It is said that when you recover from an illness, you’ll be more active. For better or worse, this seems to be true in my case.

Today, I got up at 9¹ and rushed to office. As a matter of fact, that’s the earliest so far in 2012².

Half my time in office is normally spent in discussions. In retrospect, I guess I was hyperactive today. A colleague wondered how I managed to speak so loudly as to be heard outside an air-tight room.

After office, I went to a retail for buying a formal shirt and ended up purchasing stuff exceeding 150+ GBP, totally forgetting what I intended to buy in the first place. Such a shopping spree is nothing new for me. Once upon a time in Gurgaon, I went to one of the shopping malls for purchasing a lock for my check-in luggage (I was vacating my home and was en route to Bengaluru). When I came out, I was surprised to find that I had purchased a few additional items – 2 shirts, 1 pant, 1 wristwatch, 3 novels, 1 mobile stand and a couple of Axe body sprays³. Apart from the purchase cost, I had to pay the airlines for these extra luggage.

Then onwards to an Asian grocery store and there, I used cash for payment after eons. I whisked out a £20 note⁴ to pay £2 with a swish and swirl on par with Rajnikanth⁵, forgot that something called balance amount is applicable when one pays by cash and walked out with a smiling face. The smile morphed into an amalgam of incompatible expressions when the shopkeeper called me back in to give the balance.

AND.. I threw in my views on one of the hot topics of today. My world views are highly influenced by the books I’ve read⁶ and by self-initiated logical analyses⁷. For the past few years, I have been excusing myself when people around me started debating social, political, economical, regional and religious topics. Reason: All my logical analysis led to an inevitable conclusion that if I enter a debate where two sides are arguing on such topics, my views would unite them… against me.

Sadly, my analysis was spot on and that’s exactly what happened. So, before I blundered further, I had to make a quick exit by summoning a fit of cough. Later, a few unfortunate entities who missed witnessing the rarest of occurrences expressed their disbelief that I spoke out in a debate on social issues⁸.

As the day comes to an end, I realize that this kind of hyperactive state may be categorized as conduct unbecoming of an efficient entity such as I. Hence, I resolve myself to get back to my normal self from tomorrow onwards.

Ciao!

¹ A.M, mind you.

² Not my fault your honour– night-out on new year, holiday on 2nd, sick on 3rd, 4th and 5th.

³ Ek lo ek muft offer.

4 This particular £20 note has been lying unattended in my wallet for the past.. 4 months. Why bother when there is a credit card?

⁵ Honestly, nothing so grandiose. Exaggerated just to add some spice to the post.

⁶ To understand how serious this can be, refer fellow-blogger’s post A new beginning. Considering that I jumped into the rabbit hole earlier than he did and I’ve covered more distance (Maybe because I’m leaner), the side-effects mentioned in his post are but a miniscule sample of my case. Worry not, I’m as happy as anyone.

⁷ A particularly talkative fellow terms it as ‘vittam watching’ (not sure about the translation of vittam, I guess its part of the ceiling), but the term can be misleading.

⁸ Hmmm. If not for my self-defined boundaries of blogging which strictly prohibits me from writing a post directly involving such topics, I might’ve claimed that I’m brainstorming for my next blog post.

Here is the list of my top 11 ‘Shaking head in disbelief’ moments this year (in no particular order):

• After watching our very own Diwali super-hit super-hero movies (7am arivu, Velayudham and of course, Ra-one) back-to-back.¹
• When someone saw through my ruse to only find that I don’t watch cricket and couldn’t believe that a creature such as I actually exist.²
• When I told somebody that I read a lot of novels and was replied by, “Oh wow! Then you must have read 5.someone” .³
• During the event mentioned in my earlier post Where am I?
• When I was speaking with Shankar Ramakrishnan.⁴
• When I was watching the History channel documentary “History of the World in 2 Hours” (Specifics not provided to avoid spoilers).
• When I was reading some books – Avery Cates series, The War Against the Chtorr series, Starship Troopers, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The White Luck Warrior, Childhood’s End, The Last Question – to name a few (Specifics not provided to avoid spoilers. And most of you wouldn’t read such things anyway).
• When I met yet another true Electrical Engineer.⁵
• Censored
• When I came to know of things I ought to have known earlier. E.g.: Why do we have 24 hours in a day, Why do we divide a circle into 360 degrees, Constantinople didn’t vanish in the sands of time – it is modern day Istanbul, etc.
• When I realize that another year has passed and I’m still blogging.

