Beyond “Boundaries”

Deep breath gushing my lungs,I hesitantly close my eyelids,
Disturbing past still haunts me,the fear is hauntingly morbid.
Wiping the dripping sweat off his palms,the man besides me gets ready,
The chief glances at his stone studded watch,time ticks on,ever so steady.

Oh! It hurts,this is one final moment for belated repentance,
Before the FINAL ACT begins,stripping me off life’s sustenance.
With pain,remorse,guilt and grief,I make a final attempt to look back,
Destiny beckons me for higher regions,even the angel is dressed in pitch black.

Guided,misguided,intoxicated fanatically under the garb of religion,
Me and my mob set on a violent rampage:disaster had just begun.
We burnt the homes,blood suckingly ensuring that survivors were far and few,
Even during his last moments,the baby in his pram was smiling,as only he could do.

The riots ended:we were exposed,cursed and castigated: the trial was announced,
With a helpless child in arms,my wife collapsed when the verdict was hastily pronounced.
The sword had ruthlesly slit open many a throat,chopped of many a limb,ripped apart many a rib,
But its decibel levels were silenced with those fateful,everlasting impressions made by the judge’s nib.

I know my Dad stands embarrassed,my mom is agonized,as slowly to the ground she sank,
My thumb is numb,my feet are trembling now,my heart is heavy and my mind has gone blank.
I had defeated the very purpose of my schooling,my religion:even GOD would struggle to forgive,
This burning desire for soothing atonement envelopes me:a few final moments before I cease to live.

My actions hurt me tremendously,I am unable to bear the weight of my sins,
I am desperate to make amends:they are pricking me hard like poisoned pins.
But its well beyond my time now,however hard I am willing to give one final try,
This outdated, atrocious I.P.C 302 will have its final say:leaving me high and dry.

I know I am a sinner,drowning in my own bloody pool of sins,leaving behind a stain that will for ever sting,
But the judge,the chief and all others who framed me for taking lives:aren’t they “officially doing the same thing?
I want to go back,seek atonement for my sins,leave a better place than what i saw last,
But it won’t happen till I.P.C 302 exists:will someone please remove the junk quick and fast?

The chief nods,the executioner is ready now to raise the bar,
I shut my eyes: my mom,my mad,my wife,my child are ever so far.
The black angel smiles reassuringly,ready to welcome me with open arms:a self conscious offender,I will have myself to blame,
But you officials,who still make flawed laws with MINORITY APPEASEMENT & RESERVATION: go hang your heads in shame!

The above fiction is an account of a man who feels hard done by the reservation and minority appeasement system existing in India.Capitalizing on this,political goons instigate him into religious violence,and frame him.During his final moments, he repents for his sins and condones the RESERVATION and MINORITY APPEASEMENT system and I.P.C 302:which prescribes death penalties.

It has been just two days since resignation but already its been tough.It is always a struggle when we miss something which is a routine for quite sometime.I have spent time watching Cricket Matches and songs on Television. I am really running out of ideas as to how to spend the next few days.I think I am well past those days when I used to have a voracious appetite for books.I simple don’t have the patience to sit through an entire novel these days.But today morning , I chanced upon Paddy Upton’s blogs.I read only a couple of them but I just can’t have enough of it.The thought process of this man is simply mind blowing.For those who have not heard of him, Paddy Upton is the ‘Biokineticist’ & Sports Psychologist of the Indian Cricket Team.

One topic that instantly caught my fancy was “Self Organized Learners”.To put it in simple terms,he calls those willing to practice this theory as “people who think for themselves”.The best thing is that he stops with just a couple of lines,instead of dwelling on it,allowing the reader to come up with his/her own interpretations and relate to his/her own thought process.This set me thinking,and I tried to come up with my own interpretations of what he meant.The following are my personal views where in I have tried to come up with a summary as to how we can assimilate his thoughts.The individual,sits down,thinking on what could be the possible solutions to a particular scenario.The same applies to all players in a group.At the end,each individual shares his/her views to bring out the best possible outcome.It sounds so simple,but it is very tough to practice.The process behind it is amazing, a closer look would reveal that each individual has set his mind thinking to find a solution without any external help,and also learn the best practices of others.Thus,after each group analysis,the individual emerges a better person than what he was before it,and also the quality of the team improves after every outing.This is not a scenario where people are thrown the long end of the rope without a clue.At the same time,there is no focal point or “senior mentor”.Each peer latently helps the other!

Imagine each and every one of us thinking to ourselves ” I am no Edison.I am no Einstein either.I may not have the capacity to invent anything( who cares for it??!!),but still,I definitely can do certain things,the best way as only I possibly can!”.Sounds great!

Paddy Upton’s theories are tailor made for guys like me,who don’t have the patience to sit through personality improvement lectures for long hours.Only the tip is revealed,and the rest is left to our imagination.I am this sort of person who loves sitting alone,and imagining,living out, dreaming- (I just can’t find the right phrase)- about the things that I want to do in the very near future,I see it visually, as to how we see a cinema..and I try penning it down in words.. yes a perennial “dreamer”.. but who does not love to dream??

