Pages

2007/01/29

pyromaniacs and mist shrouded fields

Tupu and her friends decided to do the Springfest at Kharagpur much after those who wanted to chase it seriously had left - I get the feeling they were the only ones left on the campus hence the hasty decision to up and leave . I guess I beat my mother when it comes to worrying about the girls - so of course I put my foot down and had to pick it up when AG agreed without any hassles .

So off they go without breakfast on Saturday morning roll into a train at 12 noon , landing in Kharagpur where none of them have ever been - without an inkling of where they would stay at night. My cousin's wife who is on the faculty of IIT calls up in a panic wanting to bring Tupu back to her house , a move she steadfastly resists - and resolutely vetoes immediately .

But what I gather from the blissful conversation with daughter no 1 is that they had a divine time under the stars , wtith the fields shrouded in mist , a bonfire (and other peripherals which have not been discussed with me )and no place to sleep in the night- I think the lack of organised travel was what appealed to her since she belongs to a generation and type which has been bred in superlative comfort and for want of a better word has been obsessively mollycoddled by parents like us .

Therefore the supreme freedom of travelling in a local train , having to squat on the floor of the bogey , (something that I used to do while travelling from Burdwan to Santiniketan - having detrained from the relative comforts of the Amristsar Mail at Burdwan station ), not knowing what to eat , feeling the explosive gust of air from the open carriage door , must have added to the adrenalin rush .Somehow I keep feeling that the Springfest was only incidental ! I only hope next year she and her friends are a little more organised .

But hey , you're young only once ...

2 comments:

hillgrandmom said...

too true(only young once)!! Besides, most of us parents forget our young days when we put our collective foot down:(

Sara said...

Reading about your feelings about your daughter going off on her own really makes me think, I can see my boys getting older and although they're not at that point yet, I can see it won't be long. It brings a whole new lot of joys and worries, it seems. I can hardly imagine it now, but my eldest has a birthday on Sunday and that always makes you think about how quickly they are growing.