The Bell

Kumar was returning to his village after a decade. The city had given him all that he had wished for, as a kid. It was a long journey in his life to blend into the city life. But, it would be longer to go back to his original life. It was as if all these years he was living in a dream. A dream, where he lived as someone else. He had no regrets of leaving his village, for he knew, he would return.

The bus was crowded, but Kumar had managed to get a window seat. It was probably the effect of his attire. The neatly pressed white shirt and the blue jeans, which he had changed into at the railway station, made him look no less than a movie star. The Polaroid dark glasses on his chalked out face, and the neatly set hair just added more stars to his appearance. As soon as he got the luggage loaded on the bus, the other passengers made way and let him select any seat on the bus. He was busy soaking in the scenery the route had to offer. He had four hours before he could reach his house, his village, the place where he spent his childhood.

His thoughts were running faster than the bus. Were they running ahead to see his future? Or to go back to the sweet memories of the place, was something nobody except Kumar could tell. He remembered his house and the temple. Both the places, where his favorites in the village. He would always enquire about them. He had unlimited memories from the time spent near the temple. He would go there every day with his friends. The banyan tree, on the banks of the river, just behind the temple, used to be their hangout place. He would run into the temple and try to touch the huge temple bell. He wasn’t tall enough then, to touch it. He would come back with a long face, to cheer him up, his friends would form a tower, for him to climb up and hit the bell. After this they would run away fearing the scolding from the temple priest.  Since Kumar would fall from the top of the tower, almost every day there would be wound or a bruise on his body.

The bell rang, but this time, it wasn’t the temple bell. It was the simple bell in the bus, which brought back Kumar from his memories. His village was just a kilometer away and this was to alert everybody to get ready to make their way to the door. The scenes seemed familiar to him. The long stretches of farmlands with men and women toiling in the harsh sun. He could see huge towers too in the middle of these farms. He understood them to be the assets of the cell phone companies. He wondered, even if there were problems for water and electricity, there was no dearth of cell phones.

The sudden break on the bus put a break to his train of thoughts. As he set his foot on the road, unloaded his luggage from the bus, and the bus continued his journey, he saw a dozen people waiting on the other side of the road. They had flower garlands, basket of flowers, drums, and trumpets. As soon as he crossed the road, he was surrounded by his uncles, cousins, who lifted him on their shoulders. The welcome party paraded on the roads of the village and finally stopped in front of the huge gate. The drums and trumpets did not stop until the huge gate opened.

Kumar stepped in, on one side, he saw the cowshed. There were a dozen of cows. Few years back, when he left, there were just a couple of cows and one of them was pregnant, due to deliver the calf. The sight of the cows and and cow dung in round shapes on the wall brought a smile to his face. He remembered how he would help his mother make those cow dung cakes. In that excitement, he would smear the dung all over his body and would get scolded by his mom for messing himself. His mother would remove his dirty clothes and bather him with the water from the well.

As he stared at the well, he visualized a small boy playing with a bucket of water. The boy’s mother was forcing him to quit playing, bathe quickly and change into the dry clothes. She was splashing water on him. He could feel the same, and realized, somebody was actually sprinkling water on him. He looked at the hand. They were the same tender hands which took care of him in his childhood. The same hands which bid good bye to him, when he was set to leave the village. He touched the hand and kept it on his head. His mother had promised him, whatever happened; she would never leave his side. She had kept her promise. She was his moral support.

He looked at her eyes. He could see tears, similar to how they were when he was leaving. There was one difference, this time he could spot the joy hidden n them. The tears were shining like diamonds. The mother and son hugged each other. As they parted, Kumar’s father stepped forward. He was waiting for this embrace for a long time. He met his relatives, distributed the gifts he had carefully packed for everyone. His mom just couldn’t take her eyes off him and her fingers were busy ruffling his hair. His father looked at him with pride, while Kumar felt content lying on the floor with his head supported on his mother’s lap.

Kumar was eager to visit his childhood hangout place, the temple. In the evening, he dressed up in the traditional attire and went to the temple. As he entered, he saw a tower of kids and one short boy, trying to reach the bell. Just when the boy was about to touch it, the priest came running with a stick to chase the boys. The tower collapsed. The boy touched the ground, luckily fell on his palms. Kumar could understand the feelings of the boy. He went near the boy, lifted him up and helped him strike the bell. The joy on the boy’s face gave Kumar immense happiness, probably much more than, is he had hit the bell himself.

A month later, there was a development in the temple. In one corner of the temple, there were multiple bells hanging at different heights. Everybody now had access to the bells. Ofcourse, this did not stop the boys to form the tower. This was to hit the bell which was six feet above the ground. Kumar felt, his decision to come back home was not wrong afterall.

Waves

The sound is so mesmerizing. You can easily get lost in them. It’s a constant thing. Day or night, it is the same sound. The intensity might vary at times, but if you observe closely, it’s just the same.

What is it that I am writing about here? It’s the Waves. Waves in an ocean. In the vast ocean, there probably aren’t as many waves in the middle. But the shore has only waves. The sea shore is where we belong. There is humongous amount of human inhabitation, so to us, the first thing about ocean is water and of course waves. All we care about is how huge the waves are. Will it take away from us, something we love? But legend has it; the ocean never takes anything away from us forever. Whatever it takes, it returns the same, after a while. Well, in what condition, it is up to us to imagine.

I was just looking t the ocean. It was throwing at me, some small, some huge waves. What was it trying to tell me? Probably I could take a message:
A wave which looks huge, very huge at a distance, might die down, before it comes to the shore. This is like a problem in life. At far, it might look huge, but it might not be a problem at all, by the time it comes near us. But that doesn’t mean we ignore everything which is huge at a distance. Similarly, a wave which is small at far, might just build up and hit you as a huge one, and sweep you off your feet. Aren’t they so similar to our problems? It is up to us to remain alert at all times, yet enjoy the small waves the ocean throws at us. Just like our life.

As strange as it seems, the mighty ocean filled with salt water, and of course mysteries inside, has a great lesson to teach us, creatures on the shore.

The Come Back

In a village near Chitradurga, Sundari seemed like the happiest woman of the day. She had woken up an hour earlier than the usual. Had she slept at all the previous night was questionable. She had completed all her morning rituals much ahead of sunrise. Sundari was the river bank when she witnessed the sun rise. It was the usual time and the same scene, but on that day, it seemed like the most beautiful sunrise she had even seen in her lifetime. After the mesmerizing sight she filled her mud pots with water and headed back home.

As she reached home, her husband had woken up, completed his morning rituals and was offering his prayers to God. She hurried to the kitchen to make him a drink. He always had a glassful of Kashaya after the prayers. It was hot drink comprising of water boiled with pepper corn, cumin and few leaves of holy basil. She would add a clove and a cardamom too, so that it would lend a sweet flavor and acted as a mint too.

