Vendetta

Well well well here we go yet again.

I need to break away from the shackles of a routine life whose grip is becoming stronger by the day. The only way i could think of is to start writing a blog.

For sometime I was into reading all sorts of murder mysteries and thrillers. So from what little I have read I could gather that these novels become best sellers because as a reader we can relate to the lead character of the novel. Some aspect of the character would be familiar and we instantly develop a camaraderie towards him or her. When I look at a novel there are two things that interest me (People!!!! the views expressed here are strictly my own. At no point do I want to force something upon you that you will not take. You take it or leave it Your choice. Everybody has a right to his or her opinion and I respect that fact.may be not the opinion ;)) One is Suspense element and the next is Fear element.

All of us relate to fear. Cos thats how we have been brought up. Right from a very young age. I remember my mom telling me when she was feeding me food." Arun..... eat now or that one eyed monster would come" and i would just gobble away.
Well many of us would have had the same experience.

So to start away I am actually planning to start on a suspense note or say a thriller of sorts. Will do my best to retain your interest till the very end. For those of whom the blog was interesting.. well good that you enjoyed. For those of you to whom it was dull a drab a waste of time.. well as I have told before everyone is entitled to his or her opinions.....:)


Johnny Vasquez is now breathing heavily. He is unable to place his location in the dark. His command is giving away orders and that is audible to him in just a muffle on his walkie talkie. He is hurt and is bleeding. "Alpha one to J, Alpha one to J........ Come in J". The battery charge indicator has turned from the brilliant fluorescent green to deep red. Well is it not destiny's way of saying "your time's up" So it seemed to Johnny.

His back pack is lying next to him. The only thing he can think of is the mission. His own personal vendetta was now going to be left incomplete. His vow to Jenna is going to remain incomplete. "Oh Jenna please forgive me...".

He can hear footsteps nearby. All he can do is hope and pray his camouflage paint doesn't give him away. He can hear the distant barking of dogs.
"C'mon Johny you can do it" He says to himself. "Pick up your droopy butt and move".
He gives it a try. To get up. But the ball and socket joint on his elbow feels as if it is trying to lift a 500 pounder. It gives way and Johny drops to his back and groans.
He has a great physique for a forty year old. Thanks to all the physical exercise his job demands.
His only complaint." I couldn't let jenna know what i have been doing all along. And can never let her know in the future as well."

Thats when it happened. At that instant he was transported back to the day when he was entering his college campus as a freshman. He could see a young Johnny Vasquez. Dressed in light blue jean and a polo T shirt. The look of nervousness was largely writ all over his face. He was taking the course in Pschycology. He went into the admin office to get info about the course , the class room and the building. Thats when he turned to leave for the door , His head hit something hard. All the papers in his hand flew away to glory. His glasses landed a good two feet from him. Lucky for him they did not break. He managed to get hold of them and he turned around to find a set of two beautiful hands frantically working at picking all the papers strewn aside. He had to lift his head and see. The blinding light of the room hit his eye and he quivered. Then shutting of the light with a hand he saw the person to whom the hands belonged.
A petite girl, wearing a beige turtle neck over a jean. She was being extremely apologetic, but all he could muster was" Its ok." His mind was racing, the veins in his head pounding. He took the papers from her.

That was how Jenna entered Johnny's life.

"Whizzzzzzzzzzz" flew a bullet past his ear. That brought him back to senses. The snipers trying their best. The soldiers on foot sweeping all the area. But all Johnny could do was lie on his back and writhe in pain. He was angry with himself for this precarious position of his.
" How did Manny's men know I would pay them a visit. Who is the mole in the agency." His mind frantically searching for answers any clue anything that happened in the last 24 hours that would make sense to him.
But blank like the line on a CRT terminal that would read a patients heart rate when he is dead.
"Jenna my sweet jenna why us? " Thats the question that kept coming to him time and again.

Now he slowly slipped into the realm of subconscious.
" Excuse me Johnny" Startled by the sudden intruder in the deserted department library Johnny looks up from the book he has been pouring over for the past 4 hours."Hey its me Jenna, Remember we are both in the same pschycology class" For johnny Pschycology was the core subject , for jenna an elective. "I was wondering if you can help me out with my thesis work." Her doe eyes were so captivating that Johnny was lost in them for a brief moment catching only the whiff of the last sentence."oh ..hmm can you come again what was that" " Well I was wondering if you can help me with my thesis Johnny. It would be great if you can give me your inputs on the subject" " Well , lemme see what best i can do. I would not disappoint a damsel in distress would I" A glint of naughtiness in his eyes.
"Well thanks to the thesis Jenna, I have found a great friend in you." " Oh the pleasure is all mine johnny."

"Look who is there. I see something moving. Get down here you lazy morons" came the voice of the chief of Manny's personal guards, Mr. Keith Robertson. Among his men he was known as "King". Footsteps running towards where Johnny was lying. The vibrations of the ground caused by the boots of the men in black uniforms holding their Kevlars with safety off woke up Johnny from his sweet slumber once again.
He knew he had to act soon lest he wanted to be found and killed by Manny's men.

Ok thats enough says Johny to himself. "C'mon get up you lazy mutt. Get up and get out of here." He gets up just in time to see the "King " and his men moving towards him. He looks around in search of anything that would make him invisible to king's men. Just then he turns around to to see that he is on the edge of a small slope that lead to the rivulet that flew around manny's mansion. He pushed himself and slided into the rivulet Just in time to avoid the search light beam of King's men. He had to stay still. Not a movement, not a breath not even a blink of the eye. King's men with their night vision goggles out were now closing in on johnny's location. As an act of GOD the current in the rivulet began to strengthen. All Johnny had to do was to hold on to the drifting piece of wood. Well he did just that. Clung onto to that piece of wood like his life depended on it.

Now all he could remember was the light beams passing all over him and missing him by inches. Johnny again slips into his unconscious.

The beautiful decorated church. The day that Johnny would wed Jenna. The day all his dreams would come true. The priest reading out the marital vows and Johnny looking into the love filled eyes of jenna. " Do you Johnny Vasquez take this women Jenna to be your lawfully wedded wife and would soothe her, comfort her and look after her for the rest of your life"
" I do"
" and now you my lady, Do you Jenna take this man Johnny Vasquez to be your lawfully wedded husband and take care of him love him and comfort him for the rest of your life"
"I do"
"Well with the powers of the church vested in me I now pronounce you man and wife, You may kiss the bride"
That was when it happened. A moment of magic sheer magic. Johnny looked into Jenna's eyes. Held her in his arms. Closed his eyes and was about to kiss her when he felt moisture in his left hand .
Then he realizes the commotion in the church. Women wailing and children running here and there. Jenna's dad is now unconscious. Jenna collapses in Johnny's arms. Her smile still alive on her silken face. The tear of happiness in her eyes that is about to fall but isn't.
Her beautiful wedding gown which made her look like an angel is now crimson red with her blood. Little did Johnny realize that the bullet which hit Jenna's heart pierced through his arm taking away a chunk of flesh. Blood oozed out of his arm. Oblivious to the bleeding Johnny's trained eyes are frantically searching for the person responsible for this mayhem.
Thats when he notices the Gucci shoes walking away from the church. The shoes with M embossed in gold on them. He quickly recollects the shoes and the person to whom they belong.
Manny the resident drug lord of his province.
His anger knows no bounds. All he thinks of is going and ripping Manny apart.
But no... says his conscious.
He stays out.
The next day ,on the very podium where they exchanged their marital vows, Jenny now lay lifeless. Grief and sorrow gripped him. Depression beckoned him. But he was a warrior. A soldier.
He knew now that his battle was not with enemies across the border but with the ones within.
Why had manny resorted to killing him. or rather his better half. This was the question that plagued him.

He began the quest of finding answers. It had taken him 12 long years but to no avail.

Just when the turmoil in his mind was brewing stronger he felt something hard hit his chest knocking the wind out of him. He just had enough energy in him to open his eyes and look at the surroundings . "Ah" he knew this place . Seemed so familiar. He was now walking through his journey of life in his mind trying to place location where he now lay. thats when it occurred to him.. St George's Hospital. " Yes... Yes . You have done it Johnny." But he still lay in a puddle that had transported him from Manny's place to where he lay. The rivulet went past the hospital where it eventually joined the ocean. Had the current been stronger I would have been fish feed thought Johnny. A branch that hit the wood johnny was afloat was the only obstruction between him and the ocean. He gathered enough strength to pull himself ashore.

Again Johnny slipped into unconsciousness. " Jenna.... My Love..Time is ripe and Manny will fall. He will fall hard and take all his muck with him down under. God give me strength. Let my will prevail."