Lets see what comes next year. Happy new year everyone!!!

¹ To think that I travelled 100 miles to watch these movies…

² If you are in a similar predicament (i.e., you stopped watching/following cricket, but don’t want to stand-out in a crowd), it’s quite easy to pretend otherwise – at least for a few years.

³ A famous speech by a blogger (yeah yeah, that’s me) goes like this: “Never say that a book is good or bad. Let others read and form their own opinion”. So, let me put it this way: I might’ve liked such books if had read them ten years back.

⁴ I had been trying to reach him for so long that when he finally responded, I couldn’t believe that I was actually speaking with him. The feeling was only accentuated by the fact that he seemed to be affected by some sort of long-term memory loss.

⁵ This has been my frequent ‘Shaking head in disbelief’ moment for the last 4 years. One of my landlords in NCR (who happened to be an EE) took one look at an Air Conditioner specification and multiplied a few things and divided by a few other things and told me how much cost it can be expected to add to my monthly electricity bill. I desperately wanted to become invisible, but consoled myself that he didn’t know about my Engineering major. I don’t know if the world actually is full of Electrical Engineers or if fate keeps arranging such meetings to mock me.

I was startled to hear the voice. It took me an hour to reach the edge of the cliff and just a moment before, I was under the impression that I was alone. Apparently, I must have mistook this guy as part of the scenery. He was lying down at the very edge with both feet dangling over the precipice.

“I was no different from you. I had the same dreams, same ambitions. The world was a very different place then. I miss those times. I miss those people…”

He stared at the skies in silence for some time. Whoever this guy was, I was sure he was thinking about someplace. Or someone.

“That one moment, just one moment. I had no idea that the path I was walking had just been changed irrevocably. One word. That’s all it took. It was nothing special, nothing dramatic. Half the people in the world would have heard it at some point. But to me, that particular word, at that particular time… Ah! Wasn’t that something? From that moment on, everything I thought or did was somehow related to that word. I simply couldn’t forget. I could tell you that word, but I don’t see the point. It wouldn’t change anything for you. Remarkable isn’t it, a right word at the right time, it could change everything. Funny that we don’t realize our turning points until we are neck deep in its consequences. Sometimes, not even then.”

Weird though his claims were, I was fascinated by his story. I couldn’t understand most of what he was talking about, but I was being pulled into the vortex of his words. Without realizing it, I slowly walked up to his side and mimicked his posture to stare up at the sky.

“It took some time. But I eventually reached the end of that path. Only then, I understood. I started laughing. I couldn’t stop. That day I was reborn, again. It was one thing to become a different man, but that was something else altogether. I knew what happened to me right then. It made me laugh all the more. It was all so funny. Funny that I had such knowledge, such power. Funny that I wouldn’t be in this world for long. And funny that I knew why.”

I lost him. What was he was talking about? Granted, it was an odd monologue to begin with, but it had become progressively confusing. The last few sentences were downright unfathomable. It seemed he had read my thoughts, for he got up and looked at me as though he had just realized that I was there. Perhaps he did just that. I stood up and started as if to tell something, though I couldn’t figure out what. As it happened, there was no need for that. He continued, and for the first time, it felt like he was actually addressing me.

“I was born a human, but I can no longer claim to be one. Unbelievable, yes, but true nonetheless. You are not in a dream and you are not mad. So, you need not worry. You’ll never see me again, for I’m leaving. Don’t ask me where, you wouldn’t understand. You may be the last human I’d see, so ask what you want to know”

My mind was racing and it took a few seconds to realized that I’m supposed to ask him something. I furiously thought about what I wanted to know and realized that I didn’t know much. To hell with that, I thought, he is not a genie about to grant my wish. I have nothing to gain or lose. So, I asked, “Why wouldn’t you use your.. er.. knowledge and power to help us?”

