Bachpan Ke Din -- Papaya di pappi

1. Dangling:

We lived in an ancient house that was built for a thriving family of 50. Later the house was partitioned off and rented in portions of various size. Which means we had an array of rooms and a large roof with nooks and crannies where a child could lose him/herself. I would do the kind of thing that give me the creeps now. I jumped from tall walls, dangled from balconeys, and also climbed from one portion of the roof to another with nothing but sure death if I slipped.

2. Hated School:

I hated school at a time. As a kid I was very bright and topped my exams. Then for a while I hated school and made millions of excuses not to go. And later, after 8th, I LOVED school and even rued Sundays. The reason I think is FRIENDS. The minute I made good friends, I was willing to brave the teachers. What I hated about school was the attitude of a few teachers. I was naturally absent minded and I hated when they caught me dreaming and picked on me. In KV Malleswaram, there was this Math teacher who knew I never did my work, and would single me out for humiliation. If his intent was to make me a better student.. it failed miserably. I just got - dheed - stubborn.

When I was a child some teachers knew that my parents were divorced and that I was living with my Uncle and Aunt. They would query me about this. It was so mean on their part.

3. My various cousins

My uncle had a prolific family and they are a bossy bunch. As the youngest of the brood - I was 8 years junior to my uncle's youngest, I was bossed around mercilessly. On the other hand, it made me tougher. And it also taught me the secret to good relationships within families. NEVER LET ON THE SECRETS ENTRUSTED TO YOU. It makes you a lousy gossip companion but a great confidant. My female cousins are unusally elegant, well behaved (at least in public) and sophisticated. They have inspired me to be the same.

4. My upbringing:

This has been differnt from other people. My father was always footloose and fancy free. He was a one of those knowledge seekers who refuse to be tied down. So he was gallivanting around the world gathering degrees. His beautiful German wife was fed up of waiting for him and left him. She tried to raise her little children on her own, but could not cope and left them with her husband's brother. The offshoot of this was that we were raised in Jamangar. We moved to Bangalore when my father remarried and resurfaced in India with his American bride. So I got to know about the murkier side of relationships early on, and learnt to understand all about people and how they go about their lives. On the flip side, I never had the security of having my 'own' parents. On the other hand, I have a lot of older cousins who mother me (smother me?) and I am a member of many families who do not talk to each other.. warring factions - you know.

5. My friends:

Ever since school, I have learned to value friends. And I have been blessed with magnificent ones. Jignasha, Jaya, Aruna, Ameeta, Ramni from school, Nisha, Vani from work and I wont even start listing my MS friends and online friends.

6. Negetive is not bad.

Negetive is often just the other side of the issue and is not BAD. We are often pressured into being good all the time ( I was ). But I have realised the spice in life comes from a dash of mirchi.. the so-called BAD things in us. So hey, dont be afraid of exploring the other side of you.