To her, the daughter of the mountains, with love!

The morning was fresh and beautiful with the sun peeping out of the clouds and the dew on top of the grass reflecting wonderful colors. He was walking along the footpath to get an auto and go to one of those beautiful catholic churches in God's own country. The autos were the old 80s style. They caught his attention. Much of the place had a serene rural outlook and it looked strikingly similar to those pictures he saw in the museums. The ones from the colonial era. He had always been a victim of those lovely magic potions that Kerala has to offer. The lovely weather, the beautiful backwaters and the stunning girls with their hair flowing free, fresh from the head bath.

Ernakulam is a small town, seen as a part of the larger Cochin, though like most twin cities, there isn't a border or line to separate their facades. It is all in a wonderful blend. The long corridor in the church had an air of peacefulness in it when he entered it for the first time. Many groups of people had gathered and they were chatting incessantly. He was a secret admirer of malayalam and those nasal sounds of chatter acted like magnet to him as he could understand some parts from those discussions. Towards the end of that long corridor stood a girl, who had come in with her parents and the three of them were eagerly looking at a lone lily that stood with all class and charm in the middle of a small artificial pond besides the passage. There was nothing more beautiful than the white lily and the school of fish that swam in the mini pond. But as he moved closer to that small congregation of three, it was not the lily that caught his eye, It was the girl who was admiring the lily. He stood like a statue for a passing moment, stunned by her appearance. The straight, dark hair flowing flamboyantly over her shoulders. Her charismatic eyes. Her mesmerizing lips were a thing of beauty. He felt an unprecedented joy when she suddenly gazed back at him, though only for a fleeting instant. At the moment, he was witnessing one of the most beautiful sights that have ever unfolded in front of him..all his life.

It was barely minutes before the congregation reduced in size from three to one and she was waving her hand at the departing couple. Her parents would come back to pick her up late in the afternoon. She stopped waving as they disappeared and noticed him as he briskly walked past her, back and forth. He never knew the art of breaking wonderful silences and even now it was the girl who just uttered something. He didn't believe what was happening around for an instant and blame the shock for his inability to comprehend those sweet set of syllables in malayalam. He paused to check if it was all real and to his joy, it really was. He said he couldn't speak malayalam and she quickly shifted to English. Conversation kicked in and they spoke animatedly for a few minutes. In the process, he lost himself completely amidst the sea of her charm.

The beautiful morning gave way to a humid afternoon as the function at the church went on without much attention to this romantic sonnet. The only activity he was engaged in was a series of stares at this new apple of his eye. A few of them noticed and many of them unnoticed. Einstein once said "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute." And the words were so true to their meaning and in no time he was staring at the prospect of leaving the church when the function was over. Her parents were there again to take her back to the small town that she hailed from, a few miles south of Alapuzha.

He couldn't gather anything besides her name in the few minutes of conversation he had with her in the morning and as he saw her getting ready to move, he experienced a gush of blood flowing into his heart. He felt a need for some chivalry and courage at that moment though those aforementioned traits were very uncharacteristic of him. He took a credit card bill from his wallet and tore a small part from one of the rectangular edges. He was groping for words to write on that piece of pulp when his fingers jumped the gun without his cognizance. He looked down to see that he had already written his number and name on one side. The Adam in him wasn't that big a poet like Keats or Wordsworth. But he managed to write half a sentence on the rear side of the paper- "If you think we should be in touch...."

He slipped it under her cute pink bag that lay on a nearby table and started walking back home in quick strides as the function was over and the gathering had already dispersed. He didn't have the courage to look back but his heart started beating faster and faster as he made his way out of the church. He was wondering if she would see the note and pick it up. But he was afraid if it was too small and would go unnoticed. He slandered in whispers for not doing the act a bit more vividly. But the moment had gone and he couldn't get back anyway. He reached home and sat back in the reclining piece of furniture gazing at the fancy chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Minutes felt like hours and the ashtray slowly filled to its brim. But the beep from his mobile that he was so dearly yearning for didn't seem to appear. He woke up from the idyll that was going through his mind as his phone beeped about an hour later and for an instant he had his heart in his mouth. Words fail me as I try to describe his emotions at that moment. But the words on his mobile screen read "Hi. I picked up the note. Didn't expect one there though. How's the day? - " His joy knew no bounds and his fingers floundered as he drafted his reply. He was trying to speak his heart by way of the text message and as he was groping for poetic phrases, he heard yet another beep. But it was not from his phone this time. It was the sound of his alarm clock. He opened his eyes and surprisingly, found his mom with a cup of coffee standing beside his bed indicating something with her finger pointed at the clock. The clock read 14 10 hours. But he was looking at it upside down. So it was 7 40 am and it was time for him to wake up.

P.S : Apologies for the abrupt ending and a badly crafted anticlimax. But sometimes truth is bitter as the old adage goes and it is better hidden than confessed at large.

