Short Story: Weird Dreams

“So tell me Ms. Grace, what’s your problem”

Dr.Purushothaman, Psychiatrist interrogated her with his bald head shimmering in the Tube light’s reflection

“I had a bad dream today. I’m going to die. But do not know how. The dream is actually incomplete” said Grace with worried face.

He has seen many patients with mental disorder and many other cases dealing with dreams. He could understand her. She was yet another patient who has been affected mentally by dreams and this makes her uncomfortable.

“OK, tell me what happened and what did you see in your dream. I’ll try to sort it out” said the doctor.

She started narrating,

***

Click the “Read more…” link below to read the rest of the story

Short Story: Crazy Simi

Prologue

Girls are crazy sometimes. I don’t want to make any general statements as I do not want to earn hatred from girls who are reading this.

I’m going to talk about a girl who wanted to be a guy!

She really did not mean it. But she simply wanted to be a guy because that may alleviate her from small troubles that she faces with the world around her.

***

The Chat

“But seriously, if u write too much no one will have time to read and they may not know that u r leaving….” I pinged her.

She was a great blogger who writes real life incidents in an interesting way. All that amused her, impressed her, the things which made her weep, the ones which made her embarrassed, she writes everything. Life is to live and to learn things. And the best part is to share things. The late night talks with roomies with black coffee and tea. The daily late night TV remote wars and the all time menace due to unscrupulous maintenance of water supplies in the apartment which few girls share in Pune.

***

Click the “Read more…” link below to read the rest of the story

Postmortem (55 fiction)

I too wrote one for a contest !!……

Well, Its getting tough to take some time off from the hectic work and spend some time for penning down my thoughts and stories. Ok, time has now come for me to post this 55 Fiction.

I guess most of you know that, I had to participate in the 55 Fiction writing contest conducted by COLORS MAGAZINE and I’m the esteemed participant in it. It gave me a good experience of interacting with people and reading quite a lot of 55 Fictions.

So let me place  a big full stop here to my blah-blahs and present you with the 55F that I posted. NOw that I have permission to post in my blogs and all other places, I would like to. So here goes the 55 Fiction:

POSTMORTEM

Amanda was lying on the postmortem table and her body ripped open. The corpse’s foul odour soaked in ethanol was shearing the intestines devastatingly through the nostrils. The doctors were flummoxed on the brutal cold blooded murder case. They couldn’t find the clue.
Joe said, “I found it”
“What??”
“Can’t tell now, 55 words reached.”

***

This post is available here too –>> POSTMORTEM

A BIG BIG Thanks to all my friends who commented and voted without which I wouldn’t have been able to hit the Finals

P.S:- A big THANKS to Gracelyne for pinging me at night and enabling this silicon valley sick soul to participate in this. As usual, chat transcripts of big celebrities are always available online, so here it goes.

10:47 PM Gracelyne: hey theres

this 55 word fiction contest

that ends in like 1.30 hrs

if u wish participate

me: hiiiiiii

10:48 PM wer wer wer??

Gracelyne: http://www.thecolorsmagazine.com/index.php/2009/09/update-about-55-fiction-contest/

one teeny weeny condition

shudnt b posted anywhr els

me: oh wats dat??

Gracelyne: if u cant conjure up a new 1

try postin ur old 1

afterall

myt be hard to track

10:49 PM me: hmmm….not a difficult task though..coming up with a new 55 Fiction…hehe

anyways I”ll try my best !!

Gracelyne: OH really

me: Thanks for letting me know !!

Gracelyne: seems realy diff 4 me

to find a theme

10:50 PM me: oh….last date??

Gracelyne: today

11 hrs

moscow time

whch gives us

1.30 hrs

left

10:51 PM me: so shud post b4 11.30 PM

Gracelyne: yep

me: hmmm….will try my best

10:52 PM Gracelyne:

After this,  had to sit and scratch my head for coming up with a new one, as I do not want to post an older one which had already been posted in my blog ! See I would like to be sincere, not only with girl friend but also with the contests too !

P.P.S:- I guess the Post script has become so big that it required a post post script which I assure will be kept short which will be at par with Shriya Saran’s Skirt’s length 

Geek-Talks

Sometime back, I was chatting with this girl ‘SHE’. The name is not revealed as it may lead to identity revelation and unwanted interrogation and expectation and assumptions from fellow mates.  I’ll tell you how this conversation started and ended in knowledge exchange and sharing which is the most desirable event in a conversation.

I was busy with the documentation work for my code testing. Suddenly a new mail alert popped out (Outlook Users understand this better) in my desktop. The Subject read – Solve this if u r genius. I opened the mail and found this one below

The mail asked me to find why there was a gap in the second triangle if the area of both the triangles, formed by rearranging the smaller pieces is same.

Since I was an engineering graduate and to the fact that, we had “Engineering Mathematics”  for first two years with one maths paper for each semester, I looked into the figure more carefully, so as to dust my brains to check any traces of mathematics data existence which I had to study and work out for two years of my engineering life.

Whoa !! Some trigonometry question!! Hmmm….Not bad, my brain still works and it is active as before. !

I quickly remembered that the area of the triangle can be calculated by adding the area of the squares (Partially filled and fully filled. Filled with colors in this context). And found few squares which are not occupied by the triangle, so I counted the number of partial squares and found that they are same. I thought the area occupied by the triangle in the partial squares in both the figures may be different.

I pinged her…

ME: u know that ans?

SHE: No, u know?

ME: Yea

SHE: Tell…

ME: The area covered by the partially filled squares

along the hypotenuse is not same in both the figures.

So I think all those differences come into Single Square

when u re-arrange the pieces

SHE: mmm…do u think the hypotenuse line cutting the squares

are slightly different points in both the images?

ME: Yea

SHE: But, between two points there can be only

one straight line.

(Oh Yes, That’s true, we cannot have more than one straight line in between two different points. Point noted !! So how can this be. I started thinking again)

ME: Yea, but u see the slopes are different in both the

cases as the angle of inclination of the hypotenuse to the

base is different.

SHE: But how? They both are right triangles,

ME: The blue and red triangle forms the

Hypotenuse rite??

SHE: yea. . . .both of them have hypotenuse forming the same line

. . . parallel sides. . both base and height so. . it should the same angle

of elevation…then. . how can it have diff slopes?

ME: Haan par the angle of inclination differs as the

length of the hypotenuse differs…

SHE: but. . still. .as length of hypotenuse differs. .

but proportionally the other two sides too…rt?

ME: u have to construct a cardboard model and see

…u’ll see that the long hypotenuse is just bent a bit…..

if u r not sure….

SHE: ok. . but.. how is it theoretically possible. .

The base lines of the triangles in both figures are parallel,

the hypotenuse are parallel. .which means. . They should have

same angle of inclination / slope rt?

ME: mmm….it is optical illusion may b….

see this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_square_puzzle

SHE: hmmm…

ME: thats wat it says…i told u na….the hypotenuse

lines are different in both cases…..wiki says in a

different way…it says it forms a quadrilateral

SHE: for the quadrilateral. . its understandable,

because. . The length of the sides gets increase,

so. .it was obvious dat there should be a gap somewhere

….for here, the base length and height are still the same and

if u look at the first diagram, which is sort of animated they flip

the blue and red triangles, the blue one exactly fits into the red one

’cause they are proportional. . dat is…of course only a visual thing. .

actual measurements can differ..

But. . I don’t see a reason y they shouldn’t have the same

slope / angle of slope

ME: hmmm…yea…but visually they appear proportional…

but wen u chk with a card board or chart paper model

u’ll know !! even I’m not satisfied with the wiki thing…

only wen u chk practically u will know..

SHE: OK.. I’m getting it. .. but . . .

y wont it have same slope????

