Before I start, I know that the title will put off many people. I am not loath to follow Rags’ method of giving an attractive title totally unrelated to the content. I admit that I had originally planned the title ‘Megan Fox is coming to INDIA!!!!!’ But after some thought, I decided I wouldn’t be doing justice to the content.
Note: POV is not the short form of power; it is the short from of point of view.
Well, it all started with school tomorrow. I was checking my cycle to see if it was in tip-top shape. I found out that it was low on air and was cycling over to the cycle shop so as to get some air into those tires. Halfway there, I had a sudden impulse to go and look at something which has given me lots and lots of memories (as I write, the time is 8:53 pm on my computer clock. I had gone to pump up my tires at about 8:30 pm). Surprised? I decided to head to school.
I went there and stopped my cycle. I stood there in the cool air enjoying nature. But more than enjoying nature, I did it because I had just come back from the gym and was very sweaty. After reflecting on my school life so far, I decided to write a blog about it. Here it comes.
Now my friends will know that I have never liked school much. I too knew that (it was about me after all… lol). But still, I felt that I had to have a look at the building where I would spend ½ of my life at. Where would I spend the other half, you might ask. Well I would spend ½ of that ½ at home and the other ½ at chess tournaments. Now, let me get back to the better half (get it?).
Well, school has given me plenty of memories and fortunately or unfortunately, friends. Sundeli, Psycho, Kutti, Taj Mahal, 9, Aapaa, AM (athi methavi), Doubtfire, Viji, Dhandapani. These are the nick names of my friends. One of those is mine of course and one of them belongs to someone who is not my friend, just an acquaintance. Just couldn’t resist adding it. Nahyan if anyone asks you about these nick names, I’d like it if you wouldn’t say anything. I’ve had my best times of my lives with them and I hope I will have many more in the future. Thanks a lot guys! The only black spot is that Sharath isn’t here to read this.
I guess I should tell you about Sharath. Sharath was my best friend. I shared a bond with him that I haven’t shared with anyone else. There wasn’t a thing that the other didn’t know about one. He was the first one I divulged my deepest, darkest secret to. The staunch pal he is, he never disclosed it to anyone. Sharath was the one who planned my most memorable birthday party. January 5th 2006. My birthday.
That was the first time I decided to stop wearing coloured dresses for my birthday. I told Sharath that it would be my birthday on Jan 3rd. I wanted him to keep it quiet, but the good soul he is, he was adamant that he would celebrate it. What a surprise I had on that day!
At first, it started off innocently (I was in 6th that year and M.Ruthran wasn’t yet in the school). We had math and Sharath acted as though he knew nothing. I was happy to see that. Then as soon as the math teacher went out, Sai Praneeth (another of my close friends. Will get to him later) gave me a huge shoe box and told me to open it before the next teacher came. I was at first embarrassed but then, I was moved and opened it. To tell the truth, I had no idea of what was inside, but God, I never expected what was actually in there. Sai had filled ¼ of the box with paper. Everyone burst out laughing (i.e. the friends who had planned this for me. Sharath, Akshay and Sai). I too joined in the good natured humor and laughed happily. Later I got another present from Sharath. A bunch of Hershey’s chocolates (he knew what I liked yum…..). Akshay gave me a beautiful birthday card. I’m sorry Ack, I’ve lost that card. I’ll always have the memory though.
Then, Sharath left me. No no, he didn’t die, thank God for that! His father relocated to Bhillai and we lost touch. Damn.
Nothing special happened in 7th. The main highlight was our school team winning the State Zone Championship and coming 2nd in the nationals (under my own bungling captaincy).
Then came the year I started changing. Well, one of the main reasons was puberty another was, I got hooked by the Internet. I started juggling all my priorities. Sometimes, I would lose one priority. That showed in my half yearly math mark. I got a 70/100. Thankfully, I made up for it by scoring a 93 in my midterm examination. 8th standard is definitely the most cherished year in my life. The constant jaunts to the Principal’s office. Not for scoldings, but mostly for congratulations. What can I say? My ‘boys’ to use Ganguly’s word, performed well (I guess Shashaank has more right to this word because he was the captain for 2008-09. And our school team finally became national champions this year. But still, it’s my blog and not Shashaank’s 
).
This year will always stay in my mind for a sad reason. Remember Sai? He was a lively guy. He was the one who usually brightened up our talks. Unfortunately, his father passed away. He went away to Hyderabad and I’m damn proud of the fact that I was the only one who tried to keep contact with him. I sent him one email. He replied. I sent him another, he didn’t reply. We lost touch. Sai, hope you are reading this man.
There is one incident I must share with you. People, I hope you think I am not bragging. It was a Friday. We had had Games period after lunch. It was one of the rare occasions when we got to play. The next period was mathematics. Venkatraman sir started to bore us with his technical talk. I was on the verge of dozing off (imagine guys, playing for ½ hour in the hot sun and having some one drone on and on about y pie r square h = volume of a cylinder). Suddenly, I’m called by an attender and she says the principal wants to see me!!! My first reaction was, of course, fear. Perhaps, she had seen me shout around on the basketball field? (I’m extremely competitive and I’d like to take this opportunity to say sorry to all those guys who’ve played with me on the same team.) Well, I stood there for about half an hour. I assessed my chances and decided that there wasn’t a chance she would have seen me talk to them like that. I was standing along the Principal’s corridor enjoying the cool air, whereas my friends were dying in our math class! Finally, she called me in and I went there. She looked at a paper and said “Congratulations Ajay. The IAIS results are just in and you are a state ranker.” I was kind of drowsy and the words didn’t reach me immediately. But when they did, I was shell shocked. She shook my hand and told me to go back to my class. I walked back slowly (not because I was dazed, I wanted to cut the next period as much as possible).
I told no one but my closest friends about this. Nahyan, Hariram and Akshay were the only ones to know on that day itself. The rest got to know when they distributed the certificates. Don’t ask me my other grades. I got a top distinction in English, distinction in science and computers and a participation in math (ouch).
Well, I guess that brings me to the end of my narrative. But wait, no narrative is complete without a tangle with the other gender. Well, here comes mine.
That was about the time when I wanted to get mischievous. There is a girl called Asritha in our class (sorry if you are reading this, but I’m making a safe assumption you aren’t. Even if you are, there is nothing much you can do about it ). Well, that day she was troubling me like hell. I heard her friend call her ‘as’. That was it. I got what I needed. I just confirmed it with her friend and went on a ‘Spread It’ mission. I got a piece of chalk and scribbled ‘as’ everywhere. On desks, tables, the black board. I even bribed a guy to ask her what it means. She got damn angry, but after a few days everything calmed down.
All said and done, I will definitely miss 8th. I will miss Venkatraman Sir’s math classes; I will miss M.Ruthran’s French classes and patriotic speeches; I will miss Kanchana madam’s brilliant take on social. I will miss having the carefree chats at the corner near the gym. I will miss the thrill of wearing pants for the first time and being considered a senior. I will most definitely miss my chess tournaments which I cant go to as much as before due to educational reasons.
That simple journey changed my point of view about school. Maybe this blog would have changed yours too. I’ve been typing this blog for about an hour. I hope this will be appreciated by you all.
Last but not the least; I’d like to wish all my bosom 10th standard friends good luck for the next year. No, I won’t. In the words of M.Ruthran, we don’t need luck. We need courage. So guys, face the new year courageously!
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If you liked this post, I ask you to comment about it in the comments section and not in the chat box.
Yours Non-Typically
Ajay
