Meow!

Hi,
I just wrote the CAT for the second year in a row. I hadn’t prepared much last year and managed to get a decent percentile (92.xx), so I thought with some effort maybe there is hope. The experience of having written it earlier certainly helps. Last year after coming out of the exam, it did seem like a disaster. I was worried about the number of questions I had attempted. To top my anxiety I asked a friend, who wrote it with me, how many he had attempted. He answered 54 (out of 60). I was like, ‘Dude! Wtf?’ (He eventually made it to IIM A). As if the test experience wasn’t enough, I discovered that my helmet was stolen. I was already fretting that the exam fee had been a waste and now one more k gone just like that. I went back home thinking this is not for me. That software job in the waiting, that is the future.

But this time was different. I was determined. I spent some time actually preparing and writing mocks. The confidence grew as the D-day approached and I was feeling good. I was sure I was not going to repeat the mistakes from last time around. The proctor, after taking my finger prints, remarked ‘This is your second attempt, I see’. I was thinking ‘And my last’. I went in with a lot confidence.

What did not change though from last year was the way I came out after the exam and the thoughts on my way back home.

So, what changed? I had a helmet lock with me this time and yes, I did not lose it!

Life’s two cents in the six months

Sambhavami yuge yuge. And here I am. Back to blogging after a gap of 6 months which, for sure has been a yuge (millennium) for my readers. Ahem. Okay seriously, my absence here is because I have become more lazy & busy at the same time. While Team India has gone from being celebrated world champions to finding themselves down in the dumps in England and again close to being considered world number one, personally I have become that guy who did his mechanical Engineering to become an IT guy. Yes. I am that guy. A trek to the Himalayas, a few hard decisions, and a couple of months in Bangalore later…here I am writing this post from my office cubicle taking some time off my CAT preparations. True story. So,here are some of the things i learnt in this period.

If you thought a 36 hour train journey in a crowded unreserved compartment is the closest you can get to hell, you are wrong. There cannot be more fun than that. Go give it a shot.

Delhi is shit. Shame its my nation’s capital. It has huge, empty roads with attitude written all over it. Impossible to find an ATM when you need it and the people kind of reflect the city’s image.

Trekking is something I cherish. Sincerely hope it becomes a frequent pastime.

Tents are fun. Cramped ones, more so.

I don’t smell that bad if I go without a bath for over 6 days.

Never be too excited about experiencing snow for the first time. It’ll be a disappointment.

If you do a snow slide of more than one kilometre, your kundi becomes numb for at least half a day.

If you are into high altitude trekking in India with a bunch of people, there will always be one Amit uncle who would have carried the national flag.

Never plan too much of your travels. Unreserved trains, dabba buses in which you travel for more than 15 hours and get to arrange your luggage on the roof top are the kind of stuff that turns a journey into an experience.

The Taj Mahal is truly a wonder. Admire its breathtaking beauty from the outside but try to curb your curiosity and do not venture inside the Taj! You will curse your countrymen to no end. There is no end to the ‘Priya loves Anand’, ‘Amit luvz Apurva’ scribblings.

Do not attach too much importance to deadlines.

When you have free time, be free. Relish the period, you may never get it back.

Watching movies in Bangalore is an expensive affair.

My two months in Bangalore was a lot of fun, but hey I am tired of this Chennai v Bangalore debate. There can be no comparison. I intend to settle this debate for once and for all in the next sentence.

Its Chennai!

It’s still sinking in.

