Tall trees, venomous insects and dense flora were all that met the eye. Anyone who has never before visited 'Rupaidiah' and who approaches from the South, is likely to think that one is in Nepal, for the Nepali currency is already in flow in the markets and one could find a lot of Nepali dressed people all around.
The last Indian building which stands by the road before it runs into the other nation is the Forest Department Office, not far behind which lay the government quarters, where we lived. The place had its defects in comfort, coziness and modernity, but there was something rustically beautiful about the surroundings. The quarter had a large courtyard which was flanked by all kinds of trees. A family of bats found its residence on a jackfruit tree in the corner of the courtyard and we always ensured that we stayed away from that corner. In the distance there were tall eucalyptus trees and our courtyard would be draped in dry leaves and gumnuts every evening.
The compound had numerous logs of woods, seized from unlawful woodcutters and transporters, some of which had been lying there for so long that years of rainy season had dissolved all that was wood in them. It was amid the creeks and crevices of these piled logs , there lived the dangerous creatures, creatures which slithered and crawled and creeped. At such a place as this, it was mandatory for us to wear full trousers and shoes while playing outdoors. I didn't have any friends here, none whom I could play with, the school was quite far and school friends lived afar. The only person who was any near to my age in the compound was my brother. We would play every evening, we would fight every evening, we would swear not to play again with each other every evening and we would again play together the next evening.
Such was the simplicity of life, which of course seemed tragic back then.
At school, in grade 1, I was introduced to a new subject called "Science" and for some reason which I am at a loss to explain clearly, I developed a deep penchant for it. Maybe, the book had riveting pictures and illustrations or maybe my interests were inherently inclined towards science; regardless the reason, science in some form or another, stood by me for a long time in my life. We had to complete our homework in the daylight since there was no electricity. And since there was no electricity, so no TV, and no fridge. And no staying up late after dusk. We always ate fresh and didn't get a chance to ruin our eyes and minds with cartoon network. On one such eventful and interesting evening, in a discussion over tea, father and mother decided that I should be given a bicycle now. I had seen adults cycling; no doubt I was very much excited by idea of it, but it had never occurred to me that there could be something called a children's bicycle too. That evening, the four of us went to the nearest city and after a long process of selection and elimination I finally decided on my first bicycle. It was called "bazooka" and the front wheels had shock absorbers. The tyres had innumerable striations, and I did not comprehend their usefulness in the existence for a very long time. The right hand was for the front brake and the left one for the rear. It had two supports so I wasn't afraid of falling. The pedalling was to be done clockwise; my brother had always a hard time remembering it and he always pedalled anticlockwise when he got his first bicycle, but that may be also because he was much younger than me. I obviously made fun of him; little did I know then that he would learn a four wheeler at a much much younger age than me.
For the first couple of days if I was not in school and not sleeping, I would just be driving my bicycle in courtyard in circles. It gave me such a tingle and thrill every time I pushed my legs against the pedals. But alas! the joy was not to stay long with me. After a couple of days or so, one of the supports broke off and the bicycle just stood at the disposition of one support. I was utterly upset and I cried and cried to get it repaired but father didn't have time to go to the city until next to next week so I just kept gazing at the spokes of the tyre and pressing the brakes and caressing it in all the little ways I could.
The next day onwards father offered me help in riding the bicycle. Since the right support was gone so I just had to prevent the bicycle from falling to the right side. Soon after some help, I realized that it was not hard to drive the bicycle in this condition. Whenever it would begin falling on the right side I had to stop pedalling and use my legs as supports. And so I continued, thus, for a week driving in anti-clockwise circles always turning leftwards. On occasional incidences of rightward fall when gravity would draw me towards the earth with all its might, I would experience intense fear, the fear of falling! I was profoundly unbalanced many a time, though I never formally fell off completely.
It was now close to 3 weeks since I got my bicycle. And then as it happens, there comes a moment after all strength and industry of man, a miniscule moment of evaluation and judgement of all that one is capable of. After returning from school that day I pushed up the left support further up which had already been pushed slightly up due to the excess leftward pressure, and stood on my bicycle in the silent shade of the verandah which led to the courtyard. A strong summer loo was blowing outside. I pedalled carefully, as carefully as I could and the eucalyptus leaves swished in the wind and I pedalled faster and never was a day more happier in my life, for the joy of soaring begins only with the fear of falling !
I had learnt to ride.
