Freak Accident

It was 08th December of the year 2009 [just wanted to sound as if I am writing a great write up ;)] nothing great happened. I woke up late just like any other weekdays. I don’t like treating weekends any special than the weekdays and to keep it even I treat the weekdays like the weekends waking up when I feel like 

I had to visit the bank this day and I had to sign few documents for a process that will make me appear richer and in fact turn me indebted to the bank a little longer. I planned initially to reach office in time (which is actually 9 am) and then go to the bank from there borrowing my colleague’s bike as I had the appointment with the banker only at 10 am.

But then plans are only supposed to be in the paper and never to be executed. I had to accompany my buddy who is my room mate too that morning to the old house to detach the ceiling fans and to carry it to the new place as we recently shifted base. I can’t be at two places at the same time and so I had to change my plan to fit in. I planned to go to the bank directly from my place and this time I would borrow the vehicle from my buddy who shares everything at the moment except my innerwear and me likewise. This time I stuck to the plan and reached the bank in time, though it was 10 minutes late to the banks clock. (Why don’t all the clocks show the same time?) I waited for one Mr.Srikanth for near 15 minutes before I was directed to a table inside a big hall. After the initial pleasantries we got down to business which had much to do with the banker filling in few details like my name and details in lot of documents and me signing those like a superstar crowded by his fans for his/her autograph. Honestly these are the moments when we realize our signature worth. It gives an airy feeling when you finish the signature with a dot or a line under it making you feel jubilant giving you a taste of what it feels like to be bestowed with super stardom.

Once all the documents were signed I was given the cheque for which I was signing all that time and shook hands with the banker and left the building to start off from there to my bank where I can encash it. It wasn’t 10 minutes since I left the bank and started moving in the bike when I received a call. This was the first hurdle in the sequence of happening which otherwise was going pretty smoothly. It was the banker asking me to come back to the bank as he wanted one more of my autograph. I was wondering on my way back where I missed to sign as I double checked and made sure I signed everywhere the banker marked the document with an x. Later when I got back to the bank I realized that the sign was to acknowledge the correction the banker did when writing my name.

I had to thank him for the mistake he did and to bring me all over to the bank taking a long way back, wearing a straight face to hide my annoyance. The madras traffic aggravated my frustration further more before I reached my bank (bank 2) to deposit the cheque. To my dismay my bank was too busy with the customers thronging like the flies which mean my wait is going to be longer that left me even more deprived. I intended to check into the office before lunch so that I will not be accounted for half days leave 

Once the work was done I rushed to the bike not to waste any more time to reach the office at the earliest. I kick started the vehicle changed from neutral to first and then first to second and then to the top in no matter of time. There was a public transport bus ahead of me trying to slow down at the bus stop at an intersection. Why is that the bust stop is always right before an intersection? I tried to overtake it when I found two strangers in a bike trying to come from my left heading in my direction (rather I was heading in their direction) from one of the perpendicular lanes. The site of me rushing in left the rider perplexed and his expression was like that of the heroines of the Indian horror movies before they leave out a shriek. I spotted him well in time and my attempt to bring the gear down and to decelerate was in vain as I found it to my surprise the bike speeding up. I tried to avoid the clash but ended up breaking his headlight to pieces. At the end of the scene my bike was resting safely with a broken indicator and a clutch and a bent gear stand right at the middle of the road at the inter junction. I didn’t panic and for the same reason I guess I safely got out of the bike before its fall with a slight bruise on my left leg. After a semi argument I agreed to take on the expenses to repair his bike and we parted ways with smiling faces. Hugging would have overdone the scene I guess ;)

Why did I bring this story here after all this time of not writing a post? What made me write this one? During my post accident analysis I was trying to zero in on the reason that caused the accident and also the factors that would have avoided it.

As I scanned it backwards, I found the following reasons for my rash driving which I hardly indulged in.

4) I was frustrated waiting for a long time in my bank which I felt like the longest wait of my life.

3) I was in restless riding in the traffic of madras on the way from the first bank to the other.

2) The banker, who called me back for no fault of mine to fix a mistake he did, left me red faced. I was contemplating that I wouldn’t be at the scene of the accident at that time if he never called me. But then something worse could have happened. We never know until it is happened, right.

1) I started late and didn’t stick to the initial plan of going to the office and then starting from there to the bank which urged me to reach office at the earliest.

You can choose any of the above options other than the last to conclude if you find any reason to sympathize with me ;) but I chose to blame it on myself. My tick is right against the last reason #1. I have a theory to support my reasoning too. It’s the butterfly effect 

“The butterfly effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. Small variations of the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system.”

So now you know where it all began and the inspiration behind this post 
Does it not feel nice to see a theory unwind in your life right before your eyes and you have the realization that it’s really happening? And is it not all the more reason to rejoice when it happens to be the first freak accident of the world’s safest rider ;)? Yes it feels good and that’s what made me write this post.

Moral of the story: Start early if you don’t want to pay to fix somebody’s bike ;)

CHOICE

We always have a choice on anything and everything we do. Right from waking up to the time we go to bed and even while we sleep we have a choice. We have the choice whether to open our eyes now or later, we have the choice whether to move out of the bed and start the day now or later, we have the choice of the position we sleep. There comes so many chances of making a choice in our daily life and we make a choice without our cognition as making the smallest of choices in the daily routine would have become a habit by the time we realize that we are really making a choice now. And this assemblage of choices makes our day and these days coherently make our life.
We are so accustomed to taking these small decisions of the day that when we are challenged with a huge one we usually stumble, run to the corner trying to find a place to hide. One such choice every individual has to make is his/her wedding. You have to make a choice whether to get married or not married. If the later is chosen then you can get back to the normal mode of making easy small choices but if the earlier choice is made then pops the next set of choices. Marry a known devil or an unknown angel I meant marry a friend or a stranger. If a known devil is chosen then comes the dearth of making any choices as you are likely to lose any confidence you have in making choices. If an unknown angel is to be chose then arrives a truck load of choices to make.
In this scenario I would agree with the saying that “A man makes a choice first and then the choice makes the man”. The rest of the life largely depends upon this choice that he or she makes at this juncture. It’s a choice worth taking as it changes the life or changes the person altogether as I have witnessed in some cases of my friends who got married.
If anyone out there is seeking the strength to make such choice then tell yourself

“I don’t make a right choice. I make a choice and make it right”

Now you have the choice of commenting or not. Go on and pick your choice ;)

Seasons Greetings

Let this Diwali bring in all the goodness in the world in to your home and life.
Wish you all a Happy,Colorful and Joyous Diwali :)

Amateur artist

I always believed that i can do everything and for the same reason i think i never reached any heights in anything i did.I saw myself as the jack of all trade and king of none.In most cases i have been only better than the worse and in some ranked amidst the averages and in none have i been a person to reckon with,largely due to my indolence.Drawing is one such creativity i touched upon my childhood and though did not go places came close enough to get a first prize in one of the competitions held in the school.I ended up getting the second prize and the number of participants were definitely not two if you are under estimating by any chance ;)
I am wondering lately whether i did justice to all my so called "talents" and now i am in the process of reanimating my lost appetite for all those activities i indulged in my puerility.
I was too tempted to take the pencil to sketch again when i saw my buddy preparing to sketch a subject aesthetically.He was encouraging and prompted me to derive inspiration from his own passport size picture.So i indulged once again with the 3P'S - The pencil,paper and the pad. With his photo on the side i started sketching ardently as i was too excited to draw again.The pencil stroked his hair,his nose,his other facial features and i like a pro swapped the pencils between HB,2B,4B and even 6B nonchalantly as if i have been doing it for ages.I erased,readjusted,redrew and did whatever i could to make my creation resemble the original picture and the best i could do was to make it resemble his could be cousin :)
We had an hearty laugh after seeing the finished sketch my buddy claiming to have seen the person in the picture somewhere :)
But then it announced the rebirth of a not so great amateur artist :)

Sept 09

Long time since i contributed to my post. I dont find time and motivation these days to put my thoughts to the blog. So i thought to borrow a so called "poem" from my diary that i used to fill in my school days. Another school buffer "poem" which i guess might make few of my readers giggle for a moment :) Here it goes

It was September nine,
I asked her "Will you be mine?"
Reply was "Better luck next time"

I felt, it was not so fine,
But dear, I'll never whine.

I dreamt of walking with her in rain,
And under the sun that shine,

Together i thought to dine
A candle lit dinner with a pinch of wine

I then realized its all a dream in vain.
One thing is sure that your heart will be my shrine,

Till life flows in my vein,
And love remains so divine.

