Murphy strikes. Music saves the day.

November 19th 2010. I selected this date from the calendar box of my online CAT application, after consulting my official calendar, to be sure about taking off for a couple of days around this date. This was back in the second week of September. Right from then, I knew it was going to be an important day in my life. For what I should have either developed the habit of being a genius from my childhood or focused for the past couple of months, two days off from work is no solution. I comfortably put the blame on work and "no-time" and was aware that all my hopes lay on channelizing my focus during the mind-boggling 135 minutes on the big day. So, the two day leave was all about keeping my cool and going with a clear mind. I was partially successful in doing that and since it was me, that's a BIG achievement. Kudos to me. But, wait. Little did I know that Murphy had his plans for my big day, clearly charted out.

I should have guessed when, a couple of weeks ago, I saw that Colonial Cousins were performing on the same day in Chennai. My exam was scheduled till 6:30 PM in Sriperambadur and I would have to drive down 40 kilometers to the concert in Chetpet close to 30 kilometers through the thick of Friday Chennai traffic. Now, why on earth is a concert so important, one may ask. To know the importance, you have gotta be me. :) Though I was almost about to give up on the concert (which is a freakishly generous sacrifice), I just couldn't resist it. So, amidst little anxiety about the exam and total excitement about the concert, finally, 19th November 2010 dawned.

We had to be at the venue by 1:30 PM. The pain-in-the-a** planner in me started by 11:30 AM and I picked up a colleague who was also taking the test. Twenty minutes into the drive, fortunately or no, when we were still within the city limits, first strike of the day - puncture. We found a shop that was named, "Punjar kadai" (Puncture shop), close by. It was a small shop with a neighboring welding shop and a two-wheeler mechanic garage. I called out for the guy and a balding, more than middle-aged man came out to tell me that he can mend it, but would be doing it patiently. I had no much choice and with my approval, he started work. Murphy just opened up the showers from His sky.

We never knew that patience meant completely unaware of what is called mending puncture. He knocked the tyre off the bike with a hammer after unscrewing some nuts and bolts. We never knew doing it slowly meant fighting with the tyre to get the tube out, as if he was delivering a baby. After half an hour of "war" with the tyre, he pulled the tube out and examined it for 5 minutes. He neither filled air nor immersed it into water to find out if there was a puncture, but he knew for sure that we needed a new tube. I wanted to yell right away, but with tyre-less bike and the idea of this "skillful" soldier mending the puncture, I preferred to put a new tube and get the hell out.

He went into the shop and brought a new tube. After breaking open the cover, he checked if it was the right tube and I was not going to let him decide. While I made sure that its the right one, he was checking the tyre for any nails or whatever and that being the only work he seemed to know, he repeated it for so long and after I raised my voice telling him to stop checking, he started the war all over. This time it was to get the air nozzle into the tyre's hole. He'd push it out and pull his hand out of the tyre, when the nozzle goes back in. This went on for about 10 minutes when I lost patience and took charge to put it out myself and initiated the tube fitting process for him, which took him another 15 odd minutes. Finally, we reached the stage of fitting the tyre back in its place - in the bike.

With me helping him to hold the bike, push the rod that held the tyre, and after trying to fit it the other way round once, he wasted more time than was left to reach the venue. I felt it was time to request the worker in the mechanic shop for help and he came to the rescue. The rest of the fitting process was done in 2 minutes. I paid the "labor charges" and for the tube and started. It was already 1:20 PM and we had to travel another 20 kms. My Hunk made up for the mishap and I sped at 100 kms/hr (once again my personal best), without even constantly checking it my colleague was still sitting behind or had flown off. We reached the venue close to five minutes past the scheduled time, and I was all touched up with grease and dirt. However, all thoughts about the test I was going to take up had been lost along with the air that went off the tyre.

