Guts!!!!

When i knew i will be in US in the next couple of days, I just made sure, i do not inform the near and dear that i will be visiting them soon. It was not that i wanted prove something to someone, but just that i loved surprises, i wanted to surprise the few dear ones here. Alas, as fate could always dance kathakali when u really want to do a bahratha natiyam.....People got to know it before hand, while i was in the air dreaming, how much would people be surprised....and it turned out to be me, who finally had to emote all the surprises...LOL

Venki, as i had dearly called him and troubled him a lot during my childhood, though was not surprised about my arrival, he was surprised by my guts to come all the way from INDIA and hoping i can manage things by myself after i reach here. I had always wondered how people managed when they went alone abroad....when they can, i too can handle....

Over the phone, he just said,"Irundalum dairiyam dan". But i felt not. If at all i do sound more confident, a person who is sure about his ways, its all because of two persons, who just taught me at various point of time which were the important phase of my life. The due credit must be theirs for shaping well, for making me portray as one confident man in front of many.

The first one is none other than kalyan.I had already shared my memories about it http://sobeitram.blogspot.com/2009/07/cricket-was-passion-long-time-back.html If not for him, i would have started to always look to elders and others to protect me. That incident really helped me in carving a niche for me among my friends.

After that incident i did handle myself well in my hometown. But whenever i went to a new place, i was always shy and was not confident, how people would treat me when i go out...since i will not know the language, their custom etc....It so happened, i visited one of my cousins. Just before i entered my college. And this fella lived in a place called Bangalore then. Kannada was supposed to be language of the city, but all other languages were more prevalent than Kannada.

It was the summer and Cricket was dominating the hearts of many than the hot sun during those times. We too were all geared up to watch the match, unfortunately the picture would not come on the screen. My cousin did some research (LOL) and found the satellite cable wire was cut off. He asked me to get a new holder from a nearby shop. I was happy till then. But suddenly the world around me shrunk. My visions were blurring.

I honestly told him, i cannot. First he thought i was kidding and he just told me to go. This went for five mins. By then he was irked. "If u cannot go there and talk to people, what are u going to do when u visit places? Do u think language is the problem? So what go out there, find the shop and talk. Only if u talk, u can get what u want. Else u will be totally useless". These were the advices poured and frankly it just took time to sink in me. Even after that, i sat in a corner, while he went out to fetch the same. It was on that day, i realized what i can really do when i just think a little further and how i can get myself into trouble, if i just think far too long :):)

He is none other than Gobli, as i always called him. If not for him, i would not have walked the various streets and towns on my own, since then. If not for him, i would not have gained the experience that i have with me, which i earned through various adventures.

Life has not always been kind to everyone. To me honestly, i must confess, it has been great.Time and again someone or the other turns up in the corner to help me out and learn things.

May glory be with kalyan.

Should i

call it the good times or its the work of Kalyan. Moving things at lightning speed, making them happen, when everyone thought it impossible and when i was offgaurded, he still stands tall gracing me all his blessings and setting his watchful eyes on all the paths that i walk upon. These paths are indeed his blessings and he carves my destiny. If not for him, this would not have definitely happened, that too given the short notice and amount of work that it involved.

And this will not be proper post, if i dont credit three people who helped me in achiveing the target.
1) Kuttan
2) Manmadhan
3) Manickam

Days to come, will elaborate on all the happenings. Time to leave.
Let glory be with Kalyan.

Any New Ideas!!!

A long day at the office and i could not find time to visit the rest room when i really wanted to. PHEW!!!! Finally, near the EOD, i took one final break. Along with my team mates, i paid a visit to the heavenly spot, the mecca of my office, which was long overdue. After a little wait and impatience, i was able to relax and enjoy happily.

Suddenly a voice echoed near me. "Any Ideas?".

"Ya, I am enjoying it. Its the greatest time man can ask for on this earth", were my first thoughts. But then, who the heck was asking that bloody question inside that place and that too at that moment of time.

I turned a bit towards my left, only to find a wide grinning mouth in which i was easily able to spot almost 32 teeth and I have never had such a close encounter. It is now heartening to realize that i didn't lose my wit then. Had i lost it, I would have fallen down on the floor with my fly open and the holy water sprinkling!!!!!

It was the brilliant guy, whom the regular readers of this blog are familiar with. This fellow was asking me if i have any new ideas for the discussion that we had on that noon.

And wow!!!! What a place and timing to ask for it!!! Kudos to the hero!!!!

For those who are wondering who it is, it is Kuttan.

Why all that pain???

Throwing surprises to people around me has always kept me happy. And when it comes to birthdays of my dear friends, i take an extra effort to do that....Since my school days, me, yuppie and Akkubukku have surprised each other and many others with our birthday gimmicks. During my stay at the hostel, whenever it was a birthday it was a party time for us.

from cutting cake to surprise gifts, to playing virudangam on one's back sharp at 12 we have done innumerable things. All this would not have been possible had people not supported my plans.

And ever since, we stepped into this bloody corporate life, things have not been the same. People started marching the paths in their vicinity. The first few months of my so called career launch in chennai would have strained the hell out of me had manmadhan and viswanathan not been around. They were there always willing to help me out at any point of time, like a 24/7 support service. Raj, Mokkai and manickam have stood by my side by all means till this very minute......And i am indeed happy for having such people around me....

The more i think about my stay in chennai ever since i kept my foot on this bloody beautiful city, i cannot help but thank god and my wonderful parents. God for blessing me with whatever i needed at the right time and my parents for their great upbringing which sowed a lot of good virtues that helped me gain people who really cherished me having in their circle, who went out of their ways to keep me happy and helped me in times of need.

I always found myself in debt before them for their shower of love and affection towards me. These people walked into my life at various point of time for various reasons and i have always been at the receiving end from them.

