Once upon a tag....

Long Long ago so long ago Kuttychuvaru tagged me. As per my lazy limitations I am posting this tag after a loooooong time.

1.One thing you are very much afraid of?

* Myself and my endless banter. You better get some ear plugs before you begin to talk to me.

2.Two incidents you can never forget in your life?

* Feb 22 - First time I got my job offer
* Apr 27 - Last full day of my college life
Thanks to everyone who commented and pointed out this flaw :-)

3.Three books you would love reading again and again?

* A Matter of honor
* Five Point Someone
* Ananda Vikatan and Kumudam (every week can read again and again :D)

4.Four women who are most beautiful?

So Unfair....so many women and being asked to pick four...hmm...lemme try

* My Mom
* Mrs Harish (oru safety daan hee hee)
* Vidya Balan
* Catherine Zeta Jones

5.Five of you favorite food items?

* Parotta Kuruma
* Paav Bhaji
* Grilled Buritto
* Paruppu podi saadam
* Tachchimammam

6.Six words you use very often oral/written?

* Adinga
* What the ****
* S**t
* U gotta be kiddin me
* Oh Man
* Makka

7.Seven things you like about yourself?

* Adjustable under any circumstances
* adamant about things I believe
* Havent-we-met-before feeling when I talk with someone
* Can motivate anyone (except myself :d)
* Caring for ones I love
* Can be creative at times
* Can help people out of my way

8.Eight film personalities who are your all time favorites?

* KamalHassan
* Christopher Nolan
* Hrishikesh Mukherjee
* Robin Williams
* IlayaRaja
* Shankar
* Frank Darabont
* Jim Carrey

9.Nine movies you wont mind watching again and again?

Oh you gotta be kiddin me. I am a movie freak and all I get is from a list of 9 :-(

* Sholay (epitome of masala movie)
* AlaiPaayude/Mouna Raagam (perfect Date movie :D)
* Panchathandiram/Micheal Madana kama Raajan (Crazy and Kamal are too good)
* Mundram Pirai (Cried shamelessly :-( )
* Mudhalvan/Indian (One amazing script from the showman)
* Mask/Liar Liar (Jim Carrey rules)
* NoteBook/Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind (Who is tired of love :D)
* Anand/Golmaal (Hrishida was Indias best Director for middle class)
* Pans Labrynth (I saw it and was really blown away)

10.Ten songs you would like to listen to everyday?

Not again....

* Alayae Sitralaye (Alaipaayude)
* Poongaatrilae (Uyire)
* Pal Pal Dil ke paas (Blackmail)
* Kuch to hua hai (Kal Ho Naa ho)
* Mun Paniya (Nandha)
* Nenjam Ellam kaadhal (Ayutha Ezhuthu)
* Vetri Kodi Kattu (Padayappa)
* Tendral Vandu Teendumbodhu (Avathaaram)
* Khoya Khoya (Shabd)
* Ai Hairathe (Guru)

Kutty sis Marudham tagged me long back asking me how Weird I am.

As per general consensus among my friends I would conclude that I am quite weird. My mom would say that I would be the only kid in the neighborhood who would rush to anyone who would call me with open arms. My Brother on other hand would look at everyone as if they had just arrived with a parcel bomb to blow us to pieces. In my school days I was weird because I was the only kid who would have his name constantly on the board for the offense of talking in the class.

I have a weird tendency to shift weights. In my 2nd standard I was so thin that the doctor thought I was suffering from TB. He advised me to take lot of proteins. A year later I bloated to such gigantic proportions that they were planning to make a Baby Godzilla version with me in the lead. I remained baby Godzilla till my 9th standard after which I got sick and again went back to "Eppadi irunda naan ippadi aaiten" posture. The trend still continues with most of pics which would have been taken months apart look as if taken years apart.

I can watch movies continuously for any length of time....as long as the movies are good. I am an inveterate movie freak and I have made no bones of the fact that most of my posts have been inspired from movies that I watch.

I think I have an Obsessive compulsive disorder. Sometimes I tend to wash my hands so frequently that my skin could peel off. I would clean my room and kitchen when in hyper mood till it sparkles clean like shown in the ads. I can stay awake till any point of time. At the same time, I can sleep at any given place (including office) just instantly like a log. You can detonate a nuclear bomb near my bed and I would not bat an eye lid.

