Oh my LOVE!:is it ME or HIM?

All alone .. Legs folded,with knees pointing upwards, hands wrapped around knees,head lowered, dripping sweat and shedding tears, I look up to narrate this..
It is almost dusk now.. the rain has stopped..gently,I roll the curtain up.. the last trickles of the setting sun fall upon my face,but there is no sting in those rays,much like my present state of affairs..I roll the curtains down ..

I switch on the television.. I watch a few snippets with minimal interest.. as I keep changing the channels,I keep my eyes glued to a scene from a popular movie..”Evanda kandu pudichan indha Love a?” the dialogue that resonates through my conscience umpteen times these days appears for yet another time..I switch the television off..
“Ennada nadakudhu inga?? en kooda irundhava enga..” from the movie “Kettavan” is the first track played in the radio at that instance..Some times, when the rub of the green does not go your way,you get a notion that nature’s odds are stacked against you..
It is heavily dependent on moods and perceptions I guess..As the clouds loom large above our heads,A person,enjoying happy times would get excited at the prospect of a cool shower,where as some one not having the best of days can not look beyond the obvious dip in sunlight.
Suddenly the power goes off.. nature continues to have its way..I stumble upon a few things before finally managing to grab a candle..

I place it an an optimal position..My eyes are fixed on the flickering candle flame.. fierce.. determined..Yes..”I can take it no longer…I want those glorious days back.. I want to be the way I was before..it hurts.. it pains..tomorrow I am going to meet HER and pour out everything that makes my heart heavy and haunts my mind”..
Falling in love is a wonderful feeling..I know SHE too loves me..you need not communicate it verbally like ” little school kids”.You can feel the chemistry.I knew it was the same with her too.It could not get any better..life was blissful..everything was smooth..until.. “HE” entered into our lives…

My friends often used to come up with a cliched slogan “Machi.. don’t trust women..ponnungala nambadha”..I used to laugh it off saying only losers who did not find the right women could utter such a dumb phrase..The woman in my life was an angel.. but off late to think that even she has changed .. it hurts all the more.. trust me, those words of my friends prick now..

I would jump out of bed early in the morning,the time of the day when you can hear the flap of the birds’ wings, “eaves drop” into their conversations,hear the trees whisper,see the grass kiss the soil,after having bathed themselves in the morning dew..

I used to rush to the gardens,put my hand carefully between the thorny bushes,pluck out the white rose she so much loved,unmindful of all those thorns that pierced my skin..all for that one moment when I used to stand in front of her,my shyness failing to hide my lips from breaking into a smile..
With a deep gush of breath,struggling to bring out the voice that would just refuse to open up in front of her..”This is for you !”.. she would accept it,with a smile that would lift me off the ground..it was an elysian moment..
I still remember the first time I wore a tie and went straight to her,as restless as a “kid waiting to grab a toffee”,head lowered a little,eyes directed towards her “unique bracelet made of shells” to know if she liked it.. a kiss said it all..

The entire world has turned upside down since “His” entry.. she takes the rose only from him these days..It is not just about giving a rose DEAR..it is something else, almost impossible to pen down in words.. YOU know it.. I know it..He has now virtually taken my position in her life..”My love: just tell that it is ME and not HIM”

“I may not be academically as proficient as HIM..I might not be in the same league as HIM..HE might do most things better than me”..I walk up without confidence towards the mirror,examining myself from whatever illumination the candle could offer..I might not be as fair complexioned as him even, but what can I do? I did not deserve this DEAR..

The telephone rings.”Hi,are you back home? I will drop in in fifteen minutes”..Yes its HER!
Destiny again..! Nothing can substitute a one to one talk to iron out the differences.. and I am going to do it today..the candle flame dies a slow death but the power supply is restored at that very instant

With nervous excitement,as I keep impatiently waiting for her.. “HE” enters..
HE:”Hi wassup”?
Me:(Non nonchalantly)”I am waiting for HER”
He:Sounds great! lets have dinner together
Me:(Straight on his face)I don’t want your presence here,vacate immediately to save your skin..
I could take it no longer..the burning fire within me was fueled further on seeing him in person ..a verbal duel followed.. finally he said “I am not giving up either.. LET THE BETTER MAN WIN”..

I look around to grab something heavy to give him a thump and break his head then and there..finding nothing,I make a swish at him with my arms,he ducks, I miss..
With a wicked smile enveloping his evil face, he looks straight into my eyes,as if asking me to bring on all that I had..like a mad raging bull,I rush menacingly towards him..my head banging straight into his chest..He loses his balance..trying to seize the opportunity,I try another head butt,but his imbalance proves lucky for him, I miss and he trips me down..