Yours Fervently, An Ardent Cricket fan

The Saturday meant a start to an amusing long weekend of sorts after quite some time and the self had woken to a rare rooster that crows late generally. Resting on the armchair like an octogenarian, I had breathed a lot of fresh air and was running through my mind the sequence of events that would follow in the next 3 days. That contained the following : read something to lift the spirits, drink a lot of coffee, eat to the stomach full, get the 11 hour sleep that has been evading for a while now and repeat the same in the order stated. Such was the beauty of the thought flow when the mind was particularly disturbed by a wayward sound that arose from somewhere in the neighbourhood. After curious onlooking, I found to my surprise that it was the gigantic wall clock that had caused the upset of the mind as the gong was doing its hourly duty at 3 hours post noon. Half an hour before the proceedings of the 4th day of the third test between India and England at Edgbaston.

It has been quite a while since I got myself deeply interested in a cricket match by and large. The last time such an instance was recorded was way back in March 2003 when Sehwag and Sachin entered the field to chase a mammoth 360 and Glenn McGrath had the shining red piece of leather to start the proceedings. After a considerable hiatus, the same interest started growing in me just before the ongoing series against England. What good parenting and modern pedagogic techniques that exemplify moral high ground have taught the growing youngster is that thing called maturity. As the body expands vertically and horizontally when man wakes up each morning to drink his cup of horlicks or viva or whatever suits him, the mind ought to expand. That, my ancestors used to call "maturity".
It has been well documented by learned people in the scriptures and elsewhere that mental maturity is quintessential for the uplifting of an individual. Though much has been talked about in this regard, what was visibly missing in my self as I got the bunch of potato chips and the plate of ground nuts in a move to gear up for a day of pleasing test cricket was the same thing that I have repeatedly lacked - maturity. To cut a long story short, what my heart ached at that particular juncture was for some legendary batting display from the few legendary batting names we have got on the roster so as to save the match and save our number one status by some hook or crook. This particular thought is a good example of an immature one at that. I call the very idea of the whim to be singularly childish. One cannot expect such a huge turnaround after two devastating performances at Lord's and Trent Bridge. But the heart ached for it in the same way it used to do back in 2002 and 2003 when Indian cricket was one of my highest priorities in life. I used to be an ardent fan way back then. But things have changed ever since and I moved on to other more intellectual addictions namely football, spirit, love and the rest of the things that G.K Chesterton used to talk about at length. So, this cricket fever recurring after such a long while was more of an aberration.

The end result? A big disappointment. Nothing that can be classified under the banner called sport has disappointed me to such a great extent, though I remember one instance when Benfica or some equally infernal force from Portugal knocked Man United out of Champions league and if my memory doesn't fail me, it was in the year 2005.After that one, now this particular disappointment from edgbaston made an impact on me and it was a sore one to say the least. The three matches that have taken England to summit from where India just toppled, were just a vindication of the visible listlessness in the Indian camp. There are cries and shouts inside the minds of the players and fans to abandon these humiliations and get back home, in the same way the Flintoff-led English team did during the 2008 terrorist attacks in Bombay. But we Indians are made of sterner stuff and it is not in our blood to call something off cheaply like that. We can continue to be distrait for ages and eons together but we shall not abandon. That fact being a given in the current scheme of things, the only logical thing to do is to somehow get over the fourth one as quickly as possible and start getting geared up for the five match one day series that is to follow. We could have been a very disheartened lot in the last 3 weeks, but the fact remains that it is not the end of the world and the one day series can help to make up for the shame quite a bit. So, along with the Indian team, I am telling myself after yesterday's horror collapse that all is not lost and that English August could after all culminate in an Indian September.

In Cricket, class is permanent and form is temporary. Let us hope to roar back in the one day series and worry about the test shambles in an introspection later in the year when we go down under.

Of Marguerite St Just, Sir Percy Blackeney and those golden days!

Disclaimer : For those who are uninitiated with "The Scarlet Pimpernel", here's where you can get your copy. The rest of you, here's a piece dedicated to that marvel.

And for those to whom, these names do ring a distant bell, welcome back to the age of English I (Prose) and English II (Non Detail). 'The Scarlet Pimpernal' was among the non detail books that we read during high school. It surely has been one of the best reads for me till date, though I have matured from the school book reader to the regular bed-time reader. I vividly remember the opening scene of the novel portraying the busy guillotine at its ghastly work. The carnage ceasing only at the late hour of the day, so that people could move on to spectating another amusing event of sorts..viz. the massacre and abuse of the aristocrats who have been exercising tyranny hitherto. The Calais to Dover ferry is another thing that comes to mind when one thinks of those 3rd period English classes, where people took turns to step onto the teacher's dais and read their assigned chapter out loud. The ones who gave a lyrical and musical touch to the narration were an instant hit among the girls and our beautiful English teacher who used to test those boys from the back bench frequently for their language skills. Of course, those lucky ones who stood out by way of narrating it musically, became articles of scorn from fellow last benchers. But it never stopped one from trying one's best to catch the eye.

My personal favorite from that beautiful novel has always been this prose that repeatedly appears through the narration.

"We seek him here, we seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?—Is he in hell?
That demmed, elusive Pimpernel."

