The Little Big Things

Every journey is a new experience, no matter how often, no matter how short they tend to be. It’s not the journey that matters, not as much as the people we get to meet and life we get to experience. Every dawn and every dusk brings along with it a hoard of experiences that are just waiting to be discovered. This is the story of just one of the many interesting people I got to meet in my numerous journeys that made me realise that life is not something sacred; it is what happens right in front of our eyes, everyday. Don’t for one second think that I am an adept traveller, the sad truth is that I started travelling out of necessity and though I prefer the familiar comforts of my writing desk it has given me a chance to experience life as it is, raw and unadulterated.

It must be in one of those dreary Friday evenings that keep coming up every week, offering a strange intoxicating mix of anticipation, relief and happiness that this happened. I was supposedly going home after a week’s hectic schedule and it was literally killing me that I had to wait further for it to happen. I have had a practise of going with a couple of really goods friends; we have been travelling home together since we were travelling home at all. But today they had to pack and they were late, late enough to let me fend on my own. The necessities of the travel insisted that I find a suitable mode of transportation, an autorikshaw ( for those of you unfamiliar with the word, it is a three wheeled public transport vehicle in black and yellow or either, refer any Bollywood flick to know more . It’s easy to spot and hard to forget, for us it’s just a way of life like taxi is to New Yorkers.) is what I had in mind. It was not hard to find one, certainly not on a Friday.

Okay! That matters too!

Soon I landed a certain driver who was more than just willing to take us to the railway station that we needed to get, but since my friends were still packing I had to wait for them to come. Poor chap readily agreed to wait along with me; I must say he was a jolly good fellow to spend time with. Now just for the record I had to wait a good 45 minutes for my friends to come and hence being late for all the right trains. But then again that gave me this rather valuable lesson in life.

The little ones knows much more about little things than us!

The long wait let us on the streets with nothing much top do but talk, though a practical lover of silence I would always like some company at times. He insisted on talking as he would occasionally blurt out some random question or the other (like does every one speak English in the campus) and so and so. I did take a liking to him. Things didn’t get any interesting till a friend of his dropped by and they got talking. The truth is I never intended to eavesdrop on those guys as I was happily trotting away in my own imaginary world. The startling reminiscence of innocence in their routine chat drew my attention to them and their conversations. He was talking about his luck and I was instantly interested in knowing what lady luck has bestowed upon him, the truth was it was me, rather us. I realised then how much it meant for them to have the weekly trips that we made, our travels were more essential to them than it were ever to them.

In their casual conversation lied an unmistakable scent of innocence that is otherwise unseen and unheard of today. He was talking about how lucky he was to have gotten customers that day and how he and friends were celebrating in their free time yesterday and so and so. Its not what they talked that made it important, its how is said it, how with a smile and a attitude to match he made it seem that the very basic things in life were something else entirely. Its how his words and the sentences they formed transcended what would have been just a ordinary life into a story worth talking about, a life worthy of mention. In the simplest sense he taught me how life is in every little thing we do. And what I learnt sitting under the bright evening sun on a concrete sidewall by a rather crowded piece of asphalt.

My Logo for College Fest

This a snap of the logo I designed for my college fest!, Its not much but I wanted you all to see. Comment away !.

Lets play Tag

Damn! I am it! thanks to the darling Divya who have tagged me. Since there is no way I can ignore her I will have to accept the award, which means I have to follow certain rules too. (Rules are always bad!).

like...

The Rules:

      Rule#1: Put the rules on your blog.

      Rule#2: Every person tagged should tell 11 things about themselves,

                     Answer the 11 questions asked by the one that tagged you and

                     Tag 11 other people and ask them 11 different questions.

      Rule#3: Let the people whom you tagged know you've done so.
      Rule#4: Don't tag anyone who's been tagged before.
      Rule#5: Really do tag 11 others, don't go all ''if you want to take this tag''.

My eleven

I am just gonna copy the things I already said, is much easier to tell 4 random new things that eleven new random things.

      *  I am milk lover ( loves it much much more than tea or coffee).

      *  I got into blogging thinking of making money( I haven't made a penny :P Lol).

      *  I like to sleep all the time.

      *  I am a adept programmer ( really guys I can code) .

      *  I likes to walk around the house naked ( only when nobody's around , feels natural).

      *  I cook! really I do

      *  I am addicted to chocolates and cant live without my daily sugar.