I have a weird habit of taking pics of anything interesting I see. My canon S2I2 was the best investment I made after coming here. Any tour I go, I become the official photographer and take snaps in whatever weird angle possible. One example can be seen below :-)

The Prize

He was bleeding very badly. The towel that was used to wipe his face has turned red from his blood. He was hyperventilating and they were giving him water as he was dehydrating very badly. His Manager, coach and his son looked worriedly at him. He could sparsely hear them amidst the boos and cheers of the house full crowd.

"There is just one more round. Are you sure you can make it?" asked the coach.
"I guess I can." He looked worried.
"I don't want you to guess. We are going to do it. Who is going to win today?" the coach yelled.
"I am"
"Who is the champion?"
"I am"
"Who is going to be the winner?"
"I am"
"Give me a hi five"

As the coach said this the mood lightened and they returned to normal state. He looked dotingly at his son who had come to watch the championship bout. He could feel the fear and confusion in his sons eyes. Heck...even he was scared, but was just masking it with anger and grunt. His opponent was the current world champion and was trying hard to maintain the crown. The championship belt would mean a few sponsorship contracts, few ceremonial speeches and unlimited interviews (both paid). They both were champions in their own right and they were not leaving any blows left in this decider. If one round had belonged to him, the other belonged to his opponent and so it remained a balanced contest till the penultimate round.

As the bell gonged, he got up and pumped his fist showing aggression. They circled round and round and he punched his opponent right on his face. Good shot. Then it rained blows and his opponent retaliated suitably. His opponent then jabbed him on his left and that was indeed a thunderous shot. He experienced a headache which could have split his head into two and the whole world seemed blur. It shook the daylights out of him and he collapsed on the floor. He tried to open his eyes and saw a blur image of his son looking at him giving up all hopes of a revival. That was when he was reminded about what transpired between them a day ago.

"Why did you get so low marks in Maths?"
"Dad. We have a very bad teacher for maths."
"Look son. Lets get this straight. So it means that it has nothing to do with your inability to deal with it?"
His son looked at him puzzled and wondered what to answer him.
"Son. Let me ask you something. How do you want to remembered after your time?"
The referee started his countdown and yelled "One."
"I don't understand what you are talking about dad"
"Two"
"Son. We all die. Its a hard truth. But its only the death of the body. Your name stays....if you do something worthwhile."
"Three"
"If you cannot change your life, how are you going to change somebody else's? The world remembers only people who have brought a change to at least someone's life"
"Four"
"I am not asking you change everybody else. Start with yourself."
"Five"
"Don't look at maths as something intimidating. Remember that you have to fear nothing but fear itself."
"Six"
"If the problem persists with the teacher, you can learn it from someone else. You have to find a solution instead of just grieving over the problem. But...you gotta get it straight. Because you are a winner."
"Seven"
"No matter what the outcome could be....what matters is if you have tried or not. Don't let anything go without a fight."
"Eight"
"Its doesn't matter how strong you are hit. What matters is how strong you get back on your feet and retaliate."

As he remembered his own words to his son, he felt a new rush of blood in himself. He felt as if he had spoken those words for himself. He was not going to go down without a fight. He sprung on his feet to the surprise of everyone. His emotional strength had energized him physically and he fought for the remaining time like a tiger on prowl. As the bell gonged again the referee separated them from each other. He looked into his opponents eyes. It was not a look of discontent, but of respect.

He went down past his manager, coach and swarming photographers to his son and hugged him. His son cried and said "I am proud of you dad."
That was enough. The referee looked at the score sheet and said "And the winner is.."

He was gone. He carried his son on his shoulder and walked out of the stadium. It was just a belt. He could win it at any point of time in his life. Today he had won something precious and priceless - his sons respect and love.

Dear Appa and Amma

Dear Appa and Amma

The George Washington on the 1 dollar note never looked more ugly. Ray Romano's jokes fell flat. Rahman sounded Cacophonous. My Manager as usual barked. Why? The 8000 miles difference between us never felt so long in this whole year than today. I miss you both on your wedding anniversary.

Its ironical that in all these 25 years of life I manage to remember only a handful of days. Some of them draw a smile, some embarrassing, some heartfelt, some just fine and so on. Its amazing how one person can shake the foundation of another. Like in the Karan Johar movies people do not become onion-eyed, wobbly, utter paragraphs of "how-much-i-love-you" tall tales and exaggerate them. Its like a mutual understanding between the parents and their wards for their mutual love and respect that they share.

