Things I thought would never happen in my life

I never thought that these things would happen in my life:

1. Stay in a boarding school
2. Get into the marchpast team
3. Get curly hair :-(
4. Be notorious during my high school ;-)
5. Study in North India
6. I would change into somewhat an "introvert"
7. Own a two-wheeler at the age of 17 (Never thought that I would learn to ride also)
8. Have a great admiration for my Physics teacher
9. Not get into the usual engineering or medical streams.. :-D
10. Do graduation far from home, in such a reputed college, and stay in a wonderful hostel
11. Gain a wonderful friend - Anupriya (Though I don't contact her frequently... ;-))
12. Travel without tickets in trains
13. Start reading and writing (Consider the field seriously)
14. Be so attached to Trivandrum (I disliked the place first)
15. Earn a job at the age of 21 (Working at the Technopark in Trivandrum, I consider it an achievement)
16. Get some good colleagues from SunTec
17. Learn to cook chicken (The taste factor is not still accurate)

May be the list will grow. But as of now I remember these much. Some of these unexpected moments gave me immense joy, while some disappointed me too. Well anyways, whatever happened, I am happy for what I am now... :-)

Something I love

I love this piece of poetry by Kahlil Gibran

It was but yesterday
we met in a dream
you have sung to me in my aloneness,
and I of your longings
have built a tower in the sky

But now our sleep has fled
and our dream is over,
and it is no longer dawn.

The noontide is upon us
and our half waking
has turned to fuller day
and we must part

If in the twilight of memory
we should meet once more
we shall speak again together
and you shall sing to me
a deeper song

And if our hands should meet
in another dream
we shall build
another tower in the sky

Jotted down a little about this here

Finally... they're back

After a month of busy schedules, I'm back to my normal routine. Know why? My parents are back... :) That means no more spending of long hours in the kitchen, cleaning, and early waking up for me. This one whole month has taught me the value of parents and having somebody caring when you reach back from a day at office.

For the first few days after they left for Kerala, it was not much hectic for me. I was fully engaged and was enjoying being responsible. I tried making a few dishes. A few failed pathetically, a few survived the test. Cleaning was the worst part. The moment I clean the floor and get back to the kitchen, Mittu (my parrot) untidies the place. Washing dishes was another nightmare. Pick up any of time, you'll find the basin loaded with dirty plates and dishes. Cleaning the stove was a routine for me. Every morning I clean the whole kitchen, including the stove and start boiling the milk. God only knows why, I always forget that I have left the milk on the stove. The result - it overflows :(

Washing clothes were not an issue for me. But since the rains had set in and direct sunlight was not there everyday, drying them completely were almost impossible. After all these things come my bathing. The water is extremely cold at night (This is the time I finish all the work). And you all know how terrible it is to take a bath in extremely cold water. So I had to forego it many a days.. :-D But somedays I do take the courage and bear the cold water. In between, I met with a minor accident. So many scars and wounds on my body.. :( Especially a big one on my knee. This left me in pain for a few days. Result - I couldn't clean the floor for days.

Another thing which was severly affected was my studies and reading. I had brought home "The Witch of Portobello" by Paulo Coelho. But as I couldn't read it regularly I have lost the flow and now find it impossible to complete it. Speaking about my studies, I have my exams on the 20th of this month. Three big books to be completed and not even one has been completed.

But now I everything is fine. I wake up after 8 am on weekdays and 10 am on weekends.. :-D No need to look after the cooking or anything. Completely carefree now, once again... :)

The Oath Ceremony

Last week, two tech writers joined our team - a senior writer and a lead writer. The senior writer, Jeevan, was indeed looking tensed when he came to each of our bays to meet the team mates. Finally he was all set to be a part of the team. First day went so. But the second day had something special in store for him.

4pm - The technical documentation team (excluding the two new joinees) receives a mail asking to be gathered at the training room. On reaching there, we were told about a prank being played on Jeevan. Though it has never happened in the history of Sasken, Jeevan will be told that all new joinees will have to take an oath on joining the team, infront of the rest of the team members. We all agreed in readily and was all set to be a part of the prank.

Jeevan was called in to the room and informed by our Project Manager that all new joinees at Sasken have to read out the Sasken oath at the oath ceremony. He was a bit puzzled but gave in. He took the oath, stood in front of the team, and started reading it loud. We couldn't control our laughter on seeing the guy being made the 'bakra'.

The oath went something like this - "I, Jeevan Narayan, solemnly affirm to abide by the rules of Sasken Networks and the Government of Karnataka (God knows why the govt. of Karnataka). I will not steal the office stationery, misbehave with colleagues, watch offensive videos, access prohibited websites, ... " The whole team was in laughter. Though uncomfortable with this peculiar oath, he continued reading it, he had no other option.

