grr....THE LICENSE...to kill??

To be frank,i hate to indulge in this sort of excruciating exercise when more important tasks ought to be engaging my time(have my end sem exams in 2 days time..). Nonetheless,i decide to take the plunge keeping in mind the lone comment that my previous post managed to get. Thats right.One comment!And that,in all earnestness,is probably because i commented on that guy's blog & the kind soul wanted to reciprocate in kind(bless him!).
As far as the title of the post goes,i'm as much in the dark as you are.And if u think reading further might help,god bless you.Now that the basic disclaimers are done,without further ado,let me get going.Getting a driver's license can be one of the more onerous tasks in Chennai.A blighter named shyam found this out rather the hard way. I,for heaven sake don't understand whether,in this age of shriking times,a process so very menial as the one under consideration should take all of 5 hours.And that too,with a backing of a driving school(yup!I paid Rs.600 to the blighters just for this..).Sift the evidence,I mean.
Well,I was asked to report at the RTO office at 9:30 in the morning. Me being the slothful person that I am,promptly went at 10.Our driving school man(will refer to him henceforth as mama!) gave me a rather rummy look.He didn't dare say anything,though.Ofcourse he wouldn't!After all,he had swallowed the money only the previous day.Our mama then led me to a nearby secluded place where about 10-12 chappies were waiting.All of us were his clients(read scapegoats) for the day.He then went on to demonstrate to everyone the gyrating move that would give us our 2-wheeler license.Subsequently,he made all of us practise the same before the actual test. After a couple of trial rounds,our mama left us for a few minutes to bring in the Inspector.
Immaculately dressed in his white shirt & brown khaakhis,he got out of his jeep with the airs of a self-styled monarch. As he got out,a whole slew of brokers gathered around him, as if seeking an autograph from a celebrity. In other words,he looked every bit the fraud official you frequently see in movies.Soon,the test got underway.A namesake test,I'm tempted to add.My turn came & I managed the "8" without trouble.The process was over.Or so I thought.But I was grossly mistaken.A photo session was to follow.And so,I trudged along to the main office my famished stomach. After an agonizing wait,I was called in.It was an A/C room.The air was soothing,more so after waiting outside for a long time.Wished like I could stay inside forever.But much to my disappointment,the session was over in a whiff.And now,we were asked to wait outside for one last time for that 4"x 2" card.I waited & waited.It seemed to take an eternity.I lost my patience & decided to investigate.I came to know that mama had conveniently legged it .I flew into a rage but could do nothing.I was left entirely to the mercy of the office people who worked as though they were on a paid holiday.And finally,after an hour's wait,my name was called.And what do you think was there??My licence-to kill!

Now then,the title!Any takers??

NUMBER 20!

haaaa!Birthday no. 20- & decade 2 finally draws to a close hard to believe I'm actually out of my teens..And whatsmore,it seems like it all started only yesterday .It's a deuced strange feeling to bid goodbye to what has been the most tumultuous decade of my existence.
I look back at the past decade with mixed feelings vividly recall how happy I felt on my 10th birthday.My parents had asked me beforehand what I wanted.I seized the opportunity & let myself go.I spelt out the order right down to the minute detail & they (my parents) willfully assented.And so, a bash of sorts was organised,spicy dishes were made,friends & relatives were invited & chocolates were distributed all round the neighbourhood.Amidst the loud chorus, I cut the b'day cake.I felt like a star.Lived life like there was no tomorow.haa!But those were days....
And today,10 years down the line,the picture has dramatically changed.That special feeling has vanished.Sense has finally begun to dawn upon me(or for heaven's sake,I hope so!).Along with b'day wishes,I also get remainders saying "U are entering into the 3rd decade of ur life" or "U r now a responsible man!" or other equally weird things to the same effect . Sometimes I feel life was better off when I was a kid(although when I was a kid,I wanted to grow up fast!)-totally unbridled,totally peaceful..Those weird sounding remainders have now forced me into having a silent communion with myself,reflecting on the past decade.
Decade 2 provided me with my basic bearings-both academically & otherwise(note:less of the former!!).I went places,met different types of people,got a taste of different cultures & hogged different kinds of delicacies(yum!) .
And academically,having had my basic education in Chennai(& in a few other places which i'm not going to name),I spent close to 3 eventful years frolicking at KVP(Kendriya Vidayalaya,Picket,Secunderabad).I had a very joyous,carefree time with friends & teachers alike.During that period, I had the pleasure & honor of being the captain of my Jnr. school cricket team(yes!i'm blowing my horn here..)On the flip side,however,I had a rather traumatic experience with my board results.Simple,it bombed bigtime.And for the sake of my plummeting pride,I' m going to withold certain details.
Ditto with my class 12 results.I had my intermediate education in Gautami Jnr College followed by Little Flower Junior College.I dreamed big-wanted to crack IIT-JEE.But something else was scripted for me.A combination of my congenital laziness, indifferent planning & a nonchalant attitude started working wonders & I ended up with a clean slate to show up for my cause(*bless my sense of humour*) .The trend continued in other exams as well.As a result,i'm now stuck up at SIST Chennai(don't ask for expansions) for the past 3 years ruminating upon what my friend's dad said when I met him at the AIEEE counselling,"There is nothing left for us,only the leftovers are there!" sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!How right he was..

"hmmmmmmmmmm"

whew!!!!!
this one's for the record..........