Bye Bye 2009, Welcome 2010

It’s New Year Eve. Most TV channels at this moment are scanning through the events that happened in the last 365 days. Restaurants and recreation centres will be arranging for the celebrations. Some Individuals might be trying to make up their resolution, several others travelling to meet their family, some others settling in front of their televisions sets watching the special programmes, while many others are striving at their work place to get things in order for the next year.

Scanning through the year 2009, it was quiet a mixed year for me. Starting from the days when we went around visiting different places in Kuwait (I hadn’t done this in the previous one and a half years) to the recent holiday visit to Dubai, there have been a variety lot of activities happening to and around me.

To start with, I had travelled 4 times to India and once to Dubai, for a mixture of reasons.

I have spent a lot of time online, since I bought my laptop and got my internet connection setup. Blogging became a major activity, though it’s been 4 idle months before I am posting this. Facebook and FarmVille have caught my attention in the last 2 months. Music downloads is what my internet connection was used maximum for.

This year probably is probably the one when I have read the maximum number of books (fiction) and played the maximum number of flash games. Luxor was the one game which I got addicted to until Farmville came to my rescue.

Coming to movies, am not sure if 2008 beat 2009 with the numbers. But I hardly can remember watching any real quality movie.

With regards to work life, it’s been quite a decent one, when considering the day to day activities. I have learnt a lot, made good friends and the environment has been good, except for some ‘Exceptions’

Coming to some real serious stuff, this year has seen my marital status change from single to committed.

This year, we have seen six loved ones bidding adieu forever, the sole and sufficient reason why I never want to see such a year again for a lifetime.

Having said all this, I am looking forward to 2010.

First of all, it will see me change my marital status from committed to Married. Two, I will be aunt (periamma) for two little ones (twins) at the same time. Three, the most recent update from my elder bro, I am looking forward to witness his wedding as well.

Wishing One and All a very happy and prosperous 2010.

When Music Becomes Noise

‘Oh No! Hope it’s not the same call again.’ I whispered and ran to my room to check the mobile phone. It was singing aloud the tunes of ‘Sarvam’, a Tamil movie. I was too irritated to hear this ringtone again. I put my phone on the silent mode for the moment and let it vibrate for the next 11 calls, nevertheless I didn’t answer one. My next target was to browse for a blank ring tone and I didn’t succeed. Finally when the vibration stopped for a while, and when I was sure I will not receive more of these calls, I browsed the phone for another ringtone. After changing the ringtone, I put the phone back on normal mode.

I am a very poor user of the phone and hardly get calls other than the ones from whom I am very closely acquainted with. It served me more as walkman than a phone. Considering the above facts, it’s vague that I was irritated by the ringtone. Moreover, the mentioned ringtone was set as the default ringtone and there is not much a chance that it is played, as there are specific ringtones set for these closely acquainted people.

Now coming to circumstances, I received about 6 missed calls from a mysterious number the previous evening and I was unable to trace the number. While I was pondering on who that desperate person was, I received a call from the same number. As expected, it was a ‘wrong number’. I attended the call and notified the caller that it was a wrong number they were trying to reach. But to my surprise the calls continued and within an hour it was about another 5 missed calls. You know how it is to hear the same 21 second long ringtone 12 times in an hour.

But this was not all. Early today morning it was about 5.30 AM, the phone rang again, the same number flashing and yet again playing the same ringtone. I cut the call. It rang again and this time I picked it up and in a drowsy voice requested the caller not to try the wrong number again, but with no effect. The calls continued for the next hour and half (yet another 10 missed calls), the result being my sleep disturbed or destroyed rather.

Now as I write this post, I hope the caller gets his number right and I don’t get disturbed from my sleep on a weekend. Else I will have to look for another ringtone again tomorrow evening.

Just a count: I received 35 (11 + 10 + 10 = 31 missed + 4 answered) calls from that number.

Games Sweet Games

Few days back, we were returning home after watching a movie and suddenly a conversation picked up about the games we played in our childhood. From then on I have been putting up a list in my mind.