It was a special day for the couple. Their son was to return. He was taken away fourteen years back. Sundari remembered the day very well. The entire village had seen her cry. She wailed as if her son was about lose his life. In a way, it was true. He wouldn’t be a free person anymore. He would be bound. “Why at such a young age?” she would question her husband once in a while. He could only hide his tears and pat on her shoulder as she leaned on his body for comfort.

Her son would accompany her to the river bank. He loved flowing water. While she would sit at the banks, he would be busy swimming and splashing water all over. Once done and out of water, he would come running to her, she would wipe him and dress him up with fresh clothes. Both of them would sit on a rock nearby and watch the sun rise just behind the small temple on the huge mountain.

Both would go to the palace after this. Sundari was one of the maids there and her son was one of the playmates of the prince. The two boys were very close to each other. Together, they would have the best times. They would run around the palace troubling the guards and maids. Sundari once caught them red-handed, stealing a snack item from the kitchen. She chased them until they reached the Queen’s harem. The boys ran and hid behind the queen. She was a kind lady and did not punish either of them and sent them away to play, also assuring Sundari that it was alright.

She knew, for the prince, it wasn’t an offense, but her son, couldn’t be behaving this way in the palace. As a punishment, she did not take him to the the palace for a couple of days, but was forced to bring him back on the little prince’s orders.

Days passed by, one day the guards were at Sundari’s doorsteps. They were summoned at the king’s courtroom. She knew, they were in trouble, because of their son. They were in the courtroom; the couple were trembling with fear, although the boy was fearless and wore a beautiful smile and a twinkle in the eye.

What they heard in the courtroom was unbelievable. Sundari was speechless. She did not know how to react. They just bowed in front of the king and came back home. That night Sundari had tears flowing on her cheeks like flood. The next day, when the guards came to take her son away, she was uncontrollable. Finally, her husband had to drag her into the house, so that they wouldn’t come in the way of the king’s orders.

After 14 years, she dint know if her son would recognize her. She wanted to make dishes which he used to love and relish. But now, she wasn’t sure if he liked the same stuff. She din't even know, if her son would like anything back at home. Sensing her anxiety, her husband comforted her. He assured her, their son would love anything she had made. After all, he wouldn’t have had the luxury all those years, away from them.

Late in the morning, the guards came in a carriage and let him out. There was a man in his early twenties. He body seemed to be sculpted. He had a heavy bangle of sorts hanging on one of his wrists. A maroon cloth wrapped his upper body, and a shining white dhoti as a contrast for the bottom. His left ear was pierced and had a small yet thick ring. There was bright red vermillon placed in the centre of his temple. As the wind blew the shoulder length wavy hair, just tried to fly backward. He looked like the most handsome man, the village had seen in years.

Sundari was amazed at this sight. It was her son, in front of her, in flesh and blood. She wanted to run upto him and hug him, cup his face in her hands and feel the moment of truth. She was awestruck by his appearance.

He was looking at his humble abode. The house was decorated with wild flowers. The simplicity made it appear beautiful. But what caught his attention, was the sight of the couple, his parents. They looked the same as the day he left them. There were probably stands of silver on their head, but they were mostly dominated by the black hair. Also, a very few wrinkles, just to prove they had grown wiser.

He could no longer control his urge and ran upto them. He bent down to seek their blessings and finally the moment, which the trio longed for, he hugged his parents. It was lunch time and the couple were busy catching up with their sons life till date. They were grateful to the king for sending their son, along with the prince, to the Gurukul.

Ragini

Ragini, a 10 year old, was the most cheerful girl Mandari Village had seen in years. Everybody in the village loved her. Every morning, she would be seen coming out of a place as good as heaven, with a pot on her head. She would walk till the river, to fill water. They had a huge well at the backyard; this water was used for household purposes. They needed the water from the sacred river only for the rituals. She would wear a long skirt, a matching blouse both with zari border. She would have 2 thick long plaits, and a strand of Jasmine buds adored one of the plaits. She had a dozen of glass bangles to match with her dress. But there was one way, which couldn’t prevent anybody from noticing her. Her silver anklets, with a numerous small bells. The moment stepped, the anklets would catch the attention of everybody around.

With a pot of water on her head, Ragini playfully would walk thru the fields; greet everybody on her way towards the house. The house where she stayed wasn’t less charming. Small hills surrounded the huge house. The entrance of the house was a beautiful arch, with iron rods shaped like arrows pointing down, forming the border for the arch. There was a long corridor, adorned with classy antique artifacts and paintings. The house had a smell of fresh flowers.

It was the rainy season, as soon as Ragini entered the house with the pot of water, it had started drizzling outside. She loved the rains. She had heard stories from the elders at home, about heaven and gods. And when it rained, she would run to the backyard, and lean at the door and watch the scenery change. It looked like heaven, same as the stories she had heard. At front, the arch seemed like a waterfall, with water dripping from the arrows pointing down. Once the rain stopped, the drops of water at the tip of the arrows would shine like crystals. Ragini would try to jump and touch these crystals. She could never succeed and the guards near the house would lift her up so that she could touch them. She always told them “I will grow tall one day, and you will not have to lift me anymore”. They could only smile at the little girl’s innocence. She would then run into the house, and into her father’s arms. He would lift her up and turn her around. She would get a thrill in rotating, just like a fan on the roof. Her mother would see this from the kitchen door, smile at Ragini and her father. She would serve the breakfast and Ragini insisted her dad feed her every morsel she ate.

Years passed by, Ragini was turning into a fine young girl. She would still go to the river everyday, to fetch the pot of water. Their house was still the heaven she imagined it to be. There were just minor changes. She no longer needed anyone’s help to touch the crystal like water droplets, for now she could jump a little and reach them easily. Her father couldn’t lift her up and twirl her around. But she insisted, he hold her hands, and they make rounds under the fan. She would still like to be fed breakfast by her father. But now her mother no longer smiled at this. Instead there was worry on her face, a tear drop in the corner of her eye. Ragini tried to ask her mother, but was shooed away saying she was imagining.

Then came the auspicious month of weddings, many of Ragini’s friends who were younger than her, at the age of 13 were getting married. She would wonder at times, why her parents unlike others never worried about her wedding. It was not that she wanted to go away from her parents. But the unusual behavior of her parents haunted her. But everytime she would look at her mother’s worried face, she understood, probably mother was thinking about Ragini’s wedding, and that is why the worry.

It was a special day, Ragini would turn 15. She was dressed up in the most expensive saree and ornaments. The 2 plaits which showed her innocence, was not present that day. Instead it was one thick plait, and she looked like an elegant lady. The sting of jasmine buds, added to the beauty of her long hair. Everybody in the household was ready, with fine clothing and jewellery. There was just one thing missing, on them. The smile. Ragini was the only cheerful girl in the entire house. She couldn’t understand, why were everybody mourning. She went and asked her father if she was dead. He was holding back his tears all the while, and on hearing this question, he burst out crying aloud. For her this was a horrible sight, she had never ever seen such a sight in her life. Her father was crying.

