A few days back I came across a post by Sid of ‘I Wrote Those‘ fame on Dagny’s blog which immediately transported me to my childhood days. Such was the magic of his post titled ‘Let Us Play‘ that I couldn’t help but reminisce about my own childhood. Through this post thus I’ll talk about few people with whom I spent the spring of my life. This post is about my home-grown famous five, my tribute to a memorable period with a special group of people of my life!
Shillong, a small hill-station town nestled in the Khasi Hills, is where I had the pleasure of growing up. Lush green hills, majestic waterfalls and the enticing pine forests, all stitched together in a canvas by clouds was my playground to begin with. Beautiful is a word that doesn’t even measure up to the splendor of what many call the Scotland of the East.It was exciting to wake up to clouds floating in through the bed-room windows almost every other day. The cozy cottages, the wild berries and the meandering streets all made for a magical home town. And truth be told I would give anything to be back there, maybe to those days too. But life doesn’t always work out that way, does it? Anyways, moving on.
Out of all the years I spent in Shillong, 11 years were spent in a complex called ‘Kalpana Kutir’. Picture a number of cottages sharing a common courtyard with gardens. Among those cottages, one was my home. And it was there that some of my oldest friendships were forged which to this day stand strong. It was there that five clueless kids met for the first time and decided to grow up together; playing, fighting, pulling each others legs and sometimes even crying. I was one of them. My sister, Vicky and Rishi (both brothers) and Sandeepon (whom I’ll refer to as Pon going forward) were the rest of the members of this group which we strangely christened as ‘Danger Journey’. Though several others came and left, we five stuck together and to this day keep our group alive even though through whatsapp owing to our diverse geographies. I guess we believe that long friendships strive when we have common dislikes and that we as a group have in abundance. Silly I know but it’s true!
I remember being a lazy child, my sister and I both. Most of the times we would prefer being glued to the television set or to be more precise the cartoon network. But the moment Vicky, Rishi or Pon would emerge playing outside we would immediately put the remote down and spend time outdoors with them.
I remember playing cricket, hide and seek and catch which now seems unbelievable considering the couch potato that I’m now. But more than playing we would spend our time either puncturing a certain uncle’s scooter or standing up to the landlord’s spoilt (read evil) grand-daughters. Pon and my sister even tricked one of them into touching bird poop. Don’t ask how! Though let me assure you it was amazingly satisfying at that time. Telling ghost stories to each other was another of our favorite pastimes.
And then there were festivals which were more fun with all of us together. I remember bursting crackers as a group. They would laugh when I would jump at sudden loud bursts of noise, laughs at my expense that I never did mind. It made our Diwali a little more special I think. I remember Pon being scared of crackers in the first few years and we had to pull him out of his house against his will. Of course, he would shout and cry but finally we succeeded in making him an active participant in out cracker adventures too.
Rishi was the cry baby of our group. He would cry at the drop of a hat and we would ensure he did by the leg pulling we subjected him to. Of course, he has now become one of the funniest members of our tribe and any discussion without him lacks a certain element of fun that we simply can’t do without. Vicky was the one we would tease when it came to girls. Today he is in the US busy working and we still make fun of him. He is called #hashtag now though, for all his status updates on Facebook inevitably have all words beginning with #! Pon is our crazy wwe fan and any surprises related to insects in our group is a result of his plotting brain. What’s the relation between wwe and insects? I have no idea! But then we can’t do without him too, after all he was the one who did all the Tyre puncturing and window breaking for us those days. Not that we were rowdy or naughty kids but sometimes we did like to have fun. My sister was and still is the butt of all jokes for the three boys and she does the same to them too. We took our places in the group while we were in school and the trend has continued as ‘Danger Journey’ for us still remains our happy place!
I remember going for picnics to Cherapunjee together during winter vacations and those still are some of my fondest memories of us. I think as a group we spent more time talking than playing. I remember all of us sitting in my room talking not realizing that those moments would comfort us years later when we would be in need of smiles. So for me it’s ‘Danger Journey’ now and forever, my own famous five!
So that was about my childhood band, tell me about yours before you go!
Linking this to Write Tribes’s Wednesday Prompt which is a free write of at-least 500 words without using the filler words. Which filler words you ask? Well, read here.
Your childhood seems idealist! It is in some ways similar to mine. Only that we friends aren't as much in contact as you guys are now!
