Simyrights

I was 12-13 years old when my parents got me and my brother a new computer (honestly it was all mine, since my brother had started sailing by then). A grey colour Dell machine with a CPU and speakers. This kind of a big computer isn’t seen a lot these days. The internet at that time was connected through the phone line and while connecting the modem made sounds like a bad Oprah singer.

It was fascinating for me to connect to the internet and see that green ball linked to two computers which meant, YOU’RE CONNECTED! What a great feeling that was. I loved yahoo chat a lot. It was the place to chat with people! My first time must have gone something like this :

Boy: Hi.

Snickers2005: Hi.

Boy: A/S/L?

Snickers2005 : What’s that?

Boy : Age/Sex/Location?

Snickers2005: Offline.

Little did I know what he meant was, if I was a girl or a boy. In my head, reading SEX was as if he was asking weather i want to have sex or have I had sex? Haha. That was me. I thought babies were born to women after a certain age, like if they were 25 years old they give birth to babies. Yeah, I did not know the process at all! I know what you’re thinking, but that’s Okay. I have no shame in admitting what I was because at least I wasn’t a girl sniffing coke and meeting random guys in my pre-teens or in my teens. But that story is for another day. After I got familiar with chatting online I started to spend 1 to 2 hours meeting people, blocking people, getting blocked by people & exploring weirdness across the globe. How I loved it. Obviously I became a smooth chatter and made a few friends. I loved to know where they were going for vacations and what kind of places they would love travelling to and most importantly what kind of taste they have in music. Destiny’s Child, Madonna or prodigy?

One such time I met Anna. Anna was from Chester, UK. I loved chatting with girls. I always wanted to know where they are from and how is school for them and do they have boyfriend? Have they ever held hands with a guy? I liked to know things from another girls perspective. It always felt nice. If you asked a boy these things then sure you would get blocked in no time. Boys were more into, so tell me what do you look like? The pro me came up with weird answers like, right now I look ok. I just came out an accident and I hurt myself so bad they had to give a few stitches and just in no time… the boy showed offline. So basically i was blocked. Haha. And 1/50 would want to know what happened? And then I would block them! Hahahaha.

Anna and I exchanged our address and we started to write letters to each other. Once in 2-3 months I received a letter from Anna. On one occasion she sent me a picture with her friends taken in the backyard of her house all dressed up for their school disco. Anna looked the prettiest. Yes, we were very fond of each other. I sent her pictures of myself and my dog. She said I looked pretty. Once she wrote to me about how she wished I was her real sister and not Clare and Chloe. And I have no words even now to say how I felt at that time. We exchanged a lot of letters in 4 years, made promises to visit each other. I would visit her in the UK and she would come to India to see me & the Taj Mahal. Then one day the letters stopped. We were around 18 years old when we started to email each other and sent photos of things we did. I told her I was in college then and studying commerce and how much I hated it. Her last email to me was where she mentioned that she is working part time and was earning and that she smoked the last pack of cigarettes she had. By then I knew Anna and my life had grown different. I remember Anna fondly, like how it met her 2 decades ago. I still love her and wish her best.

In 2006 my brother took me to Singapore where he had to attend company seminar for 5 days and asked me to join him. He said, “you can shop and go around in day time and when I am back by 5, then we both go out and explore Singapore!”. I couldn’t believe it. Me going on a vacation with my brother to a foreign country and spending his money buying me clothes, shoes and bags. Wow, it was the best thing! I fell in love with Singapore in just a day. I remember I use to tell Singapore every morning from my hotel room window (which I off course couldn’t open) how much I love walking on the streets, and seeing people do what they were doing.

One evening my brother told me, get ready, we were going out. You me and captain Steve are going out for drinks and dinner. I stopped thinking after hearing Drinks… everything else was blah! That was my first meeting with Capt. Steven, from Ireland. He took us to Long bar and ordered drinks for us. He made me try the Singapore Sling and more drinks after that. That night we chatted so much. I have no idea what we talked about. But I know it must have been something really nice because when we were leaving, he handed me a bag which had a Tall Long bar glass with a stand. He told me, Nicky, this is for you. And I had no clue weather to accept it or not. My brother politely said, Capt. Steve, thank you for your kindness, you didn’t have to do this. Capt. Steve said, No this is for Nicky. She must take it back with her.

