"Arre bhau, puday zaa thumi, puday zaa...", said the rickshaw wallah. He was apparently having a tussle with another next to him. The scene was the entrance of the Pune Railway Station.
After a gap of almost 12 years I was venturing out of my native, Bangalore. And venturing, I was, to a place chartered by none of my family members. Maharashtra to me was only Bombay, or Mumbai, thanks to the Shiv-Sainiks. And Mumbai to me till then was just Bhai's Adda. Infact, the lines from Bombay Boys - "bhai ke adde me jo aata hai ik baar, udharich reh jaata hai chhod ke apna ghar baar" was echoing in my ears. Have I entered the adda? Will I get into it? Questions aplenty, answers none. Although, I was going to Pune & not Mumbai, the fact that it was a part of Bollywood's home, made me cringe.
A voracious film buff that I was, and one with a zest for realistic portrayals, I had not missed many of the top Bollywood flicks featuring the underworld operations. RGV was one of the best to canvas such realities. Bhavani in Shiva, still lingers in my mind, as the consummate 'bhai'. And who can forget Beeku Mhatre. What fascinated me were the raw names that he used - Bhavani, Chandu, Malik and, of course, Bheeku.
But these were just movies and my apprehensions had to do with what I used to read in the papers or watch in the crime section of the daily news which starred the who's who of the underworld - Chhota Rajan, Shakeel, Dawood, etc. The fact that most of them were from the commercial capital of India acted as an ice-dagger.
I alighted the train with a shiver in my spine. And started moving towards the exit. Just as I was crossing the tea stall...
"Pakdo saale ko...! Kuthe ki mauth maaro. Jadhav bhai se shaanpana karta hai, saaalaah!!", said an absolutely ferocious homosapien clad in a white kurta with a jean.
A band of ruffians had now caught up with a guy in kurta-pajamas as he had tripped & fallen down as if paying a tribute to all those filmi heroines who judiciously stumble on something when chased by rowdies.
By now the crowd had gathered closing all exits for the victim to escape. I was stunned to see them do that, "how could they watch instead of helping him?", I said to myself, diligently stepping & becoming one with the onlookers!!! You see, I am after all a lesser mortal.
The leader had a wonderful stone face, enough to put some 'bollywood sitarein' to shame. In a second he swirled his hand back to pull out a knife whilst the guy on the ground was struggling to get away from the kicks of the other ruffians. "Mujhe chhod do, mi asa nahi karnaar...koi mujhe bachaao..." shrilled the young man. He was surrounded by 6 goondas and another concentric circle which featured me amongst the others in the crowd. Sweat beads were all over the faces in the crowd. Not a single man, even the one who looked like a 'pehelwan', dared to go near to help. Prudence pulled me back.
"Kisse pooch raha hai bachaane ke liye, kutthe? Yeh saaley, sab hijre hain. Kisi ek mein kya himmat hai ise bachaane ki..aaah?", yelled the handsome goonda leader. His comments almost made me clap my hands, for it was inch perfect by any dialogue delivery standards. But, thank god, I stopped for I would have proved his words right!!!!
"Tu gaya aaj", said he & pulled out a deadly designer knife. It was a chrome plated knife, beautifully carved. The leader must be the right hand of Jadhav bhai, I thought. "Kitni baar... kitni baar bola tujhse, bhai se panga nahi lene ka", said he slapping the now half-dead victim, & repeated the lines slapping as many times. I could not watch the proceedings & closed my eyes with both palms, but the devil in me made me peep through a pin hole from my "hand made" blanket.
The poor soul begged on his knees saying "Nahi bhai, nahi.. aise kabhi nahin karoonga...mujhe maaf karo..mujhe maaf karo, bhagwaan ke liye....mujhe maaf karo". His face was thoroughly bruised & smeared with blood. There was nothing more left in him as he cried & cried till his voice turned low. All these fell to deaf ears, or atleast everyone was pretending to be deaf. My heart went out for the poor chap, but my mind pulled it back & placed it in the rib cage.