It also set me thinking on a few other things that I have been trying hard to practice.Just two weeks before my resignation,I had decided that I wanted to be good( or at least diplomatic,at best) to each and every one I was gonna get in touch with.It was difficult,believe me,at times people really tested my nerves but I quickly realized it was not impossible.I knew that it was possibly the last time I was gonna meet a few people in person for the near future,so I had made up my mind that,at least by the time I leave,parties from both sides should have only pleasant memories.I was reasonably successful I should say.I even went to the extent of taking people who bitched about me ,behind my back to my manager for a treat,with me bearing the expenses.I personally believe that it works out best when you try to be good to people who were not so good to you, as it stings them hard!One of the foremost things that made it possible was cutting down on expectations.Frustration arises mostly when expectations are not met,leading to bitterness and anger,so I had lowered my expectations.Nope it was not a Saint life,where one has to cut down on the root causes( which, in my humble opinion is never possible for mortals like us).It was just plain simple life in the sense that one needs to hold back on the urge to chase things that we covet/desire , but when it comes along,there is no harm in enjoying it to the fullest.I have tried to put this into practice,and it has been quite an emotional bliss so far.

Yeah I think we can wind up on that cos else,it would be me blowing my own trumpet a bit too much.This prompts me to ruminate on another happening that has set me thinking.A clip of Mr.T R (Vijaya T.Rajhendhar) losing his cool when a reporter asks him why he is not able to draw crowds like others.What followed was utter chaos,with T.R making desperate efforts to promote himself.This happens sometimes to us too.We try to comfort ourselves with the fact that we are the best,or better than other/other(s) who we think are our rivals,without pausing to think if we really have solid credentials to back ourselves.It becomes really dangerous,as after a point,our growth as an individual might stop,if we refuse to come out of the cocoon,as we first fix it up in our mind that we are correct, and then try to reason out facts for it,though ideally it should be the other way around.So that could probably be my next challenging activity.To go back in time and check out if I had acted with that sort of mindset in any such situation,and if possible set it right at least now.Look at the classic digression in topic.I had started out with Paddy Upton’s “thinking for ourselves”,only to end up talking about myself, and our TR,moving over to “thinking about ourselves” instead.Paddy Upton and T.R,though in contrasting styles, have set me thinking!
More to come..

June 01 2007: A defining moment in my career,the first day of the orientation programme at COGNIZANT.We had just finished college three weeks back and so we did not have even time to let the feeling sink in.The day seemed just like another ordinary day,with good buddy Viki dropping me at Liberty Bus stop in the evening and me getting into a 12B after a mini struggle ,until I got a call from Srikanth..”Machi ..I got placed da”.. those words really made the day.. I have been with him through a torrid month in his academic life and this was really warm news for all his good friends..

After the first few days, we were clubbed into a batch titled “AJ34″.Only after meeting people there,did I realise how invisible outside my department because almost all girls from IT department did not even know that I was from their college!I built bonds really thick
and fast and got to know more about a few people than those 4 years in college.It was unlimited fun,if one could ignore those minor irritants in the form of exit tests.It just seemed like an extension of college.. life was getting better..and I got aquainted to some really wonderful people..( especially KAVYA-she is one of the most interesting personalities I have ever met.. )

The fun continued through the month of July and August…and what Lalith Modi was to IPL,Siddharth was to AJ34.. he introduced a game titled “Mafia” which soon became our staple diet..It also brought our batch a lot closer..Bench life though was getting monotonous beyond a point and I starting putting serious effort towards my Graduate Record Exam preparations. On September 17,we were deployed into different projects..

I was ushered into the account “HartFord Life” in Thoraipakkam Campus.Initially,I was supporting the Business Analysts and had to make shuttle trips to Palikaranai for my Oracle Training.It was quite a challenge to keep pace with my GRE preparations during this time.I used to sit in the lobby at PKN office in the mornings for revising my word lists and in the evenings, I continued my preparations while returning by bus from TCO.I used to take up the last seat where the lights were really dim.The journey via the velachery by pass roads added to the eeriness,making me wonder if ever bright times were around the corner…

Another twist in the tale, one that would change my life for ever… In the first week of October,I was pulled into the Oracle Back End team in my project as they were short of resources to start development work.I was working under a brilliant Project Lead Hema,to whom I am indebted for having confidence to entrust responsibilities on some one who was a novice.I gave my GRE a shot on October 18,and God’s grace , I got 1450..but this time too,no time to celebrate because I had a deliverable the same day.I finished my GRE at around 12 noon,and was back to PKN at 1 30 to report to work!

Things started getting hectic in November, and again I had to balance out between my work and application procedures to the Univs(most of my work in this regard was offloaded by my sweet sister.. lucky to have her around!).

