Childhood

I am the first child of my parents. My father used to work as manager in small tea garden. As I remember we use to have a driver who was muslim but he was the guy whom I was fond of in my childhood. While I was around 5 years old he got ‘Gangrene’ and had to ampute both of his legs. So, ‘Gangrene’ was the first English letter I learned. Later my dad didn’t discontinue him from his service rather told him to stay with us. He was given the job of accompaning me wherever I go. That way he stayed with us till he had his own family. My dad even arranged a girl to be his wife.

In the tea garden there was not a single English medium school so I used to study in a governmental Bengali medium school. Yes, I used to study in bengali medium. Alas! now I hardly remember any bengali poem from those childhood days. But there I learnt a lesson or two of life. i.e. There is nothing wrong in learning a language. So, in my childhood I used to speak Manipuri in home and Bengali in school and with my friends.

Right next to the quarter alloted to us we had “Padri” Father of the local church. He was from Canada. I don’t remember his name and those days I didn’t had the faintest idea of asking him his name. He used to give me small cartoon books and made me learn English. He would give me small story books based of bible and I used to see the pictures depicted and made the story go into my head. If he had the time we both used to go and roam here and there. Those days I was particularly fond of his bath tub. It really was not a bath tub but a water tank which he used as a bath tub. During one of his bath he told me the story of Archemedies and related it to his bath tub. And still now I remember the story of Archemedies. Now I realise that why he made the presentation of the story during his bath. Yes! the western world believes in practical and not in theory. And that was one lesson I learnt in life from that loving Padri. After my dad’s promotion we left that quarter and lost track of the Padri.

All these interactions have made me a person who believe in a person not by the religion he follows but by the act he does. I believe in Karma not in Dharma. So, if you are a religious bigot forget me and stop surfing here.

Sorry for ending my story briefly.

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