A few months back, I had gone home on leave ... taken some time off .. so i decided to travel down my memory lanes and visited my dear old school, the park i had played in as a kid, the nooks and corners of our colony wre me and my gang had had sooo much fun .. visiting the place u grew up sorta helps u relive ur childhood to some extent .. and thats exactly y i had taken the time off .. for this special reason .. and i was havin a very gud time .. i went to the class v had occupied in our eleventh grade and sat in the last row which v had occupied at that time .. t'was like i had gone back to those days ..
all those silly fights v had .. :) .. and the punishments v got .. the days v ate during the class ... the tests v copied and cleared ... and those oh-so-dull days when v jus lazed around not actually knowin wat to do .. if only i had a ---.. hmm .. no .. not starting it again ... :-/
nywayz, jus two days b4 i was comin back to chennai, i had gone to the grocery store to get s'thing for my mom and i was jus lookin at the place wre there had once been a temple .. and was staring at the now wasted land when i was shattered out of my reverie by a crashing sound .. i turned jus in time to c a kid nursing his bleeding hand while his bicycle lay on itz side .. it didnt take much intelligence to figure out that he had crashed into a big stone lying on the side of the road ..
and it didnt take up much time for me to realise that the kid had a Hero Ranger ... i immediately travelled back to my school days when i had a similar Hero Ranger .. Red color .. and it was one of those first models which had a straight handle-bar .. in those days, everyone wanted to drive my bike(okie.. okie .. cycle!! .. thought i'll give some build-up for my dear cycle) caz i was one of the very few who had that model .. and the fights me and my bro had over it .. my! my!!! .. too many .. during one of those fightin sessions, i was so pissed off with him that i jus stormed out of house but only after grabbing my compass from the geometry box .. i went down, engraved my name in the mud-guard and made sure t'was in the field of vision of anyone who merely glanced at my bike .. this led to yet another series of fights but thats a different story .. when i left school, my bro got bored of it and sold it without tellin me caz he knew my senti attachment to that cycle ..
lookin at the kid's cycle at that minute, all this passed thro my mind's eye .. the kid was still on the ground .. so i decided to help him and went over and straightened up the cycle .. and my eyes reflexively travelled to the mud-guard and to my amazement, i saw the name inscribed in it clear as if it wre recently done - "ANU the gr8" ... i briefly wondered if i was dreamin but knew otherwisewhen i heard the kid's voice .. "thanx akka" .. "np kiddo .. btw, is this ur cycle??" ..
"yes akka" ..
"wre did u buy it .. i mean, whom did u get it from??"
"appa bought it from that cycle stand over there .. s'one had sold it and appa told me i ve to wait for a few more years b4 he can get me a brand new bike.. so i agreed to get this second hand"
"oh kewl!! .. do u know whoz name this is??" - i pointed out the compass scribble ..
"oh that .. the cycle stand owner told me t'was done by the previous owner .. that stupid gal needn't ve done it right in that place , when she knew shez gonna sell it .. now the first thing ppl c bot the cycle is that .. all my frenz make fun of me when they c a gal's name in my cycle" ..
i jus smiled at him (though dont ask me wat i felt like inside ..) and told him "may be she didnt know she was gonna sell it ..she mite ve really luv'd her cycle .. but had to sell it at some point caz of some reasons .."
he seemed to ponder bot this for a min and then thanked me for helpin and went on his way ..
i was so engrossed in my thoughts on my way back home .. and i still was deep in thought when i entered the house .. that is, until my mom asked me -"kanna wre'z the flour??" ...
wat flour??!!!! oh jeez .. thats wat i went out to get and i retunred back without goin to the shop .. "ma .. i forgot to get it .. sorry" ..
she glared at me and gave me a 'u-gud-for-nothing-gal-i-knew-u'll-gimme-some-xcuse' look ... and didnt trust me again and so went to the shop herself .. ;) .. t'was a gud thing my bro sold out that cycle .. if he had left it in the garage , wat with both of us away from home, it wud ve rusted and wasted .. at least now therez some kid whoz happy caz of the cycle even though he must still be cursing 'me the gr8' for that inscription .. :P

