Saturday, June 23, 2012

Tirumalpur Fast!

Two guys started shouting "வழி வழி!" and started their dash towards the door. I, one of the unfortunate victims in the way, was nearly knocked over and one of the straps of my bag came off my shoulder. My immediate instinct indicated a "Otha dei" to my mouth but my mind adviced better to follow these people lest I wish not to get down at Guindy. The next few seconds got warped into time, with me having no idea what happened. One thing that I do know, is that the guy who successfully managed to get down, wanted to write about it.



Here are certain rules that you need to know about getting on and travelling on a Thirumalpur Fast.

1) If you get on a TMPL Fast, you do not get down before Tambaram.

2) If you get on a TMPL Fast, you do not f**king get down before Tambaram.

3) If its your first time on a TMPL Fast, be ready to hear some sensationally-sweet, honey coated words whenever train comes to a station.(sarcasm intended)

4) Forget any signs of decency or politeness whenever the train nears a station where its gonna stop.
Because those who are waiting to get into that train, are like this.


And, after getting down, that is, if you manage to, You'll look like this.


Maybe the Station Master will come and congratulate you, for your courageous endeavour, like this.



Thirumalpur Fast, whatte train!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Reply from somewhere.

Before you start reading this post, you have to read this letter. Find a reply following. Needless to say, the letter was inspiration for this post.

Dear me,

It was so nice hearing from you. I read it over and over again to remind myself of the times that I needed your iron will.

Though I am real, You are the ME, that is impervious. You are the one I can depend on at all times. You are the one, who made me unbreakable. That 'Get up, you! Its not over yet.', it was from You. Now I realize. Through the tougher times, You took over. You made sure that I didn't fall.

Life is indeed unfair. Disappointment cannot be ignored. It is heavy. It cannot be erased, it cannot be forgotten. You taught me to live with it. You told me, "What you are, and what you become, are two independent things." There is no finish line without panting. There is no move-forward, without push-back. We are what we choose to be. We have a choice. You taught me to be happy. Simple things, but those which are oft forgotten. Nobody reminds anybody of these. That is, nobody but you.

I am so much in debt to You, for, without You, there is no me.

I hope to hear from You soon. Its been quite a while.

Till then.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Flash mob!

Today I was late. Errr, not exactly me. But me and Dad start together, and by the time I got ready, it got late for dad. Needless to say, I got my usual dose. Came to the train station, and to my relief, as soon as I climbed down the stairs, after buying the ticket, the train came.

So, got into the train, plugged in my headset and put it on shuffle. Random songs played, but my mind was elsewhere. 'Will start early tomorrow', I said to myself. And, just as the train's crowd was re-arranging itself so that each one is in the least miserable position for himself, a huge guy came and stood beside me. He wasn't muscular and all. But, must've been some 6'8" surely. My head was at the level of his shoulders."'I am not so tall myself, eh?", I thought to myself.

Thoughts had drifted since the tall guy came into vicinity, and I was gazing randomly here and there, and occasionally at my bag which lay at the top of the shelf, somewhere inside. And, just as the train reached the next station, my ears were attracted by another song, one coming from outside the headsets.

These trains, they are like living organisms. Sometimes, you could hear some random Tamizh song(yes, I will not use Tamil ), coming from the loudspeaker of a Chinese or Korean mobile designed to be loud and intended to be irritating! Else, 'dan dan dan' will go the clattering of a wooden stick over an ever-silver plate. Or, some poor disabled person, singing a song that is supposed to arouse sympathy.

But today, it was different. It was like flash mob and surprisingly, they were singing 'கந்த சஷ்டி கவசம்'. I removed my headsets and started listening. It was beautiful. Slowly people joined together, and the devotional aura was simple awesome. By the time it was done, it was Guindy. They switched over to other songs, bhajans etc.

One thing bothered me though. There was this lady with her 2 children, not the sophisticated ones. The kind who take one child in the arms and play the ever-silver drum, while the other performs acrobatics. This coach was however crowded. Its difficult for someone to do a flip in empty space, let alone in a crowded coach. The lady was disappointed at the sound coming from the other side of the coach. 30 rupees, her loss, maybe. What did I know?

