Some old memories.. 1

Year 1996

After being raised in Mumbai or Bombay as it was called way back when, I was moving to Nasik to join a junior college. Dad was in Singapore and Mom had her hands full with her ailing parents. She had no energy left to sort out an out of sorts teen. So I was packed off to my mom's uncle's place.

My mom's uncle was a strict disciplinarian and read me the riot act the day I arrived. "You will be up at 5 a.m. and sleep at 10 p.m., no movies, no loud music, and a long list of other no nos. I was told to keep my room clean, help with the house work, eat whatever was cooked and behave like a girl in general. There will be no loud talk here, is that clear?"

Ok, a bit of a background might help here.
Meet Mana at 16 - part time rebel and mischief maker. Funny, stubborn as hell, brutally frank, a total tomboy at heart who hadn't met a salwar kameez she could be friends with. In her spare time, she beat up boys, brought home strays and didn't give a hoot to who's who wherever she went.  

Not exactly a match made in heaven, but we will see. I decided to comply with it all. I knew I was there for one reason only, to study.

So, off I went shopping for yards and yards of fabric. It was time to conquer the salwar kameez. With the help of a kind tailor, I figured out some fuss free clothes for me. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't conquer the "naada". Finally, the tailor hooked me up with elastic pants and all was well on the clothes front.

My hair was too short for a makeover, so it was left alone. Now, dressed in all girly clothes, I looked like a half plucked chicken who ran away from the poultry farm. But my grand-uncle was satisfied. It was time to go to college.

I was given a tour of 3-4 colleges and told to pick one. So, I picked one. I was miles away from home anyways. All the colleges had one thing in common, they were really miles away from where I lived. After 8 months of crazy commuting, I finally got my own ride. A nice (sweet) Scooty.

In all these months, my hair had grown long and I had figured out a way to tie it. So the transformation was complete.