Why all these feelings suddenly? Am i getting a bit emotional? Answer may not be a NO straight away, coz their is no point to shun away form the truth.

I have always thought about giving something back to these cute people in my life, alas i had nothing!!!! And all i could think was to plan a surprise package for them on their birthday. And as always they were executed successfully though not perfectly :):) with a great deal of help from few good friends.

A birthday occurred last week for a good friend of mine. By all means i decided to throw in a surprise for him by appearing at his doorstep for his birthday right at 00:00 hours. And as planned with the help of raj and few others i did reach his home at 00:00, did the cake cutting ceremony, made all sorts of arts on his face. On the same evening, this guy called me up and asked me "Why all that pain?".

This, i have done last year too. Appearing at the doorstep is a very common thing. Unlike last year, we were separated by a good 400 odd kilometres. I had a hectic office schedule which he was aware of. I left for his home the evening before his birthday, surprised him right at 12 midnight and came back the same day.

If not even these little things, what else am i going to give them all back? After all little things do matter a great deal in this gorgeous life. Seeking an opportunity to keep these people happy have always topped my to-do list.And this is one such chance which keeps coming every year.

Above all there is one more reason why i take all that pain. That will linger in me.....as has always been for a long time....

Hopefully not deserted for long!!! :'(

one thing that has always hovered my mind has been music. Be it marriage, funeral, exams, interviews, tough day at the office some music has always haunted. I always found myself humming some tune all the time. Even during my twelfth board exams, i was warned by the invigilator on all days of the exams.....

Yes...even when i had to travel for 120 mins on a 20min long stretch inside the city, the music was always there in my mind which brought peace.....the reason behind such a beautiful asset in me has a good history. My mom is the first critical incident in that beautiful history. She sings well till date. Sadly she never took it seriously. The next good thing that happened in my life was having two sisters :):)....people of my tribe always thought the fairer sex must have a good knowledge of the carnatic music. So be it!! and a master visited our abode to train my sisters vocals....This was the phase and i was really inclined to think there was no good thing other than this glorious music and i hope my thoughts are still the same today, HOPEFULLY!!!!!:(

My dad too contributed his share of music in me. he was an avid lover of music. "Rock to ragaas" that was the first carnatic cassette given to me by dad. It was awesome. That was the time when A R Rahman had become a sensation and i was thinking more about him as the icon of music.....Yes he is indeed. But my tribe though they never opposed cini music, gave more preference to the carnatic.....

The cover had the great saint tyagaraja sporting a guitar in a traditional panjagajam:):). That really struck a chord in me. "Swagatham krishna", "paluke bangara", "provabharama", "raghuvamsa ", "pibare rama rasam" those were the first set of songs that i heard and kept blabbering all the time. With no formal classes and no idea of the fundamental tala, raga and laya found it really hard to reproduce the song the way they arrived at my ears. With occasional guidance from mom, soon i learnt to control my pitch and understood what it would be to sing soothingly :):) but unfortunately i never was able to deliver the same consistently...lets not talk consistency when i cannot sing the same verse the same way twice :):)

People always applauded me whenever i sang something....Ya coz i was a kid then...and i was singing with no coaching.....slowly as i grew, the feeling of inferiority of no formal training started encroaching my mind. As time went by, i sang less....though i always knew i had a better calibre, a voice that was gifted by the almighty which many craved for, i never really bothered to put them to use.... The big thing along this journey has been the entry of a great singer's audio collection in my shelf. Maharajapuram Santhanam, the voice always brought great smile and peace. oothukadu collection, tyagarja krithis the lists are endless...Be it any song, he always fascinated me. At the same time the calls of, "please sing that song" made me feel embarrassed and really pissed me off.....

For me music was divine and to commit a mistake deliberately in the world of divinity is unforgivable. Yup. I knew, i lacked the clarity on alpana, raga, thala and laya, the basic things of a sweet music. I never wanted to sing in front of a crowd (remember more than two is a crowd) even though the crowd had no knowledge. But my denial was always perceived as me being hypocrite :'( :'( sadly did people realise what i went through on those circumstances....

Slowly i started singing when i was alone. I sang for a peace of mind, for a beautiful solitude, an enlightened mind and above all to check if i can re-produce atleast a part of the song like the masters :):)...it always ended in vain.....

May be the feeling of embarrassment and being a villian in front of others made me more distanced from the clan. And today i find myself more distanced from the beautiful music that has always been with me during the tough and best times....

Will i ever get back that tunes running through my souls? Will i be able to bridge the distance between the loved ones i dug a long time back? Only time alone holds the answer.....

After all to be down and low, and to come out stronger has been every human's history and i guess i will be no different....

The game of doctors

Playing doctor would have happened in most of the people's childhood. If not don;t worry u can always play with your kids when u have one :);).....Whenever it can be called as an occasion, our home was the crux of all activities. Everyone gathered to grace the occasions. My dad had 5 siblings and naturally, the number of kids in our home was always a huge number :):) Elders in our house were always skeptic when ever we gathered. yup when all cranky, crooked kids come together there will be no famine for troubles :):)

It was one such day, and that was no exception. Frustrated, we were all put into a room and the door was locked outside :):). So we had all the time and room for ourselves. We decided to engage ourselves by playing the game of doctors and patient :):). Well whenever it came to acting, my urge for perfection always took centre stage. I donned the role of the doctor. I prepared a medicine and treated all my cousins who took the role of the patients.

Soon we were all called for lunch. So we happily left the room and ate. People were getting ready for the noon nap as everyone completed their lunch. We kids as usual were creating a havoc in the house. Slowly one by one, fell down unconsciously. And i was the last :):):)

The BP shot up for my parents. As i was slowly loosing my conscious, my mom laid me in her lap and interrogated me....

