The man who taught us the art of patience.

Dedicated to two of the most wonderful people in the world

Rahul Dravid- without whom I wouldn’t have learnt the art of patience, without whom I wouldn’t have started watching cricket in the first place, without whom I would not have learnt how to look at guys and call them “cute”, without whom cricket, is incomplete.

Gokul Ram- without whom I wouldn’t have got the emotions to write this, without whom Dravid would have not had the most ardent fan of his, without whom the loss of Rahul would not have been so impossible.

 Patience is an art. It is the most difficult of all arts. It is the most respected of all arts. It is the most difficult to master. The master of patience will have nothing to fear. He will have nothing to worry about. This master will find his place in all the hearts of human being. He will live and make other people see his way of seeing things. He will pour out his heart and soul for the cause of other people and will live to show what it takes to respect and be respected.

      From “jammy” to “the wall” to “Mr. dependable”, Rahul Dravid has come a long way. He has built a wall in the hearts of the people and never once did he shatter the wall of trust that millions of people built in their hearts for him. A small cute boy he was when he first walked into the field in the year 1996 against the mighty Lankans. He has transformed into a soft leader, an amazing architect of the game, the irreplaceable aspect of the team, the wonderful beginner of the game, the scintillating striker of the ball, the mesmerizing defender of the ball, the biggest and most enthralling wall of the country, of the world. Now, it is the pain of reality that stands before us: his 20 years of cricketing carrier is over. The wall will never come back to protect us, to soothe our anxious mind during times of India’s struggle, to stand there and be there for us. He has gone for good, a decision well taken, but he has left behind a gaping hole in the hearts of millions of people, I included.

         Not once did the over nosy media find fault with his personal life, not once was he scrutinized for wrong doings, not once was he reprimanded for carrying out something which he shouldn’t have. My best friend always says that a man will become totally brilliant only when his skills are accompanied by the best of characters and the diligent of manners and behavior. His respect for mankind, especially women, is what places him millions of miles apart from the common man.

        Yes, he is a father, a husband, a son and a grand son, apart from being a cricketer, but what he has left behind in the annals of history is a combination of all the traits of a wonderful person and a person whose footsteps will be followed but in vain by millions of ardent fans of him.

         Moved to tears, we were, when the news of his retirement came out. He was calm and composed, never once losing his control. But the people around him and the infinite fans watching in front of the television sets found unanswerable tears falling from their eyes, unable to fathom the degree of the loss. This is One of the biggest losses to the history of cricket and has created such a deep impact on the minds of the people to such an extent that the minds have rendered impossible to come out of the shock of the loss. Sure, people will eventually move on and live a life without Dravid, but will never be able to stop themselves from thinking of him at every turn of their lives.

       Mahan sages tell that life is a circle, a Man is born, he lives, cherishes and then perishes, but in this case, Rahul Dravid will never perish. He will live in our hearts for ever, even after we are gone.

    

With unexplainable ache,

Aishu

The world is out there! Go grab it!

As I walked into the house with my grand mother tailing behind me, I saw a shy looking person walk across the room, hurrying after looking at us. He welcomed us inside ad ran up the stairs. His house was like a typical south Indian house, with statues and pictures of the different gods of the Hindu mythology. The house was strongly built and had an extension towards the right hand side with steps leading to the 1^st floor. We were guided by his mother and we walked up the stairs and entered the studio. The room on the outside had a few equipments to record music like mike, keyboard, a monitor and wires. When we were called inside the inside room of the studio, I looked and blinked and looked again. An amazing sound proof room with high tech equipments were all in place, ready to take off for the day. He asked us to take out seats in a black leather sofa and then took his place in a cushion chair opposite to us.