Everybody boarded the horse carriage, she insisted, she sit with her father. She wanted to know the reason for him crying. As the carriage moved forward, she kept asking her father, why he cried. His eyes were closed, but she could see the tear drop in the corner of the eye, trying to have a leap from his face on his shoulder. She took the end of her saree and wiped off the tear. She wanted to change the mood of her father. She started talking about the trees, the animals, the river, her friends to cheer him up. Her father managed to give a fake smile to her. She was content; she had managed to bring a smile on her father’s worried face. As she turned back, she glanced the carriage her mother was in. She was crying too. All the ladies in that carriage were trying to console her, but were not successful. She could sense they were going in the same route, which they usually take to visit her maternal grandparents. She was concerned, and hoping, her grandparents were safe.

Just before entering the village, the carriages took a turn, and stopped near a huge ground. It seemed like the whole village had gathered. As people from the carriages went in, a couple came up to Ragini’s parents and greeted them. Ragini’s family were shown a place to rest, It was under a huge banyan tree. A confused Ragini, now pleaded her parents to explain the happenings. Finally her father told her about something, she was unaware in her lifetime.

She was 3 years old, when Ragini was married off to a boy. He was not more than 6 years. When he was around 10, a deadly disease struck the village, and most of the kids lost their lives. As fate would have it, Ragini’s husband parted with the mortal world. Since Ragini was still a kid, when this happened, elders decided she should live her childhood as a happy child, and not knowing about this unfortunate event which had ruined her life. Today, as she was crossing the threshold of childhood and entering adolescence, she would be made aware of her life.

Ragini was shocked, even though her physical body had grown out of the innocent childhood, her mind had not.

“Father, What will happen to me now?” was a innocent question she asked him. Before he could answer, a few ladies took her away. Her father could listen to her cries, her mother couldn’t take all this and wanted to save her daughter from the rituals, but was not allowed to go anywhere.

Within a few minutes, the beautiful, cheerful and colourful Ragini changed into a lifeless body. Her soul was taken away. Now all that stood in front of her parents, was a body, who did not know how to react to the situation.

In a few minutes, after the soul parted from her body, she was placed in the sacred fire, for a ritual named ‘Sati’. Her lifeless body turned ashes.

Kill To Win

The “Kill to Win” fights happened every year. The crowd had gathered in huge numbers. It was the day of the “Big” fight. The Finale. Both the fighters were experts. They had not lost a single fight. They had never faced each other in any tournament. They were brothers, hence were never allowed to compete against each other. These fights never enthused the duo. It was the pressure of the audience, and the money involved in these fights, the owners coaxed the duo to participate in the fights.

The knives were sharpened and tied to them, this could be used later. Both of them seemed to be well fed, for they looked bigger than the normal. As they took the centre stage, the crowd cheered. They were doped, as the anger in their eyes dint seem genuine. How else could the owners get the two to fight against each other? They were at their respective stands waiting for the whistle.

The whistle blew and they ran towards each other. There was a head on collision. Neither of them backed out. It seemed like none of the other parts existed. They used their head to hit each other. The knife tied also came into play. There were scratches found on both of them. The heat on the centre stage increased. Drops of blood on the stage were visible. Both of them were bleeding at many places. But the format was “Kill to Win”, so no mercy was taken. The match wouldn’t end until one of them had the last breath of life.

There came a moment when, one of them was too fatigued. He wasn’t able to respond to the blows. He was on the verge of collapsing.

Just then a whistle blew. The crowd was confused. They looked at the direction of the whistle. They were shocked to see, police vans coming in. Behind the vans was the ambulance. The stretchers came out and fighters were carefully carried on the stretchers, into the ambulance. It was a Veterinary Ambulance. The police had decided, they had to stop these “Cock Fights”, else the PETA would give them a tough time. What better time to do this, than on the final day of “Kill to Win” Cockfights.

The Race

The view from the mountain top was amazing. Vikas did not know if there existed anything better in the world. This would be his first time. He was planning to jump from this point on his bike. He wasn’t supposed to take this path. It was Out of Bounds for racers. He even wondered, how he was allowed till this point, inspite of the barricades around. Vikas had taken the wrong way, in the middle of the race, by mistake, and that’s how he reached that point.

He knew he had to get back to the race, though he dint know how he would do it. There was just one thought hovering his mind at that instant, to jump from the point, so that he could reach somewhere near his competitors.

Vikas stood at the tip for a couple of minutes. All of a sudden he jumped. He had a safe landing. To his surprise, he was just 100m from the winning point. He cruised that distance and lifted both his hands embracing the win. Even though he was the winner, there was some confusion on how he reached the point. The software cleared the confusion. He had got extra point for the stunts performed, When he jumped from the tip of the mountain, he had performed the greatest stunt in the history of the race. This made him gain all the points to put him in a place ahead of his competitors.

“GAME OVER” flashed on Vikas’s laptop screen. He was overjoyed. Infact the feeling was much more than that. He placed the laptop on the bed. He sat and pushed his wheelchair towards the kitchen to have the yummy lunch which his mother had prepared.

As he closed the door behind him, a newspaper cutting stuck to the door fell down. It read “Star Bike Racer, Vikas Manchanda loses his limbs performing a dangerous stunt on the mountains”

Love Naturally!!!

Last night, on radio, the RJ was discussing about Confusion in Love (nowadays). How Love has lost its meaning in the modern times? How people don’t care for each other? How Love is shallow these days? Worst of all – comparing what our parents had what our grandparents had, and how we don’t have it.

Girls nowadays think, would the guy be able to provide here basic needs? Will I get so much property if I marry this guy? Seriously, do girls think like this, when they want to get married. Maybe the parents think about it, to make sure the girl has a tension free life, but that’s not the basis for love. Or is it?

I overheard this or read this somewhere, only if you give a girl a diamond necklace, will she love you. How shallow a thought is that? That definelty cannot be true love. May be a passing cloud, but not your soul mate. I am sure, that guy hasn’t fallen in love.

I am not going to talk about the whole generation here. But, why can’t we think in a positive way.

For one, the situation in which our parents and grandparents were is totally different from what we are currently. During the time of our grandparents, they were married off at a young age, even before they could understand what love is all about. In most of the times, the girl was financially dependent on her husband. So at that time, did the girl not think – will my husband provide for my basic needs?

Let’s say, the husband treated her badly or she did not like her husband (for whatever reasons), what could she do? She couldn’t go back to her parent’s house, for various reasons. They had many other sons and daughters to be married off, hence couldn’t take care of her. They couldn’t fathom the idea that the guy can be wrong in any way. Or for a simple reason like – What would the society say?

I have heard stories from our grandmothers on how, ladies stuck to their husbands, not because of love, but because of these reasons too.

