Contact List...

Bored on the weekend, I was glancing through the contact list on my phone. I scrolled through the list one more time and with a bit more intent but still nothing.


I sighed and plonked back on the couch thinking about my phone book in India... I remember that I used to have a large phone list in my phone... And there was one number which I could dial/sms at any time - day/night...

And that was Kavs - she was a friend I could contact anytime - when i was bored, when I was down, when I was happy, when I was thrilled, when I had to give happy/sad news... And the best part was - the feeling was mutual.

She has said the best thing a friend has ever said or would ever say to me - "I feel very comfortable when I am with you, I can discuss anything. There is a comfort level I share with you, which I dont share with anyone else"

And you know what Kavs, I dont think whether you are asleep/awake, at office/home, whether you are with your boyfriend or not at all if I need to get in touch with you.

Never have and never will...

Shelly...

I did not want to let you go... I felt unsafe leaving you unattended in this big bad world.. I could see meaningful glances and also could hear the odd passing remark "How cute she is"... etc...

But you were mine - how could I ever see you with someone else... What would I do without you around... I did not trust anyone - not even my neighbour who had his eyes on you ... And you were helpess - you could not defend yourself

I decided enough was enough... I was going to protect you from the prying eyes... I knew a place where you would be safe and sound

So when I was leaving, I got up and picked you up - my toy turtle "Shelly" from the top of the computer where u were sitting, put you into my bag and got you along with me to my apartment...

A friendship I cherish...

Everyone needs a friend like him but I dont think everyone is fortunate enough to get a friend like him - He is Viks from Indore

I used to wonder why he is such a special friend and all I can say is there are far too many reasons for the same. But the most important is that He is THERE when you need him - for support, for encouragement, to give you sound advice, to back u up when the chips are down, Bottom-line - you can always bank on him.

Sometimes when I ask his opinion - he exactly knows that I am not asking his opinion but just asking him permission to do something which he knows I would anyway do - and he understands my exact intent and smiles and says - "You are right, da - go ahead"

I have never stopped playing pranks and pulling legs at him and had it been any other person, I would be typing this post a lot slower as I would be having only one hand and would have lot more than 208 bon es (i think thats the correct count?) in my body...

I remember the famous "Towel incident" college which is one of the many pranks I played on him...

One day I and K were on the corridor of the hostel bored when Viks came out of his room and was passing us. I and K decided that we were bored and we would give Viks "bumps" - for no rhyme or reason - just to kill time!!

Viks said "Guys, I am going for a bath and just have undergarments and a towel wrapped around my waist - This is not the best time - please". But no - we were not in a mood to listen. Realizing that Viks started running towards the bathroom to escape us and we followed in hot pursuit..

He managed to get into one of the bath areas and locked the door but the problem was that the baths are not fully closed and the walls are only about 9 feet high. There is about opening about a foot wide between the wall and the roof... So K decided to climb the wall and get into the bath through that - when he got on top - he started laughing devilishly at Viks, who was shocked at what K was doing.

He knew he was no longer safe ther - he opened the door real-quick and ran out to the corridor... We managed to catch him by the towel but he still kept running through the corridor with us tugging at the towel...

That is when we saw Praf and his girlfriend come from the other end of the corridor - we saw them and let go of the towel... However the towel had gotten loose with all the tugging - Seeing Praf and his gf, Viks panicked. In an effort to tighten the towel, he tugged at one end and forgot to hold the other end... In a flash, he was holding the towel in his right hand and it was as if he wacing it to somebody without allowing the towel to do its primary duty - protect his Assets. He ended up looking like a Spaniard in a bull-fight and he was waving (the towel) at the bull (ok Praf was a bit on the plump side)...

In an attempt to cover-up for his mistake, Viks brought the towel from right to left and he again forgot one basic thing - HOLD the other end - so it swayed to the other side. Praf's gf was pleasantly shocked at the striptease - she knew our hostel had some notorious guys but she never expected this in the wildest of dreams...

Viks gave up all his attempts to get the towel into base position - he just threw it to the ground and ran to his room - I an K were in splits



Any guy other than Viks would have been infuriarated - but then he has a great sense of humour - he too joined in the fun and we all had a good round of laughter at his room later...

One thing is that he is liked by everyone in the batch as he is a really nice person. But sometimes people try to take advantage of this and take him for granted - though what they dont realize is that as long as Viks is in a good mood - life is fine - but if he gets pissed off - then well God save the person...

But the good natured guy that he is - he never actually shouts at anyone and even if he does, he will bounce back pretty fast. I remember having quite a few disruptive arguments but then we have bounced back pretty quickly...

Viks - forgive for the numerous pranks I have played on you in the past and for the ones I am going to play on you in the future :) One thing is for sure - I cherish your friendship...

Beautiful Card...

One of the most beautiful cards ever given to me was by a friend of mine in Engg. college on an excursion trip.

