Wet and stuck

Please don't be under the impression that I ONLY write whacky incidents from my childhood. Having said that, here's another such ... ! :)

My childhood friend is completing her post-graduation in a month and one cannot help going down memory lanes on such momentous occasions. I am sure you agree so read on..

We moved to a huge housing colony in Domlur when I was in 3rd Std. My younger brother was in the Lower KG. We lived in the 2nd floor and right below our apartment, there were 2 kids who were the same age as my brother and I. Apart from them, there were several other families also, ensuring that there was never a dearth of playmates here -something I will always cherish. It was here that I grew up to be this absolute tomboy. I recall having only 3 dolls in total and an assortment of GI Joes, Superheroes, Cars, Buses etc. My 2 next floor neighbours, my brother and I were inseparable and the terrace of our building was our favourite hang-out.

The geography of our terrace is quite simply a maze of Sintex tanks and pipelines coupled with Cable wires. It was one of those days when all 4 minds connected and we decided to be daring and adventurous. We contemplated walking along the edge of the terrace but we were more scared that the watchman would notice and complain to our parents. So we had to do something exciting but stealthily. We decided to sit on top of one of the Sintex tanks, open the lid and splash the water with our feet. Quite thrilled with our idea, we executed it to perfection - in 20 minutes, we were all comfortably perched on the tank and splashing the cool water with our feet. No kid worth his/her salt will be satisfied with just this - more so because this was so easily accomplished. Our aim was to be ADVENTUROUS in case you missed the point.

So the next plan was laid out. To this day I don't recall whose marvellous idea this was. You might have guessed it. Yes, we decided to jump inside the tank one by one. The sensiblity of this plan ends here. Both the boys decided that I would be the first one to get in. Without thinking further and wanted to impress everyone, I jumped in and landed with a splash. The tank was half-full and the water-level was till my shoulders. It hit us then that this was not exactly fun because getting out seemed impossible. Being the big sisters, my friend and I used to boss over our brothers and order them around - there's a special thrill involved. Here we put on our big sister hat and denied both the boys a chance to jump inside. All our efforts were now focussed towards extracting me out.

Here my analysis is that neither South Indian nor Bengali cuisine offers anything in terms of strength for kids - despite what the Complan, Bournvita kids might scream out in their adverts. The three of them yanked my hand, hair and tried their best while I tried to grab the edge of the tank , all of us failing miserably. We were exhausted and brain-dead. I am sure the three of them sitting on top just wanted to close the lid and run home to watch cartoons! Like typical kids, we decided that time had come to involve the elders, which meant that it was time to get spanked. Fear of the whip brought out the worst in us and all of us had a merry fight about whose fault it was, who was stupid and foolish.. I had to bear the brunt of all the blame because I was scared all along that they would leave me and go away - wet and stuck in a Sintex tank !!!

When it comes to choosing the right parent for the right task, no kid ever makes a mistake. We knew that my dad and my neighbour's mom were out of question right away. Both would have not only yelled their heads off, but also thrown the remaining three kids on top into the tank and walked off. It was down to my mom and Burman uncle. After a lengthy character analysis, Burman uncle was the chosen one. My mom was sidelined due to basic woman tendencies. She would have helped us but she would have certainly informed the remaining parents and given us stern warnings resulting in some 'terrace rules' incorporated on the spot. Burman uncle was our choice for this rescue mission. My neighbour's brother got off the tank, went down and returned with his father. Now uncle was truly an angel. He got me out of the tank, gave us some mild scoldings and sent me home to dry myself. It was normal for us to always return home dirty, wet or muddy so my mom must have been fed up and didn't probe too much.

Obviously the four so-called 'daredevils' were very proud that they managed to pull this failed attempt at adventure successfully. Another feather in our cap - we discovered our guardian angel !!!