unadulterated innocence

o how the earth smells after the first monsoon shower..

how the eye opens at the sound of the morning namaaz
or when i wake up coz of the first rays of light shimmerin on my face
when a nightmare ends by mom caressing my forehead
when mom unexpectedly comes and gives a bear hug

when i smile at a baby and he pouts back
when im teasin my infant cousin and playin with her..she suddenly decides to pee on my new skirt

when an old forgotten friend randomly decides to call up

when our hands brush against each other and i get goosebumps
when im on d first bench and u on d last and i turn around to find u lookin at me
when you put an arm around my chair in d canteen and it makes me blush
when i find myself compulsively blabbering about u

when after 10 days of ego fights my brother comes and hesitantly asks me if i wanna play cricket
how when we get together and recount those pranks...how for once we got together and planned on how to clear the pieces of the broken TV screen and shared a secret instead of playing the blame game
how i remember u lookin funnier than a clown after breaking ur molars that made a v shape in your teeth that made ur smile look a 1000 times more adorable
how after every year i tie a rakhi on ur wrist and mom's eyes well up with tears..
how u get pissed if ur rakhi is not bigger, better and more expensive than the rakhis bought for cousins
when on rare occasions dad supports my pt of view over yours..
how dad carried me everywhere on his shoulders when i was small

how when i was 5 i jus cried and hid behind usha ma'ams dupatta on her farewell day

how friends eatin my tiffin made me happy coz they said mom cooked amazing food

how i'd ride at full speed and feel ecstatic about covering 3 kms in 3 mins
how i finally learnt how to ride the very day dad said i couldn't learn

how my cousin and i were best friends..how she'd tell me i liked too many guys
how we'd deck up to go for a 15 min drive in that hip part of town
how i'd keep tellin her that her boyfriend was the hottest guy i ever met..how i played cupid all the time...

how i hated when my grandma's old ancestral bungalow was dismantled and turned into a modern lookin house..
how i can jus now in my mind imagine those verandas where we played and fought and patched up and grew up..how we longed for vacations to go to that house with dozens of cousins and uncles and aunts and that variety of pickles ..those evening teas...that senior cousins v juniors cousins rivalry ..those eavesdroppin sessions on elders pvt conversations..that makin phone calls to each other from adjacent rooms

how things that never seemed to last long...how moments that seem to jus pass by later come back and make the most beautiful memories that warm up the heart.