The Fractured Match

August 18th 2009, 5:30 am.

Wake him up! Wake him up! it is getting late, his friends might be waiting. He alarmed his wife.

Let him sleep for a while, he came late last night from work and it is just 5:30 am. His wife replied.

30 mins later.

Ey, wake him up! it is late. You are spoiling him with so much care, he needs to learn to get up early. Wake him up, otherwise he is going to be very late. It is already late enough, come on, wake him up. He yelled at his wife again.

vrrrruuuuuummmmmmm!! their car was ignited outside their house. virrurruuummmm!! they heard the rise of the engine louder again. The couple was not sure who is in the car. His wife thought, it was their son who is already leaving, but he thought otherwise, since he was confident that his son is a lazy bumb and won't get up that early from bed ;-), so he came running to see who is in the car, but they could only see the half torn soul of their son's shoe on the floor after the car's smoke cleared off.

I was driving the car in a high speed (only because, it was early morning and no one was on the road), to attend the morning session started for a cause, with passion, with hopes, with dreams. It was going on for past 2 weeks, and all this is for the D-Day, which was just 3 days away.

Yes, the CRICKET match ;-).

It was scheduled between mine and an another company in Coimbatore. My team is very skilled, however they needed lots of practice to get back to their form. We had chosen the captain and coaches in a democratic way (my guys might disagree ;-)), since we took this match seriously. The opponents were very skilled and threatened us with their class performance in the friendly warm up game played a week ago.

I reached the ground, joined the team in the warm up session. I started to give instructions to the team to warm up and keep fit in the practice session, since the team cannot afford any injuries (we were already less in numbers). So I was very cautious about the health and fitness of the team in the practice session. Yes, I have been appointed as a coach.

Where is Gopi and Boopi? I asked Nissar.

Nissar is our captain cum batting coach, who was not very fit on that day, he was running a fever, maybe he wanted to dodge the warm up session? ;-). Gopi is our fielding coach.

They are sleeping, they won't make it. Nissar answered.

Whhoops, what a let down after all these build up ;-). I said we are already less in numbers. Oh! probably Gopi and Boopi thought, staying in bed is the best way to stay out of injuries ;-). Whhooa! great idea, but what about the practice? hmmm, I think bed is their ground where they will practice, since they are good enough to play bed games (Strictly no naughty thoughts ;-)).

Warm up done, practice started. I was bowling for Chakku. Nissar, Sujai and Dilip were fielding. 2 overs done, it was Nissar's turn to bat. I got a call from my aunt (who was aggressively searching a girl for me after I gave a go ahead for the marriage), after 2 minutes the practice resumed. Everything was going smooth, everyone were involved, everyone were focusing on the practice, everyone were enjoying...

....until that incident happened, yes the incident which shattered our dreams, the incident which shocked everyone, the incident which canceled the scheduled match, the incident which costed the unaffordable.

I ran to cover Sujai, who was fielding Nissar's drive towards mid off; The ball was heading very slowly to the boundary; I did not expect Sujai to miss it; so I slowed down, but I was wrong, Sujai missed it; I picked up the speed again to block the ball; My focus was only on the ball; I ran faster; I did not see the surprise hump on the floor; I stepped on it... the next thing I knew was... I was in the air and landing towards the ground at 68 kg per feet; I tried to position myself to be safe, but failed; my left hand landed in an uneven surface and my 68 kg landed on it.

"Kduk" was the sound I heard; there was a slight pain; I was forced to face the sky, showing my back to the earth; I could not move my hand; I immediately knew that I fractured my bone and the match scheduled in 3 days ;-(.

Watch out for the posts on the "after fracture" experience ;-).

The Plan

The light necklace around our house were blinking with happiness and added to the glow; the entrance gates opened it's arms to welcome the guests storming in; our lawn was filled with chillness after a smart haircut to cool down the heat poured in from it's day buddy; the dad made pond was juggling their little treasures to jolly up the mood; the way to the portico was filled with chairs which politely said "relax" in their foreheads; the plants were expressing their pleasure by nodding heavily; Our house was showing off with the recently done two layer make up; garbage kicked out, so that more can be made again; Whiskey and Rummy (pet dogs) were missing in the scene; "I am busy, I am busy" prided our house which attracted the strangers passing by;

Stepping into the hall made me feel that I was in the middle of the ocean, ocean of people, people with love, lots of love;

Everyone busy chatting about the occasion; some thought loud about their childh(g)ood days, some exaggerated; some started their history, some wanted to make one; some teased, some looked away; many laughed, few tried to; some in the loo, few in the other loo; some played cards, some watching them; some dum sharads, some anthaksharis; some sung, some screamed; ladies cooking, gents eating; kids running around, some grown too; some watched TV, few ignored; some were loud, some were quiet; teasing comments, fake angers, naughty jokes, lousy histories, future predictions, applauds, kisses, hugs, waaah!