I am LOL as i type it out and its really funny to look back in time.I am wondering where i derived my inspiration and its the word September 9 that took it all this way to find a space in my blog. It was written on 8th October 2003. I think it was a dedication to one of my friend on his birthday which he never knew of.Thanks for bearing with the clumsy poet :)

Barbaric bard

The date shows 28-10-2001 when the poem was written. I try to recollect the circumstances when i wrote this one. It was in my school days when me and one of my friends who was a she were pulling each others legs.A funny incident sow the seed for the thought for this poem that might sound too rude and cruel. But there was no animosity whatsoever when i wrote it. By gods grace she is happily married with a caring husband and a lovely son. Here goes the poem of an amateur school boy who found joy bringing together words that sounded similar.

22-10-2001

To you in your marriage,
When you get into a bondage,
Which i shall ravage,

Keep this envisage,
Till your old age,
To spare you I am not a sage
And to you i will be a real savage.

Be ready to pay homage,
To the person who'll share all your age.

To you in your marriage,
From someone on the rampage.

Too unskilled and funny it is as i read it now. I can come up with lot of improvisations but i wanted this to be raw as it was when i wrote it. This should fit in a rock album for all the negativity it has in it ;)

Spread the news and not the flu

Hi all,

Its now official that swine flu is fast spreading and its awareness is a necessity.
Here is a link which explains the symptoms, the immediate course of action and the centers to contact in case of emergency.
Spread the news across and lets stick to the sneezing etiquette, cover the mouth region with a handkerchief or a tissue while sneezing or coughing. It is advisable to bath before you go to sleep. Time to stick to the discipline and etiquette taught in our school days people.

http://www.in.com/swineflu/inside.php?id=#q2

I request all my readers to spread the message across.

Happy Friendship Day

Cue pal

It was a Sunday and I and my friend biked out to get a gift for my colleague’s twin babies who are going to celebrate their birthday tomorrow. We stepped into few toy stores and could not zero in on any gifts and decided to relax playing a game of snooker which we happened to play during our days together onsite. We checked into a billiards bar and we were relieved to find an unoccupied table inviting us to play. We booked it without wasting much time and for our dismay we couldn’t find the cue stick which is used to strike the ball, without which a game was impossible. We summoned the waiter to bring us a cue and after few minutes of checking the waiter returned to us empty handed saying that they have run out of all the cues they had. It was quiet understandable as it was a Sunday and all but our table was booked.
I checked around all other tables and the guys who were playing there to spot if any of the table had more than two allotted cue sticks. I engrossed in a contention with the waiter claiming there should be at least one cue stick somewhere with which me and my friend can start playing the game sharing a common cue stick. As a player you need a cue stick in your hand all the time even while watching as your partner plays his turn to get a feel of the game and also to be in rhythm. Unlike in total unavailability as in my case a common cue is always going to be a pain. A common cue is a luxury in inaccessibility just like any other thing.
As I was about to give up and get back to my place a guy who was playing in the nearby table came forward and rendered the cue stick which he was using. I was really taken aback pleasantly to that kind of gesture from a stranger. He was playing with his partner who had his cue and it’s an incommodious feeling to share a common stick when two players are involved in the game. Despite that fact this guy came forward out of his comfort zone to help couple of strangers have a relaxing time. Not many have a heart and attitude to realize other’s difficulty and step to the fore with a helping hand without even seeking. Not for the first time that I am experiencing this kind of magnanimous gesture that I decided on the first instant not to miss people like this who are hard to come by in life. I got acquainted to this guy and exchanged pleasantries and our background. He did his graduation in my hometown, he stayed near my house during his college days and yet we got an opportunity to meet only now and to top it all up he shared my brother’s name.

His name is Ashwin and I dedicate this post to that humble heart that was willing enough to go out of the comfort zone to see some stranger smile. That gesture thoroughly deserves an appreciation and I am taking this space to do it. I like to tell him that his gesture was contagious and it has instilled in me a new value.

A small effort goes a long way

I feel elated as I write this post. One of my school friends’ who is back to Chennai has been in constant touch ever since he came back from the states. During the weekends we tend to hang out together as he is as much a loser as I am when it comes to getting a girl friend. One fine Sunday as we were chatting he brought up the topic of the competitions that is happening in his company. He was participating in one of the competition which was to come up with a creative logo reflecting the mood of the occasion. The occasion was the fifth anniversary celebration of the partnership of his company with its client which was into insurance.
Soon our minds started working on the line of creating a logo that will stand out in the lot of entries that the competition will draw in. After trying few ideas we zeroed in on one logo finally which would be my friend’s entry to the competition.
I totally forgot to follow what was happening in that front. I was awaiting a surprise when my friend messaged me today that his entry has got the first prize in the competition filling me with a sense of jubilation as if I have won it. It’s a team effort I would say it needed ideas to be put into the paper and then taken into the system digitally. Sara played a part in putting the idea to the paper and jana took care of converting it into digital. It was the most creative of Sundays. Good work boys. Let us have a small celebration :)
The logo demands a bit of explanation to understand making it closer to modern art ;)

LOGO Description
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1. Company logo at the bottom as base and the client logo is on the top with celebration.
2. Blue color arcs represents number 5 for five years Relationship between them.
3. If we remove the right side arc in the bottom logo and see the whole picture it resembles a person running with a torch of glory.
4. As a whole picture it seems like a person stretching his hands and celebrating the 5 years.

Be a Roman in Rome?

This day happened to be that once in a blue moon day when I saw sun rising. I had to drop my brother who was traveling back to our home town at the central railway station which is few miles from my living place. He had a train to catch at 6:15 am. We both started in the bike by quiet early to reach in time. I took the wheels as he donned the pillion rider. The way to the station has a long stretch of road that runs along the second longest beach in the world the marina. During the early hours it used to be deserted with the walkers and joggers running on the pavement breathing in the fresh air.
This road which stretches more than couple of miles has lot of traffic signals in between as it is harbored with lot of government offices and buildings and also educational institutes. The road those intersect this main road adds more reason to have more traffic signals. The sea breeze, the rising sun, silent ambiance, soothing atmosphere all adds to the aura making it perfect for a morning ride in the bike. As I was cruising through I was lucky enough not to be interrupted by the signals as it was green whenever I encounter it. It was as if someone was watching from above letting the signals go green at my arrival.
Taking it by my side I approached the next signal which was blinking green from a distance. I thought for a moment that I shall take it but then as I approached the stop line it changed to red giving me lesser than the usual time to stop my vehicle in time. I managed to follow the the rules of raising my hand to indicate the person who were behind me that I am discontinuing the ride before i came to a halt.
It happened so that a heavy tripper truck that was coming behind at a safe distance overtook us ignoring the signal. The cleaner who was on the left side of the truck scowled at us as the sand carrier passed by as i have done something sinful that no man should do. I didn’t realize how close we were to get into an accident until my brother informed me with a wry smile that the truck changed direction in the last minute. The truck would have simply run over us giving us a momentary stardom sparing some space for us in the morning news.
Jokes apart, this incident gave me couple of things to think about. My horoscope claims that I shall meet with an accident by this august. Is it coming alive? The second one is the debate I had with my fellow blogger on whether to do the way Romans do in Rome, analogous to be a cheater in this world filled with cheats. The first thought being insignificant my mind wandered around the roman thing. This incident wouldn’t have happened had I not stopped for the signal just like the truck driver. This made my affinity towards the old adage “While in Rome do as the Romans do” even stronger. I believe life is far more precious to be wasted in a road accident just for the heck of sticking to the rules.
If you ask me if ever I would follow the traffic signals during the abandoned time of the day then my answer would be negative. I would rather prefer to get bruised not following the rules than get seriously injured following it in a world full of rule breakers.
Be a Roman in Rome if you want to be alive. Values are to live, if life is at stake then value has no value.

