@ Dawn’ 09

I really hate to get a wake-up call either be it a mobile call or an alarm watch. This time, I got my dream cut shortened by my friend’s call. He screamed “Its dawn and get ready for Dawn’09”. Wonder “What’s Dawn 2009 ? “ … have a look on the snap right if those scripts looks familar…Forgotten ? or you just buttoned down a maze, then you may need to do a bit of exercise here .


Well before that in this space of blog-o-sphere, I bow to Arivuselvan and other fellow yggdies for the sincere effort in making this event for the sixth year. Though we departed and spread across, still it’s just a one tiny world when it comes to friendship and Dawn.

We headed towards Kannamangalam, a remote village in the skirts of Vellur. Baring the long 3 hours journey, I always took joy in keeping myself hooked this event, for two reasons. First, it will be a rare get together with dozens of yggdies in a place of this globe. Other one would be, getting a chance to visit schools at these remote places and meeting different sets of people.

Dispersed houses, narrow streets with roaming cattle, alone school mapped center, green field encircled with hills around, the sight of a perfect village. As we entered the school, we felt embraced as the playground were already filled with students, their parent and just waiting for us to kick start our event. There were around 100 lads let to school till their 8th standard here … good numbers for a school which is so remote. But squaring those numbers with 4 teachers and 3 class rooms would be no more than a joke, still had my own eyes to believe the worst. Just had to check my view and bear out the stance on the rural quota system…

As the event started with the brief welcome note from the headmaster, I had my own job as photographer to cover the same. As it proceeded with our chief guest Suresh’s speech none other than our fellow yggdies, expressions starts cropping up among the kids. Some were eagerly waiting for that candy to be distributed; some felt boring and went off, some were started staring at my lens. If you had little interest in photography, then you will feel like a kiddy in a candy shop… Again being done enough of people watching, didn’t search much to spot the most expressive ones... (some snaps below).

By the time we wrapped the event with the National Anthem, I just wondered when was the last time I stood in attention for this… It date backs to last Independence Day, been a year now as it happens like that in this corporate arena. I really enjoyed my day out as I kept myself at bay to the usual cronjobs. I was relaxed while returning, kept my eyes closed and searched for what I should do next. Hence a post on “@ Dawn’09”

A Persistent Dream

Huge walls with an apogee towards sky; sky that sketched as deep dark and as if nothing prevails beyond that. Giant rectangular blocks of rocks, cut and curved to the perfect, piled up straight; solder together as neighbors’. Fear, it springs up and avalanche through neurons; In turns accelerates cardiac pistons. Still “What’s there inside? What’s guarded by these phalanxed stones?” a curiosity which preys the questioning part of mind and urging to pierce down its defensive stance.

An armored pair of tall wooden doors separated with a slit of lights rays grants a pass to this mystic world. A place lit by oil fed torches hanging itself in the alternate pillars. Its buzzing sound amplifies as they get closer and unveiled huge statues in its proximities. Huge statues with bulging round eyes, tongue lengthened out, arms wrapped with serpents and tall swords like killing iron piece of never –seen heights capped with citrus. Their skin toned with bright color, biased towards red in the color spectrum. With the dark clouds deforms its shapes to rampant horses and race by in the back-ground, an portrait which will detonates fear and flees the way out.

But steaming courage follows the path of scented air fused with sandal and marigold. Chirping sound of bats echoed around the stones and gears up the yield of adrenaline. Feeling the moisture around, the search led to the lone slab of rock as it is soaked well and bloody. Its a ritual blood bath as the beheaded corpses nearby. It was as dreadful as I opened my eyes. “Where I am ?” Caught in the middle of an abandoned temple or made into an world of dark arts where it dwells ?... Foggy thoughts...as it reveals, its the same dream. The Persistent one.

Tired of mapping it to the realty; still a remote temple nearby to my native can be drawn parallel to it. A place I used to visit in childhood with my grandpa. A place where I started practicing vegetarianism. In this world of reality, its been more than a decade, I paid a visit to this place since my grandpa demise. But the truth is otherwise as this Dream Persists.

The rule of 90: 10

You might have presumed that this post is all about the onsite/offshore stuff specially if you are from the league of software geeks. But you have just got me wrong, so read on till the end.

It took these many days to come around sun 27 times and all of a sudden just found out that I kept filling my calendar with wedding invites. I watched over myself busy in keeping my presence in these occasions and posing for the group photos with the couples ( I really hate this part; posing still in front of 1000 watts lights till the videographer finishes his job).

Okay… Coming back to our rule, the thought of this rule came when I just spot that only 10 percent of these marriages were heart-fixed and self-driven love marriages. This whole rule is all about making of this 10 percent and getting across to it!!

First disclaimer:

It’s just the mere fact that I have witnessed in my being; so different perception and opinions are always possible as I am not an SME (Subject Matter Expert) nor I did made an effort to measure this particular part of ocean's depth.

Second one:

Our rule is gender biased and the 90 percent part favors feminine, just 10 percent part for my own pity community.

