Abhishek's Musings

  CLOSE CALL   Since I was a child, I was no stranger to danger. In fact, danger followed me around, if you could say that. The first of one such incident where I was in the face of danger happened when I was just a few months old. As a toddler, I have no recollection of this event, but I have heard my Mom narrate it to me on several occasions.   In those days, my family lived in the picturesque hill station of Shillong, where both my parents worked for the Central government. My Dad, of course, was a senior scientist posted there, while my Mom was in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. As our ancestral house was in Burdwan, West Bengal, our family used to take many trips to Calcutta. It was on one such trip that my brush with the near-fatal experience happened, which now I am going to narrate to you, the way I heard it from my Mom.   I was only a few months old when our family decided to take a trip to Calcutta, the city my Dad adored. We took an early Air...

  STARTING SCHOOL     I distinctly remember that eventful day when I started school for the first time in my life. I can still feel the buzz and excitement at our house as my parents and grandparents took it upon themselves to get us, the siblings, started on the right note.                Since there isn't much age difference between my younger sibling and me, we started school around the same time. Preparations for the ominous event began months in advance. School uniforms, stationery, and books were bought. A pair of colourful water bottles and attractive steel lunch boxes were acquired. We were extensively coached on how to address our teachers and ask for permission to use the restroom, if required.               The D-day was a warm and sunny one as I jumped out of bed, eager to start what promised to be something new in ou...