Friday, November 18, 2005

dot in love part ii: conspiracy theories and car chases

[this has been in pipeline for long and after a year, I decided to do it justice by posting it. Part one can be found at http://harishc.blogspot.com/2004/12/dot-in-love.html ]

may the groom's heart be filled with hope and the brides feet filled with lead."
allan kent (mr. trout) in runaway bride

“you want to know why i am like this.”
“you told me. family problems, right?” i said.
i couldn’t resist a tiny bit of sarcasm in this. of course, when a guy whom you have known for a year and more starts acting funny and hides things from you kind of get pissed off. he pretended not to notice the sarcasm and continued.
“you were right, it’s her” he said.
i couldn’t help but nod in acceptance. though i had doubts about this for a long time it was weird hearing the confirmation from dot’s mouth. i dragged on the dying cigarette and started thinking about it. the more i thought about it the more tangled it became…
“dude…” i blurted out, more to fill the silence than anything else.
“i know, i know, it’s complicated”
“complicated is not the word for it… the wedding has been fixed”
“don’t you think i don’t know about it? i want to go there and get her.”
suddenly i was scared. it is during times like this when i miss mush or josh. i mean, not because they are some kind of problem solvers but at least they could say something and fill the awkward silence. still, dot was really in love. i mean only love can make a guy who used to “fart bike” (don’t ask me what that is!) thru the mscc floor act like a chihuahua on sedatives. i talked to him a lot that day, trying to reason and change his mind. again, we decided to postpone the discussion from there to forum the next day. he said he will call josh also. i nodded in agreement thinking that two of us could convince him against this. this act of sheer madness. i couldn’t think of the alternative, of him going all the way to her house and telling her parents about it. i knew that i would have to go with him, maybe josh also or nattu even. sending him alone there would be sheer insanity.

the next day we agreed to meet at forum around 2. i was late and by the time i reached the food court josh and dot were sitting and chatting. josh was flabbergasted. i could tell it from the way he was acting hyper.
“did he tell you his plan?” he asked me.
“yeah”
“man, this is crazy. have you thought about what is going to happen? you guys going there and getting her in front of her parents. what if they complaint to police and they come chasing you? you’re going to get arrested and her parents will convince her to turn against you. you will be convicted of kidnapping…”
“whoa, whoa, hold it there mr. optimist” i stopped him before he could continue with this conspiracy theory story that would put any tabloid to shame. his thought train has a problem of accepting reality unless its something technical. but again i couldn’t make fun of him as i would have done on another occasion as
a the guy was dead serious and
b. i had to dissuade dot from this runaway bride idea.

what transpired that day was that we managed to convince him with a lot of arguments and conspiracy theories (one of which included us going at 120 km/hr in his ford ikon chased by a van load of her dad’s ruffians and two or three police jeeps, yeah, josh was on a high that day!) that he going there to whisk her off was a bad idea and a better one would be to take his dad with him and try to convince her parents. the chances were remote that her family would agree as the engagement was already over but this was better than us going there and whisking her off, car chase and all.

Thursday, August 04, 2005


Jammin'

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

winds of change

[ the wind of change blows straight into the face of time like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell – winds of change, scorpions ]

there are some phases in our life when we are overwhelmed and blown away by the turn of events. sometimes, things seem to be happening so fast that you feel like a snail in the midst of an express highway. the last three month, march to may, were like that for me. words cannot express the turmoil my life went through. change is acceptable in life and it’s an unrealist who complains about it and i will never. but i believe its my prerogative to be out-of-breath by the sea of changes, paradigm shift that has befallen me. some times its better to be objective in describing things as its takes up lesser space and needs less mental strength. i am, in the same way, detailing with it. i am sure josh would love me for this clinical analysis.

01-03-2005 final call letter from sitm for mba (telecom)

10-03-2005winds of change from the bearer of light.

21-03-2005informed that i might be put as an l1 on a temporary basis as there is a surplus of tech leads. put down my papers. disgusted with the manager. the scum didn’t even object.

16-04-2005last day. feeling empty. feeling homeless. may hate the place but never the people (except some).

17-04-2005job offer from concerto software. chance to work with some cutting edge technology.

28-04-2005should i join sitm or not?

03-05-2005career beckons. mba may happen anytime but some opportunities should not be wasted.but to do a course in asia'a best institute for telecom management? decided to make the final choice after going home.

