2024 was the year of get togethers for us but before I dive into the get-together and before Anna steals the spotlight again, I want to share some exciting news. I successfully passed the challenging grammar school exam and have now started attending the best secondary school in the UK. It took a lot of effort and some last-minute negotiations with god to clear the test but people around me say it was expected because I supposedly come from an impeccable pedigree. Which pedigree are they referring to?
Appa is as quirky as a pigeon. He could easily take his car or hop on public transport, but no, he chooses to walk everywhere. It's like those pigeons that waddle across the road or strut around the backyard, completely forgetting they can fly. Someone needs to remind the pigeons about their wings and Appa about cars!
Amma spends most of her time hunting for her phone. Instead of asking others to call her mobile, she discovered her smartwatch can do it. Now, she first searches for her smartwatch! The other day, she was wandering around the house like a dacoit with a gold detector because she forgot where she kept her gold chain.
Anna still doesn’t have a girlfriend, I don’t have to say anything more.
So, once again, who knows what pedigree everyone is talking about. I'm convinced I've evolved beyond the off-the-shelf genes I was given.
I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, I was meant to talk about the get-togethers. Last year, I spent time with every single member of my family. We did all the family activities, touristy things, had lots of adventures, and enjoyed amazing food
During the summer, my paternal family visited us, and we hit all the major tourist spots in the UK, from Greenwich to the Highlands. Playing tour guide was a blast, but the real highlight was getting the Rakhi tied in person by my Akka after ages and, of course, Aachi's legendary Dosa. If Aachi's Dosa had an Instagram account, it would be the ultimate influencer with more followers than a celebrity chef!
After spending time with the paternal family, it was time for the maternal side in the winter, but we turned it into summer by jetting off to warmer countries. Anna and my cousin sister both decided to jump out of a moving airplane and, thankfully, landed safely. My family and I went underwater, swam with sharks, saw beautiful corals and fishes, but Anna kept getting lost in the ocean (I think he was on a mermaid hunt, poor kid still believes in fairy tales). Honestly, I half-expected him to come back with a seashell crown and a trident. Jet skiing in the Indian Ocean with Anna was a blast, but in the Persian Gulf, it was like watching paint dry with my super slow Amma. Now that I'm old enough, I got to ride the ATV bike on my own in the sand dunes and had a not-so-thrilling dune race with the family. Those who didn’t dare to jump out of the airplane opted for the safer route of buying a ticket to the tall towers to enjoy the breathtaking city views
Paternal or Maternal, with our family, temple run is inevitable. This time, it hit me that Indian temples had the 'bell' icon long before YouTube did... damn, YouTube totally swiped that idea
Overall, I had a fantastic year, but who knows what the next few years will bring. Love my new school but I want to tell them that humans aren't like bacteria or uranium; we don't behave the same way under a microscope