I got my corn flakes and was walkin towards an empty table in the far corner and grabbed today's Hindu on my way ... i came in late .. missed my bus by jus two min ... so went back home and watched TV for a while and went to the library and started from home by around ten when i was sure the morning traffic musta come down .. went for petrol for my Robbie (my handsome one yr old honda activa) .. and i was wrong bot the traffic caz t'was worse than usual and after much cursing and also receiving some for my share from co-bikers, i reached office totally exhausted .. and i looked like a scarecrow !! :-/ .. and was famished .. so here i was, in the cafeteria for breakfast .. as i was recollecting my skilled driving, and bot the unfortunate ones who didnt realise it yet :P .. when suddenly i tripped over s'thing hard and felt myself fallin .. fallin .. and still fallin .....
can't tel u exactly for how long i kept fallin down and down but finally i hit land .. hard and rough .. and it hurt .. and also the foot which hit the hard thing in the cafeteria .. hey , jus a min .. i was in cafe but wre am i NOW?? okie .. i 'm in total darkness so i dunno wre i am .. but it sure is eeire ... i ve alwayz read bot spooky places in story books and longed to be in one but today, i know better ... 'm i scared?? cha cha .. anu is a brave gal .. (mummy !!! wru???!! ) .. i probed my way around and banged into walls(??!! must be stone walls .. man it hurts) .. okie .. enough is enuogh .. 'm not playin this game anymore .. i sat down and started nursing my hurt leg .. which by now had stopped bleeding ..
suddenly there was a blindin light and i found myself staring at an open doorway in the far end of the long passage i was in .. and then, i gaped as a small figure walked out .. couldn't make out who t'was .. the person was approaching me .. he came closer and closer .. now i was able to make out that t'was a She and not He .. hey . t'was the kid who begged for money when i was waiting in the traffic signal today morning .. wat was she doin here?? or rather wat was i doin here??? and most importantly, wat place was this?? the place, even though eerie and cold, felt very familiar .. very familiar .. like i ve alwayz known this place .. like i knew my home .. but yet, i knew i ve never frequented it much .. ?????? ...
"Hellllooooooo??" .- i shouted .. but got no response .. the gal was jus a few feet away from me now .. and now i could also make out the long pole in her hand .. she was jabbing it at me .. oh no .. i realised the reason for her bein angry with me .. i didnt give her money but i felt that kids must not be encouraged to beg and thats y didnt give her .. "hey .. dont hurt me .. i didnt give caz of a reason" .. there was no change in her .. she was approaching me in the same slow and steady pace ..
suddenly, the gal changed into the shop guy i had shouted at yesterday .. he looked very angry and was cursing me and approachin me with wat looked like the same pole the gal had .. i blinked my eyes not sure if i was seein rite .. r my eyes playing games with me?? wre 'm i?? y r all these ppl here??
and then, before my wide open eyes, the guy vanished and in his place,i saw the gypsy lady and her two kids .. i see 'em everyday .. they had mounted their tent in a waste land on my way to work .. i usually peek out thro my window (when i travel by company bus) to c'em and the other gypsy neighbours of theirs .. they r an interesting group to me .. and then there was this blasted rain in Chennai which flooded their tents .. i was so unhappy and i used to stare at the empty , flooded tents .. then one fine day, they wre back .. and occupied their damp tents .. i musta helped 'em .. but all i did was tel my ma and my frenz bot 'em and how bad i felt for 'em .. now seein her and her kids advancing towards me, i felt guilty ..... and ashamed ...
by now, she was very near .. and then suddenly i saw so many ppl all around me .. the dobi(iron guy) i had scolded for bringin in my ironed clothes late .. my maid who had got scoldings from me for throwing away an important sheet of paper which i had left on top of the refrigerator ..the top house guy with whom i fought for he scratchced my Robbie while takin his stupid vehicle out .. and my bro with his favourite red bag which i brought here to chennai without him knowin .. and many others .. all advancing towards me and suddenly i knew wre i was .. my conscience .. didnt know my conscience had such a big space (didnt know it had a space , for that matter .. alwayz thought conscince was jus a voice).. with so many incidents in it .. probably accumulated over these twenty three yrs of my life .. and suddenly i felt a sharp pain in my head .. and felt all the ppl raising watever they had in their hands to hit me ...
"Maaaaaaaaaaaaa!! ammAAAa !! .... Noooooooooo ... dont hit me .. 'm soooo sorryyyy .. maaaaAAAAA" ...
"idiot wake up .. wat the hell is the prob with u" - my bro .. oh .. me at home .. had come y'day for the weekend ... "nothing da .. a bad dream" ... him -"oh .. for all the sins u ve done, there must b some sorta realisation ways .. gud that ur dream is takin care of that" ..how did he know?!!! .. "poda .. poi velaya paaru .. talkin like a grandma" ..

She was sitting in her favourite spot .. the seat over the window in her room on which she had propped up two three pillows .. huggin her Kenny ( her teddy) .. he looked out of place near her for she's not the girly sorta person but wel .. u never can predict certain behaviours .. nywayz .. there she was .. lookin so very cozy and contented lookin at the rain (ahh .. rain again!!! b4 y'all start, i admit i luv rain .. precisely puttin it, 'm fascinated by rain).. with a mug of steaming coffee cupped in her hands .. and a book lay on her side .. looked like she was almost thro with it .. and she cut such a nice picture like that of a character in old novels ...

But looking at her more closely, she wasn't exactly njoy'n the rain like she usually does .. her mind was else wre ... there was that far away look which she rarely is seen with .. she looked like a lost and lonely kid .. searchin for her way in a thicket .. but not actually aware of wre she wanted to go ... in search of a path leading to no wre ...