Sonu bhai was in no mood to listen. With the dagger shining under the station's lights he swirled his hand and....
"Aiiiga...maaar daala, is kameene ne. 14 take hue, par yeh item abhi tak is shot ko khatam nahi kar paaya. abe yede, teri tho...", yelled the director. The brilliantly crafted dagger had escaped Sonu bhai's sweaty palms & fallen on the railway tracks. The victim got up in a fit of anger & blasted at the now half-dead Sonu! "Aaj tak, ek kaam theek tharah se kiya hai kya tune, yede! Isko kis jungal mein pakda yaar aap logo ne? Mera poora paisa, lagta hai is ek scene me chala jaayega. Hat saaley!" It was obvious to me that it was the producer & his anguish was justified. The crowd was amused & so was I. Boy, that was something close to live of what I had thought about the Maratha land!
I picked my luggage which by now had gotten into a nap amidst the hullabaloo. I came out of the station to see the two rickshaw drivers in a war of words.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Mercara Musings - Trip to India's Scotland
Butterflies in the stomach - an apposite explanation to the scene that was our stomach on the evening of our departure. Departure, after a rubber-band wait, to what is rightly called as the Scotland of the East - or more succinctly India's Scotland. Yap, we were heading to the land of Coffee - Coorg.
Prem came home that night with a couple of knapsacks. "Jerkins are imperative. The weather is such that cows serve chilled milk, or probably ice cream!!" he exclaimed. I had just finished my evening prayers & came out of the puja room. Anbu, our chellam, was euphoric, karaoke-ing to a song playing in Radio Mirchi, only that the song was the funny jingle - "bestu, kanna bestu...Kungumam vaanga..."!!
Just then there was a big hoot from the road. It resembled the sound of a Pulsar. We heard it a second time. I was now sure that the hero had made his entry. Manoj had arrived, and in true Telugu hero style. But the idea only tickled us. Why? What else would you do, if a person wears sunglasses at night & clads himself in a winter jacket - and all this in Chennai ??? But, he had a digestible reason though. Space constraint in his bag. We acquiesced without much ado.
Our hall resembled a cloak room. Each one picked up his luggage. I cut a set of Sudoku puzzles from the newspapers & dumped them in my purse, just to keep myself engaged when in solitude. We had a sumptuous meal in Bharani & hopped into a three wheeled contraption to Central. Rs. 100 seemed to be a decent figure to give the rickshaw driver. He floored us by giving an "Aadi thallupadi" of 30%!!! I have started to expect much more from Pothy's!!
And was he fast? Fast is an understatement, for he was rash. Thalaivar Rajni seemed to have permeated him, for his flirtations with a neighbouring Kiny was nothing short of what the superstar can deliver. The difference was that while the latter generally gets into a duet in the next scene, our hero got into a duel - verbal albeit!!! It stopped soon. Our hero did not know that he was flirting a damsel, into whom lady-Amitabh-Bachchan, Vijayashanthi had permeated!!!!
The rest of the journey was better. We were discussing about everything from girls to.....well....er....girls!!! But, I must confess that I was very loyal & limited my thoughts to the girls I saw in TCO!!! Anbu, was as usual, waxing eloquent about Asin, the actress - someone whom he likes for a reason that is privy to me!!! Nope, sorry. I can't reveal. But I can bet that it'll be an absoulte stunner, if revealed!!! Amidst such banter, our loaded bellies provided bass effects through constant hyperventilative eructations(belching, for the uninitiated)!!
Central looked more resplendent than ever. The reversal to its original maroon was a welcome move by the administration after its initial experiment with a color that matched cow dung. The thalaivar within our hero was fully visible when he parked his to-me-it's-a-yamaha-to-you-it-may-be-an-auto. We alighted & briskly sauntered into Platform number....I think...it was 6. 6 it was. The aroma that lingered in the air was a deadly, repeat deadly, combination of fresh coffee & fresher ***. It's a pity that even after reading the boards in the lavatories, people desecrate the platforms. Can they not do it once the train moves?