Wedding weekend

The weekend that went by happened to see two of my friends getting married on the same day. Actually it’s three. The first wedding was that of Aparna and Mani who were my college mates and the second one was that of Vineesh who was my college mate too but they are not familiar with each other. Now wait, how can be that possible? Aparna and Mani are from the college where I did my engineering and Vineesh is from the college where I spent my time foot loosely in the name of studying mathematics. That way it was 2 wedding that involved 3 friends.
I got an insight that i had never before in the numerous weddings i attended.It made me see marriage in a light I never saw before. I saw it as a life changing incident that is inevitable in most individual’s life. Once after marriage never is life going to be the same as it used to be. Everything that has become a pattern more than two decades now has to confront a drastic change of 180 degrees. Prepared minds and people who are up for the change see it nothing more than a change in job or change of living place.
I asked these guys whether they aren’t nervous before the D-day and their reply was negative. They were pretty cool about it reflecting their state of mind which clearly said that they were up for the challenge.
What has been so far ‘thinking for me’ has to shift to ‘thinking for us’. What has been anytime, anywhere meal has to now change for the good. What has been “I” has to change to “We”. Now every action becomes accountable and the entire thinking process and the lifestyle have to undergo a whirlwind change. I was vary of this change till I saw these guys getting married pretty coolly without any fuzz showing no ounce of concern about it. It instilled a sense of authority in me that I can handle it too :)
For someone who throngs around in fourth friend’s wedding as a teenager without even an invite for the fun of it this weekend wedding has been an enlightening one. I wish the wedded couples a wonderful married life ahead and wish the transition be a smooth sail with this life changing experience.

Let there be Mother

It was very emotional writing this poem. It might not be the best in measures when it comes to poem but it certainly is special for me as each sentence holds inexplicable significance.I dedicate this to my beloved mom and i would like to thank that one person who was instrumental in sparking off this poem. Thank you Mr.Vishy for bringing out this special one.

Mother sweet mother.

I am searching for words to script a poem about my mother,
That will remain timeless without any wither

I troubled her all the time resting in her womb,
Carrying me, she bore it all with customary aplomb

I screamed out loud when they disserved me from her,
I am sure it would have made her glad hearing my holler

She spent her days seeing me sleep,
In the night I engaged her with my weep

Crying and giggling I spent my infancy in her lap,
Enjoying the comfort of the gentle tap

I walked my first step making her proud,
She wished her boy would stand out in the crowd

Her work got multifold when I joined a school,
Amidst all chaos she remained so cool

She drudged all day to make ends meet,
I realize now that it was no mean feat

She had a goal to make me a man,
who can be the pride of the entire clan

Gods are there that she didn’t fail
Despite the fact that her son was frail

Life became better as the days passed by,
I owe it to mom, the family she always stood by

I love my mother with all my heart,
For in my life she played a gritty part

I pray god to give her a healthy life,
And bless her with joy in rife.

I am searching for words to script a poem about my mother,
That will remain timeless without any wither.

The last words

The shortest story that filled my eyes

Horror gripped the heart of a World War-I soldier, as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle.

The soldier asked his Captain if he could go out to bring his fallen associate back.

"You can go," said the Captain, "but don't think it will be worth it .Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away."

The Captain 's words didn't matter, and the soldier went anyway.

Miraculously, he managed to reach his friend, hoisted him onto his shoulder and brought him back to their company's trench.

The officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. " I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded."

"It was worth it, Sir," said the soldier.

"What do you mean by worth it?" responded the Captain."Your friend is dead."

"Yes Sir," the soldier answered, "but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say....... " Man...I knew you would come !

Cutest cup of tea with a sense of humour

One day my wife was out, and I was in charge of our little daughter. My
daughter is two and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had
given her a little tea set as a get-well gift, and it was one of her
favorite toys.

I was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when my daughter
brought me a little cup of tea, it was just water. After several cups of
tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, I saw my wife came home. I
made her wait in the living room to watch my daughter bring me a cup of
tea, because it was "just the cutest thing." My Wife waited, and sure
enough, here my daughter come down the hall with a cup of tea for daddy,
and my wife watches me drink it.

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Then my wife says to me, "Did it ever occur to you that the only place
she can reach to get water is the toilet?"

Super Mom

Just a forward i enjoyed reading. I was exchanging mails with one of my blog friends today and we were discussing about poems and mom when this forward came by. So as a tribute to all intelligent Indian mothers here comes that forward mail. Hope it leaves a smile in your face :)

A Mom comes to visit her son Kumar for dinner who lives with a girl
roommate Sunita. During the course of the meal, his mother couldn't
help but notice how pretty Kumar's roommate was. She had long been
suspicious of a relationship between the two, and this had only made
her more curious.


Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she
started to wonder if there was more between Kumar and his roommate
than met the eye.

Reading his mom's thoughts, Kumar volunteered, "I know what you must
be thinking, but I assure you, Sunita and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Sunita came to Kumar saying, "Ever since your
mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver plate. You
don't suppose she took it, do you?" Kumar said,"Well, I doubt it,
but I'll email her, just to be sure."


So he sat down and wrote:
Dear Mother,
I'm not saying that you 'did' take the silver plate from my house, I'm
not saying that you 'did not' take the silver plate. But the fact
remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love,
Kumar


Several days later, Kumar received an email from his Mother which read:
Dear Son,
I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Sunita, and I'm not saying
that you 'do not' sleep with Sunita. But the fact remains that if she
was sleeping in her OWN bed, she would have found the silver plate by
now under the pillow.
Love,
Mom


Lesson of the day:
Don't Lie to Your Mother...........!

Me the poet

I think myself to be the jack of all trade and king of none. That way there is this small poet in me who pops out once in a while to play with the words creating rhymes for nothing but the joy of creating. Here is one such creation of mine. Call it a poem or a rhyme or whatever you like to. Here i am, showcasing the small poet in me:)

When words drain we have silence to speak,

Staying apart the feelings are bleak,



Against all odds I will swear,

That the days were good when u were here,



You took the way that life showed you

Never thinking my state after the toll of hew



I always wish that the good comes your way,

To make it bright and a beautiful day



Waiting for the day when you’ll be here,

to whisper those words in your ear.



Eagerly awaiting your arrival

to head start the revival.

I dedicate this to that special person who made me a blogger too.

An adventure trip

A ride for just the heck of it

What was planned few years ago materialized when a conversation got momentum and intensity between the break at work. One fine day my director NSK came to my desk where I and my senior GS and junior ST were sitting. He started speaking about his idea of riding a bullet from mysore to ooty which he discussed with GS few years back who himself owned a bullet. He said that the route will be scenic and the chance of coming across wildlife was good on the ride. The idea of an encounter with a tiger, an elephant or for that matter any dangerous animal thrilled me and I conveyed my immediate participation in that ride. So now the count was three but we had only one bike. The excitement spilled over and ST who was hearing this also expressed his desire to join the ride. He has a Honda unicorn and now the proportion seems to be just fine, four people and two vehicles. But then MK was also in the room and I didn’t want to make him feel bad and I asked him his idea of joining us and the reply was as expected a positive one. But now we are running short of a bike and so I decided to call up another junior (PV) of mine who owns a bike. He is a bubbly character who nods his head for anything and everything in agreement to whatever crap you say. So by now the team of six and three vehicles was complete. It all happened in a matter of five minutes that I started wondering about the strange behavior of life. This plan was laid few years back by NSK and GS when they hardly knew people like me and my juniors existed. But then it eventually materialized now and NSK started booking the tickets online immediately. We planned to make the trip in april as we had a Friday holiday giving us the liberty of three days till Sunday to make this trip happen. As it was only February we didn’t have any problems booking the ticket.

So april came and we were excited to start the journey. We packed the bikes to mysore a day before we started so that there isn’t any delay to collect the bikes when we reach mysore. Getting it packed at the Chennai railways was a headache and it took us a day to do it and we started on 8th april from Chennai which was a Thursday. We took the 9 o clock Cauvery express from Chennai which acted as a passenger train after crossing Bangalore. It scrolled and stopped in every station until it reached mysore by 9 in the morning. Getting the bikes at mysore was a cakewalk as we didn’t see too many bikes and laborers mobbing as was the case in Chennai. We had some trouble starting the bikes as the fuel tank has to be emptied before packing. For the same reason we carried 500 ml petrol to help ourselves reach the petrol station without pushing it. ST’s bike didn’t respond to the minor portion of the petrol it was allocated with, 500ml petrol for three bikes comes around 166ml approximately for each bike. Luckily the petrol station was not too far and I and ST pushed it all the way. God was kind enough to leave the road to the petrol station down slopped that we rode the bike without petrol for few meters to reach the station.

