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.