“Us? You mean humans as a whole. I used to think like that you know. But later, I found that despite of your notions of unity and brotherhood and humanity as a whole, you still remain deeply rooted and couldn’t look or move past the circle you draw around yourselves. I don’t mean that to degrade you. In fact, it may be a strength, in a sense. I could try to help. But I wouldn’t. I’m sorry, but my journey made me that way. But, would you like to try?”

As if in a daze, I nodded in affirmative.

He smiled, nodded back and… vanished.

How did he do that? I had already pinched myself to confirm that it was not a dream. Then how? I thought he’d give me a clue as to where to start this journey he was talking about. How am I supposed to start? What is that journey? Where does it lead?

***

A few years later

“That was the turning point. I didn’t realize it at that time, but on that day, I was reborn.”

P.S.: 100% fiction. Take what meaning you will. Though both characters are using first person, neither of them is related to me. And yay! I’ve written a post without bracketed text or footnotes after a long time. Before you point it out, no, postscript doesn’t count.

Why blog at all? This question might have crossed your mind at some point. Believe me, I’ve asked this myself more times than all of yours combined. Ok, I want to write. So what? Wouldn’t it be better to spare the general public the torture of it – be it those who suffer the hyperlinks I send and kind enough¹ to click on it on the hope that I finally have managed to jot down something useful for once, or those, by fate’s cruel nudge, come across one of my posts while surfing the net – and write a diary or something?

A few days back, I sort of had a premonition that I’m about to forget how to write. To allay my fears, I planned an experiment wherein I’m supposed to write one page of text on paper. When I thought of what could be written in one page, the first thing that came to my mind was leave letter². Until a few years back, it was the most frequently written article by me. It was a time when I wrote pages upon pages of stories on paper for something called marks. The only thing which I restricted to just one page was the leave letter. However, if you cut out the accessories³, it is just one sentence. So, I decided to write down some random article found on net⁴.

The results, as you might’ve expected, were disastrous. I know that even while I was in peak form, my handwriting and elegance could be rightly considered as antonyms. But what I managed to write down in my little experiment was hardly legible. If I let the paper drift away in the breeze, the person who happens to notice it may mistake it for some other language, or an encrypted text, or a collection of mythic symbols, or a message from aliens. To prevent such increasingly worrying probabilities, I gave the paper to a shredder.

So, typing is the way to go for me, until the world runs out of electricity and typewriters. I’ve also found how to project this positively – I’m saving the environment you know! Save paper, save trees, save the world.

Oh, and if you are of the logical thinking type and couldn’t find any reason why I shouldn’t be content with storing what I write in my personal laptop, please be informed that I happen to perform R & D on my laptop and force it to go on strike every now and then. If I want to store something precious in digital form, my laptop is the last place I’d choose.

As for the “reading dystopian novels” part, be assured that I haven’t given up optimism yet. I read utopian novels as well. The “underdog defeats bad guys”, “farm boy defeats evil wizards” types too. Though I might occasionally pass a few tongue in cheek comments on the “one man army” scenarios, I’m not against it either. I personally found it difficult to fight one opponent and judge his moves⁵, but it might just be possible that some people can single-handedly take on scores of opponents and walk away unscathed.

I digress at an alarming rate. It means I’ve to stop this post right here. See ya!

¹ Just to make sure you notice: I’m thanking some of you here.

² A side story: I remember one of my friends (not sure who or when) got bored of writing leave letters and created a Word template, which he duly printed, signed with a flourish and submitted. Unfortunately, the approving authority took this badly and tore it up into infinitesimal pieces. If you have surmised that such an efficient idea is sure to be mine, you are not wrong. However, it was not me who tried to put it into practice. Such innovations are never appreciated immediately. Perhaps they allow it now, who knows.

