With disheveled hair, ruffled tie, wrinkled and wet school uniform � exhibiting rebellion and youthful exuberance�we waited by the stationary in Ganesthan waiting for the rain to subside. It had been a long day at school. Vehicles skidded on the road splashing mud and water indifferently to the helpless pedestrians. Streets flooded bringing the pungent smell of sewage for the lack of proper drainage. Monsoon consequences were inevitable in Kathmandu in summer.

�Oyss! Pani rokela jasto chaina. Chiya khana jaam ?� Suraj proposed and I readily concurred. The smell of freshly fried samosas and chops were too hard to resist. We killed time over the hearty meal talking about mundane stuff. Suraj was such a good company. It was his last year at school. It would be lonesome in the busstop from next year. �J hoss! Ramailo bhanya school life mai garnu parcha� he would say once in a while. He became my instant role model when I saw him once , light a ciggie by short circuiting which had absolutely fascinated me.

As we got out of the �bhojanalaya� rain had subsided limiting itself to a teasing drizzle. By the time we got to gahana pokhari, clouds roared once more. Rain began to beat down us. Usually we�d run for cover, but Suraj trotted lazily saying �Hyaa! Bholi sukrabar ta ho ni.� The very thought of Friday gave such ample relief in weekdays. I agreed with him looking up in the sky enjoying the showerly blessings. It did feel good once in a while to get totally drenched.

******
�La hera� My mom greeted me at the door �pheri nitrukka bhijera aayecha. Yesari pani ma bhijis bhane ta birami hudainas?� My mom made a reasonable argument.

�Bholi sukrabar ta ho ni� was my weak reply. �la la! Chado luga ferera khaja khana aaija�. She gave me a quizzical look after I told that I had already eaten. �jaha payo tyehi nakha bhaneko hoina. Garmi ma jhada banta lage pachi matrai chetchas taile� she sighed. �la ja luga ferr ta chado. Ma chiya leidinchu."

Sipping warm cup of tea of mechi special and a creamy donut from �Krishna pauroti� breathed a new life onto me. After aimless thoughts for a while, reluctantly, I reached for my �20 kg� school bag. There was tons of tedious hw due the next day. �Hyaa Friday pani hw� I said to myself as if Friday were not a schoolday.

�Saprasanga Byakhya gara!� I read aloud and got an instant headache. I was in no mood to write though I loved writing Nepali more than anything at the time. Suddenly, the lights went out and the neighbors cheered �loadshedding�

�AHH!� I perked up. �Aaja loadshedding po� I stayed in the dark sipping my tea wondering where to start. My sisters stamped down the stairs to claim the only emergency light we had nextdoor. I hated using it. I was always a candle light person. :)
I reached for my little portable FM radio which maami had won in a pack of �everest toothpaste.� FM had made waves in Kathmandu especially to the teens since its recent induction. Bon jovi�s �always� was playing. Suddenly I wanted to do trigonometry. I wonder why maths and music blend together so well.

....contd.

I tiptoed up the stairs to the kitchen to fetch a candle. My mom was busy chopping down vegetables for dinner letting out one of her own mellifluous eastern songs ýKhola pari ma maya laudinaýbarkhai lagyoýý The song seemed so beautiful and apt at the rainy dark evening. I caught her offguard and her voice subsided. ýAaaja k cha tarkariý? I tried to change the topic. ýtalai man parne, kwaati ! Kwaati bhaye pugena talain?ý Oh ! I Loved quati. The neighbor nextdoor used to tease me for being a kwaati boy throughout my primary years.

Before long, I had subconsciously finished all the problems drained in FM. I thought of Nepali hw once more. I was in no mood for writing. ýLoadshedding thiyo sirý ýaaja kaapi lyauna birsený I was thinking of the excuses for the next day. ýaaja khana khana pani birsis ki?ý would be my teacherýs usual reply. I laughed aloud in the dark.