As he muttered these words, he felt the earth around him move. He was being carried. He could hear voices. " Come in Operator Come in.. We have a vic down here ....Come in..... god damn these operators. why don't they sit that butt of theirs on their seat. Come in operator come in. we don't have got much time damn it. what the hell...... OK joey lets just do it our selves. On the count of three Hoist him up and we will carry him to the hospital.One.... Two and three .." His body was being hoisted up and he began to feel the shudder of being transported to the hospital on foot.
Again receding into the beautiful realm of unconscious. it was beautiful cos thats where he could see her.. His Jenna Be with her Live with her .. He saw her in a garden of tulips. In a beautiful scarlet frock. Her hair tied in a bun and the sparkle in her eyes making him go crazy. He just stood there and saw her jump and laugh and dance to the tunes of the cool summer breeze which naughtily undoes the bun. Now her auburn hair caressing her face and her long nimble fingers trying to over power her dancing tresses. which she efficiently ties back into a bun. Her voice so serene. her gaze so warm. He was just prepared to remain in this realm of uncertainty. Just to see his jenna. To be with her live with her. He felt being trudged along into a place further deep, as if he was free falling down a sky scrapper. He could sense all darkness around him. he was loosing his sense of hearing. It was growing more silent. It was growing dark. He again muttered his prayers. "God deliver me to light. Give me strength I must live. I must survive." As if an answer to his prayers he began hearing voices.

He recognized one voice.It was the voice he had heard before. " Thank God Joey we have done it. The vic is out of danger now. Hence forth it is convalescing time for him. God speed then." May be this joey person doesn't speak at all cos johnny did not hear his voice then neither did he hear now.

He had lost track of time. He did not know which part of the day it was when he woke up. It was a herculean task for him to open his eye lids which he eventually did. The light coming through the window was so blinding that he immediately shut his eyes close. He again tried to pry them open and his pupil were getting used to the brightness. So his gaze changed from a squint to ordinary. As he lay in his bed johnny began to embark on his journey yet again... the journey of his mind.

"Zoom................." A Sukhoi went past him. Scanning the perimeter for any infiltrators was the pilot in the cockpit. His gaze going around the lush fields where there had been reports of infiltration. He swerved sharply to his left and Johnny watched the sukhoi leave the area.. Not sure how long it would be before it came back on its reconnoitering mission Johnny in his camouflage gear looked around for his team. He was the leader of "SPEC-TAC" (Special Tactical) team which often undertook covert operations in the neighboring states to flush out miscreants, trouble makers and war lords. It was just yesterday that he and Jenna decided they would tie the knot. He had been making countless battles within himself. To decide whether to go ahead and marry Jenna. He had no doubt loved her more than his life.... But he was not sure about his life. As a member of the SPEC TAC team you were just not sure of anything. The only minute that belonged to you was the one in which u took your breath. The next minute you might not be able to do that. Such were the uncertainties looming large over his head. Yet he decided to take the plunge. To get hitched. He and jenna had numerous talks on this and finally out came the solitaire from his palm and down he went on his knee." Jenna My love " he said with great pride. " Will you marry me". No sooner than the last of his words came out of his mouth Jenna's eyes were the first to respond. Out came that tear. The tear of joy. A tear that symbolized the end of a long wait. " I will" she said as johnny adorned her nimble ring finger with the solitaire. It gleamed brightly and Johnny embraced Jenna forgetting they were in the middle of that uptown mall. Suddenly there was a huge applause from all around them. the entire mall had viewed the events unfold and they were happy for the newly engaged.
" Ka booooom" thats when one of his crew accidentally tripped over a land mine which was hidden in the fields.
" Five may be less boys. Thats the time we have got , to drag our asses of this field" Johnny had taken the lead and was just about to enter a blanket of trees when one of his team was spotted by the Sukhoi. The pilot deftly began shooting his automatic maxim machine gun. Just a tap on that tiny button on his console and 500 bullets would be disposed from the planes hull and that too in just under a minute. He ploughed the field with his bullets injuring one and killing two of Johny's men.
His mission today mission" Man eater" was to nab a drug lord Manny Gomez, whose story had been one of rags to riches in recent times. Manny's reach had been far and wide. He had people in the government working for him. You name a department and manny had his man or rather men in them. He was a small time thug who hit the lime light when he ripped the Government of billions of dollars by stealing all the confiscated heroine from right under their noses.
He then began his foray into the drug world. So from a one time petty thief to a drug lord manny had come a long way. He had one thing in him which was both his strength and weakness.
He never trusted people. " He can sniff the rat in you" was how one of his dying men working with the FBI put it, lying on his death bed. He was now closing in on a major drug deal and thats when Johnny's team received a tip off. They had to nab him alive. Well ... those were the orders Johnny's team had got from the FBI.

He was ready to collar the perp. He and what was left of his team were outside Manny's mansion. Manny had his own security and they were armed with all the latest available guns that would make even the SPEC TAC seethe in envy. Now discussing their plan and giving specific orders to his team Johnny propped himself up against the huge wall that surrounded the mansion.

" Fire in the hole ...." as one of his men shouted Johnny ducked for cover. Boom the explosion shattered the glass windows of the mansion. Manny's army that was guarding that part of the wall was blown away. Seared pieces of human flesh was thrown all over the lawn of the mansion. Just as reinforcements arrived Johnny;s men blew up all the napalm bombs that they had set around the perimeter. More chaos more confusion and more death. Amidst this mayhem johnny noticed one man dressed in a printed armani dress and white chinos with a cigar in his mouth watching over from the balcony of his mansion. "Manny Gomez there over there on the balcony " snipers take him down take him nows the chance"

Johnny wished he had the powers to kill manny. it was more a personal vendetta for him. His jenna was dead and the reason was standing right there. a click of his trigger and he would dispose off manny Gomez. But there was protocol that he had to abide by.

Now johnny's men were out numbered by manny's guards.
Suddenly they began to fall. One after another. First his sniper then his plotter then his left wing command then right wing. " Oh no its an ambush we have been set up" Johnny barked into his microphone. But there was no response from the other end all johnny could hear was the static. Thats when a bullet catches johnny in the thigh fair and square. The sun was returning to its abode and the moon was rising from his. As the night fell death loomed large over the lawns of manny's mansion.

" We have been tricked.. J to command J to command"
Johnny Vasquez is now breathing heavily. He is unable to place his location in the dark. His command is giving away orders and that is audible to him in just a muffle on his walkie talkie. He is hurt and is bleeding. "Alpha one to J, Alpha one to J........ Come in J". The battery charge indicator has turned from the brilliant fluorescent green to deep red. Well is it not destiny's way of saying "your time's up" So it seemed to Johnny.

" Its time for your medication Sir" A voice broke his sojourn and he was pleased to get out of it.
He opened his eyes to find a middle aged Caucasian lady with the tray of medicines in one had and a glass of water in another. She had a pleasant demeanor. Johnny stifled yawn and he quickly gulped his daily dose of tablets and the water. She went about her daily ablutions. Gave johnny a bath dressed him up and dressed his wounds then left.

A month had passed. Johnny was now into physio. He was regaining his strength. Little by little.
He used to have one constant visitor every day. Robert Alvarez. His SPEC TAC chief and his bosom buddy. he would visit johnny every day and help him with his physio. he wanted his leader back in shape.as the SPEC TAC had one unfinished business Project " MAN EATER".
Never in its illustrious history spanning over 10 years had the spec tac failed on a covert op. It was a blemish that Robert Alvarez was keen to wipe away. So he knew if that was to happen he had to have his leader in prime form. Johnny was getting back to shape. Slowly but steadily he was showing improvement in health. and his wounds were now just scars. Scars not jus physical but mental . Scars which Johnny wanted to wipe away both from his body and his memory.
The doctors at the hospital were very happy with the way things were progressing. The man who had saved johnny. Will. his name was very happy at his progress, Finally johnny heard Joey speak, And those few words of Joey were still etched in Johnny's mind. " Battle lost but not war. You have fallen once only to rise again and risen you have for your enemies to fall." As he said these words Johnny could see the admiration Joey had for him and how he wanted Johnny to kick manny's ass.
Back at the head quarters, It had taken exactly 4 months and 6 days for Johnny to get back to where he belonged and for johnny to do what he is good at.
In this four months the Mole had been flushed out of Spec Tac. It was one of the unassumingly invisible secretory of Robert. She, they had found out was Manny's wife. Now now that goes to say how efficient manny was in placing his pieces in strategic places. She was disposed off in the only possible way one would dispose of a mole. A shot in the head from a glock. A 0.8 mm shot that pierced through he scheming brain taking with it chunks of Grey matter. Manny had been shocked by this. He vowed that this time the revenge would be even more catastrophic.
Johnny now back, had began to plan SPEC TAC's next move.

Target: Keith Robertson AKA King
That was the slide on the projector in the auditorium that held the current team of spec tac.

" Now guys, Manny's key man is this chap on the screen. Keith Robertson aka King. Our last operation went phunk because of his brain. Manny is all brawn and little brain. King is our man. He needs to be taken down first. Now I need info on his whereabouts. His ids, social security numbers, family, friends, where he goes for golf and what is his favourite TV show. get going. IF king falls hard manny falls harder and thats when we strike and strike hard. So get those asses moving and get me some info."

It had been two days since the meeting and a huge file lay in Johnny's hands. "KING" embossed on its cover. Inside was information. Information that johnny wanted. So now things started to fall into place. the pieces of the Jigsaw were begining to make sense.

