Independent!! ??

Hello people,

I am writing after a very long time. And when I went through my earlier blogs, I saw a coincidence here. My first blog was on 26th January and this one is on Independence Day!! Hmmmm!!

15th August. Known as Independence Day!, Celebrated to mark our contry's victory from the British rule of 1858 to 1947.A day where the media and all telivsion channels compete with each other to prove that they are more patriotic than the others. Patriotic songs, patriotic movies. Panel discussions, which have no conclusion, about how progressive we are, how much have we achieved over the last 60 years and our growing economic prowess in the world.

But in all these, I am sure we have all asked ourselves this question atleast once " As a country we are independent but are we really free?"

Think about it. We speak about the freedom to expression as mentioned in our constitution and then you hear about the various bodies who take exception to anything and everything which they think could give them the 15 secs to fame. The recent one being the ban on the movie Aarakshan in 3 states. The reason: because the president of the National Commision for Scheduled Caste got a complaint from somebody who thought that the movie is against the SC & ST. So what does the president do. He writes to the Censor Board which is a Govt body for the regulation of movies and next thing is a demand to watch the movies to clear the movie which is already cleared by the Censor Board. The next thing that happens is that 3 states which go to polls ban the movie. If the constitution has given us the freedom of expression, then why cant the director get to enjoy that priviledge and why can't the audience get to demonstrate that as well.

India, before it became a republic in 1950 was a union of lot of princely states. The union republic of India gives its citizen the freedom to go, live and work anywhere in India they wish to. But is that a reality. If that is so, why do we have every Tom, Dick & Harry forming parties at regional levels to beat up and drive out anybody who are not from that region. Is that not the kind of freedom that an independent country is supposed to give it's people?

What freedom are we talking about? Masons who build the hi rises and luxury homes do not have a shelter for themselves. Construction workers who build schools, would have never been in one and worse still nor would their children ever will. Are these kids not entitled to a freedom to education.

When will we be free from the corruption and the corrupt? When will we as a country be free from the laid back and " sab chalta hai" attitude? When will we be free from litter on the street? When will we be free from the substandard civil work? When will we be free from the burden of our age old beliefs which seem to drag us 100 steps back every time we take 1 step forward? When???

I can go on and on about the various things which make me question the sanctity of this whole thing called freedom. Would we have been better off under the Britishers? Atleast we would not have been frustrated of being tortured and humilated by our own countrymen!

 Are we really FREE???

Childhood and Nostalgia!!

Ok Friends, I am gonna take a break from the Attempt series. I know that some of you are also tired and actually i am also tired! Swimming is not funny, it is taxing but i am enjoying it.

Today, i wanted to just pen down some things which most of us would identify with. Atleast the above 25s will definitely do.

The thing that i am talking about today is on childhood and the nostalgia that is associated with it.

Lot of people ask me where am i from and i normally say Pan India ( and i used to say this much before Chak De happened and Gayrukh Khan happened). The reason is simple. I was born in Kerala and was there till around 2 years. Was then taken to Calcutta ( i know it is kolkota but when i was taken there, it was calcutta. any problems???) . Studied there till 1st standard and then moved to Cuttack in Orrisa. Studied there till 3rd and then moved to Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Was there for 16 odd years.

Calcutta was fun. I still remember playing hide and seek, the tube well in the house compound and the sweet cold water gushing out. Would always wait for some elder to push the handle so that we can drink the water straight from the the tube well. If no elder then some two three Arnold Schwarzeneggers ( the spelling i wrote was entirely different initially.- Man, what kind of a last name is this) would push the handle so that the rest of us can drink and then we would push so that they can drink. Calcutta was also a place where i played football in the rains, mud, slime all over the body but the thrill of scoring a goal and then being cheered by the bengalis who are crazy about this game! Oh how can i forget the Durga Puja. Dancing with the earthen pots (dhuni- some bengalis can correct me if i am wrong) and then getting onto the lorry/truck to take the deity to immerse her in the water. Fun. If mom sometimes was not able to make breakfast,, then i used to get the breakfast that i used to love. run to the near by sweet shop and get rosogullas or chamchams. put two rosogullas or 2 chamchams between two slices of bread and aaaahhhh. Heaven!!

Cuttack was equally good and so was Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad is close to my heart as this is the place which played the most important role in my formative years.Those days of friends actually playing outdoor sports, not the video thingy of today. Games like cricket, football, marbles, gilli danda, photos( photos of movie stars), a game called khochamani ( an iron rod which you try to put as my times in the specific area of damp mud, if u fail you are asked to do certain things). playing in the rain.

