For You Mom...

July 26th. The most embarrassing day of my life. And it had all the reasons to make me guilty for my mistake. On the 25th, mom and dad had called me to inquire about my studies and well-being. Dad being away from home does not call often. But mom calls almost on a regular basis. Most of the days, she used to ring me up in the morning or by noon. But on this particular day she had never called until afternoon. I thought she might be busy with household affairs, especially when grandma is sick and she had to take care of the house alone.

In the evening, she called me at 5pm. I had just woken after a siesta. I picked up my cell and said “Hello”. She said “Do you want a piece of cake?”. I was puzzled and took a moment to think about what she exactly meant. I said: “I didn’t get you, mom. Cake?”. She was silent for a moment and said, “Today is my birthday”. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. How could I ever forget her birthday? I felt guilty but couldn’t even apologize. In fact, I did not know how to react. I was more ashamed than guilty. There was a tone of sadness in her voice and I was not in a position to console her either. “I have done a mistake I’ll never be able to fix” was what passed my mind that instant. This had never happened before. Even the last year, I had called her on the dawn of 26th, while I was in hostel. She was so elated back then. It was almost the exact opposite of what I had felt in her voice last year. Everything was the opposite. Instead of me ringing her up, she rang me up. Instead of me wishing her, she reminded me of her birthday. Even when everyone at home forgot to wish her, I never had. I remember while I was a kid, I used to present her with handmade birthday cards. I used to do the same during their wedding anniversary. All these memories just came rushing into my mind. She even reminded me of the last Birthday Card I had gifted her when I was eleven. She said it had a smiling face in the centre with arms wide open, which projects out when the card is opened. I had a vague recollection of it. I had made it when we lived in Kolkata. I wished her belated Happy Birthday, its better late than never, I thought. I said sorry for my negligence.

After I hung up the phone, I thought to myself. I had never forgotten to wish any of my friends on their birthday. In fact, I wish them on their birthday eve, at midnight. But this was awful. I wanted to make up for my mistake. I told my friend about what had happened. He asked me to send her a Birthday Card. I was pleased with the idea. My mom would least expect a Birthday Card. The very next day my friend and I went out to the Archies outlet and bought a ‘Belated Birthday Wishes’ card. I am sure mom will be delighted to get a card delivered by post when she might have almost forgotten about her birthday!

The longest day of my life (so far!)

Phew! Let me take a breath. It’s been the most hectic day of my life. 10th July 2008. It started at 6am. I haven’t seen the rising sun for months! But this time I had no choice, I had to be up early. Not to jog or take the dog out for a stroll, but to ‘pack’! Yes, we had to pack up cuz we were moving from our present home. Anyone who had shifted houses might know how gruesome the work would be. Moreover, my dad being a bank employee, we have to shift places every three years. The last time we shifted was after my 12th standard. But then, the ‘packing’ never seemed so hard, cuz we had the hands of our relatives. This was different. Packing up to leave to our native place- Thrissur. No “packers and movers”, just us! The week long packing had to end today, for today evening, the truck was scheduled to arrive, to load our stuff and set off to Thrissur.

Most of the smaller things – utensils, boxes, books- were packed beforehand to make the work easier. But we made the mistake of leaving all the monster things for the last day. These included 4 wooden beds, refrigerator, steel shelf, sofa and a 68 kilo washing machine! As always, preparations go on until the last minute no matter how early one starts the anticipation and planning. In fact, the truck was arranged and finalized on the evening of the day of departure. The kitchen utensils and the stove were also packed which meant no more homely food, all the ‘two-and-a-half’ meals we had were bought from a nearby restaurant. It can be really disgusting if your brand new Pioneer Car stereo goes dead on the day you are planning for a long trip. We’d installed a new Nokia Car Mobile Charger the previous day of the departure. On the morning of the day of leaving, the cigarette lighter got malfunctioned and the fuse got burnt. There was not a minute to spare and this happened on the very auspicious of days! My brother and I rushed to the service centre and got it fixed, they replaced it with a new connection and fuse. Back to packing. It was the turn of the bigger, heavier ones. First in line was the steel almirah. The mirror was covered with a few layers of news papers and cardboard cutouts. It was not a big task to wrap up the almirah. But the pain came when it was the turn of the washing machine. There were only my dad, brother and I to lift up this goddamned ‘thing’ out from its platform onto the floor. It was after covering its edges that we realized the cardboard cover for it was all shattered, which meant we had to find something else to wrap it up. It too is new and we did not wish to compromise on its safety. There was a lot to do despite packing, which included transferring the Cooking Gas connection, some bank transactions and a little bit of shopping. By the time we were busy making plans, it was already noon. After the things with bank and Gas connection was done, I went off to the market in search of some cheap sack cloth to cushion the sofa and washing machine. I bought a few rolls of sack cloth, loaded it into the car and went home. The sacking up started, literally, with the sofa. Then followed the washing machine. This monster was one hell of a thing. It took all the three of us over thirty minutes to pack him up. We were running against the clock. It’s been a week since all of us have slept properly and I hoped it would all end today. After the biggest of them all was packed, it was time to unlock the wooden beds frames. Two of them were ancestral - from our great grandfathers! They were of pure teak and were damn heavy. I picked up the relatively easier task of unlocking all of them; the separated parts were carried out of the room by my bro and dad!

