My cute little teddy bear

You make me fly aloft

You're a class apart

I have you in my heart

Now please don't depart

You are my cute little teddy bear

I'll carry you everywhere

I'll give you my love and care

Don't leave me in despair

I can't sing for you or dance for you

But I'll stand by you and shelter you

I'll make you laugh and give you joy

With my pranks and looks I'll send you coy

My cute little teddy bear....

I'll carry you everywhere.....

 

தீவிர...வாதம்

என் குருதியின் நிறமும் சிவப்புதான் என்பதை

உன் தோட்டாவினால் தெரிந்து கொள்ள வெண்டுமா?

மண்ணில் மனிதனால் வரையபட்டிருக்கும் கோட்டை மாற்ற

மனித உயிர்தனை போக்க வேண்டுமா?

வெறும் வார்த்தையினால் தீர்க்ககூடிய பிரச்சனைக்கு

தீவிரவாதம் தான் தீர்வாகுமா?

என் இனிய தேவதையே

இரும்பை ஈர்க்கும் காந்தத்தை போல்

என்னை உன்னிடம் ஈர்க்கிறாய்

என் அருகில் இருக்கும் நேரமெல்லம்

உன் அன்பை என் மீது பொழிகிறாய்

ஓரக்கண் பார்வையினால்

என் உயிரை தீண்டிச் செல்கிறாய்

ஞானக்கண் இருப்பது போல்

என் நினைவரிந்து நடக்கிறாய்

கண் தூங்கும் நேரத்தில்

கனவில் வந்து கொய்கிறாய்

உறங்காமல் நான் இருந்தால்

உன் உறக்கம் துறக்கிறாய்

என் கண்கள் கலங்கும் முன்

நீ கண்ணீர் சுறக்கிராய்

நான் விடுக்கும் புன்சிரிப்பில்

உன் உலகம் மறக்கிறாய்

நாள் தோறும் என் நினைவை

உன் நெஞ்சில் சுமக்கிறாய்

நான் செல்லும் பாதையினில்

என் கை கோர்த்து வருகிறாய்

என் உயிரோடு ஒன்றினைந்து உறவாடும் தேவதையே

என் செய்வேன் நான் உனக்கு

அதை கூறு நீ எனக்கு

அர்த்தமற்ற கிறுக்கல்கள் - I

கண்ணில் இருக்கும் உன் உருவம்தனை கண்ணீர் அழித்ததேனோ

காதில் ஒலிக்கும் உன் ஓசைதனை காற்று கவர்ந்ததேனோ

நெஞ்சில் உள்ள உன் நினைவுகள் என்னை முள்ளாய் கொய்ததேனோ

என் அருகில் நீ இருக்கையில் நான் ஊமையாய் போவதேனோ...

A Plate of Food

Two pairs of eyes were constantly preying on their target. They were both waiting for an opportune moment to make a strike. Both have been starving for days together and they couldn’t afford to let go of this opportunity.

Amudha was unpacking the food that she had prepared for the trip. She was constantly having an eye on her kids as she did so. Ravi and Kripa were playing hide and seek near the pine trees and Rajesh was busy fiddling his cell phone.  Just as she completed setting up the food, she heard a loud cry from Ravi. Startled by the cry, she quickly moved across to check what had happened. Rajesh too dropped his phone and ran across calling out Ravi’s name.

It wad mid-afternoon and there was an eerie silence engulfing the entire place. There were not many people around who could be called in for help. Rajesh was shocked and could not decide on the next course of action while Amudha had already started crying. Just then the two kids emerged from behind a bush making a “Bhoo” sound. “April fool April fool!” shouted Ravi.

Amudha was relieved on seeing them both and immediately ran and hugged her daughter. Rajesh on the other hand was extremely angry and raised his hand to slap Ravi for his action. Just as he neared Ravi, cries of a boy could be heard in the direction where they had halted for their lunch. As they all turned back all they could see were two objects rolling over the mud. Rajesh immediately ran back to their halting place as he had left his wallet and cell phone back there.

 As he neared the place, he found a small boy about the age of 10, fighting fiercely with a street dog. The dog’s eyes were red in fury and it was trying to pounce over the boy. The boy finally managed to get on top of the dog and was landing punches over its stomach. Now as Rajesh too neared with stones clutched in his hands, the dog ran for cover.

The boy though was severely bruised as a result of the encounter. Rajesh helped the boy onto his feet. The rest of the family too reached the place as Rajesh was enquiring the boy of his wellness. Just as Rajesh turned around to check his cell phone, the boy took the lunch bag and started sprinting away from the place. None of them expected this to happen and Rajesh went away chasing the boy.

 The kids could not understand the pain of hunger and hence thought of the boy to be a cheap stealer and gave a nasty look in his direction. “Ho! It’s good in a way that he took away the food. We can push daddy to get a pizza for us today.” told Ravi to Kripa. She too got excited on hearing this. “I had specially prepared the food for us. And you kids relish the idea of skipping it. Do you know that pizzas aren’t good for health” snorted Amudha.

 Rajesh was very angry with the action of the young boy and was determined to chase him down. “How could a kid be so cunning at such a small age? I need to teach him a lesson” Rajesh thought to himself as he was running.

He could see the boy slowing down a few paces ahead and hence he picked up his speed. The boy seemed to have got tired of running and was apparently resting with his hands atop a dustbin. He seemed to be gasping for breath. Just then Rajesh reached for him, pulled him by his shirt and slapped him hard on his face.

 “How dare you steal at this small age? Don’t you know that it’s an act of shame?” asked Rajesh. The boy stood numb not replying back. Rajesh could not control his anger and raised his had to give him another slap. Just then a dog pounced from the dustbin growling at Rajesh. It was the same dog that the boy had fought off a while back and landed punches on. Rajesh could not understand the reason behind the dog’s behavior.

 He then noticed the food packet torn open and food spilled all near the dustbin. As he peeped into the dustbin, he found two small puppies feeding on the food that had been dropped into the dustbin.

“I am very sorry sir. Its 3 days since I ate anything. I felt very hungry and hence I took your food. I had put a packet of food for that dog and its puppies. Here is the other packet sir. I will not do this again” told the young boy tears rolling down his eyes.

 Rajesh felt like being slammed on his face. The boy’s gesture left him speechless and ashamed. Neither words nor tears would come to his rescue. He hugged the boy and kissed him on his cheeks and took him back along the road.

என் ஆசிரியைக்கு..