ME: Equation of straight line, y-y1 = m(x – x1)

m = (y – y1)/x – x1)

‘m’ is slope…according to my knowledge, since the difference

between x and x1 & y and y1 differs, the slope differs..

SHE: :S…dunno….will have to actually calculate

ME: I did

for red,  m = 3/8
for blue, m = 2/5

it differs very slightly…

SHE: haan

0.375 and 0.4

ME: yup

Exactly….so the combined hypotenuse line doesn’t cut the

squares at same points in both the figures.

doubt cleared uh?

SHE:

Yes

ME: hehe…!!

now i got a gud topic to blog !!

SHE: blog?

ME: I’ll put the conv in blog with some edit !!

SHE: How??

On what??

ME: disguise the names

SHE: u r gonna blog about a missing square??

ME: u havent seen chat blogs??

SHE : ???

good good

nope. . not much

this will be tirst one i guess

when u write and post

ME: hey u wud have seen that

lots of ppl rite

SHE: not really

I have seen blogs where ppl mention a few lines from a chat

and write the rest on it

or mention the line somewhere in the chat

like

my frnd told me. . .etc

ME: oh…

anyways..see wen i post

SHE: hehe…all right

In the end of the conversation, I could conclude that the slope thing was there and the hypotenuse is not cutting the partially filled squares at same points in both the figures. So the remaining area of the partially filled squares along the hypotenuse of figure 1, comes as a single unfilled square in the figure two when the shapes are rearranged!

So with this, conversation ended for a few minutes. I really do not know if we have come to a conclusion about this missing square. Or this is still an unsolved one. But both of us were satisfied that we found an answer for the missing square and we were able to justify our conclusions with the mathematical proof.

Out conclusions may be wrong….If u have any other answers, please post it in the comments!!!

Short Story: Achievement

The President International Hotel was gleaming with colors of artificial cuboids structure erupted all the way along the sides of the main pathway into the hotel. The fountains emitted bright and dazzy colorful waters into the large water chamber fitted underneath to collect the flowing waters. The thick and wide red carpet was shining Saturn, laid on both sides of the fountains which lead to the large performance hall where the Fashion Show for the year is going to be held in an hour shortly.

The hotel’s reception was swarming with people who exemplified style icons and fashion freaks. They were clad in apparels exclusively designed by designers who were big shots in the fashion designing industry. Not to mention about the press who were almost fluttering with microphone and cameras around the celebrities and the contestants in an anticipation to get few words out of their mouth which will feed their magazines and newspapers for another week.

Jeniffer came into the contestants’ chamber and settled in her seat. All the others were looking at her with eyes wide open like an owl. She was gorgeous; her face was neat and glossy. It looked as if she had been carved out of butter. Most of them were busy adjusting their hair strands and their makeup. Though it was an air conditioned room, pearls of sweat appeared in the faces of the girls. Jeniffer looked calm and composed. She did not stress herself looking at all others.

“Excuse me. I’m Kalpana Roy from Bhubaneswar”. Jeniffer took her eyes off from the magazine which she was reading and smiled with her cutest of her symmetrical pink lips coated with a light red lip gloss which suited her face and lips perfect.

“I’m Jeniffer. Jeniffer Mathews”

“Glad to know you. I haven’t seen you in any of the fashion fest. Is this the first time you are contesting for “Miss Beauty Queen of the year?”, Kalpana replied.

“Errr…No I’ve been contesting for various fashion fests in the south and this is the first time, I’ve come over to Mumbai for this contest.” Jeniffer gave a smiling reply.

“Oh I see. So how are you feeling right now?”

Jeniffer’s mobile emitted a sweet soft ringtone, to which she excused herself and attended the call outside the contestants’ chamber. Her long white gown covering her from the shoulder to the ground swept the floor as she walked away. Kalpana was looking at the direction she went away.

***

Click the “Read more…” link below to read the rest of the story

Short Story: Virtual Memories

I opened my eyes to look at the alarm clock which was waiting eagerly with an evil grin on the table, kept exactly beside my head to wake me up with its irritating frequency of sound that it emits. It was 6.30 AM. The seconds hand was sweeping the clock’s face with intermittent pause for each second tirelessly to count the time that ticks right away.

Mom and dad were packing up bags. My vision was hazy, eyes still laden with the gravity of sleep. They were actually starting for a mini pilgrimage tour which was arranged by one of our neighbors in his Travel Package.

“Ashwin, wake up. We are leaving for the tour. We’ll be back tomorrow. We may reach late. Milkman will come at 7.30, get the packets and keep it in the milk tray. I’ve made breakfast and it is in the kitchen. Get up and lock the doors”

“Ye….aaaah (**Yawn**)”

I got up and slid the door latch and came back to bed. Closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But I was not able to sleep. I felt lonely and this loneliness was not allowing me to sleep. So I quickly got up and logged into my system to check mails.

There was a forward mail containing rare images of the some deity. I kept scrolling and in the end there was a message which asked me to forward it to at least 20 people, ignoring this mail may bring ill fate to me. On forwarding the mail, some miracle may happen in 1 hour. I usually don’t believe in these chain mails. And I hate spamming friends’ inbox with this kind of mails. I just thought for a moment and didn’t know what struck me, I pressed the Forward Button, entered few mail IDs in the To List and hit the SEND.

I launched iTunes & played some music track, so that I don’t doze off. Just then, I heard someone knocking the door. I remembered the milkman. I got up, walked towards the door and opened. There was no one. I came out and looked in all directions in search of milkman. There was no one. I looked disappointingly into the mailbox which was tugging the grill gate outside. Someone patted me on my back.

“Who are you?”

“I’m God”

The man appeared very simple in his white pyjamas. Well shaved. Well kept hair. I could not believe that he is God. I felt, he is talking rubbish early in the morning.

“Wh…What?”

“God! I said”, repeated the man-in-white

Well, I assumed this guy is gone mad or an escapee from an asylum. He looked harmless mature to his age that invited some dignity in his speech. I thought he must be from the neighboring house and is playing with me.

“Can we go to terrace and stroll for a while. It will be a good breathing experience in this morning”, he offered.

“Errr…OK in a minute”, I said and entered the house, put the system in Sleep mode, locked the doors and we walked up the stairs. By the time we reached the terrace, he went straight to the wooden cot which was there and offered me a seat. I hesitantly sat beside him.

“You are…errrr” I started again

“I’m God my son. The almighty! If you don’t believe me let’s have a conversation and in the end it is up to you to believe me or not.” The deal seemed to be vague. How can one believe one as a God with mere conversation? But I somehow wanted to get rid of this man. He must either be a neighbor or a jerk or a jerk neighbor.

“Hmmm…fine” I said

“Son…Tell me what you do?

“I’m a Software engineer” I said.

Click the “Read more…” link below to read the rest of the story

Short Story: I dont wanna miss you

It was a Saturday evening.

A group of children were playing in the park making noises that hit the nearby houses. They were enjoying the Saturday evening to the core. No studies, no homework, no exams. What else children need these days? An hour of sleep, lots of time to play and enjoy.

65 year old Vasudevan was sitting in the bench and was keenly watching the kids playing cricket, in the park situated nearby Mercy Oldage Home. He was in his white dhoti and well pressed khadi pyjama which has been donated by Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan to all the senior citizens of the Mercy Home. The walking stick, which never parts from him, was lying beside him. He was here by his own decision.

He could see two kids fighting in the crowd of children playing see-saw. A flabby obese child was hit by another one who is thin and weak to his age. He could barely lift the cricket bat which was lying on the ground. The scene of the weak tiny boy who keeps hitting the obese child disturbed him. Vasudevan was very much tired for his age and in his life. The small boy’s mischievousness was at the peak. He constantly hits the obese kid with the bat and this plump kid never retorts back. After few more hitting, both of them leave the place and this flabby kid walks towards the bench.