December:An eventful month..began with some drama with me almost missing my dearest friend Lakshmi’s engagement thanks to a deliverable at office.I somehow managed to pull it off and make it to the function at the last minute…It was a month of hope and near misses..Had an emotionally draining time,especially as the year drew to a close..but there was some solace towards the business end of it all,with the dawn of the new year bringing me super cool news that I was selected as the “Star of the month” at the account level for my contribution towards my project…

It definitely was a very defining year for me,career wise and also on the personal front.. one that made me carry joy,hope, and the subsequent gatecrashes, pain,disappointment,elation all along…but looking back, one that would be hard to forget..!

Sometime last week ,me and my school friend were reliving our fun filled days at school-P.S.B.B K.K. NAGAR and I thought it would be nice to write down some of the most light hearted/embarassing moments here.

1.We will start from the kg days..I was a die hard Rajnikant fan right since childhood, and those were the days of video casette times and mom had just bought an imported akai set from singapore..I was bunking classes under the pretext of fever and used to watch thalaivar movies like raja chinna roja,rajathi raja,maapillai etc and once while I was with dad on the way to the casette shop, I was caught red handed by my class teacher.I had bunked the day citing fever and when she saw me,all hell broke loose.The next day,my parents were pulled up by our headmistress, and there was this female, complaining to the head mistress that I was all the time doing thalaivar styles in class.. semma dose anikki.. but years later , I had my sweet revenge.This female came to my street looking out for another ma’am’s house which was near my place and when she asked me for the route, I guided her in exactly the opposite direction( I have not seen her since!).

2.The next one was in second grade.By this time,the focus had shifted to cricket.It was one of the benson and hedges tri-series finals and I did not want to miss it.But we had a cycle test on that day, and it was difficult to get permission from the staff on test days.Luckily I had high fever that day and used it as a reason.In my school,people who had health ailments were quarantined to write in the library so that the other children would not be affected.But, we all know nature is unpredictable and right in the middle of the test, nature came calling( singles).I asked the librarian permission but being the strict female that she was,she refused sternly ,saying I was not to budge until I completed my exam.The next few moments have caused me embarassments till this day..most of my close school buddies still recall it.I do not know why I did it but after the next few seconds, warm urea matter(good enough to warm a kettle) was tricking all over the library.The librarian realised this after a few seconds and could only laugh.The next two days were a laugh riot for all at school but I was left hiding for cover…

3.Fourth grade..this time in the music class..Me and my bench mate were pretty bored with all the sa re ga ma..And I am sure all of you would have tried this cute little game.. allow air to enter your ear holes..spread your palms ,place them facing each other and gently move them towards your ears,striking them gently,and move them apart.. the faster you do, the more you feel the gush of air.Unfortunately,it did not strike my mind that this was not the cutest game that could be played when some one was singing!the teacher thought we were mocking her by trying to close our ears..and the next instant,she boxed my ears hard..the swelling did not go down for more than a week..

4.Cricket again,this time in sixth grade.It was the friendship cup between India-Pakistan at Toronto,and being the cricket buff I was, I had stayed through the night to watch India’s victory.Trouble started when one of my mates asked how Saeed Anwar was caught by Nayan Mongia and I demonstrated the dive for him.He was not visibly pleased and wanted me to give a clearer picture.I looked around and as fate would have it,my eyes fell at the teacher’s desk(which is usually higher than all other desks).Namma pasanga thaan yethi vudradhulla killadinga aache,plus naan cricketer veara,so goaded on I climbed up the desk and attempted a full length dive,and the next moment, I could feel my jaw snapping, I landed straight on my jaw on the hard floor and it required four stitches.

5.The annual sports day is always fun and the selections were on for various events like high jump,long jump etc..the P.T master was a tough man and he ensured that every body participated in the prelims of each event,whether they liked it or not.There was a guy called “eli” who was not particularly fond of high jump( he was just about 3 1/2 feet).He somehow got through the first level,and now the P.T master raised the bar.”eli” stared long and hard.. it was his turn.. we all waited with bated breath.. “eli” ran in hard, his face was looking straight at the bar.. he was determination personified.. we were alternating between watchin “eli” and our P.T master.. “eli” was now only two feet from the bar.. and as we all got ready to see his grand kick off..”eli” ran straight under the bar!He did not stop there.. he ran all the way out of the ground,up the stairs,into the class room..you should have seen the look on the P.T master’s face.. well.. no words to describe it..

6.Ninth grade time,and my friend was interested in a girl from another section.. after some R&D,we started collecting the details about her..unfortunately,when she confronted him straight,my friend panicked and gave my name out for the R&D part..In the evening,when I went to look for my cycle in the stands,I could not spot it.. and lo! after a thorough search,we found a highly shabby mass in the puddle.. Yes,it was my dearest”highway patrol”.. lying in a pathetic state..besides it was that girl’s cycle,standing upright, containing a note saying it was the girl’s work..dejected, I picked up my “highway patrol” from the mess( well girlie,if you are gonna read this by any chance ..take this from me.. when you and your boyfriend are on a jolly ride on a highway,the tyre would be punctured,the bike will run out of fuel,the brakes would fail,and not a soul or a shop would be anywhere in the vicinity..)