I let out a sigh and lied down in my bed by the window listening to ýlove songs after dark.ý Mind shifted restlessly from one thing to another. Outside, rain was beating down hard on the corns and flowers alike. Suddenly, thoughts of Shivani besiezed meýher pure, unruffled, and naýve face brought unprecedented peace in the dark. She looked even more beautiful in the white and grey school uniform. Heart beat began to race. The candle light flickered as a gust of wind rushed in from outside vacillating her image from one corner to another.

Next door, I could hear my sister talk enthusiastically to dad about the events of her day at school. She loved school more than any of us in the house. After her merry mirth, she made her way to my room to relay the outrageous drama. Though we shared many evenings talking about school, I didnýt like the idea of her breaching my privacy at this odd hour of romantic thoughts. I pretended to fall asleep. She sang quietly ý kaha jane, kaha jane putali ka hool..jata tatai..fuleka channý she checked cutting her line short ýahem ahemý. Her singing reminded me of an incident few months back when she was practicing arduously for her parents day. She was practicing so loudly that she literally lost her voice on the day of the grand day. I couldnýt hold my sadistic laughter nomore.
*******

ýkukur! Suteko acting po pardo raichaý Before I recovered, she went on with the usual funny tales of teachers, boys and gals at her school in one breath. Interestingly, there was always such drama unfolding at her school. Though I never mentioned, my other sister and I were jealous of her co-ed schooling. It seemed much more fun for different reasons. Be it stories about bhandar khal, maligaonýs bablu, queer teachers, stabbing and gangfights, postcard mania, she perked everyone at home in the evenings.

Seeing me distracted, she asked ýOyss! K sochiraý I didnýt know what to say.
ýshivani ko bare ta hoinaý she queried in an innocent tease. I blushed hard unable to utter a word. ýPakh! Mami lai gayera bhandinchuý she took off chanting ýMAAMI MAAMIý Alarmed, I took off after her catching her in the middle of the stairs and shutting her mouth.

ýKatti chali ra yiniharoo?ý My maami came to an unlikely rescue. ýkhana khana aao chado, mahabharat hernu pardaina?ý Then she pleaded to my dad from the kitchen ýdaddy! Khana khayera matrai samachar hernu laý my mom was prescient. Lights came back the very moment. Evening wore on and the times faded quickly

********
ýBabu! Dhilo bachaina aaja?ý My mom drew the curtains exposing me to the bright rays of the sun coming through the glass pane right over me. ýBaira herr ta! Katti ramro deen cha aajaý. She put a cup of tea by my bedside tempting me to wake up.

My heart leaped up seeing a clear blue sky and warm sunshine. Outside, the garden was sparkling as the light hit myriads of droplets of water from previous night. The scene was like that of afairytale. And above all, it was Friday.

As I got ready for school, my older sister was waiting for me downstairs. Though I despised the idea of walking with her in the mornings, I couldnýt give any justification unless she decided to leave early as her bus usually preceded over mine most of the time.

ýBabu! Herr ta. Parijaat ko phool yo barsa katti chado fakrechaý indeed! The area around the tree was filled with incredible fragrance. I picked up one of the juvenile flowers with four bright white spiral petals bound to a dazzling orange pedicel. It looked majestic. Pure and refreshing, just like ýHERý

ýla chado hidd! Mero bus chutcha pheriý My sister led the way. I crouched down and picked up a handful of flowers that had fallen to the ground. I looked at them, closed my eyes and took a deep inhale through the nose. It smelled wonderful. It was the smell of home.

:'( uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan... I wanna go home too... amba ko bot.. haluwabeth ko bot ani saano saano muntala!

Oysss.... loved it as usual!

Truely original one. Otherwise I was tired of boring topics in sajha nowadays. I am missing my home too. Comfy bro ko Shivani barnan sunera maan furunga vayo yaar :)

Bro lye chiyapasal jana chodideko bhanya? West tira Shivani vetna gako khabar suneko thiye? ;)




Lizard King

Oh my god! How do you do it every time? This was my treat for Friday :)

wow..oys_chill nice read...

