Sakshum ... cultivating dreams: Picnic chale ham

Picnic chale ham
Tuesday, November 16, 2010

When I was a kid, there was one thing that i hated to the limit - to stay at home. I always wanted to go out to a new place different from my regular school and home. I wanted to go to places where I could do those wonder things which i had heard in stories. I wanted to be with my friends so that they can see me when i do those exciting things, so that i can take pride in talking about our wonder moments with them - incessantly, and so that I can add one more story to my book of adventures.

As a child you get to hear a lot of stories. These stories take a child to a world unknown. They rock him, they move him. These stories regale him, enthrall him, mesmerize him , hypnotize him and above all inspire him. Anything new is a story for a kid and thus he remembers it and savours it.

It is these stories that make kids remember a lot of things which otherwise would have forgotten. So one fine day, few weeks back, Sakshum thought of adding a few more stories to those adventure books possessed by every kid.

Plots for our stories were Planetarium and Park.

First we took our young heroes to Birla Planetarium - just to add some more stars to their stories. But as expected the kids had no clue about that place. While we were cooling our heels, the kids were busy conjecturing what’s inside.Some of them were expecting to see some Telugu flick in the building which appeared a movie theatre to them. Kaleza was the most popular guess.

And then came the moment when all the guesses came to the halt, when the gates opened and the cool breeze of the theatre brought excitement and commotion along with it.

The kids were now under the the huge curved screen and so were adventure, buzz , anticipation and hope. Right from the very moment in which we barged in under the overhead curved screen of planetarium till the very last conclusive second, every kid was in the state of awe.They were star-strucked by every single thing present there.

The show came to an end in an hour or so and then came the time to take the kids to our second plot- Sanjeevaiah park near Hussain Sagar. I don’t know that how much the kids learnt but anybody who was present there would have certainly got the vibes of inquisitiveness amongst the kids. It was an exclusive experience watching the kids prying and probing.

With the revving engines we embarked upon the second phase of our journey and the buses left for the park. The journey was full of gusto and energy. I don’t remember any school bus trip which was not fun and this was no different. There is some magic that the revving engines, honking horns and blowing winds bring along with them. Enchanted and captivated we reached Sanjeevaiah park.

We all had our lunch and then the kids were set free. The storm was unleashed and it took the entire place in it’s grip. The whole place came to life and started breathing afresh. Everyone, kids and volunteers alike was charged. It felt that we have come to a carnival.

Soon came the time to go but the energy levels were still at the peak. There was no stopping to the fun. In a matter of seconds the passengers of the two buses turned to two rival teams and the roads of Hyderabad turned into a racetrack. And then started the relentless support and chanting by the two teams. The support shown was overwhelming to say the least. The kids put their everything behind their drivers and made them the protagonists of that little cameo.

That was a day which never dropped in its energy level, which showed us that why every adult yearns for his childhood. I am sure that this episode must had given a lot of stories to our youthful daredevils which they will relish in years to come and which they will keep forever in their wonder books.