      *  I am really into crying for a big boy!

      *  I am terrified of cockroaches.

      *  I love to tease others for everything they do.

      *  I am no good with socks, never those things appear to be of the same color to others.

      *  I recently bought a Woodland show with 2in sole so that i look taller than my girlfriend. This works!.

My Answers to Divya.

Thanks Divya for reducing the number to seven, thanks a lot. You have saved me lot of trouble.

      *  Life's most beautiful moment

                                The time I spend with my college sweet heart and future Mrs on the corridors of our college with drizzling rain and  wet faces. That's the one for the records, I will blog about it soon.          

             

      *  Your definition of god?

                              Sorry! I am agnostic.

      *  Whats the best thing you admire about the nature.

                              Nature's simplicity and its profound beauty simply takes my breath away every time without fail, be it the moon lit beaches or the star studded sky or the coolness of the drizzle. Nature is beautiful beyond recognition.

      *  My biggest weakness and what i do about it.

                                 I am a jerk most of the time, and I cant do anything about it.

      *  What keeps me moving in Life

                                 Love, love and love.

      *  One thing I could like to do in my life and forget about it.

                                Kiss a random chick on the street and run! ( I don't want to do it, but thinking about it makes me want to do it).

      *  What will I do in the next 50 years?

                              I don't know, live it, marry, have kids, have a small family, let them marry and have grandchildren, play with them and die happily in the arms of my love.

     

You are It

Ha Ha the best part! My turn to tag.

      *  Ana trek

      *  Deep

      *  Uma

      *  Isha Shiri

      *  Gowri Thampi

      *  D

And my questions for you are.

      *  What keeps you alive.

      *  What one thing have you done that you wish you never did,.

      *  What is love to you.

      *  What is your one fantasy that you know you will never realize.

      *  When did you first taste a lovers kiss.

      *  Whats your favorite movie.

      *  Whom do you love the most in the world

My Very own Versatile Blogger Award.

 YOo HOo! My Very Own Versatile Blogger Award! , 

 THANK YOU 'D'!

A little Note:

I have always wanted one, and the only reason I have one now is because of that one very special person i so affectionately call 'D'. Nope! I didn't start ( affectionately calling her 'D') because she gave me the award. No? don't believe me, its fine you can ask her right away, She will always be dwelling on her very personal hangout called 'Odds and Ends' or if shes been away lately she will be feeling way too much 'Tipsy from the Trip' and will be all words about it. You definitely should check her out, (not her, her blog!).

SO Now since I have accepted the Award( why wouldn't I!)

I must follow the rules of the ceremony and follow these things!

1. Paste this award on my blog.   check!

2. Thank the person who gave me this award. check

3. Pass this award to 15 fellow bloggers. 

4. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

I really wish I could pass this to everybody I know but then I must follow the rules of accepting the award and here goes my group of extraordinary gentlemen and ladies who make my every day a special one by their mere presence and charisma.

1. Gina McKnight of Gina's Blog 

           * for her wonderful horse stories and fabulous poetry, of which I don't know which is better.

2. Gwyn of The Celtic Cowgirl 

           * for the fabulous horse cursor and her small big world she always talks about.

3. Maithilii, Chandhana and PeeVee and the Darlings of Darlings of Venus

           * for all the things they talk about, often I have no Idea what they are talking about.

4. Zephyr of Cyber Nag

           * for all the nagging that is being done around there.

5. Krishnapriya of Scribbling Pad

           * for all the gossip shes been circulating lately (And to make sure she doesn't involve me in one.

              PS : don't tell her!).

6. Joshi Daniel of Joshi daniel Photography 

           * for all the wonderful pictures his camera takes for him.

7. Paige of Paiges of Life 

       * for her beautiful child Avery and the wonderful stories they brew up together.

       * for having her blog address so similar to mine so that could find in out meet little miss Avery.

8. Rohit Sareen of My Third Eye

           * for all the things he claims to have seen with his third eye (which we see with our two).

9. Deepak Karthik of WhateveR it Takes

           * One more for you collection Deepak!.

10. Pranita of Miracles Happen

           * for being a believer and bringing out some very marvelous pieces of creative writing I have seen.

11. Sangeetha Raghu Nair of Sangry Words

           * for all the people she has managed not to kill in her latest road rage.

