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[ A new addition - The Mozart of Madras makes my blog space more gorgeous with his melodies. ( just look to your right and scroll down). Soothe your ear drums and start reading the post ]

You must be wondering how dumb I’ve been in posting this article without a title. Well, it was intentional and I would like you to suggest one after reading. A few sentences have been written in Tamil just to maintain the originality of the conversations.

Before posting this article, I read at least 10 times and got emotional every time I read

And I feel this is the best article in my blog as on date.

Here we go...…

Below is my conversation with Nandhini ( I call her Nandhu, affectionately )

Rajesh: Hi...

Nandhu: Hi…

Rajesh: Well. So what did you do today?

Nandhu: Nothing great. So what about you?

Rajesh: Just killing time here…what did you have for lunch today?

Nandhu: Chappathi with Bindi Masala

Rajesh: How’s Ishika?

Nandhu: Yeah…fine. Just back home from her place

…………………………………………………

……………………………blah…..blah….……

……………………………blah…..blah……....

…………………………………………….......

As I finish the conversation, a sense of fulfillment pervades my heart and the chat with her makes me FEEL GOOD.

How would you describe this relationship?

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Well, this is the conversation I had with my cousin last evening. She’s a 7- year old girl with:

~ Charming looks

~ Incisive thoughts

~ Glitzy artistic skills

~ Oodles of confidence

And above all, she’s a girl who gets along with people very easily in a quick span of time.

( Click to enlarge )

To be precise, I’ve five younger cousins but none of them have impressed me as much as this tot. It’s not uncommon to shower so much love on a kid but what I’ve for her is not just affection, but adulation. Each and every aspect of her character is admirable ; the way she carries herself, her gimmicks, her bravado at banters, the timely one-liners she renders and the involvement / dedication with which she goes about her work….and the list is endless. To describe a little more, she looks adorable when she protrudes her lower jaw and winks just one eye of her. It is a real treat when you watch her do that.

My recent visit to her place in Bangalore provided a fantastic opportunity to observe those minuscule yet cute actions of hers. Watching her talk is so enchanting - the pause she takes after every sentence ( her eyeballs alone move up with the brows staying still ) gives her that extra time to frame the next sentence. Most often, people don’t tend to appreciate small things and what they lose is ’ an indeterminate sense of joy that erases all the worries troubling their mind and dispels unwanted feelings stemming from their heart ( at least for a while ) ’. Being someone who finds pleasure in even the smallest things around, I enjoyed every second I spent with her. Her cheerful attitude gave me immense delight and she painted the walls of my heart with warmth and exuberance. Let me describe just one afternoon we spent when her mom had dozed off while her dad stayed glued to his laptop. I feel this should suffice for you to yearn for a cousin like Nandhu.

This was the afternoon I arrived from Chennai and naturally the intimacy was quite understandable. The moment I hit the bed, she cuddled me, pushed me flat and sat on my tummy. They say, ‘ You can’t serve two masters at a time ’, but Nandhu is too good at discussing at least four or five topics at a time. She begins every conversation with ‘ Unakku Onnu theriyumaaa ???' ( you know something ?? ). The moment I try to get deeper into the first topic, she loses patience to answer and moves to the next with so much desperation, that, if I try still harder to get back to the former, she shoots back “ Iru Rajesh…naa solli mudichurren” ( wait Rajesh… let me finish ). It gets even better if I pretend to be mystified by trivial issues. When I remark “ Apdiyaaa, Nandhu ???'' ( Is it, Nandhu ???) , she vividly replies “ Aamaa Rajesh, theriyaadhaa ?? '' ( Ya Rajesh, don’t you know ??). It’s real fun to watch her respond that way. Then, she started rambling on her entire list of friends – the ones who were closer in LKG but not quite so in UKG and vice versa, people who are friendlier now compared to last year in UKG…and the permutations and combinations went on and on. She doesn’t get tired of reciting English words with their spellings. Ironically, it is I who get tired of asking while she stays quite zealous and wants me to shoot more words at her. There’s so much entertainment with her but they’re better enjoyed tête-à-tête rather than narrating here and I strongly feel, these jolly moments can’t be explained in words beyond a point ( I’m unsure if I was successful enough in making you get a real feel of how enjoyable that afternoon was ).

( Click to enlarge )

Another aspect that I have a high regard for, is her eagerness to learn new things - especially English words. She makes a sincere effort to build letters, with her pronunciation close to perfection, and one such instance was during our holiday at Mysore. We had stayed in a hotel, and there, I was amazed to see her read, quite effortlessly, a full page listing the rules and regulations to be followed in that hotel. I can’t recollect one word she pronounced incorrectly. The fluency in language apart, one has to appreciate her keenness to read a flurry of words which is otherwise a tough task for any child of her age. Hats off !!!! Also worth mentioning is her recollection of characters in the mega serials being telecast and she gives her mom the much-needed company. One look at an artist and she’s capable of mentioning the serials he/she has acted, is acting including the character names he/she portrays and the same applies to cine actors as well. Her impeccable drawing skills deserve special mention here and she has adorned the walls of her room with paintings all over. Just have a look at her works.

