Super Sunday

I came to Nagpur when I was about 6 years old or maybe just short of that. I can say that with total confidence because I had completed pre-primary education in Chandrapur till KG-I (that's kindergarten stage 1 (?) for those who missed it from their life) and I hadn't flunked even once before that. Anyways, the point behind all this crap is that now I'm 22 years old and that means I've spent more than 70% of my life span in the Orange City - Nagpur. It's only today, when there are just 5 days left for me to leave this beautiful city for another, that I have begun to appreciate my life here in my home city. As you all know (and damn you if you dont...hehe) I'll be leaving for Hyderabad soon to begin a new phase of my life. Must admit here, that this time which lies between post-engineering and pre-joining your workplace, is simply the best time of your life. And it was on 15th June, 2008 that I spent one of the coolest day ever with my family and friends, one which falls under that ideal day category and hence has been christened as "Super Sunday" by me...

Being an Engineer, generally I like to be technically correct. So this Super Sunday of mine begins at 12 noon. I wasn't asleep then, of course, but was busy surfing the net for some useful stuff (really, believe me), while simultaneously chatting up with night hawks like me on Google talk. Later on, just before sleeping I saw another great episode of a TV show called "Numb3rs" on my computer and then went to sleep when BSNL's free downloading zone (2 AM, IST) was initialized.

I woke up at 8 AM, to the loud voice of some irritating cartoon of "Shin Chan" being watched by my 16 year old brother... of course watching cartoons is not at all a bad thing, but I prefer the subtle ones like "Tom and Jerry" and "Batman" etc. After going through the newspapers (mainly the sports pages) I got a call from my cousin brother for playing Cricket with his friends!! Since I had been deprived of the fantastic sport from quite a few days, I decided to grab the opportunity hands on with no delay. But alas, I had to quickly devour a tasty break fast of hot and fresh "Idli Sambhar"... now delicious food and cricket always need to be adjusted delicately in balance, since neither of them can be compromised for the other. After a rather dismal performance on the field that day and saying Adios to fellow cricketers (since I won't be coming next weekend) I came back to home to find another surprise. My mother had prepared a great home made "Tomato Soup" for starters and "Palak Paneer" for the lunch and now did I realize why all the hustle and bustle that was going around during all the morning. On inquiring if I was missing something, my father told me that since it was the last Sunday that I was going to spend in Nagpur before leaving for Hyderabad, all of them wanted to make it a special sunday... and boy, the splendor of the day exceeded by leaps and bounds even beyond my own expectations !!

After eating to my heart's content, I settled down lazily in front of the TV to find my all time favorite movie "Swades" and decided to watch it again, if I am not wrong, for the eleventh time!! My father gave me company while shuffling between news papers, my mother took a deserving nap and my brother ran off to some friend's home to do something else. When the movie finished at 4 PM, I spent the next hour reading the book "The World is Flat" which I am trying to finish from the last two weeks. Not that it's bad, but it has many pages and a very small font...hehe... As if the special treatment so far was not enough, my mother offered me with another delicacy for evening snacks known as "Shankar Pale" (which by a definition given by my friend Kartik is - square shaped sweet flat cookies made out of wheat) which were gobbled up by everyone with tea/ coffee almost instantly.

Later on in the evening Pravin came to my home and we went to Chaitanya's place to see him off, since he would be going to Mumbai for his visa interview and we won't be meeting for quite a time. So we spent some quality time at his home (?) watching tv and discussing national and socio-political issues :) and culminated the meet with a hurried up gathering at a nearby food joint for one last "Kulfi" (flavoured frozen milk wrapped around a wooden stick) or cottage ice cream (this one from Ameya) and later we went home. That was because, my uncle and aunty wanted to treat me for the same reason which was responsible for most of the events on that day. And on top of that, I also got to take the family car for a long drive and the experience behind the wheel was a good one. The dinner was absolutely smashing which comprised of the conventional Suyash Joshi favorites - "Crispy Veg" as Starters along with, you guessed it right, "Cream of Tomato Soup" followed by the all time "Paneer Butter Masala" and "Aloo Mutter" along with a helping of "Steamed Rice" and "Dal Fry". What more does a man need, other than such feasts and a great happy family to chat up with !! The day began at 12 AM so when it ended, at midnight, at that moment I was busy enjoying the Matt Damon starrer and Oscar winner "Good Will Hunting" on my computer. Great movie indeed.

Later on that night, I really felt that it had really been a "Super Special Sunday" for me, as my father had remarked earlier. After all, who gets to have his cake and eat it too? If destiny permits, I would like to live my life this very same day - get up late, play cricket, eat tasty home made food, spend great time with friends and family and watch movies and read good books !! Alas, all this is going to change soon. I, suddenly, had this sinking feeling in my mind, that the world should go static, as in not in the literal sense, but everyone must remain of the same age as they are right now. No more growing up. That way, my loving parents never get old and I always get to spend this carefree life that I've taken for granted for so many years. But as Uncle Ben says, "With growing powers, come greater responsibilities" I must get ready to tackle this new phase of life with courage and common sense. However, life would have been good if I had got a job here at Nagpur only. Am I feeling homesick already?? None the less, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family and friends for this Super Sunday !! Simply loved it... :) I can assure you, there will be many more like these in future for sure.