I will start this from the last thoughts that I still remember. My father was in Indian Air Force, so I got the opportunity to live a different kind of life and to explore lots of places. My journey started on 1990 in 'Pathankot', a small city on the banks of River Chakki. I was born in a Military Hospital through a Cesarean. I do not remember anything of that place, but have heard a lot about it. As per the accounts of my siblings, the Air Force Station there was a very secluded place and was not known to many people. I sometimes feel lucky that I was born in Punjab, my native state. I have heard that we had a private garden there and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables used to grow there. I have forgotten the names of those now, even though I was told about them many times.
After around 18 months of my birth, my dad got transferred to 'Bagdogra', a small town in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. The transfer took us from the comforts of our native area to an entirely new place 1800 km away. I can only imagine the pain, it would have been to shift everything to such a small town, with two small children and an annoying newborn. But my parents did it, not just once but many times, during their life. I don't know how they managed so much with such little resources in their hands. I on the other side, got frustrated with two suitcases when travelling alone from Chennai to Bangalore.
I still have some memories of Bagdogra, each one getting more faded with time. I remember my time at kindergarten there, how I used to pull the young saplings from school and run straight to home and plant those in my private garden.I remember Holi I played there, and how my sister used to save me from other bullies in the neighborhood; the military hospital which I visited so often much that staff used to worry if I didn't visited for a long time. I still have a blurred picture of our home there, with the first room containing TV; where my brother in teens then used to study and a big veranda with the kitchen and other room attached to it.I feel so nostalgic, when I recollect memories of spending the evening with my siblings there; watching 'He-Man' and having snacks; sitting on my father's scooter and playing on it with my friends, fighting with my sister for ordinary things. There are many stories of Bagdogra still to be told like the day when a python came in our kitchen, but I will keep them for some other day.
Then, suddenly when I was getting accustomed to the place and the collage in my mind started coming alive, my dad got transferred again to Delhi. This time my family was a little happy that at-least we are going nearer to our native. But relocating was again a problem that too with so much of stuff. I still remember a scene of railway station, where the train is about to depart from the station and my dad and his colleagues are trying to fit our gigantic CRT Videocon TV in the compartment, without any luck. I am unable to remember what happened next, but I remember watching cartoons on it in Delhi. Delhi, was not as crowded in those days like it is today. I have still flashbacks, when I used to go with my dad to bring fresh milk in the evening and used to be amazed after seeing the high storied apartments of Dwarka being constructed.
How can I forget the days, when we used to live in Palam and dad used to drop 'Didi' and me to school when the streets of Delhi were filled with knee deep water after a heavy lash of rain. We lived in rented homes for an year or two there,after which we got the government allotted quarters. These were nicely built homes and quarters. I think the area was called 'Basant Nagar', but I am not sure. I stayed in Delhi, only till 6th standard, after which we were informed that we have to pack the bags again and get transferred to 'Bikaner' - a historic city in the royal state of Rajasthan.
I stayed in 'Bikaner' till 2007 and completed the rest of my schooling there. I still remember the first day in Bikaner when we reached home in an auto-rickshaw. The whole city was looking so dull and dusty. That was my first experience of a desert. Everything was completely different - flora, fauna, buildings, even people looked different. It was like we have suddenly shifted to a barren land. The weather there was very hot and it took us few days to get accustomed. I got enrolled in the Air Force School, while my sister went to college to do B.Sc-B.Ed. If I look back now, I seem to like those days so much; that innocence of childhood was different. The way I used to perceive the world has changed completely. I miss the summer vacations, when the first thing I used to do after waking up was to switch TV and watch the cartoons. I miss that tasty food that my mother used to cook.
While I was in 12th standard, my father got transferred to 'Naliya' in Gujarat. But my mom and me stayed there in Bikaner only due to my board exams. After completing my studies, I was in dilemma of what to do with my life. Then, suddenly my dad got transferred to Ludhiana. Meanwhile, I also got enrolled in LPU for B.Tech in Computer Science.In the end only we realize that life moves on, nothing is permanent. The most fascinating thing about life, is that when we look back we always realize that those moments were better; somehow that time flew faster and we missed something. In all of this chaos, we miss the present.
That's why they say:
The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
But Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
I stayed in 'Bikaner' till 2007 and completed the rest of my schooling there. I still remember the first day in Bikaner when we reached home in an auto-rickshaw. The whole city was looking so dull and dusty. That was my first experience of a desert. Everything was completely different - flora, fauna, buildings, even people looked different. It was like we have suddenly shifted to a barren land. The weather there was very hot and it took us few days to get accustomed. I got enrolled in the Air Force School, while my sister went to college to do B.Sc-B.Ed. If I look back now, I seem to like those days so much; that innocence of childhood was different. The way I used to perceive the world has changed completely. I miss the summer vacations, when the first thing I used to do after waking up was to switch TV and watch the cartoons. I miss that tasty food that my mother used to cook.
While I was in 12th standard, my father got transferred to 'Naliya' in Gujarat. But my mom and me stayed there in Bikaner only due to my board exams. After completing my studies, I was in dilemma of what to do with my life. Then, suddenly my dad got transferred to Ludhiana. Meanwhile, I also got enrolled in LPU for B.Tech in Computer Science.In the end only we realize that life moves on, nothing is permanent. The most fascinating thing about life, is that when we look back we always realize that those moments were better; somehow that time flew faster and we missed something. In all of this chaos, we miss the present.
That's why they say:
The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
But Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
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