7.This happened during the biology class.. the teacher was busy explaining about different systems in the body and my pal was busy dozing off..she was taking classes on the excretory system and she pulled him up for a question.. poor guy was hardly in his senses.. the question was “is control of our senses of urination voluntary or involuntary?” Pat came the reply.. no second thoughts..”Involuntary ma’am”..the entire class burst out laughing.. the poor guy had still not woken up properly and he could not understand what was going on.. the teacher for her part joined the fun,came straight to his desk, made a thorough search and remarked,”well I was just wondering if I could get a sample of your involuntary actions”!..

These are a few of the incidents I can never forget..and for those who want to comment,please do include some of your memorable moments in your comments..For it is our school life that has many “firsts”.. those are always memorable days.. those hurried two minute “kuliyals”.. one or two mouthfuls of breakfast..the breathtaking cycle races to school,with each one taking pride in his/her own “highway patrols”,”cannon barrels”,”hercules mtb”,the early morning prayers, of course with one inquisitive eye always half open..the breakfast break for ten minutes in which we eagerly scan what the others have got for lunch,and gulp them down,so that the half hour for lunch could be used to play “four corners’ and tennis ball cricket..the silent afternoon naps after lunch,with a few other already planning which lane ruotes should be followed for the evening cycle race back home..telling loads of stories about the day’s happenings to mom.. and of course goin to bed with wonderful memories and hopes for the next day… as I keep saying.. sometimes I wish we never grew up..

I was coming back from the departmental store throwing a casual glance at my neighbouring street.Kids were out in the sun playing our favourite sport-cricket.An instant smile filled my visage and made be go back to my good old childhood days.Same street,same roads that serve as our “cricket pitch” and same neighbour hood fences that serve as boundaries.When we played,we used to mark out the stumps on my neighbours’ wall with the help of bright orange half bricks.We used two kinds of pitches,the well laid out undulated parts of the roads were our “mcg” equivalents and the parts of the road that had taken a heavy pounding thanks to the water lorries were our “typical dusty indian wickets”.There was this “little hut” bordering our boundaries.Its inhabitant was a grand old man named “pakkiri”.He was a real menace,a heavy drunkard who would never give us the rubber balls back once they reached the vicinity of his hut.He would ask us to get him a “qaurter”, in case we wanted the balls back.It was good fun as not even a single day would end without a quarrel with that man.Our street cricket activities were so famous that people from even other “established” street cricketing areas would come here to play alongside us.Years have passed by with two of my mates already married,a few of us working and a few of the others being untracable but still
whenever we happen to bounce upon each other inspite of the busy schedules, we still recall those happy cricketing times we had with almost child like enthusiasm .Sometimes, it is better never to grow up!

Last night,one of my dearest pals called up and we started discussing about what our entire bunch was doing around exactly the same time last year.That set me thinking and made me come up with this blog,just to pick out some of the defining moments that marked 2007.One single year had made a significant change to most of our lives.The year began with a bang with us ushering in the new year in near freezing conditions in kulu manali in the midst of my final year tour to the northern parts of India.This definitely would turn out to be one of the most cherishable new year celebrations ever as this was my last new year celebration in college life along with my college mates.Trouble began almost as soon as we arrived back home with my final year project( we were a team of three) put in jeopardy right from the day of its inception.We were given a torrid time by the head authorities in charge of evaluation of projects.We even skiped the inaugural day of college culturals,thanks to those bugging people.Me and logic(srikanth) always made it a point to be present in college whenever possible,even if only a few turned up because we always had it in the back of our minds that we would never got these days back.We had our farewell in the first week of april and I managed to grab the autographs of many from my department on a plain white t shirt to add to my memorabilia collection.After the farewell function at college,we all met at Vinod Ram’s place for the night.We had a whale of a time, an out and out bachelor’s party( of course,the contents are extremely high voltage stuff to be penned down right now).The day of reckoning for our final year project arrived and the lack of interest shown by the evaluators was a complete shock to us.The examiner was four hours late and showed more enthusiasm to catch the first bus back home than evaluate our projects.We had sacrificed sleep and food for almost a week, toiling hard to put up a good show but our project was not even evaluated for a minute.We returned with sullen faces on our journey back home.Finally, we completed our two remaining semester exams with a heavy heart,perhaps for the first time ever,wishing that the exams could have lasted a little longer.May 11,2007, our college life came to an official halt ,with a million hopes we were ready to set our foot into the big bad commercial corporate world and of course, making a zillion promises to meet up whenever possible..

