Arranged Infatuation !

The lazy Saturday morning, I got waked up by some noise being made by someone trying to unlock the house door. With my half opened eyes, I looked towards the door.It was Harry, one of my 2 roommates. He was making a lot of noise with the key and I shouted at him, 'Hey, don't make noise..go and sleep'.

'I'm going to have breakfast.'

Now, that's Harry for you, even after a night shift, or a late night party, a breakfast is a mandatory filed in his database.

'But you were supposed to go home', I meant he going to his native in Kerala.

'I am going today evening', he said as he successfully opened the door. But by that time, I had lost my sleep.

'Ok, bring me breakfast while you come'

'I can't. If you want you come along', he shot back.

'1 plate idly', I pulled the blanket over me and immersed my head into the pillow.

Once I heard the door getting shut and footsteps fading away, I got up from my bed and went to brush my teeth.

Within minutes, Fino, my other roommate woke up and I overheard his conversation in phone from the next room, 'Harry, 1 Dosa'.

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Harry is not the official delivery boy in our house, such situations occur only when we wake up early enough to see Harry go for breakfast, which seldom happens. Harry was back with the breakfast and while me and Fino was having that, Harry started browsing Facebook.

Typical Saturday timetable !

Oh! But recently Harry was not only browsing Facebook, but also the matrimonial site in which he had registered.

'You read Harry's hobbies in his matrimonial site?', I saw the laughter coming into Fino's face while asking the question to me.

'No, what is that?', I asked eagerly.

'Listening to Heavy Metal, Hip-hop music !', I burst into laughter as Fino completed this.

'Ha ha...Harry, do you know any 1 band which performs Heavy Metal?'

'Of course,  Led Zeppelin is a Heavy metal band.'Harry shot back.

That’s impressive, I thought. But I doubted whether he really knew a band of Heavy Metal, as I have never seen him listen to any specific song just because it is Heavy Metal. He does often watch the channel VH1 and shake his head in accordance with the beats. We tease him saying he wouldn't even come to know when an advertisement comes and will still continue shaking his head, but Harry never minds that as he claims himself to be 'Funky'.

I walked to him and checked if he had Googled to find the Heavy Metal band.I was not completely wrong as he had 3 Wikipedia pages open. Heavy metal, Hip hop and Britney Spears. Led Zeppelin was the first band name which appeared in the 'Heavy metal' page.

'What is the name of the girl you are going to see tomorrow?', Fino asked Harry.

'Jiya'

'Hmm..good name, you have any photos of her. Your parents might have taken some photo from her parents', i asked

'Why to see photo, She is already my friend in Facebook', and he smiled showing all possible teeth that he can.

'What? You don't know her. You are just going to see her for the first time .it's first step of an arranged marriage…and what if things don't work out. After the first meeting if you feel things are positive you could have added her as your friend. We feel this is bit early', me and Fino told in unison.

'Who told I don't know her? Now I am chatting with her', said Harry

'Ohoo..so things are almost decided. This meeting tomorrow is just for the sake of meeting..Then it's cool..Show her photo, Fino said as he washed his hands after the breakfast.

Harry opened her Facebook album and showed the 4 photos of her which she had uploaded.

'The girl looks good. She will get a better guy', I said and observed how Harry would respond.

'In the wedding photo we will use Photoshop and make her look ugly', Harry gave the million dollar idea. I don't know what was the logic behind it or what is the use of doing like that, but I never tried to think too much about it as it is Harry who said it !

He  showed the next photo of hers in which she was holding a cricket bat.

'My God, after marriage she will hit on my head with this bat', said Harry

'Ha ha, don't worry, by your character she will not hit you with a bat. She will atleast use a hammer'.Fino replied to Harry's concern.

Teasing Harry was one of our favorite hobbies and we kept doing that whole day, and even the 'innocent' Harry enjoyed those. We wished him good luck to come back with a positive news.

----------------------------

'No yaar, there are lots of problems and we decided not to proceed with this', said Harry as we inquired with him once he was back, on how things went.'

'Why, what happened?'

‘Actually, we had checked the horoscopes and the astrologer had told that it is matching. But the astrologer that they met said it is not entirely matching. So they were not very keen on proceeding.Seeing their response even we thought not to proceed this. Afterall this is the first girl I am seeing. And I am not very old also.I have the liberty to take time and find a perfect person for me'

'Oh, ok fine. It's your choice afterall. And even I feel it's too early for an arranged marriage. if it had been a love marriage it would have been fine even if it's early. But for an arranged marriage you can take time', I gave my free piece of advice.

'And you have her as your friend in Facebook', Fino reminded.

'This is why we told you shouldn't have added her. There are lots of things to be okay in an arranged marriage. There are people who see more that 50 girls before finally getting everything okay, because you check the horoscopes, family background blah blah..it's difficult to finalize one. Imagine you add each one of them as your FB friend'

'Thats ok guys.Astrology need not match for being friends on facebook', Harry was okay with adding her as his friend, and we did not mind either after that.

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Harry had given a short break for his wedding plans, and for the past 2 months there have been no proposals after that first unsuccessful attempt.

'Dude, do u still chat with Jiya on FB?', I asked Harry 'just like that'.

