Vishu of 2011

'Vishu' is celebrated as the first day of the Malayalam Calender. The auspicious day when the head of family arrange a 'Vishu Kani' for the family to bring luck and prosperity to the family for the entire year.

In 2011, this day fell on 15th April. I had the tickets for my hometown booked two months back. I travelled to Kerala on 12th April. It was the first Vishu for us after the marriage.

On 15th April, at 5.30, we were called up for viewing the 'Kani' in our Pooja room. As a part of the custom, 'Vishu Kaineetam' ritual took place. We visited my younger cousins and gave 'Kaineetam' to them. My In-laws joined us for Vishu on 15th April by noon, in Kollam. We had the Vishu Sadhya at my home. As part of the get together, we visited some of our relatives. The air was good and everyone had a good time.

We returned to Chennai on 20th April. Thinking back now, we had a good time back in Kerala. A rememberable Vishu indeed after our marriage.

To end this post, let me wish each and every reader a prosperous year ahead.

Reviving those memories

This was when we went to hometown in April; away from the busy and hectic Chennai.

We really find home, a special place when we are away from it. It was quite sometime since our last journey to hometown. I felt the freshness in my mind, when I heard that the climate was rainy. Same feeling which I have felt many times; during my college days, when the rainy season was near the doors... the urge to get back to home.

I sat in the doorstep facing our backyard. I narrated to my wife, the times of my college days where I used to sit in the same place; watching the rain. The backyard was teaming with life. I have heard those sounds a lot many times before. But suddenly, I felt like, I was hearing them for the first time.

We have a coconut tree at the east, near to the compound wall enclosing the plot. I used to watch streams of sunlight passing though the leaves of the tree during sunrise, those old times. I noticed that tree. It has been a long time. The rain was heavy and I noted the leaves. It seemed like those old leaves were still positioned there... or was it an illusion?

I used to count ripples in small pots of rain water in those old times. I watched them now... I didn't feel like counting. We change a lot when we grow up... Small things like this, when thought about, explains a lot... a lot about how we were then and and how we are now.

The wind was getting heavy. My mother was calling us inside. We have to catch the train back to Chennai the next day. Thinking about that, a cold was unacceptable. Life is different when away from home. Sometimes, that life doesn't understand certain subtle elements like these.

Defining Life, get going is the new motto. And, we go about it, the way it's layed down.

Life of a Sand Castle

They were there... All along the beach shore. They live for the day. At the end of the day, they go back to the place where they belong - the mother, the sea.

We saw this one when we went to beach today. There was a birthday celebration on the beach. A group of children started constructing a sand castle in the shore. Youngsters from the party joined them. They might have worked for more than 30 minutes on that. At the end, there were smiles on those faces. For children, the achievement was overwhelming and for youngsters; it was like the revival of their childhood memories.The children sat besides the inch high wall of their castle. At the end of the photo session thereon, the party concluded. The sand castle was left behind by the team.

The life of the sand castle is not always predictable.

Children playing in the shore consider the place as their playground. Half of the sand castle went down once their games were over.

Time passed by. Tides were rising. Waves started breaching the walls of the castle. Afterall, it has to go back to the place where it belongs. Slowly, we started walking away from the beach.

The Sand Castle lived for one hour; It was just another day for the sea...

The 'Bond' is complete

Time flies by... It was on 1st November 2010, that I got commited to Radhika. I recall now that, It has been nearly tow and a half months, since the wait started.

17th January 2011. The wait ended on that day. The day on which a bond of lifetime, was created. Our marriage was held at Contour Backwaters, Changanacherry. The sacred 'muhurtham' for the 'Thali Kettu' was between 12.15PM and 12.45PM.

At 12.30PM, I tied the sacred knot on Radhika.

As per the custom, Radhika's hand was joined with mine with a Betel leaf. I journied alone till that moment. We start our journey together, hereon.

Epilogue:
I tried to reach all my friends for inviting them for marriage. If I have missed you, It might be that, I wasn't that lucky to have you for my marriage. I apologize for my incapability in reaching you.
For those who managed to reach me during that time via mail or sms or call or by presence, my sincere thanks for thinking about us associating that gracious occasion. I felt that, I could atleast try to pay my gratitude and express my regards to you though this writing.

