Chennai 600080

What do you do when you have just finished your 9^th std half yearly exams and are gonna have 2 weeks full of vacation? Collect 2 rupees each from the 25 odd people, buy two tennis balls and head to the play ground. There were quite a few of us – BK, Marla, VB, MB, Vidhyashankar, Thiaga, Sathya, Krishna, Tony, Bharani, Krishna Prasad, Manja, myself, Prasanna, Abdul, Vishwas, Kishore, Srini, Buddi, Gullu, Kulla, Palla, Naresh, Varuna, Shreenath…..

Usually UCO bank ground was our abode. It was just besides BK’s house – whose mom was great enough to tolerate us and feed us for a whole of 2-3 yrs that we spent playing there. The ground had a longer off side boundary (behind square was plain shrubbery, mid-off: there was a building - so square of the wicket and long off were the only scoring options). Leg side was restricted (by shrubbery yet again), max u could score was a 2G and between long on and cow’s corner it was no runs.....ya...you didnt have runs behind the stumps...since it was blocked by the wall of Lucas-TVS....so you had to be careful you dont hook or scoop lest the ball falls on the other side of the wall......

Generally we played 15 overs a side. Most of us enjoying the shade under the tree, while the wretched few baked in the sun and played. Those were the days…….we enjoyed a lot….it was usual for the tennis ball to get lost in the shrubs….and getting it out was an adventure in itself…..this BK always reminded me of adam gilchrist…..dunno why….but he was one cool character…one of the best fielders and calm headed batsman I have seen….

Vidhya was a class act on the off side….was vulnerable to balls cutting into him….but he always ha the knack of scoring when it mattered…..thiyaga was jekyl and hyde combo…a class act on the off…and a rustic wood cutter on the leg side…. Varuna was stylish….though I am tempted to say style over substance…fact is he had both in ample quantity….he was a perfect batsmen..a perfect bowler…a great fielder…just that it was easy to get under his skin…..Naresh was a complete cricketer….in fact he was the complete sportsman in our group..could play any game..and excelled in every game….Sathya and Kishore were scary fast bowlers…and maverick batsmen….home grown techniques..which served them well….MB was a nice player to watch too…Buddi had a beautiful action modeled on wasim akram…just that he couldn’t bowl….but a tenacious batsman….

The rest of us were mere pretenders…..trying this or that…we never knew when we would score and when we would not…it was always lottery…the only thing we were sure of was that we had immense fun…..

There were few gem in our midst too...there was this P.S.Ramakrishnan who was very very stylish....and Sathyamurthy who was frighteningly fast with the bowl and explosive with the bat...

Grudging salute....eh!!!!! Get lost will ya :)

There are those whom you don’t care much about….if you speak wid them you have a good time…else….doesnt make much of a difference…..however they do become a part of your life….in a way in which you cant describe…..

She was one such lady….I respected her a lot – but that was before knowing her personally. And then, I would not say I despised her…but at least I no longer put her up on a pedestal….there wasn’t much more to it….4 yrs passed in college….

Then she came as my savior….when insomnia affected me….but I wasn’t too much intent on studying….i wanted to speak..or rather vent out my frustrations….she was there….always there I must say….(to give clarity to the context, I must say she was equally vela at that time..with nothing worthwhile to work on :D )….we spoke…we spoke…we spoke…..

To her credit, she tolerated me a lot – despite me being like that irritating mosquito which always seems to hum in the round abouts of your ear but never gets swatted….she helped me where she could….and was forthright in telling where she couldn’t…..went a long way in having no expectations…and yet have the confidence that it is truth which binds our pesky relationship….May God bless her….Amen……

An Ode to Brilliance....

My visit to the GD panel was with mixed emotions….while one part of me was telling me to flunk it…there was another voice which said – just do it.

In the end I went in – not caring a damn as to what the outcome is gonna be and let myself be what I am. GD went on OK…and so did the interview….

Then we went for a small walk across the campus….I later had the privilege to be her classmate too…

One of the most simple and brilliant lady I have ever come across…as I used to so often say to my kkdi friends…the first girl to whom I could bow down with happiness….such was her brilliance (as I perceived it to be)

We shared a hi-bye relationship. Nothing much to speak of. But thinking of her will always remind me of her grace, her brilliance….and all I will do is wish her the very best in her life…. AMEN

Gone with the wind ……Part 3

• 
  
• Having that ‘why I am here?’ feeling once again……on the first night at b’lore
• The happiness at the sight of a known face in my class…..
• Our mktg project and the fun and food we had along with it….
• Our nights (especially 2^nd and 3^rd sem) spent playing tsepak (in which I was a dud) followed by kadak chai at 4.30 in the morning before going to sleep
• Those caffeine induced insomnia…..
• Enter second yr….and our very own adda with vipro, oldie and myself…
• Frequent chai time meetings in I-1^st …..
• Our daaru induced black out after our 4^th sem….
• Playing cricket in L block while I was supposed to work on my ccs….
• Good times with sanju, jhingu, balti, ankur, jawanak, balle and sarangi….
• Frequent canteen/CCD visits with sumeet….
• The happiness I experienced at the sight of an uncluttered mind dancing her way to glory….
• 15 movies in 2 days… interrupted only by the necessity to sleep…
• Weekend outings (rare ones though) with mek and her gang….
• The last daaru session we had post placements and the L^2 that followed….
• When dancing actually meant stomping our feet and pumping our fists…..in a drunken stupor….
• My happiness at the time of leaving blore

For you Meks........

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels;
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles;
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes;
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes;
Silver-white winters that melt into springs;
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

My Fav

The Yaksha: "What is that, abandoning which man becomes loved by all?"

Yudhishthira: "Pride, for abandoning that man will be loved by all."

The Yaksha: "What is the loss which yields joy and not sorrow?"

Yudhishthira: "Anger, giving it up, we will no longer subject to sorrow."

The Yaksha: "What is that, by giving up which, man becomes rich?"

Yudhishthira: "Desire, getting rid of it, man becomes wealthy."

The Yaksha: "What is the greatest wonder in the world?"

Yudhishthira replied: "Every day, men see creatures depart to Yama's abode and yet, those who remain seek to live forever. This verily is the greatest wonder."

These are the bricks with which the wall was built

Hmm...D'Anconia, Rearden, Galt, SIddartha.....There are few more i love...couldnt find a quote of theirs on net though Howard Roark, Gail Wynand...in fact there is this close friend of mine whom i call roark and myself wynand.....He was the person i wanted to be, but never could be......

Nainam chindanti shastraani, nainam dahathi paavakah, na chainam kledhayantyaapo, na evam shochayathi maarutah... There is always the proverbial slip between the cup and the lip....I am failing more times than I am succeeding. However, each success is so sweet that the failures are but a motivation to come out of the shell.

and yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love.

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love ... they try to posses it, they demand, they expect ... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you. For love is meant to be free, you can not change its nature.

If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect.
Advise, but don't order.
Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love.To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.

- Swami Vivekananda