07-05-2005went home.predictable advise from mom. she trusts me to make my own decision.

14-05-2005lots of brainstorming. decided to take up the job.

23-05-2005joined concerto software

21-06-2005so far, so good!

distances

It may not be the same,
But some things never change.
I feel it and I trust it,
I still believe in forever
Because that's what my heart knows.

Memories are the dew drops on our petals
That re-open the buds that have closed.
Flowers wilt as seasons change,
Though they grow a little more with rain.

Friday, March 18, 2005

the return of the cup

[never forget where you’ve come here from, never pretend that it’s all real, someday soon this will be someone else’s dream – from “never forget" take that ]


there are some objects which, even though are lost, come back to haunt us as memories. little did i know when i wrote the final chapter of the cup that the story was far from over.

one day, i was coursing through the drudgery of reports, analyses, feedbacks and monitors, which i call work. mush was online and i was chatting with him intermittently. i got a ping from him. “dude, nishant was asking for my blog address”, he said.” wants to read my poems” nishant was our operations manager in windows xp. he was the guy responsible for making the project what it was and someone who was there from the day of its inception. above all, he was someone who we all looked up to. even though mush had left the company months ago he still chats with him regularly. i said that was cool and thought nothing of it.

later i saw him standing near andy’s cube. he, dee and andy where talking. i went over there and we were just chatting when he said that he read my blog. he then went on to give me insights about the previous post and was generally pulling my leg, which he does often, about me being the tree etc… in between the conversation he asked,” where is the cup?” “oops” i thought to myself, “will that thing never leave me?” out loud i said, “its still there. where motu took it” “hmm ok, i am taking it” that was his style, that made us name him tiger. i took the cup and gave it to him and he took it home. kind of was relieved. at least it’s away from me now.

prudence stops me from saying that this is the end. nishant was saying something about the cup looking the right size for sandy to punch him. maybe that would make another interesting chapter in the story. till the next one……..

Saturday, March 05, 2005

bangalored!!!

PROLOGUE

[a house of dreams untold, it looks out over the whispering treetops, and faces the setting sun - edward alexander macdowell]

we were driving back from the long trip. me and dot in the maruti zen. the trip had left us exhausted, physically and mentally. 1000 miles in 2 days was no joke! we had exhausted all topics of conversation. the last 2 hours spent in messaging all the mavericks cryptic messages like “we are far away from bangalore, don’t know when we will be back” it drove most of them up the wall. especially div, vidi and mush.

“how many miles more?” i asked dot.
“we are somewhere outside hosur, should be in bangalore within an hour”
“put on the radio”

he switched on the radio and all i heard was the same static. he was going to turn it off when something made me say, “don’t. let it run” the hour slowly passed, i was slowly drifting off to another nap when suddenly the radio sprang to life.
“radio city….what’s up bangalore!” and the sweet melody of ar’s “e ajnabi” wafted through the kenwood speakers. suddenly our spirits were lifted. the exhaustion gave way to anticipation which turned to elation as we saw a milestone that read: “bangalore 0” we were back. back to the good old city, which i loved.

CHAPTER ONE – EXODUS


[ along a way he knows not, having crossed, a place of drear extent, before him sees, a river rushing swiftly toward the deep, and all its tossing current white with foam, and stops and turns, and measures back his way -
the iliad (bk. v, l. 749)]

i still remember the day i set foot in the city. it was november 30th, 2002. rags, nub and me had almost nothing to do back home after the cat exams. we had exhausted all possible means of recreation and entertainment our place could offer us. i don’t remember who came up with the idea but there we were. cold or freezing cold, smoking furiously on gold flake kings and savoring the sights and sounds of early morning bangalore. we had been to bangalore lot of times before but this time it was different. we had freedom to do what we wanted, freedom to go pub hopping and drink to death. earlier visits were marred by chaperoning uncles or cousins. who were cool but you can’t really get stone drunk and start head banging in styx with your cousin, at least with some one who is 8 years elder to you.

our initial plan was to stay here and enjoy the freedom of being in a strange exciting place for a month, enjoy the pleasures and passions that a big city provides and go back after a month or two, in time for our cat results. our families reluctantly agreed to the idea because they had seen us slogging our backsides off for 8 months in the name of cat. but the plan was not to be, as we later found out.

what transpired was that we never went back. at least not when we planned to go back. the heady mixture of freedom, hedonism, urban-life and profligacy intoxicated us and we decided to stay. i got a job in itc infotech, nub in citibank and rags, the lazy bum he is, chose to remain unemployed and later went back after a month.

the new plan was to stay in bangalore till the mba classes start. nub and rags had decided to do their masters in international business fro psg and i still had my eyes set on mica. this gave us 4 more months of enjoyment. later those two joined for their masters and me…me? well, i am still here.

