Bearings

After an unconscionably long time I have written a short story. My last one was 'Soiree' which I wrote a couple of years ago. I tried to write one in the interim but never committed myself to completing it.

Owe this completely to P. Without a doubt this is a progeny of P's pushing and faith in my words than anything else. Owe you one P, many thanks.

The link to the story can be found here.

Many thanks to all the readers for their time, comments and criticism. My fellow debater S thinks that the central character Neel is a reflection of my own. I have a clarification here. In reality, Neel is the center of four overlapping characters: The me I am, the me I am not, the me I want to be and the me I don't want to be. Those who have known me long enough, would be able to typify every aspect of Neel to one or more of the four classes.

S also reminded me that Asha, a character in my story would remain my figment of imagination. To my sister's relief and to my own despair, S's observation is true and accurate. There is no Kanpur woman that I know of!

My sister had some nice things to say about the story. I was reminded of a story I wrote as a kid, where the protagonist becomes rich by collecting 10 Paise coins from the road. She had a laugh riot after reading it. On this occasion, I hear, my story made her smile. I do not know if it is a step forward or a step behind!

A1 and A2 thought that my plot line could use some more time and attention. Many thanks I will keep it in mind.

Finally, a Sher that A2 was reminded of, after reading this story.

इसे ईनाम समझूं या फिर सज़ा का नाम दूँ ,
उँगलियाँ कटते हि तोफे में अंगूठी मिल गयी|
Many thanks!

Peace out

Anty

"These Things"

“And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and Love it.”

Little would he have imagined that this pithy excerpt from ‘Auburn Creed’ would so often be repeated with conviction and pride and become an integral part of the celebrated AU spirit that every single member of the Auburn family from around the globe savors. Even before I could realize, this conviction, pride and spirit became a part of my defining traits.

My association with Auburn started in 2004, when Auburn had an unblemished 13-0 football season. Back then, I was far from a football fan. Sports fanaticism was never new to me; it was not a part of the culture shock that I experienced when I traveled half way across the globe to get here. Back home, cricket is a religion. Gods, Demigods and sub humans are players! And like me, there are million other ardent followers. (Cricket was potent enough to polarize people, now you know why we call it a religion!)

It did not take me long before I proselytized to a new religion called Auburn football. It was in 2005 that I started following it; ever since then, every field goal, every touchdown, and every bit of action involving Auburn football on and off the field has made me laugh, hoot, frown, celebrate or anguish. I look forward to Iron bowl, consider Auburn’s on-field victory and defeat my own. Like many others, I have allowed Auburn football to dictate my moods and humor. Needless to say it is one of “these things” I believe in Auburn and I love it.

Being a football fan, Toomer’s corner toilet paper tradition has intrigued me to no ends. There have been occasions when I believed that throwing toilet paper on an ageing oak in complete madness and yet, year after year, I have been indulging in this madness. Auburn University, an institution that is more than a century and a half old, has its rich traditions. In this vast span of time, full many things have fallen under the canopy of “These things”. If I were to pick one that needs to be taken out of this canopy, it would be the toilet paper madness. I have my reasons for this choice.

Auburn University is perhaps the only school that has “cleaning up trees” on its budget line item! On one side we have programs like ‘Going-Green’, ‘Recycle Mania’, sustainability, global warming awareness etc., on the other side, every year during the football season we take a retrogressive step that makes a mockery out of all our environ friendly campaigns. Throwing tons of toilet paper on a tree and then spending millions of dollars cleaning it; if this is what we call pride then we should probably think again. No student organization on campus, not even the Go-Green enthusiasts, or the administrators (to the best of my knowledge) ever questioned the rationale behind this tradition for fear of backlashes for hurting the popular sentiment.

Even for those who believe that we live in a country that uses 35% of world’s resources with less than 5% population to cater, and hence, throwing toilet paper about 15 times a year would make little or no difference and is not worth relinquishing this pride and practice, there is one good reason to think again. The twin oak trees at Toomer’s are great landmarks, ornaments that embellish traditions and history at Auburn. Over the years they have been a victim of our madness, subjected to high pressure hose, water, arson (2007 Iron Bowl, does that ring a bell?) and what not! Little strokes fell great oaks.

Starting this year, I have decided not throw anything on the oak trees during the football season. I know it would make absolutely no difference. Everytime I see this madness at Toomer’s, everytime Auburn wins a big game, a part of me will be unhappy, reminding me that this madness is slowly destroying Auburn’s greatest landmark and would leave me wondering if this really were a tacit part of Petrie’s vision when he said, “And because Auburn men and women believe in these things and believe in Auburn and Love it.”

Peace out
Anty

This one!

I spent a good 45 minutes wondering what people did in the B.G (Before Google) era. Google has answered 9 out of my ten questions with an efficacy that is enviable. (The 10th one often times is/was destined to be unanswered) On a boring, hot and dry summer afternoon, I decided to throw some random challenges on Google, one of which was to endow me with a high school days' deja vu. This one search result from Google has made my entire day. Reminds me of my Hindi Classes in school, the inadequacies of two of my South Indian (hate to say that) Hindi teachers. (I am forced to withhold the names) Reminds me of Premchand days, Mahadevi Verma stories, लेखक परिचय, notorious hindi classes and a flurry of other high school naiveties associated with them.

