Itzzz Story Time :)

The sunny side of life !!

2013-03-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

The sunny side of life !!

Jotsna firmly clutched Jack's hand and stamped her fingers over his upper arm. They were sitting in a desolated lounge near the Immigration check at the International Airport of Maldives.She leaned over him , rested her head on his shoulder while shivering inside .She was fidgeting, staring at the odd things that surrounded her. She felt as if she was amidst a cloud of enigma. Jack tried to console her with a gentle touch over her head. He kissed on her forehead and said "Don't worry darling, We will be out of this soon" !!

Far from his expectations she broke contact, extricated and distanced herself from him and shouted "Its all because of you !!! Just get away from me. I hate you !!", while whining like a school kid.

An incensed Jack, failed to arrest his anger and refuted back saying, "It was because of your carelessness. Don't you dare blame me for this. You are a sick lady!!"

The frenzied couple succumbed to their inadvertent situation.They occupied both ends of a five seater sofa . There was an air of silence. The same place which was surreal to them a mere six hours ago, turned into a disaster presently. They were desperate in getting out of it but they had no clue how to.

The shorter hand of the clock completed more than 3 rotations and neither of them spoke to each other. All they felt for each other was bitter "ANIMOSITY".

4 days back.....

"Did you call up the CITI bank customer care and alert them about our travel ??" Jo questioned Jack while packing up for their travel ahead.
"Yes, I did darling" responded Jack, who was busy booking a cab for the airport drop from his home.

A happy couple, Jack and Jo, recently got married after 3 years of intense courtship.
They are a typical 'Tom and Jerry' couple. They fought over petty things and squabbled all through the day but it was the glutting love that they shared with each other bound them as one.

In the recent past, it was this day that was gleaming strong in Jack's dreams. They had a flight to catch, a holiday to be spent and a romance to be sensed !!
"The cab has arrived Jo !! Hurry up !!" shouted Jack.
Jo was sweating out in locking the main door and hung to the lock ensuring that it was locked properly.
Jack never missed this scene and smiled at Jo's kiddish behavior.

It was 1 A.M. Their cab cruised through desolate roads and reached the Bangalore International airport on time.They did some dilly-dallying across the airport and boarded the flight to SriLanka after completing their immigration formalities.

The flight was indeed a cozy one and they managed to be seated with the wings on their flanks.The steel bird was on its course for a smooth take-off. They got updates through the internal audio system and visually through the air hostess.The signage flashed for fastening up their seat belts, lights were switched off, the bird accelerated on the run way and engines blared.After a mild turbulence, the flight was comfortably placed in the air, Jo and Jack clinged tightly to each other and it was only after a few minutes that their tumultuous ride became normal. They relaxed a bit and in just under an hour entered the Colombian skies. It was raining cats and dogs when the flight was about to land and they witnessed some spectacular sights. The skyline of Colombo was very much active with the frequent lightning.It welcomed them with a shower.

"Are you OK Jo ?!!" asked Jack as they were walking along the corridors of the moderately crowded airport.
They occupied a comfortable place in the transit lounge.
"I'm fine Jack,except for a mild head ache. I should be OK Now, what shall we do for the next three hours.Our next flight to Maldives is at 5 A.M right ?"
"Yes darling !! Its a big airport. We will roam around, have a cup of tea, will do some shopping and I will also give engage your cheeks with some kisses.", Jack ended with a smile.
"I greatly appreciate the last part of your sentence..." said Jo, with a smile across the corners of her lips.

The next flight was scheduled on time and they boarded the flight with much ease. It was again an hour long journey. They saw people from different parts of the world, travelling along with them. In no less than fifteen minutes, the flight was into the blue sky. The mighty Indian Ocean was a scenic beauty to watch through their window.

They were very much unaware that a miracle was awaiting their arrival.
Jack hastily woke up Jo to show her the splendid turquoise waters. The sun woke up along with Jo and was illuminating the blue waters. Bright yellow rays ricocheted off the water's surface displaying a picturesque scenery they had never before witnessed in their lives. They saw many tiny islands surrounded by the turquoise waters, there were some lone ships sailing through the rough waters. The capital island city-Male was near the airport. The city had no sky scrappers but it looked beautiful.The flight made a graceful descent and hit the island airport with a creak.The passengers applauded the pilot with claps for his adept flying skills .

Jo and Jack got down from the flight and were exulted when they set their feet on the Maldivian soil. The journey so far, was itself a reveling experience for them. Its a rule to have a valid return ticket and a minimum of $100 per day per person for the entire duration of stay. They had both managed to get a tourist visa and strolled towards the ferry lounge.

There was a small ferry waiting to take them to the resort. Its was just a half hour travel. The concierge assisted them on boarding. Jack and Jo opted to travel on the deck. Jo kept on clicking pictures with her camera. It was a rejuvenating ride after hours of travel. Jack was worried about Jo's safety as she was standing along the corners of the boat. Before he could act on it, she slipped but was quick enough to catch the protective railings and managed to maintain her balance.Alas!!! Jo's hand bag slipped away from her shoulder and plunged into the Indian ocean. !!Damn !!! It happened within the fraction of a second and all that Jack could do was to remain as a mere spectator.

Jo was panting and sweating out profusely. She could not believe what had just happened. She cried.There was no a way to get back her bag. Jack took her inside the boat and allayed her.

"Don't cry Jo. Its ok . Good that you are safe" Jack said in a mild tone.

"My new blue Louis Vuitton bag !!! Monika from my office envied my bag!!! That's why all these things happened, I always knew she was a totally evil woman!!". She was frowning.

"You fool !! By any chance are you worried about the credit card that was inside that Bag ??"

Jo stopped crying and was shell shocked.

"Oh my God !! How are we gonna pay for the resort ?? If we could not pay where else could we stay in this island ? I am really sorry Jack." She now switched to crying afresh for the credit card.

"Stop it Jo!!!" Jack blared at her.

The ferry reached the shores of the island on which the resort was beautifully housed. When their co-travellers were reveling , Jack and Jo were worried about the settlement of bills. They walked to the resort and were welcomed with a tender coconut and a loosely decorated garland.They received it with fake smiles. One of the executives, briefed them about the resort facilities and guided them to the billing desk.

"Jack, ask them if we can pay once we reach India after the holiday or ask him to keep an account !!" Jo provided a timely suggestion for which Jack responded with a violent streak.

Jack confidently reached to his pocket and took out his debit card and gave it to the lady in-charge of billing.
"You fool !! What are you doing ?? Card's cash balance would not be enough for this hefty bill settlement. The transaction would be declined " said Jo and held his hand tight. She was freezing even in the tropical climate. Much to her surprise , the transaction was successful and the bills were settled. They heaved a sigh of relief and walked towards the bungalow that was allocated for them.

Jo was smiling all the way, pinched his cheek and said "I love you darling !!"

"Stop it Jotsna !! I am not gonna entertain this any further !!" said Jack in a terse tone.

"Its OK my man !! Can I atleast worry now about my blue Louis Vuitton bag ???" Jo quipped with a capricious attitude .

"You are a mad lady !!" Jack blasted at her and stomped towards their bungalow.

It was around 12 noon, when they checked in. The bungalow was aesthetically located along the white sanded shores of the sea and amidst a beautiful garden. They were gifted with enough resources to increase their romance quotient but preferred to squabble over the lost credit card. Jack proactively called up CITI bank customer care and blocked his credit card.

They slept (of course separately :P ) for hours and wasted their precious time. A beautiful evening dawned upon them . It was five o'clock when her stomach started to grumble. She was hungry but feared to wake him up.She waited for half an hour and could not resist and she started to faint. She gathered some energy and woke him up. Jack scowled as he woke up.

"I am hungry Jack", said Jo in a feeble voice.

"Woof !! Hunger-Makeup-Shopping. These are very much quintessential of you", said Jack while rubbing his eyes.

They got ready and planned to go to the cheapest restaurant available in the resort. Jack glanced the route on the map and they started walking along the shores. Jo was wearing a pair of board shots and a pink t-shirt.Jack was casually dressed with a white shorts and a blue t-shirt. They refrained themselves from walking together.

After a few minutes of walk, Jack inched towards her , placed his fingers between hers and said "I am sorry Jo. I lost my temper !!"

"I need a proper Italian Pizza with a thin crust !!!", said Jo in a lighter tone and gripped her fingers over his fore arm.

"You silly girl!! I will get you one darling" Jack smiled and kissed her forehead.
She buried her head over his chest and braced him. It was a beautiful evening and the sun was slowly taking its shelter. The sun witnessed its evening live action on the turquoise waters.The wind wafted along the surface of the water and splashed it on the coconut trees and dwindled along the shores.They were basking in the mild breeze and firmly fixed their feet on the shores. They remained in that position for a few minutes before Jo remained Jack about the "Italian Pizza".
After a brief promenade, they reached the beach restaurant. Diffused light spread across the restaurant and it was also gracefully lit by the natural satellite. The atmosphere was filled with the DJ's music and the juggling sound of glasses. They occupied a couch which was positioned in a least inhabited place. They had the entire ocean before them, limitless sky decorated with starts above them. Jack had Jo sitting besides him. He could not have wished for anything more.They had the time of their life.

"Hi !! My name is John Fernandez and I am at your service". John interrupted the romancing couple.

John Fernandez, a man in his early forties, was fat and bald . He sported a learned look and his face was beaming with tranquility which expressed inner peace and confidence.

He had unintentionally over heard their conversation and learnt that they are Tamilians and in order to make them feel at home, he started conversing in Tamil.

"Tamil" !! screamed Jo and asked him, "Where are you from Sir?"

"My native is Kanyakumari ",said John in polite way.

"Oh that's great, John !! We are from Bangalore!! Since how many years have you been living in Maldives?", asked Jo.

"More than 12 years. I did my hotel management course at Chennai and later I worked in Accord international at Chennai for 11 years before coming here".

"Don't you miss your family John ?", Jo questioned him further .

"Yes of course. I do want to go back to India. But being an ardent nature lover, I love this place. These days Chennai has become a concrete jungle. When I was in Chennai, I nurtured a 80 year old banyan tree and out of curiosity I went to see it a couple of months ago. Far from my expectations I could not see even the trace of that huge banyan tree. They uprooted it and all I saw was a big shopping mall in that place.We think of ourselves as being more civilized but we are heading towards a more hostile environment." His tone was attenuating towards the fag end of his speech and finished with saying "That's all part of the society. Sorry madam. I got deviated. What you gonna have for this evening??"

After a long pause , Jo responded with saying "A veg Pizza and Carlsberg".
The Pizza satiated her hunger, Jack uncorked the beer and sipped to quench his thirst and kissed Jo with his beer smeared lips.

They flagged John that they were done. John collected the plates and alerted them about a soiree themed on Jazz music that was scheduled for the next day evening at the Beach bar. Jo thanked him for the information .

A new day dawned on the beautiful island. They did a bit of snorkeling that afternoon.They spent their evening at the Beach bar. Jazz musicians entertained them with some mesmerizing tunes.The sun was slowly retiring for that day. They were comfortably placed in the king size bean bag and were sipping beer with their hands held together. Jazz music-a beautiful evening- turquoise waters- a hand clutching beer - another one clutching his soul mate's. Bliss!! Yes, that's exactly what Jack felt that evening.

They spent the third day afternoon with the sun and the sea, this time trying their hand at snorkeling in the precarious waters. The sunset cruise was waiting for them that evening. The cruise took them deep into the India ocean, far away from the shores. They witnessed spectacularly orchestrated gymnastics of the beautiful dolphins.

Fourth day. Jo was sobbing uncontrollably. They would for sure miss this great place.They managed to settle the restaurant bills and started their journey towards the airport after bidding farewell to John.
They reached on time, did some souvenir shopping before boarding the flight.

They reached Colombo on time and were waiting for their next flight to Chennai. Colombo was still under thick and heavy clouds. Confusion reigned at its prime at the departure gate from which they were supposed to be heading for Chennai . With no official to provide them with accurate information and no announcements being made through the airport's internal audio system, they boarded the flight that was parked at terminal number 12 under their own presumption that this carrier would take them to Chennai, their final destination.

After an hour's journey, the flight started to descend. The flight's landing was smooth but for them it was a like a heart -attack. They saw the turquoise waters once again !!!!!!!! BammMMmmMM!!

Yes !! They landed in Maldives once again instead of Chennai !! They had boarded a wrong flight. There was no proper checking at the Colombo airport nor were their boarding passes thoroughly checked in-flight. It was Jo's idea to board the flight that was in terminal number 12.
Shocked !! Terrified !! Appalled !!

Jack gave a scathing and contemptuous look at Jo. They abused each other with all possible good and effective words that were available in the bad words sections of the dictionary. They felt as if the entire island was pirouetting about their head.

They were forced to go to the immigration office. The incumbent officers demanded for a valid return ticket and minimum amount of cash that they were entitled to have. They had none. Panic.!! They were left with no money to book a return ticket. The lost credit card added fuel to the fire.The couple were pushed into a world of panic!!

