Mathi's Musings

The Puzzle

2011-09-22T09:44:00.002+05:30

It's what Life is. A puzzle. A puzzle that is constantly rearranging.

Every single being who touches your life in some way makes up their own individual little piece. Every single look, every single touch, every single word, everything that matters - every little thing becomes a tiny piece of the puzzle. And that piece is constant. It is always what it is. No other piece can come and take its place. There may be other similar pieces. There may be complimentary pieces. And new pieces are added, when new people are met, new relations are forged, new paths are taken and new lives are created, each piece finds its own niche. It will disturb the other pieces, they will be disturbed, rearranged. This puzzle is not a constant, only the pieces are. And even when millions of new pieces get added, every little one always holds its own. And if it is lost, a part goes out of your puzzle forever. A puzzle shaped blank is created in your universe. Where that piece was, now you stare at nothingness.

Is your puzzle complete? Where have your missing pieces gone?

Sleeping with soap

2011-08-03T10:46:00.003+05:30

You wake up in bed and find a piece of dried-up soap under your sheets.

You open the kitchen cabinet and find a toy sheep staring right back at you.

You sweep under the sofa and find four tiny cars.

You go out to the balcony and find a CD case lying for who-knows-how-long in the rain and shine.

You sit on the sofa to be poked by a ball on the cushion or by a spoon wedged between the cushions.

Your bathtub is filled with crayon drawings.

Your patience is tried to the utmost with blatant disobedience.

Your knowledge is put to the test with never ending questions of "what is this?".

You find yourself laughing silly at the crazy songs and dialogs that will be made up.

And if you have a blog, you almost never finish up a post, because you're constantly being interrupted with shrill summons.

Yes. That's what life is, with a two-year-old.

Tripping up the Hills

2011-07-28T01:46:00.020+05:30

A few years ago, I had been to the Kallakkad - Mundanthurai tiger reserve and spent a very enjoyable time there.An interest on my part to share the beauties of the place with Hubs and a shortage of time (isn't that always the case?) led us to plan to spend a couple of days at the reserve - more specifically, at this place called Kudhiraivetti.

With directions from Google Maps and numerous people on the road, we reached the foot of the Manjolai Hills, atop which Kudhiraivetti is nestled. The Reserve sprawls over these hills and can be reached two ways - from Papanaasam and from Kallidaikurichi and onto Manjolai. The Papanaasam route is much more eventful, with many falls on the way. But we picked the latter, since we wanted to see Manjolai.

Early morning start

The Reserve is a protected area (read: Red tape) and requires prior permission to visit or stay. We had obtained the permission from Forest dept. We now reached the check post near the Manimutharu Dam where they check if you have really obtained the permission (word of caution: be sure to pay any fees in exact change here. Any change remaining may be kept back as 'tips' ).

Manimuthaaru Dam

Since we had picked July to visit the place, we had to brave the elements to sightsee. First stop was Manimutharu Falls. Here a chain is tied across the bridge over the river, barring your path. A shameless beggar in a forest ranger uniform demands bribe from you here to open the chain. Whatever the season be, apparently we have to brave the pitiful humans too. Passing him with disgust, we also passed by the chance to bathe in the falls since it was raining and also windy, and went on driving up.

Manimuthaaru Falls

A word of caution here. If you are planning to make a trip to the same place, before you start check your car. If it's a compact car like our Chevy Spark, stop right there. Because a few kilometers after the Falls, the roads become extremely pothole-y. We had a tough time with the little Spark! You need a rugged beast of a four wheeler to navigate those roads.

The Bison that posed for us

Another thing to remember is to never ask the locals on those mountain roads the distance to a certain place unless you wish to have hopelessly inaccurate data. Rule of thumb is multiply the number by three to get the approximate distance.

Beautiful Hills and Beastly roads

There is a place called Naalu mukku after the main Manjolai town(?) which literally feeds the guests at Kudhiraivetti. We had to buy supplies for dinner here and carry it up with us.

Nallumukku Postoffice

Village of Naalumukku. Notice the loaded sacks atop each roof - to prevent it flying away!

A branch from Naalu mukku took us to the Kodhaiyar Dam. This place was mist-ifyin to us. No really. It was so completely covered with mists that we might as well have tried to see through clouds. And to think that we had actually spun stories to the forest ranger at the gate to the Dam about a fictional uncle in the Department to make him let us through, to be completely fogged up in the end! But then, for about 10 seconds there was a break in the mist which enabled us to see the beautiful Upper and the Lower Kodhaiyar Dams.

At Kodhaiyar Dam

To strike a balance, the roads were trying hard to cancel out the feelings of joy at the wonderful scenery surrounding us. Imagine our feelings when we heard from a local that the approach to Kudhiraivetti was much worse than this road!
With sinking hearts, we took the road up and found that he had not erred. After a shaky journey, we reached the destination. The place was as beautiful as I remembered and winds were as strong too!

The Kudhiraivetti Watchtower

View from the tower

Finding our compact room ready we thankfully stretched our limbs for a while before heading out to sight-see. Happy we were, for immediately we saw a lone tusker ambling along the hill-face some distance from us.

The pachyderm's picture

After he disappeared down, we found that there wasn't much else to see because again the mist had beat us there first! Next best thing to do was to go to bed.
Next day, all refreshed and ready to tackle the road we went straight down to the Falls for the morning bath. But sadly (for us) it was crowded with tourists so we went elsewhere in search of a peaceful place. Since we were familiar with the area, we went straight down and out of the Reserve and reached a village called Munnirpallam which lies on the banks of Tamirabarani where we could take a dip in the river in peace. After a leisurely and fun-filled wallowing, we started homeward taking with us bittersweet memories.

On the way back, I was wondering what could've made this trip less enjoyable than my first one. Then I hit on it - the first time we took the trip, my dad had taken care of the reservations, the driving and the general planning. My mom had taken care of the food side and the looking-after-the-family side. All I had to do was take/pose for pictures and revel in the wonderful scenery. Now I wonder how my mom enjoyed it then...

What's up Chennai?

2011-06-18T22:11:00.002+05:30

Seriously. What is up with you, Chennai? You have changed. Changed much.

Your streets are choked up with an astounding number of vehicles. Your products and services are sending their prices skyward at a speed comparable with our GSLVs. Your residents are multiplying at an alarming rate. And your people...Oh, your people. What happened to them? Where are the friendly ones I used to know? Why is everybody in a foul mood?

The people of Chennai were never a laidback group. In a fast growing metropolis which is competing for attention and businesses at a national level, the people cannot be laid back. They have to be driven. They have to be smartworking. But they were never rude as a matter of fact. Some chivalry was always alive among the Chennaiites. Road rage was never this widespread. The societal values never hit such a low.

I was never hit intentionally by a motorist simply because I had no place to move and he thought I was blocking him, until now. I was never serviced by rude salespeople who couldn't care less if you did not buy a product, until now. I was never shocked with Chennai's notorious autodrivers' haphazard driving and shameless haggling, until now.

What caused this? Is this the payoff for 'Development'? Is this because there are too many people? A few months' stay in the US has taught me to 'blame it all on the immigrants'. Do I do that? Is it because of the immigrants - people who have moved to Chennai from elsewhere in the state and the nation? But, hasn't Chennai always been a potpourri of diverse cultures?

I'm still waiting for answers from you, Chennai. I'm bewildered and saddened at your change. I wish that all these were only a product of my feverish imagination.

A walk through yesterdays

2011-02-05T16:03:00.004+05:30

They were swirling around her, blinding her. Memories built over the passage of years, shadows of days past. Torturing her, delighting her, paining her. She feels the familiar yearning - for the things that have flitted past, things that were never tangible, things that were never discerned when present but missed sorely once gone.

She walks slowly, unsteadily, makes baby steps. Faint shapes take life around her. The tree under which coffees were shared and drunk, the stairs echoing with the youthful laughter, every shape tugs at the heartstrings, every object makes the mind travel to the past with a speed unimaginable. Past - it was a time for the young. A time of joy hitherto unknown. A time of incredible power, a time of independence, a time when they thought they could change the world. A time when tender hearts were carelessly and cruelly treated.

And then comes the anger. At the unrelenting time. At the helplessness. The agony of change takes over. She feels like the dog straining against the leash. The leash of reality. But the leash holds on. And brings her back slowly. The swirling mist settles about. Now she sees the path ahead. She turns back to see that the memories have subsided - from huge misty monsters they have become bittersweet elvish creatures.

Tiny hands grab hold of hers and lead her forward. And she walks the uncertain path, where more memories await to be made.

New Home, New York

2010-07-15T00:49:00.003+05:30

I think Singapore has spoiled me.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog for a Status Update: Have moved to the states and living in New York now.

Ok back to the story. We are all set to make a home in New York and have been spending the past few days soaking up the city.

If we had come straight from India, there is a chance that we would've admired many aspects of this city - the disciplined traffic, the subways, the clean streets, the Laundromats, the huge apartment blocks etc.

But coming from Singapore, we only find reasons to complain. Take the Subway for example. Number one complaint - they aren't clean enough. The stations are dirty and the tracks haven’t been cleaned in ages. The trains make this huge thundering noise we aren't used to and especially in the enclosed underground, it feels like the whole world is exploding. And what is with the elevators here? They are either absent from many stations or they take forever to travel from one level to another. When were they installed? 18th century?

And the trains themselves are supposed to be 'air conditioned' but all the air did was to make us sweat copiously! I think they forgot to turn the 'Summer' switch on and it's still stuck at 'Winter' position. How do those high powered career types who work in Manhattan manage to take this train and stay sweat-free?

Next on, the food. The first day here, we went for breakfast at a small diner. For a couple of omelets and orange juices (a small glass at that) we ended up paying about 25 bucks. Did we pick a wrong diner or is food that costly here? I was expecting about 10 dollars. To be fair, we did get toast and potatoes by the side and also the food in quantity was large. But still, it was a surprise that we had to fork out 25 bucks for breakfast!

Now that the complaints are outta the way, let’s go in for the good stuff. The streets of Manhattan - what a beautifully planned town this is! The perfect perpendiculars with the one diagonal streaking through. As the guide books say, it does make it easy to understand the layout of the town.

If you're a people-reader like me, you'll find greatest food for your interest - New York City has this eclectic mix of people of many races. At any place, you'll hear atleast four or five languages being spoken. And not just different languages, the English accents are a-plenty too!

Few unrelated things that struck me here were: One, the international brands that we were used to are now no longer international - they've become local! Two, I got to see in person what I have only hitherto read in PG Wodehouses, Mary Higgins Clarks, John Grishams and others.

So in all, my first impression of this city is a pot pourri of wonder, disgust and quiet happiness. And I’m all set to explore and experience more!

The Fussbudget

2010-05-30T23:20:00.012+05:30

At the Induction Day speech of my first job, the company's vice president introduced us to a new (to me) concept - Customer Delight. He defined it as a step above the usual Customer Satisfaction.

Rather than a satisfied customer, a delighted customer brings in more business - naturally.

But sadly, even customer satisfaction seems to be pretty hard to find these days!! Customer need not be the king, but they aren't dirt either. What follows is a list of incidents where not even the S of the satisfaction was reached.

Incident 1:

A popular textile showroom in Usman Road (we shall call it Pothys) . I was shopping with a friend, on a crowded day. She had just picked up some pants and was waiting in queue with about thirty other people for the use of three fitting rooms. I in turn was waiting for her some distance away and saw a sales lady next to me, standing idle. I smiled at her (I did!) and said "What a crowd! Maybe you can suggest adding some more fitting rooms to manage this" in what I thought was a friendly voice.

She shot an irritated look at me and spat out, "Aaan, the manager will be sitting downstairs. Go down and tell him. Hmph!". So saying she turned her head away and I felt that she stopped short of slapping!

Well!!

Maybe she was already in a bad mood and thought of me as a nosy parker - even then did I deserve that reply?

This ensured that the portals of Pothys weren't spoiled by this nosy parker again.

Incident 2:

A popular photo studio in Nungambakkam (this we shall call Konica). Let me just say that no other shop had succeeded in making me as mad as this dear one! After the experience, in a fit of 'Hopping Mad'ness, true to the digital age I sent out a complaint EMail. Whatever I hoped for as a reply, it certainly wasn't this! I did not email you for the sales brochure, my lads!

[insert another indignant 'Well' here]

Incident 3:

A popular cruise ship (you know I'm going to say the name anyway) called the Super Star Virgo. It was my first cruise and I was all excited about it until we were actually on the ship. Well, trip details will come later but for now lets gossip.

There was a water slide which was accessed by a flight of stairs. I did not notice that we are not allowed to wear any chains and climbed all of the steps (which seemed about fifty) and prepared to slide down. The slide in-charge told me bluntly 'Stop. Can't go'.

I was confused and asked him why.

He pointed to my chain and said insolently 'Remove'.

'Oh am I not allowed to wear it? I'm sorry but its ok I'll take care'.

He shook his head and told me, 'Remove' in a harder tone.

I said, 'OK can you keep it for me? I'll come back and get it from you', so eager was I to slide down.

'No No. Go back down or put it in pocket', he said to me at a time I was wearing a swim suit (do they come with pockets?).

'Please? I don't have any pockets. Do you really want me to go all the way down there? Listen I'll take full responsibility for the chain, do let me go."

"Look. I give you one chance. You go back or get out".

That did it.

I was afterall a 'guest' (as the ship's brochures proudly called us) and common etiquette demands that you shouldn't be rude to your guests - even those who did not read the water slide rules.

Of course I complained to his supervisor and I imagined a beautiful scene would follow where His Insolency came and said "I apologise for being rude" and I sweetly told him, "Oh but I should've read the rules too. Let bygones be just that.".

Well, reality hit where no sweet scenes happened. Just one fuming 'guest' and a load of BS speaking supervisor were left.

The water slide looked too exciting that I forgot my pride and went and had a slide after I made sure that the same guy wasn't on duty. And I did remove my chain this time.

Just so that you, my reader, aren't left with a bad taste at the end of this post, I shall now recount an incident which was completely in contrast to the ones above.

Incident 4:

'The dot says its hot" - does this sound familiar? Its the promise of Pizza Hut at Singapore that they'll give a free pizza if the delivered pizza isn't hot. One pizza of ours wasn't hot and the dot did say so.

So, the next time I ordered a pizza, I told the girl that my last order wasn't hot and I had the box to prove so can I please have a free pizza too?

She forwarded me to her manager who told me that the rule is that if we get a non-hot pizza we were expected to immediately alert Pizza Hut of the fact. Telling them after a month and a half as in our case wasn't accepted.

That made sense, I said, but how can they expect me to alert them immediately when nowhere in the brochure or the box does it say so?

After some more talk back and forth of the same vein, she said that this one time they can bend the rules. And also that our free pizza was on our way along with the regular order.

I love you Pizza Hut!

Now there's an example of what the dude was talking about. Customer Delight? I should think so!!

Omana Penne

2010-02-18T23:02:00.002+05:30

If you have reached this post looking for the song of this name - wrong destination dude! But read on, it's as (if not more) interesting. ;-)

Sometime back, I was at a queue to buy some tickets. The Indian guy at the counter presented me with two or three options. So I turned around and discussed with my friends which one to choose. My interchange with the counter guy was in English while with my friends I switched to Tamil. When I turned back to the counter, he smiled at me and said, "Oh, Tamila neenga? (Are you a Tamil?)".

I smiled back, "Amam (Yes)".

More smiles from his side, "Neenga Malayalee nu nenaichen (Thought you were a Malayalee)".

I was curious, "En? (Why?)".

An apolegetic smile from him, "No, you looked good that's why".

Wait. Do I take that as a compliment or an insult to the Tamil girls worldwide?

I, of course, was stung and told him off as politely as I could for being so presumptious!

Another day, another time, I was standing in yet another queue for airline check-in (Funny how these things always happen at queues). A lady stood behind me and I smiled at her, since we were to travel the same flight. She smiled back and asked after an instant, "Malayalee yaanu? (Are you a Malayalee?)"

I shook my head smilingly, "No".

She gave me a pitying smile (!) and turned away her head.

Well!

I could've told her that even though I may not be a Malayalee, I would still make a delightful travel companion. But, I didn't know how to say that in Malayalam.

The Madrasi

2010-01-20T08:18:00.005+05:30

In one of my evening strolls, I came across an elderly Punjabi lady doing her breathing exercises in the park. We struck up a conversation. Or rather, we began to strike up a conversation. In my side it was carried out in English and on her side, Hindi. After a few sentences, she asked me, "You don't know Hindi?". I replied with the usual, "Umm.. I can understand a little but cannot talk".

She frowned, shook her head disapprovingly and said, "This is bad. Madrasis speak only madrasi. Everyone must learn Hindi. It is the National Language no?". There are only few things that are as annoying as the sentence above. But then I checked myself. Why should I get upset just because she's an idiot?

So I explained to her about this whole new thing called Tamil and about how there's no such language called Madrasi. She nodded blankly - poor thing was denser than I thought!

She reiterated the need for every Indian to learn Hindi, citing her own example - about how she learnt Hindi in school along with Punjabi.

I told her, "Maybe we can follow Singapore's model in language education".

"Yea yea, Singapore is very good", she nodded her assent.

"Yes, even though Malay is the National Language, they learn English and their own mother tongue in school. Malay isn't a 'must learn' you know', I said.

'Oh', she said. She clearly didn't expect that. And changed the topic.

Speaking of Malay, its one of the interesting languages and also easy to understand a little if you know English. For one, it uses the English alphabets. And most of the words are derived from English, Tamil, Hindi etc. For example, consider the following - 'I went by tren to the nearby pasar. It was a long walk from the tren stesen so I took a teksi. On the road I saw many elektrik lights. I saw a farmasi shop and a telekommunikasi shop.'

No, I haven't misspelled. Its how they were spelt in Malay. Any trip to Malaysia is spiced up by trying to decipher the road signs and a finding a small joy when a word is understood. 'Must learn' or not, learning a new language is interesting, no?

As the Eagle flies

2010-01-19T20:42:00.006+05:30

Here I am!

I haven't disappeared, dear Reader. Ever since I shifted my job, from being a Software Engineer working 5 days a week to a mother working 24/7, its been kinda hard to fit in the blogging!

Usually a thought takes shape in my mind and before I can document it, my time is claimed by the little one. But, I have squeezed in the blogging (though it takes me about three days to write one post) because, I've missed it!!

In this post, I'm gonna take you with me to Langkawi. It is a touristy island in Malaysia, filled with beautiful beaches and plenty of rain forests (Note to self: Stop sounding like a tour brochure). Since we wanted to taste the best of both worlds, we booked two nights at a hotel inland amidst wooded areas and two nights in a hotel overlooking the bay.

There is a great beach in Langkawi, called Pantai Cenang. (Pantai = Beach in Malay). It has the most famous and crowded restaurants and night life in the island. That is to say, this is the only area which is alive after 10.00 pm. Of our four nights there, we had to head back here three nights for dinner! Talking of dinner, let me recommend you the Little Mexican at Pantai Cenang. Absolutely deliciously tasty mexican food!

Getting back to the things to do (rather, things we did) in Langkawi, renting a Toyota Vios we drove to Kampung Tok Senik resort. We lost our way and ended up taking a longer, and incidentally scenic, route to the resort. The resort was set in a Malay village style (hence the Kampung in the name). Beautiful wooden houses with wooden furnishings complete wioth creaking floorboards! After a lunch of half-baked potatoes and chicken (they had the gall to call it Madras Chicken Curry!) at the resort's restaurant, Warung Tok Mat, we headed to the Pantai Cenang which is known for the water sports it offers.

First I went Parasailing. This was the first time I was doing it all by myself. If you haven't done it yet, make time to get it done soon! Its one of the 1000 Things To Do Before You Die. The absolutely liberating feeling of being propelled by air, meeting the setting sun eye-to-eye, seeing the gray-blue sea waving at you below your feet instead of through the tiny oval of an airplane window, and getting to wave hullo to the passing airplane - beautiful beautiful feeling! After the parasailing, I also tried the Jet Skiing. It was pretty exhilarating to skim along the water in something other than a boat!

The next day we headed to the famous skybridge of Langkawi (See Billa or Don!) which is reached by a cable car. Beautiful views from up there, all mountains and sea and islands and such. Then we headed to another beach called the Tanjung Rhu from where we could charter a boat for island tour.

Since it was pretty late in the day, not many people were there and so we got a boat all for ourselves. The journey started through a mangrove forest (do you call it forest?). The boatman first stopped at a fish farm, where the fishes are grown(for food) in the sea water in small square encampments. Living in an island, visiting other islands, you can have one too many fishes to see. Fish and ocean life have begun to bore me!

So we moved quickly to the next activity - Eagle feeding. There are many bloggers out there who request the tourist to Langkawi to discourage the boatmen from this activity and I join their list.

Out boatman stopped the boat, dropped some food for the eagles in the water and then raised the motor a few times. About six or seven eagles came from nowhere and started swooping up and down grabbing the food - all for our entertainment! The argument against this activity is that the eagles lose their natural capacity to hunt and their dependency may endanger their lives.

Next he took us to a scary cave (it was dusk remember!) and said it was the Crocodile Cave. He must have seen me slowly freezing in fear for he said reassuringly, "No crocodiles now". Thank god for that!

Next stop was an even scarier cave called the Bat Cave. Here, we had to proceed on foot. The boatman conveniently moored his boat and asked us to go ahead on our own. Inside it was absolute darkness and all we were armed with was the boatman's flashlight. I shone it on the cave's ceiling and it was like I was in my worst nightmare, but awake. (Like Chandler said, I was even being charged for it!)

The ceiling was covered with about two hundred bats - and that's only at the patch of light. I kept shining the light here and there and saw the bats everywhere. I literally dragged Hubs out of the cave as fast as I could. The man actually wanted to linger and take a closer look!!