வெறும் கல்லாய் கிடந்தேன் இந்த பூமியிலே

உன் உளியால் செதுக்கி என்னை சிற்பமாய் மாற்றினாய்

கண் மூடி கிடந்தேன் என் வாழ்வினிலே

மெழுகாய் உருகி உன் ஒளியால் என்னை வழிநடத்திநாய்

எவ்வாறு உன் கடன் தீர்ப்பேன் இந்த பிறவியிலே

என்று உன்னை கேட்க

தான் பெற்ற ஒளியை பூமிக்கு இரவில் பகிரும் நிலவை போல்

நான் தந்த அறிவை பகிர்ந்து கொள் என்றாய்.

தலை வணங்குகிறேன் உனக்கு...உன் சிந்தனைக்கு

My Village Pics

A few snaps of my village

தமிழ் கவிதைகள் - II

சிந்தனை செய் மானிடா.....
தாயின் கருனையினால் தரணியிலே பிறந்தோம்
குழந்தை பருவத்தில் தரயினிலே தவழ்ந்தோம்
பள்ளி பருவத்தில் புத்தகங்கள் சுமந்தோம்
இளமை பருவத்தில் காதலிலே விழுந்தோம்

பின்பு பணம், பொருள், புகழ் சேர்க்க அலைந்தோம்
நாம் பிறந்ததின் நோக்கதை மறந்தோம்
இந்த தேடலில் வாழ்க்கையை தொலத்தோம்
இறுதியில் வயது மூர்ந்து நோய் வாய்ப்பட்டு இறந்தோம்

பிறந்தோம் இருந்தோம் இறந்தோம் என்றில்லாமல்
பிறந்தோம் வாழ்ந்தோம் இறந்தோம் என்று இரு
இறந்த பின்பும் நம்மை சுமக்கும் இந்த பூமிக்கு
இருக்கும் பொழுது நாம் என்ன செய்தோம்?
சிந்தனை செய் மானிடா.....

கண்களே...பதில்சொல்
உன் வாயிலாக என்னுள் நுழைந்தாள்
பின்பு உனக்கும் தெரியாமல் என்னை துறந்தாள்
நீ சிந்தும் கண்ணீர் துளிகள் எதனால்?
அவள் பிரிவினாலா?
இல்லை குற்ற உணர்ச்சியினாலா?

Coorg Trip Pictures

Some snaps of nature taken during my trip to Coorg

தமிழ் கவிதைகள்

காற்றாக மாறி..
காற்றாக மாறி என் சுவாசத்தில் கலந்தாய்
பின் கண்ணீராய் மாறி ஏன் என்னை பிரிந்தாய்..

மனதில் உள்ள சஞ்சலம்
உன்னை மறக்க தான் நினைக்கிறேன்
ஆனால் உன் நினைவால் ஏற்படும் மகிழ்ச்சியை ரசிக்கிறேன்...
இது என்ன சஞ்சலம்?

இது காதலா இல்லை....
வார்த்தைகள் வெளி வர மறுக்கிறது
உன் நினைவோ என் நெஞ்சை கொல்கிறது
எழுத்துக்கள் என்னை கை விட்டது
நான் நினைத்ததை நான் எவ்வாறு சொல்வது
இது காதலா? நான் காண்பது கனவா?
இல்லை. இது கானல்.
நான் இருப்பதோ நேர்காணலில்...

கவிதைகள்..கிறுக்கல்கள்..
கருத்துள்ள சிந்தனைகள் கிறுக்கல்கள் ஆகின்றன
கருதாமல் கிருக்குவதோ கவிதைகள் ஆகின்றன...

The Cost of Freedom

Freedom has its price. Yeah! Many valiant heroes had paid through their sweat and blood for the freedom that we enjoy today. But do we always pay to get freedom? At times we pay only to lose ours.

As I switched on the ignition of my bike the rain came pouring down all of a sudden. I immediately ran for cover and parked my bike underneath a temporary shelter across the road.

Back as a kid I’ve cherished getting drenched in the rain. I’ve enjoyed dancing and playing in rain and catching hold of the little droplets. I’ve had numerous cycle rides with the rain splashing hard on my body and face. I didn’t have much money. But I had the freedom to enjoy the gift of nature. Now I stand, hiding under a shelter patiently waiting for the rain to stop. Have I lost the kid in me?

I had bought myself a bike that can take me across much faster and give me joyous rides. I had bought a beautiful mobile with 3 MP camera which can help me click wonderful pictures of nature while I am on the move. I got a Gucci watch as a present that can give me time accurate to that of a millisecond. I am more concerned about these materialistic acquisitions that I had decided to let go of the beautiful gift that nature had given me.

A sense of guilt eroded my heart. I wanted to be the child again. I wanted to enjoy the gift of Mother Nature. But all I could do was to let out my hand and feel the droplets of rain touch and trickle down.

After all, I had paid to lose my freedom.

My (first) experience at the Indiblogger meet in Chennai

Its better to be Mr.Late than to be Late.Mr – This line is often associated with safe driving. Well I am borrowing if for a review-oopss..My view of the Indiblogger meet that I attended in Chennai.

This is my first blogger’s meet. Thanks to the message sent by Renie to Chennai Bloggers community in orkut, I came to know of Indiblogger and this meet only a week a before the event.

I had reached the place (Hotel Cee Dee Manor) 10 mins before the scheduled start of the event. The moment I entered I shook hands with Renie and asked him if he was Lemonade. He welcomed me, gave no as an answer and told that Lemonade was in fact a girl and would be turning up shortly (Bulb no: 1 for the day :-))

I quietly found a seat for myself in the 5^th row. I happened to get introduced to a person who happened to be my college senior (Sorry senior forgot your name) and we had a nice discussion. He had booked for Indiana Jones movie for the same day but wanted to be a part of the event as long as he could.

The event kick started around 4:20 with a short video played by the indiblogger team followed by a brief welcome note by Lemonade. Then came the ‘1 minute of fame’ where all the fellow bloggers were asked to give a short account of their blog with Lemonade playing the role of time-keeper (I don’t think she really did that though except for a couple of occasions.)

I was suddenly wondering on how I am going to present about my blog. Most of what I write is funny situations from my life, interspersed with stories or short poems every now and then. (And a few pics have also found its place ever since I got a K790i)

I took a personal dig at myself by singing once I got the mike. Just hummed two lines of a song from the movie Rhythm (Could have rendered a couple more lines as I was sure there would be no rotten tomatoes or eggs present anywhere in the close vicinity but didn’t wanna take any chance). I can’t really remember the rest of the crap I uttered.

A few other people whose description caught my attention during this 1 min of fame:

Old sailor who writes all about marine stuff

A person who writes on Chennai Traffic

Biotechnology blogger (Ravishankar.A.K)–Had a chat with him over the break.

