The child is the father of man. Childhood is the foundation of manhood. These are very important years. The impression and experiences of childhood are for ever. They mould and shape our life. It is the golden period of life. It is the best period without cares and worries. Then there are no distinctions of the rich and the poor, high and low castes. It is a kingdom full of fun, frolic, equality and innocence. Really we are close to God in our childhood.
The childhood cannot be forgotten. When I try to recall my childhood days, many memories comes rushing. They over whelm me with their intimacy, beauty and wonder. Some of them very much delight me, others make me thoughtful but a few of them make me sad.
Last Independence day I completed 15 years. I was born on 15th August. The day of our freedom and independence. I was born in the free India and on this red letter day. How free, playful and lovely were those days. I used to play and enjoy with boys and girls of my age. We played marbles, bat-ball, hide and seek and other games. Sometimes there was a quarrel among us but it was short lived. Again we were friends and played, shouted and pushed each other in sheer joy.
Festival days like Diwali, Holi etc. were the special days. Then there were so many so many and so much sweets. We enjoyed them for many days and did not eat our usual food. I used to fly kites. It gave me special pleasure. I stood on the big roof of our house and flew multi-coloured kites while my younger sister held the spool of string. They were the magic days.
In the evening I used to go to the nearby garden. It was a very big garden with many types of trees, plants and creepers. There we enjoyed swings, slides and played chasing one another. Once I stumbled against a big stone and was injured. I took me more than 15 days to recover. But soon I was my usual naughty boy playing, running and shouting with other children.
Many types of jugglers used to come to our street. The man with monkey often came there. He had a he monkey and she monkey. They showed many funny and strange tricks. Their pranks would send me into a fit of laughter. I also enjoyed the feats of the bear.
Once I had a bear-ride. My grandmother paid Rs. 5 to the master of the bear for this purpose. It was believed that riding a bear saved a child from black-eye and evil influences.
We often went on picnics and visited zoo. Buddha park and India gate were our favourite picnic spots. The photographs of those events in family albums send me back to those golden days. A visit to the zoo was really a fantastic experiences. There we saw many types of animals and birds. On returning home from there, I began to imitate some of them. I enjoyed roaring and pouncing like a lion. It delighted my sister the most. Then she would laugh and clap for a long time.
One incident I remember very particularly. There was kumbha Mela at Hardwar. My grand mother and father went to have a holy dip on this occasion. I accompanied them. We stayed in a camp on the banks of the holy river. It was very nice and enjoyable. There were huge crowds of men, women and children. Holy men, sadhus, nagas and others were there in thousands. They looked very strange and sometimes fearful. One day my grandmother took me for a holy dip in the ganga. But unfortunately, in the jostling crowd I got lost. I began to weep and sob. Then I was about six years of age. A volunteer picked me up in his lap. He gave some water to drink and sweets to eat. It comforted me to some extent. But still I was very much afraid.
He took me to the nearby police post. There was a lady police inspector. She was very nice. Fortunately, my father had put a card in my shirt pocket with my name and address written on it. It helped the police to restore me immediately to my parent. My grandmother was mad with weeping. She cursed herself and her fate. When I reached at the camp, she was overwhelmed with relief and pleasure. My father was no less happy. He immediately decided to distribute food worth Rs. 1000 among the poor and the needy the very nest day. It was and expression of gratitude to the mother ganga on my safe return. In those days it was a very big amount.
Many memories of childhood still haunt me. They come rushing and crowd my mind. Sometimes, I recreate the joys of the childhood in my imagination. As I grow in age, the memories of childhood become more precious, interesting and inspiring. I feel a great emotional attachment to them.
Though it is not easy to retain each and every experience of those early days. And yet many of them I can recollect with clarity of details. I am fond and proud of my earliest recollections. They are so varied colourful and wonderful. They fill me with simple joy and pleasure when I recall them. Whenever I see a child playing, I am sent back to my own childhood days.