Childhood confessions

My favorite hobby used to be playing ping pong with Appa on our dining table on weekends. The table cloth was folded neatly and put in the middle as the net. Amma had to rearrange many of the lamps and other breakable items nearby, although some of the thrill came from "almost missing a glass vase". TGIF had a whole different meaning back then.

When I was 8, my best friend was called Kehekshan. We used to hangout all the time! She used to wear a scarf around her head that I thought was so pretty that I used to wear amma's dupatta around my head too, to be like her. We grew older and I switched schools and somehow lost touch with her. I still think about whether we may meet at some point, and what I would say to her. Would she even remember me?

I used to really like watching mushy Bollywood films and my favorite was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Yes, of course I tried the Anjali haircut.

I've always been very possessive of my things. I will give it to you only if I trust you enough to take care of it. I'm told - when I was 1, my great grandmother wanted to see my new birthday dress. I gave it to her for a whole of 30 seconds and then snatched it from her to put back in my shelf safely. I was just 1! It became a running joke in my family thereafter.

This was me, on that day:

I enjoy edgy humor. If the joke is not insulting, it's not that funny. My husband doesn't like that so I try to tone it down.

On a related note, my friends have always made fun of me saying I'll end up getting married to a Balasubramanian. 

I get a little irritated when people keep talking about how naughty or how cute their kids were when little. Everyone is cute as a baby! Move on.

I am a romantic. I believe in all forms of love and it's love that keeps me going.

In Muscat, we were out on a picnic at Wadi Bani Khalid. The adults were walking slowly, but we kids couldn't contain our excitement. We ran to the wadi (a river) and jumped in. I didn't expect it to be so deep. Neither did I know how to swim, so I had started drowning. THEN! Suddenly! One of the local Omani boys appeared out of nowhere and saved me! The adrenaline rush made me jump around calling it a miracle. I was also spouting all kinds of philosophical sayings, but everyone else just told me off for being a fool to jump in without knowing how to swim. In my head it's still very filmy with my Omani hero boy. Thanks Habibi!

I started taking swimming lessons after that.

My coach died of a heart attack within a week of my joining.

I still can't swim. :(

One hot summer day, my friends and I were having a water fight in the bus (not even the school bus) and the school authorities took us to the Vice Principal's office. For a water fight outside the school!! Our parents had to come get us after that. One of the teachers told my friend "today you let a boy put water on you, tomorrow you'll let him kiss you?". Yes. Don't even get me started on the amount of moral policing that happened in school.

On a related note, somebody told the Vice Principal about all the "couples" in our batch. He called us one by one, took out his "match the following" notes and yelled at us. "Dating during your teens?? Oh my god, what a disgusting crime! Please reserve that for after you're married." Hehehe.. poor wife his was!

My favorite day in school was sports day. I used to take part in most of the events. I always had butterflies in my stomach right from the morning but would act all cool because that's how sportsmen should be! Even today, I would do anything to get a good playing partner.

My first heart break happened in grade 5 because my first crush laughed at me for getting glasses. Agreed, they made my face look funny. And no, I was not a fan of edgy humor back then.

Until I left Muscat and came to Chennai, I never knew that Tamil had so many dialects and that talking like I did would be made fun of. Of course, other forms of culture shock happened too, but save that for later.

Muscat will always hold a special place in my heart as will all the friends I made there. Here's to an awesome childhood! Cheers!