Writing practice

Today, we are all techno savvy. A child of three can use a camera phone. By five, they can focus, defocus, apply filters and create a wedding photoshoot. And you can see the evidence. At the next wedding, you will see that amidst the few, professional photographers is a bevy of people young and old - but watch out for the youngest. The fact that we consider ourselves techno savvy in using a device that is designed to be easy to use for the lowest common denominator tells us a lot about ourself on how low the human race has plunged. Not for a moment do I say that the child is unintelligent, but that the child (or all of us) are capable of way beyond using a mere tool in our hands that actually requires very little real skill. We live on planet earth. The sun rises and sets each day. As does the moon. But look up and you will see so much more in the night sky. You will see more in the day sky - but I will let that pass for now. The night sky has stars, planets, constellations and ot...

Brown. This shoe was my last big purchase on a corporate salary. Cost me 10k. As I purchased the shoe, I thought, should I be buying it, considering I am stepping into a role from scratch soon? The salesman won over the budget in the end - with all the features and benefits he listed. And so brown came home. Brown was my companion as I navigated through the corporate carpeted corridors. Brown was with me while there were designated cabs waited me at the airport. And then the transition happened. Brown was with me on my first client meeting - waiting on the dusty roads -for the bus to take me home. Brown was with me as I shivered in my first ever presentation to an alien audience. At the night of the first presentation where I felt I had flubbed badly, and the night meeting on how to salvage the situation - it wasnt that bad, but brown was there. And the next morning when we performed and came out with flying colours.  Brown was with me in many of those meetings that neve...

I was in the suburban train. He came and sat diagonally opposite to me and smiled a wan smile. He took off his slipper and with some effort, he lifted his leg and kept his leg on the opposite seat (my side). I took a glance and looked away - it looked swollen. Without any prompt he showed how his foot was swollen and began to say something. Though I was a bit unsure on why he wanted to say, I proceeded to show interest and listened. He began to say something - in the noise of the train, I did not quite hear what he said except that he pointed at his feet and showed... Do you understand Marathi he asked. I nodded. He said he was working as a security guard and standing for 12 hours has made the foot swollen. I asked him, if it pained? He said, a bit. And is it curable? I asked him He said, yes. I have shown a doctor and he charged me 800 rupees for medicine. So, it will get cured. Thats all we spoke. The train reached the next station - it was flooded with passenger...

Typically, Goa is known for the beaches and the surrounding ecosystem - the shacks, the parties and the resorts. Though I had come to Goa in 1987 by the Konkan Sewak  - stomach curdling ship ride of 24 hours - now discontinued. That trip was concentrated around Panaji and the associated beaches and I think we were somehow allowed to get our feet wet. I remember buying many fish soap (which hung on the washbasin for a long long time) and we gifted to all our relatives as a symbol of our Goa visit. I also vaguely remember cashew nuts and Shantadurga and Mangeshi and a day trip by bus.  Since then all Goa trips were about the beaches and around the beaches.  But there is a hidden side of Goa…And though our wildlife enthusiast friends have often advised us to go to the 3 wildlife sanctuaries in Goa, it has never happened. And through a series of coincidences I found myself at Thane Dongurli for the monsoon trek of 4 days. Organized by YHAI, this is a once a year tre...

The first time I used maps was on Yahoo maps to navigate from to place to place in the US. Remember this was the pre mobile era... But I was astonished that it could work with clockwork precision... While we were taught to read the US Atlas ( I forget the name) by our manager... We kept it as a back up mostly. I remember people saying how it will never work in India.. But cut to now and maps... Google maps works very well in India... I am not great with directions. Especially indoors in buildings..I routinely lose my way. And once I step out from a building first few times, you can be sure that whatever direction I take will only be the wrong one... When we are about to visit a new place, I spend sometime looking at maps and relative locations and create an imagination of it in my head. I don't create it.It happens. And then when we get there, it looks different. Every single time. And the new image wipes out the old visualisation in my head.It cannot be unseen.There...

