Cafe Good Times

I've never told her....!!

2011-04-10T14:55:00.004+05:30

I've never told her how her smile lifts me up...
She's not the LOL type. But sure she giggles at times and gets me into the tickle. She smiles, and in fact laughs so much, laughing hugging her stomach insanely. But you never hear it after those initial tones which pick up the laugh. There's a kid in her, laughing, trying not to make a sound. You can see her eyes go wet, all in joy! Her lips don't need a lip gloss. Since they already wear a smile. Cute she!

I've never told her how much I adore her eyes...
Her eyes, they're so beautiful. But no! That's not the apt word. It would take essays to explain. I hear waves crash over the rocks near the sea every time she gives a slow wink with her half-shut eyes. Imagine a rainbow over the sea, those are her eyebrows. They are natural, nothing more, nothing less. She looks into my eyes and I go blind, all in a flash. Her eyes, they glitter more than diamonds. She's happy, she smiles, and they glitter even more. She does get angry at times and her eyebrows try joining their ends. They make me worry. I place a kiss right between that gap so that they stay separated, for happiness' sake. She gives a worried look sometimes, looking down, her eyes trying not to meet mine. Only waiting for mine to lift hers up.

I've never told her how her voice drives me crazy...
She isn't a vocalist. But I would rather let her talk and do the listening any day over anything! It's adorable and shy, an effect of her shy nature, an effect of her innocence. I would frighten her just to see her voice wobble. The way she calls out my name in the cutest ever form on earth, makes me thank my parents for naming me that way, otherwise this cute angel of mine wouldn't be toying my name this way! More crazy do I go when she speaks half asleep in bed. I wish the sun never rose up again the next day just to hear her mutter those words. I don't care what she says though. Her unclear voice is all that matters to me.

I've never told her how sweet she is...
The way she hugs me from my behind when I return home with full of sweat, the way she makes me rest over her bosom and make me hear her heartbeats compose tunes for me, the way she pulls my cheek when I lie on her lap, the way she brushes her lips with those of mine, the way she grabs my hand tightly when she needs me the most, the way she cutely punches my stomach when I fool her, the way she winks at me when she achieves something... I declare that I lost to her, and indeed I'm lost, in her! Sweetness personified. My honey!

I've never told her what she means to me...
She means happiness. She means sweetness. She means seasons. She means paradise. She means love. She means friendship. She means mother. She also means a child. She means the most, and oh. that would be sacrilege. She means EVERYTHING. Get me a word beyond 'everything'. She would mean that to me.

I've never told her how much I love her...
You probably might think why I haven't told all these to her. Well, definitely I would love to. But the fact is that I haven't met her yet! I haven't moved with her yet. I haven't married her yet to express all my love for her. But when I do, she would probably say............. I better not expect too much! But still, I wish she says "You silly, I knew it even before you said!"

02/04/2011

2011-04-04T16:17:00.007+05:30

It wasn't one of the perfect ways to begin a weekend. I woke up with the irritating thought that I had to go to the College to show the prototype of my final year project to my Internal Guide and to the Head of the Department. It wasn't a review though. The only respite being the fact that the breakfast at College had to be Vegetable Pulav since it was a Saturday and that's probably the only reason we attended College on Saturdays in the past 4 years. Much to our surprise the prototype worked perfectly well and we were in for a good amount of appreciation from the staff. Corrections were made in the rough draft of our report and we were all set to start back to home to catch the World Cup Final just in time.

I received phone calls from couple of my friends who wanted me to come to Skywalk to view the match in the big screen. I wanted to go, but my body wasn't willing to cooperate since I had just arrived home with the sun beating down on me for the past 1.5 hours. I chose to watch the match in television and probably when I get out of my tiredness I thought I would proceed to watch it in the big screen along with them. The toss took me into surprise as it looked more the gully cricket like for many reasons. "The toss is crucial." - I heard Ravi Shastri's dialogue-programmed voice in my mind from nowhere as it was total turmoil on the screen what I was witnessing at that moment. And no wonder Shastri too was part of the scene of crime. When Dhoni lost the toss the second time it was tossed, I almost had the thought that we lost the game. It was more like Ganguly winning the toss and chosing to field during the 2003 Final. Never mind, I thought we had equal chances of winning the game by the lucky loss with the toss.

My Dad and Mom who are all-time Cricket haters too joined me before the idiot-box to catch the Final. We were going great guns both with the bowling and fielding, forget Sreesanth! But I also had this crazy thought in one corner that Sree was also a part of the T20 WC Final winning team's playing eleven. I wished history repeated itself for this guy somehow that Saturday despite his terrible bowling. I dozed away after Sangakkara and Jayawardene started building up their partnership. The run rate kept oscillating just around 4.00 RPO. I woke up after the 40th over only to see our bowlers getting thrashed in the batting powerplay during the death and Jayawardene removing his helmet to mark his century. 274/6 was no mean score in a WC Final. Chasing it in Mumbai carrying a billion hopes is gonna be a real test of character for our guys. I kept my fingers crossed as Sachin and Sehwag walked in amidst the huge roar by the crowd. I was seeing Sachin walk into the pitch one last time in a WC match. I wished it wasn't his last ODI at least for what few suckers stirred up such a crazy rumor.

My Mom on the other hand started making coconut boli, a sweet, for dinner saying that India would definitely win the Cup. But what followed was a shock which would have caused me nausea had I been eating that moment. Sehwag getting out the second ball for a gold-coated duck and Sachin falling for 18, but playing an elegant and exquisite innings during that brief stay. A hot coconut boli came into my plate and I gave a confusing look at my Mom. She chuckled and said that the best is yet to come. My sentiments came to my mind for a moment. I usually had the habit of staying away from the television set whenever the Indian team was in a crisis. Even if it was against a team as bad as Afghanistan! I moved out from the drawing room into my room to sit before my PC and started playing few Hindi songs and had my supper.

I seriously felt that my 'sweet' dinner wasn't getting into my throat. I had become a choker! It took me an hour and ten minutes to finish my dinner!!! I only wished that the team didn't choke badly to face a loss similar to what happened in 2003. I opened a tab for Cricinfo to update me with whats happening at the Wankhede. I gulped two bottles of water as I felt the heat. Kohli and Gambhir were steadying the ship well. "Gambhir kannula oru fire theriyudhu!" (I could see fire in Gambhir's eyes!) came an SMS. I wished that it continued as my sentiments were working out perfectly. Kohli was out after an 83 run stand with Gauti. Well done! I had my instincts telling that Dhoni would come next ahead of Yuvraj and play a mammoth innings, at least to maintain the Right-Left combination at the crease. And lo...!!! Update came that Dhoni had stepped in. Instincts Part 1 - check! It was now Dhoni's turn to check the Part 2 too. The scoreboard ticked and ticked every moment. Wonderful! Rajnikant was trending in Twitter as well. Dhoni crossed his 50 and Gauti approached his century only to fall 3 runs short. It was a victory knock without any argument. After Yuvraj coming in, it was itching for me to go back to the hall and catch the remaining action as victory seemed more certain now. I just hoped that they did not throw away their wickets and put up another great-Indian-collapse!

As I was worrying on this regard, Yuvraj pulled one for a boundary and Dhoni slammed one for a SIX over the point an over later. I had come to watch at the right time! Dhoni escaped a run-out and things seemed normal soon. Every over had couple of boundaries from then and the duo were ripping off towards remaking history. Mom was clapping her hands even before the winning shot was made. Crackers went on instantly in my locality even before that. I was going to witness something very astonishing and unusual and shall be remembering it for the rest of my lifetime or probably tell this even to my grandchildren! Kulasekara's delivery was rocket-launched by Dhoni for a SIX and I erupted, the crowd erupted and of course the entire nation erupted! I witnessed it at last. Every member of the team getting emotional, Sachin being carried around the ground on a victory lap, the team lifting the WorldCup, all those were truly amazing and priceless moments that must be relished and cherished by every Indian indeed. While going to bed post midnight, I just realized that my sentiments worked and my Mom's sweet worked as well! LOL! :D

Leaving you with the visuals of victory! :)

DHONI LAUNCHING HIS HELICOPTER AT LAST....

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...!!! :) :) :)

Happy New Year!

2010-12-26T15:10:00.003+05:30

Replenishment! This is what this domain and myself need at this moment. Seldom do I usually recap on what happened the entire year when it nears its climax. But this time it just didn't let me be the same. Event-FULL is the apt word to describe. There were some firsts and quite unfortunately many lasts which never were meant to last! Nevertheless, experience was the much gained one. 2010 was the year of experience of a lifetime. Filled with the essence of fun, thrill, friendship, love, romance, prayers, adventure, travel, disappointment, heart-break, revenge and what not?! Cant deny any of these in my 2010 potpourri.

From Tirupati (Jan 1) to Tiruchchirappalli (Dec 24), the itinerary for the year was destined and finalized by fate which remained unknown for me though, obviously. Every day contributed a surprise stroke leading towards an unusual caricature. Hopefully the portrait should find its shape by 2011, which indeed is gonna be the year of decisions, for the lifetime.

Career and personal life graphs were at their exponential rise and fall respectively. There weren't any qualms when it came to my education and career. The year provided me the best! My aspirations on pursuing PGDBM after my Engineering grew manifold. I had chosen my destiny, at last. This is what I wanna be! Attending classes, taking up mocks towards CAT, the main one, and JMET thereafter, the exposure was immense. Though I would consider my first attempt was to gain the experience of what MBA entrance exams were all about, I'm gung-ho on my future attempts probably in 2011. Meanwhile, Tata Consultancy Services recruited me in campus placement for the post of Assistant Systems Engineer. The way I got recruited was just awesomeness, especially the personal interview. It couldn't have been a better one!

Relationships with people hit the all time low. Misunderstandings, ignorance, duels, betrayals were cropping up badly everywhere around me all of a sudden. Cant be justified that I was all perfect and others were wrong. The mistakes were on my part too, partially. Regrets!! Result, the friends circle shrunk, its diameter being eaten up by ego and attitude. Life had to go on. There's very little hope that things will change. Taking the positives from whatever happened, I realized who really cared and mattered a lot. Yet again, 2010 proved to be a year of experience.

I traveled a lot this year, without parents accompanying me luckily! There's always this parental guidance whenever I make a journey on most occasions which I am sick of. This time it wasn't to be. I made many trips with friends like never before. Coincidentally the year 2010 began at Tirupati and ended at Tiruchchirappalli. Yelagiri, Tirupattur, Vellore and Kanchipuram were other places outside the city where I made short trips alone and along with friends. Expecting more trips outside Tamilnadu next year. The year was also filled with prayers. Not only for myself. That is all I could say. We don't get everything we need. One's gotta understand that. I somehow did.

Sadly, I've completely lost the habit of listening to English tracks. I seriously don't remember clicking even a single English track in my desktop this year. Nor did I watch one in television. I did discover the good regional ones though. Music, I feel it everywhere. Books read - NIL. Damn! :(

And this is the year I increased heck a lot of weight!! *sigh* I completely lost my physique, though I didn't turn up being plump. When everyone around seem to be gym-ing and concentrating too much on their appearance, I simply don't seem to be finding time to take care of myself. Wonder why! I shouldn't be allowing this to continue anymore. Sadly, we don't find much people who accept you for what you are, instead the appearance is the one which plays the game. Philosophy and reality sometimes go against and sometimes do go parallel. Sounds irrelevant? Its not! I need to shape up, both, my mind and body at the earliest!

Wish 2011 brings the change.

HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLE..!! :) :)

Changing Faces

2010-06-04T12:18:00.006+05:30

Bottom of the rack did my albums lay,
Pulled them out and they made my day.
Posing together within transparent sheets,
Obsequiously got crowded those memories.

Nestled close in each others arms,
Unaware of our possessed charms.
Closed my eyes just to hear,
Those forgotten voices loud and clear.

Blurred memories came to the fore,
Took me back to the days of yore.
Tranquil moments as such stay memorable,
Fortunate to get away not into a rubble.