We were 3 best friends, always hanging around together. I totally went back in time reading your post 🙂
I would have loved to grow up in the beautiful Shillong, your post is full of sweet childhood memories and reading about them is warming my heart. Loved reading your lovely post.
What lovely childhood memories of beautiful places and good friends! Sounds so magical to me.
Thanks for the amazing write-up. I'm so glad that to this day we all still remember what we did in those memorable days. Hopefully we'll have a reunion soon 🙂
This was a delightfully nostalgic write-up of the fun-filled happy days of childhood. Great post, Naba! Really fun name you chose for your gang 🙂 Your description of the idyllic Shillong is lovely.
I could so relate to this one…I am still in contact with the friends I made back then..Very close still…I miss it all now!!!
Lovely post, lovely pictures and in general interesting.I like to read childhood memories which make me land in my lovely village of kerala.In the initial stages of my blogging I had written my memories under the head'….that never returns in four parts.Pl. visit if time permits.
Nostalgic…it reminds me of my Shillong trip when I was a kid..
Growing up in small town is really a gift. I can relate to this post as i have born and grown up in one beautiful town Karwar. Your post took me back to my childhood Naba. Thank You ! 🙂
Gets me all nostalgic, lovely writeup :)you are blessed to grow up in such a serene place away from the tiresome, fast moving cities.l
Such a delightful post, Naba. It made me think of my summer holidays at my grandparents home – playing hide-and-seek with my cousins and a game called 'dark room' – the fun, the laughter and the sheer innocence!
clouds floating in through windows!!! wow I am so jealous now… that is pretty awesome childhood. Shillong in indeed a lovely place and with so many mountains and valleys around, Danger Jouney might have found lots of adventurous spots too. This is such a beautiful post with loads of lovely memories 😀
Aww, lovely lovely..(i'm going to add one more lovely) post! Nostalgia at its best I'd say. I'm glad you could relate to my post Naba. And deliver a lovely post which now is making me even more nostalgic. Thank you 🙂
You make me envy your childhood, Naba 🙂
Childhood days are best
This post took me back to my childhood.. During summer when my aunt's kids visited us, we used to do all these things too 🙂
Your post transported me to to my childhood days when we ( 25 children) played in the space between three building. We had space and time to play unlike the children of today who do not the luxury of both. We played simple games which did not require the aid of modern technology. Games like hide-and-seek , 'lagori' and 'dabba-ice-paise' were common and sometimes we played badminton. Shillong is a very beautiful place and I have visited it.
What a nostalgic post ?! The cottage in the picture looks so much like the place I grew up in.Sadly I haven't been able to keep in touch with my childhood buddies…not even on fb and whatsapp…lucky you, to still be connected with them!
Loved reading your childhood memories. They made me smile! ♥
Such an idyllic childhood you had, Naba. The friendships we forge during our growing-up years are the most memorable and enduring. And lucky you are to be still in touch with them.
What wonderful memories. Nothing can beat childhood friendships. It is amazing, though, how you've kept them alive even now. Shillong sounds like such a wonderful place. I do need to visit the North East at least once. PS: loved that bit about long friendships thriving on dislike.. So true! :-).
I am dying to visit Shillong now!I have heard wonderful things about the North east. Will plan something soon. Thanks for the temptation! 🙂
yes you are so right about shillong… I went there years and years ago and it was so very beautiful ..
Bikram
Aww! That sounds like a fun childhood, Nabanita. My best friends too, are still the ones I went to nursery with. 🙂
That is such a beautiful post, Naba, soaked in nostalgia and love. Some day I would love to visit Shillong.
What a lovely place, I happened to visit Shillong and meghalaya, and fell in love that place. Enjoyed reading your post and brought in some memories of my childhood too. I am not in touch with all of my friends, a few keep in touch, thanks for sharing !
Hey Nabanita! That's an awesome journey, reliving the innocent but priceless childhood days in Shillong. The pics are awesome and whatta beautiful place to live. Hope I can visit Shillong some day.
Such a wonderful free write, filled with nostalgia and memories. You reminded me of my own childhood- cricket, hide and seek and being teased by the friendly neighbours. Lovely to see what happens when we let our minds free.
Nice article Dear, I love to read this types of articles. Thanks a lot to share with us…… Searching for Govt jobs Click Here For Latest Govt Jobs.
Lovely Post
Hill stations are always such fun and you reminded me of when I used to avidly read Famous Five and a group of friends used to try and imitate the five!!
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