Happy days at school time

The days were full of sunshine and laughter. Teachers in huge can-cans taught us, as if by magic. What they taught us was simple. We would go to our friend's house to rehearse our lines of Robert Herrick. It was great fun to say the lines which were from our older siblings' books. During tiffin time, we would sit and have lunch from boxes gay with river and ship illustrations and then we would go and rehearse plays which had dogs and dolls for characters. I was a gollywog with a blackened face, the shoe polish difficult to rub off.  We danced at our girl friend's house too. We would get hats for the school play and romp around with paper dolls, as well as play with the dog and cat, while the father, who had a shoe factory, worked waiting in the car. We had milk soup ever afternoon.

 We played games galore. There was throw ball, baseball and races, in which I participated, until one day a tall Anglo Indian bird smashed my spectacles. Games were suspended for me from then on. I sat and watched paper dresses being made.

Going up to the loft and reading borrowed story books was my passion. I would go to my friend's house to borrow "Teen Digest" and other books. These girls are still my friends, even though we have now had careers and entered our "Golden Girls" ages, with kids of our own—adopted or otherwise, on the fourth floors of houses, where we keep cats and birds. We have reconditioned cars, shared by the son, daughter and grandchildren.

On one of my birthdays, I had two georgette dresses. We had so much of food that it didn't even matter. There were cakes, pastries and "samosa". My elder brother's birthday, which fell on the same month, was celebrated that same day. Birthdays were always memorable and a combined one was especially so- at least for me!

We would go for holidays, near the sea. Then we stayed in Karachi and would go to places like Clifton and Hawk's Bay. We went to Keamari too, and rode big anchored ships.  We took pictures of the seaside, and had them preserved in Mother's album, which my sister from Toronto, is hunting for today.  

Yes those days were full of happiness and laughter.



By Fayza Haq