For the loved ones smiled as my fingers trace,
Innocence connoted on everyone's face.
Questions now arise why are they lost,
Desperate to bring them back at any cost.

They now stand with their faces changed,
Innocence put to the slaughter and buried.
Running after time and for themselves,
And none of us seem to be selfless.

From let us meet and plan,
To let us plan and meet.
Legs which once ran tireless for miles,
Now run just to see them bearing fake smiles.

I blame not everyone,
For they all were bygone.
But still their heart belongs to me,
Safe somewhere even they cant see.

I shall continue being their friend,
Never letting our friendship end.
Be with them forever and more,
Wishing some magic still left in store.

Making a Choice.

2010-05-18T09:36:00.006+05:30

A hot and humid afternoon it was. She had been deeply engrossed with the novel she had brought from the Library since morning. That remained her only entertainment in the Women's hostel from the day she relocated from Chennai to Hyderabad for job. She didn't prefer taking a home for rent as it would bring her only increased unnecessary expenses. She had her guy though, a colleague with whom she found striking similarities within days she met him in office. He took care of her more like his own child, and that was all she needed staying away from her parents whom she missed so much. She couldn't have prayed for a better replacement. Such a smooth and sensible love they shared between them. He remained extremely possessive on her, and that made her avoid unnecessary conversations with men, just because that he had warned her not to trust any guy around. She would deal stuffs with men regarding official purposes though. She never felt that she missed anything due to this. Her guy remained her everything.

She threw the book on the couch and decided to go for lunch. As she proceeded back to the hostel, she felt a sudden urge inside and rang up her most trusted and her only male friend. She had known him since the very first day of her Post Graduation. All along her educational career she had been thrown into various Girls' Schools and even her Under Graduation was in a Women's College. He had been her only male friend whom she confided everything with, other than her guy. She had been in touch with him everyday without hesitation though her guy being very strict all over on these issues.

HE: Hello!

SHE: Hey dude...

HE: You told me yesterday that you wanna tell something.

SHE: Err.. Yes, but.... I forgot it.

HE: Come on! Don't lie. Now tell me.

SHE: There's nothing to lie. I just forgot it man.

HE: Alright bye!!!

SHE: Hey hey, chill now. Why are you getting tensed?

(He remained silent for the next few seconds)

SHE: You have gone mad! Bye.

HE: Haahaa!!

SHE: Then what? Why do you get tensed for everything?

HE: Hmmm, now go ahead. Tell me whats your problem. What were you about to tell me yesterday?

SHE: You very well know that my guy is so possessive and all that. And it pricks me that I'm not obeying his words when it comes to you alone. I'm not doing anything wrong with you though. But he shall not understand even if I explain a billion times to him that you are a good chap. And I knew you very well, much before he entered my life.

HE: So?

SHE: I'm in a dilemma!

HE: I can understand. You are planning to take a break from me.

SHE: I'm still unable to express it dude.

HE: When it comes to Love or Friendship, any girl will obviously consider only her Love since it is more important and it has to do with her life. Whereas friendship can come back to you at any point in life. Nothing wrong in your decision. Take a break.

SHE: Thanks for understanding that dude!

HE: But your guy is just too much! Huh! So you can be without me and my friendship right?

SHE: But you aren't gonna miss me anyway since you have so many female friends around you. I'm just one among them.

HE: Not at all! I treasure you so much. In fact you may be surprised to know that I value you so much than how much you valued me all these days.

SHE: Really??!! Huh, you never told me all this before. Are you serious?

HE: Yeah! Obviously. You were the first girl whom I met during my Post Graduation. Through you I made friendship with so many other girls, that's a different story. Haha! And you, yourself must be knowing how much you had cared for me all these days. You are indeed special to me! You are such a nice girl. I mean it.

SHE: Had you been a girl, I would have hugged you now!

HE: I can't be taking the girl avatar just for the reason that you are gonna hug me!

SHE: Aiyae!!

HE: By the way, though we have been close buddies past 4 years, I haven't asked you this question before. What made you accept me as your friend when there were so many guys trying to befriend you?

SHE: I found out what kinda person you are through your writings. Moreover you were very genuine with me. I didn't bother your lavish words on me too. Haha! Whereas I'm sure that the other guys weren't trying to move with me in the same way and with the respect which you gave. I think that we just became good friends easily.

HE: So am I just a good friend to you?

SHE: Oh God, you have questions out of everything which I say. You are my only best friend among the guys I've met in my life dude! I can be my normal self with you which I cant be even with girls.

HE: Had you been a guy, I would have hugged you straight away now!

SHE: Haha! This nakkal is one thing which I liked in you right from the beginning.

HE: But you wanted to take a break from me right?

SHE: Concentrate on flirting other chicks around you for now! Enjoy life.

HE: That's different. But I'm gonna miss you!

SHE: Get yourself normal now. Make sure you enjoy your life mate. I may not buzz or call you daily, hereafter!

HE: Hmmm! But make sure that you come back to me whenever you feel like. Keep me informed about your well being and also in case you find yourself in any personal problem. I'm sure I can get you out of it very easily. I wanna be there with you at least during those moments.

SHE: Sure I will. Don't worry.

HE: Hope you will keep remembering me once in a while.

SHE: Cha cha, no I wont! Haahaa!

HE: Get lost, Idiot! Miss you..... Stay in touch. Bye!

Disclaimer: The above conversation/story is the result of jobless thoughts over conflicts between Love and Friendship which a girl would face when she has an extra possessive guy and a super good friend. Any resemblance to other impersonal stories is purely, and convincingly INTENTIONAL !!! :P

Mission Happiness...!

2010-05-14T16:40:00.016+05:30

Staying away from Blogging for eight months should be the worst case for any emulous blogger. Not that I'm too much an aspiring one to add myself in that category in the first place. And the days were rather VERY MUCH eventful. Almost two-thirds of a year right?! Unable to recollect many, and there's also some sense of insecurity in me which stops me from publishing them. Still this page is being read by many be whatever crap I post, and I was even asked when am I gonna publish my next post by at least half a dozen people in the meantime. Thanks a ton for your interest and support! And I, myself was surprised to see when I accidentally slipped into my webpage that the page-hits had crossed over 2000! Readers have mostly been my School and College friends and Railfans who read stuffs apart from trains too.

Meanwhile, I just had my 6th semester done and awaiting the most disastrous result of my lifetime, though I'm little bit happy about the fact that I have just one more year to crib about Engineering. Screwed up two papers like never before and adding insult to injury the University did its part by setting up a controversial question paper which ended up in a fiasco. So its gonna be minimum three to watch out for this time. Never had I done a satisfying semester as yet and this worst episode comes at a time where placements are around the corner. Never mind, Anna University might spring up a surprise anytime even during the results. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Lots of plans in mind due this summer. At least to forget what I have been for the past 6 months. I get bitten by the blue every now and then, and the best way to not get caught unawares is to be prepared. One month of healthy distraction is all I need. I feel, I shouldn't be sulking when things aren't gonna change. And rightly the official announcement has come that my college reopens only on June 24th. 40 whole days!!! Thanks for being so generous. I need a break, and this is what I've planned to do, or keep myself engaged so that I don't let myself down again...

And here are things I wish to do this summer....

1. Hanging out - This is something which I had missed so much in the recent past. Staying home is the best way to make things worse when you are not at the best of yourself. Interactions and going out with more happy and fun loving people is the need of the hour. Meeting or catching up with old friends and spending quality time with them is always worth it. Meanwhile, my conversations with Mom have come down considerably. Not that she's boring and all, but only that she's the most bugging person ever in my life. lol! I'll come back to you after the semester results, Mom. Or at least after a month's holidays. Stay away Mom, just leave me alone.

2. Cut off unwanted people - This just adds as an epilogue to my previous point. But since it involved my Mom, I had no heart to include her in this 'unwanted' category. Justice done. There are people who don't even dream of making me feel good. Its not their job anyway. But at least they could have been a little bit nicer. They always cling around, off course with jealousy, and with no other job other than intimidating, rude remarking, humiliating, gossiping the wrong and what not?! It is indeed because of these people I was able to segregate whom I need and whom I don't. There's always a good from the bad. Thank you so much! Go fetch a life.

3. Railfanning - How would I miss out this one? My holidays are incomplete without Railfanning. Locomotives and trains have never disappointed in entertaining me at any point in life. They are such sweet lifeless buddies who make me feel light which even human beings around couldn't.

4. Blogging - Keying this out in the blogosphere, it would be injustice if I don't mention Blogging. I have always amazed at people who spend so much time and interest on blogging. From where do they get so much topics to write? I wonder. I wish I read and write more this summer. And this is just the perfect headstart.

5. CAT / Placement preparation - Though both require the same kind of preparation on the basics, I'm almost unsure about the placement part since the results are unfortunately bound to be a flop show. Its too early to say. But its almost certain. Unless the University is open handed in awarding marks, there seems to be no other magical way to clear those papers. Better not to expect that since the correction standards have gone haywire since last semester. Never mind, its all over.And CAT? Yes, the hunt is still there. Atleast in securing a good college if not for the IIMs.

6. Physical exercise / Weight reduction - This has been on high agenda. I somewhat have started getting a feeling that I'm getting obese without physical exercise these days. Not even Cricket. Quite a number of people around me have started gym-ming and keep discussing about being muscular, diet-control etc., I have no interest in that though. Just wanna keep myself fit and healthy. Had a 45 minute fast-walk today morning against the beaming sun and felt the calories burning away. Loved it. Planning to involve myself in exercising and jogging too.

7. Inplant training - Holidays, and yes, time for inplant training. Will never forget the previous year's 8-day training at Basin Bridge Railway Yard where there was maximum fun and learning. Awaiting one such training this year too, and it shall prove to be relaxing for sure.

8. Movies / Novels - My bad habit that I realize these things do exist, only during summer! Planning to catch up those missed ones during leisure.

9. Pray - That doesn't need any explanation.

Stay Blessed! Wish you a Happy Summer ahead! :)

More Ramblings....

2009-09-04T15:30:00.017+05:30

Had you asked me how my week was, "Exciting" is all I would say. Probably one of the best weeks in recent times since June when my stifle began for survival. Attending college 6 days a week should be definitely taxing, I know. With all the mental agony and depressions, being loaded with loads of responsibilities all of a sudden, its quite difficult indeed to balance everything. I badly miss myself - The Insouciant Aswin is no more. I want to write.... Write like many of you out there, when something holds me aback and I just succumb to it. Never mind, I have few good hearts who spend time reading my ramblings and managing to drop in their voices as text. Thanks a ton for your encouragement people. I wish I can post better topics in the days to come. But I can never be a pro blogger, and that's evident now.

Well, coming back to the topic(?), yeah the week that was. I had somehow developed the feeling of being homesick since last month. I have been attending coaching classes on how to "Bell the CAT" ( the MBA entrance test it is) on weekdays presuming that I may stay home at least during the weekend. But it wasn't meant to be either, partying out with Buddies hardly getting time to stay at home. But yes, I do come back.... To have dinner, finish my never ending record works and to hit the sack. Hectic I tell you! But that wasn't for too long.