Ramanujam who earns a 6 digit INR sum through his blogs (I must give a serious thought of changing jobs J)

Another person who writes about relationships, marriage though he was still a bachelor

Pseudonym – His blogspace name atthealtar got a lot of attention and his description too was funny. He also took on a session on mobile blogging towards the end.

Sudir Sayal – from Hindu Metro Plus. Liked the way he was making notes during the entire course of the event. Even during the end when live writer session was handled by Sandhya, he was quizzing about the tool to another MS student representative.

Kiruba – Well he’s a well-known person in Chennai and I got a chance to speak to him over the break. More on the conversation will follow later.

Following this we had a short snack break during which I bid adieu to my senior who was rushing to Sathyam. Then had a quite chat with another person (Sorry dude forgot your name too L) who had just put his papers and was about to join Manipal Univ for his MBA.

I wanted to know about Podcasting and I caught up with Kiruba to know about the same. He gave me a brief and asked me if I would be coming for the bar camp at Wipro. Then he gave me his Visiting card, which was very unique. (It had a google search bar with ‘Kiruba’ typed in it on the front side and his e-mail id and phone no at the back)
The funny part came when I gave my visiting card back to him. He had a surprised look but he took it with a smile. I am no celebrity but I felt it was proper manners to do so.
Once all were settled after the break, we had an interesting game in store. The Indiblogger team would read the comments received by various bloggers on their posts and the owner of the blog should stand up and perform a jig.

This was followed by a theater play by Rebelz group. The theme was hijacking of a few bloggers in place of the T20 team of Mallya. It had blogging as its theme with digs at Royal Challengers T20 team. The play was thoroughly entertaining and funny.

I had managed to catch up with the Rebelz team just before packing and was surprised to know that a few were of my breed (Software Engineers working for an MNC).

Pseudonym then gave a short session on Mobile blogging and Sandhya followed it up with a session on Live Writer. I could not get much from both the sessions as it came towards the fade end of the day.

Finally got myself the Indiblogger mementos (T-Shirt and a Pen) and took them back home long with pleasant memories of the day.

A special thanks to Indiblogger team and to Lemonade for organizing this event in Chennai.

P.S: I wanted to come up with this post a lot earlier but Murphy’s Law played its part, as all of a sudden work got more hectic.

Breaking free from the shackles

A couple of random clicks showing the sun's rays breaking through the clouds

Birthday Blast !

Every dog has its day. Well I would say this pup had its day on the 11^th of May! It was my 24^th year of existence in this beautiful world.

I had been wondering all along as to why people wish others on their birthday? But I guess the wishes serve the purpose of making us forget the fact that we are getting old :-)

Well let me recount on how things turned out to be for me from the previous night.

Thanks to the age of networking and internet, I started receiving my advance b’day wishes right from 9^th in orkut. And on 10^th it was sms’s with advance wishes from close friends.

Thanks to my onsite call for keeping me awake till 11:15 pm on 10^th. Then started the ‘call mela’ should I put it that way

One of my very close friends called me at 11:20 and kept on talking to me as he wanted to ensure that he was the first person to wish me at the stroke of 12. I had only one strict instruction – speak anything but if you end the call, I’ll burn up your ass the next day.

So he kept me busy till 12 and conferenced our entire gang to wish me and finally came the b’day song. It was very special indeed and they tried their best to sound melodious which made it all the more funny. But now comes the highlighting part of it all

They tried out a huge list of pranks on me throughout the day and I am faithfully recounting them below.

Prank 1:

The first person called me up again, wished me and kept on speaking till 12:45 in the night. We discussed a lot ranging from office, college days, cricket, movies etc. It finally ended with take care machan and see you tomorrow.

Just after 2 minutes came the second call from another close friend and this went on till 1:30.I still did realize the prank they were up to. One by one kept calling with only 5 mins break in-between and I ended up on my phone till 6 AM in the morning.

Finally it was a conference call again at 6 when they happily rejoiced over how they had not let me sleep.

I literally dropped on my bed when the next row of phone calls started – This time from my relatives. When I took the phone and said lazy thanks, mom was annoyed. “They are calling early morning to wish you and how can you be so careless in your response?”

I only knew what happened the whole night.

Prank 2:

I finally manage to get myself up from bed after a short nap! Then it was usual stuff of getting ready, wearing the new dress and getting blessing of elders at home.

In arrives my first friend, hugs me tight and wishes me. He once again boasts happily about their planning and execution the previous night.

Now he throws a googly at me in front of my parents – Machan have you told about her to your mom and dad? You said you’ll be disclosing it today.

Now where did this come from?

“Oops! You have not yet said is it! Sorry da machi!” Saying this he leaves the place.

I just giggled and told them it was a prank to my parents. Now within 10 minutes the same person calls me and asks me to come out to a nearby shop saying he wanted a treat right away.

I obliged and went to that shop. He got himself a butterscotch cone followed by a Cassatta Slice. I too took one ice cream, chatted a few mins and came back home.

I found my friends in 3 sets of motorbike suddenly racing past my home without noticing me.

Back at home, my parents were pretty seriously involved in a discussion as I entered.

“You could have told this to us. What’s wrong in falling in love with a person” asks my dad.

Just then I realized what the second prank was. They had so beautifully used some instances from my life and narrated a love story to my parents in a span of 15 mins. And it took me another ½ hr to make my parents understand that it was all fart!

In comes another conference call at 9.30 and we all started laughing over what happened.

Prank 3: (Can’t really call it a prank though..its usual stuff)

Had a sumptuous lunch at home shortly and dozed off after that. I had managed to wake up only by 2 pm.

Went off to beach by 4 and spent time with all the friends till 8 in the night. Had two rounds of treat and four rounds of b’day bums. As and when a new member arrives, I’ll be royally lifted off and kicked until they got tired. And all this in the beach. The security persons deployed at the beach came around to our place mistaking it for a gang war on the 4^th occasion and only then it stopped.

Finally they dropped me back at home, and bade goodbye.

(God saved me for one good thing happened! They put a clear policy to stop giving b’day bums at office and I was spared the next day at work )

Singalong - A new invention

Can we categorize all music lovers as only people who like listening to music?

There are quite a few who enjoy singing and who are passionate about it. Why haven't any device been invented for those people to let them sing aloud without disturbing others? (Pardon me if there is such a device but I've not heard of one)

It becomes all the more useful if the person is not a great singer but is passionate about singing and enjoying (A few nuts like me!)

A device, which can prevent spilling of voice and ensure that only the singer, listens to his own voice. (Saving others from this punishment ;-))

Wondering how difficult it is to formulate such a device and how would it be designed? How would a person look wearing such a device if it were to have tubes connecting from the mouth to the ears? A look of a war pilot wearing a mask may be...