It was after the PC was packed and the Broadband disconnected that one of my friend messaged me saying the University results were published on the net. What’s more? I was getting calls and inquiries about my marks, along with the usual chat messaging! I had no choice but to keep away from all these. Intermittently, dad would ask me – “what are you poking so intently on your cell phone all day? Come help me out.” It was evening and that meant we had to finish up the packing soon. The truck was to arrive at 7 pm. We finished the packing before the truck arrived. After a few minutes into the loading, the power went off- the load shedding. It was cloudy and so the loading continued despite the power cut with lighted candles and flashlights. The driver and his helpers did all the work in no time. Meanwhile, we met our neighbors, said farewell to family friends and got dressed to leave. We had to go along with the truck to direct it home. Having got my driving license last month, I had the ‘right’ to drive the car! Though I had been driving for over four years now, illegally, having a license meant a different thing! And what best than to drive 100 kilometers on the newly constructed Main Central (MC) Road, from Muvattupuzha to Angamali and then on National Highway 47 to Thrissur. By the time we had dinner from a highway restaurant, it had been 10:30pm and we had not yet left Muvattupuzha. We started our journey to our native place and in a few minutes, it started to rain. The car stereo played the track “Alvida” from Life in a Metro. It suited well for the occasion. Mom was silent, lost in thoughts, nostalgic and emotional. Dad was awake for a few minutes and then he started to sway on the front seat. He was tired after a week long preparation. Bro sat on the rear seat along with Ma. By the time we got to NH47, the road got bumpy and mom could no longer sleep.

Driving for over two straight hours on a night journey can be really tiresome, especially when you have skipped sleep for a few days. The journey never seemed to end. By the time we reached home at Thrissur, it had already been 12:30am. Our tenants had not moved out yet. They had cleared a room to ‘dump’ our stuff. As soon as we reached home, dad’s younger brother and brother in law also arrived and they helped unload the truck. We left all the heavier goods to be unloaded by the truck driver and his assistants. We did not want to take the risk of spraining our backs. One by one, the goods and chattels were taken down from the truck and kept in the living room. Finally, the truck was emptied, and the fares and wages cleared. My watch read 2:15am. My head felt heavy but I was not sleepy. It was long past bed time, and there we were standing in the porch. We had a word with my uncles and started off to my dad’s home. My dad’s youngest brother stayed there with his wife, two kids and grandma. We reached there at around 2:30am. Grandma was awake waiting for us. As we entered, dad asked grandma – “Why are you awake still? It’s too late.” And she replied “I lay down and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t”. I remember her saying the same thing every time dad gets home late from office on busy days when Grandma used to stay with us. Even if everyone at home falls asleep or takes a catnap, Grandma would be awake until dad gets home.

All of us took bath, and had our dinner (or was it breakfast?!). Our beds were already made before our arrival. I was happy to finally lay down after a day’s hectic schedule. My brother and I were on adjacent beds. He laid down and disappeared under the blanket. He fell asleep in no time. I laid down staring at the ceiling recollecting the days back at Muvattupuzha. The pictures that started out bright began to fade away and then, darkness…

Blackout Bash

A two week break from blogging has literally made me lethargic to typing. But what could I do? I was running out of my purse and had no choice other than cut down my ‘extra’ expenses. And that means no more regular surfing on the internet. Further, the series exams at college and never ending submission of assignments didn’t leave me with much time to even think! Now they are all over – for the time being – until the dates for the university exams are published.


