It’s been 2 months since my birthday and I finally decided it is high time that I complete the blog. So even if I have messed up the beginning I shall WRITE AWAY TO GLORY and jot down everything I remember I have learnt each year till I celebrated a smashing 25.
0-1: I mean you can’t expect much from me right away now, can u? I learnt gaga gugu, that everything is different…I had to call someone Mama and Dadda and YEAY I had limbs I could throw all over and lay down the whole time yet feel active and that I was excused for wetting the bed and getting myself all stinky…PHEW, I did learn a lot.
1-2: I learnt there is nothing better than hugging your mum and sleeping off while listening to nursery rhymes and of course how u can fall in love with bournvita in all state.
2-3: I learnt UNITY… in pre nursery. I wailed to glory with my fellow ‘below 3’ classmates as their mothers adored them from outside the classroom.
3-4: Survival of the fittest and those who have loads of mummy’s prayers backing them to get into a proper school. I mean blame it on the system but I had to go through interviews and entrances at that young an age.
4-5: BIRTHDAY PARTIES ROCK and two cakes are a must. However I understood what missing someone really meant and how a Grand dad could totally make your world awesome.
5-7: Apart from a lot of academic things I learnt it was shear bliss to take back home sand filled shoes which would make your mummy cry, not eat tiffin which would make her cry and scold you and not to write down classwork so that your teacher would call your parents and it would make you mom look so scary that you…you probably burst out laughing.
8-11: Well I was mature now. Couldn’t afford to roam around like Mowgli and not be scolded, had to limit my TV timings, learn how to get to outer-space and join the army of space robots, manage interesting extra-curricular with highly uninteresting studies and a lot more. Learnt football then learnt I couldn’t learn it, learnt volleyball and it went the same way, learnt singing..CLASSICAL SINGING and God don’t even ask me what happened (it remained as a matter of one hour when I remarkably sneaked out to play as my MASTERMOSHAI … slept off over his cup of Tea), and finally settled for Karate, Painting, Dancing , Swimming, Cycling, Badminton and finishing homework almost in time. These were few of those brilliantly sparkling years when I learnt even though it is fun to play with boys, it is even cooler to bash them up and hit them…make them pay… Thanks Sohi.
11-12: I completed all my projects on my own without Daddy’s help and gosh it felt so good. After each one I religiously performed one of those “Grease” boogie dances…Ta DA…Tadana…OWWnnn… I guess during this time I was officially introduced to alcohol under parental guidance and I couldn’t make sense out of it.
12-16: My ‘be a P.I.T.A teenager’ years. Beautiful they were. Full of backstreet boys, normal boys we hung out with, dreamy ones we had crushes on, inter school fests, shorts skirts, lots of time to have Dosa, Sidney Sheldons and Cosmopolitans. Each day was made special with talks of SWAT CATS, NINJA TURTLES, how cute Jhonny Quests eyes were, Britney’s music, little of ‘look how that guy looks’ and loads of Tiffin sharing. Each week was wondrous as we galloped off for day spends and night outs after atleast 16 hours of fights with our parents. I learnt putting on weight is easy but to handle it no no…partied real hard with friends – without friends, with parents – without parents… nothing really mattered. Secretly evolved erotic knowledge and Biology later clarified our doubts. Ranks were things your parents worry about, then later they say they don’t and again tell you that are genuinely worried about them.
16-18: ‘Not So Much of a Pain’ teenager years. For sure I understood that Love hurts before even I had officially fallen in love with someone and how no matter what ‘Friends always Rock’. I learnt teachers are really good friends too and that growing up is lot more complicated than fun. For a change ranks did matter and no matter what, a child has to make up her mind as to what she wants to do ones she is out of school, no matter how cool and less worried she wants to be …SHE has to be worried. However these years we were introduced to the pleasures of being seniors and bullying the Kid…muahahahhaahaha (devil’s laugh). I also learnt if you have to learn to ride a bike, you need to sneak it out while your parents are sleeping, see if your tiny cousin can ride it, drop her into the drain and learn it all by yourself.
18-19: The human mind did seem complicated. People who behaved rude were sweethearts later, people who were best buddies often spoilt everything for you, first kisses were not always special and there are far too many people on this earth to be understood always. I mean gosh college scared me but I started loving it, I loved Biology but quite lost touch of it; bought booze, had Desi Liquor, puffed my first puff, gave ragging, sneaked out, made 10 runs if I managed to hit a Six, laughed and cried and did it all. Did a lot of First Times and learnt face the world alone.
19-21: Blissful room sharing, adjusting but not always giving up, cycle rides into huge hay stacks, mornings full of steaming Chai – Samosa, Dancing uptill 3 in the morning, Choreographing to release stress, ragging juniors, going on tours, Drinking with seniors, being saved by classmates, rock show, beach walks. A lot many more first times and much more of facing the world all alone. But not forgetting to enjoy every part of it.
21-23: Finally the guy I want. I accepted that instinctive decisions may not always be right but they are always fun. The repair can be done over time. How Parantha and Veg Machurian had become a hot favorite combo and how much more I missed being fed by Ma. These years taught me that change is always refreshing; be it a whole new lot of classmates, or a shift from College to work and back; it should be welcomed with open arms.
23-25: Malls and Discs may seem enticing but big cities are scary… there is a lot more to deal with apart from arrogant service providers, “I will eat you away” looks and monkey in the hostel room. However it is in these years that I learnt that after a point of time you cannot make people happy with everything you do, God is mostly not good to good people, breaking a bone must have been a thing to do when you were 12 but definitely doesn’t work now and you don’t really need 2 cakes to make a birthday party rock.
There are things I learnt, things I gave up but much more to look forward to. So CHEERS to me.