Playing cricket in the hot sun for match money of 25 paise/ 50 paise/ and the world cup of Rs. 2. Every team member contributing. The person who contributes more always gets to bat first!! The games of cricket in the steets. the person who brings the bat always gets to bat first and always has more than 2 lives just because he is the owner of the bat. Going to team members house at 3:30pm-4pm trying to call them to come out and play and suddenly their mother would come out and say he is sleeping or studying and you know that she is lying because your mother had also told the same thing to somebody who had come to call you the other day.

Sundays were special. Waking up early morning for " Rangoli" and then the whole family sitting for Ramayan / Mahabharat/ Vikram Betaal, Chandrakanta, Antriksh and then if there is a malayalam movie as part of the regional movie thing that used to come on DD at 1:30pm, then the entire family would be ready and also watch the news magazine for the hearing impaired which starts at 1:15pm and ends at 1:30pm. i had picked up some sign language thanks to mom making me watch that. Around 4pm, we would be playing and suddenly we would hear this announcement " Rasna presents, Spiderman" and the jingle " spider man spiderman, the friendly neighbour spiderman, here comes the spidermaaaan" and all of us would leave whatever we were doing to rush to the nearest house to watch it.

the chitrahaar on Wednesdays and Fridays, the chitramaala on Mondays, Malgudi days!! those were some real good programs and everybody used to watch. There was no choise also. DD was the only thing that was available!

Somethings don't come back but the memories linger on!!! and when you do remember them, it leaves you with a smile.

I am smiling. Are you ??

ATTEMPT RELOADED!!

Dear Friends,


Sorry for the delay in continuing the story. Well, anyways, I am continuing the story now. Hope you like the third edition of my "Pursuit to Malluness"

So I reached home having spent Rs.1500, and tried  the swimming cap along with the goggles. It was a sight to behold! Me in formal wear, tie and a swimming cap on head and swimming goggles on my eyes and no water in sight! Thankfully there were no paparazzis around who would have taken my snap. I can see some people grinning and thinking " Dude, paparazzis only hound the celebrity". My answer is " I am a celebrity, ( in my house) "

Well, I go to sleep thinking that tomorrow is the day when I go and conquer the waters and come out like Mark Spitz or our very own Mihir Sen who was the first Asian to swim the the English Channel ( why do they call it the English Channel??? think think. ok don't smile. no no, now don't laugh!! ). Actually to think of it, I am a fish ( piscean) and i am a mallu, that should have made me an incredible swimmer,but heck no, i am not! Such a shame!! No, not on me. On the sport of swimming for having lost out such an incredible combo!!

So, the foolproof alarm kicks me out at 6:30am next day early morning.( why are you scratching your head on reading the word fool proof alarm?, pls refer to my post titled "Attempt" to know what am i talking about). I reach the swimming facility byt 6:45 and look for my favourite  Mr. Big Moushtache Guy, but he was not there today. Anyways, i was not sad as he was not the reason of my being there so early in the morning. I drive in through the gate, take the right and then park my car on the left and walk towards the swimming facility. looked if i could find the father son duo but did not find them. had a plastic bag with my towel, my swimming trunks. Entered the facility and lo and behold, who do i find here! No, no no. not Mr. Not So Big moushtache guy. ( sorry poonam, will think of a better name next time), but our very own Mr.Big Moushtache Guy. He said "saar, faast day?" I replied yes. He opened a register titled 7 am and asked me to write my name, some no on the card and sign. Then i was instructed, "you can come whatever time you want to , but you will have to sign only in this register. don't create multiple entries". Need to speak to our access control guys about this simple logic!!  Well, entry done, and then shown the way towards the men's changing room.