Since last weekend began the relaxing spree where we got an off on Monday after a while, very much after a while. A needed respite. The Saturday saw us heading towards Power Grid Corporation in Sriperumbudur on an Industrial Visit. Standing under the sun at a scorching 2 pm for the sake of staring at High Voltage Transformers and Relays screwed us tight.
Result: severe headache! :-(

Meanwhile, Myself and a Soul Friend of mine decided to meet for a Dinner after a huge 4 month gap. Plan was to meet in T.Nagar and later it had to be shifted to Ashok Pillar at the last moment. By the time I fetched one of my Buddies to drop me over there, it was already 07:10 pm and she had asked me to be there by 06:30 pm!!! LOL! Make a girl wait for you and see how she gruffs! "Am so sorry! Haha....!!!" was all I could do about it. And as I held out the chocolates which she desired the most with a sheepish grin, she bounced over it immediately smiling all over her face! Even a Mastercard can't buy you that! :-D

Last Monday was supposed to be our department symposium (which we ourselves hate...! duh!) and it needed our valuable(!) contributions in designing charts for the events that were to be held. I took charge over "Play with Circuits" with some time-consuming idea which I called myself innovative ( yeah, later everyone agreed with it!). The idea was to write PLAY WITH CIRCUITS with all the circuit elements which you can think of, and it came out much better than what was expected. Appreciations and class bunks - that was all I needed! ;-)

My passion towards Telugu has been increasing quite madly these days and I don't know why! A Pal of mine dropped in to give me "Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam", a recent time telugu super hit and I must admit that I enjoyed every reel of it. Maybe I badly needed some relaxation, I guess. A very simple story with neat presentation makes it stand apart from other crap run-in-the-mill Telugu flicks. Music (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) and Cinematography deserve mention adding rich color to the movie. Siddharth was at his best and Tamanna looked cute as ever! Worth killing 3 hours for relaxation! :-)

And nowadays I find a group always coming around me trying to find out whether am I committed or not.....!!! LOL! "Dude, are you committed?" is one question which I came across almost a dozen times last week. I have no idea what makes them ask such questions suddenly. Well, I don't find myself good enough to get committed. I'm no Boyfriend material either.....! :-|

And before I wind up, let me leave you with this feel good track from "Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam"...

Wish to write "sensible" posts soon....! :-P

Heading Nowhere...

2009-08-16T22:55:00.004+05:30

Yet another week in the sequel of nothing-goes-my-way run. Draining me out, completely and emotionally! Chiseling me into shambles and smithereens, making me look more like an utter crap ( wasn't I already am?). With lots to regret and nothing to forget, I have no options but to continue taking whatever comes. Life has never thrown options towards me, leaving only with compromises and no better replacements. Or is it just that everything is messed up in my head or myself being a messed up creature altogether?! Questions storm within me which could very well be answered only by me. (Not that I wanna show off that nobody understands my feelings and nobody has the answers to my questions and all that crap!) Few, I repeat, only few have been extremely supportive at every moment, be it Good or Bad. A source of respite for me, when I look low to their eyes. This post has just popped out during one such low and Bad phase of mine, considering that Good times don't remain forever and always, being very obvious.

I have noticed this right since my childhood. Being gifted with everything best around, and cursed of being unable to relish it and posses it at any time later. Things which seemed reasonable to be desired by me weren't meant to be mine when I needed the most. The real world around doesn't interest me anymore. Now that is not surprising. Because the real world has never aroused my spirit. But I had this innate ability to create an internal world within myself and be safely tucked in there. Yeah, I HAD that ability. That amazing ability to disconnect myself from te real world and connect with an inner world has been taken away. Now I grope for thoughts to fill my empty moments, but in vain. People whom I loved in real remained the same in my virtual life. All I could imagine was the better version of what I was. But later, it wasn't meant to be too. Regrets enough! All I can do is, post this meaningless bullshit which keeps accumulating my empty space on the top, just for the heck of it! Maybe, its time I move on... For the sake of filling up empty moments, and for the sake of feeling alive in life.... Once again.....

Everything around me is just so fine,
But nothing really seems to be mine....

On the lighter side, let me leave you with a couple of Thalaivar Rajnikanth's dialogs which are promising truths.... ;-)

1. "Kedaikaradhu kedaikaama irukkadhu... Kedaikkama irukaradhu kedaikadhu....!" [You get only what you deserve] :)

2. "Nallavana aandavan sodhippan, aana kai vida maatan... Kettavanukku aandavan ellathayum tharuvan, aana kai vittuduvan....!" [The Good is always tested, but never let down by God. Whereas the Bad gets gifted with everything, but will be hopeless someday] :D

So, naan nallavanaa illa kettavanaa?! :P

P.S: Don't try finding coherence with the lines I scribbled in this state.

Cheers to Life...!!! (Though it has nothing to offer me.)

See ya!

Welcome Junior !

2009-07-12T16:13:00.020+05:30

WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT.

Two years ago, some day in September....

I was seated in the 5th row of the bus from the last, the Sun in the west scorching through the heated window as i was sitting near it. I closed it and tried to have a nap as we were returning home back from college. Sumanth was sitting to the left of me. Had a small conversation with him regarding ragging which our immediate seniors "The 2nd years" had told us that it may happen that day, though they don't involve much in it. It was a Saturday and we were quite sure that the Seniors were in for some fun with us for the weekend.

Call that guy in the middle... a voice from the last row uttered it quite slowly considering the staffs occupying the front seats!

Anjan, the 2nd year faithfully did what his senior asked him to. Sumanth was to begin the show. He was asked to stand in the stairs of the closed back door so that none of the staffs really got a view of whats going behind in that staircase since it was obviously a low floor. The other seniors told us not to turn back to see whats happening there. Kept concentrating with my extended hear-power to have an idea whats gonna be done.

Sing us a song....

Sumanth started with a charm...

Yeah,
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's choking how, everybody's joking now
The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!

He did it in a flourish. Lose Yourself for you. There was a dumb silence behind. The were six senior bozos listening this among which none of them would've understood a word.

We don't get your song. Get us the Tamil version of this in a paper and sing it again in Tamil.... The guy with the glasses sent Sumanth back to his place.

Is that all??? I asked him.

Guess so..... Sumanth was a relieved man, and his face showed it well. It was a piece of cake with enough icing for him.

Now the guy near the window.... Came a voice once again from the back. It was me, I knew!

I went back and stood in the stairs with a serious look. There were 6 of them who looked nothing less than morons. A hairy one, a fat monster, a specs wearing specimen, a professional looking prankster (He became my friend later!), And a couple of black lizards. The fun was about to begin. Not really funny though....

Now who asked you to stand in the stairs? The hairy one near the door began.

I climbed up and stood on the floor.

Did we ask you to come up now? Go there and stand... Retorted the guy with the glasses.

I went down once again . This should possibly be the last time I am doing this. And I mean it.

Now why are you blocking the air which is coming in through the door? Move up. - the hairy one now. A bird's nest would look more neat compared to his hairstyle.

Now you both decide among yourselves and tell me where should I stand !!! I hit back, though managing to grin.

Look, you need not order us what to do. Do what we say !

He was bound to get the worst out of me. I held the door with my right hand and started staring out...

Now look here and don't lean over anything. Stand straight.

I was still staring out without giving a heed to what they ordered me to do.

Hey ?!!!

Yeah, tell me.

Sing us a song, or put up a dance now.

I don't know both !

Then what else can you do? Don't you possess any talent ?!

No.

That's okay. You try singing now.

I can't sing, I told you.- Is there any necessity that I should expose my talents to these shims?! I better not.

Now do something for us and leave the place.

I don't know anything.

So are you gonna stay here doing nothing? The hairy one gave a fierce look.

I stared him back and didn't reply a word. I knew the ball was in my court. Considering the strictness my college maintains on these issues, anything which is gonna happen big and beyond is gonna affect only them and not me as a junior. I'm gonna play....

Now why is your face this serious? Be normal.

I kept staring out without noticing him. I felt blood boiling inside me for the first time.

Alright lets switch over to something interesting. Have you watched Porn movies? - Began another.

Its better to say YES rather than a NO to get bullied by these arse-holes! My inner voice said.

Yes !!!

Oh that's good then. So now you are gonna enact to us what "really" happens in those movies.

Meaning?!

Do we need to explain?

I can't act what you asked for.

Then narrate us whatever you saw in it.... Every time I refused to do something, these guys came down from their level of ragging! lol!

Haven't you guys watched porn movies before in your lives???!

No son, we haven't watched any...! Chuckled the bloke with the glasses.

Then I don't think I should be explaining it to Kids !!! I slapped them back to see those faces get pissed off for the first time.

I knew I was dominating. Indeed I was, taking advantage of my position as a so called "Junior" to pee on the faces of those 6 bastards. They can't lay their hands on me either. And I wouldn't be the same if anything is gonna happen to me. Anything and everything is just gonna be against them, and I was well prepared for whatever is gonna happen.

Do you think that you are talking too smart?

I never told like that. Did I ?!

Look, we are your seniors and you need to do what we say.....

Oh really ?!!

One should've seen Mr.Glasses' face that moment. He was totally bemused! I loved it. I felt that I was going a little bit out-of-control against them. Felt heroism for the first time in life surrounded by 6 men and unable to move a muscle against me. I was elated!

This is it. You needn't do anything for us now. Get something for each one for us tomorrow when you come.

What do you guys want?

I need a Condom! Hairy came forward eagerly to list what he wants.

Hmmm...

I need a Jockey. Free size. Glasses was the next.

Okay.

Get me a Maaza, 2 litres bottle and a Chocolate cake cut into 16 equal pieces. The fat monster ordered his part with a glee.

Hmmm....

Get us Porn DVDs from Burma Bazaar. We watch only celebrities stuff! Those remaining black lizards jumped in.

Alright....!

So when are you gonna get us all these?

I never told that I'm gonna buy all these for you. Did I ???

This idiot is making us beg him ! Frustrated Hairy lost his patience completely by now...

What's your Dad? Where are you from?!

I'm from Korattur. My Dad works in the Police Department. He is the P.A to the Director General Of Police !!!

Leave him away... - Whispered the Monster to Hairy. It was Game ME.

Salute us and say "Good Evening" to each one of us and leave now.... Hairy gave a last try.

I can't.

Hey leave him now, move.... Go to your place. The remaining ones shoo-ed me away.

It was a 40 minute show overall, where all I had to do was stand idle staring out and trying to remember that I was being ragged by few useless dumkophs once in a while.

Moral - Its Advantage YOU, if you have landed up in a strict college as a Junior !

Fate that you must listen to this piece of advice! :P

Tagged !!!

2009-06-20T10:21:00.014+05:30

I got tagged too, so I decide to write few things about me. (Err... Just one another lame excuse for not being able to "think" much to write during the holidays!)

So here we go...

Ten things I wish I could say to the people whom I love...

1. I've always cared for you nevertheless of whatever I do.
2. Without you, life wouldn't have been so interesting.
3. You are the best thing I can ever get.
4. I miss you a lot. More than I can ever express.
5. I wish I knew you better.
6. I wish you reciprocate something back, of what I give you.
7. I completely understand whenever you say you are busy. I just pretend otherwise.
8. Please don't ignore me. Losing you is my biggest fear.
9. You made me feel special. Thank you!
10. Love you lots!!! Though I never say it out.

Nine things about myself...

1. I have a good heart as you know it well. And I can boast about it till I fall.
2. Trains are in my blood. Anyone here?
3. I’m an absolute absent minded freak.
4. I hate to show attitude on my loved ones. I'm kind enough to forgive people.
5. "Thanks" and "Sorry" are the words which I use the most. They don't cost a penny.
6. Daydreaming??? Oh yeah!!!
7. I save money. That doesn't mean I'm stingy.
8. I don't trust anyone easily. But you can trust me. Infact most of them does.
9. I hate to say "Goodbye". Well what's the "Good" in it?

Eight ways to win my heart...

1. Be modest and honest. Tell me the truth, even if it hurts.
2. When you are with me, try to be with me.
3. I hate being ignored, I say this a thousand times and that's what the above one means too.
4. Make me laugh and laugh with me. I'm sure I can make you happy.
5. Have deep conversations with me. You can very well share your secrets.
6. Let me be a part of both your happiness and sorrow.
7. Don't boast too much about yourself before me. I'll be laughing inside.
8. And most importantly, your looks never ever matter to me.

Seven things that cross my mind a lot...

1. Future?!!
2. What power are my favorite trains gonna get today?
3. Let me put up a chat with him/her now.
4. Yeah, my parents are watching me... Sniff!
5. Why am I being ignored by a few?!
6. Is this life really worth living it?
7. How am I gonna fare this semester?! Just for the heck of it.

