Mera kuchh saamaan...

Dad used to say, "The things you lose during one transfer -- you find during the next." So true.

Dad also used to say, "And the boxes you don't open after one transfer, you will never open after the next. It probably means you don't need that stuff. Throw it."

I found such a box when I was packing to move from the east to the west. I was amazed to discover it. It had stayed unopened for three whole years in my old place. What could it contain?

I remembered Dad's words. Then I opened it so I could decide whether it was safe to throw it. And at once, my childhood, teenage and university life hit me.

There they were. Smiling at me. Making me smile.

Cards from guys in school who had a crush on me.

Cards I'd bought but given to no one.

Cutesy stickers.

Love letters belonging to friends who had placed them in my safe hands lest someone in their family discovered it.

Poems I had written.

Yellowed books.

Little gifts from people I love and people who love me.

Looks like Sayesha had found her 'memories box'.

And nope, I wasn't gonna throw it. No way.

Here are some of the things that I found in the box:

A gift from my dear friend Jeff. This was years ago. Now he's happily married. And I'm so thankful that we're still as close as we used to be. Jeff, if you're reading, remember this? :)




















My first keyboard. I think I was ten or so. Check out how tiny it is. It's practically four times smaller than my current one.




















Another gift from a friend who used to say that I am a lot like Phoebe Buffay from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (Ok Tarzan, you can stop grinning now.)

















A farewell gift given to me by a very close friend when I was leaving India seven years ago. It says, "When you meet a stranger, make friends. Do remember, your friends were strangers when you first met them." (I'd blogged about this earlier.)




















My engineering calculator from my first year at uni. Gosh the things they make. 'Engineering calculator' it seems.




















My first (and last) walkman. Haven't seen one of these in years!




















An audio cassette. Oh man! An audio cassette!!! Ghulam Ali and Asha Bhosle at their classic best!

What masterpieces...

Dard jab teri ataa hai toh gila kisse karein
Hijr jab tuney diya hai toh mila kisse karein

Karoon na yaad magar, kis tarah bhulaaun usey
Ghazal bahana karoon aur gungunaaun usey

Phir saawan rut ki pawan chali
Tum yaad aaye, tum yaad aaye




















A gift my 7-year-old tuition kid gave me on Teacher's Day. It says, "Teacher, you're a precious work of art." (I think I'm gonna cry.)




















I'd gone to meet the Indian cricketers when they came to Singapore in 1998 (or was it 1999?). Rahul Dravid signed an autograph for me. Oh man. What a man.
















And Nikhil Chopra. And this was more special than the Dravid thing. Why? I bumped into Nikhil Chopra on the streets a day after I got his autograph. And to my absolute delight, he called out my name and said, "Hi, remember me? We met yesterday?" Whoa. Celebrity ho toh aisa!




















A diary of quotes that my sis and I had compiled. Typical ones she wrote:

"Be a girl with a great big smile
Try and be jolly all the while
If things go wrong, never look blue
Smile and say, "Oh, I'll get through."

Typical ones I wrote:

"Britain produces cashewnuts
Spain produces them too
But India took a long time
to produce a nut like you!"




















A diary of hindi/urdu poems I wrote. Promise not to laugh and I will actually reproduce a few lines below (before you judge me or laugh at me, just remember that I was 15 when I wrote this!)

Ajnabi, tum ajnabi hi rehna...
Raahein tumhari jud jaayein humaari raahon se
Par tum na humse judna
Gar ho yeh pata peechhe hain khade hum
Toh bhi na kabhi tum mudna
Dil ki baat kabhi na kehna
Ajnabi tum ajnabi hi rehna

Aankhon mein dekhkar, na aankhon se kabhi bolna
Bas yun hi baat karna
Na muskurakar dekhna, na hi jaankar kabhi
Tum mulaqaat karna
Dard-e-dil ko yun hi sehna
Anjabi tum ajnabi hi rehna....

























Books from my Enid Blyton collection. I grew up reading about the ham and bacon and sausages in the yummy meals the characters had. (They were always eating, weren't they?) When I finally had the chance to taste these things, I went "Yuck!" But the books will always be amongst the best of my childhood memories. (My Dad confiscated my entire 'The naughtiest girl in the school' series and put it in my 'bachpan box'. He has one 'bachpan box' each for my sis and me. My first toy, my first drawing, my first milk bottle, my first comic book, they're all in there. And he's so possessive about the stuff! I had to literally beg to get these three from him!)



















A painting I made when I was a kid. I made it so I could show it to my sister and she could say that she liked it. Back then, that's all I wanted to paint. Whatever sis would like. To me, praise from her was real praise.

























My autograph book. Gosh, do kids still do this?? Look how tattered it is!



















Sigh...

Duniya mein hum saare...
yaadon ke hain maare...
kuch khushiyan thode gham...
yeh humse, inse hum...

Yaadein...