Will come out with events from june through december in part 2…

This Saturday,Our batch( training at Cts) once again provided clinching evidence as to why it rocks big time.After weeks of discussion and speculation,we finally arrived at a consensus and chose THE BLUE LAGOON resort to spend some time together.We hired a van and started from Vadapalani at around 8:45 a.m.The van continued its smooth journey, with the members hopping in enroute.A group of 17 reached the resort at around 9:45 and were greeted by some chirpy school children who were having a fabulous time dancing to the tunes of SIVAJI.After some careful deliberations on the menu,we were all set to get into action.To begin with,we started with tennikoit, framing our own set of rules,where the teams were divided into groups of 9 and 8 each.At a time, only 5 players were to be present inside the playing field,with any member who dropped a catch being replaced by a member from his own team.A team won a point each time it made the opposing team drop a catch.A hard fought match ended up with the scoreline 14-16.The next activity was KRIKET( yes, the change of spelling is intentional because the purists who loved the traditional game would faint if they saw what was actually played there).The teams were lead by Kavya (Aravindhan,Chandrasekhar,Kavya,Praveen,Saipriya,Sanjeev,Siddharth,Swathi,Venkatesh) and Niroopa (Madhura,Manoj,Niroopa,Premnath,Sandhya,Vasanth,Veera,Vijay) respectively.Again the rules were bent according to convenience.Each team got ten overs to bat, all the players had to bowl atleast one over and runs were to be scored only on the on side when a right hander took stance( Lefties like me were at a disadvantage straight away).The girls were allowed to bat twice.Niroopa won the toss and chose to bat and captains were busy with their own strategies even before a ball was bowled.
Niroopa to Manoj:Bat la adicha evalo point..??.(ENNA KODUMMA SIR IDHU..??!!!)
Kavya to Sanjeev: nee wicket keeping panriya ?? appo come near the umpire..(ENNA KODUMMA SIR IDHU..??!!!)
The batting team were given a brisk start by its one drop batswoman Madhura Jagatjivanram Kuppal(ENNA KODUMMA SIR IDHU..??!!!) before the fielding team captain Kavya applied the brakes on the scoring by claiming 3 wickets in a single over(ENNA KODUMMA SIR IDHU..??!!!).Some late hitting propelled the batting side to 70 of ten overs.Sai Priya led the run chase but the team batting second was behind the required rate all the time and found the fieding cordon of Sandhya,Niroopa and Madhura difficult to breach(ENNA KODUMMA SIR IDHU..??!!!).The team chasing lost the match by 13 runs.The scorching heat left most of us skin-tanned and gasping for water and it was time to rush indoors for lunch.At around 2 in the noon,we mustered up energy for another round of badminton and volley ball.Then it was time for some fun in the waters,with most of them getting drenched in the salty beach water.After taking a few cool snaps and gulping down hot coffee and tea, it was time to start our journey back.We reflected upon the day’s activities during the ride back home and it had been a wonderful and refreshing experience, as our batch had jelled admirably in a very short span of time.

A few weeks back I withdrew my first salary and decided to turn my long cherished dream of getting a saree for my mom into a reality.Just to spice up the events , my sister was not in town and since I wanted it to be of my own choice, I decided that my mom should stay out of the selection process.So me and my ever enthusiastic dad started in right earnest to accomplish the task.
We decided to shop at Kumaran’s(T Nagar) and for all those males who have absolutely no idea about this ardous task of shopping for sarees, I suggest this place as the staff here are ever so patient and very helpful.Shunting up and down all the sections and ultimately rejecting most of those varieties like plain kanchipuram,cotton silk,raw silk(yes I had done my homework on this meticulously!),we finally landed up in the section that displayed machine woven kanchipuram silk.The colors there were so vibrant that it would arouse any artist’s senses( not M.F HUSSAIN though because that pervert never prefers his women wearing sarees, or anything for that matter..).I finally settled for a maroonish one, of course after those ever flowing tips over the mobile phone from mom.
But it was really a peculiar sight observing a few women who went about their task of choosing the right saree(s).The women next to me, for example( and most of them) was always inquisitive about the ones that I had set aside to have a second look.Each time I set one aside,she would pick it up and ask ” Idhu enna vilai ” only for me to gently remind her that I had my aspirations on that.She kept on doing this untill the guy was fed up..The next time she picked one up, the guy himself without any hesitation blurted ” adhu 2500..” and pat came the reply from the female..”velai ya edutha odane solladha paa.. pudichirundha evalo venalum vaaguvom”.. and needless to say could there be another ending to this..?? Of course , she left without purchasing anything..!After umpteen assurances from the guy at the counter that the fabric etc was of good quality( no other go , cos it seemed very easy when I started out but once we started having a look ,I was all at sea…)we now proceeded to another section to get a salwar for my sister..and this was how it all began..
man at the counter:”Sir CREPE( which i comprehended as GRAPE) la parkaringala ..???”
me:” GRAPE thavara micha colors um kaatungalen..”
man at the counter:” sir, CREPE color illa sir, adhu material..
me sheepishly) “oh apdiya , seri adha kaatunga”
But after this initial hiccup,there was no stopping.. for I picked the first one that caught my eye.. but still ( for both vetti bandha and to learn a few things..) , I hung around for some more time..
Call Sir Edison who had those inventions to his name, call Tenzing and Edmund who scaled Mt.Everest.. and ask Kapil who led his Devils to that miraculous triumph in 1983 to pay attention.. yes I had achieved something that could be placed on par with all these…
I HAD SHOPPED SUCCESSFULLY FOR A SAREE AND A SALWAR FOR TWO SEPERATE WOMEN WITH DISTINCT TASTES WITHIN 30 MINUTES..!
and I found out the simplest technique to achieve that.. DON’T TAKE WOMEN ALONG..DO IT YOURSELF..!

