Okay, I'll admit it। Sitting near the wheel of my first bicycle before it was towed off to the junkyard, I cried। You can tell me a bicycle is only so much rubber & steal, but I will never apologies for loosing my cool that day. A young mans bicycle is less a means of transportation than a monument to his youthful abandon. Atleast mine was.
Eight years ago, soon after my fifth std final exams, I 'd started driving my sister's old blue avon cycle, giving lifts to just about anybody who asked. My sister had retired the bicycle and passed it on to me. After school, one afternoon, I got two friends in my bicycle, including nikky who opted to ride in the front.
Stray limbs, sing alongs and an occasional moist finger in my ear made the concentration difficult. While trying to quite my merry band of passengers, I ran into the back of a auto full of small children. Although i had been in considerable slow speed, the collision crumpled the front of my cycle. suddenly I remembered the back carrier. Jojy was out there on a heap of trash at the side of the road, motionless. I gasped, "you are the worst driver on the earth", he said laughing.
Bystanders, looked at us, one by one, about 6-10 of them crawled over like circus clowns. No one in the auto or nearby was hurt. Though one little girl was crying because she had to go to the toilet. As far as little boys were concerned, I was a hero, who had made them laugh. They crowded around me in admiration. Even the auto driver, some elderly passing by managed to smile. I got up. And then nikky who was stuck in between the handle and the front guard.
Mischief Makers
My parents, predictably furious, settled on my punishment. I will not have new pairs of school shoes, instead that money would be used to pay for the repairs. To lesson the financial blow, I insisted the repair shop to fix the bicycle with used parts. So when the work was completed, the blue avon sported a silver colored mud guard, a black chain cover and green axle cover.
In summers, I found my freedom_ and the possibilities of mischief - expanded a hundred a hundred fold. On days, my friends & myself went to places where once we thought of. We drove our bicycles along the canal road, to the abandoned railway over bridge. Instead of religious gatherings or social happenings, we used to ride in our bicycles.
One night while in office, where I worked part time, my friends asked for and took the bicycle. They didn't returned. With no money in my pocket, I walked home. The next morning, I found the bicycle in front of my house. After the college that day, everyone came to me with explanations and sorry's.
One by one my friends brought different automotive options to our fold. Sunny got a moped, sanjay got his fathers scooter, the most fortunate mohammed even managed to get a car. But after a few days, we always returned to our bicycles. Even then, I wondered why. The bicycles weren't flashy. It wasn't fast. And certainly wasn't comfortable.
Sad Verdict
There were no bored silences or demands that we should have different riding options. We filled the void by arguing about girls, making up defamatory songs about one another, or telling stories.
But the moments that truly stand out were more sober. I'll never forget the silence as we drove home from the cricket league match in which our team was eliminated. Nor the nights when anish talked about his parents divorce case, ron discussed about his family's financial troubles, gagan sadly spoke of his fathers absence and sami confided his dream of flying a fighter plane.
Since we finished school and off course college, my friends and I have spread out across the country and grown into adults. Yet I've never questioned my youthful emotions that day when the mechanic delivered his sad verdict. In my bicycles, we stockpiled memories like firewood, knowing that someday, somewhere, we would gather as grey haired men to relight the blaze of friendship.
"Walking by age...", Reflects myself when I was a callow youth - left the school, entered the college.
I added "Walking by age" in one of those free web servers available to test web designing. It is one of my first web-site and the pages can be still found in this link http://www27.brinkster.com/paragonline/
