(Part II)A wedding.3 principle characters who received more importance than the bride and the groom ;).

Click Here to view Part I of the story

Where were we?Oh yeah! me holding my breath as I waited for my cousin's reply...

Me:So is he there?

Cousin:No...

Me:What? *crestfallen*

Cousin:Am kidding..Of course he is there...come fast...

Me:*gleefully*Am trying my best but the car won't go any faster...

Dad came back and there we started off to the mandapam again..Finally after what seemed like eternity we reached it.Only a flight of stairs were left between me and him and how I wished that instant that I could fly....

Anyway by the time we entered vradham was already over and there was me greeting all my relatives but stealing furtive glances to locate him.....My cousin came up to me and was all "Oh didnt you see him yet?"

#Burning smell#

Finally after shooting her few paavam-glances she pointed to a corner...And there he was all Pink and tall...

A million things rushed to my mind at the same instant and the first few stammer free words were

Me:Wow!We are wearing the same colour dress!

C:Eh? :O

Me:Look pink to pink!

C:Thu!Three months you wait and notice the dress color first..Waste di nee! And pink on a guy?You know we both are surprised but probably not in the same way...

Me:*Raised Eyebrow*

C:ok!Go talk to him

Me:How?

C:You already know him right?What could possibly happen?

Me:You a know a million things.Lemme give you a few examples

Scenario 1:

Me:Hi!Remember me?

Him:No

Bhusssss!!!

Scenario 2:

Me:Hi.Remember me?

Him:Yeah so?

Double Bhusss!!!

Scenario 3:

Me:Hi..Remember me?

him:yeah sure..Hey do you mind moving to your left.there's a really cute girl and you're blocking my view....

#Phat! Phat!!Heart cracks#

C:You're crazy..

Me:Okay I might have exaggerated on the last one seeing as there is absolutely no competition(Touch wood) but the others might be possible..

C:He seems nice...

Me:aeah!*Casual dismissing wave*

Mind voice:Hope he is!

Anyway this conversation and other work took up majority of the day and before we knew it was dusk and along with it came the jaanavaasam

Wedding

Day1-Evening Session-Jaanavaasam

The groom arrives in a procession(like the baarat,minus the elephant,horse and any other creature that looks half-dead) in a car(we use this chance to showcase our vintage vehicles which pump so much smoke that the recent Iceland volcanic ash is driven back into the hole with shame)complete with naathaswaram and giggling girls and the bride greets him..They then go to the temple to pray that things should go well according to plan.After this they come back into the mandapam for the nichyadhartham(solemnizing the wedding)...All the elders get together on the stage and read the pathrikai complete with the date,time and other details of the wedding...The bride is gifted a saree and groom miscellaneous bijoux...With the proceedings rehearsed such,what next but sumptuous food?

Back to our story

So yeah as the sun slowly slipped down the hills(Thats where I was taught it would go to,though high school proved otherwise..but who cares?We all stick to our creativity which in my case involves a complex process of the mountains and sea devouring the sun and releasing it the next morning)there were us the trio and him (again Pink to pink :D)....We staged various situations which would include him noticing,recognizing me and striking up a conversation and when sadly none helped(due to him being a very chamathu boy who wanted to help out all the time) I almost gave up.....Then I put on my goody-goody image and started helping out and had to walk past the bride's anna(who we were well acquainted with by now) who called me...

Me:Hi!Eppdi irrukell?(all fake iyer accent for showing off :D)

Anna:Fine.Nee?Admissionlam enna aachu?

Me:Nanna irukken.Admission kedachuduthu..College join panniten..

Anna:Oh Good Good.

(Suddenly oru cross talk)

Crosstalk:Good!

I was surprised and turned my head and he had spoken to me!!!!!!!!

Me:*Concealing glee* *Trying hard for a modest voice*Thanks!

Him:So how's college and all?

Me:Started now only..Idhu varaikum fine..

And so on and on went the nonsensical jabbering for 15 minutes after which I was elated....

And as a rule something came up and pulled me away.There is work to be done(Isn't there always?)

The groom arrived in his ottai car and was received by the bride's side...The ceremony proceeded and the nichyadartha-pathrigai was read out(It contains details like the date,time,star on the date of the wedding and the names and blah blah blah)...

And after one super day of wholesome fun I hit the bed and my eyes closed almost immediately .

Dawn followed midnight with almost indecent haste.

I was roughly shaken awake by mom and was in no mood to get out of those cozy covers..

Mom:Ey..Get up...Time aachu..

Me:Cha..po maa..Ipo dhan thoonginen..please inum konjamm neram..

Mom:Eppo?Kalyanam mudinjapram polama?Che Ezhundru..Somberi..Elarum poiduvaa..

That was the stimulant that awakened me.Sleepily I woke up and dressed in a pretty navy blue saree and decked myself with miscellaneous jewellery...

Day2-Early Morning session

The Pre- Muhurtham

A typical Iyer wedding's crux is the muhurtham...There are three muhurthams..The early morning one(4:30) the morning one (6:00) or the late one(9:00)..The procedures are all the same..

First there is the Kaasi Yaathrai where the groom has to pretend that he is not willing to get married and wants to go to Kaasi(Varanasi) and become a saint...The bride's father has to convince him with miscellaneous items(Umbrella,slippers,walking stick etc) and bring him back...

