Mission Kashmir

Helmet..Check
First Aid Kit..Check
Gum Boots..Check
Enfield..Check
Jacket..Check
Sun screen..Check

It was just a week back that I decided to join the band wagon along with my brother and his 5 friends to make a trip up north to Ladhak, Leh.

Though initially, a decision which was made just to escape from my daily routine of my ever sickening life in Chennai, now just 24 hrs away from making that journey, I'm as excited as ever.

I felt I was getting myself into something special the moment dad called me up and asked me not to go warning its too risky and too dangerous. Then I called up bro and gathered more info about the trip.

It will start from Delhi on friday the 19th. From there after 5 days of strenuous journey via chandigarh, Manali, we should be reaching Leh by 23rd. Thousand snaps, lots of tired legs and 10 days later, I will be boarding the train back to chennai on the 3rd of July. This is of course if things go according to plan.

So once my ever kindful onsite leads granted me 2 whole weeks leave, my trip was a reality. So as expected there were morons in office who were going gung ho about whether I would be capable of riding an Enfield, how I might not even return to tell the tale. Then there were the others who were so excited for me at the trip, some who badly wanted to do the trip themselves and of course my Manager who showed the courtesy of handing me over his Camcord so as to take some Videos of the trips.

If indeed I survive throught the ordeal(against the hopes and scrims of some of ma colleagues), I will be back here again to tell my story of hopefully what would be an exciting, beautiful and daring Journey.

So Al qaeda and the rest..run as far as you can as one Mr. Unni would be in town soon.

Me off to packing then(now where did I keep those AK47's..hmmm...)

Signing off..
Unsz..

25 Things about Myself

Even in my wildest fantasies, I wouldn't have dreamt that there would be people who would be peaping into my blogs hoping to see another of my blog entries. Well I was wrong and when this so called people happened to be one of my better friends, I was shocked to say the least.I dedicate this blog entry to this friend of mine, who I realized yesterday only is my biggest fan as well. This friend or fan whichever way one may call, Incidentally called me up around midnight yesterday with one simple Innocent request – “Can you please come with another blog. I'm dying to read it.. Please..”It was not the fact that, this friend of mine was making this call from Abudhabi which took me by surprise, rather it was real desperation in his voice which made me realise the gravity of the situation. Since he has provided me with topic - 25 things about me - as well - Let me straight away get to work.

1. Number one has to be my looks. Na, am not talking about my hot looks yet(will put that aside for later In case I run out of points), rather its my childish appearance which I'm talking about. 23 and counting and I still hardly look 18. I guess Bryan Adams had me in his mind when he sang "18 till I die".

2. Talking about singing, I'm one hell of a singer. Just that it’s the friends around me who are going through hell. Though blessed with the looks, I have not been so fortunate with my vocal chords. Like my friends say "parayil cheratta orakkunna shabdham".

3. shur is ma home town. Place where I was born and brought up. Did my schooling from Bhavans Vidya Mandir 3shur and Graduation (if you can call that one!!) from Govt. Engineering College, 3shur. All my fond memories are connected to this place. One which I will forever call my Home.

4. Home reminds me of food and Don't I miss my mom's special Home made delicacies(Dosa with Honey, Curd rice with chammanthi podi and ulli papadam to name a few) packed ,parcelled and delivered to my mouth, while I sit and relax watching TV in the comfort of my arm chair on yet another Typical sunday afternoon.

5. Of course!! What is Super Sunday without "Geeerrrraaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrddddd Ohhh you little Beauty!! What a hit son..What a hit". Couple of hrs every week which I would die for - to see Liverpool taking on rest of the premiership in search of that crown which have eluded us for the past 19 yrs. But no matter Win or Lose, I hold my head high as we sing along with tune of "You Will Never Walk Alone".

6. Every day, how much time do you spend walking??? Say at least 2hrs every day and god forgiving, you live to the age of 60(on the contrary, the chances of you living till the age of 60 is pretty bleak if you don't bother walking atleast 2hrs a day) So that means you spend atleast 60*365*2*60 plus or minus 5*365*2*60 minutes of your life wasting by walking. Coz of this specific reason, I would be the last person you would see walking slowly. So any gals who have ambitions of dating me one day, get ready to cut the talk and walk the walk.

