childhood adventures

i must have been about five at the time.

the youngest cousin in the summer-holidays-spent-in-karachi gang.

those were glorious days, where the haze and heat of the summer sun meant playtime ~ more time to spend outdoors (apart from the occasional sprint inside to watch - bizarrely enough - a scene from ‘khoon bhari maang’ or ‘the scarlet pimpernel’, or like more normal children, ‘snoopy come home’ :) )

in one of those endless afternoons, i, the smallest of the lot of us, descended onto (with everyone else), but managed to stay stuck on (completely by myself), my naani’s chajja.

ropes were lowered, hoists prepared, franticness exchanged.

but how was i ever going to get back up, how long would we be able to conceal this catastrophe from a house full of adults?

we were going to be throttled by ammi and various other khalas, mamoos and assorted relatives.

This was really and truly a problem of the epic-est proportions.

i finally ascended back onto the terrace - how many hours later, who knew? – scraped and chalk-covered knees, legs, elbows, and hands.

but so relieved: to be saved from a separation across five vertical feet of endless wall and railing, especially because we were never noticed missing.

it’s a silly but sweet memory:)