"Every man has his vice and so does our perp KING" said johnny addressing his team. Team of efficient and able men. Men who would die for him die with him .
" Like any other voyeur KING takes pleasure in enjoying beauty and visits this famous strippers joint every friday night. Thats where we will hole him out and thats were he will perish"
He laid down the details of the plan. and checked his watch. 12 PM said his watch and the day, Friday. WEll he had another 6 hours before he set his plan rolling. He had made the phone calls and pulled a few strings. The bouncers at the club would be Johnny's men. The people entering the club posing as customers would be his men. the waiters at the club would be his men. well practically the club would be Johnny's hunting ground for the evening where he would lay his hands on his prized catch "King".

" How are you doing Phil" said King as he entered not looking at the bouncer. When he did look and not finding Phil."hey wheres Phil, i don't see him nowhere" "Phil is ill Mr. King. He sure has told us what you would want " said the bouncer winking. This put king at ease who for a minute felt something was wrong. Then he was ushered into the dim lit club. Music blaring from the bose speakers. He looked around for his famous spot. His chair. " The king's throne" he thought.
" ah,,,, there it is. But who has moved it to that corner. Phil i miss you my man. this joint is not the same with out you" muttered johnny. Just as he sat down on his chair He felt a pin break in the seat. " Oh no" he thought. " I have set the bomb running and the pressure switch is now activated" he was correct in deed. Johny's men had rigged a bomb into kings chair.

He was sweating profusely. Not knowing what to do he was frantically searching for someone who would help him. " Ok Boys we have got our man lets get it over with" that was Johnny's voice looming over the music. " Yes where's the music " thought king. The place was all quiet and king saw he was surrounded by men in their army suits and masks with glocks in their hands. Suddenly they moved aside and in came johnny. " Ah you,,, So you are not dead after all." barked king. " No baby not yet. I hate to disappoint you and that warlord boss of yours. But i am alive and kicking. Ok now we need some piece of information from you King" " Oh ya the only information you will get from me is.... this " out flew the spittle from King directed towards johnny. Wiping it off his face" Now see here baby, I don't like being treated like this show some respect you scumbag."

Even after 6 hours of investigation nothing comes out of King. He is as tight lipped as a person can be. because he knows , though he is in the good books of his boss. If he leaks out some information he is as good as dead. Then Johny steps in. " Ok boys leave us alone for a moment and u can take off from where u left." The officers in the room left leaving King and Johnny alone.
They knew this one session with johnny was all that king needed give them wat they want.

"Ok wise ass, I have got two options with me now. I either put this bullet into that thick skull of yours and go after that boss of yours myself or you save me the trouble of having to kill you by letting us know what we want. Its not much that we ask of you given to the kind of shit you are in now." So he got his glock ready. Safety off. and did not use his official ration of bullets. But had a blank instead. " Dont mistake me, this blank is capable of doing enough damage when fired from a point blank range. King was getting back to his bearings now. He knew he had to hole out his boss if he had to survive this ordeal.
He told Johnny all he wanted to know.

It was Sunday and the sun seemed to have popped up from its slumber early than usual. The cemetery next to the st. Francis church wore that deserted look which would seem ominous enough fopr any passer by during the wee hours of the night. Jenna's tombstone was visible from the entrance. Today the tombstone adjacent to Jenna's did not hold the body it was made to hold but in turn held the SPEC TAC team, The tomb stone and the burial ground were ornately decorated. and advantage was it held about 5 adults.

First of the cars started pouring in. It was the first death anniversary of Manny's father. Very soon manny would share the same date as his father. All the major warlords were invited.
it was a pompous affair for manny.
Johny went over to jenna's tombstone paid his respects and now switched on to the "Network"" Come in unit 2 come in unit 2 where the hell are u.
" base to unit two to base to unit 2. All entries and exit secured and watch out for Mr. Manny, His body guards are not the run of the mill guards they are all specially trained and report only to manny. Even king had no contol on them,

So as planned Johnny;s mend would penetrate the inner circle and he would take care of manny.
" Jenna my love I m here today because of you, I keep standing and staring at you , I live with u in my dreams. Today manny will fall and will fall hard."

Just as one of Johnny's men closed in on the location he was blown to pieces by a pipe bomb. This alerted Manny. he was about to leave when king's gun shot missed Johnny by millimeters.It had found the safety of his boss's heart." "you traitor shouted Manny. Not knowing what hit him and his beautiful off white shirt from Hugo boss was now stained in blood. Every breathe that manny took the bullet inched closer to his heart. "

Now manny realized what he had done to Jenna and Johny in particular.
For johnny the vendetta couldn't have come in a more better way than this. Illustrating Manny's pain and anguish and shock that was writ largely on his face.

" WE now present the medal of honour to Mr Johnny leader of the spec tac. For doing what he had done. At the outset though it may appear brash, it is what a person when faced with adversities and who is responsible would do" said his commander in chief
and just then a huge applause breaks in the stands.
Johnny looked at the skies and seemed to see a silhouette of Jenna in the clouds.
A tear falls on his medal.
" I love you Jenna" whispered johnny to himself.



Well folks thats how it ends and thats how i have perceived it to end.
Thank you and kudos for coming this far. Well now its comments time. I lookl forward for your valuable suggestions and opinions that would drive me further to dish out many more such blogs. or should i say mini novels[;)]

Bengalooooru-- An experience

Now im at that juncture of time where I have to bid adieu to Namma Bengalooru or, for those ill informed of the change, Bangalore. I leave this city which was once an embodiment calmness and tranquility and has now metamorphed into a fast paced IT savvy Brand Hungry abode to many a drifters who don't belong to this place and to say that I m a drifter myself wouldn't be wrong. I have sort refuge in what seemed to be the confines of the walls of the IT major away from my kith and Kin, away from those friends whose hearts beats for me to this day and away from all those wonderful things that make up a home.

Change is something that kicks up the man in me and I love changes but may be there are exceptions. The inertia to overcome a change though small is still existent. This is what is now taking the shape of this blog in which i hope to catalogue most of my experiences in Bengalooru. A few good ones, a few splendid ones, a few not so good ones and a few that have left an indelible mark on me.

To start with ,my tryst with Bangalore (I'm continuing with the traditional name hence forth;)) began way back when I was in my Under graduation. We had come to Bangalore in the pretext of an "Industrial Visit", Now every engineer must have known during his time in the college what was the purpose of "Industrial Visits". In school they have got picnics so when it comes to colleges they have got Industrial Tours or Educational tours or whatsoever tours.

That visit was for about three days we had a days stay in Hosur. then two days in Bangalore. Bangalore back then was Brigades road for me. hmmmmm . It was like leaving a hungry elephant into a sugarcane farm..(thats the literal translation of one of the Tamil sayings). Ours being a MEN's engineering college and that too in Kanchipuram which is touted as the temple city ,you can imagine the exposure we might have to the outer world or to put it brusquely our exposure to exposure was less ;). So all wonder struck the moment we entered brigades. All minis and tank tops and what not.. ya exactly what not ;)

We were loitering around gaping at the malls and all the other interesting "structures" in MG road and brigades. Thats that of my first visit to Bangalore.


Then it just seems like yesterday that I got placed in Infy and left to Mysore. It was then that I again got a chance to visit Bangalore when one of my friends came from Australia. Again it was the malls and brigades and Mg road and the Commercial street. Frankly speaking thats all there is to Bangalore.

Then now shifting back to the last of my days at Mysore training. We were all awaiting our postings. I was really hoping I get back to Hyderabad which is where my heart lies. Then the placements were out and it was HYDERABAD indeed. My joy knew no bounds and I was literally jumping up and down. Most of my friends got the location of their choice and some of them didn't. But people were happy to leave training and head for their jobs. Now here came the twist in the tale. My IBU( Infy Business Unit or My unit) required us to stay back in Mysore for yet another month's training where we were actually taught the tricks of the trade (So they believed.. poor things the trainers;)).

Then it was April 6th 2006 that I finally landed in Hyderabad. It felt good or rather great to be back home.The first day at office. After spending close to 6 months at the Mysore campus, the Hyderabad campus seemed to be toooooooo small when compared to Mysore. So we had to get allocated to projects now. Then one of my managers calls me and Astha another friend of mine and asks us if we can move to Bangalore for 3 to 4 months for a project there. Little did I know that this 3 to 4 months would soon become 17 months :).

So the scene at Hyderabad railway station. Me, mom and dad were there . It was raining advices from my mom. Then finally got into the train and even before we knew we were in Bangalore. Nandhu one of my good friends was there waiting for me at the station to take me to my temporary place of stay. As we would move to our own house in the first week of May.
That weekend I left to Hyderabad as my sister Aarthi was coming back from her stint at France. She now had to goto Singapore for her further studies. So weekend passes in a jiffy. I return back on Sunday evening and Nandhu is there like before but now he is to take me to our new house.

