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Sunday, September 21, 2008

A moment to cherish

‘Rajesh, get up….its 6.20 already’, my mom yelled on yet another Thursday morning. ‘Yeah…I know…wait’ I retorted back. Minutes passed and she entered my room again. ‘Get up…its 6.30’ she shouted in anguish. ‘Ok…I’ll take care’ was my nonchalant reply. As I woke up after a minute, I was shocked to see my bedroom door locked. ‘Amma open the door….Amma open the door’, I screeched with the fear of missing the 7.05 train shuddering me. My brother was the savior and he opened the door. I got ready soon.

I ran down the staircase and bustled my way to the kitchen just to tell my mom ‘Amma, I’ll have coffee at college as it’s already 6.55 and I better leave now’. A nod of the head was her reply. As I was about to leave, a glimpse at The Hindu newspaper caught my attention. ‘Shall I just peep in to it ? Today’s Thursday !!’ I exclaimed to myself. Disbelief at something persuaded me from not having a look at it and I carried with me, The Times of India to accompany during the 1 hour train journey that was to follow. I boarded the train and after comforting myself near the window, I turned on the mp3 player and it, along with the ToI kept my ears and eyes busy. Diagonally opposite sat a middle-aged gentleman. After a while, I turned right to see him reading The Hindu newspaper. On his lap was rested the Hindu supplement Nxg. One look at it, I was tempted to borrow and have a look at something I had been eagerly awaiting for quite a while. Before I could just request, he folded the main paper and it swapped places with the Nxg. ‘Oh! My God’ I cried in disgust to myself. He read, read and read like he had never read that Nxg before. If I’m right, he was reading it for more than 20 minutes. When I first looked at that Nxg resting on his lap, it was Ajab Si (OSO) that was soothing my ears, and as time passed, Mein Agar Kahoon went by, followed by Dhoom Thaana and Deewangi. Even Teri Ore from Singh is Kinng passed and he was still hooked on to it. Having lost interest in my pursuit to have a glimpse at the tabloid newspaper, I got up from my seat and stood at the door to get down next. A minute was left for the next halt and that seemed the forlorn hope. I looked back to see him reading the last page. ‘Huh!!! Idiot!!! Why the F*** you taking so much time? Finish reading it fast’ I wanted to shout at him but couldn’t. My journey finally came to a halt and even after getting down, I felt like peeping in and when I did that, he was just placing the Nxg back on his laps. I wanted to re-enter the compartment, grab the newspaper, leave him desolated and run away. I failed in that too. 

With despair, I strolled towards the staircase, took the foot-over bridge and entered the lush-green campus of my college. I had coffee at the canteen, chat for a while and entered my class. Minutes passed, and my friend entered the class and said in an exuberant tone ‘Hey Rajesh…you had written a write-up in your blog about your morning train journey titled 7.05-8.05 am right ?’. I could sense something special at his exuberance and I knew, something really great that was bound to happen had happened. I replied ‘Yeah…I did…why ?. ‘Hey it has been published in today’s Hindu supplement Nxg da’ he informed me enthusiastically. 'Huh ??? Huh ??? Is it ?' my voice shrilled in a different tone. And I ran to his classroom only to find the article ‘FLEETING MEMORIES’ as one of the three published for that week in Nxg. The article was footed at the right bottom with the author’s name and designation

Rajesh.S
Mechanical Engineering
SRM University.

I was on cloud nine if I could say. Never have I experienced so much happiness and I take pride in the fact that my name took to the pages of a leading national daily. It has always been my desire, if not a dream to get my article published in a newspaper and it turned a reality that day. I had sent this article in June 2008 and it got published only now. A gift voucher worth 1000 bucks supplanted an icing on the cake. On my way back home, I purchased a fresh copy of The Hindu and placed it along with the school certificates in my folder. I wish to possess this edition all my life. The instant I had a look at my name published in the newspaper was indeed, a moment to cherish.