Six things I wish I never did...

1. I shouldn't have taken up Engineering... Sick!!!
2. I shouldn't have met few, till now and forever.
3. I shouldn't have allowed those few to boss over me.
4. I shouldn't have experimented much with myself.
5. I shouldn't have trusted few too much.
6. I shouldn't be regretting like this now!!!

Five turn off's...

1. Ignorance.
2. Advise... Goddamn I can organise myself more than what you think!
3. Bossing over me.
4. Lack of freedom.
5. Curd... Yuck!!!

Four turn on's...

1. Making friendship... I'm ready!
2. You like me? I don't need anything else...
3. Are you happy? I would always love to see it!
4. Rail-fanning... Yes sir!

Three things I want to do before I die...

1. Make my Parents, Buddies and my Partner feel that they wouldn't have got a better one than me.
2. Charity from the money I earn.
3. Die before my loved ones die...

Two smileys that describe me...

;-)
:-O

One confession...

I shall never change myself for anyone... Because I'm already being liked for what I am. (I think and hope so.....!!!)

CHEERS TO LIFE !!! :)

I Do Scribble Some Poetry....!!!

2009-05-10T15:57:00.018+05:30

We started together somewhere someday
Taking a path supposed to be the destiny's way,
Some ditched me and held me at bay
While most called it a league and had just raced away,

I know I'm heading nowhere
Searching for people who would really care,
I never knew anything before
That I'll live this moment just to allure,

As I tread along the path of life
Future shows me the signs of strife,
The past was as green as the meadows
I look for a place to rest under the shadows,

I don't wanna move further
I can't stay here either,
Future looks bleak till the horizon
While even the next second in life remains unknown,

I look around for people
Who are no more visible,
They've raced ahead of me so wild
Perhaps they were destiny's child?!

I stand still, taking a turn
Looking the way I had come,
This path was well known to me
I go back once again absolutely care-free,

Unable to stand now
Having come a long way in this path,
With nobody here to accompany me
I sit in a bench beneath a withering tree,

Memories have been the only thing which I carry
While others are working towards their glory,
As I nestle myself in this bench
I'm lost among a sea of memories,

I knew this wasn't gonna help me anyway
Yet you can't keep running life in an expressway,
Pauses are needed when going gets tough
Cause even the heart takes it after every beat,

As a cool breeze freshens me up
I find dry leaves shedding down from the top,
As I catch one of them and grasp it tight
It crumbles just like those memories before my sight,

I'm moved
Not towards my destiny yet,
But within my heart
That I'm unable to cement those crumbling ones intact,

I haven't taken the wrong turn
I'm just lagging behind waiting for someone,
Not to hold my hands and to lead me ahead
Just to sit beside me to give a heed,

I hate this feeling of being left behind
Not knowing how to express it out,
I look back at the past and dream about the future
Heading to a world of my own!

Chennai - Visakhapatnam by Guwahati Express (22.12.2008)

2009-02-01T14:52:00.009+05:30

Destination Vizag! For a change my journey began from Chennai Egmore instead of Central!

CAUTION: Strictly Indian Railway stuff! A post dedicated to all Railfans. The following two posts contain extreme Indian Railway terminologies which a normal reader may find it very difficult to comprehend. Step in at your own risk!

The ticket was for 22/12/2008 by the 5629 MS-GHY Express in the S6 coach. My Dad was to accompany me during the trip. I was to join my cousins who have gathered at VSKP for a winter holiday. Me and my Dad decided to leave after 20:00 hrs from our home since we had to make it to MAS by an EMU from Korattur (KOTR) and go to MS to board the train. We reached KOTR at 20:15 hrs, purchased tickets and waited in the platform. A 'Sapthagiri' liveried AJJ WAM-4 powered a Special train towards AJJ side at 20:25 hrs. It was quite difficult to spot the loco number in the dark. Because of this, the 2623 MAS-TVC Superfast Mail got delayed by 15 mins and it thundered past KOTR at 110 Kmph with an ED WAP-4 22298 at 20:38 hrs. Our EMU was yet to come since two EMUs one for MSB and other being a MAS Fast EMU went in-between. Our train was expected at 20:55 hrs. Within 4 mins after the TVC Mail crossed us, the 2601 MAS-MAQ Superfast Mail led by an AJJ WAP-1 22016 and a WAG-7 28026 with a BOXN rake had a face-off at KOTR at 20:42 hrs. Maq Mail was doing somewhere around 90 Kmph. My EMU came at 20:55 hrs. Till BBQ there wasn't much to spot. Spotted Nilgiri Superfast Express with a WAP-4 near the Vyasarpadi curve. Time was 21:20 hrs and we moved slowly out of BBQ and again we halted. This is where AJJ WAP-4 22626 with the 6041 Alleppey Express and BZA WAM-4 20518 with the 2852 Bilaspur Superfast Express moved in parallel tracks out of MAS. There was something even more unusual which i spotted at BBQ Trip shed that day. ED WAP-4s 22244 and 22572 were moving out towards MAS in the same track with less than 50 metres distance. 22572 then had a small halt and switched over its tracks. Both moved into their respective platforms for their duties. We reached MAS at 21:25 hrs. From MAS we took the 15B bus to MS.

MS was reached at 21:45 hrs. We used the North gate to enter the station. Our train was already on PF5 and the power was an AJJ WAM-4 20515. We boarded our coach S6 and luckily there weren't any SMBs in our entire rake. Then I jumped onto the platform to do some more railfanning. But there weren't much trains around except the 1063 MS-SA Express on PF8 which was to be powered by GOC WDM-2 16866. 6177 MS-TPJ/KMU Rockfort Express was being shunted into PF4 at the speed of an EMU !!! I went walking around my platform to check out the entire rake composition. It turned out to be like this....

Loco-3A-SLR- GS-S1-S2- S3-S4-S5- S6-S7-B1- A1-S8-S9- PC-S10-S11- S12-GS-SLR- HCPV-HCPV

The 3A next to the loco was booked by a group. I had no idea who were they and what they were upto. Our train was given the starter bang at 22:30 hrs and we moved out. I doubted the performance of the WAM-4 with a 22 coach load. We moved out slowly from MS. We went through MPK, MSB, Royapuram and Washermanpet and veered towards our right towards Korukkupet to join the MAS-BZA main line. The entire stretch we didn't do more than 30 Kmph. We joined the Main line exactly at 23:00 hrs and 3352 Alleppey-Dhanbad Express was waiting outside Korukkupet with a WAP-1 (probably from AJJ) It was supposed to trail my train i guess. Tiruvottiyur and TNP were done at around 60 Kmph. The LP was accelerating well. We blasted through Wimco Nagar and slowed down near Ennore creek ad crossed it around 30 Kmph. After that it was all clear and we ripped through the outskirts almost at 90 Kmph. We crossed GPD at 23:44 hrs and the LP cranked it crazy and we touched 110 Kmph for the first time. Elavur, Arambakkam and Tada were blasted at MPS. Impressive! We slowed down near SPE and cruised through at 00:10 hrs and once again we were ready to set the track on fire. We passed through GDR at 00:58 hrs since we didn't have a halt there. We were once again doing good speed and i felt we were running well ahead of time. We overtook a flat bed rake hauled by LGD WAG-9 31153. We reached NLR outer at 01:30 hrs and we halted for some 10 mins and pulled into NLR at 01:41 hrs bang on time. I decided to sleep closing the window for a while. After NLR we weren't doing the best of us. Though we did good speeds we halted a couple of times and reached OGL at 03:20 hrs, 10 mins behind schedule. I dozed off completely then. My Dad woke me up at 05:25 hrs since i requested him to do so. And to my astonishment we were only at TEL. What would be the reason for such a delay?! Gosh! I decided to door-plate and it was full of fog and mist. The LP decided to show up his talent now by accelerating had once again. We were doin 80 Kmph and we crossed Krishna Canal Jn in the same speed. The Wammie slowed down to around 50 Kmph as it entered the Krishna Bridge. We then crossed the BZA trip shed where i spotted the following locos...

AJNI WAG-7 27408
LGD WAP-4 22717
BZA WAG-5 23826
BZA WAG-5 23636
BZA WAG-5 24438
BZA WAM-4 21237
BZA WAM-4 21149
BZA WAM-4 21243

We pulled into BZA at 05:58 hrs in PF7 and in the adjacent PF6, 2713 BZA-SC Satavahana Superfast Express was to leave with an LGD WAP-4 22589. 2711 BZA-MAS Pinakini Superfast Express was on PF1 and 2718 BZA-VSKP Ratnachal Superfast Express was on PF2. But our train was given the go ahead of the Satavahana and Ratnachal and we moved out slowly at 06:15 hrs. On the north end of BZA, i found GTL WDM-2 17508 and KZJ WDM-2 17351 standing lonely. From then the acceleration wasn't that good. We did not cross more than 30 kmph for the next few kms. We were running late by 35 mins now. I had heard that the SCR LPs are real aggressive guys but still the LP was in no mood to accelerate. We never touched 90 kmph till Eluru where we reached at 07:12 hrs, 44 mins late. My expectations on the Wammie came down miserably! This is when the LP started to accelerate realizing the delay and we darted through all the wayside towns and villages. Stations like Pulla, Chebrol and Ungutru were ripped of at 105 kmph. Tadepalligudem was crossed at 07:49 hrs and Nidadavolu Jn at 08:10 hrs and we overtook a Passenger train led by BZA WAM-4 20506. We were once again doing great speeds to make up time. LGD WAG-9 31142 passed us with huge coils in a BOXN rake soon followed by a BZA WDP-1 hauled Passenger at high speed.

We reached Kovvur and had an unscheduled halt where a BSL WAG-5 23885 crossed us with a Flatbed rake with coils. We crossed the Godavari at around 50 kmph and we pulled into RJY at 08:45 hrs for a 5 min halt. I spotted an ED WAG-7 27494 with a BCNA rake just outside RJY. We were now late by solid 1 hour and moved out of RJY at 08:52 hrs. BIA WAG-5 23085 crossed us with a BCNA rake then and at Anaparti we were again made to halt at 09:25 hrs for some track inspection work. We were then given the proceed and from then it was absolute rampage.... We accelerated extremely hard, hard and even more hard. We cruised Samalkot Jn at 40 kmph at 09:49 hrs where we overtook an ASN WAG-5 23599 led BCNA rake which had no Caboose. We were once again doing good speed around 80 kmph where an LGD WAG-9 31152 crossed us with BOXN rake. Annavaram was blasted at 105 kmph and Tuni at 80kmph. The LP did everything possible with the WAM-4 which looked aggression personified! I felt like traveling in a WAP-4 hauled train now. I decided to do door-plating and AJJ WAM-4 20573 crossed us at great speed with the 3351 Dhanbad-Alleppey express at Kasimkota. We crossed Anakapalle and the LP decided to do the rampage to the fullest 110 kmph! Horns blaring all the way, we kicked dust very badly that the entire area looked like it was under a fog. Paper plates, plastic covers being tossed everywhere along with dust and what a sight for a railfan! We never slowed down from 95-110 kmph till Duvvada which we crossed at 11:50 hrs. ED WAG-7 27458 with a BOXN rake moved above us from the harbor lines towards the HWH line. From then we proceeded at 40 kmph to move into VSKP AT 12:05 hrs, just 20 mins late. Overall, it was a good journey showcasing the abilities of the Wammie, which though found it difficult to accelerate, did well after once reaching a good speed!

Visakhapatnam - Chennai by Howrah Mail (25.12.2008)

2009-02-01T14:14:00.015+05:30

The mighty AJJ WAP-4 22602 which did the honors for my train on my way back home!