On a serious note what other functions could this new device incorporate?

1) It could have a filter to allow the user to listen to only the voice of the singers sans music or only the karoke sans voice.

2) It could allow the user to mask out the original male or female voice and add in their voice with the music and record the same.

3) It could have functions that allow the user to compose own music by providing the sounds of different instruments, which can be customized, by the user to suit his needs.

A device with all these functions could make music more integral and provide exciting options and enriching experience.

Pose in your views on the feasibility of developing any such device and any other funny notion that comes to your mind on thinking about this device.

P.S: I am in a crazy mood and all these thoughts have poured from a crazy jobless mind.

P.P.S: If a few years later Sony or Apple or any other company comes with such a device, I can claim ownership to the idea through this blog ;-)

Dawn@ Bessy Beach

I woudn't mind loosing my sleep everyday to have a look at this nature's beauty - Sunrise@ beach

The Puppy is dead - Part II

Rahul displayed his ID card to the security person outside his office and rushed to the 10^th floor of the building. He silently slipped into the work area. His eyes were frantically searching for her.

Finally his eyes fell upon the object of his search. His Love. She was dressed in a beautiful blue and white chudithar and her loosely coiled hair fell upon her shoulder. Rahul was dumbstruck. He felt an impulse to rush and hug her and kiss her on her cheeks. Controlling himself he sheepishly moved into the cubicle just behind hers.

Mahesh who had just spotted Rahul almost yelled his name. Rahul jumped across and firmly held his hands across Mahesh’s mouth. Rahul had moved with such pace that he almost toppled Mahesh from his chair.

He hissed at Mahesh and asked him to remain silent. Rahul’s voice was almost a whisper.

Rahul: Shhhh! I need help from you dude. No questions please. I need your PC for another 15 minutes. Take a break and be back and I can explain everything.

Mahesh: But! I have an urgent work to…

Rahul: Please dude! Just 15 mins.

Mahesh: Rahul had helped him a lot and he could not say a ‘No’ to Rahul. He silently left the place half curious and half puzzled. While all this happened, Anjali and her friends had settled in their cubicle. There seemed a buzz around the entire place.

He slowly placed the guitar at the desk and logged into Mahesh’s pc. “The game starts now” he thought to himself.

************************************************************************************

He logged into the messenger with his id and pinged her.

Rahul: Hi! Anjali!

Anjali: Hello! Good Afternoon. What’s up weirdo? (Rahul could hear her giggling in her cubicle as she typed in the reply)

Rahul: Nothing. Just relieved and happy that my project is finally going for a release tom :-)

Anjali: Wow! Treat! You had worked very hard and I am sure it would be a big success.

Rahul: Yeah! I am hoping the same. So how’s your work going along?

Anjali: Not great yaar! Stuck up with coding for one of the screens.

Rahul: How about a cup of coffee?

Anjali: Coffee? Have you come here to Pune?

Rahul: Nope. (He put in a coffee cup symbol over the messenger and chuckled while doing so).

Anjali: Hey weirdo! Can you help me out in fixing up the error if you aren’t too busy?

Rahul: Sure! Tell me the screen where you’ve got stuck up.

Rahul got up slightly and saw Pooja and Lavanya entering Anjali’s cube. He immediately ducked down and slid himself in his chair.

“Hey Anju! Common! Wind up your work fast. It’s your b’day today and we had planned to leave early today” uttered Pooja.

“Yeah! I also don’t feel like working today. But I am stuck up in a screen” replied Anjali.

Rahul: Hello! Will you tell me the place or screen pls…

“So what’s the puppy saying? Wagging its tail? Huh” asked Pooja.

“Must be waiting for the biscuits I suppose,” told Lavanya as she joined the conversation.

Just as Lavanya said this all three broke into a loud laughter.

Rahul was puzzled by this conversation and could not decipher what they were talking about.

“So what are you waiting for when you have the pup at your disposal. An intelligent pup, I must say. Just ask him to code the screen for you” told Pooja.

“Yeah! Throw him two additional smilies in the messenger and he would be happy to do the entire coding for you” added Lavanya.

Rahul could not believe what he was hearing.

Anjali: Hey weirdo! I am not feeling well today :( Can you do the coding for the Balance Screen alone?

Rahul’s hands were trembling and he was too shocked to reply.

Rahul: Just a min. (he forced himself to reply)

Anjali: Please dear! I have a doctor’s appointment today and need to leave early.

“Here goes the second biscuit,” told Pooja as she laughed

Rahul was in a state of complete disbelief. Tears started rolling down his eyes. It seemed to him as if the entire world was spinning.

“Wish I had one pup too. Can you check if the pup can help with my work too” told Lavanya and the three broke into laughter again.

Rahul was sobbing now with tears all over his cheeks. He still could not believe what was happening.

“The pup seems a little reluctant today. Guess he needs more cajoling today” told Anjali.

And this statement seemed to be the final nail on his coffin. He grunted in agony and pain.

“The puppy is dead’ he typed into the messenger window and silently slipped out of the place.

He seemed to be caught in a sea of emotions and he didn’t even notice Mahesh who was returning back with a cup of coffee. He took the elevator to the terrace.

Anjali finally saw the reply on the messenger window and was puzzled. She pulled the other two and showed them the reply.

“But how could he have known? Had he been here?” questioned Pooja.

“He actually asked me over for a cup of coffee initially but then put up a coffee mug icon over the msgr” replied Anjali.

Just as they were pondering, Mahesh entered his cubicle. He saw the guitar placed over his desk with a rose stuck between the strings and a card by its side.

Just as he slipped open the card, a faint musical note “Happy Birthday to you” resonated from within. This caught the attention of Anjali and others as they turned back and moved into Mahesh’s cubicle.

“To Anjali!

Wishing you many more happy returns of the day!

With Love

Rahul” read the card.

Mahesh passed over the card to Anjali!

She slipped open the card, and was dumbstruck not knowing what to do next. The faint b’day note was playing in the background.

Mahesh now got a grip of the situation but couldn’t still understand why Rahul left abruptly.

Rahul was crying over aloud in the terrace punching the wall with his fists. He never expected this to happen. He had decided to tell his love for her today and he was a bit apprehensive over her response.

What hurt him more was the way she had considered him. As a mere utilizable commodity! “The puppy is dead! Its dead” he shouted as he kept landing punches on the wall. His knuckles were swollen and a taint of blood appeared over them.

His mobile rang all of a sudden. He was in no mood to talk to anyone. As he pulled up the mobile from his pocket he saw that it was his mother calling.

