And the Gang arrives....

Disappointed that I was after returning from Bangalore, anything mildly positive in Chennai would have boosted my spirit. Here is what happened on that day. 

First of all, the routine of going to office with “You know who” already gave my mood a much needed zing that is the kind of impact she has on most of the people around her. And as we landed in office, someone called my name from behind. It was my supervisor and with him were 5 people. With their unassured way of walking, I guessed them to the new batch of joiners. And that is exactly they were. My supervisor introduced me to them and now I am introducing them to you in my words. 

Aishwarya Kalelkar alias “Aish”: “If big things come in small packages” this guy epitomises this. My wing man to be on most of the occasions, this “guy” has a name to deceive. But that apart, gem of a person with a great “capacity” for Friday night get-togethers.

Deepak Ranjan Rout alias “Deepak”: The moment he utters a syllable anyone in this world can say that he hails from Orissa. Only married guy in the gang, he was expected to be bit docile and placid. But that is exactly what he is not. Full of wits and always with some mischief in his mind, he made a great company. And yes, one thing with which he can literally kill people is his “PJed” sense of humor.

Saurabh Gupta alias “Gupta”: The most common face in the world. His face to me looks similar to many people I have seen. I really don’t know how and why? But what a human being he is. He has a zone of himself and doesn’t really like people to disturb him when he is in zone. Outside that zone, he is a different being altogether. I believe he knows and understands me much better.And yes most important of all, he is our own one man “Pune warrior”.

Shanu Singh alias “Shanu”: Shanu Singh….ufff it is difficult to describe this guy. Sincerity personified and that is exactly why I envy this guy. How can someone be so focused and totally unfazed by the surroundings. Commitment is his core competency, be it in professional or personal field. He might end up settling in Ireland. But know what no need to explainmore because “He already knows it all”.

Prachi Singh alias “Shaani”: If the above guy is Shanu, this girl is a “Shaani”. And what a contrast to Shanu she is. If there are concepts of matter and anti-matter in this universe these two people Shanu Singh and Prachi Singh are a living example for theoretical physicist. Amazing attitude and great sartorial sense is what defines this girl. She is on lookout for some monetary “power” by the way.

Last but not the Least, although not amongst the latest of new joiner, this gentleman soon joined the group and became an integral part.

Kumail Fazal alias “Q-mail”: The most respected member of the gang because of his sheer breadth of his knowledge ranging from how to “woo” a girl to how to “irritate” a girl. Kumail bhai is a powerhouse of bakar on any topic. Difficult to argue with this man as in any argument he will take you to his level and beat you there.  Hats off to this master, wish he gets what he wants..and good thing is he very clearly knows what he wants..

That is for the introduction of the gang apart myself and  “You know who” about whom you might have already known a bit and will learn a lot more in times to come.

I always thought, what would I do in such a place like Chennai, but know what someone has correctly said “it is people around you who make a place beautiful not the other way round”. Chennai amazingly was looking beautiful place to be. And from here onwards, began a ride which was heading only in one direction, a period which I call as the “Awesomest Era” of Chennai because the Gang has arrived…we call it Gangs of Siruseri.

PS: I always thought that the gang was complete but only later on I realized that we were actually missing a couple of people who would later join to complete the jig-saw puzzle.

This was not the Bangalore I knew

“You become the place where you have lived for long”

This proverb about Bangalore does not really hold true as you don’t need to live long there for being in love with that city. Two months is what it all took for me to start liking this city. May be there were other factors too involved in me falling in love with this city, but that time I had ignored them.

After a gap of around 6 months, I came back to Bangalore, but this time from Chennai. Early in the morning, I got down from an AC bus and I was welcomed by a cold breeze blowing in the city which has given me lots of lovely memories. Shivering in the cold weather, I took an auto rickshaw to my friend’s guest house. I reached there, got under a quilt and slept again. Sleeping under a quilt in a cold weather is a feeling, which is truly heavenly. I woke up at 12 noon and straightway went to the road. Walking on the road at 12 in the afternoon, this is another privilege only few cities in India can provide and Bangalore is one of them. And it is while walking on the street that I realised something was amiss.

Strolling alone on those Richmonds, MGs and Brigades of the city, I felt I was missing something. These roads, those malls did not endear me any more. What was wrong? Why was I not happy to be in Bangalore? Then immediately it struck me Oh! Yes. I am missing the company I had last time I was in Bangalore. Those two months of my internship in Bangalore had gone by real fast and the fact is however hard I try, I would never be able to get back those two wonderful months. And now, here I was in Bangalore with a feeling that this was not the Bangalore I knew. Things have changed, people have changed and but it was taking me sometime to adjust to these changes.