Vasu seeing him coming, calls the obese kid.

“Hey you. Come here dear”

Hearing those words, the boy turns his side and comes running towards him.

“What is your name?”, Vasu asked him softly bearing a light smile in his face.

“Deepak” came the reply.

“Deepak, why do you play with that naughty boy who keeps hitting you always? Why don’t you hit him back so that he never shows his mischievousness to you?

Deepak replied, “I play with him because; others don’t include me in the games. They don’t allow me in their group because I’m fat. I look ugly. My dress is tight and they hate playing with me. Aswin plays with me even though I’m fat. He is the only one who accepts me as a friend. If I hit him back he’ll too leave me. After all his the only one I’ve, to play with me. I don’t wanna miss him”

Saying this he hurriedly left running towards the park gate.

Deepak’s words stirred Vasudevan’s thoughts.

***

A week back in his own house, he shouted at his son Krishnan, who was assistant manager in an elevator company managing the finance and accounts.

“I’m leaving this house”, Vasudevan’s voice reverberated the 3BHK flat which Krishnan bought a month ago. “I cannot stay with him who doesn’t have any respect to his father. I’m leaving”

“Father, it’s you who happily gave away the important file containing the account statements to waste paperwala. You know how important that document is? I had worked day and night to prepare that report and it was due submission. I had to ask another day to prepare it again and submit it back. It is the only reason, I spoke harshly to you. Why are you leaving us for this?”

“No whatever reason you give me, I’m not in a mood to accept it. I need respect. When it is not available here, I’m not staying here. See you”. Vasudevan packed his bags and left the house and he is now here in the Mercy home for the past one month. Krishnan’s effort to make his father stay back went in vain. He was helpless.

***

Someone knocked the door early in the morning. When Krishnan opened the door he was surprised to see his father back home. Vasudevan quietly entered the house and entered silently into his room and sat in his chair. Krishnan could not say anything. He wanted to talk to his dad. But he did not want to hurt him saying anything. He wanted his father to rest. He was in tears out of the happiness that filed his heart seeing his father back home after a month from the Mercy home.

Krishnan was getting ready for the day’s work and was hurrying as usual to his office. He left home hurriedly seeing his father asleep in his room.

By the time he reached his Office, he got a call from his manager.

“Krishnan, please bring the audit report which we prepared yesterday. Hope you reviewed it at home as you said”

“Yesss Sir…I’ll be there in a minute”. When the receiver was placed down, he realized that he had left the file at home. “Oh my God…today again in hurry I left the file back at home”. He quickly made another call to his manager and informed that he need some time and he’ll be back in 5 minutes.

“Oh yes. No problem Krishnan. Take your time. Come to my cabin after 5 minutes”, Manager replied and put the receiver down.

By the time he was about to start home. Krishnan received another call from reception.

“Mr. Krishnan, someone is waiting for you in the lobby”

“Yes I’ll be there in a minute”

“Thank you Sir” the call ended.

Who wants to see me now? I want to get that file from Home immediately. Shall I ask him to come another day and discuss? Thinking all this he got down the stairs and reached the lobby in search of the person who has come to meet him.

***

Krishnan approached the reception and the lady pointed her pen towards the couch. It was a fraction of time Krishnan took, turning to the direction the receptionist pointed, to see Vasudevan sitting in the couch, with a file in his hand, along with a flabby kid who was holding a football, sitting beside him. His heart was heavy with melancholy.

“Father….” He said. He was not able to talk. His throat was choked out of happiness of seeing his father.

Krishnan could not control his feelings. He burst out in tears and came towards him and fell on his father’s feet.

Vasudevan spoke, “Krishnan, here is the file which you forgot to take with you, this morning. Amma gave this to me to handover this to you. Hope this is so something important for you today. I don’t wanna miss you”

P.S: This is a thought expressed by my colleague. He wanted those thoughts to be written in some form of story and I’ve tried my best to put it here in a story as narrated by him.

Short Story: Lhymes

Three year old Pinky was crying badly with tears flowing all over her pink cheeks and rosy cute little lips. She was clad in dark blue pinafore, white shirt, and not to mention the safety pin holding the handkerchief to the pinafore intact.

Sitting in the last bench of the LKG B-Section, her first day in the school was painful. Seeing all new faces and the smell from the boxes of wax Camlin crayons made her awfully uncomfortable. The water bottle had spilled the water all over the floor. The class was noisy and she could hear few other kids crying badly for mummy.

The hand drawn portraits of apple and banana hanging in the walls did not invite any interest in the class. She wanted to go home and sleep beside her mom.

Class teacher entered the class. Took the attendance and turned towards the class and said.

“My dear students let me teach you rhymes today. Repeat the words as I say”

“YES MAAAAAAAAAAAM…”, came the reply from the class.

She opened the book and started reciting the rhymes….Pinky repeated what the teacher said with the tears dripping all over her cheeks. When the rhymes was over, Pinky’s cry had subsided a bit and she is red all over her small nose. Teacher noticed this and came to her

“What do you want pinky?”

“I want mummy…”, she told curling her lips forward

“Mummy will come in the evening and pick you up”

“No I want to go now”. Teachers words agitated Pinky’s little heart and she started shouting at her highest decibel. Teacher promised her chocolates if she stayed quiet. But all her efforts went in vain. Pinky badly wanted to go home. The teacher told her, if you tell me rhymes, I’ll leave you to your parents. She told this and left Pinky in her seat and left the place and walked towards her chair in front of the class. Pinky was looking seriously into the open textbook which was lying on the table. She had to stop crying as there was no other go.

When the bell rang three times, she could hear the sounds of shoes walking past her class. There was a break for 15 minutes; Pinky opened her Tiffin box and took out the orange cream biscuits. She took the round biscuit in her hand and pulled both the biscuits apart, which were stuck to each other, with the orange cream in between. She started licking the orange cream slowly till the taste of the biscuit felt in her tongue. She did this for all the biscuits and left the wet biscuits sans cream back in the Tiffin box.

The class started after the 15 minutes break.

After a 2hours of all classes, there came the last period. Rhymes Teacher again!

This period was activities period. Teacher asked each one of the students to come near her and asked the student to sing a song or tell any poem. Pinky remembered the rhymes which her mom taught her a week back. Before joining the school, Pinky’s mom used to teach her songs, rhymes and alphabets etc. Suddenly she remembered the book which she was staring in the morning. It had pictures of stars, moon and dark night.

Teacher was sitting in her chair, calling each one of them to do something for the class. Pinky was watching carefully what each of the students were doing. She wanted to leave. She wanted to come out of this agony of sitting in the class and doing things told by the teacher.

“Come here Pinky”, Teacher called.

Pinky slowly got up from her seat and walked towards her carrying the book with which had the pictures of stars and moons.

“What are you going to do Pinky”, Teacher interrogated.

“Lhymes…..”, she said in her childish slang.

“Oh Pinky is going to tell us rhymes”, Teacher announced to the class. “Ok. Come on Pinky. Tell the rhymes”. She thought Pinky is going to say the rhymes which she taught in the class this morning.

Pinky started

“Tinki tinki litti chaar.

Aavai onna waattoo aar

Appobaada volso hai

Laika dimon inda sky”

By the time she finished telling this with all actions and modulation, the teacher hugged her and planted a kiss in her pink cheeks and asked her, “Who taught you this?”

“Mummy”, came the reply

Pinky expected her to take her to the mom as she said earlier. By the time she was thinking, the bell rang and parents have come to escort their child back.

Pinky was so happy seeing all the parents. She could spot her mom who has come to escort her. She quickly packed her school bag and left the class. The teacher met her mom and asked to meet her in the staff room.

