Metamorphosis

Hollywood and Beverly Hills

2010-09-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

I was in Los Angeles as part of my short term onsite assignment and the wanderlust bug bit me hard. Weekdays were filled with dogged work at office and the lonely apartment gave me every excuse in the world to hit the road every weekend. I started making plans, religiously mapping the itinerary and booking the tickets. I bought the Los Angeles City pass during my visit to Universal studios, which gave pre-booked tickets for Hollywood Walk of fame tour, Madame Tussaudd's museum and the Beverly Hills tour. I had seen the Hollywood walk of fame and the foot and hand prints at the Chinese Grauman Theater on TV, yet seeing them on a narrated tour was an altogether different experience. So many superstar artists decorating the pathway of Hollywood Boulevard and not to mention the Cosplays on the sidewalk dressed as Batman, Captain Jack Sparrow, Michael Jackson, etc gives you a piece of their legend and their impact on the rest of the world. The tour guide told me that Hollywood became Hollyweird a long time ago and not many locals appreciate the new weird crowd of wannabe superstars in search of fame, particularly the cosplays who might be wannabe actors who are faced to wear costumes and pose for photographs for their living. Hollywood is also a land of broken dreams, not everyone made it to the top. The Chinese Grauman theatre, the El Kapitan, the Egyptian and the Kodak theatre - where the Oscars were given, are genuine historical monuments which needs to be visited. The Kodak theatre tour banned photography, which was very characteristic of its name. Duh :|. The Beverly Hills - meet the stars tour is a blatant invasion of privacy of the stars we admire and hope to catch a glimpse. Beverly hills is a posh neighbourhood on the hills with exotic houses, apartments and villas costing tens of millions and a ton of Paparazzis. I could still recollect the stream of paparazzis outside Tom Cruise's home, gawking and on the trigger for a snap if he and Kate ventured out. Another jaw dropping moment was when the tour bus took us to Rodeo Lane, the street where stars shop and dine. As expected everything was obscenely expensive to keep out commoners and yet fabulous to attract the rich and pretentious. The tour guide gave us tid bits about the places in Sunset Boulevard where Paris Hilton goes to party and the spot where Lindsay Lohan crashed her car and the slums of Beverly Hills where apartments cost 1-5 million as compared to 15 million and above on the hills.. uffff .. I just grasped every darn thing he said. All in all Hollywood is very well connected to the rest of the city via the LA Metro Underground Red line and the numerous Buses from North Hollywood. It was the perfect destination to drop by and get indulged.

Hollywood and Beverly Hills

Journey to Universal Studios

2010-09-22T00:56:00.001-07:00

It happens to be the first place that I ventured out alone to fend of boredom in my apartment after landing in Los Angeles the day earlier. This place is very special as it broke my boundaries to explore Los Angeles using the Metro and pep up my morale to explore far and beyond in the United States of America. The Universal City Skywalk and the entrance to the theme park, will be etched in my memory for long, as it brought me to meet reality that I was in the entertainment capital of the world !

Link:

Journey to Universal Studios

Meme - Wants to live

2010-09-12T20:13:00.001-07:00

A lot has changed since I had last posted on this blog ; from travelling across the world, fostering new relationships, getting insights into how things work around me and adding a lot of arsenal to my knowledge and the fear of the unknown. But for some time, I became very curious of the need for thought to continue to exist and evolve into action. The best answer I could muster, is that it is the need of our conditioned brain to experience the vagaries of emotion, we are programmed to retain thought and produce them on the way. And not to forget the quanta of emotion each of them evokes, which I believe is responsible for changing the state of the mind. It was one such thought to record the places and people I had visited, which has finally found a way to become action. Experience what I saw and felt and get infected with a new meme along the way.

- Cheers,
Neo

Exploring the lust to be nice

2009-12-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

Empathy, compassion, kindness to the weak, these are strong emotions which come forth in each and every one of us. Though Darwinism says about survival of the fittest and the ruthless method of natural selection the above emotions are very contradictory to the main motif, in a sense, that helping a kin would be beneficial as you are related and there is a chance of reciprocation, but helping an unknown vagabond or a crippled or a homeless person, who is not related as your kin ; to extend it much further, he/she would not even necessary be your countrymen, is an act that might not be beneficial for the gene or the person. Applying natural selection, those people should survive on their own and if they can’t due to their deficient gene and they would perish as did millions of species in the past, giving way for the much superior genes to reproduce and flourish. But that’s not how humans behave.

Theists would argue that it is religion that brings about empathy and preserves humanity. In a way, there are people who would help as their religion teaches them and walking away doing nothing amounts to sin, which they don’t wish to accumulate, which has a negative effect on their after-life or their karma in cycle of rebirths. They claim that religion has successfully altered natural selection, by its benevolent nature.

Evolutionists like Richard Dawkins have thrown up an explanation that empathy is due the misfiring of the selfish gene. It works in the same way as lust; we have lust even though we use contraceptives and prevent further reproduction. To make it even clearer, the urge to reproduce and the trigger in our body i.e. lust does not stop, even when we are consciously making an effort to do the otherwise. In the same way, as we had evolved from apes which live in groups, where helping your kin and making partnerships is vital for gene survival.

Therefore, coming to the present age, where the hapless stranger on the street, in a metropolis need not be a blood related kin, the selfish gene, always on the lookout for its survival misfires and the urge kicks in go out and help them. In a way, it makes a mockery of our highly held morals.

Having laid down the facts known, is it religion and culture with its moral teachings or the misfiring of the selfish gene, has been a stellar force in making each and every one of us to be compassionate, helpful and nice to others ?

The answer as far as I could muster, comes from the holistic view of the society. My argument goes like there are social workers (mostly religious people) who do service to the society by being empathetic to the needy and poor, after they had endured suffering and say they are working towards eradicating the suffering, from others. It sounds much like the work of our immune system, which when hit with an infection after recovery, works to prevent another outbreak.

And man and definitely woman, being social animals imbibe beneficial traits from fellow beings and from their environment. Hence, there could be a misfiring in our selfish gene to help the needy, but the act of benevolence is very much fostered and rewarded by society, religion and culture, which could very make it a permanent behavioural trait in our genes. With time, it won’t be regarded as a misfire, but a behavioural trait evolved through religion and society.

My two cents ...

Old hag and I

2009-11-15T14:28:00.001-08:00

It was my birthday treat,
My friends promised to be on time.
I was racing for time and space in my bike,
Hoping to reach the theatre on time

The time was cut short by incessant rain,
With the narrow interval I got,
I raced in great strides and honks,
I was no doubt intimidating the normal folks along the way

When the red light caught upon me,
I was very irritated and cursed the people,
Who had constructed and maintained it in a rainy day.
It occured that every jackass was plotting against me.

With green came more vengeance,
To make up for lost time,
Tight turns and sharp cuts on the slippery road, I made
Just to get others out of my way.

Leaving the slow coaches behind,
I reached the theatre on time,
Approaching the entrance to the parking lot,
Wide open to get the racer in

In the final turn that I had to take,
I had to break sharp for an old hag,
With a plastic cover to shield her from the elements,
And worried eyes in her face trying to cover the parking lot

She saw me late and stood petrified seeing me dash,
With the cold water in the road,
Prick her shoeless feet, she gave way for the racer,
Out of fear, just like every other rider on the very road.

I had a fleeting sight of her as I shifted my gears,
With tattered clothes and nothing to let her set foot,
She stood in shock in the muddy puddle.
Her place in fear and servility as expected by society.

I made inside the parking lot,
My woodland shoes firmly on the bike,
Though shaken, I wriggled this incident off my mind,
For the theatre sizzled with gals from all over town !

The movie was great and so were my friends,
The day ended with laughs and fun ...
But the old hag came to haunt very soon,
For whom I should have stopped to let her have her way.

Vanishing faces

2009-07-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Running away I grew tired,
But refreshing faces made me forget,
The more I yearned, the faces kept fading away ...
I realised that I had been running all the while !

Ma Crib

2009-03-15T03:07:00.000-07:00

Ma studio apartment in LA ..

Click this thumbnail to check out my crib :)

My Cheese :)

2008-12-28T05:50:00.000-08:00

"Smile please", said the photographer. I put up a smile saying cheese till the photographer clicked his camera; the flash that followed blinded me for an instant. The next moment the entire lot burst into a frenzy and jubilation, some hugging each other howling with rants of joy. I heard some deliberately shouting, "F*** Sathyabama"(our university’s name), others threw their ceremonial caps up in the air, much to the delight of the audience numbering in thousands consisting of students waiting for their turn to have their graduation photo taken, and the plentiful parents and relatives who had flocked to savour this occasion. Standing at the last row, I had a panoramic view of the crowd; the tempo was upbeat as we were the first batch. Even the faculty and honourable dignitaries, who were sleeping during the pleonastic presidential address, had smiling faces. It made me feel that everybody was happy, for us.

Looking now at the graduation photo, I savoured my then fake smile. It was not the last one though :)

The night I met her ...

2008-06-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

It was 8:40 PM and in 5 minutes the last bus leaves. Yet, I was sitting in my cabin, surrounded by a maze of empty cabins, with some of them having glowing monitors, whose occupants never cared to switch it off, leave alone shutting down the CPU. The lights in my ODC were as bright as ever, the AC was spot on to the ambient temperature, all of these were designed to mask our senses from the outside elements and work with diligence on the assigned work. After hours of warming my seat with body heat, I had not moved the seemingly final inch towards completion of the Software Enhancement that was given to me, as you guessed, it takes more than seat warming capabilities and a lot of brain waves to finish the work in time. A momentary glance at the system clock perched on the bottom of the screen, made me aware of the space and time that engulfed me. I realized, that I had to give a clean build to the Software merge that I had performed some two days ago. My Project manager, had a ambitious plan of making me billable within 3 months, which is normal by industry standards, raising the bar every quarter, meaning it would be within 2 months, for the next quarter, going by the dollar decline, because every member who is billable in the project, the client shells out generous amounts for every hour we work … ( **** Americans. A tough task lay await for the greenhorns of the next quarter … ha ha ha … Screw them up … harder !!! ).

The enhancement and the merge were given to me in quick succession, so as to build my resume before the client interview. Ahhh, the client interview loomed large before my head, it was like an earworm, clearing it would mean, I would stay in this project, else, I would be shown the door to become part of the free pool, which was quite cool, but with many of my college mates becoming billable, I had to become billable to maintain my status in the gang. It was all smooth sailing, when I took on this challenge, but I was hit by a truck, on the final stage of this enhancement, which became the sole reason for my leaving late syndrome. My merge as well as the enhancement that I was given, slipped the SLA time-limit on Wednesday, and I am yet to finish it. *Now lets don’t dig into it, it’s a labyrinth, where effort and time go in waste without finding a solution*. It takes more than 6 hours for the compilation to complete and build images. I was advised by my mentors to do it when I leave, so that it would be completed when I come for work the next day. I was also advised to be unashamed of any scathing remarks about contributing to productivity, the module leader would be showering down upon me during the team-meeting. My fellow team-members take pride in their thick-skinned attitude of come-what-may-I-will-do-what-I-can-do (Gosh … it takes time to be confident to grasp it). Being, a fresher I am not prepared to face that, yet I was able put up a brave and resilient face towards them and the impending enhancement, actually with butterflies flying in my stomach.

