Ch 1 The early years
They say kids have poor memories. I don't know whether I was the exception or otherwise. Can't remember which.
What I definitely do not remember is the actual process of transformation of my thought process- that is, the age when I upgraded from pure imagery to MPEG4 memories with dolby surround (and subtitles). I take it for granted that my cognitive abilities improved as a result of this [Ed:We shall soon find that out, won't we?].
My origins were humble enough. I was born to an incurable optimist of an accountant (dad) and an incredibly intellectual physics professor (mom). Both have climbed up the ladder of success in leaps and bounds since. Of course, I don't claim credit for this.
Madurai & Bombay
I was born in Booma Nursing Home in Madurai on May 17, 1982. There was no loud fanfare, no frankincense and myrrh-laden magis, or on the upside, no greeks bearing gifts either. But I assume that there was general good cheer. My parents' prayers were answered, and I was given the name of the Lord of the 7 hills.
Sometime after this, we moved to Bombay, that great heaving hulk of a metropolis. Everything appeared huge to me, probably because I was so small in comparison- I can only recall fleeting images of the layout of our house, the incredibly tall buildings , the camels on Juhu beach, but nothing more.
I was rumored to have asked some pretty profound questions then. Here is a sample.
"Amma, how can we see big-big things with our little eyes?" I definitely cannot recall the answer.
I dumbed down somewhere along the way.
It was at this time, that I was introduced to alphabet. The curious thing about this was that I could only recite it in a sing song manner. If you were to ask me what the individual letters were, I would not know. Or for that matter, ask me what came after T, I had to start the song from A.
I was caught out when I neared the "ellomennopeeq" bit of the song. I was genuinely under the impression that O appeared twice in the alphabet- ....L O M N O P Q...
Another lasting memory from this period was an incident with my friend Bharghav. There are a lot of open drains in Bombay, teeming with all manner of fauna. One day, when our parents were in deep discussion on whatever things parents talk about, Bharghav pushed me into one of these open drains. I emerged head to toe in black. I think I may have swallowed some of that stuff. And I dont know if this is a product of a hyperactive imagination, but I can recall very tiny fish swimming in the drain as I went down... Apparently someone rescued me.
I bore Bharghav no grudge of course. I would do the same for him any day.
(....to be continued)
What I definitely do not remember is the actual process of transformation of my thought process- that is, the age when I upgraded from pure imagery to MPEG4 memories with dolby surround (and subtitles). I take it for granted that my cognitive abilities improved as a result of this [Ed:We shall soon find that out, won't we?].
My origins were humble enough. I was born to an incurable optimist of an accountant (dad) and an incredibly intellectual physics professor (mom). Both have climbed up the ladder of success in leaps and bounds since. Of course, I don't claim credit for this.
Madurai & Bombay
I was born in Booma Nursing Home in Madurai on May 17, 1982. There was no loud fanfare, no frankincense and myrrh-laden magis, or on the upside, no greeks bearing gifts either. But I assume that there was general good cheer. My parents' prayers were answered, and I was given the name of the Lord of the 7 hills.
Sometime after this, we moved to Bombay, that great heaving hulk of a metropolis. Everything appeared huge to me, probably because I was so small in comparison- I can only recall fleeting images of the layout of our house, the incredibly tall buildings , the camels on Juhu beach, but nothing more.
I was rumored to have asked some pretty profound questions then. Here is a sample.
"Amma, how can we see big-big things with our little eyes?" I definitely cannot recall the answer.
I dumbed down somewhere along the way.
It was at this time, that I was introduced to alphabet. The curious thing about this was that I could only recite it in a sing song manner. If you were to ask me what the individual letters were, I would not know. Or for that matter, ask me what came after T, I had to start the song from A.
I was caught out when I neared the "ellomennopeeq" bit of the song. I was genuinely under the impression that O appeared twice in the alphabet- ....L O M N O P Q...
Another lasting memory from this period was an incident with my friend Bharghav. There are a lot of open drains in Bombay, teeming with all manner of fauna. One day, when our parents were in deep discussion on whatever things parents talk about, Bharghav pushed me into one of these open drains. I emerged head to toe in black. I think I may have swallowed some of that stuff. And I dont know if this is a product of a hyperactive imagination, but I can recall very tiny fish swimming in the drain as I went down... Apparently someone rescued me.
I bore Bharghav no grudge of course. I would do the same for him any day.
(....to be continued)
posted by Venkat at 5:51 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home