My Life - Part 1 - Retrospection

Hola everyone... Life is boring and thats about the right time to take out old photo albums gathering dust and relive those special moments.

Good... now that I've given you a perfectly corny intro to the post, lets get down to business...

You would think that in 17 years on this planet, I have something of note to say about life, some special memories. I do... and today reminded me how much. Chuck that opening line about boredom and photo albums... this post is inspired by the building next door.

Mandaveli, and Chennai in general, has fallen prey to that bane of comfort and peace in all 'homely' localities - the Apartment Complex. Big words, you would think, for a guy who's lived in apartments for as long as he remembers... but 'it is but the truth' ;). I looked outta my window today... and BAM, there's this complex that didnt exis the last time i looked! This of course, set off a train of thought, as Holmes would say, that crashed right into 'Shreyas'.

No no no no, 'Shreyas' isn't a guy... or a gal... or even human. It is... or was... my grandfather's house. In Nanganallur... *Thats on the way to the airport...* That's where I literally grew up... and the birthplace of both my greatest passion and my greatest fear.

Life in 'Shreyas' was fun... here Sharu's playground wasnt two sides of a garage gate or a strip of cement in a basement... it was 1/5 th of two grounds of trees, flowers, lush (yes, LUSH) grass and carepeted halls that could house a small army. Not to mention a dog, the complete collection of 'Asterix' Comics and the best masala dosais ever. You're probably wondering about the 1/5th part. That's because i had 4 other people to actually spend time with... yes, four. And yes, the entire day. And no, I'm not lying.

It was in this place.... nay this veritable heaven on earth, that i blissfully playeed, laughed, cried, threw tantrums and got my first computer lesson. This was where i felt the thrill on absolute control and esctasy when you first play 'blocks' (tetris for the snobs out there). This was where i learnt why you typed in strange stuff like "cd games | dir *.exe /p | cd.."... and this was where i learnt that no code is without logic and no logic exists without intrinsic code. In short, this was where I first touched part of the growing universe that Computer Engineering had become... and i was hooked. Instantly.

It was also in this place that I learnt how scary it is to feel ignored. You see... when there are 8 people inhabiting that aforementioned world called 'Shreyas', try as they might not even the kindest grandma or the most loving mother can look after you all the time. I can remember many occasions when a simple 'Later' or 'Dont disturb now' would send me into the depths of depression... when i would think 'To hell with everyone' and go sit all alone in the unused rooom on the first floor reading 'Asterix' and vowing never to speak to anyone again. Ahh yes... at the tender age of 8...

Today 'Shreyas' is no more... in the place where that grand old building, the garage, the kennel, the 'Computer Room' and the 'Lawn' stood, there are now apartment blocks A, B, C, D and E+F respectively. I havent gone that way after Thaatha moved out... have never taken that flooded subway or the railway crossing of infinite tantrums. I have not gone to see these testaments to 'India Booming', nor have i gone to see the spanking new roads built on the pathways that my Thaatha helped carve. I have yet to see the 'souped up' well, which can supposedly supply water to all the residents of the complex. I have not seen all this for a simple reason. It would be too painful.