Time Space & Me

Chapter1.

My village.

Almost 140 km from the capital, travelling through snakey butulumined road towards the south in a school graph plotting excercise, the raise and fall upon the Dochula peak plateauing through the Sunkosh river.....and finally raising in an akward turn and twists will take you to a small town, Damphu. It was then when I first remember it as few huts and famous Deshwali tea stall. Walking towards east with a normal strides would take one hour and half to reach my village. Bichgang. Comfortably sloping North, with few scores of Nepali style houses is but my village. Time changed. Cupped by jungle and severed by streams and brooks the happy village learnt lesson of time. We used to have double storied houses with thached roofings, smeared by red mud and white washed by quick sand. I was but about three and still remember pestering my paternal aunt (chhana) into accompanying her to cow and buffalo grazing routines. When in her good mood she would lift me on to buffalo back where I would cling for hours. The gentle beast would let me bully her except gruntling occassionally. She would keep her head down and I would listen to her shearing of grasses like a garden mower. Life in my village was almost regimented by the swing of the sun. Mama would get up at the wee hours and start her ordinary life. Go to the water pond with a peacher and a pail to fetch fresh water for everyone. On her way she would check that animals are at their places safe snd sound. She would feed fodder and talk to animals...passifying them. There would be long silence followed by a light footsteps at a distance. She would come in and I would hear tinkering of pail and bumping of water as she carefully picked it out. Then she would make fire staking the amber from last hearth. I would jump out of the bed and sit by the hearth listening to the popping of fire as it rage into flames. Mama would have already finished her morning house chore, shining rows of brass pails filled with fresh water. Its six in the morning and every one sat around the burning fire sipping tea discussing nights dream.