if you are a Javed Akhtar fan..

you might enjoy this...

yes...

the ability to laugh at oneself is a rare one....and he definitely has a a very powerful way of writing...had heard that he had struggled in his intial days but didnt know the extent of hardships he had to undergo...

I spend the whole day playing cricket in the courtyard with my younger brother. In the evenings a scary tutor comes to teach me. He is paid fifteen rupees a month ( I remember this clearly because I am reminded of this regularly).

I am given half an anna in the morning and one anna in the evening to spend…so money isn't a problem really. In the mornings I buy colored candy fro Ramji Lal Baniya's shop and in the evenings the one anna is religiously wasted on the footpath stall of Bhagvati chaat. Life is good!

Some more...hope u enjoy it 😊

"Ihave been admitted to a famous school in Lucknow….the Colvin Talukdar College, in sixth grade. Earlier only children of Talukdars were given admission…now lesser mortals like me are also take in . Still it is an expensive school…the monthly fee is 17 rupees a month (I remember this too clearly because I was reminded….oh forget it). Several children in my class wear wrist watches. They are all from very rich families. They have very nice sweaters. One of them even has a fountain pen. These kids buy the eight anna chocolates from the school canteen during the lunch break ( I don't seem to enjoy the bhagvati chaat so much now…). Yesterday Rakesh was telling us in class that his father will send him to England to study and again yesterday my grandfather was saying…you fool…at least pass matric so that you can get a job of stamping the mail at the post office At the age when most boys dream of becoming engine drivers I had decided that I will be rich when I grow up…

The place …Aligarh…the characters…my maternal aunt, other relatives and me…My younger brother will continue to stay with my grandfather at Lucknow but I have been passed on to my aunt who has recently shifted to Aligarh. It is expensive for anybody to keep two orphaned kids in the same house. When I gaze out of my aunt's window I can see a big ground till as far as I can see…beyond the vast ground is my school…I am in the ninth grade now…14 years of age…

Winters in Aligarh are for real. My school starts at seven…the sharp cold wind strikes you like a precise knife…even if you can feel your nose and ears you are not really sure if they are intact or have been chopped away by the biting gusts…in any case my nose (respect) isn't intact as far as my studies are concerned…I don't know how but I do mange to pass each time. When I got into this school called Minto circle my uncle had warned the teacher- "please take care of him…he seems more interested in filmi songs than his studies…" I have seen Dillip Kumar's "Udan Khatola" and Raj Kapoor's "Shri 420". I know many hindi film songs by heart and since I am not allowed to sing those in the house I sing my heart out on the way to school ( In any case you can only sing some hard core classical stuff while shivering in the cold)

My school is in the university area. Besides a couple of classmates most of my friends are university students. I like to sit in hotels like they do. I often run away from school. Complaints from school pour in. I am thrashed by the elders at home but it doesnt affect me…I just cannot not put my heart into the school books…but I do read a lot of novels. I get scolded but I still read them…I know a lot of "sheyrs" ( urdu couplets) by heart…whenever there is an urdu shayari competition at the university, I represent my school and win lots of prizes…all the university students have started recognizing me. Boys recognize me, that thrills me…but when the girls recognize me I am thrilled to bits…