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Thursday, July 03, 2008

An Unexpected Friendship

"Guys, let's start...C'mon, squeeze your brain cells, we are supposed to submit the model tomorrow evening", I exclaimed as I heard a knock at the door. " You're just five here right ?, one more guy can accompany you and that'll make it six " said the volunteer of Kriya 08. ( Kriya ?? Yeah..we were at PSG Tech Coimbatore to attend their National Tech Fest ' Kriya ' in February 08 ). " Fuck !!! Why do these people push in unknown commodities into our room and invade our privacy ?? ", I murmured with disgust. Though I knew it's not right to exercise my control over the room allocations, I was frustrated with the addition of one more guy.

" Hello Guys, I'm Chandrasekhar doing Mechanical Engineering at SASTRA, Tanjore ", the unknown commodity started. One look at his face, he looked a thayir saadham ( meaning curd rice...the term is generally referred to people who look antiquated with a tinge of innocence written all over their face. I'm always very frank in my views when it comes to blogging and so...sorry Chandru if it was offending you ) and I introduced myself " I'm Rajesh doing Mechanical Engineering at SRM ". " Oh!! SRM ah? ", he was quick to reply. The conversation proceeded and as it went on and on, we completely forgot about the windmill model we were supposed to do and I was so much involved in my conversation unlike my friends who were just listening to ours as though a tete-a-tete was going on between us. He started talking about his college, blah blah, life at his home town Trichy , the reason as to why the train arrived late that evening, and after some time, as he continued, the intensity of my conversation changed drastically from
' not-so-bothered ' to ' very-much- bothered '.

The first one which made me raise my brows was his mammoth GRE score and he followed it up explaining about his internships at Saint-Gobain and IIT Bombay. This was where my friends got into the conversation and it was as though we were having a free career counseling session. What I admired in him was his confidence, mature talk and eye contact when he started to interact with us. It's always tough for anyone to adjust and share a room with five unknown faces at least in those initial moments. I was totally stumped and was in awe of his attitude. He seemed ready for his MS explaining his future plans and was conversing at ease and never really felt like a stranger stranded in a room. His confidence and mature talk, this is something I should learn from him. He offered us a few slices of bread not knowing the fact that we had just finished a sumptuous dinner and after compulsion, we heed to his offer. Finally it was time to sleep and we dozed off.

Next morning as I was rubbing my eyes still wondering if that was the right time to get up, he was ready in formals, working on his laptop and looked all charged to present his project at the fest. We went together to have our breakfast just in time before they could pull down the shutters of the mess hall. Post-breakfast, we parted ways and we got busy with the project and he went straight to his workplace. Although we had planned for a movie that evening, things just did n't seem to materialize as we were held up with our project and things finished late that evening. We had dinner together after some serious search for a decent vegetarian restaurant nearby. After dinner, we exchanged views about each others college professors, current affairs, our notorious acts in college and it was laughter that filled the air around as we strolled our way back to the hostel. Though we started playing rummy, the diplomat he is, did n't join us and slept very early.

Next day evening, it was time to say goodbye - he was ready to leave for Trichy and we were all set to get back to Chennai after winning the third place in the windmill design competition. I was stranded in the college campus meeting my school friends and couldn't catch up with him at the hostel. He called on my mobile, asked me to come out.... waved his hand from the other end and then crossed the road. We exchanged pleasantries " Bye da...take care...all the best for your MS...keep in touch ", I said. With so much affection, he wished me best of luck for my future and one comment of his made me very emotional. He cuddled me saying " I really made a very good friend in you and I'll surely miss you da...do stay in touch " . I've always considered
' the hug ' to be the best form of expressing one's affection and hence it was very touching. He was very kind enough to text me the next morning ' reached home safely da...bye....take care.. keep in touch '.
' Wow!!! a person with such a golden heart ' I wondered after reading that sms..

Looking forward to more of such unexpected nights but it's tough to meet someone like him....really learned a lot from you da...keep impressing people with your confidence and mesmerizing attitude.