Chogi:

All you need is 4 small sea shells and it will keep you engaged for hours together. My aunt was the mentor. The game begins with rolling the 4 shells (like rolling dice) and you are eligible to start playing once all the four shells land on the floor facing upward or downward uniformly. Once you find the luck, you can start tossing the four shells in the air and try catching them using the back side of your hand and then drop them on the floor positioning them in a certain manner to grab points.

Aggravation:

This is an advanced version of Ludo, almost the same rules, but the board is bigger and 6 players can play at a time.

Brainvita:

A board and 44 marbles, you can spend hours alone. Start by jumping one marble over the other and remove the later. The aim of the game is to reach at one marble by jumping and removing.


Tell Me Quiz

Quizzing Game. Take turns to draw a quiz card and spin the alphabet wheel. Answer the given question in a single word starting with the lucky alphabet.

Scrabble:

Crossword game, build words on the board and grab points for each alphabet. The rarer of the alphabets you use, the higher points you score. Luck matters when you pick your alphabets and you can have only seven alphabets at a time.

Business/Moneyply/Monopoly/Trade:

Trading game, where you buy and sell places as such. It’s such fun when you know you own Darjeeling, Mumbai (Business) or Miami Beach (Moneyply). Another such game, I can recollect playing was ‘Barbie Goes shopping’ where you purchase household furniture to set up the house for your Barbie.

Dark Room

Get into a dark room and hide under the tables, behind the curtains or beneath the cot or choose a corner for yourself. Once ready, call the seeker into the pitch dark room. He’s got to find and identify you in the dark.

Memory:

It’s a pack of 56 pairs of square picture cards. Shuffle them and lay them on the floor facing down. In turns, pick up 2 cards at a time; if they match they are yours, else place them back. Every time you get a pair, you play an extra chance. At the end the player who grabs the maximum number of pairs is the winner.

King, Queen & Robber

It’s a game for 5-6 people - King, queen, Jack, Minister, Police and robber. Write each one of these on a piece of paper and shuffle the lot. Each picks a piece and keeps his role a secret except for the King. The King has to find the Queen. If he’s right he gets full points. If he’s wrong, he’s got to exchange the chit. This way the queen finds the Jack, then the minister and so on.

Book Cricket

All you need is a school text book and a plain sheet of paper. The batsman opens the book randomly and the score is based on the last digit of the even page number. It’s up to you to decide the number of balls or the form of game.

Uno Cards

It’s a pack of cards (similar to the playing cards, 4 colours, Each colour contains numbers 0-9, colour change, +4, +2, skip and reverse.) It’s one game that keeps you engaged for hours together. Shuffle the cards and distribute 7 cards to each player. One player plays a card, the next one has to play a card that has the same number or the same colour else he has to skip his turn after drawing an extra card. The player who gets rid of his cards the earliest is the winner.

Trump Cards

It’s yet another pack of cards. Each card contains a photograph of a WWF champion, with some statistics like his ranking, weight, height, biceps, etc...Shuffle and distribute the cards among the players. Each player plays one card at a time and compares the statistics with the other players’ cards. The player with the card that has the best statistics gets all the cards.

It used to be real fun when we as kids used to gather a gang at home decide on a game (sometimes it takes hours) and sit together around the board and play. Parents used to keep us fed with snacks and beverages at regular intervals. Purchasing new indoor games was the first activity we do when school closes for summer holidays. Indoor games used to be our way to keep us engaged for the 2 month span by passing the heat.

Now are the days when most of these are available as flash games or executable programs and the kids are getting used to playing games with the computer all alone at home.

Gone Are Those Days

Gone Are Those Days
When I sat beside you
Listening to the tit bit jokes
You read from the weekly.

Gone Are Those Days
When you gave me all I wanted
As surprise gifts all the time
You never let me ask

Gone Are Those Days
When you gifted us
With the best games to play
On the last day of school

Gone Are those Days
When you drew the patterns
On the floor for us
Only to fill up with flowers and colours

Gone Are Those Days
When you consoled me
After every concert
I didn’t do well, though

Gone Are Those Days
When you treated my pals
With your best dishes
Any chance didn’t you miss.