By the way I leave very late these days ... much to the agony of my parents, who wait till I arrive to have our family dinner. (They are adamant, what shall I do -.- )

And my seemingly unproductive brain, sneezed for a second, giving way for sanity, that’s when I snapped from the melodrama of "Oh shit ... when will this be over". Literally, I ran to the lab and plugged out the console port of the switch that I was testing. I had to reboot the switch, coz I had corrupted its working directory with shit images from my failing enhancement adventures, for which the easiest way was, taking off the power cord and insert it back !!!. Our lab is like an Amazon forest with cables all over, some of them hanging from the ceiling, some 2 feet above the ground, placed with an evil intention that someone would drip and pull the cable (Which could be used as an excuse for the delay in delivery :D). Finding the right cable, can be treacherous. Many a times we would pull the wrong cable, causing someone's switch to crash. As I pulled the plug, the whole socket came out of the power cabinet with sparks. My palm sensed what it feels like to be hit by static electricity. (So close to become electrocuted … wow “)). But, thankfully I realized that there was no time to think and ponder over the near miss ( Kool !!!). The thought of being left behind, made me jump into panic mode, after inserting the power cord, I ran back to the ODC, quickly I gave the build "command" to our US server and "powered off" my monitor. (I joined the Green Peace movement, who take 200 bucks every month from my salary account.)

Wasting no time, I ran through the stairs of Tower 1 in the offshore development centre (the software geeks call it .. ODC as Odyssey). The three floors were conquered in no time. After flashing out my card, to mark the swipe out time in the electronic sensor, which as usual gave me the loyal beep acknowledgement. It meant that I had spent 14 hours of my Thursday in my office ( Never imagined this kinda sloggin even in my dreams during college days ). I ran past the security guards in the reception room and I noticed some people sitting in the couches reading magazines. The night shift BPO guys, I guessed, looked fresh from their afternoon sleep. Now into the open pathway, with others joining me in the run, I reached the bus depot in our campus. The electronic clock display, glared 8:44. And in a minute the buses leave.

I was visibly panting in breath, when I boarded the bus, with its occupants staring at me. Noticeably girls ... a mix of Madrasi and Naarth Indian, though it’s common for the latter to be cheerful and merrier even at this time. (I mean it ... older women leave by 6 and they are aptly called Six Sigma and pretty damsels those who leave by 9 are called Nagma :D )

As I sat in a seat, my deep breaths made 2 girls sitting before me turn back for a second. It caught my attention, giving me another chance to look back at them and then raise my brow showing a "what are u lookin at ?" gesture.

As sharp as ever, the buses started, I bent my head towards the closed window. Feeling tired, I watched in amazement, the streams of traffic on the opposite side. Streams of cabs were ferrying people to BPO's, so that when America wakes up, our local Anand or Sujatha would be answering their calls in the name of Russel/Michelle. Hmmm...

Now these girls gave an excuse to forget the daunting work that lay before me...

My position gave me not a panoramic view of the 2 occupants before me, but just a sneak view of one of them. The head band and the stub in her nose dazzled in the dim lighting of the bus, and her giggling added glamour. The bus driver turned on the FM which was loud by industry standards.

The RJ in Radio Mirchi, was about to leave, saying her well rehearsed lines of Bye ... albeit sexily, giving an ummmaaaah (a kiss) to all the Mirchi fans. And yeah… we needed it after a day's hard work... !!!!!!!

And the girl in the front seat looked like the best lady to give one, I laughed within myself. The co-incidental laughter from the front row seemed to accept my proposition. Unfortunately, I was too tired to ponder upon the fantasy, the tiredness of a sedentary job can be very taxing :(.

Very soon, I faded into a nap, even in the midst of the loud radio. I had always possessed a 6th sense, when I near my alighting point, whatever deep slumber could I have been, I usually woke up from it, when the bus nears it. My 6th sense didn’t fail me this time, it could never, thanks to the worse-than-Bihar condition of the road near my house, fit for any world dirt race championship. The bus would shake its booty very violently, as if listening to it was like enjoying Pink's "I am coming up... Lets get this party started... !". No man could sleep whilst the bus traverses nervously through the deep potholes, which were damn many.

And as expected, I woke up as I neared my alighting point. I gathered my bag and lunch pack, and sheepishly started walking towards the door. The driver looking at me through the rear mirror sighed me to look back. I gave a ,"Now why is that ?" look and turned back yawning. To my surprise, I saw my pretty angel in the bus, very much tensed, biting her finger and looking at the window. From her appearance I could easily spot the glaring feature, she was not a localite. The headband and the high pony tail, with lots of curl throughout the locks and combed straight back. It matched perfectly with the jeans overcoat she was wearing over her pirate bay T-Shirt. Wow, that very much resembled like Katrina Kaif, but without the stilettos ;). The worried eyes and the sweat on her lacy forehead brought me back to my senses. I noticed that she chuckled, now why would she do that, I thought to myself. But it was too late, I had done a gaffe, with my mouth still wide open from the yawn, which did very proudly, thinking that I was the last person in the bus. I had to chuckle back, rather foolishly for my open-mouthed-wonder at her appearance. Luckily, there was no one from my ODC, to notice my embarrassing moment. God helps me sometimes, and I am thankful to HIM.

Though I was excited to see her again, I was struck by the rule that a male employee could not leave behind, her female counterpart in an empty cab. But this was the company bus, driven by a registered driver, and such rule do not apply here. Yet, not willing to lose this opportunity, I walked back, trying to steady myself, as the bus jerked under my feet. Seeing me come towards her, made her realize the precarious situation, and she looked at me earnestly. Grasping the situation, I asked her, "Where do you get down?” feeling 200% confident that she was lost in her way to her hostel/room.

"I get down in T.Nagar", she said hoping that I would give her a favorable response. But I had to deliver the bad news, "Miss... This is the bus to RK Mansion, and this is the last stop ...", the bus jerked again as usual, and I was off balance, my legs were very much numb, from the sleep. A quick grasp of a near-by seat saved me from yet another gaping embarrassment. She was in no mood to laugh again and rather instinctively put forward her hand towards my direction, with an intention of saving me. Her fingers caught just air, not me ... :( And again, like before, I steadied myself in this rocking bus. I told her, "Let’s ask the driver, if the bus would go to T.Nagar by chance ..."

She nodded and we walked in cliff-hanger style with our hand firmly grasping the rod, as we made our way through to the driver. The driver, still driving looking tired from his shift, turned towards us and said, "Intha amma inga thaan yeranguvangala ?" (“Will she get down here?”). I shouted back, lest my voice would not be heard in the midst of the engine and irritating Big FM noise,"Ivanga T.Nagar poganuma ..." (“She wants to get down at T.Nagar”). The driver was hoping against hope, that that he could get rid of her in this very last stop and return home. He shot back angirily, "RK mansion nu Board pottu erukku ... intha bus le poi yeralama ... Ivanga lam yennathe velai parkarangalo"( “The bus clearly mentions that it is intended for RK Manison … Still she has hoped into this bus … God knows, what kinda work these people are going to perform in the office “). The last sentence, was sharp, may be the frustrating and unproductive work that I do everyday, made me to relate to this dictum. I did not let him shower down anymore adages and advice, "Seri, ivanga theriyama yeritanga .. ippo yenna pannalam ... "(“Its okay … She has got into this bus unknowingly, what shall we do now ?”), I asked him, hoping that he could do a miracle in this late hour. "Anna ... T.Nagar", she chipped in. That was every bit, North-Indian, replacing "Bhaiyaa", with the only Tamil word she knew, "Anna". I realized that I have to be careful, lest I would be one of her many Annas, and I am so young ... :(

The bus came to a halt, near my usual stop. The driver turned off the engine and said, "Sir... ivangale auto pudichu poga sollunga ... Ippo nan bus-a travels office le uttutu sign podanum ... innum 30 nimushathule nan anga illaina, avanga Bus varalai nu phone mele phone pottu kupiduvanga ..." (“Sir … Ask her to go by auto from this place … I have to go to the travel’s office within 30 mins, lest, they would pester me with phone calls .. this being my last trip for this day …”). I explained to her, what the driver had suggested and to my surprise, she agreed to go by auto. That was revelation to me, I had finally seen a girl who was bold enough to go by auto all alone from a place she doesn't even know, at 10.00 in the night. "These girls are as bold as the heroines whom we import from the North", I thought so. The driver was visibly happy to get relieved of her without any resistance, had it been a Southerner, it would have been of very much trouble to him, to get rid off.

We got down and I asked her the details where she lived in T.Nagar. It happened so, that I happened to know the exact location as if I had google mapped it (It happens, don’t think everything is fiction -.- ). I asked her how she boarded the wrong bus. The transport people, who flock near the gate in our campus to send us off, had directed her to the wrong bus she claimed. I asked her immediately, "Are you a fresh recruit ... here for training?” She replied back with an affirmatory nod. "So how long you have been here?" my next immediate query. "Two days", she replied slowly the wrinkles started to shroud near her forehead. The bus routes change frequently, they were partially right as her other friend had got down correctly at Tiruvanmiyur, I thought she was very interested to travel with her friend that she did not ask properly. They trust the auto annas very much, I realised, and sheer grit attracted me. We waited for a few minutes, nearby the tea-shop whose occupants were busy dismantling the tables and chairs, a sign that they were closing up. And we were new specimens to them, watching us as they cleaned the shop with water that came to the street and formed a pool with thick patterns of sand floating that was visible in the orange glow of the street light. She was looking at the far end of the road for an auto, when seen, I thought she was rehearsing to say,"Anna ... T.Nagar" (Oh ... boy, she says it with theatrical expression). But it happened so that there were not many auto annas, or bus annas to come to her rescue.

The stare of the tea-shop inmates got my nerve, I turned towards her, with she bent upon looking for an auto. "Hey ... Hey ... You wont find any auto here ...", I was trying to find her name in the tag she was wearing, but the tag was not there on her neck, "What’s your name ?", I asked her bluntly. Seeing me serious, startled her, "My name is Nisha", she said. "Nisha ... It is not the right time of the hour to look for an auto, I would suggest that you would come to my house and I could ask my father or ... me myself could drop you at your place". The tone of my voice made her realise for the very first time, that all is not well in alien Chennai ( I had the tone to make it creepy for her … ;))

Looking at me straight into the eye, she thought for a second and said, "Ok". She took up her mobile phone and started dialing the *secret number* of her room-mate, to explain her position and the exact place she was stranded in Hindi, which is alien to me :-). Then we walked towards my home, my footsteps in sync with her, through the lighted streets. It was short walk of 3 - 4 minutes, enough time for us to know each other. She came from Meerut in UP, now staying with her friends in a hostel. And I had to introduce myself as a fella born and raised in Chennai. As I neared my house, I was thinking what shall I say to my parents, bringing a girl at this time of the hour.