The first person that I noticed was...hold it...wait...Balaji. But was it the same Balaji that we saw in the morning. It WAS him...but not yet. He stunned us with his maroon topless...I mean…collarless top... and... lo & behold....shorts!! But soon this sense of exaggeration dampened as many had come in shorts. I must admit that I too had ideas, but was properly advised by my room-mate not to give into it! He probably felt that I would be more...ahem...okay, okay, I'll stop it.
As we crossed him I could see a bunch of RSA figures (pun unintended)!!!! Madhan was the first ( the figures must make more sense now ) - as usual, nothing short of "Manmadhan". Hey, I generally hum this tune Manmadhan...manmadhan from the film of the same name whenever I see this charismatic fellow from the other arm of RSA. It suits him perfect. What say? He too was in his chaddis. "Arey bhai, kya ho raha hai? Koi fashion show hai kya?", I asked myself.
I got an answer immediately. Each one was begging to make a statement or two. Avishesh sported a brilliant red Man-U tee with a pair of Nike to boot! Subhashini's sartorial elegance needs no further explanation than that she was wearing a neat churidar. Deepa Jr., strolled in just as I was taking account of the haute couture near our compartment. Devdas would have cringed at her swagger. Upon interrogation, she said she was thinking about the return trip to Chennai! Amidst this garden of youth, I could spot two old people, standing next to whom was Anita. The genius in me quickly deciphered them as her parents! “Take a bow, Sandeep. Your ingenuity is unprecedented”, said my angel patting me simultaneously!
Some people missing in action were Deepa Sr., for her "tryst" with a motorcyclist & a subsequent "twist" in her leg. The other was Sandeep for obvious reasons. After a lot of persuasion Deepthy seemed to give into our whims, but pulled out at the last moment & decided to go to Palakkad - she never misses a chance to go there. Enda Guruvayoorappa!!! The other boys including yours truly were more down to earth in plain T-shirts & jeans / pants. But, why the hell am I delving into such details ? Let me think.......carry on reading, I'll explain once I get the reason.....
People started occupying their places. My grey cells seem to have lost the seat numbers, but I know for sure that we were placed closed to the lavatories. The lovely stench was ticking our noses! The Madisons & the Charlottes took their places diligently. I was asking myself whether this gap would ever bridge. Madhan replied to my thoughts in the negative. It surely is a pity, said I, again thru telepathy.
…continue….I am yet to get a reason….
The horns blew, the engines started & slowly the bogies followed in tow. Off we were on our journey. Arun & Vijay took upon the coordination work for the trip & handled it very well, I must admit. The TTE came & checked the tickets. The boys got into a lively chat session & I went to my berth & dozed off much to the anger of the others. You see, I have this complex policy – When it comes to sleep, I just….sleep. Sounds more like one of Murphy’s laws.
Day One
“Dei vennai, endhri da” was my wake-up call. I dunno from where it came. But, you betcha, I would kill that fellow for ruining my dream, where I was running around trees with Gayathri Joshi, the Swades lass – and one of my all-time favourites. Speaking of her, I had this funny incident. My parents were in the US with my sister when I sent them a mail saying that I was in love, deep love, with a girl & would like to marry her, if they permitted. I had attached Gayathri’s photo. Since, it was her first film, none of them knew that she was an actress & the matter turned serious to the point where they called me up that “very same evening”. While my father was sort of okay that I had chosen a beautiful Brahmin girl, my mother wouldn’t relent! I goaded her to accept, & when she relented, it was time to surprise them with Gayathri’s true identity! Boy, was it funny. Take my work for it, it was. OK, let’s carry on.