I ran and he walked to the boat and the boatman now took the sea route to the mainland (rather main island) instead of the backwater route we came by. On the way we saw many yachts moored in the water which the boatman explained to us belong to tourists who sail in to Langkawi from Australia, Europe etc. Apparently, they park here since the water is calmer rather than the main harbor.

We also visited the all famous Eagle Square of Langkawi - nothing but a huge statue of an eagle about to fly. A very typical tourist place. Enough said.

The next day we went to Durian Perangin - one of the accessible waterfalls of Langkawi. Maybe there hasn't been much rain, but this waterfall wasn't very impressive. We had to climb a whole lot of steps to reach the top of the waterfall and we had to stop half-way since climbing while carrying the tot was hard labor!

Next, we planned to go to the tallest mountain in Langkawi - Gunung Raya. We drove for about 15 km and almost reached the peak to be met with this!

So it was a U-Turn and back to the ground!

And that was the end of a much-needed relaxing vacation. Lets wave goodbye to the eagle land!

Oh, are you wondering why I call it Eagle land? Langkawi in Malay means Reddish-Brown Eagle.

Family Circus

2009-03-26T20:16:00.002+05:30

A long awaited news of a wedding finally reached us. My hubs came to me beaming with the glad tidings. Our unmarried cousin was finally tying the knot.

'But', he cautioned me at the end of the news, 'you're not to tell anyone NOW. People (by which term he meant the parents and well wishers of the cousin) do not want Mr.X to know of this wedding for fear he may spoil it, as is his wont.'

'Fear not Oh spouse of mine', I assured him, 'This shall not pass my lips.' (And TECHNICALLY it didn't. I'm only typing about it here!!)

Further digging by yours truly unearthed the facts behind the alliance - who arranged it, how it was arranged and such details.

I have to digress a little here. A deplorable condition that I have observed while in conversation with most men - they seem to leave out all the important albeit small details that make a news so interesting. If I had got the news through a female relative, I wouldn't have needed to dig at all.

Anyway, I was used to the digging and to my surprise heard Hubs saying unconcernedly that Mr.Y was instrumental in bringing about the match.

'Mr.Y?', I queried Hubs, 'He is the matchmaker? And you're asking ME to keep my lips sealed?'

Hubs was confused. 'What is the connection?'

'Have you any idea how we are related to Mr.Y in the first place?', I asked him, knowing quite well he hasn't.

I got the expected reply.

'No-o-o. I just know him as Y Uncle.'

'My poor child, you call him Y uncle because he is Mr.X's brother-in-law!'

I got the desired effect. Hubs was flatly surprised.

A few days later he gave me an update - 'Its quite alright. It seems Mr.Y has promised not to let Mr.X know of the alliance until the last minute'.

Danger averted. What a relief!

Ahh.. the family intrigues. What will life be, without them!!!

'Tis the last day

2009-03-26T20:14:00.002+05:30

This is the last of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7.

After a breakfast in the beautiful garden of Undercliff, we were shown over the winery by Jane Hashmere. We sampled their house wines and my favorite was what she called a dessert wine - a sweet offering with nothing of the bitterness of the usual wines.

Bidding goodbye to Tannin who obligingly posed for a few photographs with us, we were on our way back to Sydney.

It was a straightforward expressway until we neared Sydney. The highway we were on was to take us via the famous harbour bridge to the heart of the town where our hotel was located. The husband had read that the road splits into two - one goes to the bridge and the other to a tunnel. He was cautiously driving so as not to take the wrong turn into the tunnel.

The helpful signs told us we weren't far from the Harbour Bridge. And at the blink of four eyes (ours of course) we saw that we had missed turning into the lane which was to take us to the bridge and instead were headed to the tunnel.

Our anguished eyes saw other vehicles merrily rolling along our left towards the Bridge (at break neck speed) and we had no choice but to follow our chosen path.

Now we were in the tunnel, and he slowed down a little bit so that we don't make another costly mistake and immediately was honked at by our followers - no slow pokes carefully scrutinising the road signs were allowed!

So he speeded up and at the next blink we saw that we had missed our turning again and were now headed to somewhere totally unrelated to our destination! Well, what will you!

We surrendered ourselves to the nasty fate and went where the road took us - which turned out to be Bondi Beach.

With our half-spoilt mood at having to drive in the lo-o-ong boring tunnel and being tricked by the universe in general left me in no mood to appreciate the Bondi (pronounced Bon-dye) Beach. All that I can say now about it is that, it was like Marina on a hot day with a cool breeze filled with sunbathers.

Mentally cursing fate and fully realising what our prophetess-of-the-diner had meant by 'No GPS? You can't drive!', we took ourselves off to the hotel to drop off the car ASAP.

We switched our preferred mode of transport to train and from King's Cross Station (oh yes they have one here) we took a double decker metro train (really!) to the Sydney Sky Tower.

It's another boring commercial entertainment spot where you get to ride a closed lift all the way to the top of a tower and get to see Sydney. And the entertainment ends there.

We got down quick and strolled around Hyde Park (they have that too!) for a while and then went on to the famous Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

What can I say about Opera House? We saw it, took photos to tell everybody we saw it and that's about it. Had I been an architect, I would've gone into raptures over the complex building style maybe. As it is, I'm not the former and and I did not do the latter.

After a delicious dinner at India Quay, we took a bus back to the hotel and rested preparatory to the long journey back home on the morrow.

The dreamy seventh day

2009-03-09T20:53:00.007+05:30

This is the seventh of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 8.

Whenever I wanted to feel a little superstitious, I have always considered the number 7 to be my lucky number. And its fun to be superstitious now and then, just for the heck of it.

In this trip too, 7 proved to be lucky. Day 7 of this trip was the best of the lot!

On this day, we started to a much-visited tourist spot - The Blue Mountains at Katoomba. Though we could've enjoyed it better without the sun shining away merrily, it was still a visually appealing spot.

The first stop was at the Three Sisters. A rock formation in the mountains. (Of course there's more info about it in Wikipedia, check here)

Taking the World's Steepest Railway, we descended into the Jamison valley between the mountains and walked along the rainforest boardwalk, getting our history lesson on the olden day coal miners and botany lessons about the flora of the rainforest. Our ascent back was by the the World's Steepest Cablecar, imaginatively named the Sceniscender.

Beside these, there weren't many to be seen (or described) in that place apart from commercial entertainments. So we were back on the road to our next destination - Hunter Valley.

Our Lonely Planet guide had told us that Hunter Valley was home to numerous vineyards and we had planned to visit one of them and if possible stay the night there.

Being used to automatic transmission hitherto (for five days *wink*), I had many differences of opinion with the rented Getz. But the drivers behind me on the road were admirably much calm and composed (or resigned) compared to my poor husband who was going into apoplexies at my arguments with the car.

So I finally yielded the controls to him, and leant back to enjoy the scenery, in pleasurable anticipation of visiting a real live vineyard.

It was about ages later (half an hour in the real world) that I was still leaning back, not heeding the scenery and in anticipation that was fast losing its pleasure. We began to despair of ever reaching the Valley before sundown and were downcast at having to spend another precious day in just driving the stupidly long roads.

We saw a sign advertising Fresh Strawberries and stopped to buy some, hoping to learn from the shopkeeper the expected distance to Hunter Valley. We found a sulky school girl inside and asked her how far is it to Hunter Valley or the nearest vineyard. She turned a blank look upon us and said "I don't know" quite abruptly then tacked on a "Sorry" as an afterthought.

And we drove on.

Our planned destination was the town, Cessnock. But it seemed to be too far away into the future and frankly we were getting fed up with the drive. Just as we were about to decide that it was no good and turn back, we chanced upon Wollombi.

Wollmbi (pronounced Woh-Lom-Bye) looked like a sleepy village, and except for loud coversations floating from the Wollombi Tavern, the scenery was peaceful. Silent roads, sleepy buildings and solemn hills surrounded us. Even the loud conversations did not mar the sense of beauty around us, it only added a cheery note!

All our boredom fell away and we were excitedly looking out for a winery. Following our instincts and a sign along the way, we drove over a much rutted road and reached Undercliff winery.

A rose bush lined path took us into the heart of the establishment and we parked near a small cottage, looking for signs of inhabitation. Suddenly, a dog bounded out and started barking like mad wagging its tail. We stayed inside the car, not trusting the tail and soon a lady approached us shouting "Down Shannon" (I later found it was Tannin not Shannon).

Finding out that we were looking for a B&B, Jane Hashmere (who was our hostess) took us over the living quarters, which was the cottage we had parked by.

It was a wooden cottage, built in 1847 by the first settlers in Wollombi. ("Quite historical you know".) The front door opened on to a living room complete with a fireplace (with a real poker!), mantelpiece with pictures, sofas that can bury you and old fashioned carpet and draperies.

To the left was a dining room leading to a kitchen and the bedroom (with a four poster bed AND a canopy!) beyond that. The furnishings, the wooden floors and panels, the old-fashined book cases, the decorations, the delicate china utensils, the little flower patterned bed clothes - as far as I was concerned, it was perfect! I had stepped into a Jane Austen! Nothing can compare to the joy brought by the feeling of living in a book!

Well, the cottage was ours for the night if we wanted and we were welcome to look over the gardens in the fast fading sunlight. Do we wish to take it? Do we! Telling her breathlessly that we would LOVE to take it, out we rushed, to explore the garden before sundown. And what a garden it was! Perfectly manicured lawns, rows and rows of grapevines, maple (I think) trees, olive bushes, and many more shrubs and trees I can't name and to top it all off, a brook nearby!

It was a dream to be there! And we roamed hither and thither with Tannin who was actually a very friendly dog, not getting enough of it. Out of the gathering dusk (Oooh I finally used this phrase!) came our hostess' voice, "I wouldn't go late to town for dinner if I were you". Brought back to earth, we drove back to the main street for dinner and stopped at Panino's.

Served by a friendly and patient waiter who had the time to explain the menu, suggest vegetarian alternatives and make jokes with us ensured a fine dining experience. And the italian dishes all tasted so good. My recommendation to anyone planning to visit Panino's - do!

Soon we were back, doing what we love to do - Stargazing. And this time it was not from a french window. We sat on convenient logs in the garden and slowly lost ourselves to the overwhelming beauty that enveloped us. It was one of those rare and beautiful moments in life when you feel that indescribable feeling of happiness mingled with an awe of nature!

Good things come to an end, and so did the seventh day and now my post. Next and last day in my next post.

Reaching Sydney

2009-03-06T19:49:00.003+05:30

This is the sixth of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 7, Day 8.

It was the sixth day and we had optimistically planned to drive all the way to Sydney from Melbourne, halting for the night somewhere.

But we had reckoned without that all important factor - weather. We had apparently picked the hottest week to go sight seeing!

We had no clue of the coming disaster when we sat for breakfast with Graham Wells, and were sampling the huge bowl of fruit salad he had provided as starters, unconcernedly enjoying the view from the cool living room. We didn't know the previous day but the living room offered a beautiful view of his large farm and beyond that the Mornington Peninsula.

After breakfast, he hitched a ride with us till the main town saying he has 'temporarily lost the use of his license'. I immediately pricked up my ears sensing a story behind that sentence but was denied the joy by not knowing the correct wording to form a question which is both polite and hides my curiosity!

We made the Phillip Island National Park our next stop where we got to feed strange looking pellets to Wallabies and Kangaroos which lapped up the stuff like it was...a strange looking pellet.

By now, the sun was making itself felt quite strongly and I refused to come out from under my shady tree while hubby pranced about feeding kangaroos. The lucky guy got to feed a large sized kangaroo with a joey! But escaping a heatstroke scores with me everytime over feeding a 'roo.

It was becoming hellishly hot and I was envious of the Koala bears who were getting a shower. But the poor things needed more than that. They were crouched in their own cool nook in their tree. After the mild entertainment of watching hubby get his hand nipped by one of the large sized ducks, we decided we had had enough of wildlife to last us a long time yet and decided to get back to civilization - the Sydney part of it.

And so started the long, long drive. Driving through deserted countryside, losing our way in the middle, picking it up yet again - it was a fairly uneventful journey. As we reached Melbourne after what seemed like an eternity of boring drive through the too-hot region, we began to despair of ever reaching Sydney. Sudden change in plans made us dump the car back at the rental agency and book a flight through to Sydney. A few hours and a comfortable air journey later, we found ourselves in Sydney.

The mild disasters of losing one of our bags (thankfully full of clothes only) and renting a 2-Door Getz (which was such an anti-climax after being used to Lancers and Camrys) stumped our already tired spirits and dejectedly we made our way to Chifley's at Potts Point where we were to spend the night.

Comfortable rooms greeted us along with news from the airline that they had located our bag. With revived spirits we set out to explore the neighborhood and grab a bite. The cheerful girl behind the counter at the all-night diner offered us confused advice on sight seeing Sydney - 'You don't have GPS in your car? Then you can't drive around here'.

How dumb, I thought. Does everyone have to be latest-techno-savvy to be able to get around a city? That's too much of a city to expect of its tourists, even if it enjoys the status of being Australia's Most Expensive.

Reader, you must be anticipating the cliche and here it comes - I was to be proved completely wrong... - I can't resist adding another cliche here - ...and that's another story! (which you will find in the subsequent posts).

I'll tell you all about our (mis)adventures in driving in Sydney but let me go chronologically and first tell you about the most wonderful part of our trip and the most wonderful place we've ever stayed at. In the next post.

Happy Feet at Phillip Island

2009-03-03T20:15:00.007+05:30

This is the fifth of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8.

Fifth day found us bound for Phillip Island. A long drive was ahead. It was another new experience for me to don the role of the GPS and carefully keep tracing the route with a finger. The downside was that I tended to stare more at the Street Directory than at the roads.

The countryside in Victoria gets monotonous after a while. It was exciting at first to see extremely fat cows, roly-poly sheep and stately horses grazing about amidst huge rolling meadows and large bales of hay. But soon, the familiarity bred not exactly contempt but a sort of smiling indulgence.

We finally reached Queenscliff from where a ferry was to carry us and our car to Sorrento, from where we would drive on to Phillip Island. After a comfortable but uneventful journey while the mercury was rising slowly but steadily, we reached the Penguin Parade.

It was here that we were to meet the world's smallest penguins coming back at dusk from their day-long forage into the sea to catch and eat fish. Their kids were waiting in the land in little burrows and these sweet parents regurgitate their food to feed their young. Translated into more understandable terms, that sentence reads 'the parents puke. children eat the puked contents.'

Wish I had confined myself to the euphemistic talk don't you?

These stomach-churnings aside, those penguins were one of the cutest

animals alive and their waddling was such a funny-cute sight to behold! They are about a feet high and about half a feet wide and it was so lovely to watch the dear little things emerging from the beach and pass unconcernedly the horde of humans seated in platforms.

Penguin parading over, we again went in search of a place to stay the night and came upon a Bed & Breakfast along the road. We took the turn and after a bumpy ride came upon a long low building in gloom. And without warning the lights came on, brightly lighting the yard. A short stocky man came out of the shadows with a hearty welcome.

It was too cinematic to be believed and I approached him with some trepidation. But nothing cinematic happened. After satisfactory negotiation of terms he invited us in to take a look at our room.

We entered the main entrance and came upon a living room so cluttered with articles that it was hard to see where the walls ended and where the furniture began.

It was a large, high ceilinged room, with two pianos, a computer in a corner, sofas arranged around the fireplace, a dining table, numerous chairs, cushions and knick knacks spread about and draperies, pictures, more knick knacks and books lining the walls. The christmas decorations hadn't been taken down yet. We passed on to our sleeping quarters which was a tiny bed room with a massive bed which had pillows and cushions and blankets piled on it.

The best thing about the room was a french window opening directly onto the backyard. It was this that made us choose this room over others shown by our enthusiastic host. Once we were settled our host, Graham Wells, asked us to join him in a drink and we sat around the fireplace 'getting acquainted'.

Maybe it was the combined effects of my overactive imagination and the previous night's Dahl, but thoughts of another, non-eatable Dahl and one his stories (The Landlady. Have you read it? 'tis a good one) kept popping up in my head all the time we were there. But do not fear, dear reader (assuming you are one of those who do so), my story had a different ending!

We were tired and we had another long drive ahead of us the next day. Sleep was the only thing we desired, or so we thought. We pushed away most of the cushions and switched off the lights....and saw the sky glittering with a billion diamonds through the french window. What price sleep now?

We went to the window and were amazed anew at the stellar display of the stars and nothing but stars in a clear sky. But the garage light was still on and hubby voiced our cumulative wish ' I wish he would switch off that light'. And at the next second, the lights were off!

Chuckling at our good luck, we settled down at the french window, forgetting sleep and fatigue. And the fifth day came to an end to find us watching the countless sparklers and shooting stars and holding whispered conversation since that night was too sacredly beautiful to be talked in normally. It was like another 'night to remember'.

The next day posed a stark contrast to such a romantic night and I'll tell you all about it in the next post.

A Delightful Drive

2009-03-03T19:57:00.005+05:30

This is the fourth of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 5, Day 6,Day 7, Day 8.

The fourth morning found us excitedly aboard the rented Camry, on our way to the Great Ocean Road - described in guide sites as 'One of world's most scenic drives' - which stretches itself along the southern coast of Australia.

Calling it blandly a 'road' gives it an impression of a tame pathway, even with the 'Great' tacked on to it. It was more than just a path and it was to take us on a wonderful journey. In retrospect and in a much Anne Shirley-ish way I'd like to rename it the Brown Way of Delight!

This road (I have to use this generic for want of a better one) has a multitude of little stops along the way - usually they are lookout points offering a grand (and sometimes not so grand) view of the Southern Ocean, or they are little paths leading to little beaches or they lead the way to some historic spot.

The first turn we took brought us to the Split Point Lighthouse at a little town called Airey's Inlet. If we had a helicopter, maybe we could've seen the 'split point' for ourselves I believe. As it is, we just saw this medium sized light house. Nearby in the sea, there were huge rock formations - one of them named the Table Rock and the other, Eagle Rock.

Walking back, we came upon a Tea Room which displayed handwritten notices that they serve light meals as well. So in we went. It was a cottage converted into an eatery. Tables and chairs were laid in the garden amidst rose bushes and other flowering plants. We entered inside to place our order and the room we entered into must have been the kitchen. What I presumed to be a family consisting of a mother, father and a grown up son were in charge of the place.
It was particularly delightful to sit in that homely surroundings and munch on delicious sandwiches.

I have to pass lightly over the various stops we made at various 'scenic lookout' points. To say it in a line - they offered scenic view of the ocean. Oh, how lame that sounds! I'm hampered by not having words powerful enough to describe the beauty the actual view offered.

Into every ointment, a fly must fall. And in ours, not one but hordes of flies fell. At every stop, once we were out of the car, about a million friendly flies came to greet us. And what an effusive greeting it was! They were everywhere at once - any part of us which was not covered were claimed by the flies as their dancing ground. I'm sure we presented a comical sight to the other travellers - waving our hands about and doing all sorts of gyrations to remove the flies from our persons - had the other travellers time enough to stop their gyrations to take a look at us!

A beautiful river (the Cumberland River), a not-so-beautiful falls (Erskine Falls) and a scenic lookout spot with a cute name (Teddy's Lookout) were visually taken in by us next. Then it was onward for the most famous of them all - The Twelve Apostles. Man, they totally deserve those capitals. The geography lesson is in that Wikipedia article. All I have to offer in addition is one huge 'WOW'.

And it was between the Apostles and the Loch Ard Gorge nearby, we played pendulums. After the apostles, we took ourselves off to see the Gorge, making a mental note to be back to see the sunset with the Apostles. If I ever have a 'Things to see before I die' list, I can now blissfully put a tick next to 'Watch sunset with the Apostles'. It was definitely worth more than the drive back from the Gorge.

After the sunset, we drove again to the Gorge because the beach there stuck snugly between the humungous rocks was too attractive to be missed. After dipping our feet in that ice cold water, we scrambled up and drove back (again) to the Apostles to find a place to stay the night.

After some search, we finally chanced upon the romantically named Summer's Rest near the Port Campbell town. We caught the Filipino owner eagerly watching the final minutes of an Australian Open game - and were thankful for her interest in tennis without which she would've gone home earlier locking the place up!

She suggested we hie ourselves at the blink of an eye to the town if we wanted to see any trace of dinner. Hie we did. And entered Waves just before they closed the doors. The harried waiter firmly told us that the only thing he can get us late comers will be Veg Curry or Chicken Curry with Rice and Dahl. (Not Dal or Dhal. Dahl).

We happily couldn't believe our ears. We never expected to be presented with our good old rice, dal (though it was Dahl) and curry in a tiny Australian town. If the waiter thought we would be disappointed at not getting the more exotic fares at Waves, he was sadly mistaken!
The simple but nice meal was over and we were back to our refuge for the night - a cute and cheerfully appointed apartment with all necessary comforts packed in that single room. With that, the fourth day came to a rest at Summer's Rest.

The morrow was to bring us penguins, a long drive, a ferry ride and night halt at a Bed & Breakfast, the likes of which we had never seen before. And that is in the next post.

On to Melbourne

2009-02-25T20:02:00.003+05:30

This is the third of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 2, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6,Day 7, Day 8.

I was woken up from my disturbed and cramped sleep by a bright glare and looking out from my cabin window showed me a new beautiful sight - sunrise from the skies! It was fascinating to behold a sunrise from a completely new vantage point. I could sleep no more and spent the rest of the flight alternating my gaze between the sunrise and the huge rolling lands below which I hopefully imagined to be part of the famous Outback.

