What the organisation did to me..mmm..scary

It was just another normal sunday...until now that is...a meeting over coffee with a friend from college, Divya, after 2 years can be such a refreshing thing..yes..but it can also leave u reflecting on what u were and what u have become ..can be scary too, as you are slowly realise that you are becoming something that u never thought u will and yet not even aware of these changes creeping in.
We were meeting after a good 2 years after college, and as conversations with friends go, this one too got off without any intros. Being one between me and a girl, it was sans the obscenities that are a given in guy talk... How i had become chubbier (finally :-)) ..what others were upto..and when it is clubbed with the cup of filter coffee, it does manage to create that illusion of a carefree world..only just so..
We talked about how we missed college, how we never seemed to hate mondays as much then. How the only couple we had in class were faring, who were getting married...and the little bloopers that happened with her/ with me..
The conversation freewheeled..After college she had managed to stick on to academics for 2 more years , but as fate would have it, she was destined to join the same software company(no names here people) that i was working for..and now that she has joined, it was my turn to ingrain the corporate culture into her. ..and i launched my by now well-rehearsed, monotone on work, pressure, boss, politics, promotion, CAT etc..
Having spent a year in Bangalore (P.S:- engineers from kerala went to chennai or bangalore) with other friends, she was echoing similar feelings that they had too..and a simple incident about one of our friends, rung home the simple truth..people have changed and i have too..This friend has always had to suffer people wishing her Bday on fools day though she was born the day before..In keeping with tradition, divya and others did the same, only to be taken aback by a really angry and upset voice at the other end of the phone, who abruptly cut the call...and come to think of it, the voice at the other end was one of the most carelessly carefree souls while in college..Things returned to normalcy as they always do, but then ...as divya sighed at the end of that story....How people change..sigh
True..very true....i reflected as i looked into my coffee cup. Everyone now had their own pressures, priorities...and now that i think of it, i had begun to sense this change in others last december during our annual getto at blore...only that i had failed to realise that i had changed too..and how??
well..my irreverence to life in general has all but gone..i am worried about where i will be ten years from now...how i have begun to analyse everyone around me, even my friends...how i have lost contact with all but a few of my friends..citing work as the excuse :-((..How i have not completed a single game on my comp after leaving college..this from a person who can drive a 911 in reverse all the way around monte carlo in NFS...Heck, i cant even remember where i put the AoE 3 DVD that i bought..and as i write this blog, how seriously i have begun to take myself..shit that is bad!!!
Whoa!!..and the organisation managed to do this to me in a mere 2 years..I already feel like the french fries that u get at pizza hut...exactly similar to one another, undistinguishable :-(
and as i sit contemplating my rapidly deteriorating sunday afternoon, the "Gods must be crazy" DVD gleams from my DVD collection..maybe it is divine intervention telling me that i rather try and rescue my Sunday while i wait for Arsenal to kick some Man U ass...
People enjoy ur sunday, movie and football..lemme go check out how crazy the gods can get after all..or may be the gods are not crazy after all...what say people??

Super Super Sunday - Mighty gunners will prevail

Start spreading the news, we're playing today
We'll always be a part of it - Arsenal, Arsenal
These red and white shoes, are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it - through Arsenal
We always wake up in an Arsenal wonderland
And find we're king of the hill, top of the heap, A number one!

These second-rate teams, are melting away
They just ain't got the heart for it, at Arsenal
If we can win it there, we'll win it anywhere

