Aliens and Time Travel and Some Memories

I was recently flipping through channels when I suddenly stopped to that tune. X-files at 10.45pm. If there is one show I always wanted to watch, it was x-files. It used to come some years back on star world too, but then it was in between and was pretty difficult to understand. I wanted to watch it from the start, and finally its happening, though its dubbed in hindi. Fox Moulder and Dana Scully, two FBI agents, who are investigating the paranormal, or more specifically aliens, where moulder is a believer and scully is a skeptic.

Back in 1994 or 1995, when I was in Malaysia, this show was new then. And it was a talking point in the class if I remember right. X-files and Time Trax were two shows that ran back to back from 9.30 to 11.30. And the fact that one was on aliens and the other on time travel, I really wanted to watch them. But we had to sleep by 9 then. There were no hindi serials on offer on the tv then, and so my parents werent really much of tv watchers anyhow. So lights off at 9pm sharp. I think I even had a fight about it one day, and my mom angrily made me sit in the front of the tv alone, and I felt so guilty that I quietly closed the tv and went to sleep.

Also in the same duration, the star wars movie once came on tv, at 9pm. I remember watching the first half hour, with the holographic image of Leia and the robots and a desert, but the tv was closed at 9.30pm. So basically, I never saw any of this stuff then, but aliens and time travel and science fiction in general always attracted me, but I guess that would be true for most kids my age.

So, last night I was thinking about all this, when I pulled up some other memories as well. Back in Malaysia, there was this boy in my class but the other section, who was a distant maternal uncle of mine. I dont even remember how we're related, but its one of those weird ones, where your uncle is your age. So they were these two brothers as well, the elder one being my brother's age too. Their dad was an engineer. And their mother was a very social woman I suppose.

We went to their homes a couple of times, or maybe 4 or 5 times. Since the dad was an engineer, they were rich I suppose, and had a pretty good house as well. Much bigger than ours. Down the years in my life, I have developed this dislike towards rich people. I dont know if it existed then. They werent really haughty people, but I somehow disliked them I guess. They had a computer then, which was quite a big thing for us back then I suppose. I remember he put on the Mortal Kombat game, which was a huge thing in the school, and well he was concerned about me doing something to his computer, so he just let me touch the keyboard once I suppose. He he, perfectly ok I guess.

So once there was this party in their house, and we went there, and I am not sure we fitted in, but we went cos our mom wanted us to. So there were all these kids, probably from the engineer community, infront of a tv, playing this super cool mario game (Super Mario Bros. 3). We just watched, I had never played on a nintendo then. I am sure if I was them, I would have probably done the same too, so I got no hard feelings for that. Then some weeks later I spent all of my pocket money savings, to buy a video game machine, not a nintendo, but one of those tv plugin ones. It was good, it used to work till about 2 year back I think. Some shopkeeper even conned me back then, and I spent 100 Malaysian Dollars to buy a game cartridge!! Dont say a word about that, cos I dont know how I could have agreed to pay that much, its just that I was sneak buying it while my mom was buying vegetables.

They were still ok compared to a car ride I had several years later which disgusted me like anything. I never really found myself at ease with any A+ kids. Or any happy people I suppose. Or any sane humans I suppose.

So, a couple of years back I heard that both those brothers became IIT products. And it was the elder one's marriage in delhi, and ofcourse I didnt go. So, all in all they were this perfect A+ kids and family. Which is quite common in this NRI engineer, doctor etc. community. We werent NRI's, we were there on Government expenditure, living in a small flat, and even our education was paid for the government. I never really understood what good did coming abroad did to us. Not sure anybody else did either. I think my mom would have wanted us to be them, without them ever tyring to be their parents. He he, thats really strange.

I guess their parents would be beaming with pride that their kids went to IIT and came out just perfect in life. Did we as kids let our parents down? I dont know. I wanted to be our family hero I guess. But that wasnt me I guess. If I ever be successful then I would be so guilty of being successful. And it all started back then, in that tv room, when I was successful in watching the tv alone. I wouldnt do that even now, I would still feel guilty and close the tv, and go back to sleep.