The rise of machines...

I was on my knees inspecting the tyre and was worried about a perpetual wobbling problem that was intrinsic with this type. The other six players had much sturdier ones and I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to reach the finish line, which was about 500 meters away. Winning this race was very important to me and I had rigorously practiced 2 hours a day for 2 weeks and had improved on every critical aspect like steering, braking, steep turning and other minor details which could lead to major failures during the race. I had adjusted the length of the stick to the optimum levels and checked the grips; I also had inspected the roads earlier that day and knew that I had to pass two speed breakers and a stretch that sloped at thirty degrees to reach the destination point. I was ready at the start line eager to hit the road. I was trained for this high-tension environment but yet drops of sweat trickled down my forehead. The sun was right above my head and there were people on either side of the road walking and screaming. When the signal was given I immediately pulled my stick and gave it a hard push. I made a good start but 50 meters down the track I saw two of them overtaking me and I was doing my best. I already could feel the wobbling in the tyre and I had to handle it carefully. I crossed the first speed breaker successfully and was heading towards another in the next 100 meters. I also gave a quick look at the back and was happy that two people had already gone off track because one could not manage the speed and another had failed over the speed breaker. I just had few more seconds and down went another on the slopes. He lost control too, I was concentrating and my legs were aching due to the high levels of stress. My palms were sweating and I couldn’t hold my stick and it had become slippery. I kept my fingers crossed and controlled it using various techniques that I had learnt. It was a tough competition now between the second player with a TVS 50 tyre and me with a cycle tyre. I had to prove that even cycle tyres are strong enough. The problem with the cycle tyre was that no matter how much u drive it with the stick it wouldn’t move and TVS 50 tyre also had some intrinsic disadvantages that after it starts moving it is very difficult to stop. I was very close to the finish line and he was just 3 meters behind. I had to rely on my physical strengths than my tyre. I said to myself that I would win this race. Just as I thought I tripped and fell down just 2 meters from the finish line but I managed to push the tyre hard just before I fell. The tyre understood my feelings and rolled on till the finish line and I WON!!! Hurray!!!!

This happened in my fourth standard during my schooling at bangalore. I really enjoyed playing with the tyre and also enjoyed other games like goli, lagoree, gilli thandu and kabaddi. I wonder why kids don’t play these games today and are so engrossed in television and computers....