Jotsna firmly clutched Jack's hand and stamped her fingers over his upper arm. They were sitting in a desolated lounge near the Immigration check at the International Airport of Maldives.She leaned over him , rested her head on his shoulder while shivering inside .She was fidgeting, staring at the odd things that surrounded her. She felt as if she was amidst a cloud of enigma. Jack tried to console her by his gentle touch over her head. He kissed her forehead and said "Don't worry darling, We would be out of this soon" !!

The shorter hand of the clock completed more than 3 rotations and neither of them spoke to each other. All they felt for each other was "ANIMOSITY".

With no visible hopes around, She started to chant the Holy Gospel.

An infuriated Jack, ignored her and walked away from the place.

Jo knelt, bowed her head in an act of obeisance and started to pray. She was weak and fragile. She suddenly felt someone touching her shoulders. She raised her head to see if it was Jack but was taken aback to see John Fernandez. She started to cry inconsolably at the sight of him. John tried to learn the situation. She explained their situation to him and asked, "Is there anyway you can help us John??"

"Where is your husband ??", asked John.

"We fought bitterly and exchanged some harsh words. He ignored me and left the place a while ago. Its been more than four hours we spoke to each other!!", Jotsna started to cry once again. John made her to rest over his shoulders and said, "Don't worry my child. I will help you out !!"

It was the first ray of hope that consoled Jo and asked him "Really ??"

"Yes.I know a few officers at the immigration office. I will explain your situation to them.I will also book a return ticket for tomorrow morning. You can transfer the money once you reach India.Tonight, you can stay at my place. Is that OK child ?",finished John.

"Thanks a lot, John. We are indebted to you for rest of our lives......."

"Never mind Jotsna. If its the God's will to let me have you as my guests, then it would happen for sure. Its basic human tendency to help each other."

He made her delve in his generosity.It was then Jotsna started smiling.

"You search for your husband and wait near the ferry. I will book the tickets and then pick you up!!"

Jotsna agreed and went in search of Jack.

After an hour of intense search, Jo found him in the smoking lounge. She dared to go inside the room and asked him to come out.

"What now Jo!!", screamed Jack.

"I know that you are not interested in talking to me right now, but I just wanted to let you know that John has come forward to help us."

"Really?" exclaimed Jack.

They once again refrained themselves from walking together. John noticed this from a distance, but he did not explicitly comment on it when he spoke to them.

It was a five minute boat ride and they reached the capital city.They reached John's house. John placed them in a comfortable room.
John once again offered himself to be at their service but this time it was a different ball game.

A new day dawned, rather a day that was not at all in the itinerary. Neither of them spoke to each other since last evening.
Finally things went as planned.
After completing their formalities at the immigration, they were about to bid farewell to John.

John could no longer hold himself and refrain from saying what he really wanted to since last evening now that they had reached the drop off point. It came as a surprise to them. They were all ears.

"You are a good couple but don't get offended with a small piece of advice that I am gonna share with you now", he cleared his throat and continued to speak .."I've had very little interaction with you but I noticed that you two get along with each other only until the tides of time are in your favor. Even if there is a slight upset, you people blow it up to proportions unknown and succumb to the situation. Its very easy to build a beautiful sand castle along the shores when the sea is calm. But it really takes some effort to build a castle during the storm. If you manage to build one, then its that castle that would be more strong and memorable one.
Try to build a castle during the storm and you will feel the bond between you grow leaps and bounds. Its this that we call as "LOVE" and not what you had these four days. Have a pleasant journey and catch the right flight this time". John hugged the couple bid them farewell.

Jack and Jo, watched him till he was visible to them. When he reached the horizon, they turned back and walked towards their departure gate.

Neither of them spoke. They boarded the flight and occupied the seats.

The steel bird was on its course for a smooth take-off. They got updates through the internal audio system and visually through the air hostess.The signage flashed for fastening up their seat belts, lights were switched off, the bird accelerated on the run way and engines blared. After a mild turbulence, the flight was comfortably placed in the air. Jack held her hands and said, "I love you darling".
Jo burst into tears and hugged him tight and said, "Lets build a castle in a storm".
"For sure darling". They kissed. They disappeared into the horizon.

The curtain falls .!!

Subtitles!!

2012-07-06T23:59:00.002-07:00

Dark clouds were hovering over the stage. The stage was big and the scene was even bigger, but where was the scene set?? Was it troposphere?? Was it mesosphere?? Never mind them!! Ananya was standing on a floating pink colored cloud. Karthick laid his ground on the red colored cloud opposite her. Both were put in separate cages and they were clutching the iron rods with their heads resting on the same. The place was damn silent, except for the movement of clouds which was creating a hustling sound. It was extremely chill and she very well knew Karthick was allergic to cold weather,but before she could react on it, the Jury banged the wooden desk with a thick wooden log. It was like hearing a thunder in close quarters. Ananya and Karthick were stumbled with the high decibel energy that dissipated from the surrounding area but what made them stumble even more was the judgment. Thus spoke the Jury ..."According to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, this court grants divorce to Ananya and Karthick on mutual concern and Ananya no longer needs to entertain Karthick with a bed coffee "!!

Ananya woke up from her bed as the alarm sound peeped into her ears. One would definitely call it as bad luck if sleep is not supported on a chill Sunday morning. Ananya brushed her eyes, relaxed her arms and in an ultra slow motion and very reluctantly, she put away the bed sheets. She crawled to the kids’ bedroom and opened the door while ensuring that she didn’t make any noise. Prakriti and Shyam were sound asleep. Shyam was 7 years old and Prakriti was two years younger to him. She left them undisturbed and started walking towards the balcony. Infocity is at its best in November month. A soothing atmosphere blessed with periodic breezes, Ananya was feeling refreshed in the balcony. It was at that time, she got reminded of her dream. It was like a vision through ghee paper. She knew there was something wrong about the dream and put her fullest ability to recollect it. After a series of attempts, when she got it, there was no smile, rather despair.

She sat on the chair that was orphaned in the corner of the balcony, leaned on the wall and placed her head on the protective railings. She was sad and a feeling of solitude grew over her and started to haunt her good memories. She needed some change and walked inside the hall to switch on the television.

"Pehla Nasha" was running high in Star Plus. What more can sensitize Ananya than this song?? She was doting over the beautiful moments when this song made an everlasting impact on her. She remembered Karthick. The clock started rotating in the reverse direction and the calendars turned its pages and stopped on May 4, 2002. It was the final year for both Ananya and Karthick and it was the last day of their college life. They were into Computer Sciences Engineering. The beautiful incident happened at the fun frolic farewell party. 4 '0' clock evening, the Sun was about to retire for that day. The colorful lights took over the responsibility to illuminate the college corridors. Attractive placards were placed all over the campus. There was a huge gathering on the ground. The stage was decorated with high beam lights and music system was rocking the grounds. A number of couples were sitting together, hand in hand and eyes in eyes. A few were also seen kissing each other. The place was bubbling with energy. The other singletons clustered and formed many a small circles. There was a smile in everyone's face, bullying, chit-chatting and patting each other’s shoulders.It was yang and more yang. A light music concert was scheduled for the day and it was also rumored that Sonu Nigam was going to perform. Ananya and Karthick were one among the many clusters. They were five in number. Syed, Pintu and Sona were the remaining three.

Ananya and Karthick were attracted towards each other but they never expressed their interests. They liked each others company.It was like the soothing aroma that emanates from the surface of earth before the rain. Neither of them nor the rest of the three spoke about this explicitly. When it was close to six, the dark sky covered the ground and enhanced the high beam lights. The guests for the night were right on time. More fuel was injected to already flaming atmosphere. The party was slowly catching up. Sona, Syed and Pintu fixed their eyes on the elevated and decorated stage. All eyes glued on Sonu Nigam. Karthick was standing next to Ananya and both were facing the stage. He inched towards her and there was no empty space between them. She was wearing a blue churidhar.Was she usually this beautiful or it so appeared to him only on that day?? This was the question that was lingering on his mind. He saw her and she turned, raised her head a bit and saw his face. They were literally eating into each other’s eyes. Like adding roses to the decorated garland, the music system played a mild music. They never minded the crowd and it felt for them as if they were in a secluded green garden. His left hand was caressing her right hand and he rightfully placed his fingers between hers and clutched her hand softly. He was feeling as though induced by a super power and he'd became a mutant. He gripped her hand, went down on his knees and stretched his hands towards her and whispered to her, "I love you with my heart and soul!!" "Pehla Nasha" was running high and Sonu Nigam was at his best. Ananya was awestruck. Tears of joy rolled from her eyes and she too went on her knees, leveled her height with Karthick and hugged him!! They never minded the surrounding !!.He threw his arms around her, clutched her sleek hip and brought her closer to him. She closed her eyes and parted her lips.Karthick drew himself much more closer to Ananya's lips. He made her lips complete.

She cut herself out from those distant memories and raced back to that awful Sunday Morning.

What was troubling Ananya now? What was the dream all about? Was she really developing hatred towards Karthick? A chapter of questions were troubling Ananya and her thought process stopped when she saw Prakriti and Shyam strolling towards her. She was sitting on the wooden chair and she grabbed both of them and kissed Prakriti. She glanced at the clock and it was already quarter to eight. She rushed to the kitchen and started with the chores.

It was half past two. Lunch was over and Ananya put the kids to sleep. She could neither watch TV, read nor sleep. All she was did was to stare at the monotonous rotating fan.

Ananya heard someone knocking the door. She peeped into the mirror and looked at herself,to see if she was ok. She kempt up her hair and walked towards the door to see her good old friend Sona standing on the threshold. Sona was full of energy and was dressed in a loose red skirt and white tank top. Sona hugged Ananya and both sat on the sofa. In less than 3 minutes Sona learnt that Ananya was not all ok. Ananya asked some namesake questions about Sona's life and about her husband. Sona wouldn't give up and jumped into a series to questions.

"What’s wrong with you Ananya? You are not participating in our gang's group mail conversations also. Is it anyway related to Karthick?" Sona questioned.

"Yes" was the one word reply and Ananya was looking at the carpet.

"Where is he now??"

"Australia, went for a business meeting.He will be back only after 4 days"

"Did you fight with him?”

"No!!"

"Did he fight with you"?

"No!!"

"Is he not taking care of the children"?

"He loves them a lot"!!

"Then what’s the point?? Not taking care of you??”

"No!! He cares for me!!"

"Not taking you to places??”

"We do go out!!”

"Is he seeing someone else??"

"None"

Sona was laughing aloud and started to speak...."Is he having blood cancer or some sort of deadly disease???!!"(Sona was being very cinematic as she could think of no other option !!)

Ananya ignored this question and so Sona took it to mean as a no.

"Aarushi's murder case was less complicated than yours !! You are a mad lady Ananya!! What’s wrong with you when everything is okay with Karthick? I know he is a gem of a guy and you're lucky to have him as life partner. I thought you were made for each other. You are a pessimist. You are a cynic!!" finished Sona and took deep breaths!!

Ananya didn’t respond and kept staring at the red carpet.

Sona lost her temper and started vigorously shaking Ananya's shoulders, but in vain.

There was silence all over the house and the sound of the television occasionally broke the silence.

Sona knew, Ananya was broken.All she was trying was to do was to elicit some reasons for Ananya's strange behavior.

After a couple of minutes, Ananya finally gathered some energy to speak.
She stopped whining and started speaking.

"Even an active volcano under the sea, seems to be calm at the surface of the water but that does not mean everything is okay.If you don't even realize the problem, then the situation is even more worse and it becomes an incurable disease which might ultimately plague the relationship. Our relationship is like a volcano, you see the surface ,but I feel the heat down under. Karthick is a gem of guy, but he is not the same person I loved. He is good to me but that is not all that I am sufficed with. I want him to spend time with me and I want him to speak with me by looking into my eyes, I want him to shake shoulders with me, I want him to text me back with more love than I do. I want him to make me feel special each and every day. I might be silly but I don't care about that. What I want is nascent love and extreme pampering "

"Ananya, don't call this a reason for strange behavior. A person cannot be same at all the time. You have to enjoy the light but that does not mean you mourn over the dark. He might be busy or occupied with other important matters but that does not mean he is ignoring you or not giving you importance."

"I want the same Karthick back who was head over heels in love with me. Don't try to convince me." retorted Ananya.

Sona was left with no words. She still did not understand what it was all about and it was the like the hardest sudoku ouzzle she had ever encountered. The biggest mistake that Sona did was meeting Ananya.!!!!

Sona spent rest of the day with Prakriti and Shyam. She thought it was a bad idea to leave Ananya in such a pathetic condition. She texted her husband that she would stay back at Ananya's place.
Sona fed the kids and told a couple of Harry Potter stories and made them sleep.
Ananya thanked Sona for dropping by and for her companionship without which she would have felt very bad.

It was ten o' clock and Ananya slept on the couch. Sona left her undisturbed and slept along with the kids.

When the clock stuck 12 o' clock, Ananya was alarmed when she heard multiple sounds.She heard the calling bell ringing and also heard "Pehla Nasha". She searched for the source, but in vain. She sensed something sweet was going to happen and ran to the door. It was a sweet surprise for her. It was Karthick !! "Pehla Nasha " was running high and Karthick was at the doorstep. Karthick went on his knees and wished "Happy Birthday my love". She threw herself at him and hugged him tight. He kissed her on her head.