³ Place (as though you are going to send it to opposite corner of the world), date, from (complete with address), to (again, complete with address), and parts where you portray yourself as the most humble and eternally grateful human being. I know it’s part of the System and it’s civilized and all that, but couldn’t help an impartial observation.

⁴ Not from my blog…

⁵ Another side story: Me and my friend were supposed to demonstrate our Taekwondo skills to a crowd of wide-eyed beginners. What was supposed to be a smooth display of two equally skilled professionals attacking and defending in perfect rhythm turned out to be a lesson in reality when a dust particle kicked up by my friend entered my eye when I neatly blocked his kick. I blinked my eyes in reflex and bam! A solid kick on my right cheek. I opened my mouth to say, “Hey wait a minute buddy. I’ve got dust in my eyes”. Did that bugger let me speak? Bam! Another solid kick on my left cheek and bam! another on my already stinging right cheek. On a flare of anger, I ducked, swept out my leg, tripped his leg, lost my balance and fell down with a completely dried up throat and burning cheeks. I was later informed that leg trip is a nice technique, but it is not allowed in all forms of martial arts. For once, my innovation was lauded, but I was told to avoid using such untaught moves as it might give ideas to the youngsters.

Let me make another modification to my original sentence. Few things are as irritable as getting up hungry on a Monday morning, especially for someone who uses 5 alarms to try to get up at 8’o clock.

When I was in college, there were options aplenty. A wide number of breakfast varieties⁴ were offered by the college canteens. Some of the early-goers among my friends had the foresight and camaraderie to pre-order items. There were times when time spent in canteens was greater than that in classrooms.

Even when I was working in Gurgaon, breakfast was never a problem. The office canteen, if one could call it that, served breakfast. Even when it was not to your liking, or sold out before you reach office, the omnipresent samosas⁵ were there to save your day. Enough has been said about this canteen in my earlier post titled UpmA. But I liked it, really. You could say that aloo paratha with curd was my favourite⁶.

But now, where do I find myself? I’m supposed to cook my own breakfast? Fat chance. I would rather go hungry than deviate from being my normal self. Wait. Going hungry is not a pleasing prospect either. It is, in fact, slightly worse than eating what I cook⁷.

…

I can go on pouring out my thoughts like this and all of it would add to your conviction that I’m perhaps one of the laziest person you’ve ever known⁸. You couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, Ladies and gentlemen! I’ve lately realized that I’m not lazy at all. I simply strive to be more efficient.

Did you know that there is just a thin line between laziness and efficiency⁹? Given a set of options, a lazy person would choose the shortest path. Wouldn’t an efficient person do just the same?

I’d leave you with that¹⁰.

¹ To all avid followers of my blog: No, this is not a repetition. Notice the italicized word. Now that winter is almost here, Monday morning syndrome is getting worse.

² By usage of mild violence on the rare occasions when he got up before me and on other times, disturbing my sleep in the first place by snoring like a.. er.. couldn’t find anything equal to that.

³ I don’t know about others, but where I studied, such things were commonplace. The behaviour was especially pronounced during exam times – the biological clocks went haywire.

⁴ Odd that I find it so now. I used to grumble about lack of varieties then.

⁵ Couldn’t resist an attempt to define samosa. Oil-fried pastry with spiced vegetable fillings? Nah, doesn’t sound good enough. Reminder to self: Ask a known definition expert.

⁶ I vouched for it even when the curd became buttermilk and the paratha became thinner than roti. I eventually gave up when buttermilk quality steadily deteriorated and inevitably turned into water.

⁷ Don’t underestimate my culinary skills because I say this. My kitchen products are best served hot. Or rather, must served hot.

8 Ardent readers of my blog would’ve surely guessed by now where I’m going with this.

⁹ If you are capable of believing one liners such as ‘There is a thin line between good and evil/genius and madness/love and hate/etc’, you should believe this too. Even if you don’t believe in those, you should believe this.

10 If you’re concerned that I didn’t quite finish where I was going with the breakfast thing: I support fruits for breakfast. You know, healthy, natural, nutritious, balanced diet, vegan and so on. As an aside: it’s ready-to-eat.

