The Wonder Years

"Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back...with wonder."

I belong to the generation of upwardly mobile urban Indian kids that grew up watching some of the most touching series on Television. And no, that did not include F.R.I.E.N.D.S.! In fact I guess shows like How I Met Your Mother were yet to be conceived!

Yes, I'm talking of classics like The Wonder Years, Small Wonder and I dream of Jeannie - From the days of yore when WWE was known as WWF and Baba Sehgal liked imitating Madonna.

But surely, as a Teenager you HAVE TO talk about The Wonder Years - I so related to Kevin Arnold! Winnie Cooper was the ideal girlfriend a 'tween could ever dream of. I felt blessed to have my fair share of great friends too. My 3AM friends. I guess it's true when it is claimed that the friends you make as a student are for keeps.

What remains today are the memories of your exploits, those arguments, the endless conversations, the youthful exuberance, never ending dreams and innocent good wishes. Characters like Winnie Cooper prove to us that when in company of a good, noble soul, one invariably becomes a better person. When you are in love, the world appears full of beauty. You get a feel good factor that cannot be described in mere words. Such persons bring out the best in you, and in retrospect, are instrumental in shaping you as a person.

What pained the most was that Kevin and Winnie never ended up marrying each other. But hey, they were BFF. Best Friends Forever. You can just not take that away.

They were meant to be together, any which way. In that sense, maybe, the story is still incomplete... Wouldn't mind seeing it through to completion. Someday!