Lots of love around, overwhelming it was; Feels like a gigantic Mexican wave was right on to drown me for good.

I know you are wondering, "what are all these for?"

mmmhummmm... let me fix my throat before I speak, this was all for one thing, yes, the one thing our family was waiting and dreaming for, the first marriage in our whole family in my generation, YES, a long awaited one... MY SISTER's WEDDING.

Ofcourse, we wanted to make this occasion a memorable experience for our whole family. Hence, the master plan was devised, Ho Kay! (as our famous comedian Vadivelu says).

Dad, Mom, Tamil, Vasanth and Myself were working out different possibilities, more possibilities than when we chess. The plan, we mentioned it at least once whenever we spoke, we slept with it (no naughty thoughts ;-) ), we dreamt about it, we woke up with it, simply we were breathing it, yeah, THE PLAN.

Cartoon characters around kicking the giggles in the hall.
Face painters to hide guest's real colors.
Masks to see our funny face at least once in a while.
Magician who surprises the guests with... well you know.
Ramp walk of the next in queue brides, grooms kids.
Slide show of family photos to help our guests digest their dinner.
Wish speech of our guests in a video.
A Script guides the video recording to carve a movie out of it.
Wish book, signed by the guests, which will seat in the album next to their photos.
..and delicious food, comfortable stay, glittering decorations, breezing travel etc.

Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Laxmi aunty, Easwari aunty at the reception.
Panneer and Thangaraj uncle taking care of the procedures and formalities.
Natraj and Nagaraj uncle at dining. Yeah, they love food ;-).
Thilaga aunty to ensure guests attendance with a click.
Chakku to take care of the stay and travel with the help of Sujai and Gopi.
Myself to take care of the bride and groom, stage plans, greet, welcome all the guests and to manage the above activities planned.

Now, we are all set, armed and equipped. Ready to rock and impress our guests and to passionately deliver the mission "Wow, what an experience". We were all confident that we can execute the plans above smoothly without a flaw and make this occasion a memorable one. After all, it is just our relatives, we have arranged everything and we have a huge experience in our bag.

...but, but, but, the reality had a different answer for our plan.

Have a break, Have a kit kat. Before the reality jumps on you ;-).

Kari invites...

Bro! When are you going to do it?

It was Tamil, who sounded excited, eager and anxious. I heard her heart through her voice. One should be a very holy person in his/her previous life to see the behavior of excited Tamil ;-). Well, it is always good to see a kid wobbling around all the way when she learns to talk and walk, isn't it?.

The days are racing with each other, when are you going to do it? you are pushing things to the last minute and going to lose the race with the time.

It was Tamil again, who got fed up of asking the same question again and again (not even .1% of the times she spoke to her new friend over the phone ;-)). I had to appreciate NOKIA's QA team for making such a withstanding product. There were also rumours that due to the high revenue the Indian government got through the calls made by lovers, they are planning to launch a sub-ministry called "Love all" ministry ;-).

Dey, have you got the content ready? are you going to print it or not? Do whatever you want, I do not know what you are thinking. I am not going to say it again, then it is your wish.

She was furiously serious and seriously furious this time.

Well, all the emotions were pitched on me for one thing... wedding invitation. Recently we have fixed a boy for Tamil to be her life partner (whether the boy is in a fix or not, only the Oracle can answer ;-)). My Great Great Grandfather dictated that, only the bride's parents should print the wedding invitation. Now a days, people do not even remember their grand father's name, ha, their words? yeah, it is in the bin. Well, I am printing one to invite my friends for my sister's wedding, ahrrr.. my first kid's wedding. So, G.G.Grand pa, I am not breaking the custom ha? so bless us from heaven.

Why should I delay it? if I can get a nice concept to pour in the card. It takes time, a long time. Should I be usual or casual, sentimental or emotional, responsible or irresponsible; I told you right, it takes time. But, at last, One fine night, I got it.

The clock in my house was close to finish it's day's task; The sofa yielded it's physic to hold me; after lots of sentimentally usual drafts torn and binned, I started to tear my hair (believe me, I do not have much left;-)); closed my eyes to search for some light; tic tic tic, the clock kept me awake; it was at that right moment, I heard someone humming a hit song; very mild; very casual; not organized; like a freak trying to spoil the music; loud laughter; heard some footsteps; I tried to focus, my eyes were still closed; thig thig thig thig; I heard someone running; suddenly I felt the sofa was bulging next to me to hold someone; who was it; I opened my eyes slowly; Shreeeekkkkk!! my heart jumped out of the vessel; my eyes were opened to the boundaries; my blood was pumping hard; and it was hot; shivering and speechless I was; I do not remember us having a mirror next to me.

