| DeepBlue |
Posted
on 08-Dec-03 02:18 PM
2039 BS.
I was nine years old and was in the fifth grage.We used to play 'chungi' a lot in school.I loved chungi.But there was another thing about chungi I loved the most--to watch the hand movements of others when they played.Everyone had their own style, position, and movement of their hands.
She was very good at chungi.She could do that for hours without dropping the chungi even once on the ground.I always wondered if she moved her legs even while she was sleeping.She was thirteen years old--a little bit older to be in the fifth grade.
She always looked beautiful in school uniform.Beautifully tied 'red ribbon' flowers on her hair were more beautiful than fresh 'lalupate'.I secretly loved her.I wished she was my girl.But she was not.The only good news was that she was nobody's girl yet.I thought, if she was nobody's, she must be everybody's. That meant, she was mine too -- at least a little bit of her.
One afternoon, she was playing chungi right outside our classroom and we were watching her play.She had her new red 'hatti chhap chappal' on(shoes were optional).She was presenting her beautiful art of 'back kicks and front kicks'.Suddenly, her new hatti chhap chappal slipped and she fell down on the ground.Before she could get up and gather herself, we all saw the most beautiful thing we ever wanted to see--her beautiful red underwear.
Even before she could stand up, we started teasing her.The news of her 'Rato Kattu' spread around the school faster than the wild fire.Boys from other classes gathered.She was already inside our classroom--all blushed.Many guys cursed their luck for missing the show.Some guys went inside the classroom and started shouting "Rato Kattu". She picked up her books and left.She never came back to school again.
I saw her last year during my trip to Syangja.It had been twenty years since she dropped the school.She was beautiful even after twenty years.I asked about her life.She said she got married two years after she dropped the school."I have a daughter and a son.They are fourteen and ten" she smiled.I told her that I was still single.
"I wanted to study so much, but couldn't go back to school again.I wish I never played chungi. That changed my whole life" she said.
Today, I do not exactly remember my reaction to that incident.I think I was one of many students who laughed.I feel guilty now.I should share the sin -- at least a little bit of it.
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