Spirited like the jaiñkyrshah
flapping with the wind.
Noisy like the sound of
a bolbaring indenting tarmacs.
The girls of summer
The boys of winter.
The blue rubber ball.
targeting stacked rocks.
Now
still figuring out my life
with unmatched socks
Wish I could still be that
kid from the block
who daydreamed of
the sun and the peacock.
According to Khasi folklore, it is said that the Peacock and the Sun were together in heaven as lovers. But one day the peacock, while looking down on the earth, saw a garden full of mustard flowers. To him the garden looked like a beautiful girl in yellow and green clothes. He instantly fell in love with what he saw. The peacock left the sun and flew down to earth. The sun was heartbroken and her golden tears descended on his feathers creating the golden spotted pattern we all know.
To the peacock's utter disappointment, upon landing on earth, he realised that what he saw was only a patch of mustard flowers. Now it was the peacocks' turn to cry. Full of regret he tried to fly back to the sun but could not. That is why the peacock is flightless to this day.
"Bolbaring" is a wooden toy vehicle made out of small wooden poles and having rotating ball bearings as wheels.
The rubber ball and stacked rocks refers to a traditional game known as "Mawpoiñ" in the Khasi language. It is like dodgeball, while introducing a new element into the game in the form of stacked rocks. It involves one team hitting their opponents with a ball or destroying the stacked rocks while the other team either dodges or re-stacks the rocks .
"Jaiñkyrshah" is the traditional Khasi apron which is worn as a loop from one shoulder and its design is always a chequered one of different colours.