The ride started once the tank was filled. The idea was to move as a bunch and in case any one of the followers is beyond sight and missing for more than 20 minutes then the leader has to wait until everyone joins. To begin with NSK and GS who decided to lead the pack were on the bullet followed by PV and MK in Apache and behind them all chasing it out was ST and me in unicorn.
The weather was warm and it got hotter as we went into the day. ST took over from me in between and we had a chance to have a date with yamadharmaraj. We were speeding in as were the other vehicles ahead of us. It happened so all of a sudden the SUV before us halted with a screech. ST despite putting forward his best efforts to stop the bike ended up kissing the tires over the rear of the SUV which left a naamam like mark. The thing to worry about wasn’t the kiss of the bike but this big truck that just pulled over in time from kissing sitting in the rear. I had to pursue ST to hold on for sometime to get his nerves back before he starts all over again which he adamantly ignored. I persisted and succeeded for I know how it will be to get jolted and how difficult it becomes to concentrate on the ride thereafter. But later the same became a topic to laugh about as we noticed the same SUV with the mark in its rear as we all pulled over for a break.

The route map is shown below for a better understanding of the route we took. We took the mysore-Nanjangud-Gundalpet-Bandipur-Theppakad-Gudalur-Naduvattam-Pykara-Ooty route since the other route was steep and not so friendly to go uphill and we reserved that for the return ride.

After several breaks and change of riders on the way we reached ooty around 4 in the evening. Riding in the hills is a pleasure. To bend with the roads and not knowing what to expect as we turn without speeding down is a thrill by itself. GS’s bullet showed some sings of creating trouble on the way but then bullet being bullet moved up like the sturdy guy it is. We were joined by VR and BG in ooty who came up from coimbatore for the same purpose. We had the dormitory booked at TTDC (Tamilnadu tourism Development Corporation) very much earlier as we know that getting a room in ooty during the season is a tougher task. We rested for sometime and while refreshing I noticed my exposed part of my hands being tanned than usual because of the ride under the sun and the wind. My hands had a clear demarcation of the exposed and concealed part and I felt felicitous to see the designs of nature over me.

As it was to darken soon we headed to the botanical garden which seemed to be the ideal choice for its vicinity. Fossil tree is the only thing that captured my attention of the lot in the garden. There were other trees with monstrous trunk and bulky barks very likely to be more than a century old. We had an opportunity to meet one of the few non corrupt IAS officers Mr. Gagandheep Singh Bedi with his family. He was gracious enough to share a picture with us. Posing and taking pictures kept us occupied for most part of our visit to the garden. As it dimmed we pushed off to take our bikes and return to our dormitory to finish off our dinner after a drink before we retired for the day.

to be cotd......

A special sunday

Sunday the word by itself enlightens lot of people bringing a big grin to their face no matter how wrinkled it is due to the hardships they encounter in their mundane life. We look forward for the Sundays when we are a kid to play in the streets with our friends, to watch that special program that gets telecasted only on Sunday, to have special lunch made by mom. When we grow up a bit and get into the college Sunday is something that brings a breather of fresh air. People with girl friends and boy friends venture out to movies and hideouts while people who are with friends check out special joints and people like me spend most of the day relaxing and sleeping. If we could wash the cloths by Saturday itself then Sunday becomes even more special. Later when we grow up and start earning the bread we look forward to Sunday so eagerly to get a break from the gruesome routine. Later when we get married and get settled with our kids, Sunday will be the only day of the week that we wish to have in the calendar for that will be the only day that blesses us the time with our loved ones. As we grow old and Sunday will be special for then our children and grandchildren gives us a visit.
Except in those parts of the world where Sunday is a working day, Sunday is adored, worshiped, played, gorged, viewed, waited, slept, pampered and what not. I love Sunday too and I am not sure about my ideas of a perfect Sunday. But this Sunday (3rd may 2009) was special for the mere reason that drives the Indian subcontinent crazy, cricket. Cricket is one reason that drives me home during the weekends I go. Unlike the actual sport the cricket we play is between the two compounds and with lot of restrictions and rules flexed to suit the ambience. One pitch catch and that to be caught using in one hand without the ball coming in contact with any other part of the body is one such rule for your understanding. We have lot of such decrees to play this game.
Babu is a fierce competitor and he never plays to lose and this gives me all the more pleasure to play against him. I learnt from him how to play with passion and how to play to win. He brings out the best of his potential delivering cent percent commitment to pull off a victory. As babu works in Bangalore and me in Chennai we have to plan in before hand the weekend that we have to visit our respective family in coimbatore. This game we play is not played for money, neither for monetary rewards nor for any trophies but for the passion of the game and the taste of victory that lures with every game.
This weekend was one such weekend where we both were in our hometown and what better time can it be to start the game than a Sunday morning. The game started by 8:30 am and went till 12:30 pm. My brother who has been sharing the same passion for this game for a while now joined babu in his team and I opted for his friend who seemed to hit the ball well while warming up. Jayabal who lives in coimbatore is a lively character when it comes to cricket and NO is the last thing you can hear him say if you call him for a game of cricket. He joined babu and I went for dinesh who is yet to be out of the school. Dinesh has talent but lacks focus and application. With some tweaking and chiding I think this guy should get better than all the oldies of the lot.
Each team has now three players and so three overs to face which makes one over for each player which completes one game. Scoring can be done only in fours and sixes as it is a very small place. There is a demarcation in the compound at knee height and if the ball hits directly beneath it’s a six and the batsmen is considered out if it hits above the demarcation directly. Similarly fours are scored when the ball hits the ground first before it gets in contact with the compound wall. If the ball goes above the compound wall then the batsman is considered to be out again. These form the part of the rules of the game we play. Ufffffffff
Five games form a series and the winner of the series is the best of five games. Like the player who wins the most in five games is the champion. The game began and it was all a closely fought battle. All the games went for the fifth game which means that the equilibrium wasn’t one sided. We played seven or eight series of which most of the series ended with a 3-2 result. There were lots of dives from babu and smart saves from jayabal and usual bloopers from dinesh. Babu even bruised his side back while diving to stop a four. That was the intensity of the game. I was really timing the ball well and scored in every other game. When I failed arvind, my brother’s friend contributed. When both of them failed there was this mystic scoring from dinesh that would give something for us to defend or to save the game. For babu’s dismay batting hardly clicked for his team as jayabal’s attempt to score at least a single four went in vain. It was a battle of preservation and perseverance and we came on top on all the occasions. Not a series lost to the opponent its only victory that I tasted that Sunday which made it very special.

This idea of putting this in blog bobbed up this morning when I was riding my way to office. The triumphant feeling hasn’t sunk in yet. I was in the middle of preparing a travelogue of the trip I made to ooty via mysore. It seemed to take lot of time than I expected. So I thought of chipping in with this post in a way celebrating the victorious Sunday. I believe this post will infuriate babu charging him up next when we encounter. He will definitely make sure that I don’t have another such post in the future.

Random thoughts and a short story

I can attribute to either my laziness or the lack of time (too busy sitting ideal ;) that i am not posting my own creations lately. Something unusual is happening with me now which i am not able to contemplate. Lethargic,demotivated,lacking any zeal,unpunctual,unhappy,distressed and you can add all the veto adjectives to describe my state of mind now. I shall soon find a way out of this mess. I dont see any reason that might have caused this mess and that is the very problem of the situation. Am i craving for a change or am i longing for something? I dont know. I got to hear my inner self to know what it is. I believe if you know it then i can fix it.

Anyway, let us dump these worries in a corner for a while before we address it again sometime soon. This is a short story that i enjoyed reading lately which had a feel good factor that it kept me smiling during most part of the second half. Have a read if you are not too busy like me ;)

The story begins ---

Good Morning Class, Today we have a new student among us, her name is Samyuktha" announced the class teacher "Samyuktha come here, introduce yourself to the class"

Samyuktha a 12 year old girl, with fair complexion skin and a neatly pleated hair on either side of her head was sitting in the one corner of the class. She slowly got up from her seat. Each one of the student in class started staring at her. With all those stares, new faces, new city, new school, she was scared to death. She moved slowly to where her teacher was standing and faced the class with lowered head as if it were a punishment.

"Samyuktha introduce yourself to class. Why are you lowering your head? Stand straight up. Don't waste the time of the class" said teacher somewhat sternly.

"My name is Samyuktha..I..I…I know no English much..i..i.." said samyuktha with a very feeble voice.The whole class started giggling and started hush-hushing comments on Samyuktha. The teacher asked Samyuktha to go back to her seat hearing
the commotion in the class and asked the class to be quite. Samyuktha almost had tears in her eyes. She was lost in her own world for th rest of the class.