Soon we landed in Melbourne where glaring sun and a cold wind greeted us. Did I mention it is summer in Australia now? The phrase 'The days were long' showed its full meaning there. The sun rose before we did (though that happens wherever we are) at around 6.30 - 7.00 AM and it took its time setting which was anytime between 8.30 - 9.00 PM! Well, all the better for us tourists. Longer day spells more sightseeing!

The same hotel check-in problem happened here too. 'Come in the afternoon' they told us firmly and politely. So depositing our bags, we took ourselves off for catching the sights of the city. Australia Day was being celebrated that day and on the streets we caught sight of many wearing their flags draped about their selves or faces painted in the flag colors.

A free tram runs around the city square (a rectangle actually) and we hopped on. The city was a typical blend of the old and new - beautiful Old English style buildings (I want to call them Victorian but I'm an architectural rookie) interspersed with boring gleaming metal and glass structures.
Next stop was Victoria Harbour where we saw Jelly fish - not behind a glass wall either but in their natural habitat! There was a curious structure on a platform nearby - a sculpture of a huge cubist cow stuck upside down on a...tree. You heard me right.
The inscription below said the scuptor meant it to represent flood situation in Australia during which it may be common to catch sight of a dead cow upon a tree.
Before I read that, I imagined it to be the cow which had landed at the wrong place after 'jumping over the moon'. Ah well, to each his own!

Next stop was the Melbourne Aquarium. There were cute penguins there, from Antartica. And there ends the interesting stuff. Looking at fish behind a glass wall is something I can get quickly bored with. And I did. After feeling we had wasted about $65, we left the place to have a quick freshening up and lunch.

We then took a stroll along a busy street - Swanston Street - filled with shops and eateries on both sides of the road. The street was lined on both sides by a broad sidewalk and it is one of these that we found something to arrest our progress - Sidewalk Artists!
The year before last, I was mesmerized by a video of a spray paint artist on a Manhattan sidewalk [Check out the video here ] and imagine my delight on seeing a similar one in person. This guy too, did not fail to mesmerize!

Across the street were people in gaily colored dresses dancing on stilts and nearby was a man who was cutting silhouettes out of cardboard of real people posing for him. In all, it was a nice experience to be sitting on a comfortable bench, with a cool wind playing around, munching fried cashewnuts and being entertained by people... each an artist in their own way!

The little hand of my watch was creeping towards 8 and we made another of our impulse decisions to find a beach from which we can catch the sunset. Another tram journey later, we were at the South Melbourne Beach watching a sunset at 8.30 pm, along with a flock of sea gulls.

The beachfront was a beautiful place - a neat road with beautiful Old Worldy buildings lining it. The houses we saw nearby reminded me so much of those that I had hitherto only read about in Agatha Christies and P.G.Wodehouses and James Herriots.

After a pleasant stroll in the neighborhood, we wound up the day with a delicious dinner at Gharana, run by a friendly and courteous Pakistani man. And so Day Three came to a close, rather quickly in our opinion - since we still could not reconcile ourselves to the fact that the Australian summer days end with the sunset.

The next day... Next post.

Darwin Day 2

2009-02-24T19:32:00.002+05:30

This is the second of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 1, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6,Day 7, Day 8.

Day Two at Darwin started with a visit to World War II Oil Storage Tunnels. These were huge tubes through which we could take a walk, pausing here and there to take a look at the WWII related photographs tacked to the walls of the tunnels in the extremely dim light.
After this little traipse back in history, and after a little souvenir shopping, it was Ho! for Berry Springs Wildlife Park in the outskirts of Darwin. It was a lovely drive along the rain-drenched neat roads.

At the park, we came upon Wallabies (See note) which we were happy to see though a little disappointed that they were not Kangaroos.
After doing the usual touristy stuff at the park (taking a train around the park trails, catching a show on Birds of Prey and having the park guide proudly point out the buffaloes we see in our dear smelly Cooum as 'Water Buffaloes' ) we drove on to the actual Berry Springs.
But recent rains had left the spring swelling up so much that we were banned from swimming.
The river itself posed a pretty picture, running among rocks and greenery and reminding me of another river I had seen back home - the rock formation, trees in the banks and the approach path all reminded me of a summer spent at Mundanthurai, near Papanaasam, and the river bank on which I spent many moments happily woolgathering. I couldn't find much difference between the two!

'Oh not again', I chided myself. I've been noting that during foreign travels, I suddenly have these flashes of familiarity that irk me no end. I want to go visit a foreign land that is so completely foreign to me. But somehow or other, each place has something that reminds me of a similar place in my homeland! Now I know what my geography textbook was talking about when it told me "India is a diverse country".

Enough digressing. Lets get back on track. We did. Our flight was late at night and we had loads of time to kill. We started back to Darwin and I took whichever turn off the road that took my fancy! You know, that really is the best kind of drive! One such turn brought us to a deserted stretch and there we practised our Boomerang throw.

The poor thing that we had bought as a souvenir really knew what 'battered and bruised' means in a Boomerang's life, after our practice session. Taking pity on it, we stopped and continued our journey. I was happily cruising along - really cruising. Driving a Lancer for the first time and also a car with automatic transmission for the first time I was totally revelling in the new experience of never having to change gears - the one thing I used to hate in driving. As an added delight, the car also had a cruise control! So there I was, pressing neither the accelerator nor the clutch save the occasional brakes!

Well, not only was the driving experience new, there was another new experience waiting for me around the corner - literally. After one of our impulse turns, while coming back to the main road, I took the turn too fast and (not too) narrowly missed another car travelling at about twice my speed. What happened next maybe expected in a book but I certainly didn't. The guy actually gave me a finger!!! For the first time in life! No, No, I'm not proud of that. I was totally in the wrong so I didn't get too angry or resent it too much. It was just another experience to be added to my 'New' list, though a slightly bitter one at that!

After a few more drives around the area, we drove on to the airport and boarded our flight to Melbourne. What happened next is, of course, another story!

Note 1: Wallabies

They look, jump and behave just like Kangaroos. But are called wallabies 'coz they're smaller! Google them to know the technical difference.

The First Big Leap

2009-02-23T22:03:00.005+05:30

This is the first of a eight parts series. Check out the others Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8.

It has finally happened!!!
I've grown up enough to venture into another continent beside my birth one.
All you globe trotters out there, I can see you smirking but hey, a girl who has longed to travel but somehow never went beyond India's borders can be excused for blowing her trumpets far and wide just because she visited another continent, albeit just for a week.

After becoming a Mrs. my travel dreams were starting to fulfill, one by one. I took baby steps to countries nearby - starting with Maldives for a honeymoon trip, then on to Singapore for establishing a family, the net slowly widened to include Hong Kong and Malaysia. Then one fine day, the baby steps turned to a leap and landed I did Down Under!

One of the reasons which make me look fondly at my fellow singaporeans is that they celebrate the chinese new year for 2 days - which, translated, means we get more holidays! Though we had known about the holidays beforehand, a lull in office work spurred us to take consecutive days off and book passage to Australia. (I know I should say 'flight to Australia' - but 'Passage' is much better sounding and Old Worldy!!)

A drizzly night found us landing at the Darwin airport located on the northern tip of the Oz land.We rented a car from AVIS and drove to our hotel - where an almost-rude desk clerk said we can check in not one minute before 12 noon. So bundling our bags, we scoured the Darwin streets in search of a place to rest our tired, sleep ridden selves (I LOVE how much of a traveller I sound!!!). Save a few aborigines on the streets, most of Darwin was sleeping. Finally, we chanced upon a friendly cafe owner who was just opening his shop who pointed out Maleluca on Mitchell to us - a backpacker's accomodation. (If you're a newbie, see Note to know what a Backpacker's accomodation is)

After much needed sleep and bath, it was on to Italian Brunch at Chianti's. After Singapore, we felt like we were paying exorbitant amounts for food. We had paid less for petrol! If we had come straight from India, we would've gone without food!
By this time it was afternoon and we could check in at the Darwin Central Hotel - and were very impressed when we did so. The room was spacious, comfy and cozy. And the bed was very welcoming compared to the warm Darwin sun pouring thru the window.
Resisting the impulse to sleep yet more, we set out to explore the city - and found it almost as sleepy as it was in the early morning.

This state capital can be compared to one of our large developing villages - a few main streets filled with shops, hotels and bars, one mall and people going about their business slowly and you're sure they all have time to 'stop and smell the roses'.

A sign over a little eatery begged us to enter - "Little India" it proclaimed with audacity, whilst serving malaysian dishes that we were all too used to at S'pore! After a hasty microwaved roti, we drove around the city, taking in its few tourist attractions. Soon it was time for Aquascene, where we get to feed fish that come up with the tide and swim quite tamely between our feet.

If the fish could've spoken, they would've given a new meaning to our local phrase ' as loud as a fishmarket'. The fight for the pieces of bread we were throwing them was raging in that fish kingdom and they were quite unashamedly swimming over, under and beside each other to grab a bite. Dignity was a word they had never heard of!!

After this entertaining spectacle of watching fishes making fools of themselves, we went to a Sailing club nearby from where we caught a glorius sunset. We also included the Mindel Beach, Cullen Bay, Dudley Point and East Point in our circuit. It makes no sense for me to explain each - travel brochures already do that. And a dinner at Garam Masala (yes!) wound up Day 1 in Australia for M&M. (See Note)

Since this post is long enough already, I'll close it here and start Day 2 in another one. (Grrrrr... Do I hear relieved sighs?)

Note 1.Backpacker's Accommodation
In two words..Cheap accommodation. Rooms with only bare necessities.

Note 2. M&M
Not the candy brand. This is us - I and my Hubs.

Tress Trouble

2008-09-09T18:05:00.003+05:30

It all started with this new hairbrush. As has been widely advertised, I'm crazy about straight hair and am always trying to straighten my unruly curls, albeit with home remedies. Since I was allowed to carry only the most essentials with me when I arrived here, I had to shop for most of sundry items and to be exact, a round bristled hair brush.
I had just washed my hair and was sitting in front of the TV, running the brush slowly through my hair trying to make it straighter. I tried copying the way my hair stylist does - rolling up the hair from the end to the root and slowly uncurling it while drying it.
It's just my good luck that I had to start from the front most hair. I slowly started twirling it around the brush and had it tightly rolled up to the roots. Then I slowly started uncurling the roll. Or tried to.
It was only then that I realised how strong could my hair be. It simply refused to budge. It was rolled up tight and somehow I had managed to roll some hair in the opposite direction. Don't ask me how - if I knew that I wouldn't be.. well.. like how I am now.
There was I, with the brush stuck to this huge roll on the top of my head, like a horn growing horizontally.
Worse thing is, I was alone at home. I was standing in front of the mirror trying to get to the root of the problem for about half an hour, with no end in sight - literally. It was then I heard the sound of the key turning in the lock - the husband was home! Never had his return been so sweet!
Thence started the struggle for freedom - try what we might, the hair refused to separate itself from the brush. He even tried using a screwdriver to seperate the layers from the brush's surface. It petered out.
Then I heard the dreaded words from his lips - 'I think we've got no option but to cut the hair'. 'Nooooo', I moaned. Much as I desired straight hair, I still loved having hair - curly as it may be. My moans inspired him to find other ways to pull the siamese twins apart - why not cut the bristles of the brush? I brightened up at this idea - looking like a happy mutant unicorn.
But sadly, that idea did not work out too, since we could reach to the bristles.
It had to be done.
He took up the terrifying scissors and snip! snip! snip! I was left with a small curly bunch on one side of my head. Hideous is not the word to describe it. No really. I wasn't hideous. Just bad looking.
So the next day I went in search of a salon where I can even this out. There I was faced with a new problem. I was in Singapore where people do not speak English - its Singlish that they follow. I had to use words, gestures and a translator to make the guy understand that I wanted him to even out my hair. The poor fella thought that I had a fringe in the front for style. I had to speak for about 10 minutes more to tell him that it was no fringe but an accident.
Then another 10 minutes went by when I tried to convince him that it's okay that I 'ca tie ya har bk' (which translates to : 'can't tie your hair back). Finally, about 20 bucks and half an hour later, I'm left with this funny hairstyle which forces me to wear hairbands that I used to wear as a kid.

Moral of the story: There are lots. Figure them out yourself.

Uprooted

2008-09-08T16:36:00.006+05:30

Just three months and a whole lotta changes! And it has subsided. I've been caught in the whirl of change and have taken a long time to get planted back to earth. Getting married was the biggest change of all. 'New' has been added to lot of my thoughts, ideas, status and such-like. The next biggest was the change of place. First time in life, I get to live in a whole new country. Though calling Singapore a country takes some effort! But, all about Singapore later.
To my readers, who have been asking me why I haven't been here awhile - all I can say is...I've been busy elsewhere!
First I was busy preparing for my wedding. I had decided that it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I was determined to savor every bit of it. Well, thank you, it went on well.
Then I was busy getting relocated... following the husband's footsteps all the way to Singapore. Here, I have got a whole house that I get to decorate and dirty as I wish! In Singapore, we have been exploring the place slowly and steadily. I shall post all about the places to see in Singapore in the future. This was a just a note to let you all know that I'm still alive, and as they (don't ask me who) say, I'm back!!

Forty-Two

2008-05-17T20:01:00.003+05:30

She brought him inside.
'Everything is yours. Play with them wisely', so bidding, she left him.
The place was filled with bounty. There were so many objects, that the eye could not see them all in one glance. He started exploring, slowly and steadily.
He found surprises, some nasty some pleasant. He found nourishments. He found objects with which he could fashion tools. He found objects which helped him move faster, horizontally and vertically.
Sometime his interest strayed towards his own body. He found pain. He found blood. He found instruments in the outer world that helped him examine organs in the inner world. He found ways to understand his body. He found ways to understand other species' body.
He could not get enough of the knowledge. But in everything, he felt that he could not achieve complete understanding. He had the feeling there was always an elusive element which was beyond his reach. All he knew that when that element was caught and tamed, he would have found her. But he could not, try as he might.
After a long time, not he but she found him. She had come to take him back.
He was mightily glad to see her. "I had a feeling I'll have all the answers once I saw you. Who are you?", he asked her.
"Mmmmmm", she pondered, "I'm not totally sure, but sometimes I've been referred to as God."

For sale

2008-05-15T21:02:00.003+05:30

It is not a snap statement. I have come to this decision after much deliberation. This decision is the result of sincere prioritization. Much as it hurts for me to say it, I regret that I've got to say it.

I'm putting up my blog for sale.

I've had my auditor value the site. This was his verdict.

My blog is worth $3,387.24.

I know that there are many of you out there who may have a difference of opinion about the above mentioned price. I know what you're thinking. 'What the heck', you say to yourself indignantly, 'this blog is worth a damn lot more. It's plain daylight robbery at this price'.
To all of you, I say, 'I'm willing to consider your price'.

Any takers? I prefer online transaction. I can also accept cheques.

My Unchained Melodies

2008-04-24T23:36:00.009+05:30

'I've tagged you', said she, Maddie, my friend in the blog realm. I checked it out with apprehension. My fears were unfounded! I'm supposed to listen to songs while answering harmless questions. Well, now that's the kinda tagging that I like!

All you need is your music player in the shuffle mode and your ability to press the 'next track' button. Each new track is the answer to each question.

Here's my set... the original Question, the song selected and my voice!

If someone says “is this okay?” You say?
Written on the Wind - Wet Wet Wet

...and get beaten up by them or get more of the weird looks I always get.

What would best describe your personality?
Konjum Mynaakkale - Kandukonden Kandukonden

Whoa! Cool... it so does :-)

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Kariye Na - Taal

I have no idea what this means. Any of my hindi-literate friends, tell me what's this?

How do you feel today?
Ballelakka Ballelakka - Sivaji

yooooohooooo I do!

What is your life’s purpose?
Radha Kaise Na Jale - Lagaan

I know what this means and what kinda stupid purpose is to sort out the relationship issues of another girl? I'd have more fun picking my nose.

What is your motto?
Enakkoru Girl friend Venumada - Boys

Oh dear god. No. No and * shakes head vehemently * NO.

What do your friends think of you?
Bye Bye Bye - NSync

Why would they do that? :-(

What do you think of your parents?
Minnale Nee Vandhadhenadi - May Maadham

Huh???

What do you think about very often?
Rangeela Theme - Rangeela

Thinakatha tha thinakka dhin dhin tha. Thinakka tha thakida na na na.
Actually, yes. My 'thinks' are usually as much lucid as this.

What is 2+2?
Kalyana Maalai Kondadum Penne - Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal

Shouldn't the question be 1+1 to fit the answer??

What do you think of your best friend?
We Will Rock You - Queens

Oh ye! If I'm with her, we definitely will!

What do you think of the person you like?
Nilavu Thoongum Neram - Kunguma chimizh

As long as the person I like is supposed to be my boyfriend :-)

What is your life story?
Where's the Party Tonight - KANK

Alright. People who know me: stop that laughing RIGHT NOW!

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Fool Again - Westlife

Once is more than enough I think!

What do you think when you see the person you like?
Eno Kangal - Kalvanin Kadhali

ohhh...* blushes * ... and ohhh... * blushes some more *

What do your parents think of you?
Shape of My Heart - Backstreet Boys

Yeah right.

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Kaadu Potta Kaadu - Karuthamma

At my wedding?? My poor groom will have a heart attack.

What will they play at your funeral?
Thoduven Thoduven - Deepavali

Meaning they'd like to join my eternal rest? Stupid winamp. The song should be swapped with the previous!

What is your hobby/interest?
Ennai Konjam Maatri - Kaaka Kaaka

Awesome pick. Riding an open jeep with Surya along ECR!!! That's definitely my interest!!! Hmmm, winamp's not so stupid after all.

What is your biggest secret?
Wind of Change - The Scorpions

Right, and if you can understand this kinda biggest secret you gotta be a rocket scientist.

What do you think of your friends?
A Whole New World - Aladdin

In a way, yea!

What should you post this as?
Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers

Meaning that should be my post title? Sounds good :-)

Now as per the unbreakable rules set by the sacred tagging community, I shall have to rope in more people! And my victims are
Chitra, Tamizh, Preethika, Chriz, King Vishy, E.C.D and S.G.P

Hope you guys have as much fun doing this! Switch your players to Shuffle mode and get set go!

Past is present

2008-04-21T23:41:00.006+05:30

It is the talk of the virtual town. Charles Darwin's notes and books and the all the stuff have been made available online this month! Being a non-scientist, this information of course did not send me into apoplexies of ecstasy. But I was just curious.

Seeing all those handwritten notes right there left a strange feeling inside. Imagine, those very papers had been held by a man about 200 years ago and they had recorded all his thoughts and ideas.

The period of 200 years is not completely conceivable by the mind. At first, you think you know it but you really don't. At the most, we can easily think back to maybe 15-20 years and relate to it. 200 years loses its magnificence and its true distance from us when it cannot even be perceived in the first place! But by a hard effort, we can try to imagine going back 200 years and when we do, the effect is staggering!

He had existed in this completely different world from ours. In addition to their content, those papers must have volumes to tell us about their time. To whom Darwin showed them, how the people looked, what they were wearing, what they were eating, where the papers were stored, what the furniture was like... I can go on.

I got the same strange feeling when I came across some letters written by my grandfather and my great grandfather. They had lived so, so far back in time, but looking at and touching those documents actually have the power to transport you back. Suddenly you get the feeling that the past is right here, in front of you, on nothing more than a piece of paper. And the journey leaves you with an inexplicable feeling of transience!

What's in a name?

2008-04-14T19:37:00.002+05:30

Lots, I would say. Here's a fine example.

Grrr. No I did not.

The Unreasonableness of the Girl-Being

2008-04-09T12:37:00.002+05:30

A friend of mine and I had stumbled upon a blog site quite recently. She was a little more impressed than I was and was quite vocal about how interesting she found the writings. One day her initial enthusiasm gave way to a slight dismay at finding out that the blogger was married.
'How does it matter' you ask me.
'I'm not sure, but it does', says me.

What's it with girls that assumes that interesting guys they come across must be eligible bachelors, even though the guy has not even a smallest inkling of their existence? Why are we on an eternal search for Mr.Right?

It doesn't matter how far removed he is from us, geographically or otherwise. It is this same feeling that makes us go sad over hearing that Darren Hayes is gay; the sane part of our mind gives us a good bonk on the nose while asking 'how does it even remotely matter where his preferences lie?'. The insane part answers dejectedly, rubbing the nose, 'how can a guy who croons insatiable so sexily be otherwise?'
'Yeah, right, like you even had a chance if he wasn't', shrugs the sane part walking away.

Something must be fundamentally wrong with the genetic makeup.

Tamilnadu - The state of Tamil.

2008-04-07T17:01:00.002+05:30

If you are right now living in chennai (good old madras!) and tune into to Radio Mirchi often, you can't miss the song 'Naaka Mukka'! It's a very bouncy number and very similar to other 'kuthu' songs. Initially, you may not fall for it. But, like ARR's numbers, if you keep listening to it over and over, you start to beat your feet to its tune! Apparently, the powers-that-be know this fact and never tire of playing it on air.
But this post is not about that song.
At the beginning of the song, its music director comes on air to extol the song's virtues(!) to us. "Idhu oru normal kuthu song illa" (This is not a normal kuthu song).
Which is what every creator says about his/her creations. "This is not a normal story/movie/pencil/toilet cleaner"
Anyway, to continue, the next line of his was the reason this blog post was called into existence.
"Thooya tamil la sollanum na, idhu oru 'merkathiya kuthu song' " ( in pure tamil, it's a western kuthu song)
Since when were the words 'kuthu' and 'song' part of pure tamil?

If you think this is only an isolated incident and is not sufficient to show the state of the language then listen to this.
I was buying apples from a roadside vendor. An old man stood next to me and asked the vendor for the price of apples.
"five for sixty" said the fella.
The old man did not understand and showed this by saying "eh?" blankly.
The vendor was irritated and said "Tamil la thane sir solren?( aren't I talking in tamil sir?) five apples for sixty rupees!"
It took all my self-control to keep a straight face.