Now that the Kerala Government has introduced a 30 minute load-shedding, we at the hostel are happy to have thirty minutes extra at night to relax. It’s not mentioned in the Hostel Prospectus how to spend this thirty minute period. So, we have the time of our lives. The den - Room no: 21. Last week the blackout was from 9-930 pm, that’s just after the dinner time, and the beginning of the study time. But there’s no power supply, so who gives a fuck about study time! A few of us gather in no: 21 and decide what to do. The ideas are random and interesting. Well the first day a few guys took their vengeance on the assistant warden – “Kuttichathan” (or ‘the little elf’) - that’s what we call him! Well if you’d ask any OCSCian whom they despise the most, there would only be one unequivocal answer – Kuttichathan.

The night started off with the usual 7 o’clock bell. There were more than 5 guys in the most wanted room, Room no: 8, which is a triple room! As I’ve mentioned in one of my previous posts, it’s a crime to be in a room other than one’s own during the study time. Seeing the assistant warden approaching the door, Prashant rushed to the door and slowly closed it. Before he could close it fully, came a push from the other side. Instinctively, he pushed the door back in an attempt to close it. But before he could react, Kuttichathan was already in the room. Then there was silence for a moment, followed by a myriad of abuses and complaints from him on everybody in the room. None reacted, hoping there’s always an opportune time! And it came soon, the same night indeed, thanks to the load-shedding! One of them commented, “He’s not had enough even after locking him inside or throwing a burning cracker into his room through the ventilator!” This rivalry is age old; in fact it started on the day of his arrival several months back, when 8 of us were caught in my room, singing and howling, accompanied by plastic bottle percussion at midnight! And it was after the fear of getting burnt alive (which we wouldn’t do!) inside that Kuttichathan’s room was sealed, the ventilators shut and the bolt on his door was replaced with a key system! The lights went out at 9 and everyone inside room no: 8 rushed to the second floor to rebel! I did not know what was happening. I was in one of the rooms on the first floor and all I could hear was loud thuds on the stairway. Being dark, I hesitated to leave the room and check out. After a moment, there was howling and yelling from the second floor and I could make out it was the devils’ protest against their leader! There was a myriad of sounds from the upper floor, from those of owls to frogs, vultures to bats! And all the assistant warden could do was bear with it until the power was resumed. Guess what, time just drags by when there’s a blackout! Thirty minutes locked inside in the dark can seem a life time. To add to his turmoil, one of them turned off the line to his room so that he wouldn’t realize when the power supply came! I’m sure he had a very tuff time inside having no way other than to bear with what was happening just outside his room. I bet he didn’t have the courage to come out in the dark and shout at the offenders. In fact no one would. That was the first day of our blackout bash. Yes, a few were apprehended by the assistant warden on the following days out of suspicion. But who cares, there were no evidences!

Nothing much happened the following day, except for beating up every one in the dark! And a few guys even got belated Birthday Bums! I somehow sneaked out of getting beaten by the group. But I wasn’t lucky enough. Some had noticed that I wasn’t beaten up! A few guys followed me. Two of them (Prashant and Akhil) lifted my feet in the air hoping to lift me and beat me up. But alas, somebody had forgotten to support my back, and down I went! I fell on the concrete floor with a loud thud right on my upper back. The pain was excruciating and I yelled out on them – “What do you m*****-******* want? What the fuck were you thinking assholes?” But before I could make a next move, everyone had fled.

