Summer on wheels!

            It was that particular epoch of existence, when my life revolved around Salman Khan & roller skates. I’m talking about the pre-historic 3rd Std. goer - me - of the 90s surviving through childhood and its vagaries back in time when Salman Khan wore clothes and sported a gap in the middle of his front teeth and appeared to be as seemingly innocent as those darling Kabootars he was seen fondling lovingly from scene to scene in Maine Pyar Kiya.

             Days used to dawn way earlier then, say as early as 6 A.M.! Did I just perceive gasps of gastroenteric shock from diverse quarters? (Well… hold your gastrics ye merry pre-dawn souls, we’re dealing with a late a.m. birdie here). So I was saying… I was passing through one of the most thrilling phases of my moppet life. I’d sit quivering with excitement like a bullet waiting to be released on Achan’s trembling Yezdi until we reached the Museum grounds, which would've already become dotted with the pre-dawn types proudly displaying their ultra fluorescent roller skates of varying shapes & sizes, with frilly doting parents yelling,  ‘Go Tintu Go! ‘and the like in the background.

           My father, a staunch upholder of ‘frill-free’ism,  back then and even now, chose to believe in re-parking himself & his motorcycle at a safe distance, leaving me to skate & be skated over for the hour and a half that usually ensued.

           Wilfred Albert was the name of the man who taught me how to skate. Thanks to him & my own frenzied variations of what I made of skating, I have been able to deposit my roller prints (and skin prints too, at times) all over the Kowdiar & Museum region quite early in my life. All those ‘prints’ I could prudently save were spared for Friday evenings at the Shanghumukham Beach skating rink, where I’d ceremoniously deposit all the outstanding savings accrued over the week… in fine ‘prints’ of course.

Well, I cannot remember a string of happier days than those that I spent skating during my childhood. 

Simply the best! 

I tip my topi to Salman Khan and his skate-board that were glorified in a certain Hindi movie decades ago… for capturing my imagination, for titillating my senses, for inspiring me to blurt out with conviction to my father that I wished to learn nothing but skating that summer… for gifting me with one of the most memorable summers ever!

                                                                         Photo Courtesy: Google