I still remember the way I used to finish that paragraph stressing the "demmed elusive" with all the fervour and respect for the guy in command of the 20 member secret committee. The war between the secret society of English aristocrats and the conspirators at the guillotine was an enthralling one and the narrative of the spy novel was too good to resist for any high school guy. The eloquent blend of espionage and romance between the Scarlet and his wife makes for a wonderful ending. Chauvelin was probably one of the most successful villain characters of that era and his portrayal brings to mind Col. Hans Landa of Inglourious Basterds fame. Still, the literary character (Scarlet himself) who captured the imagination of many generations of readers from around the world was definitely the hero for many boys in my class and I remember how we used to steal scenes from the novel and enact it with modifications during those interval recesses in between classes. In fact, theories suggest that the twin lives of Zorro, Batman, Superman and the like have been copied from this one time and again since Orczy put pen on paper. Though the celluloid adaptations of the book didn't bring home the bacon, they become known names in the period drama genre as the movies and series captured something as sensitive as the French Revolution and espionage during that period.

All said and done, this one has been and will always be the most convincing book I have ever read and I would do injustice if I write a punch line to finish my lengthy acclaim of this novel.

Baroness Orczy, apparently wrote sequels to this masterpiece later on. But none of them made such an impact as this one. Here we are, talking about it 6 years later, on a fine monsoon afternoon, just because of the impact it has made in the minds of readers. I am sure those who have read the novel aloud in class, along with me, will second my opinion on this stunning book.

I am going on an indefinite hunger strike!

These are testing times, the ones that we live in..this day, in this age. The uncommon are becoming the common and man is rediscovering his own, true self by doing what his so-called uncivilized ancestors did during the ages of kings and kingdoms. Anna Hazare's fast, it must be said, has created prospects for lively debate and enthralling discussion. His, and his supporters' basic idea is to incorporate extra-constitutional methods into the dynamics of today's politics and democracy. But the question is whether such displays of peaceful revolts and fast-unto-death stunts subvert democracy to any minor extent. The answer IMHO is no.

The one that followed is even more interesting. The emperor of a 1000 crore yoga empire triggered an agitation on lines very similar to the previous one by Anna Hazare. The major difference being the amount of practicality in the demands laid down on the table in either cases. This and such things which are more to come in the years to follow pique me to a very large extent. More so, when they align with the order of the day in this modern world full of Egyptian uproars, Yemeni agitations and Libyan protests. So, to be frank, I am actually amused by this idea of going on fasts and strikes. It is an unnerving display under the holy banner called representational democracy. Prima Facie, the idea is a thought provoking one. When elected representatives cannot act as the voice of their electorate, the representatives (part of the electorate) shall take the sword. Here in one such instance, I have taken the pen, which we all know from the adage, is mightier than the sword. So I am going on an indefinite hunger strike until my demands below are met.

1. I want my boss to give me some peace of mind everyday at work.
2. I want to inherit a non-existing, 100 crore fortune from my dad right here right now.
3. I want a 40% hike in my next performance appraisal cycle.
4. I want a loyalty bonus, amounting to 10% CTC marking every year's completion at my workplace.
5. I want a promotion.
6. I want good weather in Chennai, for 8 out of twelve months in a year.
7. I want to date that hot chick who coos on the phone during those weekly client meetings.
8. I want to work from home 4 days a week. (I'd show up at work on all thursdays, when we have that client call)
9. I don't want someone else to set deadlines for projects that I am involved in.
10. I want my boss's boss's boss to reprimand my boss's boss. He is not behaving like I would expect him to.
11. I want to make a trip to Switzerland in the month of may next year. I would like it to be funded by my company.
12. I don't like the color of my HP Compaq monitor at work. I want a macbook instead.
13. My Sony Ericsson mobile phone fell into a bucket of water recently. Though I got it repaired for 1300 bucks, I want a new IPhone 4. I am not happy with a scarred piece.
14. I want the option to outsource the work I get and get cuttings for them.
15. I want to eat Double Cheese Margherita from Dominos before I go on to write the 16th point on this bucket list.
16a. (I'm still waiting for my pizza. Please revisit the previous point before proceeding)
16b. I saw my neighbor go to work on an Audi Q5. I am not a greedy person. Hence i am asking only for an Audi Q4. Note the difference. Not a 5. 4 would do.
17. I want my company to fund that business idea of mine (the one on that concept coffee shop) as part of their ingenious ideas funding policy.
18. I would like to be relieved from my current job once that business discussed above breaks even.
19. I want my best friend who is getting married sometime soon to visit me every weekend even after his doomsday.
20. I want my company to look into the above 19 points and sign on the dotted line on or before my appraisal date.

...........................................

Disclaimer : I am going on an indefinite hunger fast, if you had forgotten about that particular fact. As a result, I would not sleep for more than 10 hours a day, will not eat more than 4 times a day, will not visit office/office related people until the fast is called off, will not open Eclipse IDE even on my personal laptop, will uninstall VPN client that enables the work from home option.

In addition, I will have to be paid an inconvenience charge for all that I am enduring in the testing times that are going to follow this full stop here.

P.S : My fast begins. Followers can queue up behind that red sofa which is diagonally opposite that LCD TV in my a/c bedroom. A humble request to prospective followers. Please practice ahimsa. We live in a democratic country fathered by MKG.

