STARMOTE

Have you guys ever wondered when you actually become a man?
Or when you have reached puberty?

I don’t think it’s when you grow facial hair or when your voice breaks.
No — none of that really holds water.

I don’t think I can fully express it…
the moment when a boy becomes a man.

I think it happens only when he truly experiences the feminine —
when he encounters the beauty of a woman.

I think it happened to me during my Class 10 days.

Every year, my school used to arrange a science expo, and everyone had to participate. It usually ran for two or three days, but my family saw it as the perfect opportunity for a vacation. So we skipped the expo and went on a trip to Sengottai, near Tenkasi, where my dad was working at the time.

We planned to visit Achankovil, Aryankavu, Courtallam, and of course, the famous border parotta kadai.

The morning after we reached — around seven or eight — I sneaked out, took my dad’s TVS XL, and went for a joyride around nearby streets. My dad had told me that a famous shooting location from the movie Anniyan was just nearby, where all the houses were painted.

When I entered that street, I was awestruck.

Not because of the painted walls.

Because of a girl.

She stood in front of her house, a towel wrapped around her head as her hair dried, a small streak of pottu on her forehead, drawing a kolam at the entrance.

I had never seen anyone that beautiful before.
None of my classmates or friends could even come close.

She lifted her head, caught me staring, and gave a mocking smile — amused at my gawking.

Someone shouted, “Devi!” from inside the house.

She replied, “Coming, ma,” and went inside.

I went blank.

I rode aimlessly for a while until I could come back to my senses, and then drove back home.

Every boy will have that moment one day.

I’m sure that day remains etched in his memory forever.