My Experiences with Flirt

     

  Scene 1: - Sometime in 2008 :

      I love to make friends in every possible way and if she is a good looking girl, she will be on my priority list J

      I was searching for friends, through friends of friends, in Orkut, when I saw her profile. She was dressed in a blue tee and was all smiles in the photo. ‘Rithvika’ was her name. The name was unique and the face was so appealing that I couldn’t resist myself from sending a friend request.          

A Week Later :          

      She had accepted my request and I was overjoyed. How many girls would accept the request of an unknown guy ? This girl was different. I liked it.          

      She was very active on Orkut, constantly updating her profile, adding a photo or two, replying for scraps and comments. I hadn’t sent her a scrap though. I was so hesitant at first and felt odd - The initial inhibitions, you see.          

      One fine day she had added a photo in her profile and she looked breathtakingly beautiful. I just couldn’t take my eyes of her nor could I resist the urge to comment in that picture.          

      “You are looking awesome in the photo” I typed.           

      After ten minutes I saw a reply comment there.           

      “Thank you Dani”           

      I was on cloud nine. She had replied to my comment and had mentioned me. You had to be me to know how I felt that day. I was jumping with joy.            

      One week later I went to her profile and saw the photo again and checked the comments section to see my name typed by her. It was there - Goose bump moment. There were also many other comments. Sure, this girl quite a many friends, I thought. The comments read as,

      “Nice picture ma’am. Where did you take it?”           

      “The picture looks good ma’am”                 

      “She is a teacher?! Oh my god !! ” My dreams shattered instantly. I was in my college final year then. She being a teacher, should have definitely been elder to me. I was upset, nevertheless wanted to befriend her.

      One fine day, when I was in a happy state, I decided to put an end to the wait and sent her that scrap.                

      “Hi Rithvika, you look good in those photos” ..

I knew I had already said those words, but I didn’t know any better way to start a conversation. I was still naïve, when it came to initiating conversations with strangers.                  

      “Thank you Dani” came the instant reply.                 

      I was excited and sent the next message.                   “

      “I just cant believe that you are a teacher. You look like a 12th standard student. Which college lecturer are you btw? SASTRA ?”                 

      I was waiting for the reply scrap like a 12th standard student waiting for his final results.                                  

      After ten minutes of dreaded wait and silence came the long anticipated reply.               

      “What Dani ? Are you kidding me or what? I am your college lecturer.!”                

      My heart was in my mouth by then. She knew me. I had never known her, rather I didn’t remember her. She had seen me when I used to meet the other staff in the English Department. I was introduced to her and I had forgotten that.                 

      This was height of embarrassment and I was speechless. I didn’t know what to reply and after some minutes of worry, I apologized to her.[for not recognizing her, not for calling her a 12th standard student… come on it’s the best compliment one can get ].                                 

       We then eventually met in college became good friends.                   

      That day I decided not to send request to any unknown… Indian girl.. LOL..I started sending request to Brazilian and American girls, the Orkut days were fun too !!

Scene 2:           

      I met her first in my sister, Ruth’s marriage. I was sitting with my mom when she came and surprised us with a loud, “Praise the Lord aunty” 

      I was startled.

      She was a perfect beauty. She was a flawless, ethnic beauty, who knew how to wear her charm in her smile. Even on the first meet, she stole my heart. I was admiring her beauty when she turned towards me and asked that question

      “How are you Dani? Do you remember me?”

      “No, but I will never forget you from now on” I wanted to say, but said..

      “No.. but Praise the lord.. it was nice meeting you”. May be I should have said what was in my mind.     

      She then walked away and started talking to my dad. Without taking my eyes of her, I asked my mom.

      “Who is she mom?”  

      “Helen.. don’t you remember? Anne aunt’s daughter”  

      “I don’t..I forgot!”  and continued to admire her.  She fit in all the criteria I had for my wife - beautiful, caring, adorable, friendly and a family friend too, what more would one want ?

      Like Helen Of Troy, She was Helen of this boy.

      I was following her madly that day, without her knowledge. She had already left an everlasting impression.

Two months Later:    

      I had the chance to meet her again in another family friend’s marriage. She was all smiles again and inquired mom about her health and turned to me and asked  

     “How are you dani?” 

     “I am fine Helen and you?” She still remembered me. How sweet of her! 

     “Fine too” saying she vanished in crowd as quickly as she came.   

     After sometime I saw her at a distance playing with the kids, running behind them. For a moment I cursed myself for growing up. Had I been a kid, she would have played with me. She looked at me from the distance. I smiled. She smiled back. It felt heavenly.     

     We then had to leave for the day and I didn’t get a chance to meet my Helen again.

Another Two Weeks Later:        

     My parents were discussing about Anne’s family, sitting in my room and so I happened to over hear their conversation.       

     “I heard they are looking for a bride for Caleb” my dad was telling mom.   

     Caleb is Helen’s elder brother.       

     “Oh that’s nice to hear. Nice fellow he is.”      

     I was blushing by then, I wanted to tell them that I was ready to marry Helen but was a bit cautious as well. So I framed the question carefully.      