Each passing night was getting more and more interesting. The blackout seemed to be our stress buster! The third day a senior – Zackhu Bhaiyya – joined in too! Vinit, Akhil, Joseph, Koshy, Samuel, Prashant and I were the others. The topic for the day was – First Crush! Pretty interesting one! It may sound weird that some even had crush in their kindergarten! Zackhu Bhaiyya for instance had his first crush on his KG classmate! :-O The story flowed in. He still remembers her bringing Arrowroot biscuit and he eating Krack Jack biscuit during the break time! And yes he remembers the minutest of details. She’d break her biscuit along the holes in it and share a half with him and he does the same with his Krack Jack!!! Hell! Joseph’s story is one with a cinematic twist! He had a crush on a senior school girl. She comes to school early in the morning to practice basketball and he would reach before the scheduled time to see her. And the thing that attracted him to her was her mini skirt (almost the same reason I had my first crush; I’ll come to that later). The first turning point in his crush life was when he literally touched her! OMG! He was rushing to the class late after watching her bounce balls in the court. He took a turn to his class from the stairway when she was coming down. He hit her accidentally in his rush and turned around to see it was his crush, right in front of him. It hurt a bit, but it was rather a gentle caress on him, which I think he still cherishes! Vinit’s story is the one I liked the most! A crush on his teacher, and that too his Biology teacher! Well he was bowled over by her beauty in err…his 4th grade! Then she was his math teacher. His feelings for her intensified when she came back to teach Biology (Hmm…) in his 9th grade. You know, its puberty and stuff and no better person to teach ‘him’ Bio other than her! No wonder he secured 92% in his 10th! He remembers back in his 9th, his teacher (or rather crush!), would call each of her student for viva. She would be seated on a chair on a raised platform above the ground level. Each of them would go up to her on the platform and attend the viva. Being a 6 footer (he might have been nearly 6 feet back then), he had the advantage of having a clear top-view of her… you know what! And yes she used to wear low necked salwars and sarees! But it seems like the teacher soon got to know things more clearly and after some time as soon as Vinit would be starting to step up to the platform, the teacher would say – “Vinit, you better stay there, so that I can see your face when I ask you questions”! He’d gone to his old school last December. And guess what, she is now teaching Biology to his younger brother! Vinit says she’s still the same as he’d seen her years back! Prashant had his first crush when he was in his 5th grade and Jacob Koshy in his 8th.

Next it was Jacob Samuel’s turn. This one was more of an emotional bond, though temporary. The girl was his neighbor’s cousin, a Bengali beauty! (Man, I must tell you Bengalis are really pretty!). The girl was introduced to Samuel by his friend (her cousin). She was a year younger to Samuel. Her cousin introduced her to him and they got to know each other. Though there were only a few minutes of chat between the two, he seemed to be attracted to her quite very much. The urge in him to meet her again increased. Once he saw her standing in front of his friend’s house. He could not resist the temptation, or may be necessity to go and talk to her. But he could only talk to her for 5 minutes or so, cuz something seemed to inhibit him. Both of them came to know each other and soon there was this “emotional” thing coming into play! It was when Samuel least expected a separation that she announced she would only be there for another week. He waited outside his house to wave goodbye to her while she was leaving. He had her company for over a month, but her parting hurt. Well now it was my turn! I have had many crush, but to start with, it happened when I was in my 2nd standard. Her name was Lakshmi. I had a crush on her for over a year, but it got literally crushed when I had to leave the school. Dad got a transfer to Kolkata, and everyone had to shift there. I did not have any crush for the next three years (at Kolkata), cuz I studied at a Boys’ School! My first serious crush was in my 7th grade, when I returned to Thrissur (Kerala). As far as I could see, she was the most beautiful girl in class (but later on, I came to know that it was not just my perception, every boy felt the same!). What attracted me the most was her outfit. She dressed well clad in a shirt and a short skirt (she wore the shortest in class!). She was perfect! I stared at her every chance I got. Getting an eye contact was the greatest accomplishment those days! And undoubtedly I was lucky. It was the PT (Physical Training) hour. She and I had not gone out to the ground. I made up an excuse that I had headache and convinced the trainer that I couldn’t stand in the sun. I don’t know what her reason was (may be me!). She was sitting in the front row and I, on the second last. She was lying with her face down on the table, and I was continuously staring at her from behind, lost in thoughts. At some point of time, she had turned around and was looking at me. It took a moment to realize that she was now looking at me! Oh my god! My day was made. I was more than amazed when she got up and made her way to me. She sat down on the next seat beside me and we talked for some time. She left to her seat before the PT session got over. It was 7th standard and sitting alone with someone of the opposite sex would be adultery in a Convent School (no offence to my school!)! This acquaintance continued for a year more when a new character came unexpectedly into my life, for the wrong reasons.

Now that the chapter with crushes is over, its time for a new more interesting topic to light up the blackout! Adios…