Dare to dream...atleast dream

Its just one of those days you sit and think about all that you wanted to do but dint do for whatever reasons.

In school actually i have absolutely no regrets. However, there was a time when a family friend (popular person hence shall refrain from using names), asked if I'd like to act in a film. i refused, why coz i was still in school and had a long way to go. Should i have done just that. I love acting, atleast realised that later in college. But still Theatre would any day be a preferred option.

In college, another friend had asked if I'd like to get into VJing. Again i turned it down owing to lack of time. I was into too many things, sports, culturals, theatre, studies. One more addition and I'd need 72 hours every day. And VJing was not really something i was interested in.

Once college was done, again couple of known sources asked if I'd be interested in films. My Mum's reply - I will get you married. I still fail to understand why the threat of getting married would deter me from getting into that field. But the sad part then, it did and i went away to Hyderabad to pursue a career - which i had never planned. It came my way and i took it. There were plenty of opportunities in Theatre with some of the top names in Chennai. I turned them all down and went away. I spent a year in Hyderabad - just working. The same person who was into so many things in college and school, was just working. Sad

Back in Chennai, with a new job, again not planned, but serious advice from a good friend, made me shift. She felt i wasnt being used to my fullest potential in my current job. I came back to Chennai and the new job was exciting, fun, new, challenging. I loved every bit of it and still do. But again none of these were planned. I just took what came. Again an opportunity in Theatre came my way. I just about managed to attend a few practice sessions, but work, family and theatre was far too much to take. I had to sacrifice one - i sacrificed theatre ....again.

Now as i sit and think in the last maybe 5 years i dont think I've really done what i wanted to do. Films is not really my piece of cake. True Theatre, small screen acting would definitely be something to look forward to. Again how, when, where . Questions, and more questions continue to haunt me. Comments and opinions to add to it. My only take on opinions and comments is that, an industry is not bad or shady, its the people in it and again not all of them. One rotten apple here and there leads to a total image disaster. Its totally and entirely an individuals mental make that determines whether or not he/she would turn into a rotten apple!

One other side of me craves to get into politics. Ive loved to be on the administration side - to have the power and authority to bring about change. I know I have it in me to go for it. Then again questions, opinions, feedback - its a scary field, dominated by men, you need to do this and that, - my question - isnt that the case with every field. Any field for that matter is definitely not a bed of roses. Its upto the individual to take the plunge and thereafter keep a firm head. Its not the industry that spoils a person, but once own lack of self confidence and will power.

I dream now, i dream of being able to make change, i dream of being able to realise my dreams.

I shall rest discontented and dissatisfied, as long as i do what comes my way and not what i really want to do.

Hopefully, it all just ain't a dream...

A farce is a farce is a farce?!?

This happened in our second year of UG. We had a paper on British Literature and the name of the play we had to read i think was called 'Ways of the World' by William Congreve. The play I'm guessing was alright coz i anyways dont seem to remember a word of it. But there was one stark incident which all of us...every single one of us remember.

We were split into groups to do projects based on this play. In our group of 5, it was common that 3 would be close and the other 2 would be close. Or 2 would be close, the other 2 would be close, and 1 neutral (mostly me!!! - I had to unfortunately play referee). Various combinations. Sometimes all 5 of us would just have a blast. It was not a tension or a feud, just a matter of choice and comfort.

Zena, Archu and I were in one group to do the project. Sats and Ambz were in the other. The class was taken by Leela Chelliah Mam. We were definitely not one of her favorites thanks to an incident in our first year. Will write another post on that. Well the day came for us to present the project to the class. We were done. So were few others. It was Sats and Ambz turn. They were to analyse this play from the point of view of a 'farce'. (dramatic piece of work, something funny, improbable plot, exaggerated characters and slapstick humour)

Satz was in full force talking about characters, the play, the dialogues. And from what angle she was talking i dont think, even she knew. The word farce was not mentioned once in her entire monologue. I call it a monologue, coz Ambz was cooing in between, while Sats fought the battle of words with herself. She was done. LC looked puzzled. LC simply asked her' You've said so much, for what and on what i have no idea. Now tell me what is a farce and what have you analyzed'.

Satz as i told you, famous for her one liners and foot - in - mouth answers cooly replied ' Mam you see, A farce...is a farce..is a farce'.

Class over. We were rolling laughing. Satya still stood with a straight face convinced that what she had said made perfect sense! LC, needless to say walked off in a huff :)

Great Wall of Rivett

Dating back to 2nd year in UG. Like i had mentioned, we were 5 of us in our group - some duffers chose to call us famous five. Im sure our department faculty called us 'notorious five'. My take - we did not need to be branded, Thank you! So back to 2nd year. Needless to say we were back benchers. We had 3 others with us, who were equally crazy. The last row was reserved for us. I dont think anyone even wanted to sit there :). Nah we were nice fun people.

Sathya was the shortest among the 5 of us. And we've taken her trip no end thru the years. She had and still has a wild tongue and 9 out of 10 times, would land her in trouble. We had a free hour and the general gossip, discussions were going on. Needless to say, Sathya had to make it a point to comment on something and this time it was on some statement of Rajul's.