It just struck me that whenever some event occurs, however good it maybe, there is at least someone who doesn't like it.

I didn't regret being late. If I hadn't been late, I would've missed such a beautiful event. I look forward to something similar again.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

And They All Shouted, "Vamos!"

The 11th of June. 4 30 in the office. Frantically completed office work and opened 3 tabs. IBM Slam Tracker. Twitter and Facebook. Ready to shoot away tweets and status updates as the action resumed from the previous day of the Roland Garros of 2012.

The men's singles final. Here was one man fighting for a record 7th French Open title, rightly called the "King of Clay", for the lion stood undefeated at all occasions but one on the Phillipe-Chatrier court for 8 years. The other, called the Serbinator, was at the peak of his career, having defeated Roger Federer, the elegant master in 3 sets in the semi-final 2 days back. He was looking for his Grand Slam, and a lot of people believed he deserved it.

Both of them had the never-say-die attitude, going at full throttle yesterday, only to interrupted by the rain. Today however, as the clash resumed, Rafael Nadal was equally matched by Novak Djokovic.

The 4th set. Nadal trailed 1-2. He led 2 sets to 1 though.

For the spectator, however, it was nerve-racking to see the scores go from 2-2 to 3-3 to 4-4 to 5-5 !

But finally after nearly an hour and 15 minutes, "Vamos Rafa!" prevailed. The sound echoed as Rafael Nadal broke Djokovic's serve to win his 7th crown.

Or wait? Was it that what happened? No. There lay disappointment amidst.

Djokovic trailed 30-40, readying his serve. The scores at 5-6. Nadal was at match-point. He was eagerly awaiting the serve.

And alas, Djokovic serves a double fault. Nadal won, however, the victory missed something.

It was like, after an impressive battle, just as the victor came to claim his prize, the unfortunate slits his own throat.

Through the cries of "Vamos!", that little disappointment of Nadal was definitely visible, for a moment.

Djokovic, though you lost, you had the last laugh. They say you choked. They say you were under pressure. But I don't believe it. You had the last laugh.

But, does it matter? NOOOOOOO! Congratulations Rafa.

2005 - 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5

2006 - 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)

2007 - 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4

2008 - 6–1, 6–3, 6–0

2010 - 6–4, 6–2, 6–4

2011 - 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 5–7, 6–1

2012 - 6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5

You rock! Wimbledon, here he comes!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Companion

He stood there. At the edge of the cliff. It almost felt like the end of the world, at least figuratively. What was going on in his mind?

'Is he gonna jump off?'

An observer from the back would've probably said yes. He stood so close to the edge. But someone standing beside, would notice the wide grin on his face. Curious how people are misjudged by observers from the behind!

He was brimming with joy. He was 70 years old. It was 50 years back, that he last came here. That was young and hot blood. Now, however, that blood seems to have tired, and not without reason. His toil over the time wasn't an easy feat. He felt the need to come there, and hence he was standing there, at the edge of the cliff.

Was someone standing beside? No. There once stood a lady, beside him, encouraging him, supporting him and sharing every single emotion there existed , with him. Now, she was gone. Died in her sleep 2 weeks back. And, that was why he was here.

'Wasn't he sad?'

Oh, damn well he was. But as it is said, after sorrow comes acceptance. And, there couldn't have been a better rest to that beautiful soul.

'So, that was why he was grinning?'

He was confused. For the first time in ever so long. He was there alone and he felt it was the best place to seek an answer.

'But he's alone. Who would give him the answer?'

He didn't know for sure. But he felt the urge to come, and so he came. And, still, standing at the edge of the cliff.

'My life has been lived. I've done everything that I've wanted to do. Not that I'm tired, but I'm relieved. What do I do now?', he shouted.

It echoed throughout. It was haunting. As the echo subsided, the answer came, slowly, without echoes.

'Go back to every point in your life where you made a decision, don't look down or away. If you're able to reach 50 years back, then, you've lived your life to the fullest.'

He said, 'Thank you, but who are you?'



'Your shadow. The only one who knows you better than your wife.'