Usually we four friends go to office together in one car– call it car pool, if you wish. The purpose of going in group is to avoid boredom of our journey to office daily, two way. Topics pop up one by one which makes the discussions lively - and  span over Business, Stocks, Politics, life etc. 

Recently one of the 'items' came up was, if we were given a chance to go back to past in ‘Time Machine’, to which part of your early years each would go back.. infant-hood, child-hood or as a youngster… It was a brilliant topic, which took each of us to our favorite time in the past…

Three of the friends wanted to go back to childhood – Age 6 to 12, ie school days which they enjoyed much. Another friend didn’t want to go back at all (surprisingly!). He said, he did’nt want to go through what he had  already been  through – he must have had very troubled early days, we felt. Only me wanted to go back to college days – a change from others! As ‘derived’ by friends, reason would be that I must have had a very restricted  child hood, with strict parents… And they started explaining how they enjoyed their childhood, time with friends etc, till we reached office. 

In the evening, at home, I just thought about this. Told my wife about this (she wanted to go back as a 6 month old child – as she would only have to drink, sleep and cry! Others will take care of everything!!!) Why my favorite  past is not  child-hood as others’ choice.. This made me to look back into my school days.. 

Alas, I could not see much interesting memories of those days. Home-to-School-to-Home. Weekends we go to Mom’s home (‘Tharavadu’) which is  200 meters away. And may be watching football match in the temple-ground near to mom’s home. No vacations outside the town (..and we never expected too. A school teacher he was, my father was working very hard whole day to provide us a good life, if not luxurious) My father  never beat me; He wanted us to get good marks, and it was mom who took care of our study & exams. They always tried to inculcate the importance of education into us. Mom kept few canes of different thickness in her custody to ‘treat’ us. I hated History, and hence always had to face questions from mom like ‘between which regions second panipat war was fought; what are Shersha’s development to his kingdom; In which year Akbar did this or that.. etc… (Thanks to her constant supervision during my schooldays -and in the first year into college too!-, I could score well in exams, and am here now!) . I could not remember any of my close friends of those days (may be I didn’t have!) – but, I could think of names of many of my classmates, though. Moreover, I was studying in the same school where my father was teaching, which might have restricted my freedom!

So,  truly nothing attractive was there  which enticed me to go back to those days….

But days after my 10^th standard were not like that… Much more freedom, mobility (as I got my first bicycle by that time) more friends, activities, sports, and feeling of a grown-up boy! As for study, the value of self-study was rooted within me by that time. Along with this, all those usual pluses and minuses of college life definitely was more fulfilling, and well-remembered! So, surely, I would like time machine to take me there!

(Hold on! On second thoughts, I feel I should go back to the not-so-interesting-childhood than oh!-so-fabulous college days! Because, why don’t we try to make it more interesting and enjoyable this time!  It would be wonderful to learn from the ‘mistakes’ of the past and do it ‘correctly’ on this trip!!!  Hmm, idea seems to be great, indeed.)

It was so nice to travel thru those days by thoughts, if not in time machine! Coming back to present reality, I do miss my father, who is no more here to enjoy the fruits of his hardship. He left us to heavenly abode during early days of my first job.  I am sure, he must be happy seeing us from there.