7. Ambition - I don't have a bloody clue what I wanna do with this life of mine. Tech zombie, Market Analyst, Business Consultant, Management guru, ESPN STAR presenter, Journalist - I just dono.

8. But then, way back I had figured out that a course in management wont certainly hinder my chances in excelling in any of the above fields. But 3 yrs and 3 CATS later, I'm still back on square one- with IIM's still a distant dream. But then I aint giving up on it yet.

9. As a Kid, I dreamt of playing for India. Opening the Innings with one Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was right up there on the top in my wish list. Though I didn't reach those dizzy heights, I still remember opening the Innings with a little lesser talented but as highly spirited, one Mr. Arun Parthasarathy during my Thrissur District Under-14 stints.

10. I'm a pure Vegie. Till date I haven’t swallowed anything which runs, which flies or something which bloody lived.

11 I’m also a Non smoker and Non Alcoholic. (Looks like this is turning out to be a matrimonial ad). Ok then, I will throw in the spoiler - I do drink rarely when I'm with my friends and especially if it’s being served free.

12. Which brings us directly to point No.12, the Miser I'm. Over the years, in school, college and now in my company, I have earned a huge reputation for my stinginess. My friends will certainly vouch for this. So in these times of Recession, if there is any company out there looking for a cost cutting expert. Look no further, just dial 919962001897 and I will be at your service.

13. was my age when I proposed a gal for the first time. The first time I set my eyes on her, I knew I was in love. Days later, I walked up to her, bent down and stood on my knees and raised a ring towards her and said "will you marry me". She Accepted. But months later, her father got transferred to Australia. As ISD Calls were pretty expensive back then, we lost touch forever.Neetuuuu...are you reading this?? where are you??

14. Ok fine, I was just kidding, in case you believed all those crap. I was struggling with point No.13 big time, so this was the least I could come up with. So excuse me. Anyways, I have never been good at making up stories. Whenever I have tried my hand at lying with my peers, I have always come out red faced. So these days, I always practice the great moral value – Honesty.

15. As long as I can remember, I have been plagued down by a severe bout of a rare Medical condition called Redicious onyour Facio, Irritate me, Anger me or just stare at me for a few minutes and witness this spectacle of my white face turning beetrut red in a matter of few seconds. Maybe I was bitten by a Chameleon when I was a kid. Maybe I should be called The Chameleon Man. Maybe I …never mind. Leave it.

16. Books. I love books. Though not a voracious reader by any means, being in a library surrounded by books certainly gives me an orgasm. I would feel like buying the whole library and gulping down all the books there. The artistry of the writers, the magic of their words never ceases to amaze me - its a great art Indeed. But I don't think I have never given enough time to this love of mine.

17. Gone are the times when I used to watch STHREE(A 700 episode Mega Serial in Asianet whose title song goes somewhat like this - Sthree janmam punya Janmam) with my mom and grand mom. These days, it’s Dr. House which is keeping me busy. The Impact of this English serial on me has been so profound that, I'm seriously considering taking up a career in MBBS. Though both serials are beyond compare, I guess given a choice, I would still rather prefer the former for the latter any day of my life if it comes with the added bonus of watching it on my mom's lap.

18. Heard of anyone crying after watching Munna bhai MBBS?? Well I did for one. I'm one of the most sensitive guys you will ever come across. I get emotionally charged up for even the most trivial of matters. I'm very very poor in fighting back tears as well. So don’t get surprised if you see me with watery eyes.

19. This Exercise is really starting to get on to my nerves now. For a humble person like me - who has never boasted, rather who has been in the receiving end of all the praises - this gotcha be the ultimate challenge. To make up 25 things about oneself. On the brighter side, this friend of mine didn’t tag me to write 50 things about myself.

