Second Innings!

 Hello People,

Today after almost a decade, because of the motivation from a few kind souls, I have made this brave decision to get back to writing. I am a little worn out and out of touch, so please bear with me here. 

Even until I turned 30, I was hopeful that I would become a published writer some day (Stop mentally guessing my age now!). Writing stories was all I ever wanted to do growing up, and this is the first time I'm telling this out loud in public because I had always had the fear of being seen as a failure if I were not able to get any of my work published. But I am older and wiser (!?) now to know enough not to care about how the world perceives you.

I have not published a blog in over 10 years, but I do have plenty of posts in my draft status, most of which are stories that I'd begun writing but had never gotten around finishing. 

I am going to post now the first few lines of a couple of the stories that I've got in my draft now and I am going to let my friends choose which one they'd like to continue reading - 

So here goes - 

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1. Mayhem in Alleppey

"The thing that we feared is going to happen during the next full moon day! -- #&X" 

Ben turned the letter around, hoping to find more. But there was nothing else. Just this one weird, mysterious line. He kept thinking about it for a long time, 'what' thing, 'who' did this 'we' mean? There were multiple questions running on his mind, but he had no answer. The only thing that he did know was that he was not the intended recipient of this cryptic note. That only intrigued him more, to find out to whom this letter was intended for.

The next day morning, it was a lazy, gloomy sort of Sunday afternoon in Alappuzha, the kind of day where one would want to do nothing at all but to cover oneself under soft blankets and sleep the day off until it dawns. Ben had planned to do exactly the same, when unfortunately , he was woken up by the harsh sound of people dragging some heavy wooden stuff right outside the window of the Houseboat he was staying in. Disturbed by the noise, Ben peeped out of the window to look at what the chaos was all about. 

What he saw mesmerized him, for, there were rows upon rows of beautifully decorated, sharp cornered, long paddled, shiny war canoes, being pulled into the lake by around 20 men for each canoe. Ben counted at least 9 such canoes being pulled into the lake that morning, one behind the other. He went out of the houseboat and caught hold of one guy from the group to know what was going on. 

What he gathered was that the war canoes were actually Snake boats being readied for the team of gents there to practice for their upcoming Annual Snake Boat races, known as Vallamkalli. And lo & behold, this year's Vallamkalli was happening on the 15th of that month, which was exactly the day of the next full moon!

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2. One night in Mumbai

It was 17/9/2015,  9.30 PM on a Saturday evening. Traffic on the road was unusually high that day. Lights on the vehicles approaching from the opposite direction were all in high beam. A giant "Thanni Lorry" (Water Tanker) was spraying mud-shower gloriously on anyone who dared approach it from behind. Karthik got a full blast of it while he was trying to over-take it. He was thinking to himself, "Velaila dhan munnuku vara mudiyala, ippo idhu veraya" (He couldn't get any further in terms of career growth, but did he have to get stuck even here?) .You would think this mud-shower was bad enough, but poor Karthik had been through a lot worse that day.

While driving back from work, he was thinking to himself, "What have I gotten myself into? Why did I have to leave my city and come here? Why the hell did I become an "engineer"?"

Basically from a small town in Coimbatore, he was accustomed to signal-free roads and free driving. Now having gotten a job in Mumbai, which was much more "hi-fi" than his city, where there was a traffic signal for every 2 KMs, where people spoke in languages he could not understand, where a slightly brownish skin was all it took to be treated like an untouchable, Karthik was feeling as out of place as possible. All he knew in Hindi was "accha" and "shukriya" which he had learnt from an old Tamil movie where Sowkar Janaki kept using these words to prove that she had returned from the North.

The only good thing for Karthik was that he wasn't alone. He was sharing a room (of course, you cannot dream of renting a room alone in Mumbai without handing over your paycheck to the owner) with 4 other Tamil guys, who were as efficient in Hindi as he was. They did have their occasional fun by going out and having a few beers, not in any fancy pubs or bars, but on the shore of either Juhu or Chowpati. Having come from a city where there were no beaches, the beaches of Mumbai were like heaven to them. This was also because the beaches were probably the only few places where you don't have to dress nicely, pay for an entry ticket and yet can enjoy the yummy street food without burning your pockets.

