During the first wave of COVID-19, my father wrote his life journal. It was, for him, a way to cope with the sudden loss of daily human interaction. This gave him an excuse to reminisce about the good old days.
When I visited him later that year, we were discussing various incidents and people he had talked about in it. As we were talking about all the places we had moved to as part of his job as a banker, he mentioned that as a child, I missed out on restaurant visits and movie theatres as some of these little towns had neither. Probably no big parks either. Maybe that is why, as an adult, I appreciated being able to drive through Cubbon Park every day to and from work; the one stretch where I could lower my windows and inhale the fresh cool air in Bengaluru. Also, I think I am still trying to make up for the missed cotton candy treats at Cubbon Park!
His words got me thinking. Did I really miss out on these experiences? Sure, when we visited Bangalore, we would do all these things and they were fun. But once back home, I never thought much about all these things.
Today, when I look back on those days, I see a simple unhurried life, school, friends, games and delicious food cooked by my mother.
Most important, I learnt a lot of lessons. I learnt that you could catch ladybugs in matchboxes and keep them alive like that for a day or two. We would make a tiny hole in the matchbox for ventilation and putting in some blades of grass. After the box was ready, we would hunt around for bugs and cajole them into the box. It would be a prized pet for the next couple of days. After that, we would just release it back into the wild!
I learnt how to catch butterflies gently between two fingers, admire it for a few seconds and then let it fly. I learnt how soft and smooth silk cocoons are. My friends and I once found one, which had fallen off a frame of cocoons (it is a traditional circular bamboo frame with many cocoons on it) and we couldn’t believe how smooth it felt.
I learnt how muddy puddles can be home to baby snakes. My friend and I used to play in those every day until we spotted a baby snake one day and we got off puddles forever! And consequently, I don’t allow my daughter to play in muddy puddles. The argument that Peppa Pig and Family jump in muddy puddles all the time is thrown at me. I have learnt to be unrelenting.
These lessons and experiences are treasure troves. And I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
swathy.rao25@gmail.com