After a wonderful 3 days stay at VSKP with my family and cousins, we decided to leave MAS by the 2839 HWH-MAS Superfast Mail in which we had earlier booked tickets for 25/12/2008 being Christmas. We were a group of 12 returning back home. Earlier that day my brother called the Enquiry to know whether 2839 was running on time. The answer was that "The train is running 34 mins late." My surprised brother was asking me what was that 34 with a giggle ??? Are they running trains with such accurate timings or what?! he asked. We are indeed in India! Our train was supposed to arrive VSKP at 13:45 hrs as per the scheduled time. We decided to leave at 13:00 hrs from home. We reached VSKP at 13:20 hrs and the display board showed us that 2839 would be arriving on PF 1 at 13:55 hrs, late by 10 mins. SRC WAP-4 22586 pulled in the HWH-MAS Superfast Mail bang on time into the station while LGD WAP-4 22343 with the 8464 SBC-BBS Prashanti Exp had earlier arrived on PF 2 was ready to depart in few minutes towards BBS. Our coach was S9 and we boarded it after settling the confusion with the TTE regarding the SMBs. Our seats/berths were from 1-3 and from 74-81. The SER coaches were neat and good. Quite new ones manufactured in 2008 only. There were bottle-holders, pouches to keep your books, mobile phone chargers etc., Me and my cousins decided to take 1-3 to enjoy the journey staying far from the elders! This is when few people got really on our nerves. A big Muslim family was sitting in our seats and refused to move. Even their seats were scattered badly it seems. They had huge, i mean really huge boxes kept under and between the gaps of berths where we keep our legs. What the heck?! Where are we to keep our legs then? My dad and my sister-in-law came and yelled at them. Especially my sister-in law bashed them in telugu. Then they moved away taking all their boxes and settled in the 3rd bay which had seat numbers between 20-30. An LGD WAP-4 22238 moved in the track between PF 1 and PF 2. I expected it to be my power, though I knew that my train would be hauled by an ED or AJJ Wappie. I went to check out where that loco was heading to. Without slowing down, it moved into the pit lines and then into the Loco Trip Shed. Prashanti Exp too was moving out in parallel towards BBS.

AJJ WAP-4 22602 was the power for my 2839. This was to be my 32nd journey behind a WAP-4 and my 7th journey in the MAS-HWH-MAS Mail. We moved out at 14:20 hrs, late by 15 mins. As we trundled through the Trip Shed i noticed the following locos...

LGD WAP-4 22238
LGD WAP-4 22201
AJJ WAP-1 22016
SRC WAP-4 22365
AJJ WAM-4 20619
BZA WAM-4 21227 (Barbie)

We cruised through the Trip Shed and we accelerated with ease. We were very well doing around 80 kmph before we came out of the city limits. SRC-WAP4 22501 whizzed past us with 2660 HWH-NCJ Gurudev Exp towards VSKP, which was soon followed by another BZA WAM-4 20506 hauled express train. I was unable to read the name at such a high speed. The harbor lines and the HWH lines joined us soon. ED WAG-7 27458 was waiting to join the main line from HWH side with a BOXN coal rake. We blasted through Duvvada thereafter. The SCR LP was at his aggressive best. We were doing mad speeds across small stations now. Thundering typhoons for those who were waiting near the level-crossings! An AJJ WAM-4 crossed us with the 3352 Alleppey-Dhanbad Exp. We touched 110 kmph now and we continued to do so. No caution orders i guess. We ripped through furiously all the way till Anakapalle (AKP) our first halt at 14:57 hrs (scheduled arrival 15:02 hrs) Gosh! We left late by 15 mins and we reached before by 5 mins. 22602 was all set to show its potential this time i guess! While we had an extended halt at AKP, 2864 YPR-HWH Superfast Exp went with an LGD WAP-4 22596 well above 100 kmph. We were once again doing good speeds now. We overtook a BOXN rake hauled by twin WAG-5s with 23772 from ANGUL in the lead. We were constantly doing above 90 kmph. I wondered how come there weren't caution orders for a long time. Just outside Tuni, LGD WAP-4 22643 crossed us with NZM-VSKP Swarna Jayanti Superfast Exp. We reached Tuni at 15:56 hrs where BZA WAM-4 21218 was waiting for starter with BZA-Machilipatnam- VSKP-BZA Passenger. We were back in action soon and i felt the speed to be monotonous since we never slowed down anywhere!!! ED WAP-4 22666 went with 7239 GNT-VSKP Simhadri Exp just outside Annavaram (ANV) and we reached there at 16:15 hrs, late by 10 mins.

Me and my cousins decided to munch something and so did we. We stormed through all wayside stations and 22602 was at its elemental best. 110 kmph seemed peanuts for us. SCR LPs rock big time! We overtook a BCNA rake hauled by twin NKJ WAG-5 23873 and 23655. We crossed Pithapuram at MPS where we again overtook a CONCOR rake hauled by LGD WAG-9 31161. We were hurrying in a haste towards Samalkot Jn and we entered it at around 50-60 kmph and braked hard, almost the EMU effect for a 24 coach monster rake. Excellent! It was 16:43 hrs and twin BZA WAG-5s 23778 and 23305 crossed us with BOBRN rake at very slow speed and halted in the station. We moved out of SLO, still late by 10 mins and 2509 SBC-GHY Superfast Exp ripped through with an AJJ WAM-4 since it did not have a halt at SLO. I was to witness more freight action till BZA. AJNI WAG-7 27138 crossed us with a mixed Flatbed/BOXN rake which was soon followed by an LGD WAG-9 31190 with another BOXN rake. We overtook another freight BCNA rake led by twin BZA WAG-5s 23907 and 24409 At Anaparti we overtook an unknown express train which had stickerings in many coaches. It was led by an LGD WAP-4 22516. We went round the huge Kadiyam curve at around 80 kmph where KZJ WAG-7 27591 crossed us with a BCNA rake. As we were apporaching Rajahmundry (RJY) we crossed the 2806 SC-VSKP Janmabhoomi Superfast Exp led by LGD WAP-4 22264. Just outside RJY we halted for 5 mins where LGD WAP-4 22590 crossed us with 1019 CSTM-BBS Konark Exp. We reached RJY at 17:39 hrs and a BZA WDP-1 15049 with a VSKP bound Passenger pulled in on PF 2. We crossed Godavari at a good 50-60 kmph and we again starting tearing the tracks apart! 2842 Coromondal Superfast Exp crossed us at great speed with a WAP-4 after Kovvur. We neached Nidadavolu Jn (NDD) at 18:13 hrs for a brief halt. Then the East Coast Exp crossed us with a WAP-4 probably from LGD at 18:29 hrs at great speed! There was surprisingly a huge noise when both our trains crossed each other.

We reached Tadepalligudem (TDD) at 18:35 hrs and Eluru (EE) was done at 19:12 hrs, late by 20 mins. We weren't gonna give up, the LP cranked it crazy once again and we blasted through Powerpet, Nuzvid and Gannavaram all well above 100 kmph. 24 coach load almost looked like a petty EMU rake for 22602. Watch out MAS GANG, there's a Monster in the making! We reached BZA outer at 20:05 hrs while the scheduled arrival was 20:30 hrs. Buffer time well used! We waited for some 10 mins and we slowly pulled into BZA at 20:20 hrs in PF 7 ahead by 10 mins. Announcements were made that 2660 HWH-NCJ Gurudev Superfast Exp would be arriving soon on PF 6 and 7644 Kakinada-Chennai Egmore Circar Exp would be on PF 2. I was able to hear the Diesel loco noise, must be the WDP-1 coming in with the Circar Exp. Soon to follow was Gurudev Exp with the AJJ WAP-1 22016 which i spotted at VSKP Trip Shed. After an extended halt for 25 mins we moved out bang on time at 20:45 hrs. But before we moved out of the PF we stopped again. Chain pulling??? We started again and moved out slowly at snail's pace through the BZA trip shed. Spotted the following locos there...

BZA WAM-4 21265
BZA WAM-4 21270
BZA WAM-4 21262
BZA WAM-4 20623
BZA WAG-5 23267
LGD WAP-4 22685

Still at snail's pace we entered the Krishna river bridge, and as we crossed i was able to see a WDG-4 with a Flatbed rake going towards BZA. We crossed the bridge and weren't accelerating much. SR zone drivers for you. Feel the difference! We cruised through Krishna Canal Jn and we overtook a SWR rake passenger led by a WDM-2 18691 in Orange-Cream livery. KZJ diesel? Just as we were beginning to do good speeds 2712 MAS-BZA Pinakini Superfast Exp teared across us with a WAP-4 at Peddavelapudi. We reached TEL at 21:24 hrs and we were feeling sleepy. Berths away, me and my cousins stretched ourselves. Almost everyone in our coach were in the sleepy mood! I was listening to the sounds of the train and was hoping that we were doing a good speed. I slept thereafter. I suddenly felt a great jolt (since ours was a CBC rake, jolts were common) I wished i wasn't thrown off from my berth. It was 01:10 hrs and we were at NLR, late by 1 hour. What could be the reason, when we were doing an on-time run all the way? I dozed off once again when we moved out of NLR, hoping that the delay wasn't getting bigger. I was woken up by my uncle at 03:40 hrs and guess what? We were at BBQ!!! Now what on the world was that? I just couldn't believe my eyes. We didn't halt anywhere and we moved all the way to MAS since ours was the first arrival that day for MAS. We pulled into PF 9 at 03:45 hrs, 5 mins ahead of scheduled arrival! 3351 Dhanbad-Allepey Exp was on PF 8 having arrived with an AJJ WAM-4 20586 and was ready to leave towards ALLP. I thought i had missed some real action when I had slept. No regrets!!! As i walk towards the car-park, AJJ WAP-4 22602 stood erect, having done an excellent job all the way from VSKP. This is probably my best ever WAP-4 journey among my 32 trips!

Feels Like Heaven.....!

2008-08-23T14:59:00.031+05:30

"Hey! The Annual Day is on 22nd!"

This was the SMS which i received from Nandhini a week ago. She had somehow managed to find out when "THE DAY" we all were waiting for, and informed me. I did the job of forwarding it to all my fellow buddies as soon as I received it. But still there was a small confusion prevailing that whether the alumni would be let into the school campus (There's always some problem every year!) that too with the new principal taking charge, we hoped that we aren't kept at the bay!

22/08/08, Friday, Chennai.

I got up thinking about the fact that I've gotta attend the special classes that evening in the college. And attending it would see me reach home only by 7. I would be terribly late to attend the celebration thereafter! Hoping for the best that day I left for the college...... During class hours I had a feeling that i was developing a sense of flu and wasn't definitely feeling good. It was surely developing into a cold. Things are getting worse now! But it was only after college that I realised that i had a reason to bunk the special class. This is what happened....

03:00pm - The bell rings. The college is over. I am confused whether to attend the extra class or not!

03:05pm - I go searching for the Mathematics Mam to inform her that I wasn't feeling well and that I am leaving! Found her atlast...
Me: Mam I'm feeling sick, seems like I have a fever!
Mam: So?
Me: I'm not staying for the class!
Mam: Even I'm not staying for the class!!!
Me: Mam?????!
Mam: The other Sir is taking the class today. I'm leaving too. So you better inform him and the H.O.D and leave.
Me: But Mam, I don't have sufficient time. The bus is gonna leave in 5 minutes!
Mam: But rules are rules right? Inform them atleast if not through a letter.
Me: Alright Mam. Thank you!

03:10pm - In the H.O.D room (with a pitiable face)
Me: Good evening Sir, I'm suffering from fever, so I need to leave now.
H.O.D: Produce it in a letter and get my attestation!
Me: Sir, but I don't have time. The bus is about to leave.....
H.O.D: Okay! I'll take care about it. Don't forget to produce a letter tomorrow. You can leave now!
(Sucker! He needs a letter for everything!)
Me: Thank you!

03:15pm - I ran in a haste to my classroom to pack up my things and hurried towards the bus with a friend of mine. He was patient enough to wait for me.

And yes! I'll be home early and I shall go for the annual day! My health condition is not gonna stop me anyway.....