Can darkness enlighten?? Yes it could as this incident which happened to an 18 year old stands testimony..
“Sigh..Power cut again.. this is the umpteenth time it is happening this week.Wonder why my parents chose such a wretched area for building a home..” lamented the first year student who was pursuing his bachelor’s degree in engineering.. Just then, a middle aged man walked into the room with a candle in his hand..”Why are you upset?” ,he asked.. “I was working on my physics record,which is due for submission tomorrow,I was multitasking it ,watching my favourite programme on tv..and this t.v sucks big time..no features worth writing about..and yuck this t shirt is so sticky,I am dripping sweat like a shower thanks to this power cut,should go for better quality fabrics tomorrow…Life in coll is a bore,so much work,so little time to study….” The middle aged man gently smiled..”Wats that in your record?” he asked..
The teenager got perked up.. “Now, c’mon.. You can’t be expected to know all this..You were after all, if I am right a humble diploma holder in mechanical engineering..?? !” He said in a mocking tone..The middle aged person nodded ..his eyes intensely focused on the physics record..
“Is it not a vernier calliper that is used to measure the diameter of objects?? and you have got the jaws of the calliper wrong in your diagram”( and he went on and on about the vernier) The teenager was stunned.. “But it must be almost 3 decades since you finished your academics..how come you remember all these?” he asked.The middle aged man laughed… “Whatever you achieve after a struggle stays on forever” he said.. The teenager was now concentration personified..The middle aged man then proceeded with his story.

“I was the third son in a family of five.One of my sisters met with a premature end at the tender age of two when she was stung by a scorpion.My mom passed away when I was four.I was now in the company of my two elder brothers and a younger sister.My dad was working in the army and so he had neither finance nor time for us.My mother’s sisters were considerate enough to take my sister under their custody after my mom’s death.Me and my brothers had to shuttle between all my relatives places for food and shelter.My brothers were packed of to a remote village.I struggled with my schooling for I could not stay in a single place due to poverty..But I was mostly put up in Salem.It was a question of survival.For many nights, I was put up in just the verandah of my relatives’ place for there was no one willing to take me in.I was petrified.. I was just a school boy,stray dogs were on the prowl and ghostly dreams haunted me but still I had nowhere else to go.
The cinema hall was four kilometres from that place and my relatives had space only for themselves in those horsecarts.. I had to run behind the carriage for four kilometres non stop to watch a movie…but I will not blame them for this was my own fate..,this would not have happened had my mom not passed away..I carried on..Just before my tenth exams..I fell from the second floor of a building..Luckily God was kind enought to help me land safe on a stationery sand carrying lorry and I escaped with fractures.After those early struggles,I managed to clear my tenth exams.
I desperately wanted to study but I found no support.One of my uncles was benevolent enough.He agreed to pay the first term fees alone for my diploma .I promised him that I would find a part time job and manage the financial expenses of the rest of my course. I had two options to choose from a morning shift(8 - 2) or a noon shift(12-6).I chose the morning one out of sheer desperation because it meant that I could have my lunch at 2:30″ he said..
“But how does that make a difference?? asked the teenager
The middle aged man now continued with his story..
My uncle’s children were still in school and my aunt would not serve me before they eat..So if I come at 2:30 I could eat whatever is left over..I had to cylce a total of 16 kilometres everyday to reach my college and come back.I found a part time job in a watch company.I worked from four to eight and then I had to sit with my books and assignments.This was my daily routine.My employer was kind enough to permit me to sit with books in the shop when there were no customers.I was paid an HOURLY WAGE OF RS.2 for my efforts.
Those days,bell bottom pants were the trend and I yearned for it.I had to save from january till Diwali to get my self one!I did not sleep the previous night because I was so excited that I would be wearing it the next morning.It may seem trivial but it meant a lot to me..!
After all the trials and tribulations,I completed my diploma and got a job in a reputed firm in Bombay.My Dad was all but out of touch with us.
A few days before receiving my first month salary,I got a telegram stating that my Dad had returned form the army and was now seriously ill.I decided to visit him after receiving my first pay.But when I reached Salem railway station,I was sad to hear that he had passed away.My eldest brother was struggling financially and my other brother had turned into a wastrel.I had no time to think about myself.I managed to get my sister married to a doctor in Bombay.Soon,I too entered the wedlock and God sent my mother in the form of my wife.She proved to be my source of inspiration from then on.I got a transfer to good old Madras.We were slowly coming up in life.
It was always my dream to own a house.But our financial position did not permit us to purchase any land near the heart of the city,so we went for a plot in the outskirts.It was more than an hour’s drive from my office but I did not mind the struggle for I wanted my first born kid to have his/her own house to play around and grow up right from day one for I never had that opportunity..I was blessed with a girl.
Those days t.v sets had just started gaining in popularity and the Sunday movies in Doordarshan were quite famous.I used to constantly peep into my neighbour’s portion to catch a glimpse.My wife understood my wishes and started cutting down on her expenses and soon we were the proud owners of a black and white t.v which we had purchased in installment. We had another new arrival into our family to add to our joys,this time it was a baby boy.Now I am in a good position,and I am content as my daughter is now happily married and my son is coming up..
Wav..how lucky his son is.. how must he be feeling..!!!!!!
Well well well,the son was feeling miserable and too small .. for that teenager is this author(me) and that middle aged man is my father..!
Lets have a recap of my lamentation..
“Power cut again.. this is the umpteenth time it is happening this week.Wonder why my parents chose such a wretched area for building a home.. “(yeah the very house that my dad had built out of sheer sweat and toil)
“and this t.v sucks big time..no features worth writing about..”(when my dad could all but peep into his neighbour’s room to catch a glimpse)
“and yuck this t shirt is so sticky,I am dripping sweat like a shower thanks to this power cut,should go for better quality fabrics tomorrow…”(when my dad had to save for 11 months from his earnings to get a single pant)
“Life in college is a bore,so much work,so little time to study….”(The great man had to work after college and then do his academic work again..)
The power supply was restored,the artificial lights illuminated the entire house but my inner soul was enlightened in that darkness by my dad’s words.I kept on reminicsing about this during that night.. I even wept and this time I was not ashamed to do so..I realised that whatever I had considered my achievements till that time where only a small fragment..I still had a long way to go..
From a humble beginning as an apprentice , he is now the branch manager(south india) of DANCAL INDIA headquartered at Mumbai.(That he has stuck on with a single private firm for 35 years speaks volumes of his dedication and integrity).
I am no saint..just an ordinary individual( I don’t even know if I am a good one..!) and I would not say that I never lament or feel downcast and low, but each and everytime I do so,..This story strikes like a hard gong on my head.
It has been four years since that incident, and with God’s grace ,I have finished my Under Graduation and am now working as P.A.T in Cognizant Technology Solutions.A few days back,I got my first salary slip and as I was thinking about the list of goodies I wanted to purchase with it-A saree for mom,salwar for sis,watch for dad,dress and chocolates for my cute niece,Set Top Box to watch cricket… my mind goes back to that great man who could barely pay off his educational debts with his first wage..