Our house, on the outer is very much like any-other independent house, with two storeys and a balcony to gaze at the passers-by down below. The outer door on the fence was bolted open for me to sneak in without making any disturbance to the neighbours, it actually served its real purpose today. I welcomed her to my house by leading first, and walking past the car park area, with our Ikon back in its place. "Papa .. is home", I got to know. The entrance door to the house was wide open, and I could hear the dialogues from the mega serial that was screaming from the TV. My mother hearing commotion at the entrance got up from her place and stood at the door, watching us, as we closed the outer door and walked towards her.

She was candidly surprised, upon seeing an unknown girl, walking along with me. I smiled and said to her in one go, much like the bus driver of our company bus, "Ivanga peru Nisha ... Bus mari yaeri vanthutanga ... T.Nagar Bus nu.. yaen bus le yaeri vanthutanga ... Nambe car le avangale vitudalam nu kutikittu vanthaen "(” Her name is Nisha … She did not board the right company bus which got her stranded in our area ”) . Instinctively,my mother realised what happened and welcomed her, "Ulle vanga"(“ Please … Come inside ”), she said meaning every word of it. My dad who had been watching the soap opera with my mom rose up from his chair and walked towards us. Nisha said, "Good Evening Aunty... Uncle" and fell at her feet. It was shocking for us, but it is a distinct feature of most Northerners to fall at elder's feet when meeting for the first time. This gesture of Nisha impressed my parents and my mom got hold of her as she rose up. "God ... God .... Bless you", she said, "Come … take a seat", leading her towards the sofa. The mood was different after the "falling at the feet" gimmick, my sinister mind made me realise :-). And as they were moving towards the sofa, I had a quick word with my dad that we need to drop her off at T.Nagar. My dad said, "Its all right, get the car ... We shall drop her". So I slipped into the car park, to get the car into the street, whilst my mom was petting Nisha to eat some snacks before she left.

Quickly my dad dressed up and came to the living room in a jiffy and joined their company. In the meantime, my mom as with any other friend of mine, who came to our house flooded Nisha's plate with sweets and savouries. I could hear Nisha's voice, "Its enough Aunty... ". "Do you need water, Nisha?” my inquisitive mom asked her. The pampering went all along till I entered back to the household. Seeing me, Nisha realised, it was time to leave and rose up. "Call me once you reach your house ..?" my mom said. She replied, "Sure I would call you once I reach my hostel ... I would get the number from Ajay". My mom looked at me with the indication to do the needful.

And in a minute, I was in the driving seat, with Nisha and my father in the back row. The drive was very quiet; the exterior noise-free atmosphere was prevalent in the interior too. But however it was broken, on quite a few occasions, when my father asked her about her family and up-bringing in Meerut, while passing sensitive information relating to mine. "Ajay plays very good Cricket... He was in the college team", said my father proudly. "Is it so", asked Nisha looking at me through the rear view mirror. I gulped, swallowed, smiled and nodded, because certain things are left undisturbed. I was glad that she did not ask, "how many centuries" did I had hit ... For my parents, did not know that I was the perennial 16th man in the team, an "allakai", who skipped college classes for the sake of being in the team.

I was hoping that she would recognize the "superior" driving skills that I possessed, as I drove our Ikon with great finesse :-). Who knows she might have spotted it or she might have not.

And in 20 minutes, we reached the hostel, with Nisha giving me the directions for the very last turns. She called up her room-mate using the very same *secret-number* ... (Gosh I am getting very curious of that number) to inform her royal arrival in Hindi (Hello Miss ... Why not in Tamil/English, so that I could understand). She got out of the car and bent towards the window to say her, "Good-Bye ...”
"Ajay could you give your landline number… your mom asked me to ...","Oh sure ... It is **********", I gave the number without wasting a second. It is not many occasions that a girl asks your land-line number. Me and my dad waited till she disappeared into the corridor of her hostel, and I rode back with a sense of achievement, with "Manjal Veyil", song humming over my head, the song's actual passion, struck me.

And when we reached back to our home, my mom was waiting for us at the door. We were really hungry, and I had the usual guilt that it was because of me that my parents are starving. "Vitutingala ..." (“Did you leave her safely ?”), my mom asked us, as we entered the living room, the bright tube-lights seem to freshen us, it looked like I was more . "Ava phone pannale?" (“Dint she phone you ?”),I asked her back. "Ava phone pannitu thanks sonna ... nalla ponnu"(“Yeah, she called and said thanks .. Good girl, she is”), my mom replied. "Appo yathuku vittutingala nu ... yanga kitta confirmation vangara ?"(“Then why do you want the confirmation from us ?”), I shot back to my mom ... "Po ma ... poi sappadu podu ... pasikuthu !!!(‘Angrily’,” I am feeling very hungry … Get me some food !!!“), commanding my mom, who was glad to to carry it out my latest wish. I walked towards my room to change my clothes and refresh myself before dinner. The talk on the dinner table centered on Nisha and whether did I know her before. I answered nonchalantly, reading the morning newspaper, as I ate. I have the habit of reading newspapers, when I ate, the delicious food and the hot news mixed well for my mind and stomach. More than Nisha, it was food that was much dearer to me, and I was not very much interested in prolonging the conversation about Nisha.

It was not much before 11 PM, the time for me to sleep, to wake up the next day at 7 AM to catch my office bus. Finally, in the privacy of my bedroom, I closed my eyes and recollected the unexpected happening that took place. It was exciting no doubt, and Nisha was very much a girl, any boy would wish to be of any help to her. After some time, reality struck in, I realized (don’t I realize too often :( damn it :(( ) that it might be the last time, that I might see her. My bus doesn't take the T.Nagar route, and after training, she might be posted anywhere in India ( What a loss to chennai !!! … Worse than the IPL final round loss … )

A brief sojourn, and it was meant to be like that way, and that was the logical reasoning, I could churn out. I consoled myself that, "Manjal Veyil", song will work out some-other day when it has to ... I walked into the land of dreams, very quickly !

Impact of new Airtel Ad

2008-01-12T22:36:00.000-08:00

The new Airtel Ad is here, getting rave reviews, for its appeal. I dont know what is so original about it ... But who cares ;)

Guess what not only Airtel customers, to show their solidarity and support to Airtel's campaign department, a few furry friends enact it in their own way !

Bangalore Photos ... Click this one ;-)

2007-12-02T03:24:00.000-08:00

Photobucket Album

Walk ... !

2007-10-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

I was walking down the never ending Bannarghatta Road, fatigued to say the least, after walking for more than half an hour through the mazes of BTM Layout,on a fine evening. With no autorickshaw willing to take me to the place I was heading to, I got irritated at first, which later became a suffocating depression, which has haunted me, ever since I landed in Bangalore.

Loneliness ... waah ... I can give a better definition than Merriam Webster. The wonderful days, that I spent in Chennai, unknowing that I would suffer hardships in the near future in Hippy Bangalore.We take for granted, things that are at our disposal, without feeling grateful to anything, the list is enormous which includes parents,neighbourhood friends,our bike,now-a-days I miss even the casual smile, from acquaintences,which was so frequent back home. :-(

The walk made me really tired in spirit, hoping against hope that an empty auto (even a Merc :-) sent by God for me) would come by, as I travelled from one signal to another on the desolate walkway, the sky looking ever darker, warning of an impeding rain. "It is just one and a half kilometers more ...",said a passerby. I was fuming with anger, for making a bad decision to venture out that day.

Just a few paces behind me, I saw a bearded man with shamble clothing walking with the help of crutches. The rhythmic sound of the crutches, stood in contrast with my wayward tired steps. That fellow might be begging to survive each day in Bangalore, but he did not grumble for his erraneous creation.

"Accepting what we have", is a great virtue, I realised.

People may be tempted to give a lift to a beautiful lady(like Anila :-)) walking ... but do they care to give a lift to this vagrant ? The answer is a big no .

Disabled people like him must have learnt from experience, that world is not kind enough, that they have to work and strive hard even for their basic needs.Sometimes walking for kilometers in his crutches ... My situation is not as worst as his ... Many of us are not in his shoes (that we have, he lacks) to survive each and every day.

Why ?

"All that I have is sweat and blood to offer!",that long forgotten maxim struck me like a bolt from the blue.Come what may, its the tough that get going ! Rationally,I questioned my toughness ...

With a renewed vision, I saw him as a living example ... who fights to the last come what challenge may be ... Astonishingly all by himself,without depending upon others.

Inspired,I walked behind him till I reached my destination ...

The Goan waves ;)

2007-07-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

The waves came gushing,
Its roar fell loud and menacing,
But with no one beside me,
I looked at it with a smirk on my face ;

I stood away from it,
Teasing the attempts of the sea,
To wet my feet,
Its waves looked helpless.

But the sea was billowing,
I said to the sea:
"You over-estimate your strength"
As usual the waves did not listen.

The waves were let down each time,
By their own siblings(fellow waves),
The sibling which came to rise was absorbed,
By the one which retreated from the shore.

Seeing the chaotic attempt of the waves,
I felt confident in my stand,
The waves will never come near me,
The idiotic waves never learn the lesson,I thought.

The waves represented me,
My harrowed past and failed attempts,
I looked upon the sea - concerned,
I was fearing failure that was with the waves.

The more I looked,
The more I sorrowed for them,
Failure is everywhere, even with the waves,
No one can escape its grab.

With these thoughts on my mind,
I did not turn my attention to the trying waves,
Something was different,
That was for sure.

The siblings helped each other,
When they concentrated their efforts,
The waves came one behind the other in harmony,
Such was the timing,the waves aided their reach.

I was thrilled at the sight of it,
But the surge was limited;
I was hoping for the next one to wet my feet,
But I was once again let down,thanks to failure.

I decided to turn my back on these waves,
Saying "Good Bye!"
The waves said adieu, which I did not expect,
With one of them wetting my feet.

The chill of my wet feet,
Struck a chord with my mind,
The waves did not have just failure,
They had persistence and courage to win over it !

As a person who lacked both,I admired,
Then I realised,the waves have passed on those qualities,
Now its my turn to fight against failure,
The very reason that I was born for.

Goa Album still more .. ;) Click this photo

2007-05-28T05:44:00.001-07:00

Goa Pictures .. Still more ;)

2007-05-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Goa pictures

2007-05-07T04:21:00.000-07:00

My first kiss ... ( As on Neo's diary )

2007-05-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

I am curious about girls,even today.
She sat near me everyday.
I liked her hair,her pristine eyes dazzled along with her yummy cheeks.
She smiled whenever she saw me.

I used to smile back blushing.

Sometimes I make it a point not to look at her,
And listen carefully to the class proceedings.
But my heart breaks down after some time,
She must have looked at me atleast 6 times by that time.

No one from our class seemed to be bothered about our clandestine stares and the consequent blushings. *People must be busy in their work.I guessed*

A few days passed and as luck wud have it,the girl next to her was absent for that day.
I did not hesitate and captured the moment.
I cant beleive my luck I was siting next to her.
I moved closer and pecked at her yummy cheek.

My heart stopped for a moment.