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So now you have read the beginning of both stories, do let me know which one you would want me to develop further into a fully finished story.

That's all for today, folks! 

There is still time!

My Objectives : 2011

1. Change Job
2. Save 60% of Monthly income
3. Go on a Euro trip , if not World Tour
4. Write a full length novel
5. Visit Himalayas

My Objectives : 2016

1. Change Job (the same ffng job that I held 6 yrs ago)
2. Save Money (even if it just Rs. 1000)
3. Visit a foreign country (even if it is within Asia)
4. Write blog post regularly
5. Go on any trek (even if it is a nearby hill station)

What conclusion do you derive from the above list? Absolutely nothing less than pathetic, I suppose. I do not blame you. I myself am shocked to realize where I stand as opposed to where I thought I'd be. This just proves how limiting life becomes (or you limit yourself) as you grow older & older.

Think about it, all of us would have been asked this question at school - "What do you want to become when you grow up? What is your life's ambition?". My answer had always been "Space Research" . I was always fascinated by the sky and all things beyond our visibility. The mystery land just waiting to be explored by the mighty Captain Gayathri (my own version of Spaceman Spiff, back then). Yes, even then I was too dumb to create a cool alter ego. The point is, I bet not even 30% of the entire world population would have actually become what they had always wanted to do.

I had read somewhere that Passion is not just about being extremely interested in something, but it is about being good at something. Only when we excel at something, do we get motivated to do it more and more. But unfortunately, studying and clearing an exams with top marks is the only thing that is expected of kids. Even though they do not excel in it, it is the only thing that the society "motivates" them to do. There arises the basic conflict of interest. Kids get two options - 1. To pursue their own interests even if that meant scoring poorly in school tests  OR 2.  To fight their interests and earn the support of their parents and end up doing what 80% of the lot choose to do.

Most of them take the easy way out and never realize what they are missing out on. They are the so called "blissful ignorant" ones. But there are the other few unlucky ones who realize this when it is too late and keep regretting their decisions all the way through, without once trying to make amends.

The purpose of this post is to re-iterate that there is still time, even if you are 65 years old and are suffering from some illness (Watch the movie "Bucketlist"). If you are somewhere in your late 20s (like yours truly) when these goddamn thoughts enter your brain about how you are stuck at a job you hate and there is no way out, please do yourselves a favour and stop whining. Now! You should be happy that you have a job in the first place. You can still cut down those extra pair of sandals / handbags / gym subscriptions which you can do without and save your money to accomplish those more important things on your "to-do" list. Like "Go on a Euro Trip, if not World tour".

Now is your time. Go figure.

Happy Birthday Manu!

It is just like how Harry and Ron sat next to each other for the first time on the Hogwarts express. We had no idea we'd become such good friends and be together for almost 8 years. HP has actually played a major role in this.

May be not as adventurous as this, but we sure have had our share of fun together. I didn't know what I was thinking, packing my bags and taking that train to Wayanad with you. Maybe if we had thought that through a lot, we wouldn't even have had the guts to go there alone. But it turned out to be a fun trip.

From people who kept talking, judging others, passing comments, gossiping all the time, making friends with other rich people, it was a welcome change to meet you and the much needed silent company you provided ;)  I was glad to have had your company to talk my kind of books and movies. You were a tough one to crack, I've always thought of you as "Miss Mystery" since it was hard to know what you were thinking. But soon you became my Partner in crime for all the things I am sure I wouldn't regret when I grow old. In fact, there is still quite a lot to do on that Bucket list.

GOA was an altogether different experience. Don't remember the last time I had so much of fun on a trip. Going to exciting places is one, but having a person who enjoys the same things you do is very rare. It was one hell of a trip which I will cherish for a long time to come.

You have no idea how much you mean to me, especially when it comes to our "Workplace". It is not only reassuring, but also very consoling to know that a soul just like yours is sitting somewhere in a desk nearby, hating this job as much as you do and is probably dreaming of a similar faraway land with blue beaches, white sand, tanned swimmers, and cool drinks. 

