The importance of being eldest

The idea that good-natured, obedient, rule-abiding mama's boys never cause problems to others, is bullshit.

Amit, my room-mate is an ideal kid. Why ? Get a load of this...

• he doesnt drink,
• he doesnt smoke,
• he doesnt ogle at girls,
• he doesnt participate in discussions about girls, or any discussion which your mom might consider wild,
• he gets up early, takes bath early, says a prayer and leaves for office, selecting the means of transport which would cost the least.

Man... can I visualise a beaming proud mom behind this guy.

All these are quite admirable.... but for the following sixth point.

• He respects people older than him.

Now, Manish is a senior. He has had a stint in another company before he landed in Hyderabad. (Kaushik, Amit and I are fresh out of BITS). That makes him older and umm....(I wont say wiser) elder. (I dont care if I have to twist the English a bit to avoid praising Manish)

Well, the red-hot young men that we are, wit is something which is first-nature to us... there's hardly a minute without some kind of teasing or leg-pulling between us - which invariably ends in one guy being laughed at by the rest.... only until he comes up with a retort.

Manish, Amit and I were walking towards our apartment after dinner. I was in my own world dreaming about I dont know what.... when I got a vague feeling of Manish pulling Amit's leg. I listened in on the conversation...

'Saale.. kya dekh raha tha ?'
Apparently some hot babe had passed by and my guess is Amit turned in that direction. Now I want to make two things clear here.
Its impossible that a babe passes by without me noticing everything about her. Its only that, after a lot of practise, its become an automatic activity for me. (Remember how mechanical driving becomes, if you have been doing that for quite a while ?). That's the first point.
The second is, Amit definitely wouldnt have looked at the girl. But Manish was least bothered.

'I was looking at the oranges... maybe we should get some'
(Yeah.. that is it.. there was a fruit seller nearby and Amit was obviously looking in that direction.)

'Whose oranges do you wanna get?' Manish retorts.
I couldnt stop laughing. Mind you.. its not that I wasnt trying.

'Samjha ki nahi ?' Manish asks when Amit purposely maintains a stony face.

'Of course I got it, I've known you two for more than six months. I know what you are getting at.'

Something doesnt seem right to me.
'Wait a minute.. how is it six months ?'

'August, September, October, November, December.... six.... uh.. five months' which only makes our laughing worse. Manish is almost rolling... a bit exaggeratedly... he actually doesnt care if its not a big joke.. all he wants to do is screw Amit.

'Whoa !' I cry out... as I get a solid kick on my rear.

'Come on.. what did I do ? It is Manish who's laughing like a nut !'

'You started the whole thing.'

'!!!!'

We get back and switch on the TV. Kal Ho Na Ho is playing on Sony. Amit who is a die hard Kal Ho Na Ho fan (more about that in a later post) has his eyes glued to the screen.

Now, people who've seen the movie (and remember the opening) would know that there's a pretty unique camera work when the titles go up initially... there's Preity Zinta running and the camera zeroes in on her every now and then from behind. (Note this - from behind)

'I like this idea... of squares zeroing in to focus her' Amit volunteers.

'I know what you like about it.' Manish smirks.

As Amit turns to let out a rude stare... 'Oka has known you for more than four years and I have known you for more than four months. Do you want me to count the months?'

'This time I really lose it.. I am laughing my ass off when Amit unleashes a series of kicks on my much-tortured bum.'

As I curl up, I cry out 'Hey what did I do ? This is so fucking unfair !!'

'I cant hit Manish because he's elder. So you have to bear the punishment on his behalf'

I hate Momma's precepts.