I do know that it is unreasonable(!) of me to expect people use a pure language in their diction. All I ask is that please, for the sake of language, don't blatantly use foreign words under the 'Tamil' banner!

The Watchtower

2008-04-04T16:23:00.003+05:30

Well, here's some more of my two cents on inter-personal relations. This is always an interesting topic, and you can never get enough insights into this.
In any relation, it's true that getting much too involved results in heartaches. To enjoy a healthy relation, you have to assume a purely observatory position. In that case you automatically understand them. Once you do that, its easy to accept them as they are. Ask any student of human nature, this is one of the best ways to go through life! And then, it's piece of cake to like and love them.

There are a couple of friends of mine, whom I have found it very, very hard to understand. Whatever I try to do to maintain a good relation with them, I was always discouraged, ignored or hurt. Neither were they willing to be understood. They try their best to change me to suit them, all the while refusing to change themselves.

In such cases, it's better to let them go. Holding on to such people leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth. True, you're losing a friend. But hey, you're better off without those complications in your life! The time you spend in wondering about them and missing them can be turned into a quality time that you can spend with people with whom you have a good understanding. In short, the people who matter!

....and again!

2008-03-26T20:31:00.002+05:30

What do you get when you mix some bloggers and a little free time together?
Blog Games.

My blog life has turned a full circle. I'm tagged again and this time the honors are with Preethika. I already shared facts about me in the past. But makkals seem to hank after more!
So here they are.. back on popular demand.

My Eight
One:
I'm biting my nails to write something for fact # 1.

Two:
I just killed a mosquito which dared to sit on my elbow.

Three:
I want to discover a way to measure the speed of thought.

Four:
After that, I want thoughts to be measured in 'mathis'.

Five:
I think there's a land where all dreams and souls come from.

Six:
I think that land is a parallel universe.

Seven:
I think I'm running out of facts to fill in here.

Eight:
I'm so glad I've reached point # 8!

And that's that.
Now roping in Maddie, King Vishy, Uma and Chriz.
Tag away folks!!

A New Joy

2008-03-14T23:21:00.004+05:30

Consider you're from a pukka traditional family. Your parents have found and fixed a guy for you. You're now engaged. Life has never been as good for you before! It's like having a boyfriend but only so much better!

1. You're allowed to stay up late nights, blocking up the phone lines and no mutter of dissent comes from your parents.

2. You run up a huge phone bill and your parents oh-so-happily dole out the cash!

3. You're entitled to wear a silly grin stuck to your face and nobody thinks you're a fool.

4. When you suddenly blush for no reasons at all, instead of weird stares you get pleased looks from your family and friends.

5. All everyone can tell you is about what a happy life you're gonna lead with him/her.

6. Suddenly you're the center of attraction in every gathering and conversation - and you like it!

7. You get to have a boyfriend without going thru' the pains of finding one!

8. You find yourself in a new and erstwhile forbidden relationship and suddenly it's not frowned upon at all - you can be bold as daylight about this!

9. You now have more fun planning your wedding (something you've been doing since you were this high), because you can now give shape to the person who'll sit next to you!

10. Not only are you happy in this relationship, you find that everyone around you is happy too. And that increases yours!
To put it simply, it's a happy dreamy time!!

Author's note: Thanks to Vaishu for being an inspiration for this post!

The mind is the master

2008-03-04T13:35:00.002+05:30

I heard from various quarters that Kalloori was a very nice movie and is a must watch. But they also cautioned me that it is a tragedy and that I should be prepared for that. And that put me off. I already had enough problems of my own, thank you. I'd rather not spend three hours of my life wallowing in someone else's sorrow! All I wanted to watch were cartoons and comedies. Let me live happily in the virtual world atleast. How many ever happy endings I watched, my problem was mine. It had come to stay.
Then Fate spit on its hands and got down to work deciding it was time to play some more with my life. It did a small twist and suddenly everything straightened out. Life was painted a rosy hue. Now that I was no longer weighed down with the bad , I felt brave enough to watch the tragedy.
I found that when there is happiness and security coming from inside of you, tragic movies do not affect you much. I was able to enjoy the movie, the direction and the acting all of which were in the superlatives. I'm sure if I had seen this movie when I was already sad, I would've given it more unhappy connotations than usual and spent time in wailing!! But now, I spent more time focussing on the happy parts of the movie, rejoicing with the characters whenever they celebrated their friendship.
It's all in our mind. We tend to paint the world with our colors. When we are sad, it's the end of the world as we know it. But when we are happy, everything around us turns to be all joy and wonder.
All our world is contained inside our little minds.. they're our true masters!

Silent Tears

2008-02-24T14:42:00.002+05:30

without intent to harm
the mischief was done

ideas of much right
have come so wrong

all acts of duty but
clouding the emotions

shattered dreams are
all that but remain

the sane mind kindles
a feeble spark of hope

but the prick of thorn
was deep inside gone

thorn has off fallen
but the wound does pain

tears of anger, hatred
come again and again

Child's play

2008-02-11T14:20:00.000+05:30

It's all about advertising. Any creator is pleased to see her/his creations reaching a large audience and also being well received. But the for the latter to happen, the former has to happen first! In this crazy blog world, you see bloggers getting up all kinds of tactics to get their blogs noticed by the world. Tagging is a favorite method in which you get free advertising! Well, I'm jumping in the wagon (why not!) with this childish but funny(in a way) tagging game, where I was tagged by preethika - the sugar n spice girl ;-)
All you're needed to do is to add your name to the end of the list. The rules are that
You shouldn't use any colors
You should add only a short description
You shouldn't change anything else in the tags.
And there's also a way out where you can let others know that you're not interested in this crap by saying 'No' :-)

Here goes
1.-Filipina,2.-Stories,3.-Abroad,4.-Husband,5.Gagiers, 6. Life 7. Everything, 8. Offer, 9. Moments, 10. Food Trip 11. World 12. suffering 13.china's autograph 14.Kiran's My voice15. Boobu 16.Sugar & Spice 17. ~*Girl of Destiny*~ 18. -you-

I now pass on the torch to
Nivi
Tamizh
Bala

Happy Tagging folks!

The point of no return

2008-02-11T00:52:00.000+05:30

I was watching Friends yesterday when I came upon this bit where Joey tells Rachel how hard it was for him to love her and not have her love him back. Ah! The Unrequited Love (with intentional capitals!). It makes me feel all squishy squashy inside.
This concept is a very, very popular idea with writers and authors. It is one that is sure to pull at the heart strings. It is tragic. It is painful. It is sentimental. It generates sympathy. It also generates selling stories!!!
I mean, who does not feel bad for Charlie Brown when he sees his 'little red-haired girl' ? Who does not feel bad for Joey when he hugs Rachel after cujo?? Look how great it sounds in stories!Look how much revenue it generates!!!
But seriously, isn't it very sad? As long as it's on screen, you can just go along with it and then forget it after the show. But when it hits you in real life? I know a few of my friends who've been thru' the same stuff. Their misery was very painful to behold. But you are helpless. How do you help someone with their unrequited love?
I first had a taste of this myself a couple of years back when my heartthrob on screen got married to his girlfriend!(How pathetic am I? to fall in love with a film star!).
Though I've always held the belief that the heart's just a pump and so it can't think, it was then that I realised that feelings can give you actual physical pain and this pain is kinda centered around the heart area. If it's your mind that's doing the thinking, why is the pump getting affected?
Though the concept maybe as old as time, the questions that it leaves are unanswerable.

Well, as one who has passed this unrequited love phase, I can safely say that it's great while it lasts. And it's not that hard to get over it once it's over. And when you look back, it sure makes some great memories!
Then again, maybe I was able to get over it pretty easily since all I had to love was a movie star, for pete's sake! It may be a lot harder for a real person, though I wouldn't know that. But I have a feeling that it'll be pretty hard but not impossible to get over with!

Of course it's a Small World!

2008-02-06T20:00:00.001+05:30

About 6 years back:
I meet this guy in my college. A senior. We become friends. He makes a stipulation that I call him not by name but 'Anna'. I wasn't used to calling any non-relative 'anna'. Still I acquiesce. No reason why.
We become pretty good friends soon.

A few years later:
We figure out that we both share the same hometown and same family name. He tells me, 'There's a high probability that we might be related'. 'Maybe', I tell him. End of topic.

A few months back:
I meet him and another friend at their house. His friend shows me pictures of a new beautiful temple. He holds a significant postion in the Temple Trust. He offers to help any relatives of mine who might plan to visit the temple. I tuck away this little piece of information.

A few months later:
A big bunch of my relatives plan to visit this temple. I offer them my friend's number. He helps them with arrangements.

At the temple:
An aged relative comes upto my mother, "A person offered to help me too. I did not ask him since you are making this arrangement".
"Oh who is your contact?", asks my mom.
"My nephew's son's friend. He's working in b'lore. But he is part of the Temple Trust".
Mom pricks her ears, "What is his name?"
"..... ", she replies with his name.
"Oh even I arranged through him. He is my daughter's friend. Oh wait, is your nephew's son by any chance .... ?" here she names my 'anna'.
"Oh yes", came the astonished reply.
The talk then went on to the much happy planes of figuring out mutual relatives.

In the evening:
"Listen, a funny thing happened at the temple today", mom tells me the entire story.
I was extremely excited. " So he really is my brother?"
Mom explains the link.
"Oh I get it," I'm grinning, "He is your chithi's sister-in-law's grandson! And that makes him my chitappa's son. (oh yea I'm pretty good in these ;-) ) A real Anna!! This is cool!"

All excited, I call him up, wanting to share this extraordinary news. 'This number is switched off'. Great.
I mail him, 'Got some really interesting revelation to tell you. Call me when free'. My mail was peppered with exclamation marks.

He coolly mails the reply , 'That you are related to me? I already told you there's a high probability'.
That's the extent of excitement.
Hmph...My brother.

Keeping it short

2008-02-05T18:18:00.001+05:30

'Why don't you write about short temper?' the SMS from Nivi blinked at me.
'What? Short temper? Why?' I asked her.
'Just like that' came the reply.
What does one write about short temper? I was wondering. Then it stuck me! I can actually write lots about it. I interact daily with extremely short tempered people. I also have my own fair share of it. So I was well qualified to write something about it!
Well here goes.

So a person is short tempered. Let's forget the why of it. You are talking to that person and their temper begins to act up. How do you react?

Firstly, don't lose yours. Next bring to your mind the adage on dogs barking at the sun. But be clear on the role definition - you do the shining and they do the barking. This basically boosts up your ego and elevates your self worth. It'll make you think that it is unnecessary to lower yourself and bark back. It also helps you to view them in a detached cynical manner and pity them for hiking up their blood pressure. The hotter they become, the cooler you will be. At no point of the conversation let yourself get involved. Maintain a purely observatory position. The barking will run its course and then die a natural death.
If you have any replies to give them, do it when they have no more energy to bark.

Right! But what if it is you who is doing the yelling? If you are a person with a chronic case of short temper-itis, never fear, cure is near! Whenever you feel like yelling, tell yourself those two admirable words - Shut up! If you're not the kind of person who listens to your own advice, well then leave the place. Just walk out. If that ain't possible, then drink something. Anything to seal your lips.

Practice clamping your mouth shut tight whenever you feel the symptoms of this illness. Do something that takes your mind off the situation at hand. Music is a good choice. Going out for a drive or a walk is another fine option. Come back after your pressure levels are low and then you're ready to tackle the sitation in a calm and collected manner.

The advantage of short temper is that it is...well.. short! The foul mood doesn't last long. But the effects of letting it out will. So be sure not to react when you feel all heated up.
Use these prescriptions well, you'll be cured soon!

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

2008-02-04T14:03:00.000+05:30

A very famous interview question. Usual answers to this question are "I see myself running my own company / heading a division / etc etc". Correct answers? I'm not so sure.
Can you really see yourself down the lane? I, for one, have absolutely no concrete idea of what I will be doing ten - no! why go so far? - one year from now.
This question is a favorite topic of debate between me and a friend of mine. He's all for setting a clear goal and working, nay, slaving towards it. He goes up in an apoplexy to hear people (like yours truly) say "Whatever Life throws at me, I'm happy to live with it". His argument is that that is the motto of the weak. His idea is not to take life but to make it (not his words - my own!). It must feel very important to live like that, and feel very purposeful, striding towards the one goal!
Well, we happy-go-lucky creatures have a goal too. It's pretty simple actually. It is to be Happy! To feel at the end of the day that this day in my life was fun!
We can acclimatize ourselves to all that comes our way. We are definitely not losing our own sense of individuality in the process. No, we are just molding our minds to make the best of the situation. We are the chameleons of the humankind.
Would you call us pessimists, unwilling to be ambitious for fear we may never reach it? Or would you call us lazybones, refusing to look beyond today? Would you call us scaredy-cats, not having enough guts to go fight the world?
We are just people who want to live one day at a time. Would that make us realists? Maybe. We are optimists, who always have a hope that 'today was great and tomorrow will be better'. We are not lazy, we just want to deal with tomorrow when it comes and not today. We are not scared, we are just peace lovers.
We sail along in life, not too happy and not too sad. But calm and contented. Since our goal is so simple, nothing can beat us. Any drastic change in circumstances may pose a tiny setback of course, but we are soon back in the game, in all our glory. Setbacks interest us, they are but a game. We may be down but never out!

In praise of the...egg!

2008-02-01T21:43:00.000+05:30

The wonder of Life can be felt in all of creation, the smallest and the largest. It can be felt in a mighty mountain or in a tiny grass blade. As Clarence Day profoundly observed,

Oh who that ever lived and loved

Can look upon an egg unmoved?

The Egg is the symbol of life. It symbolizes life in a nutshell, or rather in an eggshell.
The egg symbolizes the beginning. How we begin our lives inside a protective covering. We are kept warm and shielded from the harsh realities of the outer world. And when we are ready to face the world, it is we who crack the shell open.
The egg symbolizes the power of God. The egg is the origin for all. All of living things originate in the egg. By being a part of such an innocent question as “Which came first? The Chicken or the Egg?” it shows us that even simple things in life may have obscure origins. Even with our much prided advances in Science, this question has baffled scientists and philosophers alike. Some facts of life have to be just accepted for what they are. Not everything can be explained.
From an egg so small, rises a man so high. The egg so symbolizes that whatever heights might a man reach in his life, he should always keep in mind his humble origin. Albeit small, the egg holds inside an entirely new life. This just goes to show that we should never judge anyone or anything based on appearance.
The egg also teaches us to worship that Godlike creature, our mother. For it is she who performs the divine task of rearing and protecting us when we are but an egg.
Next time an egg reaches your dinner plate, take a moment to pay the due respects!

Hide and Seek!

2008-01-31T13:06:00.000+05:30

Chitra's post on crying triggered my long-thought-about ideas on hiding your feelings of unhappiness from others' eyes.
Most of us wish to present to the world a strong outer crust. We are hard, our armor is impenetrable. We express our happiness oh-so-joyously to the world. Fear of appearing weak makes us hide our sadness deep inside. Crying is generally attributed to a weak nature. All that's fine. But how many people actually carry this through? I would say one in a million.
Most of the tough ones feel at one time or the other, like Rose of Titanic, that they are 'in a room, surrounded by people and that they are screaming at the top of their voice and nobody even hears them'. The breaking point is, then, very near. Soon the floodgates will be opened, with a mighty flood to follow.
And the disappointment at finding out that you are not as strong willed as you assumed yourself to be, adds to the pain.
So is it really for the best - this practice of hiding our mournful feelings? I would say no. All the misery inside us needs an outlet. Coming to terms with the misery primarily needs a deep introspection. Calm objective reflection helps us to understand the misery and its cause. And most of the times, even a way out. If our own mind cannot be counted upon to help us, that's when a 'shoulder to cry on' comes as a godsend.
Generally people who appear strong and bottle up their feelings inside tend to be good listeners. So, in turn, they make good shoulders. But we need to understand that that shoulder is connected to a mind too and it will also have its own share of burden to carry.
Not all of us are lucky enough to find that shoulder. But once we find it, we need to be very careful that we do not use that shoulder only to cry on. Sometimes that shoulder will need an another.
But it does not pay to be too open about your feelings either. Others perceive you as a complaining miserable crybaby. But lets not even talk about the people who go about flaunting their misery. Their sadness doesn't even measure up to the word.
So is it really for the best - this practice of hiding our mournful feelings? I would say yes, it is good to hide your feelings from the eyes of all others if you are willing to show them to yourself. If you are strong enough to handle the tremendous pressure on your own.
Happiness shared is multiplied and sadness shared is divided. The catch lies in finding the right people to share them with!

What do you see in the mirror?

2008-01-30T12:48:00.000+05:30

For a human, looking at the mirror is as habitual as eating. It is an everyday occurence and for some, every hour!
When you check your mirror, what do you see? I mean, after checking your dress, hair, makeup etc. Beyond that. What do you see?
Did you ever look at a mirror and wonder how you might appear to others?
Sound weird? It is. It feels weird too. Atleast it did, when I tried to look at the person in the mirror as I would look at a stranger. I began to feel scared. I use 'scared' here for want of a better word. The feeling may be better explained as one of haunting bewilderment. But I did. It felt like I did not know the person in the mirror. That scared me because I always prided on the knowledge that none knew me better than I. But here, apparently, I'm not what I thought myself to be!
Does that sound crazy?
Let me illustrate with an example.
I have this complete obsession with straight hair. Be it man or woman, whenever I behold a head with straight hair spewing out of it, I immediately feel the little green monster in me arise. I personally do not have a great opinion about my own bunch (why else would there be the green monster!) At the best comparison, I would call myself Medusa-ic.
What really incenses me is having those lucky buggers with straight hair come upto me and go gushing "Oh I wish I had your beautiful curly/wavy(according to them) hair. Oh your hair is so much more lovelier than mine!!"
Can't they see the snakes of Medusa? Incidents like these led me to the mirror experiment.
Does everyone feel weirdly scared when they keep staring at their own reflection for a long time? I once shared my mirror experience with my cousin who (to my utter surprise) immediately responded with a "You too??". Oh it was so heartening to know that I wasn't alone in the bandwagon. But probably it only runs in the family.
Has this ever happened to you? If not in the past, I invite you now to take a good long look at yourself and tell me what you feel!

Answering Antony's Call

2008-01-26T13:24:00.000+05:30

Did you ever wonder why Antony asked his buddies to 'Lend him their ears' ? Why couldn't he have said 'Listen to me folks' ? OK not folks. Just 'Listen to me'. But no! The reason why he wanted them to 'lend their ears' is that he wants their complete attention. How many people lend us their ears when we talk? How many times do we lend our ears?
So far as I have seen, based on the people I've met, we can loosely classify the Listeners into

The Genuines
These are the people who actually evince an interest in what you have to say. You like prolonging the conversation with them. Though they may not always provide insightful responses, you leave them with contentment - that you have been listened to.

The Hasty
These people already know what you are going to say, even before you say it. Jumping to conclusions is their favorite sport. They make tiring and difficult listeners.

The Pretenders
They profess an interest in what you have to say, their entire countenance spells "Listening" in large capitals and you are encouraged to continue your discourse. All the while, their busy mind is working on another tangent, with complete disregard for what you are saying.

The Hopeless
These are the people who are so completely wrapped up in their own selves that it is hard for them even to listen to your simple 'I am going to the laundry'. Anything that is not uttered by their own lips is considered irrelevant, foolish and a terrible waste of words.

Of course, these groups are not mutually exclusive. Everyone donns one mantle or the other in different circumstances.

Listening to someone wholeheartedly is a very, very tough job - initially. But it is a talent that can be cultivated very easily with interest. Here are some pointers that may help you listen well.

-Start any conversation with an interested and receptive mind. If you do not have one, stop it right there.
-Look at them when they talk. Their body language helps you with listening.
-Try to put yourself in their place. Helps you understand why they are saying the things they do.
-Have the patience to hear them out. Wait till the end of their talk to give a response.
-If you have neither time nor inclination to listen to them, tell them! Suggest that they come to you some other time.
-Understand why they are telling you this. If you do not, ask them first. Be clear in what is expected of you.

They say be a sponge while listening. Don't. Just one squeeze may let it all out. Instead be like the dry earth which absorbs rain.
The next time Mark Antony asks for your ears, you can easily respond with a 'Here you go fella'!

Does God Exist?

2008-01-22T00:36:00.000+05:30

The debate over the existence of God has, for a long time, been a continuous and an interesting one. When answering this question, however, it is imperative that we have the knowledge of the subject, that is, God. What exactly is meant by this three-letter word? The connotations that this word brings to the minds of different people are countless.

People who assiduously follow the teachings of their religion believe that God is the Supreme Being, one who has the powers to create, destroy and protect the world and all its elements. Different religions give different shapes to this Supreme Being. For some, God is anthropomorphic. For some, God takes the shape of a tree, or a stone. Some others believe that God has no shape. But they’re all unanimous on the point that God is the one responsible for all creations. And by long practice, generally God is given the pronoun of ‘He’.

The believers contend that God is the reason behind all existence. Their argument is that for every creation there must be a reason, there must be a source, there must be a prototype. And these are provided by none other than God. God is the reason that Earth is round. He is the reason that leaves are green. A very high intelligence is needed to create something as complex as a human brain. This high intelligence is attributed to none other than God. An extremely high intelligence is needed to create zillions of different kinds of species, plants, minerals, elements and all that goes into creating the Earth as we know it. Only God, they say, is capable of such a feat.

Physicists attribute the reason for Earth’s shape to Gravity. Botanists attribute to pigments and chlorophyll and light reflection, the reason that leaves are green. And evolution is how humans are created, assert scientists.