Nowadays, most of us don’t have these reasons; our parents want us to be happy. They are ready to hear us out, if there is something wrong in the marital relationship. Girls are financially independent; hence don’t need the husband to take care of financial needs. And if we are not happy, we probably give a damn to what the society thinks of us.

So then, why are we still with our spouses? Is it not love? It’s not for the financial need, it’s the emotional need, that we stick to each other. It’s because, we want to be with each other, live thru all the obstacles, joy and sorrow in life.

The other day, a relative said, “Oh you guys travel so much. When we were of your age, I wouldn’t dare to ask my husband to take me out even for an evening outing”. So does it mean we are bossy? No. It’s just that we have better rapport with our spouse, and we are in a better position to discuss, what both of us want in life. We are not scared of each other.

Once in a while at home, we have these discussions, where past is compared to present. I was glad, when recently in such a discussion at home, G’s grandma told him, “she doesn’t have the need to stay with you, and she is here, coz she wants to be with you. In our generation, ladies didn’t have an option; they stayed with the guy they married. Now if girls stay, it’s actually for the love and the emotional connect”. She went on to tell us, various stories of ladies of her generation, who stayed on, definitely not because of love, but due to family pressures.

You can never expect one generation to be like the other. Our previous generations think, we are spoilt, aren’t we doing the same thing? When we see kids with gadgets, or behaving rudely, we sigh – Kids, these days!!!

“When we were kids, we did this, we did that”, give them time, give them good moral values, you will see that turn out to be good too in long run. Were we never indifferent with our parents? Were we never rude to other people? Even if we never showed it, did we not nurture some hatred towards somebody? The kids nowadays are probably more open, which gives the parents more exposure to set things right sooner in life.

Guys in the previous generations, did not want to move an inch at home. It was considered the wife’s duty. Nowadays, guys help. They whine and complain, but when they see their better halves struggle, they do their bit. Its not just the spouse, some guys help moms out too. I know of some people who do help their moms, so don’t think its just for girlfriends or wives. Guys and girls are changing. For better or for worse, it depends on the situation.

I am not saying, there are no negatives in this generation. Ofcourse, there are money minded girls, there are guys who are opportunists, there are people who want to have a girl-friend or boy friend just to show off in front of others.

But trust me, when they come across a person, whom they really love, nothing else matters. And that’s when you have found true love. This doenst in anyway guarantee, you will not fight with the person, but yes, you will always be together.

Everybody has their own definition of this word – “Love”. It can only be felt, when you actually are in the feeling. This love is for any relation. You know you love a person, when you feel it. Nobody has to tell you, you don’t need to prove it to anybody.

Phew!!! Long post… and I am done venting out I suppose

Little Guy

This was the first time he was out on the roads alone. His mother had warned him, but he was adamant. He was standing, all alone to cross the road. It was peak hour, and the road had all possible vehicles in huge numbers. He had to dodge all this to reach the other end of the road.

He kept one foot in the front, in a moment he pulled it back, just before a bike went past him. He could recollect his mother’s warnings. But he had to prove to her, he was no longer the little guy.

The next time he was careful and covered a few steps. He had just covered quarter of the distance, a car just passed by, he took a few steps back, another bike behind him, he had to take few steps forward. He was hoping he had wings to fly away. Yet, he had managed to cover most of the distance, doing this go back-come front routine.

“Look at that little guy crossing the road” a guy in the car was telling his wife.She was trying to get a glimpse of this, when she saw a huge tyre crushing the little one.

The mother, stood helpless, on the other end, not able to go near her son, after his death.

“Oh no, you shouldn’t have told me to see that” the lady in the car said
“What happened?” he asked

“What’s the use of camouflage if it can’t save you? The little chameleon is dead. An auto just ran over it” she felt sorry for the little guy.

Crowded Bus

“The bus is yet to start, it’s already full. I was just lucky to get a seat. Call it my luck, that I got a seat facing everybody in the bus. This meant total entertainment. I was scanning the bus for interesting faces.My eyes stopped when I noticed a pretty face. She wasn’t a beauty queen, but you could just feel some warmth in her face. Any guy would just fall for this girl. She had the window seat, hence was busy looking outside. Rishi, you should come in this bus often.”
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"When will this bus start? I am lucky today, to get a window seat. The aisle seats are so boring. Now I can just forget all my worries, and just observe people on the roads. Or I can just keep the window open, close my eyes and feel the air, which would start hitting my face, in sometime. Aah!!! There comes the driver, I hope he starts the bus soon."
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"Nice Tea. Now it’s time to get into the bus, and wage a war against traffic. Everybody thinks, we bus drivers have it easy. Nobody realizes how much stress we have to deal with, due to traffic. It’s the peak hour; it will take 2 hours to reach the last stop. I am already hungry, wonder what my wife has packed for lunch. If it’s not good enough, I’ll exchange it with Suma’s lunch. After all having a lady conductor in the bus has its advantages."
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"I think we should start in 2 minutes. I will finish the first round of giving out tickets. It seems there is going to be ticket checking after 2 stops. Ticket… Ticket… Why don’t you people bring any change? Are we running a bank here, that you will give us a Rs.500 note for a Rs.7 ticket and I will have the change. Move back, move back. Uncle, why are you standing here? Couldn’t you ask one of the young boys to give you a seat? Hello Sir, We know you are staring at a pretty face, but do you mind doing that standing. Uncle can take a seat here."
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"I gave up the seat for the old man. Not only did I lose the sight of the pretty girl, but I got pushed back and forth in the bus. What a crowded bus. Rishi, lesson to be learnt, never enter a crowded bus."

Eve-teasing and the likes

Eve Teasing, this topic is being discussed a lot these days. I am not even going to put forth my point of view on whether dressing of a girl is the cause or not etc etc. All I want to do is vent out, the incidents in my life.

I was in school, we had to go to Majestic for a movie. We dint have car those days, so if 4 of us were to travel, it was either bus or auto. Auto was usually taken during the return journey. We got down from the bus, were walking towards the theatre. I was walking holding my mom’s hands. I saw her walking with elbow stretched outwards, wondered why. I felt a pinch, when I turned to see, I saw a man grinning at me. I turned my face and continued to walk. A few more pinches here and there, I understood, I had to use my hand in defense. Next time we went to Majestic, I knew I had hit a few men with my elbow, and some pretty hard too.

