The Musical Chair Game at Avenue des Talipots

5 months ago I attended Mr. Jhugroo's funeral, 02 houses away from mine. This morning I attended his wife's funeral and tried to show some support to Pana, the son, whose grief could blatantly be perceived. Losing both parents within such a short lapse of time must be hard and I feel for him. It's as if within the snap of a finger his mum and dad had disappeared.

A few weeks ago, Enrico's mother, Mrs. Chadien passed away. She was my primary school teacher in standard III, someone I was utterly terrified of. We all went to visit Enrico and his father and we have been invited to a mass which will be celebrated this coming Saturday. A musical chair game in my street is on and it is very depressing. 4 funerals this year and each time sadness strikes like a blow.

'Avenue des Talipots, Quatre-Bornes' used to be an extremely lively and joyful street from what I recall of my childhood memories. We were a bunch of kids always running gleefully and Saturday afternoons were spent playing street football, badminton, flying balye coco & papier mousseline kites & riding bicycles. We would run from one household to the other for a glass of juice and the street would remain noisy all day long with laughter and kid fights. At times, we would all set out just after breakfast and our parents would not see us back home until dusk, all ragged and dirty. These faded souvenirs make me smile but I don't want to be overly sentimental about them. There is no profound or universal element to be found here, my recalling of all this being just a recollection of images in my head, sprinkled with a pinch of nostalgia. Those were good times set in a context.