On A Day Like Today

Just trying my hand on something hard. Actually wanted to write this as a book. But finally decided to take small steps at the moment.

It's a Friday evening. When my whole city comes to life, here I am. In front of a belligerent black demon, that breaks my head on a logic that has been eluding me for sometime now. The coffee on my table has become more of a fossil. So am I !! At 23, with loads and loads of dreams to be realized, I am spending my time here hoping that this is just how I can realize them. Well Hope drives everyone, doesn't it ? It has been driving me for the past 12 months. Every night, I have been trying to count the number of stars hoping that one night it'll all be over. Is this what I wanted to do in all my life? I was shaken by these alarming thoughts and decided to call it a day and go back home. I shutdown my PC and took a long look at the rest of my office. I could see my colleagues lost in thoughts with their work. Or at least they seemed like. I looked at the watch and got myself confirmed that I have been burning the oil for longer than I thought I was. I bid adios to my mates just to see their surprised faces. Nisha even asked whether anything is wrong with me. I may sound very strange, but leaving at 9 was never my routine. Returning a content smile to all of them, I set off to my home, as I didn't bother digressing them from their work.

My home is a pretty 7 kms off from the workplace. Usual mode of transport is the bus provided by my management. But today, I decided to talk a long walk back so that I can spend sometime at my ease. More than anything, I was desperate for loneliness, especially today. Lost in a deep retrospect, I hit the streets at the night. I have lost in touch with the comfort of an AC room. But wait a minute, didn't I think the other way around when I was at my office. When I was confined to a room, where I need not bother about heat, dirt or sweat, I was languishing about the mythical freedom on the streets. The other side of the river has always appeared greener than your side. I walk on giving a brief attention to the errands around me. After all, I have decided to spend sometime on myself - for a change.

It is very funny that when we want to look back at our lives, only our failures and sad moments seems to be sparking at every nook and corner of our thoughts. It may be a bad break up, or arrears that stopped from you from higher studies and job, it may be losing a friend, a spat with parents, it may be anything. I am no different either. There were a lot of " If at all I had done /" and "If at all I had not been " moments which were being recollected. I feel it is always good if we manage to dedicate sometime for ourselves. But once we dive into the waves of depression and start repenting for our plight, then we are doing no good to recover from feeling low. But do we have a choice? It's so easy for any Tom, Dick and Harry to say or write about allowing only positive thoughts to get into us and block every drop of negative flood from trickling inside our minds. But it takes a lot of beating and thrashing in life to become immune to negativity. Life will always be a teacher and will keep on teaching us hard lessons irrespective of whether we are willing to learn them or not.

I wanted to find out the reason why I was so unhappy with my life. At that moment, I saw a road-side shop where a kid was standing in front of a hot stove making parathas and shouting from the bottom of his stomach so that he can catch the attention of few passer-bys and get some customers apparently. I really wanted to know what this guy wanted in his life. There's a reason why he had decided to make parathas, burning himself in front of that stove. Didn't he have any ambitions? I approached him with a smile. The boy didn't smile back. Assuming that I was one of his customers, he recited the menu card. I ordered for a plate of hot parathas and sat at a place that is somewhat close to where he was. I broke the ice and asked him how old he was. He was just 12 years old. But he looked much older than that. May be the life has already taught him some lessons. Then I asked him for how long has he been working here. He replied that it was his father's shop and he has been working since he was 5 years old.

Though that guy was not educated, he knew the mindset of his customers. He had the knack of making people like him. I have always felt that it is one among a few qualities that people can't get through education alone. Loving others and making others love you is very tough. It is very hard to please everyone every time and it is even harder to expect people to be there and please you all the time. The only way to find a balance in our relationships is by allowing a lotta personal space to the other person and by reducing our expectations. Otherwise, you'll find yourself at the peak of happiness at a few moments and hit in extreme sorrow and pain because of the same person at the other moments. This becomes very tough, especially for those who are not so good in taking disappointments. Too much of extremes in our lives is always toxic.

