For old times

Yesterday

It wasn't a normal day at work. Laughter echoed out of the number of empty cubicles. Half of them who had come to work seemed overjoyed and work couldn't have been more banal even to the most enthusiastic lot. It was a pretty different day for me too, because, we had ordered lunch from Subway. As we were sitting in the cafeteria and munching the delicious Corn & Peas sandwich, we heard the sound. It was loud, rhythmic, went on for sometime and gradually muted down. The until completely unaware mind, that was only thinking about packet processing, Ethernet frames, housing loan interest rates, RBI directed amendments and confirmation of my return ticket from CBE realized something. The last time I celebrated Diwali was in 2001.

Typical Diwali Month

I was brought up in a house where every festival from a low profile Aadi Friday to a high profile Diwali mattered a lot. Every single occasion was celebrated the typical, traditional way. So, the hype and hoopla around Diwali needs no mention. Almost as soon as the excitement of Navaratri (and all the sundal) started to fade, the Diwali rush would begin. Almost three weeks prior to Diwali, the neighbors would have started complaining about hearing gun shots from our house. Srinath and me would have started our Diwali celebration with cape guns, the first of our Diwali purchases. This would go on till the week before Diwali or until probably my mom gains resistance to my pleas of, "Amma, just one more gun. I'll not break it this time".

As for the new dress, I don't remember caring to ask for one. My mom knew our tastes really well and all I knew was that on the morning of Diwali, I'd have a new dress to wear. So, the important factor - Crackers. Swathi and myself would sit together to put up a list of crackers. Dad was not a big fan and Mom would seldom suggest more than few of her colorful favorites. She loved the beauty of the colorful ones though. Once the crackers reached home, we'd sit and assort them in two cartons, one for Swathi and the other for me. No crossing territories. We were sure that, upstairs, with the same kind of a division Srinath would be coming up with one such box as well.

The next excitement would be the TV programmes. Unlike today's torrent world, the only way to catch our favorite movies, after in the theatre, would be for festivals like Diwali/Pongal when each television channel would compete with each other for movie and time slots. This set up our itinerary on Diwali day (temple going, relative visiting etc). So, with a check on crackers, new dress and TV schedules, what next?

Diwali Eve - School

Most of the Diwali eves, except if Diwali fell on a Sunday/Monday, it would be a working day. Studying in Lisieux was the best thing that happened to me till date. When Fr. Xavier took charge as principal, he started celebrating every festival (religion bar) with grandeur. So, Diwali eve meant lots of bunking classes, the previous day, for choir practice. A pretty decent function with usual readings from all sacred texts (Bhagavad Gita, Quran and The Bible), addressing and the choir singing the good old 'Jothi Dho' bhajan. Eventually, we ourselves had gotten so bored of singing the same song, so we changed the trend and sung 'Krishna Nee Begane' (Colonial Cousins) and 'Eshwar Allah' (Earth) once.

After the morning assembly celebrations, we'd retire to our classrooms where they'd distribute a packet of mixture and a packet with a sweet. The best artists in the class would have decorated the board with their depiction of Diwali - an excuse that we would use later, so that, no teacher touched the board, except for an occasional mean staff who would heartlessly erase it and resume classes. When its almost 2:30 PM, the crackers buzz would start when the watchmen (Rangasamy anna and Balu anna) would be setting up the grand 10,000 LAR in the basketball court. As soon as the bursting starts, I'm sure each and everyone around me felt that same pumping excitement kick off. I'd cycle home with extra speed where lovely aroma of sweets/savories would be awaiting me at the gates, with a grand welcome.

Diwali Eve - @ Home

As I entered the house, I'd already be guessing around I-don't-know how many items. Almost all the sweets would be in their finishing stages and the kitchen would be the heaven for people who love food. Typical sweets would be chocolate/cashew/badam cake and on the salty side, pokada/murukku/muthuswaram etc. The routine son-touching-the-sweets and mom-slapping-the-hand telling him to wash his hands would follow. The biggest wonder to me would be how could she have possibly pulled off all this in the matter of few hours. I'd soon get ready and raid the upstairs kitchen to taste Periyammai's snacks as well. After all the tasting and helping to pack sweets that would have to go out that evening, we would bring out our cartons as darkness falls on Alagesan Road, Coimbatore.

