- flashbacks of a fool -

I am turning one more year older this Christmas eve and I thought this would be a good time to brag about myself. Despite the fact that I can shamelessly ask someone’s name five times in a fifteen minutes conversation and still manage to forget it, I have a very good long term memory. Here are a few flashbacks of a fool, and its only a few.

· The old lady who lived in a house next to my apartment in Bangalore. Every morning I see her sitting outside on the ground, legs crossed, her gaze fixed on a newborn baby on her lap, basking in the morning sun. When the toddler shows the slightest discomfort, she leans forward to block the sunrays for a while then lean back. That was two years ago and am sure I saw the entire world’s love in that woman.

· I remember having goose bumps when I listened to ‘coming back to life’ for the first time; that was four years ago. I’ve been a diehard fan of Pink Floyd ever since; there may never be another band who could play better music.

· No matter how hard we tried, the high-pass filter circuit we built for our mini project in college gave output only twice; once during the internal exam and a few weeks later in front of the external examiner. Thank God for mighty miracles and sweet surprises, and that was six years ago.

· Nine years ago, I saw this leper begging near the bus terminal. The disease, eating into his body, had crippled his legs and there was very little left of his arms. Next to him, I saw another man in a similar state, half naked and unable to move. He wasn’t a beggar or crippled, he was just too drunk. As the saying goes, God gives and forgives; man takes and forgets.

· The Bihari classmate I had in school, volunteered to read aloud Nehru’s famous ‘Freedom at Midnight’ speech. Half way through, he went emotional and the class went berserk. Its been eleven years since that class; wish I could meet him once and pat him on the shoulder for that speech.

· Zahid, a Pakistani classmate of mine, once brought to class a small circuit board attached to a small battery. He asked me to touch two wires coming out of it and I did, only to get a rude electric shock. Years later, I was in college listening to a lecture on voltage multiplier circuits; I thought of him and could only say to myself “You Bastard!!”

· I was in fifth grade when Zahid promised to show me something and took me to the school toilet. There, like a true magician, he pulled the rope attached to the overhead flush tank, and nothing happened. He pulled harder the next time and the whole tank came down crashing and we were drenched. At the principal’s chamber, he dramatically pleaded innocent and put the blame on me and we ended up sharing the cost for a new flush tank. I wonder what his little trick was, certainly he wasn’t a pervert; I wish I could meet him once and ask, hopefully he recalls.

· I remember my grandmother on her deathbed. As instructed by mom, I asked her whether she was feeling alright. She gave a big smile and I made my way out through all the people gathered, to the courtyard. My cousin and I were playing with firecrackers when she passed away a few hours later. Mom was surprised when I recalled this incident happened almost twenty years ago.

· One day, I came back from school and saw my sister for the first time. She was lying in bed next to my mom, neatly wrapped in a blanket. Maybe this is the oldest thing I can remember; she was born in May ‘85.

I was told that when I was a toddler one of my aunts threw me up in the air and failed to catch me and I landed on my head. I am sure, if I had not had that 6 feet plus fall my brain would have found enough space to store lot more fond memories.

It wasn’t about my memories that I wanted to write when I began typing, but it turned out like this. So I guess I will write about it next time as a continuation to this post.

~ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ~