Crushes... And all that we grew out of!

One of the most fun things about being young is getting crushes on random people. Its entertaining, seldom serious and mostly leaves behind memories that will make you smile years later (unless it becomes serious and leaves you heart-broken). Crushes are short, sweet and strong... And meant to be kept that way! Over the years my friends and I have had crushes on many people (some more than the others) and done some pretty crazy stuff (which we thought was extremely cool behavior at that time).

• The 'stalking'... This one is high up in the list. What do you do when you have a crush on someone but you just don't know enough about them? You start stalking. Nowadays we really don't have to try too hard because people voluntarily proclaim on social media what they are doing/ where they are going/ who they are with but those were the days when social media was not was not very popular and stalking was still done the old-fashioned way. Hanging around after coaching classes to see who he interacts with, where he goes. Using the ever dependent network of friends to find out more details (exactly the idea behind social networking).
  
• The 'prank calls'... Ever tried calling people, saying random things and then hanging up? That was a major activity whenever we would hang out with friends. Years before the mobile phone ended all anonymity, we had those traditional landlines (hopefully without caller IDs) where we could call and pose as talk show hosts complete with fake song requests, people claiming to count household population, one-sided lover begging for a date... the variety we had was nothing short of amazing! Of course there were also the revenge prank calls for those we didn't like *wink wink*...
  
• The 'dedication'... In those days the seriousness with which we had crushes is something I have not even shown  for my studies. Even a crush on a celebrity was something to be respected, defended and if required fought for. Oh the hours we spent fighting among ourselves to decide whose favorite cricketer/ actor/ singer was the ultimate. Then there was collecting posters, memorabilia, newspaper articles, random junk... the idea being that the most dedicated one would put in the most effort. It was finally after I moved out of the city for my job that my mother was allowed to remove all my Hrithik Roshan posters!
  
• The 'anonymity'... The best crush situation was when the person you had a crush on did not know about it (maybe did not even know who you were). Then you could basically do everything and not worry about being humiliated. You could send in anonymous song requests on the radio and not worry about getting found out. You could write endless poems and letters which would be stored away between pages of your diary (if I read them now I would probably be rolling on the floor laughing). And yes, the staring in class (or wherever you see them), observing them and their every expression, the smile that lit up their face... those were such simple joys of life.
  
• The 'heartbreaks'... Of course nothing completes the cycle without the heartbreak. Seeing someone... crushing on them... doing the above things... finding out its not going to happen (mostly because you didn't actually try)... mope around and listen to sad songs... go out and see someone else... and the cycle continues! I was so upset when Rahul Dravid got married that I refused to get out of bed (of course that one still hurts). Those were the heartbreaks that inspired poetry and stories in us. Now all it does is make us wonder is it all worth it?

No, this one doesn't have a lesson in it. We may have grown out of those silly actions but every once in a while, it brings a smile to remember those days. Yup, made me smile to remember :)