Horrific Memories of childhood incidents

It was the period when I was studying in higher secondary school at Chennai. It was Summer holidays after yearly examinations were over. Those were the days when you have no responsibilities and only enjoyment You find plenty of time and no work to do.

Most of the day time was spent playing and wandering with friends. It was the season of mangoes and sapota or chiku. These fruits used to be largely grown in almost every house or garden. They were very sweet, tasteful and alluring to your eyes. Our school also had a large garden behind it along the railway line. Fruits used to hang over from trees nearer to the boundary wall from the railway line side. Children used to prick the fruits by climbing over the walls and holding the branches of trees during hot summer day times with out the knowledge of the gardener. Some times, when he noticed them he used to shout and frighten them with sticks and they used to run away.

Some days were spent wandering along the railway track from one station to another station which used to be 1.5 km apart from one another. The locality where we lived was Mambalam station. And we used to go towards Saidapet and Guindy stations which were not densely populated in those times. Mambalam was a center of the city of Madras ( now known as Chennai ). T.Nagar was located nearer to Mambalam. Guindy was nearer to Adyar where world famous Banyan Tree of enlightenment was an attractive tourist spot.


One day it happened so.
We, 4-5 children, were walking on the railway tracks engaged in gossiping. On the way there was a bridge on a stream flowing across below it. Local people used to bathe in it and washer men used to wash clothes there.We were walking over it and most of us reached the other end. But one was lagging behind and suddenly a train came from behind before he could cross the bridge. As it approached very silently, all of us were very much shocked and frightened to see it. We immediately shouted with terror at our friend who was lagging behind. He also got nervous and immediately he got hold of the side edge of the bridge and hanged down ward the bridge till the train crossed over the track to the other end. Then any how he was managed to get over the bridge by dragging him up with the help of some passers by who scolded all of us very terrifically.

 It was a very horrific moment of our lives and we never let the event known to our parents. All of us firmly  decided never again to wander along the railway tracks from that day onward. It was a great lesson for us.

The memory of it makes tremble for a moment even now.

Competition Spirit among Children

Those were the days when I was studying in class 5 and 6. It was Mambalam locality of Madras City (now Chennai). Our School's name was Sharada Devi Higher Elementary School situated by the level crossing at Mambalam Railway Station on the road linking with T.Nagar Bus Stand. It consisted classes from 1st to 7th Standard.

Four students including me used to be toppers of our class in studies. All of us four used to get Distinction in our class. All of us were better known by our nick names than actual names among our class mates. So actual names were not remembered. The nick for me was Bhatta and the other topper boy was Mantravadi. The other two toppers were girls known as Vimla and Jyothi. The teachers liked us four and used to be proud of us.

All four of us have been class mates since beginning upto class VII. From which class we were together I am unable to recollect. But due to the group photo of our class mates as evident from this combined photo of class II and III, I am able to recollect that they were with me since class II or III or may be earlier also. But regarding the competition spirit among us, I remember that it was much during the years of our studying in class V, VI and VII.



The competition spirit was very much keen between us and each one tried his best to supersede the other three in obtaining the highest marks in each subject. And each one of us used to be very unhappy even if he got one mark lesser than the others. Mantravadi used to be more sensitive than us. The markings were some times done in fractions like 98 ⁱ/_{2 ,} 99¹/_2, 100 like this. Particularly in Maths and Science. So when he got half mark less than me or Vimla, he used to be weeping. We had to console him and tell him that he was as equally brilliant as us and we all belonged to the same rank and not to worry of a half mark or one mark But there was no jealously between us at all. All of us four used to be very friendly and go to each others' house and talk freely even with their parents also who loved us very much.

Such was the competition spirit and friendship between school children those days.