     “how may I help you,” Girishh asked, taking me by surprise. (I expected something like “shoot your questions”) I congratulated him on his success as a debutante music director for Pandiraj’s movie ‘marina’ and spoke for sometime about the innocence and depth of his songs in the movie.” ( in journalistic terms: breaking the ice) I then went on to ask him different questions as to how he got into the film industry and how he went about with the entire complicated process. He was quite casual with his approach to the whole interview and I realized that I was getting more and more comfortable as the conversation progressed. “take down notes, you. How will you remember all the facts otherwise?” my grand mom shot in (what timing, paati!) I had to deal with her for a few seconds and concentrated on the interview again. I got quite a few exciting tit bits out of the conversation and when I got out of the studio, felt happy and proud of the fact that I have made my start in the big wide world of media on a positive note and will hopefully take off and make better attempts on achieving a stirring role in the million dollar business.
P.S: Girishh bhai! amazing first attempt! way to go! all the very best for your future :)

Stifling my laughter all the way!

The six hours sleep that I had was not enough I guess. My mind was still not fully awake and my body was yearning to lie on the bed for ever. I got up from my bed, stretching myself and frantically rubbing my eyes to properly wake up. I got dressed for college, still half asleep. I knew the day was going to be long and hard because right after college, we had our spot news photography submission to make and this means: roaming around the city with camera in hand and all.

We left college, and left for our khoj of subjects which would make it for spot news. We usually enjoyed taking pictures of the diverse subjects around the city but one most annoying factor that we had to put up with while on this assignment is that we are forever infected with “guys-look at you-tease you-irritate the crap out of you syndrome.” Learn to live with it, says one of my friend, but it’s not so easy for me. My anger just gets the better of me when I see immature guys trying to make an ass of themselves by trying some ju ju ( in Damon’s language) in front of us. But let me tell you, it is usually a miserable flop because we don’t even look up to se what they are saying or doing.

We were walking on the road, cameras poised, ready to capture any significant occurrence when we saw two guys, both in blue, in a bike. They were doing some weird kind of dance. It looked for a second like they were flailing their hands and legs. Amused, the three of us looked closer, only to see them waving and dancing in our direction. What they expected us to do or how they expected us to react, god only knows, because the only reaction from our side was “acting like they don’t exist”.

Five guys walking towards us saw us with the cameras and one of the lot went,” you-camera-having-me, him; you, him-picture-take! (If you are wondering what that Shakespere was trying to say, here goes the meaning: you have cameras. Take pictures of my friend and me and then of us [you and me]!) all we could do was stare at him and wonder “Shakespere would feel proud of you, my boy!”

All this has become a part of our lives now and we still find pleasure in clicking pictures with pain-in-the-asses all around us! After all what’s the fun without facing some trouble in life!

P.S: The photography session went on well that day. we went back home, laughing as we thought of the number of guys we had to wad off that day!

To Ajji, with love!

I don’t know how one person can change your entire presumption towards life. But she did, and I am so glad I met her. A small, yet amazing personality, filled with life and the amount of josh and excitement she injects in you in wonderful. A charm spreader, a wonderful mother, an even better grand mother, she is one of a kind. She rambles on about life with hope and shares her experiences, the first time you meet her! The first day I met her, I realized she had so much to teach all of us. The yearn to fill us in about life could be seen in her eyes. A short, thin person with aged white hair, small but deep eyes, she struck me as a mystery from day one. Random stuff about music she spoke when we went to meet her grand daughter, the first time. Since then her random conversations has only grown, but it took me only a few meetings to realize that those random words had deep, deep meaning and experience to it.

From losing his husband when she was 21, to battling cancer, her will power saw her through. She worked at the meteorological department and raised her children with passion and motherly care. As a grand mother too, her care never diminished. Till date I never am able to understand how God had the cruel thought to put her through the greatest torture a mankind could ever suffer, cancer. Yet, she fought it, with her strong will power. She survived it. She spread her charm once again, this time, a little bit more fiercely, that it spread into my very existence. I look up to her as a person who has lived and cherished every moment of life, a person who is and who can guide us through all walks of life, a person who knows it all. To me, she is God, to me, she is an Angel.