He slowly pressed the answer button.

“Beta! How are you? What happened?” uttered his mother.

He wanted to tell her all that happened and for a moment wished that she were by his side. But words failed to come out from his mouth and it seemed as if a lump was stuck in his throat.

There was a long silence and he finally managed to speak. “I am fine ma” he replied.

“It wasn’t your fault beta!” she told as if reading his mind.

“You loved her from the core of your heart. If she didn’t like you, it’s her who’s missing a wonderful person. It does hurt and I can understand. But remember that you have a person who is missing you a lot. Please come back home tonight for dinner” saying this she ended the call.

Her words comforted him and he felt a lot better. He wiped down his tears and kept staring at the heaven. Just then he received another call. It was Anjali calling.

He wanted to smash the mobile against the wall and his blood was surging with anger. He controlled his emotions and pressed the answer button.

“ I am really sorry Rahul! It was all meant to be fun and I never wanted to hurt you.” she said.

“The little pup loved you from all its heart. But it’s dead and buried now! Goodbye.” saying this he ended the call.

Anjali tried calling Rahul again but he didn’t attend the call. He switched off his mobile as he took the elevator to ground floor. He checked out of office and boarded a taxi to the airport.
P.S - This is my first attempt at writing a love story. Bouquets and brickbats are welcome :)

The Puppy is dead - Part I

Rahul was rushing to finish his work. He had been waiting for this day for a long time. The day that he had yearned for has finally arrived.

He had made all his plans a month back. He had stayed two days overnight to finish off his work. His project mates could see happiness radiating in his face. They could not understand the real reason though as they had seen him slog the entire week.

He re-checked his wallet to confirm if the flight ticket was there. Then he checked the date and travel time for nth time again. Everything had gone as planned. He had completed his deliverable and the project was due for release the next day.

He left a note to his Manager and started off rushing to the airport.

On the way to the airport he made a call to her. The only other person on earth who knew what he was up to.

“Mama, Rahul here. Everything’s fine. I am on my way to the airport. Will call you tomorrow. Take care Bye”.

**********************************************************************************

“Rahul, a call for you” yelled Bharath. Rahul was busy trying to fix an open issue. “Hey buddy. Can you take down the name of the person and tell that I’ll call them after an hour”, replied Rahul.

“But it seems the person wants to get some information and its urgent” said Bharath.

Rahul picked up the phone. “ Hello this is Anjali here. Sorry to disturb you Rahul. I am in AFA project and I need some help from you”.

Rahul was mesmerized by her voice. It’s the same familiar voice that he had heard numerous times. “Rahul! Are you there?” queried Anjali.

“Yes. Tell me Anjali. What can I do for you?” replied Rahul.

“Hey buddy not coming for lunch?” called out Bharath. Rahul had been explaining her and this call made him realize that 2 hrs had passed by.

***********************************************************************************

It has just been a couple of months. But her thought seemed to have evaded both Rahul’s heart and his work. He had not been through this before and hence found it very strange.

“What’s her name?” his mom asked Rahul casually while serving dinner.

He was taken aback by this question.

“I can’t get you ma.” he replied.

“I know you beta. I can notice the difference in you. You need not tell me if you wish not to”

“Ma. I don’t know what is happening to me. I’ve started liking her I suppose,” he told his mom.

The taxi came to a screeching halt outside the airport. Rahul got back to his senses.

************************************************************************************

He boarded his flight to Pune. As the flight took off his thoughts drifted towards her. He imagined her cuddled up in his arms. Her beautiful voice, echoed in his ears. All those pleasant memories and sweet nothing conversations rushed up in his mind.

Anjali: You’re amazing. I can’t believe that a person can have so much knowledge and yet be so humble

Rahul: That’s very flattering. I think the same applies to you too.

Anjali: Me??

Rahul: I know that you had won the inter-corporate light music competition. Your voice is so beautiful. I admire your voice. It’s a pleasure to work with you ma’am

Anjali: Thanks Rahul. How do you know that? Do you sing too?

Rahul: Not unless I want an evacuation in my area :-)

Anjali: Giggling… So you just listen and enjoy is it?

Rahul: Yeah! I don’t sing but..(It can wait a little longer. I’ll tell her when I meet her) Yes! For we people are not blessed with the talent that you have. All we can do is admire.

“We’ll be landing in another 5 minutes” announced the flight attendant and this call got Rahul back to the present.

**********************************************************************************

His friend Mithun received Rahul in Pune Airport.

Mithun: Dude! How was your journey?

Rahul: Fine buddy.

Mithun: Will you at least tell me now, the purpose of this trip?

Rahul: Just wait for another day dude. The secret would be out. By the way did you get me what I had asked for?

Mithun: Yes. Here! Have it. But you could have brought your own guitar. Why did you ask for a new one?

Rahul: Its getting late dude. Lets move. I’ll answer all your questions tomorrow.

With a friendly hug both of them parted outside the airport.
To be continued...

Mysore Diaries Part -II

A few more funny incidents that happened during my training

Scene 3: At the lift in the Training Block

Our training room was in the second floor directly below the HR zone in floor 3. We were in the lift and suddenly the power went off. Now one of my friends wanted to emulate a superman. With hands spread wide and fingers in the middle of the lift door, he acted as if he tried with all his might to tear the door open. Now the power comes up and the door opens and no prizes for guessing who was standing there. It was the very same HR. Wow! Now it was our time to throw up sounds of laughter though it wasn’t as loud as we it was on the first day. End result – The HR asked me and my friend to come to her cube again. I understood that first impression is a lasting impression only on that day.

Scene 4:

We were required to sign a bond for a year and the agreement was provided to us. We were required to put the guarantor’s name there in the agreement. My love for my mom prevailed here. I put her name as the guarantor and filled in the agreement and sent it back home for getting it signed by her. Finally I got the agreement signed and submitted it to the HR.
I was summoned by the HR again the next day.
“Why did you put your mother’s name as Guarantor?” she asked me.

“Just felt like doing so” I replied honestly.

“You should be doing that only if you do not have a father. Now this agreement becomes invalid and we need to prepare a new one for you” she told me.

Not again! I didn’t know what to ask next.

“I am sorry ma’am. What are the implications?” I asked her

“It will take some time to get a new agreement in place for you. Submission of signed agreements is a must for receiving your first month’s salary. So you would not be receiving your salary this month” she replied back.

“Wonderful! It can’t get any better. Losing my first month’s salary” I muttered to myself.

“What were you muttering” she asked me?

“Don’t worry! You’ll be getting your first month’s salary along with your next month’s salary” she told me as if reading my thoughts.