The next two hours involved formalities for half of it. A security check that involved someone feeling us up. My colleague had a better anecdote to share after her check which I am cutting out here. Our finger prints were recorded, identities were triple checked, our belongings were seized and sealed up in covers, which left us with one and half hours of silence in front of the allocated system. My family would have loved to see me sitting there with nothing to do and still keep quiet. But, I had fun, as an even more restless colleague was sitting next to me and my entire office would have actually paid to see him sit silent for one and half hours. He was sitting and virtual typing on the keyboard (only he knows what it was) - TOTAL FUN. :P

Sharp at 3:30PM the exam commenced and I did the mistake of taking up a tutorial that taught us how to use the mouse, click and double-click with it. I sped past through it and clicked on start exam. It took 5 minutes and some anxiety to finally look at that first question. The next 135 minutes passed like in movies where they show two shots of the clock. It was 6 PM and was much earlier than I thought. So, good news was that we needn't miss the start of the concert. Me and the colleague I picked up that morning left as fast as possible. Oh! I forgot. The exam went okay I should say. I don't think it would help me get an admission in any of the colleges I have in my mind (including but not confined to the IIMs). Other comments reserved till Jan 2011.

Then followed a 40 kilometer odd drive. I was not sure about the route to take (there were many and I had no clue which is the shortest). Somehow or the other, I ended up taking the correct route and as we approached the venue (close to 7 PM), we realized we were so hungry and took a quick frankie bite from Nilgiris, Chetpet and refreshed with Limca (you know how refreshing that drink is???). I guessed that the concert would anyways start at least 15 minutes late and so we took our time to eat and at 7:30 PM, we set upon the last five minutes of our journey before we stepped into heaven, or so we thought. :(

We got stuck in the signal just close to the concert hall and had to take a U - turn in a never ending stretch and when we got to the U turn, we had to wait for four cycles of the signal, to get out of it. We reached the hall by 8:05 PM and exchanged the online receipt for the tickets and rushed to the balcony. When I handed the passes to the guy at the door, he said, "Sorry sir! There are no seats. People are sitting on the steps". "What the hell!", was my exact response. After arguing for few seconds, I realized we had no more time and with our backs completely gone, our seats pricking badly from the long ride, a completely bad opinion about the hall and a banal concert in our minds, we stepped in.

"Deemtha Dheemtha Dhirana..." (Indian Rain), the music magician's voice echoed around the most wonderful concert hall I have seen till date. We sat down on the clean steps between the neatly arranged seating system on both sides. There were no one in front of us, which helped adjust our posture every two minutes. I couldn't feel my torso because of the pinching back ache and was a bit restless at the start. They announced that the next song was the one they had always hidden because the record companies did not like it at all. I was dumbstruck when Hariharan started with, "Vakrathunda Mahakaaya...". Which bloody record company did not like that song? Till date, I have not met anyone who doesn't. I made a mental note to call up my cousin Srinath as soon as I got home. We had performed that song once on stage; and that's what you call timing, when my mobile rang and it was Srinath calling to ask me how I did my exam.

Hariharan said "I hate this list man. Right after SaNiDhaPa, I have to sing Teri Meri Ankhon Mein", and the audience went "WOoooooooooooooo". After that, Hari took a break and Lesley commented, "He is much older than I am". He took up the stage for a while during which time, a blessed seated couple decided to leave and the good man signaled to me that their seats could be taken. I thanked him for the gesture and we rushed to the seats. Its one of those thanks where you really mean it. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh", I sighed loud as my back hit the rest of the chair and my colleague gave a little laugh. Lesley performed few of his compositions (out of Colonial Cousins) including 'Pal' (from the first Indian Idol), a funky (as he called it) version of 'Kannum Kannum Nokia' (Anniyan) and the song he composed for the maiden album of KayKay. All of them were good, but the crowd loved Hari more and when someone shouted, "Hareeeeeeeeeeee please take over", Hariharan came in again.

What followed was one of the best moments of my life, when he sang his ghazal 'Ye ayine se' (Kaash) in a Blues format (Aaromale style), which was top notch. After many people shouted for 'Tu Hi Re', he sang the Tamil version 'Uyirae'. I don't know why they ask him for it. He always kills the song on stage, which he did again, but the flute saved the day by playing a beautiful interlude in between. Then followed the exquisite 'Feel Alright' for which percussion was amazing and the beautiful rendition of a ghazal of Ghulam Nabi Azad and few more of their tracks. The concert ended with 'Krishna Nee Begane' (with an awesome Tabla thani avardhanam at the last interlude before Govinda Bholo Hare) and 'Khal Zhala' (which I was hearing for the first time). Almost everyone were sad that it had ended but did not hesitate to give a standing ovation to the duo that had swept us off our feet and kept us in the air for a while. I came back to senses. Except for the information about the song I passed on to my colleague when the song started, I was totally imagining an empty hall with only me in it. I loved it.