She took us to the meteorological department, her grand daughter and me, to show us how it works. She spoke to her ex colleague, “we hold our grand children’s hands when they are kids. They are holding our hands now. This is the circle of life.” She again struck me as someone deep and pure.

The virus of life (cancer) decided to knock on her door again. She, the embodiment of Life, is put to test again. I know with all my heart that she will make it this time too. My prayers are always with you Ajji.

A token of love,

From,

your grand daughter

P.S : I want to be your grand daughter too Ajji.

the current of life!

I yawn and wake up, not at all ready to face yet another day of torment at college. It was a Saturday and Saturday is usually associated with the terms “sleep in”, “brunch”, “beginning of a long weekend” and so on. But that was not the case on the 1^st Saturday of the first month of 2012. Insane as it might sound, we were asked to come for college even on that god forsaken day of the weekend. I packed my bags and went, imagining nothing more than another stupid day in college with tons and tons of assignment and work assigned by out lecturers. The unraveling of the day could not have ever been imagined by any body. For starters, we did not have even a single lecture. We were let free the whole day. Once we were done wondering why we even came to college, we packed our bags and left. We were ready to go out into the hearts of the city to capture some really worthwhile pictures when we realized that three among the four cameras had decided to back out from the plan. We weren’t anticipating any drama from their side. But having understood the mentality of the batteries which run the camera (they are very moody and kinky. They work when they feel like, they take you for a toss if they don’t like you), we decided to start work the next day and let them rest for a while.

                   Impromptu always takes us by surprise more than the pre planned, fully jotted out events. “Come; let us all go to the beach.” That was how it all started. Two buses and some clumsy attempt by Nidheya to protect herself from the bumpy bus ride, we reached the destination, “The Beach.” The sun was out high in the sky and it was scorching hot, but the cool sea breeze helped us get to the mood of the beach. I ran in the sand, screaming “ beach, beach” at the top of my voice.( if you are wondering what people around me would have thought, let me remind you, I don’t care!) the two others were saner and they came walking, bags in hand.

                     There is something about the beach which triggers the child inside me. It would make me jump and scream out in joy and screech insanely. The first smell of the beach, slippery sand, the salty water, the first scared movement towards the water, the first part of the dress getting wet, the chill that creeps through the spine, the slow urge to move inside the water, the push that your body wants to take the dive into the water, the tides going over your head and you not able to do anything about it but scream and try to move away from it in vain, the jubilation of getting drenched, the high that ensues, the laughter that keeps coming, the last few minutes when you are too tired to even move and let the waves over power you, the silence that follows, the mind that starts thinking, the spaced out expression on your face makes it one of the best places ever to be in.

                  We ran into the waters, our faces aglow, all worries gone, evaporated with the water. From jumping, to running, to diving, to behaving like there is no tomorrow, we did it all.

                 A crazy girl, no doubt was sitting silently, thinking to herself, wondering what was happening around her. Her eyes showed that she was thinking something deep and the words that followed were the best and the most meaningful ones that she has ever spoken. “Today made me realize that some people did not make it to our present because of a reason. We will realize who will really be there for you and who will not. I haven’t laughed like this in a really long time. I am grateful to have you in my life.” When I told her that a wave could just take me away and all she could do was sit there and watch me being taken away by the wave, I could see fear in her eyes. She held my hand tight and said “I won’t let go so easily.” This is for you Nidheya. “No matter where life takes us, remember that the person who was right next to you, holding your hands when a high wave hit us on our faces, will always remain by your side, still holding your hands, guiding you and in turn getting your guidance for a life worth living.”

           The other one was sitting with the bags, deep in thought as well, contemplating where life was taking us. The three of us had a reason to be there this afternoon. Three strong pillars to guide each other through the strong currents of life.

Cheers,

Aishwarya Kumar.

Those big round eyes!