Lighting up the candles, seeing that first spark of the first sparkler (kambithiri) only to see it burn till the end and that confusion of where to start marks the beginning of the crackers session. Once it started, there would be no looking back. We'd burst through the limit for the night and keep the rest for the morning - small counts of Flowerpots, Changu Chakram, Red Forts, Rockets and a 1000 LAR. Compared to the families opposite house, ours would be a very minimal share and would be over in no time.

Once we are done, we'd go and lock the houses tight and assemble in the balcony to witness the moment of the Diwali Eve. The big shot of the locality would lay down sacks and sacks of 'Ola Pattasu' that he imports from Trissur every year. It would run through most of our street, for kilometers long. Traffic through the streets would come to a halt for sometime and so much hoopla would surround the start of the fireworks. Trust me, it used to be a such a treat to watch. Man! He had taste. They used to light it up from both ends. The crackers would have burnt out in some time, unlike the buzzing sound in our ears that would take sometime to cease. And no matter, how much caution we'd taken, a ventilator pane or the balcony tiles or the TV or something would have been damaged. It happened for years together, but I don't think anyone complained because we knew we enjoyed it more than he did.

And the Diwali eve is not over yet. Some of the years our aunt (Dad's sister) in Palakkad would surprise us by coming over. The usual brother's excitement of seeing his sister would bubble up which means we all get to go for a ride with Dad, in and around Coimbatore and we would halt to grab whatever crackers is left in the last of the closing stores. By the time we reached home, we'd be exhausted and would hit the bed only to await the alarm at 3 AM.

The Diwali Day

Considering the enjoyment mentioned till now, one would guess that Diwali would be a fun-filled day, but the best part is definitely over. On Diwali, it used to be pretty much the same stuff. Oil bath, bursting of crackers, going to the Vinayagar Temple nearby, distributing sweets around the locality, Idlis for breakfast (upstairs or downstairs) and by around 10 AM we would have settled in front of the TV to spend the rest of the day there, except for a quick jumping out during the news break to exhaust the leftover crackers. Sometimes, we used to retain the stock for upcoming Kaarthigai. The evening would slowly come about and one more exciting Diwali would have come to a close, as the last of the movies for the day puts up credits. The only excitement left would be to wear the new dress to school one the first day after holidays.

Today

Here I sit, listening to the occasional tudat-padat-zurrr-ziyumm sounding outside my window. Dad has tried to keep the aroma living with the super hot molagootal that is getting ready in the kitchen. I know its Diwali. I got calls from those friends who knew why they should talk to me today. I have more than many awesome reasons to call this Diwali a good one, but that's just there. So, I took my time out to relive the amazing life we lived in Coimbatore. After all, going over the past helps you shape the future. Cheers!

 

WISHING ALL MY READERS A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS DIWALI.

MAY THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS MAKE YOUR LIVES BRIGHT.

23

So, this is how it feels to turn 23??

Being a Leo

 

I'm a proud Leo. I feel so strongly about it because I see this great mindset match with people who are Leos too. I'm not a fan of astrology and don't care about the negatives of the same. But, it is always great to believe in positive thoughts and good ideals. I fit into most of the categories of a Leo. Dominant, organized, attention-craving, naughty and the list goes on.

So, Whats up?
Looking back is a tricky thing to do. Who doesn't have regrets when he is 23? I shouldn't have chosen this course; what was I thinking? It shouldn't have discarded my passion at its learning peak. Should I have told her earlier; Would that have made any difference? The whole attitude change I went through, I don't think it was worth it. Why am I working on something that I don't care about? A few of them at this age. But, its not only about the regrets. Well, at least not today. Its about hope. Its about commitment. Its about reality. Its about passion. I usually promise myself a lot of things this day, every year. Except last year, I've never kept any of those promises.

I've gotten bored of this promise deal. In the practical world, not all promises can be kept. I want to be practical. Aren't we missing out on the thrills of life? So, no promises (at least not aloud) this year. No hopes. No dreams. Lets get into some live action and see how things unwind. For a change, I'm going to practice "happy-with-what-I-have".

