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FROM
HERE AND THERE
Never Kill Your Dinosaurs
Never Kill Your Dinosaurs
On many
weekends and holidays, when I was a child of may be 9 years, my friends
and I were very fond of chasing Frauline Mundt’s ducks and geese into her pond
behind her house keeping an eye out for “Uncle” whom we were really terrified
of. The Frau always yelled at us, but with a tin of homemade cookies in her
hand. She was a very generous old lady, though our gang caused her no end of
trouble. Thereafter riding our bikes hell bent like supermen, to the railway
crossing near Grass Farm Road, eagerly awaiting the Frontier Mail to leave Meerut
Cantonment Station.
The wail of the eerie steam whistle announcing its arrival at the outer signal, then our mad dash across the tracks, a bit away from the downed bar at the crossing, as it crossed the outer before it reached the gates. There the point man shouting at us to keep away, our howls of laughter, mama what great fun. To see the driver, frantically pulling on the whistle string, riding in the cab of the huge WP 4-6-2 steam locomotive built by Fabryka Lokomotyw of Chrzanowis Poland. The huge star on its nose glittering in the morning sun was pure delight. The red bandanna’d fireman bent over, shoveling coal into the open hatched boiler fire.
It was a thrill to watch as the Frontier Mail whizzed past gathering speed. After the usual fighting as to who crossed first in front of the train, going to kelli’s house for buttered toast and sugar sandwiches courtesy his very kind mom. Then off to the Sikh Regimental Centre to watch the troops in bayonet training doing “Dhawa ek ani ghop”. To be emulated later. A cross country ride, a leisurely swim at the Dogra Centre swimming pool, under the eagle eye of the marker. Finally off to Alka’s home as she was down with chicken pox and hadn’t come to school on Saturday, with a stern warning from her mom to keep off.
After lunch the afternoon spent kicking the football around in the ground behind RA Lines near my house.
These were some of our Dinosaurs when we were young.
The wail of the eerie steam whistle announcing its arrival at the outer signal, then our mad dash across the tracks, a bit away from the downed bar at the crossing, as it crossed the outer before it reached the gates. There the point man shouting at us to keep away, our howls of laughter, mama what great fun. To see the driver, frantically pulling on the whistle string, riding in the cab of the huge WP 4-6-2 steam locomotive built by Fabryka Lokomotyw of Chrzanowis Poland. The huge star on its nose glittering in the morning sun was pure delight. The red bandanna’d fireman bent over, shoveling coal into the open hatched boiler fire.
It was a thrill to watch as the Frontier Mail whizzed past gathering speed. After the usual fighting as to who crossed first in front of the train, going to kelli’s house for buttered toast and sugar sandwiches courtesy his very kind mom. Then off to the Sikh Regimental Centre to watch the troops in bayonet training doing “Dhawa ek ani ghop”. To be emulated later. A cross country ride, a leisurely swim at the Dogra Centre swimming pool, under the eagle eye of the marker. Finally off to Alka’s home as she was down with chicken pox and hadn’t come to school on Saturday, with a stern warning from her mom to keep off.
After lunch the afternoon spent kicking the football around in the ground behind RA Lines near my house.
These were some of our Dinosaurs when we were young.
The
other day on my evening walk at Jamshedpur, I was waiting at a manned Railway
Crossing for the train to pass. So I just sat on the railing and drifted back
to our times at Grass Farm Road Meerut 1959 and the succeeding years. I
realized sadly, that what I liked to do as a child, I still wanted to but would
not. I had killed my Dinosaurs. Tonight I have promised myself, that
henceforth I will resurrect my thinking mind and start doing and enjoying the
simple things in life which truly bring and always brought joyfulness to my
being.
Have a
wonderful week ahead my friends.
Ajay
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