The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years has been my favorite serial. It revolves around the story of boy who grows up to be a man, and the way they show the transition is really interesting. I specially like the voice of the narrator.

Here are the last few lines spoken by the narrator in this serial:

Growing up happens in a heartbeat.
One day you're in diapers; the next day you're gone.

But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul.

I remember a place ..... a town .....
a house like a lot of houses......
A yard like a lot of other yards....
On a street like a lot of other streets.

And the thing is ..... After all these years,
I still look back ... with WONDER.

Nothing could beat the place where you are born and grown up!

What's in a Name?

I am talking about the name of people. Especially, the name of Hindu people. They are always associated with some meaning, some place, some person, or something else. They somehow have some fascinating history associated with it.

So, what is the meaning of my name - Vijay Gandhi?

First Name: Vijay - a name of Hindu origin; pronounced as 'Vee-Jai'.
Meaning: Conquest or just Victory of a battle in Foreign land.
Origin: Lord Vishnu has two gatekeeps - Jay and Vijay; both Jay and Vijay are brothers; Jay being elder. They are popularly known as Jay-Vijay. Me and my brother are named after this duo - Jay-Vijay; the difference being that my brother is younger to me. While Vijay means victory of a battle in a Foreign land, Jay means victory in the native land.
History: It so happened that one day, while Jay-Vijay were guarding the abode of Lord Vishnu, sons of Lord Brahma wanted to meet Lord Vishnu. Without knowing that they were sons of Lord Brahma, Jay-Vijay did not let them in. Frustrated by this act, the sons of Lord Brahma cursed Jay-Vijay and sent them to Earth for 3 births in the form of demons. They were destined to be killed by Lord Vishnu during their lives on Earth.

In the 3 births, Jay-Vijay were born as brothers, in following pairs, respectively -

First birth - Hiranyakashyap & Hiranyaaksh - Hiranyaaksh was killed by Lord Vishnu and to take revenge, Hiranyakashyap gets the avatar which we all know about. Lord Vishnu takes the incarnation of Narasimha to kill Hiranyakashyap.

Second birth - Ravana & Kumbhakaran - Both killed by Sri Rama, another incarnation of Lord Vishnu during the period of Ramayan.

Third birth - Dantavakra & Shishupal - They were cousins of Pandavas and were fighting against Lord Krishna as Lord Krishna had abducted Shishupal's sister, Rukmini. Both were killed by famous chakra of Lord Krishna, another incarnation of Lord Vishnu during the period of Mahabharath.

Jay-Vijay return back to Lord Vishnu after suffering for 3 lives on Earth.

Last Name: Gandhi - another Hindu word; pronounced as 'Gaan-dhi'.
So, whenever I tell somebody my last name, I immediately have to tell them that 'No, I am not related to Mahatma Gandhi.' And that that the Gandhi's actual name is Mohandas; Gandhi is just the surname, like mine. And that is all we share. I am no descendant of Mahatma Gandhi.
Origin: Gandhi is derived from a Sanskrit word Gandhika which means perfume seller. It may also mean a grocer or a pharmacist. People associated with this occupation were generally given the surname 'Gandhi'. It is a surname chiefly occuring in Gujarat among Vanias, Parsis, Oswal Banias of Rajasthan, the Aroras and Jats of the Punjab.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

"So beta, What do you want to be when you grow up?". This was the question I was often tortured with when I was a kid.

This is what I used to think then:

What do I want to be when I grow up? Why do people keep asking me this question - my friends, my family, my teachers, my parents and any person whom I meet on the road. Everyone wants to know what will I become when I grow up. I think everyone is supposed to be someone when one grows up. I think this is the purpose of life. I should have a plan to be someone when I grow up.

So, what should I be when I grow up?

Maybe I should become a He-Man, the master of the Universe. He has such a good body with big muscles, he has a Tiger(a green one?) on which he rides, and he kills the bad Skeleton with his long sword. But, what is the point of being a He-Man with all the powers? Grandma, who knows about so many other things, doesn't even know who a He-Man is!

Maybe I should become an Engineer like my Aunt's brother, Yogesh mama. I have heard he could make a TV on his own. He also gets to travel to foreign countries like Hong Kong, which is so far away and full of alien people. My Aunt must be lying. Who can make a TV on his own? I have read in my G.K. book that only J.L.Baird knows how to make one. Maybe an Engineer could do it. I should become an Engineer then. But, what is the point of being an Engineer? People outside the family won't know a Engineer.