'Yes, we do chat'

'What?? I mean what do u chat..??Finally will you marry her itself? '

'No, nothing of that sort will happen. Actually we did make another attempt', Harry said.

'What?? Really??What happened??',asked Fino

'As I told the other day, we had decided to drop this proposal, but then again when we chatted, we were thinking that it might be a mistake made by the astrologer whom they showed. And we could try once again by showing to another astrologer. I asked my parents to convey the same to their family, but they were not interested in proceeding this.'

'Hey, but if you feel this is the right girl for you, why don't you talk with your family again', I asked Harry.

'No, it's okay now...My parents are not interested in proceeding. And I'll believe that this might be a mistake made by the astrologer whom I showed.', said Harry

‘Ohoo..You  thinking so positive?’, Fino asked

‘No yaar, if you give 50 horoscopes to that person he will reject at least 49.There was one which he approved that that got rejected by another astrologer. I think it should have been the other way round.Next time I go to meet him I’ll ask him to check his own horoscope and check if his death is by my hands.’

'Ha ha!, this might be problem of the astrologer itself..the parents could have agreed for another try… parents not agreeing in arranged marriage..this is a rare scenario..', I said and we moved on to other topics.

'It’s really okay for me…You know what, my parents have done a lot for me.. so I cannot fight with them.. When I told I want to do engineering, they sent me to a Entrance exam coaching center. The coaching center was 10 kms away from my home and so they bought me a bike spending 35000 Rupees', Harry went back to his school days.

'Oh then, what rank did u get in Entrance exam', Fino asked

Harry kept smiling.

'Hey come on, tell', I insisted

'37000'

'Arey waah..you over took price of the bike..super', I said and all of us started laughing loud.

Harry had decided to get over Jiya's chapter and move on.So did we…

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Present

I was watching one of my favourite movies Dil Chahta hai on TV and Harry was in the  bathroom,  taking bath, singing some English song.

'Wohi tho problem hai yaar', says Saif Ali Khan, in the scene where he explains his friends that he started falling in love with the girl whom his parents had earlier brought a proposal of.

I was enjoying the scene in the movie when Harry came out after taking bath.

'Harry, your story on TV', I said

'which?what?', he asked

'Jiya se Jiya', I sang in the tune of AR Rahman's song

'Hey, it is nothing like that..it was just an infatuation'

'ha ha, infatuation, that too an arranged one?',I asked him

'Yes, this is called Arranged Infatuation ! ',Harry continued,'by the way dont remind me of the past..there's a new proposal and I am going to see her tomorrow.' 

'Mere baat maan kisi ko kuch mat bata..Aaj Pooja,Kal koi dooja', Aamir's dialog was perfect in the backdrop.

'Ha ha', I continued my laughter and said, 'don't tell me you added the new girl as well as your friend in Facebook'

Harry’s answer was evident from the glow of the yellow LED lamps which came from his mouth.’ Not just her, her sister and couple of friends as well’, he said

‘You’ll never change !!’, I said and continued, ’ok, ok, good luck ..by the way, this is a very interesting story..i'll write it in my blog', I said

'No no, if it was a good author I would have allowed..', said Harry,' and you will write incorrect things about me and simply tease me'

'No yaar, I'll write good things about you...and add some adjectives before your name, like Innocent, good, loving, handsome, i'll even write that the character is imaginary', I said

'NO NO..don't write about me', Harry never seemed to agree. It’s like that. Harry’s first decision is always his final. However big blunder it is !

'Ok thanks..I'll change your name also..to something like....', I thought for a similar name,'..ok, got it..I'll make it 'Harry' '.

'Harry' still kept disagreeing and walked away.

But still I started writing ....

By the way Harry is handsome, loving, innocent and is an imaginary character !

;)

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Harry also has an adventurous person within himeslf..Find out more here.
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The First Kiss

"Come to Apolo Hosptal within an hour.I'll give u the present "
He read the message..'Present??NOW? That too at her Dad's office??'And he was very excited of seeing a message from her after almost 3 long months
'I've to reach there in an hour??,on a weekday, at 6 PM?'
This is a time that even a person new to the city can predict the presence of a junction atleast 5 kms before even reaching it.Because the traffic will not be moving from that point.The prediction may not always be right though.Sometimes it may be silly/serious fights/debates happening in the middle of the road at the expense of the common man's time and with their viewership as well, Chief Guest being the Traffic Police!

Cursing the traffic, he started his bike and started off to Apolo Hospital.'In normal traffic it'll take 40 minutes...I'll have to go fast'

'But why is she calling me now at such short notice?That too after ignoring me for this long..DId she understand that I was un-avoidable, and tell her dad about our relationship?'he thought while driving.....The traffic was intense and to add to all this, the clouds started darkening...He lowered the visor of his helmet, and is memories took him back to his college days.