(2011: a look back at college life..)

disclaimer: The following episodes are fictitious and imaginary…Any relevance is highly accidental.Some incidents have been exagerrated to add some pep.

Hi dude hows life?? asked a familiar voice in my office..”cool” .. was my reply ,trying not to reveal how stressed out I was ..Four years of being a software professional had drained me out.It was 2 a.m when I reached home that day, poor folks in my home were fast asleep.I decided to scale the main gate and then ring the door bell..( did the astrologer have this in mind when he said I would scale great heights in future??)..It was three by the time I decided to hit the sack but I was too excited to think of dozing off.. I was thinking of THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS…

Alas, at five o clock in the morning.. It started puring down heavily( huh, Chennai mazhai.. eppo varum eppadi varum nu yaarukkum theriyaadhu,aana vara koodatha nerathula correcta varum) My god, I had pushed my self all along just for this D-Day..yes ,It was reunion time for our college batch which parted ways in 2007 ..Four years had sped by.Just then, my
pleasant ring tone ..”sahana saaral thoovudho.” filled my ears( it has been four years since the release of the movie but the song’s charm refuses to die down).It was my best friend on the line.. I asked in a pensive tone “maapu mazha varudhey ellarum kandippa varuvaangala??”..He laughed it off saying “mazhaiyavadhu ma**avadhu..kelambuda paarthukalam..”.

The college authorities were gracious enough to permit us to meet at the college campus itself..We had planned to meet at nine but I just could not wait any longer.. I took of in my bike by 7.. and reached my college situated in Old Mahabalipuram Road by eight..I was the first to reach there and luckily the rain had reduced in intensity by now..I decided to take a nostalgic walk around the campus..

I first stopped near my class room block.. Elevators had replaced staircases.. But the back of our jeans bore the brunt of the dirt of those stairs in those good old days.The class room was barely recognisable after having got a hi tech face lift..The three dirty steps outside the block that could house a dozen people,the bush by the backside which threw out
bats,snakes and other species which could keep the discovery channel crew on their toes,The switchboard which was our main weapon whenever the lecturer was putting us to sleep with the use of a projector.. all held fond memories.. turning my eyes moist.Just then , a familiar shrill whistle rung aloud ..”MARSHOII! thirumbi paaru”..