Reach the men's section, take off my sandals, get into the change room and then ( ok, i am not describing what i did then. This site is visited by kids also!! ). The first shower killed any bit of sleep that i had in me. It was damn cold. So now, out of the shower room, with the swimming cap on and the googles on the swimming cap, i looked every bit of an ace swimmer except for the actual part of swimming. So I walk towards the coach who told me that i won't drown in the pool because it is only 3 feet and greet him in my most cheerful voice " Good morning coach" and he deadpans" Get into the water and walk 10 laps". Hang on, did i just hear him right. I had woken up at 5:30 in the morning to get the form, paid Rs.500  for the fees, took stuff worth Rs.1500 to learn SWIMMING IN WATER and not WALKING IN WATER!! I, put up a mask of somebody who has not heard what he said and ask him " so what do i now?. He deadpans again " walk 10 laps in the water. Damn it man, He actually said it!! I am sure his logic is that when aeroplanes have to run before it flies, why can't i walk before i swim!! Well, whatever it was, i had no option but to get into the errrrrrrrrrrrrr..... cold water and actually walk 10 laps. Felt so foolish doing it. But forgot it because i was smiling looking at the other 15 odd people who were doing some form of water splashing on each other game, which i later understood as they were all in the 2nd day of swimming. So tomorrow i also will be like this and somebody else will have a grin on his face watching me do it.


Once i walk for 10 laps, i ask him now what, he tells me hold your breath and go underwater and release it as fast as you can. eh??? if i have to release it as fast as i can, why bother going underwater? anyways, did that for 10 mins. man it is tough. Ok, sir, done, now what, he says now take a deep breath and go underwater and hold as long as you can. This was ok, i had done it before. I do it twice and the coach says, hold it for atleast 1 minute.Sure, I go underwater, came up feeling that i would have spent at least 5 mins. Coach says, 40 seconds. try harder. Damn!!

Ok coach, 1 minute done, now what, Coach says " now hold the railing and try to float. I felt like I was the genie from the magical lamp and the coach, Alladin. He kept giving me work and i kept doing it! Anyways, how do i float? he says hold the railing and then  let loose. I do dat and taste the chlorine water and come out of the water bring along with me lot of bubbles like a popped soda bottle. He says you are on the right track ! Right track to wat?? tasting the water of the pool?? damn, i try again, same result. try again, i just don't feel like floating. look around and i saw one more soul desperate to float! the only thing that was floating was his bum which was visible out, the rest of the body under water. This soul comes out of the water like a submarine and gives me a big broad smile and asks me, did i float? i did not know what to say, so i said " partly" did not want to be rude and tell him, "some part of you did float". I think i encouraged him because then he started giving me advice on how to float! Just put your head in, and you will. I wanted to tell him that if that is the technique that he adopts, then i know what will float?

Anyways, i do what the coach says and keep going in and out like submarine and suddenly i felt light. a very uplifting feeling engulfed me! no, i did not attain salvation. and some of you peverts, stop thinking of anything else.I was actually floating!!!! YIPEEE!!! Mera paisa vasool ho gaya!!!

Rest in the next blog. I am still under that magical feeling of actually floating!!!

Attempt Continues....

This is to all those people who liked the first post on the attempt to have some quality of a Mallu.

So I had taken the forms and gone home on 5th Feb 2011.

I reach home and in the heat of things and excitement, fill in all the details, stick my wanted photograph ( or as my team calls as "mickey mouse" photograph) and keep them ready. I already have got the doctor's certificate certifying that I am alive and kicking. Thank you Doctor for reaffirming the faith that am still alive, still kicking or not is debatable.

So it is Monday and I leave from office a bit early to go to the bank for some work and also to submit this form. I reach the stadium at around 6 and who do I meet there. come on guess guess... yeah, yeah, you are right!! Mr.Big Moustache!! remember him from my last post. yeah, the same one who gave me the once over and asked me to " go, sit in the queue". This time also he gave me the once over. Man, this guy is consistent. I decide to test his abilities of reading other people's mind. I think of some cuss words for him fearing that he might just pull me out of the car and beat me to pulp if those qualities actually exists in him. I fearfully await his response or reaction, but thankfully for me, he did not do anything which would suggest that he has read my mind. Or maybe those qualities only come into force in the morning time and not in evenings..

He told me that you cannot go inside and come back tomorrow. On enquiring the reason, he told me that it is over for today. I told him in my most confident voice " but I was asked to come in the evening". I think that did the trick, he opened the gate. Was it some password that I just blurted out???. hmmmm.

Ok, so I drive in through the gate and take the first right and park my car and get out and take the forms and walk down a nice clean path. I ask a father and son duo who looked as if they were chased by a mad dog ( later realised that I also would have the same look once I start to learn swimming ), where is the swimming facility. The father gave me a look which was like " which language are you speaking?", luckily the son understood and told me go straight and the first left. Ok thank you, and off I go. On the way till the swimming pool, I see lot of people looking at me and smiling. I felt good and smiled rite back at them. Later i realised it was not my face or my million dollar smile, but the piece of cloth hanging from my neck. Yes , the Tie, remember it was Monday??.