I will start with Amma...because I started from you. Don't worry....I am not going into the "I-can-never-repay-your-nine-month-suffering"..because we both know that I cant :-). Its a pity that your soulful rendition of "Gokulatil pasukalellam" found an audience in the four walls of our house as my lullaby. Whatever little musical talents I have, I owe them to you. I still remember how you panicked when I came home in my first standard with a shirt which was red due to the injury to my head (probable cause of insanity?). I still remember how much you struggled to teach me the difference between the roman alphabets "b" and "f" and how every time I would make the same mistake and look at you innocently like Puss-in-the-boots. Every time I would screw up my maths paper and come home shuddering how you were going to be upset with me. You never had problems with brother Girish as he was one sincere kid who would finish his homework and lessons while I was one naughty brat who would run away to play cricket when unattended. I still remember the days when you woke up the whole night when I looked like on the verge of death finding it hard to breath due to eosinophilia. It seemed more painful looking at you than suffering through it.

To appa....you gave me a name and made me what I am. The streets of Gandhidham would tell the stories when you would carry me to Chawla cafe and buy my favorite Thayir vadai. In spite of the meager salary in the earlier days you would buy us Tinkle, amar Chitra katha, Chandamama which helped me spin yarns for the history paper and essays (and now in my blog :D). You were such a chain smoker that I and girish would make trains out of the Wills packets in the drawer. You taught me my unforgettable lesson in self control and will power when you gave up your almost 25 years of smoking because you didn't want to set a bad example for us as we grew up. I have just one grudge against you....that you work even now even though there is no need for it. I guess its hereditary problem as grandpa worked till the age of 70 and you seem to follow suit. I am pretty sure that my wards are going to have the same problem with me as well :D.

The day when I got placed in the campus, I felt like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption. Now that may sound like very exaggerated, but for whatever we have been through in these years, it did seem like a redemption. The order that I received was a testimony for your sacrifices and not for my skills or talent. The first time I got a saree and Shirt-pant for you both, it felt like I had conquered the moon. Every time when I call you, you ask me if I eat properly or not. I realized after a long time that I have been such an insensitive prick as I have hardly asked you if you take care of yourself. I would never know that "Why do all the moms on the world never seem to take care of themselves"?

They say that "A good marriage is at least 80 percent good luck in finding the right person at the right time. The rest is trust." I now know what it means. Here is to your marriage anniversary...and many more to come.

Your loving son
Harish

Good News: This is not a story. My parents are indeed celebrating their wedding anniversary on May 19 :-)
Bad News: I turn another year older on May 20 :-(

Dial J for Joy

He had been waiting for almost 40 minutes. Patience. More patience. That's what he needed at this moment. He had sensed this coming and didn't want to miss it at any cost.

From one end of the room he was spying her. She appeared calm and composed. Not much movement and not much action. A book lay in front of her but she looked disinterested. He had known her for only a year and a half but it was strange that he loved her more than anything else in the world. He remembered how he had a knot in the stomach when he saw her for the first time. She looked pretty. No no. Prettier? Uhumm.....Its gotta be prettiest. Yes...that's right. She was, is and will remain the prettiest one in the whole world.

Her eyes had the sparkle of the stars. Her perfectly chiseled nose accentuated her facial features. Her lips were small and rosy as if she had just finished eating a cherry. God! She looked divine. How much he wanted to kiss her right now?!? No no....patience. He would spoil the whole mission if he were to disturb anything right now. She was looking at the TV but apparently didn't show much joy or enthusiasm. Ah...he could see it coming.

"What are you doing?" quipped his wife from behind.

"Shhh...keep quiet." He switched on his Sony MiniDv handy cam and started to record his daughter's movements.

She sat up, crawled, got up on her feet and started to walk a few steps before limping on the soft bed. Bingo!!! He had recorded her first steps. He felt as if he was on the moon. He rushed and kissed her heartily out of joy.

Move over Armstrong. There is one soul less on earth who doesn't give a rats tail to your first step on moon.

P.S: Inspired from a friends tale of similar happiness and my 2 year old pic :-)

I Do

Just 5 minutes before the biggest moment of his life, Vijay David realized 3 things.