Orange waala orange..I remember the fruit seller shouting this outside my house.   It'smy favourite fruit. I loved Delite biscuits, Gold Spot, orange cream biscuits, the orange crescent shaped candy... Anything in orange... Later on it was the orange burfi from Nagpur. Much later I realised that these are all flavours. The real fruit though remains a favourite. Easy to peel and eat - the trick is to eat everything including the fibre and the seeds and let your digestive system do the rest... We love winters... For oranges. First up is the Nagpur variety... The bulbous sweet ones... Then it's the Ooty variety. Eat it just like that or eat it the way they give it on Mumbai local trains... With some salt and chilli powder... Each bite succulent...a mouthful of orange in every bite. When we peel oranges, we offer a segment (carpel says Google) to each other to see which is the best.   For some reason I used to squeeze an orange peel near my eyes to make it w...

Every day the alarm is set to ring at 530. The alarm rings, as all good alarms should. And once the alarm rings, the crony snooze swings into action. Alarm and snooze. One cannot exist without the other.  And in my house, alarm comes with atleast 10 snoozes. I wonder what she would do without the infernal snooze button. I would have used the snooze button maybe twice in my lifetime - I am usually up before any alarm and I give rest to the alarm by turning it off before it rings. She uses the snooze button like the manufacturer would be proud of. Yes, she is the perfect customer for snooze buttons.  Snooze. Sleep (yes, real sleep, deep sleep, slumber). And then wake up and exactly, correctly, precisely becomes awake enough to press the snooze button (yes, on occasion, the alarm button has taken its place and fooled her, but she is Sherlock when it comes to this) and then sleep again. This is her pattern...  And me on the other hand? I am awake. Fully awake, ...

I met Viral the other day while trekking. He caught up with me as I walking on the main road barefoot - my floater and my foot were not getting along well. I wanted to reach the base camp fast and he came up near me and started walking and talking. Since he was walking at my speed, I did not mind. Viral is a 20 year old and as he walked he told me his story. Viral is engaged to Neelam - also 20 years old. Like any good Gujarati - they get married young. But thats not the story.  Viral is no great looker. He does not have a great body. He is just your boy next door - studying homeopathy - aspiring to become a doctor and setting up his own practice. He is an active kid - plays football, cycles and often does treks. Viral said, Neelam loves to trek, play tennis and stay active. She also, hold your breath, loves snakes.  He said, they know each other since they were 5 years old, studied together, played together and fell in love - proposed, spoke to their parents ...

Songs are my time machine. They take me back in time. When I listen to a song, I go back to those days.  It was the summer of the third standard.  1983. My youngest uncle (Ganesh mama) had come visiting from Kerala. My middle uncle (mohan mama) had also landed in our house after his assignment in the middle east. The house smelt of wrigleys chewing gum, tiget balm and axe oil. Ganesh mama kept playing a small sony tape recorder (we still have that thing). Mohan mama had bought a bunch of cassettes of Malayalam hits from the Gulf. And he kept playing from the time appa went to office till the time he came back (they were a little scared of appa i think or maybe out of respect). Those songs. It stuck in my mind. Every. single. one. of. them. To. This. day. they are stuck in my head. Alliyambal. Ganam. A few Ayappa songs. All the blockbuster hits of the season. Even today, if I hear them, i know those songs and I go back to third standard. Summer. The sun in my face...

Very no(i)sy The scent of jasmines and silk in a wedding The aroma of fresh filter coffee As you walk into the house, by the smell, you guess what is being cooked The familiar scent at a familiar home The sweet notes in a forest The warm smell of burning wood (in kitchens of olden days) The scent of a burning candle The pious notes of incense The mellifluous notes of rose water and sandalwood The fresh smell of a book The notes of an old book The tingling perfume of someone you love The un-describable smell you recognize while snuggling into your own bed The cold smell of a railway berth The sweet smell of roadside tea The smell that says home The wafting aromas of a wayside eatery The stealing notes of someone elses food nearby you... The smell of newly unpacked electronics The fragrance of a fresh bath The familiar of an old cat/dog The smell of luggage opened The aroma of cinnamon (mostly abroad) The scents from a perfume stand T...

I love mornings. Mornings are the best of the time wherever you are. If at home, it is the time when you are fresh and people around you are still asleep. If you are travelling in a bus, you can see the empty roads, people asleep while you can look outside. In you are on the beach - it is typically the emptiest at this time - with a great breeze, the birds going about their business, the fisherfolk readying for a day. If you are in the mountains, it is a fresh breeze, a calm, birds and a mild sunlight... Mornings are underappreciated I feel. Thanks for the propensity of the night owls around us. When you go for a morning walk or job or workout, you get your free dose of endorphins. Why miss out? I believe my best work happens in the morning. The mind is clearer, there are less distractions, less noise and you can cut through clutter. My experience is that I can cut through things in half the time, get breakthrough ideas - all in the morning. It is an experience from my studyi...