--------------------

'You know what are the positives and negatives about the whole college knowing about our relationship??',he once asked her
'Tell me'
'Positive thing is that, I will have no problems of others proposing to you.Negative thing is that I can't propose to other girls.'
She stared her with a 'how dare you even think like this?' kind of look.
He smiled and continued,'So, what are you going to present me for my birthday?'
'What do you want'
'Give me a kiss.Anyway your dad wont give you pocket money.So this present helps to save your pocket money as well',he smiled as he said
'Get lost.Is this a present you ask..I'll tell dad'
'No ,no..cheee..I don't wan't a kiss from your Dad', and he laughed aloud
As usually seen in films, she started hitting him with things she got in her hand, namely book, pen, mobile..and finally of course hand!
-------------------
He was stuck in traffic..Rain had started pouring down.There were vehicles all around him.In between all this mess, an Auto rickshaw came from nowhere and parked the Auto horizontally in front of him.
'Hei..Is this how you drive??',he shouted at the driver in anger and frustration
'I am also paying Road Tax...If u have any difficulty, don't drive.',replied the Auto driver and turned away.


He understood that it's better to go back to past college days than to live in the present.
-------------------
'Happy Birthday!',she said as she handed over a small box of gift to him.
'Kisses now come is boxes??'he questioned as he opened the box.'Wow cool..a really cool watch..'
He wore the watch and happily exhibited the beauty of the combination of his hand and the watch to her and asked,'What about the other present..which I asked?'
'Come on...you are still at it?', she ignored the request.
'You give it to the proffesors only?'
'Profesor??What do you mean?'
'When the sir called your name while taking attendance, you told him 'PRESENT SIR'..Come on, when I asked for one you are not giving.. very unfair'
'eeeee'she expressed her frustration and continued, 'that presence you have with you..my presence ..always with you...', she said as she smiled.
He held her hand and told,'Ya, that is the biggest present..but sometimes i want smaller presents too', and winked his eyes.
'Sometime later', she said and they continued their conversation....

------------------
He looked at his watch.Already 1 hour was over after he got the message.1 hour and 5 minutes to be exact.He had tried calling her before he started, but she never picked up the phone.He wondered what was the reason that she had called him for.If it was to meet her father, her father is a very punctual man.He will have a bad impression if he reaches there late.

He would reach the hospital in another 10-15 minutes.

He thought about their relationship.It was going all well when they were in college.But like any other girl she too started being possessive. He never expected her to be so. He always gave her her space and demanded the same from her.But somehow things started getting worse.He thought about how he used to apologize each and every time even after knowing that he had not done any mistake. 'Relationships are like this.After the initial spark, you get to know the reality about each other.You don't need to apologize any further.If this is a relationship that has to work, she'll call you', one of his friends had adviced him, and he too thought that enough is enough.He too remained stubborn and never called her.Whenever he felt like speaking to her, he opened his mail and jotted down whatever he wanted to tell her, and saved it as a draft.Somewhere in his mind, he knew that she would call him.And they would be together again..Then he would send her all these mails, and she would then understand how much he loved her, how much he missed her....

He was extremely happy that a message had come at last.The ice is broken and things are getting better.He smiled as tears filled his eyes.

After crossing the heavy traffic, 1 hour 35 minutes had passed.He entered the hospital gate.

----------------


He knew he was 35 minutes late.He parked his bike and ran into the hospital.He knew her dad's cabin, and presumed that he has to go there.
A nurse was standing in front of her dad's cabin who said,'He is in room 101, and his daughter is also there..You can go there to meet him'
'Oh, ok', he said with a confused look, thinking what are they doing in that room and went towards that room.He saw that almost all of her family members were standing outside the room.
'Well, what happened, what is such a big event over here?',he thought as he walked through the crowd.He looked at his watch.1 hour 42 minutes gone.'42 minutes late.What will her dad say?What will she say?', But excitement overcame his tension when he thought about the message she sent him.."Come to Apolo Hosptal within an hour.I'll give u the present ", 'the present he had been waiting for so long..
He quietly walked towards the room..

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1 hour  and 40  minutes back.
Apolo hospital.

The doctor spoke to her dad,'Sir, As you too are a doctor and I cannot hide the facts..I am very sorry.As we detected this only in the final stage...Last 3 months of treatment did not help much..Now, It's just a matter of some hours..or may be even minutes...Your daughter....', he continued with some medical terms, which proved that the inevitable would happen any time.
'You may inform your family members...Anyone who want to see her may come here within an hour.That's the max we can promise.Sorry', And the doctor walked out of the room.

So did her father, not knowing that she was in her senses at that point of time, and had overheard the conversation., and known her destiny.
She was unable to move, but she some how picked her mobile and typed the text message,'Come to Apolo Hosptal within an hour.I'll give u the present '.

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Excitement overcame his tension when he thought about the message she sent him..He quietly walked towards the room..,'Will I get my big present inside this room?...My first kiss.....', and he eagerly, slowly and quietly opened the door and entered inside the room.......

BUSted

Ok, when did this incident take place??The year when Dhoom music released and was a rage among people(I am lazy  enough to open a  new tab and google the release date of Dhoom music..anyway the date doesn't have any relevance to the story)

Not getting into too many details because I need to finish the story soon, as I have a feedback on myself that I tend to drag my stories too much discussing about irrelevant topics...Ok,ok..where am I heading to??

 that's it..over to the story.

This story doesn't have a hero.Only a heroine.Single and not ready to mingle.Almost 10 years old.

Just 10 years , you thought?Well this is my mom's 10 year old Scooty.

Dark Green in colour.