Mama Ei Sri Lanka sikuraadaa

Before starting to put pen on paper, when I named the current one, I got reminded of this post from the past and hence decided to do a decent job of clearing the air with angry readers who have been bit by such an oblique title to a personal blog post. I shall not do a Hi-Ye or Hi-Hi kinda thing to confuse one and all and will teach my sinhalese-uninitiated readers their first phrase in sinhalese before proceeding - "I am coming to Sri Lanka this Friday". That is what my title means in sinhalese. So, breathe a heavy sigh, forgive me for the encryption and sit back to digest my pre-travelogue kinda post on my vacation to Sri Lanka starting this friday.

Yes, I am going to Sri Lanka on this year's tour (we do this thing every year) during the summer vacation. And by doing that, we are on track for an amazingly new feat in the country's history by and large. Geographically speaking, Sri Lanka is a small country with a pea-shaped structure sitting merrily beneath India on the world map. Demographically, it is a scarcely populated nation. More so since a good number of inhabitants from the northern side were wiped off from the landscape recently during the war. A debate as to whether that act was right or wrong would best be left to another day. Coming to matter, the country has very few people littering its soil. And now, we are going to be the single largest party walking at large, on sri lankan soil for a good long while. Records from the shelf indicate that the most populous bunch of homo sapiens spotted on a 2 square meter patch of land in Sri Lanka is not in double digits. We are going to beat history by overgrowing the native population by a handful for about 9 days. Yes, we are about 20-25 members on the roster for this tour down south. 


The idea of making trips with such large number of asses on the flight is definitely a questionable idea. Many of my friends and acquaintances have spoken to me about the fact in private. The general consensus is that, it is a really tough job to handle such a large group in the first place and with the members of the fairer sex outnumbering the members of the other in the touring council, the idea of social discipline and community etiquette are flatly defeated. More often than not, people tend to worry about behavioral aspects of men and women in such large companies. But, for me the one single advantage that defeats all the cons of the large group affair in general, is this:

Suppose that a group of two (say husband and wife) go on a vacation. According to the cosmopolitan distribution of the technology of probability in the evolution of mankind, the probability of Person A getting bored with/pissed off with the other party (Person B) in the congregation, during the span of the trip is as high as the himalayas. Hence, when such a situation arises, the poor soul (in most cases, the husband) is left to stare at things, animals and other living beings around, so as to kill time for the rest of the tour.

Now alternatively, consider such a large group of 25 with a camouflage of age, sex, height, weight, character, facade etc, it is as clear as a glass of aquafina water that one has so many options to try out in the event of one getting pissed of with another. For instance, if perima (mom's elder sister) behaves like a flat moron and keeps talking about marriage or some such equally infernal thing day and night, one can go ahead and try to socialize with chithapa (mom's younger sister's husband) who talks about beer, alcohol, whisky, vodka and/or related things incessantly. Or for another instance, if young cousin, who is obsessed with PJ's, as a result of going to school from June to April year after year, bugs one with nasty and stinking jokes from his peers and teachers, one can go for refuge to chithi (mom's younger sister), who talks of youth or love or sex or one of those empowering things in general. One gets the broad idea here, I suppose.

So, getting back to the argument of managing to come unscathed from a tour with 20 odd white-crossed relatives along, the variety of personalities in the gang is a single and sufficient reason to prove my questioning friends and acquaintances wrong.


So many friends and colleagues who are waiting to see me off are praying to God for my safe and secure return with no change whatsoever to my inner self. In the modern and civilized world that we live in, it is an accepted fact that a man's character and inner self are quintessential for harmony and happiness of the human race. And with a tour of sorts like the one I am talking about, it is very highly probably that one loses one's mind and in turn harms one's inner self, in the end leading to the collateral damage of society by and large. So wish me luck for a lengthy ordeal with old flesh and blood which is sure to be filled with socialistic festivities, including but not restricted to 

1. consuming different varieties of species like fish, crab, whale, dolphin etc from the sea shores of colombo

2. secretive hanging out of like-aged cousins ranging from 20 to 25 at the bar parlour or tea kadai

3. late night sessions of seatu kattu (playing cards)

P.S : I shall draft a post once I am back to en iniya tamil nadu (my favorite tamil nadu) and that would be a proper travelogue covering details of places and incidents. Skeptic onlookers from my immediate friends circle who are apprehensive about my returning from the trip as my own holy self, can then evaluate the person in me, post tour! 

Adios till then!

A Tag, New or Old.

I really don't know if this is a new tag or an old one. I don't even remember if someone really tagged me with this topic to write on. But since I can't think of anything worthwhile to write about, I am going to do this one. Here it goes....

20 years ago I......
1. was a chubby little kid who peed on the sofa more often than I drank milk from the feeding bottle.
2. went to my first school and started my first interactions with people outside my parents.

10 years ago I......
1. was busy with my coin collection and stamp collection and wanted radium stars on the ceiling of my bedroom
2. got my first real infatuation (stress on the adjective "real") and started doing combined studies just for the heck of it (She was the first ranker in class) .
3. got my first bicycle and loved the evening rides on it.
4. was a die hard fan of cricket and loved the after school games of cricket.

5 years ago I......
1. was enjoying my early days at college and loved life away from home..in a remote village in Rajasthan.
2. was quite sure I had committed the usual blunder of joining the rat race for an engineering degree
3. had football (Manchester United to be specific) as my first priority in life and loved the psychic fan in me.
4. just got to know that relationships are not made, they just happen.