"I thought you forgot me" whispered Ananya while burying her face inside Karthick's overcoat.
Karthick ruffled her hair and said "you can take the life outta love but you can hardly the love outta life.
It would neither fade nor diminish, you will always be my princess!!"

There were many more surprises in for Ananya. Syed and Pinto also joined the party. Sona kicked Ananya and wished her happy birthday. The gloomy atmosphere faded in a flash of a second and it was a hell of a party for Ananya.

Half an hour later, they stepped inside the house. They made enough noise to wake up the kids too. Prakriti and Shyam wokeup to see their dad and jumped onto his shoulders .

Ananya asked Karthick , " how did you pull off such a party ?"

"It was all part of the plan. I rang up Syed and Pinto".

"And Sona??" puzzled Ananya.

Karthick smiled and she understood !!

"I love you like never before" whispered Ananya.

Curtain falls.!!

The story of a Glock !!

2012-05-06T02:05:00.002-07:00

The story of a Glock !!

Dec 27 2011

Norristown,

Pennsylvania

The hyperactive chill breeze was gently caressing the thick clouds above Norristown. The extreme weather conditions forged the water vapours to precipitate and resulted in splendid snowflakes. The symmetrical snowflakes wavered, did a freestyle ramp walk and gracefully hit the ground. The entire town was painted white.

Evening 7.00 PM

WTF !! was the initial feeling when I listened to the news. I pricked myself to check if it was a dream. Everything was right in place but I sensed something was wrong !!. Shock waves spread all over my body and made it numb.It was like entire world spinning on my head.

What happened 1 hour back ...!!!!

Evening 6.00 PM

After an another tiresome day at office, I strolled and managed to reach home. I picked the Times Herald, daily newspaper which was orphaned outside my house.The ringing mobile phone captured my attention and it was my maker who was calling me. Its always an elating feeling to hear Mom's voice. She asked me whether I can make home for this Pongal. I disappointed her and disappointed myself with a negative answer. I had a brief conversation with her and before I disconnected the line , I finished with saying "I really really want to see you Mom!!".

With a sudden flash of thought, increased my speed ,entered the room , booted my laptop and connected to the World Wide Web and started to watch the highlights of India Vs Australia, The Boxing day Test.

If not for cricket and interesting television series, I would have got bored to death in this foreign land. Peter Siddle , was the cricketer whom I was abusing like how ,back in India an angry auto rickshaw driver would abuse when you accidentally hit his vehicle. The reason -Very Simple, he claimed God's wicket. No wonder one gets a heart attack for the same and I was fortunate enough to be troubled with just a head ache.

Then it became quintessential for me to have a cup of coffee to abate the pain in my head.I stood up from my bed with minimal motions and went into my kitchen and opened the fridge to see DAMN !!!!!!! No milk !!

I exclaimed, "All I need is a cup of coffee" !!. I glanced at my watch to see the time. It showed quarter past six. It would hardly take 15 minutes to buy milk from the nearest WallMart and the second day of the test match was scheduled to start at 6.30. I had enough time to buy milk.

I picked my hoods then my IPod,without which half of the US population would have gone mad.

Shruti Hassan was crooning in my ears as I started to walk towards Walmart.

Walmart

Pennsylvania

One would definitely call it a brave attempt to step outside during freezing December and I managed to reach in 7 minutes. Wallmart is just an advanced version of BigBazaar.It welcomes you 24/7, but I prefer to go in the evening.

I hardly interact with anyone in Walmart except two people..One my favourite Lisa, A 65 yr old Granny who always welcomes me inside with a warm and gentle smile..

"Hey Nakul !!, How was ur Christmas? Had a gud time huh..???" she asked me with beaming eyes.

"Yeah..it was great.. one of my best experiences."

To be frank.. I didn't do anything in this long weekend.. I rejected Vegas trip for Boxing day test match..slept for the whole day..my conscience warned me to stop lying more.

"ok Lisa..see you while returning" I told Lisa.

My eyes searched for the second person.That’s Rasheeda from Islamabad.. cute counter girl..she was busy doing the billing stuff.I never interacted much with her.. I usually say “Hi” and she gives me a plastic smile and while giving away the bill ,finishes with saying “Have a nice time”. I always had a nice time seeing her say that. I got so used to it to the extent that, the pattern of her lips would moving when she says "Have a nice time" got registered in my brain and one of my hobby is to keep replaying the pattern.

She was short, fair, lean..wearing blue tops and black jean on that day.Probably dark blue

jean I guess. I always hated India-Pakistan partition for two things- One is for the reason that Indian batsmen had to face speedsters like Wasim,Imran,Waqar and Shoaib.The other one being Pakistani gilrs !! My God !! they have a considerably good proportion of beautiful gilrs in the blue planet and Rasheeda was no exception.With Rasheeda on my eyes and Shruti on my ears I started to shop.
Wall mart is a place where we can see most non Americans..mostly Indians and Mexicans.

Filled my shopping basket with two milk packets and proceeded to buy cauliflower.I was following a middle aged Indian, who was moving with a trolley full of items and also with a cute small girl running around him.She was lovely..she looked at me..I smiled at her and waved my hand sayin “Hi”..

She gave me a gaze and went near her dad without a response.

He was a middle aged man with a brown complexion and with a thick moustache.He was conversing in tamil and I overheard.He was speaking with his wife..found that with the tone he spoke in.

He was pickin up a rotten cauliflower.. I volunteered myself and said..”Athu nalla illa sir, vera edunga”(Don pick tat sir, pick other one).

He turned back and asked his wife over the mobile to hold for a minute..waved a smile at me.. and asked “Are you from Tamil Nadu..?”..”Yes. I am Nakul from Trichy”..

He said “Sanker from Kumbakonam”..I thought he will speak in Tamil..But my conversation fully went in English..I asked his daughter's name..He said”Shruti”.

“Shruti…..!” This name was crossing my day for the second time.. I smiled within..;).

I saw her.. she was running towards the bread section.. think she she was searchin for a muffin.. ..her Dad was calling her, but she was dodging past us as kids usually do.

I called her name” Hey Shruti..". She turned her face towards me and stayed still..!

I told her dad..”she s very pretty”...”Yeah like her Mother..” he replied with a gentle smile.

The very next moment his smile faded away and he was watching someone and his eyes were fixed.I sensed something is wrong and before I could react Shankar fainted and fell to the ground. He was bleeding, his skull was badly injured, he was gasping for his last breath.

In next few minutes.. I heard gun shots “ 5 to 6 times..”..I was hiding behind the vegetable stack.Shanker was lying still on the floor with a gun shot on his neck.Everything happened in a fermi second.

I kept myself away from the sight of the killer. A white man,wearing a black leather Jacket..6 feet tall…French beard,well built and kept shouting.. “Its time for all immigrants to leave American soil”.. then he shot an Mexican who was standing near the counter.
Rasheeda..!!! What happened to her ??
My heart was pounding inside and my eyes were searching for the billing section and it was desolated .
I sighed but it hardly lasted for a few seconds when I saw Rasheeda had fallen on the ground. Gun shot in the head and death was instant and vendetta all over the place.Fuck !!! Fuck !!! Panic !! Clamour !! Grief !! A bullshit mad killer, on a killing spree. It was a heart in the mouth situation for everyone who were alive !!

"Should i save anyone or should I save myself first !! "

Its also one such situation where one would easily be inspired of all the superhero movies in the likes of Spiderman,Batman,Ironman and Captain's Vaanchinathan.With great responsibility comes great power. With all such filmy thoughts , I rose from the vegetable stack to face the killer.His hand held pistol switched off my filmy thoughts and once again I went behind the vegetable stack.

He was screaming like hell..”Immigrants get out of America”.

My heart kept questioning me” Nakul are you an Immigrant?”..I replied..”no no.. I am here on L1b visa..he wont kill me”

That was really not funny !!.My Brain responded ”Idiot you are an immigrant.. he is searching for you only..better stay away from him.. else join Shankar”…

I hate my brain sometimes..it will not give me a solution but everytime it speaks it will project problems..:(

Heard a gun shot again.. one more body fell on the floor..”Shit Shit..Nakul U gonna die today..! was my inner voice.

Why the fuck I came to Wall mart today..
All needed was a coffee..
It all started because of Siddle.. if he had not taken Sachin's wicket..this wouldn have happened.
I knew , I became more cranky .!! ##

Shruti !! Where is she ?? .
She was standing near the bread section and she was crying loudly.. probably searching for her dad was my immediate conclusion.

It was at that time, that the confounding conversation ran through my mind.

My conscience said..”Nakul save her..Don't let tat cute girl die..!

My grey cells replied..”Nakul don’t do anything stupid..That psycho will not kill the small girl..but he will kill you if you move an inch..Don’t do it Nakul ..!

Conscience:”Nakul don’t be selfish..save her..if u die in this mission..Whole world will praise you..times of India will put an article on your name sayin Nakul lost his life saving a girl..You will be a hero in a day..”..

Grey cells retorted..”But Nakul u wont be there to read tat article..!”

I replied “I don care..”

I stood up fast..ran towards shruti…picked her up in both of my arms..when I was about to run..i heard..

“Easy easy young lad…don move an inch if you want to live in this world..” It was the Psycho Killer.

I disobeyed him and started running towards the vegetable stack. Once again heard a gun shot and a bullet passed my nose..damn I felt it..I stopped running..and looked at him..he was lookin more scary than before.

He asked me”U Desi…?..

Is he gonna ever beleive if I say I am a Native American??. I can neither say the truth nor lie. I stood still.

He was happy about finding the next victim…Shruti was huggin me tight..I felt her heartbeat.. it was so fast…I was hiding her face from looking her dad..infact from at anything..There was blood everywhere.

I sensed my end was near and the killer shouted at me in a tighter tone "So what is your last wish??!!"

”I wish I could see Sachin's 100^th ton..then.. need to see”Why this kolaveri video song..?..Oh god.. I forgot to email Vincent weng about d SQL script implementation…" was my inner voice !!.

I am gonna die in the hands of freakin psycho..!!

“Hey Desi..is she ur daughter…You want to live wid her.. or you want to join me..” Psycho said..

I replied nothing.I was standing still.. even shruti was lying idle on my shoulders.

"I will give you a chance to live..but you have to promise that you will leave America soon"..Psycho said.

I was not able to speak..felt a lump in my throat but my Brain was helping me to nod my head.

He took it as a positive response..and in the next second he shot himself in the head.He died on the spot.

He proved himself to be a real Psycho. Why was this catostrophe ? Why did he kill himself ? All such questions were running through my mind.

I started walikin towards the exit of Wall mart..Lisa was comin towards me..she hugged me..took me to a steel bench..made me to sit there.I saw her lips were moving..she was sayin something..but I didn't hear anything..my mind was totally blank..Shruti took her head away from my shoulder..I felt her tears on my shoulder..Lisa took her away from me.

I started walking towards the billing counter.Three bodies were lying on the floor..two strong Mexican lad and my favourite Pakistani Rasheeda .Her name badge was completely drenched in blood..I didnt move..I was seeing her face for almost five minutes.

It all happened in 10 mins.. the longest 10 mins of my life…He made me sit on the floor..I saw the ambulance parked in front of me..then some crowd..looking at me weirdly.

Then a lady cop took me in to the Police car..I saw the stretchers were carrying the injured and some carrying dead people. It was a horrible sight to see.Shankar was still holding his phone in his hand and they put him in an ambulance and Shruti was also inside the ambulance .I was looking at the ambulance till it disappeared from my sight.With a heavy heart , I started walking towards my home.

It was 7 PM when I reached home.

I was shivering inside and was staring at the milk packet. After a life threatening event, its obvious for anyone to be in meta state. I tried to relax myself by drinking a bottle full of water. I switched on the TV and tuned in the News Channel.
WTF !! was the initial feeling when I listened to the news. I pricked myself to check if it was a dream. Everything was right in place but I sensed something is wrong !!. Shock waves spread all over my body and made it numb.It was like entire world was spinning on my head.

The News Channel was showing the headlines "A Psycho on a killing spree at WallMart. 7 died and 3 injured". It was not the news that shocked , it was showing of my DEAD BODY on it. A couple of cops were carrying my dead body. The Psycho was also dead and so was Lisa.
-This was the news that was running on the channel.

"A software graduate named Nakul , lost his life when he was trying to save a kid's life. The Psycho shot him at the head and later shot himself and both died on the spot."

I saw the phone was ringing and it was my maker who was calling me. I answered the phone, but she didn't hear my voice. I heard her was voice. It was beautiful.

”I wish I could see Sachin 100^th ton..then.. need to see”Why this kolaveri video song..?..Oh god.. I forgot 2 email Vincent weng about d SQL script implementation…I COULDN'T SPEAK TO MY MOM" was my inner voice !!.

Now I am in the likes of Spiderman,Batman and Iron Man or maybe a tad better than them!!!

Happy Hours @Brigade Road

2011-11-25T23:24:00.001-08:00

SEASON 1: The Summer.

"Have you ever guessed how heaven would look like??..neither did I.But i am damn sure it would exactly look like my college."