The paratha guy started a conversation with me. He told me that when he was 4 years old, he wanted to go to school like every other normal child would do. But his family could not support such a luxury. Since he was the first child in his family, his father started using him as a helper boy in his paratha shop. Initially his duty was to clean the tables. Even though he didn't like what he was doing, he refused to give up. He set a goal for himself. Instead of cleaning tables, he wanted to be a waiter. He slowly got the confidence of his father and finally became a waiter in his hotel, taking orders from the customers.

After some months, he thought it was time to move on. Instead of just taking orders, he wanted to make parathas. But this involves a lotta learning. But the boy was willing to grow and he asked his dad to teach him to make parathas. He was not a gifted kid. His initial days of paratha making were full of mistakes. At times his dad has gone reckless on this kid for wasting the dough. It may be jus a half-kg dough for us, but for that family, it was one meal for a day. The kid once even burnt his hand accidentally. The scars of which are still seen visible.

Finally one day when his dad was very ill to run the shop, our kid stepped forward and said that he'll take care of the shop that day. The dad was very worried, but hesitantly acquiesced to his son's wish. Grabbing this opportunity with both the hands, the kid made some of the best parathas and some of the worst parathas of his life. He did something that his dad had never thought about. He shifted the stove more towards the outer part of the shop and started making parathas. With the help of his friend, he made a billboard saying that hot parathas were available there. Adding on to it, the kid used to shout at the sight of potential customers that hot parathas were sold. After all, this guy has an eye for customers. People started flooding in more than ever. His dad was very happy with the business and decided to play this boy upfront.

We all know that confidence comes with success, but it is also true that you need confidence to succeed. I asked him what he wanted to do further? He said that he has started saving money with the profit he makes. He also said that he was using 1/20th of the dough less than what his dad was using so that he can save one paratha for every 20 he sells. With that money, he was planning to buy more chairs to the shop so that he can accommodate more customers. With more customer comes more profit and with that the boy wanted to buy a bigger place and make his hotel a bigger one.

This guy’s life would have been very normal. But it made a huge impact in me. We have heard about a lotta such people rising from the bottom to the zenith of fame, but meeting one such guy made a lotta difference in my life. I realized that the reason why I was unhappy with my life was because I thought I was not there where I wanted to be. But isn’t that the same with the kid as well. He is definitely not where he wanted to or should have been. But does that stop him from going where he wants to, if not where he wanted to? If this kid were asked the same question before, he would have coveted to become an engineer or a doctor. But knowing that he cannot do it anymore, he has changed his destination. But ultimately he wants to succeed.

This guy taught me that success is not achieving what we want in our lives, but to get up and move ahead when we fail. If we don’t know how to fail, then we wont know how to succeed as well. May be this is not where I wanted to be in my life, but why should it stop me in succeeding in something that I have never thought of? If this kid had lost his heart when he was asked to work as a cleaner in his father’s shop, he would have remained a cleaner all his life. If this kid had given up on making parathas when he burnt his hand or when his father made him starve for two days without food for wasting the dough, this boy would have remained a waiter ever after. And more importantly if this kid had stopped to admire the path he has traveled to become the paratha maker, he won’t be making any more progress.

So is the case for everyone. If we assume our life to be placed between two gates, gate of new beginning and the gate of success, then every one of us will be a mere traveler in that path. The only thing constant about our life is the gate where we begin our journey. The gate of success will always be at some distance from our current position. When I’m an analyst programmer, the gate of success will be a module lead. When I become a module lead, my gate of success will be a project lead. When a project lead, project manager, when a manger, director and so on. We’ll find ourselves at a place where we didn’t want to be in all the time. But we have to realize that our gate of success will be traveling ahead of us.