20. Speaking about Boasting, I can’t resist taking a dig at the self Proclaimed Numero Uno – Shah Rukh Khan. Can’t the Directors remind him to take paracetamol or dolo to cut down on his shivering before he shoots for a scene. His acting or over acting rather, is abysmal to say the least. My worst nightmare would be taking my wife for a movie only to see her crying out in jubilation “Oh Shahrukhan” as the protagonist’s runs in slow motion around a football, rugby or god knows, even a mine field chased around by Karan Johar and his crew. Phew.

21. I have Multiple personality. Some days you will find me Jovial and funny, while on others you will find me grumpy and irritating. One sec, I will be full of confidence and ready to take on the world while in the next, I will be suffering from an attack of inferiority complex virus. Sometimes I’m smart, sometimes stupid. Sometimes aggressive, sometimes too lousy. I’m still in the process of self discovery.

22. But one thing which I have self discovered very well is my inability to be punctual. Dono why, but I just hate to be early. I always wanna be just on time. But this is something which I’m really working on to get out of my system.

23. However two things which I was trying to get back into my system around 10 yrs back where my front teeth set. It was that protruded. 10k and a yr of pain later, gals were back hunting me down. (Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you in point No.1)

24. 24,09,000 which is the amount of minutes you would be wasting walking in your life(Solution obtained from Point no.6). I love numbers. I love maths. It doesn’t pose any complexities like chemistry or physics. One can handle a Maths problem like life. Daunting yet simple. Look at the various clues presented before you. Try to find a connection between them and finally arrive at a solution.

25. You tell me..

My Story so far...

With my 23rd birthday on the horizon, I thought I will take a walk through the memory lane and etch down everything I can remember of my 22 yrs of Life so far..

I made my entry into the World Stage on a cold, silent morning of 3rd Feb way back in 1986 and if it hadn’t been for some smart thinking from the part of my grand mom, I would not have lived to tell the tale.

Since I was born very fragile and underweight, I was placed under observation in an incubator. So sometime during the night of the 3rd day, my grand mom fell thirsty and decided to have a glass of water. But on the way back to her bed, she couldn’t resist the temptation of stealing a look at her second grand son. Instead of seeing him deep in slumber, she found the young chap all stiff, purple faced and not breathing. Rather than remaining shocked by the sight, she showed the presence of mind to quickly take me from the incubator and place me in the bare cool floor. The sudden change in temperature injected life into this new born and gave him a new lease of Life. The doctors were called upon soon enough and I was diagnosed with Jaundice. I had to live through another 4 to 5 days in the incubator, only to be taken out to expose my body in sun’s radiation once in a while. I survived through the trauma.

1986 – 1989
I have absolutely no recollection of this part of my life. So all the contents which I can mention here will be contributed by either my dad, mom or grand mom.

Unlike what the general assumption would be of all those who know me, my Mom says I was a very nice boy back then, rather it was my generally well disciplined and always goody bro who was the naughty one . She says it’s only as I have grown older that I have become more mischievous.

I was also under the care of my Grand mom for a month during the time when my dad, mom and bro left for Kashmir leaving the poor little me all alone. She recollects that I was so thin and fragile back then that she was even scared to brush my body with water fearing I might break my bones.

1990 – 1991
My memory of this part of ma life is vague and futile.

But I do remember the day when my dad and Mom felt - enough of this bugger – and forced me into Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Town School. I was thrown out into a class consisting of several other Chotas like me who knew nothing other than to cry and call out ammmmaaaa. That day I clung on to my mom pleading to her not to leave me alone. I cried out loud "ammma pokalle ammaaa". I just wonder if the song Meri Maaa was being played somewhere in the background that day.

I also learnt a harsh lesson during that time – Never make fun of people who are taller and stronger than you, especially if they have long finger nails. Even back then, I was in the habit of making fun of my friends and in this particular occasion, one of my 1st friends – Ashwin took the matters personally and decided to scratch his way out of this particular mess which was me. But the scars of that day have vanished long back, so has the grudge. He is one of the nicest guys I know and still one of my better friends.

--> To be continued