If humans had taglines, what would yours be?
I cannot give up. If I have taken on a responsibility, then I try to do my best to be successful at it. Taking care of my younger sibling proved to me that there was always a way to make things happen. I just had to persevere until it did. If I ever used a tagline to describe myself, then “I shall either find a way or make one”, would be apt.
I was in grade 4 when Mum told me to take care of my younger sibling. There was no big announcement. Just that, she was now my responsibility, if I decided to go down and play. I started playing on the street when I was in grade 2. Mum had taught me to cycle and a few of the other kids on the street knew to cycle as well, so we used to spend time in the evening riding up and down the streets. I was about 8 years old and my younger sibling was only 4, still too young to join me in the games. The following year, we relocated and my younger sibling started Kindergarten, and that’s when Mum left me in charge. I was thrilled. Finally, I had a friend I could play with even after curfew!
This new location had a few renovations happening and we used to find sand trucks dropping off sand outside those homes. We used to love to play in the sand. High jump, long jump, and building sand castles, wells, and dams kept us occupied for most of the evening. At curfew, we would head home to continue to play with toys. Every day the laborers would return to work at 8 am and would collect, clean, sift, and use the sand to finish their work. When they left at 5 pm, we would get on the sand to play. Initially, it used to be just the two of us playing in the sand, but seeing no one complaining slowly some of the other kids joined us to play on the sand as well. Jumping from the ledge or compound wall into the sand was our favorite activity until there were so many kids, that the amount of space on the sand was reduced. We were forced to figure out some other game that we could all play and not get in trouble. Hide and Seek, Lagori, Dodgeball, and Cricket became our favorites.
We were a group of about 10 kids on the street who used to meet regularly to play, including my younger sibling. There were a couple of older kids who never came out to play, and then there were a couple of younger kids who never bothered playing the games we played. My instructions were clear, if I had to play, then my younger sister was with me. I could always opt to sit it out at home and play indoors with her, but sitting at home was a waste of time. Now, the kids on the street were a lot faster than her and quite aggressive in the game. I kept her out of a couple of games and she complained to Mum about this. Mum then called me and made it very clear to me, if I had to go out and play, then she had to be a part of the games. Mum never accepted excuses. I had to make this work if I had to play with the kids on the street.
The first time we played hide and seek together, they caught her out, because she could not find a good hiding spot. And this continued for a few times that evening. Catching the younger slower kids was easy and some of the kids started targetting them. This made the game shorter and boring for the older faster kids. We did not have the time or inclination to divide the kids into groups, to play different games, we all had to play together. We needed a new set of rules, so the younger kids could play and try to catch up at their own pace and the older kids could play and improve on their game. So, that was when I started modifying the rules of the games we played to accommodate the slower speed of the younger kids. ‘A level playing field’, that’s what we created on our street. I was fast and had good hand-eye coordination, so my throws in dodgeball and lagori often hit their mark. We used to play two games every day to ensure no one was bored. The boundaries and rules were modified to accommodate the younger kids, and handicaps for the older faster kids were introduced. The deal was that the younger kids got to play the games without the penalties. It was referred to as “Aatake untu, lekhake illa” or “Kachcha Nimbu” They could play, but they could never be caught out. This ensured that they were part of all the games and were able to pick up their pace to match ours. The kids included in aatake untu lekhake illa would be mentioned at the start of the game, modifications to this list were only made at the start of the game. The penalty for ignoring these rules was simple, if you picked on my younger sibling, then you were my target in the next game. And finally, we were equals. My younger sibling became my friend.
Until I started making these rule modifications, the younger kids on the street used to just sit around and wait. But because of Mum’s rule to ensure my younger sibling also got to play, I was forced to think of a way to guarantee she was also included in the games. Introducing handicaps for the faster kids and including no penalties for the younger ones, we gave them the chance to join our games. The best part of rule modifications was the fact that we often used these younger kids to win our games. As per the rules, she could not be targeted and could never be made a ‘den-ner’ in any of the games, but, if she managed it, then she could make another person a ‘den-ner’. These one-sided rules often benefited the younger kids and gave the game that edge that we thrived on. These rules were created to favor the weaker kids and helped boost their confidence while playing with us. To be honest, I only made them to ensure that my younger sibling got to play the same games I played, because this was the only way I could continue to play. Keeping to the promise I made Mum, to ensure that she was a part of all the games I played on the street. The best part was that when the younger kids mentioned these rule modifications to their parents, they were also impressed with the extent we went to include them in our games. Somehow, it was these little things that made it worthwhile.
Just a little more 