Memories of Fun Days

June 1, 2021

Summer Vacation memories are precious for me as I step into my 67th year. My birthday was never celebrated in school because it fell during the Summer Vacation. Annual exams up to the IX standard were like nightmares. The terror and tension was so great, that I hardly registered the terms but it was all fun and frolic after the results. My sisters and me, we would have new frocks to wear – bright and light.
Summer holidays meant replacing Mummy in the kitchen. I must point out... that meant cooking without gadgets during the mid 60s and 70s. The lessons we learnt were practical, and embedded in our hearts and minds for life. Excellence was the result as Mummy won a district scholarship in Home Science.
We spent the days reading newspapers and magazines in English and Hindi, practising good handwriting and working on spellings. We also gave a lot of time to Sanskrit, both oral and written. Then there were indoor games to play. And, we went swimming, both morning and evening. Oh... we were like mermaids! At night we would sleep on the cots arranged on lush green lawns, sky-gazing. There was so much to learn from the night sky.

How can I forget, our home was the cousins den. They all poured in for the summer vacation. The swimming pool facility was handy for all. But we had completely disciplined holidays. Oh! And, when the end of these happy days approached off we went in a tonga to the school stationery. We would return with complete sets of books, notebooks, brown paper covers, labels, new bags, and uniforms for the new academic session.

I have joyous memories of travelling on a special train booked for Mayo College, to its destination – Old Delhi. One class was allotted to each coach. There would be wooden planks, tea hampers, and dinner followed by ice cream. And, yes there would be lots of candies too. We would keep ourselves entertained with storybooks and cards, numerous games of snakes and ladders. Oh... What fun! Early in the morning at around four... the train would reach. Parents would welcome the children with hugs and kisses.
The Calcutta party children were escorted by the Staff wives or daughters. Often I accompanied my father. I remember there were three naughty children who showed me a weight ticket of sixty Kilograms. The others tried fiddling with the parcel balance but they failed, due to lack of knowledge.

As a professional, Summer Vacation was according to the Prospectus. It was always well planned and executed equally well. The Summer Vacation would end with hope and enthusiasm to take up a new batch of faces both at Masters and Under Graduation. Those years were enjoyable and properly filled in as my son journeyed from Upper Kindergarten to XII grade. We travelled a lot by train and I still cherish the experience. I remember, because my husband was a banker, he had fixed leaves. Our maid, the driver the shopping outlets all welcomed us when we returned from a holiday. These wonderful people were so loyal to us and when we went on a vacation ‘the Sahib’ granted the house helps a holiday as well. Those good old days were... fun... fun... and only fun! And that... makes life roll on smoothly. I’m sure you all will agree!

Suman Sharma

Suman Sharma is a retired Professor, Head of Department of English, Government College, Ajmer. She enjoys participating in sports activities, reading, writing, singing and dancing. She aims to give back to the society which has helped her achieve her goals and dreams.