Rajul and I go way back to 6th grade. We were even punished together during Biology Class. Our friendship was both in class and of course on the Basketball Court - for 10 long years!!! Rajul being the tomboy that she was (then/now married with a kid - OMG!) would obviously not allow Sathya to get away with her mean comment. Sathya was sitting on the floor, Rajul in a deft move picked up Sathya's slippers and threw it on the sunshade, on the other side of the wall.

We had 10 mins for the hour to end and had to walk to another dept for General English, which obviously meant Sathya needed her slippers. I still admire Sathya's valiant attempt - here are the details.

With eyes set on getting her slippers, Sathya rose from her meditating pose. She just had to get it. Had she been a little taller, she could have bent over the wall and would have just been able to reach those slippers. Unfortunately Ms Lilliput tried, and what ensued was a sight - of a person dressed in black jeans and a grey tshirt, dangling on either side of the wall, legs one side, arms on the other. Her feet wouldnt touch the ground, neither would her hands reach the slippers. Peals of laughter, not just from the back benchers, but by now the whole class was rolling. I still admire Sathya's confidence :)

We obviously couldnt allow Sathya to remain dangling. We had to sort of pull her back to get her feet back on the floor. Rajul's revenge was done - withut further delay she quickly got Sathya's slippers back. Needless to say there was a chase after that!

Lesson - remember if the wall is 3/4th your height, acrobatics on it, across it...errr is not a 'wise' decision.

Oh what a fall there was....

Was sifting thru GD's blog and found a post on theatre accidents. Since I was anyways on this spree of writing about personal experiences from long back thought i would write about one of mine.

WCC had this tradition of having an annual College Play. The play was normally directed by a famous Director or Theatre Group from Chennai. In the final year we planned to do this play 'Necessary Targets' by Eve Ensler. The play was to be directed by Dr. Rajani from Madras University. He earlier worked with Madras Christian College after which he held the Tagore Chair for Literature in the University of Madras.

We were 7 of us in the play and practice sessions were gruelling. There was a scene, when all 7 actors were on stage and was a discussion about their lives. We were all seated on the floor in the form of a horse shoe. I was the first, which meant i was sitting at the edge of the stage. I had and still have this reputation of being accident prone.

This was the first time we were rehearsing this scene. My co actors, knowing my accident prone tendencies, warned me as i was precariously perched on the edge of the stage with my knee half outside. I reassured that i was fine. The scene was going well. The emotions, dialogues were perfect.

My lines were coming up. I was reacting perfectly to what the others were saying. THUD!!! My lines obviously would not come out - I was sprawled on the floor in some contorted position. The Thud was obviously followed by a bunch of 'Oh My God's' and bursts of laughter. It took awhile to disentangle myself and get up.

I stood up, dusted myself and quietly resumed by position on stage. One side of my body was numb and i could have screamed in pain. Silence - i looked around. All eyes were on me. I didn't quite know what to say. I just stared innocently.

A burst of raucous never ending laughter and practice for that day was over!!

Lesson : People who know you watch out for you. When they warn you - Listen!

Candy Grin!

Thought I would divert a bit from the serious bunch of posts. Will start with penning down some incidents in 'individual posts' (dont even think of making me put all in one, it would be a book), incidents that i could recall from my school and college days.

In UG, we had general English classes, which were mandatory. Apart from Language classes, General English was one of the few sessions, where students from across departments came together. We were split into batches based on proficiency. The same batch continued throughout though our professors would change.

For one semester, we had our HOD, Mrs. RJC as we fondly refer to her as our professor for General English. Needless to say as a person and a professor, she was wonderful and every single person in WCC would vouch for that. Her tenure as the HOD of our Department and as the Principal of the college, was but fitting for her stature. Her English was so beautiful and perfect, that we normally felt terribly incompetent and illiterate. Even as i write this post i think of the words she used, which of course were like Greek and Latin to me.

During General English, normally Z and I used to sit together. The rest of our gang was in a different batch. In college, we used to get these packets of liquid chocolate - sort of like a paste. Choco sticks!! It was just a thin pack with some chocolate paste. I had bought a few during lunch time, to have later on. General English was immediately after lunch. We were assigned some writing work. I was done and was generally whiling away time pulling Z and not allowing her to write. She had to admonish me of course telling me to find something worthwhile to do like eat chocolate.

My thought process - ' Aha - Bingo! I have chocolate! But RJC is there. Hmmm but i just have to eat one, just one. Ok, since I'm in the last row, i will bend low and quickly eat it. She surely wont notice'. Slightly bent down, quickly had the choco stick. Sheer Bliss!!

I looked up innocently as though absolutely nothing had happened. I looked at RJC, she was writing something, but somehow at that time, looked up and simply smiled at me. I gave her one broad grin, with a sense of accomplishment. She looked a bit quizzical, as though she had seen something odd. Her face broke into a broad grin and she continued her work.

Now it was my turn to look puzzled. I nudged Z and asked if something was wrong with my face. She was puzzled too. I grinned at her saying i successfully wiped out the chocolate. Z was in splits. MY TEETH WERE COATED WITH CHOCOLATE!!! I had grinned at RJC showing off a bunch of Brown chocolate coated teeth. Z was terribly tickled and could just not stop and I of course could do nothing except pretend like I did not exist.