Next comes the Maalai Maatral.This is nothing short of a competition..The bride and groom are hosted on the shoulders of their respective relatives and they have to exchange garlands.Seems simple?Well,it is not..The catch is that they have to dodge each other and the team that manages to get all garlands in wins.There is a one to one too between the bride and the groom to test their prowess.

Next comes the Oonjal.This is the point where people start to get serious.Fun time being over,the bride and groom are made to sit on a swing set along with some half awake brat who keeps screaming or offering stupid comments while smiling sheepishly.There are coloured Laddoos which are used to ward of the evil eye.Each relative(only married ladies allowed)takes 4 laddoos and draws a circle in the air infront of the couple(laddoo still in hand) and throws each ladooo in each direction(north,south,east,west)..They then give the bride and groom some milk and a piece of banana..After this the Aarathi is taken.

Right after this they are escorted into the mandapam for the original serious rites to start .

Our story

Every typical Iyer wedding has lots of maamis running about decked in kaanjevaram sarees and tons of gold jewellery and ofcourse heavy makeup and heavy gossip are a part of the package,NRI s who just received their green cards and appointment order from Microsoft or Intel or Sun or Google or college graduates who have received their MS admission or those fat nerds in glasses who have just gotten into Anna University/BITS/IIT,kids from DAV,PSBB or those nerdy schools proudly brandishing their see-I-got-first-rank report cards on your face...If you do not fall into one of these categories then you are not in my family (:D) and will be treated with contemptuous looks from those proud moms whose sons/daughters have managed to do(Achieved)all these...

That said,it is only but natural that 90% of the characters in that hall belonged to one of the above categories.Fortunately or unfortunately he did not belong in them yet somehow he was going to be my family in the next few hours.Seemed strange yet exciting.

Now by the time I reached the mandapam I was my usual active self again.There was no time to look around for him as there were loads to be done.Yet,I did threw a furtive glance every now and then,hoping to spot him but alas he was no where to be seen.I heard someone call out my name.

I turned and there was my chittappa being convinced that it was okay to wear kaajal(you know pirates shhhttyyllee) since grooms traditionally did so during the ceremony.My cousin was fighting a losing battle and hence called me for added support.

Harish:Cheee podi.I wont wear all that.Thats' girly stuff

Cousin:Its okay.Just for few hours.

Paati:Dey enna da you are whining like a little kid.Common it'll be over in two seconds.Ey pottu vidu(She said this thrusting the box in my hand)

Me:Ey..Bend down..

Harish:no.

Me:Ey you are 6'1..I have to grow an extra leg to reach that height..Now be a good boy and bend down.Ill put it for you om shanthi om style.

Harish:Dont experiment on me.

Cousin:Common ...

Then came my maami.

Maami:Ey..Enna nadakardhu inga?

Me:Maai ittuka maatengra...Adam pidikra

Mammi:Cha ivlo dhaana?Idhuku ivlo sound...Dey bend da..

I dont known if it was the commanding presence or the bossy voice but he obliged.And when she was finished with him(two lightning strokes)he looked like an ape with black markings under his eyes.Yes,she had smeared it almost two cms think under the eye.

Me:Ha Ha Ha Ha.Naa apove sonnnen..ipo paaru .

Harish:cha po...

By the time the rites had started.He did go on the kaasi yaatrai andduring the maalai maatral the maamas and athimbers were literally declaring war on each other.The one on one got pretty exciting when Priya ran around the whole hall with Harish chasing her.At one point it looked as though they were playing lock and key rather than getting wedded.

Then came the oonjal and when it was finally done Harish looked sick.Common he was not in a zoo and definitely not supposed to be fed so much fruit and milk and the same goes for Priya too.But they did put on a brave face as they walked towards the stage.

Day2-Morning Session The Muhurtham

This is the official wedding.I am not very good at explaining this since it majorly involves chanting of a lot of mantras which I have no clue about.They light the holy fire ,hommam.The groom repeats after the shaastrigal all the mantras without having a clue as to what he is saying with pouring the ghee into the fire every now and then.Other maamis in the hall sip cup after cup of degree-kaapi or juice as they talk about the "interesting developments"(read gossip)since their last meet.The bride's father and mother throw everyone a look of utmost stress as her siblings walk here and there with tension overseeing the arrangements.

The groom's side well not so much.Kids running here and there shouting ,infants crying and naathaaswaaram are part of the package which contribute a very significant amount to successfully tearing the ear drums of the very few people left with sanity..

The bride arrives after sometime and she is gifted the koora-podavai(9 yards saree)which she changes into and she is made to sit on her father's lap and the sacred rope(thiru-maangalyalam) is tied around her neck by the groom as relatives and friends shower them with blessings,flowers and akshadai(the catch here is there people elder than the couple are giving the akshadai..The rest of us have to contend ourselves with shaking the couples' hands like a pump-set )

Next comes the ammi-midithal in which the foot of the bride is place on a stone and the groom adds the toe-rings to her feet(total submission :D) and then the couple have to lie through their teeth saying they can see Arundathi,a star,in broad daylight(Science does take a big blow there).

After this there are a few more rights and what next but lunch?

Our story..