It was 10:00 PM and we walked up to the bike, our hearts filled with I-don't-know-what. Well, you just read about the electrifying day we had. As I dropped my colleague off and drove home, my mind went about all that happened and I knew I had something huge to write about. What a day! :)

PS: When I said you have got to be me to realize the importance of the concert, I did not mean that, if I had missed it, I'd have cribbed about it all my life. :)

23

So, this is how it feels to turn 23??

Being a Leo

 

I'm a proud Leo. I feel so strongly about it because I see this great mindset match with people who are Leos too. I'm not a fan of astrology and don't care about the negatives of the same. But, it is always great to believe in positive thoughts and good ideals. I fit into most of the categories of a Leo. Dominant, organized, attention-craving, naughty and the list goes on.

So, Whats up?
Looking back is a tricky thing to do. Who doesn't have regrets when he is 23? I shouldn't have chosen this course; what was I thinking? It shouldn't have discarded my passion at its learning peak. Should I have told her earlier; Would that have made any difference? The whole attitude change I went through, I don't think it was worth it. Why am I working on something that I don't care about? A few of them at this age. But, its not only about the regrets. Well, at least not today. Its about hope. Its about commitment. Its about reality. Its about passion. I usually promise myself a lot of things this day, every year. Except last year, I've never kept any of those promises.

I've gotten bored of this promise deal. In the practical world, not all promises can be kept. I want to be practical. Aren't we missing out on the thrills of life? So, no promises (at least not aloud) this year. No hopes. No dreams. Lets get into some live action and see how things unwind. For a change, I'm going to practice "happy-with-what-I-have".

About today

To that note, when the clock strikes midnight, I'm wishing myself a very "Happy Birthday". I had planned to get myself an important gift yesterday, but, decided to postpone it. Certain things are more important than getting a gift at the right time. :) Its a good thing, also because I can dedicate an entire post as to why I wanted to get that and what I'm going to do with it.

Last afternoon, one of my friends asked me to suggest 10 of my favorite songs for some compilation he was working on. I gave him 5o songs in 5 mins. So, that kindled some real want to go back to my good old music. Spent three hours listening to marvels of our Indian musicians. And an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. What more can I ask for????

Sweet Memories

Back to the looking back thing, thanks to technology and my uncle, I was lucky to see how my family celebrated my first birthday. Nothing like the feeling of someone wishing you from the beyond. Please note that I'm not SREERAJ and it was a spelling mistake made by I-don-know-who.

22 years ago..

I loved this clip. Hope you enjoyed it too. Its really good that people don't know what you'd grow into, else they'd be careful on what they invest on you.

Thanks to everybody who've been with me all these years. The little good I've done till now wouldn't have been possible without you people. I have no specific names. There are so many of them. I'd want each and everyone of you with me till the very end.

Chiju

August 10th 2010

PS: Having regrets when you are 23 is not a big deal. What's important is to revert each one of them down the line.

Escape

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 10; the tenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

I was ignorant about the concept of the earth spinning around an axis. I was five years old. Anything that went circling used to get me to my nerves easily. For instance, the ceiling fan was my biggest nightmare if I woke up in the middle of the night. This supports the fact that I've never sat on any of the rides @ Exhibitions/Theme Parks or wherever. From the giant wheel to a simple Merry-Go-Around horse ride, everything had a phobia effect on me.

It was during those phobia days....

My mom, my sister, Murthy Uncle, Rajeev anna, Bhagyam Aunty and a few unknown relatives were standing around us. Rahul and me waved at them once, twice, thrice and every time we came near them, and moved away. We waved till our necks could twist and then turned away. BAM! They came into view again.