About today

To that note, when the clock strikes midnight, I'm wishing myself a very "Happy Birthday". I had planned to get myself an important gift yesterday, but, decided to postpone it. Certain things are more important than getting a gift at the right time. :) Its a good thing, also because I can dedicate an entire post as to why I wanted to get that and what I'm going to do with it.

Last afternoon, one of my friends asked me to suggest 10 of my favorite songs for some compilation he was working on. I gave him 5o songs in 5 mins. So, that kindled some real want to go back to my good old music. Spent three hours listening to marvels of our Indian musicians. And an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. What more can I ask for????

Sweet Memories

Back to the looking back thing, thanks to technology and my uncle, I was lucky to see how my family celebrated my first birthday. Nothing like the feeling of someone wishing you from the beyond. Please note that I'm not SREERAJ and it was a spelling mistake made by I-don-know-who.

22 years ago..

I loved this clip. Hope you enjoyed it too. Its really good that people don't know what you'd grow into, else they'd be careful on what they invest on you.

Thanks to everybody who've been with me all these years. The little good I've done till now wouldn't have been possible without you people. I have no specific names. There are so many of them. I'd want each and everyone of you with me till the very end.

Chiju

August 10th 2010

PS: Having regrets when you are 23 is not a big deal. What's important is to revert each one of them down the line.

Time to move on

Time and tide waits for none

Its been a while since I wrote something here. Twitter has been taking care of my venting needs and not being active @ work has slowed down the traffic to the association areas of my brain. Once in a while, a momentary rush of guilt helps me use some of the time productively.

Last weekend I was in Coimbatore for my Periyappa's (Dad's elder brother) first anniversary. It was a five day process involving lots of rituals, gradually getting tailored by the generation. On Friday, I visited college with Vibushan and it was a nostalgic experience. From the time we parked the car and stepped in, until the time we came out and picked a bone with our animus security staff, it was trademark college. However, the usual excitement and thrill of being in Coimbatore or visiting college was obsolete .

Saturday and Sunday were completely booked for family except the little time spent at music class. Yeah, that was a great experience. Every July, my music school celebrates a two day annual event where all the disciples render songs as a tribute to the Sangeetha Moomoorthigal*. When I went for practice on Saturday, a batch was singing thillana for the chorus. It took me back to the childhood days where I was one among the 15 or 20 singing the same thillana. This is my 12th annual day there and I asked my teacher if I could be a part of the chorus this time.

Saturday night, it was again family time, when me, my cousins Srinath, Srikanth, my athai (Dad's sister) and Srikanth's wife Priya sat around chatting. It was more like a jamming session because we were singing all our favourite numbers like Cham Cham, Khwaja, Anjali and so on. Priya was making me sing number after number and I was so reminded of my Periyappa who used to do the same. Whenever he had visitors, if I was there, it would be singing time for me. He used to call it Sadhagam (practice) time. I couldn't believe that he is not there among us enjoying all the music and fun.

Sunday saw the last of the rituals for his anniversary. I felt time should actually be moving slower. It just seemed like I got down from the bus on Friday and it was already time to leave. I had this discussion about how I had always wanted time to move slower except during my college days. And that, even during college there was one reason why I wanted things to move slow and so on. In the end, the weekend was all about memories and missing stuff.

Well, not only the weekend, its been like that for a while. It has been making me wonder if I'm making this a big deal and if its worth it. The reason is that I look around and the people who are supposedly part of the memories have stopped to care, or at least seem so. Probably, they are bored of the whole good-times system. The funny part is that those who blame me of having made new "friends"(as one would fixate on the quotes for the word) and not care anymore seem to have forgotten where I live. A whole other perspective makes me understand that we can't blame anybody just because we are still the same and stubborn to accept change and move on.

I sat through the return journey coming up with a whole new "its-time-to-move-on" plan. Its a simple to-do list towards a productive life rather than blabbing nostalgia forever.

Its time to move on, for memories accrue, time doesn't.

"Time is the Healer.

Time Moves on,

Time don't wait for anyone.

You tell me you'll be back,

But that'll take sometime.

I'm waiting... "

I've always been amazed by the above lines. Simple but so true. :)

*Sangeetha Mumoorthigal - the musical big shots Thyagaraja Swamigal, Sri Muthuswamy Dixithar and Sri Shyama Shastri.

