CHILDHOOD FUN- GILLY, GADDI AND THE FUN OF STEALING

The Smell Of The Eksari Village Soil, The Tinkling Of The Horses Bells And The Laughter Of The Children… This Was Eksari Village’s Morning.

A Life Full Of Games, Mischief, And Adventure, In Which A New Story Was Written Every Day.

Childhood In The Eksari Village Was Amazing.

We Would Leave The House As Soon As It Was Morning- No Mobile, No TV, Just The Smell Of Mud And A Group Of Friends.

Sometimes Gilli Danda, Sometimes Marbles, Sometimes Hide And Seek… The Games Would Go On In Such A Way That We Would Even Ignore Our Mother’s  Calls.

There Would Be Fights While Playing.

If Someone Won More Marbles, He Would Become The Enemy Number One.

Sometimes The Fights Would Get So Intense That We Would Hide In Our Mother’s Lap, Crying.

But These Fights Were So Cute- The Very Next Moment We Would Again Start Playing Together.

The Most Fun Moments Were When We Roamed Around In The Eksari Fields.

Wheat Ears, Corn Cobs, Guava Trees- Everything Attracted Us.

Secretly Plucking Corn Cobs And Roasting Them, Or Plucking Gram From The Eksari Village Field And Eating Its Green Pods- That Taste Has No Comparison Till Date.

As The Evening Approached, The Entire Eksari Village Would Reverberate With The Laughter Of Children.

Sometimes Covered In Dust, Sometimes Upset Due To A Fight, Sometimes Running Away After Being Caught Stealing-

But The Real Charm Of The Eksari Village Resided In That Innocent Childhood.

As Soon As It Was Morning, A Group Of Children Came Out-

Let’s Play Gilli Danda. No, Today We Will Play Cards.

Everyone's Eyes Would Light Up On Seeing A Bullock Cart Standing At The Crossroads Of The Eksari Village.

Someone Would Grab The Bull’s Tail, Someone Would Climb On The Cart And Become The Driver-

Come On, Become A Horse.

Hey, This Is A Bull, Not A Horse.

And Everyone Would Burst Out Laughing.

Suddenly A Fight In The Middle Of The Game- Why Did You Push Me?

I Didn’t Push You, I Wanted Space. You Liar, Come Let Me See.

And Punches And Kicks Begin. But As Soon As An Elder Calls Out- Hey Kids, Don’t Break The Deck.

Everyone Quietly Gets Out Of The Line, As If They Were Saints.

Heading Towards The Eksari Village Fields In The Afternoon- Let’s Pluck The Corn.

The Owner Will See Us. Let Him See Us, We Will Sit On The Cart And Run Away.

Then What Happened Was, We Plucked The Corn Secretly, Some Were Chewing Gram,

 Some Climped The Guava Tree.

And When They Were Caught, The Scene Was Different- They Would Jump On The Bullock Cart And Run As If A Lion Was Chasing Them.

The Farmer Would Shout From Behind- Hey You Devils, Stop Otherwise You Will Be In Trouble.

But The Group Of Children Disappeared Like Air.

As The Evening Falls, Everyone Is Back At The Chaupal- Some Covered In Dust, Some Holding Their Stomachs And Laughing-

Brother, I Ate Too Much Corn, Now I Am Going To Vomit If I Shake The Deck.

That Childhood In The Eksari Village Was Something Else-

Fights In Games, Friendship In Fights, Fun In Stealing, And Riding On The Deck Is Like The Joy Of Becoming A King.

The Chirping Of Birds, The Red Glow Of The Setting Sun, And The Laughter Of Children… The Entire Eksari Village Resonates.

As The Evening Fell, The Sun Would Turn Red, The Birds Would Return To Their Nests And The Tired 

Children Would Sit In The Chaupal Laughing And Joking And Calculating The Day’s Results.

This Was The Real Childhood Of The Eksari Village-

In Which There Was Quarrel In Games, There Was Fun In Stealing, There Was Pride In Gambling And There Was Life In Friendship.