We were on a Merry-go-Around Swan Water ride for the age-group 3-5 years in SL World, Bombay (back then). I was proud to have overcome my fears and sat on this ride. I must confess that I sat on it only after I was assured that it goes around at a speed much less compared to how fast they push the Merry-go-Round @ School.

The ride went on for sometime with an occasional elevation of the compartment we were seated. I started looking into the water and it was such a treat. I was having a great time watching the patterns of ripples forming. Gradually, the ride came to a halt and the kids started getting down, one compartment at a time.

For a kid who had so many phobias, I was not the kind who was subtle. I had the mix of a criminal mastermind as well. So went my thoughts, "How nice it would be to step into the water? Chiju! This would be the best moment to do it". And I did it. When the turn came, Rahul did a good boy of holding the hand of the guy who was getting us out and stepped out. I casually put my leg on the other side and stepped into the water. Everything went fuzzy in the next few seconds.

What was I thinking? I'm gonna walk on water, or its not gonna be deep enough or I'm a child prodigy and have won Gold for swimming in the last Olympics. The truth is, I wasn't thinking at all. I just wanted to do it and went ahead.

There were shouts of surprise, fright and terror outside. As I started drowning I could hear all the voices that said "Chiju", "No", "Aiyaayo" etc. However, they became muffled sounds in a few seconds and I started struggling to come up. I'm sure some would have thought, "That's it!"

Then, the Hero (someone who worked there) jumped into the water. and got me out as if I was a tennis ball in a bucket of water. I hadn't passed out or anything. Though I did a lot of puking and had to go all the way home feeing sick. This is the story of My Escape! :P

The best part was when, one grandma came and asked me, "Indha pakkum kaala vekkarathukku, Andha pakkam vechutiya da kanna?" (You stepped on the water instead of stepping on the land by mistake right?) and I nodded as if I knew nothing! :)

PS:

1) Finally, Century! :) Dear Readers and Commentators - Thanks a lot. You people are the best! Keep Visiting. Keep Motivating. An I'll keep writing crap! :P

2) I wanted to write a Coimbatore Era - Part III for my 100th post. But, I had to escape. :P Sometime later.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

FLASHED

Little Abnormality, All the Attention and Back to Square ONE

Warning: Big post, Little Content! (matter wise and satisfaction wise) :P

Monday, 18th January 2010

I woke up, as usual, cursing myself about missing the gym yet again. The usual routine followed: consoling myself while brushing my teeth, "Tomorrow I'll make it".

I realized that I have to shave and it followed. While the razor was doing its job almost around the right ear, it hurt and as a reflex I touched it.

"Heat Boils? Pimples?", my mind scanned the various options, as my fingers felt the small, round patch of many minute boils.

I got to work and the busy schedule kept me from even thinking about what I saw in the morning. The day went by. Except for applying some nivea in the evening, I did not make a big deal about my face.

Tuesday, 19th January 2010

I met Sphinx, who had missed the morning flight from Chennai and blessed us with his "darshan". When I removed my helmet after picking him up for lunch, "What the hell is that on your face?" was his reaction.

Back in office, I waved to Ananth and asked his suggestion on meeting a skin specialist in Chennai. However, the thought of seeing a doctor in Chennai was uncomfortable because the month has already been quite expensive and I didn't have money to crap.

Finally, in the evening, during a meeting, I decided I'll leave to Cbe that night to meet my doctor because a bump on that side of my head started to hurt, Bad.

Wednesday, 20th January 2010

I was sitting at Dr. Prakash's clinic, going through the flyers put up about the off-shop (a shop to buy and sell your stuff), a venture he has recently started, in the basement of his clinic. When the token machine said, "Token No. 3", I went in.

There he was, as always, clean, grand, classy and like a King! I showed that added bit of charm on my face, for which I had been running a lot of what-it-could-have-been since Monday.
As if you saw a cat and say "Its a cat"; he said, "Herpes". Apparently, it is not as kinky as it sounds, it is sort of a great grand daughter of chicken pox, that comes to take revenge, for, our body defeated its ancestors.

I learned that it would try its best for 7-10 days by which, it should vote to succumb to the greater good - medication. He prescribed a couple of tablets and a pain killer and I went back home deciding to return to Chennai the same night.