Built in intelligence which compels even the leanest of users to use kick-start so that more calories can be burnt!

Bright headlamps, Low beam not working and high beam pointing to the sky.They say, Sky is the limit!

Only the horn doesn't have any extra trait.It's difficult to hear the sound of the horn though, when the vehicle is moving.. because the sound of the Scooty (which can give competition to even a Royal Enfield Bullet), overcomes the sound of its horn.

As a reason, I tend to sing 'Dhoom Machale ', and following tune in my mind whenever I drive this Scooty...The Scooty's noise providing the perfect backdrop!

If you ignore all these..the Scooty was well in condition.

This particular day, I had taken this Scooty to go to the temple along with my sister.We passed Changaramkulam, me cursing the condition of the roads.There was Government initiative at that time, for saving rain water.Each house was asked to make a Water Harvesting Pit in their area of land, so that the water falling in each land stays there and doesn't flow away.The Government had led by example by making many such pits on the middle of the road, so that any water falling on the road, stays there itself !

Being a responsible citizen, I cursed the Government and people for not doing anything about this and looked at the Strong-tea-shown-in-advertisements like mud water in the potholes with contempt!

'Vrooooommmmmmm', a bus passed by in its full speed, splashing the mud water all over me, my sister and the Scooty.I applied breaks immediately, wiped my cheeks, and turned around in anger.Biting my teeth, i growled, "Bloody idiots"

The localites there gathered and one of them told me,"These bus drivers are always like this.They actually have been a nuisance for the public."

"Yaa..just go behind them, and show them what they have done", another guy showed his support.

"They shouldn't always get away like this..we are with you",said a third one.

Ok, what am I supposed to do?I did not have time to think..'Ok, come', I said and turned around the bike..I mean Scooty, and started following the bus...full throttle.I heard 5 or 6 bikes kick-started and they were following me.'Dhoom machale..', tune remix played in full volume in my mind.The bus was very fast, and I ambitiously followed it.But the bus had to finally lose the race as it reached the Changaramkulam bus stop (because it had to stop at the bus stop!).I thanked Changaramkulam bus stop in my mind, and over took the bus and parked it across diagonally in front of the bike...film style.The Dhoom tune stopped.

I thought about the NFS racing game where many police cars come from all directions and trap you.'BUSTED', it says.Here it's BUSted..I smiled in my mind as I thought this.

My sister got down from the Scooty, and then I got down.I put the side-stand and walked towards the bus.By that time, the other bikes had reached, and more people gathered to see what was happening.

I walked towards the bus, my sister followed.

''CRASHHH"

I heard this loud sound of something crashing on the ground.I turned back to see the Scooty’s side stand was bit loose and it had failed to carry the weight of the vehicle.I took U-turn and  walked back to the Scooty.Lifted the Scooty holding its seat.

"'CRASHHH"

The Seat Cover alone stayed in my hands.'On no..why do you embarrass me in such a situation', I asked the Scooty and lifted in again carefully.Placed it in center Stand.Kept the seat cover on it.and again walked back to the bus driver.

I stared at the driver of the bus.He looked back, unknowing what was happening.

"How the hell do you think you are driving?See this", I shouted as I pointed mine and my sister's dress.

"We were going to the temple and see what you have done..do you have any driving ethics??", i just started off with this dialogue, and the people gathered there took over from me.They started scolding them for all sorts of mistake they remembered any bus did, since their childhood days.

"I am sorry", the driver apologized to both of us.

"What Sorry, You need to buy them new dress.You have spoiled their dress",Someone gave his opinion and many of the infuriated people present there supported him too.

The driver was helpless and did not know what to say.

I decided to stop all these mid-road drama at this point and said to him,"You guys will never learn.But remember, you have to drive through the same route daily.If you don't drive properly........", and ran my eyes through the crowd present there, meaning that such things will be dealt by these people.

I turned back and walked to the Scooty.I heard imaginary claps of the crowd cheering me for having raised my voice against a socially relevant issue.

I placed the seat cover on the Scooty properly, and said to my sister. "We'll go to grand ma(whose house is on the way to the temple), and wash the mud away from clothes before going to temple".The whole crowd started dispersing and I started driving the Scooty with 'Dhoom Machale' in the background..

'oops, going to temple I shouldn't be thinking movie songs..', I thought and muted the mind music player and continued the journey....

At the Receiving End

Prologue

"I'll be reaching Thrissur in the moring..around 6.30, You'll be coming to pick me up na??"Ajuettan asked me
"Hello...Hello....not able to hear you", I replied
"I was telling that I bought an I-phone 4 for you"
"Oh! is it, keep it with u, i can’t wake up so early and come to Thrissur to collect it!"
"ha ha", Ajuettan laughed in his signature style and told, "Ok, chalo bye then, talk later, See you on 21st at Thrissur railway station"
"ok, bro, bye...by the way, me and Subhashettan will be coming to receive u", I said
"Oh NO!!Not again, I can't forget the day when you both came to receive me to the airport once!!"

Neiether could I, I believe neither Subhashettan could too!

