Magic

All characters, incidents in this story are imaginary. Any resemblance to reality or persons living or dead is purely intentional.

FOREWORD

Everyone has had a magical day in their life. But, there are eternal optimists who believe that every single day is a magical one. But, I am a true realist who believes that there is a magical day in everyone’s life and seldom does it happens again. It does not mean that I am not an optimist, but, I just prefer to be a realist here because that day was special and if everyday would be like that, then it will certainly lose its importance.

CHAPTER 1

Time is 0830 hrs. I am the flood-filled MKB Nagar road talking. A girl let us call her Ms. Yin, fair, as beautiful as Katrina Kaif (although I like Preity Zinta more), aged not more than 18, nice sharp eyes with threaded eyebrows and too many ear-piercings. She had an eternal gracious figure (I am not those burly boys remembering her vital stats) and with a flashing attitude opened the rusted gate and came out of her house and started walking carefully by lifting her Alif Laila type pyjamas in order not to get them wet. I am all flooded partly because of the rains and also because of these beautiful girls living on either side of my trunk. I meant that I do ogle at them and nothing else. Evil minds think badly. She reached the main road in the same manner and I lost her over to the Yellow-Yellow dirty fellow auto.

Time is 0845 hrs. I am the Auto talking. This girl wanted to go to Nungambakkam and her Tamil was “Oh!! My!! God!! (Janice style), awwwwful” A 100-watt bulb glowed in the driver’s face as this was his chance for a loot-woot. They finally settled on a bargain which was way above the norms and there we went to Nungambakkam. This girl like the rest of the girls in the city started non-stop messaging. It was none of my business who it was. But, her face was tensed and questions ran in a rapid fire manner that she was unable to comprehend it. We reached at 0925 hrs.

I am the Share-Auto narrating you this part of the story. Time is 0915 hrs. A boy, let us call him Mr. Yang, tall, handsome with a big head, nice build, sharp nose, with little stubble, aged may be 20, stopped me at Anna Arch to board me on my way to the Gemini flyover. He got on and as usual these boys, with a college one-sided bag, do not know what they have in it started to tuk-tuk his mobile phone. Oh, yeah, he was wearing a white-tee with some abstract design on it and a blue torn jean. His shoes looked rich, but, God, why does he need to wear a torn jean when he can afford such costly shoes. “Must be crazy” I thought and boys of these ages are of course crazy, trying to act like the stupid cine-stars. Thank God, No six packs because I am getting sick of it. This is a long forgotten mystery, who was it that he was tuk-tuking to?? The sound irritated me, but, I have no other work than to observe my passengers. We would have neared Choolaimedu when the messaging stopped. She or He (things have changed after Dostana, my dear friend), has not replied. Other possibility is that the network would have been jammed and his messages would not have got delivered. Never mind. He got down at Nungambakkam High Road and ran across the road to the ICICI Bank. It was definitely someone special. Ok, I got to go now since; I am irrelevant to the story from now on.

This is the nearby breeze taking over. Now, you must have definitely guessed what is happening. Yang was searching for Yin as he could not find the place where she was waiting. Searching here and there, finally his eyes fell on one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. In vain, that girl just went past him, not even to look back at him. He checked her out and “Cool”, he thought. There across the road, Yin was standing, finding it difficult to cross the road. Yang, genuinely crossed the road met her and said a simple “Am I late?”

“Hey, no probs. Just that we gotta transfer the cash soon” came the readymade reply.

“Chalo, lets get to the bank soon”

Then they crossed the road and it was very evident from here that they were not a couple for sure because I did turn on the romantic wave around them, but, still they were walking together with a gap that could fill ten cigarettes attached end to end between them. But, I do not seem to understand this concept of friendship between a boy and a girl. Maybe that I am here since Day One and I have seen so many changes that the earth undergoes each day, that it is becoming difficult for me to understand these complex species-humans. And yeah, they went into the ICICI Bank.

