26 years, 26 memories

While talking with my friend Aigis, I got to know that he was considering writing his blog entry on his memories from childhood and school life. Reading about it got me interested in making my own list. As I got started, I realized I could write 26 memories, 1 for each year that I have lived on planet earth. I know its not yet November 15, but I guess 2/3rd of my 26th year is already over. So here we go...26 years, 26 memories. Please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on this post.

1) The twin diesel engines taking the Mumbai Delhi Rajdhani Express speeding past Boisar. It started a long life passion for trains that continues with Amtrak, NJTransit and Septa trains even today

2) I dont remember which was the first episode of Tom and Jerry that I watched, but have loved watching each and every episode of it and love watching it even today. I still have more than 9 hours of Tom and Jerry cartoons on my laptop.

3) The days when Indian cricket started and ended with Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin out means its time to close the television as even Gods wouldnt have been able to save the Indian team and help it win.

4) My first international flight from Mumbai to London on British Airways on way to Philadelphia. It was the first time I was travelling alone and everything was overwhelming me so much. Never felt so small and unmeaningful as on that journey.

5) My two return journeys to home from Philadelphia. The feeling and excitement of landing at Mumbai airport was just tremendous. Can never forget it.

6) My first news of the day presentation in school. I had completely forgotten about it and remembered it at 11pm the night before. With the help of Mom, saw the 11pm news and wrote something. It was the same day that lot of Seniors from the Indian Cricket Team had been dropped and half of my news telecast focused on it.

7) The day I drove a car for the first time. This was on Sanju Motor Training School's car. With the trainer sitting there, it was easy as he was controlling the clutch. The first time I started our car, it gave such a jerk that I really thought I had broken the car. But slowly started the interest in car driving. And making the switch from right to left wasnt difficult.

8) The first three years in the swimming pool. Every time I felt confident about learning, the summer would be over and the pool would be closed for rest of the year. JP Bhai tried his best to teach me swimming, but eventually after three long summers of trying, he gave up. A month after he gave up, I learnt swimming and that started another long life affinity with water and water sports.

9) My first cycle ride on my own. I forgot that there are such things called as brakes. Went too fast and then banged into a wall. Fortunately, neither me nor my cycle got damaged. But that fall reminded me that I need to improve my cycling a lot.

10) My first camping trip. Shyam had planned one to the Appalachian Trail and Sajeel and Sajeel's two friends joined us. It was the first week of November and I saw live snowfall for the first time. It was wonderful experiencing fresh snow in the Appalachians.

11) Going to Somaiya College during admissions round. A fellow student came and sat next to me and started chatting. That was the first time I met Sandeep Pillai and was the beginning of a friendship that is still going on great.

12) Joining the Drexel Badminton Club. The badminton courts have literally become my second home here. Made so many good friends there. Have got addicted to badminton and finally this year took part in the local badminton tournaments here.

13) Winning the GK contest in school. Got me interested in general knowledge and started my participation in many quiz contests. Wont forget the drama in the Rotary Inter School Quiz in 2000. It was a negative marking round and we lost 20 points there. Add 20 points and we would have won our semifinals. Finally won quizzes with Sandeep during the four years of Somaiya. Our most frequent opponent was Aigis, a veteran GK champion.

14) My class X examinations were going on and India was playing Australia at that time. We usually had a five day break between exams (something that definitely continued during the engineering exams). But between Science and Hindi exams, there was only one day. And Dravid and Laxman had to choose that very day to bat the Australians out. Tried studying a bit in between breaks of cricket. Was so happy when I got to know three months later that I had scored 85 in Hindi.

15) Going to Vadilal ice cream factory with Bejoy. We would play cricket in the lawns and then every hour, head inside the factory to enjoy some fresh ice cream. I have had a lot of ice cream in the last few years, but nothing to beat the fresh taste of Vadilal.

16) The trump card wars with Bejoy. Shawn Michaels as super trump. Hulk Hogan as Rank 1. Undertaker Height 6 feet 10 inches. Stats that no one born in the 80s would forget. And the initiation into WWF (now known as WWE). Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart, Stone Cold vs McMahon. Do I need to say more?

17) The cricket matches on the terrace. If the ball fell out of the terrace, the batsman would be out. That started the tradition of playing defensively and concentrating more on technique. I know I am not even a thousandth as good as Dravid, but it felt good when I was compared to him once on the field.

18) Watching cartoon network a lot. TNT movies would start at 5.30pm and it was a day of great celebrations when they changed the timings and Cartoon Network ended at 9.00pm. The Centurions, Popeye, Scooby Doo, Top Cat, Tom and Jerry, some of the very best cartoons I saw.

19) 26th July 2005. This was an unforgettable day. For a journey that normally took only an hour, I took 26 hours due to the rain and flood. Pretty much used all modes of transportation that day. Walking, swimming, climbing atop a bus, taking a boat, travelling by bus, car and auto rickshaw. This day had it all. And I had this experience only because I wanted to attend the last lecture of the day.

20) The interview for co-op with Motorola. Dont know why, but I was so nervous that day that I just mumbled something during the two hour long interview. It was the worst possible interview anyone can have. I guess it was only the fact that I literally bugged Bob with emails and phone calls in the previous two months that I got the co-op at Motorola.

21) Messing up the board while holding the topographic map in Shekhran Sir's class. Topographic map became lopographic map due to my activity. As a punishment, I was supposed to write an essay on Discipline and its benefits. Next day was also the day when I was supposed to give a speech during the school assembly. So I had my topic ready. Shekhran Sir was so pleased with my speech that he agreed to give me some extra marks during the tests that followed soon after.

22) Dr. Abhang Prabhu. I will never forget him and his lectures in Agrawal Classes. I was his usual bakra (being a PCM student) and he tried his best to convert me to a medicine student. Thankfully I won and became an engineer. But he made me so famous in the class that Agrawal Classes K batch of 2002-03 was rechristened Adil's batch.

23) Going to Wankhede Stadium with Ruchir and Shreyas to watch Day 2 of Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Bengal. Got to see my cricket idols in real. Sachin, Zaheer, Agarkar, Jaffer and Dada were in action that day. Highlight of the day was Zaheer removing Dada for a duck. And the selection committee for the WC was meeting in Mumbai that day. So was able to spot Rahul Dravid, Sir Geoff Boycott, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vinod Kambli and Tendulkar family in the pavilion.

24) The Kingfisher Open was going on at the CCI tennis courts in Mumbai and I decided to see some matches on the semifinals day. Saw Thomas Berdych vs Stefan Koubek followed by Dimitry Tursanov vs Tommy Robredo. Both the matches were really interesting and I loved every moment of it. But the evening's blockbuster was the doubles match between Mahesh Bhupathi / Mario Ancic and Leander Paes / Aisam Ul Haq Quereshi. Everytime I see these players on TV, my mind goes back to that evening at the CCI tennis courts.

25) Going hiking with friends. The natural beauty of Pine Creek State Park, the pristine waterfalls of Glen Ricketts State Park, the fall foliage of Appalachian Trails are just too beautiful. Also biking the Schuylkill River Trail from Norristown to Philadelphia. Its a total of 20 miles of fun biking. I have done it three times now and each time was more enjoyable than the previous one. The trail along the river is just beautiful and made me appreciate the beauty of nature.

26) The train journeys from Boisar to Goregaon on Sunday evenings with Kinjal. I believe my patience and listening ability improved a lot due to these travels. Kinjal, dont kill me on reading this. But I am sure you will agree to this.