Dad was unhappy though. He started by suggesting, "Why don't you be here till Sunday and rest?". I dismissed that idea and stayed put on returning the same night. By afternoon, my dad succeeded in convincing me that staying for one more day wouldn't hurt.

However, that ruled out my planned weekend visit to Bangalore and I made a mental note to cancel the train tickets I had booked.

Later that evening, my sister was threatening me that she would give me other marks on my face to remember, if I did not buy a rice cooker (so that I could at least cook curd rice at home). I asked her to cancel my tickets to Bangalore.

Thursday, 21st January 2010

I woke up a bit later than usual and after a really long time, someone came to me and gave me my morning FILTER coffee, hot and tasty with all the aroma and the layer of foam on the top. I was so excited by it - I didn't see the days of great attention coming.

By the time, I finished my coffee, breakfast came by. After breakfast, I got ready and came out dressed, when dad handed me a glass of buttermilk. I immediately made my decision, "Daddy! I'll leave on Sunday only. Let's book the tickets."

So, after booking my tickets to Chennai, and looking up 0n a couple of places to get invitation cards printed, we reached my aunt's place for lunch.

Once I reached, she checked on my scars, which were in their peak. It felt so great that my aunt had banned any oily stuff and spice (including pickles) for anyone in the house just because I shouldn't have oil or spice. It's simply amazing to get all that attention.

Later that evening, I sat down with my aunt, charting out the invites list for the double wedding in April.

Friday, 22nd January 2010

By today, word had been spread, so, other than the occasional inquiry of my well being, my mobile was lazy, the whole time.

Watermelon, oranges, buttermilk and tender coconut water were those that came in search of me, at regular intervals. I kept resting till evening re-reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

We did a bit of where-to-shop-for-the-weddings research in the evening and came back home, when I had to answer a couple of calls from people who thought I'd be catching a train to Bangalore by then.

Saturday, 23rd January 2010

I went for another checkup to Dr.Prakash. He certified that I was absolutely fine to take off to Chennai and casually told that one of those scars would leave a permanent mark.

We came back home, to another day with oranges, watermelons, butter milk and some attention (not as strong as the last couple of days).

I knew the attention was still there, when, I was about to wash my plate after lunch and Dad told me to leave it for him to wash. If it was a Tamil soap, I would have kept the plate, wiped a single tear running down from my eye and moved on. :P

Sunday, 24th January 2010

I woke up in the morning and as I was brushing my teeth, Dad asked if he should make coffee and I said yes. After coffee, when I mentioned breakfast, he said, "No breakfast today", casually checking on my scars. "Attention fading?", I thought.

I went to Ramesh mess and got aapam for both of us. Another day just went by. Lunch at aunt's house. Asianet showed Ravanaprabhu movie in the evening and I was lucky enough to catch one of my favorite songs in the movie before I left to catch my bus.

As I was speeding back to Chennai, my mind went back, over all the attention I enjoyed for the past 5 days. It was so cool to have been the center of attraction (though I'd love for the reason to have been I've made a scientific discovery).

I don't think I enjoyed that feeling for a long time enough, as I fell asleep soon. That's ok. I'll have that feeling for the next few days!

Monday, 25th January 2010

I rang the bell to my matchbox apartment. My sleepy roommate opened the door for me and went back to his bed.

I entered the house to a pile of clothes on the chair in the hall, a stinky kitchen with vessels used for the past 5 days still in the sink, a mess all around, lots and lots of mosquitoes and a great deal of cleaning up to do. Well, That's back to square one!

PS:

1) My scars are ok now. So, the system is up and running! I have a permanent mark though, let see if it works as a charm for whatever!

2) My Indiblogger rank went up from 63 to 71 last week. :)

3) I don't think I'd be able to make it to Bangalore as of now! :(

4) Apologies for this long post, full of crap! I enjoyed writing it though! Nice flashback! :) :) :)

From 2008 to 2009

Date: 29th December 2008

Time: 7:10 PM

All of you are aware of the situation around. You'd have received our CEO's mail stating that the requirements should be frozen. However, we will keep up the promise of completing this training that is supposed to run till the end of next month. This programme was started off as a community service for rural students, hence its our duty to keep up to our commitment.