1. You cannot swear in a church.
2. You cannot swear for sure when you are standing in front of the altar and the priest is standing in front of you....and when you happen to be the Bridegroom.
3. Last but not the least.....he was developing cold feet and was not sure if he wanted to get married now.

To pass these 5 minutes before the bride Vinola Jesudas's arrival, we will switch now to a little flashback mode. Vijay had met Vinola in a flight to an international Business conference. Not exactly by the quotes book, but at least their love was surely decided in heaven. They were seated next to each other in the flight and what started as a banter and time killing talk turned out to be an exhilarating experience. At the end of the conversation they exchanged their hotel room numbers. By the end of the 3 days conference he knew the name of her niece and how many cousins she had and she knew what was the name of the boy who punched and broke his wisdom tooth in 3rd standard.

They traveled together on their way back (courtesy the Gujrati Uncle who understood their need to spend time together and hence switched seats) and when they walked back they had exchanged phone numbers. After a month of courtship, formally Vijay asked her out for dinner and informally popped the inevitable question to spend the rest of her life with him. An intelligent girl that she was, Vinola had seen this coming and so didn't quite give him the Ms. World Like Oh-My-God-I-Have-Won-it expression, but gently smiled and expressed her willingness to be with him. Vijay couldn't have asked for more. They informed their respective parents about the whole issue and since luckily the ghosts of caste and religion were rested, they had the blessings of their loving-but-conservative parents.

Now you are wondering why on earth was Vijay worried. Two reasons - RESPONSIBILITY and COMMITMENT. A single child of his parents, Vijay had been a kind of spoilt brat and had things working up his way as he had wanted them to. For every errands of his life, he had someone to take care of it be it his mother or father or someone who loved him. So being responsible for anything was something that he had just learnt only on professional front and not in his personal life. A visit to his cousin Lawrence's house had in a way opened a can of worms when he saw him run from pillar to post to run his family and take care of his just born kid. Vijay was not sure if he had the patience to be adjustable and adopt a give-and-take policy in life, so he made some excuses and left his cousin's place as soon as possible. Everything appeared fine in love, but at this moment, he was developing cold feet and raised questions to himself if he could stay committed to one women for his whole life.

With question marks looming over his head, Vijay was trembling. His tongue had parched and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. It was when the bride arrived that two things happened almost simultaneously. Vijay turned back and saw Lawrence happily sitting with his kid. The kid and Lawrence smiled and waved at him. It was a smile of satisfaction, happiness and content. One question answered. He saw Vinola walk towards him with her father and smile at him. He now knew what he had to say when the right time arrived.



The priest began the wedding with his customary talk "We have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. Into this holy union Vijay Issac David and Vinola Sunderrajan Jesudas now come to be joined. If any of you can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, speak now; or else forever hold your peace."

Just when no one seemed to talk Vijay said "I have something to say."

There was a silence followed by gasps in the hall. Vinola looked at him as if she was looking at him for the first time. She wondered what reason was Vijay going to give at his point.

"Five minutes ago I suddenly had this strange feeling in my head. I was not sure if I could do this whole marriage act. I have always been a self centered person and have forgotten about all those who cared about me. I had forgotten Vinola's Birthday and forgot to wish her. I had forgotten that she liked Butterscotch ice cream more than Pistachio Sunday. I forgot that she likes Rahul Dravid more than Sachin Tendulkar. I forgot that she likes Blue better than black."

"But I haven't forgotten that she gifted me a beautiful White shirt remembering that of all shirts I had, I didn't have one in white. I haven't forgotten that she sponsored a days meal to the kids at orphanage for my Birthday. I haven't forgotten how much she respects her parents as well as mine. I cannot forget how much she loves me, more than anyone else on earth."

"Lastly as I stand before the Lord almighty and I look into her small beautiful eyes, I will remember forever in life that how lucky I am to say these words to the woman whom I love and who loves me more in return and to be blessed in marital bliss with her forever in my life.....till death do us apart."

Tears trickled down Vinola's eyes and she hugged and kissed him.

It was then that the priest remembered something important. Wasn't he supposed to say "And you may now Kiss the Bride" first?

P.S: For my Blogger friends Ambi and Ms C, college friends Pradeep and Priya who say their I DO in this month of May. Lets wish them a very happy, prosperous and beautiful wedding life.
P.S1: I loved the trailor posted :D.