I found the much celebrated Premchand's Godaan e-book. There used to be a time I dreaded anything remotely associated with his name. It is perhaps a human trait to let go of what one has, and when it has gone far enough, make a feckless chase.
The link to Premchand's Godaan e-book can be found here

For the ones in Auburn who are not comfortable with e-books, I would be glad to share my hard copy after I am done with it.

चक्रवत् परिवर्तने सुखानि च, दुःखानि च!

(As the cycle of time moves, there is joy and there is sorrow)

Peace out

Anty

Avaniavattam Blues -II

I am blogging after a real long time. Thanks to V, P1, S1, S2, P2 and a bunch of other people whom, I would have to refer alphanumerically, which would not make much sense to most readers who ventured/ adventitiously stopped by this long forlorn corner of blog space.

This is a sequel to my previous post that I had written two years ago.

My fourth Avaniavattam in the West. The first avaniavattam that I performed alone. My friends who used to accompany me in this religious endeavour in the yester years at Auburn, graduated to see greener pastures in life.

I must confess with a guilt that I woke up late, fortunately, that is the only regret for the day. With my parents busy moving and the telephone company’s ‘inadvertent delays’, I guess, I missed my wake up call.

Who said technology and religion do not go well together? Thanks to this page and a couple of other emails, I had all that I wanted for the day. (Google is a synonym for “Magic”)

The day was different in many ways: Very relaxed, cathartic and reinvigorating. I do not know if this is a nasty analogue, but to me, Avaniavattams are Republic Days in a religious domain that remind me that I need to redeem my spiritual self “not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.”

A very gratifying day. I certainly need to make an attempt to see such days more often than once a year.

Peace out
Anty

P.S: Needless to say, I missed everything that I had mentioned in my previous post!

पल दो पल

Some poetic verses from Kabhie Kabhie

"कल नई कोंपलें फूटेंगी,
कल नए फूल मुस्कायेंगे,
और नई घास के नए फर्श पर,
नए पाँव इठलायेंगे

वह मेरे बीच नही आए,
वह मेरे बीच नही आए,
मैं उनके बीच मे क्यूँ आऊं?
उनकी सुबहों और शामों का
मैं एक भी लम्हा क्यूँ पाऊं?

मैं पल दो पल क शायर हूँ,
पल दो पल मेरी कहानी है,
पल दो पल मेरी ह्स्ती है,
पल दो पल मेरी जवानी है!"

Peace out
Anty

ஆத்தா, நான் பாஸ் ஆயிடேன்! (Mom I passed)

Here is the prequel to this post.

Finally!

What is with goverment officers in every corner of the world? I passed two tests today: The driver's test and the patience test. After an unconscionably long delay, I was called in by a computer illiterate and maladriot officer, who searched for every letter in the keyboard while keying in my 15 characters long first name and complained how long it is! To crown it all, the driver's licence read "LICENSE"! Phew, that is a noun for crying out loud!

But all this can be condoned, what matters is that I finally got my driver's licence!

Fortunately 'DS' came to gave his driver's test and bailed us out of a complication that is not worth elaborating. Thanks DS, V3, M, G, SL and PK, I finally passed it. Such a relief!

LH444 not 12B - part II

The prequel to this post can be found here.

It has been two years and two days, since I left my homeland and landed at the Hartsfield Jackson International terminal, Atlanta. My second anniversary here. Happy anniversary again, Anty!

इस मोड से जाते हैं, कुच्छ सुस्त कदम रस्ते,
कुच्छ तेज़ कदम राहें!

Couldn’t have agreed better with this poet.
I have in the past couple of years learnt to stoically relent to the alternating suddenness and sameness that unfurl. And yet, two years, is indeed a milestone, that beckons me to look behind and stare at the spent arrows and slings of time and events that have flopped behind me. Some convincing wins, some narrow shaves, some vulnerable fiascos and some livid scars, but I am all too glad I survived. I must confess, these spent arrows, the scars, wins and the fiascos are the inspiration behind this post.

Things certainly have changed over the years. I remember, as an FOB (fresh off board) when I took refuge at P’s place, everything looked incongruent. Things now have fallen in place or at least that is how they look. From a single bed room adobe shared by three to a double bed house shared by two, I sure have moved quite a distance. ‘Rare’ and ‘rife’, readily reversed roles! I shave on a Friday, go to work place in shorts, eat a leafy burger and yet have nothing to complain about. What seemed to be a blasphemy, irreverence or repulsion once, have become so common place today that they do not even deserve a second thought or an askance look. It all looks too weird, at times even scary! Who said the culture shock is temporal?

The first two years of what seems to be a brief lodge in this country has been fairly pleasant. Some new affiliations, afflictions and adversities in place of their old counterparts. Half a decade long conundrum solved, fortunately nothing new in its place. (Not all things in life have replacements perhaps!) A better dressing sense and regular shave, thanks to the lost conundrum.

In this ever changing milieu, few things remain. I still am the same old romantically challenged, constitutionally introspective, incorrigible absentminded, veritably opinionated, queerly quixotic, agonizingly verbose, adamantly vegetarian, compulsively linguistic and unabashedly gluttonous soul that I used to be. Thankfully such things don't change so easily!

Life goes on....

Peace out

anty

P.S: I read the prequel to this post again. This one suddenly seems to be a non-sequitur to it. At least that would explain the mystery behind the title!