"Hi ..this is Pranay." An ordinary guy with less complicated dreams but with extraordinarily mind boggling friends.This is our second year at Christ college in Bangalore. I am with B.Sc Physics. John with BBA. Kumble with Maths and Mayuri with Physics. Hold on....Hold on..just a clarification,,Mayuri is no A Beautiful girl. We were not that blessed to owe one such in our gang and that says...THIS IS OUR GANG(without a girl). We are united with life but divided with dreams.
To have a simple life. This is my wish
Mayuri.."the sporting soul". You name the sport..he would know about it and would give a half an hour lecture. He is the richest person in our gang.Son of a Minister(and that clarifies the previous statement). A freak and lives the life for the day.
Kumble.."The Hunk",,. Whether he is dressed or not but you can always see a guitar, clinging to his shoulders. To become a lead guitarist, his dream
John..."to put a ding in the universe". That's his tagline. Money and More money..to be a successful entrepreneur.
Reality is far from all these taglines. Lingering around the college, We managed to complete one successful year of college life. Our academics was less eventful but rest, we made it sure and MADE IT LARGE. We share the Hostel room, the tea, share the dresses, share the Kings and share the Life. We game, play cricket, chit-chat, watch movies .We had no competition among ourselves, but for one thing. When it comes to NFS Most Wanted, We become wild and fight with our heart and soul for the mighty PRO title.

It was another chill evening at Bangalore. We gathered in usual tea shop outside the college.
Mayuri started the hot topic.
"Doodes, you know whats happening with Kumble?"
Kumble blushed. Others puzzled and exclaimed.
"yesterday, a girl rang to him and proposed him".
I was taken aback and in fact my tea cup slipped and spoiled my shirt.
"Who is that girl Kumble?"
"I don't know. She addressed herself as Jenny and she told she saw me at the canteen and second time when i was performing in the college cultural. She appreciated my guitar skills and she fell in love with both me and my guitar."
It was that day i decided, to learn Guitar. Girls always have a soft corner towards "music" guys and i decided to capitalize on it.
"So, What you have decided?" i questioned him.
"Don't know..she will meet me this Tuesday. if i like her i will tell a yes " finished Kumble.
"Bravo,,That's it!!I am throwing a party tonight on behalf of Kumble" boasted Mayuri
"Are you game!!!!" was the energy.

-----------
It was half past seven,evening. We got ready for Mayuri's party. After an half an hour intense research, we zeroed Hard Rock Cafe(It was the cheapest we could find,C'Mon...its Mayuri's party). Drinking and driving is dangerous, so we opted for Bangalore Metropolitan Transport. In no less than half an hour we reached the destination. Kumble,John,Mayuri and I were in good spirits.Laughing and chafing,we went inside the cafe and got a corner table for four of us.Hard Rock Cafe was brimming with energy.The dim-light aambiance delighted the senses,absolute rock music energised the ear drums and beautiful girls increased our pulse rate. In short...it was heaven.We started to pour in our orders to the waiter..actually we were torturing him.
If my memory goes right and if i sequence it correctly this is what happened after that...
Level 1- This round was for Kumble. After all, its the main reason for this party. We wished him long and happy love-life.
Level 2- This one was for our Gang...long live our friendship,..
Level 3- This was for Anna Hazare(I really dont know how on this earth this topic cropped up). In fact we even decided to take part in the Mass Movement.
Level 4- This one was for Sachin Tendulkar..i remember some match was going on that time..

Everything was fit and fine till that time ..till I saw the remote table. In the dim-light, I saw a girl sitting all alone and having a drink. I invited myself to the that table and sat opposite to her. She raised her head to see me and she was kinda surprised. She blinked.
"Who are you...?" she exclaimed.
"An another ordinary guy" after giving a long pause "did you come here alone??"
"S"... was her reply
"If you don't mind...you can join our gang..." I offered
"Thanks and I do mind and I want to be alone.." She replied in a frustrated tone,
"Ok.cool".
I did not say anything for next few minutes. I was simply watching her.She had a round face, fair complexioned,dark eyes and she was kinda not lean.She wore a pink t-shirt and a blue Jean. She was busy with her drinks. I did not disturb her. I also noticed,her eyes were red. and she was trying to hide the tears, In one hand she was clutching the glass and other hand she was holding her mobile phone.
"My parents opted for a divorce"..she herself started the conversation.
"Thats really bad. Is it their final decision?" I tried to learn the situation.
"Yes.Many times i contemplated them to change the decision. I forced them, begged to them..all in vain.."
"Some are blessed to stay with them always...some have the opportunity to stay with them till they get married..some may get an occasional chance to meet them...and a few people never meet their parents in their entire life..its all what we cannot decide...try to live with what we are offered".I finished...
"So among these which category you fall??" she questioned..
After a pause for couple of minutes...I stabilized my voice and replied..."The last one"..
"You never met your father and mother till now??" she puzzled.
"Yes... when I was 8 months old, they died in a road accident.
Never I felt their warmth...
Never I tasted my Mom's food...
Never I spoke with them..laughed with them....
Never felt how it would be when father boasts your confidence....
I miss them,,,,miss them badly...I would rather say you are blessed to some extent" ... My eyes frequently forced me use the tissue paper.
"I don't know what to say"..she said in a broken voice...
"Ok...If you don't mind..I am leaving" I said.
"Yes,you can carry on..." she nodded/
I managed to reach my table. I was totally clueless in which level these guys were.Mayuri settled the bills.
It was twelve thirty. We hit the road and reached the hostel.

SEASON 2: The Winter
It was exactly three months later i met her once again. Lunch was over, we tried to catch some fresh air. Mayuri and I were roaming in and around brigade road. It was exactly opposite to Rex theatre I saw her. She was alone and was busy in selecting ear rings in the road-side shop. I told a short bye to Mayuri and crossed the road to meet her.

I said a "Hi" to her, which she neglected and continued her "selection process".She was done with the ear rings, paid, packed ,ignored me, crossed me and started walking towards the next shop.
I was hundred percent sure , she did it on purpose.
"Then why the hell did you kiss me on the other day??" I shouted at her.
She slowly reduced the pace and finally stopped walking and turned towards me and finally saw me.
"Are you speaking to me" she questioned.
"S" I replied in a tighter tone.
"Don't you dare tell me that." she refuted.
"No. You did kiss me."
"Look, I am conscious even when I am drunk". I was literally threatened by her beaming eyes.
"Then Why you behave as if we did not meet"
"Yes, I do know you. But that does not mean i should speak and entertain you whenever you speak to me."
"Very clever answer. Ok bye" I started walking away. I was totally clueless and was busy in decoding the situation. She was acting as if she is smart and totally irritated me.
"Stop" was the sound. I turned back to see, she was waving hands to me.
"Now what??" were the words from me out of frustration.
"Care for a coffee.??"
"Are you mad???"
"Hope so"..she was smiling.
I felt as if watching INCEPTION back to back, totally confused but liked the way it was going.
"Ok fine,we will go to CCD but you should pay the bill" I warned her.
"Never mind"
I another couple of minutes we reached the CCD at brigade road. CCD, indeed was happening. After a few minutes wait we got a seat. I dint speak to her. I was waiting for her to start the topic as I was not sure about her state of mind. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a black jeans and a sling bag. She was not exactly the way she looked at Hard rock cafe and the change was in a good sense.
"So what do you want?" she started
"I will go with cool blue".
She ordered a cool blue and an espresso.
We were waiting for drinks.
"So what you people did on that night?" she said in a much lighter tone.
"As usual. We started in another ten minutes after I said a bye to you. What did you do?"
"Same.I left as soon as you people left. You came with another three friends right?? Any special occasion or yet another boozing sessions??"
"It was special.One my friend was expected to be in a relationship."
Our orders were delivered. I was sipping the cool blue and she had espresso.
"Oh cool.Which college you are from?"
"Christ and you"
"The same" was her reply. It was indeed a surprise as I have never seen her in the college.
"So who is that girl with whom your friend is going to be paired?"
"Jenny. you know her?"
She was surprised to hear the name and was having a huge laughter. Once again I was confused. I totally hate these confusing conversations.
"Now why the hell are you laughing like a madcap" I shouted at her.
"Your friend name is Kumble right". This time I got irritated to the core and felt like giving a tight slap.But one thing was bothering me and that was how does she know my friend's name.
"How the hell do you know his name"
"It was a hoax" was her reply.
"Hoax?? why the hell you played with him and who all were involved in this" I refuted.
I felt sorry for Kumble. I was guessing what sort of reactions he would give for such things but I was sure he would take it light and continued the conversation.
"It was one fine night, we decided to give a prank call to Kumble as we were curious to know, how he would react for such things" She explained.
"What's your name" I questioned.
"All this while, you did not know my name. ok take it.My name is Surya" she responded.
"Surya, You are sick". I was totally displeased with her behaviour.
"Cool it, Why should boys have all the fun. If you want I will say a personal sorry to him as he is your friend and as we both are friends. We are friends right?" she questioned with a corner smile.
Now the million dollar confusion. Whether to ignore her or to extend the friendship hand. I decided to do the latter and extended my hand. We hand a brief handshake.
As per the memorandum of understanding, she paid the bills and we left the CCD.
We hit the road. She said a bye and left the place. I went back to hostel and explained the story to our GANG.

SEASON 3: The Love.

I got the opportunity to move in close quarters with her as we were in the same college. It was one month after the CCD incident , she asked my name. It looked kinda weird to me but I liked the weirdness in her. What initially sounded like a "hi" and "bye" turned to "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" and "byeeeeeeeeeeee" . The upper limit of 100 SMS per day seemed very less for us. I was totally occupied with her and the same was with her. Mornings appeared like extended nights and we became the esteemed customers for AIRTEL,PVR,CCD and Barista. As she promised, She said a sorry to John and sooner she was considered as a part of our GANG(with a girl).
I very well knew this is love,but what with her?How does she feel?Considering her weird nature into picture, these questions tortured me. Finally decided to pour out my emotions to her.
It was exactly 6 months later, we went to the CCD at brigade road. We got the same seat that we got when we came 6 months back and this time I promised her that I would pay the bill.
We placed a few orders and waited for the delivery.
"How is your preparations for the semester Pranay" she started the conversation.
"Very average, how about you?" I responded
"Good and planning to give GRE"
"Oh Cool". I replied. Is this the right time to break the ice? Shall I postpone it by 10 minutes? such questions kept circling around my head and finally I decided to speak out.

"I want to give my warmth to you..
I want to cook for you everyday...
I want to speak with you all the time....
I want to laugh with you
I want to boast your confidence when you are down...
I want to be your side...day and night..." she said holding my hands tightly.

YES, IT WAS SHE WHO SAID.
The joy of tears started to peep out from our eyes.I held her hand tightly and looked her eyes for the next couple of minutes. Those minutes were really divine.It was sublime. Indeed it was heaven like. How does it feel like when you wanted to propose , the girl stops you and she says those beautiful words. It was a feeling of content. I decided to do what my heart desperately wanted at that time.Unmindful of the CCD atmosphere, i held her hands tightly and leaped to reach her lips. She remained motionless. I placed my lips on her lips. I saw her closing her eyes and I could sense my tears rolling through my eyes and hit her cheeks.
Such moments make the life more meaningful and indeed life is nothing but a collection of such beautiful moments.
The camera slowly zooms out of CCD and the curtain falls.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

3 Acts of Love. Act 3 : Bangalore-Chennai-Hyderabad

2011-05-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Juice of Act 1 and Act 2.
Nikhil , a software engineer by profession works at Bangalore. Travels to Chennai for his sister’s wedding. He meets Aradhana at the wedding.
Through his uncle Raju Mama ,Nikhil gets the opportunity to accompany Aradhana. Avoiding his sisters “mapillai azhaipu”, Nikhil takes Aradhana to city center to purchase a gift for Aradhana’s cousin. Nikhil capitalizes this stage and takes Aradhana to Marina.