I still have a lot of plans that involves you and me and anyone else who's interested, in taking that World Tour to all the places we've dreamt of going. Let's make a 5 year pact and visit at least one new country for every 5 years. Here's wishing you a great birthday and a lot of happy surprises this year.

World Reading Day 2015!

I miss the time when I used to lock myself up in my room for hours together, and read. Keep reading unless I have to eat or pee. Reading has kept my childhood lively, creative and helped me conjure a hell a lot of imagination. Thanks to reading, my English is what it is now. I see a few people in my work place and wonder if they have ever set their foot in school. My pre-independence era born, 8th grade failed, 93 year old grandmother can speak better English than a few people in my work place. I don't know if I should feel sorry for them or gloat about my more than average abilities. But this place has ruined reading for me, they are trying to make me one of them by constantly making me accustomed to bad language. I might forget what little I know and adapt myself to the conditions here. God forbid, I should not live to see that day.

Immaterial of the number of New Years I have spent after joining work, or number of resolutions I have thought about making, I have never been able to sit back and finish reading a book ever since. Getting married has only aggravated the situation. I have no alone time now. I know a lot of people suffer from loneliness and depression, and I shouldn't be cribbing about having no space for myself, but I can't help it.
I wish I could go to some exotic location, have food and drinks brought to the place where I sit, where I can find myself a cozy place to sit with my book, that also has an awesome view and READ.
Read as long as I am  bored enough to come back to this world I so hate and lead the monotonous life that this is proving to be. Wish I had a Time Turner. Wish I were Hermione Granger... or any other character from HP for that matter.

Part III

The guys looked at each other unsure what to do next. It was Vijay who finally turned around and looked at the two bulky men standing ahead of them. He thought to himself, they were four of them against two of the goons. And they had their bikes ready to make a quick escape whenever they get a chance. With this in mind, he went a little closer to the two men. From the light from the torches, he could make out something shining in the shirts of the two men. As he went closer, he noticed that the two men were wearing some kind of uniform which was a bit relaxing for him. They were guards of some kind. He turned to the others and said, "Guys, looks like they are some local guards or policemen. " "Well, that's very comforting", said Shyam sarcastically. Sridhar was staring at the two men who had now come close enough to their bikes. they looked like watchmen up close, but they were huge and looked savage, nevertheless.

One of the men spoke menacingly in Telugu, "Yevaru da meeru, Yekadalunchi ostharu". Shyam was the one to reply first, "Sir, nanga Tamil. Chennai.." The guards quickly surveyed them and it seemed as if they understood the guys' predicament. Then one of the guards pointed his torchlight at something behind them. The four boys turned around and looked at a big hoarding bearing the words "National Forest Campus". They now understood that they had just entered a campus without permission. The guards, knowing that they were lost, showed them their way back towards the iron gate and outside the campus. There at the fork, they now saw a small, almost non-existent board with the words "Trespassers Prosecuted".

Cursing themselves for the situation they had landed themselves in, they decided not to make any more foolish decisions that night. They went back the way they had come to a a village where they got themselves lodging in a hotel which must have crossed it's expiry date a good ten years back. They had not only wasted valuable time in their midnight fiasco, but were also seriously behind their schedule. None of them could wake up early the next morning. By the time they woke up and started their journey on Day 2, it was already past eleven. Not trusting the maps anymore in village regions, they asked the villagers for route all the way till they reached Hyderabad that evening. Entering a city after so many hours was a welcome change to the four guys. All they wanted to do was to have a full Andhra meals each and rest their butts for an hour before proceeding towards Delhi. During that one hour break, Shyam had to manage his calls between his default girlfriend and his other on-off back-up girlfriend. Sridhar, Vijay and Amit made their own phone calls to their families and kept the details to the minimum. Once they were done with the more-than-fulfilling Andhra meals, they started their ride towards our Capital city.

Part II

A quick check on Google Maps told them that the shortest route to Leh would take them almost four days if they keep up good timing. They would have to pass through Andhra Pradesh via Hyderabad on the NH9 and drive towards Lucknow on the NH7. From there the journey was pretty much straight-forward via New Delhi to their ultimate destination – the amazing mountainous landscape of Leh Ladakh. Among the four of them, Amit was from Delhi and thus knew Hindi very well. Shyam too had attended the basic Prathmik & Madhyama classes to impress a Punjabi girl back in college and knew a little bit of Hindi, at least enough to ask for directions in case they were lost. Sridhar and Vijay on the other hand were clueless when it came to any language other than Tamil or English.