Many would have said that opportunity knocks at your door only once, but we should also know that we have to knock at the opportunity's door many times. If we miss out on something, we should have the sight to look at something else from there on. If we stop to look back at our path and repent, then we will miss out on looking at the road ahead. Also if we stop with a feel of accomplishment and admire at everything we have been through, we will again miss out to realize that the road is much longer than this and there is more distance to travel.

I got up from my seat and left the paratha shop as a new man. The guy whom I wondered whether he ever had a life, turned out to be flooded with hopes and aspirations. For him, I was important as a customer, but for me, he was much more than that. He made me realize the true essence of life. These realizations don’t happen on auspicious days. The day it happens is auspicious and it will happen On A Day Like Today!!

Cheers,

Prad

A Unique Adventure

Life Of Pi – Yann Martel

Some of you would have read this article when it was published in the Office magazine. But since this is my first attempt at writing, I am publishing it in this blog as well !! Something more out of sentiment ;) !! And here it goes.................................

What will you do if you had decided to write for the living and your first book sinks with hardly a ripple? Hmmm… WRITE AGAIN?? That too, a crazy story of a sixteen year old Indian, who shares his skiff with a fully-grown Bengal tiger? That’s Yann Martel for you. The Canadian’s outrageous fable, Life of Pi, is a successful attempt of survival, both by the fictitious protagonist, Piscine Patel, and by the author himself.

What can possibly be said about 277 days of survival at sea with a hyena, a zebra, an orang-utan and a royal Bengal tiger? If it is Yann Martel, then what he spins is a 300+ pages of a spiritually adventurous yarn. If the literary pages have written the obituary of the magical realism of the 80s, nurtured by the likes of Marquez, Rushdie, and Calvino, then our man proves that he’s one heck of a phoenix with his Life of Pi.

This book is obviously the story of Pi, an Indian Teenager from Tamilnadu. It kicks off with Pi’s strange religious practices (him being a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian… all at the same time!) and a lot of detailed descriptions of the minutiae of zoo keeping and several lessons about the relationships between man and animals.

The stage is set for the magical adventure when the cargo ship to Canada, carrying Piscine Patel (Better known as Pi and also known as “Pissing” Patel) and his family with much of the menagerie, sinks. Pi wakes up only to find himself pinioned in a lifeboat with Richard Parker (the fore mentioned Royal Bengal Tiger) and a few other zoo animals (come on… if this is odd, then think about a dad who named his son as Piscine Mortel Patel (??) and his tiger as Richard Parker!!). As Pi languishes to get back in touch with his lost family, he embarks on a series of hair-raising adventures that include, combating hunger and thirst (well, don’t be surprised when you read that Pi eats even the metabolic wastes of Richard Parker), a blind French man whom he meets at the middle of the sea, a man-eating island inhabited by meerkats, cannibalism, tiger taming lessons, and what not! (I am almost sure that, after reading this book, you won’t forget to puke and piss around your territory if you end-up with a man-eater in your lifeboat!)

This is no regular adventure story. The climax of this fable adds a magical touch to the rest of Pi’s adventures and makes it even more meaningful. It is an extraordinarily spun fascinating tale that may, as the author boasts, make you believe in God !!

Rendezvous !!

A write-up to show my love to my roomie,Budu !!

Anoop "Budu" John hails from a remote village in Kerala called Chenganur. With no basic infrastructure facilities in his village, my sweet roomie's life has been nothing but struggles, pains and sacrifices. This is clearly evident from his face dat has a pair of Bugs Bunny Teeth and Ashtray lips. His life was all about choices. He could have either had all the beauty in this world with minimal food or all the food in the world with absolutely no looks. It is needless to say what he opted for.

He became the chief tester of his company. The world, as usual, was interested only in winners. Everyone wanted to write about Budu. But my humble roomie, the personification of modesty, kept rejecting the interviews one after the other. It took a lotta convincing and brainwashing sessions to make him agree to one such interview.