" "Saprasanga Byakhya gara!" I read aloud and got an instant headache."

yeah man those byakhya gara questions. i remember " shanti ko jyoti chardai jau" or "ma mero desh ko chahara ma hunchhu...pahara ma hunchhu..." I liked the bhawani bhischu story "Mero Sanu Sathi"- Jindagi ma kasaile kasailai sath dina sakhdaina...chaye pani dine hoyina. Yatra bhane sabai le yeklai garnu parchha..eklai...eklai...eklai...


" She looked even more beautiful in the white and grey school uniform. Heart beat began to race. The candle light flickered as a gust of wind rushed in from outside vacillating her image from one corner to another. " cool:)

This is the first piece I read by you, I want more. homeward bound i wish i was...

WaH WaH.. as usual

Scanning at the threads in sajha lately, I would say different but a good one to this memory lane.

The window, and the house next door
That stinky road, and the titaura pasal on the other side
The passive mandir, and the active girls around
I wonder where I left, and why?

Does this Shivani actually exist? What makes me think she is a figment of your imagination, correct me if I am wrong!

oys bro :o)
wah wah wah..the wait was worth it :o)..so when is the next one ..alik chito hai ;o)

and hehe thanks i learnt some new nepali words(well i think i got the meanings ..next time showing off garchu ni ;o)..and dyam ur shivani..well when u tlak about ehr..reminds me of me topahni :o)..)ur memory lane is one of the best thing sajha has to offer..so keep it up :o)

cheers..:o)

hey oys_chill, tell me how do i join your fan club, u got a new fan today.......dude, u'r descriptions are great man, i can realte to them, today was the first time i read your article and after that i searched sajha to find u'r previous articles and they were really good......... man u'r dog story was really touchin.....ýheri rahayo malai, aankha bhari aasu parera.ý She told us that it didnýt remove its eye contact until it gave its final squeal after the injection. She told us that she still wondered bout the look on Jonny though -if it was of anger, gratitude or anguish, before it died.
.....................i have relived some of my past today, thanks doode

ps- let me know if u have written any books

got tears in my eyes bro...the same feeling comes when I hear the song still loving u by scorpions, n bonjovi 'always' reminds me of my first love , damn nostalgic.


N always why r mums so kind? Miss ya mamu.

chill out man ..good piece of work. touched the heart.

i throughlly enjoyed reading your memory lane. i read all your memory lane and all are very original and equally good.

Oys! :-D
loved it bro! i have no words to describe how much i liked it!

one word
FAG! hehehe...stay cool !!
later!

Great as usual...... keep it coming oys...... really enjoyed it :)

n_b

OyZZZ nice onee damnn remind me more of da home town handigoun, gahana pokhari damnnnnnn. newayzz nice one.. peace bro

Lovely, just lovely. Marvelous work, Oys, as always. Three thumbs up!

Doctor Bee

Ola,...finally caught up with your previous Memory Lanes. You seem like a freaking legend in sajha. hehehe keep up the great work!
mG.

Hey hey MC!

Math, Music and Maiya blend together because of PHI, The Divine Proportions inherent in all three! ;) Na, I'm not talking about 34-24-34 but of 1.618!!!!!!!!!

He he he! Just pulling your leg! Finally reached KTM and it has been raining cats and dogs, thank god not SARS and West Nile disease like elsewhere. Been thinking of you and your stories! And yes, the dogs still stink up the verandahs and my walks are quite adventurous; getting splashed by every kind of vehicle is thrilling! :) But I love it here, Oys, was thinking about your "tauko ma tel rakheko story" when my mom mentioned the same!

Oys Chill ji,
awesome writing... Very authentic and inspiring. To top it off, very much apt for nostalgia as you claim.

Sitara ji, ani how is Nepal treating you ni? Are we going to get something different in terms of creativity while you are there? I bet we are?

Cheers!

Uhi Rajeev,
CT, Amrika