[to be continued...]

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

leaf's departure is because of wind's pursuit or because the tree did not ask her to stay

[ what is love? it's when you shed tears and still you care for them, it's when they ignore you and still you long for them. it's when they begin to love another and yet you smile and say, "i'm happy for you." if love fails, set yourself free, let your heart spread its wings and fly again. remember you may find love and lose it, but when love dies, you never have to die with it ]

tree

people call me "tree".

i had dated so many girls in college. there is one girl who i love a lot but never dared to go after. she didn't have a pretty face, good figure or an outstanding charm. she was just a very ordinary girl. i liked her. i really liked her. i liked her innocence, her frankness, her intelligence and her fragility. reason for not going after her was that i felt somebody so ordinary like her was not a good match for me. i was also afraid that after we were together all the feelings would vanish. i was also afraid other's gossip would hurt her. i was also afraid to lose what we had. we had something precious, friendship beyond boundaries. also, stupid as i was, i thought that if our destinies were intertwined, she would be mine without any sacrifices. she was with me for 3 years. she was my soulmate for 3 years. she watched me chase other girls, and i have made her heart cry for 3 years.she was a good actor, and me a demanding director. she once bumped into us when me and my second girlfriend were making out. she was embarrassed but smiled & said, "go on!" before running off. the next day, her eyes were swollen like a walnut. i did not want to know what caused her to cry. later that day, i saw her sitting in a classroom and crying her heart out. i wanted to go there and hold her tight, but i did not, i could not. my fourth girlfriend did not like her. i could see that the feeling was mutual. they had a blazing row once and i knew that it was not her fault. she was never a person who would pick up a fight. still, i shouted at her, ignored her feelings and walked off with my girlfriend. the next day, she was laughing and joking with me like nothing happened. i know she was hurt but she did not know deep down inside i was hurt too. hurt because i hurt her. does not make sense, does it?when i broke up with my fifth girlfriend, i asked her out. later that day, i told her i had something to tell her. i told her about my break up and about my feelings for her. coincidentally, she has something to tell me too, about her getting together. i knew who the person was. his pursuit for her had been the talk of the college. i did not show her my heartache, just smiles & best wishes. once i reached home, i could not breathe. tears rolled and i, the man made of ice, broke down. how many times have i seen her cry for the man who did not acknowledge her presence? how many times have i made her heart ache with the agonies of hell? now i knew how it felt. now i knew how it was when each cell in your body yearns for something and you don’t get it. i had no right on what was mine.


leaf

people call me leaf.

i was close with a guy during three years of my college. i was thinking it to be a purely platonic relationship. however, when he had his first girlfriend, i learnt a feeling i never should have learnt – jealousy. jealousy to the extreme. they were only together for 2 months. when they broke up, i was happy. happy so much that words could not begin to describe it.

but after a month, he got together with another girl.i liked him and i knew he liked me. but why doesn’t he say anything? we talk for hours together. know each other inside out. why doesn't he make the first move? whenever he had a new girlfriend, my heart would break. i would experience realms of pain which i thought was never possible. after a while, i began to suspect that this was one-sided love. he did not feel the same way for me the way i felt for him. but my mind couldn’t accept it. it searched for reasons. if he didn't like me, why did he treat me so well? it's beyond what you will normally do for a friend. i know his likes, his habits. but his feelings towards me i can never figure out. you can't expect me a girl, to ask him. despite everything, i wanted to be with him. share his sorrows, enjoy his passions, watch the wind ruffle through his hair; see the twinkle in his eyes when he was pleased. i loved the way he made me laugh, made me cry, made me think, and made me helpless in his love.

at the end final year, another guy, from different department asked me out. everyday he talked to me. he wanted to be with me. he was like a cool and gentle wind, trying to blow off a leaf from a tree. in the end, i realized that i wanted to give this wind a small footing in my heart. i know the wind will bring the leaf to a better land. finally, leaf left the tree, but the tree only smiled and didn't ask me to stay.

