Show and Tell – Once Upon a Family Picnic

This is one of the oldest family snaps - Me, Parents and bro J as the infant. I was 5 or 6 years old when this pic was taken (sometime in the early 1980s). For a long time I have felt that this photo is a portrait of what I and my brother became as adults.

My brother became independent only when he went away to US for pursuing higher studies. I was always the break-free. Being the elder one, all the discipline and control tenets were tried and tested on me first and then experiences with me led my parents to suitably modify their techniques for the younger one. I went to a movie with my friends (I lied, was caught, and was slapped; but I had lied coz I would never have been permitted) when I was 17. My bro went to the movies with his friends at 13 (with due permission)!

Anyways, the picture is from a family picnic organized by my father’s colleagues in the Anaesthesiology department. These picnics were annual affairs and filled with fun and laughter and a lot of chances at making good friends. These picnics were discontinued over a period of years, for reasons unknown to me.

This is a black and white photo, so there are quite a few things not visible here. I used to love this particular sari of my mother. Since this was a time that my parents were still trying to anchor themselves financially, it was one of the few going-out saris that my mother had. It was pure silk, with a wide border of flowers and red and blue stripes on it. And those photo chromatic shades! I think that overall my mother is a better dresser now, as to her fashion taste then! Don’t be fooled by my father’s expression – more often than not, he has a wide grin set on his face, a fruit of good humour (which thankfully I have inherited).


I hope you enjoyed peeking through my Show and Tell. Have a nice day! And this is where you can go back to the circle...






^WiseGuy^