( Click to enlarge )

Her proficiency in the recent Hindi film songs is incredible and the fact is, I’ve got to know some of the best songs from her humming. She starts predicting a song by just listening to its opening BGMs. Undoubtedly, the one song which reminds me of Nandhu every time I listen is ‘ Teri Yaadon Mein’ ( The Killer ) and precisely the lines ‘Phirtaa rahoon dar badar milta nahin tera nishaan’ . Still etched in my memory is that cloudy evening at Mysore when she sang a few lines of that song and every time I started with ‘ Phirtaa rahoon ’, she was quick to follow it up with ‘ dar badar milta nahin tera nishaan ’. I guess we made a better pair than KK & Shreya Ghoshal. Her Hindi diction is quite good and I’m in awe of the efforts she puts in to initiate a conversation in Hindi. Astoundingly, she corrects herself immediately, if there happens to be a wrong usage and makes sure it doesn’t repeat the next time.

Two things which really moved me were, when :

~ She wanted me to sleep next to her on the penultimate day of stay there ( so touching , isn’t it? )

~ She missed me so much that she actually started weeping soon after I left for Chennai ( I came to know of this from my aunt and what exactly Nandhu had told her mom was, I quote “ Mom, Rajesh was here last week and we had a very nice time with him, we went to Mysore also and now, why did he go back to Chennai ??? ” ). What more can I ask for ??? …

Thanks sweety !!!

Just scroll up and start counting the adjectives that have been used to describe her …..well….far too many. To put things in a nutshell, if it is Shreya Ghoshal’s voice that woos me, it is Nandhu’s attitude that mesmerizes me.

I’m sure Nandhu will have put every effort to read this blog of mine. Let me take this opportunity to pass on my best wishes.

@ Nandhu

May God bless you with the best things in life !! I’m sure you’ll taste success in everything. Keep Rocking dear !!!

Let me sign off with these lines of our favorite song ‘ Teri Yaadon Mein ’.

‘ Phirtaa rahoon dar badar milta nahin tera nishaan ’.

P.S : Kindly don’t forget to suggest a title in the comments page.

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.. : )

Chak De Team 11 !!!!!

The D-Day arrived. 29th June - The day I had been waiting for the last two weeks ever since we confirmed our participation in the Ashok Nagar Cup. For the first time, we assembled at the ground on time after a refreshing cup of coffee. The opponent team delayed the proceedings and if one had to go by the rules, they had to walkover but we were kind enough to accept their lame excuses for the delay. They looked professionals, clad in yellow-black jerseys unlike us and I wondered if we have to toil very hard to earn a win but as they say, looks are very deceptive and it was more or less a cakewalk for us.

After some serious discussions, I opted to bowl after winning the toss. The start I gave with the ball was just perfect. After conceeding just 2 runs off the first three balls, the fourth one was of a shorter length and I was successful in deceiving the batsman and he scooped a dolly to the fielder at short mid-off. Team 11 draws first blood : ) . The over that followed, the one by Monish was bang on target and he was just too good in maintaining balls at good length. Shriram and Bharath continued from where we left. Shriram was in his element but it was pleasing to see Bharath bowl so very well after some tough matches last week. He was superb.

Occasional misfields helped in their recovery. But for them, our ground fielding and catching were not all that bad. To be frank, I was surprised to see the ball get into my hands after it was hit high in the air. To get you a clear picture, I was standing at mid-on (my regular position where I love fielding just because it enables conversation with my bowlers easy and frequent) and the moment I heard Shriram and a few other players say ' Rajesh, that's for you ', and with all players tilting their eyes toward me, my pulse rates soared. I'm good at grabbing flat ones but I confess, these 'high-in-the-air' catches really tense me. Just like adding salt to the existing wound, Bharath joined me in the search for the wicket. Though I knew he was running towards me, my focus was only on the ball and I never bothered to communicate to him. The ball finally bounced on my palms, jumped out, kissed the air above my fingers and landed back to the place where it is always safe - my palms. : D : D and I quickly pocketed the ball to make things safer : )