     “What about Helen mom?”      

     “What about her?”      

     “When is her marriage?”       

     “She is married for five years already!”       

     “What? Really?”       

     “Yeah, that day you saw her playing with a kid in that marriage na?”       

    “Yes mom”       

     “She is her daughter”       

     “That small kid with whom she was playing?”

  

    ”Exactly”

  

     My heart broke into pieces. Why shouldn’t have I been born five years earlier? Why has God forsaken me and Why such things keep happening just for me?

I cursed my luck !!

The Secret Treasure of Madurai Temple – Episode 2

Read the previous part here

Episode 2 :

“You are not going to believe what I have just heard, Shri” Prof Madhu adjusted his specs as he looked at his aide, Asst. Prof. Shrilatha from the History department of Thiyagaraja college.

“Are you getting married a third time sir?” Shri smirked.

“That I guess, would be a believable story. This is about Marc. He is up to something unprecedented and with the seriousness in which he spoke, I am sure he wasn’t lying” Prof Madhu was confused.

“Is there no end for the rivalry between you and him, sir ? What is he upto ? !!” Shri was even more confused.

“Dev was here today !” Madhu started reciting the incidents of the day.

“Dev ?  My senior ? 2009 passed out ?” shri got curious.

“The same guy who proposed you back in college days, yes..he was in Marc’s cabin today and I happened to overhear them talking.“

“Eaves dropping is bad sir”

“When it comes to Marc, I don’t even mind Adams dropping. Listen carefully now,they are planning to unearth some secret treasures from Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple” Madhu told in a hushed up voice.

“Err.. what ? !! Is this some kinda joke ? Sir, I have a class at 4 . Shall we discuss this after you have had your medicines?” Shri wanted to run away.

Prof. Madhunandhan, senior Lecturer and a fierce competitor of Marc for the HOD post was once a schizophrenia patient.

“No no Shri, am very serious. They are planning something , something unusually big.”

“Unearthing secret treasures ? Indiana Jones style ? Should we inform the police Sir ?”

“We will, but we will have to know what they are planning for and what the secret treasure is going to be.”

“How?” Shri questioned.

“When Marc and Dev left the room, I entered in and have attached a microphone to Marc’s wallet, which was luckily left on his table. He carries his wallet with him everywhere and am sure it will be with him when he is discussing the next plans with Dev. So no worries.” Madhu finished.

“But why all these and why me, sir?”

“Because I can trust only you. You are gifted. You are a historian yourself and this is South India’s treasure. I cannot let him take the limelight. I want to see his end. Before he could lay his hands on the treasure, I will get him arrested , get him behind bars and spoil his name and fame.. he needs to be taught a lesson for everything he has done to me.. everything he has done to me.”

“He was not responsible for your second wife leaving you sir and everyone knows that”

“He was, you don’t know Shri.. Ok tell me, are you with me in this or not?”

“What are we going to do ?”

“Just follow them , their footsteps. Inform the cops and catch them red handed during the theft”

“Are you sure this is going to be a theft?”

“For the cops, yes, it’s a theft.. for Marc and Dev it’s a treasure hunt “ Prof Madhu finished.

--To be continued..

Bus Tales

       How often have you travelled in a bus.. how has your journey been ? Ever wondered what happens when Murphy’s law works in full force when you want a peaceful bus journey ? Continue reading..

August 2010 :

       We were due to release our project for UAT and as would be expected, we were lagging behind schedule. My PL messaged me that evening and asked me to come early the next day, by 10 AM. That was the biggest favour he has ever asked. I took it as a personal challenge and decided to battle out the early morning blues to reach office at ten.

       I woke up at 8 Am, got ready, had breakfast and reached Thiruvanmayur bus stand at 9.20 Am. (My Office is at Royapettah -WCB and it takes half an hour to reach there by bus). After roaming in the bus stand for ten minutes, I found two buses (No.A1) waiting. As I am right handed, I got into the bus waiting in the right hand side.

9.40 AM:

         The driver got in and started the bus. I gave a sigh of relief and a sarcastic look at the passengers in the next bus. He drove it for a meter’s distance, parked it, got down and left.

9.45 AM:

           The bus next to mine started. Some of the passengers from my bus got down and boarded the other bus. I smiled at their act and waited patiently.

9.50 Am:

            I was staring at my mobile, when there was a sudden fuss in the bus. Before I could realize what was happening, some of the passengers got down and boarded another ‘A1’, which apparently came from nowhere. I wanted to get down, but then changed my mind as that bus was fully occupied.

10:00 Am

            I was still sitting in the same bus, when another ‘A1’, parked near my bus, started. Since I didn’t own the bus I was sitting in, I got down immediately, ran to that bus and got in to see all seats being occupied, except the last one. Having no other go, I sat in that seat.

10.05:

            The bus reached Adyar, when a lady got in and asked me to get up.

            “What ?” I asked as if I didn’t hear her clearly.

            “Ladies seat man, get up!”

            “But I.. no seat.. I cant.. I”

            “Get up!”

