CLASSES 8 AND 9:

First time wearing pants to school......no its not what u think... my school had a shorts only(for boys OBVI) rule till 7th std ...

Learning to "secretly like" someone.... love her even.. making up my mind to "not to tell it to anyone" ...probably because i did not have the guts...or maybe common sense(for lack of a better word ) prevailed.. trying to let go……..and succeed in keeping it a secret.......till today.... until now

The love affair with quizzing continues….parents deciding not to enrol me into a NEW school because they thought the females wore really short skirts ( pinafores actually ) me fighting and raising seemingly crappy arguments about the extra curricular activities of that school and their strong academics etc etc when ALL I WAS BOTHERED ABOUT WAS THE PINAFORES

The first signs of a moustache appear.... prompting “lotsa jokes” amongst friends….i would have my turn soon.....

The adventure with the WWW and the Internet begins, my first email id s.sujith@usa.net , learning to type crap in the mIRC chat rooms (heh heh ) posing in as women trying to see how desperate men really are.... and getting
astounded everytime..... and by women too !!!

again ….STILL keeping the "secret" a secret....... loving and longing....again….not yet fully letting go of things...and then bowing out...having lost gracefully... without muttering a word...... still feeling good at having DONE the right thing (or so I think)

seeing the home PC make its appearance in the homes of friends..i would have to wait till 3rd year of engineering for "My First PC". the home gets a telephone(minus the STD/ISD facility), all the trappings of a seemingly middle class upbringing

Get into my first serious old man type hobby........ going cycling without any idea about where i am going....... just cycle as far as the road takes me...... only to fid out one day that i have reached the other end of koramangala ring road :) then cycling all the way back.... not going to school the next day because my legs just stiffened like wood

First time someone on my street got a UPS system for their entire home, now we could watch cricket matches WITHOUT having to pray for continuous power supply.

A few friends leaving..... the core bunch still remained........ rather STILL remainS...

Sorting out minor squabbles in the group as guys begin to like the same girl, or for that matter girls fighting over the same guy.

First issue of Debonair, playboy, penthouse...... wishing we were Americans JUST for that reason

"Rakhi" fever begins in school with guys "mysteriously" falling sick on that day......abd not turning up. and the girls were in in FULL ATTENDANCE..... me attended class with absolute confidence.....and a polite "no"

"Valentine's day" makes its debut...., a day of either great joy or great sorrow to teenagers ..... I once again am more than happy to stand and watch from the bylanes on the rooftops......a bird's eye view is all that i got........ or WANTED.

"Sister's day" (I think sister's day is the Teenage male’s Rakhi :) talk about gender equality........ ) .I have seen females too miss class on that day........ have seen a few of them who came...... leaving in tears....... its really depressing when someone wants to cry and CAN’T..... the look on their faces.... tells a million tales

Figuring out that females(classmates) in saris look REALLY OLDER than they actually are.... being bowled over by a few of them.... me looking like pure brown trash :) STILL DO

Becoming the group captain.... would have been voted Head Boy if not for my disciplinary record or so said the teachers.... which suited me just fine as i hate to remain impartial in inter-group sports/extra-curricular activities .My group teachers loved it too.... thats why they did not push my case for Head Boy :) politics...... what can i say

Attending school day and other "important days" just to see girls in "colour dress.." Lovers too used this day to conveniently entertain themselves to a movie or a "walk in the park"

Adding onto the "Things to do before i am 40 list" adding a few really really naive things....... but things that made me smile for once......still do…...

viewing the world in a different way as that of my friends and trying to understand the reason behind my inability to be "ONE among them” and YET .. constantly trying to fit into the group……. Not letting anyone realize the uncomfortability factor…….

Becoming an authority over “ colourful language”….. and the three letter word beginning with “S”. all theoretical …………

Friends start smoking and drinking……… and OBVI getting into trouble.. Me still remaining untouched by the so called Peer pressure.

Feigning happiness…….. Feigning calm…….. Feigning contentment ……..feigning lotsa things…… getting sick and tired of being sick and tired…

Living amidst and between constraints and shackles that i know will continue to remain a part of me forever..... no matter how hard i try to ignore things ....

Hoping.....for a MORE SIMPLE TOMORROW

Standard 4 5 6 and 7:

Part 1:

Starting to "consciously" form what could be termed as my first "circle of friends"(still my closest set.......) , learning to ride a bicycle(not mine..... friend's.....) and failing miserably at it ... so much so that till 5th standard use to learn to ride with the 2 smalll support wheels .

For the first time understanding (unwillingly) that money and its related appendages DOES make a difference...... falling for a woman for the FIRST time....... lasted a few weeks or so ....... but boy o boy o boy what glorious weeks they were..... she was in her mid 20's then.... i was 12 (some say i still am. but thats a different story)

Graduating from street cricket to cricket played on the grounds ("victory ground", "shit valley" blah blah... these are the names of the grounds we used to play in)

Getting into quizzing for the first time and LOVING it....... it was the "Nestle Magggi Quiz" finished second........ got a watch as a prize...... the Only watch i have ever worn/had/posessed(lasted me a GOOD 8 years )....... a Grey Timex Lextra with a Black dial (saad colour combination i KNOW. but never look a gift horse in the mouth.......) and a nestle gift hamper consisting of the FIRST LOVE OF MY LIFE.... Chocolates....... Milky bars, Kit-Kat's.....et al

Learning to wear a school tie for the first time...... still duno how to tie one. have been depending on others since 8 std .........lazy lazy me

Getting attracted to the "Cricket camps";made to build aspiring Sachin's and Azhar's , me soon realising that these were PURE money makign exercises and nothign else.......and that i did not have the money to throw about on such stuff..... implying my "play cricket for india " dream would have to wait......... for now :) Early days of cable television, watching the "Cartoon Network" series like Pingu(the penguin thingy), the centurions, swat cats, the DD shows like SUPER HUMAN SAMURAI CYBER SQUAD ...... about computer viruses and stuff....... the episodes of "Jaldi Jaldi", "Super hit Muqabla" , "Dekh Bhai Dekh"(to date indian television's BEST comedy show...... TO DATE)

For the first time in life....... feeling shortchanged in general...... and the feeling JUST REFUSES to go away

The first and ONLY vehicle that i have EVER owned....to date... a blue colour "Hero Ranger" that cost Rs 1200 bought from R.R Cycle Mart on Dispensary Road(Old Dispensary road)...... my father taking me doubles on the cycle all the way from Commercial Street to home .... the date was June 2 1994...... it was a cloudy afternoon and it rained .....slight drizzzle . we even stopped near "Sreeraj Lassi Bar" for a "kulfi " and lassi...I remember........

more to follow..........