The Apple eyed boy

 On a bright sunny afternoon i saw a bright little boy playing in the symbiosis garden , i thought about a long lost friend of mine. I was sucked into maze of thoughts and suddenly i realized how far time takes us without we knowing it at all. This friend of mine , a very special one since we both learnt 2+ 2 for the first time . A very bright boy , grasped things very fast , easy learner and excellent at mathematics . He was the blue eyed boy of  school , the apple of teachers eye and a example set for students like me who used to enjoy the benefits of last bench , made fun of the teachers , irritated the good ones and were proud to have been thrown out from time to time .

                One fine day, our teacher came and announced that there is going to be a GK quiz for the entire class . All the first benchers became anxious and there was a roar from the rear of the class. We had a week to prepare for the quiz. Mr topper was already on the top of clouds. He had heard that the prize money is going to be Rs 3000 . He had already started discussing about new bicycle that he was going to buy with the prize money.

                Though it might look like Mr Topper was over confident it was a routine for us, he had always been the winner , he was the one with the talent , ability to work hard . He was the Hero of our class and we all admired him for the same. I decided to work hard this time but soon realised its gonna be like any other quiz for me. I was keen to buy a bi cycle myself but to beat Mr topper was not easy Job .

                The D day arrived . . Mr topper got up , with the left foot down from Bed ... ting ting .. The first wrong signal . “Oh God, let everything go alright” , said Mr topper to himself . “ I will have to go and give my regular best .Its a habit for me now . This quiz will not only get me a bicycle but will add one more feather in my cap” . With raised spirits and sweaty forehead, Mr topper reached the college . The results of the quiz were announced immediately after the test .This was the most exciting feature of the day.

                The test started, time went on, hours turned to minutes, minutes to seconds and soon the school bell  rang. There was hush hush in class, some were crying for more time and others were discussing answers furiously. Mr topper was blatantly showing off the easiness with which he wrote the answers.

                Time came for the results to be announced. Mr topper was at best of his nerves.  His face was red, hands sweating with anxiety, butterflies in his stomach and ant in his pants. He snatched the answer paper from the supervisor. “93”, a heavenly figure, “None of them would have scored more than this” . He gave a snobbish smile and looked around. The entire class had gathered around besides a boy . He was so small meek that I had barely ever noticed him . He was in a state of shock and panic. His score was 98 .Aghast by this, Mr topper gnashed his teeth and ran frantically towards him, jerked the paper out of started his hands and started counting his total fiercely .

                “Hey hey hey .... Yee... I am the only winner here. His total is 88.“he flipped the paper and started moving . The weak boy came forward and held hand. There were tears in his eyes and worry on his forehead. He explained to him how much he had worked diligently to win the prize. His sister was in Hospital and he badly needed the quiz money to pay his bills. He pleaded not to reveal the truth and let him get the prize. Our Mr topper was caught in a battle of fire and water. His pride would not let him give away for his heart. He threw an angry look at the boy and stared at him for a minute long.  

To our surprise, he turned around and went back to his desk silently. All were dumbstruck and in awe of his decision. We all applauded for his braveness and big heartedness .This was the first time in early schooling that I realised that there are some things bigger and better than winning prizes , winning accolades and marks , and that is winning hearts . As said by John Wesley

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

Life at its Peak....

Life at its peak .The very thing that comes to my mind if i look back at the last few years of my life. The most happening, the most exhilarating and the most memorable. Perhaps that the reason it last for the smallest time .What we call as youth turns out to be the most promising , most energetic and the one with maximum colours
Why i think of it as something special and most unusual is the fact that it can never come back ..and... I wish it never leave in first place. I have enjoyed each and every moment of my life in twenties. And still continue to do so.
When we first come out of what we call as teens. We generally tend and want to be adults as soon as possible. We want to be on our own. Like many of us i tried taking decisions on my own, fought with parents, friends, messed up relations and screwed the exams. But all in all it has been a wonderful journey with all the above being just one side of the old coin. The better half had friends , cherished moments at school and high school, heart throbs along with heartbreaks, crushes and laughs.
As we come to end of teens we suddenly hate all the things that we did in the past. Everything seems to be a waste of time ... time spend with friends seem to be a waste ...and fights seem very silly . All in all it seems that life till date had been a joke ... A sudden urge rushes in .. An urge to get serious,an urge to make a fortune . Urge to make our own future.. An urge to show case our personality and capability to the world.. This urge and longing kills everything else that we had called as Life. Earth starts rotating faster than once in 24 hrs and world turns upside down . The ideas topple over each other and creative juices flow in. We all suddenly come into what we call as late twenties of life. Life gets fuller with commitments both personal and professional ... Job eats up more than half of your time and the next half goes into cribbing for the same.
We... the ones who wanted to grow old as soon as possible suddenly carry sullen faces...Now again comes the time we want to be silly... Kiddish.... as stupid as possible... All we want to do is chat with friends , go on long walks , get drenched like mad in rain ... we miss our crushes and heartbreaks ... and we miss our friends and above all we start missing our parents. We realize after a long time that there is something soft and pink which pumps blood for us ... we feel it ache .. Sense it more than the vibes of our Brain.. We come to think we have lost it.. Both our mind and our heart.... What we need is a change.. A bigger and better one
This change is different direction for each and every one of us.. We choose a different colour.. a different road on the map ... a different flower from the garden ... and not all get to choose again and the right one too ...
I feel myself very lucky to get this chance again ... Lost many things ... fought back again ... and never regret on the same ... I chose wrong paths which seem correct now and some correct ones which in the end turned out to be entirely fruitless ... But i cherish the fruits of taking a new step nevertheless ... the vital change .. The new beginning and an early revamp ... I am myself once again... My true self.. However silly. However funny ... I enjoy being ME ... People might hate my 24 hr smile. My crazzzy behaviour and my who cares attitude but I am definitely once again in LOVE for myself. deep Love for my own self