The incidents that happened at home and in the train that morning flashed across my mind. In the past, I used to peep in to the Nxg every Thursday morning and would be eager to know if my article has been published but all in vain. This morning, as I had stated, the disbelief evaded me from reading it. And destiny had other plans during my train journey. Looking at these two incidents, I re-affirmed my belief in two phrases, I had always believed in.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN LIFE

EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

I’m glad my 25th post is written about something I can cherish all my life. It’s just a co-incidence and something DESTINED to happen. :)

I take this opportunity to thank you for reading my blogs all these days and keenly looking forward to your support in future as well. I thank blogger for uniting us. 

I’ve a request. Kindly let me know that 1 post out of the 25 which you liked the most. Please post the same in the comments section and mention that 1 write-up of mine. If you can, do let me know the reason for your liking.

82 comments:

Akshaya Kamalnath said...

Congrats..its a great start. And I loved your tryst with teenage posts - both 1 and 2.

Rajesh said...

@Akshaya
Welcome to my blog...Thanks for reading.. Keep coming

Preetilata【ツ】 said...

wowwwwwwww Rajesh ... now that's call for some celebration!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUDS!!

really its a beautiful co-incidence that u celebrated your 25th post in such a grand way.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN LIFE

EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAPPENS FOR A REASON.
........... :):) :) ..so true.

if u hd read d news in the morning only then the whole incident rather i would call it a ceremony would have been a li'l less magical.

this is sumthing the whole bloggerland is proud of.

the whole post was very enjoyable.

i wish by the time u r celebrating ur golden jubilee.. a book of urs is getting published. all the best.

abt the post i liked d most, it's difficult to answer.all of them r good . moreover i hvnt read all ur 25 posts but i liked d post on ur cousin Nandini very much(though i am yet to commnt on it).

kp writting n keep rocking.

congrats n all d best.

take care
:) :) :)

Fantasies of a Lifetime said...

Woww!! Congrats yaaar. . .Virtual treat ?? :P . . . .

I am sucker for quotes , & thus I dub thou quote post my favourite :)

Rajesh said...

@Preetilatha
Oh yeah....I liked that line wen u talked abt my book getting published by the time I post my 50th...thanks a lott...meant so much...yeah...nandhu is 1 of my fav too.

Waiting 4 ur comment on that... :)

Rajesh said...

@Fantasies
Thanks...thanks...u staying at chennai right? did u get to read it on newspaper??

Anyway which post u referring to? I don get u

Anwesa said...

1st of all a bigg congrats!lovely narration.i too remember wen my article was published in "the new indian express"-vibes supplement.
i dint get any money,but the whole colony came to know my name.it was on 31st december,2003.a vry memorable incident!

Anwesa said...

n yes,my fav post on ur blog is,"a walk to remember".

Sparkling said...

OMG! Am I happy or what?! As I'm typing this comment to you I have a wide smile coz I can just imagine how happy you are and must have been when you heard this news. Kudos! I'm proud of you coz it's no small feat to be mentioned in one of the national broadsheets. Congratulations da! :)

As for my fav post, it will always be 'Walk to remember' :D

Chronicler said...

congos.... thats the rule of life... expect the unexpected... and whatever happens happens for the best...

RiverSoul said...

Upon you, luck smiles today.
May it continue to do so all the Way.
:)
Accept my HEARTFELT congratulations, brother.
I'm so very happy for you.
Its a great honour to have your work published in such a prestigious newspaper.
Hey . . . . I guess the guy in the train was reading your article all the time u were cursing him under ur breath.
;)
Guess that feels funny now, doesn't it?
:)
Keep rocking man.
:)

Rajesh said...

@Anwesa
Oh!!! Thats indeed great...belated wishes on gettin ur work published in The Indian Express...and yeah...Walk to remember was a good one

Rajesh said...

@Still thinking
Oh!!! Thanks...thanks a lot...glad that i cud make u smile...and yeah...i was on top of the world... a memorable day indeed...

Walk to remember was an article i liked a lot...i guess many wud rate this as their fav...lemme wait n watch

Rajesh said...

@River soul
Well...thats another way of looking...yeah...maybe he read mine too...and well...u haven't mentioned ur fav post in ma blog...do lemme know that soon...

RiverSoul said...

