ExpertDabbler

If this reminds you of Napolean and Vijaykumar of Naataamai. I am not to be blamed:) . Maybe time for some long walks and less of movies in the spare time :) 

A small art gallery within the premises 

Kerala again i guess. 

South Kerala wooden house 

Pallanguzhiyil vattam….:). Atlast got a hang of using flash in my camera and still managing to avoid “white washed” picture 

Folks, its story time again in my blog. Actually, this tag by Visith was just the kind of kick I needed to set the ball rolling. It’s been in my mind for sometime. In fact ever since I finished my Aditya story, I was looking to start something on a fresh backdrop.

One caveat though. I have put my eggs in too many fronts at this point. There is tons to do and learn at work. (Very different from ‘Aditya’ weather conditions). I am part of Chennai photo-documentary effort with Keerthi. Then there is one template design work pending. And then this story. So it’s fair to say I am right now following what is called Tirupathi method of Project development. So please bear with me if I go absconding for a few days in between posts to complete something else.

Also, those who have read my earlier story might find this a trifle slow. I myself don’t know to be honest. I am moving away form the screenplay format and rely more on the conventional to be continued format.

Okay then, Here we go with the press release.

Following the stupendous success of “Aditya” ( er.. ok lets put it ok kinda reception), Panaromik (Don’t know? My company. The only company with no income and no expenses ) proudly presents “Life and KISS” ( Kiss stands for Konark India Software Services). And whats a story without a hep tagline?

So, Our tagline is Nowhere to Somewhere via Software.

So, what the story is about? It’s about three individuals and how their lives are intertwined.

Seema Sharath:

Part of the Business Development Group or the pre-sales group. The suave, brilliant and beautiful Seema Sharath is 32 yrs old. But one who looks 25. Mother of a kid. For all practical purposes a single mom. Her husband Sharath, is a SAP consultant and is in US for an assignment.

An MBA from Symbiosis with about 7 yrs of Industry experience. Coming from an orthodox Hindu family. But with highly unorthodox views. She lives with her only son in Kilpauk. You will get to know more about her as days go by.

EVM Madhav

Nobody ever dares to spell what EVM stands for in his name. If you are so particular, lets have it Electronic Voting Machine. Not that Madhav would mind. A brilliant solutions architect and an absolutely gregarious person to be with. Madhav is the cynosure of all eyes wherever he is. Right from his days in REC Trichy. He won the Best Employee of the Year award in the company annual day celebrations held in Chennai Trade Center.

At 29 years, Madhav has a car, and a flat in Thriuvanmiyur. His parents are looking out for a bride for him in and around Vijayawada. Preferably someone with great looks and background to afford the kind of dowry Madhav is worth in the matrimonial market space. Madhav is living life King size. He is looking for just onething. His soulmate.

Prasanna

He is 25. Native of Coimbatore. Prasanna is one real specimen in today’s IT world.
Just like there are no-nonsense types, there are some only-nonsense types. Prasanna belongs to that category. One of those types who would proudly write “Watching TV Serials” as his hobby in his resume. It would’ve been more apt to put “correcting” babes in his CV. For such are his abilities on that front. His only other plus point is his good heart and his enormous ability to truly listen and make the other person feel special without doing anything extraordinary.

A commerce graduate. After that he has done some courses in a lousy multimedia institute. He is a graphics designer. Or to be precise, a wannabe designer. For his resume suggests 2 yrs of experience. But that is fake. He is searching for a job. He has applied in KISS for a position in the Design team. He is right now living in a mansion in T Nagar looking for that elusive break.

I’ve been tagged by Visith. Can’t afford to refuse that tag can i?
Here we go….

He thought it would be an ordinary journey. Standing behind the pillar he watched the train snort arrogantly into the station. With each snort he was reminded of his grandfather’s words “You will fail in the city and return penniless”; with every heavenward whistle, he heard his cousin, “Don’t worry. Come here and I will get you a job at the construction site.” Now he had a 34-hour journey to prove one of them wrong, and he expected the excitement at the end of the journey. He looked at his ticket once again: compartment S9 berth 23.