Another incident happened when I was in II PUC/ 12th std. I used to go to early morning classes. It was usual that my dad drop me to the class, not because I couldn’t walk, but I used to wake up late and my dad had to literally go in full speed on his Bajaj scooter so that I reached on time. One day, dad had to go and pick my brother from the railway station at that time, who was coming back from the trip. I go up early enough to walk in a peaceful pace. It was 6 in the morning, and Bangalore was definetly hot at that time, I had worn a salwar kameez, a jacket with a hood (definetly not the attractive kinds). I was walking at a fast pace, lest I get late for the class. I heard some guy talking. I ignored it initially, thought he was talking to someone. I then heard him, calling out to me. I was scared now. I turned back, and he was alone and was definetly calling me. I increased my pace, I could hear him coming faster towards me. I literally started running. It was a panic situation, and I dint know what to do. I thought I will pick a nearby stone and throw at him, that’s what I used to do, if a dog chased me. Luckily, I came near a house, where some guy was taking out his bike, and an elderly, may be middle aged was watering the plants. I ran to that house, and told the aunty that this guy is following me. Aunty told, her son to get the guy, but seeing me go to that house, and a guy starting the bike, the guy who was following me, ran away super fast. The lady pacified me, and told me if I wanted a drop somewhere, her son could drop me. After this, I was very skeptical to take favours from any stranger, and politely refused, and left to my classes. I somehow did not find the courage to tell my mom, I thought she would then be scared to send me alone everytime. After that, I was a little skeptical, but found the courage.

But till today, I am extremely careful when I walk alone, esp if the road is deserted.

When I was in Engineering, a boy, who was probably in school, whistled at me. I was totally pissed off. I told him, once more I see you do this, you will see my sandal on your face.

In buses, I have hit so many guys with my elbow, who have tried to act smart, poked a safety pin at some guys who are trying to literally fall on you, when there is space to lie down and sleep in the bus. I have seen old men, waiting to hit their graves, do such indecent acts, it only makes you cringe at such people.

There are many such incidents which have happened, which kind of makes you feel a little insecure. At the same time, when you see your dad, uncles, brothers, friends, husband respecting women, it makes you realize, you are not an item, your body is not something to be ashamed of. God has given you something special.

You are SPECIAL...

Unknown number

He was plannning to call her today, again. It was 4th day in a row, she had avoided his call. He had no choice but to call her. He had got her number 10days back and he had called her since. After a few calls, she started ignoring him. He couldnt let her go. He had to call her. Just when he was wondering how to reach her, an idea flashed in his mind.

Her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She was in a fix, but finally decided to pick the call. As soon as he heard her sweet voice, he said, "Hello Madam. This is a call from XXXX phone services. You are our valued customer....."

Street chase

Their eyes were red. Everybody could sense the anger. This was not a rare sight in the locality. Infact people were fed up with the gang wars. They wished somebody catch the two groups and punish them. A couple of them from the rival gang had entered the street and the whole group just chased them out. The loud noise had created such ruckuss. The children in the street were petrified to get out on the streets when the Street chase was on.

The groups did not believe in using any weapons. The physical strength was all they were proud of. The leaders of the 2 gangs were young and energetic. They weren’t too handsome, but powerful nevertheless, and the faces could make you cringe at times. One of them was as dark as the night, but had a white patch around his eye, making him noticeable among the group. He was made the leader. He made it clear, and marked the territory, nobody could dare enter their place.

The other leader wasn’t left behind. Though his skin dint show any difference from the rest, his eyes had a weird colour, and would make you shudder. It was as if, anybody could get hypnotized. He was very young when he became the self proclaimed leader of his gang. It was very difficult for anybody new to find a place in either of the gangs.

One early morning, the people were woken up by a big commotion. They peeped through the windows of their homes, there was bloodshed. Both the gangs were on top of each other, literally tearing each other apart. The corporator of the locality was informed, he called the right authorities. Finally 2 vans arrived on the street and somehow managed to get all of them in the vans.

As the vans departed, happy people were seen on the streets. “Finally, our Streets are free of the Dog menace”, somebody heard a man talking on phone.

Journey from Princess to a Queen

Anagha, was the eldest child of her parents. Her mom dreamt of her daughter’s wedding since the day she was born. Every time she visited the jewellery shop, she would buy something for her daughter. When Anagha would disapprove of the ornament, her mom would just say, you are not wearing it now, it’s for your wedding. Anytime, Anagha said, “Mom, it’s a lovely saree”, her mom would never wear it. It would go in the suitcase labeled – Anagha’s Sarees. All the old clothes would be given off to the steel vessel vendor, and a kitchen utensil would be bought. But the kitchen would never see any of these new vessels, instead they would find a place in a carton labeled – Anagha’s Kitchen set. Though her mom dreamt of her daughter’s wedding, she never forced it on her. She let her daughter dream about her future. She let her daughter fly, explore the world, understand what’s good or bad for her.

Years passed by, and the time finally came when Anagha chose her life partner. The two of them were engaged and were to get married in 6 months time. While Anagha was excited and anxious about her new life, her mom was a similar state. Her dream was coming true. Her only daughter, her best friend would be married. The preparations had started 25 years back, now was the time to implement all the grand plans. There were only discussion at home was about the wedding. There were times when Anagha would get frustrated, as there was no other topic discussed at home. She understood, her mom wanted to make the wedding day a special day for Anagha. She dint want to leave out even a minute detail. Anagha even fought with her mom, that, she was stressing over this wedding, and health was taking a back seat. But there was nobody who could stop her mom’s excitement.

On the wedding day, Anagha’s mom looked at her, took her face in her palms, kissed her forehead, and quickly left the room, for her to get ready for the wedding. It was time, for the Kanyadaana. Both mother and daughter had decided, they wouldn’t cry. The priest asked Anagha to sit on her dad’s lap. For a few moments, she went back to her childhood, where she would run and sit on her dad’s lap, everytime mom came running behind her to punish her for the mischief. She would sleep in the bus, and dad would carry her on her shoulder and make her lie on the bed. She wouldn’t find place in the bus, dad would make her sit on her lap. A couple of days before the wedding, when her hands were full of henna, her dad made her drink the glass of water, and mom gave her the Kai Thuthu (feeding with her hands). She felt her life was running like a movie in front her. She realized, her parents life revolved around her. That day, would be the last she would sit on her dad’s lap, as his darling daughter.

As she sat, the priest, asked the groom to bring his hand forward with his palm open, then he asked her dad to hold her palm and keep it on the groom’s hand. Her mom was supposed to pour the water on the coconut, which these 3 hands held. The priest was residing the mantra. The gist of the whole thing was, the dad was giving away his daughter to the groom forever. She was no longer his daughter alone, but the groom’s partner for life. When Anagha heard this, her eyes filled up with tears, she dint want to shed any, as she had promised her mom. She just looked up to her mom, saw her in the same state, they both just smiled at each other. Then all of a sudden, she felt her dad’s hand was slipping away, and the only hand holding was her husband’s. Her dad had given her away.

She turned back, saw tears in her dad’s eyes for the first time in her life. But she sensed that he wasn’t really sad, he just held her cheeks in his palm and then kissed her on her forehead. All of a sudden, she saw her brother shaking hands with her and her husband. He was sad, but he was happy too, he too had tears in his eyes. She saw all her uncles, aunts, cousins come and wish her. She had controlled her tears, but could sense the mixed feelings everybody had.