            They set off towards Andhra on Saturday morning. Sridhar was sitting pillion with Shyam in Shyam’s Pulsar, while Vijay was in his Unicorn and Amit in his own Pulsar. The trip to Andhra Pradesh was around 500 kms. They planned to reach there in 7 hours, i.e., by Saturday evening and camp at Hyderabad for the night. They congratulated themselves for the perfect plan on their first day. But after a few stops for food, fuel, nature’s calls and various “take-diversions”, they could only cross Andhra around 10.00 PM on Saturday night. After a quick group discussion, they decided to proceed towards Hyderabad before stopping for the night.

 It was Sridhar’s duty to manage their navigation as he wasn't driving. As they drove through the night, they reached a fork on the road. Sridhar quickly checked his phone for directions. According to the map, they were supposed to head straight; there was no mention of this fork on the map. It seemed like they were the only ones in and around that area, they couldn’t find a single human soul who might give them some direction. Cursing Google Maps loudly, they stopped to think of a solution. They would have crossed the last village about an hour ago which would be more than 30 kms back. Vijay suggested that they should turn and go back to the village for the night. But Shyam insisted that they had come a long way ahead and couldn’t waste their time or fuel by going back. After a few minutes of discussion, the group proceeded towards the road on their right which seemed slightly wider than the one on their left.

Sridhar started to worry a little as the road they had taken became narrower with every turn and street lights became non-existent. Although he was sure that geographically the direction they had taken would lead them to Hyderabad, he was clueless as to how safe these roads were or which part of Hyderabad they would emerge out of. It was already nearing midnight and there was not a single human being in sight. The only light visible was emitted from their bikes’ headlamps.

Finally after what seemed like ages, Amit shouted, “Guys, look over there”. They could see two small specs of light in the distance. The lights weren't from any vehicles in the opposite direction or neither were they from the street lamps. Sridhar immediately got cautious. He said to Shyam, “Wait, Shyam.  I don’t think we should go any closer”. But excited from seeing the lights, Vijay had already gotten ahead of them and was speeding towards the source of the light. Amit, Shyam and Sridhar had no other choice but to follow.

As they drew closer, they realized that the lights came from powerful torch lights held by a couple of bulky looking men with thick mustaches. The men quickly reached the middle of the road and blocked the road ahead of them. Amit started panicking and said, “Guys, turn, let’s go back. I’m scared”. He had just voiced the other’s thoughts out loud. They were just 100 yards from the men when they stopped their bikes and tried turning back only to find themselves facing a big iron gate which had certainly not been there before.

To be continued…

My first attempt at a (not-so) short story!

            Sridhar was on top of the world. He literally was, as he was standing on top of one of the highest mountain peaks in Tibet. There was snow everywhere, wind was blowing hard on his face and he could feel the chilling numbness beneath all the layers of the clothing that he had on. There was not a single soul nearby; in fact, he did not have anyone in the outside world as well. He had left them all behind when he had run away from his house two years back. He did have three dear friends whom he had missed very much. He wondered if they still thought about him anymore. But he had not had any other option. He had run away from all the madness at his home. Being the only son of a real-estate tycoon, he knew he did not have to work for a living all his life. He just had to take over his father’s business which he did not think very highly of. He did not want that life; he was suffocated by the frivolity of it. He knew deep down that he was born to do something different, something adventurous. That is when he had set off on his own.

            As Sridhar stood there contemplating all this, he heard it. He froze on the spot. It couldn’t be, not her and definitely not here. He heard her voice again, a bit louder this time, calling out his name. Sridhar was confused, he wasn’t supposed to hear her voice here, not just her voice but any voice for that matter would have been impossible to hear over the sound of the roaring wind. Just then, smack! Something hit him hard on this back and Sridhar awoke with a start.