“Oh. Ok ma’am thanks!” I told and left the place.

My friends were waiting for me outside the training room. I told them the mess I had made and bang came a chorus response “Treatttttt!”

Mysore Diaries - Part I

A few funny incidents from my training days at Mysore

Scene 1: On the first day of Induction.

I had given my father's name as first name and mine as the last name by mistake during my interview. Hence I wanted to request the HR to correct the same. Just after the first hour I went out to meet the HR during the tea break. I was accompanied as usual by my gang of friends.

I was a touch nervous and I approached her and introduced myself. ‘Good Morning ma’am. I am a new joinee and I need a small help’.As I said this she was moving back while facing me. I perhaps thought that she wanted to move around to a corner before starting the discussion. Hence I kept moving forward. Suddenly she stood still and told me “Now please stop there and tell me what you want”.

And the entire gang let out a huge yell and started laughing loudly in the background. I was extremely embarrassed and she asked me to come to her cube and meet her.

The first thing she told me as I went there to her cube is that I am not in college and need to behave professionally. (What a first day!)

Scene 2: Three days after induction – In the washing machine room in the campus

My friends and I were washing our clothes and we were waiting for the drier to be free. A girl who had put her clothes in drier was so deeply immersed in a novel that she didn’t notice that the timer had come to zero.

We waited for a few minutes for her to remove her clothes from the drier. It didn’t help.

Hence I went near her to make a request.

“Excuse me ma’am will you please remove your clothes fr..” and bang came the yell and laughter again even before I could complete the sentence. Now this became very serious and she shot a nasty look at me. I slowly completed the sentence saying “from the drier”.

Sweat started dripping from my whole body and I was sure I’ll be the first case in ASHI (Anti Sexual Harassment Initiative) in the company.

Those two minutes seemed eternal and words simply failed to come from my mouth.

Luckily she understood the situation, let a laugh and left the place.

Though I was the victim on both the occasions, we all had a hearty laugh over it after some time.

P.S - The training that I had in Mysore holds a special place in my life and I had loads of fun while learning. I felt as if I had re-lived those moments again when I wrote this.

Weather Changes in Chennai in 3 mins

The following two snaps shows the rapid weather change that happened in 3 mins. What started off as a bright and sunny day suddenly turned goomy and cloudy. This just about projects the beauty of nature, its unpredicatability and its relevance to real life.

P.S - Both the snaps were taken during train travel using K790I Cybershot.

A Year of togetherness

It seems as if we met only yesterday!
One year has surpassed in a hurry.
I can still remember the first meet! The first word!
It was so wonderful! The scene is firmly etched in my memory.

Where were you all these 23 years? Why was I oblivious to your existence?
What made me look for you suddenly? Was it a right decision that I took?
1000 questions arose in my mind as I rode my bike to meet you this day last year.
I am still not sure if I’ve found answers to all my questions. But, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your company and cherished your presence.

It’s an absolutely wonderful feeling -To have you sitting in my lap with your head rested in my chest and your whole body cuddled upon me. Those giggling sounds that you make as I tickle you and those half yawning sounds that you produce as I gently stoke you keep reverberating in my ears.

It took me a long time to understand you and what makes you feel at ease. I still can’t say that I’ve understood you completely. I am trying though, earnestly to know you better and to make you my lifetime companion.

Our relationship may have progressed only at a snail’s pace in this period. But it was largely due to me and you had no part in it. I’ve been guilty of not spending enough time with you. Not lending my ears to listen to you. But you’ve been through with me at all times. You’ve understood that I am trying hard to be with you and this has been the undercurrent of our relationship.

As a year has gone by, I take my time out to tell you that you’re my first love!

My sweet violin I love you!

P.S – This post is dedicated to my friend Bharath Harish who has been an inspiration for me to learn this musical instrument.

Savaged in Public

I was beaten apart, molested and torched alive in public today. Not a single soul came to my rescue. All men and women gathered around and watched me being tortured and ripped apart. They weren’t enjoying but didn’t have the guts to take on the miscreants. It is a shame that I am a part of this society. I had helped a lot of those people who were silent spectators. The miscreants first attacked me with hockey sticks and iron rods and shouted abusive slogans. Then they ripped apart my insides and finally torched me alive and ran away from the place. Only after their disappearance, did the public come together to put down the fire. I was rushed to the hospital with 3rd degree burns and with only a trace of life lingering in me. The scene that I witnessed in the hospital was even more shocking and unpalatable.

I found four of my friends too admitted with severe injuries. One of them has already been declared dead. Pain and agony engulfed me but I was too weak to even cry. They too had been attacked at their home by an angry mob. I cannot digest the injustice that is being committed against my community. We’ve always been the chosen ones, when it comes to showing off frustration and anger. Be it a bandth or a college strike or political riot we are the victims. An atrocity against us becomes a symbol of success for them. I laugh in my insides looking at the cowards who attacked me. They didn’t have the guts to take on a matching opposition. It’s an irony that they have been blessed with six senses while we are being classed as non-living.

From our birth to death we carry out the duties assigned to us of safely transporting the humans between different places. We take them to their loved ones and give them memories that they cherish. We work tirelessly both day and nights to meet their demands. They give us due respect and treat us royally one day in a year and they call the day as Ayutha Pooja. We are garlanded and worshipped on that day alone. But we’ve learnt not to expect much from the race after we saw the treatment that was meted out to the person who secured freedom for them. His statues were erected all around the country for birds to excrete. The statues gain significance only on his birthday, Independence Day and Republic Day when all politicians garland them and give lectures on his principles. So it’s no surprise when we receive the same treatment.

From the conversation between the doctors operating on me, I’ve learnt that my hopes of survival are bleak. It’s a matter of minutes before I rest in peace. I’ve serviced the human race to the best of my ability. I haven’t provided a complete return on the investments made on me, courtesy the miscreants. I hope God doesn’t hold this against me.
And I’ve been one of the fortunate ones to know the actual reason behind the ruthless attack on me. It’s the water sharing issue between the two states that I operate.
Hail the human race.
Amen

TN 21 –D
No-7634

ATM Adventure

Two Software Engineers (SE) were getting ready for lunch and met outside their building in the lobby.

1st SE: Hey Buddy! I have a purchase to make and need to drop cash from ATM. Let’s go there first before proceeding for lunch.

2nd SE: Sure! Even I need to drop cash. Let’s move on.

As they reach the place, they find a dozen people waiting in queue. Both stand there waiting for their turn.

Finally the first person’s turn arrives. He swipes in the card and enters the amount.
“Sorry! Transaction invalid! Please enter the denomination amount in multiples of 500” is the message that gets displayed.