In the staff room,

“You girl is so naughty and intelligent”

“Oh…are there any complaints?”

“No, I just wanted to tell you that, she told rhymes today in the class. No other students were able to tell this way. You are really blessed to have such a child.”

“Thank you very much madam”

***

Later in Pinky’s house.

“Teacher told me that, she is really intelligent”, Veena said to her husband.

“Oh is it? What did she do in the class?”

“She told the rhymes that I taught her last week”

“Oh great ! You always do your best to teach children things in an interesting way by showing them the pictures and toys while teaching the rhymes. This made the children remember and learn the rhymes so easily and quickly. No wonder you are a great teacher!”

Veena, who was a young and energetic teacher in the kindergarten school, blushed, hearing those compliments given to her.

Dedicated to all the teachers.

Happy Teachers Day

Honesty ! (My 55 Fiction)

He looked confused, looked left and right. All of them were writing in full swing. The teacher was standing near the first row. He quickly took out the small paper rolled inside the pen cap and quickly glanced through it.

Correct Answers!

He handed over the answer sheet with joy of answering all questions correctly

—-

Well, I had posted this 55 Fiction in my Office Blog too. Got some interesting comments in the form of 55 Fiction.

One girl had posted a reply for my above Story in 55 words:

She looked once again to her left and right. He was busy copying the answers from the scrap of paper. She tried to catch his eye but he was not looking up. She wrote her name and telephone number on a chit and threw it at him.

‘You are using Chits!’, yelled the angry teacher.

To which I replied back in 55 words:

“Trrrrrrrrring”

Bell rang and all of them left the exam hall. The teacher left in hurry to submit the answer sheets. The boy picked up the chit, smiled and approached the girl.

“Saw the chit?”

“No. I had written all my answers correct. Thanks for help. Please bring chits for tomorrow’s chemistry exam”

“You…%$&^&^&”

The Girl replied with another one for the above one in 55 words

He walked out and winked at his friends. ‘What was that man?’ they asked excitedly.

‘Arey she was quite bold yaar, she knew I liked her but I did not expect that she would do this in the exam hall. Anyway, I have her number, it’s show time! She will love this bad boy’s game!’

For this I replied back in 55 words

BEEP-BEEP…
“Hi…Bad boy here ”
“Hey hi…studied?:)”
“No..exams gt postponed. Andhra CM expired in Air crash. schools hv been declared holiday”
“Oh..yea just now mom told me ”
“wat doin’?”
“preparing chits ”
“Gud:P!… Free tomo?”
“yea…:) Shall I come home?”
“Home?!!!”
“yea “
“Mom will scold”
“Oh :O….Then we’ll go out”
“OK Done ”

Now this time some one else replied for the above story with a 55 Fiction

“Will meet in the School?”
“Yep! Sounds good”
“evening, 5:30?”
“perfect”

next evening, in the school
Boy is waiting for the girl; she finally arrives
he–>”hi”
she–> “Sorry for being late”
“where are the boooks!”
“what books?”
“Chemistry, obviously!”
“what are we here for?”
“Combined studies. Will prepare the chits together “

Donno if this is the end of the story. But we enjoyed replying back with the 55 Fiction in the form of a story !!!

P.S: If You are the girl who replied to my post in Office Blog, then Do leave me a msg that you have read this !

Short Story: Yours Lovingly (Madras Day)

I was alone in an isolated, dark and dim lit room.

I opened my laptop and placed my finger in the fingerprint sensor of my Sony VAIO, to login to Windows. My eyes were drooping and were heavily loaded with tiredness. I opened GMail and started typing …

Dear Mom,

How are you? I know it’s been long time since I wrote to you. I hardly get any time to sit and write and today I’m writing to you to show that I miss you all & Chennai a lot. I would like to tell you something which will soothe your mind. We are coming back to India this month end with Akash. He is turning 5 this month.

I still remember how you used to teach me Thiruppavai in the terrace early morning. The image of the flock of pigeons, dispersing from the Gopuram (Tower) of Kabaleeswarar Temple, when the Bell tolls ting tong is still fresh in my memories. I’m finding it a herculean task to teach him a line of Thirukkural now-a-days. Akshara is taking care of imparting spirituality to Akash. I’m happy that he is learning it fast.

He eats only French toasts. Yesterday, I suddenly remembered how thatha used to get Idli-Sambar from the Saravana Bhavan nearby when you get up late and pack my lunch bag for school. I started hating pizzas and burgers. I wish to taste the Pongal, hot with dripping ghee, the day we reach there. The Narasus Coffee shop which will be opened near our house with those conical containers grinding the Coffee Beans always excites my olfactory senses. Filter Coffee was nectar than the Cappuccino and Latte.

We have GYM at home and I used to walk for an hour in the treadmill, but the joy of breathing fresh air early in the morning, strolling in the pathway of Marina beach was an eternal bliss. I can enjoy those from next month onwards.

How’s our rickshaw mama, who used to ask me, “Naastha Thunniaa” (Had Breakfast?), in his Madras Slang whenever I leave for school in his Rickshaw. I still wonder his flamboyant vocabulary of Tamil words which he uses eloquently. I’ll get him a pair of shoes which he wanted from me when I go to US.

I rem’ it’s the Music season & I promise we’ll go for the Kutchery (Concert) in Music Academy this time.

Yours Lovingly,

Vijayaraghavan

***

Tears rolled down when Kumararaghavan read this mail in his Computer. He is receiving this email for the 30^th time in this month from his son, who has been admitted in the National Centre for Mental Health Rejuvenation. He was the only one who survived the plane crash which happened last month. His cranium has been ruthlessly damaged and he has recovered with only memory of returning back to Chennai with temporary conscious!

***

I could feel my head spinning, heavy with pain. I lay back on the bed in the hospital room slowly losing my consciousness….

---

P:S -There was a Madras Day Celebration @ Office. As a part of the events, there was a Short Story writing contest and this story won the First Place !! The Theme given for the story writing is “Madras to me”

 

Kandasamy (2009) – A Review

Artificial Intelligence, Super Computing, Cryptography, Hacking, Super Hero Concepts etc are the areas of interests of Hollywood directors that make the movie a Hi-fi entertainer. First time in the history of Tamil film industry, the audiences have been given an opportunity to witness a Super hero movie with Zero Logic with the perfect blend of Entertainment and a strong message which will undoubtedly ignite a spark towards a renaissance in the economic situation of our Country.

To put it in few simple words, the movie is all about helping those poor and needy people who still crave for a square meal, by flicking enormous amount of illegal money from Rich and whooping wealthy people who store wealth legally, converting them to documents or foreign currency and amass it in foreign banks.

The story kicks off in a Murugan Temple where a lady ties a piece of paper in a tree writing their grief and wishes in a few lines. The custom of tying these papers in the bark of a tree is the tradition followed in the southern parts of India where God listen to your prayers and makes the wishes comes through. Of course the lady’s wish of a few amount of money comes true with a sack of money lying at the backyard of her house. Soon the news of wishes coming true that are tied in the tree spread like a forest fire and flocks of people visit the temple tying the paper. In case, the money doesn’t reach the concerned person, our Super Hero Kandasamy clad in the black cloak with red wings like cloth strip attached to it, comes in the air and flying and sweeping across walls (like a spiderman) and teaches them appropriate lessons without letting them know that, it is happening in real (though the sequence happens in real) leaving a mark of the “Vel” in the cheeks. Next morning when the attacked victim gets up, only to remember the incident as a Nightmare and with dizzy mind, the mark remains in the face! Each of the people’s wish list is satisfied by clearly categorizing their needs and delivering the money (which is captured during raids) to the appropriate people by appropriate means. The people in the village assume this to be the work of the Lord Kandasamy. But it is all the work of the alter ego Kandasamy who has a well planned operation for each delivery. He even satisfies the wish of a common man of wanting Aishwarya Rai in the terrace, by his Woman form and with due frightening.

