Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there
With open arms and open eyes… Drive – Incubus - this song has been on my nerves for some time now, so it gets its due credit
Today as I look at my friends in sickness, I can see my whole life playing in front of me. Nah we have nothing in common but yes I have seen trouble and lots of it, I moved on and made it to rgIIM to look at this day. I feel like sharing my story tonight. Here goes…
Born to a civil servant, I’ve seen the luxuries of life that not every kid would have enjoyed otherwise. Yes I’m a spoilt kid with servants to help at every corner; I used to love the freebies in dad’s ‘laal batti’. The traffic police guy saluting the car; the industrialists visiting home with boxes of sweets on holidays; free crackers on Diwali and a world where you needn’t care for shit literally. Meanwhile, my dad always used to tell me that whatever you do, never forget who you are. I still remember Puranji – our 60 year old servant, that ride on his bicycle to school is unforgettable. Fyi, I was infamous for refusing to go to school till class 1, I used to cry; throw away my school shoes out of the school bus and it generally took 5 – 6 ppl to take me to school. However, with time, things improved (is it?)
Most interesting factor in life was that by the time I came to class 8, I had the privilege to have lived in every district of the largest state of India. Schools used to change every year, sometimes even semi-annually and it was fun, lost and made a lot of friends in this process though. Best moment was when mom unpacked the luggage at one town and within a month dad got transferred to another district; expression on mom’s face was unforgettable – ultimate way to define helplessness and frustration.
Then came the phase of consolidation, dad got promotions and it was not possible to move out of the state capital, got admitted in a BIGG school. Kids here knew how to abuse, woo girls and blah blah blah. It took me a while to get acclimatized to the culture of school (hopefully, I was not baptized as my reverend father sLuDGy was @ la Martiniere J). With a big school comes bigger troubles, bigger nerds, bigger bullies and prettier girls… it was fun yaar.
Things were banal until this happened - I was hospitalized for 3 months right before the 12th board examinations. I underwent a mammoth surgery to recover; they grafted the bone taken from my left leg to the mandible. Result: no food for 3 months, I couldn’t walk, my mouth was tied, and I couldn’t talk either. 3 months of silence…for a guy, who was a total athlete, it was hell. My back used to burn as I lay in single position for months. Though, It gave me the power to listen; I can listen to any crap you wish to utter now (peacefully). It also made me respect an entity known as ‘life’ and food in particular. My mom still tells me how I once wrote on a piece of paper to her “aaj main karela bhi kha lunga” and all that she could do was brush my hair with love and console me. Side effects of the surgery still remain; the left leg which pains till date, I am forced to live with that persistent physical pain. I’m used to it now; weird ways of life…
Among all this, I gave my board exams scoring 75%.They are my medal of honor, they mean so much to me that today when I look at CV’s with 93% and state topper; it just makes me smile. Then came college, all my friends chose engineering, me losing on illness decided for a Bachelor of Arts (I’m so glad to make this decision). Found six impeccable friends there and ‘gangsters’ was born. Its tuff to explain what we have been through; numerous trips to random destinations, bday bumps, setting final exam questions, sharing movies (:P)… life can never be the same. Gangsters are and will remain my soul. They brought the joy back to my life, thank you bhai log.
I can write a lot more but sanity tells me to stop. I rest my case for now.
On this note let me also tell you some hints on what kind of a person I guess I am
1) I believe that every person is good inside, only his shell ‘varies’
2) Anything for my friends and family and they can vouch for it
3) Can’t say no to most people, wish I could do that
4) Not good at talking on cellphone
5) Love music and life in particular
6) As good as my surroundings are
7) Eyes speak a lot about a person, I read them to take my guesses
8) Frank and honest, trust people easily
Okay that does it… I’ve reached some 868 words now!!
p.s. – if god asked to change one bit of my life, I wouldn’t change it for anything because whatever happened, it is my life and I’m glad to live it. J