3 years ago I......
1. loved the long nights alone in my hostel room and the endless sessions(all inclusive, games and more)
2. was confused about what I wanted to do with my life

1 year ago I......
1. was busy filing my first tax returns and fabricating all proof documents.
2. was already fed up with my first job and was in a clearly confused state as to what I wanted in my career next.
3. was trying hard for a B School admit which never happened.
4. was already ruing the fact that I had to work in the software industry.

So far this year I......
1. have been doing nothing worthwhile.
2. have got a good amount of bad news to worry about.
3. have followed the routine of eating, sleeping, eating again, sleeping again, eating yet again....think you get the broad idea here...
4. have seen a few movies in the theatre after a long hiatus on the cinema front.

Yesterday I......
1. had a really tough time with the procedures one has to follow in this country after a minor road bump.
2. did not touch my bed time book for the first time in many days.
3. was on the phone for longer hours than usual.

Today I...
1. thought hard on what I should write on my blog.
2. have taken half a day off from work.
3. lunched twice (once at home, once out on a treat)

Next year I......
1. will definitely know what I want in life
2. will watch movies like crazy and catch up on many bygone box office hits.
3. will spend my money on a new car.

P.S : Comments like,

From tomorrow you......
1. will stop writing crap like this and bore the shit out of people

ARE NOT ALLOWED in this space. People who can't control their fingers from typing something of that description, please hit the red cross on the top right immediately.

His Name is D-E-E-P

I have always been interested in a good number of four letter words and have wondered a lot about how the combination of a paltry four English alphabets convey huge meanings. One can take 'Life' for instance, or 'Love' (for those who've had luck with girls), or the other obvious four letter word starting with 'F' that sprang up to your filthy mind at the very mention of "four-letter-words'. All of them have intense meaning and can be associated with deep emotions. So yea, cutting the tangent, yet again, I came across this blog and thought I can violate the creative commons license for writers, by giving a small and invisible credit to him towards the end of this writing.

Coming to content, I would like to introduce to you, this person who I have known for a really really long time now and in my opinion, is the most arrogant pig that has mingled with mankind since the days of Adam, Eve and their old, respective flesh and blood.

He, works in one of the numerous IT firms that litter the IT Expressway (better known as the OMR) in Chennai and to borrow from the inspiration itself, is one of those people on this profane thing called earth, who do not have something called "Life". The owner of this thought claims that half the people on earth have a life, while the rest work in IT. Going deeper on the introduction of this piece in existence, I would like to explain from four (again four :-)) different fronts...Personal, Professional, Financial and Spiritual.

Personal: He hails from the land of Cholas, viz..Tamil Nadu and belongs to the notorious and famous community of Tambrams. His Dad is a graduate working in the Automobile Industry, while his Mom is a home-maker. His brother is another speck in the large ocean of blighters who don't have a 'life'. Or, if I have to be exact, he works for another firm down the same IT Expressway. His passions are a conundrum to himself. But he has toiled and found some inclination towards Manchester United, PG Wodehouse, Sachin Tendulkar, South Indian Food and Movies(only the ones that are critically acclaimed).

Professional: He claims to be an engineer in Electronics and a Master degree holder in Chemistry, though no points would be awarded for guessing that he is nothing more than a nowt in those/related fields. His working philosophy is 'Work hard but not hard enough to become a donkey and in the process make a lot of money'. He is fascinated by almost anything at work since he does not have professional interests of his own. To rephrase that complex one, He is not any domain specific person (leave alone a domain specific expert), to call himself as such. He was one of "that poor lot", which graduated in the middle of the "global recession" and landed in places all and sundry shattering their dreams, interests, career ambitions et al in the process.

Financial: It would be to tamper with facts, if I went ahead and said he was a cunning professional who aspires to be a billionaire. But it would be exact, if I said, he wants to live like one of them. He spends most of his money on movies, apparels and fuel. He is by and large a pessimist and he likes that fraternity solely because he doesn't have to repay any loan to anyone from the fraternity. Not that he borrows a lot though :P. He doesn't read any book to enlighten him on "how to earn quick money" or "getting rich in no time" or some such thing. But he is on the lookout for someone who has achieved that end to give him a short sermon on those lines.

Spiritual: He is not an atheist, nor is he a staunch believer and of course he is not an agnostic. He is trying to find a suitable term to explain his position in those affairs. To give a brief description, he is not among those privileged few who can give an answer to the "Does God Exist" question. But he believes there is some super natural force exists at large, somewhere in the universe.

By design or by accident, I meet this guy day in and day out and I am not able to get away with that chore and in my personal opinion, people fitting his description should be "handled with care" for the good of mankind (womankind, to be more particular).

And if you have exhibited such a nerve as to have reached this point in the post, he wishes to say 'Thank You' and 'Hats Off'.

Introducing to avid readers of this space, 'Me' (Better late than never)

P.S: Though this post should be classified under the general heading of "Of No Use whatsoever", it would be of help one day, when someone might want literature references of this 'celebrity-to-be', for some kind of biographical work of thou!

P.P.S: Due credit to the author of this idea of a blog post

P.P.P.S: And to explain why I started talking about four letter words while drafting this one, I have introduced 'DEEP' (a four letter word) to one and all!!

