Soliloquies- Summer Holidays

Flatmate A was sharing how he spent his summers with videogames and taking notes on whatever he was learning. "What about friends?" I asked. "No," he shrugged his shoulders. I began to contemplate my summers and I walked through my memory lane. 

As far as I remember, the summer holidays I enjoyed the most were in 1990s. If my memory serves me right, the earliest disappointing moment of my summer holidays was when my parents took me to a house to let me study during my summer holiday trip at my grandparent's home- Guntakal. I remember looking at the books and feeling very sad for always being forced to keep up with books. I guess, that's when I had a love hate relationship with books. I liked the colourful pictures in the book but, I wanted to go out and play rather than sit in someone's home and study alphabets and numbers. 

Before 2005, I was living in Hanmakonda, the only place where I spent two summers-2003 & 2004, at one home. After that, due to Dad's transfer, we had to shift to Jangaon in 2005. Summer was spent in shifting and finding a new home, new school. I rarely understood the process of moving homes at such early age.  I witnessed the packing all the house hold items with a lot of care. Cartons are brought, house hold items are packed and everything is put in a big truck and off we go to a new place. I tried to grapple the change without understanding much when I was 10 years old. I knew that I'd not meet my friends again, I knew that I'd not see the same teachers again.  

Until 2006 summer, I studied in St.Paul's School. In 2006, Dad had a promotion and we had to shift to a different state, Tamil Nadu, altogether. 2006 summers were spent in packing, shifting and moving. 

Though we tried schooling in Vellore, we couldn't continue for language and Board reasons. I remember the name of the school I was about to study- Sunbeam School. Instead of Vellore, I was put in a school in Nellore. Between 2006 and 2007, we had two homes in two different states. One in Vellore where Dad lived due to work and another in Nellore where we had our schooling. I had to live with my aunt for a while and eventually mom moved to Nellore. After one year of stay and schooling in Nellore, we shifted our home from Nellore to Kadapa. 2007 summers are spent in packing, shifting and moving again.  

Again in 2008 Summers, we moved to Chittoor. I was the only one who would go wherever my parents moved. We moved to Chittoor so Dad could do the long traveling, live in Chittoor, work in Vellore. Again in 2009, Dad got promotion and we were off to Hyderabad. There goes 2009 summers as well in packing, moving & shifting,  

I was in 10th grade by then and finishing my 10th board exams was a big thing. Throughout mychildhood, I was keen to learn music but I could never sit down and attend any class or play any instrument as it was never a priority in the face of adjusting to new school, new teachers & new friends.After my schooling, in 2010 summers, I insisted to learn guitar.  My dad and I went to Secunderabad to buy a guitar. We bought a gb&a black acoustic guitar. I spent my short 2010 summers learning guitar and prepping for intermediate college. 

In 2011, I spent my summers playing basketball at YMCA. That's when I met Sanam and Srinidhi. I have a very fond memories sharing time with both of them. During 2011 summers, I felt we stopped moving, atleast for a while. Soon after 2011 summers passed, I attended 2nd year in college and again we had to move to Rajahmundry, thanks to Dad's posting to Rajahmundry. 2012 summers were spent in packing, moving, shifting again. 

By that time, I finished my intermediate and was anxious about my engineering future. 2012 summers were spent in Rajahmundry,exploring the new place. I remember spendng great time at quarter premises. I went to movie- Cocktail with one of the neighbours in quarters. After that, I had to returned to Hyderabad for college, while the home was at Rajahmundry. 

I spent my 2013 summers briefly at home-Rajahmundry and briefly at college. By then, I had formed closefriendships with a lot of friends in college. 

2014 summers was the deadliest of all, in my life. I had lost alot of my friends to death due to flashfloods. Even though, I spent  my summers at home, I hardly remember how I spent those summers. 

In 2015 summers, I began to write my first book and was busy writing, rewriting, editing it. 

In 2016 summers, I was trying to finish my college stint. I was trying to  pack up to move to home which was shifted to Raichur by then. Also, I was keen to move to Bangalore to take a break and figure out my further future. I was already placed in a job but, was not sure of what I wanted to do then.

By March 2017, I got onto my first job and the concept of summer holidays was no more on the table. I spent my 2017 summers in ILP training program at Q city with Sohail, Azith, Saleem, Sai, Srujan, Akhilesh & Elsa. 

By then, I got used to growing up without summer holidays. 2018 summers were spent working at Adibatla, frequently visiting synergy park and catching up with friends. 

2019, I moved to Rajasthan and experienced the hot summers of Rajsthan. Students had summer holidays but, we had to host children's summer camp in a village called Kalandari. Dyu, Kaveri, Mukesh Parashar and I spent a week of summers in Kalandri, hosting summer camp. 

By 2020, we had COVID. Dyu and I were living together. We were working for COVID awareness programes. By then, we got used to Rajasthan summers. I wonder how I'd have lived without Dyu then. I was leading a very clumsy college going student kinda life. 

2021, work life seemed very different from student life. The COVID lockdown was back and I was at home to attend family for a brief time. I also had to shift my home from Sirohi to Jaipur then. 

2022 summers were spent in Bangalore as we had to host workshops at Azim Premji University. 

2023 summers were also spent in Bangalore due to workshops, again at Azim Premji University. After 2023 summers, I moved to Geneva. 

2024 summers, dad got retired and by June 28, I was planning to travel and explore since I didn't had a home in Geneva to return. I spent 70 days backpacking in Europe. The much needed holiday I deserved to make it up with all the summers I missed since my childhood. 

I'm curious what 2025 summers has got in for me.