Another one...

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Defeat..

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition.
Giving up is what makes it permanent."

-Marilyn Vos Savant

Missing you...

Circa- 1980.
Venue- Carmel of St. Joseph's High School.
A timid girl called Sangeeta Iyer enters Class 3.C on the first day of her school. So shy and afraid, she doesn't even dare to look for a seat for herself. She somehow glances up to see a girl with a warm smile extend her hand to the vacant seat beside her. Sangeeta Iyer (me)makes her first best friend-Mili Ganatra.
They spend an entire year sitting next to each other. The teacher never suspects that these innocent-looking girls are actually smuggling in comic books, and reading them while she is teaching

Circa-1981.
The first day of school. I look around for my best friend. I am horrified to know that Mili has left the school.
Mili, I still miss you a lot.

Circa-1982.
Somewhere in the middle of the term.
The Marathi teacher asks the class to write an essay on 'Majhi Aai'( My Mother). Suddenly, I hear my neighbour Deepa Lalwani sniffling. It takes me 2 days of incessant cajoling to get her to reveal that she has lost her mother. My heart goes all out to her. I make my second best friend and this time we remain best friends for 5 years. She brings out the prankster in me.:P. I'll never forget the play we presented on Teachers' Day in Class 7.

After we leave school, we lose touch
Deepa, :( I miss you too.

This post would be incomplete if I don't mention Jacob.
I spent most of my vacations at my aunt's house in Walkeshwar. When I was in Class 5, my aunt shifted to a place called Mukadam Chawl in Malabar Hill. Being in a girl's school, I was very reluctant to talk to 'boys'. But some of them would never leave me alone. One of them was Jacob, who was just 2/3 years older than me, was bent upon pulling my pig-tails and teasing me. He kept calling me 'double battery' because I wore glasses. Exasperated I mustered up some courage and played my trump card. I warned him to stop teasing me or else I would complain to my father who was a police inspector. ( A lie that my mom had taught me to threaten strangers if I ever fell in trouble). Luckily, my threats didn't have the desired effect. In years to come, he would never let me forget about the 'threat' . The cat-eyed Jacob, his brothers Allwyn and Anthony and I went on to become good friends.
He was so full of energy and enthusiasm. He would get all of us (kids) to wake up at unearthly hours, and take us all out for a walk on the beach. I was so much in 'awe' of him.
(Pssst! I fell in love for the first time.)
I can never forget how Jacob got all the kids in the society together to make Diwali snacks for a neighbour, whose husband had left her, and kids had conveniently forgotten her. Together, the group made 'karanjis'( Gujiyas) and chaklis, and besan laddoos. Since I was the youngest I was given the task of arranging the stuff on the plates. I felt very insignificant because I wasn't doing much to help. After the whole stuff was cooked, (it tooks us 3 days) I was surprised when Jacob announced that the first 'laddoo' should be given to me. I'm sure my face turned beetroot red. But for the first time, I felt proud of myself.
Thank you, Jacob, I learnt 'giving' from you..

Unfortunately, the chawl was bought by some builder and his family relocated itself to Goa. I never even got a chance to say, 'Goodbye'

I hope someday my friends Google this post out, and we are re-united.
Jacob, Anthony, Allwyn, Jacintha and Nasreen(from Mukadam Chawl)

Deepa Lalwani, Nanda Kansara, Sonali Aksekar, Rekha Kamath and Mili Ganatra( Carmel of St. Joseph's High School)

I miss you all. You will always remain in my memory. And that, is an understatement.

Linking Park!

It always helps to get secrets off your chest.

Here's where you can see-a-secret and share-a-secret. Click here to see one of the most amazing blogs I have ever come across. Its a site where you can drop in your deepest and darkest secrets.
The one that I identify the most with is-

I make everyone believe that I like to be different, but really I just don't know how to fit in.

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Fellow-blogger Vardan is giving away invites for Yahoo360. Rush! Rush! Offer open till stocks last!

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Do you have what it takes to become a Crossword Champ? Cross words with Anbu and take up his Challenge!

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Join Mr. Mediocre on his final lap as he races away to San Marino

What would you do?

-If you saw someone cheating while taking a test? (you are taking the same test and you don't really know this person)

-If you saw a colleague breaking a rule?

-If you catch a neighbour throwing a banana peel from his/her window instead of using the dustbin?

-If you are aware that a friend is travelling in a bus/ train without a ticket?

..........

A year has gone by. We miss you Dad..

Gotcha!

By now,I'm sure you all know that the previous post was just a prank. :P A few of you managed to 'read between the lines'. (Select the text of my previous post to see a few hidden words.)*Wicked grins*

Time for some History lessons. Have a peek at these sites that talk about the origin and history of the April Fool's Day! Click here , here and here.

April Fool!!!

P.S. I'm busy with my Final Year B.A exams. I'll visit all your blogs after I'm through with all my papers. Just 4 more to go! Till then, I'm taking a forced sabbatical from blogging. Wish me Luck!

Goodbye!

For a person who has always believed in the adage ‘Actions speak louder than words’, my foray into blogging has always left me puzzled. As the cliché goes, ‘Blogging just happened to me’. Three months and 84 posts later, I am a little bored with the whole affair. This
I have always ‘known’ in my heart, that one day I would just wake up and have this urge to delete my blog. And that day..is TODAY! Sorry for dropping this announcement out of the blue.

Mine has always been a mediocre blog, so hopefully not everyone will be sad at Toerag’s passing.

Another reason that I am being forced to ‘Say Goodbye to Blogging’ is that it claims all of my free time. I’m sure you will all agree when I say that that blogging is a very time-consuming affair. I am particularly fond on the ‘next blog’ button, and the sites on my Blogroll. Besides the sites on my Bloglines seem to vie for my attention too. is a great

This post will be up for a few days, till all my friends get to see it. I thought of turning the ‘Comments’ off for this particular post, but then I changed my mind. way to

I’ve enjoyed my short stint at blogging. It was a wonderful experience. It was good while it lasted. It’s been wonderful getting to know you all. It’s time say goodbye though. I wish you all Good Luck with your ventures! Adieu! play an

Afterwords- I hope you all read between the lines and try to understand ‘why’ I am doing all this and forgive me. April

Some Golden Moments- fool's
The incorrigible narcissist that I am, I love every post that I made here, but here's some of my favourites. joke on you

Attitude
Broke my leg
Pieces at Peace
A peak into my classroom
Look back!
The inevitable march of hands!
Speech is silver..Silence is Golden

Current Music: I will remember you- Amy Grant

Another Earthquake!

A major quake in the Indian Ocean has hit the coast of the Indonesian tsunami-hit island of Sumatra, triggering a Tsunami alert across the region.
Read more...

That's meee!