Jinxed!!

Have you ever come across strange incidences that leaves u completely bewildered?? Something out of the blue that drives u up the wall? Like the more u ponder over it, the more bizzairre it gets ;and the more perplexed u become!

Hear me out..

Historical encounters suggests that I can now affirm myself that my sandles(specially the left footed one) don seem to stay with me for a long time..they drift away..leaving me lost for words and of course sandles! Thats what I am destined for!

The first instance was at the beach. I removed my floaters by the side and happily went into the sea only to get back and realise that my left foot floater is missing! After a host of investigation and interrogation, I realised that it was not a practical joke. My floater is lost...Period. Who'll be foolish enough to flick just a left legged floater?? The mystery behind missing floater was quite a conundrum! Now I dont need Famous Five or Nancy Drew to slove this detective case but a simple logical course of actions that suggests that the floater must be lurking right there somewhere in the dark.....but it was'nt! There wasnt any stray dogs creeping around nor any suspicious looking left-legged criminal!! How can a left legged floater vanish into thin air abandoning me and my right legged floater in a dark, malicious, uncaring world? The whole wide sea seemed to empathise our misery and splashed some mighty waves around. What did we do?? Regretfully I had to bid adieu to my right legged floater in the nearest bin. I had to summon a lot of strength to perform this henious act of just throwing away my floater..but then again..I was helpless,wasnt I? I was floater-less henceforth!

Weeks rolled on after that till one fine day when I decide to buy sandles again. I gleefully get back with my new pair ready to display proudly in front of my friends..Not so fast!! Here lies the catch..I can see only one sandle..the right legged one! Where's the other one? This time it was sheer ill luck. The cover that had my sandles had given off that led to my sandles slipping off somewhere on my way back. I was baffled! What did I ever do? I was all excited to try them out; Lo and Behold!! Its the left sandle that left me! My right one is pairless and single again.

What is the rationale behind the perils of my disappearing left legged foot wear?

I have enough and more reasons from the past to reaffirm that my left leg is jinxed. I've an ankle problem that has outlived some of the Ekta Kapoor's mega serials!Yeah....that long!

The curse has now resurfaced in another form and is depriving my left leg of its legitimate,protective sole! Is there anybody out there who knows black magic or Voodoo magic that can ward off the curse of my poor lil left leg?? Help me!

Pssst: The pic shows my right footed sandle crying out loud for its better half..the one that 'left' him! Can u not notice that pout on his face?? Help him!

Summer woes!

Its that time of the year when I wake up early ;

Its not by choice, but out of necessity

Its that time of the year when I bathe early ;
Its not by choice, but out of necessity

Its that time of the year when I stay indoors ;
Its not by choice, but out of necessity

Its that time of the year when I seldom eat ;
Its not by choice, but out of necessity

Its that time of the year when I grow pale ;
Its not by choice, but out of necessity

What time of the year is it?

Well...its SUMMER!!

Come Summer and everything changes..and what better place to experience the heat than Chennai?? Chennai has always been notorious for its raging summers with the sun shimmering right above your head and sweat dripping all over you! There is one phrase that condenses Chennai's Climatic conditions ' Chennai has three seasons : Hot, Hotter and Hottest' I couldn agree no more.

What makes Chennai heat one of the most unbearable and intolerable one?? I think its the blend of scorching heat and high humidity. There are other coastal areas such as Mumbai, Mangalore and Pondy but nothing like Chennai. The synthesis of moisture and heat can exhaust you; rip you of all the carbohydrates that you ever had and leave you a mere morsel of flesh and blood! The only solace to this fatigue is gulping down gallons of cold water in an Air Condtioned room.

Imagine youself waking up to the harsh rays of Sun everyday. It almost seems like Sun Lord is merciless and is venting all his anger upon you. I get up from sleep all soaked in sweat and heat and feeling helpless...like am just out of a terrible nightmare! To escape the clutches of the heat you want to dig into a cold shower but unfortunately the water is piping hot!! Who in the world would imagine normal tap water bubbling and raging at 10 in the morning?? Looks like I can make a hot cup of Coffee with it! This is typically how the day begins here in Chennai.

To walk out during mid-day is worse than a capital punishment! With temperatures soaring as high as 40 C and moisture content close to 75%, it is treacherous. All the love for sumptumous lunch and ravishing dinner disappears as you attain Nirvana by digging youself into dollops of Ice cream or sink into some cold juice or Sherbat. There is a dab of tan on your skin no matter what precaution you take. No sunblocks or sun protective lotions are stronger than the blistering rays of the sun itself!

Is Chennai really that hot?? Or am i exaggerating it cause I hate extreme summer??

I ask some localites on what they think about it..and the most common reply 'It is quite torchorous but we are used to it;Infact it cools down in the evenings due to the sea breeze. We love the Chennai heat and that is what keeps us going. ' How could one possible like living in a hot gas station with all ventilations closed? Are they decendents from planet Mercury? Is there something fundamentally wrong?

Well..its all a matter of geting used to it I suppose (I still dont buy it though) People here do love the blazing sun and glimmering prespiration..and the consolation of 'Sea Breeze' is not very convincing! I can never understand them..its ridiculous

As I lay on my bed writing this blog, am reminded of the famous song by Beatles "Here Comes the Sun.....Its alright"

Is it alright?? Perhaps Yes ; Perhaps Not!

