ONE YEAR

I dropped off Santhosh after the movie and asked him to lock behind my bike, the helmet he was holding all the way. As he was getting the key right, I happened to witness a strand of clouds passing through the dark purple-blue sky. The beauty of the night electrified my senses instantly. I was in an environment that barely qualified to be street. It was a foul-smelling gully, with lots of people sleeping on the road. It was simply a typical slum movie setup. Yet, the passing clouds were one of the best sights ever. A realization hit upon me - Amidst all the dirty things, those passing moments make Life so Beautiful.

So, its been a year now. 365 days. If I look back, I can't even recall most of the days that passed by. It seems like yesterday when I spent my first night in Chennai, lying down with my face on the pillow, tilted ably to look at my cellphone as if one beep is going to make a big difference in my life. It did not beep until morning and when it did, it made sure that I started off to my first day at work with a smile. Smile - the curve that could be bent either way by the person who puts it there, in first place.

Its just been a roller coaster ride all the way, till today. I look back and see the many trips to Coimbatore, some yearned and some dreaded, the many Friends I made, the fun moments @ work and family, the new arrivals into the family, Appraisal and other events @ work, the loss of loved ones and the lessons learnt. All along, I have been making promises to myself and taking up tasks involving responsibility and commitment. The good thing about last year is that I completed SUCCESSFULLY few of those tasks and was sincere to all those promises. I also take pride in keeping up to the trust of most of the people in my life.

Thank God, things @ work have been smooth. I had a pretty good appraisal (not money-vise). I was astounded by some of those comments. Well, I always keep my expectations less, maybe thats the reason. The best part involves the many people that boarded the bus of my life. I got to know better, few people I barely knew before and made some good, witty, funny and sincere Friends. I pray to have a seamless work year again.

I've had people (someone or the other) around me as always. Masakali from Dilli-6 has been replaced by Beera Beera from Raavan. Breakfast @ Balaji Bhavan has become Breakfast @ Udipi Mess. Shifting from Madurai to Coimbatore has changed to shifting from Coimbatore to Chennai. Deccan Chargers were followed by Chennai Super Kings. These changes will repeat year after year.

But, there have been other changes as well; those that will have an impact forever. Those changes that play a key role in transforming a person to what he is gonna be, those that create misery to look back later and smile and those that create joy to look back later and shed a tear. Responding to these changes is the key.

Expectations grow exponentially. Last year's benchmarks have worn out. New goals are visible. The mistakes list has been freshly updated and against each of them is written a new learning. New friends are waiting to board the bus. And the list goes on.

To that day, I look back.

Withered leaves flying away,

Tight clutches being forced open.

Truth feeding on anxiety.

The apples of my eye.

To this day, I acknowledge,

The growing greenery,

Claws awaiting the rust.

A fresh batch of anxiety building.

The plucked apples in safest hands.

Looking forward to next year....

PS:

1) A big sorry to all those people whose calls I have not returned, whose scraps I've not replied, whose presence I've not acknowledged. 2010 has been really hectic and I'm slowing down gradually. Thanks a lot for understanding.

2) Cheers to all those who made it to Swathi's wedding. I look at the photos and I'm so happy that My Friends were the majority! I feel so important! :) :) THANKS A LOT PEOPLE!!!!

Incredibly Hunk

September has become a month of anniversaries for me. The Business Unit (BU) I work for completed one year today (I've been here only for 4 months now)! I'm just back from the celebrations. It was fun decorating the office floor with balloons and stuff. A few of us sneaked in early this morning (despite the heavy rains in Chennai) and set the floor up for some fun. I also hear that it is going to be a great month with fun events coming up every week. Its so good to be here and thinking about what brought me here makes me so happy. However, it is another story and I'll save it for the month end while explaining about another anniversary.

Completing a brisk one year!

Looking up and around from my cubicle

Now, September 1st, co-incidentally happens to be a very important day to me. I actually wanted to write this post as a suspense filled one quoting, "I met him last year the same day ... blah blah blah". But, that style is becoming cliched and I'm not that good at writing stuff like that. So, coming to the point, I started driving my Hunk from September 1st 2008.

It doesn't seem like a year though. The reason is that, I'm not foolish, not to notice my name printed as 'Siraj' and not as 'Sriraj' on the RC book. Last week, the lady at the insurance renewal counter pointed out that to me. :( The irony is I've been stopped for papers checking at least 6-7 times since then and it has been unnoticed yet.

The journey (takes the literal sense here) has been wonderful. 7500 kms of road fun is how I'd describe this one year of biking. Except for one bloody middle of the road dancing in(ac)cident in Madurai, we have smoothed through, haven't we? The couple of scratches and broken rear view mirror hurt more than than my broken nose. Chaps at Madurai would back me up. :)

The sad part is I never got to drive much in Coimbatore. But, I made the most of the 25 days I had. The prank I played on all my friends when I got the bike was amusing (at least for me). Vivek and Tk gave me the funniest reactions.

Topping the list of my proud possessions, this is just a year. Lot more driving to do. Lets speed through BUDDY! Happy Birthday!

When he was 10 days old

PS: When Vibu told me he had changed the appearance of his blog, I thought its time to change mine also because I changed it the last time he did.