Act 3

The person who was God like to Nikhil a few hours ago, turned to be his Villain.
It was “Raju Mama” who was calling him. Nikhil was in double mind, whether to attend the call or ignore it. Aradhana insisted him to attend the call. Nikhil finally decided to attend the call and he pressed the answer button.
“Nikhil, where are you. It’s been 2 hours since you and Aradhana left. Where are you and where is Aradhana. Did you forget about yours sisters mapillai azhaipu. People are asking for you and Aradhana. Start immediately and reach mandapam as soon as possible” shouted Raju Mama.
“Ya ya. We are on the way. We got stuck up in the traffic. We will reach in another half an hour.” Stammered Nikhil.
“Fast, but you have to answer many people.” said raju mama and he cut the phone angrily.
“Any problem??” questioned Aradhana.
“Ya ya.. I had to do some rituals in my sister’s “mapillai azhaipu”. My parents were searching for me. I was not available. Now they are angry on me.” Said Nikhil.
“I am extremely sorry.” Said Aradhana in a much sweeter voice.
“Not an issue. Actually I loved this evening. I have to thank you.” Flirted Nikhil.
Aradhana responded with a smile.
“We will leave” said Ardhana.
Nikhil halfheartedly left Marina.
They reached City Centre parking area. Nikhil started his bike and she sat behind him.
The traffic was very high but there was no traffic between Nikhil and Aradhana.
There was a dead silence between them.
There was a red signal ahead. Nikhil stopped the bike.
“In how much time we will reach the Mandapam” asked Ardhana.
Nikhil turned back and he saw her face and started speaking.
“In another ten minutes. And I LOVE YOU” said Nikhil in a breaking voice.
Finally the Ice was broken. He was waiting for her reply. Aradhana was puzzled and she didn’t expect Nikhil would be this brutal in proposing her in a busy traffic signal. She started sweltering, not because of Chennai’s hot Sun rays but because of Nikhil’s striking words.
Buses ,bikes and Cars started to horn. Unmindful of the signal, Nikhil kept looking at her.
“ Hey hey hey Green Signal” shouted Aradhana.
Nikhil started the bike. Once again there was a dead silence .
This time Nikhil started the conversation. “Was that Green Signal for me?”
“That was for the road. You are riding .Kindly concentrate on the road and not on me .” pleaded Aradhana.
Aradhana was restless.
They reached the mandapam. Mapillai Azhaipu was over and reception was going on.
Mandapam was flooded with people. Loads of bright decorative lights. Loads of people. Loads of events. Everyone seemed to be busy.
As soon as they reached the mandapam, Ardhana said a bye to him and walked towards her room in the Mandapam.
Consequences of Nikhil’ s action:
• Poor raju mama was loathed by Nikhils parents for sending him out.
• It was only during school times Nikhil was scolded this bad. He was treated like how a Pakistani terrorist would be treated in the Indian Prison. Nikhil’s entire family abused him.
• Finally, Ardhana. Ardhana’s parents advised her not to move with strangers.
Nikhil finished his dinner and was sitting in the mandapam balcony. He was expecting a reply from Aradhana. Couple of times he tried to contact her but she was with her parents. He was lost in thought. He was lost to Aradhana. He slept, sitting in the chair.
Next day Early Morning.
It’s the D day. It was an early Muhurtham (the most auspicious hour) for her sister, scheduled at 5.30 AM. The purest nadhaswaram and the resounding mridangam created a beautiful medley and broke the morning silence.
His family as well as bride’s family were all set for the grand occasion. Nikhil hastily got ready for the upcoming important ritual. He should not and did not want to miss this. Nikhil was wearing a cream color trousers and a blue shirt.
It was exactly quarter to five, Nikhil saw Aradhana at the Main hall, for the first time on that day.
She was climbing down the stairs. She was wearing a light red silk cotton sari, let loose her hair, lips were glossy. Her eyes were as bright as the morning sun. She carried a pleasant smile which could mesmerize anyone. Nikhil was no exception. He fell flat seeing her on sari. He felt like proposing her once again. His ego stopped. He continued with his assigned work.

It was exactly at 5.30 A.M when Akash tied the Nuptial knots.
Nikhil was standing besides his sister.
“Ketty Melam”(the most auspicious music for the South Indian wedding) thundered the entire mandapam. It was at such an auspicious time, Nikhil felt someone touching his hand. He turned back to see ARADHANA. She came near to him and whispered “That Green Signal was for you and not for the Road”. She smiled and her eyes once again conveyed the love she had for him.
Nikhil was high. He smiled, shouted, cried, walked fast, ran slowly, spoke rubbish, he sang and finally his love was acknowledged and reciprocated with greater sense. He fast forwarded his life with Aradhana. He visualized their wedding, honey moon, sweet pillow talks, cool morning walks, refreshing shopping, watching movies, dining, their house, their kids and all the sweetest things in the world.
They met where ever and whenever it was possible. They had their time of life.
Lunch was over. His sister was free in her room. He decided to tell her about Ardahana.
Nikhil met his sister. He told her about all the things. Prarthana congratulated him for getting into a relationship .
“SO , You saw her when I was receiving Akash .You got to know her and started moving close with her when my reception was on. She accepted you during my Muhurtham. I could see lots of similarities between my wedding and your love story. ” said Prarthana.
“You are a genius Prarthana. That’s true. Even I did not notice.” Exclaimed Nikhil.
“Your love story seems to be very fast” said prarthana.
“I personally think it’s very slow” smiled Nikhil.
“Enough… Put a temporary pause. I will speak to parents. Now they are very angry on you. Till then wait patiently” advised prarthana.
“sorry, Prarthana I have already planned and I have some plans for tonight” .
Unmindful of Prarthana’s advise, Nikhil left the place.
It was surprisingly a cold evening at Chennai. Nikhil was searching for Aradhana. He wanted to have a hot coffee with her. Nikhil could not cut the mustard, and started dialing her number.
Aradhana attended his call.
“Hey Aradhana ,Where are you, I am searching for you”
“Sorry ,I am in my room. First floor. Nikhil I forgot to say .. I am leaving tonight to Hyderabad.”
“But you told me in the afternoon that you are starting by tomorrow!!”
“Yeah, but don’t know what parents thought. They are asking me to start tonight”
“This is unfair Aradhana. OK fine, with whom are you travelling?? Alone??”
“No!!! My uncle is travelling with me. Travelling by bus. Would you come with me for Sendoff??”
Nikhil got totally irritated with her response.
“No Aradhana. Got some work. Bye” Nikhil hung up the phone.
Nikhil never called it a day. He thought the day was still ON and even in his wildest imagination, he never thought Aradhana would draw such a plot. He wished to converse with her. He wanted to spend time with her. The HOT time, just after the proposal is always special. Nikhil never wanted to miss the sensational season. The only option left with Nikhil is travelling to Hyderabad, and he decided to do that.
Nikhil told his parents that he has to leave urgently to Bangalore. Unaware of Nikhil’s intentions his parents agreed. He told an express bye to everyone, including his Sister and left the mandpam .
It was half past eight. Nikhil reached Central Railway Station. He tried to get a ticket to Hyderabad but failed in the attempt. He managed to get a ticket in Bus. The bus was scheduled at 10. He boarded the bus in time. He took his phone and dialed Aradhana’s number. There was no answer to his call.
In a journey of 14 hours, Nikhil pulled out his phone 27 times to see if Aradhana called him back, but he was disappointed all the times.
The Next Day Morning.
It was a hot and sunny day at the Biryani City. Nikhil was at the Jubilee bus stand.
Here comes the million dollar question. How, When and Where he can meet Aradhana??
Nikhil dialed her number to get an answer for the million dollar question. Aradhana did attend the call and started to speak.
“Hi Nikhil, sorry for not dialing you back. I was busy. But I have one surprise to share!!” whacked Aradhana.
“What!! You too” puzzled Nikhil.
“Guess what!!! I am in Bangalore” surprised Aradhana.
“Hey whaattt!! Are you serious??” puzzled Nikhil.
“Yeah. I am serious. Yesterday, my uncle who was about to accompany me, cancelled his travel plans. So it became easy for me to change the direction. I wanted to spend time with you. So came to Bangalore. So tell me Nikhil, when and where we can meet?? How about lunch??”
“Aradhana, I am in Hyderabad.”
“Are you joking Nikhil??”
“No Aradhana, I came to Bangalore for the same reason , for which you went to Bangalore.”
“You have become insane Nikhil”
Nikhil was laughing like hell. He controlled his laugh and started to speak.
“You know the story of The Gift of Magi??”
“And what the hell is that Nikhil??”
“Della and Jim , a poor couple but left with loads of love for each other. In a Christmas eve, they wished to express their love through gifts. Della had a beautiful long hair, Jim had a gold watch. These were their only assets. Jim wanted to have a chain for his watch. Della decided to gift him a watch chain, but left with no money she decided to sell her long hair. She went to a parlor, cut her hair, and sold it. Della bought an attractive watch chain for Jim’s watch and presented him. Far from her expectation, Jim was shocked to see Della’s short hair and he was even more surprised to see Della’s gift. Jim, selling his gold watch, gifted Della a pair of fancy combs which Della wished to have for her long hair. ”
Aradhana interrupted.
“Stop the bullshit story Nikhil. I am leaving to Hyderabad tonight,9 P.M.I would be waiting for you at The Forum from 7 P.M onwards. Try to come before that. I want to KISS you”. She hung up the phone.
Nikhil could not believe what he heard. He glanced at his watch to see,11 A.M.
He asked the nearby person “HOW TO REACH THE AIRPORT.”

Nikhil, reached bangalore in time and got his first KISS.
------------The Happy Ending--------:)

3 Acts of Love

2011-01-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Act 1 | Nikhil goes to Chennai

7 PM, Friday,21st November,2010.
International Tech Park, Bangalore was hustling and bustling as it always used to be. Baffled Software Engineers on one side and Selfish Managers on the other side, there was no shortage for events and happenings. Nikhil was glued to his seat in the 6th floor at Pioneer building. He knew the clock was ticking and it might get late for his bus. He has to reach Madivala by 8 PM to catch his bus to Chennai.
He was assigned the task of resolving a high priority issue. He tried all possible solutions but nothing worked. With loads of frustration, he decided to go out for a smoke. An idea struck him when he was smoking, not on how to solve it but how to get rid of it. In the software industry, you might not know how to solve but you should always know how to get rid of it and make it as “OTHERS BABY”. He convinced his poor fellow colleague and outsourced the work to him. With a sigh of relief, Nikhil took his bag, came outta his office and started towards Madivala.
Nikhil reached in time and boarded the Chennai bus. He got a window seat. He always loved window seats .It was a cool and pleasant night. The white lady in the dark sky, peeping through the window, gentle cool breeze caressing his face and with soothing melodies turned on in the head phones, Nikhil always loved such journeys. It’s a seven hours travel. The bus was sailing through the busy roads. Nikhil was sailing through his thoughts. He was very excited about the next three days. He is going for his sister’s wedding. He thought, next three days would be promisingly great fun for him. His sister Prarthana is getting married this Sunday. He sensed that his phone was ringing. He took the phone from his pocket to see that it’s his sister who was calling. He attended the phone.”
“Hi Nikhil where are you?” she questioned.
“The bus started, will be reaching by tomorrow morning” He replied.
“OK, come safe, I would wake up soon to receive my sweet brother” she smiled.
“Who is that stupid fellow??” Nikhil questioned with a corner smile.
“A stupid fellow who is travelling from Bangalore to Chennai for attend his sister wedding”. She said and cut the phone.
Nikhil laughed inside and put the blanket over his head and started sleeping.
Next day Morning.
The bus reached Koyambedu in its scheduled time. Nikhil got a bus to adyar and reached his home.
Two huge banana trees were affixed at both ends of the gate. Its customary to do that as it signals to others that a family function is coming up shortly .Main door of the house was decorated with the continuous streak of mango leaves tied along a rope. Nikhil got excited to see all such decorations and entered the house. Their house was flooded with relatives. He greeted everyone and went to kitchen to kiss his Mom. As Nikhil expected, his mother assigned him high priority works and this time he cannot dodge. He patiently listened to his mother and gave her an affirmation that he would complete the work. He asked for his father and sister. His mother replied that father has gone to the Mandapam(Marriage Hall) and sister is in the bedroom. He rushed to the bedroom to see his sister.
She is the hero for the near future. Prarthana was surrounded by old age buddies of the family.
Prarthanas face blossomed on seeing Nikhil. He acknowledged it with a smile.
“Yesterday, I forgot to ask a question. Who was sitting nearby you in the bus Nikhil?” she exclaimed.
“You know right, that I am an unlucky person in such things. An old man prarthana”. He frowned.
“Don’t worry , you will get a girl in this wedding occasion.” Prarthana assured.
“If such a thing happens then I will give you…… sorry WE will give you a grand treat in Le Meridian….Deal”
“Sure??” prarthana asked for a confirmation.
“Sure, by the way what’s the plan for the day?” he asked.
We will be shifting to the Mandapam shortly, then at 10 am there is a ritual.
Whats that?
“A small ritual in which our family will invite the bridegroom and his family to the Mandapam”.
“Tell it straight that it’s to welcome your sweet heart” Nikhil laughed.
Prarthana blushed.
A Wedding Occasion is always distinctly special to everyone. For the parents, it’s an occasion filled with responsibilities and a deep inner joy. For the old people, it’s the time they can see their thick and thin and speak about the black and white times. For the children, it’s the time they would be set free for endless fun and shuttling themselves through the Mandapam.
What this occasion is gonna bring for Nikhil….???
With such thoughts, Nikhil sat in a window seat in the Tempo Traveller, and started towards the mandapam. Amidst the busy streets of T.Nagar, they managed to reach the mandapam in time.
His parents were arranging for the upcoming Himalayan Task of receiving their In-Laws.
We can even have a debate on which is more stressful- Launching a rocket or Receiving the In-Laws. There is nothing to wonder even if the latter wins in the debate.
The function stared. Mridangam and Nadhaswaram alarmed the people that the functioned has started.
Nikhil’s parents where in highly tensed mood as if India -Pakistan match was running high.
Nikhil’s sister ‘s in-laws arrived to the Mandapam at the right time.
A grand “Arati” was performed to the bride by Nikhil’s parents. A warm welcome was given to the in-laws.
Prathana received his would-be Akash with a gentle smile.
A black Chevrolet sedan stormed the Mandapam. Nikhil was standing at the entrance of the mandapam.
A middle aged couple got down from the car followed by a young, charming ( include all possible positive adjectives in English ) GIRL. He intentionally received her with a bigger version of smile. She acknowledged with a gentle nod. His heart and mind were perfectly in sync with each other in playing all hit love songs. It took some time for Nikhil to come to ground state from excited state. He liked the feeling and cherished every second.
She crossed him and went inside the Mandapam with her parents.
Now the million dollar question is how to approach her and how to move close with her????.
“Mapillai alzhaipu” and Betrothal function were scheduled for the evening and there were Six hours more for the function.
While his parents and sister were occupied with the marriage tension, Nikhil was completely in a different world. He got to know that her name is Aradhana. He kept followed her like a Hutch Dog. This graceful work occasionally disturbed by Nikhil’s parents and relatives as they assigned some work to him.
It was when half an hour to go for the start of the function; Nikhil was told by his maternal uncle that “Raju mama” was asking for him. Nikhil , very reluctantly snailed through the steps and reached first floor to meet “Raju mama”.
Mr.Raju, a man of forties, tall and an active gentleman. Nikhil greeted “Raju mama”. “You have to do me a favour Nikhil, Will you do??” questioned Raju mama. Nikhil told a half hearted “yes” to him and asked for what he should do. “A person from In-law side wants to buy a gift and the person is new to Chennai , so can you assist ??” thus raju finished.
He did not want to miss her sister’s betrothal and “Mapillai azhaipu”.
“Prarthana’s function would begin shortly and I don1’t want to miss that .I should be here mama” told Nikhil.
“Oh.. is it.. ok.. I will tell her” said Raju mama.
The key word for Nikhil in the last sentence was “ HER“.
His heart was pounding inside and he portrayed himself to be very casual and asked
“WWWho is that mama??”
“You might not be knowing her. She is Aradhana”. Replied Raju mama.
As soon as he heard the word “Aradhana” ,Nikhil was reacting like how a hard core rock music lover would react when Linkin Park does a live performance with this high voltage bass guitar.
Raju was wonderstuck to see Nkhil’s reaction and he thought Nikhil was suffering from any serious disorder.
“Are you OK” resounded Raju.
Nikhil controlled his emotions and replied “yes am alright and I won’t mind in assisting her , I will make sure I would be back before the function.”
“That’s cool Nikhil, I was very much worried about how I would say a no to the in-laws, wait I will introduce her to you” said Raju Mama