Oh, ya. I'm sorry.
I forgot.
I've not been fortunate enough to find enough time to read all your posts. . . .
But among those that i've read, I liked the post called
"Realization" best.
:)

Rajesh said...

@Riversoul
Realization..???.well yeah...a nice one.. think u have missed A walk to remember...anyway opinion differs

Usha Pisharody said...

Fantastic!!

And congratulations! And this is the Happy Silver "Post", isn't it!!

Best wishes for always:) And bless you, that you may grow in maturity and talent and experience as a writer.

The first two write ups of yours I've read: about CBSE students in Chennai, and Falling in love with someone you haven't met [Shreya Ghosal's :)] are among the best of yours for me. Also I did like Being a Teenage Part I.

Good luck, and God Bless!

Rajesh said...

@Usha
I asked for one and u have mentioned three...is this what they call T-R-I-P-L-E delight is it??? hee...hee...well...5thanks for dropping..looking forward to ur support in future as well..

Keep coming

DMulan said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!
this calls for celebration :P

Rajesh said...

@Divya
Yup...and well...did u read that on Nxg that day??U a chennai resident rite???

Unknown said...

yaaayyy congrats dear..

am sooo happy for you..
thats really so nicee.. keep up the good work..

things always happen for a reason..and this is something that u'll hold it close to your heart.. and will be very special..

Unknown said...

well here is the link .. considering i cant read the actual article in the paper format.. i checked it up online.. sooo yaaayyyy

http://www.go-nxg.com/?p=2242

enjoyyyy ;)

Rajesh said...

@Ani
U have not told me ur fav article in my blog...waiting for that coz u have been visiting mine 4 a long time...so u ll b a good judge

Rajesh said...

@Ani
and yeah....glad u read it online... I've actually added a link to that page...attached to the words FLEETING MEMORIES...think u missed it..

Unknown said...

guess i missed it then....ooppsssieess

hnnm fav blog...

well i think first one that i would think off when it comes to ur posts would be the one with ur kutty neice or is she ur sis.. that was such a cute one..

hnnm then about ur childhood hehe about the english language.. the walk.. oh i also loved the quotes.. hehe

Rajesh said...

@Ani..
I requested u to mention that 1 post of mine...U know what is one? Hee...hee... That 1 post please :) :)

Unknown said...

lol

ok nandhu's one.. thtsss my favv one

Rajesh said...

Ok..thanks a lot...looking forward 2 ur support in future :) :)

Unknown said...

oiii

whats with the formality now.. hnnmm???

Rajesh said...

@ANi
Wogay...sorry sorry... Our blog...after all!!!! hee...heee

Unknown said...

lol

apppadddi sollaaa.. lol..hehe cool u take care.. enjoy rest of the sunday.. catch up with u soon.. :)

Anonymous said...

wow buddy u got it going on !!!... i am new to ur blog...will let u know in a few which one i think is best...gimme sum time..cheers !

Rajesh said...

@Story teller
Welcome to my blog....take ur own time...keep coming...thanks 4 dropping by

WritingsForLife said...

aww.. congratulations!! Good job! :-)

Roopa said...

Hi Rajesh, thank you for visiting my blog. And thank you so much for your wonderful comments. And congratulations :)!!! I read your Fleeting Memories and it is indeed a pleasant read.

A little tip - You had written "Disbelief at something evaded me from having a look at it" - "evade" is a wrong usage in the context. Another word such as "persuade" might be more suitable.

Hope you don't take offence at the suggestion.

Anonymous said...

another beautiful narration whch is so urs.
& hey , congratsss!
my fav wld b nandus , i so luvd readin it . a walk 2 remember is also a favourite , coz dat ws de 1st post of urs dat i read & fell n luv wit ur easy narrative style.
keep rocking & lik sombdy here said , mayb u wll publish ur book by de 50th post. good luk!

Shruti said...

CONGRATULATIONS
*drum rolls*
this is uber cool...great...fantastic..am very very happy for you..
and ur 25th post was amazing..

My personal favorite has to be Tryst With Teenage..both the parts..
Why? Because there was a spark in it!! It showed your growth as a person...and the way you evolved from being a teenager to a maturer person..I appreciate the theme..because I am the life skills counselor of my school...haha..