Chickflicks have cometh to Kollywood..SIGH

A perfectly good start to a weekend..lazing around in the bed till 9 and then getting up to a steaming cuppa...lounging around till noon and then head off to catch the matinee at sathyam...ahh the good life..
The movie as with all movies these days was HYPED up a good 2 months before its release and with ARR lending credentials, things did look promising.If you are one of the few poor souls reading my blog, then you will do well to read through this one...This is my firt attempt at a Movie review and it is sad that i have to RIP it apart. ..Jillunu oru kaadhal (or is it Sillunu oru....nah!!! who cares)
The movie starts with ample promise with the beauty of amba samudram captured with almost as much finesse as in Roja and sadly , that was the last we saw of the promise..a point to be noted was that you liking/disliking, rather loving/hating this movie is largely based on your gender. A song and dance routine, a wedding and the story(LMAO) fasttracks to mumbai 6 years hence..a happy family Surya, Jyothika and the lil girl you see in all those ads...i remember her from that asian paints ..cutting, shutting ad with 2 kids. Life in the movie goes on amid all the oohs and aahs from the females sitting in front...with the typical "oh, Surya looks so cute noo?"...ada ththu..and our hero gets a chance to fly to newyork..the camera in the meanwhile seems to be afflicted with a mix of parkison's and dyslexia..totally inappropriate wide angle shots and shaky, blurred images of Surya more reminiscent of him in Gajini.
Jyothika peeps into his old diary and finds out that there is a dark secret behind him...INTERVAL..and thank god for that...and that will be the last you see of a hoarse and loud vadivelu in the movie...thank god for that too
Flashbaaaak....and now the movie gets into Chick flick mode big time....hero is a big shot in college...bashes up bhoomika "simply so cute" :-) chawla's boy friend .she enters the scene and keeps looking longigly at surya as she drags the good for nothing BF away.
Surya looks at her..she looks at him...sigh...the girls next to me were at the edge of their seats..wow soo romantic (LMAO..).the looking phase goes on for a while as they manage to advertise TVS star City, TVS apache and a green coloured beer ..
the guy rips the girls clothes as he tries to save her from a speeding truck and she runs away crying...more ads for the beer and star city...and finally the hero manages to confront her..and yes it is raining in the background.amid shivering and some superb dialogue delivery hero manages to explain and finally ask her if she is angry...and hang on ..if ever there was an award for the corniest dialogue this had to be it.."Yes, i am angry at you 'cause the body that only u were supposed to see, you showed to the world.."..WHOA...that was a whack right between the legs..the guys behind me took this as sign of things to come and started off on their wisecracks...absolutely hilarious..couldnt thank them as they left before the movie finished...your work is appreciated guys.
Hero romances girl, more ads, a song and they decided to get married...the heroine's father, the MP (he had to be a big shot guys)...is not able to stop the marriage but separates them and packs off the heroine to god knows where and hero to the hospital....Hero recovers..hero's uncle becomes crippled and on his deathbed asks him to marry jyothika..What ye story ma....cut to present day
hero comes back..hero puzzled?? jyothika totally avoids him...and after some more ads for maruthi swift..the little girl asks daddy..for effect read as a 5 year old would "Daddy, daddy..do u luv us...mummy wants to know.."..puzzled look on heros face.."mummykku neenga luv pannarengala nu doubt ..yenakku neenga yevalo luv panareenga nu doubt" and i felt like hero was going to whip out a packet of horlicks..and say.."naan ongale romba luv pannaren ..athunaaala than naan horlicks vaangi tharen.."..thank fully he doesnt. he whips out his diary, one he has started writing again in new york after 6 years...penned a poem .."newyork nagaram..."..lovely song...beautiful europe (i thoought it was supposed to be in new york..oh shoot)..and more of parkinsons on screen.
jo goes in search of ishu (yes i just remembered that name) and jo is kundavi folks..what a timing ishu is coming back from australia to see her almost dead mom the next day...WHOA..ishu is now not meek and demure...she is hot and aggressive...kundavi meets ishu and introduces as gautham's wife...and ishu retorts back with then who am I..aboslutely nail biting stuff...SIC
jo arranges for ishu to spend one day with gautham (oh yeah i forgot to tell u y...it was 'cause hero had written in his diary that one day with ishu would be like one yugam for him...WTF)..ishu in mumbai...hero's apartment...hero stunned ...i think at the sexy chick standing outside his door and then blabbers for a few minutes and has an intense emotional dialogue with jill(ah yes that was how the hero calls kundhavi)..and jill says..i didnt marry you..i married u, ur hopes, ur desires...again WTF...a collective groan in the theatre..and jill leaves the place ..leaving it all open for the ex-lovers...twinkling in my eye now as i expect some action...and sadly nothing...jill dreams about the possibilities , but before they get interesting...she rushes back home..only to see hubby staring out of the balcony...jill reads letter from ishu...saying how much gautham spoke of kundavi..etc etc...and finally signs off with she wanting to be kundavi in next genmam...yes end of story.. what no???...jill wants to meet ishu...asks hero for the same..and hero points at the flight taking off in the night sky...what ye timing ma..now it is end of story..yes..thank u very much..
and the girl next to me is crying...lady please move your ass...i am crying tooo and i want to get away from here...go home and have a bath....i managed to crack one secret though..girls and guys, who had come with their GFs seemed to luv the movie...i am sure these guys are acting up to appease their GFs..people lemme tell u..i am not an MCP..atleast i do not consider myself as one..and i do like the occasional ones...like notting hill..all said and done, the chick flick effect that these graduate directors are bringing in to kolly wood is definitely not my cup of tea.....i am writing this a good one day later and hence the toned down language..and if you are still reading this...i consider this my responsibility as an indian citizen to strongly advice u to approach at your own risk...thank u..jai hind..vande maataram...

SPEED!!!