The class was over. I wanted to wait till everyone left and then leave. Z and i walked out. Bang - RJC was standing a few feet away from me talking to some students. Much to my embarrassment, she made it a point to look at me and gave me this 'i know what you were upto smile' with a twinkle in her eyes. I sheepishly smiled (without showing my teeth) and walked back to my department.

Lesson - never eat dark chocolate or any chocolate thats any colour other than white, when you're not supposed to!

And if you do - DONT GRIN!

Big differences come in small packages

There is this orphanage where my friend worked, which ive visited a couple of times. Its called Ebenezer Home for Social Outreach and its one of those orphanages which actually took care of its wards really well. The shelter, clothing, food, sanitary, medical facilities were pretty good and when one went in, you felt you were at home. Through this friend of mine, i took my dept students in PG for a visit and later on made a friend of mine celebrate her birthday there. No, i'm no saint, but i've done some good things in life.

During my first visit there, we were shown around the various dorms where the kids stayed. Needless to say some kids especially the boys were excited we were there and were hell bent on showing off their talents. The girls were shy, yet once we started interacting there was no stopping them. They even danced to our tunes :).

In one such dorm, which housed the younger children, while the slightly older ones were busy tugging at us to get our attention, i noticed a tiny kid sitting in the corner playing by herself. She was far too small to walk and was in a world of her own. I asked one of the kids about her, he immediately ran to pick her up and brought her to me. Saying she was cute was an understatement.

Her looks made it obvious that she was from the north eastern part of the country. I held her and she was comfortable with not an inkling of fear. She must have been less than 2 years old. Curious eyes, gurgling sounds, fair skin, straight hair and pierced nose - this was Vandana for you. She was named at the orphanage. Her parents had left her when she was a baby and she was taken care of at the orphanage. Thru the day, she sort of clung onto me, not sure why. Honestly, i did not want to put her down. When i left, tears welled up in my eyes, cant quite explain why.

We came back again to celebrate D's bday. I had told her, instead of spending a bomb on treating friends, why not sponsor one meal for these kids. We did just that. Vandana was still there, though we went almost a year later. She was walking now and did not have to be picked up. The instant recognition on her face, made my day. She clung on to me again all day and when i left, she tugged at me, as though telling me to stay. I had to leave, and i left. It was harder than the previous time.

Meeting Vandana was an awakening. We woke up to the fact that we had so much, yet we crib and crib about not having enough. We yell at our parents for simple things, here was a kid with no parents at all. We waste food, we complain on what we eat, what is there never suffices, here was a child, who had to eat what was given. We were fed as children, Vandana ate by herself. When she was smaller, the other kids fed her. I adored her.

Im not sure how much of a difference I've made in anyone's life. However, i can surely say that the 2 days i spent with this kid, sure did make a huge difference in mine.

We realise the abundance in our lives - but what are we doing about it? I'll leave you to think on that.

Strangers...

I work out every morning. No no dont raise eye brows there, i try! My gym is closer to Ammas place so the easiest mode of transport of course was walking. Now after moving, post marriage, i have to depend on my two wheeler. I'm at home for a few days coz Dad is not in town and Mum is alone. Moral support :). Anyways, now again, for a few days I'd be walking to the gym
On my walk to the gym, i had a bunch of people i used to notice. On the road where my residence is, the first person i would see was a tall uncle who would walk as though he was doing long jump - his strides were that long. I always felt that my walking was like lilliput steps next to his. And he would look at me as though saying 'Move it'. Next was an old couple, walking back from the temple. They were lets just say normal - talked between themselves and kept walking.
On the road that linked to the park, i normally met an uncle who if i had a chance i would love to pluck his eyes out. I used to cross the road to avoid him. Once when i walked close to him, I've even heard him mumble something. A bunch of expletives would run thru my head.
Near the park i used to meet, permanently-looking-at-the-floor aunty whose come close to crashing into me many times, radio- aunty who believed in community radio as she would not use headfones, the middle-aged-uncle with tiny shorts who used to jog around the park, the alien-headphones grandpa who was so totally cool listening to music on headphones that were far bigger than his head, the tall young lad with long strides standing almost 7 feet tall, and lastly the uncle who wore his tracks on his chest and also religiously adorned his forehead with his Sricharanam. These were noticeble people, there were others of course who i could still recognise as they were at some point a part of the landscape.
After many days now, Im walking to the gym again and its so strange how you feel a sense of belonging looking at these people even though some of them inspire the worst in me. Coming to think of it i actually miss noticing these people. Today as i walked, it was funny how a couple of these people who i notice (who had obviously noticed me as well), actually smiled at me - sort of 'welcome back' smile.
Strange are these people, nameless, yet welcoming me into this morning world.

One minute more...

Time flies. Known fact. But we never look at ourselves and say - I'm 26, time flew. Or I'm married time flew. We mostly end up looking at time passing in relation with someone else.

A and i are 5 years apart. He's a total kid and still is one even though he's 21. The last one week has been a sort of reality check for me. The same kid who yanked me by my hair and broke every toy i had was packing his bags to leave for Australia, for higher studies. Time really had flown by.