Ipdi than irukkanum nu sollala...Ipdi irundha nalla irukkum nu solren....

Continued from part 1......

Ila, Anbu, Shri, Arul....All wazz well....It was a really joyful experience for all the four in each other's company. Hyderabad was turning out to be a nice outing for the four till Arul and Shrikanth had a nasty blow with their job taking a sudden twist. Life became tough. They had a top level management change suddenly. The change was for no good and Arul, Shri were not able to be their own self. Police vela avangaluku torture aga aramichiduchi (Their policeman job started taking a toll on them). They could not be the ilankandru's (young saplings) they used to be. They started looking for a change.

They wanted to move out of Nizam's city which was no longer peaceful with them. Anbu and Ila were trying to clear government examinations for their promotions at the same time. The four tigers started looking out for missions elsewhere. By this time Shri had taken an important decision in his life. He decided to put a full stop to his endless extravagances with Swathi. This figure (the case in point) started showing her true colors. Tea kadai chaais got promoted to coffee day outings. "Leaning on bike under a dysfunctional lamp post and chatting to glory" affairs improved into long bike rides. With petrol fares raised every full moon day in this country, these developments were not easy to bear with. Shri chose to run a long distance gilfosica so as to cut down on expenses.

Arul and Shri started going out on the roads with the IVVTP (Ilam valibargalin Velai thedum padalam) motto...Ila followed suit. He was bored of the same assignment day in and day out (mosquito smashing and seat warming). Ila found a new assignment which looked promising in the 'filling of purse' matters. Anbuchelvan was tired of those promotion exams in which he could not get even half of the pass mark. So, Anbu followed Ila and jumped into the FoJHB(Fraternity of Job Hunting Bachelors).

Nothing drastic till here. The thing that has been hyped up to such a level in these two posts came when "Late a vandhalum latest aa vandha" Anbu got his new assignment outside Hyderabad. There came a point in time when the Tamil Tigers Eelam had to disintegrate. Alas, Anbu was moving out of the team. He was moving out of the team that made him look formidable. He was moving out of Hyderabad. Yes, now we have the climax.

Climax started like this : Anbu treating all and sundry in Hyderabad who were friends/friends' friends/mere acquaintances. As is the case with treats given by bachelors, the OH content started increasing. An interesting thing about these treats which are replete with OH content is that 'emosanal disucusans' start becoming a common feature. The team started feeling the after effects of Anbu's loss already. In general, a widely accepted opinion is that a team that looks like "Ila, Anbu, Arul and Shri" is formidable. But come to a team with Ila, Arul, Shri sans Anbu..Fail...It is no good whatsoever. The young saplings started getting weaker. But all was not over. The climax had a twist. When the rest of the team had just learnt to digest the fact that they would be one man less, they were struck by another massive blow. Politics played by Shri's immediate boss resulted in Shri being transferred to "thanni illa kaadu" (waterless forest). Shri was moved to another department. He was on his way to Chennai.

A team with a high potential had disintegrated. Now they were not just one tiger less but two tigers less. Anbu and Shri are in Waterless Forest (luckily the same waterless forest viz. Chennai). But that was not any respite. As I had told earlier, a team that looks like "Ila and Arul only" is not even close to formidable. In fact, grapevine suggests that Arul could also be on his way to some waterless forest very soon. That would make our lone fighting tiger Ila battle it single handedly.

Now, coming to why I chose that title.... I ain't saying the team should be separated. It would have been good if they had not disintegrated.

                                                               THE END....

How Ila will manage to survive, does not fall into the scope of this story. And the script for that one is in progress.

The Cast: (As Promised)

Pradeep Sekhar C as Anbuchelvan
Praveen Kumar D as Ilamaran
Manigandan Parthasarathi as Arul
Thiagarajan Ravishankar as Shrikanth.

Story, Screenplay, Direction : Pradeep Sekhar C
Stunts: Manigandan Parthasarathi
Visual Effects: Pradeep Sekhar C
Comedy Tracks : Thiagarajan Ravishankar and Praveen Kumar D


A "I am Kannan, Bachelor, Monthly 20 thousand salary" production.........

Naanga 4 Paeru..Engaluku Bayame Therila.

Disclaimer: Characters in this story are completely real and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely intentional.

Department la engala ilankandru nu sonnanga (We were known as the young saplings in our department). We were the untouchables.

This post is dedicated to four bachelors referred to as Anbuchelvan, Srikanth, Arul and Ilamaran hereinafter. 

It was the year 2008. Anbuchelvan was still in college and was full of young blood. Hyderabad reckoned and he was on deputation in the notorious city for one year to go. Srikanth and Arul were also about to join him very soon. Anbuchelvan had found a lonely place in Madinaguda near Chanda Nagar for their hideout during the period. It was a very awaited beginning. It was not more than one week that Anbu had spent alone before his team joined him. Ilamaran was not a part of the team then.

Life progressed for the young tigers and everything was smooth till one night when the unexpected happened. Shrikanth and Arul wanted to move out of Madinaguda. Their work was demanding and they had to stay close to their workplace. It was a risky job. They needed to be cautious. Once again Anbuchelvan was left to deal with his enemies alone. The team disintegrated. But only for a short while. Anbu could not bear solitude and he decided to move in with Shri and Arul about a month later.