Best of luck..and hoping to read some really amazing work even in future

Unknown said...

= )

Rajesh said...

@Raaji
yeah...thanks

@Roopa
Yeah...thats right...thanks...no offence...m always open to these suggestions...thanks for droppin by

Rajesh said...

@Enchanted
Yeah...thanks...I wish I cud get my book published then...and well...which is that post u fell in luv with??? nandhu or A walk...??

Rajesh said...

@Shruti
Yeah...Many have been telling abt A walk....and nandhu...but m glad there's some1 opining something different...

So yeah...tryst with teenage was another interesting one.. I agree

Anonymous said...

Hi Rajesh! Congrats again da... NXG really rocks!!!! (You owe me a treat, BTW!).... Anyway, my favourite among your posts would be "Sleepless in Chennai"... And I like it because I can relate to staying awake at midnight and pondering about stuff! Anyway, rock on!

Anonymous said...

Congrats!
Tryst with teenage :)

Rajesh said...

@Mithun
Thanks da...will u treat u soon...and yeah...Sleepless in Chennai huh????well.. interesting..

@Ayushi
Oh...thanks for dropping by.. Tryst with teenage eh??? Nice

Unknown said...

Congratulations, man. :)

You've got good writing skills.

Rajesh said...

@Alok
Thanks for dropping by dude....keep coming :) ...see u

Jahnabi Roy said...

hey congrats...i knw this 1 is gonna disappear amongst th 46 other congrats tht u got b4 this...n th many mor that'll come henceforth... but keep writing... coz thts somen u do quite well...(i can hear some ppl scream..."god can u remove th "quite" n put "extremely" instead of it??" lol)...n of course m gonna rate this a 4 yet again...heheh...

Matangi Mawley said...

Congrats n an applause! :) n a gr8 25th post, too! i wish u all luck!

ps: i m so sorry tht i couldnt drop in more often.. i ve my training frm sep 30 @ trivandrum.. so been really busy.. ll try catchin wid u'r older posts whn i find time! till then- good luck!

AshenGlow said...

Hey! That's really wonderful...Congratulations!
I read the article that got published. Too good, buddy.. Keep up the work! :)

Cheers,
Ashen

Rajesh said...

@Jahnabi
Pl don say it'll disapppear...u r one of the oldest visitors and so urs mean a lot to me...

Well...thanks for acknowledging the fact that I write quite well...

4 stars huh??? This pushes me to write better articles in future...make u rate mine 5 stars. Think u rated my Walk to remember 5 stars.. Am i right???

Rajesh said...

@Matangi
Thanks for dropping by...all the best for ur training...do well...hoping to c u back here soon

Rajesh said...

@Ashenglow
Welcome to ma blog...glad u read both...keep coming...thanks 4 ur comments

Tara said...

Hey Rajesh! Congratulations and Celebrations! LOL! *bugle**bugle*

Oui! C'est tres bien! Must be a great feeling to see your name there in black and white. Wow!

BTW, there is an award for you. I'd be glad if you accept it!

COngratulations once again!

Rajesh said...

@Tara
Tres bien???? U know french??? Merci beaucoup...

Thanks a ton for the award...and it feels great wen u call me the CHETAN BHAGAT of bloggerville!!! unsure if I deserve so much but THANKS A TON.... feels gr8 especuially at a time when Ive just posted my 25th post..

Merci...Keep coming

man in painting said...

@rajesh..
congrats dear..Take care and always be happy...
MIP

Rajesh said...

@Tara and MIP
U have not mentioned ur fav post...do mention it asap

Anindita said...

Nice!!!! Wohooo!!

*Claps and cheers*

Congratulations. I know the feeling and it must have totally made your day. Congratulations, again; on the 25th post! :)

Hope you are still on cloud nine! :)

Rajesh said...

@Anindita
Yup...thanks...yup...still m on cloud 9

Hey u dint mention ur fav post...do lemme know asap

Tara said...

My favourite post.......ummm.......would have to be "A Walk to Remember". Just loved that one!

Amrita said...

congratssssssss buddy way to go!