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More than 4 years back...
Home, Alankode
Evening

"It's 4.30, You have to start now..else you'll be late to reach the airport...It's difficult to get some auto from here...", the voice came from kitchen
"Ya..we are getting ready. Within 10 minutes, we'll leave” I said aloud and asked Subhashettan,"Shall we leave, I am ready?It will be difficult to get Auto"
"If we don't get Auto, we'll walk..don't worry",Subhashettan replied
"Ok, I'll start walking now itself",I smiled as I said that.
"No yaar, I'll walk slowly"

Everyone in the family knew about Subhashettan's speed while walking.His one step can be covered only when a normal human being covers 3 steps. From the pages of history there is a story, Once upon a time in Mumbai-Ajuettan's place.Shanthammayi(Ajuettan's mom) asked Subhashettan to buy some stuff from the grocery.Shanthammayi completed telling the name of the things to be bought and paused for a second or two,to think whether she had forgotten something.."Haan, 1 more thing...", she couldn't cpomplete her sentence because Subhashettan was already gone.She ran over to the balcony to call him and tell him what more to buy.She could only see something in the road in T-shirt and jeans vanishing quickly like a shooting star!!!

----

"The Arrival time of the flight is at 8.30, We'll call you once he reaches.."we bid good bye and left the house.
As they say, habits can seldom be changed, Subhashettan started walking and I started jogging with him.We had to cover 3 kms to reach Changaramkulam, from where we could catch a bus.

The walking/ jogging continued and I also turned around in frequent intervals..Not for not forgetting the path we travelled, but to see if any Auto is coming.

Finally I saw one.It stopped and we entered the Auto.
"See Subhashetta, this is why I tell you to walk slow, If we had walked slowly, we would have got this same Auto 1 km back...!", Subhashettan smiled as I said this.

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We reached the Airport in time, 15 minutes earlier to be exact.We found that the Flight was 20 minutes late.
"Oh NO", I sighed while waiting in front of the Airport
"What happened?"Subhashettan asked
"We could have brought a placard which read 'AJISH VIJAYAN WELCOME BACK FROM THE TRIP TO EUROPE' !"and winked my eyes
"in front of this domestic terminal???" Subhashttan looked at me with disbelief of how I can give such bad ideas.
"Ok, Lets make it 'AJISH VIJAYAN WELCOME BACK FROM TRIP TO MUMBAI AIRPORT'.How about that?'"
"The other one was better", Subhashettan had a wierd look on his face in reply to my worse idea.

"I knew you would like the first one...By the way, Sorry bro, just to kill time", and we talked about burning issues like what strategies should be planned by Indian cricket team to improve their Win-Loss ratio, and plans of 'our' upcoming movies(which we had been planning for the past 7-8 years).



---------------------------------


"Here comes Aju", Subhashettan pointed to the guy walking in the knee length Kurta, carrying a small paper bag with him.He smiled with almost all his tooth visible when he saw Subhashettan and me standing to receive him(obviously with no placard).
"Bhai , no luggage??hope u have brought atleast some dress to wear", Subhashettan shook hands with Ajuettan welcoming him.
"Less luggage, more comfort!", Ajuettan smiled with pride as though told some golden words.
"How was the journey Ajuetta?As usual ur neighbour might have been some Grandpa or Grandma", I asked Ajuettan
"haan, yaar, what to do, that is written in my fate..."
“When will we reach home?Me feeling very hungry”,said Ajuettan
“Not much time.Just 2 hours!”
The talks continued and we 3 seeing together for the first time in many years, had lots to tell, lots to catch up , and we discussed that as we walked..

Yes..WALKED..and that, too in the excitement of meeting after long time, we were walking in Subhashettan's speed!!!

"Guys, we have been walking for some time now, where do we get some vehicle,taxi, bus whatever..", Ajuettan asked.
"I don't know",the 2 people who had gone to recieve Ajuettan said in unison.
Ajuettan looked confused."You might be joking.."
"How can you expect Subhashettan to know, he is coming here for the first time", I told Ajuettan
"and what about you?",Ajuettan stared at me
"I too never came here before", and I smiled the same smile which Ajuettan had displayed when he saw us waiting in the Arrival terminal.

"But don't worry, we'll find out where we can get a bus!", I said looking around, only to find that we had crossed the Airport compound and further walked quite a long way!

"How to reach the nearest bus stop, that's what we need to find", I said as I looked around for someone whom we could enquire with.But it was already about 10 PM and the whole area had only 3 humans wandering around ! We three.

"My GOD, you are the people who came to receive me...great.."
"Geographically, I think we have to go this way", I said pointing to a direction.
"Ok, If you feel like that... we 'll go in the opposite direction", said Subhashettan and started walking
"Even I think we have to go with Subhashettan, as I don't believe in your geographical knowledge", saind Ajuettan and followed Subhashettan
"Well, I myself doesn't believe in my geographical knowledge, and had come to a conclusion of going the other way after considering that.Actually my mind said that this is correct",I said and ran to reach Subhashettan and Ajuettan.
"So, how's job Ajuetta?"I asked.We continued our conversations and walking for few more minutes until we saw a man on the way, who guided us to the main road.
Around 1 more km to the main road as per his inputs.We walked through some narrow road, which had lots of twists and turns..and the atmosphere completely dark.No street lights or any other source of light.To add to all this, all of us were feeling very hungry!
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"Hooooo....Finally main road at sight",Ajuettan said with a sigh..
We quickly walked into a small shop on the road side and asked him, where we'll get bus which goes to Kozhikode side.
"bus will go through the same main road but you will have to walk another 10-20 minutes to the bus stop"

We looked at each other silently!

