tried various times of the day & invariably at all times there would be a group of women
there for a bath or for washing clothes or to give their kids a bath. Apart from privacy
issues [for them, not for me or my son - we are not bothered by anyone ogling us :-)],
another factor was the bathing area being over-crowded.
On Saturday, due to some reason, we reached the place around 1PM and were there till
1:30PM, splashing around in the water. At that time, most people are having their lunch,
which would explain why there was not a soul around. We make a note to come to the
river at this time of the day from now on. We park the bike close to the water.
The bridge across the river helps shield us from the overhead sun, but at the same time
it keeps the water cold, which can be a bit of a problem, especially for my son, who says
the water is "Choodu", which is Malluspeak for hot. He hasn't yet learnt the word for cold
and so both cold & hot is choodu for him.
Aman is raring to enter the water and walks on ahead with his inflatable tube in hand.
Apart from the inflatable tube around his waist, we also have a couple of inflatable arm-
bands, which add to help him stay afloat. Since it is tough to explain these bands, I guess
it's better to post a pic of the thing - a picture is worth a 1000 words, right ?
As he splashes around in the water, he occasionally calls out to his Mom asking her
to at his antics - "Amma, nokku", which translates to "Mom, look here". My wife
has always wanted to get into the river with us, but has been afraid since she doesn't
know swimming. Plus she feels a little self-conscious due to the crowd around.
But today there is no one there and I ask her if she would like to join us in the water.
I can see that she wants to, but says, "I dont have dry clothes to change into. What if
someone comes?" etc etc.
I tell her that clothes aren't really an issue, because she can wade into the water in the
salwar-kameez that she is wearing (sans the dupatta) and when we ride back home, she
can cover herself with the dupatta. Since we are on the bike, no one would notice her wet
clothes anyway. And since there is no one around, she needn't be self-conscious.
She sees my logic and slowly walks in till the water is at her waist. Aman keeps calling
out to her, but she is afraid to come any further. I tell her that it is not as bad as she
thinks and she can come further. Since she is not convinced, I give her my hand and
slowly she walks in further till the water is at her neck.
Though she is happy that she could finally make it, there still is the fear due to not
knowing swimming. Being her first time, I don't want to push her any further and
the three of us spend time splashing in the water. Aman has learnt how to splash
water around by hitting the surface with his hands & is eagerly drenching both of us.
After a nice 15 minutes in the water, we are tired and hungry too and decide to get
back home for lunch. As I had said, she sat pillion and covered her with the dupatta
and I guess it would have been tough to notice that her clothes are wet. I was glad
that not only did we come across the best time to hit the river, but that my wife
could finally indulge in something she wanted to do for a long time.
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