𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐄: 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲

Welcome readers!

So this is all about when we were shifted to Pune, a city in Maharashtra state with Papaji, who was posted in CME( College of Military Engineering) from our Hometown Muzaffarpur in 2000. I was just 4 years old and very naughty and stubborn, hmm as per what my mommy says.

Being a preschooler (i.e. 4 years old) I was not enrolled in any school as the kindergarten schools were very very far from our home, so I stubbornly started going in the school where my Didi (my sister) was enrolled, the REGIMENTAL CHILDREN SCHOOL. Soon they Enrolled me in their school in First standard even if I was under age, but I never attended my own classes hahahah, I wanted to be in my didi's class and always disturbed the teachers of both of our classes.

Didi has suffered a lot because of me. Since my toilet training was to the par, I will just call myself unlucky to always poop in my pants during those days of my schooling in the REGIMENTAL CHILDREN SCHOOL. With the poop sliding down from my pants covering one of my thighs, passing via the medial aspect of the leg, until it reached and soiled the socks & with crying face I used to go to didi's classroom. I pity on her that everytime I came to her like this, she without scolding me, took me to home leaving her lectures in middle, and rushed back to attend her another lectures which were not so important hahahah. Actually, the school was on walking distance.

Soon it was 2001, THE BEGINING of the 21st CENTURY and begining of my new schooling life. I legally enrolled in first standard in KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA, CME PUNE after passing the entrance exam. Within the CME campus we were now shifted to another area which I did not liked much because of its old and not so good architectural design, where we had to uncomfortably share our comfort room with another family. In the beginning Papaji dropped me to school every morning and picked me up in afternoon while coming back from his work, those were the days when I was always ON TIME to school. It continued until my Bus Pass was made and then a bus started coming to pick up all the students of that school residing in my area. Didi now got a new job to do, first, to bring me to the comfort room every morning except sundays and holidays. Second, to drop me to the bus stop, before she left for her school and these were another few days when I was ON TIME to school. Now I was familiar with the area and ways to my bus stop so I was asked to be ATMA-NIRBHAR ( using this word as its trending nowadays in INDIA) and go to school on my own.

I started missing the buses, resulting in me walking to school alone and ultimately becoming a latecomer every other day. Missing the buses became a habit now and I even missed the afternoon buses, sometimes I did it intentionally.

Missing afternoon buses intentionally was because of the calm and fruitful pathway to my home. There were two pathways from school leading to my home, one of them had series of Tamarind fruit trees and the other pathway had trees of Jujube fruit. Everday after the school ended I had three options to reach at my home, either by bus or by any of the two pathways.

Meanwhile I am walking to home didi have always reached home from her school and waited for me but as I am enjoying the way to home and eating the fruits I was always delayed to home which always stressed my mommy.

A coincidence used to occur with didi always, whenever she came out to search for me, if she chose the first pathway I reached home from the second pathway and hungry and angry didi would come back home after getting tired of searching me, all the way from my school and would come to beat me first before she proceeds for lunch but I always had a gift for her.

She says whenever she came to beat me I always presented her some fruits, either blackberry or jujube, and very innocently said that "didi, mai naa aapke liye Ber(Jujube fruit)/Imli(Tamarind) le raha tha naa Isliye late ho gaya, ye lo didi aap ye sab khalo" this melted her heart and she wouldn't beat me.

Didi is very sporty from the beginning, during those days she was learning cycling, by using Papaji's Hercules bicycle that was double than her height. Whenever papaji came home she would secretly go out with the keys and start riding the bicycle, even after falling many times. After she learnt cycling, her new goal was to let me enjoy the ride of bicycle or maybe she wanted to show off that she can ride that big bicycle with a person on the back seat. Well whatever it may be, but we enjoyed less and fell down more. She Knocked me off the bicycle many times and when I started crying, she would bribe me by saying "babu, please chup jaa, please! Mai na tujhe chocolates dungi dher saare, mommy ko mat batana ki maine cycle se gira diya please." Hahahah.

We both were studying pretty well, but in different schools, didi continued in REGIMENTAL CHILDREN SCHOOL and I was in KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA. Sometimes I used to tease her that she studies in Mental children school hahahhaha because the board of her school was old now and some alphabets were missing, so from "REGIMENTAL" it became "MENTAL". hahahah I don't know if the board was really that old to miss these particular alphabets or it was secondary to some students effort. 

With all these our 2001 went well and soon came our result day, I TOPPED in whole First standard for the first time. I remember, I was awarded with 500 rupees.

New session began I was in second standard now, and we now shifted outside the CME campus in private quarters, a news area again, this time its really far from the school and I can't take a chance to miss the buses, so didi was again into action. We got common CR( comfort room) again which was at a distance from house, so didi would bring me there every morning and waited until I finished. I have always taken my time while doing potty, didi would enjoy it because she would get more time to sleep. She would sleep on the bench fixed outside the CR, sometimes I would shout from inside that "didi, ho gaya chhi-chhi" so that she comes and help me to clean myself, but in return she would say with a sleepy voice, "thoda aur kar le" hahahah go back to sleep.

In this new area we got a good neighbors, Saxena Family with whom we bonded quickly and they loved us like their own kids.

Here is a picture of us during last few months of pune with kids of Saxena Family, the boy in middle, Ravi bhaiya and the girl on the right are children of Saxena Family. In the extreme left is didi with short hairs and then just beside her is my cutest Kunal babu. The boy who really looks much happier here is of course me hehehe. I just noticed that my T-shirt has a tagline of BEST CITY, which is so true about Pune city.

And the time came when papaji got a transfer letter with a new city mentioned on it, we got a transfer certificate from our schools, packing of the luggages were done. I don't really remember how hard it was for us to leave pune, but I just remember that I always missed Saxena uncle and aunty and their kids because of the love we received from them. I just remembered those pathways, the gardens and parks where we played. Before we come out of the nostalgias , those well spent time in Pune and those sweet and sour memories, our train arrived at BATHINDA junction.

Thanking to your patience and capacity for reading and reaching till here.

I hope you have read my previous post too

I will try that my next posts will keep you stick to the end like this.

Stay tuned to know about my next stop, Bathinda city.