Gone Are Those Days
When you made my dress collection
It was time for me to leave school
Only to see me a budding graduate

Gone Are Those Days
When you got me to perform on stage
Standing behind the curtains
It was all your effort, you rejoiced yet

Gone Are Those Days
When you celebrated
Every Milestone I reached
With all the pride in the world

Gone Are Those Days
When we spent every moment
Merry and Happy
Will I treasure these all my life

Now Are These Days
When I cherish our every moment
With a smile lighting my face
Heaviness befalls my heart though

p.s: It’s seven years since she bid adieu, but What I am today is all what she did to me. Dedicated to my beloved Mother.

Independence Day Celebrated!!!

Gone are the days when Independence Day was celebrated by hoisting the flag and distributing sweets with rendering of patriotic songs. TV programmes have taken over and Independence Day is more considered as a day off from regular work or an opportunity to earn more through overtime wages.

The last time I really witnessed flag hoisting live was during my last year in school. As any other day, we used to assemble at school dressed in our ironed uniforms to salute the flag and sing the National Anthem. Patriotic songs, mass drill and March past used to be part of the honour. Sweet distribution would follow after which we would disburse to allow the TV programmes to take over for the rest of the day.

This year Independence day falling on a Saturday, it’s a holiday here. On the previous eve, there was a dinner get together organized by the employees of a corporate company on the pretext of the occasion. The dress code was decided as ‘Kurta and Jeans’ to depict Indian culture and there was almost 70% compliance. The other 30% constituted more of other nationals. ‘Bindhis’ were distributed at the venue (But I already had one on my forehead!!!). Inspite of all these, to me, it looked like just another dinner with music on a Friday night with no relevance to the spirit of the occasion. There were spot prizes, music and dance, dinner and desert which made the occasion look more westernised.

But amidst all this pub culture, there was a little ‘Indianism’ evidently shown when all the Indians stood in attention when the national anthem was played at midnight sharp. At the same time, the Indian flag was put up from somewhere. I gave a proud grin, when the other nationals seated at the adjoining table stood up saluting the Indian flag along with us. I sang the National Anthem with all my heart and a light sense of satisfaction flashed over.

It’s Weird Sometimes

‘Hurry up, Swathu, getting late’. That was my dad and he had come to see me off at the airport. My aunt and cousin had already finished their formalities and had passed the gate, ready to board. The terminal building was pitch dark and the surroundings seemed to be really sickening. As I proceeded to the immigration desk, I found four Tamilian ladies. The second lady in the row asked me for my passbook. I handed it over and she examined my photograph, then asked me again, ‘Where is your passbook?’ I gazed at her dumbfounded. She pointed to the photograph and told me the photograph was not acceptable. It was one taken during my school days. I tried arguing, but in vain. Aware that I had not much time, I pleaded to the lady near her. The lady winked at me and indicated to me to hide below the desk while she would stamp the passbook and drop it down. I obeyed her instructions, picked up my passbook and sneaked away just as the other lady caught a glimpse of me. I moved towards the gate to board the flight.

What I saw last was a crazy mob chasing me, when I jerked and woke up only to hear the laptop beside me still singing one of the tunes of A.R Rahman’s album. I got out of my bed, turned off the music and went back intending to sleep, but ended up analysing my dream. It was one of the weirdest dreams I have come across.

1. I am just back from a vacation and have no intention of travelling at least for the next six months.
2. My dad could not have seen me off from here. He would have received me at the destination.
3. I never ever can imagine that aunt and cousin of mine travelling in the flight as mine. They are stationed elsewhere.
4. The terminal building here is never pitch dark. It’s well lit up, for that matter at any time of the day.
5. I never knew or heard about any airport, where the immigration authorities asked for a passbook instead of a passport.
6. I completed (tried to) my immigration without check-in. Throughout the run, I never knew where my tickets were.
7. I hardly remember carrying any baggage, save for the laptop bag that slung across my shoulder. In reality this was near to impossible. At least I would be carrying a small travel bag.
8. The funniest part was having seen four Tamilian ladies in a row at the immigration counter of an international airport in a gulf country.
9. The way the passbook was stamped, hiding and running through the gate, would have been the most adventurous act I would have performed in all my future births to come.