The sturdy, manly, fit and strong IPS Officer Kandasamy belonging to the Economic Offense Wing of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spontaneously gives command to the officers for the raid into the house of multi billionaires and millionaires who are the big shots in the country. It all starts with the raiding operation that was set to happen at PPP’s (Ashish Vidhyarthi) House. His body language is well tuned, and maneuvered. His mature looks and fit body adds to his performance. Not to mention the costumes of Vikram. They are awesome, grand and royal. It stands out separately and portrays Vikram in high profiles. It seems they have spent a lot of amount on the costumes itself.

Within the first song, the secret is exposed that the Super Hero is none other than the CBI Officer himself with the gang of around 11 friends making this Super Hero a happening image. The technology they use, the synchronization in the actions solely controls our super hero’s stunts. May it be the smoke effect or the sound effect, the flying thing or the clutching thing; everything is in the hands of the other 11 fellow mates who control the Super hero.  Each one of them is technically sound in their own areas of computer control, motion control, sound engineering and more makes Kandasamy a successful Operation. Both the “Super Hero” and its alter ego “Kandasamy IPS” have played their roles flamboyantly well.

“Kandasamy’ – The Super Hero depicts a rooster. The costume and the mask that conceals his upper part of the face, denotes the same. The body language and the neck movement exactly coincides with that of the rooster. The “Kok Kok” sound that is produced by the hero shows the mannerism of the super hero which creates havoc in the stomachs of the so called Bad-Guys in the movie. The movie depicts the hero who is skilled in the Martial arts including Karate and the Tai Chi. The moves that Vikram delivers on the opponents body were simply superb and each blows are stunningly devastating.

The cinematography is one thing which should be greatly appreciated and the only thing which drives the movie till the end without any glitches in the scenes. The camera sees things as how it should be seen by the audience. The movie sequence takes us to the lands of Mexico with the rich cinematography feeding us with the tangy deserts and the landscapes which are feasts to our eyes and hearts. Camera has captured Shriya Saran a lot. Her minimal attire and her costumes well expose her contours of the body. She fits the role of the bond girl perfect. Her expressions and the bodily subtle movements squeeze our hearts to the core. In simple terms, she is sexy, sleek and carries her part well throughout the movie. “Allegra” proves to be a good add on to the Music.

The Mexico travel that the hero undergoes with Shreya under the garb of transferring an enormous amount of dollars to her father’s account, seems to be national level operation to investigate the Indian money that were dumped in the foreign countries making India in debt to many of the nations of the world. This is revealed only towards the end of the movie

The movie is seems to be a blend of “Anniyan” and the “Sivaji” which conceptualizes helping the poor and needy and removing the “incorrectness” from the society. The wealthy ones who accumulate money illegally have an account in the foreign banks and deposit the money safe and secure thus making our country economically and financially challenged. Kandasamy, the CBI officer unearths money and assets from various people who conceals them in the walls of their compound walls, Under the Tiles of Flooring and in the body of the VOLVO AC Buses. The last one in the sequence, which comes as a surprise when the Hero unveils whooping documents, foreign currencies and other belongings in front of the whole crowd in the climax.

Prabhu as usual played his part simply well, without making a fool out of himself (“Yenna Kodumai Saravanan” Kinda). His role as a DIG investigating the Kandasamy case is well written. He was trying to prove that the wishes coming true, is not the work of the divine intervention but it’s just the operation carried out by a common man who is either so rich or a fool. His appearance was full of dignity and resembles the prabhu of the Movie “Billa”. Vadivelu’s comedy track doesn’t seem to tickle the laughing senses towards the end.

The message that the movie is trying to convey is well written and delivered. This movie throws insights on the financial frauds that people carry out by accumulation of excess money in different forms. This is not a first time movie for Vikram to play the role of a cop. But the Hollywood feeling that the movie offers by the hero belonging to the Economic Offence Wing of CBI makes it commercial and rich. The Toyota, Nissan and other heavy vehicles that ply on the roads shows the richness of the movie and the status of the officers. The director himself plays a role towards the end of the movie.

When there are positives, there will be some negatives too. If people are going to turn up with some expectations in the logic, then there will be disappointments. This is a full entertainer with Zero Logic. You cannot simply put question on how is Vikram able to answer the 3 level password questions posed by the Mexico Banking Website, sitting in the pool in Mexico, with his laptop and the girl by the side with smart and clever interrogation to Shriya, related to the password. You cannot ask, will a Tai Chi trained martial art fighter with his eyes covered, will be able to fight with five or six opponents surrounded in a isolated landscape by just hearing the sound of the footsteps and the persons’ breathing.

The reason that Vikram delivers to the Villain with a Video clip in the luxurious Bus of the latter, for demanding the other part of the lump some money that the former was promised to offer, was really touching and there was no “Bakwas”. The demand was genuine but it was void of logic. The justification that Vikram gives is acceptable.

Hope the message reached the mass. This good try by Susi Ganesan and the output has come out well. One thing worth mentioning in the movie is, this is not just another super hero movie where the identity and the techniques of carrying out super hero task would be explained and exposed in the climax (like that of the “Anniyan”). Everything is exposed in the first song itself. How the operation is carried out, how the super hero flies in the air, how the other 11 folks controls the super hero flight and actions. Everything is clearly explained. But the story still moves with full interest and vigor. I should say, the director has come out with such a story with guts of exposing the crux behind a super hero movie in the start and still keeping audiences occupied in the story.

The movie ends with the Vikram giving an interview to the press reporters after returning back to India, collecting all the details about the Indian money dumped illegally in the lands of Mexico and further plans to unveil all the money that are secured illegally in other countries as well.

To conclude, Kandasamy is worth watching and a full time entertainer with rich visuals. You may not have a second thought in the money spent for ticket.

Watch it in theatres!!

Kandasamy – Bond with the Best!

My Rating: - █ █ █ █ █ (4/5)

Rendezvous With Wayanad

It was Friday 11.30 AM, I was still busy with the documentation which has to be sent to my Onsite coordinator before EOD. But I know well that my EOD is going to kiss me in another 2 hours. So, I was doing things in fast-forward style in an excitement of travelling. After having a light lunch in FC2 around 12.35, I stepped into the MORE shop to purchase toothpaste and a brush. After 20 minutes of window shopping, I signed the Debit Card Swipe slip and came out of the store and rushed towards FC to get back to my cubicle.

When the clock struck 2.10 PM, all of us left the SDB and walked towards the main gate.  There was a 12 seater waiting for us outside the gate. Few of our folks told us that they will join us in the Central Station directly, so the remaining people started around 2.30 from MCity towards Central. There started the joy filled moments.

August 07, 2009 Friday 4:30 PM

All of us were sound asleep after making all types of sounds that can be created out of our vocal chords. The Tempo traveler entered the station swiftly and gave a soft jerk and the engine ceased. We had reached the station. We entered the station and tilted our vision at an angle of 45 degrees upwards to the LED Display. The train hasn’t come yet. The LED Displays overhead was showing the list trains which are categorized into arrivals and departures.

We waited for the other folks to arrive near the platform. The Mangalore Express hasn’t arrived yet. After 15 minutes of waiting and all of them have arrived, we started walking towards our coach, as the train had also arrived. It took quite some time to get settled. We didn’t notice when the train started, but we all know that, it’s gonna be an uber cool, fun filled outing with the team. The journey was full of chatting, pulling each other’s legs, dancing, singing and making sounds of all frequencies. Around 10.30 PM I got into the upper berth and was slowly getting into sleep. The train’s movement was felt all over my body.