Shri was a notorious young officer. His character was like Kamal Hasan in Panchathanthiram. In short, he was the "dude" among the three. Swathi came into his life very soon. She was from Orissa. Shrikanth being the dude, had no problems in maintaining figures from various states in the country. He was the "language no bar guy". But there was a downside to their love story. Like most modern jinglis (beautiful girls) of India, Swathi never took her purse out whenever they went out. This was a big blow to Shrikanth. He could not manage that big a hole in his purse and was put into a "Finance Problem Machi" at the end of each month.

Arul was known to be the diligent officer of the three. He was duty conscious to an unexplainable extent. But this was how people thought about him. His true colors came out when he was sent to Bangalore for an encounter. He showed his skills by "line putting" for 3 kulavilakkus (South Indian sirens). Anbuchelvan who was with him for the mission soon found out about Arul's leelaigal (naughty behavior). But the encounter was not a failure and Arul was undoubtedly the most ardent of the three.

Then came Ila into their lives. Ilamaran was the most intelligent of the four. He was the kingmaker. He devised sketches for encounters. He was an encounter specialist. He was the one who laid out sketches for all weekends throughout the team's stay in Hyderabad. His plans showed variety. They ranged from Anjappar tactics to Chutney tactics to Taste(y) the cyanide to Idly kadai warfare. Though he was so brilliant at work, Ilamaran had one weakness. He was fond of eating. He used to eat 16 palm-sized idlis for breakfast. When Anbuchelvan noticed this weakness and warned him of his pot belly which would disrupt his challenging missions, he did not yield. He lied to the team that he ate only 4 palm sized idlis. God Promise.

Readers should not think of Anbuchelvan as the "Good Man" in the team. The above paragraphs definitely portray him as one. But he was a "thiruttu bemani" (notorious rascal). He was more experienced than Shrikanth in figure matters. He was the headmaster in the school that Shri went to. He used to have false encounter cases in Bangalore for obvious reasons. He had a harley davidson 125 cc bike that he used for fishing in hyderabad waters. He tried his hands on many "kazhuvara meens"(fish that are being washed) with his HD 125. But all of the "meens" were "nazhuvura meens" (Fish that slip from hands).

Ila, Anbu, Shri, Arul....They were the untouchables. Though they have been portrayed with many weaknesses in their character sketch, they were a strong team. They were a formidable force. Arul, Anbu and Ila played football sometimes. Anbu thought (still believes) he is a right winger and likens himself to Cristiano Ronaldo. Ila is a strong defender. He was good at "break-leg-take-ball" tactics and hence defended very strongly. Arul was made of a very weak physique. He had a few skills to add to his kitty. But they were no good against Ila's break-leg...tactics. Shri was into football too. But he did not take his expertise to the field. He was content with pressing 'W' to give through balls and pressing 'D' to shoot (FIFA '07). Nevertheless, he was a prolific goal scorer (on the computer).

It was a really joyful experience for all the four in each other's company. Hyderabad was turning out to be a nice outing for the four till something really sad happened.....

To be Continued................. Part 2 here

P.S: Cast of the "Police Story" would be detailed after part ii of the series.

P.P.S: If the story did not make sense to a reader due to the high suspense quotient in the content, our team offers an apology. We shall try to make things clear in part ii of the series.

Hyderabad ke chichore potte aur khubsoorath pottiyaa ..khuda hafiz !

For the den-(no)-zens of Hyderabad, the title means"Good bye to all the naughty boys and beautiful gals of Hyderabad"

It is difficult to love the city that you live in, a city that you roamed about for two years. But it is even more difficult to leave it. With just one week left for me in this beautiful city that introduced me into the professional world, the feelings are of a mixed kind. Though I haven't converted myself into a "Pukka Hyderavaadi laundey" (A perfect Hyderabaadi youngster) in the two years, to part ways is indeed becoming an emotional affair. I am on my way to Chennai for a new job and the feeling is good to be back at home full-fledged, after 6 long years. The downside of it is bidding goodbye to the best years of my bachelorhood. The two years after graduation have introduced me into a truly cosmopolitan lifestyle in this city which is indigenous in its own sense.

This week would be my last one in Hyderabad and I have a bucket list of things to do before I leave. I will miss all the 'maal' that the city provided me with as I am going to barren terrain on the "masth maal hai re" front. To mark my last weekend here, I did a few things from my to-do list, like the Cafe Nandini coffee and meetha paan. The icing on the cake was my best friend's visit on this last weekend. This guy made my day. I had the perfectly lazy agenda for his visit and we managed to do nothing but eat, sleep, drink and football.

I would definitely miss the Madhapur jalsas, New year highs, paradise biriyanis, chutneys lip-smackers, mana ammayilus (eligible Hyderabadi spinsters), late night masala chai, the completely useless traffic police (who have managed to milk only 230 rs. for my TN registration bike over one and half years of its usage. With TN police the number would have touched 4 digits long back.), north indian jinglis, telangana maniacs, rayalaseema warriors, colorful telugu movies, bramhanandam comedy tracks, rockview apartments, neela residency, babulal (owner sahib), Hyderabadi language, a concept called winter (Chennai does not have a season called winter), the number of audis, mercedes', BMW's, volkswagens that flood jubilee and banjara hills, a high sex ratio on the company roster (I am moving to a highly testosterone driven workplace at Chennai), Karachi bakery biscuits, road side chat bhandaars, double ka meetha (a speciality Hyderabadi dessert), tastey foods kothu barota, mutta veechu parotta, hot rotis home food, front seats on the share autos and a lot more. But the icing on the Hyderabad piece of my cake has been and will always be my wonderful time with him, him and him, my dearest room mates.

