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Tuesday, January 29, 2008

New Year resolution

The first month of 2008 is going to end. Still it is a new year, new month everything is new. A time when people start many things they had always wanted to do. It all starts with the New Year resolutions. Resolutions are always funny to hear. Though the people have noble intentions of achieving something, it ends up being very different for most of the people.Recently I have started blogging regularly (at least two posts for a week is regular for me). I was very happy for it. I felt as if I am writing a “regular featured” column in a leading newspaper. I had started this in the end of December and it had nothing to do with New Year or New Year resolutions.That day I had started from office at 8.15 pm. it was the last office bus that directly took me to my place, and I was happy to get into it. As I took the window seat, I saw my school buddy keerthi come. It was long since I had met him though he sat just two floors below me. It sounds strange in a world revolutionized by telecom technologies. People have still moved apart despite the development of technologies. Technology is just a medium. At last it ends up with the people utilizing it or not. There are many technologies which are more misused than used. The latter is more dangerous than the former one.

As the engine of the bus roared to life, and I started feeling the vibrations, a smile came to my face, just like a school kid reacting to the evening school bell. It was then that I started talking to Keerthi. We kept talking, basically discussing about the things happening in each other's life, in technical terms “updating” each other about various things right from the things at office to home, a 26 Km drive which swallows almost one and half hours of my life in a day.

Then we reached to that point of discussion. I had recently started putting my blog address in my email signature. Keerthi being a professional blogger, no wonder wanted to ask me about that. The first thing he asked me was “Do you post anything regularly?” It came suddenly and in a time I never expected. I had hardly posted anything. That was the truth, truth till few weeks ago. Things had changed. Changed for good. All the happiness of writing was washed away from my face for an instant. Then I told him that recently, I have started posting regularly.

Then immediately he shot his second questions. On hearing that I wondered the first one was a lot better than this one. “New year resolution? Will your blog have the same frequency during November 2008?” Hmm I don’t know if I had started at the right time or wrong time. Neither had I related this to the New Year resolution. But the time I have started had made people think that way.

I will leave it to time to answer the question.


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Different walks of life...

It was 9.30 pm as I descended at my stop from my office bus. It will usually take me about fifteen minutes to walk to my home. I hurried most of the time, just stopping by when I had to cross roads. It was according to the popular line “Children walk to school, but run back home”. I usually rush back home once I get down, just to have a quick dinner and relax (I have already told this in my previous post). Just as I started walking down the road, I saw a husband and wife walking. The wife seemed worried. Something was bothering her very much. It was very much evident from her face. The husband was talking to her in an advising tone.
I have a habit of walking fast. At least faster than the people’s average speed of walking. But when I crossed the couple, I heard the husband say “why don’t you see the good things”? It was as if he had asked me. I suddenly noticed that I had slowed down. He had told his wife in some other context, something for which she was upset.
It was then that I started seeing things around me. As I walked some distance ahead, I saw a man carrying a small child for a night walk. The kid was so small and cute. I was pretty sure, it was so young, but the man kept talking to him. Then I remembered that, kids start hearing things from a very young age, and if good things are told frequently, they get registered in their minds. I just thought how much the kid would enjoy this walk every night, whereas I was walking like a dead man.
Then just a few blocks I saw a group of boys having pani puri. They were just back from a cricket match. The tiredness in their face and the bat and stumps they carried told the same. They were chatting and laughing loudly. It was as if the fun had just begun.
Few blocks away, I saw a family back from beach. The family of four was squeezed in the hero Honda bike, driven by the skillful by the family head. As they got down from their bike before their house, they dusted off the sand from their legs, but they would have surely liked to carry the memory forever. It was kaanum pongal day, a day which most of the families spend at the beach.
A 15 minutes walk on a road can bring many different things before our eyes, is what I realized on that day.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

She....