Man it felt good. The feathers in the wings of my freedom began to rustle. They were now shouting at me .. dude we are ready now it is up to you to give us the flight.
The day I entered Bangalore 26th April 2006.

These 17 months of time spent in bangalore has revealed many unknown facets of my own persona. Now I never even knew I could cook.:) We had got a gas cylinder and bought all the necessary kitchen ware and started our experiments with the ladle and spoon. Innovation was the order of the day. So it was great fun to be cooking. In the process I learnt how to make carrot halwa it is one of my specialties.

Time to learn the job. Luckily for me, astha was also in the same project as I. There was a lot of trepidation about how we go about talking to people. People who were visibly younger to me were there before me in the project so I had be courteous enough to learn stuff from them. They were all such a wonderful bunch. Learning was now fun. We had formed our own group. My first project titled project 24B is always very special to me even now. All the people working in the project were freshers but for a few of them. Our project lead had just got back from "On site". Kiran is his name. A great guy to know and to be with. I should be indeed thanking my stars to begin my stint in production under his tutelage. Ours was room number 160. 6 of us in that room. It was all fun in the room. majority of us were tamilians so Tamil songs would be blaring on someones comp. Constant leg pulling and laughter was the order of the day.

Work began to get a little serious. We were about to start our first ever cycle of testing. All possible things that could go wrong went wrong. the test environment seemed to be very volatile it would have mood swings of its own. Working seamlessly on few occasions and ceasing to work in many other occassions.
I used to leave home at 6 15 in the morning and start work by 6 45 finish my days target by 9 and then sit at helping my team mates.

One of my friends from Masters Dennis had come to stay with us. So it was awesome threesome at BTM thats where our home was. During weekends it was all the more fun. We had washing cleaning and movieing and hotelling and bird watching and foruming(forum is a mall in Bangalore so foruming means going to spend time in forum ;)). Wow man life was a bliss.
Do whatever you want however u want whenever u want... Chaos and last minute thinking and planning were the order of the day.

We were at that stage of the project where we had to extend our working hours. In our project of 10 people 7 were women (gosh!!!!) and 3 were boys(poor us). Bangalore was getting notorious for crimes against women working late. So we would request all our lady comrades to get into the confines and safety of their homes before 8 30.

Me and Kiran stayed back a number of days and ended working all through the night. It was fun. Kiran is great company and undenyingly the best at whatever he does. Be it work or fun or party or sleep he is the best :)So there were days when I would leave to office by Thursday morning and return on Saturday afternoon.

Project 24B was a huge success. I earned my first star award. Astha moved into another project I was put into the next release in the same project. Life went on.
Now it was time for a few important people to enter my life. First was a project mate of mind. who had got promoted from a friend to a "special friend".;) Then another friend of mine who had become a very close friend and sister to me at office. There was never any shortage of sister's love for me. Be it in Mysore when Mathura a sweet kid came into my life when aarthi(my kid sister) left to France. or be it in Bangalore where i had many people who got close to me. Ramya, vidya,maria,prema,anusha,akshila,chi,rekha,ezhil,madhu,bhanu,sandy,sophie (Gosh thats a fairly long list)

During August 2006 to December 2006.. I had seen it all. Love, break up, friends, success in job and new relations and what not. These few pages in my book of life have been written with tears of sorrow and tears of joy. I was awaken from my pleasant dream with a rude shock. An sms that changed the state of my being for days or rather months to come. hmmm now not going into the details of the break up and make up there after ;).

Again Kiran gets a call to move onsite and he is on his way to the US of A. So there went another friend. Prema leaves to chennai. and one other friend to US to be with her husband. Then the special friend to another company. Life again seemed to slow a bit. Things back home were getting a little rough and it consumed most of my thoughts and concentration. But as time went on things began to smooth out.

In October during Diwali I get to meet my brother In law to be. My maaplai my machaan and my best friend Mr Archit Giridhar. My sisters(julsy and vaathus) come down to Bangalore and we have a whale of a time. It was too good to be true. Then we went home for diwali and had good fun. I was happy for my sister as she had chosen a great guy for herself . She had again come down in the month of Feb. Thats when we told our parents about her love. Though a little hesitant at first they willingly accepted her choice.

Meanwhile my Love also began to proceed further and my special friend had lost all her inhibitions about the relation ship and she was now comfortable and happy. Jan 31st another day in my life i would not forget. She lost her dad on that day. I am in office and she calls me up at about 6 6 30 in the evening. She says her dad passed away and she is all tears. I am very bad at consoling people. Before I could even react or say a word she hung up. It took some time for the entire thing to sink in. She is the elder of the two sisters. It is from then on that her life took a different turn I would say for the better. She had transformed into this entirely new person, not hesitating to take responsibility. Painstakingly she had gone about claiming all the benefits and various other stuff that her father bequeathed them.

When aarthi told my parents about her love Me too told them that I like someone and told them about her. So it was all smiles everywhere. Then my parents had decided to meet up with Archit's parents and then the formal meeting was organized everything went about well. and Soon the engagement date was fixed on the 14th of September.

Then I had been asking my lady love to inform people back at her place but she kept postponing. I also had no other choice but to wait.

Meanwhile Ramya's personal life was all confusion and she was going through a lot of trouble and turmoil. We were there for her at office to soothe her , comfort her and make her smile. Then Vidya's life was also under lot of trouble and turmoil. Guess it was a period of turmoil for everyone. She resolved to pursue her higher studies in Singapore. So there was a huge fight which she had to put forth in winning her parents approval for this. So things started to get a little clear by march.
Vidya was leaving for her higher studies. Ramya was trying out other job options aarthi's engagement was fixed. Mathura was now seeing some body else;)...
So it was a great environment both at work and back at home.

My pal Dennis was leaving to Hyderabad to embark on yet another professional journey.
We had two other guys from our project as room mates. So we were now 4 people in that dingy in BTM. Cracking jokes buying stuff and what not. We were watching all the movies that were getting released and we were eating out and just having fun.

During my stay in Bangalore i Had the chance of visiting places in and around Bangalore. There is one person i need to thank for these experiences. It is "CHI" aka chiamala. If not for her persistence and involvement I wouldn't have seen and been to places that i had actually been to. I had done para sailing, then went to wayanad did trekking and so many other interesting things that will always stay close to my heart. Interiors of Karnataka are definitely worth visiting. It is a nature lovers paradise and we can catch mother nature in her best ensemble once the rains set in.
Then vidya and family came to Hyderabad over a weekend and it was too much of fun. me in saree and all. It was fun fun and pure unadulterated fun.
One of the most memorable trips were to the Iruppu falls . Man it was such a breath taking view. Simply out of the world. Thanks vidu for handing me that moment of joy and pleasure..:)

It was June and time for vidya to leave. It was hard for me as she was my companion all through my difficult times and my happy ones in Bangalore. So it was a little difficult at first. Then we used to keep in touch through mails, phone and all. Like we do even now.

It is july 14th and My lady love tells me that her mom wanted to meet me. So that was another experience that I would never forget. Then my parents decide to visit the girls house on 16th of July. I take leave on the pretext of food poisoning. then goto their place. She is all decked in a silk Saree and stuff. So people on both sides talk. Then it is decided that engagement and marriage would be done once they visit my place in Hyderabad as was a custom. So they visit Hyderabad and people on both sides are very happy. Next there is a confusion as to when my marriage would be. It was decided that it would take place after my sisters marriage.

Then one of the most memorable weeks of my life(July 20th to July 29th). My first trip abroad. To Singapore to my sister's. We were going there for her convocation. It was too good an experience. and I have none other than my sister and Maapu (groom) to thank. There was no dearth of laughter or mirth and happiness. Even before we knew we were on our flight back to chennai.
I submitted my resignation on 30th of July. with two more months to go. It was more fun. Went on a shopping spree. Even before i Realized it was my birthday. Me got a watch from my sweetheart then another from my sister and BIL and a new nokia N 95 from them. Man was i feeling lucky or what.
Then it was again time for my sweet sisters engagement. She landed in India on the 30th along with Maapu. It was great fun shopping shopping shopping and eating eating eating. Man it was just too good to be true. We had to goto rameswaram for a day courtesy our family josiar (astrologer) to get rid of the serpa dosha that we had. The trip was too good. We visited the southern tip of India. Dhanush kodi. A beautiful sight. sea on two sides and my sister for company what more could a mortal like me ask for. It was excitement and fun from the word go.
Then came the engagement. My sister was looking absolutely fabulous. and so was my BIL(brother in Law). A cute pair they made. A huge list of visitors had come and we were welcoming them and tending to them and what not. I was completely drained of my energies and went home and hit the sack.
Now back to Bangalore. For my last two weeks.

