By this time we might have got the half-yearly exam date. They usually start at 4th or 5th of January.Though we get ourselves into alert mode with that, it doesn’t spoil our enthusiasm we have for welcoming new year. Our hearts dance… our lips sing with the very thought of January 1st. Though we don’t do anything extra special ,still the day is special. Hope I was right !!!???
The mood for new year starts before 2 weeks for us . Every shop in the town hangs the greeting cards in long chains. Cards of flowers, gods, movieheroes, heroines, sceneries… everything is found before shops. And in our class…our friends who love drawing like vinay , amar (and also myself) start making white pages of our notebook into black…writing things like HAPPY NEW YEAR…GOODBYE 199_. And some of our friends bring greeting cards to the class. Everybody used to surround that person and try to have a glance at those cards. Some used to bring musical cards. Music is played once the card is opened. Radha and I used to look at those cards in awe. we had a great liking to such cards. But we never dared to buy such cards as they were too expensive. Though we (radha and me) had many things we like in common we differ in greeting cards. He loves cards with nature sceneries and I like cards with flowers….
We also had 2 precious holidays for Christmas before new year. Our joy doubles with those 2 holidays because we don’t get two holidays successively so often. And if one of those two days is Sunday it is really terrible. As usual we used to play rigorous cricket in those days and get back to school in the following day. With only 5 to 6 days for new year…during free time we used to discuss about the plans for the 31st.
And at our homes things are not that much different from ours.. Mothers, aunties, sisters discuss about the muggulu and seriously study the muggula pusthakaalu. In my house…there was a notebook with no cover. A very old one. It contains lot of muggulu with red ink, blue ink and with pencil. On the top of each is written “10 chukkalu 5 varasalu., 14 chukkalu 6 varasalu." and so on…I could not understand the flow, where to start and where to end. I used to suggest my mother, ammamma, aunties…why do you use chukkalu ,you can directly draw this figure. They used to laugh at my brilliant suggestion( J???).
31st dec. In the class, evrybody wish each other . “happy new year happy new year”. Our cricket team used to plan the tomorrow matches very seriously ..We fix the schedule and go.
By night radha and I glue to TV. Those were the days we didn’t have cable tv. Only one channel…our very own Doordarshan .We used to watch it contemplating some good program..like a new movie, special chitralahari etc.which was impossible.
We along with other friends near our house gather and wait for the moment… when the time is arrived…12 midnight….power is off for a second in the whole suryapet town. Everybody screams “happy new year.. happy new year”….. and once the spirits let down we get back to sleep thinking about tomorrow’s plans.
The next day….brand new day..brand new year….. most of the times my mother used to wish me first. Later everybody….the first thing I do is go to radha .I used to wish his father, mother…His father used to reply me back saying greetings to me but his mother replies with smile shyly . Then we go out and have a look at the muggu infront of our house. Then we walk around all other houses looking at the other muggulu. Every muggu contains greetings like “welcome 19__ googbye 19__,Happy new year” and so on. I used to find spelling mistakes in those.
I didn’t have the habit of giving greeting cards in person to friends. One time,might be in class VII, I along with some other friends , , went to the other friends house and conveyed wishes.
And at ground ..we were ready with our match…we wanted a win compulsorily on that day as we used to think if we won this day we would win all the year. “elaginaa gelavaali raa manam…manam gelusthaam”. Ah…..one year we lost the match. Our feelings were badly hurt. Then we consoled ourselves saying “ ayina eeroju gelisthe anni rojuluu ela gelusthaam..anthaledu” .
Some start flying kites this day though Sankranthi is 2 more weeks to come.
Once the day gets into finishing mode…at night.. .radha and I used to sit at his house doorsteps and talk on many things….
I used to wait for Enadu paper’s Sunday magazine. They will give labels. I usually collect all those with the hope of sticking them to my books. .
Jan 2nd …from today the whole class is gripped in exam fever….the tension prevails until the last but one exam…
Aferthat….