Maybe I should become a Doctor like our family doctor, Mr. Veeraraghavan. Grandma says that he has magic in his hands - he can cure people just by touching them. Also, people respect him. All his patients stand up in respect when he arrives at the clinic. But, I have seen in movies that even Doctors make mistakes - mistakes which cost other people's life. Also you have to cut Frogs to become a Doctor. No, I do not want to be a Doctor.

So, what else can I become? Whom does everyone in this world love? Who has the power to do what he wants to do? Who always gets the good name? Ya! Lord Ram in Ramayan and Lord Krishna in Mahabharat. They always do the good things. In any fight victory is always theirs. Even if it involves killing, they kill the bad people. No one in my family shouts at them for fighting. They have the power to control fire, water and air. They can fire magical arrows of different kinds. Mom always talks good things about them. Grandma, who is so old, fears of them. Nobody shouts at Lord Krishna for stealing the butter. People outside the family also respect them and fear them. They have built these buildings(temples) for them where people wash them with milk, decorate them with flowers, and give good fruits to eat. Even my mom does the same thing at home, everyday. Being God must be really great, otherwise who gets cared and respected for doing nothing? Yes, this is what I want to become when I grow up. I want to become a God!

From then on, whenever somebody visited our house, my family members will tell them "Ask this kid of what he wants to be in future".

They would ask me "Beta, what do you want to be when you grow up?".

I would reply simply "I want to be a God!".

They would laugh and laugh aloud. I would consider that as a compliment and tell myself "so wise of me to make a decision to become a God. I will achieve what you people could not".

Over the time, I realized that God is just an imaginary character and it is not possible to be one. These days, I ask the same question to myself and still can't find an answer. Forget God, it is even difficult to be a human.

If I Could, I Would...

(Renamed to 'If I Could, I Would...'. Used to be called as 'I Wish I Could...').

Inspired by Biju's article on "10 Amazing things I like to do", I thought I should write something similar. Well, I don't know how to describe this list - it is insane, wierd, and full of wild imagination; some are realistic, most are not.

These are things I would want to do if I had the power or luck to do it.

If I Could, I Would...

get married to a girl who is taller than me (It gives satisfaction to conquer something which is bigger(taller) than oneself. Ofcourse, it is actually the girl who conquers.).

buy a aircraft and take her out for a date in it, piloting it over the city in the night, watching the golden lights from the top looking as if the stars have come down to Earth (Inspired by watching the movie The Aviator).

earn a lot of money. Atleast a Crore of rupees. Have a bed full of those currency notes. Throw them in the air and feel the paper on my face (Inspired by Uncle Scrooge's "Money Bin Shower").

jump from a five-storey building and escape without a scratch (Inspired by my likeliness to jump from heights while walking down the stairs).

get a beautiful woman Genie. And, let her go without making the 3 wishes (Inspired by watching I Dream of Genie).

have two bodies in a single life. One would be a guy-next-door and the other would be of a flamboyant type. (Don't worry, I don't suffer from split personality).

turn back the time and live my life again - propose to my first crush, study in a co-ed school so that I don't fall in love with almost every girl I see, have a bit of luck to get an admit at BITS Pilani, not join Oracle Direct...

turn back the time by many lifes just to find that I was a King as great as Alexandre The Great or Asoka The Great. (Very few people in the history have the title 'The Great').

have a Black Panther, a Snow Leopard, a Tiger and a Lion as pets.

get married to a girl born on the same day as mine (I actually had got a proposal from the family of one such girl. Infact, she was born in the same hospital where I was, she is a Gujarati and that too a Gandhi. No, I didn't accept the proposal).

become a Sanyasi (This is a result of too much of thinking about Life. I should just avoid this!).

Life - Only One

Life - The phase between birth and death. While both birth and death are inevitable by the person himself, Life is more controllable.

Dreams - Dreams are what a Life is made of. Everybody dreams of something. Dreams are the fuel of Life.(Dreams is a synonym for wants/needs/desires/etc...)

Risks - Risks are ones one takes during his Life. Risks have the power of making the Dreams come true and their failures could spoil the Life.(Risks is a synonym for actions/reactions/etc...)

Luck - Luck is something unpredictable which strikes once in a while to a Life of a person. Luck has the power to alter the Life of a person.

People - Family, Friends, Strangers. These are just other Lifes around the person; interacting with the person to help achieve their own Dreams and the Dreams of a person. People have the power to influence the Dreams of others.

With so many number of variations possible with Dreams, Risks, Luck and People, there is only one Life to experience it - Only One!

(I don't exactly know what point do I want to make here)