Ormakal

In your life, you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder, if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do. At the same time there are some others whom you cannot forget and every other incident in your daily life brings about their memories. For me it’s the set of friends that I had made during my stay at Pune.But before I started off with those friends, I had some awesome time with my women’s college gang…..I think everyone should go into a women’s only or men’s only institution at some point of life, it sometimes helps you to know that what one is good at…..Now this college is just 10-15 minutes walk able distance from my grandparents home but I was made to stay in hostel because I was supposed to study…….but naahhhh I really can’t sit and study….I am kind of a person who would get involved in all extra curricular activities possible and then at the end of the day i.e. at 8:30 after the night prayers at hostel ,when I sit down to study I just doze off….and then would get up somewhere in the middle of the night to study, when the whole world would be sleeping and study for just 2-3 hours which is like carving things on to a rock, it retains ……and that is the reason why no one has ever seen me study during my graduation days and ya this is why I still don’t believe that the thief had come that night , as I was awake and I never saw anyone… And then exam time is even more fun when people have their prayers on asking god to rain heavily so that it may flood and the exams may postpond…..I still remember one of my classmates complaining after the exam ‘You cut down all your hair and come like this making me wonder all throughout the exam time and thus I ran short of time ’…….yeah I had cut down my hair and was called a mota or Indiraji …….Still some people do recognize me by that name…… Now the worst part is having chosen the most studious group to be in …yeah the mathematicians, I was expected to be a bookworm by my professors, who were kind of not at all bothered about what happens in the college but to study maths…..Now I am not that intelligent in having taken up maths but ya it is one such subject which just makes my time fly off like anything without leaving me tired and also to score marks with less effort put in …ha ha ha…Now this time in college had gifted me with many friends in college as well a hostel……It was the beginning of my hostel life and every other place that I have stayed in has certain memories but few memories which is attached to my graduation days are like…… I was given the orders by my parents to stay in the hostel even during study holidays (yeah of course to study hard) but then the hostel would be somewhat empty other than the final year students…..this hostel has some huge trees in the garden with fruits during summer……I am least bothered or say interested in having them but I would be the one who would take up the initiative to climb up the trees to either shake down or pluck down the fruits…..I used to make sure that I wear a green dress so that I am not easily figured out among the leaves……Now the world cup usually falls during this time and we were taking a break from studies to watch the world cup and wooowwww what a catch by sachin and we all howl and hoot in excitement ……the warden comes rushing to scold us for making noise and here we rush to our rooms having taken up the slippers in hand , so that we could save ourselves from getting scolded for some more time….ke ke ke ….All the midnight practice and sleepless nights as the hostel day approached and our room, it was very lucky as the warden never paid us a visit …I still wonder if she has any idea of such a room to be there….. It was over all fun….



Now it was time to head to Mysore……A small gang of friends after the training had to get split to get posted as per the authority’s orders .However, I was lucky enough to have been posted, where I had most of them heading to, yeah that was Pune ( a lovely place which I had always wanted to visit having given an ear to all the stories of my aunt’s college days).

Life was fun, may it be at home or at office. At home were 3 idiots Niji, Anju and myself with the experiments in the kitchen, lovely neighbours esp. Abraham uncle and aunty who made us feel at home, another set of noisy neighbours …..ha ha …….. but we were not less noisy either ……Niji would have all the funny stories coming up ,from college as well as office……… We always had plans of getting a bucket fit by the side of my Activa(after having seen the idea advertisement ) so that we could explore pune together : ) ……… Anju ,as cool as a person can be....never tensed ..never worried…but ya the very word ‘take care’ would get her irritated as she used to say ‘as if I won’t take care of myself , if you don’t say that’….ha ha………Can’t forget the threatening part of having my Aarangetam for having mimicked them at home …..LOL....and one day while returning from office ,to find people from church had come for carols ,uninformed, the expressions on both the faces left me grinning


I had wonderful cubicle mates and team mates too… the launch pad, mama’s boy ,chinna and shailz……Sajan,My friend who later turned out to be my mentor, and was happy to make me work under him…urgghh………. not to forget the growing actor Sarin(I used to resemble the dog in their lane, as said by him ke ke ke)..…. and ya the erumma(every other sentence of his would contain the word kochi)……..workaholic Shyju…..Roby (can’t forget the surprise onam sadya by aunty)……hmm Swami’s classes had helped us lot in surviving those 4 months…..The cartoonist Arjun…..Rinu (training classes would act as sleeping pills for him)….. Taraka with her wonderful doubts…..KK, beware he is the one who can give you a shock if passed by his side when is keenly coding…..




