LIFE BY LOUIS: Our mud skating skills were fit for the Olympics

The ongoing rains signify misery for those people who are caught by the unfortunate incidents of flash floods and other perils that come with the heavy rains.

When we were small boys with no care in the world, rains signified absolute fun and play time. It was like the recently concluded winter Olympics come true in the village.

One of the most popular games we engaged in was mud-skating. The organisers of the winter Olympics would have been envious of our sheer ingenuity at how we organised and executed our own version of the games.

The first task was to identify the right location for the mud-skating challenge. It had to be a slope with the steepest gradient, and it did not matter that sometimes we had to walk miles in order to access such a slope.

RIGHT KIND OF STEEP

Once the slope was identified we had the older and more experienced skaters who tried out the new skating circuit. It had to be certified as of the right steepness and slipperiness.

One of the most popular ones was on a well beaten path that was used to access the nearby shopping centre and was therefore very busy with human traffic. It was very steep with tight curves and corners and this provided the right challenge for the boys. This circuit was only for the very experienced boys, and those of us who were constantly in the rudimentary class were relegated to watching, cheering and maintaining the circuit.

To make the circuit more interesting, we scooped clay soil from the river banks and lined the circuit all the way from the top to the bottom. We also poured more water on the makeup clay in order to make it more slippery.

We had several categories of races in the skating sport. The mastery class could skate on their knees and not come out with a single visible bruise. They could also easily skate on their bottoms, and this was tricky because in order to avoid ripping your shorts into pieces and experience the wrath of your parents, you sometimes opted to remove the shorts and skate on bare bottoms.

The developing class could only do a bit of knee and more of heel skating. Heel skating was the easier and less punishing option, but you had to maintain a very steady balance on your feet lest you toppled and banged your head.

The foundation class could only manage heel skating for short circuits and we spent the rest of the time either cheer leading and wetting the circuit.

OPPOSITE DIRECTION

The minute the first drops of rain started falling and the adults scampered for safety in their houses, the boys would be seen running in the opposite direction towards the rains. Good skating grounds were scarce and you had to run and book the slots early. Speed was also of essence in order to prepare the circuit with clay before the real competition started.

The experienced skaters were always a sight to behold. They would shed most of their clothes off and walk a reasonable distance from the beginning of the skating circuit. They would then come charging and gaining speed as they approached the beginning of the slope. We would cheer on wildly as the first skater hit the ground either on his knees or bottom.

The premier league boys are the ones who could maintain the skating for the longest distance without flinching from pain or losing balance. The more acrobatic ones would add some antics that put them in a class of their own.

A few courageous girls sometimes joined us, and there was always a lot of excitement as the tomboy heaved up her dress and went for a skid. They were however clever enough never to attempt the knee or bare bottoms challenge that was always being thrown to them by the naughtier boys.

There were no medals, but the best skaters earned respect and a higher placing in the boys’ pecking order.

When the rains ceased and the adults came out of their hiding to go on with their usual business, we would disappear and hide in the nearby bushes where we observed with glee as the adults fell on the already slippery paths that we had tuned into skating circuits.

Sometimes word would reach out to teachers about our skating activities, especially when a parent who probably fell with a thud on the slippery paths reported us to the teachers.

Needless to say, we would be heavily punished for the misdeeds, but come the next drop of rain, all of us would be out again headed for our favourite skating arenas. No amount of threat or intimidation was going to keep us away from our favourite sport.