Category: I Am

Today, I really feel like I have done something substantial, something meaningful and something which gives me a feeling of a sense of achievement. Before you take any guesses it's not related to some of my previous posts.

I am currently in Ahmedabad and day before yesterday I had been to my friend Prayas' place in the evening. It was just a casual visit but I ended up accepting the challenge of teaching his son Pavan cycling. He had some previous failed attempts at learning to cycle and falling off which was the case on that day.

[flashback _remembering the day when i cycled on my own for the first time_]
I faintly remember my brother and dad teaching me how to cycle. But let me share with you what I rememebr of my first maiden cycle trip. I don't remember how old I was then but I distinctly remember that my dad had taken me and Mandar to Prabodhan Krida Bhavan to teach us to cycle. I consider Prabodhan Krida Bhavan as my home ground. I played a lot of cricket there and have loads of memories which make me feel nostalgic of the place. Then we didn't have a cycle of my size and so we would rent a cycle from a shop near the ground. So, we rented two cycles. Now I just loved a cycle named "Rough Rider". It felt good. Mandar and me had a good understanding and so we would exchange our cycles at half-time. Then we proceeded towards the ground. After an assisted start from my dad I was off on my maiden cycle trip. I was surprisingly taking turns in the ground unassisted and I was so excited. It felt so great. Can't express it here on the blog as I can't feel the same now but I surely remember how excited I was. (weird isn't it?)

[comeback _present_]
Since, yesterday it was raining all day, I had been there to help him teach cycling today. Pavan was playing outside with his friends. Now, I could see his friends cycling all over the place and so it was obvious even he wanted to learn to cycle. So, me and Prayas stepped out of house and were looking out for him. On seeing me he rushed towards us along with his cycle as if to show that he was all ready for the training day. To cut a long story short after more than 7 falls, some tweaking of his handle bar at a local shop, almost crying thrice, giving up completely once and one and a half hours later he was on his maiden trip on his bicycle. The excitement on his face has made me write this post. Though, I don't clearly remember how excited I was after my first maiden trip, this reminded me of it and I sure was as excited as him if not less. He almost fell off after riding some distance and guess what he was asking while getting up, "Maine chalai na cycle, uncle maine chalai nah, Papa mujhe aa gayi nah cycle chalane?." We gave him a resounding "YES" unanimously. In another half an hour he gained more confidence and the best part was him showing his mom(who he fondly calls aai) his cycling skills. Finally, I feel a sense of achievement and I am so happy for him as now he can cycle with his friends.

Manju (his mom) wanted to record this moment on video but till then it was dark. You can check a latest video of his on her blog here where he plays the lead protagonist. Now, these are the perks of being part of a film-making family. 😉

To end this post, here is a list of some of my memorable cycle trips:

- Cycle trip to Aarey garden with my brother doing all the cycling on the slopes and me enjoying sitting double seat with him. Though, the journey wasn't very comfortable sitting on the front rod all the way but still enjoyed it.

- Cycling to Aksa beach in the morning with Narayanan (brother's friend) and his friends. Never again did my plans of visiting Aksa beach materialize.

- Cycle trip from our farm-house in Mangaon (marked as Surve House) to a distant place Vhira (where my grand father had bought land and a well was being constructed) with my brother and dad. Again I was sitting double seat with my dad most of the time.

- Trips to various Ganesh mandals in and around our locality during Ganesh Chaturthi with my building friends.

Do you remember your first maiden cycle trip...?