One day, I had a talk with my grandfather to know how he was when he was a kid like me. It started with a talk about his ‘school’.
Me: How did you go to school?
My Grandfather: I went to school by walking four kilometres.
Myself: I go to school by scooter/car/auto/yezdi.
Me: How was your bag and uniform?
My Grandfather: I had a cloth sling bag and no uniform. I used to have only one trouser and shirt.
Myself: I have a school bag with decoration and design. I have a maroon-coloured uniform.
Me: Do you wear shoes?
My Grandfather: I walk barefoot and go..
Myself: I wear black shoes to school.
Me: What about your books and pencils?
My Grandfather: I did not have books and pencils but only slate and chalk.
Myself: I have a calculator pencil box with many pencils and books.
Me: When does your school open?
My Grandfather: At 10 AM in the morning.
Myself: At 8:00 AM, two before him.
Me: When do you have assembly?
My Grandfather: On Monday.
Myself: On Friday
Me: What language do you and your friends speak at school?
My Grandfather: Malayalam
Myself: I speak different languages- English, Tamil, Hindi.
Me: How many students sit on a bench?
My Grandfather: Four students.
Myself: Only two students.
Me: Do you have a snack break?
My Grandfather: No.
Myself: I have for 10 mins.
Next, I asked him about what games he played:
He said he played football, volleyball, badminton
Myself:
1) Tag Game: One person will be the catcher. The catcher will try to catch one person and whoever is caught is the catcher again and the game continues..
2) Ice and Water: We will pretend that there is ice and water but there is no real ice and water because we play in the park. One person will be the tagger. That person will go and try to catch another person. The person caught will be turned in to ICE. Whoever turns into ice three times will be the next catcher. The game continues..
3) Lock and Key: One person is the tagger. The tagger goes and catches one person and locks him. Whoever is unlocked can go and touch the locked person and then he becomes unlocked and the game continues.
4) Dapa: One person will be the tagger. Others will hide somewhere. The tagger should find us. That time, others will pretend there is a door in the hiding place. The tagger will have to touch any of the others once and the person will be inside the dapa and that person will be the catcher.
Then, I asked him about his swimming:
He said he used to swim in the pond. And learnt swimming by tying coconuts to a straw and lying on top of it. He said he learnt freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke
Myself: I used to learn with floaters at my school. Mukundan master, Sunil, Preethi and Gokul helped me learn it at school. At home, my silly father (Mr.Monkey) teaches me.
Then I asked whether he had spoons and plates to eat?
He said there were plates made from tree leaves and spoons made from jackfruit tree leaves.
June, 2024
