Cheers!!!

Ramesh had just come from onsite and he had decided to throw us a party on Friday evening. Booze was a given, in such parties. But, it usually peaked only after the lady members had gone and we were left to our own affairs...This time though, it started off a bit early...

And people with drinks in their hands were mixing freely with others and dining. The drink of the night was a Smirnoff vodka that could very well be poured into a mineral water bottle and sold as such..Absolutely no color. This meant that when mixed with sprite or mirinda, no discoloration happened.

I was sitting at a table for six and had with me a few non-drinkers and a couple of drinkers. For a moment i left the table for a second helping. By the time i was back, there was a mix and match of my table mates and a couple of others had replaced the original guys. The beef fry that i took the second time was a lil spicy and i realized could do with some water. I immediately reached out to a full glass of mirinda standing on the table and gulped half of it. It was only when half the contents had gone down my oesophagus, that i realized that it was a drink.

Initially i did not realize anything outside the ordinary. I even chided the drinkers by asking if this was what they were drining; it did not even taste like anything. I started repenting 5 minutes later...my whole digestive system from tongue to large intesting was on fire...The spicy food added to the effect...I could literally feel burning on the insides...even a big glass of water failed to put out the flames...and then things started getting out of hand...I dont know from where i had that big urge to eat more....I had a sampling of almost everything that was laid out, and still wasnt finished. I even polished off two full bowls of fruit salad and ice cream.

All the while the only thought crossing my mind was if it was apparent to another person. I also had these fleeting thoughts of police catching me when i drove home. Fortunately for me, since the drink wasnt properly mixed, i got a large part of mirinda and only a small portion of the drink...and that probably prevented me from crashing out.

After the good byes were said, i drove home, all the while keeping within speed limits, and eagerly looking out for a police patrol. Eventually, with no mis-adventures, i reached home... The scene after i return from a late nite party is ridiculos, often bordering on the insane. Amma would give me a head to toe scan and look into my eyes for any indication of booze consumption...My eyes, after 8-10 hours in the office, and another 1-2 hours facing the blaring headlights, would already be blood-red. To add on to the effect, I would sport a swagger in my step and an incoherent speech...I loved to play this trick ony her. Her face would then register all the "navarasams" which is a treat to watch.
But this time around, i knew i would not have to put up too much of an act. Readying myself for all evenutalities, i stepped out after parking my car, only to learn to my huge relief, that she had slept off early on account of having a headache... Thank God, my first peg-adventure ended quite well. (of course my scale is a trifle different from other drinkers. A 10th of a peg for them is one peg for me...hope u catch the drift.)

Creating History

Tours, trips and team building activities are common place in any IT organization and ours was no different. But what made this one different was the way in which it culminated, and what it meant to me.
Vaazhvanthol is 40 kilometers from the city and boasts of some pictursque waterfalls, scenic fauna and serene climate, with a dash of forest environment thrown in. In short, for city dwellers, it was the ultimate getaway. The hotel, Rohini International, which arranged the trip was utmost hospitable..dont worry, this is not a sponsored ad...When i say they ver, i mean it in totality.
We started off at 8 am, reached the hotel by 9, had our breakfast and set off on the trek. It was a 4 kilometer trek through the wilderness, scaling some seemingly insurmountable rocks and cliffs...the destination, two waterfalls spat in the middle of the forest. After almost an hour of trekking, we reached the first of them...what amazed us all along the way was the crystal clear water...it outdid the mineral water we had in our bottles...all the 50 of us had quite a splash in the small dams of water created near the falls; and since rains stayed away, we had a jolly good time.
All of us then proceeded to the second one, which presumably was higher than the first and required some skill to scale. 20 mts later we reached the second one which was more majestic than the first. And only those who were supremely confident about their swimming skills ventured out for a splash...
The trek back took an hour and we arrived back where we started...the lunch was brought into the forest by the hotel...and it was a new experience...sitting besides a brook, enjoying the lavish breeze, washing our hands in the cold water...all gave us new thrills...
After lunch it was time for some team building...and what has me happy is that my team won...the activities were conducted very near to the dam catchment area. After the activity, every one had a chance to indulge in whatever they wanted to...some played football, some volleyball, some went river rafting and some played cards...

