THIS IS CHENNAI AFTER ALL !!

[chevy]

interesting. Chevy, when will Sean be seen ?

lol.. it sounds funny.. but actually .."sean" is pronouned as "shawn "... jus 4 doz whu thot sean is pronounced as "seen" ...

[NM]

well done, chevvy! i've joined the 'chevvy fan club'! the storyline is very nice, the flow is very good and you have a natural flair in writing plus the fact that your command of English is great makes the whole story easy to follow..

waiting for Sean to surface too...........

can't stop wondering whther it's based on someone's experience.... :P

[chevy]

well done, chevvy! i've joined the 'chevvy fan club'!

thanks ...

can't stop wondering wehther it's based on someone's experience.... :P

what makes you think so ?



cheers!
chevy

[chevy]

9



Diwali was just great. Nope, even better. Actually, it wasn’t the Diwali part of it. It was the fun of meeting my cousins for the first time. I always considered my parents and only my parents as my family. Everyone else related to my parents belonged to my “extended family” category. I never believed cousins made a difference. We are cousins, related by birth, that’s it. How does a cousin score over a friend? If at all she or he does then maybe you’ll are friends more than just cousins. But for the first time I realized I have a family and what it means to associate yourself with one.

I must confess , I cried more than once almost every hour for every word that struck through my heart. My Mama and Perima were merciless. Oh, I forgot to mention. Perima had arrived with her family. Perima, Perima and her son and two daughters.

I hated the way the elders were treating me, of course my dear thatha, stayed out of this. He’d rather sit and listen to old music rather than criticize about my mom and me.

I don’t why I get self conscious when Gautham is around. Probably it’s because I looked tearful and ugly the first time he met me. First impression is best impression, right? He had done his graduation in Chennai too. He had also stayed with my grandparents. His sister, Parvathi, was so simple and yet gorgeous. Both of them have a good dress sense and take good advantage of their charming smile and charisma. My perima’s daughters were unconventional mix of sorts. Both were straight opposites. Parvathi had explained to me how my perima’s children were equivalent to my own siblings. It sounded so funny when she said it the first time. I could marry an Athai son but a perima’s son was supposed to be my own brother. I suppressed the laughter that was just waiting to burst out.

They’d stayed for a week and each night the six of us would stay up all night. Gossip, play cards and chat till three. On diwali, everyone enjoyed the crackers part of it thought, I didn’t find it very amusing. I loved getting all dressed up. My perima’s daughter’s , Jyotsna akka and Vaishnavi akka, both hovered around and got me dressed up like a doll. Jayanth anna , my perima’s son was such a king in cards. He was so good at Rummy.

I loved talking about my cousins in college. I expected people to show signs of excitement or delight but soon got branded as “mokkai” or “ Kadi queen”. Later I learn’t it stood for something that meant “queen of lame jokes”. From then on , I reduced communicating with my “Tamil-obsessed” friends in college. I’d rather talk to my CA friends who were greater fun to hang out with.

I don’t know if I’ve just become more sensitive or people mindlessly make a travesty out of my Tamil, whatever it is , it really hurts. I suppose you give people a chance, you know. I love the way people speak the language hilariously, but I hurts when they mock at your way of speaking the language.

The Common Proficiency Test is coming up in less than twenty days. Pavi , Mahesh, Kadhir and I often go to the ICAI reading hall and try to study there like big nerds. In less than twenty minutes we’d be out sitting near the lunch area and chatting away to glory. I would be lying even if I said I am little prepared. I waste my time a lot these days. I am usually stuck to the phone. Chatting with Gautham or Jay. Or my five buddies from CA class.

Raman called up to wish me on Diwali. It was totally unexpected. Now, that reminds me I need to ask him how he got hold my number ! Humph!

I feel foolish when I finish talking to Gautham. Even over the phone I am fidgeting with my hair or my dress. Why is that I get so over conscious? Does he notice that?

(Noooooooooooooooo ..... please..... )

It’s fun talking to Jay “anna”. I repeat that “ anna” almost after every five words. Probably because he’s my only “anna”.

