MY FIRST PICNIC - 2001

         

        In 2001, I was 13 and my school had planned a picnic to Korambhi mandir, a beautiful temple on a hill near the bank of the Wainganga river in Bhandara district. For weeks everyone was excited - except me. It wasn't just picnic, it was the first time our whole class was going somewhere outside. But my parents said no. They had their reasons - maybe money or may be they didn't think it was safe. But at 13, all I knew was that everyone else was going and I wasn't. I told my friends I could not come and they groaned, "we'll miss you!"😞😞😞

        The morning of the picnic I put on my school uniform like it was any other day but just I was about to leave, my parents looked at each other, then at me and said the words I didn't expect, "Alright....you can go." 😊😊😊

       I couldn't believe it. I didn't even have my casual clothes ready - I just grabbed my bag, stuffed in some snacks and ran to school. My friend's faces lit up when they saw me, "you are coming?"😀😀😀 they shouted and we all scrambled into the bus. 

        It was my first time going anywhere without my family. No parents, no siblings, just me, my friends and teachers. The bus ride felt like a whole new world: the loud laughter, the songs we sang off-key, the wind rushing in through the window. As we got closer, the road began to wind up the hill and through the window we could see the sparkling Wainganga river glinting in the sunlight.

     When we reached Korambhi mandir, the air felt fresh and cool. The temples stood peacefully at the top of the hill and from there the river stretched out like a silver ribbon. We spread out our tiffin, sharing Parathas, Samosas, Chips and Sweets. We talked, laughed😄 and played games in the open ground. Later some of us went down to the river bank. We splashed in the water, our shout echoing across the hill, the cold current rushing post our feet.

        By the time we headed back, our clothes were dirty, our hair messy and our voices hoarse from shouting and laughing😄😄😄. On the bus ride home, the setting sun painted the sky orange and I felt a quite happiness settle in. That day wasn't just my picnic - it was my first taste of Independence, my first hilltop temple, my first splash in the Wainganga river with friends and a memory I'll carry forever.

        Not long after, my parents shifted to another place. I had to change school. I lost my touch with my friends and to this day I don't know where they are? But the memory of that day stayed fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

        After 22 years, I moved back to Bhandara. One afternoon, I went to the same Korambhi mandir. 

"The hill was still there, the river still flowing, the temple still peaceful - but it was different - No friends, No gossip, No sound of laughter in the air. Just me, standing quietly with my memories dancing in the head. The place was calm now, but inside me the noise and joy of that picnic still lived on..."