            “Okay!” I gave a sheepish smile and got up. She sat there.

            “Ladies seat!”I always wonder why this happens to men. I haven’t seen any man asking a lady sitting in the gents’ side to get up. Now wait a minute! Do gents have a seat (side) for them in the bus?

I looked at the left hand side of the bus it was written as, “Magalir” (Women)

Then I saw above the last seat, “Magalir” again !!

I eagerly looked at the right side wanting to see “Aangal”(Men) written. I searched for long and found only… “Thirudargal Jaakirathai” (Beware Of Thieves)

What the hell ?

I began to curse whoever made this partition.

Every bus tends to move at its slowest speed only when you are being crushed in the crowd. It was like a ride in a bullock cart. I was pushed and squeezed within whatever small space was available in the bus.

Again, its an unwritten law that, when you are standing, everyone seated will be getting down at your stop or after your stop. Just as I was thinking of all these, one savior sitting near me, got up from his seat.

Much relieved, I pushed myself hard to squeeze and get through and sat in his place. I took a breath of relief and looked outside the window… to see my stop.

I wanted to cry, wanted to sit in that seat and travel as far as the bus goes.

But then consoling myself, I got down in my stop. After two minutes I got an auto and reached office by eleven.

“Hi Dani, guess you came early today.. even by 11.40 AM” my PL quipped.

I gave a sheepish smile.

[55 Fiction] - The Attack of the Clones and Other Stories

The Attack of the Clones :

The Battle was fierce, lasting several days. There was complete destruction of life on the planet…. and finally, a victory.

“What next Captain?” he asked

“Let our clones inhabit this place and multiply” the captain said.

“And we?”

“Have places to go”.

And we left Milky Way Galaxy, leaving behind our clones Adam and Eve to inhabit Earth.

Those Last Moments :

He frantically looked at the clock..

Just 5 more minutes

His heart pounded

“God!”

He acted swiftly and like a pro

The last minute

He hurried up things..

30 seconds..

And the door-bell rang..

He gave a sigh of relief,

As he finished,

…Arranging all the toys in the shelves and took his book in hand!

Never Ending Work:

I was working late in the night…, all alone in my bay.

Unceremoniously, the power went off !!

It was pitch black.

I heard a sudden creak sound and continuous barking of dogs outside.

Dismissing all negative thoughts, I waited patiently…. Ten minutes of hell.

Power never resumed.

Frustrated… I went back to my grave and rested in peace.

The Secret Treasure of Madurai Temple – Episode 1

The Secret Treasure of Madurai Temple :

This story is inspired by a twenty minutes narration given by one of my blogger buddies, Boopathy, on the history of the Kings of Madurai, during our visit to Thirumalai Naicker Mahal. One of the characters in the story is inspired from Mike Ross of Suits.

This is purely a work of fiction and no research was ever done to prove the authenticity of any of the content presented in this story. The facts are as taken from wiki and other googled sources.


“Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Kovil is a historic Hindu temple located in the southern bank of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai. The temple is the geographic and ritual center of the ancient city of Madurai and one of the largest temple complexes in Tamil Nadu.  The city was laid out in the shape of square with a series of concentric streets culminating from the temple. “ –wiki


Episode 1 :

“Its no secret that there are hidden treasures of immeasurable wealth within the walls of Meenakshi Amman Temple” Professor Marc said in his indifferent voice.

Dev was listening to him carefully.

“Why didn’t anyone take it out all these years ?” Dev questioned the professor.

“Two things. First, The jewels and gold buried beneath the temple are considered sacred and it was believed that an unimaginable plague would engulf anyone who tries to touch the wealth. Second, No one knew how to reach the treasure and retrieve it. The paths leading to the treasure were all lost for long.” Marc finished.

“Then how are we going to take it out?” Dev asked.

“With your help of course” Marc winked.

Marcus Procter was a professor of history in  Madurai Thiyagaraja College. He was in his 50s, sported a French beard and was known for smoking a pipe all the time. He was of Anglo Indian Origin and all his hair had turned grey. He was a native of Madurai, where his forefathers had settled several years ago.

Marcus was born and brought up in Madurai and the majestic city had always bewildered him. The symmetry of the city and the way it was constructed around the Madurai temple to perfection, several hundred years ago, always had him in awe. He had done an extensive research on the temple and city.

Devendren was a well built athlete in his early twenties. He was a student of history, having got his bachelor's degree in history from the Madurai Thyagaraja College. He was not great with studies but had an eidetic memory that helped him clear his exams and get a decent score. He had a knack for history and was the favorite student of prof. Marc.

“How could I help sir?” Dev doubted.

“Your photographic memory is going to help us” Marcus smiled for the first time in the entire conversation.

“How?”

“Fifteen years of research my boy, and I found the place where the treasures are hidden”.

“Sir ?”

“This will be the greatest treasure hunt in India.. The wealth beneath the Madurai temple is far much more than those found at the Padmanabhan temple in Kerala.. Are you game ?” The Professor was dead serious this time.

To be continued..