The priest called the couple for more rituals to be followed. The emotional moment had passed. Everybody got back to work, taking care of guests, inviting people for lunch, giving gifts to the guests. The rituals continued and after the lunch, Anagha was to be sent to her husband’s house. Her parents now placed her hands in the hands of her in-laws and husband, stating, she would be their daughter now. Anagha was again fighting her tears. “How could they?” she thought. “How can they tell them, I am their daughter? I will never be anybody’s daughter except my parents” she was angry. But in a moment she realized, what it meant. The priest was telling Anagha, “From now, you have 2 sets of parents. One of your own, one of your husbands, treat them equally”.

After all the rituals, she was sent to her room to relax and change, and get ready for the reception in the evening. She went to the room, looked at the mirror, she could no longer hold her tears. She broke down. She cried to heart’s content. Her aunt came in the room. She was shocked to see her cry. After consoling a little bit, Anagha got a hold on herself. She hugged her aunt, her mom’s sister, just like her mom. “Take care of mom” she said. Her aunt could relate to the feelings, for she too had gone through the emotions, years back. She smiled and said “Don’t worry, all of us will”. Just then Anagha’s mom entered the room, she ran into her mom’s arms, and both hugged each other as if, the world was going to end.

Finally, when it was time for Anagha to go with her husband, her parents told her husband “She is our princess, but we are sure, you will treat her like a Queen”

The Blades

The blades were too sharp, enough to cut open a person, if nearby. If the machine was to be used, it needed both their approvals. They were partners in crime. Strangely, they usually contradicted when they had to use the machine.

That night, there was a chill in the air. Everybody could feel it. He wanted to use the machine. She was completely against it. After a big tiff, he won the argument. He switched it on.

All she could do was look at the ceiling, and see it rotate. After a few minutes, she snuggled into a blanket, hugged him tight and slept peacefully. The Fan, with sharp blades, ran in full speed that night.

Lalitha Aunty

It was not a unusual ritual in our house, to get curd from the our neighbor, Lalitha aunty, so that we could set it for the next day. But this was rare. Something regular was, when she would come to our house, with a small bowl and ask my mother.

"Sunita, can I have a cup of sugar. I was about to make tea, and I just realized, there is no sugar."
"Sure Lalitha. Anything else, while you are here?"

"Actually, I had just boiled the milk and kept it aside and Bunty spilt the whole thing by mistake. I have sent him to the shop, to get some milk. If you can give me a glass of milk too, I can have my tea and then carry on with my chores"

My mom would smile, go to the kitchen, and in 5 minutes come back with a tray. It would have the bowl of sugar, glass of milk; along with it would be 2 cups of tea and a few biscuits.

"Lalitha, have some tea and biscuits, why do you want to go home and have tea alone", mom would offer. Lalitha aunty would give a sheepish smile and gulp down the cup of tea and leave the house thanking mom. I never understood why mom had to offer her tea, and give her the ingredients too. I would tease her, that she could include a spoonful of tea powder too.

It wasn’t just about tea. I can’t recall a single item in the kitchen, which Lalitha aunty hadn’t borrowed from us. I don’t want to take the credit away, but anytime, Lalitha aunty went shopping, she would get me chocolates. Every time she prepared something new, which was rare of course, she would invite me home, for tasting the dish. Bunty Bhaiyya and I would relish the dish. She would even pack it for mom and dad.

Few years later, I heard my parents talking about an apartment complex coming up in our neighborhood. I didn’t bother to enquire more about it. And, one fine day, we saw Lalitha aunty, Bunty Bhaiyya and uncle loading their belongings in a truck. Uncle came and shook hands with my dad, and just ruffled my hair a bit. Bunty Bhaiyya gave me his football. Finally Lalitha aunty came near my mom, both the ladies were wiping each other’s tears, hugged each other. Lalitha aunty gave my mom, a box, she did Namaste to dad, and she came up to me and said "Take care beta, we will miss you". I don’t know what prompted me say it, but words just fell out of my mouth and I said "We will miss you too aunty".

Couple of hours later, we were having lunch, when mom got me a laddoo, "this is from Lalitha aunty" she said. I realized how much I am going to miss the delicacies she prepared.

A week went by, I don’t know about mom, but I surely missed aunty, now, there was nobody to come and ask for sugar or milk or anything. My mom lost a company to have her evening tea.

It’s been 3 years now, since Bunty Bhaiyya and family left. There is a huge apartment complex, around 50 houses in it. I just hope there will be atleast one family like Lalitha aunty’s who would live in these houses.

Food for ??

"Sir, I need to go home by 8.00 PM, my wife would be waiting",Rakesh was telling Satish on phone.

"Ok, just leave the dinner on the dining table, I will heat it up and eat" Satish was giving instructions to his cook Rakesh.

Time : 8.30 PM
Venue: Rakesh’s house

"Daring, the dinner is delicious. I love the Rice, Daal and the mango pickle", he was praising his wife.
"Come on, you cook much better than I do. Satish Sir gets to eat variety of food everyday. You have to cook one day for me too", Rakesh dint know if it was a compliment, or the wife was taunting him

Time : 12:00 AM
Venue: Satish’s house

The door opened, Satish was exhausted. He went to his room directly, threw his bag on the table, and fell on his face, on the bed.

Time: 2:00 AM
Venue: Satish's house

A group of cockroaches were celebrating. The dining table had food, enough to last them the whole month.

Ashtaavadhaanam

Ashtaavadhaanam: when I got this mail first, I had no clue what this was about. Some talk show is what I thought. But then I was curious, this mail was from kannada and the Sanskrit forum in our company.

Probably its something interesting, I thought.

2 days before the program, G asked me at lunch, you want to attend this program?

I had no clue about it, so I asked him, what it was all about. He was not too sure about it, but gave a gist. It seemed interesting and different. I said why not? Let’s attend.

This part is from the mail we received explaining what Ashtaavadhanam is all about.
********************************************************

A test of poetic genius, a demo of memory and intellect together reaching the peak, a true intellectual marvel, that’s the art of Ashtavadhana. The wiki link says, Avadhana was cultivated by Telugu speaking community. That info is incomplete, since the earliest available treatises on avadhaana kale are in Kannada. There will be 8 questioners asking the Avadhani to do 8 different things. In turns he should answer all of them.

Nishiddhakshari - On a given subject and within the given meter Avadhani should compose a verse letter by letter. After each letter, the questioner restricts the next letter.

Samasya – A stray sentence which could be foul or obscene will be posed as a problem by the questioner. The Avadhani should make it proper by adding letters/words before and after the line.

Dattapadi – The questioner gives some words and gives an unrelated subject. Avadhani should use those words and compose a verse on the subject.

Varnana – The questioner asks Avadhani to explain a subject or a situation. Avadhani should compose a verse explaining that in the given meter.

Ganita – A su-do-ku table of 5 rows and 5 columns. The questioner gives a number in the beginning. Avadhani should fill the matrix with a number each time the questioner asks for it. At the end the su-do-ku should have been solved.