As i write this blog I have two more days to go to hang my infy shoes and head home. The last two weeks were spent on completing formalities, giving transition to the next heir ;) and all such activity. Me got to watch many movies online too. Thanks to the cisco network :)
Got to meet my sweet heart too. Hmmm :)

So it is in short a catalogue of my stay at Bangalore.
Every incident warrants a separate blog. But that might be in the offing in the near future.
This blog is a tribute to all the people who have been there with me bearing my idiosyncrasies and bearing ME on the whole and in turn made my stay in bangalore a memorable one. I am now mentioning a list or rather a host of people who made my stay here as wonderful as it could be.
Aarthi,Archit and Dhar for their brief appearances.
mathura, kavitha, Kutty for their part as well.
Vidya, Sunitha, Ramya,Maria,Nandhu, Dennis,Muthu , Ravish, Kiruthiga,Kiran,Chinmay, Astha, Girish,Kalpagam aka anusha,akshila,rajarajan,Anup,Prema, Chi , Ezhil,Madhu,Bhanu, Gopi, Arun,Vamsi,sasi....
My sincere apologies to those whom i have forgotten to mention :)

So im now in the last page of the chapter of my life which is rightly titled " Bengalooooru-An experience"

I look back upon these beautiful pages of my life and the people who made it so. Will miss every body of them and all the good times we had together.

Cheers to Bangalore
(never even in my wierdest of dreams did i think i would say something like this)

How to Name it??????

Hey folks this is sheer joblessness that is driving me to write one more of my blogs.
A topic that has been making rounds in the confines of my otherwise occupied mind is to write a horror/a thrilling flick. So let us see how good or bad a job I do on that front.

The scene-- a rustic background of a village that wears a deserted look. The moon is just out of its slumber and is trying all its might to immerse the lucky half of the earth in all its pristine light. The wind that is now gaining speed and is metamorphing from what has been a gentle breeze into a troublesome wind. The rustle of the leaves on the trees that bejewel the villages is filling the already eerie setting. Those unlucky leaves which had to leave the safety of the parent tree are loitering around aimlessly in the wind and dancing to the tunes of the wind. The otherwise busy town of Sultanpur now wears a deserted look. The places by the village well which would echo the sounds of women bickering over water to the children playing "Ghillie" are now deserted nothing but for the remains of a few broken shards of the earthen pots that stand testimony to the bickering of the women. The market place of Sultanpur which is famous for the wares and the animal shandy both during the day as well as the night now is nothing but a place that is dilapidated and is reeking of animal dung. The few thatched huts that form the part of the living population of village are now lonely without the denizens to grace them.

So in all Sultanpur is now nothing but a place filled with the remains of whatever is left of the memories of the people,of the broken pots and of the deserted huts.
Just about six months back neither did anyone forsee such a calamity would occur nor could anyone predict such a mishap.

It all started on one fateful day when the son of the zamindars' ,Ravi Babu, had come to visit his parents after his graduation. He took to the village atmosphere like the fish to the water. Little did he know that he would bring upon the downfall of not only his lineage but also take the entire village down with him.

There was this lissome girl working at his place. It was sort of a sudden flow of adrenalin and the spike of testosterone that led Ravi to like this girl. He was blinded by her beauty. A certain rustic and bucolic attenuation to her appearance that made him go weak at the knees. He decided to make her his for ever and quench his thirst for flesh. An otherwise calm person was now transforming into something that he never imagined and something that he would soon loathe.
The animal in him was slowly eating away the humane side.

It was an afternoon and Ravi Babu was in his room admiring the three pronged fan that was ratling in the cool breeze that graced his parched face. He just could nt get chameli off his mind. The sight of sweat trickling down the various curves and crevices of her body kept coming back to his minds eye. Just as he was immersed in his thought he was jostled out of his pleasant dream by the sound of a glass hitting the ground and breaking into many a thousand pieces. Thats when he saw up and was both pleased as well as shocked at the look of anguish and fright on chameli's face. He got up and moved towards Chameli unaware of the piece of glass that was waiting to be engulfed into the warmth of Ravi Babus' Flesh. " Aaaaaargh!!!" came out a shriek from ravi. He immediately held his right foot up and looked at the teeny weeny bit of glass that was now embedded in his foot resmbling a stone in a jewel.

This sudden cry of pain brought tears to Chameli's eyes. Ravi was moved by the sight of tears welled up in her eyes. Time stood still for a moment. There was no rustle of leaves. The wind stemmed still in her tracks. Then a tear broke finding its way down her cheek onto her chin where the water droplet overcomes the surface tension and heads to the floor below.
She immediately grabs his leg and removes the piece of glass.

The touch of her tender fingers on his skin sends shivers down his spine.He grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her towards him. Their eyes meet for the first time. He could sense her discomfort and she is already writhing away from him. But he is just not ready to let her go. The grip of his tightens around her shoulder and he draws her even closer. This one thing was enough to ignite the fire in the embers that have been burning inside him.

How an hour passed only the hands of the clock going tirelessly about their routine knew. Chameli was lying by the side of ravi on her back with beads of perspiration gracing her face. A feeling of smugness on her face was visible and it was then that a sudden shock wave of fear was passing through her body.It brought her back to senses and also tears to her eyes. She was an outcaste but loved Ravi and could not express it to him for the fear of being banished from the village. Ravi was lying on his back with Chameli by his side. A sense of accomplishment, a sense of his hunger being satiated brought a wry smile to his lips. Thats when realisation hit him. The act of adultery he had commited just then. He began to sweat profusely thinking of the repercussions that would arise as a result of his act.He turned towards Chameli only to find her weeping. That is when he realised he too loved her. He held her by the shoulder and told, " Chameli, please do not cry, I shall marry you come what may, even if we are banished from the village we shall make a living in the city."

These words comforted her and instilled a confidence in her. She hugged him more in gratitude.

Never did they realise that they were being watched by a pair of eyes through the crevice of the door. The nerves in those eyes had a sudden surge of fresh blood passing through them after witnessing whatever happened in the confines of the room. A feeling of hatred proclaimed itself aloud and whoever said eyes could not speak would eat humble pie had they witnessed this pair that was emanating hatred, anguish and and ........ a long lost love.

It was yet another beautiful day. The sounds of birds chirping and the fresh waft of wind blowing the curtains in Ravis room was just the kind of begining he would have hoped. It was a big day as he was about to tell his parents about chameli. Little did he realise that it was not meant to be that way.

His man servant ramu kaaka comes running into ravi's room. "Sahib, Sahib Chameli is dead, she has hung herself."

It took time for the last words of Ramu kaaka to sink into Ravi's head. His reflexes which were always attentive and sensitive to any change had failed miserably. His legs were flailing and he had just collapsed onto his bed. That is when a tear had surfaced from his eyes.

Then his parents had come to him and were shocked to see him in such a state. The local police had taken her body for post mortem and it was evening by the time the inspector got hold of the report.

The report clearly mentioned that she had been killed before she had been hung. So it was a case of murder and not a suicide. The killer was at large. The police in Sultanpur were adept at handling petty robberies that would happen sporadically. But this case was in a different league altogether. So they had to seek help from the city sleuths in this regard.

That is when Dhar enters the scene. He is famous for his detective abilities and had solved many a case. So he was now given the charge of this murder mystery.

He started off the preliminary investigation.He questioned ravi, his parents and the other servants in the house.

That is when he zeroed in on Ramu Kaaka. His answers to the questions were inconsistent and incomprehensible. He did not reveal his suspision then. Days passed by with Dhar making little progress in the case. The pressure from those sitting up higher in the hierarchy was mounting and he needed a break in this case that seemed simple at the outset but was getting complicated by the day.

Another event that occured had caused a sudden frenzy and furore in the village. Ramu kaaka was murdered with his throat slit and lying in a pool of blood on his bed. Dhar was now all the more confused. He had to rethink the methodology he had adopted to investigate and had to look at the case with a fresh perspective.

That is when a piece of information from Munshiji the accountant of the Zamindars' helped Dhar make a decisive head start in the right direction.

He said that ,"When Ravi Baba was young he had this habbit of walking in sleep and he would frequently talk some strange tongue.Thats when the Zamindar had met a yogi maharaj who said that his Son Ravi was possesed by a lady maid who was working with the Zamindar's and had commited suicide due to some strange reasons. The yogi maharaj had gone ahead and performed some rituals and poojas and the problem seemed to have been solved. So the Zamindar sent Ravi to his aunts' in the city for further studies. "

This piece of information given to Dhar by munshi ji made him realise that this was not an ordinary case as he had some paranormal influence on it as well. So he started to have a close watch on Ravi. During the day Ravi used to mourn the death of Chameli but during the nights he was this completely different person who kept strutting about his room muttering jibberish.

Meanwhile there was this huge epidemic breakout in the village cattle kept dying all of a sudden. and soon the villagers atributed these sudden deaths to some plague caused by the deceased but restless soul of chameli. Many poojas were performed but in vain. The villagers had no other option but to leave the village and head towards the city. It was a very difficult choice they had to make but no other viable option was present. With a heavy heart and beautiful memories of the village many of them began to move towards the city.

The Zamindar, like the captain of a sinking ship, decided to hold fort. He said nothing could make him get away from his birth place. The place that has seen him grow.

So he decided to tell the truth that has been buried in the depths of his heart for so long.He decided he will call Dhar and let him know that he is the reason for all that is happening in the village.

