There is always a Silver Lining

I grew up in a building named “Tilakwadi” in Chembur, Mumbai. There was a huge quadrangle with a building on each of three sides, and the fourth was open to the street. This was the the heart of the community, cricket and soccer ground, community theater at night (Chakyar Koothu), cultural activities, seven stones (Lagori) venue, Diwali & Holi celebration space and a hot spot for a score of other activities.

I missed a lot of the late afternoon action during the week because I was the only one on the afternoon school shift in the building. The rest of them went to OLPS, Saraswathi Vidyalaya and SIES. I was the only one in GEA- the only school that let me start 1st grade a year early. As I reached home in the evening, dragging my school bag and water bottle, all the other kids were winding down and heading home. Missing the action felt bad.

I found myself alone in the mornings, when everyone else was at school.  I developed a voracious reading habit. I read a lot of Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys, Frederick Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, Wodehouse, James Hadley Chase, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Arthur Hailey and others. When I was in seventh grade I started to write my own fiction novels. Modeling after Sherlock Holmes, I had a main character named Harold Carlson and his assistant Bob Turner. Their “go to” guy for physical force was Lefty Jimmy. I wrote three full novels in ruled notebooks. The silver lining was that I became my own person. I guess that by and large, I didn’t feel isolated. I felt special! The reading habit helped me stand out and define myself.

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