The Magic of the word "Thooch". A childhood memory about friendship

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Nuren

Mar 24 2012 |16:33

When I was in my tween years, I often got into physical flight with a boy called Subba Rao who lived in my neighborhood. If you need some introduction to Subba Rao, you may want to check this article first.

The strategy was simple. If my friends or I found Subba Rao alone anywhere, we would stir him into fight with all kinds of silly words. Being nice and warm people, we would not start the fight though. We would just say some words to stir Subba Rao’s emotions.

Subba Rao often used to do the same with me. Whenever he found me alone on the streets, he would try to mess with me.

Once we reached an agreement. We thought of doing an official gang fight and settle the matter there. We agreed that each of us would bring 3 boys for the fight. However, there were some restrictions including:

- We were not allowed to bring any boy who was too strong and large for us.

- We were allowed to bring only boys who were of our age.

- We were not allowed to use any weapons.

- Finally (of course, the most important thing) is that our parents should not know about it.

The plan was to fight on a Saturday morning at 10 A.M on an open ground near my school. I hand-picked two of my friends who I thought would be suitable for the fight. They too were eager to be part of it.

It was a second Saturday of the month, which was a holiday for our school. My gang boys walked all the way for about 3-4 kilometers from their homes to the agreed fighting location. Once they came to meet me, I fed them some chocolates and cookies so we would have good amount of energy, pumped in our little muscles.

We practised some stunts and tricks, getting ready for the fight.

We eagerly waited for Subba Rao and his gang to come, but they did not turn up. Totally, we waited for about 3 hours. This was during 90’s. We did not have luxury that time to own cell phones.

We waited for one more hour. Then we ran out of patience. We decided to go and find Subba Rao, and hit him wherever we spotted him. After our intense search for him that Sunny day, finally we found him coming from his tuition in the afternoon.

When I enquired about the official fight, Subba Rao said “I forgot”.

This really got to me and my gang.

Before we took hold of him, Subba Rao ran for his life. After running for about a short distance, we realized that he was screaming aloud for his friends, quickly gathering them and explaining about the official fight. There were about 10 guys came in to join Subba Rao’s side.

My gang of 2 boys and I looked at each other. Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead with the fight.

First, one of my friends went in and Subba Rao also sent in one of his friends. It was intense. They fought for about 3 minutes. After that, my another friend went in, and it lasted for a few minutes.

Then finally I went ahead and fought with Subba Rao. We hit each other wherever our fists landed.

One of our elderly neighbors who was passing by, saw this nuisance and shouted at all of us, and we had to leave.

While my friends and I were on our way back to my home, I offered them an ice cream as a reward for joining my side. I congratulated them for their friendship and courage.

A week or two passed by. I was playing Cricket with some of my friends and Subba Rao happened to be watching. He wanted to play the game too.

We said “Thooch”.

The word “Thooch” is used in many games during my childhood. It simply meant ‘The old incidents must not be taken into account anymore’.

We agreed to start another new friendship.

Childhood Fight When I was in my tween years, I often got into physical flights with a boy called Subba Rao who lived in my neighborhood. If you need some introduction to Subba Rao, you may want to check this article first.

The strategy was simple. If my friends or I found Subba Rao alone anywhere, we would stir him into a fight with all kinds of silly words. Being nice and warm people, we would not start the fight though. We would just say some words to stir Subba Rao’s emotions.

Subba Rao often used to do the same with me. Whenever he found me alone on the streets, he would try to mess with me.

Once we reached an agreement. We thought of doing an official gang fight and settle the matter there. We agreed that each of us would bring 2-3 boys for the fight. However, there were some rules including:

- We were not allowed to bring any boy who was too strong and large for us.

- We were allowed to bring only boys who were of our age.

- We were not allowed to use any weapons.

- Of course, the most important thing is that our parents should not know about it.

The plan was to fight on a Saturday morning at 10 AM on an open ground near my school. I hand-picked two of my friends who I thought would be suitable for the fight. They too were eager to be part of it.

It was a second Saturday of the month, which was a holiday for our school. My gang boys walked all the way for about 3-4 kilometers from their homes to the fighting location where we agreed to meet. Once they came to meet me, I fed them some chocolates and cookies so we would have a good amount of energy, pumped in our little muscles.

We practised some stunts and tricks, getting ready for the fight.

We eagerly waited for the arrival of Subba Rao and his gang, but they did not turn up. Totally, we waited for about 3 hours. This was during 90’s. We did not have the luxury that time to own cell phones.

We waited for one more hour. Then we ran out of patience. We decided to go and find Subba Rao, and hit him wherever we spotted him. After our intense search for him on that sunny day, finally we found him coming from his tuition in the afternoon.

When I enquired about the official fight, Subba Rao said, “I forgot”.

This really got to me and my gang.

Before we took hold of him, Subba Rao ran for his life. After running for a short distance, we realized that he was screaming aloud for his friends, quickly gathering them and explaining about the official fight. There were about 10 boys came in to join Subba Rao’s side.

My gang of 2 boys and I looked at each other. Nevertheless, we decided to be courageous and go ahead with the fight.

First, one of my friends went in as Subba Rao also sent in one of his friends. It was intense. They fought for about 3 minutes. After that, my another friend went in, and it lasted for a few minutes.

Then finally I went ahead and fought with Subba Rao. We hit each other wherever our fists landed.

One of our elderly neighbors who was passing by, saw this nuisance and shouted at all of us, and we had to leave.

While my friends and I were on our way back to my home, I offered them an ice cream as a reward for joining my side. I congratulated them for their friendship and courage.

A week or two passed by. I was playing Cricket with some of my friends, and Subba Rao happened to be watching. He wanted to play the game too.

We said, “Thooch”.

The word “Thooch” is used in many games during my childhood. It simply meant ‘The old incidents must not be taken into account anymore’ OR 'The game is to start fresh'.

Subba Rao and I agreed to start another new friendship.

Nuren
	Nuren likes writing, teaching, people, nature and many kinds of creative work such as photography, design, studying articles related to astronomy and science. He is positive, dedicated, open-minded and always looking for a way to learn something new. One of Nuren's favorite quotes is "How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints" (by C. S. Lewis). Read More >>

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