MOM: "என்னடா பண்ணின?"

ME: "ஒன்னும் பண்ணலாமா...."

MOM: "எதாவது சாப்டியா?"

ME: "டாக்டர் வளையாட்டு.....வளா.....யாடி....நோம்...."

MOM: "அப்போ என்ன பண்ணின?"

ME: "மருந்து கொடு...தென்....எல்லார்க்கும்..."

By now, my mom ran to the room and searched frantically if she could get hold of that medicine.... Well she could not locate any manufactured medicine. But she did find out what that medicine was.

We were all immediately rushed to the hospital and treated well...

Well for those of you who were wondering what that medicine was.....My mom, found an empty ODOMOS tube and a small cup containing water + some cream. She immediately knew what i had prepared ;);)

Till date that remains a great history in our home :):) :D:D

The naked mile

62,Chadrashekara puram. The place where i had spent most of my childhood. During my childhood, i never liked to wear any dress. I always used to stand and roam around naked. Even the doodh wala (milk man) who came daily to our home would ask me "குஞ்சு குடு" (give me your dick)....

One day my sisters decided, they would put an end to me roaming around naked. My elder sister held me by my hand and my younger sister put the clothes on me. I got away from them, took off the dress and ran out of the house. My younger sister ran behind me.

I went to the streets. I ran the entire street. It was blocked on one end and it was sure a long one. The road stretched for one kilometer easily. I ran all the way till the dead end and back to the start of the street and then back home. All the while, my younger sis was behind me trying to get me back home :D:D

The entire street was watching as if a bull fight was happening. It was the longest and the only naked mile that i ran....

I never got a chance again sadly :(:( :D:D

On a new beautiful cotton cloth, the tender body of the 1 year old mortal rested. Smiling beautifully at the audience, it was her 1st anniversary since she came to this world. People had gathered to grace the occasion.

A beautiful smile adorned the sweet lips and well set on the cheeks ignorant about the near future. As everyone one left to look after their own work, her granny sat near the child, looking at her occasionally. Granny was pre occupied with her own books.

Suddenly a siren broke the silence..."ammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..", the level of volume was on the rise and suddenly granny felt it to be so near her and looked at the child. It was indeed the child that was crying.....Granny couldn't get herself to the reality....The child was just smiling happily few mins back and now @!@#@#!@#!@#....

She slowly took the child in her arms, consoled her with her gentle touch and put her down. Back to square one, the child happily smiled back at her granny, maybe a silent thanks :). Granny got back to her work. Few mins passed silently and again went the siren. This time the granny was quick enough to gaze around, She found a pair of legs running down the hall taking a sharp turn to vanish from the vicinity.

Granny, took the baby in her arms, consoled it and put it back to rest. She was all agitated now and her mind instructed to be on high alert...Down the hall, a pair of eyes with a sheepish smile, came out of the hiding and kept gazing at the child. The eyes now looked at the granny with a hostile look. She was busy reading....

The eyes kept looking at the doll. All excitement in the eyes, for the doll could move its hands, give out a shrill when its soft skin is pinched. The brain was already amazed how beautiful the doll is and worried why that granny is kept on guard. Little did the 18 month old pair of eyes realise, it is just another child just 6 month behind in time.

Slowly walking along the sides of the wall, avoiding the corridor pathway, the pair of eyes got ready for the next assault. It neared the child, with the fingers ready to mince the tender skin. Slowly the hands moved across....

"aiiiiii....". It was granny. she was on high alert. B4 the hand could touch the skin, granny shouted. The pair of legs took off. It ran to save itself. That was the last it attempted to pinch the child.

The child slept happily, ever happily, only for that day.

And for those of you reading this and wondering who these people are, the child is a cousin of mine and i am the proud owner of the pair of legs and eyes in the story!!!!!!!!!!!!

Definite moment.....

In continuation with my previous post http://sobeitram.blogspot.com/2009/07/definite-moment.html

I shouldn't have got selected. I have been put in the wrong plane. These were the initial comments from vasudevan. Viswanathan was elated and we were all happy for all of us. barring bandu and manmadhan, me, vasan, vasudevan, mokkai, viswanathan, kadalai, thonti were all given a berth. It was a definite moment in each of our lives.

We came out, chatted for sometime.....Everyone started for hostel. We all decided to leave for home. share the news with our kith and kin. As everyone left, i roamed around the college. I always kept a balance of 100 ruppes in my phone, ever since the placement mela started. I kept that in reserve to make one important call that i had been longing to make. I had always dreamed of making that call when i get an offer letter. I had visualised it a 1000 times, ever since i started my college life.

I dialled the number, but put the call down, thinking it would be the wrong time to call. I tried again but hesitated to complete the call. This happened few times. It was 3.30 in the morning. I was roaming around trying to make a phone call. Atlast i gathered up all courage and placed the call. TRING, the first ring passed by....the second too went by..by now i was contemplating whether to wait or hang the call....before i could here the third one, there was the person i always longed to talk to.."Hello Shankar"

It was only in 2006 i had called her, since 1999. Ever since she left the home after getting married, i had rarely talked to her. I always wanted to call her,only on that day. If not win a gold medal in the academics just like her, i decided that i will surely call her as the first person when i receive an offer letter. What followed it was an emotional conversation that lasted for 10 mins. It was a 1000 times better screenplay than i had visualised it over the years. It was a great feeling to hear her after some many years in a happy and joyful mood. She was my dear elder sister, whom i always cherished. It was one mind blowing moment, moment that i had waited for a long time, a moment that i had longed for, for a long time then......It was indeed the definite moment for me.....

Definite moment....

May 6,2008. It was just another morning for me. But people were flocking around getting dressed up and keeping themselves busy even in the mess hall of our hostel. Many felt, they finally gonna find their destiny. It was just another company visiting our campus as part of the placement program.