The Dark Knights

Off late, I've been writing a lot of flashback. The thing about nostalgia is that I have never had to think, to put it in words. Its like when you are drunk and you get going. And to kindle it, it takes not more than one IM in facebook by your buddy, like, "vaada thattukadayil povam" (Come on, Lets go to the Roadside Food Joint - in Malayalam). Well, Kanz pinged me today and Chiju Speaks follows. :)

There is a dark side to everyone. A subterfuge from all the normal stuff: studies, responsibilities or "relationship" tension - to mention a few. The side that assures you: there is life other than what is doctored. This is about the dark side of me and my fellow knights.

When all your world is asleep and you say, "Its just 4AM", thats when the Dark Knight in you is unleashed. Keeping count of the kick ass nights spent back in Coimbatore is impossible. Thanks to our university, we had at least 3 full months of semester vacation every year. Every night spent (or wasted) for exams were compensated during vacation.

Aashirwad Nights

We (Me & Dad) used to live in Aashirwad apartments for almost 1.5 years. We had a great terrace there. Hanging out in the terrace, sitting on topof the water tank facing the Nilgiris (Ooty Hills), combined studies (esp the Astrophysics exam night), the so many topics (from cinema to politics to technology to mokkais) and playing cards. I wish I could go there once more and live through it all over. So, the WE is actually Me, Dad, Vivek, Vibushan, JP, Vijay, Deepak, Anandh, Kanz, Raghul and an ocsasional someone.

 

Astrophysics Exam Night - The two guys on the right actually had Chemistry the next day!

Aashirwad, 29th April 2007

Race Course Walks

A walk around the Race Course, probably after a heavy dinner or before a night @ Aashirwad defines an hour plus of chatting, laughing, photographs, a mid-night coffee day visit and a fantastic ride back home. Life was great! :)

 

(Left to Right) - Deepak, JP, Vibu, Anandh, Vijay & Vivek

Race Course, 23rd September 2008

Counterstrike Nights

Laptops all around the room, LAN cables running haywire everywhere, a silent night that turns so violent and heavy once the earplugs are placed properly. Playing CS through the night with Dad's Buttermilk or Mountain Dew to boost the warriors at game can't get any better.

Sp@rrow? Should we plan up a counterstrike night before Vibu flies off? Probably during your 5-day vacation in Chennai?

 

Vibushan's place

After a sumptuous dinner from Aachi Mess, we came back to study for our Data Structures semester exam with lots of plans (to study of course) and little mood to do so. We were taken aback by the preparations Vibu's parents had made for us to sleep comfortably after studies. Little did they know that their son and his feckless friends are going to bet on who's gonna flunk tomorrow over a game of cards and sleep through the night.

We were playing cards (of course in the name of studies) on a Sunday afternoon (one dark afternoon). Vibu's dad opens the door all of a sudden and gives a very strong stare. "Bushan! Come here!", he says and the tone gets us instantly to pack up everything and prepare to leave, only to see Vibu bring a tray of tea and biscuits back into the room.

We broke down a very old but strong and big double bed. I know what you're thinking, but Vijay Krishnan was there too. Vivek (the only guy who found guts) told Vibu's dad and we realized why we were all closest to Vibushan's parents that day. :)

 

Vibu's place - and this is the bed we broke! :P

August 10th 2007

Can we live a life like that ever again?

Veyes Towers

Staying alone during college is fun. You move into a bachelors mansion and 2 months later Kannan, this guy from your class finds a room there too. A few post dinner chats in the terrace of the mansion and you find a great friend called Kanz who kindled you to write this post! :) Dude, I'm not filling up this space fully. You know why!

Magic Show

A video we shot for our Seniors' farewell. What we planned for 2 hours took us 2 months. We have spent hilarious nights for this. It did not come out as we thought it might. But, shouts to Deepak who, not only did the experiment, but also took us along. Not getting into the details here either.

Project Nights

Two different projects (5th sem & 8th sem), Two different teams, Two entirely different areas and Two similar things - 1) Fun 2) I did only documentation. :P

 

Vivek's Big Project Plan

Vivek's House, April 2008

The Last night

After packing up to Madurai, JP and Vibushan stayed at my place till 3AM in the morning to drop me and Anandh in the bus stand. We rode through Aashirwad, talking about all those great night-outs.