Act 2 | Hyderabad becomes Dearer.

“Raju Mama”, The God for Nikhil now. It would never be an astonishing thing even if Nikhil raises a Big temple for the one and only “Raju Mama”.
He went inside the in-laws room and took Aradhana along with him.
“Hi Aradhana, he is Nikhil, Prarthana’s brother”
“Nikhil , she is Aradhana, Akash’s maternal uncle’s daughter” Raju introduced .
Nikhil controlled all his emotions and spoke in a very formal way to Aradhana.
“But how would I take her out” questioned Nikhil to Raju Mama.
“Don’t worry Nikhil, take my bike.Its parked before the Mandapam office room and the number is
TN 45 A 6349 ” said the one and only “Raju Mama”, the God for Nikhil.
“ Hi Aradhana.Its already four ‘o’ clock. we wil leave right now , is that ok??” questioned Nikhil to Aradhana.
“That’s perfectly fine with me. We will leave now” said Aradhana.
Nikhil imagined it would be a great ride in the bike and he personified himself to be Vettayadu Vilayadu Kamal Hassan and Aradhana to be Kamalini Mukherjee.
With all such “ROMANTIC” imaginations they came near the Mandapam office room .Nikhil got a big blow when he found ”Raju mama”’’s bike.
It was a rusty old
%%%%%%%%%% TVS 50 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%.

Aradhana could not control his laughter. Nikhil was terribly embarrassed . He mumbled and managed the situation.
He asked her to wait there and he promised her he would return in another five minutes.
He managed to get a good REAL-bike from one of his relative and returned the TVS 50 key to Raju Mama.
Hopes of “Partha Mudal naley …..” was restored.
He ignited the bike’s engine and asked her to sit.
They hit the T.Nagar road and Aradhana started the conversation.
“Where are we going??”
“City Centre Landmark. You could find good gifts at landmark” said Nikhil.
“Landmark!! That’s cool” smiled Aradhana.
Nikhil enjoyed her smile through the rear view mirror.
Aradhana noticed when Nikhil was watching her through the rear view mirror.
She sensed he was bit restless. When a guy is restless, when a guy is ready to take a girl for a long ride even when his sister’s betrothal function is gonna occur in another half a hour, when he is watching her smile through the rear view mirror… what else can it be other than the beautiful four letter word.
Aradhana is not a dumb girl, not to notice all these things. She knew he is interested in her.
They reached City Centre. Parked the vehicle and walked towards Landmark.
“Raju mama told you are new to Chennai?? Is it” asked Nikhil.
“yeah, This is the first time I have come to Chennai. I was born and brought up at Hyderabad” said Aradhana.
“Oh, good, you are studying??”
“No, finished my engineering two years back and currently working at Deloitte, Hyderabad. And you??” questioned Aradhana.
“Finished my engineering three years back and currently working at IBM,Bangalore”.
“Bangalore!! Cool. I just love Bangalore” she exclaimed.
“You are most welcome to Bangalore. Come down once, I will be your official Travel Guide.” Knotted Nikhil.
“I have been to Bangalore many times” she retorted.
“Oh, that’s cool” managed Nikhil.
They entered Landmark.
“So,what are you gonna buy and for whom” asked Nikhil.
“ Gonna buy for Akash, you give me some suggestions” said Aradhana.
“How about a marble statue of a wedding couple??” questioned Nikhil.
Aradhana was pleased with Nikhil’s idea and credited him saying he has a good taste.
They started searching for such statues. After half an hour of intense search, they got a beautiful marble statue of a wedding couple. Aradhana billed and they climbed down to reach parking area .
“This is the first time you are coming to Chennai right. Merina Beach is near by only.Shall we go there” questioned Nikhil.
Aradhana was 200 percent sure about her guess. She was expecting he would propose to her at any time and she anticipated the probability of he proposing in a beach is very high.
“How far is it?” she questioned.
“Just a five minutes’ walk, we can return in an hour to the Mandapam”
“That must be fine ” said aradhana.
They started walking towards the Merina beach.
Road traffic was on its peak. For the first time Nikhik touched Aradhana. He held her hands and guided her while crossing the busy roads. Nikhil for the first time in his life appreciated Chennai Road Traffic as it helped him to touch her . He felt as if he had 10 continuous Takila’s. The feeling was immeasurable. Priceless. Beyond imagination and Divine. Nikhil enjoyed every moment.
They reached Merina. They sat in a least inhabited place. A beautiful evening in the beach and Aradhana besides him… what else he needs in his life. Nikhil was thoroughly enjoying every minute.
Ardhana started the converstion.
“Shall we leave…”
Nikhil was shocked as if she told the four letter bad word.
“Why so soon, just now we reached right” convinced Nikhil.
“Then It would be late for Mapillai Azhaipu” said Aradhana in a feather soft voice.
“That’s ok.. Never mind about that” said Nikhil without minding the consequences . He said an internal sorry to Prarthana for missing her Mapillai Azhaipu.
“You usually come here?” questioned Aradhana.
“Not frequently, If I come I prefer coming alone. It’s a beautiful feeling , relaxing before the busy waves and gazing the sky.”
“Oh… then now I must be disturbing your privacy ” said aradhana.
“Not really, I thought it would be good if we go to Merina” explained Nikhil.
“Am honored” said Aradhana.
“The pleasure is mine” reciprocated Nikhil.
There was a dead silence between them.
This time Nikhil started the second innings.
“When I first saw you at the mandapam entrance, I thought you would be a nerd, full of attitude and a bit rude but now you seem to be very calm, polite and adorable”
“thanks for the compliment and when I first saw you at the mandapam I thought you were working for that Happy Dent advertisement” giggled Aradhana.
“You noticed me when you entered the mandapam” questioned Nikhil.
“Ya ya…by the way anyone would have noticed you. I don’t now why but you were all smiles” exclaimed Aradhana.
Nikhil could imagine how he would have looked like when he was all smiles.
Nikhil thought this is the right time to tell her the “ALL SMILES” were just for you and he thought to propose to her.
When he was about to start, Nikhil discovered his phone was ringing aloud. He hastily took the phone from his jean pocket. Finally, Nikhil received that “Terrific ” call .
……… to be continued..

Perfect Strangers

2010-09-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

Perfect Strangers.

September 6.
A new day was dawning at Madurai. Dark skies were slowly replaced with strong yellow rays. Ragavan was active even in his 60's,he collected his daily newspaper copy and entered the home. Seeta(Mrs.Ragavan) was busy at the kitchen. "Did he woke up? "asked Ragavan. "No,I will wake him up" replied Seeta. Seeta rushed to the bedroom and woke up Krishna(Seetas son).Krishna dozed off twice before he finally got up.
Krishna works as a Marketing Executive for Ashok Leyland at Mumbai. He demanded a cup of coffee from his mother. "Krishna, do you remember the days plan?" questioned Seeta. "Yes Mom, I do. We have to go to the girl's house about whom we were discussing yesterday. Right?"." Yeah krish, she is a beautiful girl and you both can make an excellent pair." "Stop it mom, you people never seem to understand what I am running through, have empathy on me. By all means I cannot marry a stranger. I don’t know even an A of that stupid lady and you people start imagining a life with her" retorted Krishna .His mother refuted him saying all the positive things about the girl. His mother told all the good old traditional dialogues to convince him. He was not convinced. His mother lost her temper and finished the conversation by saying "Krishna, You are 28 years old. Its your inability of not finding a girl till date. You could not woo any girl. I do not know whether you tried or not but the fact is YOU ARE SINGLE and now it's our duty to find a girl for you. So co-operate with us today. We will go there, if you do not like then right away we will leave the place." .Krishna sighed but he could not control his laughter.
He glanced at his mother and went to his bedroom. His eyes were fixed on the diary. He had a practice of filing the daily happenings when he was studying standard five. He took the dairy and scanned through the pages and started reading September 6th page.

"Good evening my diary. Today I got scolding from my math teacher for not completing my home work. You very well know that I don’t like math. I hate it. I hate Padma teacher also. I could not see swat cats and Scooby doo because of math imposition. Morning, when I was going to school with my mother, I saw one small boy begging for money. He was wearing a torn shirt. His face was dull. He had a picture of sun drawn on his right arm. When I asked his name , he told that his name is Muthu. My mother asked me not to speak with him and pulled me away from him. As usual mother asked me not play cricket in evening with "exam pads", and not to fight with Sundar, which I perfectly did. Tomorrow Lakshmi will be returning to school after five days of leave. jolly jolly.good bye diary".