Life is meaningless and wastefully spent these days. Mostly my brain which is supposed to be working for the CPT, is engrossed in old sweet memories. Bitter memories rather? Past is past but why does it cling on to your present as a memory and bring back useless feelings? Huh! I’ve lived in Congo for so many years and I’ve got so many friends there. But why does only that dupe, Sean come into my head.


( BACKGROUND MUSIC: WHILE YOU READ THIS DO LISTEN TO : show me the meaning of being lonely
LINK : http://www.muzic9.com/index.php?c=song&songid=28583 )


Have you ever missed someone?
Ever stood by the window to see if that person would suddenly surprise you by appearing downstairs?
Waiting for the post man to see if that person had snail mailed you?
(Nah! This is old-style)
Kept checking your mobile even if by chance that person is ringing you up?
Or just missed called?
Or rang up and you missed that lucky chance?
Or kept signing into your inbox to see if that person sent you any emails?
Or kept staring at your inbox hoping for one to pop in suddenly?

Or kept refreshing the page to see if some miracle would happen?
Or kept logging into your messenger to see if that person is online?
Wondering if that person is okay?
Straining your brain thinking why she or he is ignoring you?
What did you say the last time?
Said something wrong?
Maybe it hurt the person and she or he doesn’t want to talk to you anymore?
Maybe that person is a heartless fool?
Why think about that fool?
She or He doesn’t think about me anyway!

Huh!

But missing someone is a sweet feeling, you know? Laying on your bed wondering what you meant to that person , thinking about the great times you’ve had with that person, why isn’t that person with you now and when will that person come back to bring color to your life? Missing someone is a part of growing up I guess. It teaches you how to cope with loneliness.

I don’t care how it sounds. But missing a person who doesn’t miss me doesn’t funny to me anymore. It’s seriously my problem, my obsession, my hobby, my diversion, my mania, my hitch, my madness, my everything......


[to be continued]

[crazy]

But missing someone is a sweet feeling, you know? Laying on your bed wondering what you meant to that person , thinking about the great times you’ve had with that person, why isn’t that person with you now and when will that person come back to bring color to your life? Missing someone is a part of growing up I guess. It teaches you how to cope with loneliness.

I don’t care how it sounds. But missing a person who doesn’t miss me doesn’t funny to me anymore. It’s seriously my problem, my obsession, my hobby, my diversion, my mania, my hitch, my madness, my everything......

chevy ur writing is getting better and better each day, iam looking so forward to read ur next update!

keep going dear

hm............missing !!!!!!

[chevy]

But missing someone is a sweet feeling, you know? Laying on your bed wondering what you meant to that person , thinking about the great times you’ve had with that person, why isn’t that person with you now and when will that person come back to bring color to your life? Missing someone is a part of growing up I guess. It teaches you how to cope with loneliness.

I don’t care how it sounds. But missing a person who doesn’t miss me doesn’t funny to me anymore. It’s seriously my problem, my obsession, my hobby, my diversion, my mania, my hitch, my madness, my everything......

chevy ur writing is getting better and better each day, iam looking so forward to read ur next update!

keep going dear

hm............missing !!!!!!

thankeeeee

[chevy]

10


After Diwali, life is a little different. New friends and cousins dotting over me every now and then. CA classes go on as usual and College is just the same Nazi campus. Shailaja is all the more irritable these days. She’s got some problem with her health and we are all the victims of her temper.

I slept several times in her class and got caught most of the times. I face her wrath more than anyone else. Our gang of six at the Insti is just as great as ever. In our gang, we are all verbally armed to attack anyone coming in our way. If at all things get physical, our kick boxer Mahesh is always there. We have a gang policy of bunking all economics lectures. Coffee Day is just next to the insti and always open for us. Sometimes we run short of cash, then our “yelani-akka” , whose business ( established 1980 something) is there to give us tender coconut at rupees ten. She or her ancestors had their stall outside the Insti even when our all time target, Professor. Chinnaswamy, had studied Chartered Accountancy about two decades ago. There are other stalls as well, but we usually don’t eat there. Primarily because of hygiene reasons. Secondly because both Anu and Rathna
are Iyers who don’t like even looking at eggs or any form of meat. Lastly because we believe it is a little below our standards to eat on the pavements.