Our room was always electric. Not in the sense we too were in the mood just like the others in the campus....we just had our usual routine. Each one of us got up, made fun of each other...kept mocking at the people who were busy with their placement preparations. The only difference that i am able to rember right now is that, me mokkai, kadalai and vasan took bath early. We were neatly dressed up. And to surprise of ourselves, we all were shaved clean:):):)yup...at least one of us (either me or vasan) in the room always badly needed a good shave!!!!!!!( yup kadalai can never be found unshaved, while for mokkai...."company secrets cannot be disclosed" LOL)

me vasan and kadalai left early to mess and mokkai followed us after sometime. That was because of his unusual, weird perceptions and ideas. To describe, how his ideas of basic day to day activities (bathing, brushing etc) can be weird, will require an entire post spanning few weeks to complete:):)...so just take my word....his was(and still is) the best weird custom and perceptions of doing things, i have come across till date(MOKKAI!!!! no offence meant here, if u are reading this:):)...TO ALL OTHERS, i must confess he is the most hygienic guy on the earth i have met till date)

I still remember we had vadai on that day, along with kichadi and idly too i guess...not sure...while everyone else was hurrying for the pre placement talks, we kept our cool, while i was busy counting the number of vadas i was having, vasan was busy mocking at kadalai who in turn was busy gulping down as much sambar and chutny rather than idlis and kichadi!!!!!

Mokkai joined in and he too had his share of fun mocking at vasan, for his beautiful hairstyle!!!! I am sure people would have cursed us like anything:):) The walk from our mess to the pre placement talk centre took 15mins. On our way we were joined by vasudevan...Even on that day vasudevan was not spared. We reached the building and to our amazement, the auditorium was packed.....GUESS WHAT!!!! just like any other movie theatre, friends from our department had reserved seats for us!!!!!!!!!WOW....people where busy preparing for placement, irked coz they couldn't get in...but with great calm, we made our way in:):):)

Just like any other pre placement talk, showcasing what they have achieved, and what they may achieve and after all if we join them whats in store for us!!!! All the while, we were giggling and chatting, least bothered about the presentation. Mokkai was the serious guy who made note of the irrelevant key points from the slide!!!!! Immediately after the pre placement talk we had the so called aptitude test....To put in layman words choose the best(desired) one (or rather do inniki pinki ponkey kinda...LOL)

It was just another class room, we chose our seats. Thonti, kadalai made sure they sat next to each other. While vasudevan was seated on my right, vasan and mokkai were lost else where. The much awaited test began. Thonti as usual decided to follow the inniki ponki style for the few and discuss with kadalai for the major half. somehow or the other, we completed and came out. It took them two hours to put up the list of people shortlisted for the next round. Almost most of us made it to the list except for few unlucky people...(i just realise now, it was a blessing in disguise for them!!!!)

We got ourselves ready for the interview round. While me thonti and kadalai were seated on one side, vasan and mokkai took the other. For two hours me and kadalai sat there giggling and mocking at all the people...finally vexed with the wait, we really needed some entertainment...my eyes were firmly struck on thonti...for one and half hours, we had the ultimate fun. After which, kadalai was called in, followed by thonti and then me!!!! Finally the interview was over. It was ten by then. I was sure i had lost it...After few chit chatting we decided to fill our tummy. We were sure, nothign was in the mess. So we reached our famous college canteen. The man in charge was already pulling the shutters. We grabbed the available biscuits and chips and came out. We were joined by bandu and manmadhan...once again the fun began....bandu was at this best and with manmadhan around, we just rocked....After the so called dinner, i decided to retire for the day. And so did others. But vasan didn't feel like sleeping so he persuaded us to wait for the result and hence we restrained from leaving fro hostel...

May 7,2008. We were still roaming....The temple, which was always populated by couples and lovers, was deserted....the ever busy office rooms were closed. That was the only time all through my college life, i felt happy to be part of that college...it was great to be there....It was 2am, when the results were anounced. All were asked to gather, from the first floor, the selected names were read. Each one of us mokkai, kadalai, me, vasan, viswanathan and finally vasudevan too were called out.

We were directed to our esteemed(or so was thought about) training and placement auditorium. Each one of us was handed the offer letter. True, One definite moment of our lives. It was 2.30 in the morning, we all signed the offer letter....

To be continued.....

“A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

(German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900.)

People refrained from calling him a lunatic at times. That was how he was perceived. Way ahead of many fellow humans, his intellectual thinking and analytical reasoning knows no bounds when he is in the mood for the game. Rarely people understood his arguments, for that matter expect for a privileged few, men around him found him incorrigible....

very lean, he was always a clown for many. People rarely took him seriously. His ideas in general blended with creativity were awesome. He has an impeccable knowledge in the fields of literary, science, technology and law....vodka, wine and likes of alcohol too.....his accuracy for events on the global stage along with the relevant data cannot be doubted...People never believed him, but i always had the faith in him....

Put in the wrong stream of studies, miseries engulfed him. He rarely cared to read and cared for people around him...That was how others perceived. But he always cared for others and debated on their problems and desperately wanted to find the solutions deep in his heart. There were days when this bloody fellow skipped meals for days together, just coz he was bugged down with some beautiful technical theory or fellow human's plight...

My relation with him had been one to cherish so far......Always there whenever needed, whether to pay for my food or to play pranks or to make fun of him to get my time going....We had shared beautiful days of fun and debacles...There were times when i had to pull him out of his doomed illusioned world, where he was portrayed as mediocre, useless and totally pathetic....Those were the times, that brought us close. I always believed him for his words and wished, he finds the right door.