So I reach the Swimming pool facility and again i am stopped by Mr. Not so Big moustache security guy. " saar, you have to come tomorrow." I try it again, yeah, the confident voice thing" but I have been asked to come in the evening". The password works once again and i get to go to the coach who is sitting there and is taking the forms and the money. I go and stand in the queue or what looked like a queue. 2 girls come after me but get to give their form before me.Magic?? No! Simple, don't follow the rule. The tribe of Pseudo Educated morons is spreading and spreading fast!

I finally get a chance to give my form and money to the coach. I ask him ,when can I start, he says tomorrow morning. i ask him can i get to see the pool. he says sure, take off ur shoes and and walk in.  I take off my shoes as if getting into a temple and then come to the place where the swimming pool has been dug. there are 2 pools. One the Olympic size pool and the other pool which is for learners.

Joke: how many people in the bigger pool: 3 and guess how many people in the smaller pool: 20.
Bigger Joke: guess how many children in the bigger pool: 3 and guess how many children in the smaller pool: 0. Damn it Man!! i will be the 21st tomorrow in the smaller pool!!! shit shit shit!!!

I meet the instructer and ask him does he understand english, he replies in telegu No. I ask him do u speak hindi, he says a little. I said as long as you understand that i am trying to tell you that i am drowining, He tells me coolly, " saar, you will not drown in that pool .it is only 3 feet deep" Damn again!!

I go back and ask the senior coach, where can i get some swimming gear, he says i have it. He takes me inside a room, gives me 2 swimming trunks, a pair of swimming goggles and a swimming cap. Fantastic. Rs.1500 ( 500 as fees and 1000 for the rest of the stuff) already spent without even putting a toe in water!!

I head home resolving that i better get the ROI for this investment!!

I know you guys are gonna curse me for making you all read so much but still not come to the real thing!! Patience, Patience!!

The Attempt!!

A typical conversation that happens with me almost always.

"Hi, My name is Vinesh"
" Hi Vinesh, So where are you from, North Indian"?
" No, I am from Kerala, Vinesh Nair"
" What, are you a Mallu??"
" Yeah, I am one"
"Do you Smoke?"
"No"
"Do you drink?"
"No"
"Do you swim?"
"Errrr, I can paddle like a dog, but I am afraid normally people don't call that swimming"
" hmmmm, you don't have a moustache and curly hair, you don't smoke, you don't drink, nor can you swim and you don't sound like a Mallu. Interesting!!"

Now, I am not sure whether to take that as a compliment or as a complaint!!

I decided to do something about it. And no, I am not going to grow a moustache or getting curls in my hair, I am not taking the plunge into the world of smoke and nor am I going to drown myself into the intoxicating world of drinks, neither am I going to roll my "R" and my "L" the mallu way. So, what do I do so that atleast I have one thing in common with my Mallu brethen??

Yeah, you guessed it right. I have decided to have enough of paddling like a dog and do something which closely resembles swimming. So off I go in my search of a place where they can teach people like me who have suddenly gained too much inertia in the body and can cause lot of water displacement when such a body comes into contact with water at a certain velocity! ( phew, just recollecting my physics classes)

Good news awaited me. I had a olympic size swimming pool available very near to my house.( to be honest, the very mention of Olympic size swimming pool was playing on my minds whether to go or not). On further enquiry, found out that they don't allow paddlers like me anywhere near that pool. I was disappointed. No, not because I won't get to enter the pool, but because I won't be able to even see it!!

The Gachibowli Stadium which houses the swimming pool along with other sporting facility, gives out only 200 forms for a month at 7am,on 5th of every month. I was told by lot of people to reach there early because there is quite a rush for these forms and also because summer is approaching. Having missed these deadlines consistenly for almost 3-4 months, I don't take any chance. I set a foolproof alarm( my wife). I was sure, she would be more than happy to kick me out of the house at an unearthly hour also.  Set other alarms as a back up option.

