THE LIFE THAT WAS!

1985

Sometimes I ponder over the fact that living in the capital city is strenuous, erroneous and boring. I reminisce the time when I climbed the slender trees to pull down fruits as sweet as the nectar. There were friends with whom I went fishing with hooks made of steel wires and diverting rivulets to trap fishes, shrimps and crabs. I went fishing with friends by fixing traps made of bamboos and canes.

I reminisce the time when I went hunting with friends with bows and arrows. Our parents never bothered to fix our arrows with poison (omo). I remembered that we also shot birds with ordinary arrows. I’ve been a keen outdoor when it came to hiking and making new jungle tricks. I used to trap rats and birds by fixing flat boulders and ropes made out of creepers. It used to be joyous moment when I saw the small birds and animals trapped and killed… I beg the God to forgive me!

I with friends used to track the hilly terrains to make sure that wild boar and deer make their home around. Assured of the animals grazing around, we used to inform of our findings to the villagers. Upon that information they used to plan strategies to hunt the poor animals. These used to be meticulously planned to drive out the animals from rest/nest. The group, usually the teenagers like us that time, used to chase those animals with hunting dogs to let them run straight to the elder hunters who used to remain alert along the track the animals usually trip. Naturally the elders used to kill our preys and we used to get an extra share of meat for the efforts.

These scorching summer days are best for people to venture out in the deep forest to collect ‘wild’ fruits or to hunt or trap fish and small animals. I really do not have the faintest ideas that the wild fruits have medicinal as well as aphrodisiac effects.

Alas! I’ve to keep on pondering over the good old days when we have all those pastimes for the sake of passing time. I’m deeply troubled when I see peoples’ phantom killing of animals, small or big to make money. There have been times when the village elders restrict killing of such animals and wanton deforestations which acts seemed to them threatening ecologically. Those acts of the village elders were based on practical experiences with the nature around them by the preaching that ‘nature cures'.

Two tumblers of beer kept me writing :)

To be continued…