While the believers may say that God is the reason for Gravity, the non-believers on the other hand, choose to believe that the reason stops with Gravity and does not go beyond that - to God. Such a debate is endless. But one underlying factor is common to both the sides – it is the existence of power or energy that is beyond human. An example of this power in this case can be Gravity. What atheists call Gravity, the religious lot call God.

The believers choose to attach a shape to this power. The shape enables them to visualize their Supreme Being. An invisible Supreme Being is in many cases unsettling and inadequate. When they want to worship their Supreme Being but know not what or where to worship, it creates confusion in their minds. A tangible image is reassuring to them. They are now clear what to worship. Their religion teaches them how to worship this image. They follow the path set to them by their elders. The vague inquietude arising from their daily interactions with others is dispelled when they worship this Supreme Being.

There are some other believers who do not attach any shape to their God, but have the ability of seeing their God in all images they behold. They do not need a place of worship or a shape to worship. They see God in their minds. They are well content worshipping God in places of their own choice and images of their own preference. They achieve the inner peace and quiet in their own methods of worship.

God, for every one of the believers, is a being who has the power and the benevolence to soothe a disturbed mind, to ease the pain, to help them learn kindness and to live in peace and goodwill. God is the feeling of happiness and peace instilled in them. This feeling arises for them when they worship their images of God. For the non-believers, this feeling arises when they are doing something they’re most passionate about, something that they love doing, something that gives them extreme pleasure. Like when they hear music or when they see beautiful sights of nature or when they’re helping another human to live.

The feelings evoked in the minds of humans when they think about this Supreme Being or a Supreme Power is the same for both the believers and the non-believers. An extreme feeling of happiness, a joy in being alive and thankfulness for the experience.

While the non-believers do not attach any name for this power, the believers choose to call the power as God.
As uttered by Shakespeare’s Juliet,

….that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

The same holds good for God too. The power is the same. The only difference is in what people call it. God does exist, in the minds of people.

What, you don't worry?

2008-01-17T14:03:00.000+05:30

That will be the surprised rejoinder Alfred E. Newman will get now for his favorite phrase, if he were to talk to the same people I talk to.

When you take a slightly different path than the well-trodden one, when you are not following the same stream, when you do not go by the popular conventional methods, people who are so solicitously enquiring after your health and wellness have already decided that you must be miserable in your new walk of life. Any assertions on your part that you're actually enjoying yourself on this new journey leaves these people doubting your word.

They shoot probing questions at you, determined to find the real you unhappy.
They of course don't ask ouright, but you can easily imagine them saying, "How the heck can you profess to be happy?", "Why are you pretending my child? Why don't you come clean and accept that you're living a sorrowful existence now?", and more in the same vein. There's some kind of an undetected sadistic pleasure these folks enjoy, that makes them sit back in contentment to see their opinions come true, however negative they may be.

Just because someone has done something unexpected, does it automatically have to follow that they cannot be happy doing that? No! But it's as hard for people to change their preconceived notions as a leopard its spots! If its a rule, it must be right! There's no argument about it. Much the same way, if you're different, you must be a weirdo. There's something not real about you!

People, wake up!!! Nothing's the same, ever.

Souls in Torment

2008-01-02T18:52:00.000+05:30

All I wanted was a haircut.

The stylist at the salon asked me which style would I prefer. No preference, I said. Whichever you think will suit me, do it, I said.

I sat down expecting scissors on my hair. I got shampoo.
Which was followed by a conditioner. Which was followed by a massage done with some nameless liquid.

Then came the cutting. After the cut was over, she asked which setting would I prefer, normal, straight or curls. There is only one answer to this question, always. It's straight everytime.

She started brushing and drying my tendrils. Then sprayed it with another nameless liquid. When she was through, I could not believe at the apparition in the mirror in front of me. My normally dry, half-curly, fly away hair was transformed into a thing of beauty! In place of my usual bird's nest, I now had a thick sheet of glistening tresses!

'Oh! to be rich and be pampered like this everyday', I sighed, for this operation, dreamy as it was, had considerably lightened my purse...

I thought I was finished with my job at the salon. But no, not with my best friend by my side, egging me on to 'shape my eyebrows'.

I've had this told to me by a large multitude. You can always spot them. These people have the welfare of your brows in their hearts. They're the ones who look keenly at your brows when talking to you. You even start sweating under their close scrutiny. The verdict is always the same. "You have such nice thick eyebrows, why don't you shape them? they'll look more beautiful".
Note the 'nice' and the 'more beautiful'. It's never "shape your eyebrows, they look terrible now". They always aim at the betterment of good brows!

So I thought, 'why not?'.
'Shape my brows', I told her. I ignored the death knells. My mistake.
What followed was pure torture. It was like my brows were being scraped off with sandpaper.

Another operation in the same Spanish Inquisition trend is this thing called waxing. It's when they first pour hot wax on you. Then they apply strips of cloth on it, and pull it up in one fast flick of their wrist. You feel like strips of your skin are being peeled away.

The most horrifying fact about these agonies is that these are a continuous process. Why would girls deliberately go through this torture? It was beyond my comprehension until I did the same. The answer is simple. It's hair. It keeps growing back, with a vengeance. You are forced to become a waxing-addict.

Lesson learnt: 'Beauty' is painful.

Disclaimer: By 'Beauty' here I mean the much-hyped idea of it. The idea that only shaped eyebrows and waxed hands are beautiful and the non-shaped and the non-waxed are just shaggy!

The Soothsayer

2007-12-30T22:01:00.000+05:30

It was at the Mahabalipuram shores. The Fortune-Teller came up to us, armed with his parrot and the tarot cards. The Fortune-Teller was a slim man with bright beady eyes. He had the holy ash and sandalwood paste smeared on his forehead. He wore a faded shirt and a bright orange dhoti which lent color to his outfit.
"Want your futures seen madam?", he asked of us.
My sister wanted her young son to experience it. The little one was made to sit in front of the man, with the cards spread on a mat between them. The man called out to his parrot, a shaggy thin creature, to come and pick a card. The bird, however, took its time to come out of its cage. The man looked at my sister and said, "Please keep 10 rupees down on the mat".
As soon as she did, the bird came out and started its routine.
'Now that was interesting!', I thought to myself. I could've kept my loud mouth shut, but no! I had to pull my smarty-pants act there.
Out loud I said, "Well, your parrot seems to be very business-minded". The family did the laughing.
The man looked up at me and mumbled, "No, no, nothing like that...", he trailed off.
The routine was acted out. The man asked my nephew, "What's your name, little boy?"
"Vikram", came the shy reply.
"Come on out my dear, and pick a card for this boy named Vikram, come and tell us how his future is going to be. Vikram is the name. Tell us the happy future of Vikram", he crooned to his parrot.
The parrot picked out a card after rejecting many. The man delivered his usual spiel. He also suggested some do's and don't's. Some of his recitals coincided with reality. Then the boy was asked to pick a card on his own. The oration followed and wound to its natural end.
We were pleased and that was the end.
Or so we thought.
Now he asked us again. "Anybody else want to have their futures foretold?"
We all smilingly shook our heads. Atleast that was what I was doing until I realised that my sister was looking at me. "Do you want to have a go?".
I shook my head again, smiling.
The chant was taken up by others, the man included. "Go on, have a try", was the general cry.
"Alright", I succumbed. And sat in front of the cards. I put the 10 rupee note down.
"What's your name madam?", he queried.
"Mathi", I said.
"Mathiarasi", said my sister.
"Come on out my dear, and pick a card for this lady named Mathiarasi, come and tell us how her future is going to be. Mathiarasi is the name. Tell us the happy future of Mathiarasi", he again crooned to his parrot.

We all waited.
And waited.
The stupid parrot did not budge.
He crooned again.
The parrot refused to come out. I watched in growing fascination.
He asked me, "Is there another name for you? What do your friends and family call you?"
I replied, "Mathi".
He now repeated his crooning routine with 'Mathi' in place of 'Mathiarasi'.
There was no response from the parrot.
"Maybe we should try with someone else madam", he said in a doubtful tone.
My cousin leaned in and said, "Try Vijayalakshmi"
"Is that your name madam?", he asked her.
"Yes", she nodded.
The crooning was repeated now with 'Vijayalakshmi'. He had hardly finished his call, when out came the parrot like it was waiting and started to go through the cards!
"That's unfair, how dare you do that?", I mock-yelled at the parrot.
He tried to placate by saying something about 'these things happen for a reason madam we can't control them' and so on.
My family was fascinatedly laughing. I got up and made place for my cousin.
Her fortune-telling was over.
The man now looked up at me quizzically and asked, "Don't you believe in this, madam?"
I shook my head again, smiling, "No"
"Maybe that is why. I'd like to try it once more Madam. I feel bad that such a thing happened for you. I'd like to see your future. Please don't think it's a waste of 10 rupees. Please try again. But this time, before we start, please think of your favorite God".
"I don't have one", I told him.
"You don't have one? Which God do you worship", he asked.
"I don't worship any God", was my rejoinder.
He did not give up.
"Won't you think of any God when you begin some work?", he asked again.
I shook my head, which had become a much repeated gesture!
"Not even your mother and father?", he asked determinedly.
"Well, I don't worship any shape. All I have is a belief in a superior power", I told him.
"Well that's good", he smiled satisfied."Please think of something before we begin", he bade me.
I racked my brains to think of something....anything... But you know how it is. When you want to think about one single thing, your mind either goes blank or you think about a million things at the same time. Mine was the former case.
He could wait no longer. He had started the crooning, with 'Mathi' this time.
And now, the tricky parrot came zooming out of its cage, zeroed in on a card, thrust it into his hands and zoomed back.
I was a little hurt. I looked at it and asked, "That's it? I don't get the full performance? Just the climax?"
That was the cue for our man to start his speech in all its glory.
"The parrot reflects your mind. You took a long time to make up your mind about this. The parrot did the same. But when you had made up your mind you do not delay in action. The same case with the parrot. It took the card correctly for you."
Here he opened the card to show a picture of Lord Vishnu.
"What a lucky card for you madam! You have got the card of Vishnu, the God who has powers to both create and to destroy. You will be powerful in your actions too.
The depth of the sea can be measured even, but it will be very hard to know what is in the depths of your mind.
Other people can fry bajjis in oil, but you madam, can fry them even in water.
You may be a normal girl in your birth house, but you will be the Mahalakshmi of your husband's house.
If your husband hits you with his hand, you have the ability to hit him with your words. And that will hurt him more.
Most of the confusions and unhappiness that were preying on your mind would have vanished slowly. The birth of January is a very good time for you. If you have any belief in it, please go to a Vinayagar temple and give him a garland of grass."
I was grinning widely all through his oration. When he came to the frying bajjis bit, all my family started grinning excitedly.
I was now asked to pick a card. I picked one. He opened it to show the picture of Lord Vinayaga.
"See madam, do you need more proof? I just now told you that you should visit Vinayagar Temple and now you pick a card with His picture on it. Please madam, if you have belief in it, do go and present Him with the garland of grass. You have good times ahead of you", I was now smiling uncontrollablely. He looked up at me and said, "And you can conquer others with that smile of yours".
That did it.
I laughed outright. Not at him though. I was impressed despite my beliefs. He had achieved what he had set out to do. Even if nothing else, he was a good salesman and a showman. The 10 rupees was well spent!
I may or may not have had this entertaining show for my benefit if only I had kept my mouth shut when he began his show. So being a loud-mouthed smarty pants does help sometimes!!!

இருளும் நீ

2007-11-26T22:03:00.000+05:30

அமாவாசை கும்மிருட்டு..
கதைகளில் அது ஒரு திகில் இரவு,
எனக்கோ அன்று உந்தன் நினைவு.
கண்ணுக்கு புலப்படாது அந் நிலவு,
ஆயினும் மறைந்துவிடவில்லை அது.
அந்நிலவைப் போலவே, என் நிலவு நீ.

The big flop show dinner at Elliot's

2007-11-23T22:09:00.000+05:30

Dinner on the shores of Elliot's beach. Sounds great? It did for us too. The first time we tried this was when we bought pizzas and took them to the beach. Sitting on the sands, with the waves lapping in front of us, it was a great experience!

We were eager to repeat the experience. Getting burgers and fries from a tiny beachfront shop, we went and sat on the sands of Elliot's. With a full moon shining down on us, digging our feet into the cool sand, we munched our burgers in a very companionable silence. I turned my eyes from the always lovely moon to the sea...and was met by a pair of cold canine eyes. The dog was giving us a malevolent stare (or so we felt). We felt very uncomfortable with the burger in our hands. The dog was soon joined by one of its mates and now we had two pairs of steely eyes looking at us hungrily. We felt that two girls were no match for those two mongrels.

Our fright was greater than our hunger. Gathering our bags as quickly as possible, we walked all the way back, clutching the half eaten burgers and made our way to the low parapet wall seperating the beach from the road. We settled ourselves and resumed the munching. Imagine our consternation when we realised that one of the mongrels had followed us all the way! The hungry party was joined by another dog and these two walked back and forth behind us. Again we felt to be in a very vulnerable position and decided to drive to the other end of the beach where we had had our dinner last time in relative peace!

On the other side of the beach, we settled ourselves on the parapet and took about two munches of the now-soggy burgers. We heard drunken shouts and laughter behind us and turned to see four very drunken men advancing erratically towards the parapet. The dogs were less scarier. We fled! ....Again.

We drove a little way farther and parked our bike in a well lit area, but not before checking carefully to see that the place was canine-free and drunkards-free. I'm afraid I'm gonna sound like a broken tape but my honesty and a wish to write only actual facts impels me to say this. Hardly had we taken about two bites of that cursed burger, we were joined by a...you got it right...dog! It circled our bike, nosing its way around. I completely lost interest in that burger. I accepted defeat. I could fight no longer. We both felt the futility of the situation. We threw the remains of that luckless burger to the mongrel which gobbled them up in no time.
Oh.. the relief was enormous! To be free of those fixing stares, to be able to walk without being followed by four-legged hungry monsters (this from a girl who loves dogs!!!)...what a pleasure in life!

A funny thing. This did not happen to us when we ate pizzas at the beach. Was our veggie burger mixed with some kind of meat (Ewwww!) which attracts dogs? Or has the count of stray dogs increased out here? Neither option is a happy thought!

The next time we will try out with some other food...maybe dosas. That will answer atleast one question!

Gifted!

2007-11-22T12:06:00.001+05:30

Manhattan skyline has never looked more beautiful!
Check out this NY artist's fantastic talent
http://www.spraypaint.tv/view/261/times-square-nyc-spray-paint-art/

தோழிக்கு...தோழியிடமிருந்து.

2007-11-19T12:29:00.000+05:30

பரந்த பாலை கண்ட
சுகந்த சோலை என

விரிந்த ஆழி தந்த
நிறை நல் முத்து என

கற்பிக்க வந்தவனை
காதலன் எனக் கொண்டாய்

நின்னையே சரணடைந்தேன் என
அவன் காலடி கிடந்தாய்

பேதையே! அதுவல்லவோ நீ செய்த பிழை?

காலடியில் உள்ளதால் அவனுக்கு நீ
எட்டித் தள்ள மிக ஏதுவாய்ப்பட்டாய்

பூமித்தாய் என நினைப்போ உனக்கு?
மிதிப்பவனை மாரோடு அணைக்க எண்ணுகிறாய்?

மூடப்பெண்ணே! போதும் உன் அங்க ப்ரதட்சணம்.
நிமிர்ந்து எழு! உலகம் காணுவாய்.

Lucky

2007-11-12T22:48:00.000+05:30

I'll think my wishes through
before I wish again

-from the song Journey Home from Bombay Dreams
Two lines that kept running in my mind... over and over...

Thursday night
I'm on phone with my friend.. as usual we're discussing everything over and under the sun. We got to accidents.
"You know, I've always wondered. How will it be if I got caught in a road accident? Something like out of Kaaka Kaaka!" as usual it is me with this quirky thought.
The topic ran its usual gamut and ended.

Friday afternoon
I start my bike with my sister in the pillion. There we were, sailing along happily.
We reached a traffic signal just as it turned green. We sail past and reach a narrow bridge. Out of the corner of my eye, I detect a fellow walking drunkenly along the pavement. In a split second, he falls on my bike, flailing his arms.

I lose control. The world has gone black.

Someone has made me stand. I'm not able to. I lean on the railing for support. I can see blood drops falling on the pavement. Where are they falling from? My chin hurts. I wipe it. My palm comes away smeared with blood. My blood.

I turn back. About ten men (or so it felt like) are lifting up my sister. She is totally unconscious. I feel terror as I have never felt before. I black out again.

"Get inside the car", someone is pushing me. I see my sister being held up by two men. I sink into the seat and pull her towards me. "Wake up Wake up Wake up", I'm yelling at her, slapping her cheeks. The unknown terror is building up. "Wake up and look at me", I'm yelling out her name. I hear someone saying "It's nothing, It's nothing". One of the men holds out my phone. "Give me the number to call". I automatically punch in the letters and give him the number.

She opens her eyes. Unstaring eyes. She opens her mouth and screams...on and on and on. I turn and look out the window. I see the river beyond the bridge. A feeling of unreality sweeps over me. 'This cannot be happening to me'. I know no more.

I'm in the hospital. I see the terror stricken faces of my relatives. "What happened?" I ask them. A stranger steps up. "A drunkard fell on your bike. I was in a car behind. We brought you here". I could remember nothing. I feel a wetness on my cheeks. I've been crying. My mother and aunt lean over me. "I'm sorry" was all I could say. Over and over again. My uncle's face swims into view. Then my father's face. To all I have one thing to say - "I'm sorry"

My mother comes near me. "Where's my sister? I wanna see her", I cry out. A screen has been put up between us. "She's fine. Her wounds are being cleaned", my mother tries to pacify me. "I wanna see her. Take me to her. I wanna see her", I scream restlessly through my tears.
They open the screen and show me her face. She's looking at me. "Are you ok?" I ask her fearfully. Her small nod worked wonders to appease my conscience. I realise that the feeling of responsibility is the scariest of all!

A doctor comes to my bedside. "Since you're unmarried, we're gonna ask a plastic surgeon to come sew up your chin ok?"

"My head hurts", I whimpered. Through my whimper I noticed that her hair had been artifically straightened and looked very dry! Funny the things we notice!

"Hello!", A white coated man is leaning over me. "I'm the plastic surgeon, I'll be suturing your chin now." I yell out at him, "Before you do that, you gotta do something about my head. It hurts like crazy!"

CT scan machine is not working. We're both being shifted to another hospital. With the ambulance sirens screaming.

More about the hospital experience at Admitted to Apollo.

Maybe it's a coincidence. Or maybe not. Whatever it is, my belief in the power of thoughts has become stronger than ever. Because of this, I'll be more careful in voicing my thoughts.

There is a traditional custom practiced among us to ward off the evil eye. Camphor is the main player of the ritual. Camphor together with other stuff such as red chillies, salt, pepper, pumpkin etc are taken in hand and circled around person(s). Then they're all burnt up outside the house. This is supposed to cleanse the aura around us. It had stood by my stead in some occasions previous to this. That is why, though I have no belief in any religious ceremonies, I always submit to and practice this custom. This ritual was performed on us friday morning.

After the accident, opinions were voiced by various members of the family-

"It was a miracle they came out with so less injuries".
"This is all God's doing. Thank the lord nothing worse happened".
"Only because of the ritual they were saved with minor injuries".
"To escape with just this in such a busy road! You are very lucky".

Yes I was.

From now on, I'll think my wishes through.

Admitted to Apollo

2007-11-12T22:07:00.000+05:30

We were taken into the Emergency. A smiling doctor comes to me, "I'll be first injecting this local. You have to bear only that. You won't feel the stitches at all". She pokes at the flaps of my chin skin with a needle. 'Only this? Woman you're killing me', I want to yell out. But I know that I had done enough screaming to last me a lifetime. I only grit my teeth and wait for her to complete her tailoring.

A series of tests follow. I'm being stretchered from room to room for X-Rays, CT Scans and whatnot. I have no idea which followed which. All I remember now are the bright white flouresecent overhead lights rushing by as my stretcher was wheeled here and there.

Doctor's Decision : Admit into Intensive Care for acute observation. Which translates to 'suck out as much money as you can from these fatheads'

We were in full control of all our faculties soon. We did NOT need to be the ICU. But the hospital wasn't happy with the amount it had made on us with just emergency care. It wanted more. Two days in the intensive care shot up the medical bills to more than what I make in a month!

A small example of the hospital's business strategy: A nurse came up to me on saturday with a large cotton swab. "We need to take a nasal culture sample. This is a routine procedure. Please don't be scared"(as if I was). She made a feeble swipe just inside my nostrils. I did not even feel it. "Thank you that's it", she smiled with a false brightness that is the trademark of all the nurses. "Did you even get anything?" I questioned her. "Yes mam", with another of those oh-so-bright smiles she left.
After getting home, I saw that I was billed 620Rs for those swipes!

Another funny term they used at that hospital was "Acute Observation". For all I know, they did not observe me, acutely or otherwise. I was visited by a series of doctors - A neuro surgeon, Two plastic surgeons, A general surgeon, A chief doctor and a few more guys who had some specialisation I've forgotten. None of them observed me acutely. They observed the monitor which had a series of wires connected to me. They observed a chart at the foot of my bed. And they left.
Two of them came near me and spoke to me. One of them palpated my stomach with a gloved hand. One tested my reflexes, once. Most of them spoke to me from the foot of the bed. That was the extent of 'acute observation'.

