Award Time

It is award time again… I got a gold award under “Excellence in Customer Delivery” for 2010 :)

21st of December

Bell rings and is followed by a blinding flash of light… It is the early morning of 21st of December. I was anxious to open my eyes. What if the ancient wisdom is true? Is Hollywood right after all? If I open my eyes can I see the pearly gates and angels to welcome me into heaven? Do I deserve heaven in the first place? Am I getting off for all the sins? What about the cold-blooded murder of a small chick by first painting it green and blue, washing it later with cold water, and neatly wrapping it up in a heavy blanket? What about beating our pet dog with broom as he refused to shut up while I was reading comics? All those “I’m sick” lies at office or stealing peach and plums from neighbor’s garden…? God doesn’t seem to have kept His accounts properly. If this is indeed heaven, to which God does this one belong to? Why is it cold here? Is this the icy mountains of Mount Kailash or the milky ocean of Vaikuntam or abode of One God amidst of fluffy, silvery clouds? What really happens in heaven? Will angels sing His praise always? I can do that but not forever. Is it just music, dance, and food forever? Won’t people get bored of nothing but good stuff at some point? What kind of work people do here? Will He create again and send me back? I made a quick prayer – “Dear God, I love earth. I don’t belong in Heaven. Please send me back…” It was as though my prayer was answered… I felt warm hands, grasping and stretching my foot that I had curled up into fetal position. I reluctantly opened my eyes to him - standing tall, pulling me towards him with a huge grin plastered across his face from ear to ear. I heard him saying “Baby… you seem lost today morning… Why have you set the alarm? It is the first day of our vacation… I made you coffee and toast. It is a beautiful day… Shall we go out for a walk?” His tight embrace brought me back to the world. Our world is far better than holy heaven.

2011 Summary

2011 is a truly wonderful year to me – new home, new friends, got published, certification, and to top it all first international vacation. Hope and pray that 2012 should bring me everything I wished to my hands – the best year yet… Wishing you all a fabulous 2012… :)

The Amateur

She thinks she can write among her other skills and talents. She tends to write with a strange tone for her fictional highbrow literary readers. She is hungry for details in any situation. Her words flounce with her recordings of mysterious colors, cryptic scents, unknown resonances, peculiar flavors, and miniscule feelings. Her curiosity made her wander in wide range of topics. She has all the necessary vanity for a writer but not the insight. She starts to write something without knowing her plot. She desperately wants to reach a culmination point but not sure where her pencil is taking her.

Duty Calls

His corner office overlooked city and traffic. He took his eyes from his laptop, scanned the horizon. Months had flurried across that winter had painted a few patches of natural colors grey. He had wound himself into a cocoon, moving away from her, working on a business deal. Yesterday, he looked up while sorting slides for his presentation, whiffing her scent. She returned from gym, her angelic face hot and shiny, sporting a smile. Nothing in his world could be more perfect. He wanted to make up for their lost time. He passed a multi-million dollar deal to his colleague.

Bon Voyage

I stitched after a long time… nearly after 3 years… :)

Big Banyan Tree

I’ve talked about this for years… when we did go, it was mind-numbingly unplanned. When we left home with our chauffeur, we had no clue on the destination. I was thinking it must be one our usual exploits like Lalbagh. Thamba surprised me by picking “Nandi Hills”. We drove north discussing other places and turned west settling for “Big Banyan Tree”. Mysore road had one of its worse traffic jams. It was a welcoming change to get out of the city. At least four people asked us “go straight for three kilometers” after taking a right near Rajarajeshwari Dental College. It was about seven kilometers from Mysore road. Finally, we got there…


400 year old banyan (Ficus Benghalensis) tree is set in the backdrop of mighty monolithic hill – Savandurga. This tree is supposed to be the fourth largest in India after the ones in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, and Chennai. I’ve not seen the one in Chennai in spite of living very close to it :( This big banyan tree currently has more than 1000 aerial / prop roots and supposed to expand by a few feet every year. The green canopy spans across three acres. The main trunk is dying of some disease, hosts a Siva temple underneath. It hurts to note that most branch and trunk of this beautifully gnarled tree has been etched with graffiti by vandals. Horticultural department took the tree under their care to protect and conserve its roots.

I wished to go further to Machanabele dam and Savandurga… without lunch, we had to return after carefully picking up snacks like tender coconut and peanuts… Anyway… happy to meet the old giant at last :)

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipse through my eyes… Sorry for the bad photographs…

Lalitha Ma’am

How can the year end without a whirlwind pilgrimage tour? Madurai – Pillayarpatti – Rameshwaram… I’m trying to forget the horrors of bathing in so-called scared waters (“punniya theertham”) or the food poisoning that made take frequent trips to the bathroom and confined to bed for two days. The best of this trip is meeting Lalitha ma’am, my high school biology teacher. I was surprised when a lady grabbed my arms and asked “Mercy, do you remember me?” I struggled hard to place her… Thamba knew her instantly. I was truly touched – she could remember my name and face after all these years and out of numerous students who would have walked in and out of her classroom… Not every teacher will help to shape our future… Some will leave long last impression that would stay for lives. Lalitha ma’am is one of those kinds. She is a tough bird with impeccable standards. I remember this particular incident… Amma drew an impressionist work of Nepenthes in my Botany record notebook. I do not remember what I did to annoy her later that she refused to draw human brain for Zoology record. I wanted the brain to excel the beauty of nepenthes. Hence I decided to trace the picture from book. The result - brain appeared as a minuscule version in my big record notebook. I submitted my work proudly. When she picked up mine, she called me to her table with a cold stare and asked me “what is this?” I replied innocently, “brain!” She retorted in front of all my classmates “yours?” and showed it to the class roaring with laughter. Well… my notebook was thrown out in an elegant projectile motion. That’s when I decided without any trace of doubt “Computer Science is my future” :) On a serious note, I owe a lot to her… She strived for perfection in every single thing. I’m still trying to live up to her standards…

Exact Same Feeling