During our campus placements, he was the one who coached us with his mock drills for various GD and interviews....There were days when we had roamed from tanjore to trichy with just 50 bucks in pocket...we always somehow found to keep us busy and happy...

All good things comes to he who waits.

Yes he had to wait for 6 long years to enter his dream world...to experience his world in reality....My friend though graduated with an engineering degree and found a job to keep him going, his desire to vanquish his portrait built in the minds of many, pestered him to persuaded the course of his desire....

He waited and with patience found the right one...IIT Kharagpur. Topped the entrace exams and cleared the PI and GD. When he called me a fortnight back to share his joy, my joy knew no bounds.....Pride had no limits..

That was a special experience, knowing your faith to be right, your prayers coming true, finding your best pal in the right place......

Beginning of his ascent.....Wishing Airavathan the best of luck.....Waiting to see him reach the epitome.

Cricket was a passion, long time back...those were the days, i had played cricket all through the day sans food...yup those were the times, i forgot my appetite for food, i was always outside, whether in a local ground or on the streets or in the river bed of cauvery, playing cricket....

I was nicked named மத யானை (ANGRY ELEPHANT)!!!!!!!!!! Yup that was how i used to play...i had never treated a ball with dignity....Everything was sailing fine...One fine day, we were playing in the backyard of my friend's house. The excitement got out of our hands and we decided to use the cricket ball...we had no gloves, no pads...well not even the important guard( now thinking about that, i think we were all lucky since we were not hit by the ball...)...

We normally play test cricket, yup that would have just one innings....on that day my team had scored nearly 300+runs, and i was on 99....it was too much for me, i just cut the ball too square....TINCH......a window shattered to pieces in the adjacent compound....i ran to my house like a criminal....

A old lady lived in that house...she came shouting outside...and i knew i was doomed for ever...My dad settled the account with ease by buying a new window glass......I never stepped out of my home for the next 4 days....for the first two days i was shivering and i felt i will be killed, if i go outside...i assumed people will flock around from all corners of my colony and beat me black and blue...i was worried deep inside me, i decided i had committed a grave mistake and i am sure to be punished...

My grand dad realised the happenings, he just called me on the 5th day and gave me the cricket bat...he just asked me to break all the windows that i seem fit to be punished and said he will take care of the problem...

As i returned back home that evening, my grand dad called me and advised me personally..."things will not always be easy....people will always not be near you to help u in all times...learn to face the music, so that either u can change the genre of the music or u can get used to the rhythm"....

A great teaching, that has helped me, to get me past few hurdles and pull my friends too out of great troubles.....

To ride a cycle...

Humiliation......everyone must have had to put up with it at least once in there life time...For me, i would say, the first one came when i was doing my 4th standard...thinking about it now, i cannot control myself from laughing...some succumb to humiliation, but others try to fight it back, but few start the fight and a handful of people come out stronger and with flying colors....a strong heart, a desire and a will to prove oneself, is all it takes....a small incident more than a decade back in my life taught me to handle humiliation,what it takes to prove that critics are wrong...

It was around 1994/95, i started learning, to ride a bicycle. Till then i had always peddled a bicycle, whose stand stood firm on the earth. The bicycle i had though to have driven was always tall, it took someone to make me sit on the seat and get me back down!!!!! I had never visualised what it really took to ride one :):).....riding the cycle on the road will be the same as peddling it when it is perched on its stand:):) that was my imagination....

There was this particular shop in our neighbourhood, which gave bicycles on a hourly rent basis. Whenever i passed through the shop, something urged me to get one, something told me i will get one cycle from there soon:):)....There was a dark blue cycle, which was very small...I had my eyes always on it...

One fine evening, i had few bucks in my hand and rented the blue cycle.....The shop owner reluctantly gave me the vehicle...

owner: சைக்கிள் ஓட்ட தெரியுமா? (do u know to ride a cycle?)
me: அப்படியே ஒக்கார வச்சு தள்ளி விட்டீங்கன்னா, அப்படியே ஓட்டிட்டு போயிருவேன். (Just push me, having me seated in the cycle, and i will drive)

The owner was glaring at me, maybe that was the first time, he was hearing such beautiful answers:):) So as requested, they made me sit on the cycle and pushed me.....

I had always peddled a cycle whose wheel never touched the surface:):) this was the first date with a wheel on the surface...i just went straight and fell near a ditch...the cycle fell into the ditch, everyone including the owner and people on the road laughed, children were giggling...the shop owner refused to accept the bicycle, and he told me to clean it and give me back after one hour....

with embarrassment and tears in my eyes, i took the cycle and walked all the way to my friend's house....i washed the cycle....kept in sun to dry for an hour and requested my friend to hand it over in the shop....

That was the first day, i had experienced humiliation...i wanted to prove something, i wanted to tel them i can ride a cycle....for the next two days, i mind was hovering way beyond my control seeking a plan to avenge the humiliation......the third evening, i requested a friend of mine to lend me his cycle and teach me to ride....he gave his cycle and taught me to ride too....

It took me one week to master the act of riding impeccably....i went to the same shop, took the same cycle. This time, the shop owner was laughing all the time while handing over the cycle to me....I just took the cycle, rode it once round the street and came back to the same shop...

me: எனக்கும் சைக்கிள் ஓட்ட தெரியும். (i too know to ride a cycle)

with that word, the shop keeper's expression changed and there was gentle smile....i took the cycle and rode it happily for the next three hours in my neighbourhood....all the money was sponsored by my grand dad.....

though a very silly one, this has changed the way i look at things.....one of the few building blocks of scanty good traits in me....:):)

Once a thief......

Feburary 1992. We had made Ganapathy nagar, as our new abode. I was doing my second standard. School was a good 7 km from our home. To commute daily, an Auto was arranged. Everything was new to me. Till then, i walked to school mostly accompanied by someone from home. New faces in auto, and new trends to follow....