"Did the teacher see it?"...
My tension which rose like a rocket fell like one when she SMILED BACK ...
Finally my time hath come.
I have a girl-friend whom I can kiss. ( Unlike Varsha :( )

I said to her "I would kiss you after every session".
Mysteriously she agreed to my deal.
She KISSED ME on my left cheek. ( Varsha learn from her ... ;) )
It was the first time when a girl of my age kissed me."

"Neo... " the teacher shouted. "Naughty boy!! What are you doing in that corner?"she asked.

I was flabbergasted,but my girl friend was not ...
She smiled at the teacher,as if she has not done any wrong :)
She(teacher) looked at me to admonish but she could not control her laughter.
My First grade teacher said "I am going to change your place !!!"

Errr....

Years have past, after that cute adventure ...
With a longing heart,
I wonder where she(my first grade sweetheart) is now ?

Back to the peck ;)

2007-05-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

It was a dusty afternoon in Ms. Varsha's house. The clamoring calls of the utensils,books,magazines,chairs,tables and even the old writing desk when moved from their original places,could be heard outside the house. The scene looked like a burglary taking place, things were strewn across the floor, in addition to it, the master-bed had a lion's share of the booty. It was awarded with the wardrobe collection, the cosmetics and the entire collection of Arun's toys, with Arun still playing with them in the midst of chaos.

In that very room, there was a woman, clad in a simple blue cotton saree,with no bangles and jewels decorating her. The straight face with widened eyes and pushed up rubick cheeks, indicated that she was doing haarrrdddd woooorrrrkkk. She was standing on top of a chair,balancing her whole weight on the ball of her feet,with her heel up in the air,in an acrobatic position. She had sweat on her,but that doesn't take off the beauty, with the lussome looks of her face, her svelteness and the tone of her skin, nine out of ten times people would not guess her to be the mother of eight-year-old Arun.She was Varsha, spring-cleaning the master bed-room of her house.

Varsha was furiously emptying one cabinet after another in the array of wall mountable cabinets.With so many cabinets,it will take nine lives to empty all of them she thought. Though standing on the chair, and busy with her work,she kept an eye on her junior-horlicks(hyper active) son.Arun, wearing his favourite stripped black and white T-shirt and a jean trouser looked very much intensed in what he was doing.Closing his left eye, he was aiming his dump truck to dash against the helpless 'Hot-Wheel' car. Arun was very much like the kid you see on Health Drink Advertisements, with short hair, smiling face and bubbly cheeks and top of all with the "aappaang chhuppang kappang attitude".

"vvrrrroooommmm ... Dammmmaaall and (followed by Arun's theatrical explosion)",Arun signalled *Mission Accomplished*,the Dump truck crashed violently with the innocent helpless car. Hearing the after shocks of the crash her son has caused,Varsha with her head into one of the cabinets,while emptying it, popped out and gave Arun a stern look. It was like a hungry lioness, giving a stern warning posture to her mischievous cubs. Arun took the hint and bowed his head. Varsha was throwing down the old magazines that got accumulated in the cabinets. The magazines in a bunch,came falling from the them and fell with a thud. This carpet bombing of magazines from the wall mounted cabinets mixed perfectly with the dishevelled room.

Arun, was captivated with the falling magazines. He jumped from the bed and ran towards them. He was lucky, his mother had cleaned up the India Today Magazines,which had lots of pictures. Being an eight-year-old boy,he loved magazines with pictures and India Today was one of his favourites. Quickly he started rummaging through them, pointing his finger to the picture and reading the caption of the picture.He loved the headlines in bold letters, as they were big and easier to read. "M R. Raajnat h Singh to be elected Prressident of BJP",Arun's voice echoed through out the premises.Ms. Varsha was happy that her son, was doing some reading rather simulating violent crashes with his toys. She was unrelenting in cleaning up the cabinets.

"Will the boys in blue succ eed?",said Arun who is immediately corrected by his mother making him to pronounce rightly the word "Succeed" ,"Natwaaar Singh caught in cland ...(once again Varsha helped him to pronounce a difficult word "clandestine")destine deal" .. and he continued reading the top stories of India Today Magazines. Hearing her son read the magazine's top stories flawlessly,Varsha took pride in her son and once in a while, stopped her work to hear his innocent pronounciation.By now Varsha had completely finished emptying the magazines from the cabinet and moved her chair to and climbed upon it again to open another container to empty it. This time she hit the jack-pot, for the first time in many years, she was able to locate the crockery sets and other utensils that were presented to her by her relatives, thought to be lost by her."Here they are ..",she uttered as she began taking them out.

"Look who is hotter ..","Swim Suite Collection ..", hearing those words from Arun,she knew that something was wrong. She placed the crockery sets,that she was holding in her hands back in the cabinet and looked down upon Arun.To her horror, she found that Arun had finished the India Today Magazines and moved over to the more pictorious Femina Magazines. Arun pointed his finger upon the caption of a Full Page Swim Suite Model reading "Swim Suite collection for summer .."."Arunnn",thundered Varsha,with madness and anger all over her face.Arun engrossed looking at the pictures and reading the captions, was frightened hearing his name called out in such a manner, and when he saw his mom mad with anger,looking bent upon him standing from the chair, a chill went down his spine. He even feared that his mom would bounce upon him from the chair and in an instant he stood up from his freefall position on the floor.

Seeing her son realise that she was enraged by his actions, Varsha softened her stance and said "Stop reading and get back to the bed ...Dont make me mad ... Cant u see that I am working ?".But that was still a stern warning, and Arun quickly ran towards the bed without replying back and took his toys to play once again, but this time in a subdued manner, making no violent crashes or noises at all. With peace set upon the household, Varsha continued her work. When she finished digging out her treasures ( crockery sets and presents ) Varsha, located a Cardboard Box with a caption "Do not Open- By Order, Neo ;)".Varsha looked at it and smiled, for it was her husband who wrote that.

With her husband out of town, she was tempted to open it and see what was inside, for she never opened the box in all these years. But her conscience did not let her, and she carefully placed the cardboard box on the floor, and got back to the cleaning bussiness.She enjoyed absolute silence from then on, and she was more focussed on her work. But after sometime,the silence became spooky in her mind,she thought everything is going super-nice .. How could that be ? ... Then a bolt of thought reminding her of her son Arun came to her mind ... Frantically she searched for her son, her son was not at the bed where she last saw .. Her heart thumped, she began searching for furiously, looking at all corners of the room."Arun ..", she cried at the top of her voice."I am here, mom",said Arun who was on the floor beside the chair.Turning to the direction of his voice,Varsha found Arun exploring the content's of the "Do not open" Box. She was shocked but at the same time curiousity got over her,she wanted to know what was inside the box.She said to her conscience that it was their own son who opened the box and she happened to see the contents by accident.

Arun had neatly arranged the contents of the box on the floor.Varsha saw some old greeting cards, some of which she recognised giving to Neo back in college, some watches that she had presented, and other things which might have been given by his other friends. Her thoughts went back to the good-ol'days' , when she and Neo met on college.Quickly she snapped out of the memories and with the mystery of the "Do not open" Box revealed to her, her admiration for Neo grew by leaps and bounds, which was shown on her countenance and resumed back to he work. Nevertheless she had a tinge of doubt in her mind why her husband had kept the box as a secret ? But with the tense of the work ahead, she never gave it a harder thought.

Meanwhile, Arun after foraging through all the contents, came across a leather diary. The soft leather made it pleasing to touch and being an adventurous boy, Arun opened the diary to see its contents. Upon opening the diary,Arun stumbled upon a page written in dark bold sketch pen. No wonder the writings attracted him. Arun who expected to get himself a sound admonishing for his act, was surprised to see his mother calm. This gave him the confidence to move on to the next level,he decided to read the page.He read aloud,"My first kiss ...",which startled Varsha,for a moment,she stood nonplussed. She never expected Neo to write about their first kiss in that diary. She took a closer look at the diary her son had on his hand, it clearly showed Neo's handwriting and written were 'two-liners' describing the incident.

Arun knew that he captured the attention of his mother,he asked a question,"My first kiss means first ummmaaa ... isn't it?"(The young boy thinks everything in Black and White .. Kiss was always an "ummmaaa" which he got before going to bed).Varsha was full steam blushing when Arun asked his innocent question. Seeing his mother blush,Arun began smiling and Varsha chuckled back. With the erupting smile on her face, she replied back "Yes", and turned her attention to complete her work,which was to empty the last cabinet full of oil lamps and clean each and every one of them,which can be done at a slow pace.The curious Arun began reading the Diary,"I am curious about girls,even today.".Varsha said to herself,"Oh boy, he is ever curious about girls",her face showed everything what she felt,her actions slowed down, the oil lamp which required just 1 min of cleaning now seemed to take many more minutes. Arun on the other hand did not notice the change, but was very eager to please her mother by reading the contents of the diary, he never cared to know the meaning of what he read.

Arun began reading the next set of Two-liners " But even to a tight ... (Arun struggled with that word .. Varsha made him spell out the word and made him pronounce Tightmouthed)mouthed guy like me. A kiss actually happened.".Varsha's memories went back to college days, when the incident actually happen, she felt a rise of passion,joy and ecstasy when thought about the incident. Then the next set of two liners "She sat near me everyday. I liked her hair,her pri... pri ..("Mom .. I cant spell that word ..",said Arun and Varsha who was listening to her son attentively helped him again by saying "Pristine") pristine eyes dazz ...led along with her yummy cheeks.". The reddened cheeks of Varsha, perfectly matched the lines.

Varsha continued to do her work at an ever slower pace,her mind tuned to hear the next word uttered from her husband's secret diary. Arun did the job perfectly, he read the two-liners at a pace that suited both of them. He read the following lines unwaveringly ..
" She smiled whenever she saw me.
I used to smile back blushing.
Sometimes I make it a point not to look at her and listen carefully to the class proceedings.
But my heart breaks down after some time,she must have looked at me atleast 6 times by that time. ".

Varsha was blushing with emotions,wondering what Neo must have felt about her. Then the next one, " No one from our class seemed to be bothered about our clandestine(Both Arun and Varsha beamed with joy when Arun pronounced it correctly) stares and the consequent blushings. *People must be busy in their work.I guessed* ". A wide smile decorated her face, when Arun read the above line, she reasoned that as she and Neo were among the top love couples in college, everyone knew about their affair, so it was logical that people did not bother about them.

But Varsha did feel a tinge of confusion and suspicion,when Arun read the next set of two-liners" A few days passed and as luck wud have it,the girl next to her was absent for that day.
I did not hesitate and captured the moment.
I cant beleive my luck I was siting next to her. ",Varsha felt for the first time that the girl mentioned in Neo's short poem might not be her.She kept on thinking hard for an incident,where Neo came and sat next to her while on college.She reasoned out that the chances are null as Varsha sat on the first bench and Neo never had a chance to sit with her during class times.Varsha's mind so far relishing the two-liners, now had a thousands of thoughts clamour on it .. "If its not me .. then who else ?"