Sitting on my chest,he delivers a shower of slaps..just when it seems like I was gonna blank out,I grab his throat,choking him till he let go of me..with my left lower palm, i jab straight at his chin.. I hit the bulls eye this time..
Blows are exchanged.. both were tiring out..wiping the dripping sweat off my brow,I grab his tie.. dragging him along..until he delivers a cheap low blow.. and both fall to the ground..grabbing each other and rolling along till we feel two firm hands grabbing us by the collars..Yes.. I could feel HER touch.my eyes fell again on the ” unique bracelet made of shells”..it was HER.. “Mom, it was
he who started it”,we both blurt out in unison

Looking at my soiled shirt,she asks”Sanjay,How was your cricket camp today?” .and turning to my brother,”Why have you not removed your tie yet? In a firm tone,she orders “Go change your clothes and get ready..let us all have dinner together in a few minutes,Dad is on his way..”

Not a single word is spoken between me and HIM at the dinner table.We both exchange angry glares ,threatening to even bang the plates on each other’s head while having a hand wash..
Mom is talking over the phone “Oh yeah ,my kids are doing great.. Sanjay is in third standard and Vijay is the topper in second grade at school..”
My brother is peeping from behind my mom,making mocking gestures at me.I advance towards him,but Mom is looking straight at me..I back out as I do not want to “spoil my image” in front of “HER”

I take out my note book and start preparing for an important test .. thinking to myself “Let the DICTATION Test get over tomorrow,then I will have another show down with him at the school park,LET THE BETTER MAN WIN”…MAVANE,GAALI DA NEE

PS:To Fall in Love is a wonderful feeling

(Theme loosely based on an e mail joke narrated by good buddy Vignesh)

Irresponsible Journalism: At What Cost??

Reputation is built over the years but knocked out in seconds.. several examples stand testimony to this adage.. and one newspaper too has dumped its long treasured tradition by joining the list of junk dailies..

For those who do are not aware , I did my U.G in a reputed private college and am pursuing my MS IT(CMU tie up) in the same college.. I am one who takes pride in associating myself with this college as it has given me extremely fond memories.. and the reason why I am stopping from mentioning the name is with a purpose..

“A reputed self financing college which is among the top five colleges and is situated near Thiruporur” is how it has been described by one such daily in a junk article..That daily is a ” A newspaper which reflects the “Times” of a five lettered Nation which is currently spiraling down to depths (where iron exists in molten state) due to its minority appeasement policies”( a dose of the newspaper’s own medicine ) and of course as I recently discovered,writes rubbish junk..( for those who still can not make out the College’s name and the Newspaper’s name, chuck it.. the Cartoon Channels still run their shows of Tom & Jerry; and fresh Complan in many new flavours is available in the market).

The newspaper recently published an article that “aimed to bring to light” the “trauma” suffered by the first year students due to ragging menace in the college..some of the “major” issues highlighted were ” proposing to senior girls in the bus” and treating seniors to a sumptuous meal” in the canteen apart from a few other issues.

I am not going to argue in favour of ragging,nor am I heartless enough to claim my College is Buddha’s walking paradise and ragging never exists.I have experienced more grave forms of ragging than those listed in the newspaper,and I have given it back in equal amounts too.Getting back to one of the issues highlighted,”treating seniors to a sumptuous meal” ,I would appreciate if the author walked up to the canteen to check out the quality of food available, and if at all it would be possible in wildest dreams to “sumptuously treat a person” there,and write an article about that instead.

What was really irritating was the fact that nowhere in the Article,was there any mention if the newspaper editor bothered to check with the college authorities about the facts quoted.Is this how Investigative Journalism was made out to be? Aren’t you supposed to listen to both sides of the story before forming an opinion?This was irresponsible journalism at its exemplary best.

How could they have blindly assumed that what ever said was true? And why the Hell were they not brave enough to mention the college’s name? That very fact indicates that they were playing a safe game by not wanting to get into legal tangles where they might be required to solidly justify what they wrote.Or was it the case of an influential baron whose kith and kin were directly affected forcing these junk to appear on a newspaper? If so, was it not an instance of misuse of a tool of democracy to highlight a personal issue with out having solid proof? Did they find this personal issue so important to be highlighted over other “trivial” issues like shortage of power supply, public opinion on how it affects them, their suggestions to combat the situation etc.. or did not anyone in cine industry attend some party where there could be potential link ups with co stars to keep these journalists on their toes?

Being an avid newspaper reader, it pains to see the fate of newspapers these days relying on cheap items to increase their circulation.The paper with “religion” in its name( not the one that carried out the above mentioned junk article though) ironically talks aggressively about secularism and saffron forces these days You could sit with this family newspaper once for more than 3 hours in a day..it had so much of content.. these days, you can skim through the entire paper in 10 minutes.. the page 3 magazine that comes as a supplement has more pages than the main issues on most of the days..

So next time the editor of the newspaper that carried out that junk article looks for ways to sell off his stock, we would be grateful to him forever if he could put in a word:the protective mesh in our hostel rooms have a lot of holes which provide a free passage for rats and we need to plug them