Re-living memories....

Hey I saw a post in my friend Loga's blog which reminded me of my good old friends :)

One of my fond memories is that of Sumithra akka :)
She was my Polytechnic senior :) Our blooming of friendship itself was a weird one :)

I used to have this silly habit of smiling at everyone... to any X/Y on the street also..... (though I've now stopped this ... as one fine day I realised it doesn't sound correct to smile at some unknown guy on the road). Till the mid of my Polytechnic days, I was stayed inspired of the quote 'Every single soul in this world deserves a nice smile.... If the other person is poor to even give that, you be generous enough to give him one' .

One day she has seen me during our Friday assembly....she was in some trouble and I had smiled at her in a very lively way which had made her feel good :)

She liked me for that gesture :) My friends at hostel had told good things about me (that's cool isn't it) which made me some sort of a pet for her :) She started sending me cards signed as "someone who loves you for what you are".... She used to write such beautiful poems about her feelings for me.... all cards she sent were hand made... I first thought it came from a guy as the wordings misled me :)

After a couple of weeks only I came to know it was her.... how relieved and happy I were :)
She used to speak so nicely, softly, lovingly to me :) I felt like a child when I was with her :)

I also stayed with her in her hostel room one day :) I enjoyed it very much :) I re-live the joy when I think of it :) As we slept, she started patting me as my father used to do :) Though I was wide awake I pretended to be sleeping for quite a long time :) We used to meet so often during breaks in our campus and at her hostel :)

She wrote to me even after her course completion.... I replied once or twice... then as time went on, we lost touch.... I lost her contact address as well as phone no :(

How nice it would be if I can meet her again :) Will I still be in her memories ..... I don't know :)

But Our friendship was something like the feelings which Wordsworth pens in his 'Daffodils',

"For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils"

Let me complete my post with Sumithra akka ... as it's time to leave for our get-to today for my friend Subha's marriage gift purchase :)

5.someone

Hey recently I read a very different novel from Chetan Bhagat, a former IIT-ian.

Infact a vague title - for which we get the explanation as the story unfolds....

It is about 3 guys – Ryan, Hari and Alok who all stay in the adjacent rooms of the IIT hostel.
It is all about their attitudes, their study in IIT. They are not the normal IIT-ians who drink, walk and sleep science. They want to enjoy life and are in full hatred of the GPA system of IIT.

Ryan – he is a guy whom everyone will adore – he is an athelete, creative genius bored with the regular mugging academics, daring, bold and unconventional

Hari – he is the narrator of the story – he adores Ryan and wants to be like him…
If the person who has a pair is the hero, you can call him the hero of the story…
But like in Arindhum Ariyaamalum, though the hero is someone, the person who scores will be Ryan (like Arya in the film)

Alok – he is from a financially crippled home who has come to IIT just to get a good job which gives him high salaries. His main interest is food :) You can see the distress of Indian families with him – paralyzed father, meagerly earning mother, sister who is waiting for Alok to start earn to get married,…..

The story starts from their first day of ragging till they come out with the degree.
They do all sort of notorious things – dividing assignments between them to reduce study time to go to films, Sneaking at institute roof to have cigarettes, taking drinks to courageously face Vivavoce, Hari falling in love with their Head of Department’s daughter, Ryan making a lipstick box for Hari to gift her without spending time, going to her house in midnight to wish her Happy B’day as again he din't have money to get a costly gift……….Planning to steal the major question paper to get a grade of A to impress the girl’s dad….

And ofcourse they get caught in the Operation Pendulum :) They are suspended :) They goto the verge of getting expelled out of IIT without degree. Finally somehow they manage to make it :)

Had good fun with the book :) Your memories carry you to your own college days often :)
You start feeling that adolescent wanting to pop out from you who has been under arrest after College :)

Good book :) I would suggest everyone to read it :)

Especially for a first-time author it has been well-crafted :)

Navjot Singh Siddhu……. The Great…

Hey I always used to get sort of amused/irritated when Siddhu constantly cracks jokes
Many of them being exaggerated…. Using all idioms in English language….