It’s been exactly a week since India won the world cup and believe me when I say it is still sinking in. That, and also I’ve been too lazy to post. I watched the match with some friends of mine and as emotions ran high during the post-match celebrations, I had tears in my eyes too. I wiped them and quickly looked around to see if anybody noticed them and I saw my friend, who was constantly reverse jinxing India during the match, weeping in a full fledged manner. We roamed around the streets of Chennai after the win, flying the Indian flag high, shouting at random people, getting patted on the back and high-fived from strangers. I realised April 2,2011 had joined August 15, 1947 and June 25, 1983 as I got a taste of how our country might have been on the other two occasions. We’ve followed this Indian cricket team all our lives and this is the first time we are witnessing them lift this trophy so obviously it was a very special moment, especially for people of my generation who weren’t around in 1983. I needn’t mention how fitting it is and how happy the entire nation is in that Sachin Tendulkar’s resume finally sports a completed look. If there has to be two moments that will be forever etched in my memory from the world cup final, it has to be : MS Dhoni’s winning six and Virat Kohli’s quote on Sachin – “He has carried the nation for 21 years, it is now time for us to carry him on our shoulders”. What spontaneity!

PS : I like the IPL too. Yesterday I was at the stadium and watched CSK beat KKR by 2 runs. The Chennai crowd were brilliant in their support. I jumped when Tim Southee bowled the last ball. It is amazing to see how a sport can unite and divide a nation at its whim. But surely for millions like me, the feeling is still sinking in. And the IPL just provides the entertainment factor and this year it is not letting us divert away from the game quickly thereby still reminding us of that feeling everyday.

PPS : It is good to see the Indian players proudly say ‘We won it for Sachin’ but the other man who stood out in his contribution is Gary Kirsten. Respect and a million thanks to the man! I think it’s fair that the only team we lost to in the world cup campaign was South Africa. For Gary.

The story so far – Cricket world cup 2011

As the entire sports fraternity is awaiting with bated breath the start of the India-Pakistan semifinal, all of us should look back to appreciate how the tournament has been a massive success. I had my 12th standard board exams during the 2007 world cup. Add to that the ouster of India, Pakistan in the early stages and the frustrating dominance by Australia, that edition was a major flop. And that is not just for me. The gradual decline in interest in ODI cricket from then on were all impediments to this edition being a success. But it has defied all odds and made us realise that this format without all the off field glamour can be entertaining as well as be a true test of skill and character of the players. You guys should read this article by Sambit Bal on cricinfo. In it, he mentions that “The MA Chidambaram Stadium, with its tall stands and Adelaide-like canopies, has become the most beautiful cricket ground in India. The fans of Chennai, for long the most knowledgeable and decorous in the country, deserve it.” I have not been to any other stadium but the MAC and I read this article after coming home from the India-West Indies group stage match and realised it is a great privilege to have witnessed four world cup matches live at the ‘most beautiful cricket ground in India’. So here goes my world cup experience.

20 February 2011, Kenya v New Zealand
The only good thing about this match is that a got to see the players and the coaches from a close distance. And I could come home for lunch.

Allan Donald, the White Lightning

Bored

Kenya just failed to turn up for the match. When I watched their captain Jimmy Kamande bowl ‘off spinners’ pitching it short with no pace, flight or spin on it, I thought I should have flown to Kenya a few years back, seeked citizenship and my dream of playing a world cup would have been fulfilled. What more! I could have been their express fast opening bowler. As the tournament progressed, we got to see young Tanmay Mishra bat and cursed their team not to play him against New Zealand. This match held the record for the lowest score ever in a world cup for a few days until it was broken by Bangladesh against the Windies.

6 March 2011, England v South Africa
Okay I should have mentioned this before. I thank my uncle for getting me tickets for all the four matches in Chennai (MCC Terrace stand that too). The day prior to this match, I won a sports quiz in a symposium in Madras Institute of Technology. The prize was a couple of tickets for the match. I exchanged my original ticket with a friend to watch the match together with another friend. The downside was that it was a day match and we sat through the entire match under the blazing sun. It was well worth it. The stadium was about 60-70% full initially and 10-15% of them left after the England innings to watch the India v Ireland match. Suckers. England staged a remarkable comeback. It was a pleasure to watch Anderson and Swann bowl they way they did. That ball by Anderson to dismiss AB de Villiers is still a fresh memory. One English supporter was trying hard to get the crowd to cheer his team along with him. He was successfull I should say. As England kept gaining momentum, the crowd began to back them vocally. It was great to see such support from neutral spectators. But then, South Africa hit a boundary in a crucial juncture and the English guy sat down with his hands on his head. The ‘knowledgeable crowd’ though did not lose their voice and cheered for South Africa. The man could only stare at all the people around him! Finally England, after managing to tie the match against India and after having lost to Ireland, won the match by six runs.