All is well.

December of 2010

Season's greetings started pouring on to my mailbox that month. It was a special month. The month of Christmas. Month which marks the end of a year, waiting for the brand new year. It was December of 2010.

That December didn't have much of action. It lacked a punch; let me put it in a freak way.

In the last week of December, couple of my roomies went to their hometown. The usual 'gang' wasn't fully present for a bash for the new year.

On 31st December 2010, short in members, our gang headed towards Thiruvanmiyur beach. Beach is just 100m away from our house. There were a lot of families and bachelors pouring into the beach. A group of bachelors already started dancing in one corner of the beach road. This group dropped their voices of cheers as an when a police jeep made its rounds close to the beach.

At 12.00AM, 1st January 2011, strings of firework got triggered all over the beach coast. A moment when everyone at the beach got elated to the highest spirits; forgetting all the worries in their life.

Spirits high, we walked our way to our house; making the way through the crowds who were wishing and hugging, shouting out 'Happy New Year'. Most of them were in moment of self elation, thanks to the contribution of the 'spirit lifter'. We wished them back, let them be 'glorified'.

Welcome, 2011!

The Turning Point

I turned 28 in October 2010. The milestone which the readers of my horoscope marked as a turning point towards the next step of my life. Ending bachelorhood, I was stepping into the Grihastha 'mode'.

The first 'contact' was on 6th October 2010, via google chat. I saw her first on 10th October 2010. Our engagement was fixed.

On 1st November 2010, we became half-bonded when I exchanged ring with Radhika. The bond will become complete on 17th January 2011, when I tie the sacred 'Thali' on her.

The Turning Point.

10/10/10

Does my subject ring a bell?

Sure, it should. 10th Oct '10.

I wanted to make my post for October short... and sweet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I waited for that time..
That time seemed distant for me once.
The angel was so close but,
It was just a matter of time, they say..
When it was time, I travelled miles..
And then, I saw those smiles.
That moment, I knew
It was those, which i waited for..
Those when i saw, i felt;
I had known them for thousand years..
And yes, It passed on the same warmth;
For which i had the feeling,
That i knew her for my past ten lives.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day was 10/10/10. It was special.

OFF-TOPICISM

Getting along with the Odd. That is what sometimes life can be defined like.
This weekend, I have pulled out sometime... To write this post. I feel like i haven't had free time for almost a year. Maybe the time is flowing so fast. Maybe, i'm not doing much to get the feel of a day. (Err..!)

Well.. I felt like jotting down something. But, I wasn't sure what to write. So, i thought of writing random things. Atleast for this post. Yup, people write things related to a matter. Always. Why not some difference. Let's say a different category of writing.. "OFF-TOPICISM"

My bike insurance expired a month back. On 19th May 2009. I took it out for 2times after that. Once, to my office riding 25Kms, well over 80km/hr in speedometer.(My bike cannot peak over that. It is getting older; lol). Enough of heroism.(Readers abroad, that road cannot guarantee your life at speeds >80km/hr. Yes. Indeed Heroic; Period.) Today morning, I renewed it. (I heard your sighs, keep'em intact ;)).

Zaminamina Zankalewa; This time for Africa!. This is what Shakira Isabel Mebarek Ripoll has offered her fans lately. Recently, I saw a video of the song in a youtube post. One of the comments was 'Shakira has improved a lot'. Wow. I was not quite sure what that guy intended by that. Anyways, she managed to get a lot of new fans; including some hardcore football lovers.

I didn't get time to fix the strap for my watch. Oops, correction. I was naughty enough to go till spencer plaza mall to fix my watch's strap. Yup, long distance, bad climate. Blame them all. Finally, i own a swatch, for placing it in my cupboard. Hah, it's this which has reminded me about my mobile. I have a nokia 5800 xpressmusic which will be out of warranty, this June end. I'm snoozing a remainder in the same mobile for almost 3months to fix the broken latch for the stylus(which was lost!). The reason? The repair shop is another 50Kms away in no-man's land.
Heh, pity them.

Now, it is 15.20 IST. I have taken neither my breakfast nor my lunch. There is no smooth ending for an OFF-TOPIC post. So, dropping this now & Off i go.