With all this, there is one thing that we should remember. Whatever be the situation we must concentrate, be dedicated to our work. At the same time, lets not give up on enjoyment. Have a great time on New Year's eve. Go and have a blast! In the end, you shouldn't feel bad on missing out on all the fun, in case you are not employed here. Its important to have fun.

Oh! I almost forgot. In case you have any other offers, please go ahead and take them. Be dedicated. Be strong. Thanks for your time.

Date: 29th December 2009

Time: 5:45 PM

This is a very good opportunity. Comparing to what you've done till now, this must be pretty challenging. We'll split the background study we discussed and do some research on the numbers, which means we are going to start this with mathematics and later, go on to decide if some re-designing is needed. In short, we are all gonna get busy and be like that for sometime. We shall meet again tomorrow and pick it up from here.

A satisfied me started to my cubicle, thinking about the big transformation from last year.

I hope they don't scrap this feature in case we couldn't achieve it by April.

And... here we go!!!!

Happy New year all my readers. Let 2010 bring happiness to all the world!

I got closure

Getting over something is never a piece of cake. It gets worse to realize that something that you should have (or have had) is now with someone who does not deserve it at all. This has happened to me in the recent past.

Closure is the state where you finally accept the fact that you don't have it and you move on. Getting closure is not that easy either. First of all, you are going to miss it (badly). Next, you've got to put up with the fact that a worthless bastard has it, is enjoying with it or boasting to his friends about what he has got.

What generally people do?

1) Easily accept the fact that it is not there and move on soon. (I'm not even close to the easily part of this one)
2) You cry over it, then cry over it and then again cry over it. (Sounds like something I'd do, but I hate being like that, so not an option)
3) You try (your best) to be Mr. Happy & in the course you get over it smoothly. (Getting closer)
4) You talk to somebody else about it, they either scold you (has happened to me) and you say, "Ya, you're right" (I don't do that) or they talk and install some sense into the stupid head of yours (am just next door now).

Though the above pointers seem to give the big picture, the most probable action is:

5) Do something crazy like getting along with something else just to show that you're over it. (you've just reached my place).

However in the last case, when you realize that the one that replaced what you lost is not what you want, you feel so stupid that you want to do Ctrl+z. Is that possible?

As I was telling, in my case, it was possible. Ctrl+z worked. And the best part was, it gave me closure. :)

I still realize that I don't have it. I still do care that an unworthy, bloody ****** (any censored curse) is having fun with what should have been with me. But, I'm happy.

I proudly own a brand new Sony Ericsson c510 cybershot. And I sold away the stupid dobile (dappa mobile) that I bought to get over my K810i. :)

PS: Refer to Mobile-Tech-No-Logic. Getting over the mobile phones you love can be tough. Many would agree with me.

One girl! Once Again!

She looked beautiful. I was looking down straight into her eyes, which were closed. She was sleeping. Her head straight, arms on both sides of her body, legs folded a bit, a expression on her face, I bet anyone could keep looking at her forever.

However, I was on the look out for her to wake up anytime. It would probably kill the pleasure of watching her. I was not sure if she would like being watched.

For a moment, I thought I must sit back and let her see something better in case she opened her eyes. On a positive note, I checked my face in the mirror and realized it was not going to be that bad a first sight when she opens her eyes.

As all these thoughts were running around in my mind, I came back to looking at her peaceful face. Ya, I got the word right this time. Amidst all the recession, tension and bad news her face projected a calm, trouble free attitude.

My friend had tipped me about this before hand. However he told me that she did not wake up for a long time, by when he had to leave. So, I too thought she was not going to wake up.

I've always had trouble understanding a girl's mind and it proved once again. She woke up instantly.

I was taken by surprise but the way she woke up was very cute. I just smiled at her. I wanted to do nothing but give her a pleasant 'Hi' kinda expression.

Maybe it was too much for her to take. She started crying immediately. It took her mother (my friend's sister) to come running from the hall and take her in her arms to stop the crying.

As Chandler says, "That was the youngest girl ever (one month old) to have rejected me".

Mobile Tech-No-Logic!!!