I quickly took the bag from his hands, thanked him, hugged him and was smiling like a little baby through out. We took some pictures that night. I think he really liked me, and needless to say, I liked him too. I was a little bit nervous before meeting him because what would Capt. Steve and I have in common, I thought, and what would I talk. I remember I told this to my brother and said, just relax he is a fantastic man and you’ll love him.

I don’t remember much about what we talked about with Capt. Steve on that night but after that he shared his email id with me and we stayed in touch through emails. Whichever ship he sailed on, he mailed me from there and then for next 3 months we exchanged emails before he went home and could access his personal email id. And this went on for some time. He gave me nicest advice in those emails & i usually bored him with my chatter.

How often do we connect with people this way. We get to know them, we love them and they love us. Sometimes they give presents, compliments and forever a lovely memory. I always wonder what was it in me that they liked. I still don’t know. But I know I just loved them, their company, their emails, words etc. I feel so grateful to have met such amazing souls in my life, right from my teens till now. I miss you Anna and captain Steve. I wish the best for you and I hope one day you and I get in touch again. I know that the universe listens and graces us with magic & beyond. Until then, i continue to look for our emails and hope that you are available on your old email id.

I hope you all can think of at least one such person whom you met just like that, and have some memories together. It feels blessed, I know 🙂

What does a pair of purani jeans (old jeans) remind you of? Let me guess what the first feeling would be.

How thin I was and look at me now or Damn, can I ever fit into this pair of jeans again? Think about the second question here. Can I ever fit into this jeans? I’d say, “yes, you can fit”. Here is how I fitted.

It brought back all the memories from the time that my physical self fitted into my Purani jeans. Ultimately I felt like I still fit in it. Thats the power of memories. The power of thoughts from the time I fitted into it. When I look at a pair my old denims I think of all the times from my college days & beyond. My closest friends from college, to the times I’ve spent with them and above all it brings back the memories we created.

The sweetest thing of all times is the fact that how we never had to try hard to be there with each other and most of all for each other. I remember my parents saying once or twice that, darling you just come home to eat and sleep and at times not even that and you’re always with your friends. No guessing, even their parents said the same! we had most sleepovers at my house and not just because i had a room to myself and super cool parents but also because my dad kept his whiskey stock in one of the cupboards in that room! which actually was my brothers room and it had a bigger bed. Their parents had concerns like these too but hey, they just knew that we are with each other in either of the houses. They had nothing to worry about ever. Whenever we wanted to have a change of food we would just go to other friends house for that day & eat, chill, repeat. and trust me most Indian mother’s are fantastic cooks!

I qualified as the innocent looking, yes off course, I looked that way and I was pretty innocent too. Hehehe. It was not just an ostensible truth but the light in my brain would sparkle late!

One of the best part about us was that our birthdays were just a few days apart and we all belong to the same zodiac sign or same month. So we could give big birthday parties since college and needless to say we got to attend some big ones too! College days were undoubtedly the most amazing days. We had all the freedom, a theatre that showed all latest movies 5 minutes away from college & some of the best fast food joints! And if this wasn’t enough then we’d go to neighbouring college and waste our day thoroughly. Ultimately realising how cool our college is as compared to theirs. And the basic idea was to go hang out and know who is dating whom and why!

I don’t think that there ever was a day in our lives where we did not tell each other what we’re doing, or thinking, without missing out little details. Coming home after college was quiet a bummer at that time, because we had to wait for whole 14 hours until we met again. What mattered was what was happening at that moment in our lives and not what we were going to do next. I think living in the moment made it worth it, it gave us the power to just be. For sure I know that none of us are like that anymore. We worry a lot more than living in the moment. But when we are together, Oh good lord, THAT IS IT! We go back to being Sim-Nam-Chatz from early 2000’s. Yeah, thats the initial of our names.

What I truly love about each one of them is that how different they actually from me and from one another. My bestie is a total opposite of me. Nam is one of the most caring humans ever. Chatz I don’t why is so level headed. I am an extremist (they see me as passionate & bold). I wonder whats that thing, that connects us all. I think its our value system. We are totally different from each other in ways but the core is solid and thats what matters. I remember the time from college where I would participate in a lot of cultural events and shows and the girls would be right next to me till I went on stage and cheer for me the loudest from the first row. Today they have grown up to be such supportive and wonderful women and I am so proud of them for being so courageous and independent. My bestie AB, even made me narrate my speech to her like a 100 times before I went on the stage and introduced myself as a contestant from Miss Mumbai Pageant 1998. She made sure I had enough water through out and not a sip more because she was more sure than I, that the next step would be.. I want to go use the toilet! Haha! She kept away unnecessary people from entering my life. And today I look at her fantastic interviews in magazines motivating other women to work & believe in their dreams.