During Interval she sat alone at her desk, looking at her book but not looking at the words but thinking about the world she left back in her small town, Varanasi. "Hi" said a voice. Samyuktha looked up to see a girl standing there. She was slightly dark complexioned, with a smiling face, and had hair exactly like Samyuktha's.

"I am Prachi, your classmate. Why are you not having lunch?" said prachi.

"a..umm..i not feeling hungry much." replied Samyuktha.

"Why not? Common I know you felt bad when the class laughed at you. Even I felt bad but don't care about them. If you don't eat, you will become sick. Did you bring your lunch box?" said Prachi.

Samyuktha felt a sense of relief after hearing what Prachi said and started feeling hungry too.

"Yes I brought. Will you eat with me?"asked Samyuktha..

"Yes sure. Lets go outside and eat. We will have some fresh air" said prachi and took samyuktha's hand and went outside the class to a playground. Both sat and started eating together. They shared a bit of each others lunch too.

"so, you miss your old school..isnt it?" asked prachi.

"Yes a lot. I am from Varanasi. Daddy got transfer here. I got no admission here as my English is poor but daddy gave donation and I got admission..i will fail sure" said samyuktha sadly.

"Oh don't be sad Samyuktha. I will help you. You will learn everything easily. Where is your house?" asked Prachi.

"In Vasant Kunj, Phase-1" said Samyuktha. "hey even I stay in same place!" said Prachi happily.

"Is it." Said Samyuktha gladly.

"Yes, now don't worry at all. We both can study together." Said Prachi assuring Samyuktha.

"Hey can I call you Samyu?" asked prachi..

"Yes sure, my friends in Varanasicall me with same name. I am happy" said Samyuktha with a glitter in her eyes. Thus the friendship between Prachi and Samyuktha started in the 6th standard/grade which grew manifold during the years to come.

Samyuktha had an intelligent mind which needed some shining and polishing whereas Prachi was a creative person. Samyuktha and Prachi became best friends during their first year together itself. They were totally inseparable. Due to them, both the families of Samyuktha and Prachi too became good family friends. Samyuktha just about managed to clear her 6th grade but later with Prachi's support she became more and more confidant. Prachi used to force Samyuktha to be a flamboyant and aggressive in school activities which boosted Samyuktha's inner confidence. Samyuktha overcame all her inhibitions within few years. Prachi was very jovial and used to crack jokes which Samyuktha cherished. The whole class used to be jealous of their friendship. Samyuktha and Prachi both excelled with good marks in their 12th standard and both got admission in B.tech in Delhi University.

Through all these years Samyuktha became very outgoing person. She was now no more the person which she was 6years ago. She became a smart, stylish and trendy by the time she turned 18. Prachi on the other hand remained same. Prachi still doted on Samyuktha and was very possessive about her. Samyuktha started drawing lot of attention in college. Due to her looks and attitude, boys went crazy for her on the other hand Prachi was not at all approachable and she hardly cared about her
looks. Samyuktha started loving the attention showered on her from her B.tech classmates. She participated in a fashion parade in College's annual function and with that she became an instant hit through out the college. Prachi always used to pull back Samyuktha to the ground and asked her not to neglect her studies. Other than Prachi, Samyuktha started having her own circle of friends in college. When Prachi and Samyuktha were together, Samyuktha's friends used to talk to her but
didn't give much attention to Prachi. Samyuktha did try to mingle Prachi with her other friends but Prachi didn't show much interest.


There were lot of times when Samyuktha bunked her classes and Prachi used to make a copy of notes for Samyuktha too. As Samyuktha became more and more involved in other activities of college rather than studies, Prachi became too much involved with her academics and had very few friends or one can say acquaintances other than Samyuktha.


During 2nd year of B.tech, Prachi and Samyuktha started having some arguments and fights. Samyuktha wanted to enjoy the college life with fun and being naughty sometimes. Prachi on the other hand didn't approve with Samyuktha's thinking.

It was during 3rd year of college when Aakash, the 4th year B.tech student entered Samyuktha's life. He was supposed to be the most handsome guy of the college. Aakash had the looks of a model with a very sexy voice due to which he used to compere most of the college shows. Aakash came in touch with Samyuktha through some common friends and instantly fell in love with her. Samyuktha, was on top of the world when she came to know about Aakash's feelings. With Samyuktha and Aakash's love affair going strong, Prachi distanced more and more from Samyuktha. Prachi hated Aakash to the core and blamed him for
ruining the friendship between her and Samyuktha. Samyuktha who was blind in love, didn't understand the feelings of Prachi. During 3rd and 4th year of college, Samyuktha and Prachi rarely used to spend together. Going to each others homes became almost null. Samyuktha started suspecting Prachi to be jealous of her on the other hand Prachi used to miss Samyuktha and longed for her to be like her old school friend.

One day during the 4th year of her college, Prachi was alone in her room and was crying looking at the old photos and greeting cards which she got from Samyuktha for different occasions.

"Prachi what happened? Why are you crying?" asked Prachi's mom with worried look.

"Nothing..its just that" said Prachi trying to wipe of the tears from her cheeks.

"Kya hua beta..something wrong in college?" said Prachi's mom

With that Prachi hugged her mom and started sobbing.

"arey arey..what is this..i never saw you crying this way..tell me what happened..did Samyuktha say something to u?" asked Prachi's mom. Prachi's mom observed the growing distance between Prachi and Samyuktha but she never talked about it with Prachi.

"mom..why do people change in college..why do we get old..school days used to be so good" said Prachi between her sobs.

"beta..thats life..there's a saying "the only thing which remains constant is change"..you are not a small girl now..you should
understand this..going to college, getting married, getting career, getting old..all this is part of life..you should learn to accept
this.."said Prachi's mom caressing p's hair.

"No I will never marry in my life for sure. I cannot accept tha some outsider comes and changes other relationships in life. I will not let that happen to my life" said Prachi strongly.

Prachi's mom chose not to argue with her at that time and hoped time will change her attitude towards life.

"Mom you know this year Samyu forgot to wish me on my birthday. Since that Aakash came into her life, nothing else is important to her. And tomorrow its her birthday and I don't feel like wishing her either" said Prachi

"Why not..thats wrong..you should wish her..if you don't wish her there wont be difference between you and her. May be after u wish she will realize her mistake. You should atleast give a try to revive your old friendship." Said Prachi's mom convincing Prachi to call Samyuktha.

When clock struck 12, Prachi decided to call Samyuktha and dialed her mobile number. Her mobile was engaged. She tried calling 3-4 times more but still her line was busy. When it was almost 12:30 A.M she thought of calling her landline but she held back fearing everybody at her home might get disturbed. Prachi knew that Samyuktha might be busy talking with Aakash and hated him more. Next day Samyu didn't turn up at college either. After college, she went straight to Samyuktha's
house with a greeting card and a small painting which she herself did. Samyuktha was not at home as well, when confronted with her parents..

"Hey Prachi, Samyu is not with you?" asked Samyukhtha's mom.

"uh…No..Infact I came here to wish her" said Prachi

"She said she will go with you to Aakash's home. Aakash is leaving to US today. She said she will see him off to the airport and that you will accompany her" said samyuktha's mother with a angry tone.

"hmm oh, actually I was late to college today..may be that's why she went alone" said Prachi knowing that Samyuktha would have definetly not taken her along to meet Aakash and that she simply bluffed her parents. "Anyway aunty, once she comes, give her this card and gift" continued Prachi.

On the way back home Prachi felt happy that Aakash is leaving Indiabut at the same time felt bad that she was not able to wish Samyuktha personally.

Next day in the college, Prachi was eagerly waiting for Samyuktha to come. She wanted to see how she reacted for the card and gift. As soon as Samyuktha entered the class, everybody in the class started wishing her belated birthday greetings. Many of them showered gifts to her. She greeted them all with a sad smile. Prachi guessed it must be because Aakash left to US. After that Samyuktha came to Prachi with a serious expression on her face..

"So, you must be very happy now?" said Samyuktha.

Prachi was puzzled, but then she immediately remembered that her parents might have caught her lying to them. "Samyu I had no idea about your plan yesterday" said Prachi with innocent look.

"Oh don't be so innocent Prachi. The whole class knew I was with Aakash yesterday.

Since last 5 months you never came to my house. Suddenly you came home yesterday to spoil my day. That was your plan" accused samyuktha

Prachi was shocked with Samyuktha's behavior and was almost in tears "No, what will I gain with this Samyu. You are my only friend. I tried calling you day before yesterday night to wish you at 12 but your line was constantly busy. Yesterday nobody informed me about your plan."

