There was nothing more joyful to me than writing the last words of the school year’s annual examinations, putting the cap back on the pen and handing in the paper. An immense weight was lifted off my shoulders then. Another textbook had lost its authority. As we walked out of our exam halls, it must have looked like the final scene of Schindler’s List — liberated from a fascist regime and walking towards the promise of summer vacation.
Although I lived in Calicut, I spent summers at my mother’s home in Kodaikanal. They say that you see your life flashing by when you die. I saw my life flashing by several times on the bus from Palani to Kodaikanal because it would feel like an eternity, and I would run out of things to think about. Counting hairpin bends is an activity that loses its novelty quickly, especially when it’s your tenth trip. If anything kept me busy, it was deciding which of the two G.I. Joe action figures we had bought, to give to my cousin and which one to keep.
My cousin, Vishnu, was younger than me by six months, and was the perfect co-conspirator. Today, I see kids glued to their smartphones. Back then, our days were filled with all kinds of adventures and discoveries — all of which took place on the television screen. Somehow, we always managed to watch the exact amount of TV it takes for parents to feel guilty that they’re doing a bad job. I’m sure all parents of the Cartoon Network generation can relate.
When we weren’t watching TV, we raided the many plum trees around the house. Sometimes, one of us would start eating a plum before we realised that a bird had already eaten a bit of the other hemisphere. In such a situation, there was nothing to be done but be somewhat insulted, and move on to other plums.
All too often, we got carried away with our imaginations. I pretended to be an expert in karate for a summer, and taught my cousin some fake karate moves, which he replicated with great commitment. Another time, I lied about launching a rocket that I made from Calicut to Kodaikanal which to my utter amazement, the maid Muniyamma confirmed seeing. Sometimes, we pretended to be our favourite cartoon characters and enacted new episodes which we made on the spot, which had no real ending and went on till we were called for the next meal.
My aunt loves gardening, and she often participated and won prizes in the Kodaikanal flower show, which is an elaborate affair with lots of amazing entries each year. (My cousin and I helped with minor aspects of the logistics of getting our entries to the show.) What I’ve learned is to never run with a Dahlia in your hand. A Dahlia flower is too big for its stem and seems to exist mostly through sheer will power. I still remember the looks of horror when a contender met its sudden demise in my hands. But apart from the occasional dying dahlia, summer vacation was what being a kid was all about, when your greatest worry in life was how to spend your time without getting bored.
(Suraj Sethu is a Chennai-based stand-up comedian.)