The Colgates & the Pepsodents were out & the drains were flush with minty foam. It was pretty cold in Bangalore. We all got down to board another train to Mysore. We walked to Platform No.5. We waited for the train to arrive. The team got treated to some good Hindi & Kannada tunes from the TVs. It was absolute fun watching their faces recoil. Hindi & Kannada were greek & latin or may be just hindi & Kannada to them!! The train arrived & we took our places, with due respect to the Madison-Charlotte class differentiation. The biting cold called for a hot cuppa tea. I got down to get a cup. Less the milk in tea, the better it is and the tea-wallah was only too happy to oblige! Nonetheless, it was eligible to burn our taste-buds. We finished it & quickly got in.
….thinking….
Up to to a certain distance, the tracks run parallel to the road to Mysore. It takes almost the same time, 180 minutes by road or rail to Mysore. Even though the sun was in full shine by now, it was chilly...er...I mean....pretty chill around. The feeling was nostalgic as I stood near the door way waiting to have a look at my alma-mater.
I studied at the R V College of Engineering, the best-est college in Bangalore. Yacku! It ranks as the third best in Karnataka after NIT, Mangalore & SJCE, Mysore. In Karnataka, people are not concerned from which university you are, as is the case in Tamil Nadu or Andhra, where eyeballs pop out if some one is from Anna or Jawaharlal Nehru Universities. You are Google material, if you are from NIT, deified if you are from SJCE, given a patient-hearing if you are from RVCE and so on.The four years I studied here (yes, I had no arrears although I came close to flunking in Math in the fourth semester, but passed with 2 full marks as margin!) were pretty interesting. But, I still like my school days the most. Always, anytime. Okay, let's get on with it. But you'll be treated to such things time & again. Call it...Being Sandeep!
I prepared everyone for a peep at my college. Slowly the trees moved away & I could see the cricket field. I sprinted towards these fellas who were discussing all things under the sun & shouted,"Look, that's my college. Ingedhaan, na padichen". But, no one seemed to be interested. I ran back to get a good look at it. I could see the main gate, the office block & finally the canteen. It was a moment similar to Dil Chahta Hai. I could see the spiral & my friends on the other side of it. But, today, I have lost contact with almost every one. Sad.
It was a pretty mundane journey. Someone had bought the day's newspaper. We got down to solve the sudoku. A seasoned player that I am, I left it to the novices! Manoj, Madhan, Rajesh & Vijay got down to work. I left for the other bay where all these guys, Gautham, Avishesh, Karthik, Jayamani, Anbu, Prem, Hari, Balaji, Arun et al were playing dumb-c. The theme was Movies. Gautham was the coordinator. Any questions...huh...anyone?
"Ille, inge 2 irukku, so inge 3 dhaan correct", said Madhan. Manoj nodded in affirmation. "Place 4 here", said Vijay. The scene bemused me. Four heads taking a crack at a simple puzzle. "Ungala ella nenecha enakku, paavama irukku", I told myself, in true Vadivelu style. I strolled back to the dumb-c area. Avishesh had opened hi box of Marwari sweets & savories. It was mouth watering. One resembled something like macaroni-shaped biscuits in caramel & the other was powdered papad. But, the taste was ecstatic. I had my fill & returned to help the fledglings. "Naalu peru irukkeenga, innu solve panliya?", said I. Rajesh retorted in a jiffy "Aah...vandu pannu theriyum". In true Vadivelu style, I said," Pechu pechaadhaan irukkanam, andha paper kitta naanum varamaatten, neengalum adha vittu varakkodaadhu" and moved away. Ultimately, they gave up finding it too diffuicult. Pity!
I moved away from there to another place where Deepa, Devi, Bala, Avi (he had moved here by then), Shankar & Quarter Jana were sitting. I suggested we play Antakshari & no one revolted. I started out with "Vaadi Vaadi" from Sachein. It went on in a very secular fashion as songs from all languages were accomodated. A cute kid from another bay also joined with his camera. Vijay too visited with his camera & it turned into a good photo session with the cute customer. As always, I got bored & came back to the sudoku area. But the paper was not to be found.
Meenakshi was having it. It was now her turn to solve it. But, instead of continuing from where the guys had left, she started from scratch - literally scratching off whatever the guys had done! And in a few minutes, she yelled, "It's done", much to the dismay of the boys! I was ashamed of my disciples!
