Continued from Part 4
Childhood is generally associated with innocence. Some fond memories when you look back. Here are a few funny incidents while I was at Korattur:
13. Like everywhere else in India, Cricket was the most popular sport in our locality too. However, there were not many kids of my age group [and those that were there were also mostly girls!]. That meant I was always playing with guys who were a lot older than me. And that in turn meant I was mostly a ball boy!
14. I used to watch cricket matches with all those older boys. I don’t remember watching any ODIs while at Korattur. It was all mostly Test matches. And all those times, I had a great doubt. I felt embarrassed to even ask anyone about it. I had a feeling that maybe it was a stupid doubt, and I would be made fun of if I asked anyone about it. My doubt was this – when a batsman gets out, he walks out, and a new batsman walks in. That’s it. He alone walks out. Then why is it that when a batsman named ‘All’ gets out [that’s what I understood when everyone said All Out], everyone walks out of the ground? Why is that guy ‘All’ so special? I don’t remember when exactly I figured this out. But glad that I didn’t ask anyone this doubt!
15. There were times when dad used to leave me and mom alone and go on work related out-station trips. I was very young then – around 4-5 years old, and me and mom used to sleep in our neighbouring house for safety. During such times, Mom used to wake up early and head back home. Being young, I used to sleep till the sun was up very brightly, and most times I would be woken up by the servant maid who came to clean the room. She derived some pleasure in teasing me for sleeping late, and I used to head home very angry. And my neighbours used to have a good laugh watching all this!
To be continued …..
VijVen 