Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Swings


Remember the exhilarating rush of air that almost went through you the last time you sat on a swing? As if the breeze wanted to thwack you hard and say, "Fool! You rebuffed me for so long for the wily charms of a piece of wired metal?" Remember being held back, being bound by the chains of the swing, and yet being so free? The reassurance that you could just press your feet down and the world would instantly, miraculously, cease to rush? The satisfaction of being the master of your own invisible parabolic path? Of being at one with the wind; of being the mighty unseen itself? The innate joy on knowing that all it took to proceed for evermore was keeping your best feet forward? That all it took to rise above the rest of the world was your own self? That life could be as lazily slow or as spurtively fast as you chose to make it? That jumping mindlessly off the swing at its curved peak gave some crazy inner pleasure that no safe and staid thing could? Because risks pay off. Because when you're at the top, all of life's inanities seem just so mundane, so futile, and so...trivial.
Live. Breathe. Now.

25 comments:

Sukanya said...

thnx for posting this one! enjoyed reading it as much as i did the first time! :D

Vasudha said...

Anytime! Thanks for vetoing it worthy, wouldn't have posted it otherwise. :)

Disha said...

Hi!
Nice post!
Reminds me of freedom.

Nik said...

:-D... great post kid.

guess what!.. i've got a writers block. cant write a single decent thing. haven't been able to for a week or so.

[less then 2 days...!!!!]

Mansi Trivedi said...

Yeah sitting on the swings is a different kind of joy

L@$H@ said...

the only lovely memories i have of swings is of the entire 11th. all my bunks hv been in d gym area u noe, n yes...it is as much fun as u say! Cheers!

Vasudha said...

Prerna : Its sabotaged by the junior school kids. You'll need some serious jostling skills if you want to survive swinging there. :P

Disha : Wrote it while listening to Open Skies. :D Influence shows? :P

Nik : Four days. Started my prep finally. Er, if one chapter counts. :| Just you wait. Let 'em exams get over, the writer block will behave likewise. Exam stress does some weird things to writing abilities. o.O

Mansi : Yeah, a complete letting-go, carefree joy, isn't it? :) Thanks for dropping by!

Abhilasha : Next time you're bunking, call me. :D

ishmeet said...

I used to be really scared of swings when I was young. They were one jhoola I never sat on in our school playground. Well, as a child I was a really scared fellow. I used to sit only on the see-saw. :P

I was scared of the swings because my feet would not touch the ground and the guys in our class were complete assholes. They'd push you so hard from behind that you'd go flying. And I always thought I'd fall. Then I grew up and started sitting on swings. They're fun. I like the idea that someone stands behind you and pushes you forward and you go ahead facing the winds without thinking about anything. Kinda melodramatic but I feel that's the essence of life really. When you know you've got someone behind you and pushing you forward, you feel confident and do anything.

Swings are fun, yep.

Nik said...

15 hours...!! nooo.

Bharat Iyer said...

As a little kid I had a marked indifference for the swing. One of the reasons could be that I couldn't swing on my own and I hated having someone stand behind me and push me forward.

Swings fascinate me now in an odd sort of way but I'm too self-conscious to go sit on one. But I did write a poem called Old Wooden Swing, in which, as the title itself suggests, the swing figured prominently.

The Keeper of the Keys said...

oooh..now i wanna go find a swing.
I had one in the backyard of my old house.
I esp. enjoyed standing-up swinging.

Vintage Girl said...

wow! loved the post! and swings are still my favorite things in the world!! =)

Vasudha said...

Ishmeet : The see saw? You managed to find someone else with a 26cm waist to balance the weight? :P
And that's a lovely analogy! :)

Nikita : Alls well that ends well. :D

Bharat : Ah, self sufficiency. Or egotism. :P
The poem's the same one you showed, isn't it?

The Keeper of the Keys : I'd have loved to have one at my place. My grand mum had one at her place, and that'd be the one big incentive I'd have to visit her. Apart from the food, of course. :D
Standing up swinging with another person sitting, yeah! I was under the delusion that was my improvisation. :P Thanks for visiting!

Anahita : You're back! :D Yay! And ditto. :)

ishmeet said...

I used to go on the see saw when I was like 5 or something. There were a lot of kids my size at that time. I actually used to be one of the "healthier" ones at one point in time. Later however, everyone grew and I remained as such. :P

Nik said...

that old bromide?!

Vasudha said...

Ishmeet : Don't tell me you tried one of them TVS Skyshop Golden Weight capsule things. :P

Nik : Say whaa?! :\

The Keeper of the Keys said...

oye ! Naita's here...now i know...i've (seen) read you at shayeri's blog...oooh!

and oh yes, i always loved swinging standing up with someone--and i'd always stand coz i was afraid if i'd sit the other person wud kick me or sumtin...lol.

hmmm....your (old?) school at malcha?

Vasudha said...

Keeper of the Keys [Okay, Nids is easier :P] : So you mean you were the one kicking then? :P
Yup, school's at Malcha. I'm in the eleventh, so one year more to go. At least.

The Keeper of the Keys said...

yeah, i'm Nids alrite.
no, i never kicked *prim look*
and i took my 12th boards in your school. lovely neighborhood.
best of luck for exams.

Vasudha said...

I guess that's the reason why everyone's outside the school more than inside it. :P

And thanks! :)

ishmeet said...

Na, not one of those TVS Skyshop things. We have better "desi" shit in here. Sharaab chudaaye sharaabi ko bina bataaye is the best of them all.

flyingstars said...

Beautifully written...your post makes us so nostalgic about our golden childhood days...lovely words!

Vasudha said...

Ishmeet : Ah, from the makers of Mughali Ghutti? Their radio advert went something like this : Aththasi saal ki budiya ki ghutti piye bachcha ghata-ghat, daat nikale phata-phat! :P

Flyingstars : Glad to hear that :) Thanks a bunch for dropping by!

ishmeet said...

LOL, no it's not associated with that. It's a Ludhiana based hospital called Triveni Height clinic. Bawaasir ka ilaaj, cubs ka ilaaj, and of course, sharaab chudaaye sharaabi ko bina bataaye. Bal ugaaye and height badhaaye. :P

Vasudha said...

You, er..speak from experience? :P

 

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