A Quick glance on Wayanad:

District Head Quarters: Kalpetta
Area: 2132 Sq. Kms
Main language: Malayalam
Religions: Christians, Hindu, Muslims
Weather: Tropical
Climate: Max –: 35 Deg Celcius, Min –: 15 Deg Celcius
Best Season: Oct to May
Mani Food: Rice
Nature of Landscape: Hills and Valleys
Main Crops: Paddy, Tea, Pepper, Coffee, Cardamom
Nearest Airport: Karipur (Calicut)
Nearest Railway Station: Calicut

August 08, 2009 Friday 4:30 AM

Someone was waking me up. It was just 4.10 AM. All of them were rushing up and packing their bags, hair uncombed, teeth unbrushed, and still pulled by the gravity of sleep, I got down the upper berth, and looked into my mobile. It was 4.10 AM. I put on my shoes and packed my bags. The train slowed down in a station around 4.30 AM. It was Kozhikode. Later I came to know that it is also called Calicut. All of us hurriedly got down the train and came out of the station. A 21 seater mini bus was waiting for us in its flashing mix of yellow and orange color.

The day was yet to unveil its brightness. The sky was still covered with the darkness patched with grey clouds. I hazily looked into the display that was kept in the station. Nothing was decipherable from that, coz it was written in Malayalam. We all moved towards the Mini-Bus and found a place for each one of us.

The Bus had a sticker stuck to its front. LCD DVD Coach – Digital Sound Systems! I was wondering about this. The bus appeared very simple and it was a normal mini bus with the basic amenities like cushion seats, Mini Fan above your head, Side loft on both sides for keeping your bags and all that stuff. But LCD Digital thing appeared to be out of place or odd-man-out whatever you call it. I stepped into the bus and found a seat and settled myself in the aisle. I looked straight into the small box that was fitted in the front, facing us. It was the DVD which I was telling about. It was not more than a simple 15” CRT Television. I was thinking about the LCD and digital sound. The CD which we gave to the driver to be played in that DVD player was displaying “Data Out Of Sync” Error messages. We just came for the outing to keep ourselves away from the abends and error messages atleast for some time. I was not bothered about resolving the issue. I was already asleep.  After fidgeting with the Remote control which was found with the cleaner, our folks were able to play some songs in that. Every time the DVD player was switched on, it will start with the first track in that in that CD. That became the subject matter of fun in the whole journey.

The breeze was chill. The weather outside was not so hauntingly cold. But since the bus was picking up speed, the gush of chill air raised few of the hair strands in my body and was enabling the Goosebumps utility of the human being in me. The window glass was adjusted accordingly to let only the required amount of air that my body can with stand. My friend sitting beside me was fast asleep. I could feel the Malabar magic in me. I could see only coconut trees, thick landscapes full of trees and bushes. The sunlight was slowly trying to touch the earth. The light orange shade was gradually being applied to the sky. I didn’t know when I fell asleep. With the music being played and the bus motion in the uneven roads appeared to rock my cradle and the gushing cool breeze swiping my face, took me to the subconscious world. It was 7.30 when we reached Wayanad. The place was called Kalpetta. The board Prince Inn notified that, we had reached the Hotel.

We all waited in the reception. All of them settled in the couch which was available infront of the reception desk. I looked around the place to admire the interior decoration. The first thing I noticed was the well decorated wooden elephant placed in the entrance. Its dark brown color wooden finish was awesome. The glossy look and craftsmanship of the sculpture made it look real. The ceiling lights were dim and it was spreading a yellowish ambience all over the place. Some Malayalam newspapers were lying on the couch-level glass table which was placed in between the three Sofas. I took some courage to lift the papers and scan through the pages just for the images and advertisements. I was fully aware that I may be subjected to sure humiliation by the folks around me. But to my amusement, I saw quite a few of them who don’t know the language, taking pains to turn pages of the newspaper. I didn’t feel different.

Totally five rooms were allotted to us, with a count of 4 in each room. Since we were only 19, one of the rooms may be filled with four minus one person. I and my friend got ourselves comfortable in to one of the rooms. The room boy accompanied us till our room and left. I switched on the TV and lay flat of bed. The weather was awesome, still chill and fresh. The complex into which our hotel was situated was yet to wake up. Shops were still closed. Later one of my colleague accompanied in our room. After getting ourselves ready and some breakfast, we left the place around 9.30 and started for Edakkal Caves.

A quick glance on Edakkal Caves

An interesting trek up the Ambukuthi Hill near Ambalavayal town takes you to the world famous Neolithic Edakkal Caves which tells the pre historic heritage of Wayanad. The cave was formed in the crevice of a broken rock, thatched by another massive rock. Etchings seen in the walls of these caves have drawn the serious attention of archaeologists and the historians all over the world. It is about 10,000 years old!

August 08, 2009 Saturday 10:00 AM

The roads in between the hills were really awesome. The steep plantations were green and fresh. It really captivates your heart and it will welcome all shutter bugs to disturb their SLR Camera. The slight drizzle adds beauty to the environment. You may stop by the plantation side to click few snaps. By the time we reached the place, it was 11.00. It seemed that we had to walk a kilometer to reach the foothill of the caves. Jeep services were available for that too. But few of them were ready to walk and few of them wanted a jeep to get to the foothill. Few of them and I decided to walk and admire the nature on the way. We started walking and were busy shooting snaps of each of us. Climbing the 1KM seemed to be easy. But after a few meters I was breathing heavily and was tired. My thighs were aching. Being a software engineer, we hardly to anything physically straining. We used to warm our chairs all day and leave our cube except for coffee breaks and lunch. But this ordeal of climbing seemed to be somewhat helpful to burn our calories.

We reached an intermediate place; where we took some time to bring our heart beats to normal rate. Some of them were still climbing and some had already reached in jeep. So we waited for all of them to assemble. After that we started our journey into the caves and rocks. After some 2 hours of climbing up and climbing down, we came back to the bus around 2.00 and left for lunch. At around 5.15 PM we again started towards Jungle Safari.

A quick glance on Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary

Muthanga is a rain forest connected to two other major sanctuaries – Bandhipur National Park in Karnataka and Mudhumala Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamilnadu. Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary claims the largest number of elephants in Asia. The vegetation of the region is a hot spot of rare herbs and medicinal plants. The reserve is home to many other species like leopard, sambar, cheetal, langur etc.

Muthanga wildlife Sanctuary 5:15 PM

Jungle safari was exciting. The authorities of Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary told us that there will be tigers inside the jungle so we need to be safe. We waited near the entrance of the jungle. Four jeeps have been arranged and we got into it one by one. There started our journey towards the thick jungle.  When safari-ing into the jungle, we saw deers, peacocks and monkeys. But never saw a tiger. With all hopes of spotting one, we went deep into jungle. It was a muddy single pathway into which the jeep traversed into the jungle.  It was dense on both sides. The flora and fauna was quite catching and environment was cool. There was a slight drizzle at times. High trees which appeared to touch the skies populated the jungle. After covering a distance, we all got down; the stench of the elephant dropping was highly unbearable. Someone was explaining that the dropping is still green and fresh, so elephants could have passed by this way. I was inspired so much on his wisdom and wanted to thank him for enlightening us with such thought.

Sitting in the back of the jeep and the jeep riding through the tough and muddy road was exciting. The jeep was sturdy and was able to pass through any kind of road. After an hour of Safari inside the jungle, the driver told us that we are going to follow a different route to go out of the jungle. I was wondering how he remembers the entire route, which direction he was travelling atc. After an hour of jungle exploration, at around 6.20 we again started towards the hotel. We did not see the Tiger till the end ! We ordered our dinner from our room and after sometime of chitchatting and sharing our experiences and looking at the photos clicked by all the shutterbugs, we returned back to our bed and started fidgeting with the TV remote and channels. I remember it was 12.30 AM when I slept.