A and i have never really been at logger heads. We've always gotten along like a house on fire and of course together played pranks on people, Amma being the target for most of them. He's been a role model for his friends and even his profs in college depended on for various things. At home he's been the extended shoulder for mum. Someone who was always there, her shadow.

He left yesterday. From Sunday, i was hoping against hope that time would stand still and that thursday night would never come. I never thought I'd miss him so much but i guess its only when a person is away from you do you realise their worth. At several instances i normally think, "damn i wish i had just one minute more" - probably for finishing an assignment, or a call, or just beginning a long journey. Many instances.

Yesterday on our way to the airport as the minute and seconds hand moved, i hoped for just one minute more. One minute more for A to be with mum, One minute more for him to whine with Buddy and cuddle Candy, one minute more for him to chit chat with dad, one minute more for him to fondly call me Arthropoda and yank me by my nose (he loves doing that) one minute more for him to climb and sit on Mohee's shoulder.

We reached the airport. I did not get my one minute more.

Time flew faster than i thought. In minutes he was done checking in, waving goodbye, and walking through customs to security check. My last sight of him was of him lugging his backpack (weighing 11 kilos!) and making his way to his destiny. Standing at 6'4, he still looked like the curly haired kid zooming around the house in his walker scribbling on every wall around, occasionally stopping to bite my hand.

A journey to the airport and back with one person less. And for the first time, my head did not automatically turn at the BMW showroom!

Quarterly sins cleared!

1. I walked up to Tirupati. 3500 steps in 2 hours 50 mins. My feet were a bit sore when on the road. The rest seemed fine. The first part of course drained me completely.

But still. Kudos Maverick (my gym)!!!

2. For the first time in Tirupati i walked in and out of the temple in 15 mins. Thanks to R and R's dad who knew people there and also that there wasnt much crowd, we were in and out like you would in a normal temple. Not standing in a queue, not getting squashed and smashed by a zillion people of various shapes and sizes, not being yanked by the security forces inside - is very unlike Tirupati.

3. We went to Tiruchanoor. Bought tickets and was just going to stand in the queue - yes there was no queue in Tirupati but was there in Tiruchanoor. Amma Appa and I went to take our slippers off and join the queue. There was a security guard who stopped me asking if i had a good darshan. I bluntly responded that i hadnt yet gone in yet. He simply made a gesture for me to enter and by pass the queue with my family of course towing behind. I was shocked and amazed. He did not expect any money either. Went in and R and I managed to sit in front of the deity for a solid ten minutes while the pooja was performed. It was crowded, but we were allowed to sit there for sometime.

Fantastic Trip! I have washed away my sins for this quarter!

I am deaf!

I detest it when people are loud. True there are occasions even when i can be exceptionally loud, but probably for the want of being heard. But when someone is close by and has to just make a point in an absolutely silent room, i dont understand the need to have to yell such that the surrounding ear drums take a flight to hell and back.

There have been several instances at work where ive forced myself to hold back. But there have been times when i just had to lose it. Three people conversing across two bays that are less than 5 feet apart. And how do they converse - 'What do you think about this...I think' - imagine you're friend is standing on top of a 50 foot tower and ur at the bottom and you are screaming at the top of your voice to let him know that the builiding is on fire! When these things happen a million swear words run thru my head and before they become vocal they sort of get caught somewhere in my anatomy that is still confused by the decibel volumes.

We went out for dinner yesterday. We were about 9 of us. Yes we were talking, but it was audible only to us. The entire restaurant was filled with people who wanted the world to know that they were there. It was ridiculously noisy. Still that was acceptable - sunday night, small place, crowded, couple of bday celebrations - cant really expect a funeral silence there can we. Unfortunate we got a table that was close to the buffet counter and also the gap between us and and the adjoining table was just over a foot.

A small kid walked by with her mum and while the mum whose eyes were only on the food went to the food counter, the kid probably saw a take diversion in her head, and turned the other side. Kids do these things (i presume) and I dont think is something to yell about. Being a small place the chances of the kid getting lost unless she had an invisibility cloak were very less. When the mother's attention turned from the deep fried patties to the baby, there was a thundering ' DONT GO THERE I AM HERE'. Well except the kid the whole world knew that by now. I was drinking some coffee shake and thought the glass would crumble in my hand. I stared blankly like someone had zapped me into going deaf. Mohi sitting opposite me reflected the same reaction as he was closer to the source of the explosion. I mentally strangled her!

For people who are loud:-

• Remember there are people around you who are not deaf
• Remember that in a silent room, even if u whisper the other person would hear
• In a silent room if you want to make a point - Say It!. We can still hear
• If you had swallowed an amplifier as a kid - time you swallowed a death pill. Excuses wont work.
• If you're kid is not listening to you - yelling wont help. Remember he/she is still a kid.

I cant think of more. The deafness is still not cured. If you can think of more suggestions feel free to comment.

Bali Singa Kutty!

With the marriage and reception over, we were all set to leave for Bali for our honeymoon. When im in a more *writing mood* i would write about the marriage and the reception. Now fresh in my mind is my encounter with my Singa Kutty (Lion Cub). For those stupid duffers who think im referring to my husband - well get a life!!!