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The Film maker in Subhashettan woke up and started asking for lifts in the Trucks that were going.We 3 going in Truck would be good fun.Me and Ajuettan also joined in asking for lift.But unlike in movies where the first truck gives lift for the hero and heroine, no truck was ready to stop in our case.I guess some trucks even increased their speed seeing us!

We did not spare cars also, and this act ended up on an Ambassador car, a Taxi stopping beside us."Angamaly", I said to the driver of the car.
"Get in', he said
It was past 10.30 and the Taxi driver could have charged us a lumpsome amount.But not even thinking about that, I jumped into the car and immersed myself into the spongy seats.
"How much is the charge?",Subhashettan asked the driver
"Just give 10 per person",the driver replied
"Ok, cool", said Ajuettan and then asked me while entering the car,"Hei, how come you entered the car without asking the charge?"
"When you are with me with your wallet, why do I take tension??", I replied

"How did you reach this place??", The driver asked
"We are coming from the airport",Subhashettan sitting in the front seat, replied to him, "and lost our way and was walking all the way"

"Walking..My God! You covered quite a long distance, Even I am coming from the Airport."
" Would you be going till Thrissur?",subhashettan asked
"Yes"
"Ok, then we'll get down at Thrissur.How much??"
"Give 30 per person", he replied
"By the way where are you going", Subhashettan's enquiry continued
"Kozhikode"
"Cool, we'll get down at Changaramkulam"

He asked for 50 per person to get down at Changaramkulam, and we were very happy and excited of having got this car to travel.
We calculated and found that we walked for more than an hour from the Airport!

"See, we even arranged Taxi for you, a surprise package!",I told to Ajuettan
"Is this how you come to recieve a person???",Ajuettan looked at both of us.
"We came to receive you.That's why you are at the receiving end!"Subhashettan replied
"Ha ha ha..Good one", I patted Subhashettan for that killer dialogue.
Even Ajuettan started laughing in his signature style.
------------------

We got down at Changaramkulam, paid 200 rupees to the Taxi(considering our situation when we got the taxi and the time), and hired an Auto that was waiting for us at Changaramkulam.No more distance to cover by walking, and finally reached home.

"Why were you so late children?",came the question as soon as we entered the house at 1.30 AM.
"We called a taxi, but it was parked so far away that we had to walk a long way to reach it!"

"Actually, that's a story, we'll tell you while having dinner..We are verrry hungry...."

“Ajuetta, Food tastes best when you are more hungry and now you are at your hungriest best! Enjoy your meal”,I said
“I think it’s better to eat you, then, atleast I don’t have to hear your jokes.”Ajuettan replied as he filled his mouth with food and we joined him for the midnight supper.

------------------

Epilogue

"ok, bro, bye...by the way, me and Subhashettan will be coming to receive u", I said
"Oh NO!!Not again, I can't forget the day when you both came to receive me to the airport once!!"
“Ya, I know that..That’s why we are coming again…If that had been a normal day and we got a bus quickly, would you ever remember that at this point of time?You have come to Kerala many times, but still you remember that incident..why is that??”

“OK,,ok..Now you can tell like that..You people come.We’ll see.Atleast I’ll carrysome food with me!”
“ha ha..ok..Food for me too..Ok, bye See you”

“he he..sure..Bye”
Me and Subhashettan are going to receive Ajuettan again, on 21st.This time, we will be arranging transport before hand, and since it’s a morning, we won’t find difficulty in finding any…But what’s in store for us??With we 3 are meeting again after a long time, you never know....

;)

Living a Dream

07-April-2011

The winning feeling has still not sinked in..No celebrations would be enough to enjoy this moment...No words would be sufficient to express this joy....
In a place where cricket is a religion, we have conquered the world...We are the World Champions...............

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23-March-2003


Cricket World Cup 2003 Final.

India had a dream run till the finals. Though India had lost very badly to Australia in the group stages, the team transformed completely and now are an all together different side. High on runs, wickets, confidence and support. It's revenge time for India. Defeat Australia and snatch the cup from them. An ideal scenario, as they say.

But does life offer you ideal scenarios? The day not only showed us that 'Nothing is Perfect', but also made every single thing imperfect. The dreams were shattered. Australia cruised along to victory and we found it hard to console ourselves and accept the fact that the wait has to continue...

