I'm a Daddy!!

It all started with Physics. I still recollect the day and bless the day when I and Pooja were waiting to board the bus. More than two years it has been… it grew and shrunk and grew and it kept growing forever. And now it is ‘FB legit.’



Yesss!!! I am a daddy… and for minds who intrapolate this thought, NOT SO FAST… I am still single. However, I am now enlightened and enlivened by the fact that I have children…. And that too, sooo easily. :P

There in Hyderabad, we had to be a family, to give each other a shoulder in times of need, and even in the most distressed state, comfort the other person with nothing but a warm hug. And I am happy to be a part of such a family – and being the head of the family.

There were many transfers of roles and responsibilities. And at the end of it all, I stand at the top of the totem-pole (yes.. there is a another side in here). Wow… I feel like Don Corleone now. We’re now a happy, happy family. We are diverse and still we are one...

Sounds: screeches, chirps, beeps

Sports: Shuttle badminton, NCC exercises, vibrating, Federer vs Nadal (no no.. not tennis)

Locations: Hyderabad, Cochin, Bangalore, Boston

Ages: 25 (yes.. elder to me) to 19 (and don’t believe someone who says she’s 84)

Food: Ranges from nothing to full tandoori chicken with Jumbo Pack Briyani

Drinks: Water, Slice…….. (goes on and on and on)…, Vodka

Ethnicity: Mallu, Telangana, Portuguese, Gelf, and a specimen who is a mix of Cochin, Hyderabad and Bangalore

Activities: MAD, blogging, FB, weekdays' vacationing at Hyderabad from Bangalore, go-karting, while away time for no reason

Relationships: Staunch singe to seriously committed

(and on a lighter note) Sexual Orientation: Think of anything involving just humans, and it’s bound to be here :P

Beat this diversity?? Hold on… I am talking in terms of a single nuclear family, just like in here.

The times in the MAD camp, the movies at iMax, the so-called dinner after that (and if I move on, one of my children will accuse me of plagiarism from her blog). All these will remain as evergreen memories of my stay in Hyderabad. With all due respect to the number of ‘sabaaa’s’ and the comical criticism, I still feel proud to proclaim that I am really really happy for my children, I love them a lot, and I am proud to be a dad.

For anyone who feels J or anything for a term ‘Jeffy Dad’ that refers to me, “Welcome to the Family.”

Return To The Land Of Machis

Two years of Hyderabad – my life was a riot there. I was enjoying in every possible. I felt that my life was like a donut – creamy, sweet, fluffy, yum, exotic and appealing, with a large hole in the middle.

I don’t know how things conspired for me for situations to turn against me; it was all in the wink of an eye, that I was to leave Hyderabad, with all my dear ones there. I must confess that I did shed some tears, that I was leaving a city that taught me what life was. But I had forced promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and those were the miles that I had already covered, and I was going in reverse.

Back to Chennai, the land where I grew up, lived my like a demi-God, in and around Madras Christian College and St. Joseph’s Hr. Sec. School. This demanded an entire change of perspectives – my idea of a road-ride was no longer Banjara Hills, but NH-45. Shopping meant Spencer Plaza and Burma Bazaar and not City Center or GVK. My one-stop movie place is Satyam and not Prasad’s . No more go-karts and no more scenic drive to the airport. No more late-night hangouts and sleepover at my friends’ places. MAD-HYD is distant to me now and so is Google Hyd.

Even then, it feels great to get back to Chennai – no place like home they say. It feels great to dine as a family, and to be back irritating my brother. My friends, who were in school, are now proud employees of multi-nationals. The wave of nostalgia that sweeps my when I get to Koyambedu CMBT, or Chennai Central or East Tambaram, cannot be cached in words. The joy of showing the true colors of my gluttony in a roadside joint in here can never be close to the 7-star buffets.

All this said and done, I miss Hyderabad too. Every branded attire that I wear, the fact that I can understand Hindi movies, pub etiquette, American accent, spiked-up hair, sport shoes, five-star dining, all the things that I have at my home now from Hyderabad, and all the photographs that I have, will continue to remind me of the days that I know for a fact that I will never get back. Hyderabad is not nostalgic for me – it is a class apart, a life apart. If I have to take names to thank, the list can go on, but I wish to conclude with one - God.

I am in a place where I belong to, I am (100 – pi)% happy, with the pi being the Hyderabad factor. It is small when compared to 100 but it is still infinite and special. No one knows how I can compensate for that missing piece in its entirety. Hyderabad was like being in a romantic relationship - heavenly days, treasured moments and a few bittersweet memories. But what to do… I guess I was born single, and born to be single. (Only in this respect, not anything beyond that… )

After Matheran, it's Khandala.