The only thing I could relate to reality is the ‘Photograph’. My passport contains a photograph in which I have posed in my school uniform and normally, I encounter a question or two at the airport check-in counter or the immigration, be it in India or outside.

And regarding the terminal building, it was very different from the actual terminal building. I can recollect I have seen this kind of building earlier in one of my dreams. It was somewhat related to flying, but I can hardly remember the sequence of events.

I have heard that dreams are a result of your imagination and wishes. But this is one of the weirdest ones I have dreamt off.

Vacation Fever

Being severely affected by the vacation fever for the past few months, am slowly recovering to write this post. The attack was scheduled only for three weeks, but the symptoms existed for quite a long time before that.
Since the time I left my country, vacations play an important role in my life. It’s the big factor that keeps you going for the rest of the year. Below is the sequence of events involved in implementing a successful vacation.
1. Decide on the dates; let others at work know about it so that there are no clashes. This is normally done at the beginning of the year, when leave balances are credited.
2. Search for tickets; Login to all the websites and check out the different flights, routes and cost and book the tickets. Lesser the choice it’s easier. This step is time consuming with a huge number of airlines providing too many flights and routes; the cost varying based on the route and time. To worsen things here, all of a sudden you will find all flights are being filled like crazy in a day’s or may be even an hour’s time. Finally you land up booking the tickets based on availability. This step is normally done at least 2-3 months before.
3. Time to start shopping; Think of every person in the other part of the world and decide and shop the suitable things. Of course not to forget yourself, shop whatever you haven’t done for the past many days.
4. Inform your buddies about your trip; just thinking of a possibility of meeting up.
5. Time to think about official submission of the leave application; Now you may have to slog to avoid rejection of the application. Try to achieve near to impossible in the next one month if you got to get things right.
6. Roughly plan the trip; the visits, the movies to be watched, the malls to be visited, the pleasure trips to be arranged, the shopping to be done and what not. Everything is on the list and at this point of time it seems possible to do all this in the scheduled 3 weeks.
7. Now you are almost done with the near to impossible target, so submit the leave papers officially, praying for the right things to happen. Yes and finally it’s done.
8. Dust out your suitcases, empty the contents and dump them somewhere and start packing; Fear of excess baggage prevails until everything fits in and the baggage is weighed and checked.
Out of sheer excitement, it’s difficult to get a glimpse of sleep for at least a week before you travel. Then the big day comes, when you leave home with the luggage and your heart beats faster when you reach the airport. Flying seems to be really interesting.
Now landing at the destination, the first thought is about the return journey which will start from the same point. The time starts flying from this point and in no time you are back at the same place to board the flight for the return. This journey normally seems like a never ending one and sleeping during the entire flight becomes the only solution.
All is not over yet. Cleaning, unpacking, sharing experience and photographs continue for at least a week. Now Gear up, you got to get back to normalcy. And yes start planning for the next vacation.

The ‘Dave’ Days

I have never been crazy after video games or computer games during my entire life. Yes I love to play a few small games. PacMan has been my favorite for quite some time now. I have heard my bro talk about counter strike where they do heavy setup at home connecting n number of comps and laptops. I have the least idea what the game is all about, I can guess from the name though. Am sure that in no way can it be compared to the flash games I play.

The first time, I can recollect having played video games was when my uncle gifted us with a video game console with 2 joysticks. It was supposed to have 1000 games built in (I doubt it). The package used to lie in the shaft at home through out the year. We used to dust it out and connect it to the television set during our summer vacation. (Used to imagine ourselves as great techies at that time) There were a couple of games similar to PacMan and all kind of sports (football, tennis, racing, etc ...). Most of the games were shoot out games and there was one or two related to spellings.