Our eyes met just for a second, and I couldn’t resist myself from staring at her. She looked the most beautiful. The new dress, the big bindi in her forehead and the flowers all added beauty to the beauty. She was standing in front of the house, with a hint of shyness in her face. I think she felt, she is attracting a lot of attention from the people going through that way.
I usually used to see her on my way back from office. She would be standing before the house. I never used to pay much heed and used to rush to my house. Dinner would be waiting for me in my house, and I really would be hungry. After a tired day’s work and a more tiring journey back home, I always wished back home early, and completing my dinner and relaxing will be on top of my mind.
But today, it was a sheer accident that our eyes had met. Even if they had not, I would have surely seen her. It was as if, she was at the centre, with a white spotlight that was following her wherever she went.
She had a gang of 2 friends. Mostly I would find all of them together. I had seen them sometimes near my house, sometimes in the next street. The people in the house never cared where she went.
I don’t know how old she was, but my mom liked her. My mom used to give bananas, which was her favourite.
All this new dress and make up will only be for one day. As Maatu Pongal (The day after pongal, when the cows are celebrated) ends, she will be back to her old ways of her life, standing before her house, grazing in our next street, trying to get a banana from my mom, till the next maatu pongal comes.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Life.....

--------- Today

The car was moving slowly. The rain had just started. The song was going to end, a melodious song, a good one to hear during a drizzle. Then the RJs voice crackled in the radio. The RJ talked in a great way. Shyam, a software engineer, who was driving his white Toyota Corolla, was enjoying it. He felt as if the program was being played for him. It had an invisible element, which seemed to connect with Shyam.

--------- Two months ago

Arun could not believe that it had happened. I was not an unusual thing, still he could not understand. He had tested the code very well, but one of the core functionality was missing. Arun was an expert programmer. He exactly knew the best way to write any code. It was as if, programming was born with him. No wonder that, the functionality was missing, because, if Arun would have done that, he would have done that perfectly.
With a project release nearing, and a tight work schedule, he could not do what he liked the most. This made him more sick and frustrated. He could not even spend one fourth of the time which he used to spend, when in college.

------------ Today

Shyam had started late from his office, and he cursed himself for setting up the onsite call that day. He never expected it too last too long, but things never turn the way we think. Shyam’s wife called him up asking him not to drive, but to take the office cab and come back home. But when Shyam stepped out of the office, it had just started to rain, and he decided that he should not miss the joy of driving. He wanted to relax, by driving on such a good climate and a traffic free road. He just prayed that, the radio be tuned up to his mood.

------------- Two months ago

But Arun hated the job. He hated it the most, though he was the best in his team and was expected to grow high in the corporate ladder faster than many others. He never showed his hatred, except for his talks with his close friends.
Arun’s success was more attributed to his voice and speech skills. A wonderful voice with a wonderful talking skill made all the girls in the company his fans. He had the sense of humour which appealed to everyone. He had a great fan following even in his college. From the college fest to the company’s annual event, everything went uneventful without his participation. Arun not only liked it, but thoroughly enjoyed it too.

---------- Today

It was called as Nair’s tea shop. Venu was not a Nair, but any person from Kerala, who sets up a tea shop in Tamil Nadu ends up being a Nair. He was a content and happy man. He had a large chunk of regular customers, and they had become more a friend than customers. His shop was open till midnight and he was back early morning to start his work. His rest was mostly in the afternoons and evenings. His customers were mostly the shift goers in the offices nearby. Around midnight he used to be idle, for very few customers used to come by. His entertainment was the radio he had got recently. The RJ never ceased to impress Venu.

------------- Two months ago

It was around 11 AM and Arun got into the white indicab. He had spent a whole day and night at the office and was not in a state to stay anymore. He just got in and rested himself. As the driver started the cab, Arun just wanted to get back home and sleep. He was in a semi conscious state, and he rested his head on the seat and started staring at the outside world through the window. It was twenty hours since he had seen this. The computer screen, which he had been seeing all day flashed in his mind. It refused to go away, and Arun tried hard not to think any more about that.
Suddenly the radio cracked to life, and he could hear the RJ say something. Then came the song and Arun was more into the song than the computer screen. He started talking to himself commenting on the song. He then dreamt about his voice flowing throughout the city, reaching all the people at all times.
It was supposed to happen. If it was supposed to happen, who could stop it? None. Arun never thought that its going to be a turning point in his life, a day which he will never forget throughout his lifetime. He could not figure out how he reached the radio station for the audition. Within an hour, he found himself surrounded with lots of audio equipment and he was anchoring a dummy show.