The knights separated that night. :(

Anyways, as I sit here, this night, looking back at all those moments, I'm tagging the knights who should definitely write right about this. :P

1) Vivek of Occam

2) Vibushan - The Gemini

3) JP & His Train of Thought

4) Kanz, Mayavi of Memories

5) Vijay Krishnan - He had a blog (don't know where it is)

6) Deepsman, the knight with a difference

7) Anandh (Dai, At least comment on this - or why don't you start a blog too?)

8) Raghul, My project mate :P

Guys, I know I haven't written in depth. I want all of you to fill the gaps. You all know where you have to. :P

ONE YEAR

I dropped off Santhosh after the movie and asked him to lock behind my bike, the helmet he was holding all the way. As he was getting the key right, I happened to witness a strand of clouds passing through the dark purple-blue sky. The beauty of the night electrified my senses instantly. I was in an environment that barely qualified to be street. It was a foul-smelling gully, with lots of people sleeping on the road. It was simply a typical slum movie setup. Yet, the passing clouds were one of the best sights ever. A realization hit upon me - Amidst all the dirty things, those passing moments make Life so Beautiful.

So, its been a year now. 365 days. If I look back, I can't even recall most of the days that passed by. It seems like yesterday when I spent my first night in Chennai, lying down with my face on the pillow, tilted ably to look at my cellphone as if one beep is going to make a big difference in my life. It did not beep until morning and when it did, it made sure that I started off to my first day at work with a smile. Smile - the curve that could be bent either way by the person who puts it there, in first place.

Its just been a roller coaster ride all the way, till today. I look back and see the many trips to Coimbatore, some yearned and some dreaded, the many Friends I made, the fun moments @ work and family, the new arrivals into the family, Appraisal and other events @ work, the loss of loved ones and the lessons learnt. All along, I have been making promises to myself and taking up tasks involving responsibility and commitment. The good thing about last year is that I completed SUCCESSFULLY few of those tasks and was sincere to all those promises. I also take pride in keeping up to the trust of most of the people in my life.

Thank God, things @ work have been smooth. I had a pretty good appraisal (not money-vise). I was astounded by some of those comments. Well, I always keep my expectations less, maybe thats the reason. The best part involves the many people that boarded the bus of my life. I got to know better, few people I barely knew before and made some good, witty, funny and sincere Friends. I pray to have a seamless work year again.

I've had people (someone or the other) around me as always. Masakali from Dilli-6 has been replaced by Beera Beera from Raavan. Breakfast @ Balaji Bhavan has become Breakfast @ Udipi Mess. Shifting from Madurai to Coimbatore has changed to shifting from Coimbatore to Chennai. Deccan Chargers were followed by Chennai Super Kings. These changes will repeat year after year.

But, there have been other changes as well; those that will have an impact forever. Those changes that play a key role in transforming a person to what he is gonna be, those that create misery to look back later and smile and those that create joy to look back later and shed a tear. Responding to these changes is the key.

Expectations grow exponentially. Last year's benchmarks have worn out. New goals are visible. The mistakes list has been freshly updated and against each of them is written a new learning. New friends are waiting to board the bus. And the list goes on.

To that day, I look back.

Withered leaves flying away,

Tight clutches being forced open.

Truth feeding on anxiety.

The apples of my eye.

To this day, I acknowledge,

The growing greenery,

Claws awaiting the rust.

A fresh batch of anxiety building.

The plucked apples in safest hands.

Looking forward to next year....

PS:

1) A big sorry to all those people whose calls I have not returned, whose scraps I've not replied, whose presence I've not acknowledged. 2010 has been really hectic and I'm slowing down gradually. Thanks a lot for understanding.

2) Cheers to all those who made it to Swathi's wedding. I look at the photos and I'm so happy that My Friends were the majority! I feel so important! :) :) THANKS A LOT PEOPLE!!!!

Down the memory lane - I

I was driving a Unicorn by the Nehru Stadium. The last of the shops were shutting down, I was sure it was past 11PM. There was no haste, whatsoever. I let my thoughts play on their own and they were well in sync with the late night September Coimbatore weather - pleasant than ever. My mind breezed into the past couple of days. Well, I should say that is way better than rocketing into the future.

