The Delhi Fog

There are this small things in our life which fetch a window to our beloved past. A rainbow of memories that flashes away for a second. It could be that song or a perfume or a particular attire. Some events that wouldn't have been so spectacular but are stored in our brain's memory drive for ever. One such thing for me are foggy mornings. I am in so love with them, as they take me to a naive past of my childhood memories. Fog reminds me of those cold mornings with monkey cap on head and scarf around my neck to school. Amma made sure I was packed like a doll to ward of the winter cold, Although I looked like an over weight Teddy Bear. We were in Delhi during those days, Thughlakabad to be exact. Near to those Muhammad Bin Thuglak castle remains was our school. A tiny forest of eucalyptus trees on either side of the road provided a serene look with fog covering almost half of those giant trees.  Acha drove his Bajaj Chetak with swagger flowing through his moustached smile. And I was standing in between him and the scooter handle. Often I had this imagination that its me who balanced the scooter and Acha was just changing the gears. The Cold mist caressing my face made me numb after a while and that made the ride even more interesting. I wished that the road to schools may never end and our ride just keep going on forever. Acha maneuvering skilfully through those paved roads was a sight to see. And sometimes he lets me press the horn and I have all the freedom I could ask for to make helluva noise with it. Apparently noise was our best navigation to fend of opposing traffic. Some days I urge him to race past Sushitha's dad's blue LML Vespa or Vikas's dad's Grey Chetak just for the bragging rights in class. There was an incident when a rickshaw decided to cut across our scooter and Acha had to hit the brakes all of a sudden. Thank God nothing unfortunate happened, but soon after that I remember my Acha swearing at the rickshaw-waala in Suresh Gopi style. I begged him for the whole week to teach me those words. Although he never complied, and I had to watch Suresh Gopi movies to pick them up later in my life.  In fact I never had a chance to spend too many winters at Delhi. The handful I had were memorable enough for a life time. Its been a few winters here in US, and in each of them I look forward to those foggy mornings. Eager to go to work or a long ride just to reminisce in my past Delhi days. Reality hits hard when I remind myself that I cant honk away like that 5 year old me. Ahh I wish I could go back to my childhood in a time capsule.