Chitrakavya – There are certain letter patterns in the verse composition of all Indian languages. In the given pattern the Avadhani should compose a verse on the given subject.

Kavya Pathanam – The questioner pulls out verses from the plethora of a particular language’s literature. The Avadhani should locate the verses.

Aprastuta Prasangam – This guy shoots some off-topic questions to the Avadhani every now and then, throughout the Avadhana. Avadhani should tolerate this and answer this guy.

All this has to be done without referring to any kind of notes, without using pen and paper and within the rules of grammar & composition.
******************************************************************

Initially, it seemed really difficult to understand what was going on. Yes we studied Sanskrit in school, I don’t remember much, except for some very basic stuff or less. Yes we had a chapter in hallegannada (old kannada), but its entirely different from the modern kannada, so difficult to understand, unless you have spent some time with the language. Yes, we have studied about Chandass (meter in poems). Infact, we used to have an exercise in school to determine which which Chandass a stanza in the poem belonged too, and I used to love doing it. Now all I remember is there were laghu-gurus, but nothing more than that. All this made it seem difficult to understand the show.

Shataavadhani Dr.R.Ganesh, what a Genius this guy is!!!

At first, when I dint know what the title meant, thought it’s a part of his name. Later when I realized, I could only laugh at myself.

It’s simpler to keep the audience hooked on to, when they understand the language. Its simpler, when they know whats going on, on the stage. Here even though most of them knew kannada, and some knew Sanskrit, it was difficult to decipher the old-kannada verses. Dr.Ganesh, explained his complex verses in such simplicity, that you couldn’t stop your hands from clapping, or just wonder, what – how?

One thing, which most of them could relate to was the 5x5 Sudoku matrix, which had to sum up to 111. I am wondering, how he calculated the location of a particular number, or a number of a location. Is there some formula to figure it out? Even if there is, how on earth can he place them, without even looking at the matrix once?

The chitrakavya was amazing too. With 4 simple lines, he created a picture of mridangam.

Even the person who gave him the challenge(pruchaka), was equally good, since, he too has to have one ready, to prove that its possible, and the challenge is not given just like that.


Nishiddhakshari: The person was spontaneous and tried to restrict the Avadhaani in so many ways. It is definetly not one way. If the Avadhaani is able to create a beautiful poem, the credit should also go to this questioner, since it’s his restrictions/conditions which allow the avadhaani to come up with such amazing lines. This is more of a action-reaction event.

As the Dattapadi and Samasya Pruchakas mentioned, they took time to think about the challenge, come up with a poem, with the right meter, and read it out. But, for the Avadhaani its definitely challenging to create totally different poems, adhering to the conditions.

The person who did the Kavya Pathanam, had an amazing voice. I could listen to him sing the poems for more time. Wish our kannada/sanskrit teachers in school sang the poems this way and taught us. It would have been a pleasure then.

Last, but definetly not the least the person who distracted the avadhaani with the comments and questions, in a hilarious way, yet in a thought provoking manner was super entertaining. I am sure, nobody had any kind of difficulty in understanding what the conversations were about.

On the whole, this was an eye-opener for me, as to how rich a language can be. How, when we follow certain rules of the language, can create master pieces. It was a humbling experience, to everybody present there.

I had studied Sanskrit in school, and kannada too. As time went on, I havent read much in kannada. Sometimes I do read the magazines which have been subscribed at home. But, to appreciate, such performances, to enjoy such grandeur, we need to know much more. More the knowledge of a language, better can be the appreciation.

I wouldn’t say, I am going to start reading novels and poems in kannada from tomorrow. But atleast, I want to make it a point to read the magazines regularly. And as I feel comfortable move to proses, and may be someday, I will be able to come to a stage where I can read poetry, and go into the depths of it.

Trip to Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach and Bekal Fort - Part 2

Part 1 here

After doubts and delay, we left from Bangalore at 4.30 on Saturday. 15 mins and we got stuck in traffic. By the time we reached NICE road, and then to Mysore Road, I really don’t know what happened. It was too sunny and I had dozed off. But I am sure, there was nothing interesting. Around 6.45 PM we had crossed Srirangapatna, we were at a fork which went to towards Ranganthithu, KRS etc. We took a tea break here. While we were contemplating which route to take to Hunsur. One of the villagers there suggested we go thru the Ranganathittu Road to Hunsur, it would save us 15km, compared to the one via Mysore. Greedy people we were and took his suggestions. 10 mins drive and we were in for a roller coaster ride. The roads were so pathetic, oh wait!! Where were the roads? It was just muddy path. All along we thought if only we had gone thru Mysore, we would have reached faster. If not faster, atleast smoother. Well once we reached the main road, we hoped to get on to better roads. Let’s say we were destined not to travel on good roads.

Wait a minute, did I even mention where we were heading to. We were going near Kannur (in Kerala). The actual name is Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach.

So, let’s get back to the treacherous travel. We went in the road towards Madikeri. There is one deviation, where you take right for Madikeri and go straight to Kannur. At this point, we assumed going straight would lead us to Kannur via a place called GoniKoppa. This as per our plan, made on the fly, was the dinner destination.We reached there around, 9.30 PM. What were we thinking, was this Bangalore to expect people to be roaming around this time. All restaurants, were closed, except a few very shady ones. We see a couple of bakerys open. We enquired in one of them, he told us to check out one hotel, and we found out, that was closed. We rushed back, to this bakery. He was just getting the shutters down. The moment he saw our car make a screeching halt, opened the doors for us. We ate cream buns, dilkhush, bought MTR badam milk, bought a few packets of chips, chakkali, water bottles, fried peanuts, daal, 3 packs of plain buns. Looking at the amount of food we bought, he gave us 2 big bananas for free saying, you will need it on the way. He must have thought we were hungry for a lifetime.

Our destination was 80kms from this place. The road was still in bad condition, when the ghat section began. The roads were smooth, like butter. We were so relieved and thought this was the end of the bad roads. We stopped at a particular place for a break, had badam milk, the night was so bright, since it was full moon day. If only we had taken our tent along, we could have just had a gala time in the middle of the road. After the refreshing break, we were back on the roads. Then we came across a fork, one towards Kannur and the other Thalassery. Our place was 7-8km from Thalassery, so we took that turn and went towards the place.

All of us were pretty excited; we would be on the beach in 15-20 mins. But, the hotel, in which we were supposed to stay was on the beach, so definelty not easy to spot. We called up the owner to find out directions. All he knew was Malayalam. We knew, English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, no Malayalam.

It was a funny conversation between G and the hotel owner.

G: Chetta, we near ******* shop.
Owner: ** Iron bridge
Rest of us in the car : Hey, this is the bridge

G: Chetta, Iron Bridge crossed.
Owner: ** Toll booth ** canara bank------ left
G: Ok chetta, 10 mins
Rest of us: Laughing at the conversation

Person 1: Is that the toll booth
Me: That looks like a toll booth
“There”, all of us screamed.