Wickets fell at regular intervals. At one stage, they were 31 for the loss of 6 wickets at the end of 7 overs after both Bharath and Shriram missed out on a well-deserved hat-trick. I still wonder if we bowled exceptionally well or if their batting looked out of sorts. Monish and I finished things off bowling the last two overs in tandem. I bowled the last over and to my utmost satisfaction, the first ball was straight through the gate, the batsman failing to connect the ball with his bat playing across the line. Uprooting the stumps is the the best feeling for any fast bowler and that too at the dearth. Though I didn't get too expressive, I could hear people appreciating me and a peculiar voice caught my attention shouting ' Come on da...well bowled' (as I was walking back to my run up). It was Durga - he should have had the best view from square leg and it's indeed a special feeling. The ball that followed was a flat hit to covers and Kaushik, I knew, would never drop such easy ones and he rightly justified with his safe pair of hands. Incidentally, I had changed the field just before that delivery by moving him from deep cover to cover.. Thank God!!!. I was on-a-hat trick but this time we didn't miss it. Once again Kaushik got into the act, fielded smartly at covers and I was successful in gathering the ball, pounced on the stumps and screamed ' Howzzzzaaat '. Run Out!!!. A team hat-trick after all...!!!

They were bundled out for a cheap 37 and after some initial hiccups, we finished things off in 6 overs. It is always a special feeling to captain a winning side and I take this opportunity to congratulate my team-mates on this convincing victory. I must admit that the practice sessions we had last week really helped. Overall, a satisfactory performance and with God's blessings, we hope to continue the same to the next match on 5th July.

Thoughts for the day :)

I wanted to write an article about ‘The modern ideas, Conservatives fail to acknowledge and The antiquated practices, Modern find tough to accept’. I want some more time so that I shall give my best and I definitely want to. I’m dying to express my views on this topic because this is something I come across at home everyday. (Readers, kindly give me some more time and I’ll surely post it by the first week of July). In the mean time, I’ve come up with a quickie.

Well… Below is something I believe in.

# People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves than those found by others

# Beauty is often worse than wine; intoxicating both the holder and the beholder

# Where there is excellence, explanations are not required. Where explanations are required, seldom you find excellence

# Talent is often nurtured in solitude

# You can’t change people but channel them your away

# The cruelest lies are often told in silence

# Power is a little like alcohol: the faster it’s consumed, the quicker it affects the brain

# People have one thing in common: they’re all different

# Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprang up

# Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as to not injure future ones.

# Sleep is the best cure for waking troubles

# Victory has thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan (I’ve heard Navjot Singh Sidhu say this quite often)

# Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; Argument is an exchange of ignorance

Finally

# A man is a product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes

(Hope this applies to me as well and I become a man whose life is on the lines of his thoughts)

Starting work on my next blog right away :)

I have been Tagged !!!

Thanks for tagging me Ani... This is the mother of all articles and perfect for my blog titled 'As I Introspect' as this involves a very big introspection of my life..

6 Whatever's about me

1. I love eating...very selective though...hate all those green vegetables..i prefer the fried ones like potato etc but never over eat...even on those days when we go out for unlimited pizzas, I'm the one to finish first and friends banter me for not making the most of it..they don't understand the fact that it's after all a stomach.. :)

2. I'm this kinda person who wanted to read but the moment I take a book for reading, I doze off and that happens almost every time...eventually I became a person who hadn't cultivated the reading habit.....things do change right???...yeah... with blogging, I started to read my friends' blogs...haha...I do read :)

3. Sometimes I tend to react in a way I hate to...especially while talking to my mom or younger bro...the second I finish my conversation, I ponder over it again and scream to myself " Why the fuck did you react that way? you should have been more polite...you're so stupid ".. I fail to think before I speak. That's a bad habit, I admit

4. I'm a music freak..strictly Tamil or Hindi songs... loveeeeeeeeeeeeee Shreya Ghoshal..though my friends forced me to listen to English songs and gave me songs for 2 GB, I somehow found them all boring. The only two songs I loved listening were Shape Of My heart (BSB) and My heart will go on (Titanic)

5. I believe in fate and Karma. Efforts apart, people shall get only what they're destined to. I also feel whatever happens in life is for a reason and that change will be appreciated at the right time.. ( In the film Dasavatharam, I admired Kamal Haasan's novel way of portraying the positive effect of the deadly Tsunami...it's hard for anyone to think on those lines...he's truly an optimist)

6. I'm scared of heights... Oh my God!! had a tough time at one of those amusement parks in Cochin...had the heart in my mouth while sitting in one of those rides....hmmm.. ya...I can recollect.. it was called ' The Deadly Dragon '...huh...bull shit...was really DEADLY...that was the first and last ride.. :) ....a nightmare..

5 things I miss in my life right now..

1. My school life at Jawahar Vidyalaya and my JV friends.

2. The tuition classes under Mrs. Shrimathi (Maths, class 10) and Mr. Sundaresan ( Physics, class 12). Also worth mentioning here are the days in high school at PSBB, K.K.Nagar where we used to sit together during lunch and imitate Sundaresan Sir. We laugh laugh and laugh till our stomachs ache.