There were pupils of all ages and classes in the auto. I was given a pocket money of 5 rupees max...POCKET money, that was the first time, i had the privilege of receiving one. I did not know, people called it POCKET money then...So were the other fellas in the auto....each had their own pocket money...

Well the intentions were simple...Either i should be able to catch a bus and reach home or call them from a public phone when required....Well what do u think i used it for???? I used to buy sweets which cost just 25-50 paise in large quantities...then what???just eat them:):) There was one sweet which had tamarind in it plus something else. There was a round shaped chocolate for 50p enclosed in a golden wrapper. the myth was that, occasionally there could be a one rupee coin within the chocolate!!!!!!!!!!! That is how they marketed it!!!!! There was one more famous chocolate fondly called as suthu mittai!!!(சுத்து மிட்டாய்) This was my favorite. It is a round solid chocolate with two tiny holes at the center. A small tight cord runs through each hole and has no open end. When given enough pressure by wounding the cord, on release of pressure, the cord unwinds and the chocolate rotates. Though a simple mechanism, it always fascinated me:):)

As days went by, most of the fellow travellers became my friends. buying things in the noon became a habit...And i was enjoying every bit of it...Over the days, i felt i did not have enough capital to match other guys. We played a small game where each of us will buy the suthu mittai and ferociously play with it. The person who had the large number of unbroken mittais at the end was the winner....

Since i had only few rupees, i always lost. After few days, it was difficult to handle the daily lose and lose of the so called dignity:):):) So i decided to increase my capital!!! but how???? The first day, i took an extra rupee from kitchen :):) without my mom's knowledge....

As days went by, one rupee became five, then ten finally twenty.....mom's kitchen, dad phant,shirt....NOTHING WAS LEFT BEHIND. Since these mittai wala's will not accept rupees, i had to take pain to find coins of 50 and 25 paise and collect them.....With such money in hand, i was becoming popular as well as winning games among my fellow travellers...

Once after bath, i was trying to hide a lot of coins in my towel, well when i kept a leg forward, each coin with distinct sound fell down and scattered to all corners of the room...MOM found it out...My mom was always soft...she always made me feel comfortable even in my nightmares!!!! She gave a warning and sent me to school...Later that evening she enquired about me to the fellow travellers....

How can they guess my mom was enquiring what i was doing with money!!!!They were happy that i was buying them a lot to eat and they happily told my mom, i am provided with more money and i feed them all!!!!!!!

For next few days, i didn;t think about it...but soon, i caught up with it...this time, with experience, i planned out what i did, how i handled things....Soon it was our school annual day...As usual i geared up for the day with lot of coins in my pocket...I reached school enjoyed the day again every minute of it....While returning back, i slept on my way back home. My parents had accompanied me and when they took me to bed, they found out the coins in my pocket. I was snoring peacefully then...

Next day morning, when i woke up, my dad was sitting patiently next to me. I got up, when to toilet...My mom gave me boost with her usual smiling face....After i gulped every bit of it, my father took me to terrace....I was puzzled by his behaviour!!!I realized what was happening as i stepped on the terrace.

Dad: என்னடா திருடரிய? (are u steeling?)
Me: ????!!!!!!???!!
Dad: இது கெட்ட பழக்கம். காசு வேணுனா கேளு டா. தரேன். இப்படி திருடாத. என்ன வேணாலும் கேளுடா..இப்படி திருடாத!!!. (This is a bad habit.If u need money ask me i will give u. Dont steel like this. Ask me whatever u need, i will give u)

That was the last day i ever thought about stealing money....till date, if i knew it is not mine, i ignore it...those words were really powerful. He neither scolded me nor did he beat me.....

A lesson well learnt!!!!!!!!

It was June 1992, I had just entered my third standard class. We had shifted to a new place-ganapathy nagar. I joined a new school. though my face looked calm, i was always up to something....mischievousness was always at the back of my mind.

Just two weeks into classes, we had free hour in the noon....It is really a boon in those times to get a free hour. Yup in my school, u cannot find a free hour in the timetable. luckily for us, the staff for the period was on leave and their was a miss in assigning an alternate staff for us. Come free time, and kids are bound to be jungle lites :):)

we started chatting, and eventually it broke into a game within the class. some played sitting in their desk, while some monkeys started jumping from bench to bench. Me and a pal sudhakar, were sitting watching everything. we were not interested in these silly games of sitting and playing nor could we afford to jump from bench to bench...yup we had enough fat to restrain us from even thinking about it....

I started tapping the bench gently in a rhythm and it was well acknowledged by a similar tap from him. OH boy!!! now i had a company and found a game of my taste....

We started tapping the bench varying our phase and rhythm...people started to take notice of us and we became aware. A bit of fans and our energy level got boosted and we knew nothing of what we were doing....

As though Beethoven and Mozart were competing for pride, we started tapping the bench louder..that was the start of trouble for us!!!!! It went to such an extent i lifted the entire bench and pounded it on floor twice which was rightly acknowledged by him. Our audiences were awestruck while people in the office were irritated:):)

Came our PT sir, who was portrayed as a hooligan (definitely not a youth!!!), entered the scene....since we were fighting for our pride in front of our audiences, we took no notice of the surroundings and pounded the bench twice,thrice....it went on...all the while he was watching...when he knew the next time would be the count of 5, he interrupted the show!!!!We knew we were caught!!!! Maybe that's why elders said,

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom"

we were caught red handed. A tsunami raised very high in my stomach and i felt like puking!!!!!!Our legs started to tremble, a two minute walk to the office room seemed ages...Our awestruck audience were so entertained that there were a lot of giggles:):)

We marched to office room, and there we were asked to sit outside...all the while i kept my calm,

the minute i sat there a Niagara emerged out of my eyes....and my friend was no exception....

we sat there and i guess we were crying for 20 odd minutes. Then our hooligan came in and asked us not to repeat it and left us home!!!!!! oh boy!!! What a lesson, i learnt on that day, what ever it takes always work in the background and never go public!!!!!!!!!!:):):)

Technical ironies!!!!!!!!!