Matty, Bala and I took the pains of fixing a date with this all-famous reporter who can give him the much deserved publicity. Budu wanted to make this interview a very memorable one. He called up the reporter and asked him to give the questions well in advance so that he can be prepared with the answers. This was mainly because he is not very comfy with English and didn't want make a fuss at the time of the interview. The reporter, considering that it was budu's first interview, gave him the questions with much hesistation.

The questions were very simple and straight forward. Budu was very happy and started memorizing the answers in the questions' order. The D - Day was nearing and my roomie was getting nothing but confident about his responses. He wanted to make it as expressive as possible and be modest at the same time. The questions were :

1. Do u think people from rural areas with a moderate economical background can shine in this competition rich world ??

2. What about a overall best performance award next year? . Will dat change things in u ?

3. (contd. from Q2) That is for others, but how will the true Anoop take the award ?

4. What in Anoop is so captivating that can attract people towards u ?

5. Do u think regularity in our daily routine is very crucial for our success ??

Scene : D - Day, 9 AM Sunday, The Interview Kicks Off !!

The reporter had promised to come to Budu's house at 9 AM sharp. Now here comes the least expected twist. The reporter who was supposed to come to Anoop's house had fallen ill and couldn't make it. Adding on to the drama, a Vet Specialist reporter wrongly enters into Anoop's house thinking that he was the Vet Doctor whom he is supposed to be interviewing. Budu has no clue that this is not the expected reporter and the reporter has no clue that Anoop is not a Vet Doctor. However, Budu has all the answers, corresponding to the real reporter's questions, memorized in that order. Little did he know that he was about to create History. The interview Kicks off !! ( The questions in bracket are the actual ones )

Reporter(Rep) : Good Morning. Shall we start off with our business ?
Budu : Good Morning, I was waiting for you. We could start off.

Rep : Do u believe in Darwin's theory ? Do humans resemble monkeys ? ( Do u think people from rural areas with a moderate economical background can shine in this competition rich world ?? )
Budu : Im totally shocked and surprised that u r asking such a question even after
seeing me. If I can, then why can't every other human being in this world ?

Rep : What shud be done for acute constipation in Chimps? ( What about a overall best performance award next year? . Will dat change things in u ? )
Budu : I myself am very confident to get one in the near future. At that time, I'll try being the
same Anoop as I'm now and try not making it obvious to people around me.
See me now, Don't I look like I have got one already ?

Rep : And how will u feel once the treatment is done ? ( That is for others, but how will the true Anoop take the award ? )
Budu : I'll feel like flying. There's no better satisfaction than that. But I'll say to myself
that I have done a great job and will start working towards repeating the
performance.

Rep : I read in some article that animals get scared because of human
intervention. What do u think is the primary reason behind that ? ( What in Anoop is so captivating that can attract people towards u ? )
Budu : Itz all about my smile. If they dont show any reaction after seeing me smile,
then there are no words to explain their plight.

Rep : Adding a philosophical face to this interview, just a cranky last question;
Speaking about relationship between animals and humans, One being so
faithful to the friends in this life, is it possible that one could have been a
dog in the previous life ? ( Do u think regularity in our daily routine is very crucial for our success ?? )
Budu : Hmmm.... may be, I believe I am one such guy. I'm saying this basically because
of my eating and sleeping habbits.

The reporter could take no more of this. Neither do I !! ;)

I would like to reiterate my indelible love to my roomie.. !! ;)
Hope I'll still be allowed to enter into the house ;)
What say " SWEET ROOMIE " ??

Cheers,
Prad

Amchi Coimbatore !!

Dis is something which I wanted to do for a long time now; especially after joining my company and found myself doing nothing but browsing for the majority of time. Till now, you might have read so many illustrations about my City written by various people and websites. But this is my 22 years in the City.

A Blog dedicated to the place where I come from.