He summons Dhar. He says," Dhar babu, I think it is high time I told you the truth." Dhar is intently listening without batting an eyelid.

" About 25 years ago, there was this servant maid called chameli who was working in the house. She was a lissome girl and was a very lively person. Her laughter would bring a new freshness to each day. The only thing is that she was born in a family that is paraiah. That did not deter me from liking her. My father got to know about my love for her and got me married to the Zamindarin. Now my love for chameli had transformed to lust. So I had outraged her modesty on one fateful afternoon. Very soon she hung from the ceiling fan of my bed room which Ravi uses currently. It was her soul that kept tormenting me and I too suffered in silence as I knew I deserved it. But I could not tolerate it any longer when it decided to torment my son Ravi who was born to us after a lot of penance and prayer. He was the apple of my eye. How could something like this happen to him."

Dhar could not believe his own ears and was dumbstruck when the Zamindar stopped to gasp for breath. He then prodded the zamindar to tell him further.

" That is when I had brought home this Yogi maharaj who could sense the presence of her soul in our house and so had performed poojas to evict her from our house. I had then sent Ravi to my Sisters' for further studies."

A few years back I could not believe my own eyes when she had come back and asked for a job. It was Chameli, was it coincidence, was it irony of fate or was it my own doing. But she looked exactly like her. I just could not refuse her a job. As I thought that this would lay her soul to rest in peace for ever. But that was not to be.

I soon realised that my son Ravi had a liking for this girl. I decided to get both of them married inspite of she being from a downtrodden caste and not commit the same mistake that my father had done twenty five years back.

It was a sunny afternoon and I was heading towards ravi's room in order to talk to him. That is when I saw Ramu Kaaka peeping through the crevice of Ravi's door. I knew something was amiss but decided to just wait and watch from behind the curtain. In sometime Ramu Kaaka had left the place in a fit of rage that was not usual of him. Then the door opened and out came chameli followed by Ravi." I shall not let you down Chameli" was what he said. and that was enough for me to know what must have transpired between the two. The next day what transpired i do not know but chameli was found dead hanging by her neck . I had my suspicion on Ramu kaaka and I was right it was he who had killed her. " I loved chameli and decided to tie the knot when I saw both her and Ravi babu together in his room. So in a fit of rage i had gone to her place and strangled her to death" was what he said on asking. I was about to leave Ramus place when he threatened me that he would tell the people of the village the kind of relatioon ship that Ravi and Chameli had. That would bring the downfall of our family. He wanted me to write away all my familial property to him in bargain. thats when in a fit of anger i had sliced his throat with a knife that I had found in his house. I had hid the knife in my cupboard as I was confident that I would be the last one on your list of proabables."

Dhar heaved a huge breath of relief. He could see his case unravelling in front of him. But one question still troubled him. Why was Ravi behaving in this unusual manner. and he knew something about the way the Zamindar told him was not plausible. But he held his doubts closer to his heart. he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

That is when he got a call from this pschychiatrist friend of his Dr. Arun. He said that he needed Arun to come to Sultanpur at the earliest as he had an interesting case on his hands and that he needed to make use of the services of Arun.

So Arun landed up at Sultanpur only to find more than half the village empty and those remaining were also leaving. He headed straight to Dhar's place. Dhar explained him the case. Arun was intrigued by it. So he decided to talk to Ravi on this and upon the order of his father Ravi also agreed to meet Arun.

It was then that the entire truth was out.

Ravi started

" I used to sleep walk when i was a child and father had brought this yogi maharaj who performed poojas and I had to leave to my Aunts place for further studies. I returned after almost 20 years and was very happy to be back home. That is when I saw Chameli and almost fell in love with her instantly. and what happened later you know.

On the day when she commited suicide i noticed my father was very uncomfortable. Something about him told me that he was not ok. He seemed to slip away from the gathering quitely. I followed him. I saw him enter Ramu Kaaka's house. I jus stood below the window of the room in which both my father and ramu kaaka were talking.

" Chameli was my aunt and you were the reason she comitted suicide." said ramu.For a moment I could not place whatever Ramu said. then i Realised that they were talking about a women about 25 years ago. My father's head hung in shame and remorse. But Ramu was not stopping then.He told that his main aim was to avange the death of his aunt. It was he who had injected me when i was young with some medicine causing sleeping sickness and my poor father thought it was the soul of chameli. My father then said that he was really sorry for bringing upon such an end to his aunt and he was still repenting her death. It was he who had poisoned the wells and lake of the village because of which there was a sudden increase in deaths of cattle.

All this to avenge the death of his aunt.

That is when he said he loved my chameli and had seen her with me on that afternoon. I could see my father trying to calm him down . But when he said he had strangled her to death I went wild. I just could not control my anger. Thats when he began to call names at my father. A person whom i regard next to God. He was crossing a line and he did not know then.

My father left his place with a deep sullen look on his face.

Then I entered his house and held him by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the floor. I straddled him and slit his throat like a butcher slits the throat of a goat. He writhed in pain. I enjoyed the sight. Die you demon was what I said out aloud. I had placed both my hands over his mouth to prevent him from shrieking. It was all over in about 5 minutes. I just looked up and was shocked to see my father at the door step of ramu's house. He just could not believe what he saw. He immediately grabbed the knife from my hand and asked me to go home and act as if nothing had happened.

I also went home and was spending sleepless nights. It was during one of those nights that Dhar saw me."

Just as Ravi finished narrating the events of that day. Arun said," You are now gaining consciousness. Slowly open your eyes." and Ravi returned back to consciousness.

Arun and Dhar turned around to find the Zamindar leave with his head hung low. He then realised that even he could not save his son.

Ravi was charged with the murder of Ramu and was sent to Jail. Where he served his sentence for 10 arduous years.

He only returned to find his favourite Sultanpur deserted. He takes the road that leads to his bungalow and continues in that direction. He reaches his house and knocks on the door.

To his utter surprise he hears a voice " Yes Ravi Babu, just a minute" and he could recognise that voice even in his dream. It was raamu kaaka.....................................................................

Srini----- Our guy next door

Hmm the topic itself would have given the reader a fair idea as to what I am going to talk about and I can already see that grin on your face and that silent nod of your head in agreement to your imagination of what I am about to conjure.
Kudos my friend as you are just right in thinking about it the way I would.

If not also, please don’t lose heart continue to read.


So let us now meet our dear Mr. Srinivasan Iyer from our sweet Chennai. The land of lip smacking rice cakes (Ok now don’t you get confused, they also call them yidlee.) and taste bud tickling sambhar. The land of beaches and the land of our own Chennai tamizh.
Ok Ok here we go.

Now a little backdrop on our Srini ( I am taking the liberty of calling him so henceforth). A lanky and gawky guy from the beautiful and scenic Chennai.
You may be wondering what is so scenic about that place. Well that’s were the home of our protagonist is. So nothing to beat it.
Life had been a struggle for this chap right from when he had finished his engineering. So his expectant parents like most of them had high expectations of their only boy.(BTW he has a sister who is younger to him and in her eleventh standard, but that still makes him the only boy;)
So he somehow lands a plum job in this software industry. But fate had other plans for him. He had to leave his comfort zone and embark on a journey of a lifetime or so it seemed to him and go to Bangalore. So the day had come and with a heavy heart and eyes brimming with tears he bade goodbye to his family. A practical mom who was very happy to see her son set out to chase his dreams, a not so practical dad
who is turning away just in time to scare that tear off his face and a happy sister who is happy that she will have her brother's room all to herself and his computer will be hers now.
His bicycle will be at her beck and call.

So now that was the scene at the station. The brindavan express now gaining steam and chug chugging happily to Bangalore. Somehow his entire life so far just seemed to go past his eyes.
Moments when his mom would be awake till he returned after freaking out with the very few friends of his, moments when his dad would take him to chepauk stadium to watch India play and moments when his sister would jump over him on a lazy Sunday morning just to start his Sunday with a startle. A wry smile graces his lip.
"Hmm so you are going to Bangalore is it?" spoke a voice startling Srini out of his trance.
He was just not sure where the voice had come from. So adjusting his glasses he just looked from right to left.
Little did he realise that there was only one girl sitting in front of him. then with a sheepish grin he replied" aamam nga,i i mean yes maam"
She giggles seeing his nervous response. The now our lanky boy genius is so very shy that he immediately turns away from her and begins looking towards the window.
But as his luck may have it his window is jammed and so is closed shut. He tries his might to yank it open. But to his utter dismay the window just refuses to open
“I am not going to open up Mr.Madras try however hard you may." was it telepathy or was it some hunch; Srini seemed to hear the window talk. So he just laughs away at the window.
Now our lady looks at him suspiciously wondering what he is laughing at. So immediately gets her mirror out from her hand bag to see if there is something about her face that is so funny.
Then heaves a sigh of relief as she notices no major change from the last time she saw it. Just that the face was a little oilier now and looked a wee bit more tired. But that doesn’t warrant a laugh.

