A long, LONG Time Ago...,

I was looking for some nice songs on YouTube and I found one... Kangal Irandaal ... It's deepavali today, and I have a free day to myself, in which I refuse to do any credible work. So, I thought I would let my mind wander and think on things.. I started to recall a time. a very long time, 29 years to be exact. In truth, I readlly do not know if I should even write this and post it, but it happened such a long time ago, and nothing really ever happened anyway... so.. thinking back...

Like I said : it was like 29 years back, lets say 30. I was only 12 then. But looked like I was 17. Yes, we Majeeds age very quickly, but remain youthful looking for the longest time. My father, when he passed on, looked like he was in his 50s, but he was actually past 65 I think... But I digress..

There was a time when my parents decided that it would be a good idea for me and my younger sister to school in India, closer to my mom's place. She wanted to see if she could start a clinic there. That did not happen.. We had some money, so financially we were not THAT bad. My first brother was already in India at the time.

We found a good school in Kumbakonam, St Anne's Matriculation School for Girls. If you ask me, I think it was a very nice place. The garden they had there ALWAYS had butterflies, and these butterflies were so pretty and were of different colours and different sizes. I always wanted to go back, but never did or could for some strange reason. Perhaps on one of my trips, I should get Kumar Annaa to take me there. I know with him driving me in his Tavera, I will be safe, travelling alone.. except he is very expensive and having a Tavera for ONE person would be wasteful. Sigh - Oh Well.. maybe this is why I hadnt been there, and that is what had stopped me from going.. Oh Well..

The school, if i remember correctly, was in Ghandinagar, and we found a house on the first floor, in Sri Nagar Colony. I still remember. Naangaavathu Kurukkuth Theru. I forget the number of the house though. The owners, or the owner's sister were these Urdu Speaking Muslims who lived in the house opposite to the one we lived in. There was an EB officer who lived in the portion upstairs and there was an upstairs terrace.

There was one Muslim house on the right to the owner's house, and one HUGE house next to that, and another house next to that. The HUGE house had the writings WHITE HOUSE on its gate. My brother had a friend called Pasupathi in the house next to that. Back in those days, my brother was a very VERY hot tempered young man. I think he must have been 18 or so at the time.. I was very scared of him and did EXACTLY what he said. :) I still appreciate listening to him and ask him what I should do. His opinions mattered then and they matter now. I love that guy.

One morning, - I remember.. I had washed my hair early in the morning, and there were lots of tangles in it, and I had such long hair at the time, almost to the back of my knees. I was standing on the verandah outside the house, and trying to comb out the tangles. One of the guys living in the WHITE HOUSE was cleaning his bike. I was watching him clean his bike, when I saw him look up and look up again. I thought I saw him smile. I think that must have been the first time a guy smiled at me.

I dont know his name. But sometimes when we went to school in the rickshaw he would ride his bicycle next to it... which is strange because he had motor bike... and sometimes, when I walked to school on some saturday mornings, he would cycle behind me, sometimes, if I sat in the verandah revising my school work, I would see him reading the newspaper on his verandah.. only the newspaper would be upside down!.. And though I had a strange feeling of elation, I was so scared that my brother would find out and.. well.. you know..! hahahahahaha Maasha Allah, I can laugh about it now.

I dont know his name, and nothing happened.. He never even said a word to me, but I am glad it happened. It would have been nice to happen that way that it did.

Somehow it was incredibly sweet.. and exciting.

Much Love
R.