while jumping, I had sung all my nursery rhymes and perhaps, narrated my newly learnt counting and spellings of words.
Life is so weird. I mean when you least expecting something, it comes up with surprising stuff as it did today. I’m glad I remember my childhood and I can relate to the people, who were once part of my life.
I stood there for a long while, wondering the importance of memories, importance of childhood and the joys and sorrows of life.