Memories

Incidentally I cannot look at the geraniums without the memories of monkeys playing havoc around the geranium flower pots back at home in Nainital. Early in the morning looking outside the window from my study table I could see the shadow of the four legged devil walking on the railing, his gait giving away his evil intention. Apparently other than my clairvoyance(distracted glances from books to the window outside), my neighbors dog's war-cry barking was a clear give away.

The monkeys loved to uproot and eat the supple geranium stems, pluck away the flowered stem and carry them away with them. I could swear that every time they uprooted a stem they threw one in the direction of the barking dog to mock him. The sly monkeys tried to irritate the dog by grinning at him from our veranda railing.It was a brutal sight and my mother use to be most miserable after the morning carnage.

Just then when you'd think it was a triangle-the geranium flowers, the dog and the monkeys..the lame fourth leg would come hobbling with a stick in hand to shoo away the monkeys. Yes that was me, fear stricken and shivering.. just peering outside from the door and running back in, just at the least sign of movement in my direction. My mom wanted me to be the brave warrior and vanquish the monkeys. There was my brother's hockey stick kept by the corner of the door and since the walking distance from the kitchen to the veranda outside was an unfair advantage to the enemy, I was expected to play the 'defense'.

I have all the nightmarish memories, top of the list would be this monkey who coolly picked up an ornate bowl shaped cactus pot and dropped it down the second floor in response to my raising my stick in his direction. So arrogantly relaxed, it was as if he had just muttered  a cold and cheeky Oops!, after purposely dropping the pot. But he was not prepared for the ear splitting scream that I gave after a numb one second and ran inside the house. I rattled him completely and all his brethren for the next few days. Score!
My mother, brother and my father each played the defense all through the years that we lived in Nainital.

Then came the two years that my family was practically away from Nainital and the geraniums survived just fine without the watch-out. Guess the monkeys needed our attention even more than they liked the geraniums. The monkeys did give my mom some smiles when they left the stems from a neighbors prided geranium collection on our veranda. Geraniums are stem-planted and the monkey 'cuttings' had a higher success rate!
All these memories of the geraniums, monkeys, morning study hours are just as fresh and vivid for me. One small stimuli and stories come bubbling out. I wonder if it happens to everyone or is it just me?