Then came the computer days. We always had a computer at home, though unfortunately, we couldn’t use it that efficiently (for playing games). Initially we had a lower configuration comp (upgraded from MS-DOS) that wouldn’t survive if we loaded games on it. It was used to type out question papers rather (no better than a typewriter). Inspite of all these restrictions, we managed to play ‘Dave’, spending hours during the night. This game seemed to have impressed us so much that we normally ended up fighting for the comp often. Later we gave up the comp as my dad had arranged to get another one for his business use and the idea of having two comps at home was not that appealing. We were thrilled about the new comp as it was supposed to be of a great configuration. At the end, we felt that the old one was better, as we were not allowed to install/play games or any other software for personal use. We used to keep ourselves satisfied with Solitaire or Minesweeper (I like this one also) and the ‘Dave’ days died off slowly.

After my college days, I never had a comp at my place of stay and so no more games (apart from the ones I used to play on my mobile phone to kill time) until I got my laptop a few months back. Two days back, I was browsing through my bro’s comp and was amused to find the ‘Dave’ game (I wouldn’t have even remembered the name if I hadn’t found it there). Since then I have played that game more than a dozen times and have already copied it to my Laptop as well. Now nothing can stop me from loading it to my laptop. After all it’s mine.

Fact And Fantasy

After India lost the 3 super eight matches in sequence, I almost lost track of the series, when by chance I happened to watch the SA Vs Pak semi-final match. For obvious reasons, I wanted SA to win. Moreover the fact that, there have been several occasions when SA stays unbeaten throughout the league matches and loses a knock out game sympathetically to exit the tournament, made the game a little more interesting.

When I started watching the match, it was the end of the Pakistan innings and we were 5 supporters of SA watching the chase. All of us agreed that the target presented was not really tough to get at, not easy though.

When the South Africans came in to bat, the following is the train of facts and fantasy that came in.
Facts:
Kallis and Smith came in to open the batting.
Fantasy:
With Kallis opening the batting, it’s going to be tough for the Pakistanis.
Facts:
Score: 1/40 (5.5 Overs) Smith gone and Gibbs coming in. Not a great start. Kallis didn’t really click and he slowed down his rate of scoring.
Fantasy:
Smith is not in form. But If Gibbs strikes, the opposition is finished.
Facts:
Score: 2/46 (6.6 Overs) Gibbs gone and AB de Villiers is walking in. Run rate is not in any case sufficient.
Fantasy:
Hmmm....Anyway the South African batting line up is very strong and long. Its AB D now....he’s going to smash the ball around, with Kallis hanging there.
Facts:
Score: 3/50(8.3 overs). AB D is walking out and Duminy coming in with the run rate still deteriorating
Fantasy:
Duminy is the guy who struck for the Mumbai Indians. He is the guy for the day.
Facts:
Score: 3/69(12 overs). Duminy couldn’t do much and the required run rate climbing drastically. SA is tending to lose the game.
Fantasy:
South Africa still has got chances with Kallis still around. (Back to square one)
Facts:
Score: 3/83(14 overs) Kallis and Duminy just hanging around and Fawad Alam to bowl
Fantasy:
This is the over. If SA strives to get 3 sixes, they will be through.
Facts:
Score: 4/111 (17.1 overs, 39 required of 17 balls) Kallis walking to the pavilion and Morkel gearing himself.
Fantasy:
Morkel is a dangerous man. He is capable of scoring huge boundaries which in turn will change the stature of the game.
Facts:
Score: 4/121 (18 overs, 29 required of 12 balls)
Fantasy:
2 sixes in this over and the SA will be back. (The batsman at the crease is no longer significant)
Facts:
Score: 4/127 (19 overs, 23 required from 6 balls)
Fantasy:
4 sixes and SA will win with 2 balls to spare.
Facts:
Score: 5/133 (19.3 overs, 17 required from 3 balls) Morkel is walking out, doesn’t matter who’s next, Duminy is on strike
Fantasy:
3 consecutive sixes and SA will play the final.
Facts
Score: 5/136 (19.4 overs, 15 requred from 2 balls)
Fantasy:
Pakistan will bowl a no ball and SA will be awarded with a free hit and the 3 consecutive sixes will still work.
Facts:
Score: 5/140 (19.5 overs, 11 to win from 1 ball)
Fantasy:
Is there a possibility of 2 consecutive no balls?
Facts:
Score: 5/142 End of Game
Consolation:
SA lost by 7 runs. India lost only by 3 runs in the last super eight match.