I saw them cross the road and approach me. What kind of customers do I have? They ping me at early morning 0930 hrs (early morning, at least for some of them), that too on a Saturday. What happened to all the lazy people on earth? Have they ceased to exist? Oops!! I forgot to tell you who I am. I am the ICICI Bank, Nungambakkam branch. Yin and Yang were searching for the entrance and with great difficulty found one and entered. I think that was the first time each of them had come to bank alone. There was complete mess in both of their body language. Finally, they caught hold of our bespectacled teller and asked him how to deposit cash in any ICICI bank account. They presumed it to be a very complex procedure, so, they both were completely over the place unable to comprehend what our teller was saying. He finally took them to a machine as big as an ATM and asked them to deposit the cash by entering the account no., etc.

“Is the process sooooo simple?” thought both Yin and Yang.

Yes, indeed my dear people, was my telepathic answer. One more thing that I observed was that Yin and Yang were switching languages between Hindi and English. Who on Chennai would be conversing with each other in Hindi of all the languages? These people are crazy. No doubt about that. They found the process of money transfer pretty simple and that left them contended and I honestly do not know for what reason they were transferring the money. Yang did look like one of those handsome terrorist associated with all these blasts going around and Yin was wearing a dupatta around her head. One can never trust by the looks and to top it all, they were talking in Hindi too. But, not every Muslim is a terrorist. It is just the extremists, no matter which faith they follow, who plant the evil ideas in young minds and try dividing the country which was speculated to be a failure, while the other a success after the partition, but, alas, things happened the other way around. Anyways, they went to the ATM and cross-checked if the cash has been deposited and I must admit the speeds with which our transactions take place are mind-blowing. Hope you join us in providing you a hassle-free banking. Now, coming back to the story, they left the bank soon and now I introduce you to Nungambakkam High Road who will narrate the story.

The sun has come out spreading its vibgyor through the sparsely filled clouds in the sky. It is been three long days that people of Chennai felt the soothing sun on their backs. It is not those scorching heat that the Chennaiites missed, but, just that they loved when the weather is like this. Yin and Yang joined me discussing what their next plan is. From the point they joined me; the Gemini flyover is at least two km far. So, they finally settled on the issue to search for an internet café. This whole episode was all about making some online transactions to either of their studies. So, they first barged into Yin’s favorite internet café at the Eldorado’s. It was 1000 hrs and the place was still closed. So, they have to search for another one in this part of the city. Myself, considered a very important landmark, they were confident that they would find one on me. They started walking and in the meanwhile were having a normal conversation when Yang asked, “Did you have breakfast?”

“Hmmm. Yeah!!”

“Corflakes is it?”

“Any doubt in that? How about you?”

“Ya, I had.” lied Yang.

They were busily walking when they came across the ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) when Yin actually explained him the importance that the CAs receive over the CWAs (Cost and Works Accountant). Yang was very interested in the discussion and forgot about searching for an internet cafe, as all he knew was Engineering and Mathematics. And Yin forgets the world around her when she starts talking and Yang when he starts listening. Dostana for you. They were on and on and on when the topic changed from “Why India is better than any other country?” to “How people hang out in malls?” to the final “Where is the stupid internet café?” They reached Gemini flyover and still they didn’t find one. Now, I am handing it over to Mount Road to continue.

Hey buds, I am Mount Road a.k.a Anna Salai in some parts and the demarcation confuses me as much as George.W.Bush holding diplomatic ties. Yin and Yang walked opposite the American Consulate along the reclining end of the flyover when suddenly the traffic was stopped and some 20-25 cars comprising Innova, Ambassador, Ikon with their loud sirens were passing through. Every police officer in the road stood like a statue saluting the array of cars. The traffic came to a standstill for some 10 long minutes.

“See, this is what your India is all about. When any politician has to pass-by, the whole traffic or maybe the whole city comes to a standstill.” exclaimed Yin.

“Excuse me! This is not only my India; it is your India too. Moreover, if the Chief Minister who has his house nearby has to pass through this road to his office, the traffic has to be stopped for safety reasons although Chennai is the safest place in India” replied Yang.

“Achcha! Then what about this?” showing her watch to him, where the two needles were denoting that it is 1015 hrs indeed.

“What about that?”

“According to office timings, he is already late by 15 minutes and he will get there by 10:30, relax and start working by 11:00 and how do you expect him to solve the issues all around him? By that time, more new issues would have cropped up”.

He straight away knew that she had caught him on a wrong footing.