This time, the Hydooglers Adventure Club Trip was targeting Khandala. Thanks to Aamir Khan in Ghulam, this place is not so unknown as Matheran. This trip did not trigger much excitement as the previous. However, this trip proved to be a real adventure trip.
The man who made it possible was Suresh of Google Concierge. Instead of canceling 10 tickets and retaining 45, he did the other way. This was turning out to be really exciting...four in a seat. Luckily, some were generous to move to the General coach and freed a little space for us. Even then it would not help much. Myself, Lakshmy aka The Quantum Queen, Loveena, Hari Parishe, Tasneem Calcuttawala and Shobha Raman were confined to a single seat.
Time and the train were moving. Soon, the ladies in the General compartment began pouring into our coach. The result was that I had to part with a quarter of a seat that I possessed then. I was pitying myself when I got down from my seat and was surprised to see Loveena and Hari (despite his knee pain) on the floor. I sat on the lower berth, leaning a little forward. I managed to get some rest in that position.
The train wheels came to a halt at Lonavala (never ask either Shobha or Vikram how to pronounce it) and we took our bags to get into, or rather pack ourselves into a Swaraj Mazda. We were supposed to stay at Rainbow Resorts. It was so picturesque and near to the fabled Mumbai Pune Expressway.

We left our bags in our room (not rooms), refreshed ourselves and were ready by ten to set out for the real adventures. The first spot was the Big Z waterfalls at Khandala. The waterfall was will hidden in the bushes and we had to make our way through thick greenery that grew on slippery paths that went winding through the crevices and the gaps between tree trunks. We could hear the loud hush of water falling on the rocks. Our excitement was intensifying with the sound (remember the inverse-square laws?)
On clearing some bushes, we were surprised to see droplets of water fly as a misty cloud and kiss our face. We could not resist getting drenched and we hopped into the water only to get banged on our backs by the heavy blobs that were falling from such a great height. We waded through the flow to explore the 'other side' of the waterfall which was rather calm and more like a natural swimming pool. After spending some peaceful, funny (hitting waters on each other) and thrilling (Tasneem almost drowned and Gowtham saved her), we had our lunch at some Gujrati hotel. The taste was enough to satisfy our hunger (Our Kaiyaendhi Bhavan's are far better...believe me..) but the best part in that hotel was the hotel backyard. I do not want to say much. The pic says it all.

From there we left for our rooms, changed and set on a dull-mood trip to Aamby Valley City. However, our mood changed when we reached there. Now, I know why the Indian Cricket team, Anna Kournikova and Richard Gere have their house in that beautiful place. The place even has a private-jet runway.
It was thriller-time again then. Our dear Swaraj Mazda was void of diesel, in the middle of the road... amid the pitch darkness. What a wonderful moment it was!! After the arrival o the rescue-party, we went back to our rooms and came out in a little while, for the camp-fire. We came back to the rooms after the camp-fire after some fun, fight, and photographs, we want to our rooms to get our share of sleep.
We got up pretty late the next morning. One among Lakshmy's many (read: a million) friends, one happened to come over there. We left Lakshmy in the resort and left for the caves, which were some ten kilometers form the resort. I was in the van and the van had already left before Loveena, Harikanth, Tasneem and Shobha could make it. I made friends with a dog which was near the cave and spent time with that creature until they arrived there by an auto. Our tour party was already coming down when we were starting our way up, but that would, in no way, stop is from seeing the place fully.
The place was absolutely spectacular. Mukesh Ambani could give all the riches he has, but can never get a place to stay, like those Buddhist monks have. A waterfall which is like a curtain to the rocky main door, and stairways leading to rooms which have windows opening the view to the mountainous grandeur. After taking a few snaps there, we came back to the resort and spent a few moments packing stuff there and spending some time in the swings and slides, we went to shop at Lonavala for chikkis. After a heavvvvy™ lunch, we went to the station to board the train..
The train journey was full of drama and tension-there was an unclaimed baggage in our compartment ans it was, as usual, suspected to be a bomb. However, it was found that it belonged to an innocent, old man.
The best part of the journey was that, I played dumb-charades on the train. This happened after a long time and I was lost in nostalgic moments of those college days. After playing on some seventy-odd films, we went to sleep (and each one was able to sleep on one berth each). We reached Hyderabad the next morning after all those adventures and fun and the unforgettable train journey which proved that space is not a constraint for any adventure or fun.