The others had started arriving..My spirits soared on seeing them..!After all those customary enquiries.. we settled down.. All were in our worn out jeans and t shirts.. and what a pretty sight it made.. , a complete contrast to those monotonous ties, formal shirts and shoes.Bright sunshine had replaced dull gloom( the weather as well as my mood..!)..We had quite a sizeable gathering.. Some of the girls were married now,with their cute kids and husbands accompanying them( please read in singular..!)..”Maapu anga paaru da ..amma madhiriye ponnu..”.. yes that cute little girl was very pretty.. ( much like her mother .. amam naanga college days la roundu katti sight adichom avala.. )..Only a few love birds of our college days had held on steadfast.. all others had broken up.. one girl was cheeky enough to introduce her ex boy friend to her would-be( of course as her good “friend”).. and just then he( the ex lover) was interrupted by a call from his present girl friend( if only K.Balachander sir witnessed all this..!).

The next two hours were spent in pulling each others’ legs.. After those artificial and sulky ” good morning,have a nice day, have u finished the work??, tomorrow is the deadline”.. the phrases ” machi, maapu, maapi, vennai, andhar , thaaru maaru, scene a podu, vaipe illa,sure,mokkai naaye, OA,aan aaan ” were music to the ears.But my eyes could not avoid throwing the occasional glance at HER…She seemed a bit aloof..( I later came to know that she was still single.. )

I was meeting her after a long time ,( Yes, it was those typical college life crush stories, but I was quite serious about that..).”How are you??” I asked ..” fine” was her one word reply,she dint even bother to look into my eyes and quitely moved away..We then proceeded to have some more fun , but I still could not help reminiscing about her and the time we spent together during those lovely days.. The sun was now beating down hard and we decided to have a game of cricket..

Fours years of staying away from the game had made us rusty but still we enjoyed it to the core ..”Ivan maarave illa da.. Shoib akhthar maadhiri odi vandhu romesh pawar maadhiri podran da” , ” dei adhu enna pandha illa pondattiya??konjikitrukka?? nalla vegama
adi da, pandhu ku valikaadhu” , “dei panni thallu da.. nee umpire a sight screen a? nee nindha unakku pinnadi enna nadakudhu ne therilla” , ” maapu adhu ball a illa kovil a?? enda sutthi suthhi odra??” were some of the evergreen quotes.

It was lunch time.. and still SHE remained the same.. I asked her close friend what the matter was ..” Not sure da but somehow she seems so dis interested in life these days.. You know la?? She had her engagement cancelled due to stupid reasons form the grooms’ side.. so she is deeply disturbed” was the reply.. (Now i was feeling sorry for her .. and happy for myself..!).. I gently went to her side and made an attempt to start a conversation….

End of part 1.. please scroll down for part-2

I gently went to her side and made an attempt to start a conversation ……. but got a big mokkai.. She replied only in one liners, without showing any interest..After a few minutes, I gave up the attempt..and moved over to the place where my gang was located.. as we ate we could not help thinking about the lunch we used to have at our canteen.. The food was not good.. half baked biryani, salt less kuruma, we even spotted a frog in one of the containers.. but still we would swap all the five star dinners to those moments .. simply because , we shared our lunch TOGETHER.After all.college life is the period when….

We fly without wings: and defy Newton’s law of gravity
And give a damn to what others’ think: forever sharing confetti

After lunch.. it was time for some indoor activities.. all the fun games followed.. of course,we guys carefuly manipulated the rules so that we got the “pairs” we wanted..still SHE showed no considerable interest. It was evening time and we seated ourselves in the lawn .. Each one was asked to come up with the most memorable incidents form college life…and there were a lot of pleasant responses..

“The first day in college ..aug 4 2003″ , “The first day we bunked together..” , “The first movie we saw together” , “Paradigm 2k6″ (The college symposium.. and the entire two months spent building up to the event itself was truly memorable) , ” Kerala tour 05″ , “Instincts 2k7(The cultural event)” , “Group snap during farewell time” , “Final year tour” , “New year’s eve spent together when the temperature was below 0 degrees” , “The unit tests of final sem” ,”The get together we had in besant nagar beach after the entire class bunked colllege “,”Dais tennis,room football,cricket”,”Innumerable treats around t nagar”,”The matches we watched in hostel during class hours”, “The rose milk shop in ecr n kelambakkam “.Some of the ladies were lamenting about the pressures of married life and how they wished they were forever in college, and a few guys went on to describe their romantic encounters..

I, for my part sheepishly displayed the photos that I had taken with Nayanthara and Shreya at a function(still no reaction from HER).It was almost late night now..it was time to leave.. After a few hugs, pats, handshakes, we parted with a heavy heart, of course promising to be back the next year.What a day it was…! far from the pressures of day to day life, it was as if I was administered with a truck load of electrol and glucose,my body cells were completely revitalised.

“how are you gonna go back??” I asked HER.”Planning to call up a cab operator” .. she said.”I would not mind dropping you at your place..” . said I.. looking straight into her eyes..Of course.. She gave a blank glance,but as people around her persuaded.. she relented..

end of part 2…. Please scroll down for the final episode…