Rajesh said...

@Tara
Well...was expected...that seems to b a fav for many... :)

@Amrita
Thanks... :)

Prashant Sree said...

I feel happy for you,Rajesh. Every accomplishment speaks of your work,thoughts !!

I liked these

"EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN LIFE

EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAPPENS FOR A REASON."

And do ensure that you keep the spark alive !!

All t Best !

Rajesh said...

@Prashanth Sree
Think u have n't read the write-up...kindly mention ur fav post in ma blog

Express said...

Hey, congratulations on ur 25th!
:-)

an d congratulations again on the write up! read it, liked it, liked it gr8 deal :-)

as far as my special post on ur blog is concerned, it sill remains 2 b, sleepless at chennai.. coz
1. it ws the 1st I read on urz and that ws a beginning 2 a b'ful friendship :-)
2. I cud relate 2 it.
3. It gave an insight into many things..it ws a complete post u knw..

nuff said!
cheers!

Rajesh said...

@Express

Oh!!! Thanks a lot dear...ur first point wherein u mentioned 'a beginning 2 a b'ful friendship :-)' meant a lot....i value our relationship as much as u..

so...yeah...thanks for dropping by...keep coming... :)

Anu said...

Congrats.. its great that something you have written has been published and im sure you will have many more.. I did like your teenage trysts posts, but I really loved your Thoughts for the day.. made me think

Rajesh said...

@Anu
Oh!! Thanks...thoughts for the day!!! mm...well...quite unexpected. Anyway glad u enjoyed...keep coming

Priya Joyce said...

hey congrattz I'mm bit late to to tat I mean to congratulate u
happy blogging
and btw u only on cloud 9 hi hi I wud hav reached higher lol.

Priya Joyce said...

lemme read ur posts then will tell u ma favs

Priya Joyce said...

so my favs are tryst wth teenage part 1 and 2 specially 2 coz of ur frank confessions for me still 2 yrs to go lol

Rajesh said...

@Priya
Hi!!! Welcome to ma blog...thanks for dropping by...yeah....cloud 9 was just an expression of that joy...maybe I went still higher...

So...you liked Tryst with teenage?? Well...If u had read 'A alk to remember', i guess u wud have liked it better..

Anyways keep coming...take care

Phoenix said...

hey hi

a wonderful blog you have got here

u had come upon my photoblog

my blog url is
waves-of-light.blogspot.com

will keep visiting you

Neha said...

Thats really cool :) congratulations and thanks for the blog roll!!

Rajesh said...

@Phoenix and Neha
Thanks for dropping by...keep coming

Sakshi Arora said...

hey!
Congratulations!
i guess i know how it feels to see your name in print. I felt almost like a star. Was jumping with delight throughout the week, metaphorically of course!

Anyways, i can go on with that for ever. Enjoy your moment of glory; You are a star!

Cheers!
S.

Sakshi Arora said...

You dont miss a blog archive?

Rajesh said...

@Sakshi
Thanks for dropping by...yeah felt great...miss a blog archive??? I dont get u

Anyways keep coming

Nikkita mathur said...

heyaz!!!
i guess..it is too late to congratulate..but still btr late then neva...

kool ya!!!
n FLEETING MEMORIES was awesome...
congratz!! i hope even more papers get that lucky to publish your post..n well i also pray about that book f urz to be published by the 50th post ov urz..

congratz also for taraz award...
its a lucky time for you i guess..

n abt the fav i wud say:
1). nandhuz
2). this one
3). a walk to remember..

\,,/ keep rocking
congratz!!
(a treat??)
lv:nickku

Rajesh said...

@Nikitha
Thanks...I had asked for one and u have mentioned 3...why is that??? Anyways glad u enjoyed 3 posts of mine...m happy...as for treat, well that'll be sometime when we meet :)

Nikkita mathur said...

hey...
kool...i mentioned three on the order of my enjoin them...u can say 1st prize 2nd and 3rd

gaurangi said...

Hey kudos...
luved ur A Walk To Remember the most...

Rajesh said...

@gaurangi
yeah...maybe that was the first u read....but yeah was another good article