Indian Railways

It was just another long weekend and I decided to scoot to Bangalore. I was catching the usual Lalbagh Express. It is so surprising to see that inspite of 7 trains plying bw B lore and Chennai they are always loaded with passengers. One almost feels that the Chennai express that leaves B lore dumps everyone at Chennai and picks another lot from Chennai and returns as Lalbagh Express! A five and half hour journey bw two prominent Southern cities is definitely not a joke..
As i enter the station and look around me, there is hustle bustle everywhere. On one side are the annoying porters and autowallahs who flock around travelers and pounce on them for their meek service while the other side has the heavy and humble trains earnestly waiting to pick up its dear passengers for another journey . There is always a perennial queue for platform tickets, open tickets and other tickets. People nudging each other and picking up petty fights while petite thieves making a profit by flicking someone's purse is such a common sight. The eateries such as Sarvana Bhavan, Hot breads, Pizza Corner at the Chennai Central Station are making crisp business by tossing pizzas, jostling coffees and dicing sandwiches. These joints not only serve the purpose of packing quick food for loony travelers like me but also a snackbar for people who wait for arrival of trains. The ones who make the maximum returns on any given day would be the Magazine seller and the water bottle - juice seller. Come what may, it is customary for most of the travelers to buy water bottles and books in the railway station!There is a sea of people around me intently looking at the main display board and religious listening to the automated voice that repeats the information in 3 languages. "Yatrigan krupiya dhyaan de. Gaadi number 6020 Chennai se Bangalore jaane wali Lalbagh Express Platform no 3 se ravana hogi" It still rings a bell in my ears!! I also occasionally see a bunch of cops lurking around and looking visibly bored.
What mesmerizes me the most is the number of people who are directly and indirectly involved in the business of railways..right from the sweeper to the caterer to the police station in the railway station even to the extent of the guy who collects bills for the parking lot outside the station!! It is not for nuts that people call Indian railways to be the single largest employment provider in the entire world.

Cheers to Indian Railways!!

Paradox!

This post is on a creed. 'How secular are we??' 'Secularism is a taboo' These are some of the contradicting views in the society. Purists are of various types and are generally looked up/down as for multiple reasons:

At the outset how difficult is it for people to take a few steps forward and appreciate other forms of religion. I've always seen purists in every field specially in theology who claim that they dont intend to look into other forms of religion cause their way of life is the best! Now dont you think it is far more appreciated that you should infact plunge into various types of religion, explore them and still claim that you follow a particular way of life?? Purists are like race horses with horse blinders, driven by people and society in search of the ultimate truth of life. They do not peer into any other religion and are constantly bogged down by society at large. Infact I might even be permitted to go one step further and comment that some of the so called 'purists' dont even know what they are fighting for! The drive, the momentum within them to achieve the goal is so vigorous and aggressive that the goal is lost in the transit. I am not claiming that all orthodox followers are that way but I can certainly vouch that there is more of a herd behaviour in such aspects. 'Half knowledge is always dangerous' Now these are very often the irrational so called 'purists' who lay ridiculos feats in front of our eyes..right from vagabounding shops on Valentine's Day to banish Yoga in School because it has religious sentiments attached to it. They are the ones who have no idea on what is the objective of their protest and disapproval but battle around for the sake of it because the elite society is watchful on their actions.
Before we all take conclusions on the dark side of such mainstream guys, I can give a hind sight about them too.
Although this is another class of purists,I think they are also the ones who help in keeping the torch ablaze. The conformist, fastidious followers seem to enforce every religious act/practise and ensure that it actually trickles down the generations! Isnt it true?? Each religion has its own identity and a way in approaching life. Isnt it not simple to simply follow the regiment without questioning too much on it?? No single life is sufficient to explore the nuances of any religion..let alone diversing interests on all of them! A code of conduct, a matter of faith cannot simply be 'Jack of all, master of none' Follow one; execute it scrupulously! Thats the motto of some of them..and in their defence they arent completely wrong.
Even stranger,aint it??
Well..thats life! Its all a matter of perception. It can be highly subjective and hence reflects the kind of person you are.

Quote-Struck!!

After a hibernation of a year and a half am back in the blog world!!
As I was pondering over what I should be writing on, it suddenly struck me that I always relate everything to quotes..so why not write about them?? Quotes simply fascinate me. How is it that a small string of words can prove to be so meaningful and so powerful when they are said at the right moment? Quotes are omnipresent, multilingual and are delivered by people in all age groups..Right from the knowledgable philosophers like Plato, Socrates to naughty little Calvin to impactful quotes by anonymous. Somehow I've always observed that there is always one quote to describe every situation! They can be a word of caution, a song of praise, a subtle humour, a subjective statement..just about anything! Quotes are delivered by all and narrated by all. This universality feature is remarkable! They cut through all geographical and linguistic barriers. Tirukural written by famous Tamil literate Tiruvaluvar is the second book only after the Holy Bible to have been translated in maximum number of languages. And what is Tirukural all about? Simple couplets for normal lifestyle. Another aspect of quotes is the manner in which they are delivered. Its simply simple! No complexities involved, yet very forceful. These set of words condense an entire situation, sometimes even a state of mind. They are timeless, flown and handed down over generations.
Quotes are truly pearls of wisdom that are strung together to form a beautiful necklace!
Some memorable quotes:

• 'Experience is what you get when you dont get what you want' by Socrates
• 'Cricket is a game where 11 fools are playing and 11,000 fools are watching' by GB Shaw
• 'Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.' by Albert Einstein
• Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.' by Jimi Hendrix
• 'Reality is the illusion caused by lack of alcohol' Anonymous
• 'We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are' Calvin and Hobbes

Lastly its 'All's well that ends well' by Shakespeare.