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.