THE FUN OF HANGING FROM A TREE

By John Aguiar

I was known to be the naughtiest boy in our locality in Ponda. During my childhood, that is. I was popularly known as "Baba" to the people. My paternal cousins called me "Nanu". Since I was only child, my parents were fond of me and always took extra care of me. 

However sometimes they too got exasperated with my mischief.

I am a mixture of  two cultures and two very different religions. While my father was a Roman Catholic, my mother  was a hindu GSB.

As I grew, my parents found me less at home and more outdoors. I was sometimes found hanging from the guava tree behind our house.

At times, they discovered me on the roof of the house. I would climb with the help of ladder. Even with their best efforts they were unable to hide the ladder from me. I could easily smell the house ladder from a distance, like a dog sniffs its way to a bone.

Coming home with wounds was a daily affair. My parents were worried about me..

Then one day, my mother took me on her lap. I wondered what advise she would give me this time round. She took a louse pressed it between her finger nails, and explained. " See", She said, "what is the fate of the louse if its blood comes out? We also will become empty in the same way." She counselled that I should take proper care while playing.

The thought of becoming empty if my blood came out from my body kept worrying me. Since then, I  learnt to protect myself from stepping on broken glass pieces or jumping on stones. All my mischievious activities, thus were controlled.

But then, I was still a child and bound to commit mistakes. Sometimes, my mother would get annoyed and would tell me in konkani, "Tum masti kelear have tond gheun vatli ( I will depart with my face intact, without shame, if you don't behave). And every time she said this, I promptly but innocently replied, "Tond ghevn vachunaka, tondd dovrun voch" (Don't go away with your face, leave your face and go.)

Then there was a lady teacher who was  pregnant. She overwhelmed us toddlers with her big belly. One day the teacher pointing to her big belly told us that she would put the naughtiest student of the class in there. This frightened us so much that I kept away from school for a week.

The  most effective of all was the beating I got from my father. He always tried to develop in me good habbits and pleasent manners. He advised me to always keep good company. He not only brought sweets for me every evening while returning home, but took me for a ride on his bicycle in the evenings every alternate day. However, when I was found doing somethibg wrong, He would not spare me from spanking..

Once my father was very angry with me. Though I dont exactly recall the mistake I had committed, I certainly  remember my father going to the guava tree and break a stick of the tree. He rushed towards me and started beating me with it. My mother who was in the kitchen rushed out on hearing my screems. As i did not have my shirt on, marks of the stick showed on my tender skin. Slender the stick, more durable the evidence of its use. Mine looked as if they were made by blade.

My father himself was disturbed seeing this. He vowed not to beat me in future. I too vowed to be a good boy. (The Navhiind Times, July 30, 2001)

Courtesy: Book titled "Offside" authored by John Aguiar

Published by:: Goa 1556

Illustrations: Rohit Chari