Stroll down the memory lane - Of stories, sleep and dreams!!

As I lay awake struggling to sleep…I started reflecting on how I used to be able to sleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. For many years now I have been the envy of most of my roomies and my friends. In fact, Sapna, my roomie in Pittsburgh, used to marvel at the fact that I could just drop off anytime and anywhere and sleep like a log for hours on end…well for that matter, I used to sleep through one of my (here fore “unmentionable”) roomie of one time, who used to fight with her (then) boyfriend every morning between 6am and 8am. The girls in the next room would wake up and ask her if she was alright while yours truly slept on like a log…in fact I was so used to hearing her shout early in the morning that I woke up only when she didn’t fight to ask her if she was alright!!! (We can all guess how that went down with her!!!)

Hmm, as I went back one year at a time and thought of how wonderful my sleep used to be…I eventually reached the time I was around 6-8 years old. (Told ya’ll I couldn’t sleep!!!) It was around the time when we were posted in the north eastern state of Assam and Mom used to travel back to Madras for her work. She used to be gone for almost a month at a time and your truly was a scarredy cat who couldn’t sleep at night. So invariably when dad came in to tuck me in, I would look at him with my big soulful eyes and beg him for a story! Not that I had to do much in the grovelling department…he was ever so ready with a story.

We heard the most wonderful stories ever…that of Kattayan, the shortest and the most brilliant detective ever seen or heard in the world. I fell asleep with the most exciting ideas I had ever heard in my short life of 8 years…the stories were usually in a series and we couldn’t hear the next episode if we didn’t sleep tonight …could we? For the first time I learnt how planes, cars, factories function, various scientific concepts, of the wide world and places to see…dangers that lurked about and faced by the brave short dude…

Sometimes I think in retrospect that the reason why Kattayan was short was because I was the shortest in the house. Hearing about a guy who was just about my height but so tall in our imaginations because of who he was and how he used his abilities did wonders for my self esteem. Ah! But wise daddy was not the one to leave my lovely sister (who was about 5’ already) out. He came up with Veera-Vijayan, a 7 foot giant, who was so brave and smart. VV used his height to the best of his ability, saved people and offered sensible advice. We learnt all about how to use ones abilities in the best way possible and to be content with what we had at the time.

For a long time after we moved back to Madras, this story-telling tradition continued. Although there was usually less of the detective series… we learnt many things everyday…management concepts, general fundaes about life etc. Plenty of times Dad would include fights my sis and I had or problems we faced into his stories and make us see how we can do things differently…well, lets say he had a way with words and could make us feel better in an instant! And coming to think of it,long after i grew out of childhood, i would ask dad sometimes if he would tell me a story just to hear him spin words into magic and vanquish my sorrow effortlessly! Probably that’s why night time is my favorite time…I have rarely gone to bed sad and more often than not my dreams were wonderful.

Often, even now, I see or hear something that reminds me of how “Kattayan” or “VV” did things it invariably brings on a smile. Sometimes when I feel particularly blue (like I was feeling now) I recall some of those wonderful stories to cheer me up! Oh daddy…I so wish u were here…..As if on cue the cell phone rings. “Hello?” who could be calling me at 10.30pm??? Both dad and mom will be at work and my sis would be busy with her breakfast routine….. “Hi Sweetie!” rings my dad’s voice! “Daddy!” oh my happiness knows no bounds! “Aren’t u at work today?” “naaaw…remember today is our day off! Its Republic Day babe! Are u sleeping? I hope I didn’t disturb you?” “No papa…u didn’t disturb me at all” He knows something’s amiss… “Is there something wrong appu?” “No….Not at all….hmmm…Dad….Can you tell me a story?”