17 March 2011, England v West Indies
This was the best out of the four matches. Trust me. England were in a must win position. They had lost to minnows – Bangladesh and Ireland. They were playing their national sport which they had invented, yet their media attention to the world cup before this match seemed to be very little. The threat of a disappointing, early exit loomed large and I thought their media would suddenly wake up to criticise them. But it did not happen. I reached the stadium a bit early and was amazed by the number of Barmy Army people who had thronged to the stadium.

England v West Indies

England posed a decent 243 and West Indies looked like they will sail home comfortably after a blitzkrieg innings from Chris Gayle. Chennai proved to be a lucky ground for England. Graeme Swann has to be best offie in the business today. Jonathan Trott took a contentious catch on the boundary line and England thought they had dismissed Andre Russell, who was the top scorer in the match. Those of us at the stadium were denied the liberty of watching the replay on the big screen. Only the words ‘Not Out’ were displayed. A slew of curses were thrown at Trott abusing him of cheating. England looked shocked and I knew then that it was a hard decision. I watched the highlights later and thought maybe the third umpire was a bit too harsh. Luckily that decision did not affect the result. England took the last three wickets giving away just four runs and the celebrations were brilliant to watch. What a match! Oh and a group of England supporters in my stand were being questioned by the local police after they had managed to bring in what seemed like gallons of beer. Glass bottles and such stuff weren’t allowed inside and the incident managed to attract a few curious eyeballs such as mine. However, the cops let them after some warnings I guess and the English were soon celebrating an amazing victory.

20 March 2011, India v West Indies
The big one. I cannot explain in words the goosebumps I had when I saw Sachin Tendulkar a few metres away singing the national anthem. And all hell broke loose when he walked out to bat.

Sachin and Gambhir walking out to bat v WI

It was a thunderous welcome and was shortly followed by the loudest silence ever as ‘God’ walked back to the pavilion. 45000 odd people had turned up, every single of one of them hoping to watch Sachin score his 100th international century. Disappointment. But soon there was a slow applause as Virat Kohli walked out. And as we slowly geared up to watch a memorable innings from Yuvraj Singh, I spotted Krishnamachari Srikkanth in the stands. He was right behind me chatting loudly with a friend of his I presume. I approached him to get his autograph and he promply obliged. I could hear him say ‘En pondaati dho anga dhaan engiyo iruka’ (‘My wife is somewhere there’) to his friend. And as another friend of his walked past him, he literally snatched her Ice cream and danced when he was asked to pose for a picture. A cool, composed captain and such a down to earth chairman of national selectors. Pointers to India winning the cup? I wish.

Kris Srikkanth

Back to the on field action, we witnessed yet another Indian middle order collapse. I knew 268 was a winning total against West Indies but it just was not satisfactory. However, West Indies were coasting at 154/2 and they failed again. A puppy which had sneaked inside the ground provided for some laughs as it went around the boundary ropes for a couple of overs before it was shown the way out. The legendary Andy Zaltzman seems to have suggested in the post match conference that India should dress up Piyush Chawla as a dog and make him run around to see if the luck favours India. Ha! West Indies lost the next 8 wickets for 34 runs and India won. Though the margin of victory was 80 runs, it somehow appeared to be a rusty win and Yuvraj and Ashwin were the only standout. I went home happy and grinning and filled with hope.

After watching India notch up an excellent win over Australia in the quarter finals, the nation’s hope has reached a new level. Here I am writing this at 4 am and nervously awaiting one of the biggest clashes ever in the history of the sport. Only one thing is certain to happen at the end of the India – Pakistan semifinal – we would see Ravi Shastri say ‘In the end cricket is the winner’ and turn our television sets off.