05:00pm - I reach home and went straight towards the bed. I badly needed a rest so that I can boost up my energy for the night!

06:30pm - Abhishek promised that he will take me along with him in his bike. I felt more relaxed since I need not take the tiring bus journey which would be a 45 minute travel. I got up from bed and started to get ready. Bharani and Pramod messaged me that they'll join us right there. It was gonna be fun!

07:00pm - I take my bike towards Abhishek's house to join him! (Note that I don't have a license and hence I can't be driving through the city!)

07:10pm - He was waiting outside and I parked my vehicle and jumped onto his. We hurried towards the school!

07:25pm - 1 message received.
Aishwarya: Hey have you reached the school? Shall I leave now or what? Come near the fancy store and pick me up. I can't come alone in the dark streets!
Me: Yeah okay! I'll be waiting.

07:30pm - She soon came and parked her vehicle nearby. We started walking towards the school! And the streets were indeed so dark! But how come in Anna Nagar????

Pramod had already reached there and so were Nandhini and Monica. Abhishek was busy with the other guys whom he knew enquiring about their college life and studies. Nandhini gave me a call and told where she actually was in the crowd. I headed towards them along with Aishu and Pramod. As usual we set our chairs in a circular fashion and started our conversation.....

Bharani calling......
Bharani calling......

Bharani: Macha, come to the fancy store da I'll be there in minutes. (But, no he's not afraid of the dark!)
Me: Haha! Sure da!

I once again went towards the landmark and received him! He's now a muscled guy working out in the gym. But he hasn't changed as a friend though....The only guy whom we missed was Vinodh. He had been to Bangalore to attend his cousin's marriage. We both once again joined our gang and started our work. I met Aparna in person for the first time, my orkut friend who too was in the same batch and also studies in the same college of mine. We never knew each other when we were in school!

Pramod then joined Abhishek and was doing the rounds. Myself, Bharani, Nandhini, Monica and Aishu shared lighter moments and were recollecting our school days, those funny happenings in the class and those never-told-anyone secret crushes! hehe! Indeed those were moments to treasure! Then about the college life and other stuff. Our all time bubbly baby Monica was unusually silent, she took some time to bring herself back to action. hehe! And then............

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooo Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

The power went off and the whole area was pitch dark! The whole school erupted woooooing among different gangs including us. This is the first time I experienced such a thing! Terrific atmosphere...... Then in few minutes the school managed to light the stage and the speakers alone were working with the help of a generator. Then, the power for the entire area was back in 15 minutes!

Gowri joined us after some time and apologised for coming late since she had a symposium in her college. Ganesh joined us too for a while. Our gang was getting bigger and better! We then started to meet our teachers and indeed they remembered us. Our sanskrit sir still remained a bachelor! Haha! Abhishek was mistaken as guy working in a company because he was looking too formal. He came along with his helmet in hand and he indeed looked like one professional! We met our other friends and there was a guy who had been out of control after he had joined the college. He blames it on the college environment and his friends! Disappointing to hear.....

09:00pm - We joined together once again after meeting the teachers and the program was getting over. National Anthem. NCC boy Bharani was erect. Too erect! Well......

We moved out of the school and we kept talking in the streets for almost yet another half-an-hour. Monica bid farewell! But it seemed like our conversations aren't gonna end that easily. Pramod came up asking how do you guys manage to talk for hours....? Friendship matters a lot. Not the time!

09:30pm - Nandhini started and Aishu joined her. Ganesh too was ready to move! Abhishek took his friend to drop him in his home and would be back soon. Myself, Pramod and Bharani stood waiting for Abhishek and he arrived after few minutes. Bharani took the bus since he felt that he misses the route. The city bus had a major role to play throughout his school life! I came along with Pramod in his bike. We cruised through the streets taking shortcuts avoiding the main road and also the policemen.(He wasn't wearing a helmet) Abhishek followed us.

10:00pm - Reached home atlast! Had my supper. And remembered that.....
I HAVE FLU!
Felt sick once again and I fell on the bed!

The day which we waited for a long time was indeed a memorable one. We may have moved away in different directions, but still we stay connected and this is the only day which connects every one of us together. And this happens only once in a year! I just pray to God that we all stay in touch forever. It just feels like heaven when I am in their company and I treasure them a lot. Love you lots my friends! :)

A Day @ Chennai Central....

2008-06-05T12:41:00.018+05:30

04.06.08
My Aunt called me to inform that they were leaving to Bangalore by the Mysore Shatabdi Express the next day morning. I had earlier missed my sister's wedding due to the reason that I had my semester going on. And I wished that this was the right time to see her off to Bangalore since she's no more gonna stay here in Chennai. And the other news is that my another brother is arriving home from Vizag by the Guwahati - Bangalore Express which he called us to inform that the train was late by around 2 hours at Vizag. So I had made rough calculations that the train must be here somewhere around the departure of the Shatabdi so that I can see my sister off and pick up my brother! :) I'm all set for a railfanning session in Chennai Central the next day!

05.06.08
I woke up much before the alarm rang! Its now 04:00. Had my coffee followed by a bath and rushed to the Korattur Railway station (thats where i stay - 12 kms away from central) and as i get my ticket, the 04:36 EMU bound to central arrived bang on time and departed! Damn! Now I gotta wait for another half-an-hour since the 2 EMU trains in between are bound for chennai beach! Now I gotta wait for the next one which is at 05:05. I patiently hang around hoping that some incoming trains towards Chennai would whizz past me. And as expected the Mangalore - Chennai Mail zoomed past me with an LGD WAP4 22257 (unusual link!) Then there was an 8 car BCCNR rake hauled by GOC WDS6 36021 which was sent between the 2 EMUs. Mine was fast approaching and before that the Dhanbad - Alleppey Express (late by 50 mins) with a Sapthagiri liveried AJJ WAM4 sped past me at MPS! As my EMU departed I cling on to the door hoping for more spottings and more importantly arrive in time to catch the Shatabdi! As I near Basin Bridge Jn. to my astonishment my train is put to a halt for a couple of times. Damn it! Its 05:40 and the Shatabdi is at 06:00! I start wondering how am I gonna make it. Very soon the starter was given and we were off! Then I was able to sight a TNP WDM7 in the sidings shunting an empty BOXN rake. the other side the Chennai - Jammu Tawi Andaman Express crawled past us with an ED WAP4 22671. And as we slowly approach Central the Andaman was very soon followed by Shalimar - Trivandrum Express powered by AJJ WAM4 20652. The rake of the Yercaud Express was also shunted back to the yard. I reached central and made a sprint towards the platform ticket counter. First things first! lol! Before I could notice the display my Aunt called up to tell that the Shatabdi was on PF 1. Man! thats a long way to go..... 05:50 on clock. I have atleast 10 minutes to talk to my sister and her husband. And as I jumped into the PF 1 my brother waved his hand to greet me with a smile :)

C5 was the coach and I entered it to see my relatives cheered up on meeting me. So nice of them. After few conversations I wished my sister good luck and jumped out the coach as it was already 06:00 and The Tata Indicom Shatabdi is all set to receive its starter. The Vodafone Kovai Express was on PF 10 and the Sapthagiri Express on PF 11. I walked ahead to check out the link expecting it to be a WAP4 and unusually it was yet another Sapthagiri liveried AJJ WAM4 21232. Starter was given at 06:03 and they were off as I wished them a Very Happy Journey! Now I have my brother arriving here from Vizag and the train was about to make it to MAS at 07:30 or so. A solid 3 hours late! Well thats much more than what i had calculated! So i gotta hang around for some 1.5 hours.... Thank god! There are lotsa trains around and I can do a hell a lot of rail-fanning!

Meanwhile the Bangalore - Guwahati Express had arrived dot on time with an ED WAP4 22244 on PF 5 and got an AJJ WAM4 21339 (Barbie) paying the price for its reversal, while the Alleppy - Chennai Express arrived with the country's first AJJ WAP1 22000 on PF 4. The Jan Shatabdi was shunted into PF 2 and the power for the day was again a Sapthagiri liveried AJJ WAM4 20613 (too much of Sapthagiri WAM4 sightings today!) The next one to arrive MAS was the Cheran Express with an ED WAP4 22669 on PF 10 which would later leave as the Navajivan Express at 09:35. Dadar Express was on PF 7 which was to be hauled by the Monster AJJ WAP4 22646. As I went and stood near the loco to check out the action over there, Brindavan Express was shunted into PF 6 and soon came the ED WAP4 22728 to get attached to the mighty 23 coach load! People had already gathered over there to watch the coupling being done. I once again went near the AJJ WAP4 22646 to check the proceedings being done before the starter is given. The LP kept on signing few papers keeping an eye on the starter, and once it was on, the horns blared and the monster was off quite soon having already lost a 7 minutes from the schedule since the starter was delayed. Jan Shatabdi followed suit and both crawled on parallel tracks.

As both the trains left, the ED WAP4 22273 sneaked inbetween them with the legendary Grand Trunk Express in tow into PF 5 (late by 45 min) which was soon followed by the Trivandrum - Chennai Mail on PF 8 hauled by the ED WAP4 22729. Later Brindavan too was off bang on time. Meanwhile the AJJ WAP4 22697 had brought in Mysore - Chennai Kaveri Express 10 min before time on PF 3. Its is 07:10 by now as the display showed that the Guwahati - Bangalore Express would arrive at 07:30 and the Tamilnadu Express would be home by 07:40. In the mean time the Coimbatore - Chennai Summer Special arrived on PF 4 with an AJJ WAM4 21319 (Barbie)! Later it was announced that the Tamilnadu Express would arrive before the Guwahati - Bangalore one.... The display soon showed that the TN would arrive on PF 6 and soon he arrived with an ED WAP4 22550 (late by 45 min) and then the Guwahati - Bangalore Express in which my brother was supposed to arrive trundled into PF 5 with an AJJ WAM4/6 PD 21241 at 08:10. A flat 3.5 hours late! I picked him up from S7 and we made our way to the suburban terminal to have ourselves a cup of coffee. The Coromandal Express was all set on PF 9. We boarded the EMU and we were off in a few minutes to see the Charminar Express enter late by half-an-hour which was soon followed by the Barauni - Ernakulam Raptisagar Express a whopping 9 hours late!!! On our way home the AJJ WAP4 22626 galloped past us with the Yelagiri Express bound to central which was followed by a GZB WAP4 22614 with the Yesvantpur - Muzaffarpur Express as i walked home with a full satisfaction of rail-fanning! Its real fun, but all one needs is patience and a little bit of interest on trains! :)

The Reason Why?!!!

2008-04-20T14:59:00.015+05:30

Now what's there in a train and why are you so crazy about it??? This one question which people around me have been asking me for the whole of my life so far! Well to all those people out there, here is my answer.... Its my life! No doubt about that. Not that I wanted to be different from others... but this passion of mine made me different! To be true, Railways occupy a significant position very close to my heart! Trains are ones which I love more than myself. No exaggeration here! Right from my childhood I grew up watching trains rather than cartoons.(My residence is located very close to the railway lines along the Chennai-Bangalore route) I can still remember my younger days when I used to have a notebook in which I used to jot down all the names of the trains zooming past my home with the time of crossing, sitting right from my balcony. That was all the rail-fanning I was able to do as an 8 year old kid! There were also days when my cousin used to accompany me.... He is not an ardent railfan though! I started drawing sketches of trains and did the same to win some drawing competitons too. Gosh! Were they so realistic or what??? Well I can pat myself that I'm quite good in drawing trains if not other stuff! Couple of years later when the mighty WAPs came into operation I was quite able to guess with its looks and charisma that they were dedicated entirely to passenger service just because I felt like that! Those days I used to distinguish WAPs, WAMs and their mighty counterparts WAGs as "express engines" and "goods engines" respectively. Hehe! There wasn't anyone to provide me proper information on what these mean machines were meant for actually.(After all I was a 10 year old kid then!) The "Time Table" (southern railways) remained the book which I gave the highest priority ever. Later when my dad accidentally encountered the "Trains at a glance" which is a larger version of all the zonal railway time tables covering all the routes and the trains across the country, I guessed i ve got the much needed treasure which I deserved a lot. Accidentally though! My dad is one guy who encourages me a lot in rail-fanning (He doesn't ask stupid questions like what others do. hehe!) and my uncle (who is a frequent traveler by the SCR) who shares his views about the Railways and his personal experiences and there's also a friend of mine who joins me during rail-fanning action! nice to see that atleast there are few people around me who have similar interests of mine :) Years later I was able to learn almost anything and everything about the great Indian Railways through the IRFCA website! and thanks a ton to all those people in Orkut who helped me in gaining more interesting information and stuff about railways throughout the country! Hope this journey never ends!