P.S : This is a small tribute to my friend Chandrashekar who's leaving for US next month to pursue his MS.. All the very best.. Bon Voyage... Dude !!!, don't forget to call me before you depart.. : )

41 comments:

Unknown said...

yaayyy i get to comment first...
ahh hnnmm [ me clearing my throat lol for the speech ]

hehe i know wht u mean by looking like thyaar sadham .. and also about not likin a person on the first instance you meet.... has happened with me loadss of times..

and one of my very close friend .. hehe well i never liked him at all.. couldnt stand him rather.. and used to avoid to get in that training room [ this is at work btw ] and later we ended up in same team.. lol my luck.. ha haha.. and then started to realise he just portrays himself like that.. and is actually so sure of what he does..

its good that you picked up so much form such a short meeting.. some ppl are like .. they actually change things for you..and you would have never thought that they would do that..

hehe told you it would be a speech ;)

Shoona Etah said...

yea.. rajesh what must I say.. you have a good flow.. and can do wonders with a pen.. I tell you.. make it your sword!You might end up ruling!

Shoona Etah said...

read my old post.. if you like poetry!

Rajesh said...

@ Ani
Nice to c that u too have had a similar experience...

@ Sana
Hey u really mean what u say? coz this's something I felt after reading ur blog... I accept, I'm not as good as u...

The Solitary Writer said...

hey rajesh ,i agree there are very few people who impress us at the first instance itself....i guess thats wht happened in ur case....i mean u exactly meant he looked like a thayir sadam .... i mean a popular term used for ppl with innocent looks ....and yeah it must a great expereince for u guys...to share info and i shud say that even i had a frnd called sebi who was with me in my 12th class ....a boy whom i shud really appreciate ...i wonder we even have people like him in todays generation...such an obedient son to his parents and a good students...he always talks about studies and nothing else...hey did u get the solution for langranges problem..what is the conclusion you derive from millers theory and so on ......summa thallaya pichhi edduthuruvan ....aaana nalla payyan ....he helps me at times...


he rajesh ur a mechanical engineer ...vow ..welcome to engg bloggers lounge ..... even am an engg ...

and u use a lot of tamil words in ur posts ,i have noticed it

i shud say that ur previous post inspired me to write something about my cricketing experience ,i did mention about u ....

http://www.thesolitarywriter.blogspot.com/

do check it and chnage my odld link dude


stephen

Rajesh said...

@ Steph

dude...I rarely use tamil words in my blogs...could u cite examples ?.. i can't remember using any tamil word. thayir saadham is one such coz the situation demands here..

I've always made it sound ENGLISH just to make reading easy for all..

The Solitary Writer said...

i mean few minors sometimes....any way ......btw now tell me do u guys teae innocent ppl by calling them thayir sadam :0

i see it in movies ...btw looks different naaa

achha tell me hows ur preparation for the match goin on

and listen write about ur match experience as well

and also when r u going to do the tag

Rajesh said...

@ Steph

We don't tease very often..no preparations n all..we jus go there n play...as simple as that...will try to do the tag as soon as possible coz I've already done these tags dude...

Chandrasekharan said...

@ Rajesh

I feel Nostalgic !!!!

Tara said...

Hey,that was a really beautiful post, lucky Chandrasekharan to have such a great friend as you!

Someimes,it just happens.People come into our lives and leave such an indelible mark, almost like God sent angels. Seriously think you should pen down a book sometime! BTW, dude thair sadam rocks!!

Rajesh said...

@ Tara

Did u understand what exactly i meant by a thayir saadham??..its actually a tamil word...and secondly why do u think i shud pen down a book sometime??

Tara said...

Well, I read in ur profile that u want to write a book, and since you write pretty well, you could write one. As for thair sadam, I don't stay in TN, and I don't quite understand these colloquial phrases. I thot it meant someone who is dumb, and behind dumbness there may be intelligence. That's precisely what I meant...

Rajesh said...

@ Tara

Thanks a lot for your compliments and your comment ' Seriously think you should pen down a book sometime!' really means a lot to me..keep visiting my blog... : )

Anonymous said...

Never let a stranger an unseen eye, for God may be sending a new friend by!
and there's so much good in the worst of us n so much bad in d best of us...

Jahnabi Roy said...

can you introduce me to this guy?? lol... ;)

Rajesh said...

@ everything burns
Really interested??? Jus scroll up.. and u ll find a name Chandrasekharan...get in touch with him right away :D :D ...lol...

Rajesh said...

@ Ayushi
Thought-provoking quote...aahhh...!

Madhu Gopalan said...

Hey rajesh!
very nice post! you're right, sometimes we make really good friends in the strangest places and situations!

Rajesh said...

@ Madhu

Thanks...n ya very true...

123 said...

Hmmm good post da... We sometimes make unepected frnds at strange moments,accepted, but generally it is not long lasting... Once we go away its all forgotten... i am happy u cud find a long lasting one... Thats makes the real difference!

Matangi Mawley said...