"C'mon Prachi. I know how much you are jealous of me since I met Aakash. Prachi you should go and get some life. I never thought that you would come down to such cheap tricks. Thanks to you my parents have stopped trusting on me" said Samyuktha and left the class fuming.

Prachi stood there with tears and embarrassed with all the stares towards her in the class. The whole class saw what happened between Prachi and Samyuktha. After that incident almost everybody stopped talking to Prachi. Prachi remained aloof from everybody even outside the college. She remained to her self and kept herself busy with studies. After 6 months, college was over and since then Prachi and Samyuktha never met.

Soon after graduation Prachi started searching for jobs and almost immediately she was placed in TCS, Bangalore. Prachi didn't knew what happened to Samyuktha and didn't care to find out. She moved to Bangalore immediately and took an apartment all by for herself. She lived alone. In office she used to talk with others when only it was required for work. She was not friendly with anybody. She used to eat alone in the office canteen. Everybody in the office used to call her with different names like 'sadist', 'psycho','poor thing'..etc etc. Life went on.

2 years later, one fine day early in the morning at around 7:00 AM Prachi heard the door bell. She looked at her watch and wondered who would be ringing the bell at this time. She just got up to get ready for the office. She went and opened the door to see a young man standing there with a small bowl in his hand. He was about 6 feet height with curly hair and lean figure and good features. Prachi looked at him with red face.

"Hi..umm..i am Mayank, your new neighbor" said Mayank.

"So…."said Prachi with irritation.

"I am sorry, actually I came to borrow some sugar. I moved in this apartment today morning. I have the habit of drinking tea early in the morning..so if you plz don't mind can u plz lend some teaspoons of sugar" said mayank with pleading eyes.

"So..for your tea..you disturb other people early in the morning" said Prachi and started closing her door.

'Plz plz plz don't close the door..if I don't have tea in the morning I get sick.. I tried many other doors, but only you opened it..plz ' pleaded Mayank once again. Prachi closed the door on the face of Mayank and he stood there stand still for a minute and started moving to his apartment when he heard the click of the door open from his behind. He looked back to see
Prachi standing there with Sugar bottle in her hand.

"Hey..thank u so much..errr…i thought..u got angry…u saved my life..u know" said mayank gladly.

"How many teaspoons do u want?" said Prachi seriously ignoring the excitement of Mayank.

"umm..oh..umm..2 spoons" said Mayank somewhat embarrassed.

Prachi took 2 teaspoons of sugar and poured it in the bowl of Mayank and without a word went back inside the home closing the door behind.

"Thank you" said Mayank to the closed door!

Prachi got ready for the office and left the home exactly at 8.45am as she used to do daily. Her day in the office went on as usual and at one instance while having tea she remembered the early morning incident. She realized she doesn't even remember the face of the guy clearly.

Back at the home at around 8pm she heard her door bell ringing again. When she opened, she realized it's the same morning guy standing outside.

"Now what??" said Prachi again irritated.

"Actually I bought the sugar in the afternoon…so thought of giving you back your 2 spoons of sugar which u gave me……" said Mayank with little naughtiness in his eyes. "Whaaaat" said Prachi with disbelief.

"Here your 2 spoons of sugar" said mayank again bringing the small bowl in his hand towards her.

"Godddd..wait…here" said Prachi and closed the door. She went back inside the home to her kitchen and came back with Sugar bottle. When she opened the door, Mayank was still standing there waiting for her.

"Here now put that sugar inside this bottle" said Prachi handing over the bottle to Mayank.

Mayank pours down the sugar in the bottle.

"Ok..Anything else?" Said Prachi with an angry tone.

"Nope..thats it..thank you for lending me sugar in the morning..otherwise I would have been dead by now" grinned Mayank

"Its ok. Goodnight!" said Prachi somewhat mellowing down and closed the door. Prachi felt amused by the behavior of Mayank and the fact that he came to return back the two spoons of sugar.

"Was he trying to impress me" thought Prachi…"Anyway good, I didn't give him any kind of that impression..now he will never approach me again"

Next day after coming back from work, again her door bell rang. Prachi somehow suspected it must be Mayank again and she was right.

"What??" Said Prachi hardly opening the door enough.

"umm..i am sorry…umm..to disturb u again..actually I need to make an urgent call to my parents in Bombay. I don't know why but my mobile is not activated yet. So, can I please make a call from your phone?" asked Mayank.

"Good lord..there are thousand PCO's outside this apartment..why don't u go and call from there?" said Prachi annoyed.

"Actually there's only one PCO nearby and today that is closed due to ID festival..i went and enquired and the next one is 3kms from here..well it was urgent..otherwise I am sorry I wouldn't have disturbed you" said Mayank with pleading eyes again.

"huh..wait I will bring my mobile.." said prachi and closed the door behind , again to come back with her mobile.

Mayank takes the fone and moves little far away from her. Prachi stands there for a while and then goes back inside the home, with door almost closed. After a short while she hears a knock on her door.

"Thank you so much..i cant tell you..how grateful I am today..had it been not your Mobile..i would have not known that in khichdi I need to add 3 glasses of water for 1 cup of rice.." said mayank happily

"Whaatttttt…your urgent call was about khichdi???" said Prachi somewhat angrily.

"umm..yaa…u know..i love the khichdi which my mom makes..so..anyway..here take this 10rs for the STD call" said mayank
handing over a 10 rupee note to Prachi. Prachi takes 10Rs note without a word and hopes not to create any good image of herself in front of him.

"Hey thanks a lot..for everything Prachi" said Mayank

"How do you know my name?" said Prachi with surprise.

"Well you wrote Prachi on your Mobile's screen" smiled Mayank.

"Ok..goodnight" said Prachi and closed the door.

"There is something peculiar with this man…" thought Prachi again. Through out that day and next day Prachi kept thinking about Mayank and felt bad that he was coming again and again in her thoughts. She tried her best to remind herself that she should not fall into any kind of distractions in her life. There is no place for a man in her life.

Till next couple of days she never met Mayank but he never went out of her mind. She was angry that she was thinking about him how much ever she tried avoiding. One day again in the evening she heard her door bell. She was in kitchen cooking dinner for herself and when the door bell rang, she ran into the bathroom to comb her hair neatly and then went to open the door .

"Hi" said Mayank with his ever charming smile.

Prachi making sure that she is not pleased seeing him asked him with monotonous tone " yes, what do u want now?"

"nothing..today I came to give you something?" said Mayank.

"well you have given me money for the call you made from my fone last time..now what?" said Prachi

"not that..today I made gajar ka halwa and it came out really well..so came here to share with you some" said Mayank bringing his hand forward from behind with a box. Gajar ka halwa was Prachi's favourite sweet dish but she resisted from showing any kind of positive emotion.

"see mayank..i don't know what you think about me..but I don't like such gestures from anybody..i hardly know you..as a neighbor I helped you ..thats all..dont expect anything else…do u understand that?..now you can leave.." said Prachi fighting back her inner emotions.

Mayank stood there like a rock for a minute .

"sorry Prachi..i don't consider you just as a neighbor but as a friend in need..but ..but..i respect your privacy..today is my birthday…I don't know anybody else in this city..so thought to share this halwa with the first person I came to know in this city..anyway I wont disturb you again" said Mayank and started to leave.

After hearing that its his birthday, Prachi felt a guilt pang and stopped him "hello..wait..umm..i am sorry..i didn't know its your birthday..Happy Birthday" said Prachi loudly.

"Thank you" said Mayank turning back to look at her.

"Well, can I taste your Halwa..ofcourse if you are not mad at me" said Prachi with a smile for the first time.

Mayank was surprised to look at her beautiful smiling face for the first time and was smitten.

"Heyyy..no..not at all.." said Mayank and gave her the box he brought.

Prachi opened the box and tried some with her hand.

"ummm..it tastes great" said Prachi licking her fingers "can I keep whole of this box."

"oh sure.. that was for you anyway.." said Mayank "I guess I should be leaving now".

"Ok..will return the box tomorrow..by the way happy birthday again" said Prachi.

"umm..u know what..i was lying..its not my birthday" said Mayank and before Prachi could say anything, he ran back upstairs to his apartment.

Prachi stood there in disbelief but later smiled at herself thinking how easily she got fooled. She somehow didn't feel mad at Mayank later and relished the halwa.

As usual Mayank's magic lingered on Prachi for that day and next day. When it was time to return the box to Mayank, Prachi questioned herself whether to go or not to go to his house to return the box. Finally she decided to listen to her heart and braced herself to go to Mayank's house.