3. Cycling from home to school in the morning hours...

4. Those early morning cricket matches during summer vacations when we were in school.

5. Of course, the days I spent with My Grandpa who is no more : ( .. Really miss that Gentleman.

10 things I wanna achieve (not exactly achieve but things that I wish for) in a decade

1. Do my GATE exam really well next February and pursue my PG in Industrial Engineering at one of the IITs or NITIE, Bombay

2. Get a job in banking or any sector not related to core Mechanical Engineering.

3. Learn car driving

4. Stay in touch and maintain healthy relationships with all my school and college friends.

5. Fall in love with a girl ( preferably my colleague :) ) .... a ' not-so-fair ' girl with long fingers ( Unlike many guys, I'm not so much attracted to all girls who are very fair in complexion and I love women with long fingers.. :))

6.Get a beautiful flat in an affluent locality in Bangalore and lead an urban life. Adorn the walls of my apartment with landscape paintings and Shreya Ghoshal stills in my bed-room ( I'm sure my wife will accept my first crush in our bedroom...atleast on the walls : D )

7. Buy a hi-fi SONY music system and listen to Shreya Ghoshal songs 24 X 7

8.Meet Shreya Ghoshal, tell her how crazy she has driven me and take a photograph alongside her ( do read the post titled ' Fallen In.....' posted a month back )

9. Preserve my Music library of Tamil and Hindi film songs. They're so very close to my heart.

10.Phew...last one... ( managed to write 9...10th one... lemme think :)) I would like to watch the first day first show of Rajnikanth's next Tamil film (tentatively titled 'Robot')

The Book Tag

Sorry...no book around me


Tag five people

Madhumita Gopalan http://madhugopalan.blogspot.com/
SuhaniSoniya http://tete-a-tete-today.blogspot.com/
Man In Painting http://keyboardsculpturer.blogspot.com/
Shaji http://awesomesprings.blogspot.com/
Preeti http://beetlejuice357.blogspot.com/

Being a moth in a chandelier

If one were to ask me this question "Which of these will make you the happiest person on Earth? Is it a bowl of ice-cream left for you to finish? Or bunking college and going to a film? Or a date with your girlfriend? ", I would politely answer ' None of these' (Readers may wonder if I didn't listen to the third option or if I'm sounding too diplomatic but the truth is, I'm being very honest). The premier thing in my life (at least as of now) which enthralls me and with which I share a committed relationship is playing cricket. Yes! It’s been there ever since I attended cricket coaching classes when I was in my fifth grade. For someone who had grown up watching the game on TV, it was exuberance that filled the air around when I played cricket in a professional way, clad in whites with my pads and gloves on. That was a special feeling indeed.

Though playing cricket had always been a part of my life till the tenth grade, I started feeling its absence once I entered high school. Things never seemed to materialize and the sincere efforts we had put to bring in people for a match went in vain almost every time. Even on those days when we played occasionally, there was not cent per cent commitment due to poor fitness levels and lack of touch with the game. Playing cricket has given me so much happiness, that's the only time when I actually forget everything in life and stay so much focused and dedicated on the field that, I'm sure, even a Kelly Brooke in bikini will fail to distract me.

After months of anticipation, a full-fledged cricket match happened last evening at the Somasundaram grounds in T.Nagar. I made a sincere effort last morning to do some yoga exercises and rolled my arm just to loosen the muscles so that I bowl with not much difficulty. Every time I go for playing cricket, I become a moth in a chandelier and yesterday was no different. Captaincy has eluded me on a very few occasions in the past and yesterday was not one such. I'm of the view that this responsibility will only exude confidence to players and make them give cent percent. After losing the toss, I took the ball in my hand to start proceedings and to my satisfaction, got the line and length right from the very first ball. But for those two boundaries, it was a very economical spell and I was successful in picking up two crucial wickets. I've always enjoyed standing at mid-off cheering up the bowlers and I applauded them after every dot-ball. As a bowler, I know how much it means when a fellow player applauds you. Fielding was not bad either and I played my part in a run-out.

Though I didn't get a chance to bat, we successfully chased 69 in 10 overs and the most important thing was, we didn't lose a wicket. It was so convincing and the immediate conversation I had with my opponent players was "When's the next match guys? ". Though it might have just been a friendly match, as I said, I play the game with so much intensity every time. Winning the match last evening made me so joyous and it was evident as I returned home with so much satisfaction. Nothing in the world can make me happier than playing cricket. Now, the daunting task ahead of us is to lift the 'Ashok Nagar Cup' which starts on June 29th. Hope we stay fit and put up a very good show.

A cricket fanatic forever,
Rajesh

When I knew only laughter....