We whacked 'em at WACA!!!

2008-01-20T14:02:00.002+05:30

"And obviously I am not here to review about what the shit is happening in the politics or the world of football or cricket since I find many of my co-bloggers doing a better job!"
Well these are the lines which are none other than mine from my very first post. But now, i can't resist from writing this one though i may continue refraining from such kinda stuff hereafter. It couldn't get better than this either!

There's a saying "Nice guys finish last!" But on a sensational Saturday, en route to registering what might go down as India's greatest ever test win, Kumble's team proved that nice guys can just win it in style. Like in 2001, this win halted the Aussies' march towards a record 17th consecutive test win making it a sweet revenge after the Sydney fiasco! And with the WACA being the perfect battleground, which is considered as the fastest pitch in the world. Even though i hadn't been following the past two tests since i had college, luckily i got a chance to watch almost every ball of this fast paced Armageddon (courtesy : my local cable tv operator or whoever it is. You have the CAS - Conditional Access System and the damned set-top-box thingy in Chennai. Doh!)

After winning hearts by withdrawing the abuse charge against Brad Hogg which anyone would have guessed as a goodwill gesture from a submissive team, Kumble believed otherwise. He badly wanted to win though the thought of exacting revenge never crossed their minds. And the much awaited inclusion of Pathan and Sehwag obviously didn't let the team go down in any aspect! Sehwag, even though not providing a boisterous knock, full credit to him for chipping in with a good opening knock in the first and for picking up 2 vital wickets in the final innings which almost decided the fate of the match. And Pathan has once again emerged as the pace spearhead for India using the new ball efficiently in getting the early breakthroughs, his batting too played an important part! Another notable performance was obviously Ishant Sharma who was all successful in picking up the Punter on both the occasions. And Kumble will go down the history for his 600 wickets and Dravid becoming the second highest catcher alongside a number of feats by the team in this match!

Overall it was once again the team effort which got the much deserved victory for us. A victory considered the best overseas, more significant than the Twenty20 WC, and more significant than any other one in the history of Indian cricket! They have yet again proved that they can pounce back over the opposition and can make millions of hearts to celebrate. Lets hope that every encounter be a victory and every victory be a reason for those millions of hearts to celebrate which includes You, Me and every Indian! Chak De India!!!

Top 10 Movies 2007!

2008-01-09T17:02:00.004+05:30

I would like to present a countdown of what i feel as the TOP 10 MOVIES of the year 2007. This list of movies is in no way related to the Box Office charts (Or, it's not like the latest big-star movie gets the first place as shown in TV channels). It's just my forthright opinion on these movies. So here it is, the 10 best movies of the year 2007 in which a record of 105 films were released with at least a dozen of them making profits making it a landmark year for Tamil Cinema. The superstars continued to dominate, with Rajnikanth's Sivaji turning out to be the top grosser! And... there were also very good films featuring newcomers and dealing with fresh and novel scripts among which Mozhi, Paruthiveeran and Chennai 600028 deserve mention. There were also bold attempts like Katradhu Tamizh and Evano Oruvan which were critically acclaimed! So here is the list, a mix of box-office blockbusters and critically acclaimed ones.

10. MALAIKOTTAI

A routine commercial mix, all ingredients well proportioned to make a movie that managed to maintain a consistent tempo till the end. Vishal’s mass hero image well exploited, Priyamani used exclusively for song and dance routines, the label of a comedy action entertainer and a free run devoid of any competition were the factors that came together to make Malaikottai a profitable venture.

9. VEL

The biggest hit of Deepavali 2007, Vel was Hari’s yet another family drama set in a rural backdrop rode on the ability of the director to make the most out of a script. Surya’s double role and chemistry with Asin were key factors in Vel hitting the target. Hari's racy screenplay and Vadivelu's hilarious tracks with family sentiment were the other ones serving the main base for the movie's success.

8. POLLADHAVAN

Deepavali and a bevy of biggies, it is not exactly the safest time to release a movie. But Polladhavan with Dhanush and Divya in the lead stood tall on its merits. All credit to Vetrimaaran for showing enough courage to take a path less traveled and come out with flying colors. His style of narration and takings are very similar to the ace director, though he has told a dark and disturbing tale, throwing light on the bad and ugly underbelly of Chennai underworld.

7. UNNALAE UNNALAE

Unnale Unnale is an urban romantic fun film that explores love from a slightly realistic and different point of view. The movie does not have clichéd characters nor the typical masalas associated with Tamil films and is packaged in Bollywood style. Though some of the scenes are straight lifts from various Hollywood and Bollywood films, director Jeeva has succeeded in bringing out brilliant performances from his lead actors ( Vinay, Sada and Tanisha) and presenting the film in a chic and sophisticated manner. It was made for youngsters and they lapped it up, Harris Jeyaraj’s music playing a big part in it.

6. BILLA

Ajith’s popularity, the tremendous hype and the release that matched the hype. Receiving good reviews and word of mouth. To remake a 27-year old Rajinikanth film with another actor at a time when he is still the superstar, is a major challenge for any director. But Vishnu Vardhan is a daring young man who took up the challenge along with Ajit and they have come out with a fresh new Billa, an escapist comic book like fantasy film, which has been faithful to the original in spirit and soul. Slickly shot and stylishly packaged, the remake is slick and has certainly appealed to today’s youth audiences.

5. CHENNAI 600028

So, what made Chennai-600028 tick? The screenplay is minty cool and our heroes are ordinary middle class guys, not the larger-than-life super-heroes you encounter in Tamil commercial cinema. The basic storyline is woven around galli cricket match and a tournament, along with an assorted group of guys making it a thoroughly enjoyable film targeting the urban youth audience. A celebration of youth, friendship, fun and cricket- the essence of life, Chennai 28 managed to touch a chord in every person young at heart. Formula for success- Refreshingly fresh theme, totally youth based!

4. POKKIRI

Officially the first superhit of 2007. Vijay and his fans celebrated Pongal in style with Pokkiri going from strength to strength. Facing very little opposition after the first few weeks, this taut entertainer with a few good songs kept going on and on. Vijay’s first role as a cop and Asin’s presence did not let the interest die down. The on-screen chemistry between Vijay and Asin was great and the film turned to be the biggest grossing Tamil film in Kerala and also overseas apart from Tamilnadu which found it place in the UK TOP 20 for its impressive opening!

3.SIVAJI

It could'nt get better than this. The Rajnikant - Shriya starrer, directed by Shankar, is said to be the costliest ever made Tami film and was sold for a record price. The film actually opened huge with a record number of screens. Sivaji once again ascertained the fact that Rajnikant is the undisputed numero-uno of the Tamil film industry! Sivaji turned out to be the biggest ever film in the history of Tamil cinema, a fitting record for a movie that saw the coming together of the most skilled, dedicated and iconic figures of Tamil cinema.

2. PARUTHIVEERAN

Not many debutants have come this high or this far but Karthi has proved that he has got pedigree and class. Under the masterful hands of Ameer, he molded himself into the rugged village youngster who would throw a punch at you. Priyamani’s contribution too should not go without mention, same with Yuvan’s music. Undoubtedly, it is a brave film and full credit goes to the director for making every scene realistic and characters life-like. However after the end of it all, we wonder why he had to make it so morbid and disturbing!

1. MOZHI

No larger than life hero, no blood and gore, no loud villains, no punch dialogues, no crass comedy, no skin show and no item numbers…… Then what? Here is the verdict - A feel good love story is what Mozhi is all about! Director Radha Mohan has once again proved that he can make a perfect family entertainer with characters that you can relate to. Mozhi is indeed a feel-good entertainer with a simple straightforward story, knock out performance from the lead actors, melodious music and a glossy look bringing a new freshness to Tamil commercial cinema. For this alone they deserve a big applaud.A pleasant departure from the usual entertainers, Mozhi delighted without resorting to formula elements. Well made in all aspects and giving Jyothika the perfect platform for a swansong!

Just For A Namesake....

2007-11-24T20:56:00.002+05:30

Hello!
Yeah, it has been more than a month since my last post and here i am back! But just for a namesake anyway. Well i was unable to think of anything else since i have been having my cycle tests and that too a non-stop one! And my performance in those aren't to be questioned. Wasn't bad anyway. College life is quite frustrating indeed as far as these tests go. Anyways nothing much seems to be interesting in the recent past. Diwali was just one another namesake! No getting up early, no bursting crackers and nothing. I don't have the patience to do all those, lighting up a cracker and watching it get busted. And its just a waste of money i feel! Diwali is just like any other day in the year for me. But it was actually the day after when we friends decided to have a blast! We planned on a hangout to the citi center and made it there by the MRTS and its always fun to travel by it. Every hangout of ours remains incomplete without the MRTS! And after some window shopping and eating business we still found it was too early to leave with nothing much left to do over there. Beach was just a 10 minute walk from there and the rest was as usual. Made it to home by 1030pm anyway!

Even the days after hadn't been as interesting as it could be. No movie watching, no blogging and to hell with these tests, they were also a namesake. I never took them seriously anyway! They are just one another crap which screws up your happiness. The weeks ahead look bleak since none of us know when they get over! And adding more misery are the unit tests which are to start on december 12th. Man! how many tests can a person write? Worse than a school. School was just heaven compared to this college! But yeah! I have got well settled with the atmosphere here and the people around me. Thats the only respite i got from this place. Very easily made some good friends and now we are a gang of 6! Just planning to do something big that would make people turn behind us!

Hmmm.... Now i am seriously thinking on what my next blog would be. And with a busy schedule ahead i would hardly get time to do some blogging. Hope it wouldnt be for a namesake!

A Birthday That Was....

2007-10-21T22:18:00.002+05:30

Heya!
Planning to blog for a while with no real involvement in it (Damn! the unit tests are showing up), i keep thinking on what would be my next topic! Well as i said "with no real involvement", i wasnt able to think of any other except for one. 17 October 2007! Thats the day i successfully completed my 18 years in this earth and hurray! Now i can very well be considered an adult. Officially 18! Having slept late (i hardly managed to sleep) the night before, surfing the net to get some info on corrosion (but in vain!) to finish away my chemistry assignment and writing my record side-by-side, i was woken up by a beep from my mobile around 04:15am! And to find out that one of my friends had wished me on my birthday,(at this time?!) i was very much pleased and equally irritated for waking me up that early. But well, i thanked him for doing so since i have my chemistry assingment still left incomplete! What am i to do now? And what does corrosion have to do in my life? Shit!

I gathered all the crap which i got from the net the day before and put them in order with some (infact many) points being hijacked from my own chemistry book. I wrote them neatly in such a way that those hijacked ones got camoflauged into those crap material! By the way i had a look at my mobile which read "7 messages received"! And as i continued with my assignment (i am sick of this word) there were more phone calls now wishing me! A "Thank you very much" would'nt be enough for all those people! Nice to see them remember my birthday or atleast me for that matter. Atlast i was successful in completing my assignment and i slided those papers into my bag and went for a quick bath! And there goes the ring, one more phone call! Missed it anyway. Thank god, these people remember me atleast once in a while. So nice of them.

