A Decade Of Growing Up

People who know me will probably deny that there is any truth in the topic of this blog itself. Especially my wife and some of my closest friends would guffaw away. Yet I believe that these have been the “growing up” years...

And the best way I think I can explain this is by talking about all the things I did not know at the beginning of 2000 that I do now. At least it makes my claim of having matured a lot more believable. So here goes:

Things I did not know at the beginning of 2000 that I do now:

Mola (my single most significant and fond discovery of the decade)
That I’d be married at the end of the decade (and married for almost half of it at that)
That it (marriage) isn’t as cumbersome as it seemed back in 2000
That I could still find a way to make some money at the end of it inspite of being a fucked up engineer (which is all I was in 2000)
That I’d end up in a police van for just paying the bill that was brought on the table
That a place like Utah existed where I could be jailed for saying “shit” or “fuck”
That a place like Vegas existed just 5 hours away from Utah where I could almost never get jailed, irrespective of what I did
That I’d live in a place where it snowed 8 months of the year – and actually survive
That I’d actually see New York (and not in a movie)
That doing an MBA would teach me almost nothing yet make a difference to my life
That “advertising” was a profession devoid of film making (yeah, I thought the same people made ads too)
That I’d ever work in advertising
That there was a profession called “planning” which did not mean “city or town planning”
That I’d have mentors and they’d make me a career (Suman and Rajan Sir)
That Euro RSCG was an ad agency (when I first heard of it, I thought it was some financial firm)
That BBH actually meant something meaningful
That Goafest would happen and I’d love it as much as I do
That there was a world of dance bars that thrived within 8 kms of my house, which was quite fascinating
That “dance bars” in 2000 would metamorphosise into “pick ups” in 2010
That I’d be called a “near alcoholic” in 2010 (considering I did not drink in 2000)
That I’d wear casuals to work everyday (I wore formals all through my college years)
That I’d ever meet Shaheen after passing out of engineering and I’d grow as incredibly fond of her as I did in the years to come (yes Shaheen, you and Ash tie)
That Ashwin and Arjun would not just be my best friends for nothing – but for standing behind me when I needed them the most
That I’d know a life without a father
That my grandpa would still be around, relatively hale and hearty, in 2010.
That a person called Jindal existed who’d be known to me as one of the nicest people I ever met
That I’d be good friends with Avi
That I’ve the most awesome set of cousins one could wish for (Gaurav, Abhi, Gautam)
That I’d be happiest spending new years at a house and not at a do (signs of getting old, I guess)
That I’d have a residential address that has Bandra in it
That I’d have a car – let me rephrase; a vehicle; that I could drive without knocking someone down every second day
That I’d actually watch Sachin Tendulkar make a 200, make 50 test centuries and take us single handedly to a World Cup Final
That I’d see movies like Munnabhai, 3 Idiots, Lagaan, Chak De, Hazaaron Khwaishein…all being made in this one decade
That Shahrukh Khan could actually act
That I’d be as unfit as I actually am
That I’d stop playing basketball and athlethics and try my hand at cricket; which I was, sorry am, actually quite bad at
That at the end of all this, I still like drinking in a quarter bar rather than in a swanky pub
That my best memories of the last 10 years would be

The 7 days me and Mola spent at Kovalam
A new years spent in Lonavala with best friends and Mola
A drink with Arjun at a hotel bar in Las Vegas
All of 2007 and 2008 at Euro

That I’d have enough happening in this one decade to write this blog

I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of stuff and I know that I’ve not written about a lot of things because they’d be quite scandalous or in a sense dishonest to the people I created those memories with.

But one thing’s clear; life really doesn’t go down as you planned it, does it?