The monitors and the charts were given more attention than the actual patient. Once, one of the electrodes attached to my chest had come unstruck. So the monitor showed my respiration level to be extremely low. According to the monitor, I already had one foot in the grave. The nurse got excited and called another nurse. "Respiration level is 2". Both of them looked at me. I was placidly lying there, watching tv, breathing as well as them! But still she asked me to breathe in and out. I did. She wasn't satisfied that I was fully alive. Then one bright soul had the idea to check my ECG leads. What a relief! They glued it back and smiled at the monitor.

The next day, we got ourselves discharged 'against medical advice' not heeding the chief doctor's warning that there is a one in hundred chance that we may get fits.

Well, so far, no fit has seen it fit to come near me!

A Magical Journey

2007-11-05T20:05:00.000+05:30

In the midst of the busy hustle and bustle of Chennai Central Railway Station, there were four figures scanning the information board.

"Shatabdi Express on Platform 2A"

We four started in search of 2A. We saw platform 2. We saw platform 3. And we saw a solid wall seperating the two. Nowhere could we see 2A. I and Niv turned to each other. "This is just like Harry Potter! Are we supposed to walk through it?", we giggled. Then Sarat walked a little way ahead and found 2A tucked between 2 and 3 snugly.

We were excited to be on Shatabdi. It was our first time. Our idea of an 'AC Chair Car' was a usual sort of train with no option of berths. With this impression I entered my coach and was hit with stares from a sea of faces! It was like entering a plane. It was like I was given a new toy, to play with and to discover the many things that it can do.

The train pushed off and soon an announcement came on air from the Train Superintendent. The whole setup was so like a flight. I wonder which came first? Plane or Shatabdi?

Soon we were given tea and sandwiches. Munching the sandwiches, we spent the time talking and sight seeing through the window. Time crawled on. The sandwich was over. The topics were exhausted. It was too dark to see outside. Ennui was setting in.

Relief came in the form of Coach Attendants. This time they were bringing soup. That helped to somewhat vary the monotony.

Even a soup has to end sometime. Out came a book which helped to pass time. But the chairs were in an uncomfortable angle to enable a good read. By this time another hour had passed and our guardian angels now came in bringing dinner. And that provided entertainment for a half hour. After that, we again began to crave some entertainment.

That's when Snehil entered the scene. Snehil is a lively one-and-a-half-year old sitting right behind us with his Ma and Papa. He was fascinated with our camera and came sat with us. Soon he was fascinated with other stuff. My bracelet, the fan switch, the story book, the magazine, an old ticket, pencil, wafers all were playthings! By a strange and happy coincidence, when it was his bedtime, we had reached our journey's end.

'Twas a happy and content four that got off the train at Bangalore. Wait...don't I mean Bengaluru?
;-)

கன்னியின் கனவில்...

2007-10-31T23:09:00.000+05:30

மென்மையான காதல்,
அளவான நேசம்,
பண்பான புரிதல்,
லட்சிய குணம்,
எழுத்துக்களில் ஆர்வம்

இவை யாவும் கொண்டவனை
மணந்து கொள்ள தான் ஆசை

ஆனால், என் செய்ய!
நான் பாஞ்சாலி அல்லவே..

Singing in the Rain

2007-10-28T17:32:00.000+05:30

Generally we sing when we're happy. I do too. I love Rain. When rain comes, my happiness increases. Soooooo, I tend to sing whenever there's rain! It's been raining for a whole day here. Plus, browsing Priti's blog showed me the way to post my songs! By 'my songs' here, I mean those I have sung (of course!). Maybe sometime in the future, I may write and tune my own songs (fingers crossed!). For now, I can only sing what others before me have sung, like the one below.

Nila Kaigiradhu

The Gift

2007-10-25T21:12:00.000+05:30

It was their second wedding anniversary. Myra woke up to her husband's gentle nudging. "Happy Anniversary, Myra", he smiled down at her.

"Same to you, Lyan", she grinned sleepily.

"Come, get up. Come and see my anniversary gift", he pulled her to her feet.

He almost dragged her along the corridor to his lab at the other end of their house. "Lyan, slow down", she laughed breathlessly. But he ploughed on eagerly, not listening to her. They came to a stop at the door to his lab.

"Mrs.Lyan, I present to you", he threw open the door of the lab, "SWONIZON!!!".

Inside the lab, in the midst of all Lyan's strange appratuses stood a large obelisk. It was stragely shimmery and looked as if it was made of molten silver.

Myra caught her breath. "Oh its so beautiful. What is this?".

"This, My girl, is our dream come true!"

"Lyan, you don't say so! Have you done it? Really? Oh Lyan I'm so proud of you!".

Myra's husband was an enthusiastic scientist. Myra knew that he had been fascinated by the concept that many parallel universes exist at one point of time, and that he had been trying to achieve a way to travel through these universes.

"Myra I've done it! The Swonizon can travel through the universes!"

His feverish excitement had caught on to her as well. She pulled on his sleeve and tremblingly whispered, "Lets go for ride!"

"Wait a bit. I've got another gift for you!"

She turned to him in happy anticipation. He dragged her close and planted a resounding kiss on her lips. "Love you", he murmured. "mmmmm" was all she could mutter.

He then walked towards the machine holding her hand. He drew a pattern on the wall of the obelisk. It parted, revealing an opening wide enough to walk through. They walked in and the wall slid back smoothly. Lyan drew some patterns on the wall. Before she knew it, they were moving! Myra had the feeling that she was being pulled forward. She could feel each and every movement of every atom in her body.

After what seemed like two minutes, she felt back to normal. Lyan repeated his patterns and the wall started parting. Before they could fully open, Myra who was so eager to see the new world, stepped out pulling Lyan along. As they started to walk out of the obelisk, Lyan's hand scraped against the walls and at the next instant the walls had closed in on Lyan!

Myra turned in horror and yelled out "Lyan!". But it was of no use. The obelisk gave one final shimmer and zoomed out to a small dot. Absolute terror froze Myra to the spot.

After sometime she looked around, taking in her surroundings.
She was by a large tree which had some statues underneath. She did not know the country. She did not know the language. The only thing she knew was that it is the place she had last seen her Lyan and it is the place where she would wait for his return.

Years have passed. If you pass by that tree, you may see an ageless, dirty looking woman in torn clothes sitting under the tree, looking longingly at each passing vehicle, hoping that one of them will bring her Lyan back.

She sits there, with a torn cloth tied over her lips, holding in the one thing that her Lyan left her...the last kiss.

Author's Note: The incidents in the above story are of course a product of my imagination, but the woman is not. She's a real woman. She can be found in the area near the Nandambakkam bus stop. She will be either sitting inside the bus stop or under the big tree near the bus stop. The cloth tied over her lips is real too. That was the one thing that brought my attention to her. And the strangely haunting look in her eyes...ahh...that's real too.

Voices in my head

2007-10-23T21:17:00.000+05:30

"Come on girl...You can do it."

"Oh yea right! Like I believe that."

"Man! He's cute!"

"What the f***???"

"Does she hate you? Why? Doesn't she like what you did? Why? What else could you have done? Could you have explained why you did it? Would she have listened? Is she worth the bother? Oh what the heck. Forget her. If she doesn't understand she's just not worth it!!!"

"Why me?"

"God please take him. Please. Please."

"Ooooh that was amazing!"

"God please make her see sense!"

"Do you have any idea how much I hate you?"

"Do you have any idea how much I like you?"

"If only ..."

"So what are you planning to do now?"

"Can you believe she did that?"

"What's the point?"

"Get out of my way you ass****"

"You are soooo good at this!"

"That's it baby! You've done it! Great going sweetheart!"

"Hope you know that what you're doing is absolutely wrong. It's frowned upon!"

"I just wish..."

"Why not?"

"Yes it is."

"No you won't"

"Can't wait to get the hell outta here"

Made to Order

2007-10-22T23:07:00.000+05:30

Priti bade me to write something on a topic she gave me.
Here's to you prits! My small effort :-)

மனம் ஒரு மகாபாரதம்

அடுத்தவன் அழுதென்ன சிரித்தென்ன?
கண்டுகொள்ள நேரமின்றி

'என் கதையே பெரிய கதை'
சலித்துக் கொள்ளும் மனமே

ஆர்வமிருந்தால் படித்து விடலாம்
அடுத்தவர் மனதையும் எளிதாக

அங்குள் இருப்பது வெறும் கதையல்ல
சுவையான, திகட்டாத காவியம்.

இயற்கை

2007-10-18T22:52:00.000+05:30

முடிவில்லா பாதை போல் எதிர்கால எண்ணங்கள்,
நட்சத்திர குவியலாய் ஆசைக் கனவுகள்,
பார்க்கும் குழந்தையின் சின்னக் கண்களில்
எனக்கு மட்டுமே தெரியும் தண்ணிலவு,
நீந்தி விளையாட எண்ண அலைகள்,
மூழ்கி முத்துக்கள் எடுக்க ஆழ் மனம்,
சுடும் சொற்களால் வறண்ட நெஞ்சம்,
கோபம் கொண்டு கொதிக்கும் உள்ளம்,
நட்பு தந்த பசுமையான நினைவுகள்,
சுற்றம் தந்த நெடிந்துயர் பெருமை,
ஆசையில் பொழியும் பாச மழை,
பொங்கி பெருகும் ஆனந்த வெள்ளம்,
அன்பு பீரிடும் அருவி இதயம்,
நாள் தவறாது உதிக்கும் பசி,
மனதின் மையத்தில் ஓர் வெற்றிடம்,

இயற்கை - எனக்குள்ளும், என்னைச் சுற்றியும்.

இழப்பு

2007-10-18T15:51:00.001+05:30

நினைத்ததை சொல்ல
உரத்துச் சிரிக்க
தேம்பி அழ
சொல்லாமல் அறிய
யாரும் இல்லாத போது
தோள் கொடுத்த தோழமை.
அந்நட்பில் தனிமை இழந்தேன்

சில்லென்ற மாலையில்
அழகான கடற்கரையில்
இளங்காற்று வருடுகையில்
மனம் விட்டு பேசுகையில்
உன் ஆழமான புரிதலில்
அந்நட்பில் கவலை இழந்தேன்

இழந்தவை எத்தனையோ.
கண்டறிந்தது ஒன்று.

இழப்பு - இனிமை தான்.

Hindsight

2007-10-10T21:33:00.000+05:30

It was her favorite pastime. Reading. She always found it so exciting. It felt like people from the days of yore were conversing with her through those printed pages.
One such book was holding her enthralled. Her eyes flew over the lines, taking in every word, '...on hindsight, I realise that...'

"Hindsight? What can that mean?", while she was looking it up in her trusty dictionary, her agile mind was busy offering its own meanings. "Maybe it's looking at what's behind. Or maybe it's looking through the behind. Oh what nonsense am I talking? Here it is. Dictionary says 'Hindsight n. - recognition of the realities, possibilities, or requirements of a situation, event, decision etc., after its occurrence.' So that's hindsight huh? Well."

Back to reading it was. But there was a quitely nagging thought at the back of her mind - 'Looking through the behind? Why on earth would I get such an idea?'

It was while she was lying awake at night after switching off the lights, that the old story she had read came to her mind. "If that man can look through closed eyes, why can't I look through the back of my head?". The idea took her fancy strongly. She got up, rummaged her bookshelf for that book. "Aha, there you are", she read the story again giving special importance to the measures the hero of the story takes to see through his closed eyes. He had spent years in the effort.
"Can I make the story come true?", she wondered. "Oh, go sleep you idiot", she chided herself, "This is a not a story book. It's your real life. Stuff like these don't happen in real life"

The idea persisted. She could not make it go away. She started practising the same methods. She put a candle behind her and tried to see the flame while closing her eyes. Though she could easily imagine it she could not see it. Everyday, she used to sit for a couple of hours and try.
"Oh I give up", she was exasperated. "It's been three whole months and I see not a thing".

But she was vaguely familiar of an impression of the flame when she closed her eyes. "Am I seeing it or imagining it as usual? Well it won't hurt me to try a li'l longer".

Stronger and stronger became the image, until one day when she screwed up her eyes tight, she saw an orangish oval. "Is that the flame?", She was excited. And lost her concentration. The image vanished.

Months sped by. She had used up more candles than a church. "Last day today. I give up if I don't see", she decided. She shut her eyes tight and started concentrating. The orangish blur slowly began to take shape. In a few minutes, it was the flame!!! She could even discern the blue part of the flame.

From that it was but a step to see other less brighter things. Slowly but steadily she practiced until one day her tremulous idea became real. She could see through the back of her head! She had developed a 'hindsight' - true to its literal meaning! But she revealed the secret to none but a trusted few of her cronies. Her extraordinary ability helped her become what she is today - an ultra successful undercover agent.

Even now, as she walks away from me after reading the above, what I have written about her, she knows that I'm smiling at her. I wave at her and she waves back....without turning.

Of Shares and Bonds

2007-10-09T11:33:00.000+05:30

I had taken the day off from work. The morning passed by in front of the TV and with my book. Towards evening when I was looking for something to do, I was delighted by a message from my buddy, "Hey we're coming to your place now. Lets go shopping!".

Alrity! I was all geared up. Any time spent with my best buds was always fun. Since our respective lives now had other priorities, the time we three spent together had reduced considerably. Any planning that we do to get together almost always ended in a flop show.
It was impromptu outings like these that spelled F-U-N!

An evening of shopping followed by an absolutely scrumptious dinner at Pasta Fresca - A dinner peppered with animated conversations and shared confidences - The evening had all the ingredients that would make a Girls' Day Out all the more enchanting!

Life is beautiful when it's shared with best friends!

Guilty

2007-10-05T09:55:00.000+05:30

A hot morning. Heavy traffic. You know how it is. You are impatient. But you have to move in inches. Further down the road, the traffic cleared a bit. I was whizzing past when I saw a guy on the road side telling two others "Hit the brain, I think", pointing behind him and then pointing to his head. That slowed me down. This isn't a normal conversation.

A few feet from them, I saw a man being helped to sit by two others. One of them was patting the man's cheeks saying "it's nothing sir. it's nothing. Sit up". The other was holding the man by his armpits.

The man himself was bleeding from his head. I could see bloody skin peeled off from the top of his head. His hair was matted with the blood. The blood had run down his neck and his shirt was wet with it. What really bothered me were his eyes. He had a wild, bewildered look in them. He looked as if he did not believe it. As if he didn't know what's happening around him.

I passed on.

I did. I then realised to my consternation that I did not stop and offer help. I was in a two wheeler. I accused myself of not offering to take him to the hospital.
I tried to appease my conscience saying that the five guys would take ample care of him. I did not need to barge in. But conscience is a tricky friend. It still bothers me that I did not stop.

Did I do the right thing?

The Girl and The Machine

2007-10-03T20:57:00.000+05:30

Rewind to a coupla years back.
"I'm planning to buy a two-wheeler", I told the Pater.
The mercury hit the top. "My daughter on a scooter? On these terrible roads? I absolutely forbid it! I won't have you breaking any bones!" (He meant others' bones of course!)
Right-o! Another dream down the drain. But, the spark wasn't completely extinguished.

Fast forward to the present.
My unc came up to me, "I can't use my bike because of my operation. Do you wanna take it to office or something?"
Do I??!!
Though he was apprehensive about the Pater's reaction, I convinced him with my mother's golden words - 'What they don't know can't hurt them'.

I was all set to go. With his helmet (which I believe he got as a wedding gift - 40 years ago) on my head, like a good girl I went straight to office. I was already late and had to hurry. So I took the short straight path. After an usual day, I was eager to start home, with a stop on the way for some shopping.

With my jacket on, without the hindrance of that helmet (I know, I know, breaking rules and all that - but the wind rushing through you - what an exhilarating feeling! (Plus my sense of fashion (ahem!) prevented me from wearing that scrap metal (I've got to stop here before I put up any more parentheses))), I started my journey.

It was my dream to take a bike and explore hitherto unknown streets in my town. I was so excited that I was gonna live my dream! I started with taking any and all side streets that took my fancy. I avoided known main roads. I explored my area to my heart's content. I must admit, I did hit upon numerous dead ends and no-entries. I went in circles. The journey which should normally take me about an hour took me nearly one and a half. But did I care? Oh no!
What did those matter when compared to the Liberation that I felt?

Estranged

2007-09-20T22:55:00.001+05:30

--A Sequel to Sunny Boy--

A gentle romance had bloomed between our hero and heroine. The relationship had progressed so far as to calling each other by their own private pet names. Soumya was 'Jenny' to Vinay, after his on-screen sweetheart. Vinay was lovingly called 'Vinu' by his girlfriend.

Vinay was in a good mood. The next day was his birthday. His girl had promised him a surprise gift. He had tried to find out from her what it may be. Try as he might, she was pretty adamant about not giving him the least hint. "It's gonna be something that nobody else has given you before" was all she would say. He spent the whole day day dreaming what she might have in store for him.

"Happy Birthday Vinu!", of course it was her voice that wished him at the stroke of midnight. "Thanks baby", he was happy that her wish came first. What continued was another of those talks-that-last-through-the-night! It had become a habit to Vinay to discuss everything under the sun with his Jenny.

The next day dawned bright and clear. She met him with a parcel. "Here's your gift".
Vinay eagerly tore the wrapping. Inside was a talking clock!
"A clock??", he was surprised.
"To remind you of me with each tick", she smiled. "Also, I want you to wake up with my wish in your ears".
"What do you mean?", enquired Vinay.
"Check out what it plays for the alarm tone", said Soumya.
He pressed the button to play the alarm. "Good morning Vinu. Have a happy day!" trilled Soumya's digitized voice.
"You're right. No one else has given such a thing to me", said Vinay trying not to show his disappointment at such a tiring wake up call!

As the days went by, Vinay began to get the feeling that he was having too much of his girlfriend. Not only was she constantly in his mind, she was physically present by his side at every available opportunity. Though their workplaces were different, they met for lunch, coffee and evening walk. If they did not meet, they conversed over phone. Or it was text messaging. Vinay felt that they each need a bit of personal space. The danger of them becoming much too dependent on each other was imminent. Such a thinking led him to accept a project at Delhi.

Though it almost physically hurt him to think about leaving his Jenny, he convinced himself saying that a separation might actually do them good. When Soumya heard this, she was devastated. "You're gonna be gone for a month?"
"It's an official assignment Jenny. I can't say no", he tried to persuade her to let him go.
"I can't be away from you that long", she wailed.
Heightened of his earlier impression about their increasing dependency, he told her with a hard and firm voice, "It just has to be done".

Is this the parting of ways? Or will distance teach Vinay the preciousness of their time together?
Or will the same distance help Soumya understand that she can be happy in her own space?
Only Old Father Time has the answers.

Mood Music

2007-09-20T11:35:00.000+05:30

A drive in ECR is always pleasant. If you have music to accompany your drive, it's the tops!
On one such drive, I was fiddling with the radio to find a good station. My taste in music usually changes as frequently as the weather. That day, I tended towards melodies. I hit on a station that was playing a hitherto favorite song of mine, Evano Oruvan from the flick Alaipayuthe. A soulful high pitch rendering by Swarnalatha.
I was shocked to hear my friend say, "Hey change the damn song. Why is that female screeching so awfully? Find a station that plays a better song".
He changed the station to a one playing a lilting number. He looked at me and said, "Why are you listening to such sad songs now? Let's hear happy songs Mat".
Though I didn't realise at that time, the change in the tune made a definite impact on my mood.

Another time, when I was listening to another melodious number, Mudhal Mazhai from Bheema, my friend came up to me and suggested that I hear another song from the movie which was of a buoyant nature. The Rangu Rangamma she suggested played a significant role in keeping my mind in a happy frame.

Generally when we're sad, subdued or in silent contemplation of life, we tend to listen to music that reflects our mood. But, I find that people such as my aforementioned friends, who tend towards cheery songs are invariably almost always in a cheery mood. They liven up the place.

Do songs define our mood? Or do we select the songs we wish to hear based on our mood? I found that whatever my mood be, listening to a bouncy number always perks me up! Life is happier :-)

Sunny Boy

2007-09-14T13:40:00.000+05:30

--This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living is purely intentional--

-- Dedicated to RNVK--

Vinay was your average kinda guy. Although if you go upto him and say this, he won't accept so (like the other average guys).

He had an average life - he studied engineering with a hundred thousand others. He signed up for work at a software company like a million of his fellow engineers. He had the average dreams of a young Indian. He had crushes on movie actresses. He was crazy about Jennifer Aniston. He was in love with Andrea Jeremiah. He dreamt about the perfect girlfriend. He had the average gang of friends.

In the average life of our hero, the next average thing to happen was an interest to pursue higher studies. Marketing was his forte. A distance-learning course of MBA was his choice.

The students taking the course planned on meeting each other and sharing notes. Little did Vinay knew that he will be sharing more than notes at the proposed meet!

They all met over coffee. Vinay glanced across the table. The world stopped. Time froze. Eternity became nothing. Never became forever. He had seen his Andrea. All his universe was concentrated on a single point. SHE was there. He did not know her name. He did not need to. She was his Jennifer. She was his dream. He felt like he was falling through a black hole. He was not scared. Because her hands were there, to hold him up, to cradle him, to soothe him,
to love him. He knew that all the 24 years of his life, he had travelled many paths just to reach this destination. She was his destiny.

He woke from his daze to realise that someone was talking to him. He shook his head and saw. It was HER!

"Hey Vinay ", she smiled.

"How do you know my name??", he was surprised.

"Oh I asked. Listen, I heard that you need some help with accounts. Maybe I can help you with that?", she offered.

Can you feel hot and cold at the same time? Vinay did. Like many average guys, he does not read Shakespeare. But if he had, he would've identified with the bard who said
"There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;"

Vinay knew this was such a tide."Thanks. I'd love that.", he grinned.

"Sure, anytime", she turned and walked away.