But I feel he has now improved a lot….. Siddhu in “Cricket Controversies” of NDTV sounds good nowadays :)

Y’day the topic was something related to ethics in Cricket… relating to Inzy’s dismissal (though I don’t know the actual details)

And to emphasize that every factually correct argument cannot be taken as right, Siddhu told as follows…
“A person cannot kill his parents…. Then go to Court and claim mercy as he is an Orphan”…..

Wow…. That was fabulous :)

My Gundappa :)

Last Saturday was really a very bad day for me…..

My sweet pet, Gundappa left us… it’s mother gave birth to it in our house only.
For the past 3 years it was one of our family members.

Infact the most important family member…

Veetla ellorum eppavum konjara ore jeevan :) Ippa engaloda illlai….
It really hurts when I think it is no more with us :(

Generally cats are not as intelligent as dogs.
But Our Gundappa was a bit different. It knew each and everyone of us very clearly.
It used to even accompany my mother during her walking to beach….

It was very close to me… and I felt too close to it.

Just like a cute baby it used to cuddle with me to sleep. It always liked to sleep near me :)
If I sit and call it, it used to come quickly and lie on my lap ….
They are some precious moments…The joy of which can only be felt …….

It used to greet me when I enter home after a day’s work…. So glad I shall feel :)

Whenever it gets hurt it will behave even more closer as if it requires our emotional support for the healing :)


It’s fond of fish… which we don’t cook. So whenever a fishmonger comes to our street, it used run madly behind her to get the heads whenever someone buys fish from her. My mother used to shoo away the crows if they try to snatch away the fish heads from my Gundappa :)
How silly :)

One day it stole a fish when a fishmonger was selling in our street, came and hid it under the stairs and ran away as the aunty who purchased it came behind it. Then after a couple of hours it came and ate it heartily :) How shrewd :)

For the past two days every little thing remind me of him ….. when I fry appalams
(Gundappa likes Appalam very much…. It will devour atleast 4 to 5s…
appalam is the only thing it attempts to steal in our house…otherwise though hungry it will only call us for milk/ghee rice)….
when I see the chair/sofa on which it used to sleep, our window sill on which it used to sit and watch the nearby bungalow full of trees, birds and squirrels…..
Our terrace where it used to relax itself without our disturbance :)

It has filled my life with joy innumerable times :)

Gundappa, you shall always have a special place in my heart :)

Songs I admire ......

Currently songs from "Thambi" impressed me the most... All are folk-based and melody songs....
Though I like almost all the songs.... "Sudum Nilavu Sudaadha Sooriyan" by Harini and Unnikrishnan catches a spl place....

I would say Manmandir's slogan "As usual Unusual" suits the most to Vidyasagar.... His genre of songs is very different.... I have an expectation about the type of songs from Ilayaraja, A R Rahman, Yuvan etc... But from Vidyasagar....You can never expect.

One of my most favourite songs from him is "Udaiyaadha Vennila" from Priyam. It is a classic in melodies.... his films like Priyam, Karna (excellent variety), Anbe Sivam, Run, Gilli, Parthiban Kanavu (very enjoyable), Chandramukhi to Thambi... each one is different and unique in its own kind.

Though melodies top my list, I also enjoy his fast tracks like Appadi podu, Dilruba,Ye Shabba, Theeraadha dum venum, etc...

Like a whole lot of ppl, I also enjoy music very much :) It does change my moods drastically...

When I am upset some songs which make me drastically better are -

-> Nila Kaaigiradhu from Indra - Hey I had the opportunity to hear Harini singing it live when I went to a light music show organised for an orphanage a couple of weeks back... just can't explain the joy I experienced when she started with that song :) I feel like someone singing a lullaby for me to calm down and sleep...

-> Malarndum Malaraada from Paasa malar - Both the music as well as wordings gives me the enjoyment - especially "kannin mani pola ... maniyin nizhal pola pirandhu valarndhomadaa... indha mannum kadal vaanum.... pirikka ninaithaalum pirikka mudiyaadhadaa"

-> En Vaaniley from Johny - not sure what impresses me.... i think it's the general tone of the song

-> Kurai Ondrum Illai by MS - first time Vijay sang this for me. I was surprised when he told this devotional song as one of his favourites.... now this is my favourite too :)