The Days Of Our Lives

How about a get together on Sunday, the 23rd of April 2006?

This invitation might seem a little Mumbaiyya-centric, but is equally valid for Hyderabadis, Delhi-ites, Singaporeans, Americans, etc. The rule is - if you read my blog, I would be more than happy to have you here. So book your flight tickets (with your own money; I don't have any since I'm a student :P) and come to Mumbai for a cup of coffee with yours truly.

Do comment and let me know if you are free and interested. If the former condition does not hold, then we can work out another date/time; for the uninterested - its still cool. :)

Regards,

GrasshopperBoy

Once there lived a kid in DC land. The world around him was in utter chaos and lives of all innocent grasshoppers were in great peril. Inspired by the heroics of Batman and his ilk, our meek protagonist decided to don the avatar of GrasshopperBoy!!! (muhahahahaaaa)

For reasons unknown, Shaggy (thats me) takes infy contempt at being referred to by his first name – Nitin. The fact that his best friend (from school and then IIT) shares the first name may be totally coincidental. Anyway, GHB took upon the onus of changing his name and smartly selected the nickname “Shaggy”, which served him two purposes – (1) establish his dud(e)-ness, and (2) make people forget his official name.

Shaggy was so full of DC (delhi-ite) traits that in his first year most wingies took a good 2 weeks time to realize that he isn’t a DASA (NRI student). Not only did he used to do his branded laundry once a week, but also meticulously ironed each and every piece of clothing (including the inner wear). It didn’t take him long to become an instant hit with the public; be it because of his hilarious name, his trademark “oyeeeeeeeee” howler (which was hard to ignore), the funny shuffle gait or a Phoebe inspired running style.

Another of his DC traits involves his deep attachment for his personal belongings, car, shirts, comics, “dolls” (the supposed action figures), girl friend(s) and the list goes on. But what will go down in history is his childish obsession for a bottle of Brut. pc almost paid for stealing Shaggy’s beloved deo with his balls. But what followed was simply legendary. Subjected to a little silly senti by his wingies over the issue (of rendering pc nutless), Shaggy proved his innocence by shedding tears (literally) for hours altogether till his mom consoled him.

Shaggy’s claim of having a girlfriend since his childhood was always doubted his wingmates for various reasons. To remove any such suspicions he even put her pic in his room. Shaggy makes use of every opportunity to flee to DC land to meet his sweetheart and off-late has been smuggling her into Bombay too. Once after returning from a Delhi trip he asked everyone to refer to his girl friend as “Mrs. Sagar” and chose not to answer when asked about the base he had landed at.

Though there remain little doubts about love of his life, Shaggy has been rather sly with his domestic liaisons. Rumor has that Shaggy gifted a dolphin to express feelings to his first crush in IIT. Undeterred by the failure he went on to hitting deep on his fellow batchmate in Bangalore, and going two steps deeper with Bombay chicks. However all these affairs were mere flashes in the pan as his love for Mrs. Sagar prevailed everytime…even after a brief musical opera last December.

Shaggy’s second love is no human. His beloved Zen was transported to Bombay when he begged his parents for a bike. This marked his upgradation from a lunatic superhero who’s always shouting for no apparent reason to an extremely well-mannered chauffer. Such is Shaggy’s pride in his love that he refused paying a bribe of 50 bucks and insisted on offering at least 200 bucks! To be called Nitin is nowhere as demeaning for him as being labeled a clumsy chauffer. So popular was his car that it was christened as the “official carrier of Techfest 2k5”.

This ever comic character goes into hibernation as soon as exams are nearing. Disappointed with the last sem’s result, Shaggy avows to mug (study) double hard as an outcome of which he locks himself inside his room a safe three weeks before the exams. His nbd (nervousness) and muggoo (nerdy) levels dangerously peak and it’s advisable to avoid any form of non-academic interaction with him. Needless to say, his cpi (relative grading followed in IIT) remains unaltered and the only satisfaction for him is a better grade sheet than Punty’s.

