Distant memories

Ola!!

See here's the saying which sorta makes sense every time you think about it. "You don't really know the value of something until you don't have it".

About 14 odd years back, a kid moved into a house on my street. He was a couple of years younger to me and seemed the quiet shy type of guy. I wasn't exactly Mr Social but here was someone more reclusive than I was.

So, a few weeks passed and we got to know each other. The streets on those days were filled with kids playing a whole bunch of games. I vaguely remember atleast 20 kids on my street every evening each playing cricket, hide n seek, 7 tiles etc.

So my friend , lets call him kulla (which is kannada for someone who's short) and I got together every evening playing cricket(Yes I did play cricket those days).

As a year went by, we became pretty good friends. I was only about 9 or 10 back then so the title of "best friend" those days was comparable to a being a son of a millionaire. The best friend got the best of everything the person had. Or else, the best friend would resign as best friend :D.

Kulla was never my "best friend" in terms of those days. But he was around always around.
I don't have a sibling and both my parents work till late. So after getting back home from school, life was pretty boring. But Kulla filled that void.

WWE was the most happening thing those days. Kulla and myself were every possible tag team in the WWE. Our opponents were well...... lifeless pillows but we injected life into them like nobody business. My dad made the mistake of buying a ladder. The first thing after he left the house was a tables ladders and chairs match against err.... pillows. I remember the count of broken things in the house that day exceeded 35. Kulla rocketed out the minute he saw my dad opening the gate leaving me stranded.

In the words of Russel Peters, "somebody gonna get a hurt real bad" that day. And it wasnt him.

As the years rolled by, my dad made another mistake. Buying me a computer. Add to it the mistake that my mom made while returning from Iran. Buying me tomb raider 4. Kulla and I stuck to it day and night. I'm pretty sure, we never noticed Lara's hot pants till the 5th level or so. Such was the involvement in the game. 37 levels of traps, puzzles, mummies, dogs, bikes and ancient gods, we cleared it all.

Completing that game earned me a god level status among my gamer friends. Honestly I'd have gone nowhere if it wasn't for him. Tomb raider 4 was followed by prince of Persia 3, followed by tomb raider 5, diablo 2 and the list went on.

Obviously, something had to give way for all these accolades in the gaming world. Unfortunately for Kulla and me, it happened to be something that parents really give a damn about. GRADES and MARKS. Well, the obvious excuse before getting an earful or grounded was the excuse that Kulla hadn't fared any better. Of course, that never helped anyone. But it was worth the shot. It was the same scene at his place too. And of course, the two of us had a laugh about it.

To say that kulla was a sports enthusiast would be an understatement. We tried our hand at every single game that existed, including croquet(for those of you who know what that is). In addition, we invented, improvised and added. Sport was something we both loved and gave it our best shot. We were each others nemesis on the field, be it cricket, football, basketball or volleyball.

To his credit, kulla always was the best among his classmates. Captains would never have a second thought about picking him as he was that good. One distinct memory that I have is of the vacation football challenge.

Our street had a sign board that held up something once upon a time. When the vacation started, only the 2 posts remained of the signboard. It wasn't more than 2 feet across and 3 feet high

That, was our goal. Just one. We didn't need 2 to play a game of football. The street was our turf, and barefoot we played, nonchalant about any cuts, bruises or broken bones. That vacation was probably the best I ever had. We played with a small plastic green ball no more than the size of a musk melon.

2 months, just the 2 of us, mano-e-mano, 1 continuous game to be resumed the next day, after the street lights were too dim and our mothers had yelled all they could. And I remember the score at the end of the vacation being 586-523.
In a football game !!!!!!!! Did we hate it when school began?? You bet.

I remember getting a basketball ring for one of my birthday's. Nothing extravagant, just a ring with a board and a ball of course.

It went on top of my terrace and that's where our basketball games took place. 3 stories high with plain 2 foot rails to protect us much less the balls from plummeting down on to the road below. I'm not sure how many motorists, peed their pants and hit their brakes after being subjected to a basketball falling out of nowhere. But we dint care. The game was too important.

School matches were all about bragging rights. Kulla was a good volleyballer and I was a good basketballer. We represented different teams at school, but we helped each other get better at the other sport.

It so happened that, one fine afternoon, my team was playing kulla's team for the volleyball crown. We walked onto the field with smirks on our faces, knowing that the winner would really rub it into the loser for the rest of the week.

Of course, there was plenty of banter during the game. We taunted each other without inhibitions and there was plenty said. I remember winning the game, and although he was a better player, I had won. Not without his help of course, because the training sessions prior to the game were where we bought out each others flaws in the game.

A year later, this time on the basketball court, it was our teams squaring off again for a place in the final. It was my last year at school, and I was hungry to win the tournament. It was kulla's first year in the team and he wanted to make a mark. He started on the bench and the game was a roller coaster going one way and another. Kulla came on in the final quarter and the larking began once again. Lots of words were said which added fuel to an already intriguing contest.

But amidst all the competition, we exchanged banter with smiles. Not meaning a word of what we said. I remember an incident where he was defending me and I pulled his shorts down, on the blind side of the referee. In retribution, he swung an arm and the referee called a foul :D.

The sight of him frantically trying to convince the ref that I was pulling on his shorts was hilarious. The referee would have none of it. I was considered a saint at school and I was usually given the clean chit much to the dismay of everyone.

But, as they say, cheaters never prosper. We lost a cliffhanger. Kulla was ecstatic but the smiles or the banter never ceased after the game.

I guess sport won, as I had gotten better at volleyball, he at basketball.

Another frenzy, that started in school was stamp collection. It sprung out of nowhere. Suddenly, everyone had their assortment of stamps and exchanges were taking place with the speed and fury, that would put the stock markets to shame.

There again, he was my partner in crime. We had a merger, his collection added to mine at that point made it one of the biggest. We even annoyed and irritated one of my classmates to such an extent that he gave up collecting stamps.

Today, I still own the collection and I'm reminded of him whenever I look at it.

In my final year at school, I opted to take the same van to school as kulla. The font seats were reserved for us, since we were on the drivers good side. The girls at the back never hated anyone else in the van more than the 2 of us. The high pitched squeals and moans from the back of the van only motivated us to rub it into them more that we had the front seats and they would never.

Yea, we were evil!! :D. The van driver and me convinced kulla that he should take up becoming a gangster for a career. Those journeys were unforgettable and were always a laughter riot.

Gradually at high school, we both joined a basketball club. The hoop was the agenda every weekend. My mother had finally bestowed me with a 2 wheeler and kulla and me would zoom to court at the slightest opportunity.

It's been 3 years since I've met the guy. Life's taken me places and we're no longer in touch. I hear he's gotten really good at basketball and isn't really "kulla" anymore.

Nevertheless, it was awesome to have a childhood friend such as him. Maybe I will go down and meet him soon. Till then, thats all of these distant memories.