1st SE: My card doesn’t seem to be working in this machine. I’ll drop later. You carry on.

The second SE swipes his card and enters the amount. He too gets the same message.

2nd SE: Dude! There seems to be some problem with my card too. Come let’s go for lunch now! There are many waiting in queue. Let’s not waste their time.

Saying this the 2nd SE moves away from the queue and both are about to move towards the food counter.

Suddenly they hear a call from the next person in the queue “Buddies! It’s not a problem with card. You need to enter an amount in denominations of 500” he shouts at both of them. All heads in the queue now turn towards the two SE’s.

Now both didn’t expect this. “Oh..ok fine. We have an urgent deliverable. We can’t wait again in the queue. We’ll get going. Thanks for checking though” says the first SE.

“Never mind. I’ll wait. You can come in drop the cash first” says the third person.

(You moron! We would have done that had we had more than 500 in our account!) thinks both the SE’s.

“Very kind of you dude! Never mind. We’ll get going” says the 2nd SE.

P.S: Why don’t they credit the salary on 28th itself?

P.P.S: Names of actual characters will not be revealed. Please don’t ask for the same.

Cricket Comedy - Part II

Scene 1
Person A: What has Vijay Ballya (not to be confused with actor Balaiyah) done to his team? He has Wasim Buffer, Rahuwall David and Jacques Qualis in his team. Is it a test team or a 20-20 team?
Person B: He's very intelligent dude. If this team clicks, he’ll call it insight and ingenious thinking.
If they flop, he has another plan in place. He has already aquired an adhesive company and he’ll use them for promoting it.
Scene 2
Much similar to politicians, even the franchise owners have started providing promises to their teams before the IPL matches.
Chennai: Free cement supply to all players for their house construction.
Hyderabad: Free lifetime supply of Deccan Chronicle.
Mumbai: Free Reliance Cell Phone, Broadband connections with lifetime validity.
Kolkata & Mohali: Both have announced free DVD’s and exclusive premier shows to Zinta and Shah Rukh movies
Delhi: A 3 BHK house in any one of the GMR constructed areas in India.
Last but not the least:
Bangalore: Free lifetime supply of beer and wine plus exclusive permission to view the shooting of kingfisher swimsuit calendar for 5 years
(No wonder all players wished that they had been in Bangalore team)
Scene 3
Haunting: I am extremely disappointed over the responsibility given to me within the team for preparation.
Almonds: Hey! You told me that you were supposed to mentor the guys in batting department.
Haunting: That was before India’s tour down under. Now they have given me the responsibility of training the members in slip catching. Especially for the first and third slip positions.
Scene 4
SRK: What have you done in the auctions? Why did you buy Prashant Sharma for such a huge amount?
Manager: Sir, you told us to buy Haunting. I felt that purchase would nullify if we don’t get Prashant in our team.
SRK: !@$#*%# (Confused not knowing what to say next)

Cricket Comedy

Note: All the characters that appear in the conversation are purely fictional and any resemblance to living or dead is purely coincidental

Scene 1
Before the start up of Indian Premier League (IPL):

Haunting: Our calendar is tightly packed and the players are getting burnt out. This is something the ICC has to address.

After IPL:

Haunting: With the start up of IPL, players on verge of retirement may be lured to their retirement earlier. ICC should have a separate window every year for IPL.

Scene 2

After IPL:

Almonds: Walks into the dressing room and throws the bat with fury after getting out.

Haunting: What makes you so angry Almo? Relax! I’ll tell the umpire to rule you not out in the next match. We should not make it obvious.

Almond: It’s not the dismissal that made me angry. It’s that monkey issue.

Haunting: Did Lajji call you monkey again? Did that get captured in the stump mike? We’ll nail him down this time.

Almonds: No! This time it’s the IPL who are starting it over again.

Haunting: What’s with them?

Almonds: They have named their team Hyderabad Apes, selected chimpanzee as their logo and have made me the captain :( :(

Scene 3

Haunting: Sobs uncontrollably in the dressing room after the loss in the second final of the CB series

Burden: Hey! Relax haunter! I know it’s painful to lose this series. Don’t worry we’ll pay them back when we tour India later.

Haunting: Continues sobbing.

Clerk: Hey! I guess he’s not happy because he couldn’t contribute much in the series. You surely will get back your golden touch man. Now stop crying.

(Still the sobbing continues)

Almonds: Hey guys! I think he’s sorry that he could not give a winning farewell to Gully. That’s the reason he’s sobbing.

Gully: Haunter! I know how much you wanted to win this series for me and I appreciate it. Now please stop crying.

Haunting: (Cries louder.)

Gully: (Angrily) we all are also as disappointed as you are! Now will you stop crying you Jackass!

Haunting: (Finally stops crying) why should all of you be disappointed? All of you got a far better deal than me in the IPL. I wonder how much more my stakes is going to reduce after this loss of form and series.

Wack! Boom! Bash!

(Needless to say what happened next!)

I dedicate this post to my mother. Its a small tribute to the love and affection that she has showered me with all my life

Love you mom

You went through pain that’s nearly half death

And brought me onto this beautiful earth

It’s funny when they called it my birth

For in reality it was your second birth!

You gave me space in your womb

And handled my kicks aplomb

Shared your food and your body

And protected me by being sturdy

I became your life ever since I was born

It seemed as if your soul was torn

At times you looked careworn

But with my every little smile and giggle you were re-born

Speechless you became when I spoke my first word

And ecstatic you were, when I took my first step

Pride I could read in your gleaming eyes

With every little victory that I had in my vies

Whether it was prize or fear or tears that I had

I would run to your arms and cuddle you tight

It’s like a Sun that goes beneath the mountains for rest

Or the birds that fly back home to their nest

Grown up now Iam, that for you I don’t have time

I keep running around the clock for the little dime

Its emails, calls, conferences and meetings

Or sms, chats and friendly datings

Frustrated when Iam, I throw up a taunt

But my happiness and well being is all that you want

You bury up your emotions and put up a smile

And once I leave home you pray for me all while

My ignorance is shed and I’ve understood your plight

That its not just old age but loneliness you fight

I run across to you and lie in your lap

I weep and cry and take a short nap

Nothing I do to you can repay your love

For it’s simply eternal and pure

I just pray to god to give me another birth

Where I can be the mother and you my child…

http://sheenasimran.blogspot.com/2008/03/thnaks-for-being-there-mom.html

A poem on my poem writing experience

The following is a poem that I had written for a competiton during my 12th std.

