Chapter 1
- The Childhood – Phase of Innocence
- The Birth
11th February,1983
it was 1.50 AM in the morning, end of the Vinayaki Chaturthi. A baby boy was
born to Vaijayanti and Vishwas . Vaijayanti and Vishwas who were already proud
parents of their daughter Ahana , were happy to see the curly haired baby who weighed
8 pounds , extremely healthy. The baby was looking eyes wide open towards
his father. There was happiness once again in the life of Vaijayanti and
Vishwas.
- The
Name
A month later they
decided to name their son "Ajinkya". A very famous name in early
80s was chosen unanimously by the couple. The other option before them were
"Vikram" , however they thought he would get nicknamed
"Chakram"(Mad). A very happy moment in those orthodox days where a
birth of the boy was considered extreme happiness in the society.
-Early Days
Ajinkya was a very
brave , naughty and smart infant. He used roam around in dark rooms at night
without fear . He secretly went to footwear rack to shit in his diaper. He was
smart enough to understand that his father was getting fish fry packed for him
from the restaurant. He climbed the chair and said "Adda Bhish"
(Daddy Fish).
- Playgroup
& Kindergarden
In Hindi they say
"Apni Gali mai Kutta Sher". The first day at the play group
"Tiny Tots" , Ajinkya made his entry with his mother. However the
moment he saw his mother walking away , Ajinkya cried his heart out and started
running back towards his mother only to get pulled back his teacher. Similar
incident happened in the Kindergarden where Ajinkya ran out of the class behind
his parents when he saw them come for the PTA meeting. A complete embarrassment
for his parents.
-
Weekends with Grandmother
Since Ajinkya
started understanding the world , he knew that Saturday night is dinner and bed
time at Grandma's place. Grandma made sure she made "Sabudana
Khichadi" and buttermilk . At bed time she used to narrate some
interesting mythological stories .The stories couldn't stop until Ajinkya was
sleepy and content.
- Primary
School
The school days
were mixed bag for Ajinkya. He was always naughty loved to play pranks on his
classmates. On the other hand if he was caught , there were tears rolling down
the cheeks. In 1st grade he accidently broke the rear view mirror of
professor's scooter. The professor whom didn't hear his defense , made him cry
and pay for it. A very established teacher in school took money for small rear
view mirror, justified ? I leave that for you to decide.
There was
unforgettable incident for him in 4th grade which sucked out the carefree
naughtiness from him. A boy was struck by a stone on his head and Ajinkya was
accused of doing it. He was 500 metres away from the spot of the incident
playing cricket with his friends. However for some unknown reasons his name was
taken up . The Vice principal's office was filled with Ajinkya’s tears . He
kept shouting of his innocence. However , he couldn't strongly defend himself.
Do you expect that from a 4th grader, I don't think so. He was ultimately saved
by his father who came to Principal’s office and took strong stand in defence
of Ajinkya.
- Ice Cream
Incident
Ajinkya's
aunt Vishakha (father's eldest sister) had come down for the summers to
Pune. She took little Ajinkya and Grandma Shama to Vadilal ice cream parlour. Ajinkya
who was too bored with ladies , escaped from the ice cream parlour back home .
Aunt Vishakha kept running behind him , but Ajinkya was too fast and reached
home on his own. His aunt had nearly missed a heartbeat.
- Summer
Vacations
This is the time
where cousins Amna and Alisha from Osmanabad came in to stay with
their Grandmother. Ajinkya always wondered why they always put up at Grandma
Shama's place downstairs . However it never struck him why were they named
“Amna ” and “Alisha ” . He was too small to understand. He and
Ahana played a lot with them . His mom and dad always restricted their contact
with these cousins.
Summers was
also the time to play carom , cards with Ahana. Ahana the typical elder
sibling gave Ajinkya a tough time when he lost by going on and on with her
teasing and taunting. His weakness at the verbal combat would result in fist
fight which ended very badly for the two of them.
Another important
aspect of one of the summer vacations was learning different things viz.
Swimming , Horse riding and Roller skating, Camping , Adventure Sports. Vishwas
made sure both his kids were proficient at all the physical activities
available for training in modern times. Although, Ajinkya was very intimidated
to try each of them the first time , eventually gain expertise over all.
- The Perfect
All rounder
He was excellent
with grasping so always took the liberty of not paying attention to the
teachers. He always ended up getting good marks. However , his
handwriting was outrageous and reflected the sheer laziness. In Sports,
he was an excellent runner probably the fastest in his class. Slowly as he grew
up he started gaining interest for football and basketball. By 8th grade he had
already represented Pune Football and Basketball teams and had become the Inter
house pentathlon champion. However his grades had started getting affected due
to his focus on sports. Vaijayanti and Vishwas who were both intelligent and
sincere during their times started getting worried when their son got 75 % in
8th grade. Ajinkya was asked to focus on studies and stop the sports activities
immediately. He was extremely disappointed to hear that. Nevertheless he obeyed
and soon faced the criticism from his sports teacher and playmates. Vaijayanti
and Vishwas did it for his future again not sure whether it was the best of the
decisions they took for him. All the sports career had got jeopradised , Ajinkya
started shinning in academics and came 2nd in the class in 9th Grade. He
started developing interest in Maths and Science. He always said he hated
History but he always ended up getting the highest marks there.
Truth revealed
Till 10th Grade , Ajinkya
always thought that he was living in the perfect house in the perfect family
where everyone loves everyone. Well it really wasn't the case.
<To be
continued>