August 09, 2009 Sunday 7:30 AM

Someone was waking me up, it was my friend who had already got ready, and I took my toothbrush, towel and entered the bathroom to get ready quickly. The water was pricking cold. The hot water tap wasn’t helping anymore. It seems hot water will not be provided after 8.00 AM. So I took some courage to pour the chilllllllllllll water over my body. I could feel the low temperature struggling to get stabilized over my body temperature. I poured another mug of water which was made to flow from my shoulders to my toes. I was freezing and was uneasy bearing the cold water in my body. After three mugs of water, I was feeling bit comfortable and the soap foam somehow kept me warm. I came out of the bathroom and got ready in 10 minutes. After a hot breakfast and Chaya (Tea), we set out another journey to Suchipara falls.

A quick glance on Soochipara Waterfalls

The Soochipara Falls is a three-tiered waterfall located 20 km from Kalpetta in Wayanad district in Kerala. 2 Kms away from Chooralmala (near Meppady). The water flows in a narrow line through the rocks and gorge joins river Chaliyar which ends in the Arabian Sea. Tea Plantations on the hill slopes will definitely fascinate you.

The paths which lead us to the falls were steep and long, we had to walk a few distance to reach the falls. There was no jeep service available and only after walking through the way we found that the service cannot be availed. It is only walkable. After reaching the exact location, we found ourselves climbing down a mountain to reach the falls. We had to climb down huge rocks which had small way for getting down. It was fun in the water. Again the water was chill and we had a great time in the waters. Many of them were clicking themselves having the waterfall at the back drop. I’m not an exception, I too asked my fellow mate to click me with the falls at the backdrop. There was a Smile and a Click. Mission Accomplished!!!

After having a sumptuous lunch at a hotel, we started towards the Quilandi Station to catch our Mangalore Express at around 1.30 PM to return back to Chennai.  It was 4.30 by the time we reached the station. Quickly reached our platform and got settled into the seats which were put up for passengers to rest. All of us were tired out of 2 day outing. The bus journey had made all of us so tire that we couldn’t bring back the same environment that was there when we were starting from the Chennai Central Station.

August 10, 2009 Monday 5:30 AM

It was 5.30 by the time we reached Chennai. Welcome to Chennai Central. The LED Display welcomed us. After deciding who is going by train and bus, we dispersed.

I got a 32B. Reached Home at 6.30 AM Kept the bags aside and quickly changed to my shorts and Tees and hit the bed. Ii was 11.00 when I woke up! It was really an awesome team outing to Wayand!

Commitment ! (My 55 Fiction)

He was irresistibly staring at the monitor. The code was still running consuming much of the CPU memory.

She was uncomfortable sitting in the cafeteria. Droplets of tears swiped across her rose powdered cheeks.

5 minutes to complete execution.

5 minutes to catch the train.

Successful Execution – Monitor Displayed.

“I’m leaving” – His mobile screen flashed.

This is my First 55 fiction. It has only 55 words. See below the MS Word Statistics as a proof

Well….I had this conception of not being able to form a fiction with just 55 words. But after a lazy Friday afternoon sleep, I sat in-front of my system and opened the MS Word to write about something, just then this thought stuck me,

“Kally, Why don’t you try ur hand on 55 Fiction?”

Then I started keying in the above lines.

The best part is, after a doubtful compilation of above lines, I just re-read those lines. I was quite confident that, it did conveyed a message. But, still I want this to be reviewed by someone. My sis was there at her disposal I beckoned her near my system and asked her to give a read and explain what she understood from those lines.

By the time she took some 3 minutes to explain things, it appeared as if she is reading my memory and narrating things exactly as how it was there in my mind.

Wooooooooooooow !!! I pinched both her cheeks with my hands.

That’s enough for me. That itself was a compliment for what I tried to do and what has come out successfully. I do not know whether the above story followed all the criteria of 55 Fiction, but I’m sure that I was able to convey what I wanted to in just 55 words.

There are lot more untold feelings in this story which will be automatically conveyed once u fnish reading this one. Lemme know what did u feel and how my 55 Fiction has turned out.

Is it a or ?

To know more about 55 fiction, visit the link below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/55_Fiction

Nostalgia !

I donno why now-a-days I become so nostalgic!

There are lots of factors which are governing me these days. One of them being longing for olden days again. The childhood ecstasy is lost. What have I become today? A 23 year old male, who can earn a decent 5 digit salary, by being himself busy all time from Monday to Friday. The possibility of taking some time off, from the hectic work schedule is only a weekend happening. So, what is that we have gained by being an adult? I get very less time for my family. I find less time to go out. I do not get any time to splurge in the non digital thing out of my cubicle.

Well, lots of things are in list that I cherished the most. The train travelling, for instance, is one of the most lovable one in my list. I’ve not been to railway station for quite a long time. It is obviously my work schedule that imprisoned my freedom. From the dusk to dawn, I keep fidgeting with the chunk of code that governs the so called Mainframes. I reach home at night and then have something for my tummy and then sleep. During college days, I used to frequent to Chennai for holidays. Those platforms, announcements, Higginbotham book stall, the trip charts are few things that kindles the past memories even today.

We used to get lots of holidays during school days and college. When we leave for our relatives’ place, I love those platforms were you see swarm of people ranging from a small 1 year infant, 18 year girls who are more concerned about the few inches of cosmetic that encroaches their face, those romeos who would show off their styles in front of a group of girls, those strict fathers who are more worried about their son’s/daughter’s marks in the coming semester examination, a sick old lady who expects from a newly married son, to see her grandson to play with her soon after they come back from honeymoon. And there are more in this list too. I always loved to practically feel the Doppler Effect whenever the super fast express approaches and leaves the station.

“The Doppler effect (or Doppler shift), named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the waves. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren approaches, passes and recedes from an observer. The received frequency is increased (compared to the emitted frequency) during the approach, it is identical at the instant of passing by, and it is decreased during the recession.”

It’s like I have lost something in life. I donno something keeps pricking me. Corporate life has given me glass doors, Air conditioned work place, and ergonomically designed cushion chairs, free coffee, large food courts where you get thing you wanted, Smart card based Identity Card with which you will be able to enter areas only into which you have been given access, security and most importantly Money. But what it is that I’m losing? Sleep, Rest, Peace and friends and something more

Those days were like you had lots of time and lot more friends. Now it is totally different. We have lot more time for work but very less friends. You should appoint a weekend for meeting up. You leave home by the time people are yet to wake up and reach home by the time all would have dozed off. The next day again the same routine and it goes on and on and on. Why all this?

I hated exams but now, it was something tolerable. I wanted to get back to those times which were spent with someone who you do not know before – the times, when you expect a new roommate in your hostel, the time when you pass a sheet of you exam paper, during the internal examination and both of you pass, the times when you go for dinner together with friends and share the happening of the class, the times when you do group studies for the next day exam, the times when four or five spend together in one’s room during a weekend, chatting all day and sleeping all over the floor with 4 to five alarms set.

Is it the life’s play to the human beings, which makes us long for the past, than to live in the present?

We always say that, those good old days were memorable, cherishable and all those adjectives which makes them long for the past. We listen to jungle book song and say, “wow..that was a good old song,..”. We have it as the caller tune and boast about it. We listen to old songs and say, “those were oldies melodies”. We still keep those old clocks with pendulum and hesitate to buy a new one. We still keep the old model mobile with keypad in its very bad state, with all those numberings scrubbed and display scratched and we say, “It’s the first mobile, I got”. We still say “Madras” instead of “Chennai”. I do understand that it gives a sense of belongingness, but why is it that the present is so uninterested at times?