She pressed the door bell of Mayank's house and waited for few seconds when Mayank opened the door.

He had a big cutlery spoon in one hand and was wearing an apron.

"Hey, what a correct timing..can u plz taste my rajma curry and let me know if everything is ok?" saying this Mayank left her at the door went towards his kitchen.

Prachi was standing at the door steps unable to decide whether to go in or not. "Prachi…come in..where are you" shouted Mayank from his Kitchen.

Prachi stepped in the house and realized that this was the first time since she came to Bangaloredid she stepped into anybody's house. She noticed, the house was clean and neat, had decent furniture and she could listen some soft soothing music from the speakers somewhere. Prachi walked slowly towards the kitchen. Mayank was ready with some rajma in a small bowl and asked her to taste it.

"ummm..its nice…everything is ok…" said Prachi after tasting the Rajma

"oh good…see my mom doesn't believe that I am good cook..i will have to make you talk to her one day…then only she might believe" said Mayank feeling satisfied.

"Ok, I will leave now" said Prachi.

"Why?..i have prepared dinner for both of us." Said Mayank.

"What….?" Said prachi.

"Well I knew you would come home to return my box today and obviously you will come little early..and also I am sure you would not have got time to cook dinner by now" said Mayank while putting plates on the dining table.

"How were you so sure that I would come?" asked Prachi amused.

"Well I can read People's mind..after all I am a Psychiatrist" said Mayank

"Psychiatrist!!" exclaimed Prachi.

"ya why?..cant handsome men become psychiatrists?" said Mayank naughtily.

"aha..i didn't mean that" smiled Prachi "I don't know if you are lying or telling truth..yesterday you were saying it was your birthday..now today you are saying you are a Psychiatrist!"

"no..seriously..i am a Psychiatrist..i don't lie on Wednesdays..u know" said Mayank.

"uh..u r impossible..anyway what made u believe that I will have dinner with you" asked Prachi

"Well, today is my birthday..and I knew you wont be able to say no" said Mayank.

"What..plz..you think I can be fooled twice?" said Prachi

"ha ha..see I was born on 6th aug and today its 6th nov ..so its my monthly birthday" said Mayank showing her the seat to sit.

Prachi and Mayank laughed together and started having dinner together. Mayank was indeed a good cook and Prachi liked everything prepared by him..no not only the food..but she realized she liked Mayank's charming nature.

"So, what made you come to Bangalore?" asked Prachi having her sweet dish.

"I saw that this city had lot of scope for doctors like me..so I choose this place for my practice" said Mayank.

"Scope!" exclaimed Prachi

"yeah..you see..Bangaloreis a software hub for India..and hence more patients for me" said Mayank with a naughty smile again.

"aha..so you mean software engineers are mad people?..Mister..Even I am a software engineer..remember that!" said Prachi.

"Oh..is it..i never knew that beautiful gals too are becoming software engineers" said Mayank flirtingly.

Prachi wanted to reply him back and suddenly realized that Mayank was complementing her and gave him a smile.

"thanks" said Prachi blushing.

"thank god..you understood that" said Mayank with a twinkle in his eyes.

While Prachi was about to leave his house after dinner. Mayank asked "So at what time should I come for dinner tomorrow at your house?"

"what?" said prachi and stared at him questioningly.

"yeah..you are a self-respect girl right..i know you will return my dinner!!" said Mayank again with his flirting smile.

Prachi couldn't stop smiling and said "hmmm..smart..haan..come at 8pm..dinner will be ready."

After coming home , thoughts of Mayank and whatever they talked lingered in Prachi's mind. She looked herself in mirror a thousand times. All her life never did any guy talked to her the way, Mayank talked. She realized she smiled and laughed so many times on that single day. Mayank did some magic on her.

Next day she was not able to concentrate in her office work too. She was too busy thinking what she should prepare for dinner and what all she need to buy to prepare food. She even tried searching some recipes on the internet.

She left office early at 5 pm and went to grocery store to buy all vegetables and groceries to prepare dinner. She decided to make Jeera rice, Palak Paneer, Cabbaga kofta, rotis, fruit salad and lassi. She finished off everything by 7:30 and cleaned the kitchen and dining hall. She realized she never cooked so fast earlier. She dressed herself in one of her best casual salwar suits and waited for him. Exactly at 8pm her door bell rang. She wanted to run and open the door but she resisted and took some time to open.

Mayank looked handsome as ever. He wore a short kurti and jeans and looked cute. "Wow you look wonderful" said Mayank.

"Thanks. Come in." Said Prachi blushing.

Mayank stepped into her house for first time and was soon impressed.

"You did all those paintings?" asked mayank looking at big canvas paintings in her hall.

"Hmm..yeah..i do it for my timepass" said Prachi.

"Oh man…they don't look like timepass paintings Prachi..these are master pieces!!" said Mayank who kept gazing at those beautiful paintings.

"Oh please…I am not a trained painter..thanks anyway..come lets have dinner" said Prachi.

When Mayank saw what all she prepared, he said "sorry for giving you trouble!"

"No its fine. Cooking for one person extra is not a trouble" said Prachi while serving food in his plate. "Don't say that otherwise I might come everyday" said Mayank.

Prachi wanted that to happen everyday. She never felt so happy after a long time. Throughout the dinner, Mayank kept on praising her food and she got more and more attracted to Mayank's charm. After dinner they talked for long time. Mayank kept making jokes and Prachi laughed non-stop. Prachi never realized when it was already 11:30pm.

Mayank suddenly looked at his watch and realized it was late. "Hey ..sorry..its late..i should leave..you have to get up early to the office again tomorrow" said mayank and got up to leave.

Prachi didn't want him to leave and wanted to stop him for some more time.

"yeah..it was …it was nice having you here today" stammered Prachi.

"really?" said Mayank

"yeah…u know..i never smiled and laughed this much before Mayank. You brought something back which I lost long time ago." Said prachi, her eyes were almost in tears.

Mayank kept looking at her for sometime.

"so where is my fees?" said mayank.

"Fees??" questioned Prachi.

"yeah for bringing back what u lost!" said Mayank.

"aha..so I am your first patient it seems…tell me whats urfees, I will give you" said Prachi with a smile.

"ummm…lets see..umm" said mayank making a thinking gesture "how about one more dinner, this time somewhere outside"

"done" said prachi almost immediately.

"wow…that's an improvement ..i thought you would me hit" said Mayank laughing.

And then for coming weeks they were inseparable. They met almost everyday for dinner. Mayank and Prachi were madly in love with each other but never expressed it to each other. Prachi started smiling more and more and became more communicative in office with colleagues. All her colleagues were surprised to see the change in her behavior. She even started taking care on what she was wearing and how she looked.

One day in a restaurant, Mayank seemed little restless.

"What happened to you today?" asked Prachi.

"Actually I wanted to tell you something..dont know how you will react!" confessed Mayank.

Prachi suspected that he might propose her and felt little nervous deep beneath her heart but was still waiting for this moment since long.

"Its ok Mayank..tell me…since when did u get so nervous in front of me?" said Prachi.

"hmm..its not nervousness but..i don't want you to hate me after what
I will tell you" said Mayank.

"Now…plz..dont keep me in suspense!!" requested Prachi not able to
keep bear the excitement.

"Actually, few days back I read a article in a newspaper. There is going to be a painting exhibition for new talents in Mumbai. That's going to be conducted by Tina Ambani, wife of Anil Ambani of Reliance Industries. Without your permission I sent your name and one of the photos of your painting. Today I got a reply from Tina Ambani herself and she is pleased with your painting and want that to be exhibited. I know you are going to be mad at me now but Prachi I want the whole world to know your talent" said Mayank holding one of the hands of Prachi.

Prachi listened to all with complete silence. She didn't knew how to react. She was expecting something else. She was in love with Mayank but with what Mayank told her, she could not hold back her tears. Tears rolled over her cheeks and she couldn't speak.

"uh..oh..sorry Prachi..i dreaded this..i didn't want to hurt you..Your paintings were so impressive, that I felt it should not confine just within four walls of your home. I guess I should have asked you before. I am sorry again" said Mayank with guilty.

"uh..no no..dont say sorry Mayank..its just that..i never thought you cared about me so much..i never realized that you felt my paintings were worth sending to an exhibition…i..i..am surprised …but I don't think I am worth it….i do it for my own pleasure.." said Prachi with chocking voice.

