GOING WITH THE WORMS

Like sharing a plate of spaghetti we dropped our fingers into the soft mass of gooey wriggly worms and took out these creatures by the numbers. In fact if not for the dark brown and reddish colour and their movements it was like having a fork of noodles or spaghetti ready to be devoured.
We took a few of them and then put them into an empty can that each of us had brought along. To prevent them from drying and dying we topped them with a layer of soft cow dung. We had learnt this from experience. Once we forgot to do it and on reaching the fishing spot, the worms had dried up and could not be used. So instead of fishing, we swam and played in the mining pool. It was fun though without our parents’ permission and knowledge. If they had known about this adventure, I am sure we would have got a bad trashing from them.

THE CREEPY CREATURES

Guna unlatched the wooden gate and we went in. The cows and goats were still out in some fields and so we did not have the opportunity to fool around with them. Guna got hold of a hoe and we followed him to the backyard. An awesome sight lay ahead. Looming in front of us was an enormous hill of dung. We were told that each morning the dung from the shed was taken out and piled here.
We eagerly climbed it and stood at the top of it; the summit. The hill was made by months and probably years of dung being piled up over time without wasting any of it. Guna gave a heave and dropped the edge of the hoe into the dung. He pulled away the dung and behold; hundreds of wriggling, slimy earthworms were waiting for us. The worms were much bigger and fatter than those that we usually saw in the backyards of our gardens. Some were as fat as our middle fingers. Oh those fishes were going to have a feast; I thought. They were enormous and it was an awesome sight. Others would have fainted or maybe just run away at the sight of these wriggling and creepy creatures.
As for us we had seen the worst. It was a common sight and a natural setting living in a village. Often after a heavy and continuous downpour, the drains would be flooded and the water overflowed its banks onto the backyards of our houses. This is the time when these earthworms would come crawling and wriggling out and sticking to the walls of houses, chicken coops and trees. These were much smaller, both in size and length. This phenomenon happened because the ground that they inhabited was water logged and these creatures climb up to higher ground so they would not be drowned and that they can breathe. These creatures are living things and as such need to breathe.

The Visit to the Cow Shed

So with our fishing rods, we gathered again under the tree in front of my house; Gopal, Ravi, Guna, Thaila and I.
"Hey, what about the baits? What are we going to use?" asked Ravi.
Gopal sarcastically asnwered, "Worms, of course. Do you wasn’t to use your fingers?
All of us laughed hysterically.
Ravi asked angrilly, "I mean, where are we going to get your worms?"
Guna interrupted, "He's right, you know. Stop laughing at him. Anyway, we can go to my cow shed to get them."
"Thanks," Gopal and I cried out jubilantly. "Great idea!"
Incidentally, Gopal's family had a herd of cows. I guessd there were about twenty cows, kept in a cow shed not far from his house. In those days, many of the people in the village kept cows as a means of earning an extra income. In the morning the cows would be let out and driven to fields or land where there was grass and plants. In the evening, the cows would either go back to the cow shed all on their own or driven back by the owners. I had often been to the cowshed to see and play with the cows and calves.
The calves were the best. They were friendly and playful. They loved being touched and stroked. I had learnt to love them since I was small. These creatures have feelings and understand humans. We were quite scared of the bulls. Often we were reminded not to wear anything red for red was the colour that bulls detest.
The villagers also kept goats. The kids were really cute. They would skip and come to us and they loved being pushed and rubbed especially their horns. It was a kind of game they loved. Maybe it's inborn or maybe their horns were developing, I am still wondering until today.
To mimic their elders, they knocked and pushed at our hands. Some of them were quite strong though.
Like a platoon, we marched from our homes along back lanes and across the railway tracks, which divided the village and the cowsheds. It took us about twenty minutes to get to the destination; the cowsheds.

