I turned 36 a few days back. 36 is an interesting number. A perfect square. I started thinking where I was during my other perfect square birthdays – 25, 16, 9, 4, 1. I thought about other perfect square numbers I would encounter (a big assumption here) at 49, 64, 81. I don’t want to be even writing 100. After reflecting for a while I realized that each of these numbers had been significant for me. My 4 th birthday is first one I remember. At nine I wrote my first competitive exam and went to boarding school. The first really serious conversation I had with my parents was at 16. I joined the IAS at 25 and now at 36 I feel the urge to do something – something different to what I have been doing in the last few years. My father called me up in the morning to wish me. I couldn’t help but recalling when he was 36 and I was six. Today my son is 6. The years have gone by like the pages of a book. You look at how much you have left to read and stretch yourself out on your couch. Then,...
Collection of human experiences.