Now where were we?Yes...after the successful oonjal the rites were going on.I hadn't quit my scan yet and suddenly there he was near the stage engaged in a deep conversation with his cousin.Again!Blue to blue..Seemed like one perfect sign,a signal indicating things were travelling in the right direction.I busied myself with the guests but did not forget to shoot him glances now and then.

But then, the main part of the muhurtham came along and even I was in no mood to look here and there as I watched Harish wed Priya.The look of contention on both their faces as they were declared husband and wife in some language was unmistakable.That was the second I understood that some words need not be translated.They just need not.Their meaning may not be understood and infact they need not be uttered at all,but you just understand the feeling their radiate.You understand their importance without them being told explicitly.Such probably was marital bliss.Probably I'll never understand or know this until the day I get married and watch that look my groom gives me.That look which is a mixture of pride and a sense of belonging to each other,how you become someone's better half ,share your whole life,dreams,thoughts,desires with them....You stop being one and coexist with each other.Two different people yet somehow they become one.The look on your dad's face when sees his daughter becoming a Mrs.someone.His face would be filled with a sense of achieving something yet a streak of sadness runs through it when he simultaneously realizes that you are no longer a Ms. and that from tomorrow you'll cease to take his name after yours and the salutation is replaced by Mrs. and so is your surname and initial.The same goes for your mom too.And your siblings will no longer have you around to play or fight with.Those night time conversations,rainy day gossip and squabbling over room boundaries and ownership of stuff all ceases .Yet somehow everyone is happy .

Such were the looks on all our faces.We were so happy for them.And as of us we had gained Priya.She was one of my best friends and now she was officially an insider.Family.That sense of elation of us all belonging together leaves me chasing after words to describe it.

All right yesh the senti stuff being over followed by superb lunch when Ms.Lakshmi Priya Sarma officially turned Mrs.Lakshmi Priya Harish thing started going awry thanks to a second cousin of mine.

Standing on the stairway,we were telling him(the second cousin)as to what was going on these days and he was laughing his head off.He asked us to point to the guy and we pointed to "him".He was sitting on the balcony engaging in a deep conversation with his cousin.

Suddenly (the second cousin)screamed"yaar avara?Blue shirt?" in a voice so loud enough that someone waiting to board a bus to Salem in the koyambedu bus terminus could have heard him.

Needlessly to say he was surprised and looked over his shoulder.We were literally paralyzed with shock.We wanted to get away,yet,our legs seemed to be rooted to the ground.Finally coming to our senses,I ducked down,my sister ran up the stairs and my cousin down the stairs(4 at a time) and there stood my second cousin laughing.Thankfully no damage was done.

Day2-Afternoon session-Nalangu.

This is nothing but a series of games.Pretty fun ones at that too.It starts innocently with the bride and groom sitting opposite each other surrounded by close family.Oh before that the bride has to invite the groom with a plate containing betel leaves,supari and bananas.(Yeah like we needed a special invite?:P but tradition you know).So yeah they sit down and have to comb each other's hair hold up a mirror to check that their respective hair shhytles have not been damaged(There was the wedding photographer who kept clicking away in the background .So unless you dont want the next 20 years to be teased around by your kids you need to be careful)

So yeah there begins the taunting each other that they have not combed properly and such.

Next is the paapad game.The bride takes two paapads and circles the air above the groom's head two times (to gove him a "Head"start ;) ) and breaks it on top of his head.Now the catch is that the groom has to duck away.If he does successfully then he gets a point else the point goes to the bride.We pick teams and cheer them.The same goes for the bride too when the groom gets his hands on the paapad.After all the paapad smashing next come the coconuts and we do not advocate murder by smashing them on heads :D.

The coconut game's rules are pretty simple.The bride can use both hands but the groom is supposed to use only one.(Women's equality?Ha,superiority :D )(the actual reason given is that men are stronger.Keep on believing it you poor deluded things as we bend rules in our favour ;) )

Yeah a coconut is given and one holds it while the other tries to snatch it withing a particular time frame.If successfully snatched a point else the other gets it.

There are few other games and at the end we all very well know who is the winner.

Our story.

There is pretty much nothing here.The maamas and maamis had finished their afternoon fiesta and few were still sleeping like logs and geared up for the game.He probably thought it was too girlie or something and was found no where near the area.So Entertainment factor was pretty much low.Anyway we did have a lot of fun as we cheered both on.And I think Priya won(I am not sure though).Harish for once did not argue(I very well remember the tiffs we had during our Scrabble games that involved him bullying us into lifting the Webster's dictionary and finally not being able to bear the weight of the damn thing we gave in everytime he said something was a new word and it did exist.Check the dictionary.)

Day2-Evening Session-Reception.

There is nothing much to tell.It is pretty much the same everywhere.Bride goes to the parlour and comes back unrecognizable and the groom is all white washed and they are forced to smile until their face muscles hurt and stand on the dias posing for pictures and receive gifts until their legs and hands beg them for mercy.

Our story

Well all the above happened and for once we forgot about other things as us the 3 sisters posed for lots and lots of pictures and gossiped around with friends and pulled each others' legs.After sometime the light music that was going on got pretty unbearable as we left to fill our stomachs with the dinner available.(Well the smell wafting from the kitchen did catch our attention too).We then left home to come back for the final rite that had to take place the next day.Tired yes definitely but super happy.

