Summer Vacations

Haaahhh!! it's summer finally in Mumbai..! Schools have closed, results are out and all izz well! Now, Tanisha and Saurav are both in summer camps and I am already freaking out about what is going to happen AFTER the camp gets over in May! 

Made me think, did our parents ever have this much worry about us during summer when we were kids? I mean, from what I remember, summers were always spent outside the house. Whether it was in Narottam Nivas or at Sahakar or at Ambika, we were always outdoors. Home was meant for eating, sleeping and in my case bathing (yep, I had an OCD with personal hygiene, every break at home, I would shower and change, had the bai of the house in a bad mood usually, always would complain about having too many clothes to wash from one person). Anyways, it was mostly spent outside. Somehow, there were always tons of kids playing outside anywhere we went. And funnily enough, the heat would never bother us. Come to think of it, the peak playtime was between 12 and 5pm (when the adults would want us out of the house, so they could wind up the kitchen and take their afternoon siestas, plus the bais would want us out of their hair too, nothing like a bunch of kids running around to disturb their jhaadoo-patta). 

What would one play, you might think. But as a child, the world is full of possibilities. And as a child, you have the knack of making even a boring thing, interesting. Most of the time in Narottam Nivas, it was either climbing on that tank, or a game of hide and seek, or afternoon ghost story sessions. 

In Sahakar, it was "Stop" (another form of hide n seek), can never forget the day Meghal fell in that A-2 3rd floor, slipped on the cement sacks meant for terrace work. Poor fellow, his glasses were on one step and he was on another, couldn't see without them. And we were, well, laughing , then Farooque came (was his den) and made us all "Stop" (first being Meghal, so it was his den later). 

If not Stop, it was playing dress up...ooooooo! This is gonna be nice...!! We loved doing this with Manni's best silk sarees, got firings for that later. And it was total girlie games, Saas-Bahu, Doctor-Doctor, Office-Office... shhhhhhhheeeeeshhh!! We would pretend to be North Indians (go figure, too much idli-dosa at home).!! Once Archana and Vidya arrived, they joined us with these games, we usually made them the "patients" ;-)

We were always behind C Building anyway at Sahakar. Sandy and Shilps had this "secret" hiding place, they kept it "secret" right till the time I got married, that's when they told me and I realised, it wasn't that big a secret at all!! 

And what can I say about Ambika, total tp!! There was this unbelievable gang of kids there and too many games.. too much fun!!! I think we picked up a lot of new games from there. Of course, Veensey and us loved dress up, sometimes we dragged Vinod Anna into this, but he was pretty reluctant (being a boy and all). 

Some memories linger, like Shilpu dressing up with that towel on her head, earned her the nickname "ummachi". Another is those weird song and dance sessions, my family thought it was fun to get all the kids to dance and sing one night in the summer. The entire clan would be at one place (Narottam Nivas) and we kids would go all out, practising and putting up a grand show. Sudha always danced to "Jimmy Jimmy" from Disco Dancer, the rest of us did some disco number that she would coach us on. And then there were the summer nights where we would play those quizzes with the adults, country names, connect the words and make a story etc. Lastly, who can forget the "Chowpatty Jayenge toh bhelpuri khaenge" din in Periappa's Duker Fiat... (I wonder if people thought we were weird, maybe they did who knows!). 

I think the adults were laid back then too, perhaps we could learn something from them... wot says?

Anyways, its time for me to get back to studies now. Ciao! 

Have a great summer everyone!!!

Games we play

Helloooo All!!! Posting after a loong, long time, but what to do... Internet was down at home and I was afflicted by the SMS (Stressed Mom Syndrome). I don't think that is curable anyway. 

I have had too many requests from my fan following, so here I go.

The other day, I saw my daughter Tanisha, playing with Anirudh and was reminded of all the childhood games we used to play. In fact, Vidya and I had a blast teaching both of them "Una Dozy", "Ice-cream soda" and other stuff.  These hand clapping games used to be the staple of all us girls when we were little. Now, also they haven't lost their charm. Something simple, in a complicated life... AAAAhhh!!

I was telling Veensey the other day that I miss those card game sessions we used to have, back at Narottam Nivas. Periappa (Veensey and Vinod's dad) was a master at inventing new games. One of my best memories, is the "Short Game". I still remember very clearly, the night he got this game out for all of us to learn and play.  We were all sitting in that hall room in Narottam Nivas (noisy place, full of flies, Girish used to call it "Eeechai Nivas"). Night, it was quieter. Periappa had returned from one of his trips to Taloja or Uran or something. He said he saw a bunch of guys playing this in the train. The rules were simple. You deal out 6 or 8 cards to each member, the rest is kept in a stack in the middle. One card is thrown in the center, you got to put the same set ka card (diamond pe diamond, klaver pe klaver and so on). If u don't have any, you can take one from the pile in the center. But then, you get next turn. The player with max no of cards is the loser. One by one, players will finish their cards. He didn't catch the name, so we came up with Short Game. Now, I think we should have patented it. Hmm... there's still time.. can make tons of money, you know ;-)

I loved those card nights, because you got be adults then! You were allowed to stay up late and got to listen to interesting conversation amongst the big people. Weird, now I would rather be a child!! My mom is another card buff. I learnt most of the games from her. Rummy, Paach-Teen-Don (5-3-2, it's how two is said in Marathi, not the English "Don" for those who don't know), Ladies (pronunced as Laa-dis, for some strange reason), Bluffmaster or Challenge.. etc, etc. She was my card coach. Nowadays, people prefer playing online cards or Uno. I'm hoping at the next reunion, we can all play cards and our kids can learn the same!!

Some childhood games never leave us. Veensey, Shilps and me had a weird dance, we did when we were together. It was our special thing. The last time I did it now, was at Veensey's marriage (it was our goodbye dance). Hopefully, we can pass the legacy on to our kids too. 

Sandhya and me, well what can I say!! Folks still remember the "Faaanddhyaaaa, thayiru vennamaa?!!". She hated curds and I loved teasing her about it. I used to tease Shilpu also about it, still remember I fooled her into thinking that "Mambaza Moorkootan" was actually "Aamras" with too much milk in it!!! Shilpu and I had a special game too, "Only Corners", you had to walk only along the corners (as the name suggests) and catch the other person, who could run only along the corners!! The little nook between the sofas was the "time-please" zone! And who can forget Vinod named me "S-B-W" (Story Book Worm). The name stuck on for a long, long time!! Vidya and Shilpu played a game once on all of us and got locked into that "beero" in Sahakar's back balcony. We searched for an hour, before we found them. Then got a sound yelling from Manni (I understand them getting the yelling, but really couldn't get why we got yelled at anyway, we weren't involved you know). I think, all 3 of us (Sandhya, Shilpa and I) cannot forget the million times we flicked Manni's saris to play "Saas-bahu" (yeeeeeccchhh!!!). Neither can Veena, Shilpa and I forget those "Shop-Shop" or "Ghar-Ghar" games in the corner between sofas at NN. Being the oldest sibling in the house, helps memory wise. You are the guinea pig, but you get more memoirs than the younger ones!!

OK, gotta get back to business now. Adulthood calls, childhood is alas, way in the past now...