“Ehhhh, may be that is not the CM, some other politician”.

“Whatever” and she use the phrase as often as Yuvraj hits a six.

They were still searching for the Internet café and had to cross lots of pools of water clogged due to the incessant rains in the previous days and finally found one and entered.

Quotes by me..

1. To be simple is the most complex part of life.

2. Take, neither praise to your head, nor criticism to your heart.

3. What one sees as an island, another sees it as an underwater mountain peak.

4. Life won't be a tragedy, if you follow a strategy.

5. One can give hundred excuses for not doing a work, but, only one excuse for doing it. That is interest.

6. Either the world is perfect or you are. So, anyways cheat.

7. Love is in the air, but, just that its toxic.

8. Interest does change inevitably, because of that change does interest me.

9. The only impossible thing in the world to do or happen - "Nothing".

10. Life follows barter system, but, to get anything, the only commodity that you can spend is TIME.

Its for you..

The alarm rings at 7.15 a.m. Confusion arises whether Mr. Confused (from now onwards called Mr. C), capable enough to snooze it without opening his eyes. What a challenge? Mr. C pats himself on his shoulder (without opening the eyes) for achieving the feat quite comfortably. True are the words of Mr. Anonymous (though not a part of our anecdote, but, I have read in many books that Mr. Anonymous wants to be anonymous to everyone) "Practice makes perfect". Mr. C has been doing this for some three years now and he is a pioneer in his own way. Mr. C is an expert in sleeping. His room is immaculately clean with no roommates, not even cockroaches and lizards. Every day before sleeping, he checks out whether his windows' curtains are proper, all peepholes in his door closed with bits of newspapers and his 1.5GB trance music started to play in his desktop. Once the checks are over, he says "good night" to the whole world through his Gtalk and reduces the volume to minimum and covers himself with a black blanket from head to toe.

Back to present now. Time is 7.45 a.m.

"Sir, Breakfast", announces Mr. Bakra-the junior.

Mr. C shouts back his refusal with an imaginary slap, with the door being closed and shoos Mr. Bakra-the junior away with all the words one cannot imagine to hear. Innocently, Mr. Bakra-the junior hurries to the 8.15 am class. One good thing about Mr. C is that he does not keep his door locked. Anyone needing anything, be it toothpaste, pen, pencil, A4 sheets, calculator, novels, tea cup, et al. can just barge in and take without disturbing Mr. C's dream sequence with the latest supermodels of his erstwhile institute. Oops, I forgot to tell you. Mr. C is pursuing his engineering in some God-damn course, as even God does not know why he took it in some hell-I-love-u place in Waste Bangal. He knows for a fact that at 8.15 am his' HOD's class is there in which he has the max attendance of 20%. It is a proud moment that he can afford to miss that class to match with the other classes' single digit attendance.

Time is 10.15 a.m. Mr. Pathi-Parmeshwar-of-Kanchipuram (let us call him Mr. PPK) and Mr. Radio-Jockey-Madan (Mr. RJ) comes into the wing. Mr. RJ was Mr. C's roommate since first year and he knows exactly what Mr. C must be doing. Mr. PPK would have definitely known about Mr. C's itinerary had he not fallen a victim to Amnesia. He kicks Mr. C's door wildly and starts pulling his blanket off him and tries telling his usual unsuccessful-unhappy ending stints with the class. Irritated Mr. C yells at him in such a way that Mr. PPK takes his bicycle and goes to the nearby temple to pray to the Lord to forgive him for committing such a sin.

Mr. Dhadhi (Mr. D) now comes into the picture after his cynical classes which taught him nothing, but, how to message continuously in the class to his Ms. Poo. Mr. RJ and Mr. C are sick of making Mr. D understand the importance of final year and the amount of time he must spend on a cell-phone.

All Mr. D had to say was "Bro, its just an incoming call, I gotta attend. Its my friend yaar."

Mr. C and Mr. RJ thought "Don’t know where this friendship is going".