Gaurav had come home.  The year was 1997. VSNL was giving student internet accounts. After filling a few forms, getting them rubber stamped in triplicate, a train and a bus journey and a walk later, I reached the hallowed precincts of VSNL somewhere in Dadar to get an internet account. There was a counter - Student account - and a surprisingly friendly person at the counter.  And a few days, an envelope in the mail announced that we were indeed eligble for a student account with the heavenly mail id of something@giasbm01.vsnl.co.in. And thats why Gaurav was here. To help us get to the internet. Gaurav was the geek in my brothers class - who could make any gadget do anything, my brother claimed. And he got his own modem, you know, just in case our modem did not work and had a few screwdrivers handy as well. We watched from the side as Gaurav typed on the keyboard with the rapidity of a rat scurrying away from the neighbourhood cat into a black and white screen (which ...

I remember having names for the water fell. If the water from the tap fell in agitated manner it had a name (that of a grand uncle I was scared of), if the water fell in a calm manner it had a different name (that of a cousin I liked). I had my own words for certain things - which I did not had a name. For instance - the smaller of the windows on the rear of a bus had a name. The heel of a shoe had a name.  I could see peoples faces for vehicles. For instance, a long distance train looked like a person with droopy eyelids (it resembled an old lady in our building). The front windows of the top deck of a double deck looked like someone else (I forget who). I used to win caption contests (not a lot). I could think out of the box when it came to solving some small problem (most often the solution was useless or impractical or both).  I would make tons of things on paper, using old train card tickets, papier mache... I thought i was zero in creativity. Negati...

It's the rains in Mumbai, clouds are peeking from the sky Bikes are waterproofed People are umbrellaed Feet are plasticshoed Autos are flying plastic caped Skies are clouded Roads are potholed Paths are flooded Traffic is soaked Trees are wringingwet Tracks are drowned Thirst is quenched Kids are drenched The city looks beautiful however…rainswept, a mix of reflection and road a prism of humanity, seen through the rainbow of this is million year old miracle, The Monsoon

It was one of those lazy afternoons. Third semester of engineering. I was sleeping. Suddenly amma woke me up. Meet Neeraj she said. I washed my face and made my way to the front of our 1BHK. Who was Neeraj? Why did she want me to meet him? Why did she wake me up? Groggily I sat in front of him.  Neeraj was a smartly dressed guy, doing door to door surveys. He had of course smooth talked amma into taking some 45 minute survey. Turned out Amma took the survey and then asked him who are you. He said I am a college student doing surveys during my vacation (and earning money). Amma had an evil glint in her eyes I presume. She told him, there is a student here also. Wait.  Thus I sat face to face with Neeraj. I don't recollect much of the conversation after that but the next day I was in a bus to meet this company. They recruited me right away and the day after that I found myself armed with forms walking door to door conducting a survey in various localities of Mu...

Pune. Ever the transit city. For years, we knew Poona as the place where the train stopped for a long time. Where the locomotive changed from Electric to Diesel on the way to Kerala and Diesel to Electric on the return journey. It was the big station that came after the ride up the Bhor Ghats.  On the way to Kerala, it meant a change of weather of the dusty plains till we reached. On the way back, it meant, last leg of journey to home.  Poona was just a station for us. Never a city. A place for Vada pav. A place to saunter on the platform. And Poona had their own local trains - that looked exactly like Mumbai.  But thats all it had. A transit city. A station. There were people we knew who went to Poona, but never us - I wonder why. Too close to go on a vacation. Too far for a day trip.  I finally went to Pune as part of my second job and I remember seeing Pune station from outside and being quite surprised...It incidentally became the first city ou...

She lived right across. Their paths crossed often. He was the most well known in the area. An alpha male. How would she approach him? After all, she was not that good looking. Sure, her features were good, she did have a dainty walk and she carried herself well. He was the most well built, strong and articulate in that part of town.  There were a few walls in between that she would have to jump in order to make contact. But she did not even know where he would be. He was busy and did have a lot of interests. She was new to this place. Having shifted just a week ago, she wasnt even familiar with the lay of the land. What would be a good time? Night or day or noon? When can I go across and introduce myself she thought? And assuming we meet, what do I tell? She did have a limited vocabulary. Though said the right way, it never failed…So, she decided to go. Slowly, she came through the door, traipsed over a wall, looked left and right before she crossed the path and she saw ...