Slowly, from ecstasy to suspicion and finally fear took over Varsha's heart and it finally burst when Arun read the dreaded lines, " I moved closer and pecked at her yummy cheek.
My heart stopped .. "Actually her heart did stop for a moment, she was 100% sure that she was not the girl, whom Neo kissed as he mentions in that diary.She said,"Stop it,Arun .. Its enough, go and do ur homework", in a breaking voice. Arun saw her mother through traverse through a galaxy of emotions.But though he did not understand what was going on his mom's mind,he recognized that mom was feeling bad,with sorrow and misery and its better for him to obey her words.He showed his disappointment,for not being able to read anyfurther,nevertheless,he replied back,"Sure mom .." ,he closed the diary and walked out of the room.

Varsha, felt a deep sense of disappointment and rejection,she could not stand to hear the lines written in that diary, but tried to divert her attention on the impending work ahead of her. But the thought of who that girl might be, and why Neo did not mention about the girl,kept on haunting her. As a consequence, the energy and zeal which she had before had been drained completely. The spring-cleaning of the bed-room which she undertook single-handedly in the beginning now seemed to be very harder. She slogged through out the remaining afternoon and a good part of evening to complete her work. All these time,she waited patiently for the phone call from Neo,who usually called him everyday while he is out-of-town. She was determined to ask Neo, who that person was whom he had kissed. But as luck would have it, Neo did not call her up, and with the worrisome thoughts haunting her, she had to prepare dinner and help Arun on his homework.

It was a tiring day for Varsha,both mentally and physically. Her mind,body and soul had been stretched too far. The phone call from Neo that was expected to arrive,did not arrive and it added to the pain. At the end of all, she lay on her bed with Arun fast asleep beside her. She made up her mind to know about the girl that was written on the diary. Silently,she got up from the bed and moved towards the previous bedroom which had the 'Do not open' box. She lit the desk lamp and sat on a chair and placed that box on the table. She began examining each and every article in that box to get clues. She opened and saw each and every article in it,be it the greeting cards, the watches he presented him and other gifts from Neo's friend. There was nothing suspicious of the things,that Neo had stored in that box, nothing seemed of clandestine nature,except what was written in that diary.

Then she decided to read the whole thing written on that diary and find out for herself, who that girl might be.With tension mounting on her heart every second, she began reading from the following lines, " I moved closer and pecked at her yummy cheek.
My heart stopped for a moment.
"Did the teacher see it?"... My tension which rose like a rocket fell like one when she SMILED BACK ...
Finally my time hath come.
I have a girl-friend whom I can kiss. ( Unlike Varsha :( ) "
"Unlike Varsha", that comment hurt her, tears dropped from her eyes, she was still in shock. Her worst fears have come true. With dirge engulfing her heart, a lachrymosal Varsha ... in utter disbelief and anger, she braced herself to read the full poem ..
"I said to her "I would kiss you after every session". Mysteriously she agreed to my deal.
She KISSED ME on my left cheek. ( Varsha learn from her ... ;) )
It was the first time when a girl of my age kissed me." The painful lyrics, made it even more agonizing by the very mention of her name. "How could Neo be so cruel to me ?", she thought,"He wrote this poem after coming to know about me".. The tears began to ebb out, like a stream. Varsha was a composed woman by nature, but for a brief period of time, she lost her composure completly.She thought that she should not have read the diary and wished that the box was never opened.

A tear fell upon the diary and made a blot, it made Varsha look down upon the diary for the last time .. Her eyes caught the following few lines ..
" "Neo... " the teacher shouted. "Naughty boy!! What are you doing in that corner?"she asked.
I was flabbergasted,but my girl friend was not ...
She smiled at the teacher,as if she has not done any wrong :) ", Varsha got confused reading that line .. that was quite evident even on her tearful eyes. To understand it, she voraciously began reading the last lines ...
"She(teacher) looked at me to admonish but she could not control her laughter.
My First grade teacher said "I am going to change your place !!!"
Errr....
Years have past, after that cute adventure ...
I wonder where she(my first grade sweetheart) is now ?"

In an instance, the misery, sorrow,disappointment and rejection disappeared, the brute force of releif washed her aching heart. She began to laugh , but the tears did not stop flowing. "Oh my god .. I have been taken for a ride ..!",she thought. She was indeed taken on a wild ride, which made her cry and and still makes her cry, but this time in joy. In that moment of releif and happiness, she thought about the very secrets that people hold on, some of them are hidden to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts, others too silly to be told, even she had many secrets that she dared not say to her husband and above all the work of the 'divine hand' in opening up her husband's secret to her ...

She wiped her tears ... She searched for a pen,on the desk drawer. She found a pen, in the drawer which was emptied on the afternoon ( another miracle work of the 'divine hand', I would say ;) ). She was determined to share her secret too ... "It is a secret, that I cherished, wondering where he was ... till the day I met you, Neo, but the time has come ...", she said to herself.

Then with the moist of the tears still on her palms,she gripped the pen and began writing below,
"I wonder where she(my first grade sweetheart) is now ?"
the following words,"She is in your home, as your wife !"

Spirited Coffee

2007-04-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. the traffic signal timer beamed in the night showing
the countdown ...

Ajay started his Bajaj Caliber 115,with just a kick in macho style,being at the edge of the traffic line,he had a panoramic view of the Adayar signal and the flyover that exists beside it.Hoards of people were walking along the pavement,some of them jay walking in the last few seconds,the share autos luring people from the bus stop,the buses filled with passengers and so on,but he riveted his eyes upon a Pulsar 180cc a few feet away from him,which was firing on all cylinders, all set to blast away.He gave a glancing look at the rider, who was wearing a leather jacket with boots and a helmet. He nodded at him in a maverick style and then focused on the timer.

4.. 3.. And then jet set go ! Ajay had his adrenaline rush and with this josh he wants to beat everybody on the road. His bike had a great pick-up and matched the pulsar and soon they left behind the cavalry of vehicles. Ajay knew that his bike is no match for that pulsar monster in the long run, he had to take risks in the corners and break very lately. The guy who was riding the pulsar knew that he had a race in hand and drove aggressively.

But one thing set apart Ajay from the other rider,in a way from everyone else : Ajay gave a damn to anything around him,a thrill seeker who would push himself to the brink.He proved himself, once again, with the bikes and cars he criss crossed while driving, the sharp cuts and turns and the blind maneuvers he performed. The other rider thought that he could match him at first believing that his super powered vehicle could take him, but later on driving in the traffic, he got frightened a bit criss crossing vehicles and began backing off from the race. Ajay had the camera-finish at one signal when he fizzed past the signal with just 2 seconds to spare,leaving the other rider caught up in the signal.

So Ajay rode victorious, another un-announced race won by him, and began slowing down unsually.He was driving normally making way for the other bikes and cars which were speeding behind him. So from a fiery start to a pussycat finish, Ajay was crawling towards his home-the 'Star City' apartments,which was one of the mushrooming serviced apartments (where youcan get your laundry done, to house keeping and of course provide you with meals if requested) in Chennai city, from work!

The Ajay smiled at the watchman who saluted him as he entered the parking area. His Caliber 115 looked like the odd one out in the midst of Honda Citys,Sonatas and even some Mercs which were parked alongside it.Ajay was a strange man,a man of few words,a daring maverick, and was always composed.As he passed through the lobby, he met Singa, the errand-boy of the apartment.Singa admired Ajay,even adored him as a hero.He was very much servile to him, at times he will do errands just to get into his apartment and see him. Seeing Ajay in his denims and shades made him look in awe.Quickly he snapped out of his gaping stare and asked him,"Saar, laundry podringa na sollunga nan mela vanthu yaduthukiraen"(Sir, If u want laundry services, I will come upstairs to your room and fetch them). Ajay replied back in one word,"Seri"(Okay) and walked to the lift.On his way up to the 4th floor in the lift,Ajay's cell phone vibrated sighting the arrival of the message.

Ajay opened the message to see what it was .. It was from Rohit ("I will be there in 5 mins"), his old friend from college. Ajay had called Rohit to pay a visit,which surprised Rohit,because Ajay disappeared from the radar for more than 3 years once out of the college.

As his friend was arriving,Ajay came down in the same lift and sat in the lobby waiting for his friend. Ajay hated the lobby in the evenings, as he had to endure yapping conversations from old residents who had their meeting there.But now he had to sit next to Mr.Anbudurai, one of the oldies in the apartment.Ajay made sure that he would not make the mistake of opening an conversation with him,he kept himself busy by reading the papers and looked for Singa to chitchat .. Ahem , Singa had gone out for some errand that might have been given by anyone of the 15 residents of that apartment.Time went by and it was 15 mins since that message and no sign of Rohit."Late as usual" thought Ajay and then at last Rohit arrived in his bike. "Wow .. Is it really Ajay?",an astounded Rohit remarked as he saw Ajay coming towards him. Ajay's face broadened with a smile and went on to hug him and strangle his neck."oucch .. You are a body builder or what ?",said Rohit still struggling from Ajay's grip,"Man .. I thought u were an IT geek".Finally Ajay opened up and spoke,"U haven't changed , u still have your biiggg mouth and now with a flabby tummy too", and went on to punch his tummy.

Realizing that they were creating a scene on the lobby where other visitors and residents were present,seeing Mr.Anbudurai stare at them with contempt,they moved to the apartment, with Ajay leading the way.On the way up in the lift,Rohit could not control himself,"Man.. U have changed a lot,I still cannot believe it,Mr.Team Leader",he said."Yea .. I have changed",said Ajay who was a typical one-liner when socializing.

Rohit was open-mouthed seeing the interior ambience of his luxury apartment. The tone, the texture,the furniture and the lighting made it look grandeur with vaulted ceilings and wide expanses of floor space.And the view from the balcony was splendid, the white sand from the marina coast, the boats, the kattamaran,the light house trying to light up the sea,the St.Bede's school and the Russian Embassy.Standing on the balcony,Rohit started the conversation,"Ajay, frankly speaking we never expected that you would get to this level".Ajay patted him on his shoulder and leaned on the traditional Maltese column and said,"I had to change,I was fed up with myself being an underperformer,running behind success,that drove me crazy moreover Deeps wanted me to be like this".Rohit tried right from the very start to avoid talking about Deeps altogether,but Ajay himself brought Deeps into the conversation,old memories had to be enlivened one more time.

"You still remember Deeps isn't it? I cannot forget anything",said Rohit in a serious tone."To tell you the truth I haven't tried to forget Deeps,I have made myself to carry on and live with sweet memories",said Ajay, his face got back the unknown misery that shadowed upon him,known only to him."Thats good, and u moved on and achieved lot of things,a new look,a new lifestyle, a girlfriend may be..",Rohit was going on and on and trying to tease Ajay."Enough, enough, let me bring the chairs, and then you could continue your unending list"said Ajay."Hey bring our college photos too .. I haven't cast a look upon them for a while"said Rohit as Ajay left the balcony to bring the chairs."Okay",shouted Ajay from the living room.

With the cold breeze blowing over the sweet summer sweat, the two men stood watching the sea, how the undulating waves try to conquer land,but get back to the sea after each try.After a while with comfort of the chair,these two men as they turned the pages of the photo album,went back in time,smiling,remembering old friends,the pranks,the mishciefs ... Rohit noticed that there were no photos of Deeps in this album,and asked,"Hey we took about 1000 snaps of me,you and Deeps, where are they?"."They are here",said Ajay quickly taking him to the last page of the album and there it was.Rohit smiled looking at it and asked him,"You just have one snap huh?",to which Ajay replied,"Yes" and turned to the previous page.