He realised he hadn't asked for her name. Though his mind said 'Andrea' and 'Jennifer' over and over again, he was sane enough to realise that he couldn't very well call her by either.

"Um..Hey..your name?", he called out.

His vision turned and threw over her shoulder the two syllables that were to be his mantra,
"Soumya".

So bloomed a gentle story of love and friendship. What happens thereafter? Ah well, that's another story. Yet to be written, by the Hand that writes all.

Umbrella

2007-09-12T10:42:00.000+05:30

It was a sunny morning in Chennai. ('like a million others' I hear the voices in my head say disgruntled.) The 'sunny' in the above sentence definitely doesn't strike the same note as the "sunny beaches of Florida" you read about in guidebooks and adverts. This 'sunny' scorches. It makes you sweat copiously. It saps your energy. It spoils your mood. But I digress.

As I was saying, the sun was making itself felt ferociously. I got down from my bus and started the walk to my office buildings. I was not in a sunny disposition (pun intended!). The prospect of a walk in that sun daunted me. Nonetheless, I hiked on.

It was after I had taken maybe about 20 steps that I realised something wasn't just right. There was a bunch of guys walking maybe 20 feet ahead of me. They were under the sun. They had clearly defined shadows moving along them. Whereas me, I had no shadow to speak of. I didn't feel the sun either. I looked up and saw that a little cloud was shading me from the sun. I whispered a silent thanks and hurried on.

Now that's when I realised something very interesting. As we walked on, I was always under the shady part and those guys were always under the sun. I looked up and saw that the cloud was actually moving along the same direction as I. And at the same pace too.

Of course, such a natual phenomenon might occur to anyone. But me, I refused to take it that way! I felt absolutely special. I felt like The Alchemist's Santiago. I felt that all the Universe had conspired to protect me from the scorching rays!

Well, who else had their very own heavenly umbrella?!?!

In the Woods

2007-09-05T19:06:00.000+05:30

"Lets stop here for a while. I want to rest", the pater stopped the car.
We were driving our way homewards when the above happened. There were nascent woods on both sides of the road.

My mind already crammed with romantic ideas sown by the likes of Enid Blyton, Nesbit, Lucy Montogomery etc., I could not pass on this opportunity to read in the woods!
Armed with my book, I took the footpath that snaked into the woods. There was I, in search of a good tree bark, wandering in that little copse. Sound romantic enough? Well that's when reality bit!

I realised that I had stepped onto some droppings (human or canine...no idea!). I cringed. My balloon deflated a little.Luckily there was a trickle of a brook running nearby. I went to it and washed my sandals clean of the soil.
Then I wended my way again in search of a suitable tree. I finally hit upon one and leaned on it and started reading. Soon, I was joined by other intrepid explorers such ants (large, mean looking black ones), flies (in varied sizes) and other less likeable members of the insect kingdom. To add to all these, there were blood thirsty mosquitoes that were pecking me.

Nonetheless, I bravely went on reading (just for the heck of it I admit!). My bravery paid off. I had the novel experience of sitting under a drizzle and not getting wet! That's right. Soon it started drizzling. And I realised that only from the pitter-patter of raindrops on the leaves. The trees grew close enough to form a green umbrella for me! So, to be fair, reading in the woods does have its perks! But it isn't such a song as they make out to be!

So the next time someone tries to sell you the idea that 'reading in the woods' is a romantic not-to-be missed experience, bonk them on the head.
Oh, and you're also free to show them this post! ;-)

Tiny Delights

2007-09-03T22:10:00.000+05:30

realising that you're opening your eyes to a holiday
snuggling under the blankets when there's rain at the window
eating ice cream and watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S
smiling at a stranger
reading your old birthday cards
being kissed by a baby
hearing that you're loved
getting your favourite book at half price!
getting the crack code of a coveted software
having phone lines blocked on birthday night
driving high speed and listening to woh lamhay
getting drenched in the rain
eating amma's hot pongal with tomato chutney
falling asleep without bothering about the morrow.
suddenly realising how much you love someone
having a lot of comments to the blog (hint!)

Life of a Celebrity ;-)

2007-09-01T20:27:00.000+05:30

I went to the pharmacist near my home to get some medicines. I was visiting the shop after a long time period, maybe 3 months. I got what I wanted and was waiting to pay. The shop assistant looked at me and asked, "Ma'm, don't you want ------?" (naming a medicine I used to use sometime back frequently). I looked up at him, surprised that he remembered and told him "No I don't buy it now".
"Oh if you do, don't go to any other shop Ma'm, always come to ours", he said.
"Ya. Sure. Whatever", I replied, still in a daze that he remembered stuff like that!

Another day, I went to get a wallet at a big departmental store near my home. I was browsing through their selection, when the salesgirl came up to me. You would expect her to say "May I help you with something?". I did too.
But what she said was, "You back from office early today, Ma'm?".
I was startled and looked at her and gave her an enquiring look. (When I'm surprised or startled, I tend to lose my vocalising ability!)
She smiled at my surprise and told me, "We see you everyday, passing by our shop in the evening".
I said "Oh". (not very good with words, as I said earlier!!)
I was even more surprised at her usage of "we". Then I saw her fellow salesman standing behind her a little way off, giving me the same smile as her.
"Oh....Uh....that's very nice....Uh....Yea I came back early from office..."

Well, now I know what a celebrity must feel like!!*tongue in cheek*
It must be tiring to lose your privacy and have complete strangers come up to you and recite your daily schedule,likes and dislikes!
Although I won't say that I didn't like these two little exchanges! As a human being, it does feel nice that others take notice of you!
:-)

A bird in hand

2007-08-30T22:57:00.000+05:30

Another thought on being content.. Interpersonal relationships is one main area where being content is a super important trait to have. Sadly, many of us lack it when it comes to relations.

In my experience, I see that no matter how many ever friends I might have, if someone's friendship is what I cannot have, then that is what I'll seek. I can never be content until I have made her/him a friend too. Unfortunately, in the process I may upset a few apple carts, but I plough through, nothing deterred.

People, it doesn't matter if we have a hundred birds in hand, it's always the two in the bush that attract the eye!

Escape Route

2007-08-29T12:06:00.000+05:30

The most common human tendency is always 'to look for something better'. Very few of us are truly contented with what we have, be it in anger or happiness.

This is all the more common when we're in trouble or when we're stressed. We look for 'a way out'. We want to 'get away from it all'.

One of the escape routes that I've found very useful is taking a walk thru the past. And if you have a friend who comes along with you in the walk, it becomes pleasanter. Reminiscing over the shared memories always elicits a smile and provides temporary but good relief from your troubles. For after all, what are troubles but clouds that pass by! And these reminiscences are the ray of sunshine that seeps through those clouds!

What price feminism?

2007-08-21T15:40:00.000+05:30

Feminism - the word triggers varied responses. It gets the bristles up for most of the men and women. Very few people I have seen can discuss feminism in a calm, collected, objective way.
Why are there so many wrangles over it?

Debates in my office canteen that start over feminism always end in a catfight over who's better - man or woman? Both sides pointing out the others' mistakes, both sides accusing each other and both parting in mutual dissent!
How can you debate over which is better - heads or tails?

Women and men are not same. They're not made that way and they can never be. Women and men cannot be treated same. The differences have to be understood and respected.
For me, Feminism is a way of life. Feminism is having the same opportunity as offered to a man. Feminism is being understood and accepted as a woman.

Men who practice feminism treat women with understanding. They accept women as another human being. They do not degrade or discourage women on the basis of the woman's gender. They do not feel threatened by a woman. They do not hate the entire womankind for the mistake of one woman.

Women practising feminism do not consider men their adversities. They understand the differences between their sex and the opposite. They ask for equal opportunities. They do not ask for superiority. They ask for a place by the side of a man and not over him.

Bottomline : Women and Men are never same. They can be equal but never the same. Understand the difference.
Be a Feminist and live in harmony.

Night to Remember

2007-08-20T22:21:00.000+05:30

The city makes you blind. The city spreads a sheet of artificial light over your eyes. It clouds the true beauty of the night with it's dust and dirt. You don't get to see the pale pearly glow of the moon, nor of the pin pricks of twinkling lights of the far away stars.

I was visiting relatives in the countryside and was lucky to 'sleep under the stars' one night. At first, sleep I couldn't. Instead of the usual concrete , my ceiling was the inky blue sky. Instead of a boring(but necessary!) fan, my ceiling was filled with stars. They all grouped right above my head. The stars wanted to be with me. They spoke strange secrets. I could not feel the world around me anymore. I felt among the stars. I was looking at them, talking to them. There were also two shooting stars who gave me a glimpse of their celestial beauty. That was the night I felt one with the universe.

Slowly, the stars put me to sleep. When I woke after a short deep sleep, they were clustered no more over my head. They had drifted apart. I could see tiny blinks yonder. But they were few and far between. They had moved away. I wonder why.

Muppet is Me!

2007-08-14T15:32:00.000+05:30

Came across a couple of personality tests while browsing.
Normally in these kinda tests, any result will suit you! It's fun to do it though.
Me fits Kermit the Frog (they say!).

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Tag of Blog

2007-08-13T20:50:00.000+05:30

So people have started this thing about games in blogs. The idea is kinda creative. I was tagged by Satish. According to this game, I'm supposed to give 8 facts(why 8?) about me.
Well here goes,

1. I was Jane Austen in my previous birth.

2. I once averted a national disaster just by walking down a street.

3. I once wrote a 150 line poem in my dream. But I forgot it when my mom woke me up.

4. I was told the secret of life. But I was also made to swear to keep it a secret.

5. I'm currently reading Ponniyin Selvan and have realised that I'm the reincarnation of the leading lady.

6. For my last birthday, I was given the gift of the gab.

7. I write bestsellers under a pseudonym. Under NDA with my publisher, I'm not allowed to reveal the pseudonym.

8. I love making up stuff! :-)

Alright, My turn's over. I'm now gonna tag the following bloggers...
Guys, gear up. Lets have those 8 facts!

Nivi
Sona
Vinod
Thiru
Senthil
Nary
Hameed
Chitra
Priti

:-)

A peep into a tiny mind

2007-08-13T10:17:00.000+05:30

My cousin and I were excited. Our little cousins were visiting us and it spelled fun with the family! Little GG, this cute nine-year-old is telling us a story she had made up. All of a sudden, she tells a poem she had made up in school. "It's called Green". We're amazed. "Oh, I wrote a Limerick too". Follows 'Red'. "And a Haiku". It was 'Blue' now.
We plead for more.
And what followed was..

Green

Green is the joy of nature
Green is the whistling of grass
Green is nice bright happiness
Green is the surprise of breaking glass
Green is a cucumber, smooth and soft
Green is fresh apples sitting in the loft
Green is vines swinging to and fro
Green makes me happy like a frolicking doe
Green is the joy of nature

Red (a limerick)

Terrible, terrible red,
A battlefield with bloodshed
I hear a loud rumble
Of a castle going to crumble
So I ran home to my bed

Blue (a haiku)

Deep loyal and dark
As beautiful as a lark
Sea with a giant shark

5 W’s

Who? The green grass
What? Whistles quietly
When? In the afternoon
Where? At the meadow
Why? Because of the wind

Purple (a couplet)

Purple, purple magical and deep
Eggplant that’s good to eat

Purple is the sister of pink
They have a very close link

Purple is the sign of love
As lovely as a white dove

"Hey GG, how about I give you a topic and you write something on it?" I ask her. "Ok" she says matter of factly. "Give her something out of the ordinary. I want to see how deep her thinking goes", my cousin tells me. "Oh I've already written a deep poem. I got it while looking at a fan", pipes up GG. She rattles out 'Life'.

Life

Life goes spinning at a pace
Life goes spinning in your face
Life goes spinning round and round
Until you fly and never touch the ground

Pretend you’re a fledgling learning to fly
Upto a point that’s high
If you miss a flap or two
You’ll fall down and that isn’t cool

Pretend you’re building a bridge
With a tall pointed ridge
If you miss a brick or so
It’ll fall down and you’ll have a row

Life goes spinning at a pace
Life goes spinning in your face
Life goes spinning round and round
Until you fly and never touch the ground

It took us time to close our awestruck mouths. I finally give her the topic 'Morning'.

Morning

The flowers are opening their petals
The sun is rising on a new day
The dew drops are splashing on the grass
I could shout hooray

Hooray, hooray it’s morning
A few flowers are opening last
Hooray, hooray it’s morning
I can see a mast

The flowers are opening their petals
The sun is rising on a new day
The dewdrops are splashing on the grass
I could shout hooray

India

I like India a lot
Even though it’s hot

I have family there
I know they care

India is very nice
I’ll be there in a trice

What do you do?

2007-08-11T00:28:00.000+05:30

When life gets hard,
When living takes special effort,
When you have to wear a mask all the time,
When waking up and facing a new day is a terror,
When your mind is tortured by fevered imagination,
When you do not understand people,
When people do not understand you,
When you do not understand yourself,
When you trail along listlessly,
When you stop caring,
When your hatred consumes your goodwill,
When depression becomes too familiar a feeling,
When mind refuses to form feelings into words,
When your mind gets pounded by feelings without an outlet,
When you want to 'escape from it all' but cannot,
What do you do?

You hope.
You believe that tomorrow will be better.
You look for simple pleasures in life.
You count your gifts and are thankful for them.
You live.
And life...goes on.... day by day.

Rues of a bus traveller

2007-08-02T21:13:00.000+05:30

Do you travel by bus? Frequently? Have you ever noticed how you're always crowded in your seat? No? Is it only me then?
I'm lucky to board my bus at it's starting point. I normally get good seats. Its only as the bus goes its way picking up more people that the trouble starts.
The females who insist on sitting with me are
a) fat (very).
b) puny but with arms and legs sticking out all over the place
c) normal sized but with huge packages slung over their arms and shoulders.
If I ever get the good fortune to sit with a neat woman, she almost always gets down the next busstop and any one from the species described above will come to be my seat partner.
If you shrug and say that I'm just overreacting, listen to this.
The bus is almost empty when I get in. I choose a seat that I consider perfect (not too close to the driver and not too far from the door). All other seats except one are empty. I repeat, All.
This woman gets in, with a tremendously large aluminium basin filled with odds and ends. She comes straight to my seat like a homing pigeon (crossing empty seats on her way), thrusts the basin under the seat (right where my feet are) and sits oh-so-nonchalantly next to me, supremely unconcerned that she's digging her elbow in my ribs. Wait, the fun doesn't end here. I find to my horror that the odds and ends are actually FISH. Oh, the smell. It was my ingrained politeness that made me shift my seat without a murmur at her.
I tell you, somebody out there is out to get me!!!!

Ode to the Stoneheart

2007-07-24T09:24:00.000+05:30

You who have darkenened my days
Made my nights a sleepless daze

They fall from me, angry tears
Mute curses I throw at your ears

Do you have an inkling to what I feel?
Do you see anger in my eyes of steel?

What sin was it that I did
in a previous birth, now I'm punished

Will pretty sunshine
Ever be mine?

Or will my dreams
Be endless screams?

Hope moves me along
Ever so strong

For you may bend me, all you might
Break will I never, in my might

I pity you savagely, heart of stone
For your errors, may you atone

What a sad life you must lead
Without Love in your stead

You may lie, saying you don't need
A heart of love, but do heed

Love can be received, only if given
and 'tis what makes this world, heaven.

Music that melts

2007-07-17T23:32:00.000+05:30

This man exceeds superlatives.
What a gift it must be to be able to move others' souls? How will it feel to be like Ilayaraja, the man loved by millions ?

This is a wonderful piece of his, that I never can hear enough.

A Ride in the Rain

2007-07-14T22:43:00.000+05:30

It all started with Niv.
"I'm so bugged today", she said.
The work day came to an end and Mat asked her, "hey do u wanna go for an icecream?".
Niv was like, "No lets go to the beach. I just wanna take a good break".
Mat was incredulous. "Did you see the time? Its pretty late. we should've started long back if you wanted to go the beach".
"Oh come on, its not that late. We can still go and come back home early", Niv convinced her friend.
They hardly had travelled 10 minutes when big drops of rain splattered around them.
"Oooh rain!", they cried in unison.
"Thank god you're wearing that helmet. We can reach the beach even in the rain. It's gonna be fun man!", Mat was excited.
In a few minutes they were soaked to the skin and the rain was falling in big sheets.
"Why don't we turn back?", Niv was concerned. "Yeaaaaa, it IS kinda heavy", Mat ageed. A stupendously loud thunder blasted in agreement. The dark gray sky was streaked with the silver wires. The sky was a rock concert!
Mat had a weird idea, "Why dont we just go for a ride?".
Niv nodded in glee, "oh yea, lets take the GST road".
It was a heavenly love affair. The rain loved these two girls who loved it back fervently!
It's now Niv's turn for the weird idea, "Hey lets grab some samosas somewhere. They'll be good to eat in the rain".
"Oooh yes lets!".
So they turned around, entered a side road, at the end of which they reached a subway.
Mat was not keen to cross that. "Hey you sure about this? What if we get stuck in the middle?".
They stopped the vehicle and stared at the expanse of road ahead, hidden beneath the rain water that's atleast knee deep.
"Go on girls", a man next to them in a bike bid them. And that's all it took.
Niv accelerated.
"Wheeee", they both shrieked. It was like trying to drive a bike in a river.
But the scooty managed to get them safely scross to the other side.
"Man my bike is something, huh? Great going!", Niv was proud of her and bike's accomplishment.
Finally they found a shop outside of which they parked their vehicle. Standing in the rain, drenched to the skin, with their teeth chattering in the cold, munching hot puffs, these girls had the time of their lives!

The Parallel Universe Theory

2007-07-14T22:11:00.000+05:30

I was reading Micheal Crichton's Timeline when I came across this concept of "Parallel Universes" or the "Multiverse".
The Multiverse sounds like a poem but it's not. It's the concept of many universes co existing paralelly. This also connects us to Time travel and stuff like these. The book was fascinating.
Can such a thing be?
Take, for example, me. When I'm at home, talking to my mother, I live in the world of relatives and their craziness. When I'm with my father, well that's a completely different world! When I'm with my cousin and family I live in a world of fun and well that's a different world too! With my friends it's a world of amazing camaraderie. With my colleagues, its a world of programming and deadlines and meetings and stuff. When I'm by myself, ah well, now that's a world I love. A world with my quirky thoughts and splendid dreams.
So..do parallel universes exist? Yessiree! At a teeny weeny tiny micro cosmic level they do...for me! And I know for a fact there are many kindred souls out there, existing in all their universes and going strong!
You go people!

The Flower Rock

2007-07-11T22:11:00.000+05:30

"Coorg is almost flooded!" - our gang was dejected at this news.
"So are we calling off the trip?"
We had planned for a weekend at Coorg and the trip was in danger of being dropped. That's when Naveen suggested Poomparai.
Poomparai - first time I had heard of this village. Supposed to be an hour's drive away from Kodaikkanal, this sounded like a good destination for us almost burnt out chennai-ites!

After a lot of Last minute plannings and confusions friday night found us on our way to Kodai. The little Maruti 800 mustered up all her energy to shoot us across the potholed roads. Saturday morning at the Kodai foothills we met the gang from b'lore and swapped vehicles.
We girls were unceremoniously bundled into the monster of a bus. The bus was built for load but defnitely not for speed. After a very slow and sluggish journey up the hills we reached the Kodai town and were met by a man with a Bolero from the resort where we were to stay.
Now that guy knew how to drive! He whisked us through the mountain side and we reached our cottages.

The Wilusa Holiday homes made a very favorable first impression on us! The rooms were neat and sweet and confusingly constructed. That made it all the more endearing. Our love with the cottages lasted until we found out that there was no water supply. Housekeeping informed us that once the power supply is back we'll get water!!
Ah well, philosophers that we were, wanting to waste no more time inside those rooms, I and Nivi set out on a small expedition to explore!

When a girl who's completely brought up in a concrete jungle of a city is let loose in a mountain side filled with little paths snaking from her, can you blame her for losing her head??
I was completely enthralled with the possibilities of adventure that lay before me. Armed with a stick(I had heard that if u keep tapping the undergrowth while walking in a forest path, snakes won't come near you. They can sense the vibration or whatever) and a camera we set out. We could see a waterfalls in the distance and we decided to reach it. Though we never reached it, we did end up discovering a small brook that actually fed the falls, with numerous distractions of side paths on the way!
After a while, when others came in search of us, we realised how late it had become and walked back to the cottage, all the while listening to remonstrations on how unsafe our act had been!

Then in the evening we found that only our tiny maruti was available to take us out. The bolero was making some other rounds. Of the eight, Five of us bundled into the car (no mean task, given the size of my fellow travellers!) and visited the main Kodai town for an hour of cycling around the lake and some shopping.

We started back when it was almost dark. There we were, driving through the dark mountain, five people who are all new to the area. We were discussing the next day's plan. Sunday was to start with a trekking to see Bisons. Suddenly, Satya who was driving shouted out, 'hey look, a bison!'. Sure enough, there it was. Standing at the side of the road, blinking in our headlights, munching away and looking as contented as a...cow! Then farther down, our headlights caught a wild hare in the act of crossing the road! Even farther down, our headlights caught a bridge. Even if the others didn't pull us up, this one sure did. All of us thought "That wasn't there when we came!". About turn. "We missed a turning, and I know where" - Man! Was I glad to hear our driver say this!

Saying hello to our friend the bison again, we finally reached the cottages. The temperature had dropped considerably and our hands were beginning to freeze. The idea of a Bonfire was gladly welcomed and the resort people took us to a big clearing that had been dug out a precipice. We settled in the stone seats around the fire and partook of our dinner.