During my final days in the college, me and raj had the privilege of enjoying the first grade technical comedies. In our pre final sem a crackpot handled one of our subjects....Ya U will realise why i call him THE CRACKPOT!!!! Lets call him Mr Kuppai. Kuppai had enrolled himself for M.Tech in our college and he had to handle classes for undergraduates as part of his course agreement.

Kuppai was in his final semester and he desperately wanted to do some project. He somehow zeroed in on the topic IPv6 protocol. Let me not tell u what he was trying to achieve, because that was useless....He decided that JAVA will be his programming language, coz someone told him, it is easy to handle IPv6 in JAVA....


Now all set, topic was decided, language decided, but how to go about it???? Our Kuppai neither knows a programming language nor does he knows the working of computers....Well let me remind u, he was doing his Master of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering....

I don't know what Raj had against me then, he just went ahead and mentioned my name as the only person who can handle IPv6 in JAVA. IPv6 or even IPv4 or be it anything i knew nothing :) :)...all i knew to do was to add two numbers in java!!!!!!!!

When Mr Kuppai first related his requirement to me, i was reluctant. Boss, i am already busy with my own stuffs, and i am in the final year, its time to party and not to slog...One fine morning very early (ya around 8am), Mr Kuppai called me. I was sleeping....

To this day, whenever someone disturbs my sleep, i make sure, their day is spoiled....And that day was no exception.


Kuppai: Good morning. என்னடா தூங்கிட்டு இர்ருகிய? (Are u sleeping?)
Me: இல்ல கக்கூஸ் போயிட்டு இருந்தேன் . (no i was shitting)
குப்பை: சாரி டா டிஸ்டேர்ப் பண்ணிட்டேனா ? (sorry. Did i disturb u?)
Me: அதன் தெரியுதுல அப்பறம் என்ன சாரி? என்ன வேணும்? (u knew u disturbed me...why sorry? what do u want?)


i felt he never had any dignity to maintain neither self esteem....he was still laughing.

Kuppai: எப்போ என்னோட ப்ரொஜெக்ட முடுச்சு தர போற? (when are u going to get my project completed?)

Me: யோவ்!!!! நா எப்போ உன்னக்கு ப்ராஜெக்ட் பண்ணி தரேனு சொன்னேன்? நீ பாட்டுக்கு கேக்குற? முதல்ல போன வெச்சு தொல. (Yov!!!! when did i tell u i would take care of your project? Just keep the phone down!!!)


I hanged the phone furiously and slept. I knew very well this fella had 50 marks of mine in his hand. maybe i was too arrogant about my capability to score or i was too disturbed in sleep, i am not able to reason out til date, why i spoke in that manner....but i have no regrets till date!!! :):)


Well as days went by, i was not able to stand his torcher and buffoonish activities, that ultimately i agreed to finish his code. It took me a week to complete it. I gave him a demo on an evening and felt that the trouble was over.....


The next day noon, when me and raj were chatting, i received a call from mr kuppai.


Kuppai: என்னைய code எழுதிருக்க? compile பண்ண 1000 error சொல்லுது. உண்ணலாம் போய் பெரிய programmer நு வேற சொல்றாங்க. மேல 3 floor ல இருக்கேன். வா. (what the hell u have written as code? if i compile there are 1000 lines of code. how come people say u are a great programmer? I am in 3rd floor come upstairs)


I was furious and puzzled. Furious coz this crackpot abused and questioned me. Puzzled coz, the code i gave him had only 300 lines with comments. 1000 lines of error!!!! I told raj and left for 3rd floor. Their our hero gave me a heated welcome.


When i went there i was surprised to see a blue screen on which my code was present. I had never seen such a editor for JAVA programs. On closer look i found it to be TURBO C. BINGO!!!! mr kuppai was trying to compile the JAVA program in a C compiler. And why not 1000, it can throw a million errors. By then kuppai started screaming


kuppai: என்னைய தப்பான code கொடுத்துட்டு எமத்தரிய? ( are u cheating me by giving the wrong code?)

me: இது C compiler. JAVA இதுல compile ஆகாது. (this is a c Compile, JAVA will not get compiled)
I was not able to this and had to blabber to myself(MS).
MS: ஆமான் டா உன்னதான் உலகம் தேடிட்டு இர்ருக்கு....உன்னக்கு எல்லாம் எப்படி டா சீட் கொடுத்தாங்க? சவடிகரன் நே இவன்!!!

Kuppai: அதெல்லாம் இல்ல. compiler நா compile பண்ணனும்இல. இது ஏன் compile பண்ணல? (no its not like that. Compiler should compile. why this is not compiling?)

MS: ஆமா பெரிய கண்டு பிடிப்பு. டேய் உன்னையெல்லாம் அல்கொய்தால சிக்க வைக்கணும் டா!!!!

Me: Java வா இப்படி compile பண்ண கூடாது. DOS prompt open பண்ணுங்க. (JAVA should not be compiled like this. Open DOS prompt.)


kuppai: டேய் இது windows xp டா. இதுல dos லாம் வராது. (this is windwos XP. There is no dos prompt) I felt like crying!!!!
MS: டேய் நீ நடிகரிய? இல்ல உண்மைலேயே இப்படிதானா?

Me: சொல்றத செய்ங்க. ctrl + r press பன்னுங்க. இப்போ command நு டைப் பண்ணுங்க. (do as i say. now press ctrl + r. type command)

As he pressed enter the command prompt did open, well to Mr Kuppai's surprise.