From finding out that RG (-meaning still unknown-) is actually an acronym for something a mere two days before his profile was written, to doing “gaddari” (treason) with his sophie (sophomore) year wing Les Unos, Shaggy has been a constant source of amusement for everyone who has ever come in contact with him. We sympathize with the 6 companies that showed him the door for they did not know what a perfectionist our hero is. But like the happy ending of all good stories, GHB landed up with a job which will reunite him with our beloved Mrs. Sagar and we sincerely hope that Dixi’s dream of “doing” it in Shaggy’s Safari will come part true very soon.


P.S.: This "profile" of mine was not written by me, but instead by my friends, and it was read out during my Valfi when I was made to sit on a chair in the middle of a stage, surrounded by friends and foes (:-P) alike. This is a unofficail custom followed at IIT every year for the passing-out students. Needless to say, its quite an enjoyable (and humiliating at times) experience. Thank God, it only happens once in a lifetime. :)

P.P.S.: The text has been slightly edited by me and I've tried to explain all the weird IIT common words in brackets in italics. And do remember that not everything written in the profile is true, obviously. :P

Where have I been all this time? Well, I was getting nostalgic - nostalgic about the present. The just-concluded Valfi time at IIT is about realizing how amazing the people, you've spent your last 4 years with, are. Its also about realizing that its time to move on.

I've moved a lot ever since I was a little child. I studied in Delhi for the first few years of my life; till the 3rd standard. I made a lot of friends; some of whom I still remember but I doubt if they'll still remember me. The parting was the hardest part. I had been with some of the guys since the Nursery class, a total of 5 years. Obviously, staying in touch when you are 8 years old can be extremely difficult.

The next couple of years I spent at Dubai 'coz my dad was transferred there. Didn't really get much time to get close to people. All I recall about that phase of my life is a couple of mates from school and a teacher. I still remember her telling us students a story about how one of her student met her after a gap of 10 years and still remembered her. I hope I get a chance to run into her; she was the first person to make me really open my eyes.

When we got back from Dubai, my mom decided that my dad's transfers (due to his government job) was affecting our (my brother's and my own) education so she decided to stick around with us in Delhi even though my dad moved from one place to another, after every 3 years. I owe a lot to my mom for sticking out for us then. I can quite imagine how living away from dad must've been for her. (Thanks mom for everything!)

The years that followed in Delhi were simply amazing. I spent about 8 years in the same school and by the end of it, knew almost all the teachers and half of the batch. I made some really nice friends. Some best-friends came and went; some remained. Surprisingly, in the end, the people who I remained in touch with were my XI and XII class buddies. Staying in touch is a lot more easier when you're not eight anymore.

Then came IIT. How quickly four years have almost passed by, is still a mystery to me; but the inevitable must occur. The winds of change are blowing again; this time, stronger than ever. Even though I wish they didn't. :(


A note from the author :

This blog was originally meant to be a personal diary of sorts. It was never my intention to make it public. But then things happened which were out of my control; infact, thanks to medusa, who was probably my first ever blog reader (apart from myself, ofcourse), this blog now stands where it does. (A special hug to medusa)

I like writing funny stuff, 'coz I like to think that somewhere out there, it brings a smile to someone's face. To those people who were expecting me to end my hiatus with a knock-knock joke perhaps, I'm sure this post came as a surprise. (This post's title was also supposed to serve as a warning for the stuff that followed). Infact, if you see the very first entry of my blog, you would be shocked even more.

So, whats the point of writing this note? I request you to allow me some space to pour my heart out. Some of the posts that follow may not be entertaining, but they would come straight from the heart. Realizing that one's life is about to change forever, can shake a man to the core. And as of now, I am being shaken vigorously (and stirred). All those who would have passed out of college at some point of their lives would remember what it feels like.

Feel free to comment one and all. And sorry if I am unable to live upto your expectations for some time to come.