The train reached the station & all of us alighted and walked to the gate where two mini buses were standng. We reached Hotel Gayathri (not Joshi, this time - but I felt that there were some waves between us!!!). The rooms were small, but the bathrooms were huge. Hot water was available. I treated my friends and neighbours to some of the latest tamil songs whilst bathing. You see, with due respect to Jeeves, I endeavor to give satisfaction. I took the longest to finish. We all went to the nearest hotel for the breakfast. All of us ordered a Masala Dosa first. I asked for a double roasted one. The dosas simply melted in the mouth. Heavenly tastes. We took a dig at the ones served in Chennai & especially the ones in TCO. They don't even come close, do they?
After draining the food stuff with Coffee & Ginger Tea, we came back , packed our bags and waited for the usual slow-pokes, the girls, to finish. And were they late? The less said, the bettert. Till then, we had a photo session as all the boys had assembled in our room. Somehow, I seem to have fans wherever I go! At last, it was time to start for our first destination. We got to know that it was the Golden Temple in Kushalnagar, some 80 kms from the place. It was a bumpy ride. The roads in Karnataka are notorious, I must confess. Adding fuel to the fire were the mini buses which hardly come with any shock absorbers.
The scene looked green on either side of the road. We could see ponds with beautiful lillies alternating with huge trees surrounded by bushes. The climate was brilliant with the sun rays providing just enough heat to keep us feeling more than comfortable. The leaves looked fresh & crisp. There were some absolutely stupendous scenes like pastures in different shades on green dotted with white storks, a small road with gigantic trees providing a canopy whilst allowing only a privlieged lot of the sun's rays. Spellbinding. I had never seen such beautiful images live. It's time our directors & producers explored such lanscapes instead of expending tonnes of hard-earned money for foreign locales. We got down to have a small rendezvous with the cameras.
The buses took a left turn from the highway & crossed a big gate that had something written in a language of the Mongoloids. I yelled, "We have entered the Tibetan region". Not a single mortal resembling the Dravidian or Aryan culture was present there. Every one looked like a Dalai Lama. The names of shops rhymed with all sorts of sounds you can get when you strike a metal - Ting tong, Ping pong, Jing jong. You name it, we saw it. Here too, I saw a one-derful scene that was picture perfect. As the bus took a right turn, I could see through the window on the other side, a mother holding her baby & looking with a Monalisa smile. The face was partially covered by the shade of the roof under which she was standing. Alas, I did not have my own camera! All places within this region were very clean. The buses came to a halt in front of the gate.
Prem came home that night with a couple of knapsacks. "Jerkins are imperative. The weather is such that cows serve chilled milk, or probably ice cream!!" he exclaimed. I had just finished my evening prayers & came out of the puja room. Anbu, our chellam, was euphoric, karaoke-ing to a song playing in Radio Mirchi, only that the song was the funny jingle - "bestu, kanna bestu...Kungumam vaanga..."!!
Just then there was a big hoot from the road. It resembled the sound of a Pulsar. We heard it a second time. I was now sure that the hero had made his entry. Manoj had arrived, and in true Telugu hero style. But the idea only tickled us. Why? What else would you do, if a person wears sunglasses at night & clads himself in a winter jacket - and all this in Chennai ??? But, he had a digestible reason though. Space constraint in his bag. We acquiesced without much ado.
Our hall resembled a cloak room. Each one picked up his luggage. I cut a set of Sudoku puzzles from the newspapers & dumped them in my purse, just to keep myself engaged when in solitude. We had a sumptuous meal in Bharani & hopped into a three wheeled contraption to Central. Rs. 100 seemed to be a decent figure to give the rickshaw driver. He floored us by giving an "Aadi thallupadi" of 30%!!! I have started to expect much more from Pothy's!!