She jus sat there doin nothing but starring out at the rain .. she sat there for hours .. until it stopped raining .. and it got darker and darker outside .. but there was no change in her gazin out deep in thought ..

Suddenly the silence was shattered by 'woh lamhe' from Zeher .. her mobile ringing tone .. the tone she reserved for her closest chums ... she jus looked at her mob lying nearby, not making any attempts of answering the cal .. she knew who t'was .. she jus gazed at it blankly .. it rang for ten min and then stopped .. in few seconds it rang again .. the person whoever t'was, tried calling five six times until he/she musta got tired of it .. the ringing stopped and the heavy silence returned save for the rythm of the rain splattering outside ... she went back to lookin at the rain ..

but there was this smile on her face now .. the far away , confused look was replaced by contentment and happiness .. no .. not ecstatic ... but the contentment that u get when some thing that was keepin u worried is no more a worry ... she drank her coffee at last which by now was cold .. but that didnt seem to worry her ... she seemed to njoy it all the same .. and took up her book and finished the few pages that wre left .. and then she made up her mind .. now, she had no doubts .. she was on sure and secure land again ..

'woh lamhe' ... yeah u guessed it .. the same person callin her .. this time she answered the cal .. she listened for a while .. she smiled and told "oui. j'aussi!!" .. (for those of y'all who dunno the meaning :P , itz the french line for "yes.. me too!!")

he he he .. tried s'thing diff (for my style, it IS different) as i heard many ppl talkin bot valentine's day ..

T'was one of those normal days except for the slight rain .. and t'was still drizzling when i started from home and by the time i reached the stadium, it had started raining again .. the athletes who wre practising outside the stadium in the 800 m track came inside the stadium for shelter .. i was tossing the shuttle (t's sorta warming up for badminton players) and so didnt pay much attention to the guys ... that is , until he came inside, playing with a football ... he was very attractive and many eyes turned when he walked in ... after that i couldn't concentrate on my game ... eyes kept wandering in search of him .. he was never in one place- roamin around the stadium playin with that football .. hmm .. lucky football!!! :-/

I went the next day .. and the next .. and everyday after that .. i saw him some days and didnt, on some days .. and those days seemed empty ; incomplete .. seein him made me so happy and contented .. but i didnt ve the nerve to approach him .. wat if he doesn't like me??? wat if he already has s'one???? oh no .. i couldn't bear to even think he'll never be mine .. so, i jus went to the stadium and looked at him everyday from a distance .... this went on for more than a month ... until one fine day, our stadium watchman introduced him to me ... i had gone to the locker to get a shuttle and he was there with our watchman ... and that day was one of the best days in my life .. and that was jus the start ...

slowly, v became frenz and found out that he didnt after all ve s'one yet ...(oh wow! :-) ..) and he liked me a lot ... as much as i liked him ... then v started hanging out together ... i liked his company more than any other's ... and i started spending most of my time with him .. v became inseparable ... we hung out together at our colony park, playground, stadium .. and everywre .. he waited for me outside my school gate patiently everyday .. i started to bunk classes at times and most tuition classes too ... and my frenz covered up for me both at home and school .. they knew how much i luved him and they knew i can never tel at home or that'll b the end of our relationship ..

our life went on blissfully like this until one day he decided to come to my place and surprise me ... i was horror struck .. he didnt understand the consequences that'll result if v r found together and i supect he hasn't to this day ... i was soo scared i couldn't njoy his company and was not much of a company to him either ... my mom had gone to the library and she was back and imagine her shock when she saw him ... she had a nervous fit and yelled at both me and bro-"who brought a DOG inside the house???????!!!! " i ve never seen her angrier .. she glared at both me and vivi and even more at my hero .. and my hero jus stood there wagging his tail not havin realised even now the situation he had landed both of us in .. i alwayz thought my hero was not that brainy but t'was proved that day .. for a dog, he was not bad though ... so dont jump to conclusions that he is dumb-witted or s'thing .. itz jus that he's an average .. like me .. suits me fine .. but my ma happened to ve a different opinion altogether .... she threw both of us out and told me to come back home after i ve returned him to his rightful owner ..

she didnt seem to hear me when i told her he didnt ve one .. or so i thought .. until she yelled at me-"omg !! u ve brought a stray dog inside my house .. get out both of u and dont come back until u leave him in some far off place ..and make sure i never set my eyes on him ever again ... undertand???" ... "yes ma" ...

so my hero went back with disgrace from my home .. :( .. and this was not all .. when i went back to the stadium, watchman anna told that he's goin away and so he's planned to take my hero with him as my darling had no one to take care of him .. boo hoo ... that was the last day i saw my hero ...

i still dream of him at times .. and i never owned a dog in my life .. even though 'm crazy bot dogs .. and i never understood my ma's hatred for dogs either ..