After rummaging through the album,and having loads of laughter,Ajay asked,"You want something to drink?".Rohit retorted,"I want something special"."I make excellent coffees, u wanna try ?",said Ajay confidently.Rohit looked at Ajay from head to toe and said,"Oh yea .. Give me your best cup", in an energetic mood. Ajay disappeared for a few mins in the kitchen, then he brought a bottle of Champagne along with the coffee tray,a surprised Rohit said,"Whoaa .. I wasn't expecting this one !",lifting the Champagne bottle from the tray."So where are the wine cups ?",he asked, lifting the wine bottle above his head,watching the bottle shine in moon's rays."Hey,buddy,cool down, we are not going to drink,we are going to sip coffee..",said Ajay, and looked at him gleefully.Seeing his friend even more surprised,Ajay rose up from his seat and began addressing an invisible gathering,"Monsieur .. the coffee that I am making is called 'Spirited Coffee' .. Don't think it as an outlandish,exotic one .. Its easy to make,all u need is cocoa,freshly grounded coffee powder,hot water or milk and a few drops of french champagne.Add a few splashes of it to your cup of joy and suddenly your taste buds explode with the heady intensity of the aromatic alcohol and steaming coffee. Fortifying a demitasse of espresso with alcohol can also have delightful and highly potent results".Rohit who was laughing seeing Ajay do the theatrics,clapped his hands and said,"Ahaa .. You know how to drink, man .. I am fed up with the plain espresso, which our coffee machine spews out everyday in our office"."Hey, this coffee is a bit strong,it will make you stay awake through out the night,do u still want it ?",asked Ajay in a serious tone."Sure, why not ..",said Rohit eyeing the champagne bottle.

Ajay, sat down,opened the Champagne bottle and added a few drops of it to both the cups.Then they started sipping it,Rohit was very much excited to taste it."Hey, it tastes really well, I never thought, that the champagne and coffee would blend so well to taste ... ummm",said Rohit,with his senses charged up with cafeine.Ajay sipping the coffee and looking at the moon said,"It tastes well till you dont add sugar", turning towards Rohit,he continued,"Sugar spoils everything".

"Okay,it tastes good without adding sugar,but I dont think sugar will spoil it",said Rohit."Beleive me, I have tried it a zillion times,you wont get the real taste of cocoa if you add sugar"said Ajay,speaking like an expert."Ahem .. The expert says so, do you drink this daily?,asked Rohit having another sip of it."Yea .. I have at least 3 or 4 cups at night", said Ajay callously."Hey dint you say that it keeps you awake, then how will you sleep?"enquired Rohit."I drink this so that I wont sleep and dream,I suffer from lucid dreams",said Ajay with a twink."Now what's that?",asked Rohit with a puzzeled look,keeping the coffee mug on the table."Do you really want to know it?",asked Ajay,to which Rohit nodded with a smile."Well,lucid dreams are dreams when you know that you are actually dreaming .. Your sub concious mind takes over, the dream takes the path as you desire .." and Ajay stopped abruptly."It sounds interesting, do u mean that u could relish your desires while dreaming ? .. Its great .. I wish that I could have it too ..", Ajay interrupted Rohit and said,"Hey feel lucky that u dont have it, not only it can make you fulfill your desires, think about nightmares .. the things that you would like to forget .. they pop up and haunt you, and the worse part is you know that you are in full control of it,yet you could not do a damn thing to stop it.."said Ajay in a forceful manner,his face showed fatigue,anger and desperation."I dont understand it",said Rohit with a puzzled look.

Ajay began explaining, "Look, in lucid dreams you dream and feel as you want to be ... For example, if u like particular dog, which you seen before,in a lucid dream, you could have that same dog or convert anyother dog into that one,provided you have strong sub concious desire for it ...".Rohit still looking confused,"So it creates an illusion of what you desire and what you want .. It's form of stress releival .. So what's the problem.". Ajay smiled and sipped cofffee,took some time,to compose himself and began, "In life we miss so many things, so many people come and go, we like some of them, we dislike some of them .. When concious we have self control, over what we think and act, but in those dreams, our innermost desires, the things that we like to forget,comeforth ... slowly it portrays your negative side .."

There was silence for a while,while in silence,the men felt the sanguine sea breeze blowing over them,and the waves, but this time it felt like the sea is waging a losing battle with the land, the waves return back to the sea, without conquering anything.Then Rohit broke the silence,"So what haunts u?",said Rohit with an arm over Ajay's shoulder."Deeps ... ",said Ajay and paused,"I have tried myself to be occupied all the time when I am awake,but not when I am asleep .. It is funny isn't it .. Deeps falls in my dreams ...",laughed Ajay.Rohit was looking worried,"Hey man, I know it's very hard, but think about the things u have, you got everything, a posh apartment,an excellent job, you look 100 times smarter than u did on college, live the life .."said Rohit passionately.Rohit was watching Ajay, and when he smiled,"Why are u smiling?",he asked with anger in his voice."Cool down buddy,I am alright,this coffee will make me happy forever",said Ajay lifting the cup.

.. The doorbell rang .. "It must be Singa ..,I will be back soon,stay here",said Ajay raising from the chair.Ajay went to see who it was, and it was Singa at the door with the trolley to collect laundry."Saar, Dhobi podringala?"(Do you have any clothes to be laundered?)."Onnum illa pa ..(There is nothing)",said Ajay."Nan kodutha pant unakku nalla erukku da(The pant that I gave you fits well for u)",said Ajay pointing to Singa's trouser."Thank you,saar",said singa blushing with pride."Singa, inga vaa (Singa,come here)",said a voice,the two looked leftwards and there stood Mr.Anbudurai pointing his finger at Singa."Perusu kupiduthu nan varaen saar(The old man is calling me,I will come later,bye sir)said Singa and moved the heavy trolley towards Mr.Anbudurai's apartment.Ajay was watching Singa move towards him,he smiled at Mr.Anbudurai and gave him a flying kiss.Mr.Anbudurai was shocked,he could not beleive his eyes.Laughing madly at the shell shocked man,Ajay came back into the living room laughing."Hey why are you laughing madly?"asked Rohit."I gave a flying kiss to my neighbor da",said Ajay controlling his laughter."Hey, is it your new .. new .. ",said Rohit trying to bring out the truth."Nope .. I gave a flying kiss to an 80-year-old man .. He stares at me all the time.."smirked Ajay."Ha ha .. Whatever .. so still playing pranks huh .. Luckily .. You dint change completely",said Rohit.

"Not only that .. I still have my Caliber 115,you remember it isn't it ?,I don't like to lose things da",said Ajay with a smile."Why are we standing, lets sit in the balcony,I left you in the balcony",said Ajay."Its ok .. I will be leaving in a few minutes",said Rohit."Hey dude,how are your parents?"asked Rohit."They are fine,I visited them last week.By the way I forgot to tell you,I resigned my job .. I am leaving chennai",said Ajay."Ohh .. that's a shocker",said Rohit showing dissapointment."Even my parent's did not believe me,when I told them,they asked me to come home",said Ajay in a philosophical tone."I thought I could have coffee with you once in a while ..",said Rohit still having the dissappointment in his tone."Hey cheer up ... I told you the recipe, you prepare it and surprise your friends",said Ajay trying to cheer him up."Sure ..",said Rohit and hugged Ajay.

Ajay came downstairs to the parking lot, to send off his friend. Still feeling the gloom that surrounded them,he tried to change the mood by telling an anecdote."One of my past-times is throwing paper balls at the Russian embassy .."said Ajay and suddenly stopped waiting to see Rohit's reaction.Rohit was amused,"What ? Do u really do that?",he asked Ajay."Yea .. when the sea breeze is very low,I throw paper balls from my balcony to the Russian Embassy courtyard and run for cover ..(laughs) .. Still they could not find out who it was ..",said Ajay and Rohit was in splits.With the mood changed all together,it was time to say good-bye.

Rohit started his bike,"Bye Ajay, I had a great time with you ..."he said passionately."Buddy .. I will never forget you .. thanks a lot for coming .. Bye da",said Ajay and hugged him one more time.Ajay stood, as he watched Rohit ride home.

Ajay went back to his room and closed the door,gently.He felt lonely,once again,but this time he had satisfaction,that he had accomplished something,the perennial Deeps was back in his mind,"Time for another coffee" he thought.He moved to the kitchen, took the open sugar jar on the table and began adding sugar to the coffee in the flask."one .. two .. three .. four .." he whispered as he added tablespoon after tablespoons of sugar to the coffee.Then he left to bring back Champagne bottle left in the Balcony.This time he drank some raw Champagne and added a few ounces of it to the coffee.

"Cheers .. Deeps", he said and began sipping the coffee slowly. The coffee tasted great,his senses at the zenith level in ecstasy.Ajay closed his eyes, and began to dream,"He was driving his Caliber 115,riding in a never ending road,going past pylons,with wind gushing at him."..He felt that something was wrong .. and that feeling was getting stronger and stronger .. at one point strong enough to come out of the dream.He opened his eyes and saw the open sugar jar.His eyes became delirious, but his mind woke up to the situation."I did not leave the sugar jar open .. who did it ?"he thought and the sense that something wrong happened became frightening. His hands started to shiver, and his legs drool,he struggled to stand by leaning against the wall.He grabbed the mobile phone in his pocket, and had a hard time holding it. Somehow he was able to press the last dialed number option and held the phone in his shivering hand on his ear.Ajay began to sweat, his eyesight becoming darker by the moment.After some 10 rings,Rohit's mobile activated the automatic answering mode .. Rohit who had his earphone plugged onto his mobile device,answered the call,"Hellloo Halalooya ..". Ajay held the phone firm and began speaking , "Heell Heelllooo .. Rohit .."."Hello Ajay .. I know you would call me,man .. I am driving crazy",said Rohit his voice was faint with the noise of the traffic at the background."Llloookk .. DDDid you add sugar?",Ajay struggled to complete the sentence,his words stuttered and stumbled."Sugar? .. Why do u ask me ? Asshole .. I added half a spoon, I told u that I like sugar .. Are you going to spank me ..? No one can spank Rohit, I am God .. God .. God ..(Pointing at a car) You bastard if you come near me .. I will shovel your ass .. (begins to horn non-stop and drives very fast)"."Stopp,youur bikkeek,thaat waas not jusst sugggaer,it hasss cocainnnee(cocaine,a powerful drug)" mumbled Ajay, the mobile phone slipped from his hand.His eyesight was near blindness and unable to fight further, he gave up and fell on the floor.