Day3-Morning Session-Kattu Saadha Koodai

This is a very old tradition that is not found in many Iyer weddings now.It is also one of the very few rites in which young girls get to participate.They are made to dissolve sprouts in damp mud in a tub of water and after are given variety rice.Traditionally after weddings the groom's side have to travel a long way to reach their village and hence the bride's side provide the food for the journey.The travel nowadays is not there but the tradition nevertheless continues.

Our Story.

Well we had come to the climax.It was the last few hours I was going to see him and I had no idea whether I would be able to muster the courage to go talk to him again.Except that accidental conversation on the day of the jaanavaasam nothing else had happened.As they called me to dissolve the sprouts I was a little dazed and dissolved them in such a hurry that caused the others to scream "enna di aachu unakku?".I regained my composure and smiled benignly.And finally all the rites were over and people were congratulating each other and the bride's father on how superb things went.

I turned to glance at himAh!Finally he was alone and no one was looking.I finally mustered my courage and tried to walk towards him when..

"Ey oru nimisham inga vaayen"

I turned.It was my mom.

Me:"enna maa?"

Mom:Car le idha kondu poi veyy.Micham elaam seriya irukka paaru.Edavydu miss pannitomaanu paaru.

Me:apprama vekkata?

Mom:Ippo enna vela unakku?

Me:Adhu vandu.... vandu..... Onnum ille ma

Mom:Pinne yenna?po..

I had no more excuses.I turned to go.I had missed my last chance.I walked towards the car to load the bags.He would have been surrounded with people again.

Finally all our cargo loaded I returned to the mandapam when my cousin came running towards me....

Cousin:ey ey ey

Me:Enna?

Cousin:He is leaving di..

Me:Why didnt you say so before?Where is he?

Cousin:Outside.Almost left.Go.Run

I ran down the steps five at a time.There he was bargaining with an auto driver almost 20 feet away.The stairs never seemed to end and it looked like they had reached a settlement and he loaded his bag into the auto.I had gotten almost 5 feet within the distance but then I realized I did not have anything to say to him.I didnt want to make a fool of myself and so I turned away.

Those 2days were one of the best and I never expected them to end and least of all not this way.I did not know what I had expected.All these thoughts filling my mind and disappointment weighing me down I slowly started climbing the steps again.I had barely placed my foot on the second step when..

Hey!

I turned with such a swing and speed that I just caught my balance in time else I would have fallen flat.There he was in front of me!!Speaking to me!

Him:Hi

Me:Hi...Kelambiyaacha?

Him:Ammam..Vellai iruku...Nice wedding..

Me:Yeah.Nanna Nadandudhu....

Him:So...

Me:So...

The auto driver chose this very second to test the range of his super new horn.

Him:oh I have to go now..

Me:Yeah...

Him:Bye then...Nice meeting you..All the best

Me:Likewise...bye...Wish you the same too...

We shook hands and I extracted mine from his hand and he let go too....He proceeded towards the auto and I turned and skipped up the stairs...I suddenly had a strange feeling ,a voice in my head that was asking me to turn.I was confused but nevertheless I heeded and I was not disappointed.

There he was looking at me and smiling .For how long?That I did not know.May be he saw me skipping in joy,or he had turned just then.I just did not know.I did not care either.

He waved goodbye and as I waved back I realized that all that was left were 2 days of memories that I wouldn't forget in my lifetime :)

Until the next one,

Gaya :)

Microblogging- my a**

How dumber can we all possibly get?We had cyrus on one end "Tweeting" away ...PC,KJ,(yeah supposed to sound cool)...

Twitter is yet another hottie at the moment and if you dont tweet you are not aware of technology allegedly...I have three words for those of you who are actually dumb enough to believe that tweeting is cool-Get a life!

I too signed up to see what the buzz was all about and when I saw it was nothing but attention whore-ing all the way I chose best to abstain from it...Tweet all you want dumbass but nobody aint bothered about what you do every second...

And to the hotshots who think they are so just because they follow the schedules of few celebs-Get your ass out of your head!That celeb aint aware of you existence even!Just because you follow them wont make you any cooler.You stay the same lame and crazy electronic stalker....

I recently read a column in a daily about how some celeb had made a typo and people were making a big deal about it...Seriously?A column?

Is not anything going on in the world or are we all living in a place where our lives revolve around Twitter?

And adding to the recent IPL controversy...Dude!You bought a team for 333 million and while other teams were bought at 67-111 million ..Your cricket board is Fuckin' rich....Time to start worry about BPL-Below Poverty Line...

Every year thousands of farmers commit suicide and here we are discussing some bloody 111 million sale as a let down of democracy?

And how childish can both of them get?Fighting by Tweeting?Really! and support is extended through tweets?A minister resigns?

All of you are about 40..Time to act your age..Not get caught in some fad which a high school kid thinks is cool....

Btw-Miley Cyrus-you are not a teen icon or an inspiration..Get over it!

If you think tweeting is still cool stick your head in the oven until the thought goes off..

Until the next one,
Gaya. :)

Vada Poche....