While nothing can bring back those times again for real, but trust me just looking at my good old pair of jeans is truly like living that time of my life again!

From hanging out at cafe’s to different colleges, Sea side, drinking beer at odd times and actually living in each others houses, studying together (honestly, that never happened), making new friends and introducing them to each other and making a bigger circle of friends, and living in that moment was what we truly did.

The next time you see an old pair of jeans or something that brings back memories from the time, think of this, and smile away to glory! For I truly think that it is priceless to have such friends, and have so many precious memories together. I wish that we all look at our Purani jeans with similar or your kind if love.

How often in our busy lives we feel responsible towards society? it is more easy to crib or point out negative aspects of the society we live in without realising in how many ways or how many times have we contributed towards building a better society. One such time in my life is when I took the responsibility to vote. For the first time. I am generally not too much of a cribber because I carry the awareness of knowing that I haven’t been an active participant in making my surrounding a better one.

But the one thing that I complain about the most is civic sense. And it often concludes in how unaware most people are about what they’re doing and how they’re being. By watching latest marvel production or any other Hollywood film and by listening to international music doesn’t really make us “international”. And I say international is because most countries like the United States, Britain, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and many more have most citizens who carry a lot of civic sense, but that’s another issue completely.

So, one thing I have been focusing on is being responsible for my actions, basically for everything that comes from me or is about me. so I decided to complain less and do more. And as the great ones have said, “Neki Kar, kue mein daal”, which means do good and put it in well. But since my generation has a logical way of thinking I feel we should do something first and then talk about the negative aspects. 

Every year during election time I saw my parents, Grandparents, other family members get ready and go to cast their vote for the party that promised to make my country a better one or what they believed was working on giving us a better future. Off course based on past results and performance of the political party they voted. In my teenage a lot of my friends started to vote. Then came social media age where they would put a picture of their inked finger to show millions that they voted. And sitting and looking at those posts did get a feeling in me that I should go vote too and I can also put up a picture there and be a part of this “inked finger revolution”. It was still easy to look at it on my cellphone or laptop and forget about it a moment later. Problem was, when I met these friends who voted and hung out with me for hours, off course with their inked fingers, that made me feel left out. And how I wished if they could leave this finger at home and come so we would all look same. Fact was that we were all the same, but honestly I wasn’t one of them. Because they exercised their right to cast a vote. Which made them 100% more responsible in this aspect than me. Which also gave them inked finger!

Casting a vote is our right and we must exercise our right. Also let me tell you that it is the most coolest thing to do! It gets a sense of awareness of how political parties are contributing towards making our society a better one. How they’re acting upon correcting things and promising a better world to us. And believe me the one thing I don’t want to see personally is a dying farmer out of poverty or by committing sucide. because I come from a family of farmers & we still own large land in our native place & we grow pulses and vegetables. My father never did any of it but his father did it for sure. So you see the connection of coming from a background where we are a little something that contributes in growing wheat, rice & pulses. 

Coming back to my city where I was born and grew up I have seen the transition of seeing less motor vehicles on roads to now every person owning a motor vehicle. Thanks to 100,000 Inr car, now every person has a vehicle!  In comparison, i wonder if people ever thought of planting a single sapling in their entire life. Who bothers to make a deliberate effort to make the city green? Any way, this also makes me from the complaining generation. 

In past 5 years I have seen some visible changes in the mindset of majority of the population in my country. I find them flamboyant, expressive and off course we are from the Twitter generation. Past 5 years have been great for my country growing digitally. Past 5 years we have seen a clear vision that has been set for the betterment of my nation. And that again makes me from the “transition age”. There is a long way to go. Off course I fear that by the time we reach there the rest of the world would have gone far ahead. But that doesn’t really take the focus away from our goal. If possible we can get that too while growing together as a nation.

I urge and request each and every one to please make a voters card. To please go and vote for the political party you think, in your opinion is doing good for the nation and is going to give your country a better tomorrow. Because we deserve it. We are one of the smartest generations and lets use it to the optimum.

Also, you get an inked finger and will no longer hide your face or feel little about yourself to not be responsible enough to go and cast your vote.

In my country India, making a voters card today is the most easiest thing to do. As easy as going to e-com shopping website, selection and item, checking for all parameters like size colour etc, putting the item in basket, checkout, pay and viola!