Life can't get better than the one I had at Jawahar Vidyalaya. It was, in fact 'better than the best'. Precisely, I made the most of my last four years at JV that is from my 7-10th standard. They were, and will definitely be the best phase of my life where I used to enjoy even the smallest things happening around me and now, when I think of it, feel blessed to have made friends around me happy.Before penning down that wonderful journey, I would like to thank all my friends without whom this article would never have been made possible.

Seventh standard was to me what a spark plug is to an engine - initiated the fire or rather kicked off that wonderful journey of mine. I used to be a very quiet boy, face ebbing with innocence, being too circumspect at times with a not-so-friendly attitude. What brought about the change in me was unintentional but something that just happened and I feel that's what they call GOD. What really surprises me is the fact that I never knew I was changing but was thoroughly enjoying and there never seemed to be a dull moment at school. Even those numerous art classes when I was chucked out were warmly welcomed with a smile or rather laughter. The lack of concentration in class just because I was busy planning for my next dig at teachers thankfully didn't hamper my studies. I was very successful in maintaining a consistent score of 80-85 p.c and to my utmost satisfaction, got a higher rank than my close pal Shriram almost every time. This was a key factor in me not compromising on the fun part at school. Another pivotal role was played by my cousin Divya who never disclosed any of those mischiefs to my parents at home though she knew most of them. The tallest of all - when I was caught of malpractice in that f***ing IT paper ( details of that incident revealed later in the article). I'm very thankful to her.

I loved school so much that I missed just half-a-day of class in ninth standard to attend the 13th day rites of my grandfather. I still remember that day- I pushed my mom to get my lunch done fast and rushed to school in my Hercules MTB cycle to attend the second half to make sure I've cent percent attendance in the ART hour. First of those funny incidents was in seventh standard when I misplaced my friend Sreeja's pen which had a photo of Sai Baba. I was so perturbed that I started making fun of her and refused to search for that pen. She ended up in tears, won my sympathy and I had to compromise and thus offered her a pen which my friend R.B had with a photo of Vinayak. She was in no mood to accept and wanted that Sai Baba pen alone. I got so frustrated that I shouted 'Podee Baba' and a few around me burst into laughter and eventually she was nicknamed Baba. This incident will always remain etched in my memory- her weep and those moments which really tensed me and R.B. Being an innocent boy, I was afraid if she would complain etc but things ended up on a good note and we found her pen just behind her chair. She stopped weeping thus bringing my pulse rates back to normal.

Eighth standard was just perfect when all the french students merged and I should say, we really gave the teachers a run for their money. I had become a boy sans fear - Come what may, I was ready to face it and nothing could be done at the expense of the fun we had. I still remember the day during one of those math periods when the six of us ( myself, Shriram, M.B, Rakesh, Vignesh and Murali) teamed up to cook up a story with all teachers in an amusement park. Though I don't remember what exactly the story was, it was that day when we all got together and the intensity of our laughter was just too (three) much. It was also the year when I learned all those filthy words and found pleasure in using them even when situations didn't demand. The best was my verbal dual with Arvind Raj on one of those days during lunch hour ( I don't want to get into this topic any deeper just to maintain the decorum of my blog space). These funny incidents had no boundaries...to name a few more... those Mane Mane cherche lines in our hindi classes, Taj Coramandel matter, By the by My name is Damayandrui (craft), the extent to which Shriram and I laughed when I copied during a hindi test...those funny conversations Kutty Sriram, MB, Murali and our class teacher used to have among themselves almost every day...the art hour when Vignesh and I hit chalk at our Sir and ran away. Art hour used to be unique in a way that it was supposed to be the only class where I had fun from outside the class. In a sense of exuberance, on most days, I never used to bring the Art note just to irritate him. The friendly cricket matches we used to play during holidays deserve special mention here ( Rakesh, do u remember the reverse shot we used to play). It feels nostalgic to remember those days when we assembled by 7 in the morning and played till the sun took the toll on us. Almost all matches were nail-biting finishes.

