Blah!

Some things in the world must be turned into axioms, you know the ones like we used to study in maths, where they were considered universal truths. Like,Sreesanth, no matter what he does, however hard he tries, just seems to always get on to your nerves.

Ever wonder how..

Every ‘close friend’ has had thoughts of proposing to his/her ‘close friend’ of the opposite sex on April Fool’s day so that if nothing works out, they can pass it off as the joke of the century.

Ah!Nostalgia

It is the last few days here in college and surprisingly, I am really going to miss this place. That is something I am sure I would not have said a few months back. It is surprising how people and places you hate just grow on to you. This piece of mine started developing when someone asked me if I had achieved anything in this place. Although I have had more than an average share of success in college activities, nothing compares to the bonds of kinship that I have shared. I thought it would only be fair to put my thoughts down on paper as a sign of respect to these remarkable personalities. It is a tribute to the people I love unconditionally; so please feel free to skip this if you are looking for humour. Also names have been changed to protect privacy.

I think the feelings of nostalgia started when I said goodbye to Shikha. It was then that it struck me that I would no longer have her around to complain about how life sucks. Being the eternal diplomat, she would never join in my bitching. And that has only increased her respect in my eyes because even though I want to be like her, I have worn my heart on my sleeve. The way she behaves, the way she talks and the way she looks at life has had its impact on me. She has counselled me without even realising it. I will definitely miss her and all the things we talked about. I am in awe of her and the principles she stands for. My only regret is that she started understanding me when I was not my usual self and was going through an immature time, making a lot of mistakes. I wish her all the best in whatever she does and am sure her guy will take care of her, like she deserves to be.

Then there is Preetha. It has been 4 years of a rollercoaster ride with her. She is so unlike any of the girls I know; emotionally strong and damn fun to be with. There has hardly been any conversation with her that I have not enjoyed. She fights with me; She criticises me; She abuses me but I know deep down there is a decent amount of respect for the person I am. Being a sucker for the phrase ‘old is gold’, I am in still shocked how she put up with me through all the vicissitudes of college life. The best part about her is that she never and I mean never judged me on my actions and any explanations I gave her were more than sufficient for her even though she may never have seen eye to eye with me in all cases. Her eventful life has always had me in a dilemma and she sure knows how to enjoy life, and make me feel miserable at the same time! Although I did not have the ideal goodbye with her because(surprise, surprise!) she was going through a difficult phase of her life, I will always be there to support her. I hope things work out for her because it hurts to see someone so good at heart, so good at everything she does not getting the happiness that she deserves.

Last but definitely the toughest goodbye will be reserved for Sushant. My confidante, guru, brother in arms and the person I will miss the most(before I get belted, let me assure you it’s not like I am ranking my friends, but a relationship with the same sex definitely has more perks!).He has always been there .It just took me a while to find him. Pure genius that he is, he always has the smartest answer to any question. He alone has taught me more than any of my books have ever. His analysis on the behaviour of people has always been on the dot and his explanations to the toughest situations have been the most sensible. It is like seeing a magician at work when we have those never ending conversations stretching well past midnight about philosophy (!),current affairs, matters of the heart and basically any topic under the sun. He is the person I do the bitching with and he loves to join me. That is a relief. It is just darn scary to know the levels to which he thinks and I am sure I can never ever hope to reach that point ever. He is objective to the point that sometimes you start wondering how someone can have no sense of attachment to anyone/anything. He is having the time of his life at present and I am sure these times will just make him smarter and more experienced on behavioural aspects than he already is. I don’t think I will find another guy smarter, as a friend ever. I hope he does well in his life and it will be real fun to catch up with him often just to have all the intellectual conversation.

What have I achieved in 4 years? Somehow current transformers, transmission lines, machines and circuits will never have the same charm as the people I am close to have. Among all the grime and dirt I have come across here, I have found 3 people who mean the world to me. The relationships with them have been polished, nurtured and what I have now is beyond doubt, the best anyone can ever hope for. I always used to laugh as those silly quotes on friendship when I was younger, you know the ones like ‘your ship and my ship makes friendship’; because I was sure that just like true love,I didn’t believe in the existence of people being there for you without judging your actions. Although corny, I now understand the intention with which these words were written. These are the few people among whom I can be myself without fear. It gives me a sense of security. It is the reason why I don’t give up on the world when I see the atrocities committed by man to man. I have never been able to give a single definition of success that would be the ‘apt’ definition. But I can tell you this. If you can find one person, just one who will be there for you no matter what, your life is worth living.

The Last Piece

I heaved the door of the compartment open and was greeted by a sudden shower of cold drops. It was a gloomy and dark day even though it was around noon and like the gods I was feeling the pangs of depression. You see ,I had been shown the door from my plush job which was so conveniently attributed to the ‘new restructuring policy ‘although I was well aware that my job was going to the new kid with the shiny car and the gelled hair. To add to the agony was the discovery of my wife’s affair with a man whose brain could not have been larger than a peanut. It would suffice to say that it was probably a day like this when Murphy formulated his laws.

As I peered out in the midst of my state of mind, I cannot lie that the thought of throwing myself out of the moving train never crossed my mind. But like any of my friends can vouch for, I am not a man of weak character and the thought was quickly banished. But I have always had the problem of letting go and this double whammy was like a punch under the belt. I was travelling back to my home town for a much needed mental break from the chaos that had engulfed me. What did I do to deserve this ? How can life be so unfair to me? Have words like ‘love’ and ‘respect’ become extinct? I shuddered. I always shudder when I ask questions that I don’t know the answers to.

I think it was somewhere near Pune. The train was moving slowly, crawling, to be more precise when I saw her. She was no older than 6 with the most striking face that I had ever come across. She was in tatters and the clothes barely clung on to her bony frame. It was obvious that she wasn’t well to do and my fears were confirmed when I saw her scavenging outside what seemed like one of the more posh restaurants in the region. Like clockwork, at probably the same moment I noticed a young urban mother and her son step out of the restaurant. This boy was as different from the girl as black is to white. Proclaiming him to be well fed would be an understatement. He was huge and the buttons of his shirt were straining to remain in position. The family was burdened with bags probably containing food and were headed towards an elegant looking Mercedes. The mother brushed past the little girl without as much as a cursory glance and walked into the car. It became evident that in this rat race of ours, we had relegated poverty to being a part of life that needed no second glance. The boy was close on her heels. But instead of stepping in, he did something that I don’t think I can ever forget. He took one of the bags out of the car and walked towards the girl. There was this genuineness in his stride that I have read about only in classic literature. He reached out to her and handed her the bag. No words were necessary. I don’t know why, but it felt like time had stopped for a while. The last thing I noticed before the train curved ahead were smiles on their faces.

And then the answers came to me in a flash. It was like the last piece of jigsaw. The one that finally completed the picture. As if symbolical, the clouds parted way to allow a ray of sunlight to stream through.