BEING WITH EARTH

My friend Vasu was infamous in his circle of friends. Many were afraid of him as he used to pick up quarrel at the slightest provocation. Surprisingly, we got along well.   Once the lifeline of the city, the Musi river flows south of my home at a distance of one and a half kilometres. Walking on the banks of the river was fun especially during the summers. We would come across many people from Ramanthapur village cutting grass and loading it on their bullock carts. The place looked serene with green grass all around. Watching the sunset from these grasslands always looked beautiful. The evenings were cool with the chirping of birds. At a point very close to the banks were many trees including some fruit bearing ones such as Cheema Chintakaya (Sp. Pithecellobium dulce) provided cool shade. Once we felt thirsty, the villagers directed us to a spring. It was very close to the river, yet the water was refreshing and sweet.  Once we challenged ourselves to walk along the bank

Our school, Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2, was tucked away under the canopy of trees in the Survey of India Campus, Uppal. It was about three and a half kilometres from my home at Ramanthapur. Every day, we used to walk with a heavy school bag to the bus stop, which was a half a kilometre from our place.  Few children were fortunate as their parents dropped them at the school. Travelling by a school van or an autorickshaw was a luxury. We depended on the public transport for attending the school.   Very few buses plied from Koti and Charminar to Uppal. There were hardly any buses during the school hours between  8 am and 8:30 am  and between  3:30 pm and 4:30 pm . Even if a bus arrives, the passengers were packed like sardines, we used to get in squeezed or travel by footboard. It was risky and inconvenient but had to endure the ordeal.  During that time I found that a train of bullock carts moving from Chaderghat to Uppal was empty. All along the banks of the Musi, the farmers cu