On the floor lay Ajay,in consummate happiness in his dream,his senses were active in the other world,the lucid dreams that once haunted him have come to sooth him.(In his lucid dream)"There he was riding on a road,in his bike .. He was riding to a known place .. (Why can that be Deeps house thought Ajay) and immediately he was imagining himself riding to Deeps house,his heart filled with joy as he neared it.He parked the bike and walked towards her apartment.He saw Deeps standing at the edge of the Balcony .. No Deeepika .. don't .. he shouted as he ran towards it .. But she jumped from it without seeing him .. He saw her completely in fear of death,with no one to help her .. He realised that she is dying once again before his eyes. He summoned all the strenghh he got and ran to catch her.

Time froze .. He saw nothing but Deepika falling from the balcony upon him with her eyes closed ..

He felt helpless, but was determined to save her at all cost, even at the expense of his life .. He braced for impact and widened his arms. The earth shook below him under the impact,but his will to save her made him catch her and do the impossible. "Gotcha Deeps",Ajay said to her trying to revive her.Deepika still closing her eyes,because of fear, upon hearing his words, woke up ..

"I know you would come for me ..",said Deepika.

Hearing those words and holding Deeps in his hands, Ajay felt bliss that filled him entirely ..

Smiling,he began closing his inner eye, with the unknown happiness still with him, he began his eternal sleep ...

Wake up !

2006-11-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

<<Beep>> The cell phone gave its faint plea citing an arrival of a message.

Surprisingly, it woke me up !

But, my mind was still lingering in the horizon, it was unwilling to come to full conciousness, the serene beauty of sweet memories which come unannounced, spelled a charm which was irresistable. There I was half awake drowsed in my flickering illusions, in a dark room, lying on a bed.

I had the most sweetest memory of all, my first cycle ride with my kid brother. As I was relishing it, the scene became fainter, and finally it was pushed out by another blissful one. It was so wonderful, I had the best time of my life. As time went by my inner self was regaining lost ground. Lying supine, I tried to swirl my legs to get a better posture, and find my K750i cell phone, in the end I did it after struggling a bit. My mind was trying to recollect the chronolgy of events that occurred today. It was murky in the beginning, but everything streamlined as the annals unfolded before me .

I remembered that I woke up a bit late, and my mother was already steaming ahead with full force in the kitchen to prepare lunch for my brother, who had a gloomy countenance looking at the clock. Unbothered I began doing my daily chores. It was Friday, and I had to do the Pooja. Grudgingly, step by step, I finished my "Home-Work". Finally, it was my turn to get the lunch box from my mom. But as usual, it was not ready."Ma, You are making me go late everyday",I shouted, but to myself I acknowledged that she is doing her best to finish her cooking in time. I have habitually become late for my classes,particularly for the XML classes which was taken by Mr.Prasad, the GNIIT instructor."One minute and its done", she prophesised back from the kitchen.

In the meantime, I had a quick glance at the morning newspaper, Saddam was all over the first page, uninterested I moved to the sports pages. I began reading the Apology rendered by Ponting to the BCCI president. My mom finally appeared from the kitchen with my lunch box. "Eat your lunch fully !", she commanded, and went on to say, "Remember to eat curd rice in the second container". I was nodding my head to each and every instruction, I grabbed my lunch box and rushed to the door saying "Cya". She called me back as I missed my XML book,cell phone and my daily allowance. She has a terrific presence of mind. After recovering *essential commodities*, once again I rushed but before I could disappear from the main door, I said "I will be back late... Amrita called me for a treat !" to my mother who was watching me. I knew that my final minute pleading for permission would work out, I had tried this clever trick quite a number of times to get a favourable answer. There she stood nonplussed and finally reluctantly nodded her head. I heard "Be careful", from my mother as I paced my steps down the street.

I remembered that I reached the NIIT centre in the nick of time before Prasad's class started. But to my surprise, I found that Amrita did not turn up for the class. I thought that my plans for a day out with her was ruined. As I was walking through the verandah with a broken heart. I saw Amrita waiting for me in the reception lobby. "You thought that I had broken my promise, isn't it !", she said rising from her seat. Totally suprised and blown-over, I replied back, "Hey what a surprise !!!". Amrita said, "Buckle up, we gonna rock today ! "." Yeah, Surely we will",I replied back. We almost ran to the auto stand. There Amrita called an auto to MOCHA . I was startled, I have never been to a pub in all my life. But I cant say NO to her. Reluctantly I got into the auto.

Amrita saw me tensed in the auto and giggled. This hurt me and I tried my best to act normal throughout the journey."Dont worry, I know that place, I chose MOCHA because Spencers and Mayajaal are becoming boring lately",said Amrita after sometime. There was definetly truth in her argument. We went to those places umpteen number of times and it was high time we found new ones, but definetly not a pub. The thought of my parents flaying me if they knew that I am going to a pub, sent a chill down my spine. But to continue with the brave face act which I was playing I said,"Its OK,Amrita".

MOCHA was very much alien to me. The dull lighting, the sneering eyes of the bouncers at the gate, who let us in after Amrita showed her CARD, the smell of cocktails and hookahs, and above all the fear of the unknown. Vagaries of thoughts clouded my mind, which rather wanted an azure. She lead me through the bar table an through the partitions that were on the other side. Amrita knew the place quite well, and even spoke a word or two with the bar attenders.

I did not peek into the partitions as we passed through, though I had a great temptational urge to have a look.Finally, Amrita led me to the last partition. There I saw a man sitting on the couch, smoking using his hookah. There was unusal about this person, he was wearing shades, considering the dull lighting prevalent in the pub. But to say the truth, he looked awesome in his shades. He captured my eyes. Amrita took the seat opposite to him and introduced me to him. Rising from his seat, he said, "Hi, I am Ajay", lending his hand for an handshake. After our handshake, I took a seat beside him, as I had to after he showered courtesies upon me.He took of his shades. He looked even smarter than on his shades. He accosted with me freely, and in a matter of minutes, we were on a flow. I was drawn to his style and his demeanor. Amrita who was looking at the menu card in the meantime joined in our conversation.

It was time to place the orders, when the bar attender came to our partition. Both Amrita and Ajay ordered Cocktails and I ordered water melon juice. "Why dont u try Water melon cocktail? It tastes really good",said Ajay. But I was firm,"A juice would be fine for me", I replied back. I had fears of drinking a cocktail in my first visit. Ajay did not fret over my decision but Amrita did. She tried to convince me that a cocktail isn't that bad. Seeing my situation, Ajay did the sensible thing and shifted the topic. Finally our drinks arrived, and I waited for Amrita and Ajay to sip a few gulps. Seeing me hesitant to drink my juice, Amrita started laughing and teasingly asked, "You dont have the guts to drink a juice in a pub,uh?". Ajay started laughing too. I felt I was making a fun of myself and began drinking my juice. The juice tasted really good. I wanted more, the smoke from the hookahs were not noxious anymore, now they had a unique fragrance. I became light, I felt as if I was flying. I felt a strange bliss surrounding me and eventually conquering me.

The memories stopped flowing thereafter ...

<<Beep>> The cell phone received another message. This time my mind was able to free itself from my opiation. Upon opening my eyes, I felt fear ... fear and a lot more of it. There was a strange notion that something really nasty happened to me. I sprang up from the bed and snatched the mobile phone beside me. It showed 17 missed calls and 20 messages."Oh Shit, what happened?", that was running through my mind. My hands were trembling, and there was a great urge filled with guilt and fear to see what was the message ...

It was a message from my classmate Anila and it read, "Anjali, Where are you?"

I was shocked and looked at the dark room in which I was sleeping. No way, it was not my usual bedroom.

Before I could think any further, at the next moment, there was a call and I looked at the screen. It showed, "Home Calling".

"Where am I ?", I said unto myself ...

I wish that I die ...

2006-08-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

It was 8.00 pm and there was no other vehicle other than the Pulsar 180 cc which Vroomed at 80 Kmph on the desolate ECR highway, that connected Chennai and Pondicherry. The street lights just kept on coming over the bend and the smell of salty air along with the monotonous shade of the lights made the adrenaline rush .The vehicle traffic at this time would be minimal but today it was at an all time low as there was a major accident near Pondicherry. A chemical tanker lorry capsized, and the police took precautionary measures, not allowing traffic till the Fire service department sprayed foam on the overturned vehicle and gave the assurance that it was safe for other vehicles to pass through the accident spot.

Karthick, a young lad in his 18 was riding the Pulsar, he felt as if he is riding the latest 2000 R6 Yamaha with a leather jacket and an armour helmet. But Karthick looked as if he is in cloud nine, because behind him sat Angel. She held him tightly, gripping his hair in her slender fingers, wishing this long winding road would never end. He increased the throttle till the needle in the RPM meter touched the red level. With the nothing to bear the pounding of the gushing wind, the two travellers enjoyed every moment of their adventerous ride.

Karthick inspite of the gale like conditions, managed to utter "How do you feel?".
"I am feeling great,uhuuu", she replied in a shrill voice with her arms high up in the air.
"Oki Angy,remind me when we near 'Fisherman's Cove', or else I might just miss it!".
"I will. I am starving...",said Angel shaking his head. "Dont eat me ... that too my brain!!!", chuckled Karthick, and Angel joined in the laughter. They were in love.

On the start of this beautiful day, Angel was in her room in the girl's hostel dressing up for her first date. "Did the dhobi(laundry) arrive?" moaned Rehane from her bed.
"No, its sunday isn't it, and our ISO 9001 certified dhobi service is deep in slumber" replied Angel. Rehane noticing Angel dressing up, took stock of the happening and said "Look who's going for a date!!,finally the D-Day has come" teasing her. Angel with her cute girlish-blushing replied
"Rehane, you are ribbing me apart, GOD ... I wish that Rehane gets a new boyfriend who takes her out everyday!".
"Dont worry, I will get someone, I am working on it !" retorted Rehane and went on to say "Madam,how did you get dressed up when the dhobi failed to arrive?".
"Ohh, this one is from a separate set of dresses which I brought from my home to be worn for 'special ocassions', each one is very special to me " said Angel.
"So you knew that this would happen, naughty girl !" rided Rehane.
"Hey, I have told you umpteen number of times, that I did not plan this date. It was Karthick's idea " said Angel innocently.
"Angy, you look great in your denims,your boy-wonder would surely like it" admired Rehane. "Thanks, Now I got to go. Karthick said he would be waiting at the bus-stop at 9.00. Ohh my god, I just got 5 mins more!!!,Bye Rehane,Wish me luck!"said Angel as she ran towards the door. "Angy, have a great time! ,all the best!"wished Rehane from her bed.

Karthick arrived at 9.10 and seeing Angel waiting at the bus-stop prepared for an explanation of sorts. "Hi Angy.., Sorry for keeping you waiting, that bugger Krishna did not wake up and I had to bang his bedroom door to get his bike's keys" mumbled Karthick hoping to get a reprieve with the bike still on. Angy smiled and said,"Its OK. Just now, I came to the bus-stop." and mounted on the back seat. "Will we reach in time for the show?" asked Angel with a puzzled look.Karthick throttled the bike into first gear and said "We will reach on time, Angy...". And off they went towards ECR to get to MAYAJAAL(multiplex) for the 10.30 show.