Why don’t we like the present? Is it because, it is bitter at times? I certainly do not have answers for these questions. But one thing is sure. Unless, you feel comfortable yourselves in the present with your surroundings, you won’t be able to love the present as it is. Only when you get peace and happiness, you will be able to appreciate the present. Only when you get time for everything, you may pat the present and say, “Good Boy”.

I’m trying to make myself comfortable with the present. Hope, I’ll get peace and happiness in whatever I do. I do not hold grudges to accept this. But the Nostalgia is always there.

There are also people who always think about the future and they forget to live in the present. We study hard in 10^th standard to get into good school for 11^th and 12^th. We study hard in 12^th to get good marks in the board examination. Once we get into a good college, we are asked to study hard to get into good company. Once we get into good company, we struggle hard to save money for the future. We struggle hard to get a good bride to our Home. We get things in loan; build houses in loan, irrespective of our inadequate earning; we pay the dues in EMI, so that something big will be left behind for us in the future. We get married, have children, then we need to save things for their education, and then we need to worry about their education, college, and…

Excuse ME. Gimme a Break. Pleeeeeeeeeese !! Life is a vicious circle

But what is the ultimate requirement? Are we living in the present? We forget that, we are attaining the future every second and we should be able to live in the present and think about the future, without subjecting ourselves to agony in the present. But people are so afraid of seeing themselves in the near future with nothing in hand, so they always strive hard to preserve things for the future in spite of their tormenting life in the present.

Well, in this way, few minds longs for the past and forget about the present. Few minds which always think about the future and forgets to live in the present.

Let me make few things clear….

1. Always live in the present.
2. Do think about the future, but do not take actions that will put you in restriction in the present
3. Always, olden days may look beautiful, but it has nothing to contribute for the present. So don’t waste time thinking about the past all time.
4. Live your life truthfully and peacefully in the present. Do think about future occasionally
5. Cherish each and every moment of your life. After all, you don’t know what next!

One SMS I received long back, which tells about life….

“Life is a strict than a teacher.

A teacher teaches the lesson and

then keeps the exam. But Life

Keeps the exam first and

then teaches the lesson !!!!”

Really True !…..

I’m Tagged !

OK…this Tag Bug has struck me too . I used to always think of, how this tagging seems to be interesting to people. Then I found out that, only when you are subjected to the process, you will experience the happiness. So I’m subjecting myself to this Tag Thinggy as of now. Fine then, enough of my intro and blah blahs. Lemme directly start blurting out the secrets one by one. I’ve tried hard and squeezed my little brains to filter these secrets .

1.  I seriously don’t have any interest in Sports.

I see that I don’t have any sort of relevance to this field. In all my social networking profiles or in college/school application forms, one column is definitely left blank or it is filled with N/A. So whenever people ask me what’s the score machi? I used to smile and coolly say, I didn’t see the match. So bloggers and strangers out here in World Wide Web don’t ever take any efforts to shoot this Nasty question to me. You won’t get any useful reply

2. I like Car Racing.

Now do not ask me, “Do I watch F1 Race” Neither do I watch it. Of course it is a sport. But don’t have any passion as such. It is just that in between switching channels, if I happen to register a small sequence of car racing with all those CASTROL, COLDFUSION kinda AD paintings in the car decals, I always pause for a moment and watch the car race. That’s it.  And yea I do play NFS (Need For Speed Car Racing Game) and I go mad on NFS Most Wanted races. I did not get a chance to play NFS Carbon! I always wanted to participate once in the race, though I’m not as good as Michael Schumacher, Naren Karthikeyan or Ultimate Star Ajith Kumar. I did got a chance to do that. I happen to go for a Go-Carting when I was in Mysore. That was indeed a great drive with kewl bends and turns. Wooooooow !

3. I do not know how to Cook .

Oh My Gawwwd, I have told the most dangerous (for me) secrets of the world. Any guy should have been acquainted to cooking things. My mom’s those words, still reverberating deep inside my cranial cavity “Vijay can cook payasam, vattha kolambu, and paruppu koottu. Neeyum  kathukko. Illena Pinnadi kashtapaduvey” . It’s true I guess. Nowadays, wives do not come with cooking patches installed. They need to upgrade to cooking version only after the one time update called Marriage v1.0. Anyways, after a self introspection, I stood by the side of my sister and learnt how to cook Maggi !

4. I am a Gadget Freak.

Any new gadget that comes to the market, I’m the first one to waste few bandwidths of my BSNL Unlimited Internet Connection to Google and get details out of it. Starting from iPhone, Nokia N97, Morph, MotoRokr, Sony VAIO Pocket PC etc, I go mad on things like this. Anyways, I didn’t sleep till 2.00 AM when I got my MOTO Rokr E6 Touch Screen Mobile. As if newly married, I spent full time with it, to get to know the in & out of it . Still I love my Mobile. My Sweet Rocky !!

5. I am one Lazy fellow…

Ahem ahem…I am serious about this. People know my true face only when they knock my doors on a Saturday morning and enter my bedroom….to wake me up. That’s a Herculean task! I never get up from the bed until I really need to. I love being in bed and sleep for the whole day. Hostel days were Heaven. Because, those were the times, when nobody would be around to knock my doors on a Saturday morning! I can write a lot more on this topic and I have already written a lot. Well don’t have patience to write more than this. OK Next secret please…

6. I fell in Love

Shhh…I fell in love with Trisha from the time, when I heard the song from the movie Saami, “Kalyanam daan kattikittu odi polaamaa…”. I assumed it as “Kalyan-ah daan kattikittu odi polaamaa?” hehe …so funny is it? I have a great collections of her pics in my system and in my mobile. Well nothing more to say. I do not know to act like her. But my actions are always governed by my mind becoz, I don’t have my heart with me and you all know the reason as well. So…that was my love story. Still am in Love with her. And if you happen to be Trisha reading this, kindly take this as a proposal and I do remember you date of birth May 4^th 1983.  I know u may ask, “But what’s the big deal here?” It is just that, I was too born on May. Dont you see this as a first match?..hehe…SAME PINCH !

7. I like bird watching (No comments!)

8. Cryptography has been my great passion since my school days. Used to fidget with a chunk of texts and number a lot (Another Dan Brown in Line!)

9. I had kissed a girl when I was in 1^st standard. And that girl is my sissy who was drinking milk in her small feeding bottle in the cradle. She licked me back in my cheeks..Soooooo cuuute know??

9a. “Show Me The Meaning – Backstreet Boys” is my all time favorite

9b. Shakira is my all time favorite solo female singer

9c. I enjoy writing.

I discovered this skill in me, only in my late college days, though I had started blogging during my mid college days itself. I found a budding author in me who can write Gud Stories and articles which has attracted many of the people I see, meet, and blog. It really gives me a confidence and relaxation (though I feel tiring to sit and type using a dumb keyboard !), that keeps me going and makes life interesting and beckons a convivial atmosphere in WWW

10. I like travelling in Train

Yea, I like this a lot. Donno, why do I become so nostalgic, when I think about trains? When I was a kid, I always wanted to have a corner seat….stuck in the corner of the Window Seat, gazing the scenery which drift past backward. I sometimes think, how do these trees and landscape move in the opposite direction to that of the train’s? And when you look into the railway tracks, that too in a junction, they seem to spread apart and close into one single strand of metal beam. I always wondered how these things happen. Once when we crossed the level crossing in a roadway, I bent down and tried pulling those tracks with my hands. That sounds funny now.

Now, I guess, 10 points are more than enough, as long list may not attract the readers to go through it. Fine then, my job is done. Lemme tag all my fellow bloggers and encumber them to put their secrets in their blog. Happy Reading! & thanks Gracy for tagging me.

Tagged :-  Gautam:: Gracelyn :: Jeega :: Kamal :: Muthu :: Priyanka :: Shyamala :: Subu :: Utkarsh :: Vinoth :: Yeshu