When I grow up

Some of my childhood ambitions...

1) To become a Chinese soap star.

I had it all planned. I was going to learn how to speak fluent Mandarin and then I was going to audition for channel eight (the then Chinese channel in Singapore). Producers would all be blown away by my highly accurate pronunciation and sensitive understanding of Chinese culture (which I would gradually pick up through watching other day time Chinese serials) and they would regularly cast me as the token Indian comedian.

2) Marine Biologist.

I probably was more interested in becoming a guppy farmer...but my mother would not have liked the ring of that. Those dreams were dashed when I did not qualify for the Biology class in secondary three (Thank you Singapore education system!).

3) Tamil Teacher.

My parents cracked up when I told them...mum was almost in tears from laughing. I was a highly insulted 7-year old and never brought it up again.

4) Judge

Studying law was in the agenda for a while...until I realised I did not need a law degree to judge a beauty contest..

5) Priest

An avid reader of Indian mythologies and folk tales, I was inspired by the Swamis who used to seek penance in the mountains. Of course, I had an ulterior motive...when God awakens me from my deep meditation and reward me with a boon for my efforts, I would ask him to eternally free me from the clutches of primary school!

The end.