The Fishing Rod

I said, "No, mum. Please do not use it. I had taken a lot of trouble to get it."
It had been a wonderful looking bamboo pole; just perfect in every sense; the look, the feel and the lightness. Not too big and it had the right proportion from top to end.
She was shocked by all the fuss and she gave in. If it had been used to dry clothes, fish would never come near the bait.

The five of us really believed in some taboo. If the fishing rods were used to dry clothes, it would be bad luck. We could never get any fish even with the best baits; earthworms, prawns, flour paste and even insects. That was why I had to hide the pole away from mischievous hands.

During the holidays, the five of us had walked all the way to a forest reserve to find the perfect bamboo poles. We managed to find the cluster of bamboo growing lushly in the middle of the forest reserve. We took the risk to climb over a fence to get into the place. Just to remind you, the place is a forest reserve. That means ordinary people are not allowed to enter it. There was and still there is the big green notice warning the public not to tresspass the area. Otherwise the public will be prosecuted.

The five of us were excited and totally delighted to see the lush green bamboo growing there. We selected the best, the longest, the perfect ones for the purpose. Guna as usual was the strongest and the most skillful in using the parang or long knife. He carefully chopped the base of the selected bamboo plant. We helped him to pull it away after that. We were also quite prepared with old cloth to hold and pull the bamboo plants because there were torns and fur that would cause a terrible itch. Carefully, we placed the five selected poles on the ground. Next, Gopal took over the task. He carefully, trimmed away the leaves and the torns. Of course he did it by holding the poles with cloth to prevent any injury.

The bamboo poles were also really sharp so we had to be very careful. Gopal really did a good job of trimming the edges to prevent accidental cuts.

Happily, we carried our own fishing rods or rather bamboo poles and walked home. We totally forgot we were in a restricted zone. Anyway, we did not meet any officers or wardens or people from the authority.

Upon reaching home we cleared the remaining bits of torns and edges and left them to dry under the blazing sun. It took nearly two weeks to see the golden brown fishing rods; our precious possession. We were really proud of the result. Indeed we should because we had taken all the trouble to get them.
She had asked, "Where did you get it from?"
I answered, "Oh, from some forest reserve nearby."
"When did you cut it?" she inquired again.
I answered meekly not wanting to scare her. "Some time during the last holidays."
Mother let me off with a warning. "It's dangerous to go to the forest. Next time don't do it again, okay?"
With a relief I answered, "Yes, mum."

A Fishing We Shall Go

I remembered clearly going to a pool and not getting any fish after a couple of hours waiting patiently there.
Thaila said, "okay, let's vote. Majority wins."
So all the five put in our votes by a show of hands. It was three for and two against the idea. I was for it anyway.
I asked, "When shall we go?"
Gopal answered, "Why not now? It's still early. What time is it now?"
I said, "Let me take a look."
The old grandfather clock in my house was also the only clock that everyone in the village referred to whenever my neighbours wanted to know the time of the day. Come to think of it, I have always wondered why my neighbours had \never bothered to get a clock for themselves. Maybe it was not necessary to them. In those days we had to wind the clocks every week and it was not a delightful job. Only my grandfather and father would wind it up. I was not allowed to touch it for fear of destroying it.
"Hey, it's only half past one. Better go now before it gets late." I suggested.
So saying we returned to our houses and came out again, each with a fishing rod in the hands. It was always a ready at hand tool as we each had one as a necessity. A bamboo pole with a line and a hook at the end. There was also a float made from apiece of cork cut from an old bottle stopper. The fishing pole would be placed at the back of our houses; against the kitchen wall away from mischievous hands. Quite precious though; it was not to be touched by others. We believed that if someone else touched it, we would not be able to get any fish. My mother had one tried to use it to put out her clothes to dry and I had protested angrily.

