A mid-summer night’s views…

Waiting for the husband to switch off his darling TV and come to bed is an everyday ritual I go through. I’ve already written about how much I hate it. I’ve tackled it in various ways:

• cajoling him to see how droopy my eyes are, gain his sympathy and get him off the sofa to switch the TV off
• losing patience, yelling and going off to bed on my own when he doesn’t budge or switch the TV off
• giving him “5 more minutes” before I switch the TV off (!!)
• covering his eyes in a light moment and taking advantage of that moment to convince him to switch the TV off

Let me tell you: 95% of the times, I’ve ended up not winning the situation and in me ending up all miffed and cross 😀 So, the latest strategy is to let him be, snuggle with him till I can tolerate the TV, and then either go upstairs to our room and just read a book. Wow! Now I realise, that is the most effective utilisation of waiting-time 😉 Or, I play DX-Ball on my iPod. Or, I get out on to the balcony and catch on cam what gos on in the ‘outside’ world 😉

These happened yesternight 😉

I went up to our room to realize that the night was warm. When I opened the balcony door to let in some fresh, cool air…I saw how nice the view was. And I rushed down to get the cam, rushed back up and clicked.

View from the balcony

As I went out on to the balcony, cam in hand, going through the many shots of the “view”, I noticed how good the tree in front looked in the pale moonlight and the bright street light. And I clicked.

The beautiful tree just outside the gate 🙂

So, then I realised if I tilt the cam further up, I can avoid the bright street light and catch the pale moonlight. It was a challenge. there were just too many dark clouds moving about, and the moon kept playing hide-and-seek. Now and then, it peeped out, daring me to click. And I clicked.

Moon caught in the act 😉

And that’s when Bangalore’s most famous inhabitants, the stray dogs, decided to embark on their daily round table woof sessions. Punctual like a cuckoo clock, I must say! The lead of one pack managed to scare away the other and then stood back to woof the last woof of the night. And I clicked.

The last woof of the night...

Suddenly, the night became silent. No dogs woofed for a while. No vehicles whizzed past. No lone walker walked. All that remained as I turned around to get back in, was a lone car by the park. And I clicked. the last click of the night.

A lone car on a lovely night

Yes, I agree. Senseless post this one. Only for you, for it made a lot of sense to me 😀 It isn’t always that I take some time off to enjoy a breezy, cool night.What the heck; I work till 11 p.m. and come home tired and ready to hit the bed!

And to add to that, it was a night without quarrels, without pressures, without misgivings. Just content, happy enjoyment of a mid-summer night’s views. All that was missing was Pumbaa, who was snoring away downstairs, in Amma’s room. And, the husband who till then had been struggling to switch the TV off, had actually ditched it for me 😀 😀 😀 For he knows I just can’t sleep without the daily dose of hugs and kisses 😉

countdown to 21 June!

an exciting plan…a bunch of enthused friends…100+ excited mails…fixing of dates…fixing of venues…crosschecking availabilities and conveniences…and the countdown to June 21! 🙂

there were 15 of us in our PR&Ad class in college—5 guys and 11 gals…OK…wrong math…

there were 16 of us in our PR&Ad class in college—5 guys and 11 gals—and one year of togetherness: the joys, the suspension (!!), the unity, the rifts, the support, the quarrels, the fun-times, the bitching (fun again!), the backstabbing, the strong friendships, the new relations, the joys…well, life’s a full circle!

In a college predominant with north Indian students, ours had been the only class with an only-Keralites population! Though we were all 16 totally different people—in the true sense of the word ‘totally’—probably because of the ‘spirit-of-the-Malayali’, we had a strange unity which was lacking in all the other courses/classes taken together!! And so, even when we got suspended (for bunking our half term exams!), all 16 of us were in it together! (Actually, no…there was one guy who didn’t; but we managed to get him dismissed forever! The things people do in colleges!!)

It was a strange year…that one year at SCMS. Within a small group of just 15 (not wrong math…remember one went off forever?), we somehow managed to have the number of ‘issues’ and quarrels you’d actually expect from a group of 50! Within the class, most of us had problems with the other; but between us and the college management, we were one! Between one group of friends and the other, there were never-ending troubles; but between us and the rest of the students in that college, we were one! Even after college, rifts between individuals continued; but when it came to a meet-up after two loooong years, we were all game!

Of this 15, though only 13 were invited (along with their spouses/future-spouses) for The Meet (TM henceforth 😀 ). Of that 13, one was in Bahrain, one in Dubai, one in Chennai, one in Hyderabad, four in Kochi, and the remaining five in Bangalore. Since “majority wins” is a universally accepted slogan, we decided TM should happen at Bangalore…the dates 21 and 22 June were blocked in everyone’s calendar…and awww…the excitement that went into it…

Jaya started the mail-threads…telling everyone to gear up • Gulfu took charge of booking the venue • Leena and I contributed to the mails…doesn’t cost anything to motivate people, does it? • We fought with Manju—for saying she might not be able to come because of a company review (and gave her sound advices: there are a million other companies you can get into, but friends like us, there’s jus us!) • We implored Raju, who’d come from Dubai for a short stay with his folks, to extend his visa up to 25th • Biju, as always, was game—any day, any time, any place: just tell him and he’ll be there! • We told Poornima to make sure tickets from Bahrain are booked well in advance…and to even pre-pone her university viva if possible 😀 , so that she can make it to India! • We told Siji to make sure her 3-month old baby is all fine—and make it for TM • We told Rakhi to ditch her first film’s music launch (she’s a singer) and come over to Bangalore • We told Deepti to book flights from Hyderabad to and from Bangalore for at least one day (since her dad wasn’t too happy with the idea of sending her over for ‘a weekend’) • Breeze had her MBA exams going on…and was all teary-eyed (we’re sure) for missing out on the fun! • Merlin is always waiting for a chance to escape from the heat of Chennai…she doesn’t need any coaxing!

the thrilling plan…13 enthused friends…100+ excited mails…fixing 21 and 22 June…fixing venue—a jungle resort (!?)…crosschecking availabilities and conveniences…and the countdown to June 21…until it all boiled down to nothing!

It never happened…hehe…yes, you read it right, it never happened!!! We are still that same group of 16—well, 13 according to the new statistic—13 totally different individuals; though as a group we were all excited and united, guess within everyone (knowing each other as well as we do) there was a guarantee that it’d finally be all smoke and no fire! 😀

It’s always like this…when we do/plan something with all excitement, especially if it is well in advance, like a much-awaited film; a highly anticipated trip; a dress given at the tailor, which you are so looking forward to get back (this happens to me every single time, damn!); anything, anything at all that you are hopeful of—Murphy is sure to mark his attendance!!! But well, we are all still positive…we still hope…we still anticipate; and so I’m still hopeful we will have TM someday, won’t we, friends? Unless 13 is that bad a number!! 😉 (It’s good to always have a back-up excuse; let’s point fingers at 13!)

I dedicate this post to all members of the SCMS PR&A—2005-06 batch! 🙂