And was he fast? Fast is an understatement, for he was rash. Thalaivar Rajni seemed to have permeated him, for his flirtations with a neighbouring Kiny was nothing short of what the superstar can deliver. The difference was that while the latter generally gets into a duet in the next scene, our hero got into a duel - verbal albeit!!! It stopped soon. Our hero did not know that he was flirting a damsel, into whom lady-Amitabh-Bachchan, Vijayashanthi had permeated!!!!
The rest of the journey was better. We were discussing about everything from girls to.....well....er....girls!!! But, I must confess that I was very loyal & limited my thoughts to the girls I saw in TCO!!! Anbu, was as usual, waxing eloquent about Asin, the actress - someone whom he likes for a reason that is privy to me!!! Nope, sorry. I can't reveal. But I can bet that it'll be an absoulte stunner, if revealed!!! Amidst such banter, our loaded bellies provided bass effects through constant hyperventilative eructations(belching, for the uninitiated)!!
Central looked more resplendent than ever. The reversal to its original maroon was a welcome move by the administration after its initial experiment with a color that matched cow dung. The thalaivar within our hero was fully visible when he parked his to-me-it's-a-yamaha-to-you-it-may-be-an-auto. We alighted & briskly sauntered into Platform number....I think...it was 6. 6 it was. The aroma that lingered in the air was a deadly, repeat deadly, combination of fresh coffee & fresher ***. It's a pity that even after reading the boards in the lavatories, people desecrate the platforms. Can they not do it once the train moves?
The first person that I noticed was...hold it...wait...Balaji. But was it the same Balaji that we saw in the morning. It WAS him...but not yet. He stunned us with his maroon topless...I mean…collarless top... and... lo & behold....shorts!! But soon this sense of exaggeration dampened as many had come in shorts. I must admit that I too had ideas, but was properly advised by my room-mate not to give into it! He probably felt that I would be more...ahem...okay, okay, I'll stop it.
As we crossed him I could see a bunch of RSA figures (pun unintended)!!!! Madhan was the first ( the figures must make more sense now ) - as usual, nothing short of "Manmadhan". Hey, I generally hum this tune Manmadhan...manmadhan from the film of the same name whenever I see this charismatic fellow from the other arm of RSA. It suits him perfect. What say? He too was in his chaddis. "Arey bhai, kya ho raha hai? Koi fashion show hai kya?", I asked myself.
I got an answer immediately. Each one was begging to make a statement or two. Avishesh sported a brilliant red Man-U tee with a pair of Nike to boot! Subhashini's sartorial elegance needs no further explanation than that she was wearing a neat churidar. Deepa Jr., strolled in just as I was taking account of the haute couture near our compartment. Devdas would have cringed at her swagger. Upon interrogation, she said she was thinking about the return trip to Chennai! Amidst this garden of youth, I could spot two old people, standing next to whom was Anita. The genius in me quickly deciphered them as her parents! “Take a bow, Sandeep. Your ingenuity is unprecedented”, said my angel patting me simultaneously!
Some people missing in action were Deepa Sr., for her "tryst" with a motorcyclist & a subsequent "twist" in her leg. The other was Sandeep for obvious reasons. After a lot of persuasion Deepthy seemed to give into our whims, but pulled out at the last moment & decided to go to Palakkad - she never misses a chance to go there. Enda Guruvayoorappa!!! The other boys including yours truly were more down to earth in plain T-shirts & jeans / pants. But, why the hell am I delving into such details ? Let me think.......carry on reading, I'll explain once I get the reason.....
People started occupying their places. My grey cells seem to have lost the seat numbers, but I know for sure that we were placed closed to the lavatories. The lovely stench was ticking our noses! The Madisons & the Charlottes took their places diligently. I was asking myself whether this gap would ever bridge. Madhan replied to my thoughts in the negative. It surely is a pity, said I, again thru telepathy.
…continue….I am yet to get a reason….
The horns blew, the engines started & slowly the bogies followed in tow. Off we were on our journey. Arun & Vijay took upon the coordination work for the trip & handled it very well, I must admit. The TTE came & checked the tickets. The boys got into a lively chat session & I went to my berth & dozed off much to the anger of the others. You see, I have this complex policy – When it comes to sleep, I just….sleep. Sounds more like one of Murphy’s laws.