The Decision

Anywhere it was the signal for the five of us to meet. We would as usual exchange news, jokes and chat about anything under the blue sky. After a while we would decide on a particular game to play for the say. Our favourite games in those days were marbles, hide and seek, kite flying, top spinning, rounders, hit and run fishing or chada-gudu (a traditional Indian game).
Ravi suggested, "Let's play with marbles."
Guna interrupted, "No, not today. We played it yesterday. So boring."
Thaila suggested, "What about kite flying?"
I answered quite annoyed, "How to fly the kites? There isn't any wind and it's terribly warm now."
Gopal joined in, "Fishing. Fishing. Let's go. I know of a place that is nice and not very far away."
"Where is it?" the three of us asked.
Gopal continued, "It's near my cow shed and the cemetery, the Chinese one."
"What? Crazy idea! I wouldn't go there. It's not a good place to go to." Ravi said in protest.
"No, we are not going to the cemetery. We are only using the road near it to get to the pond." Gopal explained.
"It's still a crazy idea," Ravi added.
Ravi was the youngest in the group and always the most timid. He was always skeptical and pessimistic. Even though he usually protested, he would yield in the end and joined in because he did not want to be left out of the fun.
I added, "It's a crazy idea but why not. It's worth a try if there are fish there.

Have to Eat First

Anyway, back to the group, the names are Gunasegaran (Guna), Thaiyalan (Thaila), Ravindran (Ravi) and Gopal Krishnan (Gopal). Ravi is now a police inspector. The five of us had shared a lot of adventures and thrills many kids nowadays would envy.
Each day after school, we would gather in the compound in front of my house or rather our houses. We would sit under the two shady trees and share jokes, stories and tales about everything under the sky.
One particular afternoon; I remembered that it was a Friday afternoon. School was over early as it is now. On reaching home, I kicked off my shoes into the corners of my room. My socks were thrown onto a stool and my bag onto the floor. After changing into my casual clothes, I dumped my soiled school uniform into a pail in the bathroom. Into the kitchen I shot. I took a plate, scooped some rice onto it and went to the food cabinet. There were fish and vegetables (plucked from our farm). I took a fish and added some vegetables. After a quick lunch, I dashed out of my house to meet my buddies. Usually, I would be the first to be there. Standing there, I inserted my fingers into my mouth and blew. A whistle and it was a signal for the others to appear. I had practised this whistle for quite a while before getting it into perfection. At first only air came out without a sound. Later after much practice, I got it right.

My Background

Children love water and playing in it, be it rain, in the river or pond is all part of growing up. Talk about playing or fishing and fishing comes next in line. Like many children, I love water and especially fishing.
The thrill of having a fish at the end of the fishing line cannot be described. The bigger the fish, the more exciting one becomes. It is only natural. To see a fish struggling to free itself at the end of the line can be a real experience. The trick is to toy with the fish; lag the line and then jerk it back slowly. It is a skill one has to learn when one talks about fishing.
My little tale about fishing is not about the skill and the thrill of fishing. It is a tale of adventure, friendship, teamwork, co-operation, fear and laughter.

During my primary school days, I lived in a village with my grand parents, parents, a brother and four sisters. In those days, big families were common. My grand parents and parents were farmers and each day they leave early to the farm taking care of the vegetable plots. Being the eldest, I was entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the younger siblings.
In the morning, I would go to the school that was about 5 km away. I walked there with my close friends. They were like brothers to me. They protected me and taught me a lot of things. I am very grateful and often cherish the wonderful moments with them. Though they are now working in faraway places, we try to meet during festivals to catch up with the latest news and happenings.
These friends whom I have just mentioned are all Indians. I was the only Chinese because I lived in an Indian neighbourhood. We shared everything, secrets, snacks, tea, toys, games and even the same hobbies. In actual fact we were like blood brothers.
The houses around mine all belonged to Indian families. In those days, we ran around everywhere; into the front of one house and out through the back. There was not any secrets or disturbance. We trusted one another. During the Chinese New Year, my friends would come to my house for cookies and food. During Deepavali, I would go from house to house savoring all the delicious cooking. This is also one of the reasons why I love and enjoy the Indian cooking. Naturally, I picked up the Tamil language by mixing around with them. In a sense it is an achievement all due to the background I had then.