Kuppai: இதுல இதெல்லாம் இருகாயா? அநேகமா இது windows xp client நு நேனைகறேன்.
(oh!!! so it has these things? i think this is windows xp client edition!!!!)
MS: அம்மாம்ம்னே நீங்க டேன் விண்டோஸ் கேர்ணல் எழுதுனது. வருஷ படுத்தி சொல்றாரு!!!!!
WOW!!!! What a man!!!!! Even Bill gates wouldn't have done such a wild guess!!!:):)

me: யோவ். தெர்ளன தெர்லன்னு சொல்லுயா. ஏன் யா உளர்ற? (if u don't know keep quiet? don't blabber)

MS: ஐயோ ராமா!!!!என்ன என் இந்தா மாறி கலுசற பசங்கலோடலம் கூட்டு சேர வெக்கற?


kuppai: என்னயா இப்படி சொல்லிட? சரி எப்படி பண்ணனும்னு சொல்லு?
(ok tell me how to compile?)

After that he kept his mouth shut and i just told him how to compile the code and gave him a demo and came back to my class....

Voila....that was indeed a great experience for me..... i then realised the irony every technical support guy would be undergoing!!!!!

Cracking the DS paper for the second time.

Since few of the affected parties requested me to remove this post, i am just heeding to their request....

Carl Lewis Of MIG-8

I opted to stay in the College hostel from the second year of my college.Our college was expanding then. Demand for hostel accommodation was high as against the availability of rooms. So staff quarters were becoming hostels then. I got an accommodation in one such building, MIG. After few weeks, we somehow managed to get our group in MIG and we were a 8 member team.

Though initially we stayed sharing two apartments in our 2nd year, we managed to have a house as our accommodation...... 8 of us and there was no room for any melancholy. Fun and mockery were always in the air. Our department was a ten minute walk from our hostel while, our college office building and temple were a good 15-20 min walk.

The people in the first year classes were shuffled and put in many different sections of our department in our second year. Each of us felt we missed someone or the other coz of the shuffling, but eventually we got over it and found our new pals and kept the good rapport with our old pals too.

My buddy and a close pal of mine vasan, too had one such friend. Well as fate has its way, they too were separated. Vasan throughout his school days, had never shared a class room with a girl. Voila, for him everything was new, meeting women, sharing labs classes, having them as part of your lab team etc....He did find a very good friend in the first year of the opposite sex.

Since they were put in different sections of the same department in the second year and because of his upcoming from a boys environment, he did not have enough guts to come in terms with the separation....our man was dejected. Though he wanted to talk to his new found friend, something always seem to tell him no and do the opposite. Even when his new found friend tried to talk to him, he somehow was not able to bring himself to talk. i thought abt this and made sure they talk at least once......which may bring down the barriers...

Since i had a good rapport with his new found friend, i spoke and made all arrangements for the meeting. It was agreed that vasan, was somehow made to come near our college Temple around

520pm and his best friend will also be there, and somehow we make him talk.

440pm: the college bell rang for the last time of the day indicating its the end of the hour.

445pm: i met vasan in the lobby of our department, along with two more good pals of ours, we set out of department to our college canteen

515pm: we came out of canteen after all the chit chat and other stuff.

520pm: we were on time...vasan now got suspicious.

vasan :டேய் என்னடா என்னிக்குமே கோவில்க்கு வரமாடீங்க இன்னிக்கு என்ன அதுவும் காலேஜ் முடுஞ்சவுடனே??

me: சும்மா தான் டா.

Now his new found friend was walking toward us...We were separated by some good 300-400 meters. Vasan was able to make out well what was happening, he shook off my hand from his shoulder. He took off..... We never knew where he was heading to. But alas i was fat enough and that kept myself from running :) :)...so i just stayed there with my roommate, i was not sure abt the happenings. This bloody beggar didn't even have a mobile. Mobile phones were not a common thing then..


me : எங்கட போனான் இவன்?
rm: யாருக்கு தெரியும். இவனையும் நம்பி நீ வண்ட பாரு!!!!!
me: எனக்கு என்னடா தெரியும் இப்படி வெக்க பட்டு ஒடுவானு?

By this time his new found friend has come.

NFF: பாரு உன் நண்பன. இப்போ நா என்ன அவன தொரதிட்ட ஓட முடியும்? அப்படி என்ன வெக்கம் அவனுக்கு?

Just then i received a phone call in my mobile from our hostel phone booth. It was my dear vasan.

vasan: டேய் நா வந்துட்டேன் டா, ரூம்க்கு.

me; நசமாப்போசு. எப்படி டா அதுக்குள்ள போனா? just ஒன்ற நிமிஷம் தான் டா ஆகிருக்கு?

vasan: அவல பதேனா பயம் வந்துருச்சு, அப்படியே ஓடி வந்துட்டேன் டா.

I was surprised to find that the he was able to reach our room so fast. He was able to cross the entire 15-20mins of walk under 90 secs. From then on, this was always a topic of fun whenever we all gathered...He was indeed the CARL LEWIS of our room!!!!!!!!

That was the day i decided, what ever happens, i should never rely on this vasan in my plans :) :). Well somehow he came over that as time went by. Today he shares a good rapport with his new found friend of Ist year and they are great friends now......

sunday specials

People, i will be updating my blog every sunday for sure if not daily. The posts i will be adding on sundays will be events and things that has happend in my life and close to my heart.

குற்றம் நடந்தது என்ன? கதை அல்ல நிஜம்!!!!
அப்படின்னுலம் சொல்லல....Things that i cherish in my life will be released as sunday specials...

hope u will enjoy it reading...even otherwise, i cannot help it....