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Fly Away (Lakshmi Prabhala, Aug 7th, 2007) |
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The dates are fuzzy but I think it was close to when I was in Class V and VI, I remember we had playgrounds that were huge ..vast expanses of sand on either side of our schoolblock which served quite well for our physical training classes, football/cricket games and related activities.
Come winter, and the playgrounds wouldnt have too many takers except for the die hard sport freaks. As the winter would make way for spring, the change in season brought these flocks of sea-gulls (or at least that is what I thought they were) to our playgrounds, they would just fly in circles over and over again. Their arrival never failed to bring a sense of joy and awe. Most folks would just gaze at them doing their laps. I guess these birds came from the north to escape the cold winter and bask in the warmth of the Bahrain winter sun. Any kind of flora and fauna would be a visual treat considering the arid weather conditions and terrains that were decorated with the the even drier looking date palms.
It was amazing how they never missed a single year and I often wondered if they knew the exact co-ordinates of our school. I even imagined they brought with them some kind of a sign ..a good one at that. I looked forward to them coming each winter and would marvel their flights, even from the middle of classroom. For some years I had the good fortune of being seated near the windows, and I couldnt care less if it was algebra or Mr. Om Prakash teaching us Sanskrit or Mrs Surrao telling us to how break sentences up.
One year after winter had come and gone ..I suddenly realised I didnt see the gulls any more. And I wondered why. Later it occurred to me that we had a new building that had the sports facilities and the auditorium which I guess curtailed their freedom. They didn't come after that. I often wondered which spot they chose over ours and how the growth of the school had driven them to fly away and look for a new venue.
Guess it was much too late for goodbyes!
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