Pushing his luggage under the seat, he sat close to the window. “Papa, when will you be back?” - his four year old daughter Munni asked innocently. He stared into those soft brown eyes of the motherless kid. He held her frail palms in his, through the window. “Munni, Papa will get you a nice gudiya from the city..Say tata,” his sister spoke to the kid, to avoid an emotional outburst. In a minute, the train pulled forward, and Munni’s little fingers parted from between his. “I need to go..”, he thought, “I have to, at least for Munni’s sake..”

The humid summer breeze and the rattling train coaxed him into an uncomfortable state of drowsy consciousness. He dreamt that Munni ran away, the closer he ran to her, the farther she was, like a mirage. He woke up with a start and squinted at his watch.”What is the time please?”A smallish woman, a meek voice as if she was scared that her existence would annoy someone. Her only noticeable feature was her rather large, expressive eyes.”4.30″Something made him look at the woman again. He had stopped noticing women long back. Ever since Meenakshi passed away…

But this woman was different. He reminded her of someone he knew. In an instant he realized who and the painful memories came flooding back. She looked exactly like his childhood sweetheart Madhu. As teenage lovers in a conservative society, they had often met secretly and had declared undying love for each other.

Then someone had found out and all hell had broken loose. The elders in the village Panchayat had ostracized Madhu’s family as she was from a lower caste. Unable to bear the humiliation, she had committed suicide by drowning. That was twelve years back…

Could it be? Could it really be him? He seems different, weary and downcast. Oh no will he recognise me? No, I am dead to the world. Still she cautiously wrapped her saree end around her head and across her face. Behind the cotton screen, her mind drifted to happier times, languid strolls in the corn fields, games at the riverbed, his gentle caress, whispered sweet nothings, stolen glances at the temple fair.

Tempted to take one last look, she consoled herself that he wouldn’t notice. Slowly she lifted her eyes only to find Rupak staring back at her.

She quickly glanced the other way.

‘No, this girl looks too close to be any other person. She is infact Madhu!! “Hey, Madhu!” he called.

She struggled hard not to respond to that call. And successfully managed it too.

“Hey Madhu, you forgot me?” he inquired her and came closer.

The old lady sitting opposite to him was looking at this unapprovingly.

“No, you are mistaken, My name is not Madhu.. I am Supriya” she lied.

“Hey Ram!, a young girl cannot travel safely in this country without being stalked!” the old lady muttered angrily.

—————————————————–

Everything below the dashed line above should be copied and pasted with every accepted tag)

This is a Story Tree and is best nurtured as follows:
1. A blogger can add only 90-100 words (not more or less) at a time
2. All previous snippets of 90-100 words need to be copied before the new set of 90-100 words are appended.
3. Each entire snippet should be linked to the respective author (and not just the first sentence or so)
4. Characters, scenes, etc. can be introduced by an author
5. Bizarre twists, sci-fi, fantasy sequences are best avoided.
6. A tag must be accepted within 7 days else the branch is a dead branch
7. After appending 90-100, the Story Tree can be passed on to at most 3 bloggers.
8. If more than 1 branch leads to a blogger, s/he is free to choose any one of them but cannot mix the snippets of the individual branches.
9. The Story Tree is best left to grow than concluded
10. Please attach the image of the Story Tree below with each accepted tag (the link address can be copied and used).

Ah, now comes the cruel part.
Anyway let me tag Siddharth, Vatsan and Monu

“Petrol enna velai vikkudu theriyuma da? 20 ruba oru litre.
Nee summa vandiyai eduthittu avanai parka poren ivanai parka porenu suthadhey venumna bus la poikko”

My parents used to say this a few yrs back. This still reverberates in my ears even as i ask the petrol bunk guy to fill for 200 bucks. And guess what, he fills up a luxurious 4 litres and odd!

Given that scenario, this one isn’t coming a moment too soon.

First it was the Moral Policing/Freedom of expression season, then it was ‘Hurricane IIPM’. War was declared in the entire blog world.
Its been sometime since we had a hearty laugh.
Folks, check out Deepavali Special Programs by our one and only “Ferrari”.

This should be the most important url for every Sujatha fan.

http://www.desikan.com/blogcms/wiki/index.php?id=sujatha_stories

Just now finished reading his’Maanju’ under Sri rangathu kadhaigal.
Yet to come out of the impact.

Thanks to PB.