-----------------------------------------

2007 Cricket World Cup

This time, the team was more balanced, atleast on paper. But even that balance(on paper) was destroyed after 3 matches.
Coincidentally 23 March 2007 was the day we lost to Srilanka and were out of the World Cup.(23 March 2003 was 2003 World Cup final).
Sachin, 34 at that time, was compelled to announce retirement by news papers and critics alike. 'Anyway this is his last World Cup. He has nothing more to offer to cricket', they said. Each of the cricketers were criticized so harshly, even forgetting that they are humans. That is the intensity of cricket following in India.You do well, they'll support you to the core. You do bad, there is no one as bad as us!
Though I felt really disappointed for India not performing well at the World Cup, I also felt really bad that cricketers are being treated so badly. After all, even they wanted to win. They too would be disappointed. I showed my first sign of support by updating my name in 'Orkut' as 'I still support Team India'. I replied the same to each one of those who sent me sms jokes on Indian team. And I argued with every one possible and showed my support to Team India. I even went to the extent of posting a feedback on a news paper website to ask the Sports editor of that news paper to retire, and give opportunity to youngsters.(that was the same thing he was asking Sachin to do).
I knew it was difficult, but I wanted Sachin to play in 2011 World Cup. It was being held in India. Winning the World Cup in India would be ultimate. I prayed and hoped for the best!



----------------------------------------
2007 to 2011

Sachin’s love for the game and probably the criticisms he faced, motivated him to perform his best in recent past.3 of his top 4 scores(163,175,200) came in this period, many match winning efforts, and the motivation and techniques he gave to his fellow team mates, these all showed why Sachin is still required for Indian cricket.I used to be more proud being a Sachin fan, be cause he never disappoints.

World cup 2011 was on its way, very close.100 days to go, 'Times of India' had a full page ad, '1 Billion Dreams, 1 Wish'. Yes, the whole ofIndia had the same wish.We all knew that our bowling was not upto the mark. our fielding were pathetic at times. But we also knew that if each one took best of their efforts, we could still win.


I thought only about the positives. Even the thought of not winning the World Cup was scary. For a man who has been giving his blood and sweat for Indian cricket, not winning the World cup would leave something blank in his career. It's not that we have to win this Cup for Sachin. We have to win it for India. That is the best gift India can offer to Sachin.

Though all these dreams of winning the cup were alive, a slight fear was also developing within me. Can life be a full circle?Past proves not so. This man has achieved almost everything in Cricket. What will he be known as?
'A great cricketer to have achieved everything in cricket...except the World Cup...'That very thought was too un-thinkable. Fairy tale endings, or perfect finishes seldom happen in life.
---------------------------------------
2011 World Cup

But in a cricket frenzy nation, billions of people praying for the same cause for years together, I guess Gods too did not have any other option.

The scary feeling of India not winning would peep up every now and then, when India played patchy in initial rounds, yet the confidence of winning was also full fledged.

On the day of India- Australia match, one of my colleagues asked me,’Who will win?’, to which I repled, ‘INDIA’.
‘How come you are so sure?’,he asked
‘We are the Champions this time. We are bound to WIN!!’.was my reply.

April 2 2011
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Fans hoping for ton of tons for Sachin, were disappointed not seeing this, but that actually was the fairy tail end here. A gift is not something that you earn. Its something others earn for you. The Indian team gifted Sachin his first World Cup win, his dream which he had been chasing for long, long enough that some of his team mates were not even born, when he had begun this journey! The journey which each Indian has closely followed, cheered and criticized..
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Yes. Today I understand that my dream has come true..I have been living a dream and this joy has no bounds..I feel proud for having believed, cheered and supported our team.No vocabulary would help me to overcome my inability in expressing my happiness. Today, I feel a part of this team..I feel like a Champion, A true Indian Champion!

The day I saw GOD

March 06, 2011

The wait for this day seemed to be too long.
I dreamt of being at the stadium, watching the match.This was going to be my first experience, watching a match in Stadium.On March 5, I did not feel like sleeping.I wanted the next day to come fast.
Contrary to a normal sound sleep, this day I was waking up almost each hour and looking the time on my mobile,but it was not morning yet.
I was very excited, and all set for the match, with India team jersey, binocular, Chart papers and marker pens.

Finally the time had arrived for us to go to the stadium.There were 6 of us, and our agenda was not only to enjoy the match, but also to somehow get into so me TV channel or live broadcast of the match.

We got our faces painted in Indian tricolour, bought couple of Indian flags and gave our expert opinion to News9 Channel, before standing in the queue to enter the stadium.

On entering the stadium, beside the security, there was one person busily monitoring the security personnels.His face was well recognizable, From very close to me, less than 2 meters I saw a cricketer live for the first time.Venkatesh Prasad.

We entered the main gate and the official sponsors greeted us with their '4', '6', logos, masks and inflatable bats.We took all those and walked over to the staircase which led to the gallery.
I walked and completed the stairs and saw the door, slowly enterd and stood for some seconds awestruck.The green ground, it was not like what i dreamt.It was real, it was refreshing, energizing.
I remembered someone telling me in the past that players will be visible only as ants and watching the match in TV is much better.On merely seeing the ground, I felt that may perhaps turn out to be an incorrect statement.
We settled ourselves, and started taking some snaps and writing banners.Around 12 noon, couple of players from Ireland team came for practice and the crowd cheered on the sight of the players, but the biggest cheers were awaiting for the Indian team.
Around 1.15 PM Indian players entered the ground and the crowd started erupting.Each of the players and officials entered, and finally the the sound levels reached the maximum of what had come until then.Yes, Sachin has entered the ground.Everyone rejoiced, shouted, clapped, and cheered for the whole team.Ireland team might have got a fair idea on what they are going to experience from the crowd, during the match.I stared at Sachin.The first time I am seeing the great man.
Indian team practiced for some time, without much effort and soon enough started taking rest.The Ireland team was still rigourously undergoing their warm up session.Looked like Indians got warmed up in just 5 minutes.