               She walked into the class, the first day of college, bubbly and charming, her face round and her hair curly. She looked at us, her eyes strong and steady, looking through us that very instant. Her gaze so soothing and comforting, she introduced herself “Nisha Achuthan”, class faculty, 1^st B.A. Journalism. She gave us the usual pre college pep talk and we listened to her, silent and all. We knew right then that some kind of a relationship would definitely be formed out of her and us.

              A class of 57, our class was the most devastatingly brainy and intellectually stimulating (Divya, thank you for teaching us this phrase!) a class faculty would have ever seen. But, as usual, our brains were used for a different purpose (no bucks for guessing! The answer is talking!) on the second day of college, Mridula Ramadugu was caught talking by Nisha mam. Mam found it infuriatingly annoying when we spoke under her very nose. So she handed out a punishment to her of a 2000 words essay on the “ethics of journalism”. Poor girl had to write that traumatizing essay and submit it to her the next day! Her most famous sentence “punishments will fly like nobody’s business” puts us to laughter all the time. Her tone and slang is so cute and child like. From day 1 till the last day of the semester we found her anger adorable and funny. As known to almost everybody, we, the 15 of us sit in the last two benches of the class and it is most unfortunately marked as the two benches occupied by rowdies and a nuisance to the class. Though the rowdy part is true, we were never a nuisance to the class. Our over enthusiasm was termed annoying and we were called for a separate meeting with the class faculty. We were blasted left and right. If you think we were left there, you are mistaken. We were asked to write an imposition of 500 times saying “I will maintain silence in the class.”

                She was handling book and article review for us in the first half of the first semester and we shared a great rapport with her. She supported and guided us in all possible ways and in the little time that we saw her, she had an impact on us. Her round eyes spoke a lot and her childish voice kept us mesmerized. The last day of the semester came and she broke the news to us, “I am leaving college. This was not supposed to be told to you. But I think it is important that you know. So please keep it to yourself.” Shocked though we were, we all knew that she had taken this decision only after deep deliberations and discussions.

                 We will all miss her round beady eyes which keeps visiting north and south pole every few minutes, her curly hair, her sweet talks, and more than this, her presence as a whole.

Cheers,

Aishwarya Kumar

A great silent companion

They are there from the time of your birth. They give you the first bath. They hold you in their arms with the love, affection, and warmth that even our parents find difficult to provide us with. They live to see us succeed and cherish life. They have simple dreams like wanting their hearts to beat till their grand children get married or become a parent. They love us with all their hearts. They see us grow in front of their eyes. They recall the most innocent of acts that we had done as a kid till the shyness in our eyes on the day of our marriage.

         My grand dad is no exception. He is smart, staunch, very funny (he is a swear words game package!), amazingly annoying sometimes because of his old beliefs. He is a personification of lord siva. The anger that he experiences is incomparable and brings shivers to our very soul. He flings plates, stops talking to the people he loves the most and even stops eating when his anger gets overboard. But deep inside he is a gem of a person and I came to know this side of his personality only a few months back. As they say “even the lion can be tamed”, I was the outlet for him when he is terribly anger. The calmness on his face is seen when he is around me. We watch cricket matches ( he has to yell at the players every once in a while or he finds it an utter waste to watch the match!) together. I am a solid 70 years younger to him and still we found so many ways of bridging the generation gaps during our times together. He hates watching movies but still sits with me to watch some of the recent ones ( mind it, he never stops cribbing about the heroine’s dress, the hero’s amazing super man skills, the very theme of the movie!) when grand parents are known for talking non stop and nonsense, here is a man who knows to stay silent throughout and yet have such an amazing impact in the life of a person. I loved spending time with him when I moved to Chennai and realized what a caring and fun loving person he was. Till then the equation in my mind was:

       Grand father=angry person=no patience for grand children= always grumpy=very strict=no sense of humor!

        I was dead mistaken when I started spending time with him. From being a man behind my strengths to abusing the cricketers with the most disgusting swear words, he was the best. The wide smile with half missing teeth will be always remembered by all of us thatha. You are an inseparable part of my life now thatha.

Cheers,

Aishwarya Kumar