It was a night with no moon.¹ The sky was dark. The street lights had been systematically wiped out by vandals and/or urchins. The street was darker.² If the lone cyclist ventured a guess, he would’ve said it was 11:30 P.M. What went through the marvellous mind of his³ at that time couldn’t be determined. His peaceful ride back home was about to face fate’s cruel fork…

The cyclist was surprised to find that the road ahead was blockaded by a pack of dogs.⁴ Assuming that they would clear the way once he comes close, he pedalled his way towards the blockade. But the pack had other ideas. They started growling menacingly at the cyclist. A few even got up from their stations and eyed the cyclist with a calculating look.

Scenario A: You prefer one-man army type heroes. The dogs picked exactly the wrong guy.

The cyclist stopped and took stock of the situation. In a fraction of seconds, he analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of each dog in the pack – There are twelve dogs. Leader lies surrounded by others. The two at the rightmost wing are not that interested in a fight. In the left wing, all the dogs are craving for a fight except the one which is favouring its right leg.⁵ The remaining three are the most dangerous. The cyclist’s piercing stare was ignored by the dogs. The pack wanted to fight. Well, the cyclist would give them one. Pity, he couldn’t use a punch dialogue understandable by dogs.

The cyclist took the initiative and started pedalling with all his might. It has to be said that the pack stood bravely against the cycle charging at 100 kmph.⁶ He targeted the dangerous trio and rammed his vehicle in their midst. He jumped off the vehicle just before impact, somersaulted to his left and landed nimbly in front of the leftmost dog. Before the pack realized what was happening, he landed a kick on the leftmost dog with such a force that bodily lifted the poor creature and flung it 20 feet, only to crash into a wall. Now that the charge has been blunted, he retreated a few metres.

By then, the leader had rallied the remaining dogs. Only one of the three dangerous dogs was still active. Now the dogs charged, enraged by the temerity of one man to attack a pack of twelve. Imagine! A lone man facing insurmountable dogs, oops sorry, odds, the dogs beginning their charge in slow motion with a suitable background score.⁷ But it was not any lone man. It was.. er.. the cyclist. When the dogs are almost near the cyclist, the scene speeds up. The cyclist moves with inhuman speed and with punches and kicks which the human eye cannot follow, dispatches the remaining enemies.

In a matter of few seconds the only one left standing is the cyclist. He looks around, sighs, picks up the bicycle and rides away.

Scenario B: You prefer heroes whose martial proficiency is hidden or otherwise unknown up to this point. The dogs picked a wrong guy again.

The cyclist stopped and decided to turn around rather than fight. The ignorant dogs perceived it as a weakness and decided to attack. The cyclist dropped his cycle and ran. The dogs gave chase. After running through a veritable maze of alleys and streets, the cyclist came to a halt in front of a dead end and turned around slowly to face the trouble. The dogs stopped a few metres apart to savour the moment. To their peril, they forget that a cornered cat is one of the most dangerous opponents. Pity, they couldn’t leer and jeer in a language understandable by humans.

Seeing no other way, the cyclist prepared himself to fight. The dogs send their champion. Imagine! A poor, innocent, homely, etc, etc guy standing against a charging dog. When champion is almost near the cyclist, the cyclists thrusts his right hand forward and punches the champion square on the head. The champion gets thrown back a 100 feet⁶ and vanishes from the scene. The cyclist stays with his hand thrust forward to strike a pose. The dogs quake in fear.⁸ The leader barks(!) a command and the remaining dogs attack together.

Although eleven dogs are supposed to attack together, for some strange reason, they reach the cyclist one by one. The cyclist, given his newly awakened martial prowess, dodges the attacks and dispatches the dogs with a single blow each. The leader tries to run. But suddenly the cyclist appears ahead to cut-off the cowardly retreat and promptly dispatches the leader as well.

The cyclist looks around, sighs, picks up the bicycle and rides away.

P.S.: Forgot to put in a word or two about animal rights in the disclaimer section. And an exclusive bonus footnote available for those who prefer intelligent heroes.⁹

¹ I could’ve said that it was a new moon day. But it doesn’t conveniently portray the intended gloomy atmosphere.

