I was young, very young. How much? May be 9 or 10 years old. It was the month of April. though the biting cold of December, January was more than two months past, its shivering ripples spilled beyond winter. Drizzle and rain accompanied by very cold wind whistling through tall pine trees made it very gloomy with nightfall.The houses were located far apart, spacious compounds with extensive areas, separated each household. As dusk fell, the entire locality looked deserted, winding roads between far apart street lights semi dark, an aberration of long shadowy pine trees lining both sides at random accentuating the gloom. Very few souls walking, mostly people returning from office, bloated or half filled bags in one hand, umbrella in the other. Majority of the residents were government officials, with a few exceptions here and there. Vehicles a very rare site. Faint glimmer of light emanating from distant houses indicated households were still awake. But for us boys, it was an evening to get ready for another adrenaline pumping pastime, after a hard days labor! a labor of playing cricket, playing hide and seek. We played cricket often in the frontal courtyards of neighbor’s house, including ours, breaking a window pane or two now and then, the volley of invective immediately following! The next shot hit straight, avoiding the windows, expert fielders unable to catch it, the rubber ball bouncing, jumping, rolling down the slopes, far below into the adjoining drain separating the other neighbor’s vast compound. We would run down the slopes en masse, trampling on well manicured growths of brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower etc, searching in the filth and squalor of the running drain. Someone would hold out the ball shouting, palu palu( got it got it). A perfunctory rub on the grassy outgrowth, the game would resume.