So on 5th morning, the foolproof alarm, manages to kick me out of the house by 5:30am. I think, come on, the forms will be given at 7am. Who on earth would come so early, the winter is still visible in the early mornings, to take the forms. It is ok to reach there by 6:30 and I will still be in the early 50s of the stipulated 200 forms. Anyways, I drive down, and in ten mins i reach the stadium. While I was parking my car, I could see lot of people sitting which seemed like a serpentine queue. I park my car, go to the Mr.Big Moustache security guard and asks " Bhaiya, form kaha milega". He gives me a once over and then says, pl go and sit in the queue. That was a first, always heard of " Go stand in the queue" but " sit in the queue???"". I am sure he would have been able to read my thoughts perfectly( thank god I did not think of any cuss words for him) because he told me," Sir, there are nos written on the pavement, pls go and sit on any no that is available. Ok, that explains the "sitting in the queue bit". So I go towards the place where I don't see people. On reaching closer to that place, I see, bottles, handkerchiefs, bags, and anything which seemed to tell that somebody has reserved the place..

So I move on and finally reach a place which seemed to be end of the line and I proudly plonk my prosterior on the lucky no.Having reached at 5:45am on a Saturday( 5th Feb, 2011), I was the no. 114. Yes, I was bloody 114.!! Damn it Man!!. By 6am, all 200 positions were taken. It was funny to see people sitting on those pavements waiting for the Coach to appear like a God, carrying the forms. By, 7am, the tension was palpable as people were seen to become impatient as if waiting for a train, whose arrival was announced some 10 mins ago. Some Pseudo Educated Morons- the tribe who are educated but are not literate at all, were seen moving around trying to grab a place,like the land sharks. So much for education!

Anyways, God ,I mean the Coach,appears at 7:05am carrying the prasad, I mean the forms. All devotees, I mean the people who have come for the forms, stand up in respect when they see God approaching them to give out the forms. God is suddenly angry and shouts on some devotees. The reason: Between no.1-10, there are 15 people.Hmmm..well we are known to an all accmodating country aren't we??. Thankfully God decides not to give forms for those land sharks who had accomodated themselves. I see God approaching me, but hey wait, he wants something from the devotees. oh ok, Rs.10 for the form. On receiving the form from God, I hand over Rs.10 to him, which he does not even look at, his followers take it from my hand, hand me a paper which says, that they are not responsible for any mishap when I swim.Hmmmm, not very encouraging!! Another card where I am supposed to stick my "Wanted" photo. They also want a birth certificate to know whether I am above 18 or not. I was over the top and took that as a compliment for my age defying looks, but then I realise that this is a common practice. Damn Damn Damn.!!

So I take the forms, and off I go home because I cannot submit it on that day and have to come back on either Monday or Tuesday.

The remaining part of me trying to have one quality of a mallu will continue in the next part!!

Love,

Social Recluse!!

Quiting!!

Quitting!

Why is it that quitting is always construed as a weakness! Ever noticed how people tell you " Don't ever quit", " Quiting is for sissies". " Winners never quit and quitters never win"

Thinking about it, is it really for the sissies? I have a different opinion. I believe it takes a lot of guts to quit, to let something go. Think about it.

We become so used to certain things that we find it tremely tough to let go of things. It could be a thing, a place, a habit, a person and most of the times a view. If you have a not so great habit of smoking, how many times have you actually thought of quitting but never been able to. How many times have you thought of quitting the habit of eating sweets or over indulging in shopping or for that matter quitting the job that you crib about every day!!!

It take a hell lot of courage and determination to quit the habit of smoking, of quitting the habit of over indulgence in shopping, of gorging on sweets or finally hearing the call of your heart and quiting the job to do something that you always wanted to do. We are so used to our comfort zones that we don't want to do anything that would bring us discomfort. And mind well, we do it even if the comfort zone that we currently are, is not really comfortable. But our defence is " A Known Devil is better than an Unknown one". " Atleast I know that this boss of mine is bad, who knows whether the rest will be worse than him/her or not".

People continue to live in relationships which have no future or for that matter any present also. They  don't live with each other, they act to tolerate each other, they have no common likes or even dislikes and yet they are together. Their interests, the way they think, the way they are,as individuals, are entirely different.  They know that they are not happy, nor are they keeping the other person happy but still they won't  quit.Why??? I will be the first in my family to get seperated, what will my parents say, what about the children, what will society say! All hogwash! The reason you are not quitting is because you are scared and now you have become used to the sad way of your life and that has become your comfort zone. You don't want to change that because that will mean getting out of your comfort zone!. Quitting is not easy, it is very tough!  If it was easy, they would have left each other long back.