Day One
“Dei vennai, endhri da” was my wake-up call. I dunno from where it came. But, you betcha, I would kill that fellow for ruining my dream, where I was running around trees with Gayathri Joshi, the Swades lass – and one of my all-time favourites. Speaking of her, I had this funny incident. My parents were in the US with my sister when I sent them a mail saying that I was in love, deep love, with a girl & would like to marry her, if they permitted. I had attached Gayathri’s photo. Since, it was her first film, none of them knew that she was an actress & the matter turned serious to the point where they called me up that “very same evening”. While my father was sort of okay that I had chosen a beautiful Brahmin girl, my mother wouldn’t relent! I goaded her to accept, & when she relented, it was time to surprise them with Gayathri’s true identity! Boy, was it funny. Take my work for it, it was. OK, let’s carry on.
The Colgates & the Pepsodents were out & the drains were flush with minty foam. It was pretty cold in Bangalore. We all got down to board another train to Mysore. We walked to Platform No.5. We waited for the train to arrive. The team got treated to some good Hindi & Kannada tunes from the TVs. It was absolute fun watching their faces recoil. Hindi & Kannada were greek & latin or may be just hindi & Kannada to them!! The train arrived & we took our places, with due respect to the Madison-Charlotte class differentiation. The biting cold called for a hot cuppa tea. I got down to get a cup. Less the milk in tea, the better it is and the tea-wallah was only too happy to oblige! Nonetheless, it was eligible to burn our taste-buds. We finished it & quickly got in.
….thinking….
Up to to a certain distance, the tracks run parallel to the road to Mysore. It takes almost the same time, 180 minutes by road or rail to Mysore. Even though the sun was in full shine by now, it was chilly...er...I mean....pretty chill around. The feeling was nostalgic as I stood near the door way waiting to have a look at my alma-mater.
I studied at the R V College of Engineering, the best-est college in Bangalore. Yacku! It ranks as the third best in Karnataka after NIT, Mangalore & SJCE, Mysore. In Karnataka, people are not concerned from which university you are, as is the case in Tamil Nadu or Andhra, where eyeballs pop out if some one is from Anna or Jawaharlal Nehru Universities. You are Google material, if you are from NIT, deified if you are from SJCE, given a patient-hearing if you are from RVCE and so on.The four years I studied here (yes, I had no arrears although I came close to flunking in Math in the fourth semester, but passed with 2 full marks as margin!) were pretty interesting. But, I still like my school days the most. Always, anytime. Okay, let's get on with it. But you'll be treated to such things time & again. Call it...Being Sandeep!
I prepared everyone for a peep at my college. Slowly the trees moved away & I could see the cricket field. I sprinted towards these fellas who were discussing all things under the sun & shouted,"Look, that's my college. Ingedhaan, na padichen". But, no one seemed to be interested. I ran back to get a good look at it. I could see the main gate, the office block & finally the canteen. It was a moment similar to Dil Chahta Hai. I could see the spiral & my friends on the other side of it. But, today, I have lost contact with almost every one. Sad.
It was a pretty mundane journey. Someone had bought the day's newspaper. We got down to solve the sudoku. A seasoned player that I am, I left it to the novices! Manoj, Madhan, Rajesh & Vijay got down to work. I left for the other bay where all these guys, Gautham, Avishesh, Karthik, Jayamani, Anbu, Prem, Hari, Balaji, Arun et al were playing dumb-c. The theme was Movies. Gautham was the coordinator. Any questions...huh...anyone?