12. Chinthan Guptha of The Blunt Blog

           * for all the things she si been putting on her blog, everything from random snaps to chiseled poems.

13. Enigmatic Soul of Musings and reflections

           * For all the enigmatic poems shes been churning out, she is on a roll.

14. Shobaa De of Shobadee

           * everybody knows her and her versatility, ( she got me blogging ).

15. Roopz of Voice of a Village Girl

           * last but not even close to the least, for all the wonderful things she rights in her blog.

Now the last part : & random things about me!

Lets see!

1. I am milk lover ( loves it much much more than tea or coffee).

2. I got into blogging thinking of making money( I haven't made a penny :P Lol).

3. I like to sleep all the time.

4. I am a adept programmer ( really guys I can code) .

5. I likes to walk around the house naked ( only when nobody's around , feels natural).

6. I cook!

7. I am addicted to chocolates and cant live without my daily sugar.

Story Time

When I heard about Kissan’s new contest in indiblogger a couple of days back, it got me thinking. I was desperately searching for some precious incidents in my childhood that I could write about. I must say I was searching in lines of ‘filmy’ and hence the search returned very few hints. The ones that came in my mind where the ones that were not worth talking about, not even in a rather dull ‘over a cup tea’ talk with my mother. Time went by and other thoughts took over my mind and the day began to unfold in its rather bizarre way as usual. And then in one of its many daydreams I saw my childhood, not the whole lot of it but a certain incident that was as much part of my 5year old self’s life as crying and sleeping.

It was getting very late and impatient. As I was watching out through the grilled window, my eyes resting eagerly at the dimly lit small steel gate of my grandparent's house. The new stainless steel mailbox my grandfather had installed the previous day shinned brilliantly under the flickering yellow street light. My eyes had begun to slip and I might have dozed off a couple of times before I heard the creaking of its rusty joints. A sudden energy had build up inside me and I dashed downstairs to greet the oil stained brown paper packet my grandfather always bought. I ran to him and hugged his leg. He was not incredibly tall, just an average 5ft 10in, may be 6ft at the maximum, but for me a couple feet and a little bit tall toddler, that was the best I could do. I looked up at him in his eyes with the most beautiful smile I had asked him 'Appuppa, ennik entha konduvanne?' (Grandfather what have you brought me?). He would as always hold out the same oil stained brown paper cover out to me, but before letting me have it he would make me jump at it for sometime by holding it just out of reach for my tiny hands. All I had to do was give a fake cry and a sad face :) and he would invariably give it to me with a smile and a light kiss. I could climb up him and settle myself in the cosy corner of his elbow and start unwrapping the package that he had brought me while he engages himself in his daily pre-dinner prayer.

The most memorable of things that has happened during my life with my grandparents were always in the night. From what I have scribbled up so far it’s needless to say that I love my grandfather, but what made me love him so much is definitely worth mentioning. Though it has much to do with the fact that he supports all the mischief that I did and later did the same for my two brothers, but the one thing that was most amiable about my grandfather is the way he tells a story. Every night is a story time, with the characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata and his favourite Vishnu Purana unfolds in all their might and glory in his passionate narration. His stories were not so much a teaching or preaching as a way to get me sleep, yet they were the best of times, cuddled to my grandfather and with periodic humming (to ensure him I was not yet asleep).

The night was only our beginning back then, after our dinner it would take as definitely take us some time to get to the bed. I always made sure I slept with my grandparents, I would always sleep in their midst, I think it has much to do with the coziness of having them with me that had to do with it. As soon the lights are gone starts the story, always in the same way, with the kings, the queens and their heroic tales from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana. He had a unique of telling a story and always refused to tell further if I stopped humming, I think it was his way of knowing when I had drifted to sleep. He would always tell the stories from these three areas only but, they are just big enough for a five year old to forget the beginning by the time we reach the end. may be its the wisdom of the stories he told or the way he put it, or just the uncanny combination of it that left me craving for a new story every night.

Those were the times of my life, in my grandparents house running among the trees and playing in the mud, luxuries that no longer exists for us anymore. Its that life I so poignantly miss in my life among the steel carcasses on wheels and the rising skylines. The life in the country among the fresh nature is a gift that I am not sure that I could ever give my children, the thoughts haunting, May be I will tell them stories like my grandfather told me. Give them much love and that should reduce my guilt at least in a very minuscule sense.

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