We went to Bali zoo and there was a session when we could meet the animals. Raghu and I being animal fanatics jumped at the opportunity especially since we could carry a lion cub. Gosh i touched one when i was a kid in Mysore Zoo. I still treasure that half torn picture - digi cams were not even invented then.

Met a couple of animals and when it was time to meet the lion cub, we couldnt quite contain our excitement atleast i couldnt. The two brats came tumbling down the steps. Halt!! These are lion cubs not kittens. Do not try and pet them the normal way. They rolled around, fought with the zoo officials. A lady, amongst the audience, was the first to hold one up. She managed to while he literally wriggled in her hands. Next was my turn. Again he fought and wriggled as though i were trying to kill him. Heavy was an understatement to what he was - Buddy was a feather in comparison to this brat...ahem and Buddy is no lion.. sometimes i even wonder if he is a dog (will update).

All of us took turns in holding the lion cub. We were clearly told to keep hold it by the arms keeping it a safe distance away from our body. They were later put down and were playing with a couple of toys. One was distracted. Smart that i was, i decided to catch his attention by calling it like i would call a cat (not sure how i can express that calling). The cub barely looked. A couple of seconds later, what was a calling turned into a yelp. The brat pounced on my leg and nipped at it holding my leg with his paws and refusing to let go. A second later the official dragged him by the tail. Now anyone in their right mind, would remember that this was a lion cub not a cat. This was a wild animal. And me calling it like i would a cat was definitely neither appreciated nor accepted.

R couldnt control his laughter neither could anyone around...neither could i. Luckily it was just a nip and not a bite.

But still, i proudly profess that a lion pounced on me!!! :)

Bridge Over Troubled Water...

One of my all time favourites...

When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I'm on your side. When times get rough
And friends just can't be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When you're down and out,
When you're on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I'll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sail on silvergirl, Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend I'm sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

Sung by Simon and Garfunkel.
Music and Lyrics by Paul Simon, 1969.

What's in a name?

I was inspired by a comment on my OOO reply to write this. A colleague, looking at my out of office reply, casually questioned if i had plans of changing my name post marriage - email id, signature etc. What was a casual statement, turned into a debate in my head. My colleague had also specified that this was not one of his chauvinistic views. Do not for a moment think im against changing my name - this was just a debate in my head and i had to get it out.

I'm married. My surname would change. I dont think i would call myself a feminist or someone with extreme libertarian views. During one of our lectures in Mass Communication (i did my MA in Mass Comm) a professor of mine had remarked that i was a feminist. I retaliated that I did not want my rights and recognition coz im a woman, i wanted it coz im a human being.

Back to name change - my dads name after my name stood for a lot of things. His stature, his name in society, the fact that i was his daughter and took after him in a lot of ways. It had been that way since the day i was born. As A, i was just another A. As AK, i was a lot more things. I stood for things, that were isolated to me, that represented who i was for 26 years of my existence. In school, in college and at work, AK was popularly known for being an all rounder, sports person, decent in academics, active in theatre, accident prone, extremely sensitive yet practical when it came to solving others problems, hardworking, confused etc.

Now in my current situation, do i need to rework all that i had done and all that i had been. Do i need to build a new image of myself in tune with what my surname would be. Or do i simply change the name and continue being me and let people figure out that AK and AR are one and the same.

Another thought, why at all should a woman have her husband's/father's name after hers. Socially acceptable? Cant i just add some nice name post mine, maybe an adjective or something that signifies 'ME'. The same colleague also stated that changing my name was socially acceptable and i wouldnt have to answer too many questions.

Do we all, always do what is socially acceptable. Im going off on a different tangent but i need these threads to keep my thoughts intact. Again, who defines what is socially acceptable? Society, people, the scriptures, saints. What is socially acceptable would have to be what is personally acceptable.

I will change my name - not because im personally convinced that thats the best idea in the world. System has been that way and since I'm a part of the system i would have to do what it take to ensure its smooth functioning.. I'm not yet there to be radical in my views like Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyer (my colleague reminded me of him). I would do what is done, even though i debate with myself and come to no conclusion. The solution remains unchanged.

Color Blind

Picking from a post that Vrinda had written, there never is a drive without atleast 5 ppl driving like they owned the road, 2 ripping past you like they were finding the quickest way to hell and the decent few who drove from A to B just so they had to.
This instance though has nothing to do with driving. Abhi and i were doing some wedding shopping (ahem yes im Married). Taking suggestions from friends, we decided to head to Man Mandir and couple of other saree shops in Nungambakkan, for my reception saree. We had some work for my passport. Finished that and headed for Nungambakkam.
Narain (my driver since i was in the 6th Standard), parked the car right outside the complex. I was on the phone trying to figure out if i had submitted all the documents for my passport. I was leaning against the door. I noticed a lady walking in front of my car (Tavera). She was noticeable, coz on a sunny bright day, she was wearing a bright red silk shirt and dyed henna hair and of course skin tucked in with a 100 face lifts.
Luckily Narain and Abhi noticed her too. Why lucky, coz she walked straight upto my door and opened it!!! - remember i was leaning on the door and was on the phone. Abhi literally caught my leg and Narain yanked me by the hand else i would have been on the pavement on my back with limbs in the air - typical Buddy pose! I had no idea how to react but a 'Whaddya think you're doing' came out while trying to catch my breath, recovering from the catastrophe that almost happened. Her reaction was - Oops sorry i thought it was my car. She shut the door and left.
The 3 of us were stunned. What just happened??? The dimwit walked in front of the car, got into a Red Safari and went away.
Now, i have a silver Chevrolet Tavera - SILVER. Her car was a red Safari - RED. Had it been two different cars of the same color, or maybe the same model car of the same color - I totally understand this confusion. Who in their right mind and sight, would confuse Red with Silver.
We tried justifying - and we found absolutely no reasons!

