Ringa Ringa Rosses.

Shuffling through old files
chancing upon an old school snap
of 5 yr oldkids i called friends.
It reminded me of silly games
of Color-man 'n' Name-Place-Animal-Things.
When we became cranky for an ice-cream at a fair
And broke into a smile on a Joy-ride train!

And often when i see my brother ride
that 'ol bicycle that once used to b mine;
It reminds me of the bruised knees and
the happiness of that first ride with dad by my side.

The road that i daily rode to school,
fishing through rush hour traffic-jams,
pouring our heads out of the school-bus window,
and calling out to 'jhaal muri-walaahs'.
That road is barely trodden these days.

And if ever I travel that path,
I soberly stare out as my school passes by,
smiling a cautious smile, thinking a silent thought,
to keep away other passengers from staring at me.
And at this note i realize that I have grown up;
A real lot.

It reminds of times when being able to sing many songs
meant being very apt at winning antaksharis;
And now I realize that they
Are needed to define my many moods.

Times when tears rolled down
at the slightest provocations,at mom's scoldings
for committing silly mistakes in my history paper
or having to get a complaint note signed by her.
But now I m a big girl.
That stops me from shedding a sigh
It embarrasses me if i cry.

When i was 10, I wanted to grow up fast
very fast indeed.
But then almost a decade later,
I want to play a game of hide n seek,
I want to fly high on the playground swing,
and I want to save five rupees for an orange ice-cream.