Flight Hungama

It was a Sunday evening and I was at the airport for a flight changeover. There wasn’t much time left at the airport, but I was wondering how I am going to spend the next 4 hours during the flight. I got into the aircraft and finally settled on my seat beside my cousin after a big lot of confusion created by the attendant there in finding the place. Then came the announcement instructing passengers to keep their seat belt fastened and switch off the mobile phones and other electronic devices. The aircraft moved for a while and then halted, but there was no indication of taking off for some time. While everybody was wondering what the problem was, there came the second announcement instructing to keep the mobile phones switched off. This time the announcement was repeated twice.

And now, the guy sitting in front of me got a call and was happily chatting with his wife (I thought) in his (mine as well) mother tongue. I was just wondering if he ever understood any of the 3 languages in which the announcement was made, or atleast did he bother to. My cousin and I made an effort to get his mobile switched off, so did the others around. Finally he stopped talking, though am not sure if he switched it off. But I was relieved that the aircraft was taking off now.
All was well for the next ten minutes, after which we could hear the same guy talking again. I looked at my cousin and he at me and we laughed together. Then we settled down eating our noodles silently, while the talking still continued. I went off to sleep after that and was then suddenly awakened by a well known Tamil Number. It was the same guy again, playing the song on his mobile in high volume. One of the ladies who had put her kid to sleep with great difficulty revolted and he stopped the music, but his mobile was not switched off. I wondered if he really knew how to switch off a mobile phone.

Now the next thing guy was upto, was to open up a can of bear in a non smoking and non alcoholic flight. The flight that I was travelling was a so called budget flight, so the crew won’t bother to walk through, except to serve a glass of water or to check the seating position before takeoff or landing. But now a member of the crew came to him and snatched the can and took away his boarding pass (didn’t know how that helped)

Almost time to land, the announcement to fasten the seat belt was back and I could hear several ‘clings’ at the same time. When I looked up from my seats, I found the guy had got up from his seat and was walking to and fro in the middle of the aircraft.

An Expensive Mistake

As any other day, I was passing by the other side of the department. An empty seat caught my attention and for a moment, a lean, ever smiling figure solving network issues on the phone flashed across my mind. Then suddenly I realized I will never ever see him in my life again. Yes, he was the poor victim of a ruthless car accident.

Drunken Driving with over speeding caused the death of a young boy and for no fault of his own.

Drinking for pleasure may be considered personal right. But drunken driving is just not that. Every nation has its own laws against drunken driving. But it is inevitable that the law cannot do much after the irrecoverable damage is done.

It’s normal to say people learn from their mistakes. But drunken driving is too expensive a mistake to commit.

P.S: The message that I am trying to convey by this post is not new and it has been brought out several times as chain emails, articles or by word of mouth. We hear about several similar cases, but when witnessed personally we realize the significance. I am just hoping that this post might enlighten somebody or other who takes a chance of visiting my blog.

The Best Investment

It's almost a week since the IPL started and it's been going on pretty well, considering all the kind of trouble the organizing went through. Probably we expected matches to have a better pace and nail biting finishes, which were not that very visble in the matches that have passed. But yesterday's game had something that caught our attention. It was a tie between Rajasthan Royals(RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) and the super over was bashed out by the RRs. The match could have been taken off by the KKR, provided Dada had hung around for a few more balls. But what flashes across my mind is the 'Shane Warne Magic'.

The 'Shane Warne Magic' was very much visible when the RR won the IPL 2008. They started off as a very naive team without much hype and slowly and steadily traveled through the tournament and made it to the final when most of didn't expect they would. There were moments when Shane warne proved to be a great captain. The encouragement given to the team and his compassionate nature were obvious reasons for that victory.

