Halycon Days – Living Them Again!

This article has been submitted by Bipasha Saikia for the CLATGyan Blog Post Writing Competition. If you think this article is a good read, ‘Like’ this article on Facebook (the button is at the bottom of this piece) or post a comment using the ‘comments’ section below.

The summer season is definitely more than the dry, sun-baked lanes, sticky clothes, the occasional low-hanging clouds and of course the blazing sunshine. Somehow, this season with its ample leisure moments usher in happiness and fulfillment in my life. The long summer vacations when I was in school, the frequency at which we managed to bunk social studies classes, the procrastination in completion of home tasks, the arrival of my mathematics tutor with his sulky face, the unending plans to form our own music band, the zeal and ebullience to do something praise-worthy in life, the numerous trips in which thousands of bucks was spent and lots more. The aforementioned activities, today, form a beautiful part of my memory collection.

Scanning down the memory lane, school has always been a place where each day we end up learning something new and interesting. It’s that place where I have transformed into a confident girl from a demure one. Bunking was more of a hobby than an occasional undertaking. During the dog days of the summer season, we were specially invited by the school authorities to do something by the name called as ‘practical classes’. I won’t deny the fact that they dragged us out but at the same time we enjoyed ourselves in our own tricky ways. I remember running away from school on the very first day after a single class and heading towards the nearby bakery shop followed by a visit to the net café. I carried a portable radio in my pocket to listen to the latest songs as we had no cell phones or iPods then. The most thrilling episode was bunking and listening to songs in a nearby room when our teacher was taking a class in the same hall. The gross bunking was when three of us locked ourselves up in the toilet for nearly forty minutes to escape the history class and the list is endless.

Back home, the scene was even better. A group of boys from the nearby hostel jazzed up my evenings by teasing me and having a ball amongst themselves. Taking my pet for a stroll was always fun with granny walking beside me. She loved to socialize and this way I too sometimes ended up having a chat with my neighbors. If ever I had a spat with my parents I knew that she would always back me.

I never considered my studies a burden. A positive-thinker, I had great faith in my abilities which instilled in me that come what may; I would manage to surpass all of them. Positive feedback from my teachers, the constant company of my sister (she doesn’t live with me now), my friends in our building (now they live somewhere else), there were too many people to feel lonely. The summers always brought floods and it was so much fun to miss school for that reason.

Speaking of my pet, it’s a little white German Spitz with black round eyes, a triangular brownish nose and a funny tail in the shape of the crook handle of an inverted umbrella. Timmy is a photogenic and it was exciting to click his pictures in funny poses. My favorite picture is Timmy wearing a red woolen cap with a shawl wrapped around his tiny frame exposing his funny tail.

But today, things have taken a turn for the worse and circumstances have landed me in a quandary. True, there is safety in numbers and loneliness has become an evil in my life. No, my granny is still with me but she has become a victim of amnesia. Her memory loss is increasing by the day and creating havoc in the harmony of our home. For some strange reason, Timmy too has brought in a change in his demeanor by becoming more aggressive and unpredictable. This way, my lively evenings have become dull and boring.

Mathematics was always fun with our sulky tutor but never in my new school at the higher secondary level. My sister and I loved to chat with our teacher and sums were so easy back then. I hardly remember any exam in higher secondary level where I had scored above sixty marks in this once-upon-a-time fun subject.

The word ‘tension’ was alien to me. Even on the days of results, I remained unperturbed for I knew that promotion was certain. An iota of tension was only whether we would pass with respectable marks or would live up to the expectations of our elders. Sounds funny!

But the delay in the higher secondary results kept me in tenterhooks. It was a pleasant surprise that I managed to get through. This restored my belief and faith in the Almighty. However, the relief was temporary. In the next few minutes, the CLAT results were out! Tensions gripped me again. A percentage of 71.4 with the ‘general’ tag will take me nowhere. I had only managed to get a seat in National Law University Judicial Academy, Assam. Is this what I wanted? Yes and No. Minutes before the results, I panicked so much that I said to Almighty that just help me get through CLAT, any NLU will do and he listened to my silent prayer so dutifully.

I lingered in the same old spot even after all the four lists were out. I was cheesed off with life for its petty games. Days later, I had taken a decision. CLAT again! Yes! Things will rewind. That one month of practice will be transformed into a year’s toil now. The thought itself made me glow and gave me insurmountable confidence. I had a gut feeling that my decision was right. It’s definitely worth a try. What if I get into one of the top three NLU’s? Positivity resurfaced!

I was proud of the decision I had made in such haste and started off with my preparations for the next attempt. After several weeks, optimism was at its peak. Life didn’t just look better, it seemed better and screw loneliness in an era of facebook and twitter.

Sure I miss school days like hell. But should I just brood over those days and let go off the wonderful future waiting to welcome me into its unknown charm? Hell, no! Life is a temporary phase, dearies! So why lament over its dark moments? Why not seize its little moments and fill life into each of them?

Why take solace in grief when happiness is only the next step?

The better side of me has emerged in full strength. I was relishing the good memories yet this realization had dawned on me that we must not assume such carefree days shall never come. I overcame the fear that ‘something so good shall never happen again’.

I now appreciate the cool, misty mornings of December as well as the sunny afternoons of May. With wide arms, I have hugged this form-changing behavior of nature in my life too. It is required to keep the rhythm of life intact.

I have shed all inhibitions now and feel at ease. No doubt, childhood is synonymous to halcyon days but youth, I believe will hug me tighter and I shall embrace it with all love and happiness.