Ninth and tenth had tough moments as well.... juuuust and ssssss ( our sincere efforts to imitate our geography and history teachers) were part of almost all the conversations we made... Another notorious incident worth reminiscing was when Shriram and I burst into laughter seeing UPK Ma'am take the podium to conduct the morning assembly and almost all students scowled at us with disgust as they were tired of our laughter. We feared if we would be pulled out and taken to task by one of the teachers present . Thankfully, nothing unfortunate happened but our laugh was instantaneous as we were astonished to see a fat lady adjusting herself between two doors. There was not a single class when I failed to get away without rebuke from my history and geography teachers. The situation worsened one day when my history teacher left the class in disgust as i jacked her left, right and center. She found it so insulting that she left the class saying, I quote "I will not take history classesssss for you peepul (people), horrible classss, alwaysssss loghing (laughing) and making fun of all teacherssss. One idiot (myself) startssss loghing and the whole classss followssss him. All of you keep standing and no one should sit...keep standing". After she left, I murmured to myself ' Who the f*** is she to make me stand... F*** off '. That was the only day I actually wept in school. Mrs. Shantalakshmi had complained this act of mine to the class teacher and the latter asked us to stay back after school hours. Our class teacher entered and in an angry tone said " Except Rajesh, all of you shall sit". I felt like a stranger stranded in a jungle. She shot back " What an audacity you have!!! Who do you think you are?". I was lambasted verbally in front of all the 42 students. I knew, I was the sole reason for having made the entire class to face the axe. After we dispersed, I found a group of my class girls standing outside the gate having a private conversation and I was very sure they were cursing me. I felt so bad that soon as I came back home, I went straight to my room upstairs and wept for nearly an hour. Another terrible incident was when I used a red pen to add a few marks in my IT paper and complained the teacher of totaling error. I admit to the fact that I was not smart enough to use the same ink she had used. She was bustling towards the principal room when I stopped her to plead guilty. That evening, my pulse rates soared as I had to meet the principal but thankfully the principal had left school little early and the VP was kind enough to let me off saying "You thought you can fool her every time? Today is her chance to win over you."



Excursions added spice to the fun and fortunately we had two outings in ninth standard ( thanks to Divya Ma'am for arranging a trip to the Chennai harbour ). The bus journeys were just great. We leaned out of the window, made fun of fellow motorists but the fun inside was kickass stuff...imitating the way Anuja sings and her apple polishing attitude, Sukanya's Oonjal matter and of course we had Kutty Sriram who was always made the scape goat. Dolphin City and Mahabalipuram made for two great places of visit that year and we had a wonderful time.

On the whole, JV life was where I made ' FRIENDS FOR LIFE ' and it's a special feeling when I see myself in touch with almost all of them even today. The time we all spent together are great memories, which might better find place in a book.

An Inspiring Show

The clock in my mobile showed 2320 hrs and as I decided to close my books and hit the bed, the IPL fever pushed me back from the bedroom to the hall to check out what was happening. The Knight Riders were still in the hunt and seemed very determined to salvage their pride and who better than the son of Bengal, could have made the show better.? Dada was batting on 34 and Saha was giving him company. ( I prefer to use Dada in place of Sourav just as a mark of respect to the man who fought till the very end and proved why he still has the fire in his belly and hunger for more runs in spite of all the controversies surrounding him). Though wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Dada was there to keep the crowd alive and seeing the six he hit off Piyush Chawla, I really missed Tony Creig here, who, you know, would have got all excited and his reaction would have been “DOWN THE WICKET HE GOES……AND WAY SHE GOES…OOOOOHHH…WHAT A SHOT!!!! WHAT A SHOT!!!...SORAV GANGOOLY IS TURNING IT ON HERE FOR THE KNIGHT RIDERS…..WHAT A PLAYER!!!! WHAT A PLAYER!!!! ..’’. It was, in my opinion, a trademark Dada shot. Had Muttiah Murali watched it from the Chennai camp, he would have had nightmares of Dada’s massacre at the 1999 WC match where he smashed an unbeaten 183 and yesterday’s innings was no different. Rahul Dravid once said “ After God, it’s Sourav on the off side”. Dada did justify his good friend’s cliché with some fantastic cover drives and square cuts where all the five fielders on the off side were made spectators as the ball blazed away to the boundary ropes. Umar Gul’s short stay at the crease was a shot in the arm and eased the pressure off the champion batsman. Even after Gul’s exit, Dada continued the onslaught. With 15 runs needed off the last six balls, he smashed Pathan for a towering six over square leg off the very first ball and the latter could only applaud the genius who groomed him in the early days of his cricketing career. The six that followed, straight over long off, majestically executed, just a shuffle across the stumps made it a fantastic sight and I wondered if it was the same Dada of the late 90’s.


What really surprised me was his reaction after scoring the winning runs, I expected him to jump and punch the air with his fists but he preferred to stay calm and shook hands with his opponent players. This unusual reaction of him was an indication of the disappointment at not being able to qualify for the semi-finals. I got so much involved that I actually stood up from the chair and lauded the Bengali for showing very good temperament. This knock exemplified what self-belief can do even if you're in dire straits. He played for his hometown and provided just what the crowd had expected that day - an entertaining knock from their son. This is definitely one among the best innings ever played in T20 cricket and more than that, it was truly an inspiring innings for all budding cricketers from one of the Greats of Indian Cricket.

Had Mr.Dilip Vengsarkar watched, he should surely justify his earlier comment on selection by bringing back Dada into the ODI squad. Who better than Dada could give Sachin the much needed company at the top of the order??