What is it with man and his need to go fast? the fastest mile, the fastest car, the fastest whatever..I've been trying to figure this out for a long time. What possibly could speed offer that man is willing to pay the ultimate prize for it. As for me, it has been a fascinating journey thus far. Well, Don't u take me for a hardcore racer. This piece of writing, to put it in a Gandhian way, is the beginning of "My Experiments with speed".
It all started with my first bicycle. A BSA champ, blue in frame, with ample chrome glinting, it could set any child's heart on fire. A lot of stunts, a broken toe-nail, a stitch in the head, a broken frame and a near-death experience later, it was time to move onto better things. My BSA-SLR ;-)
A really sad state of affairs for the next few years until i moved to chennai and then the top gear. I rediscovered speed so to speak.A desolate 1 kilometer stretch of open tarmac meant i touched max speeds that my legs could support. The highlight
undoubtedly was me learning to drift a cycle sideways. Making it a point to always screetch to a halt. A really burnt rear tyre was my proud trophy at the end of two years. Oh, i almost forgot to mention, i managed to bang into an auto on my sister's TVS champ.Yes, back then the moped was the fastest thing on two wheels that i could lay my hands on. Guess, the seeds were sown way back then
A long 4 years in college without my own set of wheels meant, i was cooling my heels. But then it was a good time to get my basics right and fall in love with the Yam and that technological wonder called the two stroke engine. Four strokes can get u from A to B, But 2 strokes, now that is what u call a real piece of work. They could sieze up if the oil was not right. U had to choke it, kick it till
ur legs hurt - to start it up. and they drank petrol by the gallons. It was like the machine had a personality of its own. Mind u no two machines were similar, each had its quirks and the acquaintance was a gradual process. But when a 2S gets going, boy does it get going.That wonderful rush from ur feet up as u rapidly shift gears, leaving a huge pail of smoke on all the 4 strokes trailing behind.
Back to chennai and i still did not have my own set of wheels. But the fact that my friend bought a Yam albeit a 4S, was consolation enough.A refreshing trip to Pondy on the bike had really rekindled that spirit in me.
I had made a promise to myself, that my first bike would be an RX preferably a 5 speed. A painfully long 1 and a half year long wait, and i found my prefect machine a black RX135. After the initial touch up and the getting-to-know-each other phase, it was time to let myself go. It was back to the proving grounds for me...the same desolate mile..
That 1 minute run on a cold night on the yam will forever be etched in me. Just to get my blood running i started off raising the throttle till the whining engine became a pain on the ear. Pulled back on the clutch and into first gear and i let go...Exhileration....back off to avoid a wheelie and then into second...and my heart was pumping blood into my brain like there was no tomorrow..and onto third...and i was already doing 50. my hands began gripping the handles tighter for dear life. the whiplash was tremendous and i was already pushed a few good inches behind in my seat 70..75....the noise was ear splitting. People were pointing and shouting at me i think, but it was all a mere blur for me..and into 4th...the engine now calming down to a steadier drone which was slowly being smothered by the gushing wind in my ears. 80..85..90..92..95...98....i could feel the machine itching to go faster,but the distant streetlight on the corner rushing up on me faster than ever, and, with the exhileration being taken over by a morbid fear, my actions
ceased to be wholly mine. I began noticing strange things around me now. It was like the bike was on cruise control and i had all the time in the world to enjoy
the world around. Strangely though, at these speeds, with your eyes watering, there seems to be no motion happening around. people standing still while in motion.
My heart was pulling hard on the throttle, while my brain was taking my hands off it...a flash in the corner of my eye, a headlight or a flickering street lamp, maybe and i was out of the trance. Hard on the brakes, wheels locking up, Brakes let go...hard on the brakes again..burning rubber and the vehicle is now sideways. Hard on the front brakes let go of the back and the vehicle corrects itself.down shift to 3rd and a semblance of control. Both the brakes again and i go sideways into the corner. Throttle and the vehicle straightens up. ...PHEW..Sweating on a cold night in chennai.
i still wonder why i did that on that day..Maybe i will never do it again..Maybe..but then one thing is for sure..I have begun to understand the machinations of SPEED.....

Falling in love all over again

With all the forwards wishing me onam and the photos of celebrations in infy, celebrations at TVM etc etc..it was time to take a walk down nostalgia road.
Sitting here in hot and sweltering Chennai, it is easy to figure out the things that ive been missing...Things that were taken for granted while i was back home in God's own country

You had something to look forward to everyday as u woke up...The possibilty that the newspapers could be screaming with news of a flash bandh/Strike/Hartal was high. A strike which transalated into another day of gaming/loitering/just aout anything. It was followed with the usual comments of this being Dog's own country rather. Chennai sucks i tell you when it comes to striking...Even Barath Bandh's don't seem to have an effect :-(
Every event being celebrated around you with a copious amount of booze...people by copious i mean realllllly copious..It was fun to see friends, people familiar and not so familiar, getting philosophical or making complete fools of themselves, while u stood by as a good friend/ innocent bystander :-)
The women all dressed up in "set-um Mundum"...mulla poo in their oiled hairs..dressing up the nadumuttam with huge pookalams...mmmm
The comfort of a double mundu...worn fully as a sign of respect...folded at the knees (this is the best i could conjure up for madakki kettal) for that added comfort/ thara effect ;-)
The land covered in one large swathe of green...a sign of the hidden fertility brought forth by the all cleansing monsoon...
The pot holed roads and the leaking government buses literally flying over them...
The manorama..the yellowest of all papers..and the mathrubhumi...competing for that spot time and again
The red that punctuates all that greenery...
Life which seems to be going nowhere in a hurry...mmmmm...Kerala you are missed...
Happy Onam people...let the festive spirit flow (Pun intended) ;-)