Quiting a habit which is pulling you back from development, quiting from a relationship which has nothing but disharmony and acrimony, quitting from a job which does not do justice to your talent and hard work... Is quiting such a wrong thing afterall!!

Still believe that "Quitting is for losers!!??  Food for thought!!!

Friends!!!

FRIENDS!


What is it about this word that the very mention brings in all sorts of emotions in you.And I sure that the first thing that comes is a smile on your face. Yes, that is the power of this 7 letter word. It is also a word which gives you lot of hope, a sense of belief that there is somebody on whom you can count upon. A hope that when the whole world deserts you, he/she will be there, rock solid.


According to me there are 3 phases in a person's life:


Phase 1: life in school!


This is the most fun part of any person's life. This is where the foundations of the most strongest relationships are laid. Those days of carefree fun and frolic. The worry of homework, the competetion in sports. The various groups that are formed with fancy names and the desire to be in all such groups. The first appearance of the moustache for boys and for girls, errrr.... The fight amongst yourself but fighting for you when confronted by a different class/division. The geniuine happiness that you feel when you see your friend get an award or recognition and also the tinge of jealousy when you see your friend getting something which you also desired.


The first crush and the teasing of friends whom you know have a crush on your class mate. Sometimes you tease two people, who have nothing for each other, so much that they actually develop love or is it puppy love for each other. ( I can see lot of people smiling already). The excitement of getting to know more about the opposite gender and also worried about being caught doing so by your friend initially. Then sharing your desires and darkest fears to your friend who though cannot do anything, still listens to you giving you the feeling that you are the king who can conquer the world. Teasing and troubling the teachers, getting punished together, sometimes inviting punishment of being asked to leave the class as a welcome break from the class and to run to the canteen to grab a "Dabeli" or a sandwich.


The tension and worry about the exams, the last minute checks for any important questions that you might get from your friend who can afford to have tuitions from a teacher from the school. The wait for the results to be out. Everybody having a favourite who will secure the numero UNO position in the class. A bit of jealousy shown by the person in the 2nd position. Man, do I miss those days!!


Phase 2: Life post college,early years of professional struggle and marriage.


This is the time when friends disintegrate. Lose touch with each other not because they don't want to. The sheer pressure of the profession and in most cases the family, keeps them away. The same guys who would meet up everyday on a railway track throwing stones and discussing their future would suddenly not find time to meet up even once in a week or worse still once in a month. Lot of old things take a back seat and new things become the priority. The new job, the next promotion, the new house, the bigger car, ensuring your house is in order, ensuring your parents who are now retired are taken care off, ensuring you provide the best of everything that a father/mother can do for their children. In all these, the friends take a beating. The love is the same, the urge to know who is doing what is there, the desire to meet up is there. The only difference between then and now is: Earlier we used to have nothing other than time and now we have everything other than time.


Phase 3: The getting back


This is an awesome phase. This is the phase which sometimes brings tears to your eyes in a happy way.( khushi wale aansoo). I remember having cried like a baby after watching Rock ON, in the process giving a shock to my wife who thought that I have gone crazy. Called up my best friend and cried along with him on the phone and did manage to meet up again and relived some of the old memories. I also remember a time when we all played antakshari over Yahoo Voice Messenger with friends scattered across the globe


People who are now grown up and in the mid thirties, there is a sudden desire to connect again. The desire to show your spouse and kids your childhood and then relive them all over again. Get back to people with whom you had grown up with, fought, made up, wrestled, pinched,poked, ate,played,complained about. Friends who are now heavier on the abdomen and lighter on the head.Friends whose faces have changed quite a bit, some who have not changed a bit at all. Voices are heavier and more mature but still has that childlike innocence when the conversation happens amongst the friends. You can still hear that chidlike exhuberance and energy.


I know that I want to meet up all my friends, I am also sure that they all feel the same way and I am very sure that one day we will all again become what we always were: Friends For Life!!!


Love,


Social Recluse

26th January- Childhood memories and more

26th January! Republic Day in India.!!

Today as we celebrate the 62nd ( or is it 61st considering we became a republic in 1950) Republic Day, could not help but recollect some memories which revolve around this day! Memories which are mostly from the childhood and some in the later stages of my teens.

As a child, I, like most of the children used to look forward to Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti & Children's Day. However the reasons were far from being patriotic or any other such feelings. At that age, the reason was plain and simple- a day off from school!! As a child then and i guess even as adults today, we never feel the need to question why are we getting a leave as long as we are getting one.