Mayank holding her hand tight "I already told you this before..your painting are master pieces and now the response from Tina Ambani herself tells you what you are worth of. Prachi you should learn to be proud of your own talent..you really don't know what you are worth of…"

After a 2 minutes of silence. "I don't know Mayank..how to thank you for all this…how will I be able to return the favour" said Prachi.

"The fact that you are not mad at mr after hearing this, is itself a big favor" said Mayank smiling "And the by the way, there would be competition too in that exhibition and whoever wins, will get a sum of Rs 5lakhs and a contract to do the painting of Reliance's New office in Mumbai."

"oh is it…that sounds interesting..i hope you wont ask 5lakhs in return of favour" said Prachi teasingly.

"ha ha..may be" said Mayank.

Mayank took care of logistics of sending Paintings to Mumbai. All 5 of her paintings were selected for exhibition. Prachi and Mayank both went to Mumbai together on the day of the opening of the exhibition. There were total of 25 paintings altogether. Prachi was nervous to talk to Tina Ambani but Mayank stood beside her and gave his support. Prachi and Mayank could notice that Prachi's painting caught most of the attention from viewers. Prachi and Mayank spent that day in Mumbai doing shopping and sight-seeing. She couldn't believe she was with Mayank for whole day. They were hardly in their hotel rooms and were roaming around till 2 am midnight. When they came back to their hotel, they were both tired and dozed of almost immediately in their respective rooms. They returned back to Bangalorenext day by early morning flight. Exhibition was held for 2 more weeks and results were out the last day. As expected Prachi's paintings won the first place.

Mayank was ecstatic with the news and Prachi was more pleased to see Mayank happy than winning the actual award. Calls didn't stop pouring in Prachi's phone that day. Her office was proud of her after hearing the news. Prachi's parents were both surprised and felt on top of the world.

While they both were on flight to Mumbai to receive the award.. Mayank whispered in Prachi's ears "Prachi when we will go back to Bangalore, I will ask you to return my favour"

Prachi looked surprised and said "I will be pleased"

The award ceremony went on very well. Prachi had to speak few words on the stage after receiving the award and she was very nervous about it but one look at Mayank and words flew from her mouth smoothely. She became a celebrity overnight. It was one of the memorable days ever for Prachi and now Prachi was looking forward to what Mayank would ask her after returning to Bangalore.

Mayank asked her to come home for dinner the day they returned. Prachi was on cloud 9 and she was sure that Mayank would propose her. She looked forward for the evening and got ready on time. She looked in the mirror some 100 times before making sure she looked perfect. Sharp at 8pm she went to Mayank's home and rang the bell.

Mayank opened the door and stared at her.

"Oh my god..dont do this to me!" said Mayank.

"What did I do?" said Prachi surprised.

"You look ravishing..what if I get heartattack? I am just a psychiatrist not a cardiologist" said Mayank again with his flirting
smile.

Prachi blushed and felt shy.

Mayank took her hand and made her sit on the sofa. Mayank sat on the small chair beside her still holding her hand.

Mayank stared at her for a minute and said "actually I have two things to ask from you Prachi"

"And what are those?" said Prachi, her hands going numb.

Mayank took a deep breath.

"Prachi I want you to forgive Samyu..i mean Samyuktha" said Mayank.

Prachi didn't understand what was Mayank talking about for a second and later got shocked.

"Yes your friend Samyuktha, Prachi" said Mayank.

Prachi took back her hand which Mayank was holding and stared at him with thousand questions in her mind. Mayank looked away from her and stared behind her. Prachi didn't understand where he was looking and turned to the direction where he was looking. Samyuktha was standing there behind her. Prachi got shocked looking at her after all these years.

"Prachi..hi…how are you?…." said Samyuktha slowly.

Prachi looked back at Mayank.. "So you knew me from before hand..and all this was one big drama?" said Prachi with anger.

"See Prachi..yes I knew you ..but all this is not a drama…don't get me wrong…i…" said Mayank when Prachi cut him in mid-sentence and left his home in rage without looking back.

Mayank ran for her but Prachi didn't let him in her house. She closed the doors and went to her bedroom weeping. Mayank tried calling her mobile, but she kept it off. Mayank tried knocking her door many times but she didn't budge from her bedroom. The whole night Prachi kept reeling back to the time she met Mayank for first time, how she spent time with Mayank and felt sad that all that was a drama. He did it all for Samyuktha not because he liked her. She hated Samyuktha for coming
back in her life again. Everything was so beautiful till yesterday. She ruined everything again.

She slept sobbing in her bedroom and didnt know when it was already 9am in the morning. She realized she had headache and called her office to tell she will be on leave. She noticed a letter near her main door. She knew it must be from Mayank and didn't touch it for long but kept looking at it. After few hours passed she decided to read it. It was not from Mayank but from Samyuktha.

Dear Prachi,

I know you are still very angry with me. And I know I deserved it. Prachi I cam here all the way from US just for you. After leaving college, I soon went to US for higher studies and later married Aakash. Life was rosy for few years but I realized I lost all my friends. Even after marriage Aakash kept in touch with his old school friends but I didn't had any genuine friends. The one genuine friend I had, I broke her heart. I wanted to get in touch with you again but was afraid of your reaction. I tried contacting your parents in delhiand they said you left Bangalore. They told me how much you have changed and distanced yourself from everybody even with your own parents. Then I realized I am the reason behind it. Prachi when I was in college I was naïve and was drawn to all attentions. I didn't understand what was right or wrong. When I was in school, you helped
me to come out of my shell and later you went into the same cocoon because of me. You don't know how bad I felt later when I realized my mistake. I wanted to repent for everything I did and wanted to bring back that old charming Prachi.

Mayank is school friend of Aakash. I met him when i visited Indialast time and became good friends. When Mayank decided that he wanted to go to Bangalorefor his medical practice, I told him about you. I asked him if its possible for him to get in touch with you. I took your address from your parents and luckily Mayank got a flat for rent in your apartment. Mayank kept telling me about you whenever he met you. I realized you have changed a lot and felt guilty. Mayank and I decided to tell you about me when the right time comes. Prachi, Mayank likes and respects you a lot. Being a psychiatrist he knew you are not the person you were projecting. He wanted to bring out real you and I was happy that what I couldn't do, atleast he can do that and did that.

Prachi I am leaving to Delhitoday by 5pm flight. I want to say sorry to you again in person though its ok if you don't forgive me. And one more thing, if you want to hate me still, its ok, but don't hate Mayank. Whatever he did was not because I asked him to do but he himself wanted it to do. I primarily wanted to be in touch with you through Mayank, nothing else. I am not sure if you will forgive me or not but I want to say Sorry for one last time.

Love
Samyu.

Prachi read that letter for 10 times and tear swelled from her eyes. At 4'o clock she decided to go to Airport. She reached airport by 4:30 and saw Samyu there. Samyu was overwhelmed with joy when she saw prachi. As Prachi came near she swung and hugged her with tears.

"I knew..i knew you would come" said Samyuktha

"How wouldn't I ..i wanted to hear a sorry from you" said Prachi with tears.

"I am so so so so sorry Prachi..you don't know how happy and relieved I am after all these years…" said Samyuktha.

"Me too…and…I want to say thank you!" said prachi

"Thank you?" puzzled Samyuktha

"Yeah..thank you for sending Mayank in my life" said Prachi

"I guess that was fate Prachi…I didn't send him..but it was a co-incidence that you happened to be my friend…err…aren't we friends"

"Yes..yes..now again don't make me cry..cried a lot since yesterday" said prachi with a smile.

"ha ha ok ok.." said Samyuktha.

"That's bad, you friends are having good time and forgot about me" said Mayank from behind.

Prachi looked back with surprise and became happy to see him there.

"Mayank, you wanted to ask one more thing to Prachi yesterday night right..why don't you ask that?" said Samyuktha looking at Mayank.

"May I madam?" asked Mayank looking at Prachi.

Mayank bent down on his knees and took out a small box from his pocket.

"Will you make tea for me early in the morning everyday , will you cook dinner for me every day, listen to my bak-bak everyday, sleep with me in my bed, ….be my better half for rest of my life" said Mayank showing the ring to her.

"Yes" said Prachi smiling but with tears " you guys are making me cry like anything".

"I hope you will not cry for rest of your life" said Mayank and hugged Prachi.

It was time Samyuktha to leave and she once again hugged and congratulated Prachi. Then congratulated Mayank and thanked him for everything.

I wonder who the author is?
author unknown :(