Geeky ?

The year was 1997 and I had just started to prepare for my Higher Secondary Exams.. I was lying on my favourite couch @ home and trying to master the art of sleeping and studying together.. When we had a surprise visitor.. There was this person was kinda tall and in his 20's.. He looked geeky and wore a pair of thick glasses... Or looked exactly what we can say in one word "Studious"...

My mom is a higher secondary school teacher.. and luckily .. in fact, very luckily, not in my school... There is a certain amount of unfortuneity that comes up when your mom is a teacher.. For one.. you can't hide lot of stuff... She knows what a good score in every subject in your class should be like.. She can decipher your report card even faster than Jon Nash could decipher the russian code in The beautiful mind.. And no matter what kind of subtle laziness or complacency creeps into your learning system.. She will sniff it out just fast.. And give you the right impetus to ensure that it is corrected.. So.. basically to be simply put.. it's either that you stay at home and study well or else you are disowned... :)

Coming back to the geeky studious bloke who just walked into my house.. There he was sipping slowly and intently into the tea served by my mom like it was some tasteless medicine that he's supposed to take in slowly and as if one fast sip would send him reeling down into the depths of hell.. mm. Neways.. So there I was with the math book in hand watching him drinking his tea.. He had come to talk to my mom about his college and in general get her good wishes.. So.. during the course of their chat my mom turned to me and said "Dey Reuben... Ivar Pona varusham 12th nallaa eludhi nalla mark eduthu.. inga chennai-la Sri Perumbudur-la Engineering padichikittu irukaaru... Neeyum ivara maadhiri nallaa padikkanum.." (Translated.. Reuben.. he wrote his 12th board exams last year.. Got good marks and he is doing his engineering here in Chennai itself... You should study well like him…. )... And I just gaped at awe looking at him... And he gave me a Mona Lisa smile... looking through his thick glasses.. "Obvious rite.. A person who looks this geeky should be involved in one of those professional courses.”

So.. I did give a good shot at the board exams the next year.. And there was this unfortunate Engineering College in Coimbatore that decided to take me in… So.. This was the summer of 1998.. And I have some 10 days to while away the time till I join this college and start off on my engineering.. There I was lying on the same couch no book in hand this time.... and trying to only dream about me and my new college and girls (what else would you expect a teenage guy to dream about.. ???) We had our uncle and his son visiting us.. There was just some friendly chit-chat going on.. And uncle suddenly turned to his son who was in his teens.. “Dey mavanae… Indha anna paaru olunga padichi nalla mark eduthu.. Coimbatore-la engineering panna poraanga… Neeyum avara maadhiri nallaa padikknum” (Translated : Son.. see this big bro has studied well and got good marks.. he’ll be doing his Engineering in Coimbatore.. You too should study well like him….).. So.. I had to give a satisfied greek God smile (which, I discovered, was very hard to do especially when you are laughing on the inside)… I could sense the awe in the kid’s eyes…

So.. my uncle left in some time, after my having my mom’s trademark tea of course.. With his son still giving the awe-ish looks.. I got tired of giving the satisfied greek God smile.. As soon as they left I rushed to the mirror.. “Do I look geeky??”…