Krishna closed his diary and laughed at his innocence. His mother commanded him to get ready for visiting the girl's house. He got ready. As usual, his parents got ready before him and were waiting in the car. He got into the car. The driver started the car. His parents were silent and were keeping their fingers crossed as they were puzzled about what the day has for them. Krishna broke the silence. He asked his mother about the three conditions that he has. "I know it very well Krishna. First one is if you don’t like the girl at the very first look then you will leave the place right away. Second one, if you are ok with her then you would want to spend atleast an hour with her to decide and the last one being, she should be ready to travel abroad with you. Am I right??" she questioned. Krishna gave a positive answer. His mother responded to him saying "Krishna, I am ok with your conditions except the second one. The girl's family seems to be very traditional. I am not sure whether they will agree with this one hour condition and all. You observe her and decide."."No Mom, I can't compromise with my conditions." His father was just a spectator and he was watching them fight. Before they could arrive at a solution, their car reached the Girl's house.
The girls house was very near to South Tower of Meenakshi Temple.
They were greeted by the girl's parents. Krishna got a special welcome from the girls father. He replied him with a name sake smile. Ragavans entered the Girl's house. It was like an ordinary middleclass family house. He could see loads of pictures of Gods and Goddesses. Krishna being an atheist totally hated all such non sense. He tried to maintain his cool and composure. His parents and the girl's parents had a formal conversation. The girl's parents were enquiring Krishna about his nature of work. He responded them. When the conversation was on, Krishna was disturbed by the Girl's very first appearance. "She is Archana, my daughter" said the girl's mother. Archana addressed the ragavans with a gentle smile. She smiled at Krishna too. She was wearing a blue saree. She had a pony tail. Muskara defined her eyes. Round faced girl, she was pretty and neat.
Krishna could not wait to speak with her. Krishna kept pestering his mother about the second condition. His mother never listened to him and she acted as if she was busy with the girl's mother.
Archana interrupted the conversation and she told to Ragavan that she wants to speak with Krishna for a while. Seeta was taken aback and she took some time to return normal. Ragavan agreed for archana's proposal. She came near Krishna and asked him "shall we go out?." Krishna was a bit nervous, saw his mother. His mother was smiling at him. He gained some confidence and responded to her "Sure".
They came out of the house. Krishna started the conversation. "So,Where are we going??" "To Meenakshi Temple" she responded. Krishna got totally irritated with her and told her he is not having any intention to worship. "That’s not a problem, we will just talk for sometime and we will leave the place. Anyway, I will come this evening for worshiping" she told.
Krishna thought that was the most stupid place one could ever go for such things. With all such thoughts lingering around his gray cells and white cells, they reached the South Tower of Meenakshi Temple. The tower was as gigantic as it always used to be. They entered the Temple. After many years, Krishna experienced the tranquility of the beautiful temple. He loved the temple but hated worshipping. He could see her chanting some slokas. He kept following her. He totally hated it. They stepped down a few steps ,crossed the outermost corridor and stepped inside the main course to see the picturesque Golden Lotus Lake. The lake was amidst the gigantic towers of the temple. The golden tower on one side, sculptured towers on the other side and with cool breeze flying across the lake, Krishna started liking the place. She walked towards the lake and sat on the corridor. He sat near her. She started the conversation saying "Krishna, To tell you frankly, if I don’t like you then I will tell right at the face."
"That’s ok, so do I" he replied back.
"What are you upto, I got to know you have done an MBA. Which college and what specialization?" questioned Krishna.
Krishna very well knew that was the most stupid way to start a conversation.
"IIM Bangalore, HR" she said with a pride.
"Great, where are you put up now?" questioned Krishna.
"I am coordinating the SHG at Chennai .I also work for child education and against child labor "she replied.
"SHG, What's that?" he questioned back.
"Self Help Groups, Micro-finance program for the rural women." she explained.
"Sounds good, and you seem to be very religious. I thought you would take me to some restaurants, I heard, down the line, they have opened a new café coffee day shop". he said.
She smiled and said "You seem to watch many movies. I had no plans of marriage, it's out of my parents compulsion I agreed for this. I saw your photo, felt like giving a thought".
"I am honored." he said.
"Wait, don’t be hasty. I have not decided yet" she smiled.
"Have you decided on me?" she shooted.
That was a tricky question. Krishna never faced such a difficult question in recent past.
He was baffled at the question. Whether to say an Yes or No. Yes or No.
"Krishna, what are you thinking. I remember I asked you a question." she said.
"Yes, I have decided". He replied.
"Whether it’s a Yes or No?" She was curious.
"It’s a big Yes." He smiled.
"So where are we settling down." She questioned.
"We??? so is it an yes from your side too?" Krishna exclaimed.
"Yes." she said with an iota of smile in her lips.
Krishna was electrified. She was too.
"Krishna , reply to my question, where are we settling down?"
"Anywhere abroad." he replied.
"Sorry, Krishna, I am strongly rooted at Chennai. Its better we settle down there. You have any concerns? "
"Absolutely No! I love Chennai" he said, throwing his third condition to dust bin.
They exchanged their phone numbers.
"Shall we leave?" she asked.
"Yeah, but we will worship and go" He said.
"Now that’s a flirt I would say" she guffawed.
"Yes, I know" he blushed.
"Not required, I will come in the evening" she smiled.
They left to Archana's home.
Their parents were happy about what happened.
They fixed the engagement date.
Ragavans said a bye and got into the car.
Archana waved her hand , Krishna reciprocated with a smile and got into the car.
Krishna's mother started the conversation saying "Krishna, so you like her?"
"Yes mom, she is good"
"Good my boy, btw all your conditions were met?"
"Yes, both of my conditions were met" he said.
"Third?" she puzzled.
"Mom, I had only two conditions" he smiled.
His mother sniggered.

That night, his parents traveled to Chennai.
He was home alone.
He finished his dinner and he was above to sleep.
He closed all the doors. Switched off the lights. He sent a first good night message to her and slept. The clock struck at half past twelve. A strange noise disturbed his sleep,
He woke up and checked the doors. They were open. Krishna confirmed that someone has entered his house. There was a knife lying down in the table, took it as a self defense weapon. Without making any noise he went to his parent's bedroom. It’s the place where the cash and jewels are kept. When he just entered the room, he got a strong blow from a stranger. He fell to the floor. Before the stranger could do a second attack, he gained some energy and hurled a wooden flower vase that was to his side. It hit the strangers head and he fainted. The stranger was bleeding. Krishna was alarmed when he saw the stranger's right arm; it was tattooed with a sun picture. He guessed whether it could be the small boy who begged for money when he was doing standard five. He searched for the strangers pocket to get any details about the stranger. He confirmed his doubt when he saw his left arm. It was tattooed with the name "MUTHU". The innocent boy has now turned to be a thief.
He informed the local police station and the police arrested Muthu.
Next day, he called Archana and told her about Muthu, an innocent boy becoming a thief.
She replied back saying "It's for the same reason I work for child education".
Muthu and Archana turned out to be THE PERFECT STRANGERS for Krishna.

Balcony Dreams!!

2010-07-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Gautham works in a Software Concern and resides in Bangalore with his parents. It was a chill Friday morning. Gautham was alarmed by his ringing phone. Very reluctant to answer the phone he put down and continued his sleep. His sleep was once again disturbed. This time he gained some energy and decided to see who was calling him. It was She. The very she. She is Avantika. Got electric and attended the phone. "Wake up and come to the court" she resounded over the phone. "Positive" he responded and got ready. He was wearing a white jersey and a white tracks. Took his tennis bat from his shelf, stormed through the steps, ignited his pulsar and reached JP Nagar. Avantika reached before him and was staring at him.
Their day starts with a tennis practice.
With a curly hair, fair complexioned, neat and a cute charming girl was Avantika. She was wearing a blue jersey and a white tracks. She was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.
“Shall we start a new game or continue with yesterday's one” she asked him.
“New day, new game, Morning Glory” he replied confidently. JP Nagar tennis court is one of the beautiful tennis courts in the garden city. The serene atmosphere is a driving energy for the players.
They started with love all. Gautham beamed at Avantika with a strong short. Her reflexes were good, she put it back to Gautham.
They played 4 games, unlike yesterday, Gautham won all the four games. Gautham felt pride about winning the games and smirked at Avantika. “Tomorrow never dies” she replied with a corner smile .She started her two-wheeler left the place after saying a bye to Gautham.
Gautham waved her back and was watching till she was visible to him.
He dreaded the moments that are going to happen from now. He decided to propose her today. But how? This was the question kept haunting him for more than a month. Expressing it through a letter, he thought it’s a good old technique.
He had no guts to tell her seeing her eyes, he had no script to tell her over the phone. But he fell in love with her. He have to tell her. He knows her for the past two years. They work in the same Company. There was a good rapport between them. Even she loves spending time with him. Will this relationship take a giant leap and transform into a beautiful life long relationship or will it sink in the deep dark valley? He experienced uncertainty and he could not trace even a bit about what she was thinking.
With all such gory thoughts, he managed to drive home and had his breakfast. His Mom questioned him about his dull face. He falsely convinced his mother and went to his room. He found a way to tell his love to her.
He switched on his laptop. He logged to his Facebook account. He browsed for her profile. He started to write on her wall.
He Started typing “I have gone through and going through some emotions about you. I think this is high time, I pour out all my emotions that I have for you. A boy will definitely have a girl whose name will enthrall him. The boy is me. The girl is you and the name is AVANTIKA. I feel good while messaging you. I am happy if I am with you. It feels like heaven if you call me. It took 2 years for me to recognize that there is a special word which wraps all these emotions. And the word is LOVE.I love you and will love you for rest of the days. I want to grow old with holding your hands. We will walk through beautiful places with beautiful emotions. They say it takes a minute to tell the love but a life time to prove it. My life will prove my love.”
His Sympathetic nervous system started functioning at highest pace, he experienced an adrenalin rush. He was curious about the reply.
He posted it, logged off and fell back to his bed.
He heard his phone ringing. He guessed it could be Avantika. Bit His guess was wrong. His good old friend Shiva was calling him. His friend shouted at him vibrantly “What have you done man, don’t you think it’s a stupid idea to put in a social network. You could have dropped her a mail or could have told in person but you have messed it up”.
“It’s ok Shiva, I want the world to know that there was a stupid guy called Gautham who was mad about Avantika”, he replied back and hung the phone.
His friends kept calling him. One of the close friends of Avantika also called him. So he was sure that by now she would have been aware of his emotions. After an hour, he once again logged in facebook anticipating Avantika would have replied to his post. His post received 34 comments. 8 people liked the post. But none were Avantika.
With a great disappointment, he once again fell back to his bed. After an hour of disturbed sleep, he woke up, had his shower and started for his office.
He knew he had to face her. Parked his bike and went to his ODC. He greeted his couple of colleagues and went to his Cubicle. Avantika was sitting opposite to him. He knew she noticed him, but did not responded to him. He was sweltering in his place. He could not concentrate on his work.
After a short span of time ,he saw her walking towards him. His heartbeat was rising like a petrol bunk meter. He managed to greet her with a smile.
“I saw your post. I want to talk about that with you. I have already told the Manager that I won’t be available for the day and you?” she questioned at him with raising her left eyebrow.
“Yeah… I will apply for a leave” he stammered.
His manager did not trouble him and granted him a day off.
She was waiting for him at the entrance gate of their office. He started his bike and picked her up, crossed the road and was riding slowly.
“Where are we going” she questioned angrily.
“Don’t know” he replied back.
“Fine, let’s go to Hebbal Lake”. She ordered.
It was a moody day, the day was still chill. Hebbal lake is in the outskirts of Bangalore. It’s a scenic lake surrounded with lush plantations. They were welcomed by the cool breeze. There were a couple of wooden chairs. They sat in the wooden chair. He kept staring at the lake. He imagined as if the lake is going to flood him. She broke the ice and started the conversation.
“So, you love me” .Thus she started.
“Yes, and I am serious about it” he replied confidently.
“Why”, she asked reminding him of a ManiRatnam kind of dialogue.
“I have been with you since 2 years, we have stood together in all hard times in office as well as personally. I could never imagine about the gray day which would take you away from me. I always want you to be my side. I found this as the best possible solution” he finished.
“I see” was her instant reply.
They kept chatting for an hour but Gautham could not draw any conclusion.
“So what’s up for the day” she demanded him for a plan for the rest of the day.
“We will go to Forum Mall, eat and we will do a bit of shopping” he said.
She gave an affirmative answer to him.
In an half an hour ride they reached The Forum Mall. It was half past four. There was a very little crowd in the mall. They had their late lunch in the Transit Restaurant. Neither of them spoke about the Facebook post.
She told she wanted to buy a kurtha and some matching pendants for her Birthday dress.
He accompanied with her. Strangely, he even suggested some pendant designs to her.
She acknowledged his selection by buying a couple of those.
They shopped in Fab India and she selected a couple of kurtha’s. She went to trialroom for a Green color one. She wore it and came outside for his response. She was looking gorgeous in the green. He felt like kneeling down before her and telling his love once again.
For one or more reasons he left the idea. She bought the green one and they vacated the shop.

“Ok fine Gautham am leaving” she said.
It sounded to him as if she is saying once for all.
He looked at his watch. It was quarter to Eight.
“How about a dinner” hastily he asked.
“Not a bad idea though but where” she responded.
“How about Banjara at Jaya nagar” he questioned.
“That’s cool” she responded.
They entered the Restaurant. It was half empty.
“Where can we sit?” he asked.
“How about that corner one?” she replied.
They went to the corner one.
It was a corner table. There was a diffused light spread across the restaurant. A small candle was lit at the center of the table. She was scanning through the things that she purchased today. She applauded him for having a good taste about pendants and the Kurthas. He gently received the praise.
They ordered a Masala Papad and a Gobi-Manchurian for starters and went with usual dishes for the main course.
There was an air of silence between them. She was confident and clear .He was confused and burning.
He broke the ice this time.
“So what have you decided” he whispered to her.
“Regarding what” was her stumbling reply.
“The Post” he replied.
“What do you think my reply would be” she retorted.
“Am poor at guessing” he resounded.
She started to speak.
“Wouldn’t a girl like to sit with her boyfriend in a lush green lake?
Wouldn’t a girl like to shop with her boyfriend?
Wouldn’t a girl like to dine with her boyfriend in a candle light dinner?”
Gautham is not a dum headed idiot who could not get what she is inferring.
He was in his cloud nine. He replied her with a gentle smile and said “Thanks”.
“Don’t be stupid” she blushed.
He reached for hands, caressed her hands and asked her to say those three letters.
“How many times” she responded.
“One time” he replied.
She looked at his eyes and said “I love you”… she took a long pause and once again said “I love you”
He received it with his full heart and said “You told twice”
“I knew it. First one is for what you asked and second one is what I wished to say” was her beautiful reply.
They had their time of their life at the restaurant.
His phone broke the silence of the restaurant. It was ringing aloud.
He took it to see his manager calling him.
He attended the call.
“So how was the day and finally she accepted it right?” Manager asked sarcastically.
“Yes but how do you know?” he squinted.
His manager replied back “When I asked her for the reason for today’s leave she told me about these things and also told that she too loves you”.
“Thanks for granting the wonderful leave “he sniggered and hung the phone.
He kept watching her. She reciprocated him with 50% blushes and 50% smiles.
The beautiful day ENDS. Their beautiful life STARTS .