They would not have known that Mr. D has fallen in love with Ms. Poo, unless he was not their first year roommate. Mr. Gambit (Mr. G), the consigliori of this whole group of friends comes dejected to the wing after being chucked out of the class and his roll no. noted for the reason that he could not walk as straight as his HOD in the campus corridor. Mr. G's mate (still do not know what mate, sources say that they broke-up, but, never spread rumors), Mr. Bladekanth (Mr. B) after fighting with Mr. Alitya (Mr. A), the other night over a small issue (I will narrate the issue too), got drunk. His drink consisted of 5 parts of water with 1 part of Rasna Nimbu paani. He got high and walked exactly like his HOD in the Mahatma Gandhi Road. Known for his antics, Mr. B caught the attention of his HOD who was walking down the same road. The HOD feeling sympathized by the drunk-driven-deformity, advised Mr. B to take off from the classes and watch the JFUC (Japanese F**ked Up Cartoons), to improve his walking abilities as the characters in those cartoons use mantra-tantra to fly. But, on the other hand his soul-mate, Mr. G got chucked out of the class for inability to walk like his HOD.

Few days ago, Mr. Liver (Mr. L), a champion AOE-player and an awesome footballer was playing a one-on-one FIFA'07 with Mr. B over the LAN and as usual Mr. B's D-button was not working. He lost the match 7-0 which was the worst loss of his career. As usual, in the dinner table, Mr. A pulled Mr. B's legs for his tragic loss. I personally feel that, that incident did not trigger the fight. Mr. A must have complained and cursed the mess food badly. Mr. B being a loyal member of the We-eat-the-mess-food-society (Mr. G was also a member of that society - may be that brought them together) was enraged and left the place with plates flying, for a drink to calm himself down.

Back to 10.15 a.m.

Mr. Placement-Rags (Mr. R) enters the wing shouting, "Hey, DOTA, DOTA, DOTA, anyone for DOTA????"

Honestly, I do not know DOTA's full-form. His face filled with questions of who all will join the game, but, not about the recent zero that he scored in the class test. There comes running from one corner of the wing to another, Mr. NIT-ian (Mr. N) and wakes up Mr. C and asks him, "Hey, Have you got DOTA installed onto your comp".

Mr. C growlingly dismisses it.

Mr. N replying in his Cypriot accent, "Hey, You are a big waste. All you know is Gtalk and girls. There is life beyond that too."

Mr. C shows him the tallest of his fingers of his hand to Mr. N. But, he is not bothered and resumes his begging for a DOTA-installed-computer. Finally, settled with Mr. RJ's comp and in the process Mr. N kicks out Mr. PPK and Mr. PPK is again anxious about completing his presentation for a seminar next month. Room-less, Computer-less, Mr.PPK slowly creeps into Mr. C's room and without disturbing his sleep sits on his computer and resumes his work. Finally, Mr. C wakes up with a letter from Mr. Stick-Message-Service (Mr.SMS), about him being treated badly the other day by Mr. C. Mr. D comes into the room and reads the letter loudly, "I just wanna say HI." Rest was undecipherable. Even, Mr. D, who has the horrible handwriting, did not have a clue. So, Mr. C woke up the man with the worst handwriting on earth, Mr. A. To his surprise even Mr. A could not decipher it. Mr. L enters into the scene. Do not know what Allahabadic-bonds he had with Mr. SMS that he read out the letter fully, giving importance to minute details as if it was a love-letter written by the newly appointed Biotech mam.

Putting an end to the issue and waving a "HI" to Mr. SMS, Mr. C and Mr. A left for their appointment to have breakfast at the Jhoops. On the way, discussing about the recent T20 champion team of India, they met the star of all these friends' hearts - Mr. Kuzhandhai. Busy with an electrifying project and some important work with recommendations for his higher studies, he signaled thumbs-up for his success in wooing the Director of the college to give him a recommendation letter. Mr. A had planned already – It is a party tonight.

Studious among these 12 attended the classes, which perfectly equated to the number that cannot be expressed in Roman numerals. In the evening, Mr. D cried for the first time after they all made fun of him. Then, Mr. PPK almost tried proving a point of postponing the treat due to some sentimental issues. Things followed and they all went for Mr. Kuzhandhai's treat and came back to their rooms singing old songs all the way from CR. A day to remember, humanly impossible to forget the others too. And they never had a group photo together because they believed in human memory which cannot be erased. That is college life and we all say "Love you ABI, you are our Hero".

