Grow up, Man

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
How i wonder what u are!
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the Sky!

Those nursery rhymes, those carefree playful years, those grimy hands smelling of fresh wet mud...........................................................They were so wonderful, so amazing.....But nevertheless time bound....

Oh, how i still miss those nappy days, when all i used to do was "trying" to "run" around in my three room apartment situated in the congested locality of Thane...My wobbly feet danced with sumptuous joy on the little support that the rambling pillar provided with its generous bounty of mercy...I can till date recapitulate how i used to briskly run around,when i may be a little over four, my delicate feet, often giving way and leaving tiny bruises all over my knees, only to be hugged and lifted by my 6"feet "He-Man" uncle, the only exception in my family of short people...

Those memorable days were often accompanied by incessant pleas for those special "Foreign" chocolates and icecreams(my taste buds still long for that rich, creamy flavour, not that Indian ones are any bad) and left me throwing tantrums, only to receive gentle pats, with a complimentary lullaby.(However i could choose the language).....It was like "Buy two Get one free offer"...Sometimes if i were just a little lucky, i could lay my hands on a small candy bar, not more than the size of an eraser.The logical reasoning that followed that their bold action and my formidable reaction was "Shonu, kutta, chocolates are bad for the teeth"....

"Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Polish ur shoes
Teddy bear, Teddy bear, off to school."

Then came the time to pack your weighty, bulky bags and go off to school.....Standing at the Gate of the school and waving goodbye to their dearest Mom, was an everyday ordeal for most of my childish friends, I used to tease them, often using that as an excuse to bully them, "Oh man, Grow up".

Those impisch acts and naughtyand saucy behaviourof a bunch of us , maddened quite a few of nursery teachers, but the excellent grades that they could see through their steel rimmed glasses, always positioned me in their list of "smart, brilliant kids".

As i Child, i used to crave to become big, or rathergrow big...so, that i could be out on my own.....I had involuntarily changed in to the mindset of a Traveller with huge rucksacks on his shoulder, unsure of his dusty, perhaps, even ardous way ahead, but nevertheless determinded to succesfully complete his unknowing journey.....

Being Born is the biggest Gift that u can ever ask for, Growing up the greatest boon...After all everyonehas to grow up, life has its own courses and circles..... U learn to live each day as it comes, with all the ups and downs that the capricious life has to offer. Growth is an inherent part of life, something that cannot be dispensed with.. Sometimes reality strikes u like a thunderstorm, blatant and powerful and u have to painfully accept the echt fact that u are no longer small. Perhaps, now i know it all the more when i seen people around me thoroughly relying on me, especially when i am aware that every action or reaction that i knowingly or unknowingly take can make or mar relationships with people....

The other day, i was sitting in the train, just opposite to a Female with a small baby in her arms, a sweet, angelic little girl , whose wide eyes opened like a large book. Her delicate, snowwhite fingers clutched the Duppata of her mother, who was busy mixing thevarious nutritive ingredients of the Baby food...All of a sudden , apparently, for no reason, she started wailing and desperately breaking herself free, from the strong arms that it once affectionately held.. My human brains rushed like a Rajdhani, trying to find an answer to the child's, illogical behavoiur.All i could say, that the 1o minutes which my feeble mind spent analysing the child's behavoiur was completely futile.......

Nature has its own inexplainable ways of doing things..No wonder, God gave the priceless treasure of multiplying the human race to the women folk. Nobody can understand a child as a woman does, there is a subtle, but impregnable connection which links them to each other in to some kind of covalent bond....The Lady, an unruffled look in her eyes, held the child gently to her chest and kissed her forehead.....She held her so closely that the warmth of her composed body put the child's crying, puffy eyes to sleep..Fortunately, the commuters were saved from the blaring cries that ripped apart their ears, the tiny , sharp shrieks more potent than an explosive......


And that's when I realised the beauty of growing up.......Of understanding without being told , of learning without being taught, , of not giving a care to the world, yet being so affectionate and caring....and most importantly of doing things without expecting anything in return