² In truth, I don’t remember the background effects. It could’ve been a well-lit street under a full moon.

³ If you are getting a vague suspicion that I’m referring to myself as a third person here, all I can give you is a non-committal shrug.

⁴ Are dogs capable of intentionally blocking roads to waylay innocent humans who happen to pass by? Who knows, maybe they were mutants.

⁵ Front right. Let it never be said that I’m skimming over the details.

⁶ One or two extra zeroes might have been added here by mistake.

⁷ The Matrix revolutions, 300, countless other flicks. Make your pick.

⁸ To accentuate the quake, imagine the camera shaking.

⁹ The cyclist contemplated his options. The dogs charged. On the spur of the moment, the cyclist rode ahead and scythed through the ranks of the pack (Piece of cake. The dogs lying down on the road got up on their feet to pounce. There was ample space for a cycle to go through). An epic chase sequence ensued, with the dogs trying to snap at the cyclist’s legs and the cyclist fleeing like hell on his heels. For the sake of it, he did try a couple of kicks at the lead dog, but it dodged both time with annoyingly apparent ease. Finally the dogs gave up and the cyclist emerged victorious.

The message was from a friend (Obvious, I suppose). No prizes for identifying this dramatis persona, it’s quite easy. A few clues: my classmate in college, one of the few I consider as “being in touch” (call once in a few months), someone who has been “invisible” for quite a while (Not an easy clue, this one. One might say that this clue indicates me as well.), a most exceptional (‘peculiar’ would suit better I think) character who is frequently referenced in many noteworthy articles in blogosphere (coincidentally, all of them are in my blog), someone whom I’ve been trying to call for the last one month (in this case, the italicization of the word “trying” stresses the lack of response from the said friend and not the lack of seriousness on my part), someone who so graciously agreed to call me “soon” a week back. Still in the dark on the identity of this friend? No matter. Read on.

What do I find in a message which was opened with such tremendous efforts?

Translation:
Hey are you in UK? (The person who opened the message became fully awake because of this one simple question)
What is your phone number? (WHAT!)
I thought of calling you today. (A laudable effort, this. Keep going)
While searching for your number in FB, I saw that you are in Peterborough. (The implications of this sentence was.. staggering to say the least)
When did you go? (Unconditional surrender!)

By the time I finished reading the message, I was annoyed, exasperated, frustrated, infuriated, perturbed… Add a few adjectives on such lines, but it still wouldn’t tell you how exactly I felt.

Everything that follows is a direct result of this incident(!).

Afterthought 1:

Looks like I should rekindle the interest in social networking. My FB wall seems to contain a number of updates concerned about current location of various friends. Perhaps i should do the same. Let me see. On weekdays (and on occasional weekends), you’ll get two updates – 1) Selva was at office and 2) Selva was at home. Sounds exciting? To add more flavour, you might also get updates like “Selva was at supermarket X”, “Selva was at city centre” and “Selva was at restaurant Y” every 2-3 days. Add a few select photographs specifically clicked for uploading in FB and a stream of aphorisms which strike my fancy, there IS a chance for Return of Me in social networking (Needless to say, comments like “who needs it?”, “did i ask you?”, etc would be summarily ignored).

Afterthought 2:

A quick introspection points out that my current location is, in some ways, similar to my hometown. You know, quiet, peaceful, not so crowded, etc. (In response to a most probable and frequent comment from a friend, let me say this again: I never claimed that my hometown is a bustling metropolis). Could it be that I got too attached to the place that I’m not keeping in touch? Could it be because of the shock I got when I saw my first phone bill after coming here? (6.2K INR, if I remember correctly. At least, it was not in GBP) Well, as always, I blame it on the time difference.

P.S.: To all those who 1) actively use a social networking website like Facebook 2) update locations regularly 3) upload photos regularly 4) copy-paste (or refer-type or “think on your own”-type) some words of wisdom as a status update regularly, the friend who sent such a memorable message and whomsoever else it may concern: Nothing personal folks. I was badly in need of subject matter for a blog post.