She was pure dumb. Or she was some long lost enemy of mine, who wanted to see me fall!

I overtook a BMW!!!

Explaining the title would take a while. An interesting day that began with me swearing at a Honda City guy. Well i was riding my bike to the gym at 6.25 am and this chappie tries showing off his stunts - to be more precise - tries to run me over only to realise his bumper was inches from a bus! God bless State Transport. I did my bit of swearing at the Honda City and went my way.

I wasn't sure how the day was gonna be considering it started off so eventfully - nah im not superstitious. On my way to work, i got stuck in a signal - which was not working. The policeman decided to block our side of the traffic and allow the other side. 5 mins and the signal started working and bingo we were not the first to be released. Grrr another 3 mins of standing under the sun. Life could get no better. i had a free road, with not much traffic. Whizzed ahead.

I have this attraction to BMW's (probably coz i was so sure i would never own one), so when i see one, my head automatically turns, even a 180 degree if possible. Who cares if i crashed - I crashed while i looked at a BMW! Even on the way to the airport, i make it a point to strain my neck as much as possible for a glance at the mean machine. Not like Chennai is some village where people ride elephants to work - its just some kind of magnetic attraction.

Well back to my journey - I saw this super sexy black BMW cruising quite ahead of me. In a moment of madness one does not know what one does. I had this weird fantasy that i was racing with this car. A black Honda Dio vs a black BMW. I was riding at 60 kmph so was the car. In a couple of seconds i raced ahead and the BMW was left way behind. My heart leaped. I had raced ahead of a BMW! If you join in my celebration - stop reading here, for a bite of reality go further.

In reality, had the owner decided to actually drive it the way it should be driven, the impact of this car racing past me would be enough to have me sitting in Neel Metal Fanalica (version 2.0 of Onyx Kuppa thotti).

Still - i raced past a BMW!!!

Excuses! Dialogues!

This happened last August. I was on my way to Allahabad on some work. I had to take a flight to Delhi and from there to Allahabad. Luckily it was the same airline, so i could do a through check in - or so i thought.

My flight to Delhi, was the first IA flight out from Chennai in the morning - to be precise at 6.40 am. My plan was to wake up by 4.30 and leave by 5, which meant even if there was traffic (what if some big shot happened to take a morning stroll next to the airport....rite totally)i would still manage to reach. Anyways my plan was to ensure i reach the airport by 5.45 latest knowing that my constant 'snoozing' of my alarm would make me reach by 6 which was still fine.

Well, i woke up at 5.45! I literally ran all around the house getting ready. I left home at 6.15. I was surely gonna miss my flight. Worst part, was i couldnt even take the next flight coz the time it reached Delhi would be the time the flight from Delhi to Allahabad was to take off and i was no Aishwarya Rai for them to hold the flight back for me.

Reached the airport at 6.30. Super - my flight was at 6.40. Ran to IA counter only for them to tell me that the counter was closed and nothing could be done. Were they talking a language i understood or was it my mind playing tricks??? Excuses - i had to make an excuse. They might be able to stop that flight and i could run, Tamil Hero style and swing into it through some shaft on the first floor in the airport!

Went to the IA office. There was a senior officer who started advising me on keeping time, on how it was important to reach on time etc. Dude i knew that, i did not follow that hence I'm late - i did not say that, but that was exactly what was running thru my head. I started making up stories saying i was from a different place, i had just reached Chennai that morning by train, that i was not well - a laundry list of excuses. I was surprised the officer actually listened to the nonsense i was saying (it was nonsense in the true sense).

I even told him, i had chosen to fly IA coz i thought their service was the best! Also that i was using the same airline till Allahabad. Not working. Finally, one last theatrical attempt. Out came a dialogue (which in Tamil literally translates as 'Neenga manasu vecha.....") "Sir, I'm sorry Im late, but if you make up your mind and made the attempt, i will be on board that flight". Whoa - it worked!!! Next minute, he had my boarding pass issued till Allahabad and had me whizzing to security check

Thought id just run and jump into the flight - there was a huge queue for security check and i had to carry my luggage as well coz i couldnt check in the baggage. The security guard would not allow me to get ahead. Dialogues would not work on him - he knew Hindi only!. I was right at the back of a 47 member queue (i actually counted). After all that drama and dialogue, i was gonna miss my flight :(.