Currently in

Mr. N - Amdocs, Cyprus (Lap dance Baby!!).

Mr. SMS - Noble teacher, CADD (Tamizh girls, beware of him).

Mr. A - North Carolina State University, USA (God knows what he is doing there).

Mr. G - Reliance Energy Ltd., Krishnapattinam (No work, paid well).

Mr. B - Wipro, Cochin (Bladekanth to Rajnikanth, Phew, Finally) .

Mr. PPK - Sesa Goa, Goa. (again unsatisfied).

Mr. C - Vedanta Aluminium Ltd. (as always confused).

Mr. D - Buffalo State University, USA (Still on phone).

Mr. R - DRDO, Pune (Deshdrohi Scientist).

Mr. RJ - Wipro, Bengalluru (Cochin ain't that far dude, Neel is there to take care).

Mr. L - CSC, Indore (But, lives in Liverpool).

Mr. Kuzhandhai - In our hearts forever..

Protect it to protect yourselves..

In this span of very short interaction with this outside world, few things that are more prevalent everywhere and you can find it in everyone. The summation of these few things exceeds in magnitude the combination of air, water, fire, earth and sky. Imagine few things that are a part of each and every one of us overpowering the nature. Is this what, that is leading to the so called destruction of life? Before answering this question, let me introduce those few things to you again, although they being inherent in you - ego, anger, agony, self centeredness, stress, cruelty, hatred and et al. Long long ago, so long ago, this family (I dunno if they are homosexual or heterosexual, but by following the code of nature, let us consider them heterosexual), were very scarce in this world. They were nowhere to be seen, but for a few places. The air was fresh, the water was clean, the fire was pure, and the earth was soft and the sky crystal clear. That negative family was suppressed by the beautiful qualities that men /women possessed then which were a gift by the sacredness of the nature. But, as time passed by we, the greatest of all species, the humans ventured into the balance and disturbed it. The nature was in its own mood, but, the imbalanced caused it to retaliate. Just like what happens in most Rajnikanth movies, where he gets poked by the villains, disturbing his normal life style, finally making him retaliate and subdue the villains and emerge victorious. This is what precisely happened. The don of everything, the nature was bullied by man and it is taking revenge on us by bestowing the family of negative qualities, the humans ever knew. Scientifically speaking, when we caused a disturbance in their balance, it reflected on us as the symbiosis was affected. As an engineer you can describe it as, the heat balance, mass balance, blah, blah, blah... were out of place and led to the release of harmful chemicals as a by-product of the failure models of the blah, blah, blah... The harmful chemicals, be it whatever it may be, reacted with the carbon filled-best mechanical device ever to step in the universe to change the way they think. His thought process changed and that’s how the emotions which are a part of that family were ingrained into us. My point is, don't get exposed to pollution, although its inevitable. It alters the way you think and tends towards the negative side. All is said about protecting the nature, but, less is done. We don't need to protect, but, let us not disturb it atleast. A pole vaulter doesn't win unless s/he fails. Here, nature is the pole vaulter. To succeed, it won't mind to fail. If it fails, we are into the dumps and that’s the end of everything. Save environment!! Save Mother Earth!!

A sincere Love letter to you for HER....

I love you. I dare not say these words in front of her. Oh, yeah, I had the courage to at least utter these words, but, never in succession. This is the feel from inside, but, never have I spoken or said “I love you”. Things were very fine between us in the beginning. I liked her more than what her liking was for me. My love for her transcended all boundaries. The time that we spent together was priceless and I could give everything that I have right now to get back to her. But, I could only wish to give. This negative attitude has for long prevailed in me and if given a chance, I will curb it. But, I know for a fact that this negative attitude will prevail in me. That is because; I have everything that I have right now, only after I became an unknown person to her. Yeah, right!! She knows so many people or better way to put it is, so many people know her, because of her beauty, her intelligence, her versatility, but, I am just a miniscule in front of her and it is very much immaterial whether I express my love for her or not. Now, I live very far away from her. Very far that only I can reach her, but, never she can and never will her. I remember and relish the time that we spent together. That big city, this small village, the pulsar180, the "Impossible is Nothing" attitude, the ice-cream parlors, the coffee shops and the list is endless. I cannot forget her. Now, I don't know from where the orders of avoiding came from. But, I have two wild guesses. The order would have come from the "Land of largest Uranium reserve" because of the nuclear deal or from the "Land of largest exporter of crude oil" because of the escalating oil prices. Yet, I abide by the rules and I don't disturb her, but, certainly I love her a lot. As Karla said, If fate doesn't make you laugh, then you are missing the joke. I missed the joke at first, but, not anymore. I now say without any fear - I love you India...