The 93 Rupee thief

Last week an incident happened of which I am not so proud of. I was on my way back from Maraimalai Nagar and I had started late than usual. It took me about an hour and a half to reach Tambaram. I decided to take the train from there and was briskly walking towards the railway station when someone stood on my way. I looked up to see an old man (60s) on the verge of crying. Before he opened his mouth, he took out his Id card and told me that he is a professor at SRM University. He showed the card for a couple of seconds before he kept it back inside his pocket and I could only notice the name of the college. The following conversation then took place :

He : Son, are you a student of SRM?
Me : No.
He : I am sorry, but you look like one. I have seen you before.
Me : No, I am not a student of SRM.
He : Okay son. What are you studying?
Me : I’m doing my final year Mechanical Engineering.
He : Wonderful. Son, I have lost my wallet which had my train ticket and my atm card. I need to go to Trichy. There has been a death in the family. I am not carrying my mobile phone either. Can you please help me with some money? I would be grateful to you.

Okay, now. How the heck will you say no even though you have your doubts about someone like this? It was then that I noticed he was wearing a gold coloured Sonata watch and raised an eyebrow. I took out my wallet and I had no change. (I thought of giving some 20-30 Rupees maybe). So I took out a hundred rupee note and before I could finish saying ‘Sir, I don’t have change’, he grabbed it from me and did not let me talk.

He : God bless you Son. Next time you come to SRM University, please do come to meet me.
Me : *Silence* Okay.
He : Where do you have to go Son?
Me : Nungambakkam. I’ll take the local train.

He then grabbed my wrist and walked me to the ticket counter. He offered and persisted that he stand in the queue and buy me a ticket. So, he got me a ticket upto Nungambakkam which was worth 7 rupees. I thanked him.

He : Son, I will now have to hurry to Egmore to catch a train. (Any trains running to Trichy late in the evening btw?)
Me : Okay, sir.
He : God bless you son.
Me : Thank you sir.

I laughed at myself as I was the last person to be saying a Thank You. He walked swiftly before stopping at another guy. I think he wasn’t entertained much and so walked away again and I watched him go for a couple of minutes before I lost him in the crowd. So how do I know if I was cheated? He acted like a decent man most of the time. But wait. What would any decent person do in his situation (assuming he’s not a cheat?) I will tell you what I’d have done.

1. Ask someone’s mobile phone and call some colleague/family/friend or even a student. (SRM for what shit?)
2. Sell my watch.
3. Ask someone for a rupee or two to make the phone call.

As I sat in the near empty train, I realised how everyone around me are cheats. How I am cheating this world. And how we are able to move on overlooking all the cheating. That was when the constant assault of the beggar community began. I guess I saw all kinds of them in that 40 minute journey and there was one blind woman who was singing with a microphone! Professional ethics or what? And the cheating became clearer than ever. The poor beggars would hardly be making ten rupees an hour while a man outside the train had just made ten times the amount in one-tenth of the time.
The only difference was that he was educated.

Dear Indian cricket team,

when you finished last in the Super Six stage and got knocked out of the 1999 world cup, I had decided that I’d be your saviour. So, as a nine year old, I decided that I would make it to the team and feature alongside Sachin Tendulkar and lift the 2011 world cup. It is 2011 and I am sitting in the comfort of my home nervously awaiting the start of the tournament. I had failed in my dream, but you are made up of more deserving saviours. Well of course, you must be aware of the expectations that comes along with playing a world cup at home. And, I do hope you give your best without buckling under the pressure. It has been 28 years since our nation won a world cup, but your most passionate fans today (re: my generation) were not around to witness that. Those who recall it well are our fathers. But back then we were the underdogs. This time around though you are seen as favourites by many. The time is ripe for you to give us something sweet that will last forever in our memories. Catch me in the stands during your fixture in my city, my face smeared in the national colours, cheering loudly for you. You will come across millions of such faces but I assure you that all our hearts are beating as one. Good luck.

Yours truly,
a passionate Indian.