Sitting around the fire, talking, we lost all count of time. When we woke up the next morning no one had any energy for trekking! We just lazed around. When we were waiting for the others to get ready, I and Nars went on another of those walks in the countryside. We took another unexplored path and ended up at a pasture like clearing. I took one look around and felt that I had stepped into an Enid Blyton. There was a green green meadow below me, dotted with black goats and an authentic goatherd! To add to the already pretty picture, we came upon a tiny babbling brook!!!
Dipping our feet in the ice cold water, yakking away to heart's content - Pleasures of the countryside!

After a while, we bundled up again in the two cars and bid adieu to the lovely village. It was back to Kodai for boating and cycling and walking around the lake! When it was dark, we started back, singing lustily at the top of our voices, with the mountain air working our lungs! Now that was one fun-filled, memorable trip wasn't it??!!!

Loser

2007-05-31T13:32:00.000+05:30

It felt like hell.
She felt nothing in her life was going well.
At first it was a friend she lost.
That broke her some.
Then it was a most prized possession.
That broke her more.
The tears were unstoppable.
It hurt to let things get away.
It hurt to lose.
It hurt to live with 'without'.
Why? - was the only question.
Answers there were none.
It was her granny who consoled her
"I know how it feels, honey
You're beginning life now.
I have lived it thru.
Believe me, there's more.
But, my girl, be strong.
Your life will go on,No matter what."
The words and the love
lit a spark in her.
She's ready to lose more.
And she did.
But it didn't hurt as much.

My First Travelogue!

2007-05-05T17:06:00.000+05:30

Sonu Nigam is humming ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ in my ears. A cold wind is brushing my face. We’re coursing along a mountain route. I see a great green carpet of tea plants in the moonlight. I hear snatches of conversation around me; “Hey you took the 9 of spades”, “lakshminarayanan srinivasan are you there?”, “hey Praveen adutha paatu paadu da (Hey Praveen, sing the next song)”. How did I end up here?

We’re on our 3rd day of our much-looked-forward-to trip! It all started with one of my best friends getting married at Salem. Our gang planned to couple the wedding trip with a sight seeing tour. Since about a month before the actual tour, lunch time conversations consist of nothing but “trip planning”.

We started from Chennai Friday night. Two decks of cards came out when the train started moving. After some good games, we all felt considerate of other passengers and told each other dutifully that it was time to switch off the lights. Up came the berths and we all curled up intending to sleep. None felt sleepy!!! Slowly we looked at each other and all sat up in their berths. The conversations started then! We discussed life in general, love, marriage, family, parents, friends, colleagues, career… everything but the kitchen sink! One by one dropped off and finally it was just me and Vidya still continuing the discussion! Conversation with a friend lasting all night long – try it! I can’t explain the special feeling of bonding that arises from such convo!

We got our first look of Salem in the dawn of Saturday. That whole day and the Sunday morning were spent totally in the marriage celebrations! Sunday afternoon our van was ready to take us to Marayoor, the place where we had booked rooms.

We started from Salem all geared up for the sightseeing! With stops on the way for lunch at Kangeyam, to get a permit to enter Kerala at Pollachi and for tea at Udumalpet, we finally reached our destination Marayoor, Idukki District, Kerala at night. Our rooms at Chandana Residency were comfortable and we liked the first look of them which washed away our fears of getting cheated by what we saw of the hotel in the Internet! Since our rooms were adjacent, we could go from one room to another just by climbing over the balconies! We all freshened up, had dinner and while some went to sleep, some of us assembled at the balcony and played cards till after midnight! I went to sleep in pleasurable anticipation of what the next day has in store!

I awoke to the sound of Nivi saying “Mathi wake up!! Come and see outside, it’s great”. I sat up groggily and blinked at the muted sunlight. My watch showed 6.00am. I pulled on a jacket and went and stood at the balcony. All I could see was a green, green field spreading from the other side of the street and beyond that a row of brownish green mountains whose tips were wearing cloudy crowns. We planned to take a walk and left the room. That’s when I got the next surprise. Our room opened to a corridor through which we saw more mountains in the same uniform. Our hotel was plump in the middle of a valley! We took a long slow walk along the street with Thiru clicking away with his new camera. We bought coffee from a small mom-and-pop shop on the way. After we drank that down, we walked back to the hotel ready to start the trip!

While we were getting ready Suku was planning the day’s course with a map. Since we wanted to make Munnar our ultimate destination we decided to make Dolmen Caves our first stop. This cave lies on the way to Munnar from Marayoor. We reached the place where the mountains formed a kind of “U” and the road to the cave was situated in the bend. The road was not open to the Van so we walked down the path. We kept walking through the undergrowth, and suddenly we saw that ‘Two roads diverged in the woods’. Since both of them looked well traveled by, we chose the right one and just kept forging ahead without reaching anywhere. After a while the track ended abruptly!After that it was just a sheer fall. So we all trooped back and now took the left track. We passed a small culvert on the way and when we over the wall we saw that there was a tiny waterfall!! With a whoop, we slid down the sides and reached our waterfall. We squealed with joy when our feet touched the water…it was so cold! Some one then had the bright idea to thrust just the head thru the screen of water! We all lined up and did it!!! After a while we realized that we still hadn’t actually seen the Dolmen Cave. But no one was in the mood to leave! We finally left the place and walked on. The end of the road had a small dark Temple. We assumed (maybe wrongly!) that maybe the Temple is the cave after all! But we didn’t regret not seeing the cave a bit!

We came back to the Van and went to our next destination, Lakkam Falls. This was another amazing place for waterbabies like us! The Falls wasn’t a mighty expanse. It was a medium-sized yet proud sheet of water! We spent, like, an hour in the water, forgetting everything like lunch, time, and the need to go to the next place! I think the best kind of trip is the one you take where you enjoy to your heart’s content and don’t bother about wanting to include everything on the map!

There was a particularly deep place just at the feet of the Falls where we could actually swim! That was my first experience of swimming at a place other than a pool! When I went underwater, the whole world around me was green, the sunlight was piercing the water and I could see tiny rocks far below at the waterbed! That was a lucky-to-be-alive moment!

Other friends who hadn’t gotten into the water started yelling it was time to go, only then we left! From there we reached Munnar where we had time only for lunch and some souvenir shopping since we had to travel about 40+ km back to reach Marayoor. By the time we started it was dark. The full moon kept us company all the way back. There were fireflies blinking like tiny dots of fire along the road. That wide huge expanse of mountain sides in the moonlight was one sight I’ll carry to my deathbed!

The next day our driver refused to take us up the mountains again, saying that the Van has some problems. So we decided to go visit some lower areas. Our first stop was Tirumoorthi Dam where we went boating. On the way we saw windmills which presented a mighty sight! From there we visited Aazhiyar Dam. I felt a secret connection to this Dam since my mother had told me that my grandfather was the Chief Engineer for this Dam Project.

Next stop was Monkey Falls. It wasn't as much a falls as a cascade of water. We scrambled up to find the origin of the falls and saw that the flowing water was actually a leak from an old dilapidated dam! But since we reached the place near closing time we couldn’t spend much time there. Tired, wet and happy we finally left the area and were on our way to Coimbatore to catch our train!

The trip has given us a lot of memories, filled with laughter, jokes, ribbings, leg-pullings, bursting-into-song moments, feasts for the eyes and of course fights! Without the fights there wouldn’t have been the proper mix of spices to make this complete! Fight we may, Love we may, our principle was Har pal yahan jeebhar jiyo, Jo hai sama kal ho na ho (Live every moment here to your heart's content, The time that is here may not be tomorrow)!! And we did!

2006-11-18T21:50:00.000+05:30

I love this strip coz Snoopy says what I think!!!

-Thanks to Sparky!

I don't have an opinion on that!

2006-11-12T21:54:00.000+05:30

How do you answer these questions...?

Do you think there are/ Do you believe in ghosts?
Do you think there are/ Do you believe in mermaids?
Same question for...gnomes, elfs, giants, midgets, black magic etc...
Do you think there's life out there in space?
What happens when we die?

I dont have an answer to these questions since I've never encountered any of them personally.
Just because I've never had the good fortune (?) to meet a ghost, to have a swim with a mermaid or to chat with an elf, I can't just disbelieve them. And for the same reason, neither can I believe them.
Though I'll be happy to exchange ideas with an alien if one comes my way, I have no reason to break my head over "UFO SIGHTINGS!!!!" that never happen to me!
And I'm quite content to wait till I die to see what happens next!

This kinda "neither yes nor no" state is not just for these questions. I have the same opinion (of not having an opinion) for

whether man really landed in moon or was it just a big story NASA cooked up
is global warming really happening
is Pluto a planet or not

well...you get the idea.

Frankly I dont give a damn! (Did someone say that already?) Maybe I'm being ultra selfish here, and not bothered about stuff that's happening outside my circle.

But hey, what difference does it make to me right now whether man landed in moon or not? I'm gonna be doing what i'm doing now (staring at the same 14 inch monitor day after day) whether he did or not, right?
Alright, maybe I play a miniscule but a spectacular super-important role in this big cosmic relation, but how does it actually affect me whether I believe Pluto is a planet or not?
And if Global warming is really happening, I'm either gonna be burnt crisp or frozen stiff. Then it won't matter what I actually think about it, will it? ;-)

Dream Come True!

2006-11-08T10:26:00.000+05:30

This is a programmer's dream come true... Google has come up with this amazingly useful concept "Code Search"!
You just specify what code you want and how you want and Google delivers it, Hot and Steamy!
And there are many criteria from which you narrow down your search, eg, the language the code's written in.
Well...what more does a girl want!
;)

P.S I'm not peddling the product here. Just sharing a good news!

Chillunu oru....comedy!

2006-10-22T00:16:00.000+05:30

It is a rainy morning. I'm picking my way gingerly across the waterlogged streets to office. My umbrella is all that protects me and my bag from the lashing rains. My sandals are very slippery in the water. I'm trying to strike a balance between my doddling umbrella and my slippery sandals.
A lady , similarly adorned, approaches me from the opposite direction and passes me slowly. Suddenly she arrests me with a "Excuse me". I turn around and turn an enquiring glance at her. She points at my legs and says something.
Immediately I think that my duppata end is in the water and check it. It isn't.
I'm sorry to say I'm not very polite at the instant and I just ask her "What?".
A man passes us and points to a nearby transformer which at the moment is spewing out sparks because of the rain and warns us to move on. The lady gives a glance at the transformer and turns back at me with a guilty smile and repeats her question.
When I hear the question, all my struggles with the umbrella ceased. I'm frozen to the spot.
The question she threw at me was..."Where did you buy these sandals?". I answered with the name of the shop. She smiled at me (the same guilty smile) and went on her way.
I tell you, I admire her observant powers that were predominant even in the lashing rains and the morning rush hour.
Kudos to you Ms. Holmes!

Who is this "Me" person anyway?

2006-10-01T21:53:00.000+05:30

I've come across numerous quotes ever since I got myself an email account. Most of them aim at developing my personality. I've attended few seminars on the same and also have come across such books.
Most of them are fond of saying
"Be yourself"
"Find yourself"
"You are the best no matter what others say"
"You are the most unique person"
and more in the same vein.
All that's fine...but none of them tell me how to find "myself". They say 'analyse your actions'. Like, how? There's another one that says "You have to first lose yourself to find yourself". OK, so how do I "lose" myself? You gotta tell me that too!
The second most bewildering are those stories with the so-called analogy! For example, they tell me a story that may involve stones, sticks and sand... these stories will normally end in a moral that's so hazy that it'll hide a good sized house...then they tell me "and that's how we should live our life". I will be like "hullo? what???"
Most of these stories are wasted on me since I never have the patience to sit and think about how it maybe connected to my life!
For people like me, we need a very personal personality developer, one who comes with us every step of our life and tries to improve our personality by analysing each of our actions. (am I being too lazy here?)
If you can't do that, and all you can do is just preach us stories and throw quotes filled with the so-called power words then, kindly leave us alone! Let our humble little personalities develop their own way. Let us learn on our own from the syllabus Ma Nature has charted out for us :-)

ரயில் பயணத்தில்...

2006-07-25T11:41:00.000+05:30

Question : What happens when a girl like me travels alone in a long distance train and it gets stuck at someplace for 3 hours?
Answer: She attempts poetry.

These are my creations at such time...

ரயில் ஜன்னல் வழி நோக்க
கூடவே வந்தது தண்டவாளம்
எட்டி பார்த்தேன்
முடிவு தெரியவில்லை
அதுவும் நம் நட்பை போல்தானா?

கனவில் கன்னம் கிள்ளினான் அவன்

விழித்தபின் வலிக்கிறது

சுகமாய் மனதில்

"தலை வலிக்கிறது", என்றாய்
"எனக்கும்", என்றேன்.
"உனக்குமா", என வினவினாய்
உன் வலியை நான் உணர்வதை நீ உணராமல்.

பார்வை

2006-07-21T10:20:00.000+05:30

அதிகாலை நேரம்
என் வீட்டுவாசல் வழி
சிறு ஓடை கண்டேன்
அதில் இளங்கதிர்களின்
விளையாட்டை கண்டேன்
ரசித்தேன்
பின்னர் உணர்ந்தேன் - அது
அருகில் இருக்கும் உணவகத்தின்
கழிவு நீர் என்று
கதிரவனுக்கு தெரியவில்லையே அது!

A Trip to the Surface

2006-07-13T17:03:00.000+05:30

It was the day that Shiko the fish has been eagerly waiting for. After a long time he and his wife Rayno are expecting a baby fish. Shiko was waiting nervously outside the anemone cluster. Inside the cluster was Rayno and the baby will hatch any moment!
After what seemed like ages, Shiko heard the soft voice of Rayno calling her husband in. Shiko rushed in and saw the most beautiful little baby fish ever.
"Shiko, darling, it's a girl" said Rayno.
Shiko didn't say anything. He couldn't.
He gently nudged the baby with his fin.
Rayno said "Shiko, our baby was born on Full moon day. I'd like her to be called Luna".
Shiko nodded his head and said "That's a lovely name, baby. Luna it is. Our Luna. Our Little Princess".
Days passed by. Luna was almost 2 weeks old and she was learning to go out of her anemone cluster. But her doting parents never let her go out of their sight even for a moment.
Luna had heard about the wonders of the big ocean from the Old Crab who lived in retirement in the next cluster. She wanted to see for herself the many treasures of the sea and something they called the 'sky'.
But Shiko and Rayno kept telling her it wasn't time yet for her to venture out so far.
But after continuous requests, they agreed to take her out near the surface.
Luna was so excited to be going! Atlast she was going to see the 'sky'!
Shiko, Rayno and Luna swam all the way up and reached the surface.
Luna could not look enough! Shiko showed her the great big bright blue thing up there and told her that was the 'sky'.
"And look Luna, those white fluffy things are called Clouds" said Shiko.
"What is that daddy", asked Luna.
"Which one?", enquired Shiko.
"That long white thing moving among the clouds", pointed Luna.
"Oh that looks like a shooting star. You can see the trail it's leaving behind" said Shiko.
"Shiko dear, I don't think that's a shooting star...", said Rayno.
At that very moment the long white thing burst into many pieces.
"Hey I know, that's fireworks!" exclaimed Shiko.
"Oh daddy, it's so scary" said Luna.
The pieces were coming very fast towards them. And when they fell in the water they created such a big splash that for a moment all three lost sight of each other. Luna felt the water turning hot where the pieces had fallen. She could not see her mother or father. She called out to her parents but no answering voice came back to her.
It was a lone little lost voice calling out to the parents who will never answer back.
An announcer's voice from a radio in a passing fisherman's boat spewed out the news "GSLV crashes into the sea", which made no sense at all to the forlorn little Luna.

Re-mixed...and messed up!

2006-07-07T18:20:00.000+05:30

I was making noodles for dinner and had the radio on for company. I was quietly enjoying the cooking and the listening....all of a sudden my ladle stopped, my eyes widened and I went rigid with shock.

I had just heard the re-mixed version of an old song.

Only yesterday I realized the true meaning of "Old is Gold". The song that was being tortured was a motivating and inspiring number from a top actor of yesteryears. He had played the role of a slave in the movie and in this particular song he talks about how to make best use of our situations however down we maybe, emotionally and socially. This song had been written in such a way that it fits in the general scheme of life too. The song is eloquent, emotional, rousing and in short captivating. The singer had a deep voice and his delivery was impressive.

And yesterday I heard this song completely mutilated. I'm sure the silly little music director had lofty ambitions of "making a mark". Also I'm sure the singer, the poor guy, thought he was making a statement with the "modern" way he was singing.

The result was absolutely detestable.

The deep rich baritones of the original singer had been replaced by a guy who sang from the tip of his tongue. And it was the wrong tip too. There were unneccassary "ooooooooohs" and "aaaaaahhhhhs" in the middle of the song by a bunch of screaming females.

Altogether the music director (God save him!) had accomplished whatever he had set out to do, make a mark!
You did it my friend, You created a deep impression in me.
At the end, I was left wondering, "WHY???"
Why did he have to take a quite, unassuming song that was harmlessly going its way and completely demoralise it?
All I hope is that when the Day of Judgement comes, all these will be taken into account!
:-)

First steps...

2006-06-23T14:27:00.000+05:30

Till sometime back I used to think that writing kavidhai was something that I'll never ever be able to do in my lifetime. Well I changed my mind now! I will not say that this is a full fledged kavidhai but hey! it's from an officially non-poet!

my first one

பேசாதே..
உன் வார்த்தைகள் தரும் அர்த்தங்களை விட
உன் மெளனங்கள் தரும் அர்த்தங்கள் ஆயிரமாயிரம்.

the latest

யாரை பார்த்தாலும் உன் முகம்
எதை பார்த்தாலும் உன் பெயர்
எங்கு கேட்டாலும் உன் குரல்
தூங்கும் போது கூட உன் கனவுகள்..
தபாலில் வந்த கல்யாண பத்திரிக்கையை புரட்டினேன்

கடவுளே! அதிலும் உன் பெயரா??

Beep! Beep!

2006-06-23T11:29:00.000+05:30

Yes, that is the beep of cellphone and NO, don't check your mobile when I'm talking to you.
I belong to the cellphone-savvy generation and each and every person around me has this extra growth from their hands. SMS-ing is the order of the day. Yea it helps us be in constant contact with our buddies, and yea it helps us planning a trip or a gift or anything easier. All that's fine, but there's an aspect to this messaging that I feel most people overlook.
I call it the "people-sense".
Consider this, you are taking a walk with your friend, and you are telling her/him something that has made a deep impact on you. You turn around to know their reaction. What do you find? There they are, messaging away to eternity. I tell you how I'll feel, I'll feel like taking that phone, drop it on the floor, jump on it and scatter the pieces.
These are the kind of people that are lacking in the people-sense. Well, perhaps the person they are messaging to maybe the most important person on earth to them, also that if they did not send that message at that very instant, the sun will rise from the west. But hey, aren't you overlooking something here? By giving much importance to a friend who's miles away from you, you're ignoring(intentionally or unintentionally) the friend who's right next to you.
Yes, you are developing a relationship miles away, but hullo! Open your eyes, a relationship right next to you is deteriorating!
Together with your mobile you are giving 'busy' signals to the friend right next to you.
Cellphones are the best in helping you maintain long distance relationships! But do make sure that it is not at the cost of a closer-to-home-relationship.

Kids say the darndest things!

2006-06-21T09:55:00.000+05:30

My three-year-old niece was playing with my father one day, as usual talking nineteen-to-the-dozen. She was recovering from a cold so her conversation was peppered with coughs. As she was scrambling over her thatha he looked at her and said "dei, you have a snub nose!". She stopped her scrambling long enough to look up to his face and say matter-of-factly "No thatha, I have cough".

Another time, when they were getting ready for bed, her grandma was carrying out the nightly ritual of smearing odomos all over her little body. She was as usual discoursing about that mosquito-repellent to the audience (consisting of me, my mom and dad). She went up to her thatha and said "thatha, see, this is odomos" brandishing the tube which didn't quite fit her little hand. Her thatha said "yes, that's for the mosquito". She widened her eyes and asserted "No! It's for ME!"

Indian Railways - Take Notice!

2006-06-19T22:06:00.000+05:30

You know how it is when you least expect it to, an idea pops into your mind? Well this time, the idea stayed with me long enough for me to take it down (or should I say put it down?)

I travel by the local electric train to get to my workplace. This evening while I was on the way back, after an energetic badminton game, this idea suddenly popped in my mind when the train pulled in at a station.

I was looking out through the window at the station's signalling guy who held up a lighting apparatus to signal to the guard when to start the train. He held up this thingummy above his head, it was blinking red. He kept shaking it and it was not pointing in one direction since I'm sure he's never played "Statue" in his life. The signal was not very effective (atleast in my view!)

Now that's when this great idea popped in my mind...alright alright, i'm gettin to it!

The idea is this, why not have a light fixed to the underside of the roof of the station? This light can, for its control, have a little lever that has three levels. 1. Red 2. OFF 3. Green

Ok here are the advantages of this.

1.The present thingy is a hand-held torch light kinda thing. So it is not a stationary light source. It makes seeing for the far-away guard a bit difficult. This roof-light changes that!

2. The present day signalling people have to be of average height to hold up the light up above their heads for the guard to see. But the roof-light can be operated by even a disabled person.

3. Normally automation will remove human intervention thereby lessening one job for a needy person. But the roof-light still needs a signaller to operate it.

4. The present torch-light is battery operated. But the roof-light will be electrically operated. And those who are going to ask me what if there's a powercut? (which sadly is common in our city!) Well hullo!?!? we're talking about a railway station that operates "electric" trains!!! What more does a tiny li'l switch want to be happy?

I think 4 advantages are fair enough for now! atleast that's all I can think about!

Authorities interested?

I have a little nagging at the back of my mind that Blogger.Com is not exactly in the top of the list of sites visited by the railways authority! Well, I atleast got it public!