The Obedient Son - Phase of Innocence

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>