As a child, I dreaded getting up early in morning to go to school. (This habit has still not left me. And no, I am not saying that I still go to school, i was referring to the getting up early bit.). And used to look forward to a day where I don't have to feign stomach aches or anything else to get a holiday from school. (wow, am sure I am coming across as a role model student). But the funny part is that on Republic Day, when dad would wake me up, I would get up without any qualms and plonk myself in front of our royal black and white Crown TV. And then the magical moment would come when dad would come and key in and open the shutters of the TV ( yeah man. the tv used to come with a shutter which had a key. Inspiration for child lock for channels. Man, would have loved such a TV today), and we would get to see the parade and the various tableau from different parts of the country.

Suddenly shouts of " Keralam, Keralam" from mom and dad would make me realise that I was doing what is called in today's corporate world as " Power Nap".( I always had a futuristic vision :) ) Those cheers would get us prepped up to see what is it that Kerala, my home state, has to offer on the Tableau for that year. And they were consistent in the boat, Kathakali and Kalari payat show! Consistency is good, but boring! hmmmmm.

One of the memories which is not so pleasant is of 26th January, 2001. This was the time when we were in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It was on this day, that nature took a fancy to do a rock and roll early in the morning at around 8:45, which resulted in what is called Earthquake. This rock and roll would have helped nature take some pressure off itself, but it was not a great day for the people. Epicentred in Bhuj in the western part of Gujarat, it was a massive earthquake which lasted for approximately 2 mins. I was working part time at that time for a call centre and had taken the night shift to prepare for my exams. I had finished my night shift on 25th night and reached home at around 8:30am on 26th morning. When I was untying my shoe laces, I suddenly saw the TV cabinet moving towards me and the speakers of our new Philips Powerhouse(yeah, the double cassette player with 800 watts PMPO, the loudest at that time) drop down from the walls where it was placed. I convinced myself at that moment that I am already asleep having not slept the last night at office( or did i??). Suddenly mom and dad came out and asked me to go out. My bro who was around 12 years at that time was asleep and refused to get up as he was enjoying his hard earned Republic Day holiday. Finally, mom, dad & bro were out in the open. And where was I? I had rushed back into the room to hold the colour TV from falling. It was not even 2 months that we had bought it and did not want anything in the world to deprive me of watching images in colour. The next thing I remember is dad shouting at the top of his voice asking me to get the heck out of the house. And I did so without a whimper and a small prayer on my lips that nothing should happen to the TV. Thankfully, it was one of the very few times, when my prayers were heard and actioned upon, in my favour.

The rest of the details of the days that followed  26th Jan 2001 are too depressing to convey at this point of time. Maybe in a later post.

Today it is 26th January, 2011. I am 33 and i still look forward to the holiday which comes in the middle of the week! The parade has been given a fleeting glance and yes, Kerala is still consistent!  News channels try to raise the patriotic fever by trying to do one upmanship over the other. Strangely everything will be quite tomorrow. But this is a topic on which I want to write at length some other day!


In case any of you have been brave enough to reach till this line, without taking the Power Nap, let me wish you all a very Happy Republic Day!

Love,

Social Recluse

Strange to Different

Yipeeee!!.

So finally it is happening!!. And no, I am not about anything earth shattering at all. I am talking about taking my first baby steps into the world of blogging.

Why blogging could be a question? My retort to that: WHY NOT?

One simple reason could be that in case you are uttering your musings and thinking aloud, people would give you a look which might not be for your liking- come on man, are you NUTS???

But strangely, put the same musings and thoughts onto a blog and suddenly people look at you differently.- Wow, you BLOGGGG???? (note the stress and emphassis lingers on G)

 Strange but true!!  So, I have decided to make the transition: people looking at me strangely to people looking at me differently!!

I am here to pen down my thoughts about anything and everything that i feel and i don't feel about. Right/wrong, Good/bad, Ethical/ Non Ethical, Moral/Immoral, Black/White. hmmmmm. thats not the aim of this blog. The aim would be to give people something to take back, some food for thought. You can comment/ discuss/debate/trash/appreciate what i write and trust me i will love you for all of them.

Will it be fun to read- WOULD SERIOUSLY TRY TO KEEP IT FUNNY!!. Will it be thought provoking- WOULD WANT TO !! Will it be worth coming back to the blog- WOULD HOPE SO!!

With that promise and hope, i rest my case here for today !!

Love,

Social Recluse