Hmm she goes ahead and asks Srini," hey you what is so funny. All screws in tact?"
Now at this Srini blushes. And he said,"Ya ya just felt like the window spoke to me."
She is thrown aback a little and she hugs her jute hand bag closer to her heart and just sits almost to the edge of the seat.in a fraction of a second she would have been lying flat on her posterior hadn’t our Mr. Johny Bravo gone to her rescue. He just helps her back to her seat and is again trying to escape her glance. Now he can feel her glance on his neck and feels a strange heat running all through his body.

Then somehow he gathers courage to look at her. She has this real pleasant demeanor and a smile that made him go weak at his knees. So he now tries to strike a conversation.
“Hmmm so you are going to Bangalore too is it maam." She gives him a scornful look and says" Please call me Padma, every time you call me maam it feels as if I am 40 years old."
Wow he thought I must have got up on the right side of the bed. She has given me her name; he was already in seventh heaven. Then this little dream sequence of his was interrupted by a voice.

So when he was making a conscious effort to return to the present again he saw a vision where Padma and he were walking on the elliots beach savoring the salty but cool breeze leaving a layer of mist on his glasses.
"Hellooooooo sir where are you" that was Padmas voice startling him from his sweet sojourn to Elliots.
'Hmm ya I beg your pardon maam oops err padmini wat were you saying." She says " I Love you darling"

Srini hears her suddenly talking in a male voice " Get up u dumbo" then he wakes up only to find all this was a dream. Curses his stars." Aiyo muruga ennada idhu indha madhiri oru kanavu(Oh lord muruga what is this dream)"
He lives in one of the places that is the closest landmark of civilization to electronic city a place in Bangalore that houses majority of the software majors.


That place where he lives is called the Bannerghatta tavarekere Madiwala layout or in short BTM layout. His crib, a typical bachelor hang out. A small 2 bedroom hall and kitchen apartment. That would at max be 700 square feet.
The rent he pays for that is five grand a month. Every month when goes to pay the landlord the rent the only thought that comes to his mind is that had it been in chennai I would have lived like a king for this five grand.

So he is searching for his glasses in half awake state. In the process tips over a bottle of water on his room mate, Nandha, who works in the same company as Srini.

Now Nandha is real pissed off at being woken up in this unholy manner. He just begins to swear, but returns back to sleep midway. Srini is relieved and thanked god for small mercies. Srini shares his crib with Nandha his colleague and with Jojo who works for a call center.

He performs his daily ritual the moment he gets up. For the devout brahmin boy he is.
ok ok stop stop what i meant was caressing the poster of bipasha basu that decorated the wall of his bedroom. And then blowing a flying kiss to angelina jolie who looked at him seductively.

That day is really important to Srini as he is about to meet his client for the first day. All these days, he was just able to listen to the voice on the other side of the speaker phone. And it was a team lead who was incharge of the project from the clients end. So he is all charged up one reason being he is going to meet his client (and his team lead) and second the basic male instinct should i say, that just lights up at every prospect of interacting with someone from the opposite sex.

After a huge struggle with his parents Srini finally cajoles them into permitting him to buy a bike. A brand new pulsar DTSI. Fear the black. Everyday before leaving to his office he spends this extra half an hour in cleaning his bike. That’s how much this new found love means to our Srini.

So he gets up reluctantly after tipping over the bottle of water on Nandha, and then rushes to the bathroom to finish up his daily chores and rush to the office.
Just when he is about to take bath .His geyser konks off. Wondering " Aiyo muruga why me and why now". so the very thought of taking bath in the ice cold water sends a shiver down his spine. Jus trembling in his turkey towel he steps out of the bath room, when a thought occurs to him that he can use his stove for boiling the water. He pats himself and somehow manages to find a vessel in which he would boil the water.

He fills water in the vessel and places it on the stove. He is scampering around to find a match box to light the stove. He somehow finds a match box. To his utter astonishment he finds there is just one match stick. He lights it and turns on the gas.
He then lights it and moves his hand closer to the stove.

That’s when God decides to take a break from his creation to take a tea break and have some fun.
So providence has it that the 14.5kg gas cylinder is empty now. So with just a gust of gas the cylinder breathes his last goes dead.
So now even in the chilly December morning beads of sweat grace Srinis forehead. Not knowing what to do he decides that he has no other choice but to take a dip in the cold water that is waiting to pounce on him the moment he opens the shower.
Praying to his lord muruga he steps into the shower after a count of three. Then he grabs the soap in a fit of urgency and God decides that this is getting funnier man I need a little longer break.
Off it slips from his hand and goes dancing in to the drain. Cursing his stars now Srini is getting desperate, so he decides he will use his friend nandhas soap for today. And somehow gets out of the bath room shivering and chanting his daily slokas.
Then rushes to his wardrobe. He had decided he would wear his favorite white shirt and grey tie today to office. He opens his wardrobe, and is frantically searching for his shirt. In the process he finds a note, the note says

“Hey machaan, I’m wearing your white shirt today da and also taking your bike. Got to go out with Rita today. Thanks da."
Oh christ, immediately Srini runs out not aware that he is decked only in his turkey towel. He finds that his bike is gone and it is not a practical joke that Jojo is playing.
Oh god I have to take the office bus and it is already 8.He rushes inside grabs a shirt and gets into a pant and he is combing his hair. There is this one tuft of hair that is refusing to settle down.
And he sprays the new Garnier hairspray that Jojo had bought jus the previous day and just like in the telly all the hairs on his head stand up for attention. Now he is just cursing Jojo for buying this and Garnier for making something like this.
So now looking like a porcupine dressed in formal indigo nation trouser and a color plus shirt he leaves his house. The bus stop is almost a kilometer from his place.
So he is half running and half scampering and half panting for his breath. That’s when his mobile phone goes buzzing and pops out of his pocket .and as a trained cricketer he does a fine catch and the mobile lands into the safety of his outstretched arm.
As if thanking Srini the mobile buzzes with all the more fervor and energy. He looks at the display. The four letter word that again sends a shock wave through the entire body.
"BOSS" that’s what his mobile reads. He picks it up having no choice.

Boss: Hey Srinivas where are you man?
Srini: Good morning Sir, I am on my way to the office sir. My bike sudenly ran out of fuel and I am coming by the office bus.....Sir
Boss: How can you be so irresponsible Srinivas I did not expect this from you. I want you to be here in another 45 minutes
Wham goes the receiver at the other end and now Srini is really running hard. His wrist watch is now happily running. The minutes hand is happily chasing miss seconds’ hand.
His watch is shouting out at him. Hey dude it is 8 30 now yahooooooooo.

Just then a company bus arrives at the stop. There is absolutely not even a single seat to sit. But still Srini manages to get in and stands by the side of the driver.
he says" saar olagada hogi (please go inside)" He has not yet caught the lingo of the place. So he has this real blank expression on his face trying to correlate what the driver said with whatever little vocabulary he has gained in the stay in Bangalore for a little over a year.
Just then the driver realising the plight of Srini says" andhar jao saab"
That’s just when he curses himself for not having learnt the rashtra basha, and for that case not even having watched one Hindi movie all his life.

The driver now gets irritated and almost in a yell says " Inside go saar".
This amuses his fellow colleagues who break into a chuckle. Embarrassed at being chided by the driver and feeling ridiculous in his latest hairdo he slowly canters to the rear of the bus.
The driver now increases the volume of his music system that is nothing but an assembled set that the BMTC has provided for the comfort of its drivers who spend most of their time waiting for the vehicle in front of their bus to budge an inch or two.

So now Srini has his laptop hanging from his shoulder and his other hand struggling to hold onto the railing at the ceiling of the bus. That’s exactly when his Boss calls him up.
He allows his mobile to ring 5 times that’s exactly when a rather considerate colleague reminds Srini of his ringing mobile. He flashes a grin and picks it up only to find his boss on the other side.

Boss: Srinivas where on god damn earth are you man?
Srini:Boss I am now on the hosur road. There is this huge traffic jam.
Boss: I dont know Srinivas what you do or how you do. i need you to be here in 30 minutes and have you got that presentation ready.
Srini: Yes boss, I have got it ready and all prepared. No worries about it boss. we will definitely put up a good show.
Boss: That is really nice to hear mr.Srinivas but do you really know for all that to happen basically there is one thing that must happen
Srini: Oh is it ? May I know what it is boss?
Boss: that is Mr Srinivas I need you to be here in office for all that to happen.
Srini: (Now giving one of his trade mark stupid grins) yes boss of course.