Blogging as a proud Coimbatorean !! [Pic1: Find me in White]

Little did I know dat the sweet chill City of Coimbatore had sooooooo much in store, dat after moving to Pune, I have started missing every single road there. How much did I hate the place coz of my dust allergy?? - Thanks to the suspended cotton particles !! But did I even know that it was the same cotton that had helped India to get a place in the world map of Textile hubs ? Coimbatore, being the leading producer of Textile Yarn and machineries, I could very modestly say that Manchester could be called as the Coimbatore of England !! remba overungalanna ?? ;)


Sir Robert Stanes, P.S.G & Sons, G.D. Naidu, Nachimuthu Gounder are some of the great people responsible for the industrial revolution in Kovai. Yet I would say that these people were primarily responsible for me screwing 12th std. Studying in Carmel Garden for 14 years [ Boys' School :( :(....... ] , the only respite for me was during the tuitions where I could meet the damsels from Stanes and GD schools ;) !! If someone says that I did very badly in my 12th std, I will dedicate it completely to these schools and obviously to dese gr8 people who did
"Revolutionalize" education in Coimbatore !!!
Speaking about health care, without K.G. Hospital and Ganga Nursing Home, I wouldn't have survived 7 bike accidents and still be typing this blog. Aparently, it is in K.G. Hospital where I was born. Unfortunately I was too young then and I could not give an account of that. Duh !! Obviously !! But my Mom keeps saying that when I was born, I was the only Male child to have born in the entire hospital. Born exactly at 12 midnight, surrounded only with girls, everyone thought I've got all the traits of Lord Krishna. But as far as I can remember, that was the only time when something like dis has happened to me :( Grrr. Digressing from the topic.. !! Probably I'l write something more on that in a new Blog as The Curse Of Coimbatore ;) !!! Apart from these hospitals, there are so many other specialized homes with some of the best surgeons in the world. This can be cross-checked by the number of people coming from other cities and states to my city for treatment of chronical illness and fatal casualities. So from next time, if U find ur health is in dire straits," Come To Coimbatore " ... I cannot promise that U'l survive, but U'll definitely feel more than happy to die in the cozy and warm hands of a beautiful Kerala Nurse ;) !! [ Pic 2 : Top Slip ]

Coming to some of the famous personalities that Coimbatore has given to Our Nation :

Adam Sinclair - Olympic Hockey Player.. If I'm not wrong, I think this guy is from Stanes
Nirupama Vaidyanathan - National Tennis Champion
Narain Karthikeyan - Do I need to intro dis guy too ?

If u r a tamil movie buff, then I need not say that Sivakumar, Surya, Sathyaraj, Raghuvaran, Nizhalgal Ravi, Bakyaraj, Sundarajan, Manivannan..... are all from Coimbatore!! Can u imagine our tamil cinema industry without these people ?? I should rather say that we managed to give so many people to the cinema industry because of Mr. Sriramulu Naidu - The founder of Film Studio !!

As far as I'm concerned, my tourism starts at DB Road and ends at Saibaba Colony ;) A pleasant Sunday evening can be usefully wasted at these places. !!! ... But there are places like Siruvani, which has the Kovai Kutralam Waterfalls, Conoor [ A long ride on ur bike to this place from Coimbatore is a rocking experience ] , Top Slip - Wild Life Santuary, Vellingiri Hills which has Dyanalinga Isha Centre, ThiruMoorthy hills and a lotta temples as well... Well I should say that the all Famous Ooty and Black Thunder are also at ur disposal. [Pic3: Valparai]

The city may not be as "HAPPENING" as Mumbai or Bangalore, but it is definitely happening in itz own ways. The right blend of Northies, westies, Chinkies and ofcourse Southies gives, the city a cosmopolitan outlook, and people like me - A LOTTA HOPE ;) !!! I personally like the Naiduz for ur info ;) !!

All in all, whatever said and done,

Sare Jahan Se Acha, Coimbatore Hamara !!!

Really missing the sweet sound of Kongu Tamizh !!

Will write more later!!

Til Then

Cheers,

Prad