The most memorable would be our trekking which happened at Anand valley……all excited and all set to go ………rain is the most uncertain one that pours out anytime…..even though it rained …it couldn’t stop us from climbing up the slippery hill and enjoy every moment of it……. It is usually easy to get there on top but to get down, is a bit scary…..can’t stop laughing when I think of Roby screaming, and Anju and myself had to get to his assistance…… After having come down, we had a magician performing tricks ….. bad day for him as no one was patient enough to just sit and watch ……. Had fun playing volley ball as well as defeating the guys in tug of war (secret was that the gals were double in number …..ha ha)……



Life has been something very unusual and full of uncertainties…….. we meet people to depart ….having left just memories to cherish about them……But we have to just silently nod in agreement for anything that it decides for us ……..I was the first one to leave and then one by one everyone moved out , in search of fulfillment of their dreams and aspirations…..But yes technology has kept us stay in touch and meet once in a while ,however far we are …..And ofcourse if we just stay together then how could we know the others……my other chapter of life which also gifted me with another set of friends……and will continue to happen …… and thus life goes on……

Pallikoodam

Shakaran is again on the coconut tree…….yeah I am back in the deserted hostel as most of them have left for vacations ……..I remember my instructor at the firing range suggesting us to look at the green leaves having tried for long, aligning the two sights, before firing……. It helps to refresh the eyes…………………So after having starred into the laptop and study materials for quite a long time and listening to Yanni’s collection , which I love to hear to esp. when I am working on something very keenly, I thought of trying it out ………As I was peeping out of the window, I could see small kids with their parents approaching the school just opposite to our building ………………I think the admission for kindergarten is on……….. when one starts working , they think of the colorful college days and when in college , they think of the tensionless school days………the other side always looks greener………..Having parroted the alphabets and nursery rhymes to just speak out when they are asked to, I saw some of the kids coming happily while others had to be dragged by their parents …………I don’t exactly remember what happened during my admission process for kindergarten but my memories about school starts from the very first day being the most memorable day, which led me to have lost out all the enthusiasm to go to school……. Ha ha ha …………….


My brother being 4 years elder to me, I have been seeing him go to school and having friends to play with and of course the studies part was never been thought of. The whole idea of going to school was so wonderful that I kept waiting for the day I join school….. The first day of school, no one had to wake me up , or dress me up….. I did it all by myself…..was so thrilled……Parents were happy to have seen me so responsible as their pain to get me ready for school would be reduced……………My father dropped me to school……As usual ,the first day of LKG is like uncontrollable for both teachers as well as parents and not to forget the guard uncle……All children crying and running towards the school gate , children clinging on to their parents and not letting them go back to work or home……………..I was an exception…….I was rather wondering , why these kids were crying and behaving so ………….


I was on the first bench……..next to me was another boy, lets name him munna……..ha ha …………I asked him , why he had been weeping , and as an answer to it he just pushed me…………I thought to better keep quiet and not to talk to him……..he had been crying since the time he left home for school and had hardly any energy left to weep but was up to something , which I was clueless of, to get the attention of teacher who was drawing some pictures on the board to start with her job of teaching………………....I was enjoying every moment of school , when suddenly I realized that something bit me and yes true , something had really bit me…..it was not an insect but it was munna…….He had been getting frustrated sitting there and also tired of having cried all day long and so he thought may be biting me on my cheeks would make me cry ……he must have been jealous having seen me sit and enjoy the class…..but his idea was a big flop as I didn’t even make an ‘ouch’ or ‘ahh’ sound [was trying to be extra disciplined by not making any noise in class  ] but yes couldn’t stop the tears to roll down my eyes……….seeing me cry , the teacher came to my assistance and found one of my cheeks rosy red with designs of munna’s teeth, as if it had been poked up ready to be embedded with items ………My father came rushing to collect me from school……….


Next day morning , my character switched………………I didn’t even open my eyes, even though I was awake and to get my teeth brushed was a tough task…………….I didn’t want to go to school……..Mr Munna was the villain there……………As a kid when I used to waste food, my mother used to scare me saying , that the Satan would drag me holding my legs and I even used to dream of it, Satan being the one that appeared in the Onida TV advertisement………..Now I had one more Satan to be added on to the list , whom I was scared of…..Mr Munna….…. I don’t remember as of what happened exactly, we both were put into different classes and then I was kind of back to normal but still the enthusiasm that I had on the first day was never found again……….School days were fun because we hardly had any worries, and this realization does come when we grow up…….I just hope these children who are now going in for admissions have their best time here……….

31st Dec,2009

2008 xmas was supposed to be spent with my parents at singrauli………I had to return back to college and join on 2nd Jan, the reopening day , which if missed is like a violation of the policy of our so called school………………I had my tatkal tickets booked from Bhopal to Bangalore on 31st December, which means I had to leave home on 30th and an overnight stay in Bhopal to board the train next morning i.e. on 31st ……..My father wanted to see me off and had come down to Bhopal with me…………..