Well my Hero did not let me down. He appeared out of nowhere and asked why i was in queue. I squarely blamed it on the security guard. In a min, myself and 3 other passengers whizzed past security check and literally ran to the flight. As i entered the flight (worst moment), i literally tumbled, toppled and landed inside - the entire passenger bunch looked up. The flight was full, saving 4 seats and all of their eyes were on me. I quietly looked down, and walked to my seat and handed over my luggage to the steward who was kind enough to not smirk at me.

Phew....on that day i swore (i maintain it till date) that were i to take an early morning flight, i would not sleep the previous night at all!!!

Bumpy 5km for 10 bucks more!

Im blogging coz i have time in my hands and have this urge to write so dont wonder how i managed 2 posts in one day.

I was all set to leave for office today. Normal day. Went to the garage to take my bike and it was hard to drag out. Beautiful - flat tyre!. Walked down to the end of the road, found an auto, bargained and got in.

My super auto walla - i decide to call him Palani - why coz he had his auto windshield covered with Lord Muruga's pics. In a few seconds i was sure this was not gonna be a perfect ride to office. The road was empty, well close to empty. Atleast the car in front was 10 metres away which was saying a lot at that time. Well Palani decided i had all the time in the world to reach office. The auto crawled at less than 20 km/hr when the road was empty!!! He continued to crawl while cyclists overtook us. My route to office is simple. Home, Madhya Kailash Signal, IIT, Anna University, Raj bhavan, Alexander Square, SPIC, ABT and bingo i would reach.

He decided to take a shortcut to the main road. A regular shortcut only so i wasnt too surprised. He took another detour which much to my dismay was blocked! Super! Got back to the short cut and somehow reached the main road with a bus almost toppling us over. We reached Madhya Kailash signal. The signal was amber and Palani should have made up his mind whether to cross or not. Which he obviously did not coz he came to a screeching halt some feet after the stop line

Very thoughtful of him to get down and push the auto back, from 5 feet ahead of the Stop line to 2 feet ahead of the stop line. Now by Indian standards (for those returning to India with pseudo accents and pretend that elephants cross the road) even 10 feet is acceptable. The minute Palani pushed the auto back, the policeman himself called and asked the vehicles to advance by 10 feet. I tried hard not to laugh.

We advanced ahead and again the road was pretty empty and Palani was at his slowest best. The next signal saw a traffic jam. The man who so long did not dare overtake a snail, decided to poke his way through the smallest of spaces. I was shocked and also embarrassed coz i could hear a bunch of people swearing at us. Hello im the passenger not the driver!!! A ford Ikon passing by, hurled a bunch of abuses coz our man stuck himeslf so close to the car that even if he moved an inch there would have been a beautiful scar.

Crossed the signal, again the road got a bit free. Three autos overtook us, ripping ahead. Palani, full enthu decided he was a racer and started accelerating. We were probably going at about 40 which still was saying a lot. We were close to office and we had to take a turn under the bridge. What does Palani do - goes straight and forgets that my office was in the opposite direction. After literally jumping on his head, he stopped pushed the vehicle back and took the turn.

My journey was almost done. The road was being laid and was half done. So one side was sort of higher than the other. What does Palani do? One rear wheel on the higher side and one rear wheel on the lower side. Wow! Talk about sense of balance. We had almost reached - Palani did not want me to forget this ride. There was a busstop right outside the road where my office was, the bus was just moving. My great chauffeur for the day, decided he would overtake a moving bus on the right and then take a left turn!!

After some more abuses, we finally turned into the road. I had bargained for a price, i ended up paying 10 bucks extra for showing me every bump that existed on the 5 km ride to office!

Calicut

This happened sometime last July. I did not quite have the time to pen it down coz work was at its peak. We had finished some work in Calicut. And i had a flight the next morning from Calicut to Chennai. The airport is about 35 Km outside the city and my flight was at around 10.30 am.

I had planned to leave the hotel by about 8.00. Even if it took an hour i would reach by 9.00, which gave me sufficient time to get through check in and security check. I had booked a cab, completed my packing and was all set to start. I even left early, i was out of the hotel by 7.45. Perfect - or so i thought. It had been raining the previous day and had continued through the morning.

Pretty heavy rain but visibility was good. We were driving down. Got out of the city and we were on the highway. Light traffic - not something to worry about. We had done about 20 km and had taken a turn towards the airport. The little towns were starting to disappear and there was one lonely stretch only surrounded by trees very typical of Kerala. I was admiring the rain and the lush green, and thinking about how a day in such a place would be worth a thousand holidays.

Pfffffftt.. the cab stuttered, splattered and came to a grinding halt. I thought, perhaps it was coz of the rain and few minutes would get it going. Well, the vehicle just refused to start. As in, there was just no sound at all when the driver turned the key. In my broken Malayalam i tried figuring out what was happening. Rain outside, isolated area, 10 km to the airport, it was already 9.00 - totally my idea of perfection. The driver told me there was no way the cab was gonna start. If another cab had to come from Calicut it would take atleast 45 mins. Which meant, the cab would come say by 9.45 and i would reach the airport only around 10.15 - no chance was i to catch the flight.

The worst part was, there was only one flight out of Calicut in the morning. If i missed that i would have to take a flight in the evening, and that too on a totally different carrier. Super. I begged the driver to even stop a passing lorry so that i would get to the nearest town where i could possibly get an auto. Much to my dismay - not a single lorry passed that way. Arggggghhh!!!

