Memory is such a bizarre
phenomenon! Just when my amnesia is slowly erasing away my mind, a sudden gust
of past images brought back a long lost memory! Such is life, when we begin to
lose our most precious treasures, it brings back something that we had been
searching for so long.
Ever since the time I
can still recall, I could never remember the reason behind a four-inch long
scar behind my left thigh. When I was in college, one day, Maa asked me,
“Pravin, when did you get that scar on your thigh?”
I was naturally surprised
on receiving this sudden question. It was a Sunday afternoon and I was roaming
around in my trunks when Maa saw the scar behind my left thigh. Aunt Padma rushed
in from the kitchen and scrutinized me thoroughly (as if I was still a child) and then retired on the sofa with the
words, “Good heavens! I wonder when you received that. However, it seems quite
old, though the traces of it are still visible!”
Aunt Padma’s deductions
were correct. The scar did seem like a very old one and only the mark on my
skin has remained. However, the weird part of the entire episode was that
nobody remembered how I got it! The history and the mystery behind the
forgotten scar of mine had somehow vanished from the minds of my entire family,
including me!
****
Today, on a lazy
Saturday morning, as I sat near my window and watched the showers come down
from the clouds, I suddenly remembered everything! I was ten years old then,
and had moved to Mumbai along with my family. My Baba enrolled me into “St. Joseph’s Missionary School” and my
education commenced in this new city. I made quite a few friends shortly and
settled down amid my new environment. Among the fresh acquaintances in school,
there was a boy named Tony Macaulay. Tony and I didn’t become friends
immediately, instead there was some sort of an antagonism that he developed
towards me. I couldn’t understand the reason behind this dislike, but my young
mind wanted to overcome it and befriend him. Tony had an innocent charisma that
appealed to me, even at that tender age and I wished I were his friend.
Once during a holiday
weekend, the school authorities arranged for an excursion for the students of
the junior school. The plan was to take the students to the “Queen Mary’s Church” in Little Colaba.
The parents were asked to drop the children in school early in the morning and
the school bus was supposed to take all the kids on a daylong trip. The
itinerary contained a morning trip to the church, followed by a lunch session
and playtime within its campus. At five in the evening, the bus was again
scheduled to bring back all the students to school for dispersal.
I was excited about the
trip, more so because it was supposed to be a solo one without the presence of
parents! It was a kind of thrill that every child experiences at that age.
There were quite a few school busses and all of us headed for the trip with
full enthusiasm. As we reached the destination, the appointed teachers queued
us inside the church, to maintain decorum. There was a brief prayer session and
then we were dispersed slowly. At noon we had a hearty lunch and then all the
children were allowed to play in the playground within the boundary of the
church campus.
Around late in the
afternoon, as I was strolling around the bushes at a corner of the church’s
northern boundary, I saw something! Tony was standing near a pit and peeping
inside while trying to do something intently. I felt inquisitive and went near
him. As I came close, I could see a small kitten sitting at the bottom of the
pit and howling for help. The pit was deep enough, with protruding rock
splinters along its perimeter, and was not possible for a young boy to get in
and out of it easily. I asked, “Hey Tony, what happened? What are you trying to
do?”
Tony didn’t notice my
arrival and was astonished initially on hearing my voice. After the initial confusion,
he replied, “I want to save that kitten, he is stuck inside that pit… But I cannot
find a way to do so. This pit is too deep and dangerous!”
This was the first time
I realized that Tony had a strange pitch in his voice and a body language that
I had previously mistaken as his antagonism towards me. Since we were
completely unfamiliar with each other, even he felt hesitant to ask me for help.
I tried to make a good use of the situation and quickly said, “Tony, I will climb
down into the pit and you hold me tightly. Once I grab the kitten, you pull me
out! Anyways, my name is Pravin!”
Tony was a bit skeptical
about the idea but agreed. Thus began our mini adventure and while we succeeded
in rescuing the kitten, I ended up bruising the back of left thigh, as it
brushed against the protruding rocks! I squalled in pain as Tony helped me out
from the pit. The little kitten ran away ecstatically into a nearby bush while
I sat on the ground. The bruise pained a lot but Tony tried his best to soothe
me. However, we were both happy that we could succeed in our little act of
heroism!
Tony saved me from any humiliation
in front of the teachers. He told our class-teacher that I fell down while
trying to save him from skidding on a slippery ground. Our class-teacher, Mrs.
Sutherland, praised me for my valor and took me over to the church’s infirmary where
I received first-aid. Luckily, Mrs. Sutherland forgot to inform anything about
the incidence to my parents after we returned. Perhaps she thought it best not
to raise an alarm among the parents! I was also cared to tell about it to Maa
and Aunt Padma, so I decided to keep it as a little secret. For many days, I
avoided to exposure my bruise in front of my parents. I was good at it and
could escape any confrontation. The wound healed soon and my relationship with
Tony became friendly. We were no more antagonists, but became buddies.
Years moved on, and with
time, I forgot about the incidence completely. A few years later, Tony went
away to South Africa along with his parents and I lost all touch with him. As
the little Tony behind the forgotten scar faded away from my mind, so did the
existence of the scar. Moreover, such was the stroke of luck that I could not
even remember anything about it.
Finally, today, the fond
memories of Tony and the forgotten scar have suddenly returned home, to my mind
and I stand here with a smile on my face. I don’t know whether miracles happen
or not, but I really wish that a miracle happens and I get to meet Tony again,
just like a miraculous gust of lost time has reminded me about the FORGOTTEN
SCAR!
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