31st morning ………all plans changed………..heavy fog leading to delay of train’s arrival led to see my father off………..and I was waiting there for the train to arrive…….it came at 9:30 a.m, some two and a half hours late ……………...I got into the train and found out my berth, to realize that someone was already there on the berth………………is it your berth? Bhaiya , kya yeh apka berth hai? Cheta , ee berth chetande anno?...........tried in all three languages but no way the man didn’t reply…………………an uncle from the next berth said…………..Wo kuch nahi bolta……………I was wondering why? But my priority was to find out what was wrong and what was he doing there when I had the ticket in hand that claimed it to be my berth………..But then that uncle told that the TTR had come the last night , as the train starts from Delhi and had checked his ticket too…………….Another girl spoke ,’Jara ticket dikhana’……………….She found out that even though the boarding date was 31 Dec ,the arrival date at Bangalore was shown as 2nd which could happen only if I get on the train on 1st Jan, which means on the train which starts on 31st from Delhi and she said that it had once happened to her too in case of having booked tatkal ticket……………………Confused na……….even I was…………..so now what next…………….All of them asked me to get down the train as me being on the train would be like travelling without the ticket………….But the train had already started moving…………….but someone pulled the chain somewhere , and the train stopped………………that day I hated trains to be having these curtains hung in the cabins which were all falling on my face as I rushed towards the door and that uncle came to help me get down or rather jump as the train had already left the platform and height difference looked to be huge……….


The train had started moving again by the time we reached the door………..Uncle kept saying ‘jump beta’……but I was thinking, what if I jump and land up between the rails, will my parents ever get to know that I am dead and even if that happens, I will never be able to justify that it was not a suicide attempt…………….Having grabbed up all the courage and using my NCC skills in jumping heights I landed safely on the ground from the running train and thanks to that uncle, whose face I hardly remember for having helped in getting down my luggage………Having jumped I didn’t know what to do…………..the very question ’ what next ?’ was dancing in front of me………….I walked back to the Bhopal platform…………….tried calling mummy…………….but its truly said ‘Jab bhagwan deta hai to chapar phad ke deta hai’ or say ‘mongan erunna nayayude thallayi tenga vennathu pole’……………………I realized for the first time that there was something wrong with my mobile’s outgoing ,while on roaming…………….But had to keep going………………….Courage sometimes comes up when in need………………Gave a call to mummy from a booth leaving her shocked and speechless and about to faint…………..never told the jumping incident though………………


Now when I had a whole day left with me to roam around Bhopal , as my train would come the same time next day……………..I decided to find out and fix both the issues, the ticket as well as my mobile……….went to the enquiry and the station master and checked online to find that it was the mistake of the person at the booking office who had not changed the boarding date……………..good…great Indian railways…..what else to say………….Had I got that person in hand…..urghhhhhhh…………….


Came back to waiting room and thought of hunting for Vodafone assistance…………Vodafone advertisements were hung all around the platform ………but every shopkeeper said they didn’t have Vodafone come into Bhopal till then and they couldn’t help me with the recharging or say anything…………..landed into a shop…………….explained the whole scenario and said ‘bhaiya kuch to solution hoga’………he said he could help me get the mobile recharged with the help of his co-partner in Bangalore but I need to pay something extra…………got it done…………….now was waiting when I got a call from my mummy…………..Some cousin of mummy had been in Bhopal whom I had heard of very often but had never met……………..She said that they would come and pick me up………………But I wondered how would they recognize me………………..they came by noon but there in something in my family I guess, we get to know that we are related as we all have something similar with the eyes……………Went with them to their house and had the new year i.e 2009 being in Bhopal with new people………………….One thing is for sure, the very incident has led me to double check my ticket before leaving and to be extra cautious…………….And not only that , the previous day I had told my father that I had never been to Bhopal other than the station and now it all came as if a dream come true ,as my cousins stayed in the other side of city and so to get from the station to their house was like crossing the entire city……………..Sometimes you just wish and you get it but I wish it could have been in a better way………….ha ha ha…………….after all the train jumping and hunting ,it was rather earning it………..

Vacations

It was a long day but happy to have gone for the get together to meet my cousins ,whom I hadn’t seen for so long but at the same time feel sad , as my home looks deserted now , after having my cousin left on the completion of his course ,after 1 year long stay with us, but at the same time happy to have got back my room, which I had exclusively given it to him ,in my absence ...... He was the first baby I had ever lifted when I was small. It was fun to talk to him about the days happenings in class, over coffee . Home was lively place,but now its paa, maa and me who remain. 2 more days and then I will be gone too….. Now when I had nothing else to do ,I sat down in front of the TV to find a discussion on ‘ whether this generation kids are losing out the fun of vacations by engaging in either dance classes,tuitions,etc………….It made me think of my vacations as kids…..