Exam season has started and I am starting to feel the heat in addition to Chennai's heartless veyyil...Yet here I am 24x7 in front of the PC on a major downloading spree.Why you ask?Simple Airtel is smiling down on all its customers offering superb download speeds and why waste a chance to abuse it ? :D

Right...Namma topic..Oru chinna recap...The phrase made popular by vadivelu refers to something that you want but cycle gap le you lost to somebody else..(Contextual meaning maa ;))And in our case not once or twice but three times..

First Vada-
Namma Hero X....
Typical first day of college...Scared Faces,new rules,new environment,people trying to get to know each other,judgements and other blahs...

Our hero being the garrulous and vivacious(ahem ahem !Typical)guy keeps socialising and the wandering eyes suddenly came to a stand still when he saw her...

(BGM-Naaagradhaana dirannanna dhirana)

First sight le fire works....An instant rush of all the things he loved came to him and as he rushed through them he made a mental note to add her to the list.
Success!Appended...

So as like always our hero fell hopelessly in love with our heroine Y1...She was the exact opposite..Calm,composed,reserved and yeah a bit shy....

Days and Nights passed as our hero started tutoring himself watching all the cheesy gooey romantic flicks where the one qualification to fall in love was portrayed like

Girl:why should I fall in love with you?
Guy:Because I am a guy..
Girl either huffs off(good for her!give the guy two hards slaps you bitch!)or watches the guy dewy-eyed(Now give the bitch two slaps)

So he built his solitude fortress around him with hope without succumbing to dope(Okay Okay the rhyme was lame)....

The saddest part was that his companions had to spend all their time listening to his ramblings...They could take it no more one day when finally they tricked both of them to speak to each other...

Climax:They liked each other and were surprised to find how alike they were and fell madly in love with each other.Everything was fine until one day..Beep.Enough with the fantasy.Back to the conversation

X:Hi
Y1:Hi
X:How are you?
Y1:Fine
X:Had lunch?
Y1:Yeah
X:How is college?
Y1:Fine I guess.
X:Ok bye!


Ipdilam pesina epdinga correct agum?

This was the first and last conversation they ever had...He was elated as she was I should say confused and appalled...

He apologized to her for the conversation and it was one too far when he declared his undying love for her....She could have been disapproving true but no she was not...


She was actually horrified and repulsed and so was our hero when she disclosed that she was in a serious relationship..


Vada Poche...


Second Vada-

One year Later
Same college,same old boring faces who dont give a crap but a change of building...

Namma Hero X

The same garrulous guy he was chatting away nonchalantly when again the wandering eyes rested on her..

(Again-Nagrdhhhaana Dhiraanananna Dhiranaa)

There she was as fresh as a flower dipped in early march dew.The spectacles might have added a bit of geek-i-ness to her look you might think but he preferred to think of them as a ray of...Ah!Who am I kidding?She was a nerd all right...

Anyway Y2, as we shall call her ,was our junior who had no idea that she was at the receiving end of an undying love...(What difference does it make?Seriously!)Meanwhile our hero's friends had to endure the same ramblings again only now Y1 was substituted with Y2's name..Our hero had no chance of even approaching our heroine as her Daddy dearest performed the duties of a bodyguard to perfection...

And then as fate would have it she sat next to me in the bus one day...Ah!Now you might think Cupid had had enough and sent me to do his work...But as Satan casted his bewitching smile on me I had no idea that she was "The" girl and went about having a normal conversation with her....Only while discussing this with another friend did I realize Paavam!Kadavuluku kooda porrukkale!

My shrug was nothing compared to the dismay our hero had to go through when he heard this...

There was the only chance which I had let slip through my very fingers....

The usual stages of denial and acceptance were gone through when suddenly one morning he woke up and realized-

Adada!Vada Poche...

Third Vada-

A year later

Our hero still being the optimistic (ah!You would know by this time what adj am gonna use)

Right..Now this time he let his eyes wander in the train as he was travelling to his home town and there those eyes fell on a very face he'd been looking at for the past 2 years.....

(Nagrrdhaana..Argggggg!Aren't we tired of this by now?)

Uff!!Anyways there she was purely bored and he decided to strike a conversation with her and was pleasantly surprised when he found that they shared the same interests...It was one memorable journey(You might want to enact the first scene from ennaku 20 unnaku 18 here!)

Moving on..For once our thala did not choose to fall for her....But his gang of smart-mouths wouldn't leave him alone..On and on they went about how they two were going to end up together until finally

(Nagrdddhaana didranna diranna)Oops!Couldn't help it sorry ! :D

Now third time's a charm right?But our hero knew by this time pretty much what all could go wrong and meticulously made a list.But as fate would have it our Y3 hated any form of commitment having been unceremoniously dumped by a guy(You know am not sure yet, so maybe we'll wait until he comes "out of the closet")who as days inched past ,I swear ,looked more and more like one ugly duckling(the difference being you can sympathize with the duckling while this douche-bag needs two good whacks on his head to set him straight)...Right yes and our hero chose the wrong time again...But since they had such a good rapport he thought it was only a matter of time before they started dating(or so he wished)...He tried everything from flirting(trust me It was lil' better than last time) to being there listening to all the senti(read lame) stories of how she got dumped and all those dhoka stories...He even met her parents..So close.... but what our hero did not know was that our Y3 had the hots for someone else who was way,way,way(did I use 3 ways?well add some more!)out of her league...Now,our hero didn't give up so easily this time...He tried to convince her that he was true-love material..There were those times when he almost told her,times when he almost wanted to give up,times when he was elated,times when he was frustrated until one day:

Y3:Can I tell you something?