It was a beautiful fine morning
And I woke up half yawning
I rushed to school in my bicycle
And what happened that day was nothing less than a miracle

It was Independence Day celebration
And I had enrolled myself for a mystery competition
Poetry writing competition announced my English teacher
I wanted to shout at her “You are devilish creature”

She told us to write a poem
With beautiful rhyme
Using metaphors and similes
I thought of crying please

I rushed to strike off my name
For I had only myself to blame
She told me that my excuse was lame
And with little effort I could achieve fame

Her words were quite alluring
But I could not find a topic that was enduring
While my friends had started penning
I was left wondering and dreaming

Then a thought stuck me like lightning
That a poem on the competition itself would be worth reading
So I took my pen and started writing
Rushing against the stop-watch that was fast ticking

My attempt on that day is what you’re reading
And I end up by throwing a statutory warning
That for writing poem one needs IQ
And there were no one for my rescue

Young Networking Engineer

I had logged into my orkut account. Found a new friendship request from a person.
The profile picture was that of an actor and I could not get much information from the user profile description either. Hence I had rejected the friend request.

I was on my way home when I came across the kids in my area playing street cricket.
It brought back nostalgic memories of the happy days that I had playing in the very same place. Hence I stood there for a couple of min and watched the game. Suddenly a shot was played in my direction and my instinct made me stop the ball from going to the boundary.

The kids in the fielding team started cheering and dancing when I did tat.

Kid with the bat: Anna (Brother) why did you stop the ball? You’ve cost us the match. We needed 3 runs of the last ball to win the game.
Me: Sorry kanna (kid). It was a small mistake. Why don’t you re-bowl the ball again?
Kid: (With a frown in his face) No according to our rules it’s not possible. You’ve already made me lose a bet and now you’ve spoilt the match.
Me: What! (Totally confused!!!) Are you playing a bet match?
Kid: No Anna (brother). I had a bet with my friends that I will have 200 people in my friends list in orkut. I had sent u a friend request but u rejected mine. I ended up with 197 people.
Me: Sorry kanna (kid). I’ll get you whatever you had made a bet for! (I was half hoping that he would not say XBOX 360 as the bet. Boy that would have cost me a month’s salary)
Kid: You can’t. We had a bet that the winner would work on assignments together with Shreya for 1 month. (Wow what a bet!)
Me: Now I was dumbstruck. I stood still unable to reply.
Kid: Even those 10 akkas (10 Sisters) in that house (Pointing to an apartment) who are also working in a company like you accepted my request.
Me: I felt like fainting. I never knew that there were 10 girls staying in that apartment.
Kid: Anna! Anna! (Brother! Brother!)
Me: (Coming back to my senses). How did you manage to make friends with them?
Kid: I had hit the ball into their house one day while playing. While collecting the ball I told them my bet and they all laughed and then told me they’ll accept my request.
Me: Send me a friend request again. This time I’ll surely accept.
Kid: I know why you would accept it this time. It’s because those akkas (sisters) are my friend.
Me: (I never got this idea! Sounds good) No kanna! (No Kid!) I didn’t know it was you when I got the request. You never told me also.
Kid: Ok Anna. Thanks! But after that I’ll send request to all your friends to. You should ask them to accept too. My next bet is on reaching 250 friends in orkut.
Me: Ohh…Ok. I’ll tell them. Bye
Kid: Bye!
I was pondering over the conversation that I had with the kid on my way back to home. Suddenly someone called up my name. I turned back and found that it was that kid’s mother.
Me: Hello Aunty!
Kid’s Mom: I saw you talking with my beta! He’s a very bright child. Isn’t he?
Me: Hmm: Yes Aunty.
Aunty: He seems to be having a flair for computers at this young age. He does not play games like other kids. He seems to be learning new things always. (Her face was beaming in pride as she said this)
Me: Oh.. Is it? That is good.
Aunty: When I asked him, he told me he’s learning networking. What’s more, he says his future ambition is to become a networking engineer. Do help him in realizing his ambition.
Me: (I almost broke into laughter on hearing this). Sure Aunty. I’ll do so.

P.S : This is not a work of fiction but a real incident that had happened.

Butter Knees

The term butterfingers is used to describe a person who tends to drop things. In the context of cricket it is used to describe a person who tends to drop catches or who tends to get his fingers injured a lot while playing.

In this context, I must say that I’ve contracted butterknees syndrome. It is as though my knees suddenly decide that it needs a break from supporting my body weight.
It first happened when I was running in hard to bowl during my cricket match in the beach. Bowled a superb delivery to clean up the batsmen’s stumps but ended up rolling on the ground clutching my knees. The pain was excruciating. More than the pain it was humiliating to paint a sorry picture in front of my teammates and on-lookers. My friends quickly pulled me up and carried me along to sidelines. As though reading my thoughts, they immediately stopped worrying instead made some humorous remarks that made me a lot more comfortable.

Excerpts from the conversation below:

Soko: Machan unakku body strong a irukku but basement weak da. (Buddy – your body seems to be strong but your basement is weak)

Myself: Had a slight laugh in agony.

Hemu: Machis (addressing other team members in a serious tone) The first thing we’re gonna do after the match is to take him to MRF pace foundation to Dennis Lillee. We need to have his bowling action corrected and we can’t afford to lose a strike bowler. (As if we’re playing in an Indo-Aus match).

Myself: Started giggling a bit.

Dinesh: Machi, there’s nothing wrong with his legs da. It’s just that this month is not good for left-handers. There seems to be a bad omen lurking around for them. Zaheer, R.P Singh, Yuvraj and Hayden all got injured during the Indo-Aus series. We better let him rest this whole month.

Myself: Wondered what Zaheer, R.P Singh or Yuvi would have said had they heard this remark.

Even the on-lookers broke with laughter on hearing the conversation.

Unnai Kaanatha Kannum..

உன்னை காணாத கண்ணும் கண்ணல்ல‌
உன்னை எண்ணாத நெஞ்சும் நெஞ்சல்ல‌
நீ சொல்லாத சொல்லும் சொல்லல்ல‌
இவ்வாறு நான் சொல்ல நான் செவிடு குருடல்ல...

Poem on umpiring decisions in Sydney

This poem is the modified version of a popular tamil rhyme "Kai Veesamma Kai Veesu"

கை தூக்கப்பா கை தூக்கு
அவுட் கொடுக்க கை தூக்கு
பக்னர் பாப்பா கை தூக்கு
பென்ஸென் பாப்பா கை தூக்கு
பான்டிங் ஸொன்னா கை தூக்கு
ஸீமன்ஸ் போட்டா கை தூக்கு
இந்தியா ஆடினா கை தூக்கு
ஆஸ்தீரேலீயா ஆடினா கண் தூங்கு