I’ve been blogging for two years (if writing one or two posts in a month can be accounted as such). But hey, I’m still at it (surprising, truly). Why do I keep writing? Why do I persist??? … Because I must? Such dramatic phrases pop up frequently while writing! I blame it on television. Because of the overwhelming response? Don’t make me laugh. Most, if not all of you read the blog in office due to sheer boredom and don’t understand half of what I write. Because I’m good at it? The leftover traces of my humility prevents me saying so. Moreover, one might expect at least a few bombastic words from someone who reads like a maniac. But alas! My mastery of vocabulary lies dormant and refuses to wake up. Why then? Perhaps I’ll find out in another year.

In the last one year, I’ve published about fifteen posts brimming with wisdom. If you are about to return a dubious or sceptical or mirthful or any other form of response in an attempt to refute the fact, STOP. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. (The word “teacher” in the sentence indicates a person. Not to be confused with any object.)  Maybe when you do some groundwork, you’ll understand. Habits like vittam watching might help the beginners. (Disclaimer: If you have Claustrophobia, Arachnophobia, Scoliodentosaurophobia or any other “denizen of the wall”phobia, or have a vivid imagination so as to be afraid of some such denizen back-diving into your open and welcoming mouth while you are asleep (Ewww! Far better to be afraid of the said denizen itself. Simple, civilized and .. natural), vittam watching is not the path for you.)

Now that I’ve done with blowing my own trumpet (for now, of course), what can you expect from this blog in the next year?

Not reviews, no, most certainly not. I’m as bad in choosing what to review as I’m at writing a review, perhaps worse. Look at what I’ve reviewed so far… 2012 (Review? That one?), Raavana (Comparatively better, I daresay. On a slightly related note, I have absolutely no intention of reviewing Ra.One) and Code Geass (Incompatible audience).

There are two stories in “To be continued” state. Mangoes, I have every confidence of finishing it by next year. Tales of Names though, the saga was intended to be revealed as a ten-part post (You can turn a blind eye, as you are wont to do). I’ve already written the final draft of part II (The Wise Man). Looking at the length of it, I’m wondering if I should split it in 2 or 3 sub-posts… It’s not impossible to finish in a year, but.. let’s see.

As always, words of wisdom would continue to flow. Knock knock! Pause. Ok folks. My philosopher-self has come knocking and wants to debate on the power of words. I might spin a story on the subject later. See ya…

We work in the same office. The ‘we’ includes two individuals – me and her. Who ‘I’ am is none of your concern. I could be a fictional character, or the writer of this blog, or a friend of his, or a stranger he met, or an alien. Who ‘she’ is is also none of your concern. The fact that she looks like someone I knew is totally irrelevant to this post. Including such an irrelevant fact in this manner is in fact intentional.

As I said, we work in the same office. In a day, the time for which one of us is in a visible range of the other is 25 minutes (approx.). We leave the office at exactly the same time. We travel in the same bus. We get down at the same bus stop. Oh, and for some reason, she always sits next to me. Um, almost always. The seating arrangement in the bus is 2+2. If there is an unoccupied twin seat is available (40% of the time, it is), she prefers that location. And if any of her friends is with her (40% of the time, someone is), she chooses to sit with her friend.

I don’t know her name. So, don’t ask me. Yes, I agree that nowadays it is very easy to find the name of a colleague. Just have a sneak peak into the ID tag (Lesson from a subject matter expert I knew). I, however, prefer be ignorant of her name. Knowing the name of a person is a very simple act. But, it creates a sense of familiarity. A very minute one, but powerful. My purpose here is to be an impartial observer. Familiarity would jeopardize it. Hence, my noble sacrifice.

Enough with the preamble. Lets delve into what this post is really about (which isn’t much).