X:*Jumping*Sure..

Y3:I have met many people but I dont think I have met anyone as nice as you.You're wonderful.

X:*Concealing glee*I try..

Y3:No seriously..Can I ask you something?

X:*Bated breath*What?

Y3:Can we be like this you know like forever?

X:Like what?*Gasping*

Y3:You know like friends like this?Always someone I can talk to ,who consoles me and respects me and is there for me.No agenda.No rules.Just friends.Best friends.Always.

#Glass Shattering sounds#

X:*sputters* S-shhh-shhhuuu-sure :)

Mind Voice:Adada Vada Poche!

Thus ended another one of his epic,conquest sagas..

Now you might think the story ends here..Clearly ,you are wrong.After all isn't there a year after this?

And this time Namma hero heart Jessie Jessie nu solla arambichachu :)

Expected Sequel :Thambi Tea innum varale...

Until the next one,

Gaya :)

Of lost memories and fleeting moments....

This post is dedicated to Harish,Ashwini,Swathi,Aishu,Kritheka,Tejal,Akilesh, Cellin, Aishu,Shyam,Gomathi,Christina,Dharani,Madhu,Srini,Sai Lakshmi,Kishan,Indumathi, Aruna,Upasana, Praveen, Sangeetha and loads of others whose company I treasure.......

Let me begin this post with a small incident that happened earlier this week...I had to go to Erode for a competition...It was initially planned that I travel alone but a lot of revisions later there I was sitting in the back seat of our Verna,squashed between mother and sister...The road trip(though fleeting and super-fun...I wonder why we dont do this anymore:o)is not the crux here...

We met one of my mother's old college senior there..It was seriously a humbling experience..Now let me brief you a bit here...My mom was brought up in a small town called Pollachi near Coimbatore in TamilNadu...People there hold high cultural and moral values(I am taking my mom's word for it)It was way back in the 1980's where boys and girls talking to each other even in a genuinely friendly manner was frowned upon.So I was seriously surprised(Read taken aback) when my mom mentioned him..Plus in all these years I have never heard of my mom mentioning her friends..She had lost contact with almost all of them...After nearly 20 years thy met each other..He and his wife were wonderfully courteous and looked at me like how they would at their own daughter..I seriously understood then what my mother was talking about when she mentioned the enthusiastic welcomed and hospitality...

Pardon me for again this is not what I intend to go in detail about...Forgive me for the deviations here and there....This post is all about the high school memories that we have all lost and the last fleeting moments of our college life....I loved my high school and six girls "GANG" that we had formed...All the innocence and kiddish fights,spoilt brats,fights for benches,the "WHY-DID-You-choose-to-sit-with-her-when-I-am-here?"tiffs,all the "Hey-look-here-comes-your-boy-friend" games,The birthday cakes,birthday bumps,fun trips,treats,"Teasing those oh-I-broke-up-with-him-again girls",all the gossip and rumors that spread like wild-fire,calling somebody Pazham and expecting them to be offended(Yeah I am laughing now :)),arranging the lunch boxes in order and taking a bite outta each one,canteen parotta samosa fights,shirking PT,jumping over benches,getting wet in the rain during lunch hour and sitting dripping in the class,theatre gallatta,nick names,those songs we made up,the BGMs,exam fever,farewell day tears...

Uff!I thought one full cycle was over!After all the goodbyes and promises to stay in touch with each other,pinky-swears of together for eternity,filling of slam books finally it was good bye...And honestly I have managed to keep up only about 5 of those promises....I am in touch with a very few of my school mates....

My cocoon here is about to break in another year where I emerge free yet bearing the burden of having to be separated from another group I was so comfortable with...

My college life would not have been what it is had it been for Harish and what Gomathi likes to call "The spider Gang"(I have no idea where the name came from but it is fun)....I had no idea what was going on and was often the jumping jack but never once did anybody get irritated with me...Be it the orientations or free hours,blank sheet revision exam,IV s we stick to each other.....And Harish,where do I even start?I am going to run out of words and space if I have to talk about him and Ashwini...My pillar of strength...Some shoulder I can always lean on and talk nothing for hours but still you'd understand every single word I was trying to tell you da!Same goes for you too Ash!
And Aishu and Cellin two people I have always liked...No matter whatever happens I know at the end of the day I'd still want to be with you!
Indhumathi is one person who I always respected...I like a lot of people but respect very few...Once I respect someone I never change my opinion about them and she is one person I'd like to support come what may...
Gomathi and Chris are one of my first friends in this place and it is always very special when it comes to firsts...
Ashwini-Again My bestie!She perfectly understands how awkward I get with emo stuff and never expects any thing in return...Love you sweetie!
James,The thala and captain of our class,The Terror :P
Srini and Praveen-My super brilliant friends who believe knowledge is for sharing and not flaunting
Shyam-Can you put him off?I dont think so!Such a sweet and adjusting idiot! :)
Above are those who touched me...I am sure every one of you out there would have had millions who make a difference.....

I might promise now that I might be with these people till eternity and other stuff but I also know that in the wake of reality how these promises go kaput....