For once, I did not hit snooze

Hey there, stranger! I am a common Indian man, one among a billion. I’m just out of my teenage and pursuing an Engineering degree. That doesn’t narrow the field much, does it? I have nothing remarkable to say in my twenty years of existence. That in itself makes a case for a sad story, but would you read it? No. I was like you. I grew up playing on the lush green fields, on the barren lands, the playgrounds and at home, with kids my age. An age from which I can remember nothing but smiles on the faces of people. Good people. I grew up learning what was ultimately the ways and means of this world. At a time when learning was fun. I was once a cute, chubby kid with no sorrows. They, however, came in search of me with time and those two soon followed a proportional relationship. It was education which mostly added to my woes. I wanted to get out of the system, but just like all of you I couldn’t. It was forced into my stomach and childhood excreted its way out of it. I would pay anything to have it back and live it my way. Alright I get it, lets not get hypothetical. I loved my family. I remember well the weekends spent visiting the market with parents, watching those immortal shows on Doordarshan, the occasional trip to the movies, restaurant, having my grand father buy me cotton candy, the rare bonding moments with my sister, and loads more. Friends were also part of an equally special memory trip down the lane. Though I must admit I’m not in contact with most of them today, it is true that they were perhaps the most integral part of the growing up stage. An integral part of what I am today. Ah! All these talk makes me so nostalgic. The good old days. Heh. I can’t believe I’m saying that despite being just twenty. Looking back at my days, I realise that I was such an innocent kid. Okay maybe it shouldn’t entirely be in the past tense ,but innocent or not, today I am not what I was. Not after I killed a kid. Not after I shot him in the head and watched his brain cells splash all over the walls. Not after I turned around to walk back with my face lit up with a faint smile. Hello world! I have arrived.

The misery, that led me to the killing, all began when I started thinking. Thoughts about how disabled I was just could not be resisted. Peers around me were cramming their heads with formulas and equations. I was least bothered by them. I was more interested about the purpose of my life. Why am I here? Why am I writing this? Where do I go? Am I being controlled? Who is this God? And with that question, my thoughts stopped. They could not proceed without explaining that. Is He really the Summum bonum? If so, who? There are millions of He’s. Is He human-like? Is He supernatural? Does He have superpowers? Why? Did He create the Universe? Does he oversee it now, then? The more you answer, the more questions it will pose you and I am sure none of you have answers to any of that. I thought, the only logical way out is to believe there is no God. Now, doesn’t it all sound obvious? I came to accept this at a pretty early age and then the people around me looked like fools from a seventh world. But I couldn’t help them with their beliefs. In their eyes, they couldn’t help me with my belief. In the meanwhile, my life continued on the downward spiral. My religious stance certainly didn’t have any sort of impact on it. From a strangers eye, my life was surely a bed of roses. But, happiness is something we are all devoid of. Happiness is only an imaginary state. I thought I can be happy if I think I am happy. I can go on losing and yet be happy. Why not? Why do we always want to win? It’s perfectly alright to lose. And also to lose all the while. The only benefit of having belief in a supreme being is the satisfaction of a prayer. A prayer to help you with your sorrows, with your defeats. A prayer to help you win. But, whats wrong with losing? The idea is to achieve happiness, right? We are all brought up with the idea of God instilled in our heads. My three year old niece has a fear for her ‘Jotha’(God in her language), a being she believes to exist in the ‘Tulasi’ plant. I was once that little innocent kid. But today, I lose all my innocence. I am no more what I was. I have undergone a radical change. But all that is only in the mind. To me, turning into an atheist meant being intelligent, being a thinking man, being one step above the rest. I say I do not believe in His existence but obviously I may be wrong. Recently the stampede in Sabarimala brought in to light the magnitude of your beliefs. I could only tweet #outrage watching that. But, God? He couldn’t even do that. So, I chose the infant among Gods. Krishna. The dark skinned kiddo. I shot him in his head and watched him die instantly. I woke up from my slumber, a state I have been in for twenty years. I am not trying to wake you up. I just explained how my alarm clock worked. God. My ass.