By about 7 we wound up, and came back to the hotel where every one refreshed themselves, caught a dash of the cricket match where SA had got a drubbing, and then proceeded to have dinner.

After dinner, it was time for some more enjoyment, and people who had some talents were invited to exhibit them... and then it happened! they announced my name and said i would sing a song...now if someone told me to give a speech, i would give 10...if someone told me to dance, i would; if mammootty can, why cant I? But if someone told me to sing, it would not be my cup of tea... not because i dont have a okay voice, but because i have that " what would other people feel" attittude... after a lot of persuasion, i sang "hume tumse pyaar kitna"..which is one of my all time favorites... as i finished it, i got a rousing ovation...it might probably have been because nobody thought i could even sing twinkle twinle let alone a ful fledged hind song...it might be because the rendition was good. But what it did, was give me a lot of confidence... it felt good that someone appreciated that you had some talent..

Ohh, and by the way, the lines "tumhe koi aur dekhe, tho jalthaa he dil" are my favorites... I relate to them very often...being a true Arien i guess... possessive !!!

Anyways, the next time i am offered a chance, I am not going to shy away. I know, all those who read this are thinking, "please tell me in advance, I'll make sure i stay away" .... :-)

And what history did i create? It was the first time in my life, that i sang infront of an audience..

Snip Snip Snap...Ouch !!

Friends often say god has been a little too generous on me...the reason? He gave me hair which doesnt need combing once i do the routine round in the morning. The "straight-haired" guys have to spend some time before the mirror, a few times every day, to sort out their "hairy-affairs"...I have been blessed with curly hair, which by their standards is the best one to have...Hmmphh...if they ever saw the time i spent every morning trying to get it in place, they would change their opinions...I probably spend more time than their combined times...
Ok, the story is not of the umpteen ways to comb the hair or to adorn it, but it is about the man who has the hard task of cutting my hair;my hair dresser. The place is called a "beauty parlor" though i doubt if anyone comes there for that.
So, the subject in question is a staunch communist...and since i am one of the few people who frequent the shop, am subjected to a barrage of his yester year exploits...and of course like all communists, those stories get the blood boiling in him....sadly for me, he decides to take it out on my poor hair...all the while i have to produce approving sounds like Hmmm...Yaa...Ok.. etc... I cannot afford to nod, lest he cut off my head. When i sit on the chair, my only prayer is, god dont let his hands slip...
Last day it was the same again...after having sat down (read said my prayers)...he started off on his monologue...this time it was about the general strike we had...he recounted his childhood experiences...he said he used to go for all strikes sponsored by the left...
i asked "havent you ever got arrested then?"he had a sheepish look on his face...I thought that might be to say, oh yes, I have...But, He said..."no...never"For the first time ever, i was interested...after all, a police story excites anyone... "not even a single time? so u mean these were not agitations? only peaceful protests?""no..not that; as soon as the police come, i run off from the scene...you know i go to those protests without my family knowing...and if i end up in a police station, they might have to come to bail me out...there is a friend of mine who comes with me for these strikes...as soon as we see the police we scoot"...I was laughing from head to toe...but couldnt show it on my face...lest he be offended and decide to take it out on my..yes thats rite... on my poor hair...he was silent for the most part thereafter...the only questions he asked me were "right side ok?"" do u want to use a hair dryer"?
And as i stepped off the chair, i saw his face, a lil cloudy a lil downcast and blood-drained ...I had perhaps hurt a staunch communist... he might have probably been lamenting the fact that he did not get arrested even once... I felt sorry for him...
It might have something to do with the "ambitions" i remarked upon in an earlier post...any ideologist communist's greatest honor would be when he participated in a mass movement and got arrested for the same...it is a story that he could share with generations to come....and my poor communist friend here was probably shattered by the fact that one of his customers did not buy his story and probably saw him as a failure on that count....
Do we see people like this in our day to day life? People who have not been able to achieve their dreams, and know that they might never achieve it? How do they react when put in such situations? Does the IT industry have a lot of analogous situations?
As i think of going back the next time, i am worried if he would have that it mind...I would be surprised if he doesnt, considering the very few people who ever turn up there...and god bless my poor hair...but of course, as my friends say, it has already been blessed!! AMEN