Coming back to yesterday's game, it was noticeable that this great captain was encouraging young Kamran Khan through out the game. Especially, his idea of giving him the chance to bowl the super over was amazingly daring. This reminded me about the T20 world cup when Dhoni was forced to give the chance of bowling the last over to inexperienced Joginder Sharma who hadn't had a great day. However they won the game excitingly when Sreeshant came from no where and took the catch.

Everybody is aware of Shane Warne's capability and strength as an experienced bowler, inspite of which he gave the opportunity to a raw bowler. The possible reasons I could think off are as below.

1. Probably Shane Warne has seen some kind of potential in him.
2. It was worth taking the risk as this one over would install tremendous confidence in that young boy to go forward with his cricketing career. (Shane Warne is capable of keeping up his confidence level even if they had lost the match.)
3. May be he knew that Yousef Pathan was capable of scoring to fetch the score even if something goes wrong from the young guy's inexperience.
4. Good team leaders always help to get the team and the team members going and not the self.

Whatever be the reason, the last point mentioned above is something that all team leaders, teachers and managers have to consider in their day to day work life.

This action provoked my thoughts on a lesson that I had read in my tenth class. It was titled as 'The Best Investment I Ever Made'. It was about a doctor who claims that the best investement he ever made was helping a vexed patient who had tried to commit suicide with a meagre amount of money. The doctor meets the man after years and is delighted to know how that meagre amount was utilized in a manner that helped him lead the rest of his life.

I am a hard core supporter of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the obvious reason that I have spent most of my life in TamilNadu. If it's not CSK, I would prefer the Royal Challengers(RCB) to take the cup home, as my favourite cricketer belongs to this team. After watching the game yesterday, I will be happy to see the RRs winning the cup again as well. After all, it is worth his captaincy.

Two Days Full Of Fun

It was a Saturday evening. The idiot box was screaming in full volume with two spectators in the room. The first spectator interrupted “All the seniors would have started by now. It’s too hard to miss out.” The second spectator would have thought “This is the nth time she is saying this.” Yes, my cousin could understand how much I missed the two day extravaganza. This was the first time I missed it in the last 9 years.

Every year, our music school Gurus chose a weekend during the month of June and July, to conduct a two day event called ‘Santhoshi Matha Vidyalaya Musical Evening’. This is the most awaited event for most of the students of Santhoshi Matha Vidyalaya. Every student in the Vidyalaya is given a chance to perform (vocal or Mridhangam or both) on the stage in front of hundreds of people. The amount of effort put into this program is incredible. The practice sessions start early during the month of April or even earlier for students coming from other cities or states or countries. The preparations start a week earlier.

Most of the students have been associated with the vidyalaya for a long term. Hence we are part of the Vidyalaya, even though we might be residing in different parts of the world. We try to get our leaves planned accordingly if possible. The last time I took part as a singer was in June 2004 when I had taken up my first job. Since then I have been attending the function every year and participating in a few background activities. We look forward to this day for several reasons. One, we get an opportunity to refresh our memories with all our favourite songs we have learnt/heard. Two, it’s an opportunity to meet old friends. Above all it’s a pleasure to coordinate/work with our Gurus who are the masters behind the entire show. They see it as an opportunity to boost the confidence of every single student.

Talking about our Gurus, I have to mention a few words about them. This couple care for every student in the way parents take care of their children. The moment we enter the music class, we tend to forget all other things in the world. Their prayers and comforting words drive us towards goodness always. The attention they give to every individual is really amazing.

Sri Kovai Mani (Mridhangam - our Guru), Myself, Smt Parvathi Mani (Our Guru), My brother Sriraj and Smt Krishnaveni (Violin)

Now coming back to the extravaganza, we spend two days completely in the hall. We start with Ganapathy homam on the Saturday morning, followed by lunch. Early in the evening the tiny tots capture the stage. As the evening progresses, people who have come from other cities get their chance. At the end, there is a great dinner. The second day again starts with a small prayer followed by a special Layanayam (This part of the programme normally steals the entire show). Again the tiny tots start the evening session, followed by the most awaited seniors (experienced and talented singers and mridhangists). The two day event comes to an end with a superb dinner followed by ice-cream. (Singers eating ice cream together is not a very common sight. It is actually prohibited for the rest 364 days.)