Now the bus is edging and crawling towards the Bosche building that is a famous landmark on the hosur bangalore highway.
That’s when Srinivas notices that there is a seat in the far end of the bus that is not taken. He immediately rushes and stops near it.
God is now enjoying Srinis plight with a bag of corn and coke and praising himself "Dude you rock"
Only to find that the seat has a hole in it. But the thought of standing all the way to the electronic city overpowers him and he goes ahead and takes that seat.
To him it feels as if straddling a western toilet. tough times call for tougher measures.
He finds time to start his laptop to catch the presentation that he supposed to make at office.
That’s when the familiar orange LED on his laptop begins to glow. A message pops on his screen “please switch over to main power" and just then his screen flashes for one last time.
"Muruga" he shouts and wins the stares and glares of a few of his co passengers who are deep in slumber, continuing from where they left off that morning.
Again flashing his grin Srini tries to escape the glares of his co passengers by looking out of the window. A cool breeze embraces his face. Thats when he realizes that he needs to just relax.
Turns his phone to the silent mode loosens the noose of his tie that is more like the noose on the neck of a death sentenced prisoner.
Removes his glasses and places them inside his shirt pocket and relaxes back. Savoring the pleasant breeze in all its entirety and a smug smile now begins to appear on his face. His hair now eases and begins to flutter as if dancing to the tunes the breeze is playing now.
Thats then unknowingly our Srini dozes off. A strange thing is that he is again transported back to the train compartment. He is not sure whether this is a dream or reality
Whatever he is enjoying it and is not bothered to verify whether a dream or not.
he now is sitting right in front of Padma who is asking him "Hellooooooo sir where are you "
he replies " hmm ah ya ya me right here nothing nothing"

Just then the ticket collector comes to verify the tickets and after verifying both of the tickets leaves them and proceeds further scouting for passengers in
an almost deserted compartment.
After he goes Srini again tries to strike a conversation. Seeing his plight Padma smiles to herself and then asks him where is he from and which college he is from and the usual barrage of questions you would ask a stranger in an attempt to strike a conversation and also get acquainted with him. Srini tries to answer but all he could muster was a squeal. that’s when Padma is reeling in laughter
and almost falls of her berth again. He blushes and says," Padma im from chennai, and have finished my engineering from Sathyabhama Engineering college'
I an a mechanical engineer. Now he knew what was coming " Oh if you are a mechanical engineer then how come you are working for a software concern"

Thats when Srini had his reply ready the one he had mastered for his interview the one that got him through the HR round of interview, he said." Look Padma,
an engineering degree or for that matter any degree is just to give you confidence that you can face the world all by yourself. If at all everybody decided to only work in what ever field he has acquired knowledge then many of them would be unemployed today."
Padma is all awestruck at Srini. She says," wow cool yaar, thats so nice."
And now it is his turn to fire his questions at her.
He asks her the same set of questions and she says" well I am from trichy, and have done my engineering from shanmuga college of engineering.I am a computer engineer I am too placed in a software firm in bangalore."
To this his eyes brighten up, " Wow cool man, so should I say two engineers set out on the roads of their careers together." ,"OOps, no offense Padma just felt like saying it that’s all."
"Hey that’s absolutely ok man can I Call u Srini if that is ok with u." For the first time in 23 years his name sounded so sweet to his own ears. There was a strange feeling behind that rib cage of his.
As if his heart was racing at a 1000m/sec. “Hey Srini so you have began dreaming again eh?" Blushing " No yaar nothing like that."
"So how long are you planning to stay in Bangalore Padma".
"I might have to stay for a year at least yaar before I can ask for a transfer to our company's branch at chennai." " How about you?"
"Well I might too stay there for a year before iask for a transfer. But I don’t know Padma how feasible is that going to be. Because i have heard that it is very difficult to get a transfer at least for guys."
"Then Padma how long will you work before you get married..... oops I am sorry may be I should not have asked you this question."
"Hey that is ok man, well may be for two years as my parents have already started scouting for alliances for me."
"That is nice pa."
"So Srini when are u getting married."
"Oh me, that will not happen until i Settle down in my career and take stock of my life yaar. So may be at least 4 to 5 years from now."
So the conversation went on for a long time.
Just before Srini was about to get her email address a hand shook him.
"Excuse me if you mind I need to get down now." He just woke up to find all but he and one of his co passengers are the only ones left in the bus.
Immediately wiping the drool that is forcing its way through the corner of his half open mouth he struggles to get up.
He allows the other person to get down. He tightens the noose around his neck gathers his laptop then makes way towards the exit. Escaping the scornful look in the eyes of the driver.
He just removes his mobile to turn it to the normal mode. only to find that he has 25 missed calls. All from the one and only boss of his.
he is now walking at a snails pace with a part of the dream still clear in his subconscious and when his conscious self tries to make sense of it swiissssshhhhhh
it disappears into thin air.
All he can remember is that the dream is about the girl he met on his maiden journey to bangalore. What a sweet person she was. The memory of her smile still so
Fresh in the cluttered and confused and contorted and tensed mind of his. He just smiles to himself absent mindedly and is stopped by the security at the gate.
" ID thorisi saar (Please display ur id card)" " What what was that, still some of the sleep lurking behind those glasses of his", the security now smiles and says
"ID card dhikaiye saab" "Oh no not again, just when he begins to curse himself, his conscious mind is frantically trying to make a correlation between what the security said and What his mind registered.
Just then he realised that his ID is not displayed. Scratching his head he displays his ID. and the security allows him to enter.
As he enters the buliding he is first spotted by his boss.
"Hey Srinivas, where have you been man. I tried calling you on your mobile too, why did you not to my calls also."
" Ok Ok let us go luckily for us the client was also held up in traffic so that gives us a few extra minutes to save our pride."
"Hurry up to conference room and set up the laptop and get ready for the presentation."
Now Srini goes to the conference and surprisingly everything seems to be working fine. The projector, the presentation his laptop et all."
"Thank you muruga"he mutters to himself.
God has decided that it was time for one last comedy before he got down to business.
So Srini now goes to the rest room to relieve himself. Thats when it happened. when he turned the tap to wash his face the washer came apart resulting in a huge jet of water hitting him right on the chest.
He frantically tries to shut the tap but only in vain. He is now dripping water all over the lovely leather carpet that is spread over the floor of the conference room.
His boss enters and he is at loss of words the moment he sees his lead drenched in water.
All he can do is just stare at Srini.

Just then Srini remembers that he has a shirt stashed away in his cabinet to gift to Jojo on his birthday. So he immediately asks Velu the office attendant to fetch the shirt from his cabinette.
Velu hurries up to the fifth floor to Srinis desk only to find that he had not collected the key to the cabinete from Srini. As he turns back he finds Srini huffing and puffing
and ranting and panting." What yaar velu, you did not take the key from me."
To which Velu quickly flashes a wide doe eyed grin that Srini is familiar with.
Then immediately Srini slips into the new shirt, and then rushes to the conference room. He doesn’t bother to wait for the elevator and takes the stairs instead. Jumping and clearing the stairs two at a time
He reaches the conference room only to find his boss shaking hands with a gentleman as old as his boss and his assistant a lady who is the team lead from the clients side.
" Hello sir, i am Padma working as the lead for the project."
That name sends memories reeling for Srini and he recognised that voice and would do it even in a crowd of ten thousand.
and even before he could take control of the adrenalin that is trying to muster its way out of the temples of his fore head he lets out a cry" hey Padma is it you"
Just then everybody in the conference room turn and are staring daggers at this sudden barging individual who enters the room. Just then realising his folly Srini immediately apologizes.
and is already finding it very difficult to suppress his excitement and should i say happiness.
He is introduced to the client and also to the lead. She says" Hello Srinivas nice to meet you."
That’s when he realises that she has forgotten all about him and then returns back to make this presentation with a sullen and morose face.
As the light in the conference room goes dim, so does his spirit. Then on being prodded by his boss he begins the presentation and does a great job.
Just as the presentation concludes the entire room is again lit by the radiant lights and everybody applauds Srinivas.The client was happy and they break for lunch.
But Srini is just in no mood to go for lunch so he continues to sit in that chair absent mindedly playing with the pointer in his hand.
Just then a hand taps his shoulder. He looks back only to find Padma standing flashing that sweet smile of hers.
“So how are you Srini, how have you been."
"It was as if life was returning back into the listless and lifeless body of his."
He retorts, "Nice meeting you Miss Padma lakshmi."
She sees his anger and all she can see before her is a school kid who is angry for being refused his chocolate.
This brings a smile to her well rounded face.
She says," So my friend is angry with me eh?, ok Srini tell me had I reacted the same way as you did, how would my boss have felt. I would have made a mockery of myself
And both of us would have looked like clowns."
Now the anger began to dissipate and Srini began to see the logic in her statement.
"Oh I’m such a duffer, sorry yaar. Just that I was so excited to see you here at a place and time I least expected, I screamed."
"I know Srini I know., ok so will you not show me around your office. But lets have lunch I’m starving.
The rest of the day passes of in a jiffy and time had come for Padma to leave.
Just as she gets into the car, Srini rushes to her and taps her shoulder,
She turns around half startled and half surprised.
"I need you mail id please wouldn’t want to miss asking you again."
With a glow in her eyes and a smile on her lips she rummages through her handbag frantically searching for something. Just like Houdini she conjures a card from nowhere.
hands it to Srini and says" that has my email as well as mobile number." and with a wink she leaves the premises of the company.
Srini stays there waving at the car and holding her card in one hand.
hmmmmmm



So guys this tale of Srini to be continued or not will depend on your reviews of my blog.
tata and thanks for having come so far. Kudos to your patience and thanks for your time.