But with all sincerity and honesty I do know that wherever I go I carry you all with me...

The relationship will find a way to keep itself alive,I sincerely do hope !


To the lost memories of yesterday,
fleeting moments of today and
the present of tomorrow,


Cheers!

Until The next one,
Gaya!:)

A wedding.3 principle characters who received more importance than the bride and the groom ;).....

This post is dedicated to Aishu who is my first fan,kid sis and one of the most wonderfully weird creatures on this planet..

Let me start with the background story.The wedding here is my chittappa's(Dad's last brother) who is the typical Green-card-holding, 6'3",fair,PhD completed,Landed in one the highly paid brackets in US chammattu payyan...Shouldn't be difficult to find a match right?Believe me,There was.

The scouting for brides started way back in 2004 with the usual "Amma Ennakku ippolam kalyanam vendam"(Mom,I dont want to get married now)which as the days passed turned into impatience"Amma enna achu..Innuma kedaikala?"(Mom..What happened?Are you still not able to find one?)

Harish(Chitapps) has always been more of a friend than the father-figure...He is a wonderful guy.Compulsive cleaner and not a second has gone by where he does not think of his family.And yeah typical my-parents-know-what-is-good-for-me type one.Not that it is a bad thing.

Yeah,lets get back on track.as 2004 slipped into 2005 and 06 still no luck and then due to few incidents we were not able to continue our Bride-huntfor few months.Few dead ends.Few almost deal-closers.
Few no horoscope matches.Dead ends every where.

Nevertheless paati ploughed on and on until finally we landed on Priya.

Now a lil something about Priya.If I call Harish my friend then I should call Priya my bestie...Someone who understands and cares for everyone.One very trustable person and totally chilled out.

Yeah again back on track.So Harish flew down to meet his bride-to-be....Now dont ask me if it was love-at-first-sight...I have no idea what attracted them to each other because in my opinion they are poles apart from each other.After tasting the sojji-bajji us,the younger-lot were thrilled...

The engagement was fixed on the last week of June.June 28th.Our story begins here.
I was pretty much jobless having just then completed my 12th and was waiting for my admissions to begin.I enter the hall and who should I see but some cute guy...(Isnt that the point of attending most weddings?)..The usual mental calculations were on...

Next came the competitors(my sister and cousin) and we started squabbling over who gets him..(Yeah he was not aware of our existence idhule periyaaa rights-claim veraa ;))

Finally not being able to come to a conclusion we decided on Survival of the fittest....All of us hanging around and my sisters were called outside for a few seconds and suddenly Luck decided to cast a bewitching smile on me...Who knew Priya would choose that very second to introduce me to him?There we were discussing various topics for 20 blissful moments before some aunt in "Heavy " makeup called me aside saying I was wanted somewhere(Porrukadhe?)....Grudgingly I said good bye....Meanwhile my cousin who was in the hospitality(read kids bullied in (rather bewitched)to think that they were responsible for the well being of the guests ) got the golden opportunity to pour coffee for him without having a clue about the miles of progress I had made...(It was on!)...Time came when we had to say our good byes and when he waved at me guess who was on fire? ;)It did lead to few uncomfortable moments of probing where I had to explain(Hell yeah!Who cares?)

Harish fried some kadalai for the rest of the week he was here and pretty much phone-fryings were done later(Hopefully :P)

He flew in a week before the wedding and was subjected no less than facials,manicures,pedicures and other blahs but the climax was the Marudhaani..
Traditionally the groom is supposed to have Marudhaani on his hand but to see Harish kick up a fuss like that was rare..We tried to coax him saying it wasnt bad and we all had Mehendi done..Finally we had to do what we had to-Pin the brat down and smear the stuff on his hands..(You were given a choice!)

The wedding was on October 24th..

October 22nd-

I had my internals correctly from 23rd and so to obtain permission from my VP to skip them....Now to make it clear these tests are nothing more than time and paper wasters.But an illusion was created as if these were path-breaking tests.Naturally I was little apprehensive at first but the thought of the wedding and picking it where we left off too seemed fun...So there I am with my letter and an annoyed scorn on his face told me I was not getting anywhere as close to a half day leave even....All the plans came crashing down....I did what any well brought up kid would do...Went and cried to my dad about how mean they were at college(Did I mention well mannered?OOps :D)..There my dad was promising to come and take me no matter what happened...


Now traditional Iyer weddings are stretched over 3 days where

1st day morning-Vradham(23rd)

The bride, groom and both their parents perform this rite praying to god that all should go well and a yellow thread is tied on their wrists meaning they are not supposed to leave the mandapam until the wedding is over.

October 23rd-
I completed my English internals(piece of cake) and was waiting for my dad....I was not able to listen a word of the maths shit that was being taught...Finally he turned up as promised and there was the same VP who was all smiles(sucker!)who asked me to take an extra couple of days......Gloating, I left with dad..We had to stop midway and I used the chance to call my cousin to check if "He" had arrived...I waited with bated breath for her answer...

To be continued..

Click here to read Part II of the story.

Until the next one,
Gaya. :)

A Presentation and those that followed

Of late procrastination has taken a complete toll over me.I've been meaning to get this post out since like a month but well, :D .