Not a single person will have the mind to leave the place or get back to work. Normally When we go back, our minds are still listening to the tunes and beats.

p.s:- Recreation is something that we need to get our minds away from normal life and relax. Fun and enjoyment is something we experience when we are involved in something that we like. This is the best way of recreation I have experienced. The energy gained in this event lasts longer and makes me wait for the next year to come.

Height Of Irritation

@5.50 AM
I peeped out of my blanket to look at the clock. I didn’t want to get out of the bed for two reasons. First of all, I wished I hadn’t another tough day to face. Two, there was less than an hour for me to leave for work. I jumped out of the bed, brushed my teeth and then sat on my bed sipping my coffee thinking of the day ahead.

@6.10 AM
I realized, I had about 30 minutes to get ready and I was still sipping my coffee. I sprang out and rushed to have a quick shower.

@6.40 AM
I picked up my shirt only to find that it was not washed properly. I picked up another and found that as dirty as the first one. The third time I pulled out a printed shirt, wore it quickly , went into the kitchen picked up an apple from the refrigerator, then sprayed some perfume and ran down to find my bus waiting for me. I got into it and sat quietly thinking, “Why did I make it to the bus just like every other day?”

@7.30 AM
I was on my desk switching on the dumb PC and sipping my tea. Being the last day of the week, I had no wish to take up new tasks, just wanted to finish off my pending tasks. I had one big item on the list, not a very interesting one to be done on a Thursday. I browsed through my emails and found one of the jobs done the previous day was questioned (not rejected though). “Oops, why does this happen only to me?”

@8 AM
I had replied to my emails by this time, including the “questioned” job. Then I walked across to my friend’s desk to check if we could sit together at 11 AM to finish of the big pending task and he was more than happy to do that with me. I got back to my seat to find one unread email on my Gmail Inbox. It was from my brother. I could guess that it was about an issue that was bothering both of us for the last week. We exchanged about ten emails. (Chat applications are disabled in office. So this is our way of chatting.) Yes, the issue is still not resolved. “I don’t feel like working today. When will the day end? I want to go home and sleep”

@10.15 AM
By now, I had completed couple of adhoc jobs and looked at the bottom right corner on my PC and was startled. “I am late for the meeting by 15 minutes already.” I slipped 2 pieces of apple into my mouth and picked up the required docs and ran to the basement only to find that none of the attendees were there and the meeting had been postponed. “At the least, allow me to do my work.”

@11 AM
After greeting all my colleagues in the basement, I went back to my desk to find that I had about 20 emails to read. There was one email that again deteriorated the working mood. It was intended to four other people in the department though and served as a warning for the rest of us. “Not just me. Others have had a bad day as well”

@12 PM
As I sat glancing at the email, there rose a voice beside me. “Swathi, there is an issue with the release that we made day before yesterday. I don’t know how you want to term it, issue or problem or serious .......” When he completed his narration, I said “It’s a disaster.” We both walked into his manager’s room first and then into my manager’s room to explain the situation, before they could jump on us. While I walked back to my desk, I thought “Why the hell is all this happening to me, that too on a Thursday. What about the job that was planned to finish today”

@5 PM
We sat testing the solution for the disastrous problem after I had taken a short 15 minute break. It was far beyond the working hours and almost everybody had gone home. We were a group of six people still sitting tied up. It happened so that all of them were at my desk for a break. As we started discussing the current state of affairs, we burst out laughing. Here is a group of irritated people laughing their heart out. All that I discovered is that every other person is as irritated as I am, though for different reasons.

@6 PM
Three of us got back to work, while the other three drove home. We quickly finished our testing. I completed the final documentation and sent the solution for implementation. My friend drove me back home as we discussed a dozen other things. When I reached, I felt lighter and had a better evening.

p.s:- There is nothing called a bad day. Perception matters a lot. Look around, you might feel better.