Yeah, I saw myself sitting next to me; crazy eh?; but, my clone was different (was wondering if he was a clone or a clown ;-)); relaxed; agile; enthusiastic; humming; in a jolly mood; just an opposite of me; the outlook and the behavior says it all; I was staring at him for a long time and he did not seem to care; wanted to scream, could not; did not know what to do; it took time for me to recognize that he is a jolly side of me; Yo, dude whatz the time? he asked; I looked at the clock, it was 12:40 am; when I turned to answer him, he was already using my laptop; I was still shivering and nervous; My eye lids became heavy; I glanced at the time again, it was 1:30 am; by the time I turned, my clone was not there; I looked for him everywhere; he was gone; I looked at the laptop, the cursor was blinking at the end of the following content in the Textpad,

2008 B.M.V.

Mom: Tamil, who do you like in our family? Dad, Me or Kari?
Tamil: Dad and Mom are my eyes, my brother is my heart.
Dad: How can you be without us after marriage?
Tamil: I hate to think about that, I will never get married, I will never leave you, mom or Kari.
Mom and Dad: (concerned).

2008 A.M.V.

Mom: Tamil, who do you like in our family? Dad, Me or Kari?
Tamil: (Singing duet with Vasanth... in her dreams).
Dad: Tamil, answer mom, she is waiting for your answer.
Tamil: ufff! I heard this 1000 times, ask something else Mom.
Dad: How can you be without us after marriage?
Tamil: Vasanth will take care of me, God! why the days are not moving faster?
Mom and Dad: (still concerned, now about Vasanth).

Well, I too am concerned about Vasanth, after all he is a huMAN race. When Vasanth visited the worry factor and asked me what to do? what to do?, I boosted his confidence by making him aware that my dear ones are around to save him. Only then he agreed for the life time deal on Dec. 5th 2008 at 6 am in Ponmani Marriage Hall, Coimbatore. So, friends, I know your wishes are always with us, but ensure your presence to at least introduce yourself to Vasanth so he feels comfortable to call you when he is in Tamil trouble.

Vasanth's well wisher,
Kari...

B.M.V. = Before Meeting Vasanth.
A.M.V. = After Meeting Vasanth.

Confused; angry; furious; happy; teased; let down; funny; why did I push Kari to get the invitation ready; It was Tamil who was having mixed feelings.



Bro, are you really going to print this in the invitation? She asked. Without a doubt I said (I just said it but...).

...but I cannot let my kid down at any cost, can I?, a week later, Tamil had a look at the invitation shown in the image, the first printed copy. When she finished reading it, her eyes were filled with tears of sentiments and joy.

So friends, please be there to make Vasanth comfortable by being on his side.

Voluntary Madness

Here goes a successor of Alien vs Me.

...yeah the truth tastes like a beer, yuk, not tasty ha ;-). So, here is how the war was fought between me and Mr. Alcohol.

Drunkard sitter appointed, name is Jose, Don Jose. He was very generous to do this job without any compensation, no compensation? you may shout, yeah Jose is new to this job ;-).

I am onto a mission, lead me to do something strange, something dangerous, something which changed my life entirely... alright, alright, I am partly lying ;-).

Jose is one of the few from my trust planet, but he lived in (earth) Stratford. Did he promise that he will look after me if I go crazy? do not ask me ;-). I thought Jose never knew who fear was, until he invited Cristina (our friend) to this adventure.

The year was 2003; The day was fixed, friday; dinner was ready, curry; beverages were rolled, now I realised that Jose invited some more to the party - beer, whisky, wine and champagne.

Heard "Ding... Dong..." 8 times, yeah, it was 8 pm; evening swallowed half of it's life; central line threw me and Jose in Stratford; prawn puris, some rotis, butter chicken and jalfrezi, costed 30 pounds; Stratford bus station, shopping mall, McDonalds, KFC, curry house, college, kebab shop, a big Sainsbury... hmmm yeah Jose's flat is bit of a walk. We marched, Jose was like a jet, I was like a duck.

"Hey Kari! let us not do this today", a voice boat cruised through me. It was familiar, yeah, it was mine. "aahh, come on, do not look back, be a real man", yeah, you are right, me again ;-).

When I gathered myself up, it was warm, heard the door closing behind me, we were inside Jose's flat. Jose visited his kitchen to make it up (he loves his kitchen ;-)), the sofa was soft, I innaugrated Channel 4.