Being terribly late, i dressed up in a haste and made a run to the bus stop.... And hey! Some of them had asked for a treat the day before. Aah... how can i disappoint those people? (A treat in the college canteen would be the most impossible thing in this world!) Went to the nearby shop and bought a packet full of chocolates for them (Never had i done such an act of buying chocolates for anyone since i am not much into those!) But anyway, there has gotta be a first for everything. I boarded the bus wishing that the day ahead would not be a forgetful one. The day at college seemed to be a lot better than what i expected it to be. I found more people wishing me(thanks to orkut!) The day wasn't like any other normal day. Had an extra bit of fun with my fellow people in the class and it was a perfect birthday!

We guys got down from the bus and planned to eat something (we call that a treat!) and i reached back home to login to orkut to find loads of wishes being sent by my friends! More messages, mails and a couple of phone calls. All from my greatest possessions called "Friends" whom i have earned from these 18 years of life! And to all those i would like to say, "Thank you, thank you and thank you! You have made my life worth living!"

Seasons In The Sun....

2007-10-14T21:22:00.009+05:30

"We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun,
But the wine and the song, like the Seasons, have all gone...."

Playing Westlife isn't a bad idea on a cold saturday night! After a week at the college i just sit back closing my eyes to relax myself to follow the lyrics and well, i find myself lost in the crowd of my memories! Always a nice feeling to recollect those cherished moments in life which are worth remembering. And summer life is one such... The only part of the year awaited by every school goer! (and now the college life seems to be quite different from the school one).

I still remember me having a countdown of the days left as the school nears its closing. But attending the litmus test and the so called "final exams" before that is a different story altogether! Hmmm.... who cares about that? And very obviously enjoyment and fun gets the first priority with great expectations on the vacation ahead! To everyone's surprise the papers turn up to be quite easy and this is it...! A long vacation is just 3 hours away! "Happy holidays!" No more lessons and homeworks, and no teachers sneaking around, atleast for some 2 more months.

The final bell, the bell of hope and happiness rings to its full swing to mark the end of the academic year and yes, we are here for yet another holiday season.... The squadron makes its way to the nearby ground getting ready for the cricket armageddon! The game is played with the same old school uniform in order to honor it. Never mind the scorching sun in the mid april... Nothing is gonna stop us now!

But these were the those older days that can hardly be remembered by anyone. Anytime cricket, those extra hours of sleep, getting trapped in those traditional japan made television video games (the joy stick is tampered and thrashed to the fullest) and running around for those cassettes are indeed unforgettable. But in this post i just make an attempt to get back to the recent past... My after school days... Those days after my 12th grade. Better i don't mention how my higher secondary was but it wasn't the worst anyway.

The final exam being mathematics has set the blood pressure high for many and i was quite satisfied with my above average performance. Anyway its time to forget about the past (something which i definitely cant) but the results seem to be haunting me around. After spending some extra time with my dear ones i make a move from my school hoping that the future brings the best (now i am comfortably settled in one of the best colleges in my city). With no clue on when the colleges are bound to open we look forward for a minimum 5 month holiday! A great kick-off for a summer vacation. A prolonged one for sure...

But... How am i gonna spend this time remains unanswered. Reading books could be the best option and with the internet connection being fixed up, i am now open to the virtual world! All my needs are bound to be fulfilled. Satisfaction at its best! And i had heard my friends speak about orkut those days in my school (now i am an orkutter with more than 6200 scraps... sheesh!) and i was quite eager to know what is it all about. So i have a busy time ahead... After some stumbling in the net, atlast i learnt a bit of it and was busy gathering my old friends (if not the new ones) and those whom i had lost for no reason. I was pleased to find most of them..... Surprisingly!

As far as my everyday schedule goes it just gotta be the opposite of the school life. Even i have never imagined me to be like that... Laziness personified. My day begins at 08:30am in the morning (some may still consider it to be early)accompanied by constant grumblings from ma and pa. And how do you expect someone who is making his way to the washroom walking in sleep to listen all these nonsense? A great head-start for the day! Then the breakfast is done around 10:30am... Just running late by 1 and a half hours! But it gotta be more than that...

Then i jump into my chair to switch on my system and with some blaring music to keep me alive, i login to orkut and yahoo to find if someone's hovering around there and start some useful(?) conversation. The girls are dealed in a different track and may get flirted to the core sometimes... But that goes even more when we meet in person.They just love getting flirted! Hmmm... while the firefox takes care of some multiple tabs, the internet explorer does the rest. I keep browsing the Indian Railway Fan Club site to know more about it.(I am a great rail-fan and i may come up with a post on that very soon) Man i am getting addicted to the net! After some browsing and orkutting i find the time to be around 01:30pm and hey its time for lunch! Am i running on time or what? This shouldn't be....

Post lunch, i try myself reading the newspaper which normally should be done in the morning, and now, let me cultivate the good habit of reading books. I browse through my shelf to find half a dozen of them which i had bought some time back and the time has come for its utility! (but this was for the first time - not that i browse my shelf everyday to search for a book) After some quick reading i just close my eyes to have a nap to get me back in action for the later half of the day. The better half....!

My friend wakes me up with his "Are u ready?" message and yes, we are off in a rash!(in a cycle... hehe) to the nearby ground for some cricket action. Time is 03:30pm now. Stumps fixed, teams announced, rules laid, let the game begin!(all these for an 8 over game) With some fast and furious action and some serious gimmicks on and off the field, we manage to play some 6 games altogether for the day! Time is 06:45pm by now and still there seems to be a spec of sunlight... "One more game?" and the losers come up saying "We are too tired, lets make a move". And how many times can they lose? And there's one pal of mine (an ardent football fan) who boasts that street football is the best! So much is his passion that he travels some 3 km in bus from his place to play that. !

Well, time is 07:00 pm now and wondering what to do now, we take a stroll in the streets and one of our friend takes us to a roadside bhel-puri shop. Yuk! i hate these roadside ones and bhel-puri is one junk which i hate to the core cuz i find every possible thing found in the earth being mixed in it. But these guys seem to be having a fetish for that! I just order a samosa and thats the only stuff that looks neat and clean to some extent with the least amount of mixing done. I am ready to eat!

Time 07:30pm (i dunno why am i mentioning the time so precisely, but since nothing interrupts the most busy guys in town like us, things go the same way everyday) we are now into our friend's apartment. This time to play "Bluff" a card game it is. We nestle in the terrace (so as not to disturb the other folks watching family soaps) with yet some more junkies and some drink to munch our time away. With some music playing in a mobile, we are now set for a perfect "Casino De Terrace"! The bluffmasters, after some one hour of solid bluffing settle for some gossip and fun. The ultimate purpose of the meet.... Plans for the weekend are also done. Mebbe for a beach or a swanky shopping mall. Time by now is 09:15pm.

After a late entry into my home to see my ma and pa grumble once again(they consider it to be a late one), i have my dinner and again i am back for some orkutting and now i am more pleased to see most of them online (some may feel its the perfect time for a bit of romance!) Who knows? Time by now is 10:00pm. I stay online for one more hour to find my mom standing back shouting at me "What the hell are you doing in the net sitting at late hours?". Phew! Still i have someone who keeps on watching me...Time is now 11:30pm. Its time to hit the sack....

But... The day is not yet over. I take my mobile to roll over my bed and this seems to be the best time for some messaging business. Good conversations do stir you up in the night! Well the world is still awake and more awake at this hour! The nightlife, the fun and everything is everywhere around... (Anyway an 18 year old cannot experience everything in nightlife) I throw away my mobile and once again i take my novel which i had flew over my bed to proceed with the story. And as i doze off i see that the time is around 02:00am. The next day had already begun.... And wohoooo! I am 4 hours behind my schedule! And doing this for some 5 odd months, just imagine how would it be? But everyday is indeed a new experience... Thats life!

Back To School!

2007-10-11T18:23:00.007+05:30

After a while, i got a chance to visit my good old school last evening! A place where i did till my tenth grade. A 13 year old relationship it is! Unfortunately i had moved to another school to pursue my higher grades.The annual day atmosphere was clearly visible and even the streets seemed to be having an extra glow with brisk business going around! As i made my way into my school, the ambiance, the extravagance and the glitz took me away into a world of my own. Those precious days could never be forgotten. We guys and gals had been waiting for a day like this and this comes only once in a year. I was greeted by a group of my friends and after some formal conversations it was time to get loose. And with more people joining the party we were all set to rock n roll! People may have changed but the school continues to remain the same, indeed being at its best! We guys planned to take a walk across those dark lit corridors and sinking into our nostalgia, we made a silent stroll across our classrooms to see ourselves sitting inside, doing everything rather than studying! Last bench chatting, silly fights, under bench munching, those yawned teachers, the first crush, naughty pranks, those out-stood classes, birthday treats, last minute preparations and what not? Those were the moments to be relished by everyone! School life indeed has taught us loads beyond the books! Next, it was time to meet the teachers, those very special people who carved us. Whatever i am now, i owe it to them. It was quite surprising to see them remember us very well. Thats the greatest honor for any student! These teachers have been the same and thats what makes them the most respected people in our life. They are the ones who are always there to bless you and see you grow up! These things can never be realized being a student. The function had been going on for 3 hours and is expected to run for one more hour! But none of us did give a damn about what's happening on the stage. We had better work to do. And with your friends whom you earned in your school life, the moments shared with them are absolutely priceless! Thats one reason why school life is rightly considered the best part of life. And school friends are always there for you to support you throughout. Having realized that i have lessons to study for the next day's exam in college i was thrown back to reality. I felt it was time to leave. With a heavy heart i made my way back home wishing that i could go back some day. I really do miss my school days...

Are Relationships For A Reason?

2007-10-10T17:19:00.007+05:30

The journey of life gives us many chances of meeting different people everyday. We like some, loath many and there a very few who touch us in a way that life without them is impossible! It appears as if they have come to assist us through a difficulty, to provide us with guidance and support us emotionally and they are! We never realize that what has come must leave as well. But we never do so hoping that the present will last forever. Do people really come into our lives with a reason? Well some may oppose while many may agree with this. Thats one thing which happens very easily in one's life. We meet many people who come into our life for a reason and when their job gets over they make a move. With no wrong in our part or at an inconvenient time this person does something to bring the relationship to an end! Our temporary desire has been fulfilled and their job gets done. Things indeed gotta go on! But this part-time relationship brings us an unbelievable amount of joy. They make us laugh, teach you something which you would have never seen or heard before. When you begin to believe that the person is getting quite close to you and when you try to get more closer, the relationship turns to show up its other face.... There is so much pain in it and you gotta believe it! Whereas lifetime relationships teach us healthy lessons and the relationships do have a solid emotional foundation. Accept and love the person to have a better understanding. Give whatever you have so that you don't lose him/her. But the question that still remains unanswered is that - "Can we really figure out who is with us for what...???" Life alone has the answer for it!

Here I Am.... Atlast

2007-10-05T18:08:00.004+05:30

All it takes is just a Gmail account and five minutes around to create a blog and I wonder what have i been doing all these days. My pals have also been urging me to do so. I still hope that I could ve done this much before. Anyway now I am the proud owner of my own blog! Or my own website to be more precise. Hi !!! This is Darius. An 18 year old engineering student still wondering how the world had arrived at the quote "Engineering Is Fun"! Sheesh... I find the subjects rather disgusting and for a guy like me who feels physics more nauseating rather than interesting, this is not the place to be in. But things have gotta happen as they have to and no regrets. And switching over to my cyber-name I have been looking around for one which really does satisfy me. And it was when one of my buddy had suggested this name DARIUS, a greek name it is. And rather describing myself what kinda person I am, I would rather like to show them in my posts which will be flagged away shortly. And obviously I am not here to review about what the shit is happening in the politics or the world of football or cricket since I find many of my co-bloggers doing a better job! This is no place for journalism. I would rather take this as an opportunity where I look back at my journey of life so far. Not a diary entry exactly, but anything other than that I come across which I find interesting and worth posting will definitely come up as soon as possible! Catch you up very soon in my next post.... Cheers!