Summer in Chennai

Summer is back. Everytime it comes back, it's intensity is getting unbearable. Is this signifying the global climate change? Well, i am not a meteorologist to make deductions out of some mere facts. But, we know that things around us are changing year by year.

That remained me of the Earth Hour movement. WWF has planned to observe this year. It is supposed to be on March 27th. Seven days from today, being a Saturday, I believe, i will be supporting the movement in full strength. The reason? I will be outside my flat that time. Atleast, few people like me will promote the movement with their big heart in such a way. ;)

We are planning to buy Air Conditioner for our flat. So, forget what i said about Earth Hour a while back. God knows how much we are going to pay for the electricity consumption towards the month end. What can we do, :p Material comforts seems to be given priority everywhere nowadays; even in our workplace. And so, the decision to beat the scorching summer has to be taken in this way.

I read that, it hit 36 Degree Celsius on March 16th here in Chennai. They say, it's just a beginning. Let us wait and see, what is in store for this year; waiting to be unleashed.

Something to scribble down...

I was thinking of things i could blog for feb quota of 2010. I thought so hard about it. But, it was just the time i didn't have for thinking more. The reason? Here it goes...

It is already February. I am into a new project. The project schedule is tight. We have been working almost all days in the week. For sure, we are spending ~14 hours of the day in travel + work. The good thing here is that, the technology is new. So, we are learning something good. Good for career; yes. I feel that this goes on till march mid; we have some schedule plotted around that time.

So, as far as it goes good, we expect things to settle down a bit by that time. Let's see... Now, since I'm running out of time, i got to wind this up here. Until next one!

Another year begins...

Goodbye December, Welcome January. The phrase has repeated for 27 times for me now. Well, the difference is just the number. It adds 1 every time :).

I wanted to post this one on January first. I couldn't. But, when time advances, you get things to write. Is it not always like that? Certainly for you and me, yes.

Things have changed. I am certain of that. I am facing new challenges. They are kind of good, I feel. I am learning a lot. That way, it is good. New environment, new faces, new challenges... I just know that time is running fast. You doesn't have control over it. It just moves on. Often, we struggle to keep our pace with it. It seems quite difficult. Well, we got to accept it. We aren't demigods, right?

So, here lies a whole year before me, poised for the set of actions that unfolds in the due course of time. To be lil poetic and far less sarcastic(i pledge here, i'm not one),

Behold thy self, the path that lays ahead;
is all set, for you to head.

Another year ends...

It's december. December of 2009. Every time a december comes through, I feel like the year is getting over faster; faster than the last one. Lol, I am getting off the topic. So, what have i got for december... Well, its just how we plan the 31st of Decmeber 2009.

December 2008 was celebrated in Pondy, as i have already mentioned in one of my previous post. This time, the vigour wasn't there with the boys out with me for a drive. I'd say, they were tired of seeing Pondy. Some felt like, it was tiresome to ride bikes till Pondy. I never felt so. Maybe that, I loved that road so much :).

We have decided finally to do the bash here in Chennai itself. The venue will be VGP Universal Kingdom. The tickets are booked. Entry fee for a person is 1000Rs. I am just thinking about the ways in which you can make easy money. Well, the 'outlook' has changed. People have money. :P. Pity it. I can tell what VGP offers for 1000Rs. A beach clearance fenced with some bamboo poles. A sub-standard(my version) music 'extravaganza' to chill up(that's what they say) your spine. Burgers or Hot dogs worth 150Rs a piece and so on. Money flows in for people now. What other ways other than these are there for the same to move out? And so, it goes.

So, You would be wondering why the heck i would care and write all these here. Generation. The change is all around you. You got to move with it. Ain't we? Else, you will be left behind. So, here I go.

Being in this life...

I am not sure why I am writing this down now. Sometimes, it might be that, I feel myself relieved. Kindof, sharing your problems might ease you up.

Life, It's difficult to understand sometimes. I want to do good. Everywhere, anytime, with everyone. I don't know what prevents me from it. I try, I fail. Or, I feel like I am made to fail.

Things are not going as I want them to go. I am looking for a change. I have started working for it. I will get it soon. Of that, I am sure. Humans, we are. We need change. What is life without change?