Dhoni, after winning the toss and deciding to bowl, came back to the ground with the whole team for the national anthem.Ofcourse the Ireland team too.

The Ireland national anthem was sung first and the whole stadium stood up.I felt we had a very well behaved crowd in the stadium, as all of them(at sight) stood up silently for the anthem.
Then, it was time for the Indian national anthem.The anthem started, and I and my neighbours sang along aloud.In the course of the anthem, more people joined.Around 35,000 people unanimously sang aloud 'Jaya he..Jaya he...Jaya he....Jaya jaya jaya jaya he....' to the end of the anthem, and the experience one of the most patriotic moments.I was experiencing such a huge crowd singing the national anthem together, for the first time. Amazing!
The match started, and to my disappointment, Sachin was standing in the boundary which is opposite to where we were seated.

This is the day, I got to know a very big fact.Though we know that Sachin has the highest fan following in India, you will get to know the real intensity of the fan following only if you go to the stadium.
The crowd was cheering for whatever Sachin did.
He was standing in the boundary and whenever the ball came to him, the stadium filled with roars.Especially on the sight of his face when he turned back to get back to the boundary line after fielding.The crowd actually cheered for virtually any move that Sachin did.
I can’t imagine what would be going through Sachin’s mind.Whatever he does, the crowd applauds!
Another instance is when he came to field in the boundary adjescent to us.Seeing this, we started chating ‘SACHIN..SACHIN.clap clap clap….SACHIN SACHIN clap clap clap’(in tune)more people joined and the whole stadium started to chant ‘SACHIN..SACHIN’.The funny thing is that, in the match, someone was bowling , someone was batting, someone was fielding.Sachin was merely standing at that instant and he was getting cheered!!!
Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly also got huge cheers, when Dravid entered the ground for some sponsored event, and Saourav was shown on the screen performing the role of a commentator.

Another interesting and mind blowing incident was the Mexican Wave. The maxican wave wave slashed many times in the course of the match.A funny incident occurred during ‘Mexican wave generation’. A group to the right of me started a mexican wave and we carried in on, but somewhere to the left side of us, the continuity was broken.This same scenario happened couple of times.After some time, some other group to the left of us started a wave.But it was broken as soon as the wave passed the point where the earlier waves were broken.A group of people’s thinking was similar to a single persons ego.’If you cannot carry on the wave which came from my side, I wont continue the wave which came from your side’ kind of attitude.All the people in the stadium understood this too, and was laughing with their groups and at themselves.Another successful wave was generated when the first group, which was on the right of us, took an intelligent decision by starting another wave ,this time, the direction of the wave was opposite to the earlier ones.The wave completed 3 successful rounds and the crowd applauded for its grand success!

The biggest cheer of the day came when Sachin came to bat. I feel even if a bomb exploded at that time, its sound would not have been be heard.Each of his runs were cheered.Really felt how great the man is with consistent expectations to perform in a stadium which is full of noise, where any other sound cannot be heard.

We too, contributed to the noise and held huge banners in our hands, 6 of us, each holding the letters S-A-C-H-I-N and a full form which read ‘Solid Achiever & Charismatic Hero Inspiring a Nation’.Though any television channels did not capture us, we felt good that people around us were capturing it in their mobile cameras, and also told us to hold the banners high in order to catch attention of the TV cameraman.

The biggest silence of the day was also related to Sachin.When Sachin got dismissed on 38. :(

The crowd never really shouted since then, until Yusuf Pathan arrived and hit those sixes.

India won the match and it really was an awesome experience.Contrary to what someone had told, the experience in stadium was worth experiencing.The cheers, the claps, the mexican waves, the flags, banners, etc etc.

Back to home, some emptiness filled in me.The shouts had stopped and it was kind of I suddenlty turned deaf!
I reached home and I felt like I was hearing some shoutings but it was only a mirage for the ears.A vaccum had formed, I really longed to go to the stadium to see the rest of the matches.

Epilogue:
The day I saw God:

In the stadium, I saw Sachin being applauded for every single move .That sight and experience would have really prompted anyone to believe that Sachin was nothing short of God.

But hey, I never saw Sachin as God.He is a mere mortal, or else many games which India played would have had different results. Past had shown me that he is not God.


With these 2 contradictory experiences, God really showed me the difference between God and human. And yes, Sachin is a human, a great human.

God was in the stadium to show me how great a human Sachin is. The commitment with which he fielded all day long in the sun, the concentration which he showed in the midst of such an uproar, the way he asked his fans in the stands above the sight screen to be seated when he was batting, or the forty thousand cheers for him throughout the match. I saw God’s smile each time the greatness of sachin was proved. I saw the smile of God when God saw that I still couldn’t understand the greatness of Sachin, the way Sachin is being followed….
March 06 2011
This is the day that I saw GOD!



End Credits

Special thanks to Mathrubhumi newspaper for showing me, Chechi and Mukesh in their sports page.
Hearty condolences to Fino, Dilse and Yethin for not appearing in Mathrubhumi. ;)