Karthick sped his way through ECR like a pro on a racing circuit. The two did not talk much, Karthick thought that as it was their first date, they still had hesitations to start a converstion. Angy liked the ride very much, but did not utter a word about it. When they neared 'Fisherman's cove' Karthick pointing it said,"This is the place where we are going to have our dinner!".
"Ohh.Its good.Nice choice"said Angel. She loved it and at the same time had a tinge in her heart that she did not reciprocate what she felt about Karthick's choice of the restaurent. She felt that she could have said more about it. She soothed herself that there is a long day ahead, and that their date had just begun.

They reached MAYAJAAL well before 10.30. They had a quick drink to refreshen themselves and headed out for their cinema hall. The movie was good, but they did not indulge in things that other lovers do. Angel really got involved in the movie and Karthick pretended that he too enjoyed it. There were frequent glances at each other during the movie, but none of them uttered a word,untill intermission. "Do you like the movie?" asked Karthick making a contrived attempt to start a converstion. "Oh Yeah,I liked it " said Angel clutching his hand. Now they got into the groove. Karthick was startled at this sudden jesture but did not showed what he felt,he said "Shall we go out and have a quick snack?". She agreed and they went on to buy Coke,puffs and popcorns. At that time, Karthick's mobile ringed, it was a call from Krishna. Karthick received the call, "What are you guys upto?" asked Krishna. Seeing Karthick blushing over the phone, she giggled. This made him worse and said "Man... I will call you later,bye", but the uncessant Krishna had the time to ask "Did you kiss her?" before Karthick could cut the call.

After the intermission they began to speak, from class gossips to personal stuffs. They liked to talk rather than watching the movie. But as first timers they just limited to talk and nothing else. Now glancing at each other and making an eye contact was not a problem. They felt very comfortable in each others company. The movie ended in a jiffy. But Angel concentrated to watch towards the end, as she liked the first half of the movie and wanted to know how it came to an end. As for Karthick, it wasn't the movie that was going on his mind...

After the movie they went to the food court, and took the prime table on the best spot. Karthick let Angel to choose the dishes from the menu card. She chose heartily never minding of the outrageous prices. She ordered Ceaser's salad and a king size burgar .Karthick was prepared for such an eventuality, he brought his debit card for today. They had a long lunch lasting for 2 hours which was lightened by frequent orders for ice-creams and Milkshakes . They started to converse about anything that came in their mind's and then continued to stare at each other till Angel blushed. After their lunch, they roamed the place till the junk food in their stomachs lightened. Now Karthick was serious in his conversation with her, he asked about her friends, her family and what she thought about him. Angel was not left behind, she asked 10 times more questions than he did. By the time, they got to know about each other it was 4.00 pm.

Next they headed out to the gaming section and the snowball arena. Angel tried her hand in all the games available, Karthick was hesitant at first, but a smooth persuasion from her made him feel interested. When they headed into the snowball arena, it was Karthick's domain, Angel was impressed by his skills with the bowling ball. But his bull run was cut short frequently by Krishna's "What are you upto guys?" calls. Karthick got fed up when Krishna called up for the 6th time, he answered, "I am going to crash your pulsar, if you call me once again...". Angel chuckled when she overheard it. It was getting dark, and when Angel checked her watch it was 7.15 pm and she sighed to Karthick who cried "Strike" when he knocked down all the pins. Karthick got the hint and both of them marched towards the exit. And Karthick with his macho-style started the bike into which Angel hopped in. They sped towards 'Fisherman's cove'.

A few miles down MAYAJAAL there was a Chennai bound bus from Pondicherry. One of its passengers was Mr.Benedict who happened to be Angel's father. He was looking anxious as he was behind schedule. The tanker lorry accident and the subsequent stoppage of traffic made him wait for more than 5 hours. He had a presentation to make about the trial results of the new drug developed under his guidance at the R&D centre of his company. He had planned to reach Chennai by 5.oo pm but because of the delay he could not reach Chennai before 9.00 pm. He telephoned the Regional office about the delay that was caused, due to the accident and scheduled the presentation the following day. Mr.Benedict was genteel in his demeanour, his co-workers called him to be a purtanical,Victorian fella. He loved the ambience of the ECR highway and it in turn soothed him from his tension arising from his hectic schedule. His co-passenger was fast asleep and there was no way that he could open a conversation with him. He tried to read the newspaper that he bought at Pondicherry. He was pleased to read the "India wins Test Series" article on the sports column. His demanding work-schedule made him, miss watching the match live. He enjoyed the vicarious thrill in reading it. Then he moved onto the regional section. There he saw an article about the recent spate of accidents happening in ECR because of over-speeding and loss of lives of young people in the category of 16-28 years.

Mr. Benedict thought if each parent had read the article they would not give bike to their wards and let them crash themselves due to overspeeding. When thinking of young people, he thought of his beautiful,cuddlesome daughter Angel. The bus in which he travelled slowed down, he thought to himself, "Now what?, not another accident!". The passengers at the front end of the seat started to get down from the bus. Mr.Benedict out of curiousity got down from the bus. When he got down, he could see other vehicles ranging from Cars and buses piled up before his bus along with it, he could see the entry arch of the 'Fisherman's cove' restaurant.

The sight of the restaurant made him energetic from the sluggish journey. But all of a sudden, he felt a premonition of something terrible happened in his mind. He made his way to the accident spot. On his way to the accident spot by negotiating through stranded cars and two wheelers, he heard the comments of passers-by that a boy and a girl travelling in a two wheeler crashed. His heart felt as if someone had stabbed him. His walk towards the accident spot, now turned into a frenzied run. When he reached the accident spot, it was crowded by curious onlookers. He was determined to see the accident, he ploughed his way into the crowd. Before he could reach the inner perimeter, he could glimpse the wreckage of the bike. It looked like a mass of crushed metal with some blood strewn over it, with the front wheel contorted without the hood. The people from the spot carried a stretcher containing the injured boy, from the looks of it, he thought that the boy was badly hurt. His feelings ranged from feeling pity for the young teenagers to his premonition. Amidst the frenzy surrounding it, hopes of people at that spot were to save atleast the boy's life. What happened to the girl's life ?. The same question hung around Mr.Benedict's mind. Finally he reached the inner perimeter of the accident spot. There he had the shock of his life .

He could not beleive his eyes, he saw a girl lying prostate on the floor, with blood flowing from her head. Her face was damaged. She was very similar to her daughter Angel. A second glance made him realise, that the girl was wearing the same dress that he bought for her daughter, when she came for her semester holidays. His heart pounded heavily, and rushed towards the corpse, thoughts like"It is Angel, Oh my God, Angel, Angel, What happened to you?,How can it happen?" to denial like "It cant be Angel!,She must be in her hostel, studying!" ran through his mind. But when he came close to her , he lost himself, his teary eyes could not beleive the carnage. "It is Angel", he cried. He came running and lifted the corpse. The crowd was in awe at the terrible turn of events. Mr.Benedict, hugged her and began crying inconsolably. He cried, "Angel, Angel, Why should you die?". His eyesight darkened and he became unconcious in a matter of seconds.

"I wish that I die ...", said a voice.

Amidst the jungle of cars and two-wheelers, it was dark, Karthick had said "I wish that I die ...". He repeated the same "I wish that I die ...", when he was kissed on his other cheek. But this time Angel gave a punch to his tummy and said, "Its getting late. Drop me at the hostel, Papa is coming to see me tomorrow !", from the parking lot of 'Fisherman's cove' restaurant ...

My first kiss ...

2006-08-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

I am curious about girls,even today. They act as if they are from a different planet, my mylaporean(very conservative place) upbringing alienated, and a bit frightened me from them. There had been countless occassions where I wanted to say something to a girl, and yet I remained as a quiet observer.

But even to a tightmouthed guy like me. A kiss actually happened. A cupid's faintest arrow must have struck me and that girl. She sat near me everyday. I liked her hair. It was like a barbie doll's hair without the curls. Her dressing sense was of haute coutre,her pristine eyes dazzled along with her yummy cheeks. She smiled whenever she saw me. I used to smile back blushing. I remember that I blushed a lot those days. But no one from our class seemed to be bothered about our clandestine stares and the consequent blushings. People must be busy in their work.I guessed.

At recess hour,she would be the last person to move out of the class. And I was quite the opposite. I always head out first,marching along with my friends like a pack of army ants. Did she miss me in the recess hour? I dont know... My brain thinks like an ogre when I feel hungry.. But she continued to gaze upon me after the lunch break. Sometimes I make it a point not to look at her and listen carefully to the class proceedings. But my heart breaks down after some time,she must have looked at me atleast 6 times by that time. Now I have to show my trademark loser-smile-blushing when she looks again.

A few days passed and as luck wud have it,the girl next to her was absent for that day. Now I had the chance to sit next to her. I did not hesitate and captured the moment. I cant beleive my luck I was siting next to her. Her eyes sparkled at close quarters,and I could look no further,even her faintest smiles rocked me.She chuckled when I was lost in her beauty. My heart soured and ebbed. She looked very ecstatic. I lost all attention to what-ever that is going on around me ...

I moved closer and pecked at her yummy cheek.My heart stopped for a moment.All thoughts ranging from :"Why did I do it ?","What a foolish thing to do?","What will she think of me?","How many from our class has seen it?",Did the teacher see it?"... My tension which rose like a rocket fell like one when she SMILED BACK ... Is this called elysian joy? The teacher and other students just kept on doing their work. Finally my time hath come. I have a girl-friend whom I can kiss.

The following day, I had the chance to sit next to her again. This time a peck wouldn't do I thought. I began drooling and her glances at me assured that I was on the right track. I moved closer... I kissed her again in the class,while she was listening to the teacher. She turned towards me and gave her seraphic beaming countenance in awe. I said to her "I would kiss you after every session". Mysteriously she agreed to my deal. I stuck with my deal and kissed her after every session. Inspite of all this, I managed to take notes. She was like a prim accountant, very serious about her work, even when she was glancing at me, she always had an eye on her work. In a couple of minutes, recess would start,when I asked her to kiss me back.

She KISSED ME on my left cheek. It was the first time when a girl of my age kissed me. I still cherish that moment. Everything came to a still, and I could hear my heart beat. Her pulchritude after that kiss was magnanimous. We smiled back at each other. I pecked her cheek one more time.

"Neo... " the teacher shouted. "Naughty boy!! What are you doing in that corner?"she asked. I was flabbergasted,but my girl friend was not,she smiled at the teacher,as if she has not done any wrong. She looked at me to admonish but she could not control her laughter. She came towards our bench. My First grade teacher said "I am going to change your place !!!"

Errr....

Metamorphosis

Hollywood and Beverly Hills

Journey to Universal Studios

Meme - Wants to live

Exploring the lust to be nice

Old hag and I

Vanishing faces

Ma Crib

My Cheese :)

The night I met her ...

Impact of new Airtel Ad

Bangalore Photos ... Click this one ;-)

Walk ... !

The Goan waves ;)

Goa Album still more .. ;) *Click this photo*

Goa Pictures .. Still more ;)

Goa pictures

My first kiss ... ( As on Neo's diary )

Back to the peck ;)

Spirited Coffee

Wake up !

I wish that I die ...

My first kiss ...

Goa Album still more .. ;) Click this photo