"Ille, inge 2 irukku, so inge 3 dhaan correct", said Madhan. Manoj nodded in affirmation. "Place 4 here", said Vijay. The scene bemused me. Four heads taking a crack at a simple puzzle. "Ungala ella nenecha enakku, paavama irukku", I told myself, in true Vadivelu style. I strolled back to the dumb-c area. Avishesh had opened hi box of Marwari sweets & savories. It was mouth watering. One resembled something like macaroni-shaped biscuits in caramel & the other was powdered papad. But, the taste was ecstatic. I had my fill & returned to help the fledglings. "Naalu peru irukkeenga, innu solve panliya?", said I. Rajesh retorted in a jiffy "Aah...vandu pannu theriyum". In true Vadivelu style, I said," Pechu pechaadhaan irukkanam, andha paper kitta naanum varamaatten, neengalum adha vittu varakkodaadhu" and moved away. Ultimately, they gave up finding it too diffuicult. Pity!
I moved away from there to another place where Deepa, Devi, Bala, Avi (he had moved here by then), Shankar & Quarter Jana were sitting. I suggested we play Antakshari & no one revolted. I started out with "Vaadi Vaadi" from Sachein. It went on in a very secular fashion as songs from all languages were accomodated. A cute kid from another bay also joined with his camera. Vijay too visited with his camera & it turned into a good photo session with the cute customer. As always, I got bored & came back to the sudoku area. But the paper was not to be found.
Meenakshi was having it. It was now her turn to solve it. But, instead of continuing from where the guys had left, she started from scratch - literally scratching off whatever the guys had done! And in a few minutes, she yelled, "It's done", much to the dismay of the boys! I was ashamed of my disciples!
The train reached the station & all of us alighted and walked to the gate where two mini buses were standng. We reached Hotel Gayathri (not Joshi, this time - but I felt that there were some waves between us!!!). The rooms were small, but the bathrooms were huge. Hot water was available. I treated my friends and neighbours to some of the latest tamil songs whilst bathing. You see, with due respect to Jeeves, I endeavor to give satisfaction. I took the longest to finish. We all went to the nearest hotel for the breakfast. All of us ordered a Masala Dosa first. I asked for a double roasted one. The dosas simply melted in the mouth. Heavenly tastes. We took a dig at the ones served in Chennai & especially the ones in TCO. They don't even come close, do they?
After draining the food stuff with Coffee & Ginger Tea, we came back , packed our bags and waited for the usual slow-pokes, the girls, to finish. And were they late? The less said, the bettert. Till then, we had a photo session as all the boys had assembled in our room. Somehow, I seem to have fans wherever I go! At last, it was time to start for our first destination. We got to know that it was the Golden Temple in Kushalnagar, some 80 kms from the place. It was a bumpy ride. The roads in Karnataka are notorious, I must confess. Adding fuel to the fire were the mini buses which hardly come with any shock absorbers.
The scene looked green on either side of the road. We could see ponds with beautiful lillies alternating with huge trees surrounded by bushes. The climate was brilliant with the sun rays providing just enough heat to keep us feeling more than comfortable. The leaves looked fresh & crisp. There were some absolutely stupendous scenes like pastures in different shades on green dotted with white storks, a small road with gigantic trees providing a canopy whilst allowing only a privlieged lot of the sun's rays. Spellbinding. I had never seen such beautiful images live. It's time our directors & producers explored such lanscapes instead of expending tonnes of hard-earned money for foreign locales. We got down to have a small rendezvous with the cameras.
The buses took a left turn from the highway & crossed a big gate that had something written in a language of the Mongoloids. I yelled, "We have entered the Tibetan region". Not a single mortal resembling the Dravidian or Aryan culture was present there. Every one looked like a Dalai Lama. The names of shops rhymed with all sorts of sounds you can get when you strike a metal - Ting tong, Ping pong, Jing jong. You name it, we saw it. Here too, I saw a one-derful scene that was picture perfect. As the bus took a right turn, I could see through the window on the other side, a mother holding her baby & looking with a Monalisa smile. The face was partially covered by the shade of the roof under which she was standing. Alas, I did not have my own camera! All places within this region were very clean. The buses came to a halt in front of the gate.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Lord Krishna
That's Lord Krishna, one of my favorite gods. He is one of the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the second in the list of three most important gods in Hindu Mythology - Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)