As my father was into government service in the small township called Singrauli (Most people haven’t heard of this place but what I tell them is that ‘had you guys learnt geography thoroughly, I would have had less pain in explaining the geographical location of Singrauli’) . Well this is for all those who don’t know, Singrauli is known for its coal mines namely NCL and also NTPC . Ahhh…..now you might know where it is because it is a place where in one can actually experience the bend of Indian cultures, as people from different states have come down for service and leave as a society, which is just wonderful. I am thankful to have been born and brought up there which has made me visualize the whole of India in a nutshell.

It takes about 3.5 days on train to reach my native i.e. Kerala having crossed borders of almost 5 different states. I love long trips , that may be the reason why I disliked the concept of traveling by air, as a kid. Moreover, the passengers would be busy people who would be either peeping into newspapers or taking a quick nap before they reach the destination where they might have a busy day ahead, thus leading to not even knowing the name of the person sitting next to you. Now since it took 3.5 days on train , it is reasonable time to get to know other people and also if everyone is asleep and there is no one for company ,get a window seat , just plug in music to your ears and keep staring outside into the wilderness; there is really a beautiful nature outside to admire. Hmmmm………. okay now the day we start planning to go to kerala, me and my brother would be weaving our own dreams and plans about the activities to engage in when we get there. And at kerala we have plenty of cousins and when we all get together, the neighbors get the intuition that a day care has just started next door….....ha ha ha

One of the incidents, that flashes into my mind is ,me scrolling down an arecanut tree. At my grandparents home, there is a lawn from where the steps start leading to the courtyard. Now in the lawn, there was an arecanut tree . One by one my cousins started scrolling down the arecanut tree from the courtyard to the lawn. They used to do it quite frequently, and so they were all enjoying it by hooting and howling as they scrolled down the tree. I was just a spectator in the beginning. I thought of giving it a shot. I was in my divided skirts and never had I noticed that all others who were involved in it were in pants or slacks. I caught hold of the tree and had just scrolled few inches that I realized that the skin of my legs were also getting peeled off. I cling ed on to the tree,not willing to let peel my skin off but neither was I able to climb up. Stuck in the middle, and didn’t know what to do and others standing in queue to come down next after I am done , was driving me crazy. Finally , I scrolled down with my eyes shut tight, to compensate with the pain of the scratches on my leg. It was painful then, but now when I think of it, can’t stop laughing . Vacations were really awesome to be spent in kerala and being kids ,when we get back it was troublesome to converse in Hindi, for not having spoke for about 2 months and mummy finding it difficult to change out Kochi accent of malayalam having stayed with my 3 cousins from Kochi , which we were good at grabbing fast…… ... But those days are even cherished now with some beautiful memories ............

Heard of knees fellowshipping???

It was way back in May 2002 , I was on the way to Varanasi with my paa and maa to go to Delhi. We had left home sometime early in the morning, crossed Renukot. Slight rain drops were pouring down from the sky to absorb the scorching heat of north India. Our Armada took a curve and was on straight road and we were traveling through the wilderness, when we could see at a distance, another jeep coming crawling, like a snake. Having realized the danger, driver uncle stopped by the side , but no way , they didn’t spare us. The jeep hit our Armada somewhere in the front and we were in no seconds rolling down the hilly region. Thanks to who so ever had planted a huge tree which could give us a brake from rolling down even further. But yes the few seconds of rolling down helped me to do a quick confession of sins done till then having seen yam raj in front, and also a thought that we would be survived by my only brother who was not traveling with us. Such vast thoughts in just few seconds, our neurons are just great, what say??? I had heard of people with stage fear say that their legs shake leading to touching of both knees together when they get there on stage. Never ever had that happened to me and I used to think that they were just exaggerating. But after this incident I could feel my knees and jaws fellowshipping even in this summer heat. And moreover there came a reporter of a local newspaper, to report the incident . I still wonder, what was the reporter doing there in the jungle like area……hmmm…….Anyways, it was the one of the days when I realized that yes, there is definitely something that has been decided about us, otherwise why does it happen sometimes that people go in for suicides by hanging on fans and not baring the weight or may be due to loose fitting of the fans by lazy technicians ,the fan itself comes down leading the whole act of suicide to be a failure. Similarly, the shape of Armada does not look like as if any one traveling in it had been spared by death. But the fact is we all were safe with just minor injuries.