You know, if the date today was 27th March 1998 and I was in Allahabad instead of Delhi ,
I would have painted the town Red/Blue/Green/Magenta (That’s rite.. I said
Magenta as well...)
The reason being that I was amidst an awesome group of
people who were willing to act like complete idiots just for the sake of it...
Dad was still serving that time.. We lived in these amazing Defence
colonies with tons of fun at every nook and corner... there were people always
ready to be freaking out as there was always someone or the other who was
thinking on the lines of "Freakrazy"...
That’s one of the many many many things that my Defence background
gave me and I'm proud to have it.. I can say without any regrets that I've had
an astonishing childhood... Probably the best that a Child can ask for... Full
of adventure... Without fear... Never saying "never" to anything that
might drop the hint of having a tinge of crazy... Always trying new things...
And BEST OF ALL... Always having this "venturesome" group to just
Lose It.. :)
Holi back in the day was just another occasion to have
fun with my Defence Brats... I remember the "strategy meet" that we
used to have a day before about how to best position ourselves in the bushes so
that we can ambush the on-goers in the best possible manner... We used to
prepare charts with full fledged attack plans... throwing maneuvers...
Artillery inspection.... and god knows what naught... After all, we did have
that "Defence" blood brooding inside all of us just waiting to come
out and blow the freaking crap out of others...
I remember this one time in particular when I was at that tender
age of "hating" any and all girls around me... (I guess Puberty was
just about to kick in.. :O ).. But anyways, I remember that time
in particular because I stayed up all night a day before Holi just to
get my stuff right... And by stuff I mean all the armament for a
full-scale ambuscade... I made water balloons.. Some filled with water and some
filled with Egg Yolk.. I prepped up my Steel Customized Pichkari.. 'Twas
customized in the sense that I had this bucket that I used to hang on my back
like a backpack and a pipe coming out of it that I could connect to my Pichkari
and "Reload" without the need to actually find a source of water...
(Yeah... I was that much into Holi back Then..)
So anyway, On Holi morning, my friends and I get together and go
through all the final planning related to the bushwhack we had planned for the
Girls... Come to think about it now, I can’t believe the details that we
covered just to ensure that we encompassed all the "Rules of
Engagement"... We made plans to go after the "weaker" section in
the Girls fraternity... No "Man" was supposed to be left behind just
in case the Girls too had a plan of their own... We made plans to cover each
other's back... We decided that we would head out in groups of two... This gave
us the leverage to implement the "attack-and-reload" phenomenon...
That meant while one of us would be engaged in firing off the Pichkari, the
other would be reloading his Pichkari for a second round of attacks...
All in all.. Those were awesome days... Unlike now... I don’t know
what exactly has changed now, but I do know that things
are definitely not the same... I know for a fact that I DONT have a
group that indulges in "Freakrazy" like me... I know that I don’t
have the backing that I need... I don’t have group that is willing to act like
complete idiots just because one of us wanted to see how that feels like… I don’t have a group that would be willing to
break the windows of a vacant house with Cosco balls just because we wanted to experience
the effect of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance music (That was Awesome BTW)..
I know that I'm not in my childhood anymore and I need to act like grown-ups,
but Boo-Freakin-Hoo... Why Should I? I had a wonderful childhood, kind of like
the one that I intend to give my Kid as well... So why shouldn't I be a Kid at
Heart?
Well... Can’t answer that I guess... It’s all Destiny... We just
need to keep walking with out heads down... It’s like a journey... If we stand
still, we get nowhere... If we run too fast, we amplify the risk of falling
down... Hence, we just need to walk... Walk with our heads down without
thinking about heavy stuff...
Kinda Sucks Doesn't it?