Raman kept watching our noisy gang. He rarely talked to whilst I stood with my friends. But whenever, I stood alone, he’d be there for me to pass time with. He sends some hilarious messages which starts my day with a good mood. Sometimes these forwarded messages are a nuisance. Otherwise when I am totally jobless , I can catch hold of some retard to message me till I get something to engage myself with. Once, I was completely saturated and couldn’t take in the lectures. I walked out of the hall instead of sitting for the second lecture. My buddies, who were in a nerdy mood after having received internal tests’ results in college, weren’t game for bunking that day. Kadhir was about to come just when the second lecturer walked into the class. Raman had followed me out. A friend of his, Premsundar (another MCC enthusiast) was already out and just about to walk in.

“Hey Ram, not going for class.?”, Prem called out.
“No ya. Hey lalita? Not going for class”
“No. What about you?”
“No. I am not. Prem you go man. Nerdy.”

Prem hurried in and .....
Voila! We stood out of the hall like fools staring at one another not knowing where to begin. A good long minute had passed. Not knowing what to say, I walked to the notice board saying, “Let’s see what care the lectures for tomorrow”

Raman walked behind and the conversation continued just for the heck of it. I wished he’d get the hint that I was getting bored. I actually wanted to do nothing. Probably go to the reading hall and try to study. Or just look out of the window and dream.

Finally, he said, “So what are going to go now?”
“I don’t know. You?”
“Go home. What else. All those nerds are inside. I can’t loaf on the streets alone. I need company. You? Called your Patti?”
“Nope. She’ll come only at eight. I’ll go to the library now. And then the reading hall till eight.”
“All right. I come with you then.” (Oh Sheesh. I wish you miss your mummy and go home as soon as possible. Huh!)
“Fine.”

I walked as slow as possible. Dragging my feet from one tile to another as if as I was counting the tiles on the floor. Within ten minutes we had picked our books and took adjacent chairs in the reading hall. Opened our books and started chatting.

I was mentally prepared for an hour and a half of a stiffly boring chat filled with all praises for Madras Christian College. But when it set going, Raman didn’t turn out to be as boring as I’d contemplated he’d be. Sometime during the chat, he began to eulogize his college.
“No. I am not going to leave College if I don’t get part time Articles. I need college. How can one leave college? Put in so much of efforts for getting into it!”
“Well, isn’t CA your priority?”
“Yeah. But we can’t leave college no? You need college experience”
“Why not. Then there’s no point doing just CPT and dropping CA after that.”
“No. I’ll carry on with CA after I graduate.”
“Oh! You’ll be three years behind the rest of us”
“That’s if all of you pass at first attempt. (Ah! Touch wood.) Of course you will.”
“Hmmm.”
“Are you in NCC?”
“No. Are you? How can you do so much? NCC? College Culturals? CA ?”
“Yeah. But one should NCC experience you know. It’s great.!”

The conversation went on. I found every bit of his ideologies contradicting to mine. This guy has no priority in life. He wants to get an experience of everything. Can’t make sacrifices. Of course college life is important. But this ain’t a peanut course. This is a really tough course where “one is supposed to work when the world sleeps” ( or something like that is the Institute’s motto.)

He’s taking it so lightly.
We had reached a point when I was almost going to tell him, “ You do whatever you feel like doing! Can’t you take up something and prioritize everything?”
I wasn’t in a mood to argue and kept quiet. We stared blankly at our books. Suddenly he turned and said,
“You know what?” ( What? How am I supposed to know? )
“What?”
“ I am the first person in my family to attend a college.”
“Oh!”

I was speechless. Yeah. Now I know why he was so committed to his college. Now I understood what excited him at the very mention of college. No more comments.