PostScript : I chose Krishna just to bring out a metaphor on how it is generally considered a sin to be an atheist, especially being a Brahmin. A sin, some people might rate to be on par with the killing of a child. And, the first paragraph might seem irrelevant but I just wanted to tell a coming of age story of an atheist in a dramatic manner

Mango Man’s rant

The latest massive Wikileaks left many Indians disappointed. So what? We don’t need Julian Assange. We have our own Arnab Goswami and co. to unearth scams week in week out and then watch the media houses shamelessly fight over who came out with the story first. We are a proud nation with a long list of scamsters. The scams keep bigger each time, so news channels find it hard to label any of them as ‘The mother of all scams’ or the ‘Big daddy of all scams’. They just keep running out of those catchy stuff. So the next time a scamster is in the spotlight he should be referred to as ‘Raajaadhi Raju Raaja A Raja SureshKalmadi LalitKModi’ is here (In that king inviting tone used in Tamil movies, example : Chandramukhi). I am sick of hearing what could have been done with all that money. I know that. Everybody knows that but what we would like to know is what the hell happened to democracy? All aides of Suresh ‘Sir u made lakhs’ Kalmadi have been arrested while he was busy giving away medals in the Asian Games. A Raja has to consult his leader to open his mouth. Lalit Modi is in hiding giving YouTube interviews while I demand he be brought back for IPL 4. Seriously. While they wipe their arse with all those money, the media never stops uncovering more scams. Give the legal system some time guys. 10 years or so? So what we do is forget the guy and move on to the next swindler. Very convenient. So, for the political parties to find their way out of a scam all they have to do is throw a more interesting story to the media. And we eat them and before we burp the next dish is served. So long and thanks for all the fish.

Disclaimer :
India is my country & all Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage;
I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders respect and treat everyone with courtesy.
To my country and my people, I pledge, my devotion.
In their well-being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.

Endhiran

It lived up to the massive hype, yes it did. It is a perfect mix of the Indian sci-fi and the masala that is much needed. I watched it twice on the first day, in Chennai, at Sathyam and Udhayam cinemas. But still I don’t think it matched the experience I might have had at Albert or Kasi theatre. But never mind the mass hysteria because this isn’t the typical Rajnikanth movie. He is not an auto driver or a milk man in the movie but plays the role of a scientist who has to say words like Neural Schema and it may be hard to believe but Thalaivar does it convincingly. So, this is not the movie for the typical Paal Abhishekam Rajni fans. For starters, the traditional Deva music that is played when the letters ‘R-A-J-N-I’ rolls on the screen is absent. Superstar appears on the screen just like that, no hyped up intro song, Pudhiya Manitha is played during the starting credits, no punch dialogues. This is not your ideal Rajnikanth movie. Rather, this is India’s most expensive movie (180 crores), this stars India’s highest paid stars, Asia’s second highest paid Star, this has the most number of prints after Spiderman, this is beginning of a new era in Indian cinema, this is Endhiran : The Robot.