Finally an auto passed and to my luck it was empty. Yahooooo!. My driver stopped him, and the auto guy agreed to drop me off at the airport. It was around 9.20 - i would somehow reach. I thanked my stars - only too soon. The auto choked and stopped exactly 1 km before the airport. I was actually thinking of carrying my luggage and laptop and running the last kilometer. The auto guy was determined to make the vehicle move. He yanked the self start. The engine slowly came to life. Hallelujah!!!! The auto moved. I could see the airport. I would have cried.

I went in thinking things would be a cake walk after that. Well the day was meant to be tough and i had no choice. My flight was from the international terminal as it was either going to some place in the Gulf after a stop over in Chennai or was coming from somewhere - no clue. I went in with my luggage and was told to go for immigration. Huh!! Im going to CHENNAI from CALICUT - why wud i go thru immigration. I had to and I did. After that i was asked to get some no due or some dumb form signed. I really wondered if i was gonna be packed of to some 'Al Habada' kind of place surrounded by men in white robes.

Finally, i was put through security check and i went up to the waiting lounge. My first sight - it was isolated and there was not a single soul. I walked a little ahead and saw a couple of signboards. Voila - i did not have to go to 'Al Habada' to see men in white robes - they were right here in front of my eyes. Was i really in Calicut?

I sat for a bit awaiting for my flight announcement. My flight was announced - it was not clear but from what i could make out it sort of sounded like 'all passengers travelling on blah blah blah to Sharjah are requested to board through gate no. blah'. Hello that was my flight, i was going to Chennai - WTH was it going to Sharjah. I walked to the Gate - and managed to find some folks from the Airline - told them i was going to Chennai and why on earth was my flight going to Sharjah. They were like - Madam ur flight is coming from Sharjah and its final destination is Chennai. Phew!!!

I got into the flight. It was packed. There were Indians of all shapes and sizes and of course smells. It smelled like i had walked into a perfumery where fish was being cooked. Good god how was i to survive! I found my seat - luckily no one was sitting beside me. Divine intervention!!! There were three guys behind my seat - not something that i cared about except that they sang some crappy Tamil song ( i like Tamil songs but the one they were singing was downright crap) repeatedly till we landed in Chennai.

Kamaraj airport came into sight. My journey was drawing to a close. I was relieved. My relief was short lived. We were at the international terminal - no issues this time coz i knew i would be out and home in an hour. Well if i had the chance to walk out on ground level that would have happened. There was some renovation work happening - i walked up 4 floors on a spiral stairway before taking the escalator down 4 floors on the other side. Arggggggggggghhh this could get no better.

Luckily, my luggage came out fast and within minutes i was out breathing Chennai 'smoke -filled' air - a relief for the first time!!!

An event to remember...

We were a team of four and had gone to Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari for branding and registration. To some colleges, we went alone and to some we went in teams of 2
I clearly recall this college to which Reshma and I went to. Well the college folks had actually helped us in getting accommodation in Kanyakumari. So hospitable they were that they landed up at 11 pm to receive us in Kanyakumari. Groggy and half asleep we struggled to smile and make conversation. The funny part was, the Vice Principal had come along! I thought that was unbelievably sweet of them – well I had a surprise. The Vice Principals’ daughter had been recruited by us and he had come to meet me to ask her DOJ. Aha!!! Now I knew why he was there, with offer letter and all in hand.

The next day we went to their college just before lunch time. The college – Nesamani Memorial College, was in NAgercoil, about 40 km from Kanyakumari. We reached and were taken to the Principal’s room, sans Principal. We sat waiting with the Vice Principal and the Placement Co ordinator, struggling to make conversation. Well, I also had a nature call to attend and did not know how to ask. Finally, unable to control I asked the Placement co ordinator in very gentile terms if there would be a ‘rest room’ there. He very promptly responded, that we would be going to the Conference Room and I could rest there!!
Luckily, the Vice Principal understood and directed me, before I decided that the Conference Room was my destiny. We headed towards the auditorium where the presentation was to be made. Quite a walk to the block though. Reshma felt it was extremely impolite that we couldn’t make much conversation and decided she would break the uneasy silence.

Reshma : “ Sir is this block new. It looks like its newly constructed”
Placement Co ordinator : “ Madam its 15 years old”

My reaction to Reshma – BULB!!!

We proceeded to the 1st floor where the auditorium was. As we stepped into the corridor adjacent to the auditorium , we hear music blaring from inside. What song – a typical Rajinikanth Song – welcoming us. I really wished I could turn around and fly. Luckily the music was turned off. We went, did the presentation. There were around 200 students. About 30 of them would have heard about our company– how – through the brochure we had distributed. Extremely motivating indeed.
WE were done and the Vice Principal delivered the vote of thanks. He very sweetly thanked “ Mr. Aarthi Krishnamoorthy” and “ Ms. Sushma”. Err were we even there. I was certainly not a cross dressed man!! And neither had Reshma’s dad change her name and inform the college first! We were totally blank.

The rest was eventless with multiple stakeholders of the college telling us how great the college was. Oh yea we totally knew!!!