7.05-8.05 AM

“Bye pa”, I say and get down from my dad’s bike and stroll towards the staircase at the Mambalam railway station to board the electric train en route to my college. The aroma of coffee at the stall refreshes me. Though the companionship with my mp3 player is second to none, on many days, a newspaper, I feel is much better just because of my curiosity to get to know what atrocities are happening in an otherwise heaven- India, read interesting articles relating to health and fitness, the IPL obsession and above all, fulfill my everlasting desire to improvise on my English vocabulary. It’s already 7.05 in the morning and as I was bustling towards the stall and deciding which newspaper to buy, the train had already entered the platform and I finally settled for the new colored version of The Indian Express and pushed myself into the compartment against the throng of commuters who were waiting to get down before I could get in.

A train journey especially in the mornings is something I’ve always loved where the scenic beauty could be enjoyed to the fullest. When I see the rising sun, the flowers raise their buds towards the sun whose warmth really injects freshness into me and as I pen down now, I can reminisce those wonderful journeys I had made traveling in the Brindavan express to Bangalore as a kid. Coming back, what a train journey can do to one especially when you’re seated next to the window, or if I confine to myself is, I can really rewind myself to my past life incidents looking at the meadows, the vehicles on GST road and of course the landing and take off of flights as I pass through the Guindy- Pallavaram stretch. It's just a perfect time for introspection which I truly love when left in solitude, and it is always joie de vivre and sometimes I only feel like laughing at things I had done a few years back with so much enthusiasm, some included notoriety as well. Occasionally, when the thoughts get so funny I would become too expressisve and I manage to control myself sensing what impression a person opposite me might get when I giggle to myself. The gamut of my thoughts is very interesting, it varies from my childhood ambitions of playing cricket for my country, the flair for the language of French (thanks to my French teacher Ms. Divya) and the interest I had developed in solving math problems (and I’m interested even today) while in middle school, the enthusiasm with which I used to admire and imitate my physics teacher Mr. Sundaresan in high school, my funny ideology of somehow managing to impress a girl soon as I enter college (this of course is something I can only laugh at if I think of it now and thank god I never put myself in embarrassing situations like proposing etc..) and I can visualize what lies for me in the future, a perfect SWOT analysis flashes across my mind. If one of my friends seated next to me starts a conversation, I would still be in my own world and when I try to reply, I’m left in a state of delirium. Just as the one hour journey is about to come to a halt at Potheri, another episode of my flashback had come to an end with an imaginary phrase at the left bottom of my mind

“To Be Continued….”

Fallen In Love With Someone I've never Met

Seeing the title, you must be wondering if I'm mad???...Actually I don't deny that completely. Recently I read a book "The Bridge Across Forever" by Richard Bach and he claims, people who feel lonely in a world of strangers, missing someone they've never met shall find a message from their love in this book. I didn't read the book intentionally, it was a mere co-incidence but it helped me keep a suitable title for this article.

To start with, I'm blogging after two years. The delay is because I couldn't just think of a better topic to pen down. The topic and content of this is so close to my heart that I'm giving my 200% and have done some research on this particular person to make reading a joy ride. As readers see behind writers' masks, you'll see what drove me to put these words on paper.

They say "Music" has no language barriers. This article clearly justifies that and sometimes music seems to take a person to a level where one can turn addictive to it when it's pleasant and soothing to the ears. If there are two electronic gadgets I can't live without, they're my mobile and mp3 player. The latter assumes better significance in this context. Yes, I'm a music freak and can keep my ears tuned in to good music 24X7.

It was in May 2006 when the audio of Rahman's Jillendru Oru Kaadhal got released. Being a Rahman fan, I can very well say that it was one of his best albums. All the songs were very good but one song was out of the ordinary and it injected a bed of roses into my blood. There've been some awesome romantic melodies composed in the past.. Pehla Nasha, Raja Ko Rani Se, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Ho Gaya Hai, Kadhalin Dheepam, Kaadhal Rojaave, Anjali Anjali..to name a few are my favourites. This particular song was definitely above all in my opinion and I remember Rahman was quoted as saying "Munbe Vaa is my favourite composition".

I was so much impressed that I used to listen to it over and over again and to be frank, it was and it is tough for me to close the windows media player even today when this song is halfway through. Both the singers had sung it brilliantly but after a while, I could sense that it was SHREYA GHOSHAL who was driving me crazy (and even more crazy these days).yes, it was the same 17 yr old Shreya Ghoshal who

~made Sanjay Leela Bhansali take notice of her after Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and she was called to audition for devdas in 2001.
~simply closed her eyes and sang Beri Piya (Devdas) without a break and it was recorded at one go.
~ won a national award for her first song (Beri Piya)
~won the filmfare award for Jaadhu Hai Nasha (Jism)