Visiting Coimbatore (Cbe) is not a big deal as it was a couple of months back. The reason that it was a big deal then was because I was very busy and visiting Cbe included break from my work, catching up with family and friends. Now that I'm neither busy nor I'm visiting Cbe for fun, it has become a part of every month's schedule. Last weekend (Sunday + Monday), I was in Cbe for one such work, which showed no sign of any improvement though I have slogged for sometime now. Success is becoming one word that is getting difficult to spell the harder i try.

Coming to the subject, I prefer not traveling by the Government Transport, especially during the night times. This is because when you tend to sleep in the Government buses, you can't find out where you get hit. I opt to spend 130 bucks extra and get a ticket by some private travels rather than getting hit badly. Also, for my physique, it is quite difficult for me to stretch my legs in a Government bus. However, for the past couple of trips, traveling by travels is getting bitter. For instance, when I was traveling from Cbe to the city I live yesterday, the seat that was allocated to me was hanging on one side with support only on one side. For a moment, I was so angry that I wanted to break it completely. Then, thinking about it struck me that sitting properly on the seat would do for it to break by the time I reached my destination.

Having made my peace with the seat, I was listening to the best music according to me. I'm always proud about my taste for music. If I make a play-list of 50 songs and play it to a crowd (say 100 people) with mixed taste, I'm confident that everyone in that crowd will have a set of songs (not one or two) in that play-list that they loved. This may seem irrelevant now, but I'll link it to the story later :'(.

Coming back to settling on the half-dead seat, I set my mobile alarm to wake me up at 3AM. That's almost around the time I'd reach my place. By mid-night I realized that listening to music was a lost cause because of the sleep. I disconnected the headsets from my mobile, shoved them into my Jeans pockets and went to sleep.

Time: 3AM
Event: Alarm Ringing! [The Dropkick Murphy Number - Theme Music of "The Departed"]
Action: I got up, switched-off the alarm (Note the point! Switched it off. Didn't Snooze it). This proves that I was fully up and aware I was almost reaching Paris as a Rich Noble (during the French Revolution). In simpler words, I was reaching the city I live in. After realizing that it would take some more time to reach there, I put the mobile phone back into my shirt pocket and went to a much environment-aware sleep.

Time: 3:20AM
Event: Sudden halt of bus and glowing lights inside the bus.
Action: I got up, found out that I had reached my place. However, the bus had not reached the second stopping, where I had to get down. It was still in the first stopping. I wanted to confirm if the bus would halt at the second stopping. I got up and walked to the driver's seat.
First Shock (10 degrees): I felt my shirt pocket. My mobile, which was supposed to be there, was not in place.
Reliever: It would have fallen on my seat.
[After confirming that the bus would halt at where I had to get down, I rushed to my seat]
Second Shock (50 degrees): The mobile was not there.
Reliever: It would have slipped down.
[I went down on my knees and checked below the seats]
Third Shock(250 degrees + a small sink in the heart): It was not there.
Panic Button1: I asked the people sitting near my seat (all directions).
Fourth Shock(1250 degrees + a deeper sink): No one had any clue.
Panic Button2: I requested a mobile phone from one of the people there and called my mobile.
Reliever: It was ringing.
Fifth Shock(no measure! A big hole in the heart): No trace of any sound. Chiju! Is it gone?

When the bus reached my stopping, I requested the driver to wait for sometime and he was courteous enough to wait there for half an hour. I searched every nook and corner of the bus. After sometime, in vain, I thanked the driver, got into an auto to get home. My mind had nothing other than the phone. As soon as, I opened the door, I reached my land line phone and called my mobile. It still kept ringing. With a great ray of hope, I got my bike keys. At 3:45 AM in the morning, I rode my bike to wherever the phone could have slipped and fell. How much distance could the bus have covered in 20 minutes? After driving something like 20kms odd, I came back home. Again I called my mobile. The sweet lady (not sweet anymore) called out, "The Airtel Number you are trying to reach is currently switched off!"

It is some lucky *******'s day to get a mobile with a 2 GB memory card that carries a great collection of beautiful songs.

PS: Dedicated to the memory of my K810i and the Rahman Wallpaper that it displays. Miss you!