I am not going to dwell into the storyline since all of you would either have watched it already or read about it. Chitti, the robot, Version 1.0 is adorable. The first half is basically full of stuff it is capable of doing. It is programmed to sense emotions and slowly learns it and falls in love. Aishwarya Rai looks stunning and gorgeous for a woman of her age, but she has set a new low in the standards of her acting, visible in plenty in the Kadhal Anukkal song. Rajnikanth on the other hand, does it with elan. All you North Indie desis stop moaning about the fact that he is over 60. All that matters is the guy still delivers and he does it in his own stylish way. No one in your Bollywood could have pulled this movie off so convincingly. The train fight in the first half is simply awesome. Shankar had a similar fight scene in Sivaji, with the software engineer beating up some 50 rowdies. In Endhiran though everything is perfectly justified because it is an Endhiran. Duh! Version 2.0 portrays the superstar back on the screen as a villain. And, he is The best doing it. Right from the first frame, where he walks infront of a mirror and gives his evil laughter, he sets the screen on fire. If version 1.0 reminded of the Thillu Mullu Rajini, version 2.0 reminds you of Alex Pandian. Dialogues such as ‘Yen, en Ratham nu sollen’, his goat laugh, the way he says ‘Robooo’ and the romance scene before the Arima song are out of the world. No words to describe. He has ‘acted’ after quite a long time. The graphics in the last 30 minutes are much talked about and it deserves the attention. For a movie with a $40 million budget, the CG were quite a bonus and the Sphere, Snake, Giant human formations of thousands of Rajnikaanths are quite on par with Hollywood standards. But it comes with a drawback. The Graphics took the centre stage in the climax so much that the screenplay lost its focus. The final minutes were more like a showcase of the Version 2.0′s abilities and a justification of the movies budget. Editing was also found wanting in the first half when Vaseegaran’s Benz gets smashed twice and it appears perfect in the next scene. But nevertheless, they aren’t negatives worth cribbing about in a movie of this magnitude. Endhiran is Shankars dream and it has come true. There are more Shankars dreaming in our nation and Endhiran gives them all hope. It marks the beginning of something magnificient for Indian cinema and we are here to bask in its glory. Rajnikanth FTW and Endhiran is truly Mass. DOT.

Twenty 20

I turned 20 this month and thought I should come up with the 20 most memorable moments of my life. So, here they are. Feel free to say it’s been a pathetic journey so far. And no academic achievements mentioned because ..err..well…there have been none. I’ve listed these events in the order they have happened and I’ve also specified my age when it happened.

#2 : Okay I don’t actually remember this, but I’ve seen the photo of this event numerous times. I ate the Kunku/Kunkumam from the Pooja room and smeared it all over my face. I was so cute back then you know.

#6 : A Golf ball landed on my balcony! The Golf course was about half a mile away from my place.

#9 : A huge snake crossed a deserted road a couple of feet away from Dad and me when we were on our way to YMCA.

#10 : I rode the bicycle for the first time hands-free. They were busy embracing the cool breeze.

#10 : 6th standard. I won the inter-school Bournvita Quiz Contest meant for 6th-8th grade students.

#11 : Playing an Under-12 cricket match, I was primarily in the team as a bowler. I was sent to bat at No.4 by my coach for some reason and the first ball I faced raced to the boundary. Over my shoulder it came and through the legs of the square leg umpire it raced.

#12 : I did a model of a volcano along with a river, its tributaries, deltas, etc and how it all ends up into the sea, for a Science fair in school. I explained it well to every passerby, my seniors, high school people and a few teachers. Proud moment.

#14 : When me and some friends got off without paying for the 6 Bhel Puris we ate.

#14 : I had tears in my eyes, which no one noticed, when my sister got married.

#16 : 12th standard. Me and a few of my friends were playing Table Tennis in school after bunking class. A friend tore his pants and we were all rolling on the floor laughing. Literally. I had tears in my eyes.

#17 : First month in college and the first words a girl says to me are ‘Hey, you are cute’. Sheesh! *Guilty pleasures*

#17 : When I first got to hold my niece Viba.

#18 : Met with a massive accident on the East Coast Road, Chennai. Friends car got smashed, luckily none of us suffered even the slightest injury.

#18 : I had been to an A.r.Rahman concert and reached home at 4am.

#19 : When i boozed for the first time. And I should also add the time when I did it for the second time and the third and…..yeah you get it!

#19 : When a smoking friend passed me the cigarrete and winked at me to take it. I said “No Thanks”.

#19 : My Grandfather, suffering in hospital, told me to go home saying he is alright and to stop worrying about him. I went home, he passed away a couple of hours later.I had to break the news to my sister over phone.

#19 : When me and my friends set out on a long planned tour. (Its happened twice, this more specifically refers to the latter tour – the one with my high school buddies).

#20 : I hadn’t cut a Birthday cake since I don’t remember when and i cut 2 Birthday cakes on August 6,2010.

#20 : When I was out on a date for the first time.