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..