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| about me |
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| Midnight's Child I was born on September 18, 1974 at ten minutes past midnight. Slightly premature and eager to see the world, I was delivered at the Danapur Military Hospital. Danapur is the military cantonment for the city of Patna, which is the capital of the state of Bihar (a province in the eastern part of India). Patna is also the city of my parents, and both my paternal as well as my maternal grandparents built homes for themselves there. I do not have any early memories of Patna, but I remember it well, and with great fondness, from our frequent family vacations. The Early Years At the age of three, I moved with my family to Dacca, the capital of Bangladesh. My earliest conscious memories are of the bungalow on Dhanmandi Road, where my older brother and I had the run of a large house and an even bigger garden. This house in Dacca was also to become my younger sister's first home. Like most siblings, my brother and I enjoyed a bittersweet relationship. Fiercely loyal though I was (and remain) to him, our fights used to be just as intense. I nonetheless enjoyed every moment of growing up with him. The best part of having an older brother is that you always have someone to guide you and, perhaps more importantly, to turn to in times of trouble. It was my brother who taught me the joys of climbing trees, sucking the sweet nectar from Hibiscus flowers and scaling neighbours' walls. He also introduced me to the joys of alcohol, making me a willing participant in his attempts to invent the perfect cocktail by pouring into one glass the sundry remains of the drinks of various guests after every dinner at home (since my father was a diplomat, my parents entertained people on behalf of the Indian government very often in those days). Needless to say, this favourite pastime of ours came to an abrupt and untimely end when our Mom got wind of it. Dacca was the birthplace of my little sister. I still remember when Mum came back from hospital with this scrawny bundle of screams. I was almost six, and my brother was past nine at the time. In time I would learn to fight with my sister as well, while my brother became extremely protective of her. I guess I am very protective of our sister as well, but I have never let that get in the way of our fights! Seeing my sister grow up into the bright, confident young woman that she is today has been an education. Her earliest contribution towards my education was of course when, puzzled by her sudden appearance on the scene, I forced my brother to explain to me the magical mysteries of conception and birth. The poor guy did his valiant best, but I obviously wasn't very convinced. I rushed to our parents and complained to them of my brother's lies, not least because I couldn't see any 'tube' connecting our parents ...an embarassing moment for all concerned and, comr to think of it, an incident best forgotten! Schooling for me started at the Greenfields International School in Dacca. I soon transferred (along with most of the other Indian kids) to the Indian High Commission's school when it was set up thereafter. When in the first grade, I was in a class of eleven girls with not a single other guy. I recall being chastised by my class teacher for chasing girls and attempting to raise their skirts. I guess I was just ahead of my times (by about ten years!). Another incident which I remember (and my Mum never lets me forget) is my refusal to complete one of my term exams, despite my teacher's pleas. I knew the answers, my teacher knew that I knew the answers, and I knew that my teacher knew that I knew the answers. In such a situation, I think I rightly maintained that the exams were a bloody waste of everyone's time. Delhi Diary In the spring of 1982, our family moved to New Delhi. We were fortunate to live in Chankya Puri, an extremely green and well kept government colony bordering Delhi's diplomatic enclave. Around the same time, many of my relatives on my Dad's side were also in Delhi, and we kids had a real blast with an assortment of aunts, uncles and cousins. My brother and I studied at the Delhi Public School at Mathura Road, which was then the premier school in Delhi. My sister was admitted to the Naval Public School, which was closer to home. I joined D.P.S. in class 2, and studied there until class 7. I did reasonably well in school, having signed the school's Roll of Honour, received the Scholar's Badge and appointed House Captain (Yamuna house, red colours). I think my first crush was Ms. Sweetie Bhalla, my class teacher, who got married soon after. I actually made her a card congratulating her, just to show that they were no hard feelings! In class 3, I found Priya Jain to be quite cute in a vague sort of way, but have no idea what eventually became of her. As we grew older, and adolescence started kicking in, girls became objects of interest for all of us in my gang of friends. Surprisingly, I can't recall the names of the girls we took turns to have crushes on, but I think this was a wonderful time of innocence, self-discovery and utter ignorance! |