Thundering Heart..

2010-07-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

Days are dark..
Nights are darker..

This monotonous rotating Blue Ball...
Sounds very odd and dull...

Repeating the mundane activities...
Living seems to be mere painfull..

What do i want..
Where do i go..
Why am i here...
What am i supposed to do..

For my thundering heart..
Should my eyes rain..??.
Should i shed those..
Will there be anyone to recieve it if i did..

Nobody to caress...
To whom shall i address..!!!

Is living so weary..
Finding an exit...
i will get through..
and rest in peace...

this one is dedicated to the people who got ****ed up with their Group Lead.:(

My favourite Lines!!!

2010-06-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

* Its better to live with a purpose than to live with mere wishes.

* If u pick the work u love, u need not work even a single day.

* You cannot be alone if u like the person with whom you are alone with.

* Arise ,Awake and stop not till the goal is reached.

* I am a million things in a day and i suppose OK is one among them.

* Hands that help are better than hands that pray.

* நேற்றைய பொழுது கண்ணோடு,இன்றைய பொழுது கையோடு , நாளைய பொழுதும் உன்னோடு , நிழலாய் நடப்பேன் பின்னோடு .....

*You cannot love people if you judge them!!
* அன்பே சிவம்

Har Har Mahadev !!
....to be contiued...:)

Clicked @ Bird Sanctuary-Mysore

2010-06-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Mothers Love... A 55 fiction...

2010-04-18T00:45:00.000-07:00

A small intro to 55 fiction-
55 Fiction is a form of microfiction that refers to the works of fiction limited to a maximum of fifty-five words.
Here we go...

Knowing for sure that her son will defy all her words, she still has a ray of hope and advices her son not to create any casualty and to rest in haven.She breaks and kisses him . He hugs her and says "Mom The Country needs me" and leaves for the battlefield.

C3,Melody Apartments

2010-04-14T00:58:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation between the Neighbhourhoods of C3 flat in Melody Apartments.

Rekha and Radha are housewives and as usual this is their gossip time.

Rekha: Hey radha, i have a gut feeling that there is an element of mystery prevailing over the occupants of c3 flat. They leave early in the morning, returning very late in the night, seemingly perplexed, conversing in strange languages, exchanging grave looks, looking wierd and i fear they are terrorists!!!!

Radha: No Rekha!!Even i had the same doubt in the beginning, later i came to know that they are a bunch of software engineers!!

Project Manager Sings...

2010-03-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

This is an imaginary conversation between a Project manager and a poor developer.
The developer got annoyed with his project and goes to his manager for finding a sloution.
Project manager sings him back...

The conversation starts..

Developer:Hello sir, i want a release from this project.
PM: jaane nahin denge dujhe, jaane tujhe denge nahin...

Developer:then, give me an onsite oppurtunity..
PM: yeh jo des hai tera,swadesh hai tera tujhe hai pukaara....

Developer: atleast give me a hike..
PM: paisa paisa karti hain paise pe tu marti hain...

Developer : you wont agree with me at any cost?
PM: Tu bolen glass ada kali, mein boloon ada zaraa..

Developer:ok fine, assign me only one work at a time.
PM:jodu jodu jodiyan ek nahin do...

Developer: why the hell i should be with you?
PM:rab neeeeeee bana di jodiiiiii.....

Poor Developer got irritated with his project manager, goes to the street and starts singing
.....give me someshine, give me some rain, give me another chance.....

a passer by sees this and tosses him a coin and comes a conclusion that he must be POOR DEVELOPER.

A Day in an Old Man's Life

2010-03-16T03:04:00.000-07:00

The protagonist of our story is Ram. He has retired and currently lives in Besant Nagar,Chennai. He was an Associate HR Analyst for a leading software company.
This story describes a day in his life. Let's live with him for a single day.

The day is 23rd February 2046.
Clock alarmed at 6.30. Before Ram put down the alarm, his wife Lakshmi walked towards him slowly and put it down and sat near him. Hi darling! Good morning! said Ram. She reciprocated. "Have a cup of coffee and we have a couple of works for the day" said Lakshmi. What are they? Questioned Ram. We have to shop for Arjun's (grand son) 11th birthday and in the latter part of the day, we will go with tanuja (daughter in law), she told she has to purchase a jewel for her and she needs our company. "Ok hold on!" interrupted Ram and asked her "Whats your age?" .She replied "what a stupid question.. Anyways 50." Ram said to her "it has been 25 years since I met you...and today we are stepping into 26th year. Exactly on the same day i saw you in the Interview at Andheri, Mumbai and I was one among the Interview Panel..." When I asked you about what you were doing all these days, may i know what you replied"? Ram could already find a corner smile in Lakshmi's face. With much excitement "Learning to dress in sari" she said and flipped away. Ram was just remembering all the sweet memories that he had with his wife. The way he proposed to her, their love life, their marriage, honeymoon, their Rahul(son), the difficult things that they faced in their life, how they came over it, their new house, his parents death, her parents death, and Rahul 's wedding .His thoughts kept flowing when it was interrupted by his very wife who screamed "its time for your morning walk..." .
Ram put a pause for his thoughts, got up from the bed and got ready for the morning walk .He went to kitchen. Lakshmi was preparing breakfast for Arjun. Ram went near her and touched her cheeks and said "I Love You". Lakshmi blushed and kissed him on his forehead.
Ram stepped out of his house and was walking towards Praveen's house. He is his childhood friend and resides down the line in the same street. Praveen was standing in balcony and waved to his good old friend. Ram waved back and Praveen was walking towards Ram. They slowly started their jog from Praveen's house.
They reached Eliot's beach and Praveen started... "Hey, ram, yesterday night I got to know that Shiva (their college mate) got a mild attack"." How is he now?" asked Ram.
"He is hospitalized and slowly recovering". "He was a good friend, a good at heart...Praveen we will go to his house tomorrow evening. Things keep changing right. Last second was not the same as that of now. Our college memories are still afresh. During the initial days of our college, we thought Shiva was a nerd. As time taught us that he was not one such and we became close. During our third mid semester, Shiva got caught by the invigilator for copying right!! It's Shiva who bridged Ashok and me when I fought with Ashok for silly reasons. How stupid we were in our college, but it's the same stupidity that added flavor to our life. You arranged for an industrial visit just because you wanted to spend time with Anita. Where is she now? Questioned Ram.
Praveen smiled and said "She is now with his son, in california". "What reason she gave for rejecting you... oh yeah she said she loves Karthick!!!"
Praveen interrupted "Is this the age to talk about such things???".
Ram retorted "Its memories that build any relationship and make it eternal. A person without any memories is mere flesh. Our farewell day, our room RS244, that stupid warden, Kanchana theatre, Krishna Canteeen, those stupid copy cat assignments, sms... it all seems like a dream. It's the time where we discovered and rediscovered ourselves and your marriage was one good reason for our college friends reunion."
Praveen interrupted for the second time "True, Very True, after that each found their own path and we were thrown in different directions. With time we even forgot many names. It's good that we two share our morning walk. Ok, Ram, put a pause button for your thought flow, we will return back".
Praveen and Ram returned back to home. It was half past eight, Ram returned home. Rahul was getting ready for work, he asked him ""Hi dad! Today you jogged too much? Returned home very late".
"No Rahul somehow got triggered with my college memories. It was long time since I shared the past with Praveen, put that apart, At 5 by this evening we will go for purchasing a jewel for tanuja and you come directly to T.nagar with tanuja.
Lakshmi, Arjun and I will come there by 5".
Rahul left for office, Ram and Lakshmi got ready for Shopping. Ram himself drove the car, Lakshmi seemingly panicky was sittingon the other side of the car. Ram on noticing this, sniggered and consoled his wife saying he will drive safe. Ram had invited his sister Surya also for shopping.
Ram and Lakshmi reached Lilliput and surya was already waiting for them. She greeted Ram and Lakshmi. "How is Kiran's (Surya's husband) health now? Is he alright now? "Enquired ram. "He is good Anna, how is Rahul ,tanuja and Arjun, it has been couple of weeks since I met them, possibly by this weekend I will come home to meet them" said Surya. "Oh sure, come with Shwati(Surya's 13 year old daughter), arjun will have a good time with her" said Ram. "You know what Lakshmi, it was Ram's wish that we should settle in the same city but now we hardly meet even though we live in the same city, in our childhood we hate to see each other even though we lived in the same house, he used to fight like hell with me, and he has wounded me many times. Our mom had tough time with us but everything will be in place when father arrives" said Surya. Ram replied back saying that even Surya has wounded him many times. Lakshmi was just watching all these things and said "things have never changed and even now you people fight". They had a chit-chat and proceeded with shopping.
They were done with their shopping and Surya left for her home. Ram and Lakshmi returned home.
"What for the lunch?" asked ram, "usual dishes honey, Potato curry and Puliyogare".
"Lakshmi,I never wounded surya, she is lying to you" said Ram.
"I believe you ram" smiled Lakshmi.
"I am going to take a nap and wake me up at 4" said Ram.
It was half past three, Arjun came with a bang.
"Grand pa! Wake up! Its time, we will start, dad and mom would have come by now!!!' screamed Arjun.
"Arjun!!!! Don't disturb grand pa!!" said Lakshmi.
"It's ok!! I woke up!!" said Ram.
"What is my birthday gift grand pa?" demanded Arjun.
Ram lifted him to his shoulder and said "surprise da kanna!!!!"
They drove to T.nagar and met Tanuja and Rahul and went to their usual jewelry shop..
"Did you trouble them?" asked Tanuja to Arjun.
"No No!! Tanuja, he is a changed boy now!! isn't it Arjun?" said Ram.
Arjun was staring at his mother.
"Mom, you take arjun and go with tanuja for purchase, we will wait here" said Rahul.
Rahul and Ram were waiting outside and Ram noticed somebody was walking towards him and he realized that it is his Boss.
"Hi Ram! How do you do? Good to see you" said his Boss.
Ram introduced his son to his Boss.
"Hi Young Chap!! What you doing?" asked Ram's Boss.
"I am with TATA Administrative Services and I look after the business development for TATA Power Trading".
"That's great. You should work like your father. Energetic, diligent, focused and accurate was your father. Our team used to envy seeing his managerial skills. Meeting's result would definitely be success if your father hosts it. There were ideally zero escalations." said his boss.
"I always know that my dad is the Best!!!" said Ram with pride.
"Ram have a good time, happy shopping and its time I leave, Bye" said his boss.
"Bye, sir" replied Ram.
"Don't believe his words Rahul, he is just exaggerating" said Ram.
"Is he exaggerating or you are humble, I think the latter is true!!" said Rahul.
Ram's done with their shopping and drove back to home sweet home.
Ram was just watching Arjun who was living with his play station 8. Ram got reminded about how he longed for a Television video game during his childhood and how his father surprised him with Television video game on his 15th birthday. He got reminded of his school days, road side shops outside the school, history, geography, his physics teacher, dairy sign, rank card signature, school sports day, and tours with friends and with his parents, his fights with surya and those Morning Prayers.
"Ram!!!!! this is the fifth time I am calling you, its dinner time" screamed Lakshmi.
"Yeah Honey ,I am coming!!!" replied Ram.
Dinner was over and Ram thought the day was a bit emotional as he got reminded with different stages of his life. His school days through Arjun, his college life through Praveen, his love life of course through Lakshmi , his time with surya and his work life through his boss. Ram felt heavy at heart and said good night to his people and went to bed.

Clock alarmed at 6.30.

"Ram, get up!!! Its already 8, got late for your college" shouted his mother.
Ram got up with a shock and saw his mother.
"Mom!! I had a dream" said ram.
His mother violently interrupted "get ready soon; else today also you will be late for the college".
Hastily Ram called Praveen.
"What the **c* man, why you disturbing me early in the morning" shouted Praveen.
"Hey did you propose to Anita" asked Ram.
"No, may be in the near future but whats that troubling you" retorted Praveen.
"Hey she is living with her son in california" said ram
"Shut the holy ****". The call ended.
Ram was taken aback
Was that a dream or does that mean what life is!!!!!!
Ram goes to college!!!!!!!!!!!%%%%%%#####.

walking with love!!

2010-03-09T02:15:00.000-08:00

Will you play the song that i love,

walk with me,

holding my hands,

lets worry not about the destination,

will walk through the river side,

travel with the cool breeze,

speak about the most sweetest thing in the world,

between u and me...

i will engage you with smiles,

lets walk for miles!!!!

am i an atheist ?

2007-07-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

the extent of SIVAJI fever has forced the die hard fans of RAJNI to pour milk packets on the photos and cut-outs of RAJNI... and this act led to a lot of controversies... when half of the population of the country is below the poverty line is that right to do such things...
i think its definitely an idiotic thing....
well... i wanna extend my arguement with hindu mithology...
every day million litres of milk are used for ABHISHEKAM to our GOD'S and GODESSES...
is this custom an healthy one...?
instead of offering these milk packets to GOD we can as well give it to the people who are really in need of it... as HELPING HANDS ARE BETTER THAN HANDS THAT PRAY...