Minute 0
I see the subject at the office exit. It takes a 3 minutes walk to reach the bus stop. The subject walks. Another 2 minutes is spent in waiting for the bus. The subject stands 1 to 3 metres away. The subject’s head and eyes could not stay in one position for a long time. They swivel around and continuously scan the area. I’ve observed this behaviour on another human being earlier, but I couldn’t place it

Minute 5
We board the bus and pick our places. The subject opens a handbag and picks up a tiny makeup kit. 1 minute is spent on the makeup (Not that the subject needs it). Then, the subject takes out a mobile phone (a very popular model) and spends 5 to 6 minutes in tapping and swiping the screen. An earphone is also brought out. To the best of my ability, I’ve tried to eavesdrop on the songs played. But the subject displays a habit of listening to songs in just the necessary amount of volume. By applying the principles of reflection of light, I’ve concluded that the subject is accessing a popular social networking website (which decreases certain probabilities I’m concerned about).

Minute 12
The subject puts back the mobile and earphone into the handbag. The subject’s head turns approx. 45 degrees in the direction of the nearest window. It simply looks on for another 7 to 8 minutes. It displays an avid interest in the greeneries. The subject may have an interest in a hobby like gardening. Or it may be appreciating the beauty of the view. It is also possible that the subject supports the increasingly popular ‘saving the environment’ agenda.

Minute 20
The journey is almost over. This is where the observation of the subject is most difficult. It resumes its earlier habit of restless scan of its surroundings. The proximity of the subject and the closed confines of the bus makes it a very challenging task. I’m unable to determine what the subject is looking for. Could it be that the subject senses that it is being observed? In any case, this behaviour continues for another 4 minutes until our destination is reached.

Minute 24
We get down from the bus and walk for a minute to reach a crossroad.

Minute 25
As you would’ve undoubtedly surmised by now, we go our different ways. I take a left turn. The subject goes straight.

- Author unknown

Behti hawa sa tha woh
Udti patang sa tha woh
Kahan gaya usae dhoondo

Behti hawa sa tha woh
Udti patang sa tha woh
Kahan gaya usae dhoondo
Hum o to raahein thi chalati
Woh khud apni raah banata
Girta, sambhalta, masti mein chalta tha woh

Hum ko kal ki fikar sataati
Woh bus aaj ka jashn manaata
Har lamhe ko khul ke jeeta tha woh

Kahan se aaya tha woh
Chhoo ke humare dil ko
Kahan gaya usae dhoondo

Sulagti dhoop mein chhaaon ke jaisa
Raegistaan mein gaaon ke jaisa
Mann ke ghaav pe marham
Jaisa tha woh
Hum sahme se rehte koovein mein
Woh nadiya mein gotae lagata
Ulti dhara cheer ke tairta tha woh

Baadal awara tha woh
Yaar humara tha woh
Kahan gaya usae dhoondo
Hum ko to raahein thi chalati
Woh khud apni raah banata
Girta, sambhalta, masti mein chalta tha woh
Hum ko kal ki fikr sataati
Woh bus aaj ka jashn manaata
Har lamhe ko khul ke jeeta tha woh

Kahan se aaya tha woh
Chhoo ke humare dil ko
Kahan gaya usae dhoondo

It should be noted that dedicating this particular song to this friend doesn’t mean that his character is similar to that of the protagonist in the movie from which the song is taken. Honestly, I don’t know why I dedicate this song. However, when I think about dedicating a song to him, no other song comes to mind (FYI: On last July 27, I drafted a post about this friend titled 1 idiot, dedicating the same song).

If you wonder about the title of the post, it is German for flashback (thanks to google translator). Perhaps you’ve worked that out already using some or the other search engine. If you wonder why there is a German title for a post in English which dedicates a Hindi song, the reason is this: if not for him, I wouldn’t have scored high marks in my German exam (Backstory available on demand).

It is impossible to list all the flashbacks in one post. I’d just add that the “group studies” with this friend are simply UNFORGETTABLE. I really really tried that with many others (A few names like Venkat, Karthi and Shanky (Ah! Poor Shanky – Backstory available on demand) pops up in mind). True, I didn’t allocate much time. When it came to studies (last-minute of course), our partnership made miracles.

Ciao!