I had to collect jewellery over the weekend. Morning when she replied to my message, I responded Willl be there in 5 minutes I messaged her.  It was early in the morning and I did not expect the lil one to be awake. I thought i would collect the jewellery, 30 seconds and go off. We reached the place. Kids said, expecting an affirmative, can we stay in the car. I said yes, 30 seconds.  I went. The grandmother opened the door. Murali said hi. Charu appeared with the lil one and handed over the jewellery. the lil one knows me. she saw me. Took a few seconds for her RAM to register. She smiled, went into her mother with shyness as all children react, did that once more. What she did after that surprised me. She leaned towards me, as if to say, carry me with so much smiles…Now, who can say no to that and why? So much excitement to see me - my god…was i in seventh heaven? So I happily took her with me, walked around a bit and came back. When Charu called - she refused...

Bhootanatha sadananda, sarva bhoota dayabhara, raksha raksha mahabhago, shastre tubhyam namo namaha dingingingingingingingin Swamiye sharanam ayyappa That meant, our trip was about to start. Every trip, appa would deeparadhana to the gods, prostrate and ask for blessings on the way. In a small way, I do it too, even today - stop for a moment, do a namaskara and leave.  Dhupp, went the door. Click went the latch.  Bloopik went the key.  One more lock to be done. Clickicik. There. Finally.  Auto... Chembur station... Teen VT…(appa had a pass) pooon pooon poooon…zzzzzz…platform number 2 ki gaadi VT ke liye slow local hain...the local train would come in to the station.. bzzzz, it would start…zooooooooo the DC motor went each time the local train accelerated... In about 35 minutes we were in VT waiting for the train at platform 12 Tiditinting tidinting… the softdrink vendor went many times past us. He did not know. Appa wont bu...

From the hotel to office is a short distance. Walkable. It's a 15 minute walk. Rickshaws refused to go yesterday. The walk is not a problem. It never is. But the road is dirty and puddled. Having struggled yesterday I did not want a repeat today. I also had a suitcase with me. I checked with the hotel if they can drop me. Vehiclenotavailablesir, they told me. I walked out, a little miffed. Found a rickshaw waiting. The driver was middle aged, balding, small frame. He was reading his newspaper and folded it just as I asked him, “Wakdewadi?". I began to explain how the place is really nearby at Wakdewadi, will be drop me. He smiled a wry smile possibly thinking why is this guy offering so much explanations. I told him, well, yesterday, people refused to come…He said, sit... We went off. I have been wanting to eat Street Poha in Pune since I reached here yesterday. Hesitantly I asked him, have you had breakfast? He said no. I asked him will you have? He said, n...

Summers. I can feel the summer. Summer means our trunk box would come down from the attic. The trunk was filled with our comics. At the start of the school it went up the attic. At the start of vacation it came down. Those books, read and re-read every vacation - we knew every story in it. Yet we never tired. The new books added during the year would go into it as well. That was our summer trunk. Long relieved of its duties of carrying luggage during travel, it was now our magic box.  This trunk, incidentally travelled with my father when he made his epic journey from Kerala to Mumbai to find a job. It travelled with us until moulded plastic displaced these metal trunks.  Back to summer. Summer meant the fragrance of the Nandiyarvattai/Parijat in the building we lived in. It meant going to pluck flowers early in the morning. Hibiscus, Nandiyarvattam, Parijat - pluck and offer them to god. It meant playing all day. Summer meant cycling. Every day. Morning. Or Eve...

He galloped on his horse. A light wind blew on his face. This was his land. But why were we not rulers of our own land, he wondered. It was a thought that was playing on his mind for many years. He was 16 years old... “Aaee”, he asked, “Why is it that we dont rule our land? Why do we have others ruling over us? Why cant we rule ourselves? Arent we capable? Are we lazy?" “Beta, you are right. Our people are capable - we are the wins winning their wars, but our people are also lazy - why bother with fighting and creating a kingdom when the money is coming working for them?" "So, why are they not doing it?" “I dont know" He put the same question to Dadaji in the middle of a lesson. “Why are you teaching me all this? So that I go and serve the Sultan” he asked Dadaji smiled, he had been waiting for this question for years. “Maybe you will serve the Sultan" “No, I wont. I will set up Swaraj" “Well, then I am with  you” he to...