Finally we saw the toll booth.

G: Chetta, Canara Bank ethra km?
Person 1: 1km
Person 2: ½ km
Person 3- signaling its right around the corner

All of us in the car had a confused expression, but we knew it’s on the right side. Finally after a km, we saw the “Canara Bank ATM”, and saw a small lane going to the left. We took the turn. It was as if we entered a village. It felt awesome with the cool breeze. As we neared, we could hear the ocean roar. We spotted our hotel, parked the car and ran towards the ocean. What a great sight. We are on one side and the other side is the vast ocean, nothing else, no trees, no rocks, and no obstacles, all you can see is water. Since it was full moon, and it was around 1.30 AM, there was high tide. All of us stood there speechless for a couple of minutes, then decided to call it a night. We checked in, and in our rooms opened the balcony door, to find the ocean facing us. Only this time, there were a few coconut trees, in between, which just added to the view. At 2.00 AM, we gave a thought of giving our bodies some rest.






































Day 2: There was no alarm required the next day. I woke up around 6.00 AM, realized where we were, and rushed to the balcony to see the beautiful view. They had a nice seating arrangement in the balcony. I spent half an hour gazing at the ocean.

I saw people driving cars on the beach, that early.
An old couple walking hand in hand.
Boats which were in the ocean for fishing. In the half an hour it had moved places.
All this while, I saw a man sitting on a bench near the beach, probably he was also enjoying the view as much as I did.

It wasn’t too sunny; the pleasant view was so soothing.

I went back and slept, since everybody else was sleeping. After an hour, I couldn’t sleep anymore, I woke up G and both of us sat in the balcony looking at the ocean. The hotel guy came to take orders for breakfast. We ordered appams and kadla curry, and tea.

We had the yummy breakfast and tea, and were waiting to rush into the ocean. We changed to water clothes, and then off we went into the ocean. The waves hitting us hard, pushing us away from water, throwing us on the beach, pulling us in, all these were just amazing. It’s not that we haven’t visited beaches, but each time you go, its fun, infact everytime you enjoy the most. We played, volley ball, throw ball in the water. We came to the beach and played, sometime just sat on the beach, so that the waves would touch you and go. At times the huge waves would just lift you and turn you around.

We were hungry, had some water and chakklis sitting on the bench, and clicked some funny pics. After 2 hours of ocean fun, we finally decided to wash up and take some rest. The sun was getting on our head by now.

After a refreshing bath, I was again in the balcony, with G. He was trying to take some pics, while I was writing something in my diary. Around 2, all of us were extremely hungry, we headed for lunch.

It was not totally Kerala style, but yes, coconut oil was used. We had rice, daal, sambar, papad, since we were veggies, we had beans sabzi, non-veggies had fish curry in their menu. The water play in the morning had made us extremely hungry. We probably overate. Once the lunch was done, we decided to go for a walk. It was a pleasant afternoon.

Since we dint want to wet ourselves, we walked on the road adjacent to the beach. After a while, all of 4 of us, sat on the reef built on the beach. Again took some pics, then sat there for a while, doing nothing. The ocean was weird though. At times the waves would go so high, we would think it will hit the reef, but they would go back 100m from where we sat, and at times when we least expected the waves would come very close to where we sat.

The beach was getting crowded slowly. Since this is one of the only drive-in beaches, you can see so many cars, bikes, scooty, Honda active, even cycles on the beach. This is probably the only place where the vehicles are more in number on the beach, than the road. It was time we got our car, to kiss the ocean.

And there we were on the beach, zooming parallel to the ocean, all eyes were on our car – reason (here). Everybody took turns to drive on the beach. There was a point where a small stream was joining the ocean. Initially, we dint know if we could cross that, I volunteered to cross that to check the depth, it was not even ankle deep, we drove the car past this, till the end of the beach. As usual took some customary pics, been there seen that kinds. After an hour of this time pass, it was just 4.30, lot of time for sunset. We just roamed around in the car, for sometime. There wasn’t anything interesting. We went back to our room and in the balcony played UNO for some time. Time for sunset was nearing, and there was just one thing missing. The Sun.

It was so cloudy, so difficult to spot the sun. Around, 5.45PM, we could spot the sun, we took some of our eatables to the beach, to enjoy the sunset. As our luck had it, there was no sun to be seen, so sunset was out of question. In the meanwhile, all of started discussing, about axis of earth, summer, winter, and from nowhere, we started discussing tinkle stories, even shared a few suppandi stories. We sat there until, our eatables got over and mosquitoes started feasting on us. We had another long walk on the beach. You can say it was romantic. By this time, all of us were tired, even though we dint do much that day. We went to take some rest. G had slight fever. He had tablets and slept. I was in the balcony, trying to draw something, in half an hour or so, I got bored and my eyes were dropping, so I did the best thing, went and slept.

Around 9.30 we were ready for dinner, had Kerala parothas, tomato curry, gobi Manchurian, rice, daal, curd. WE dint eat much, since our snack time made sure tummies were full. We sat in the porch, discussing the route to go back, since the route we came in was horrible, and we dint want to take that. We checked with another group who were getting back from somewhere, if they went to Bekal Fort. They dint, but went to some nearby fort it seemed. We wanted to go to Bekal Fort next day, so decided on the route based on that. Went for a short walk again in the beach, sat on the bench for a few minutes and decided to get back to the room.

We told the receptionist to make our bill, in the night, as we dint want to spend too much time on that next morning. For 2 nights, including food and the numerous times we had Tea, it was 5.5k for all of us.
Rs.1000 per room/per night

We went to sleep at 11, hoping, we would start early the next day.
One last night, one last glance at the ocean from the balcony, and off to dreamland

Trip to Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach and Bekal Fort - Part 1

Drive in Beach…
Seems fun...
But its rainy season
So what, that’s the fun
Alright, what else
Bekal Fort is close by
What’s that?
You remember the movie Bombay. The song “Uyire” (Tamil) “Tu hi re” (Hindi), was shot here...
Oh that one...quite scenic… Are we going there too?
Yeah...
Super. I am in
And so were another couple.
Thus started our journey in the afternoon/rather early evening on Saturday (Aug 12).

Spa for...

“Let’s take a gold package. It has wash for every month.” Sagar said.
“Yeah but don’t you think silver is enough. Why do we need the spa for a wash every month? Silver package has wash every 2 months” Nita was trying to negotiate.

“Yes dear, but they do body polish too, once in 2 month in the gold package, and the platinum one. Just imagine, how good it would be” Sagar was trying to show the brochure to his wife.
“Okay, you go and get it done”.
Nita left the brochures on the table and went to the kitchen. Sagar went in the car to Auto-Spa.
He gave the keys to the attendant. “Please take care of my baby”, he said and left from the place.

As he was returning home, Raghu uncle met him, “Sagar, where is your car?” “It’s in the spa uncle, getting pampered”, Sagar winked.