*Concentric Circles Revolving begins*

We have played Pictionary before. But, last night was so much more fun. Vijay, Vivek and his cousin on one team, and, Me, Vibushan and Vivek's sister the opponents, it was the best set of games we'd ever played. Vijay and Vivek were on their best entertaining spree with so many jokes. I had to force myself to sleep, unable to stop replaying the fun.

Today was nothing short. We had thrilling rounds of Counterstrike in the morning and afternoon. We got to chatting for a while and met Harini Maam at her place. Again, all of us laughed so much that I can't recall all the jokes; they were all in such quick succession. JP joined us late and we had our dinner at Alankar Grande. It all began over dinner, with this personality quiz that I asked Anandh. The quiz went like, I'd give them a word and they should tell what comes up to their mind and that relates to their priority in life. Coffee was one of the words and Anandh came up with "morning". Can you blame him??? Well, that's the specialty of out gang. Coffee actually mapped up to sex and the idea of Anandh, coffee, morning and sex was so hilarious that we were laughing so loudly and for a long time. There had to be an end to it and as per plan we headed to Race Course for a good night's walk.

*Concentric Circles Revolving begins*

I was driving along K.G.Theatre (now Big Cinemas), with Anandh behind. We were almost there. As my lips curved into a smile about the fun filled days, a Hunk zoomed past us and the guys on the bike were roaring with laughter. From the sounds, we could say it was JP and Vibushan, still laughing over Anandh's coffee joke. :P

Race course, our favorite spot for relaxed but chatterbox walks, was nothing less that night. Deepak joined us at Race Course and we completed the round slow by time and fast by realization. We clicked many photos of TR style, Sam Anderson style (again, food for Vibu and JP's laughter - they were on a roll that night) and so on. Past midnight, we left race course and headed straight to my place. We played cards for a while, and my system playin all our favorite tunes. After cards, Vivek and Vijay wanted to call it a day, while, Vibushan, JP, Deepak, Anandh and me settled in the portico for a long chat.

It was past 4AM. We had to sleep. We arranged mats and bedspreads in the hall and lay down to sleep. The small leftover talks were fading away. Talking to murmuring to whispering to silence and we were stay put. It was like that for a while and my mind again wandered to take in one of the biggest changes about to happen in my life. I had to shift to Madurai the next day. A big load of packing and shifting work awaited me in the morning. All this hanging out had come to an end. Four years of college had taught me to understand, mingle, and love. The last lesson, probably, the toughest of all, to separate had to be learnt. My heart sank deep and I knew I had to cry, in fact I was almost there. Suddenly, a roaring sound diverted my thoughts.

JP and Vibushan were still in form, laughing at Anandh for his coffee joke, adding a TR interview joke here and there. In fact the entire personality quiz of Anandh was so hilarious and I'm sure he knows that too. :) :)

Sriraj

Coimbatore

24th September 2008

Those were the best days of my life.

The Moon ride

A fun filled end to 2009, I should say. Overlooking half a dozen people who left us behind, the family has something to look forward to in 2010, which will see two wedlocks and thats good to keep us going for a long time. Further, I'm a would-be uncle to two kids (twins) from April '10. Brushing aside all mourning and sadness, we danced to the fastest tunes possible on New year's eve. New year in Cbe was back with a bang.

After all the celebration, some real estate research, routine work and a very special catching up, I got into for what I'm going to demand season tickets in future - ABT travels (Coimbatore/Chennai). The bus was not as good as always; the seat was smaller, space between the front seat lesser and so on. I was definitely not comfortable. The AC hadn't started to bite me yet, it was pleasant than it would be when I get up in the morning. Known for the perfect timing, the bus started sharp half past nine.

I did not have my headsets, which ruled out listening to songs. Hence, I decided to catch up with some old friends and started calling one by one. After a couple of calls, that lasted altogether for half hour, my dad couldn't take anymore (sitting next to a person catching up on the PJs cracked in college is not as easy as it sounds). When I hung up on the second call, he asked, "Do you need my mp3 player?" and I accepted it with gratitude.

I plugged in the headsets and tried to tune in Radio Mirchi or any other FM channel, but none of them had anything that I wanted, so I switched to my Dad's Harris Jeyraj collection and sank into the comfort of my pushback. As I rested my head, I was looking straight out of the black, transparent, sealed window, right up to the sky.