We were on the last leg of the trip in which we had to return back to Tvm, but I had to leave from Bang to Chennai as my parents were coming there...

The card was a token of appreciation to say what a good time she had during the trip. It was not so easy to get such quality time with her as she was quite a centre of attraction in the batch. But strangely we did get to spend quite a lot of time - the whole day in Bangalore we went window shopping in Commercial Street and Brigades. In the evening my friends who did not drink escorted the girls back to the hotel while we went pub-hopping... The card was a "Thank you" for the good time she had during the trip...

The cover looked similar to the picture below but card was much more beautiful. A girl was standing alone in the middle of a sunflower field and she had picked a flower to give to someone...



Thanks a lot for this immensely beautiful card. Sometimes small things give you the greatest happiness and this was one such case...

Frankly, I should have been the one thanking her for her company but I didnt give any card. Well.. manners were not my plus point - and I have never been good with gifts... I guess I thanked her verbally for the good time I had I guess...

Contrary to what one would expect, the girl still went on to become my Best friend...

Me, myself and...

Deepa tagged me to get to know atleast 20 things about me

1. 26 years of age, 177 cm, 74 kgs, darkish-brown complexion, wear spectacles and have black hair (there are a few strands of white ones as well).

2. Enjoy playing and watching cricket - quite passionate about the game - I guess that is kind of true for 90% of Indians.

3. Favourite hobbies - Watching movies, TV serials: Friends, Fear Factor, Everybody Loves Raymond.

4. Very forgetful nature - Always manage to forget birthdays, and whole lot of things.

5. Have the best set of friends one could ever ask for. Have always been fortunate that wherever I go, I manage to make some really good friends. The best part is that I am in touch with most of them.

6. I love getting mails and more often that not - reply promptly to them

7. Socialize quite a bit - enjoy going to pubs, discs. Even if I dont go out, I like to sit and home with few friends and have some drinks and snacks

8. I like fast paced as well slow songs but my preference is towards the soft romantic kind - I am a fan for the A.R.Rehman music

9. Am notorious for playing practical jokes and pulling people's legs - no doubt the list of people who want to get even with me is endless

10. I can use words to "enhance" events, stories and many of my close friends love using the phrase at me "I hate you..." . They say that I should have taken "script writing" as a profession and no one can dramatize something better than me!

11. Am much better at talking to the fairer sex over the phone and always have had trouble in initiating a conversation when face to face with the fairer sex

12. Do not read books, newspaper - read very little basically. The only section that I used to read when I was young was the second last page of Hindu (sports) and "Young World"

13. Enjoy teaching and used to pursue teaching as a part-time profession in addition to my mundane job in the IT industry till recently

14. I hate household chores like cooking, washing clothes, cleaning dishes etc...

15. Play and watch video games, TV games, computer games - the latest craze among computer games being "God of War". Remember just sitting and watching my friend playing "Age of Empires" for hours together and still enjoyed every bit of it

16. Would want to own a Honda City when I get back to India - I feel it is the best suited car for Indian roads though it is a bit above my league right now

17. Try to avoid going to weddings, engagements, receptions, religious ceremonies and places as I get really bored. However if the place is serene and not crowded - like the temple near my house - I do not mind going there at all.

18. Never used to go to my Trichur (hometown) too often, but strangely I just love everything about it - mothers cooking, lazing on the floor watching TV, playing on the street outside, sitting in the kitchen and chatting with mom... Then if you ask me why I dont go often - I think I hate travelling alone ...

19. I have become addicted to the cell-phone - not that I speak too much on it nowadays, but always like to have it with me. Tend to get very fidgety and restless if I am without it... Strange but true

20. Lately I have been reading C&H strips - they come to me everyday in my e-mail and have just one word for it - Awesome!

It is quite an effort to write this post- after 5, it was quite a struggle. After racking my brains quite a bit, I managed to write 20 things about myself... Now I am exhausted

Deepa - atleast now you know a bit more, atleast I hope...

Exceptional display of batsmanship

Few things unite Indians better than cricket. In India cricket is religion and I am an ardent follower. If you want to strike a conversation with an Indian, try cricket - my guess is it will work.

There are fewer occasions in which I feel more elated than when the Men in Blue are on song. And on song they have been in the latest homeseries against SL. The third One Day International would be a match I remember for a long time and the reason for that is the new find in the Indian team M S Dhoni...

India successfully surprassed the mammoth total of 298 with delightful ease thanks to his efforts. The innings can be one of the best innings ever played in one day cricket and what makes it even more special was the fact that India was chasing and the pressure is much more higher than while setting the total.

However the lad from Jharkand kept it simple and tonked 10 sixes (the most by an Indian) and 15 fours and guided us to victory and now we lead 3-0 and one victory away from sealing the series.

The best written article "The wheel turns, and how" is a must read for a die-hard fan

I now wish that i bought the streaming video and had watched every ball of the run-chase but now its too late. I can see the recorded video but it will never be the same as watching the ODI Live!