It is tough to bid khuda hafiz to the numerous friends that I have made here-at work and outside. My friends at work place who have shaped me into a professional and people outside who have given me company for all the typical bachelor matters.

But I am looking forward to many other new things in Chennai for I am going back after quite a long time. First day first shows for all tamil padams, Besant Nagar beach, ECR drives, paruppu, vatha kozhambu (Sambar variety made out of tamarind), melagu rasam, thair saadam, mom's love, radio mirchi, tamil kulavilakkus,Satyam cinemas, murugan idli shop, saravanaa bhawan, isaiaruvi (tamil music channel), sun music, adithya(tamil comedy channel), sirippoli(-do-), relatives, car driving, t nagar shopping, various kalyana sapadu menu items in brahmin marriages etc.

Nevertheless, It is time to say adios to a really beautiful city that I will never forget.

Aiderawaadi Bhai jaan, Milthao Yaaro!!!

Mysore-eh, Nanu Nale Bartha Idini

Firstly, to the Kannada challenged, Bartha means "Coming" and is not to be confused with "Barqha" (that is causing controversies elsewhere in Europe). I find such incidentally confusing words very interesting. I happened to read a blog where the writer was offering an explanation to his usage of the Telugu word "Repu". He quelled any suspicions of foul language in that context by saying "Repu" meant "Tomorrow", in case anybody thought otherwise. Tangential digress full stop. Coming to the Matter!

I will be in Mysore for two days. No, wait. Technically only about 32 hours as opposed to the 24-hour-day that our astronomers have devised based on earth's rotation (I think earth is always high on alcohol. My god. It keeps rotating all the time). I have always wanted to do the traditional "Wildlife Viewing", "Bird Watching" and the "Explore Heritage-ing" that tourists usually do at Mysore. It is also exciting to see the swords that Tipu Sultan wielded (and the artillery/small arms that Hyder Ali umm..safe guarded in the scabbards) while the mighty English were being taken on time and time again.

I have a short list of things to do. But I am not completely satisfied. If there's anything else that is worthwhile doing at Mysore, please let me know.

1. Extensive Bird watching (in the literal sense and otherwise)
2. Take the sword of Tipu Sultan a have a swipe at guides who cheat firangi tourists by weaving lengthy stories about how Tipu used to be called a "thappu"(mistake) by mistake or how in the puritan sense Hyder Ali was not an "ali" (hermaphrodite) per se or some such thing.
3. Watch animals at you-know-where (For the uninitiated, Mysore has a famous zoo)and try to spot 6 differences between this:



and this:



4. Learn a bit of Mysore Kannada (2 parts Tamil, 1 part Kannada, 1 part Telugu).

5. Explore Mysore's varied heritage by inspecting monument walls beneath a magnifying glass and its striking architectural beauty by using altimeters and levelling instruments.

And Yeah, As I am NOT going with any women squadron on this trip,the sales men at the Mysore Silk Emporiums are saved from a flurry of attackers like the one in the Jackdaws who attacked the Nazis. So they can happily do away with

1. Tough Day at Work
2. Challenging and/or non-understanding female customers
3. Lengthy conversations, but no business
4. All of the Above

P.S: Due credit is being given to Krish Ashok for an inspiration in the style of writing.

January Round Up

Uneventful Month.Loads of work.The urge to quit becomes stronger.Work for money or work for satisfaction?Had an almost forgettable trip to Sabarimala.No new year celebrations for the first time in 4 or 5 years.Realized how important 'networking' is to our lives.Joined LinkedIn.Improved facebook appearances.Brother enters corporate world.Got new phone.Entered the touch phone arena.Mom n Dad's anniversary.Couldn't make it to chennai on the day because of shitloads of work at my shithole place of work.Went to a pub and watched a full Football match for the first time.Loads of fun.Man United were awesome.Went through millions of ideas to start a business.Nothing took off.First poem on the blog.Got the internship completion cert from the Viewspaper.Got a columnist post offered along with it.Lost money in Kerala.Hence ended month broke.Work sucked big-time.Sad that many more around me feel so too.Got a new Nike shoe.Reading wasn't worthwhile.Didn't manage to do any good at all.Couple of more exams flunked,Like always.Another month void of a trip to Bangalore.Makes it 3 in a row now.Got in touch with few old folks from school and my school time cricket coach.It feels good to get back in touch with people.Improved connections with folks at chennai.watched movies after ages.Avatar and 3 Idiots.Started working out.Though I am sure it wouldn't last for long enough.Enrolled to all job sites in the world and realized none of them are any good whatsoever.February doesn't look promising either.Work.Work.Work.Work.Work.Weekend(alias for work).Overall, when i look back, January was anything but eventful.February isn't any promising either.Will rant about the February failures in the corresponding roundup.