There started the love affair or rather my admiration for Shreya Ghoshal. To be precise, I'm enamoured by her. A 17 year old girl winning a national award speaks so much about the talent this girl possesses and the hardwork she's put in to get right there to the top. What I see in her is something fantastic and a terrific achievement. Born and brought up in an educated family with her father working at BARC (Bhaabha Atomic Research Centre), it is commendable to see what she has achieved inspite of the fact that she lived in rural Rajasthan till the game show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa happened. I'm a big fan of Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Yesudas and S.P.B but the voice, clarity and perfection in rendering the lyrics and of course her voice modulations especially in Jaadu Hai Nasha (Jism), Saansein Madham Hai (Kasak) really ignites a sense of freshness to the songs whenever you listen. To name a few more, Saara Yeh Aalam (Shiva), Har Taraf (Saaya), So Jaaoo Mein (Woh Lamhe), Ek Pal Ke Liye (Ankahee), Pyaar Bhara Geet (LoC Kargil) and Pyaaar Ki Ek Kahaani (Krishh) are some of her best. I will go on mentioning all my favorites but the list is a bottomless pit. I'll be doing injustice if I fail to mention her singing prowess in the song Rab Ne Mere (Aryan). Wow, simply mindblowing!!! what a song!!! It's definitely not the feminine factor which makes me rate Shreya higher her contemporaries but the gamut of her voice. I remember, it was my semester holidays in July 2006 when I started to download her songs which she had sung in those four years (2002-2006).

Recently when Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN questioned her as to how she could make Jaadhu so seductive considering the fact that she was just 18, she was speechless and was quoted as saying " I don't know, it just happened". There’s not a genre of music she has not touched upon…be it the melodious Beiri Piya (Devdas) or the classical Har Taraf (Saaya) or the Hindustani kind Piyu Bole (Parineeta) or the fast numbers Dil Liya (Dhol) and the recent Ye Ishq (Jab We Met), she has made them all 99.9 % perfect in my opinion. Sir Vivian Richards once said that Sachin Tendulkar is 99.5% perfect in technique and I just hope Shreya receives a similar compliment from a music legend.

She’s a sensation down south as well. I have no idea about her malayalam or telugu songs but she’s too good in tamil. Introduced by the maestro Ilayaraja himself in the movie Album, she’s been part of some wonderful compositions. I was of the opinion that her songs are only melodies down south like Khajuraho, Ninaithu Ninaithu, Munbe Vaa, Uruguthe etc.. but her recent Thaiya Thaiya (Vellithirai) has proved me wrong. It’s a fast number on the lines of Ye Ishq Hai or Dil Liya..In a recent interview to The Hindu, S.P.B admitted that he could do nothing but admire Shreya Ghoshal (but his definitely can't better my admiration) and rates her better than her contemporaries. He was quoted as saying “What makes her special is her keenness to learn languages and this is why she's a big hit down south. Her tamil diction is so very good and her pronunciation of "zha" is what surprises me”.Cheeni Kum by Ilayaraja has all songs sung by this melody queen.In that same interview to Rajeev Masand, she rated Cheeni Kum as her favourite album of 2007 just because it was Ilayaraja’s. Another great aspect of Shreya is that she can make an impact to a song in no time...for eg, her contribution to the song Mein Agar Kahoon (OSO) was just for 31 sec and wow!!....she has just made it terrific and, in my opinion, beautified Padukone.

It's tough for me take my ears away when I listen to Shreya Ghoshal sing. Credit goes to my mp3 player which acts as a "NOKIA" connecting me with Shreya Ghoshal. Just like the film Kaadhal Kotai, I had fallen in love with her even before seeing her/her picture online. When I googled , it was a sweet surprise to see her look ravishing and so so beautiful. It was something unexpected and my love for her only grew taller ...Was it her beauty or her voice which made me fall for her???? Without an iota of doubt, I can say it was definitely her voice which inspired and made me admire her but Shreya Ghoshal is a confluence where melody and beauty meet.

My life will be incomplete if I don't meet her atleast once in my life. My everlasting desire is to meet her, chat for a while to tell her how crazy she has driven me, take a photograph alongside her. I just hope my wishes come true one day... Shreya, are you listening??? If you’re, I’ll lift the lines from your recent song U Me Aur Hum to say “YOU’RE DRIVING ME INSANE”.

Do leave your comments after reading.This is a fan's tribute to his favorite singer. The respect and the adulation here is much more than what an Om had for his Shanti in Om Shanti Om. So here you go.....

Tumko paya hai to jaise khoya hoon
Kehna chahoon bhi to tumse kya kahon

Kisi zabaon mein bhi woh labaz hi nahi
Ki jeene mein tum ho kya tumhein mein bata sakun

Main aagar kahoon tumsa haseen
kaynaat mein Nai hai kahin
Tareef yeh bhi to sach hai kuch bhi nahi

I wish Shreya Ghoshal reads it one day. I pray God for that to happen

A Shreya Ghoshal fan always,
Rajesh