By

A longing N.R.I

Love @ first sight...

How many of us believe in 'Love @ first sight..".? Not many. But, scientifically its proven that love at first sight is due to the imbalance of hormones that causes a surge in the feelings of a teenager. I penned down my "Love @ first sight.." feelings..

Came she from eternity,

what has she got with me?

any bond of reality,

not necessary to be with me.

Sight of kindness,

face of brightness,

height of chillness,

all putting me in sickness.

Angel from the sky,

wants me with her to fly.

As she walks,

she opens up my locks.

Dived into a mirage,

further realising its a cage,

I couldn't manage,

with my full rage.

Gorgeous is she,

but, don't know how her character will be.

In the practical life of heaven,

my romantic thoughts are drowned.

Crowned as the queen,

wearing a jean,

she is my dream,

crossing me in seventeen.

"She is a fantasy"

as I used to sing the song.

She is really a one,

making me think along.

She asked me, "Did you see two books

and an album over there?"

"N-N-No", I said in a little fear,

standing just five feet near.

A pimple on her left cheek,

making me a freak,

thinking about how to seek,

started my mouth to leak.

Lavender flowers blended,

with lilies of night rendered,

all these have plundered,

with my heart will go on haunted.

Incidents, did connect us,

this being an eternal bliss,

as long as she is a miss,

I will live in her remembrance..

Love..

Does it need an introduction, a definition..?? It is Love that takes you to places or causes the downfall.. My sceptic beliefs on the immortal feeling, LOVE..

Love, only a mirage,

for the sixteen age,

after spoiling your range,

makes you pay the wage.

Love, a time waste,

if you are in haste,

you are ever lost,

even from the Yemen's list.

Love, a slow poison,

can murder you without any sign,

being a sweet killer,

kills you even before things become blurer.

Love brings hatred,

if you haven't tasted,

it whole-hearted,

then life becomes dotted.....

Cricket World Cup 2003

Its cricket again. India was World Cup runners. It was an awesome moment for us Indians. But, saddening part was also there that they lost in the finals. This poem was written during my eleventh annual exam.

Fourteen teams fight,

with seven on each side.

Each play six,

is what the ICC fix.

India making a quiet start,

but, ending the league with a bulls-eye dart.

Its all about beating the Pakis,

where each of us believe as luckies.

Everything behind Sachin and Sehwag,

but, our captain doesn't want to talk.

Zaheer and Srinath on their pacy way,

joined by Nehra at the blue moon bay.

Kaif and Yuvi, the blended youth,

also with Mongia, having in some faith.

Nobody could be compared to the THE WALL Dravid,

who will never ever become livid.

If Bhajji hits a six, a lion roars,

but, if Dada hits a six, a mouse squeaks.

The cup of joy is their choice,

Win the World cup, Come on Boys.

Fate of India

Mother India and her condition when I wrote it in Eleventh grade. It hasn't changed much over the years and we can still call it an evergreen situation..

India is great,

but, now, bribe is the fate.

From birth to death certi,

all should be in cash,

or few household things

should reach them in a rush.

Water scarcity on one side,

blood scattered on the other,

but, nobody ready to order,

not even to bother,

but, if it goes on this way,

soon India won't have any odour.

Match Fixing

This was a poem written by me when I was in Ninth grade. Cricket was hit by this huge controversy called MATCH FIXING. My childish feelings @ that point of time..

Match fixing scandal,

for cricketers its vital.

A group of Hansie,

can make cricket fancy.

Bribe is money,

they eat it as honey.

Not only very bad,

but also very mad.

For a six,

they will fix,

and for a four,

they raise a crore.

In amazing victory,

there is some mystery.

Cricket, a gentleman's game,

now, called in money's name.

Talk about cricket,

all the people neglect,

As a game,

it is a shame.