Reunion...

Night halts at my friends' place was an integral part of my college life. In the style of Bryan Adams, it is, "And if I had a choice, Yeah! I just wanna be there. Those were the best days of my life!!" and in our local context it is, "Andha Nal Nyabagam Nenjile Vandhadhey Nanbaney."
Though I was in continuous contact with almost everyone through phone, I still had fancied meeting my friends in some place without much planning. It turned true when Pramodh invited everyone for his sister's marriage at Vijayawada.
It was a long time since I met everyone and it was nice to know that Stephen Paul, Solomon, Arun Stephen, Samu, Prasad and Ramkumar were coming along. I dot wish to describe the travel and it is not worth mentioning either. I reached Vijayawada on 25th August by the end of afternoon. Pramodh was there to receive me at the station.
It was great to see him after a long time. My thoughts went through the deep woods of Madras Christian College to the beloved bell tower that stands as a testimony to the happiest moments we had during our college life.
I was a pillion rider on his Kinetic Honda that stopped at Anoo's beauty parlor where the bride's brother was to get a facial and a haircut(but never would change his flirty looks). After hunting for a gift to the groom and successfully buying a cell phone stand, we went to his aunt's home where we were to stay.
The clock struck eight thirty and I was over cloud nine. The Pinnakini Express, scheduled at 2110 hrs, arrived late by an hour-it is usual for Indian Railways to delay but time seemed relatively longer then. Finally the train arrived and I was waiting near the doors of D3 coach. After a while some familiar figures stepped out.
My joy knew no bounds when i saw my friends out there. Everyone was a corporate yet no one had changed. They were the same old bubbly guys with whom I used to tour the locales of Chennai during college days. Ram was still with his mass; Prasad still playful and vetti; Stephen Paul......ssssssssssppppppppppaaaaah; Arun Stephen with his vulnerable mouths and techy jargon and Solomon our beloved mama, silent and stealth as ever.
That night I had a good reason to stay in the room but a better reason to stat out-mosquitoes. They drove us out of the room, which was, in a way adventurous(We were questioned by AP Police on the day of the blasts in Hyderabad) and hilarious to see fast foods and barber shops open at three in the morning.
W greeted the morning sunlight with our sleep-ridden faces and eyelids that were constantly experiencing a force of attraction towards each other. As everyone emptied the rooms, we rushed into those rooms to get our share of sleep. After a short but sound sleep for a couple of hours, we woke up and hastily got ourselves ready for the marriage.
We stepped into the marriage mahal, enlightened by the thought that we had nothing to gift the to-be-newly-weds. So we ventured out into the city hunting for a gift. We would have almost toured the entire city of Vijayawada by the time we made up our minds to present a Fast-Track watch.
We went back to the mahal and had a fun time packing the traditional 'Thamboolam', though my job was only to arrange them. It was evening and the mood of marriage began to enhance. Silk clad women and the music of the Nadhaswaram began to add flavor to it. Little did we recognize that it was time we started until Pramodh came up and called us for dinner.
But we had different plans for dinner. I had to treat my friends for making it into Google. We went to the Comesum Restaurant near the railway station and feasted on the limited dishes available there, reminding my of the times we used to have together in Hotel Rendezvous Nova.
After finishing the desserts, my friends got Tamil Nadu Express and I got into the Godavari Express.
We were back to their old life again-the same old TCS, Sutherland, Ajuba and Google. This was all which was destined for us and we departed with a faint but significant hope that we will meet some day, but with the same spirits as the Physics Students of Madras Christian College.

From Student to Corporate...

Remember those interesting lecture sessions, and bunked sessions that were even more interesting? The galleried classes whose walls could speak of the aeons it had seen, and the Bell Tower that speaks even more? The tours that we enjoyed and the tour plans that we enjoyed even more? Remember the day of Spectra, and the days we painted banners for it?
Dah!!! Those are memories ever to be cherished.


And now it's totally different. Stay in a six-storeyed apartment and office in a twelve- storey IT county and almost weeks since I experienced the sunlight in the noon on weekdays. And working under the banner 'Google' is fun. All my favorite chocs and ice creams scattered around, friendly seniors and more friendly peers-all this makes me wonder if corporate concerns can be like this.

Oh yeah!!! It's all about that non-spatial continuum called time. Time is unchanging and times are changing. And now the college days are just a memory. And my life in Google is continuing.... peacefully... and i hope it does.