Manju on the Wall.

This happened decades ago. Manju alias Manjula was about 2 ½ years old then.

She’s the daughter of a friend, who was my colleague. I used to borrow his bicycle for short rides to visit with other friends.

During these outings, before I could even say bye, Manju would be standing near the bicycle, hoping for a ride.

She would hop on to the baby seat, fixed between the handle bar and the rider’s saddle. My wife would be the pillion rider.

Soon our friends became Manju’s friends. This camaraderie was enough for her.

Even at that age she knew the rules of the road, always kept to her left. Every day at around 7 A.M., by keeping to the left side of the road, would come to our house carrying a bucket, towel, fresh clothes and soap.

My wife or I took turns to bathe and dress her up. My wife completed the facial make-up and hair styling.

We used wonder why she did not bring face powder, hair oil and comb! Nevertheless we three were happy with each other’s company.

Evenings and holidays were fun and frolic of an extraordinary kind. After the usual digging, planting and watering the garden, with equal efforts from her, she would declare it was time for play.

Manju liked the thrill of jumping off from the compound wall in to my outstretched hands. This was how we played ‘Manju on the compound wall’.

She stood poised like a swimmer on the diving board on the 4’ high garden wall. I stood back, with hands on my back, at a distance of about 3 to 4 feet.

I would start the count down from ten and then came the critical stage of acrobatics. With her supreme confidence in me, she would leap up.

And in a split-second operation, I would stretch my hands forward to catch her in mid-air. My sheer reflexes and her unassailable faith in my abilities made the game adventurous. This act would be repeated many times before she called it quits only wanting to engage me in the next equally dangerous act.

Yet again we used the compound wall to play this game. Manju would stand erect, with arms close to the body.

I would then hold her ankles together and lift her up head high. Instinctively she knew how to maintain the balance, by slowly spreading her arms sideways like wings of a bird in flight.

The downward trip would be faster and I managed to place her gently on to the wall. Her appreciation was based on the maximum time I could hold her aloft.

We named the next game, in the series, as the “flooring exercise”.  

All that I was called up on to do was to lift her vertically, holding the sides of her face between my palms, till her eyes came level with mine. Practically her entire body weight was being supported by my gripping palms. Her ears became red and it did not bother her at all.

All through these adventurous games, my wife stood guard, behind me, holding her breath.

She was worried that these games might injure the child and her parents might not allow her to come to our house for playing.

It turned out to be unfounded. All that mattered to Manju and me was the fun that we had with our acrobatics.

Thirty five years later, we met again in a marriage reception. Manju had come with her husband. We got talking about old times.

Obviously she might not have told her husband about those childhood adventures. He listened with rapt attention and a gleam of awe appeared in his eyes.

Carried away by enthusiasm, I went further and said, “Had I asked her to jump from a high rise building at that time, Manju would have simply done that!”

Hearing this, Manju’s husband mischievously said, “Uncle you should have just done that and I would have escaped this marriage!”  Laughing, Manju said, “It would have been just fine with me too!”

' How quickly time has passed by', was all I could muse about looking at Manju who stood smiling and poised.

Her poise roused in me the poignant memories of her father. I knew him, though for  a brief period, to be a considerate family man, an accomplished sportsman, an extrovert and an extraordinary culinary artist. These passing thoughts choked my emotions and thoughts about them lingered for a long time, that day.