Power-cut!

As children, we looked forward to power-cuts, especially those in the late evenings and nights! The suddenness of it made it thrilling. You froze like a statue and held the pose, as though arrested in movement. If you tried to move, you stumbled over chair-ends and side-tables or worse, stepped on someone’s foot!

As you peered out of the balcony, the urban landscape was straight out of a fairy-tale. The neighborhood looked grotesque, draped in just the light of the moon and stars! There was an irresistible urge to add to the spookiness by mimicking all kinds of sounds! A clip-clop of a galloping horse with its loud neighing was a top favorite! You created eerie sound-effects- the bark of an angry dog, the bleat of a goat, and the protracted sound of wailing-wind! Ghosts and spirits seemed to get a new lease of life when the darkness was total!

You grinned in the pitch darkness, cocksure that these antics would provoke your elder sister. That was the intent anyway. Her protest was quick and predictable, “Can you stop this nonsense now and stay quiet?” There was never an answer to my counter-question, “You are scared, isn’t it?”

Occasionally, a building in the distance was completely lit up while we stayed enveloped in darkness. That was a bitter pill to swallow. You seethed with anger at the unfairness of it all!

Back then, there were no power generators. You waited till the current was back, sometimes, after several hours. Power-cuts gave you freedom to do nothing! It was a ready excuse to skip homework and study-time. You felt on top of the moon! Soon, mother brought out the candles and placed them at strategic spots around the house. Dinner was served in the candlelight. In that mellow lighting, even curd-rice had an added aura!

Power-cuts helped to unleash your creative potential. The play of shadows on the wall created immense possibilities. Against the wall-canvas, father used his fingers with dexterity. An entire world of shadow-puppets emerged. It was accompanied with appropriate sound-effects, like a full-scale light-and-sound show! There was the shadow of an old man, complete with a bald head and tuft, whose mouth and chin quivered as he spoke gibberish. There were barking dogs, prancing deer and flying birds. Parrots perched on branches and swans stuck their neck out! It was difficult to distinguish the parent from the child!

When the electricity was back, the end could not be more anti-climactic. You blinked, overwhelmed by the blinding light all around. The fun ended abruptly, and now, you had to go back to the pedestrian routine. How you wished, there was no light and only darkness!