A peep to the past

Just like that ,the picture of a small girl hanging onto a wooden  gate with rails, came to my mind. I was seeing very clearly the small girl moving back and forth on that gate or simply standing in front of the gate and looking both ways to see a glimpse of  anyone who would appear at the end of the roads and continue looking till they pass in front of  her. She loved doing that.

At other times she will dare to walk a few steps on the road and run back in to the safety of her gate. Or she will put a chair near the wall and look down at the house nearby  and stand there until Biju chechy or Bindu comes out. Then we start our own barter system,I bring rather sneak in beautiful candle stands or other nick knacks and exchange them for broken bangle pieces, or sometimes even garlands made of broken bangle pieces. It was so exciting to add them in to my collection of old match box covers,girls dancing forms made of parry's candy wraps,green,  some dancers are with orange and black cadburies éclairs wraps too,but not many.
My grandmother used to say I am like the dog with burned leg. I asked why she called me like that,and she said because he cannot stand at one place and keeps running all over. That answer satisfied me.OK .
Those memories are so clear, even now and when I pass by those areas today,I can still see that little girl on that gate. She was alone and from morning till evening she used to stand there on holidays. On other days after school she would wait there expecting her father to return,only taking necessary little breaks to go inside the house.

She never liked rain at that time ,the dark clouds gathering with lightening inside them scared her and forced her to go back to her house and the dark rooms...

Another picture is a black and white picture taken in front of museum ,mother wearing a full of flowers saree and is giving this  three year old  little girl with closely cropped hair,a dragon fly,and she is taking it  with a strange expression. All over there are yellow and orange flowers, mother was sitting in the middle of those flowers. My father captured that beautiful picture in his Nikon years back... wish time stays still like that in that photo...