Ah, reading this, don't you dare think that this is about a girl. No, it isn't. It is just that things aren't that easy going during this time. Seems like the stars are not aligned as they need to be :). So, I am just waiting for that change. For, it is HE who decides what to put where. I'm leaving all to him.

I just pray, lead me in the right way.

My December

Though the title gives the reader a touche at the Linkin Park's song, I felt that it is the best for my year end blog.
Decembers... went through 26 of them till now. A few 'memorable' of these; anyways. I was trying to think of these Decembers in this December. How fast a year has gone man! So fast that you feel like the last december 31st was just yesterday. Well, no point in talking the past... says wise men.

Jotting down my last 4 decembers...

December 31st, 2004
I was in Bangalore. The times of search for a job. I spend that night thinking of my career and a job in the top floor of the rented appartment in Bomnahalli, Bangalore.

December 31st, 2005
I was in my home town. The night went as usual. Calm, with a sumptuous dinner; ready to welcome the next year.

December 31st, 2006
Rocking Freaking Dashing Daring... say what? That was the night when we broke the rules, the impossibilities, the barriers and we literally flew! The night, we planned a trip to Pondicherry. We 'safely' made it to Pondy and celebrated the night dancing the entire night! On January 13th, we roomies (Better name us Roadies) broke the rules. We made it to Pondy(147 Kms from where we stay: Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai) in 1.5 hours in our Pulsar 150 's. lolzz, that was a hell of a ride. That night was unforgettable. We 'luckily' made it to Pondy that night. ;-)

December 31st, 2007
I was in Belgium. Winter time! We went out that night to explore the new year celebration in Halle, Belgium. Quite a change from the previous december 31st's; this was spend in a different ambience. The most lucky thing that night was the chance to see a fantastic firecracker show in Halle township.

And today, its 29th december, almost 2 days to record the night of December 31st, 2008
I cannot fortell about this day. No plans made till now. :)
I will wait and see... By the way, I will not update this column. Because, that will be a January 2009 log. :)

Complications of a convoluted mind

The 'about me' section of my orkut profile shows the following content...

I'm a car maniac.
I always think of writing a lot but ends up without even forming a sentence.
I like to read a lot of books (Stress on like).
I want to drive a Porsche; i don't know when it is possible.
I used to dream a lot when i was a kid; i don't find time for it now.
I like guns; used to investigate them when i find something interesting... But, i haven't touched one till now.
I like science fictions; finally i don't deny the fact that there are aliens out there watching us.
I like photography; An SLR camera holds a top position in my wish list.
I love my parents and family; like everyone ...
I believe in god; the belief has not put me down till now.
I have many friends; i don't know how many amongst them consider me as a friend.
I like to be simple; though the society isn't helping it.
I think multiple things at a time; i don't know why.
If you read this sentence, i believe that you have not skipped any of them written above.
So nice of you! :)

Not definitely a normal 'about me' eh?

Said this, what is that which is making me go along, what is happening inside me, what am i thinking when i do work, why do i think different... i don't find answers.

Complications of a convoluted mind.

About Me

What i write here will not describe me fully...
What i write here will not help in changing the ME...
What i am not writing here will not hold you back from knowing more about me...
Just another social being who likes to understand why certain things are like that.. and not like this. Curious at times, naughty sometimes, but friendly. I am trying to find out more of me.

The Question is.. When will i find the answer...

The Starting Trouble

The title of this blog looks funny right? :) . Well, i didn't find a better one to define this state... The state of 'unawareness'.. Unaware of what to write! Period.

Counted as one of my long cherished dreams, i have kicked off this 'TRY' finally.
Wow.. i too have a blog now!

But... my heart kept asking me.. 'Are you totally nuts to go for such a dangerous game???.. the one played by people who knows to write.. and so and so...'
Ahhhhhhhh! I termed those feelings as "Hesitations of an unstable mind!". What else.!

Feeling happy that i found the solution to those burgeoning wicked thoughts within me, i am into the blogger world.. nicknamed 'The Commoner'. Why this name?.. Well, It seemed a lot better that a 'Pandemonium Factor' or 'The Immortal Demigod'. I found it simple. :)