:).. nice post! appearance can be misleading.. n sastra? :) ya.. there are so many who appear to b "thayir saatham" over there..

very well written!

Chandrasekharan said...

@ Rajesh

good da... U have quite a good no of people visiting your blog... keep writing dude :)

Rajesh said...

@ Chandrashekar

Your female fan following here is increasing day by day

Preetilata【ツ】 said...

nice post. enjoyed it. u r surely lucky 2 fine someone like chandrashekhar da who has oodles of confidence , knowledge n a golden heart. please convey my best wishes 2 ur da.

thnx 4 visiting mine n blogrolling me. ur writting skill is too good.

P.S. my blog template is custamized. a fren of mine made it 4 me. glad that u liked it so much.

u r blogrolled too.

kp blogging.
take care.
:):):)

Rajesh said...

@ Preetilata

People appreciating my writing skill makes me feel really good... thanks.. Thanks a ton

Anonymous said...

I'm in the process of getting out of blogs. And you're writing interesting things!
BTW, mate, I left a message for you in Ani's (she has a name it seems, lol) blog comments.

Unknown said...

shaji i heard that.. common.. how many of you knew that my name was anila.. everyone address me as ani.. thats why.. :P

Fantasies of a Lifetime said...

that was lovely . . .Its wonderful to make good frenz in such short duration :D

Rajesh said...

@ Awesome springs

Keep blogging and pl dont give lame excuses

@ fantasies....

thanks a lot...keep visiting...

Preeti said...

Tht was somthin indeed...I guess every friendship story is unique and special...This gives me an idea to write stuff about my dear darling friends too!

It's always nice to RESPECT and learn from a friend...Glad u guys have that camaraderie...Keep it goin.. :)

Anonymous said...

Ani, that was just a joke! You know how I comment, don’t you?

‘Friendship!’ We rarely come across a situation someone saying 'I wanna be friends with you', rather friendship happens without our knowledge. But I offered that ship two times meaningfully and well thought, and both the times the ships sunk, I whimpered. Those too many ships that came along took their ways to Antarctica and a few still running in good condition along the Atlantic and the Arabian sea with whom I DDD (drive, dine and dial). Those ships across the Indian ocean were rusted although the captain tried several times to repair them. When ships sink and when it’s so hard to breath inside the water, someone from ‘family’ would take us out to breath!

arunima said...

u know this happens all d time!!
it was sweet though....
i few weeks back. i went to kolkata for a weddin n made with 2 13 year olds there.... they were so lovable n cute n yet so smart.... frdship can grow in d wierdiest of places n circumstances

meteoraqueen said...

hey! superb..
n knowing hw amazing a person chandru anna is,made it even wonderful!! :)

p.s: thnx for blog rolling..

Anonymous said...

hey..that was a good experience for u..n ya it happens..at times..ppl we meet for a short time leave a huge impact on us..
u write so well..it seems as if it's a play going on in front of my eyes when i read ur posts..
yeah! i'll wait for ur book.. :)

Anu said...

Rajesh,
First of all congrats on your cricket win.. Also I really think that most friendships, dont need a long introduction, sometime the ones that happen suddenly and instantly are the best ones

K.C. said...

This is EXCELLENT! Very rarely do we notice people who cross our paths and touch our lives like this.

You will remember him always. And he will cause you to treat others differently which will in turn cause a chain reaction. Excellent post! Kayce

Anindita said...

He is one lucky guy to have someone dedicate a post to him! Btw, I know it is completely out of context but just out of curiosity, how much did this fellow score in his GRE??? :P

Rajesh said...

@ Anindita

He got 1350.. :) ...thats a good score (Mammoth was an exaggeration there :p)

Anonymous said...

ha..ur windmil competition..
was always jealous of rajesh an co. who made it there..

chandrasekar is a prototype i ve seen before..

such guys make superb frens..u got lucky dere rajesh..

i wud say its the best article in d lot

Rajesh said...

@ Durga

It's the best ah??..oh wow!!! thanks

Anonymous said...

Hi Rajesh,
how ru dude? Well promised u i will be going through ur Blog. Am reading the posts one by one. this one specially touched me.

Let me tell u one simple truth I hv just Discovered: "U r A FANTASTIC WRITER"....I mean it......wonderful flow.........and lucidity. There is a writer lurking somewhere behind the blogger I guess.

Carry on the Good work.
All the best & Count me as a regular at ur Blog..........Blogrolling u.
---- Rahul sengupta (Rahul Talk)