I love working with MS Powerpoint (2003,7 bring it on)and making all those presentations.To others they might do it when need arises but I look for opportunities to work with MS PP .

My First presentation was for a competition .The topic was Dances of India and out of the regular aarva-kolaru my friend and I signed up for it without having a single clue as to how a presentation looks like.After a quick tutorial from one of my cousins,the pres was ready.(Yeah I did win a prize and no I am not disclosing which one) ;)
The second one I made was for my cousin about the solar system.I'd worked really hard on it for like 3 nights continuously.It did turn out to be a hit among all the KG kids whose jaws dropped when they saw the moon come out of the water :P
From then on I'd made presentations only for technical computer science paper presentation related stuff.

However the two most useful presentations I have ever been involved with were for two friends-Bala Sundaram and Nitesh Varma.In the former's case it was all ready and I just had to tweak it here and there.It was about a village adoption project.

The presentation that I wanted to write about is the latter one.It was about the sexual harassment of women at workplaces and outside.I started off by making just a couple of pie charts and very soon got to do some background research to get some idea on the subject.

I have always been a feminist and I am proud of that.I don't like people telling me that I am not supposed to do something just because I am a woman.When I saw all those cases of mental torture and unfair judgements it really got me thinking.Are we all actually offered the importance as hyped or touted?

A bill.A reservation of 33% in otherwise a male dominated society has been opposed for nearly 14 years before it has finally been passed.If it were this difficult to merely pass a bill then how difficult would it be for us to secure other rights?
But then again will woman representatives actually come-forward?or get lost somewhere in some brilliantly played political-chess?

Even today a woman is looked down upon with scorn if she leaves her husband.But is the case vice-versa?Nah-ah...If a man leaves his wife then something is wrong with her.Why should the woman bear the brunt of the society on her shoulders alone?

A woman child is considered a burden and killed off before it could see the light of the day.Have these people ever done it to a male child?If yes,let me see that.Yeah my words are oozing with contempt and scorn but the fact that all these are still prevalent makes me sneer even more.

Yeah getting back to the harassment part.In most of the case studies that I came across the woman had refused to surrender to the will of the superior male officer and hence she has been wrongfully terminated or psychologically tortured.We have so many Anjali Guptas and Bhanwari Devis who have not yet spoken out aloud due to the fear of facing the society's wrath.

Who makes up the society after all?Is it not you and me?Is it wrong to ask for a bit of compassion,empathy and humanity?Are we that lost in the materialistic world that we have forgotten the very basic purpose of our existence?

Eve and Adam together complete mankind.

Any appeal that I make now is going to be one among the millions and billions lost in thin air but nevertheless,Guys just stop for one second and close your eyes.Think.If the same were to happen to your kith and kin wouldn't you want to bash the rogue who caused it?So why do you want to become such a rogue who another family wants to bash up?

Those who set a bad example need to be punished,then and there.Not tried for 10 years and then acquitted.
We either need stricter laws or people with more conscience and morals.Until one of these two happens these cases will do continue.


Remember for every woman you destroy,you are destroying a family.


"Like me, you could be unfortunate enough to stumble upon a silent war. The trouble is that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. Either way, you’re accountable.”
-Arundhati roy

P.S-Thanks Nitesh!

Until the next one,
Gaya.:)

13/2/2010-Yet Again A black one.

Terrorism.Everyone with a little bit of compassion left in their heart would oppose terrorism that involves in ending the lives of so many just because of the selfish motives of a few.One thing that strikes me every time I hear of an attack is a small child throwing a tantrum.

Have you ever observed adamant children who get particularly violent and sour when their demands are not met or when no one takes notice of them when they enter a room or when they speak?They start throwing things around and if they chance upon their playthings they start hitting them and pulling their limbs off.Its this all over again only that it gets bigger and (I am not using Better).Innocent people replace the dolls and political games the motives.

Imagine your father,mother or your own child to whom you bid farewell in the morning before getting to work/school.To you it meant till the evening then,but what if you had to come home and discover that the goodbye was till eternity and they had given up their life for no fault of theirs but for some stupid principles and ideals of someone who lives at least a 1000 miles away in a carpet of luxury watching people stricken down as he/she poses his/her unreasonable demands.What if his/her family was one among them?
Everyone around the world irrespective of diversity share few similar basic sentiments.That is why we are still humans and have sixth sense.Compassion and empathy is what sets us apart.We are very very close to joining the band of predators.

Evolution has been a pretty long journey and it looks like we are getting back to the roots only in a more sophisticated and technical way.The advent of technology has surpassed all the boundaries it was supposed to stay within and grow beyond control as do all those monsters in the creature features.

Its all fancy to label these 26/11 and 13/2 and so on but who is ready to get to the bottom of all this and analyze the root cause of the problem and exterminate it? Always keep in mind the tumor has to be removed.

The time for putting up the patient face has long gone by.If we still chose to maintain political diplomacy and keep mum then I'm sorry to say that there'll come a time when we all will be huddled inside a single den wishing for the tiniest ray of hope that could sustain us till the next day.

Jaago India

-Yet another commoner who reads the paper everyday and tells her heart (which keeps asking her "Is it my turn to stop next"? ) "All Izz Well * A pause * Atleast for now.

Until the next one,

Gaya :)

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