Saturday, April 25, 2009

My Affair With Sankey

We have grown up together. Sankey and I. We have changed with the passing time; sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But what remains intact, even after all these years, is my love for Sankey, and Sankey's acceptance of me.

As a primary school kid, my brother once took us to Sankey. Having not ventured out much on my own then, this 'trek' to sankey, crossing the deserted temple and climbing up to reach the road was my own Enid Blyton fantasy in the city. Looking back, I wonder, was my life so sheltered, considering I have lived on the same road all my life and Sankey is but 5 minutes away and that was adventurous for me!! Well, I was excited to be so close to the water then, kid that I was, and surprisingly, that kid in me has never bid goodbye and I feel the same excitement each time I go to Sankey.

Other early memories of sankey are boating. Boating was the only way we could reach out to sankey. And of course, the viewpoints that were on the road: I would love cycling on the empty Sankey Road on summer afternoons, stand and watch the water for endless hours. I still remember the bougonvilla flowers adorning these viewpoints. I remember taking morning walks with Swetch on Sankey Road, discussing the weirdest dreams we dreamt the night before.

Adolescence arrives. Sankey still stays. I still remember, cycling around Sankey one cool summer evening, wearing shorts and for that reason not wanting to spot anyone i know en-route. And I remember better, bumping into not just my crush, but also his three sisters!! All the times I accidently wanted to bump into him, and it had to be the time I least wanted it! Walks around Sankey have also been special bonding times for me with my closest friends. Talks about life, love, ambitions, dreams and everything else under the sun. Talks about other people. Catching up. Craziness. Running(Walking actually!) away from home in anger, and taking refuge in Sankey. Sitting alone for hours together watching the insects on the surface of water. Singing to myself in happiness. Singing to myself in sadness. Crying and getting comforted in(by) Sankey. Morning walks and familiar faces. Crushes on unseen faces, just coz they looked good , observed from behind. Reading a book. Commenting on people. Immersing Lord Ganesh's idol after ganesh chaturthi. Standing outside the gates of Sankey, late in the night, and half wishing to climb over the gates and enter in. Seeing a dead body in the water. Analysing the behaviour of couples , watching live specimens in Sankey. Memorable one to ones with very dear friends. Messaging countless friends about how beautiful the sunset looks when viewed from Sankey. Giving advice. Receiving advice. Done it all. But Sankey still remains. Also remain countless other things I will do in Sankey.

The affair with sankey has lasted this long and this affair will never end, because here, I am myself and because this is the only place in the world where I do not feel lonely when I am alone. I always have Sankey with me :)


13 comments:

Kailash said...

Seen a dead body? Really?!

A boy with three sisters, hmmm who can that be ?

Analysing and watching couples..haha I have an idea of what they do at sankey ;)

Kailash said...

Oh by the way, a very well written article I must say.

Ashwini said...

Yeah! Read http://whimsicalwonder.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-looked-at-him-with-intense-hatred.html

That post describes that day.

Well one sister and 2 cousins, and you know who and i knew you would comment on that :)

and haha, that analyzing was fun ok..there were 2 couples. One very shy, sweet, reserved types. The other, the opposite. We were trying to analyze their character based on all that. The sweet couple we though were newly engaged. Both were shy to sit close to each other, the girl even had flowers on her head!
Then after some time, the non-shy couple left their bench, and we girls and another couple went forward to sit on that bench. That girl and I sat on the bench at the same time and I was in no mood to give it up for them and neither was she willing to let go. My other friends came and sat down. This girl on my right. And avalu, she kept calling her guy to come and sit, on the bench with 4 girls. He kept refusing. She kept calling chinna baaroo chinna baaroo...Gawd..it was soo funny!! Finally she walked off :P

Ashwini said...

I cant seem to post the link. Look at my June 2007 archive and read it.

Nanjundamurthy said...

oho! lucky girl.. sankey is so close to your house :-)

Ashwini said...

hehe i know :)

Pandeshwar said...

... sighs rising and trembling through the timeless air.
-Dante,The Inferno,Canto IV

Vinay Prakash said...

hey very nice article.
I can relate to everything you've written there, cos even i've had similar experiences in Sankey..:)

Really an amazing place..!!

Shashank Rao said...

Hey very nice!! The road next to the lake is just amazing. I dont think you can find something like that anywhere!! There is something very close to what Sankey looks like here, on the banks of the Hudson river. Like the walking track next to the water and everything. But you dont see a lot of people here like in Sankey:(

Ashwini said...

illu kano, there is this place called tempe Beach Park, which has a walking path and all.. :) It looks nice :) But hell, Sankey is Sankey :))

Shashank Rao said...

yeah sankey is sankey.. nothing to beat it!!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post!! Very well captures the atmosphere at Sankey. Even I loved the boating trips there. Dunno why they stopped it. Have great memories of Ganesh Chathurthi too. But what i always love the most is driving past it at night. Usually after a dinner and a movie, as Im returning home , i drive thru Sankey road, trying hard to balance the speed to go fast enough to enjoy the cool breeze and slow enuf to watch the glimmer of the lights in the waters. Bliss!!!

Ashwini said...

Oh yes! How could I forget the late night speeding on Sankey road in my blogpost!! Although from Bashyam circle, taking Sankey Rd is the longer route to my house, I would always insist we go that way :) Especially when it rains. It's kinda scary and thrilling :P