            His mother was standing beside his bed looking furious at him. At once she started yelling, “Even the dogs on the next street would’ve heard me, somberi kazhudhai”. Being called a lazy donkey was nothing new to Sridhar. But he was disappointed all the same. His glorious moment on top of the mountain was not real. He had overslept again and he was going to be late for his office yet again. Crap, he had to beg his father to drop him off and listen to his lecture all the way. His father, being a Government College Professor loved to give lectures to anyone who would listen. Sridhar often thought that his father’s only dream would have to be to give a lecture to a packed hall instead of empty desks and chairs.

            Sridhar was a Software Engineer and was working for one of the many IT companies in Chennai. He was mostly reserved and did not like socializing at all because he sucked at it. He had always been a moderate student at school and had somehow managed to get into a decent Engineering college. Right from his childhood he had been best friends with three guys, who couldn’t have been more different than one another. One was Amit (the geek), then there was Shyam (the flirt), and the third one was Vijay (the most normal among the four). They called themselves the “Fantastic Four”, just like every other four-member group in the world. Together they were born to rule the world, or so they thought. But after fourteen years of friendship, two of them – Sridhar and Amit, ended up in IT, Shyam was in Manufacture & Logistics and Vijay was in Accounting. Obviously, they all hated their jobs, and ergo their lives.

            It happened on a Friday, the last working day of the month. Failing to notice that his boss was in a lousy mood, Shyam pitched his brilliant business idea to his boss and got himself fired. That evening, the four of them gathered for drinks at Vijay’s place where his parents were out of town for the weekend. After several rounds of alcohol and swear words which were first aimed at Shyam’s boss and gradually extended to every damn thing in the world, Sridhar told his friends about this dream.

            That was the push they had all been waiting for. They quickly calculated their assets. Being the beginning of the month, they all had their salaries credited and intact in their bank accounts. Together they had three bikes, two Pulsars and one Unicorn. Sridhar only had his father’s Activa which was omitted from the plan unanimously. They all had their smart phones with Google Maps. As per plan they set off for their week-long journey the next morning, after of course calling in sick with a “Madras-eye”, “Viral fever” and “Ulcer complaint” to accomplish every biker’s dream in India – Leh Ladakh. Little did they know that this was the journey that would change their lives forever.

To Be Continued...

On a Starry Night!

On a starry night, miles apart from where we met


I lie thinking about you, about your teary eyes that said good bye

There I was living my life among flowers, where you waltzed in like a rainbow sweeping me off my feet

Was it real or did someone just give my dreams a fancy make over?

I was fortunate enough to fall on your feet and become your slave

But never did I think that you would reciprocate

We flew like birds with fluttering wings, couldn't have cared less about what the world thinks

Until came the day when fate blew its fiery wind my way

I woke up to find a letter in your hand

That said that my motherland needed me more than you

That I had to leave you,my love,my life behind

Now here I am with a wound in my soul, not just from the pain of leaving you alone but also because of the bullet that is slowly ripping my heart

One more time I ached to see you, to hold you in my arms

To tell you that you are and will be the only love in my life

But here I lie,on a starry night, with only memories of how we met

I wanna be myself again.

When I went to the terrace to lie down on the Water tank and look for an UFO
When I thought I could become a Space Researcher
When I ran back home after school to watch WWE
When I co-created 'Otavaai', the dumbest game ever invented on this planet, with my sister
When I called up my besties at their home in the land line and spoke to them for hours about the stupid homework
When I walked home from School with Divya and Kurian and laugh each time we cross the "Kurian Pit"
When my mom used to remind me that I had exam the next day and pray for me to get nervous so that I'd start studying
When I used to sit at the last bench & eat bonda with Kaccha mango
When there used to be Power at all times at home
When I locked myself upstairs with Harry Potter until midnight when I'd realize that I'm alone and run back down to the safety of my room
When a fun day meant staying at my home or Priyanka's to watch Friends & snack on Lays
When mobiles phones were something of a luxury which only adults could use

I could keep on writing how perfect my life was or rather, how simple I was back then. I used to pride myself for being very non-judgemental and aloof. I was like Howard Roark, when Dominique asks him what she thought about Ellsworth Toohey he replies, "Why would anyone think about Ellsworth Toohey?".I glided through the little problems I faced back then by intentionally not thinking about it. I really have no clue as to how and when I became this sensitive, whiny, jealous, over-analytical, self-praising and self-pitying, annoying douchebag of a person. Ok, sorry, even I am not that bad. This is just the effect of over-utilization of some adjectives solely meant to describe the boss.