First Part : 90

In case if it’s a spark within the girl's heart, 90 percent of them did manage to find courage to speak out and propose their counterpart. (May be they have a strong believe in their convincing ability)

Out of this 90, another 90 percent of them did able to have a crack at it and convince him; in anyways it’s not a tough job to convince a guy. (Percentage may increase; depending on the amount of H2O (tears) added as catalyst in the conversations)

Again out of this 90, another 90 percent will end up in the wed-lock and contribute 90 percent to our 10 percent so called heart-fixed love marriages. Its eventually happens in the other way around for guys :-)

Second part: 10

Suppose a guy found his angel, the probability of him proposing her will be just 10 percent. It’s not about the courage factor here, mostly it is just the assumption that angel will know about his stuff, but the fact is guys really are poor in expressing their emotion.

Even if he made an attempt to express, his convincing skill will come to scanner. Again as usual only 10 percent will pull out that big ‘YES’.

Now you could have guessed.. Only 10 percent of them will get a chance to tie the knot. (Even this number will be under treat if there is a considerable amount of US maapillais in angel’s communities ... jokes apart ;-) )

The chance of finding such a hero will be 10% of 10% of 10% which means one in a thousand …. Meant to be “aayirathill oruvan”

Final Disclaimer:

Again, I have just listed the facts … Definitely I am not here to chair a debate and conclude anything upfront with this. It’s a rule and it meant to be broke ;-)

Let’s change and now I am part of it :-)

For understandable reasons my parent didn’t customize to Chennai life style and preferred to go back to home town. Its means that hereafter, I need to wash my clothes, polish my shoes, and even comb my hair :-) ... missed one important thing, I need to cook for my own.

It’s Sunday morning, I was just think about what to have break fast. First I had a look at my kitchen; it was almost like ran-sacked. Seems my mother had strong belief that I won’t cook at all and perfectly dried groceries before she leave. Those empty rank of pet jars guys were annoyingly laughing aloud at me. Just I can able locate only a half filled jam bottle. Now my breakfast plan was left with alone option, bread butter jam.
I took a bike ride to buy a loaf of bread in the nearest super market. Its branded chain supermarket where the cost will be bit higher when tied with the street corner groceries shop, I preferred it over the cost as I believed I will be a getting a quality product and services.

Today, I was surprised to see the expiry date in the bread packets, it’s almost 4 days past from today. I got aroused when I checked the rest of the packets, all got dates passed by for use. The thing that got worst of me was the following conversation with the supermarket staff. It’s the English version of my Tamil conversation.
Me: Seems expiry date of this bread got over?

Staff: check the other ones sir....
Me: They too got expired ... (he gave me a looks as he felt irritated and took a bread packet and gave it to me) ... Check the date its 1st June

Staff: Sir, it might be the packed date…

Me: Read this ... Use by: 1st June, 2009... What it means...?

Staff: I don’t know English ... but it is packed date only...

Me: Okay... Ask any of your staff who can read to come here...?

Staff: Other staffs are busy ... (and started moving away from me)...

Me: At least displace those packets off the display shelves …

Staff: Ok, we will do it later…
Me: Can you take me to your supervisor or Manager who is in-charge?

Staff: Today is Sunday and he is off …

What made me more awkward is that don’t care attitude of Mr. Public. Everyone there at least got a glimpse of what I am arguing for. But they chose to remain silence, as it is no-ones problems. Definitely I am not here to blame anyone; even I have put a blank face in the past.

Let’s change and now I am part of it :-)

Life is flat and square

Day of life in Ipswich scheduled to start when the clock ticks 7:10 in the morning. Daily routines are called in sequence; brush(), bath(), breakfast() with butter crossaints, orange juice and it continues. If my laptop had a better OS with some little AI, it would had popped-out its browser with usual websites like gmail, orkut, flickr, icicidirect and cricinfo in the moment I unlock it. By the time the weather report ends in the BBC's breakfast, my fingers were pre-automated to press the "power" on my T.V remote.

If its perfect 8:00, then its perfect to come out of the den for the blue sky and fresh air. The neighbouring black cat had just waited for that moment and will react by crossing my way like everyday. Though I am not superstitious , may be that cat is more superstitious and hoping for a good luck by waiting for me to cross it ways ;-). At the first corner of the street, an old passionate man will always clean the glass windows of the retail apparels store. On passing this man with the exchange of "Good Morning" greetings will lead to a long never-ending subway waiting with its wide mouth opened to swallow me.

Finally, the subway will drop me out in the edge of the high street where a blonde slender waisted lady will cross me in the opposite way. I always wondered whether she is an Italian or French, definitely not an English nevertheless its only my psychological predictions. There will be big old clock always stretching its hands at 08:10 from the town center tower, but I still doubt whether it is working or not.

Next a big fat guy will wait for his bank to open where he is working, while the other man delivers the groceries in the nearby coffee shop. Its 08:20, the bus numbered as "66B" will start loading itself as I joined the same long queue. Since I had sandwiched between the same two people as daily, I guess am always the 11th person to board the bus at that stop. As everyone settled in their usual seats, I always preferred the right last cornered seat in the upper deck.

Its a boring 23 minute journey till the office and nothing much changes inside the bus too. So, I prefer gazing outside through window as the nature rotates its background color as the four seasons passby. When I enter the office campus, the digit clock will show 08:44 and for the rest of the days its business as usual till 10:00 night before I hibernate myself to sleep. Even I can predict what will happen in the next day as long I am inline with my mechanized activities.

Without power cuts, unpunctual buses, traffic jams, lot other 'surprise ingredients' of life, its definitely a perfect way of life. But the perfect whole system, carbon copies the days that are just passing me here.