wind

i liked a girl called leaf. i hated the fact that she was dependent on a tree. too much dependent. i wanted to be a gentle gust of wind that would carry her off away from the cruel tree. caress her, hold her and gently put her in a safe ground.

when i first met her, it was 1 month after i joined college. i saw a petite person watching a group of guys playing cricket. during breaks, she will always be sitting there. sometimes alone, sometimes with her friends, always looking at him. when he talks with girls, there's jealousy in her eyes. when he talks to her and hugs her i can see her come alive with passion and energy. i hated him for the power he had on her. hate? no, jealousy would be a better word. i also wanted her to be free of the chains of love which she had bound her self in.

i used to sit there too. daily, watching her from the distance. watching the golden slanting rays of the sun caressing her before they disappeared. they were like me. wanting to hold her but unable to do so.

one day, she didn't appear. i felt something amiss. i can't explain the feeling except it's a kind of uneasiness. the senior was also not there as well. i went to their classroom, hid outside and saw him arguing with her. tears were in her eyes while he left. the next day, i saw her at her usual place, looking at him. i walked over and smiled to her and gave her a note. she was surprised. she looked at me, smiled and accepted the note. the next day, when she came to the stadium, she approached me and passed me a note before she assumed her usual place. it read, "leaf's heart is too heavy and wind couldn't blow her away."

"it's not that leaf heart is too heavy. it because leaf never wants to leave tree." i replied with this statement and slowly she started talking to me. she started accepting my presence and my phone calls. i knew that she did not love me. she loved someone else. but i had this hope that someday she would be mine. within four months of knowing her i had declared my ove for her no less than 20 times. every time, she would gently move away from the topic. i promised myself that i would never give up.

one day, i asked her the same question over the phone. she did not avoid the topic but strangely i was met with silence “what happened?” i asked her “why aren’t you saying anything?” she said, "i'm nodding my head". “what?” i couldn’t believe my ears. "i'm nodding my head" she replied loudly. i hung up the phone, changed and rode my bike like a madman and reached her place.i rang the bell and she opened the door. words were not necessary. i hugged her tightly…for ever….


[this is purely a work of fiction and not in anyway connected to me. any resemblance to people or incidents is purely coincidental.any attempt to pass this off as incidents from my life will be construed as an act of aggression and severely dealt with. it is taken from a haiku couplet which i have used as the title]

Monday, January 03, 2005

hell hath no fury and heaven hath no rage…..


THE author was talking about the woman scorned in the aforesaid lines. I mean it the same way too. Only that, here, the woman is Mother Nature. The often violated and abused, venerable Mother Earth. As we go hurtling down the cliffs off progress we seem to be realizing the words of Agent Smith in “The Matrix”

“…but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A Virus…..”

Heart goes out to the countless lives lost. What makes it more tragic is that the fraction of children among the casualties seems to be more. I always feel at a loss for words when I try to, you know, say something meaningful and apt. I am failing at that here too. I think its better that I leave it here….Hoping that their souls are in peace…Hoping that we the survivors realise before its too late to respect nature.


What is heartwarming is the spirit of humanity that has been awakened in people all around the globe. The spirit that fills us with hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. Words are not enough to describe the courage of the countless Men and Women battling against Red-Tape, Nature, Transportation hurdles, Sickness et al and working day and night to bring a little relief to the stricken souls. All is not lost when hope springs eternal.

In finale I would like here to quote a particularly apt passage of Milton's Paradise Lost:


Like a dark Ceeling stood; down rush'd the Rain
Impetuous, and continu'd till the Earth
No more was seen; the floating Vessel swum
Uplifted; and secure with beaked prow
Rode tilting o're the Waves, all dwellings else
Flood overwhelmd, and them with all thir pomp
Deep under water rould; Sea cover'd Sea,
Sea without shore; and in thir Palaces
Where luxurie late reign'd, Sea-monsters whelp'd
And stabl'd; of Mankind, so numerous late,
All left, in one small bottom swum imbark't.
How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold
The end of all thy Ofspring, end so sad,
Depopulation; thee another Floud,
Of tears and sorrow a Floud thee also drown'd,
And sunk thee as thy Sons