A tag by Rebecca cannot be ignored. Especially if one remembers her kitten eating avatar. So, apparently I have to talk about “five things people don’t know about me”. Now, there are some good reasons why people don’t know many things about me. Apart from the obvious excuses of embarrassment and privacy, there’s also one other issue – I really don’t think people care for the trivialities of my life. Heh! But anyhow, here we go.
1. When I was 8 years old I went for a fancy dress competition dressed as a Tiger. I was supposed to say something about being from the Sunderbans or the Jim Corbett park and being a man-eater. I screwed up my lines thanks to a bad case of stage fright. I mumbled something. I felt incredibly stupid for months after that.
2. I steal chocolate from my own fridge.
3. I was bullied a lot as a kid. It might have something to do with the fact that I was seriously underweight till the age of 12. While I am nowhere close to underweight, on certain occasions I can be bullied to date. My parents delight in telling the world about me coming back beaten up from school and complaining that I was pushed out of my bench by people telling me to “aur hato” (Trans. Move further). I suppose the story telling makes the situation appear funny and I feel better about it!
4. I learnt my 2 multiplication table thanks to a complex system my mother invented to help me survive bullying. My mother taught me that for every slap I got, I was to give two back. Therefore, for two slaps, I had to give 4 back, and so forth. This is how I mastered the multiplication table for 2.
5. I am a reclusive extrovert. Which doesn’t really mean much, except that I always excuse myself out of situation by claiming to be moody.
I don’t generally tag people (yes, I am a tag killer), but consider yourself tagged if it makes you happy! I hereby tag my readers.
nehamaami 
I learned my 9’s tables on my hands. It’s difficult to explain how, but here goes:
Holding out both your hands in front of you, fold your pinky finger. You’ll see that thare are nine fingers left, so 9 X 1 = 9. Next, fold down the ring finger (and the pinky is unfolded). The pinky now represents 1, and there are 8 unfolded fingers, so 9 X 2 = 18. Fold down the middle finger (other two fingers unfolded) and there are two fingers before the middle finger unfolded, and seven remaining fingers, and the pattern continues. Being dismal at math, I used this method for a *long* time.
In any case, Happy New Year!
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@Vi- You haven’t come across the system of keeping time as is done by practitioners of Hindustani music, it seems. They count phalanxes, and can manage to count out a beat of sixteen on a single hand.
And that would be four fingers and a thumb to each hand, wouldn’t it?
@Neha- Um, so readers are tagged? The mind boggles. Happy New Year, dear girl.
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We need a YouTube video of your fancy dress contest.
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No, I didn’t know that Lalita, but it’s good to know! I am a really visual learner, so anything that could be acted/drawn out was best. But that sounds amazing 🙂
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athavathu nee cute-a iruntha.
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Vi: Convoluted as that is – I believe I used that for a while too. 😀
Lali: Your boggled mind comes up with the nicest things. Won’t you please consider yourself tagged. New Year wishes to Resident Mathematician and Heir Apparent too.
km: I believe that is a luxury, not a need. As for me, that would just be mortification.
Nilu: athavathu onakku poramai. 😀
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Yekkov back in London yet?
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Interesting Read! ; – )
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Nilu is a case of poramai, only. *giggle* Happy New Year to you, Neha, and yeah, I consider myself tagged. It might jog me out of the block I seem to have wandered into.
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WA: Just got back yesterday!
Rohit Malik: Thanks.
Lalita: Heh! Support comes from such joyous quarters.
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I too was bullied for being too thin! Great ones have to suffer…
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Interesting style of mixing humor with content. I too do the same.I best liked the multiplication thing. lol!
hey could you add me to your blogrol………visit my site and if you feel its worth adding then let me know.Do comment on my blog and tell me wat u feel
Anyway a happy new year
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maths is quite interesting here. HNY
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