---------- Today

Within two months, he was a hit. He had a huge fan following from Venu to Shyam. Just as he came out, he saw the drizzle has not stopped. He boarded the radio firm’s car to his home. It was half an hour past midnight, still he was with his full energy. He was even ready to do the next programme.
He was staring out of the window. A man was closing his tea shop. There were no vehicles found on the road. After sometime a white Toyota Corolla overtook his car and zapped away. As Arun lowered the window glass more, he could feel the chill air brazing his face. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear his own voice drifting in the city air.

Monday, January 07, 2008

ஊனம்

திங்கக்கிழமை காலை அலுவலகத்திருக்கு கிளம்பி கொண்டிருந்தேன். இரண்டு நாள் விடுமுறைக்கு பின்பு அலுவலகம் போவது எப்போதுமே கடினம் தான். மனதை திட படுத்தி கொண்டு பள்ளிக்கு செல்லும் பிள்ளை போல் கிளம்பி சென்றேன்.எனது அலுவலகத்தில் மூன்று அடுக்கு மாடி கட்டிடங்கள் உள்ளன. அதில் மிகவும் உயரமான கட்டிடத்தில் தான் நான் வேலை பார்த்து கொண்டு இருந்தேன். அதில் ஆறு மாடிகள் உள்ளன. என் இருக்கை ஆறாவது மாடியில் இருந்தது. அங்கே தான் கம்பனியின் சீ இ ஒ வின் இருக்கையும் இருந்ததால் எனக்கு எப்பொழுதும் உள்ளுர ஒரு மகிழ்ச்சி. அதை தவிர தென் சென்னையின் பல பகுதியினை எங்கள் மாடியில் இருந்து பார்க்கலாம்.
ஆறு மாடிகள் உள்ளதால் அங்கு லிப்ட் வசதி உண்டு. இருந்தாலும் நான் தினம் காலையில் மட்டும் படியில் செல்வது வழக்கம். நான் செய்து கொண்டிருக்கும் ஒரே எக்செர்சிஸ் அது தான்.
மென்பொருள் துறையில் இரண்டு வருடம் வேலை பார்த்த பின்பு நான் சம்பாதித்தது உடல் பருமன் மட்டுமே.
அதை சரி செய்வதற்காகவே நான் மாடி படியை நாடினேன். எதோ நம்மால் முடிந்தது அது தான். வழக்கம் போல் லிப்டை கடந்து மாடி படியை நோக்கி சென்றேன்.
தினம் ஆறு மாடி ஏறுவது கடினமாகவே இருக்கும். போக போக பழகி விடும் என்ற நம்பிக்கையில் காலத்தை கடத்தி கொண்டிருந்தேன். ஆனால் இன்று பெரும் நம்பிக்கை உடன் சென்று கொண்டிருந்தேன். ஏனென்றால் இரண்டு நாள் முன்னால் தான் திருப்பதி சென்று வந்தேன். அங்கு நான்கு மணி நேரத்தில் நாலாயிரம் படிகள் ஏறின விளைவு.
ஆறு மாடிகள் ஒன்றும் இல்லை என்று தோன்றியது. லிப்டை கடந்து செல்லும் பொழுது போலியோ நோயினால் தாக்கப்பட்ட பெண்ணை கவனித்தேன். அவள் லிப்டுக்காக காத்திருந்தாள். நான் என் வழியை நோக்கி சென்று கொண்டிருந்தேன். மூன்று மாடிகள் ஏறிய பின் நான் அவளை பார்ப்பேன் என்று நினைக்கவில்லை. ஆம் கிழே பார்த்த அதே பெண். அவள் வேலை பார்ப்பது நாலாவது தளம் போல. மூன்று மாடிகள் லிப்டில் வந்து ஒரு மாடி படியில் ஏறுவது தான் அவள் வழக்கம் என்று உணர்ந்தேன். அந்த பெண் அவள் செயற்கை கால்களை தூக்கி ஒரு ஒரு படிகளாக ஏற என் கன்னத்தில் அறை விழுவது போல் ஒரு சத்தம். இனிமேல் எந்த காரியத்தையும் துச்சமாக நினைக்க கூடாது என்று முடிவு எடுத்தேன். அந்த பெண்ணின் நம்பிக்கை மற்றும் முயற்சியை பார்த்து மகிழ்ந்து கொண்டே இருக்கையை நோக்கி சென்றேன்.