The day I eloped!

How can my blog be complete without mentioning the very first girl who I liked so much as to remember her to this very day. Yes, the one I met in kindergarten.

The bond we shared was special, and we did our best to keep it at that. Simple things like saving a seat in the rickshaw to school and helping each other with our books was the way we showed that we cared. There's one incident where I remember her fighting with another boy, twice her size, to get up from the seat she saved for me. She used to be the highlight of my weekdays.

It's been such a long time, there are some things that are very fresh in my mind, and then there are some that I can't seem to remember at all.

The one part of our time together that I remember distinctly is the time we spent going to school together, but I don't know if we were in the same class. I have never been able to forget her name, Neha. But as hard as I may try I can't seem to remember her face. I have a faint idea where she used to live (yes I do, no kidding!), I even went to that particular area 10 years later and remembered the house but didn't have the courage to go ask if she still lived there. I guess it's understandable, right? What would I say? How would I even begin to introduce myself? And that too to the girl that I once eloped with!

That's how my parents tell the story where I went to her house and actually invited (and escorted) her to another friend's birthday party. Reason, simple I liked her company and was getting bored so I asked the birthday boy if I could bring her and he said yes! With the required formalities out of the way I went up to Neha's house and convinced her mother to let her go with a 4 year old boy who claimed to know his way around. And voila! we were on our way.

In the meanwhile, someone noticed I was missing and called up my parents. My brother found us strolling hand in hand before we could reach the party. And from that day on the incident is still remembered in my family as the day I eloped with Neha.

With so many years gone by I don't know if she even remembers me today, but this is one memory that I believe I am lucky to have, an important part of me worth remembering.

The bitter sweet journey called ... College!

For 4 long (then, now they seem so short) years, we crib about the one place we would miss for our entire lifetimes.

Back then we cursed everybody, every person that happened to be associated with the institute, to the point that even the thought of attending lectures would evoke strong emotions about the lecturers. Well, we had our reasons then.

The very idea of getting up at 8 AM for an early lecture would elicit the most creative abuses of all. The very thought of nearing exams would send most people into a frenzy to collect notes, rushing to the libraries for issuing books. Interestingly, the same books had been collecting dust throughout the semester but now are all issued! Pure magic!!

The canteen which would serve cockroaches in your "samosas", the hostel mess which really was in a mess!

The room where you spent so much time playing AOE, Counter-strike, etc. even during (especially during) final year end-sems. The same room which was a hole back then but now seems to be so much more secure and cozy.

The long walks after dinner. The hot tea in freezing winter nights. The PJs you just got sick of. The endless leg-pulling that made you tear you hair off. The friends you spent time with. The 'addas' where you used to hang out most often. The missed calls during lectures. .... and the list would just go on.

Just an year later and most people would want all of that back. Yes, there would be exceptions and I feel sorry for them.

There are things that we might regret doing and there will be some that we regret not doing. I personally believe that in our entire lifetimes the most stupid acts of all would have been committed in this time period and it is infact the only time we could have gotten away with them.

Given a chance, would I want to go back and do all of that stuff, maybe in a better way. I guess not, but I would want to remember it all and feel nostalgic once in a while....