(Go on. )

“In fact. My dad had wanted to join MCC. But he had other commitments. So he never joined.”
“Oh I see”

I expected him to say “They were never able to afford it. Even for me, it’s pretty hard.”
Not that he looked deprived but it was the way he spoke. I was bewildered when he said ,


“My grandfather was an instrumentalist in Illayaraja’s troupe. You know Illayaraja? He’s a famous tamil music director. My Thatha also took carnatic music classes. And of course, Mridangam. ”
“Oh okay.”
“My father takes classes too. He discontinued education after schooling and got into hotel management. Just like that. No graduation and all. He got his job with Thatha’s little influence. My mom plays the Veena and sings as well. My sister didn’t learn any instrument. She sings Carnatic thought. Most of my relatives also perform and teach Carnatic music- vocal, instrumental , both. It’s their way of making a living. But in our family my dad’s got a job. But very often, we give performances. But as such, no one has done any form of graduation you know?”

“You’ve got a Carnatic family then.”

“Even now, if I want to. I can drop college and join any troupe. Even I am Mridangam player. My Thatha’s student of course. I was taking classes in eleventh. But I couldn’t manage it. Had no time. I have about seven functions to play at next month.”
“Wow.”


I hadn’t expected this at all. I had first presumed he was another of those aimless loafers ,then got irritated with his gaping then got bored with his poor flirting. Finally I hear he’s none of what I’d thought about him.

“In fact, I had more offers but my mother’s not allowing me. I can’t bunk college for them .I am doing only the important ones.”
“Oh all right. So you really like all this?”
“Of course. I even like Bharatnatyam you know. I never miss an opportunity to play for a dancer. I just love it when someone dances to my music.”
“Oh! Really? So has that ever happened?”
“Yeah. About five or six times. We all persuaded my sister to learn too. But she’s the lazy type. She wouldn’t cooperate with mom, so she never learnt to play the Veena. Any my aunt , my Athai she tried teaching my sister to dance but she didn’t cooperate. Idiot she is.”
“Oh okay. But she sings right?”
“Yeah. But that’s not enough. I don’t know if you understand but music and dance are very important. In my family, it is like being close to god. And a girl is valued by how much she knows. Can she cook? Can she sing? Can she dance?”
“Oh okay”
“Do you sing?”
“Yeah. A little. But not Carnatic.”

I didn’t want to tell him the African milieu of my childhood. Or I would have started my music in Lingala.

“Hmmm. It’s seven thirty. Can I leave? It takes an hour to reach home.”
( Don’t ask boy! Why will I stop you?)
“Oh ! Okay! Bye then.”
“Sorry. Is it okay? Or should I wait? You’ll be sitting here alone.”
( Why so much of concern suddenly? What happened that day when it rained? You left just like that? Sheesh! Girl stop thinking like that. )

I was amazed indeed. He was courteous. Has a different background. His family was totally into divine classical Carnatic music. Of course he and I can aren’t of the same breed. Whatever he was , he wasn’t what I’d thought about him. On One hand there are guys like Sean who live for the minute. On the other hand there are such thoughtful guys. How sweet.

I really learnt two things that day.

One . Looks can be highly deceptive.
Two. Never jump into conclusions. Take time to form opinions about people.
Oh boy! How could I have thought about this fellow like that?


“No Ram. It’s okay. You leave. My patti will come in another ten minutes.”
“Sure Lalita?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry.”
“All right then. Stay here till she comes. Don’t stand out. I wanted to tell you this that day when it rained but .... like you are going listen to me. I am nobody to tell you. So I left. Anyway anything else ?”
“Yeah.”
“What is it?”
“Ram,.... I had first thought ....”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on. You started it. Go on.”
“No I just wanted to tell you ..”
“Yeah?”
“Play mridangam for me sometime.”


[to be continued]

[chevy]

vasi akka .. i think u r the only one readin ... no other comments ??

[bingleguy]

vasi akka .. i think u r the only one readin ... no other comments ??

never come to conclusions there can be ppl who enjoy silently !

[crazy]

chevy, iam so proud of u.........
ur writings