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...