A Lost Piece Of Childhood!

 

It was a broken piece of a tile, jagged and sharp at the edges. We named it as Chappi (meaning tile). 

And so we called the game as Chappi too! Of course, it goes by the name of Hopscotch, but we didn't know it those days. We just called it as Chappi. 

I think it all started when the terrace of our building was being renovated. The floor of the terrace was eroded, and required some cement and plastering. The workers forbid us from coming to the terrace while they were working. But we would promise them that we won't disturb them and would walk on the other side of the terrace which was fine and where work had not started yet.  As we were walking, we came across a piece of tile, blue in colour with some white patches. It was pretty! And we decided to use it for our Chappi game. 

And the game... what can I say! Some of the best moments of life happened during the game. There was one budding artist who was allotted the responsibility of drawing the boxes. And another friend, the Athlete, would always want to start first. We vehemently argued. Well, it is difficult when almost all boxes have been marked by the Athlete as hers! Where would we jump then? So we took turns in being first to start the game. 

I remember the feeling of exhilaration whenever I could attempt a long jump. I remember feeling happy when I would mark one of the boxes as mine. But mostly, I remember my friends cheering whenever I stood in a box and complained that may be I cannot jump to the box at the other end! They would encourage me, motivate me and celebrate with me whenever I could attempt it. Simple joys of true and innocent friendship!

We started taking turns in 'guarding' the chappi. One day it would be with me, the other day with Artist, then one day with Athlete and so on... And one day, we almost lost the chappi! One of the girls couldn't find it at her home. Oh, the despair! After hours of searching, we finally could find it. But this brought a revelation that the chappi was no longer 'safe' at anyone's home.

So, we thought of a brilliant plan. Our terrace had an office-room, a single room which contained a cupboard full of files pertaining to documents of the society. The room had a window too. So we decided to leave the chappi at the edge of the window every evening before going home. The plan worked. The chappi was in a safe-place, well-guarded and we could sleep peacefully at our homes.

But then, Time happened.

Soon the days of school turned into days of college. Teenage set in. Chappi, the game, was no longer 'cool' to play, we were 'grown-up' now to play such 'childish' games. And Chappi, the broken piece of tile, lay beside the window, forgotten and neglected. 

I wonder - when the last time that one of us placed the chappi at the window, did we know that we won't use it any more? And when did it happen? When did we grow 'too much' to not to play chappi? When did Chappi start feeling 'un-cool'? And did Chappi, the piece, ever forgive us for erasing it from our memories?

I went back to my terrace after my wedding for a get-together of our building. I and my friends walked around the office-room. While no one spoke about Chappi, I know we all searched for it in the window. There was no chance. Our terrace had undergone several repairs and renovations and there was no way that a piece of our childhood memory would have been allowed to linger there.

As I write this, I am wondering - where did the broken piece of tile end up finally? And I wish and hope from my heart, that it ended up with a group of kids, wanting to play a game, not too grown-up, still believing in childhood and innocence. And I hope that as one friend tethers on one foot, scared that she wouldn't make it to another box, her friends are cheering and encouraging her to move on. I hope a group of worthy friends found a missing piece of our childhood - The Chappi.