Only when he read the final sentence was that he understood that it was all a prank - "I swear to treat the whole team with icecreams." He looked at all of us and joined in the laughter. Now it was his turn to treat us with icecreams which he swore. This time he got tensed thinking do I really have to buy icecreams for this 53 member team. Infact, icecreams were already waiting us in the next room. The PM had ordered icecreams for all. Thus we welcomed our senior writer into the team. The lead writer was saved... ;-)

The Transformation

Till date, the most memorable and cheerful period of my life was my school days. When I say school days, its the quoted period from my V standard to X. This was the time I enjoyed the most - the most with my friends.

My life would have been different if I hadn't joined St. John's School, Kayamkulam. When I first went there to give my admission test, I wasn't happy with the appearance of the school. Small classrooms without fans and lights, but large windows and doors, unhygienic bathrooms, no football grounds, or basketball courts. I missed my previous school when I saw all these things. I knew not how I was going to adjust over there.

My first day at school was terrible. When I entered the V standard classroom, all were staring at me as at an alien. For the first few days it was so. But things began to change gradually. I gained a few friends, started liking the whole place, and looked forward to attending my classes. The only dissappointing part was that I had to stay in the hostel. In the evenings, I watched all the children leave for home eagerly and I left to the hostel.

As time passed I had become more attached to my school and friends. Made a few good friends and one best friend (it was the concept - best friend must be only one :-)). I also had a few 'enemies' in class - a group of girls I disliked. Till VII it continued the same way. When I reached VIII, I became a day scholar. Started traveling by bus to come to school. Made a lot of friends that way. And by this time, my 'enemies' had becomes my best friends. We formed a gang and had lots of fun together. Extra classes, tuitions, bunking, being rebel, outings, we enjoyed everything. Three years passed so quickly that we weren't happy when our board exams started. Most of them would be going to different schools. I was also sad when I knew that we would be splitting up. But I was atleast happy that I would continue in my good old school for the rest two years. Some friends would remain. I cheered up. We could keep in touch and meet once in a while. Morover all stayed somewhat near.

It was only when my exams started I came to know that my parents had something else in store for me. I was lost without hope. They were planning to take me abroad to my old school in Muscat. I had mixed feelings. Finally I thought maybe this will be better for me. After my exams, I left with my mom reluctantly. I had no other option. I couldn't plead as there would be none with whom I could stay over here.

Once I reached Muscat, everything changed. In those days I wasn't so comfortable staying with my parents because it was after a long gap of six years. Even I had no friends over there. Most of the time I was sad. As usual I couldn't enjoy the present and was still living in the past. Three months passed the same way. Atlast my parents, understanding my thoughts, decided that I was to be sent somewhere else. And hence I reached Udaipur, to stay with my brother, uncle, aunt, and cousins. Now I was a bit fine. My parents also came there within an year. It was sort of a get-together feeling always. All together. Things were turning out good. But I couldn't overcome the hurdles in getting friendly to my mates in school. That was the worst part. I just made three good friends. Still it was better than being in Muscat. After completing my schooling I was back in Kerala. What a relief! I met my good old friends and was really happy.

But in this whole process something within me changed. Don't know whether my assessment is correct, but now I am not that comfortable being with unknown people. Making friends now takes a long time. But my old friends remain closest to my heart.

The Trivandrum British Library

The British Library at Trivandrum was one of my favourite hang-outs in the city for a period of 3 years. I became a member of the library in 2004. I made several re-thinkings on whether to join the library or not, simply because the membership fee was Rs. 600. Whereas to join the Public Library or University Library, one needed only an amount within Rs. 300. After several calculations and budget revisals, I became a member of the British Library. In those days, I was still doing my graduation and 600 Rs meant a lot. The ambience was the aspect which attracted me the first. After being to the college and university libraries, where the racks, books, and reading rooms were not cleaned for years, British Library was a welcoming one and indeed looked like a library.

The first day, I wandered around all the sections and finally borrowed three fictions. In the beginning, I found it difficult to adjust with the library. The period for which a book could be borrowed was two weeks, after which it was to be renewed. I usually lost track of the date and ended up paying huge amounts in the form of fine. But gradually I picked up the habit. I started gaining a lot more interest in reading. I always made it a point to visit the library twice or may be thrice a month. I started loving the place.

The following years when I had to renew my membership, I never gave it a second thought. Even after finishing my graduation, I was in the city and frequently visited the place. The British Library was the place from where I picked up the habit of reading intensely. I never borrowed the CDs, browsed through the kid's section, or used the internet connection over there. Always felt there was lot of time left for that. But alas, they closed it down... :-( This was something that hurt me the most.

I would say that it was one of the few libraries in Trivandrum which maintained all the aspects of a good library - the ambience, a wide collection of books, friendly staff, etc. It was really bad that such an institution had to be shut down. My membership has expired and I have moved out of the city. Need to look out for the British Library over here!