Quick it was, first sip of the whisky passed through my throat and then spine; thirsty I was for ages, that is how I felt; beer, wine, whisky and champaign; it continued to flow; I continued to drown; 3 pegs bottoms up; zhhoom... 30 minutes passed; heavy was my head; crossed were my eyes; there were Jose triplets, Cristina clones; I was floating & blabbering; Jose tried to control me; both Cristinas were not in the room; think I was swearing, Jose was red, furious; did I care? ha ha, did not want to; let me stand up, no let me walk; my steps were going deep down in the valley; am I under the water?; did someone click slow motion?; let me get on the table, success.. wahey; tune.. do you hear that, la la la.. let me dance; danda nakka.. danda nakka... very traditional; kicked the bottles, what? yes it broke; Whoops! do you know what I did? smile, laugh, giggle.. that is all I could do; the liquor and food spilled on the mattress; one Cris shouted at me; I laughed; 2 Joses scolded me; I laughed; 3rd Jose said, get out of my flat, he was holding my shirt and dragged me out of his flat, I accidentally banged into the TV, the TV went off....

Jose threw the remote on the sofa and said "Hey Kari, come on let us start the party!".

I forgot to blink, blrblrblrblr!?!? shook my head, uhhhh What!? ufff, it took sometime to sense the truth, yeah I was dreaming and I was paranoid.

A cute spanish accented voice, "Hey Kari, are you alright?", it was Cristina.

I am ok, let us start, I said. Naah! Let us drink first, Jose said.

this time, it was real. Becks, Screw Driver, Red wine and a home made whisky were wramp walking on the table. "get.. set.." GOOOOOOO!!! the alien entered my blood territory.

Slowly, burnt my taste buds, throat, lungs. I felt warm somewhere deep down in my stomache
2 rounds of becks, tried touching my nose... perfect.
a line of screw driver, tried touching my fingers, pefect than ever.
2 squares of wine, looked around... could not see Jose's twin, you can guess ;-).
a glowblet of glaalss of whhikksy... staaedy I ma, you think I am drunk ?

no way... let me prove it.
Straight line drawn in the hall; hand in the air positioned to my shoulder, like a flight; Forward March.. left & right.. left & right.. no flaws, a trained soldier.
Nose game again... both of my big fingers were bang on the nose target. Ouch!

Really, I was alright, my head was a bit heavy. Well, I spoke less fluently, yes it was late. Wish me, Jose and Cris shared the same mother toungue.

Surprise, Surprise for Jose, his eyes were wide open, yeah, he forgot to blink, ha.
"You are a strong man Kari", spilled Jose.
Laugh... it was Cris.

yeah, I didn't get drunk, hmmm, maybe the consciousness killed the flavour, maybe it is meant to be ;-). Who knows.. my dream might have come true, thank God for keeping Jose still in my planet ;-).

Lights off, I fell on the sofa, what an attempt, not the one to be proud about, ahhh!?!? especially after seeing what alcohol can do, I dared to give a try, faaah... yeah, not the one to be proud about, but my stand never changed, yeah unbeaten in the war with this alien ;-). I closed my eyes, did I snore ;-).

The next morning, Thirsty, first thing I felt; Water, first thing I wanted. Head was heavy and the pain was mild; I was stinking bitter; yes I was going through a famous feeling called "Hang over".

I switched on the TV and it said...
Drunkenness is nothing but a voluntary madness.
..
..
Sorry? Did you ask whether I kissed a... cigarette? ;-).

It's just the beginning...

...a usual New Year started some days ago...well, it was not as usual as I thought... it brought lots of changes to my near and dear ones...

Yet another Republic year, for my country...
New life, for my friends...
Next generation thoughts, for my parents...
New plans and partnerships, for my collegues...
New bondings, in my family...

Along with that...
A beginning of the long awaited Blogging initiative now, for me...

Yeah, it is time to blog. A long awaited one... do not ask me how long... you would be surprised to hear my answer ;-). Thought I would never start blogging in this life... thanks for my disbelief in next life ;-).

...not the new year, every day is special to start anything good...
...not the money, I had been without it...
...not the loneliness, I am not alone... and I am not lonely ;-)...
triggered me to begin now...

Then what? hmmmm, I really do not know... just thought I must not push it further.

Maybe it is just the thought that the secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings, so kicked this off now to keep my savings and ofcourse to earn more.... (hey hey, hang on... not money... people ofcourse ;-)).

or Maybe this Pongal trip to my farm with my entire family...
or Maybe it is due to what happened recently in my previous organization...
or Maybe my friends who are blog freaks...
or Maybe I have time now to breathe for myself ;-).

or Maybe... ufff... is it so important to know what triggered me? well no... if I find it, I will go nowhere else than this place ;-).

Now my friends.. let us move on...

I know initiating is just one third of the work. In my experience, none of the initiatives are successful if it is not owned. The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. I am glad that I am making that first step now, hoping that my friends and family will join me in this journey...

Feel free to walk with me... It's just the beginning...