Subduing all these feelings in my heart, I tried to enjoy as far as possible. Met friends, ate around, watched movies but know what I always felt a void around me. Soon came my time for departure from Bangalore and along the way I saw the bus no. 201E. A flash of memories flew past my brain and I was even more depressed and somehow wanted to leave this city as soon as possible. For the first time Bangalore disappointed me and I was happy that I was leaving for Chennai just because may be something better was waiting for me in my new work place.

Four "Faadu" Days

In this blog, I plan to summarise the four days highlighting only the relevant happenings, which is what I am sure most of you would be interested in. But most importantly with each of these four days, I experienced something which helped me to know “You-Know-who” better.

Day 1: “The day which came only once”

“Hey! Hello come fast I have kept a seat for you in company shuttle” this is what she said when I picked up her call. During that time I was somehow holding onto a seat in rickety two-tier auto rickshaw (typical of Chennai) carrying 10 passengers. Some how I managed to get my cell phone out of my pocket, and held it close to my ear. The voice from the other side reduced my discomfort to a large extent. It is very rare that someone has kept a seat for me and that also a girl, boy! Any normal guy would be happy and whatever discomfort is there would surely go away.

Quickly, I got to the location from where we used to catch the company shuttle and boarded the bus just to witness that enchanting "ever smiling" face. I took my seat and the shuttle started. Chivalrously I thanked her and we set chatting on some random topics. I heard her talking in “gujrati” over phone. I was amazed that a girl with a “Parsi” kind of title, “gujju” speaking,” Punjabi-cum-bihari” accent, “never-heard-off” type first name and most importantly with a “middle name” ,which I was not aware off. What was her exact background? But I did not wish to enquire. I was happily satisfied with whatever little I knew about her till then.

 Day 2: “The day when I got to know her middle name”  

Surprise… Surprise. Day 1 call for a seat was the last time I received such calls from her. Following on most of the day, it was my turn to keep a seat for her, which I mostly did. And I must tell you it was not an easy task.

As routinely as it could happen, we reached office and went to different blocks. After some time she pinged me on office communicator. She wanted to create her signature in Outlook. I helped her with that and immediately she sent me a sample signature of hers. And this signature read her first name and middle name. So now, I knew what that middle name “A” stood for. This cleared all my doubts about “never-heard-off” first name,” Gujju” conversation and “Parsi” sounding last name. It was as if all the dots were connecting slowly. "Oh! So is She is a Muslim" I said  to myself.  

I don’t know why but I always wished to have Muslim friends, but a female Muslim friend; it was much more than I had wished for. So I was even happier and that Oh! transformed into Aha! . I replied and congratulated her on a fantastic Outlook signature that she had come up with.

Day 3: “The day with a Surprise”

As soon as we got back down from office, both of us were very hungry and decided to satisfy our hunger with Pani puri we get here in Chennai. Most of these stalls are owned by some Bihari or a UP wala. We went to one of these stalls and tried 2-3 pani-puris only to find that those were not good enough. We decided to forego it and search for something better. Walking along road we came across an eatery named WOSS (World of Subs n Sandwiches). She had been there before and had liked it, so we decided to go in. She ordered for herself a sub, which she had eaten before and this would be the same order she gave every next time we came here. It was called “Veg surprise”. I really don’t know why she ordered this every time…may be because the name of sub matched her character which will also full of surprises.

The subs were good and we would soon become a regular visitor at this place. 

Day 4: “The day it rained”

The days at the office became very monotonous. It was life outside office which kept me going in Chennai.

This was a Friday. Back from office, we got down from shuttle. She wanted to buy some vegetable. I got myself along to accompany her. We reached a shop, she bought some veggies here and here and then in the end as a typical indian customer asked for some coriander leaves for Rs one or two. The shopkeeper gave a little of them. Seeing such a small amount, she got infuriated and started arguing for some more. The shopkeeper did not understand hindi offcourse so she talked in broken English hoping that shopkeeper gets a drift of it. The shopkeeper was very adamant and so was she. She kept arguing and I was standing there smiling and watching her little battle with the shopkeeper. In the end, as expected, she won. Shopkeeper gave some more and then she was back to her normal smiling face. That day I understood that this Rs 1 and Rs 2 still hold some value in our life. At least in some peoples’ life.

We came out of the shop only to encounter some rain drops falling from the sky. Slowly the speed of the water droplets increased and the drizzling converted into a full fledged downpour. People who know me would also understand that I am not a rain-loving person. But that day it was different. She was so excited seeing the rain and with the increasing speed of the droplets her excitement also grew. Such contagious is her excitement that it was difficult for me not to get affected and it was one of the rarest moments, when I too enjoyed the rain. Experiencing the first rain in Chennai, we strolled back towards CEEBROS our home outside home.

To sum it up, that dude Albert Einstein was correct when he explained relativity as “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’s telativity.” These four days went by like a flash in terms of time but the impact it made was got etched in my memory for a lifetime

 

Next, a travel to Bangalore was on the cards. Wow! I was excited about that for some reason……