Memories Down The Lane.....

• One of my favourite festivals during childhood days was Raksha bandhan. Bro and I used to receive lots of attention from the neighbours kids for the photo taking session (taking pictures those days was a big deal hehe). I loved that attention. Every year I waited for that special day because I got gifts from brother. Even now it’s still one of my favourite festivals and I wait for it every year, except that now I know the precious meaning behind it.

• I have never bothered about India’s financial budget until now but every year I was seriously involved in my birthday budget hehe. Mom believed in using every penny wisely. So every year before my birthday mom decides on the budget for my birthday. It includes how many choc to buy, some special chocs for teachers and clothes budget. I hated this budgeting but now I miss those bonding with my family members(even today she does budgeting but the amount is higher and the reasons are different hehe)

• Dad stayed aboard most of his life. Bro and I used to be very excited every year when he visits us, to know what are the choc and gifts he got for us. Dad’s visit to India was a holiday time for us. We would go to ‘tirupathi’ and ‘shridhi’ every year without fail. Now we rarely get the chance to travel as whole family.

• 2nd Septemeber 2001 (Ya this day is still crystal clear in my mind). It was my 1st computer class in secondary 1 (7th standard). Before this date I had never used computer in India, so this computer class was a shock to me. To avoid embrassement in front of teacher I told her I want to read books in the library instead of using computer. On that day I decided to conquer this weakness before it conquers me. Right now I am working in an IT company and studying bachelors in IT. I feel this is my biggest achievment in this 10 years. 3 cheers to me for that :P

•  My brother is two years older than me, which means my family believed in the concept of 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) when it came to my school items. Beginning of each school year, I had to check condition of bro’s books before buying new books. Most of the time I would end up with the second hand items. Back then, I disliked this idea and used to erase all the notes he wrote on the textbook to make it look like a new book. After moving to Singapore, school items became first hand in my life, but slowly I missed using those precious second hand items :(

• I love fishes so much that when people eat them I called them being cruel. I love to see them in water rather than in my mouth. However recently I became a criminal too and done something that I cannot imagine. I choosed my health over my values. I still feel guilty about this whenever I am eating fish. So sorrrrry fishes.No excuses will justify my crime :(

• When brother was gifted his first bicycle, I made a big issue at home and soon I got a pink monalisa cycle as a gift from my uncle (yea PINK! OMG). Soon I started to go to school in the cycle together with school friends. Those days were the best times of my life. Those memories of finding a parking place in the cycle stand, proudly showing my cycle to fellow schoolmates and sometimes travelling back home with best friend were unforgettable. These high tech cars, trains are no where compared to that pink cycle I had. Simplicity is the beauty of life.

• Once a year my school organizes a local picnic outing for each class. Getting permission from mom to go for the picnic was a big headache but once she agreed, lots of arrangements were done for that. Right from what food to be taken for friends to what bag to carry that day. It was a big event in my life each year. Now I don’t have such memorable picnics anymore, I miss putting in efforts for such small things. Small things filled my life with joy.

• I don’t remember my 1st day in pre-school but I clearly remember my 1st day in Singapore school. I was very scared to start schooling in a new country. So I ended up lying to the principal that I was sick and didn’t attend the school. That night after giving it a thought I decided to take the 1st step and went to school the next day. Even today I am proud of my decision because if I didn’t take that 1st step, I wouldn’t have come this far. It’s true that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. I am glad I took my 1st step.

• There were many cultural shocks when I moved to Singapore. Particularly my first physical training class in the school. For the first time in my life I saw myself in shorts. I felt I was committing some crime wearing those shorts hehe. I refused to come out of the ladies until my teacher started to shout who was the missing person in the class, I had to run and join the class secretly. This was just a tiny dot in the big picture of my culture shocks.

• After coming out from my first interview, I knew how it feels like coming out from a war field but surprisingly I got a job for my 1st interview itself which I didn’t accept. Glad I rejected the offer, as I am happy with my current job.