The moon, white with distorted black marks, a diameter of 5-8 cms (from my view) was travelling with me. I couldn't appreciate it at first, well, I would say, except for a couple of times in the past, never have I. I was reminded of a movie where a guy says that he looks at the moon when he missed someone and he could see that person there. At that time, I thought, well, the script writer had tried to break the laws of video conferencing. :P

I was just looking at it with my mind all blank, eyes open to the occasional texting. It was literally following the bus, well, it could have actually been inside the bus as a co-traveler. I kept looking at it, and it slowly started to sink in what a beautiful sight it was. A small ball of light kept me company, like a ray of hope amidst pitch silence. The player went into playing "Azhiyilae" from Dhaam Dhoom. The plucking sound in the background and the soothing vocals blended with the scene. It was definitely romantic and I had agreement on that.

I played the song over and over again and kept staring out. At times, it would go out of the sight, as the bus followed the highway and I would have to either adjust the curtains or wait for the bus to come back on track. This happened for a long time and I never knew I fell asleep, until around 4AM when I woke up and found my mobile still on my lap and a void where my companion shone bright till I remembered.

Oh fellow traveler!

I see in you,

Maybe what I missed.

Or what I may have now.

For time should say,

What I would retain?

Hope is all I carry,

Worries are all put to bury!

The silence, the light,

The happiness, the love.

Tonight's moon ride,

Would stay forever with pride!

Once again, Happy New year everyone! Lets together wish for the coming true of all that one hopes for and that one goes places in 2010.

Exams & us!!!!

"Da, Do you know how to execute a JSP code?" asked JP, his face carried a cool smile.

"Man! What's the full form of CGI?", I asked, totally not taking in what he had just said to me. He was equally unmoved like i was speaking Latin.

"Hey guys! Vivek was all wierd when he called me. He mentioned about some IT lab exam tomorrow and that we are gonna prepare now", Vibu entered the room. JP and myself broke into very heavy laughter.

We had just met for the preparation of our Internet Technologies(IT) lab exam. JP, who usually comes last, had reached earlier. It was one of the toughest labs we have ever had, at least according to us. The reason is that we never gave the slightest attention in the IT class. A very simple reason-sake answer: Classes are boring. The truth is that most of us are not interested in everything about engineering. Each one of us had different interests and did well in those aspects, discarding the rest.

                                                                                       
                                     One of those exam eves, spent playing cards!

Our Gang: Vibushan(Vibu or Bushan), Jayaprasad(JP), Vijay(Sumo), Me, Vivek and Anandh. To define our gang, i'd use the word "exam time fun people". We have our own way of taking up exams. All those night stays during exams can never be forgotten by any of us. Exam eves were the best of all. More than studying, what we used to do is planning. Schedules were re-scheduled always and in the end, we'd have had so much fun that our minds would be a blank slate. In the end, While dispersing, JP and Vibu would conclude, "Machan, full discussion in bus tomorrow." Hats off to them, they'd do all the work that others did the whole day, in the bus.

The exams would be even more interesting. Getting to know small facts and tips here and there from everyone and passing it on, just before the exam, in front of the hall. When the question paper is distributed, staring at each other, reassuring that the others in the gang are also blinking. Vivek and I would give the picture that we're writing very seriously. However, the race is who would fly out of the hall first. The rest would be furious until one of us would just get up and storm out of the exam hall. Anandh, the leisure writer, always remained idle in the exam hall. He'd be stretching, yawning, cleaning his eyes with the thumb and index finger of his right hand etc. Vibushan, once he starts writing stories, would irritate us by going on writing till the end. However, most of the time, he is a good story teller.

Vijay, looking at him in the exam hall is the best time pass. His peculiar way of biting his nails as he writes will be so hillarious that we can't stop laughing. He gives attention to every detail duirng the exams. I don't want to go into the description. LOL!!!!

In the end, there would be no difference between any of us. Of course, marks may differ according to how we've done the exams. However, none of us would have learnt anything great nor would have that helped us in the so called internals, nor would we prepare well next time. The fact is most of the time, we just tried to avert failing the semester rather than learn something.

Thus, whether i miss College, classes or anything else, i would definitely miss those exams and the eves we spent planning how to spend our leave. Three cheers to us....