I once got so filmy. Must have been 12 or 13. I found out one of my school acquaintances had a serious crush on the same person as me. I asked her if it was true. She replied with an eye roll and a smirk.
So in a fit of utter melodrama, I stormed home and wrote her name on a piece of notebook paper. Waited till my family went to the market for their vegetable shopping and held the paper-with-my-nemesis’-name over an open flame. As the paper begin to curl up, I muttered something like, “that’s what you get for stealing my man!” Not going to lie, felt like a total badass witch for a minute there. Half imagined her smirking face go up in smoke. Hah.
Until I saw black burnt pieces falling on the fresh daal amma had made on the next burner. I panicked, and spent the next 30 minutes ridding the kitchen and the daal of any signs of my nonsense. Family returned, and we had a very normal dinner, while appa commented about how perfect and smoky the daal was.
I rode high that day. Pity my crush never found out about my blazing (lol) love. Or maybe, in retrospect, that was a good thing.
Anil Kumble, in 1994, you were the man!
(For those who don’t know, Anil Kumble was a champion cricketer who led the Indian team to victory on many occasions. Also, he real pretty.)