But anyways, I am starting to think if growing up is really for our good? Now I have nothing more to look forward to than another depressing day @ work.

I miss my childhood. I miss me. 

To Frankie, the best part of my childhood!

Dear Frankie,

Where do I even begin to describe you? The first time we spoke was probably when I was yelling at you for throwing mud in my lunch in 3rd standard :-D God, how I hated you then ;-) Ironically, it was the time you bit me that we actually became friends by plotting our escape. Agreed that talking to walls isn't as "sophisticated" as we used to think, we even got a few nice remarks back then, but I'd give anything to go back and do the same yet again if I could only have your company.

Dreaming of World tour and making endless plans to shop and sunbathe in Hawaii seemed more doable when we were roaming around Vadavalli, you in your Sunny and me in my TVS 50. So why does it seem almost impossible now when I am earning and you are about to? Speaking of Connor and Evan, both turned out to be crappy choices. But did you know that I still have a crush on Jeremy;-)

I knew we were poles apart, we still are. You were always the hyper one, difficult to handle, jumping to conclusions, always found something to be excited about, fell in love fearlessly and I was like a stone, expressionless, emotionless,clueless,confused, never cared much about anything. Maybe that is why it has worked out so well for us. How many times would we have planned to go out for a movie or a drive but ended up watching Friends reruns at one of our homes:) I still remember your landline number by-heart. We should've never gotten cell phones, probably we'd still be on the phone now rather than writing long touchy blogs. Sigh!

We don't talk often these days, but not a single day has gone by where something or someone has not reminded me of you. If only you were there, I wouldn't put my fist in my mouth and store all those swear words inside, for you'd've told them out loud and I'd be laughing. It is not that we run out of topics to talk about these days, and I am damn sure that somewhere someplace you're thinking of the same thing when you watch Orton do his signature RKO or hear the song Dola Re, read HP or think of FRIENDS. We might have drifted apart, but the 'BOND' is still very much there.

PriyankaVictor, you've made me laugh my ass off plenty of times before. And now you've made me cry (Please don't gloat). Love you always. Best Friend Forever!!!

Don't ask me how I did today's exam.!

There are 3 kinds of people you meet in an Exam Centre.

1. The know-it-alls:

Generally females, sporting specs and a long plait/pony tail bathed in oil, found clustered right in front of the exam hall, they are the gang of people who always sit together and keep repeating the answers to each other in a high-pitched almost Mandrake-ish tone. They are known by different names, the most common being "nerds/geeks", "Padipists" , "Peter parties", etc . They cram up every nook and corner of the book, perhaps even backwards, and have an Obsessive compulsive need to shout it out loud in the name of revising. They enjoy giving a head-ache to the poor souls-particularly "The Cat-on-the walls".

2. The "Cool Dudes":

As the name suggests, they are mostly young Males. They enter the building honking and roaring (sometimes literally) in their sports bikes. Gym body or not, they love to flaunt their branded boxer shorts beneath their low-waist jeans. They know nothing about the subject and come to the exam centre basically because they have already grazed all other pasture land and need some well-deserved sleep. The silence in the hall and the steady sound of the fan is an added advantage. If they are lucky, they might find an almost pretty know-it-all to gawk at in case they are not getting sleep.

3. The "Cat-on-the walls":

These are the mixed breeds, they are not entirely sure if they have studied or not, or if a particular question belongs to the syllabus or not. They do go to the exam hall with the intention of covering the remaining portions once they're there but end up losing all the time in observing what the 'Know-it-alls' and 'Cool-Dudes' are upto. They are flamboyant thinkers, and like to invent stuff as they write which often makes them lose track of time and finish the exam wondering what they were doing for the last 3 hours. If the dreams start getting interesting, they zone out willingly.

Sometimes, they even think of what to write on their long-awaiting blog post.