Monday, March 19, 2007

Naveen's Sweet Memories

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I'm a kumauni born and brought in a beautiful small village in the lap of majestic Himalayas in the state of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand). My village 'Dewal' is situated five kilometers away from the main city of Pithoragarh, beside Dharchula road - the state highway that connects this border district to the kingdom of Nepal and a well known 'Mansarovar' pilgrimage route. Click here for Pithoragarh pics


Being the first boy child in the family I was given special attention over the other siblings (I'm not sure whether I should take it as my luck) which includes a younger brother and two elder sisters. I hardly remember my preschooling days spent in old Delhi inside the ramparts of Red Fort (sounds interesting right?! any other time folks).




Daadima was a divine soul and I'll keep missing her all through my life. She was a indeed a brave lady who lost her 25yr old son yet faced immense challenges in her life with a positive frame of mind. Her biggest strength was her extraordinary temperament and extemely humble nature. She found her lost son and heir in me after a while on my birth and overwhelmed. She carried out our upbringing with utmost care, especially mine, and showered her full love and affection. I still remember how much pain she used to take to cook delicacies of our choice and bottling seasonal  fruits, especially for me. She mostly used to handle kitchen and always complemented for the motherly affection which we missed at times.


I fully enjoyed my childhood in this paradise. I treasure all the days passed in my village as some of the best memories of the past. Though I got very little time to spend with my family members due to various reasons but still I have enough memories of those wonderful days passed in that heavenly adobe.



I was provided better schooling as compared to my brother and sisters. At an early age of four I was sent to stay with one of my uncles in the nearby cantonment area for my kindergarten schooling. Getting admitted in Kendriya Vidyalaya Pithoragarh for formal schooling was also a big challenge for my mother and my schooling over there was possible only due to her extreme efforts. Initial couple of years in the school were pretty tough for me and my family as I had to walk eight kilometers daily to go to school.
Click here for Kendriya Vidyalaya Pithoragarh pics

My uncle Dr. D. N. Joshi came forward to support my parents to take care of my further schooling and I was sent to his awesome residence 'Green Cottage' in Pithoragarh city. Under his care and kind supervision I excelled in my studies during those initial years and this was the time which groomed my childhood and shaped my future. But unfortunately this couldn’t last long and I had to go back to my village again to continue my schooling after sixth standard. After completing high-school from Kendriya Vidyalaya Pithoragarh in 1989 I joined Government Intermediate College Pithoragarh and completed my senior secondary studies in 1991.

I still can't forget those wonderful days spent in GIC hostel in year 1990. During my SSE final year in 1991 my family left for Punjab and shifted me to my elder sister’s place. This last year, before leaving Pithoragarh, was full of mixed emotions with lot of memories which I'd like to forget. I remember I was very eager to leave Pithoragarh at that time as I was not at all enjoying my stay over there. Today I think it was good that I left Pithoragarh during that time because a delay of even even year could have drastically deformed my future. I was not keeping well those days and I fell seriously ill couple of times just before those crucial SSE examinations which also affected my studies and result to some extent. My uncle Dr. D. N. Joshi's timely support during those odd times is really unforgettable. I left Pithoragarh as soon as my SSE examinations were over and I joined my family in Roorkee where my father was currently posted.

I visited back Pithoragarh in 1997 after a long gap of six years. I cannot forget how happy I was while travelling back to my sweet hometown after such a long time. I clearly remember that I couldn’t sleep on the previous night of this dream travel.

By end of year 1997 my parents were desperate to change my marital status and turned up every stone to please me. On June the 11th of 1998 - a nice sunny day with little drizzle on- Hema and me tied up the tightest knot according to the hindu tradition. We both trusted our parents' decision and with the grace of god we're one of the happiest couples on the planet called earth.

Naveen

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