A Tryst with < >

Aboard a train, there was I, seated in a corner. The day was sultry, but I was embroiled in my own eccentric thoughts. A look outside the window gave a perfect picture of the Countryside which never ceased to entertain or fascinate me. The majestic meadow, the tranquil pond, the lonely tree in the middle of the field; everything was a delight to watch. The daylight was ebbing and the sun was threatening to make its mark on the other side of the horizon, leaving behind the bright land that stared at me in darkness.


As time passed, I wondered whether I'll have something to do. No sooner than later, the door to my coach was flung open and there was one beautiful lass who made her way, err, into the coach for the moment. "Is anyone going to occupy this place?" she asked me, pointing to the unoccupied seat. "Oh, none is coming. You can have that seat" said I. Without any lapse of time, any lease of reason, there was a trail of thoughts coming my way to inhibit me! The display in my memory screen read thus: "Have I found Gorgeousness and Glitter at the right place, with the right person? How on earth did I miss her all this while?" A smile can straighten a lot of things, I remembered, again out of no particular reason. I was yearning to start a conversation!" Well, I just wanna say you something...."


But all of a sudden, there was someone giving me a pat. Before I could realize and react any further, there was a dialogue uttered, "Here's the coffee. Good morning!" Subsequently, I was left with enough time to think. "Who's going to call me and offer me a coffee in a train? What's happening?" Waiting no further, I opened my eyes and there I was. The Coffee Cup was perched on the table and my mom wore a smile on her face to continue, "Good morning". A sip of the coffee and an afterthought followed, "Not a bad start to the day!" It was a tryst that was never supposed to be! ;)

- Pretty perfect exaggeration of the untold commotion and I have another post ready to be served! This is a fiction as well (poor that it's only a fiction). But that also means that I'm waiting for the train and the rain of thoughts to follow it up. :)

Gopsay!

Morning of Mayhem

How long would you see the river flowing in the same dreary way! Just get it flooded and see how different the whole setup is! In some cases, trying out the same thing again and again, expecting different things will be pleasant. "Beep, beep. It's time to get going!" sung the alarm on my phone at 5:30 in the morning. With Physics class first up, I was never in the mood of waking up in such unearthly hours. During these times SNOOZE option definitely helps, but certainly not after the clock goes past 8. With the zest, zeal, vibe and dynamism, I checked out of the house at 8:40, exactly 10 minutes after the school would have all, but started. The bike was in good condition (not as in the case of Morning Blues). Silently and steadily I hit the road and was giving Armstrong a run for his money.

Amidst all this, somewhere in the middle of the road, there was a nail that was waiting, vaguely to retrieve the money I had taken off Armstrong [:-D]. I didn't notice this notorious nail, but it certainly didn't leave my cycle untouched. Touche!I was already late. The bike was slowing, deliberately slowing, dubiously slowing. The zest and zeal, notwithstanding, I was in the middle of another botched up affair; not for the first time. With a minute to go for the gates to be locked and 100 odd metres to cover my condition was very similar to Usain Bolt running with his legs tied. The tire of my bike was flat, to say in the least. In an unspectacular way, the tire came of the bike. It eerily gave a big picture of things to come. Somehow, I made it to the school. The bike was sidelined in a corner of the road. My biggest hope was that none would steal a bike with a flat tire. My perception paid off, as I saw the bike stranded in the same place.

I was off, to get the bike repaired. Already sweating and tired after playing Basketball for hours together, I never thought things would be that bad as it was all, but a flat tire. But who knows what Lady Luck always has for me? The person at the garage tired to get it fixed. But the tire was in pieces. Not even a Ferrari engineer could've found a way to tackle the situation. At the fag end of the day, I was left paying more than what I had taken off Armstrong when I gave him a run for his money! It just happens![:-D] If there's a bike, it should get punctured.



- Gopsay (on it.. again)

Dodging the dogs

When everything is going good, why do we need a change? That's why I was expecting everything to stay simpler and better for me. All's well, but did that end well? The good day lead me to an improbable, unimaginable, inconceivable evening. After having spent hours talking in orkut, I decided to check out with my friend.

"Swine flu's in the wind! Be careful!" said my mom which fell in my deaf ears (but it got heard when I was writing this post). When I was on my way to the restaurant, I decided to take a lonely road. I wouldn't have taken this route on any other day yet, the improbable evening made sure I did take this route. My mobile, which was (again improbably) without charge started it all, "Excuse me, Boss! You have a text message!" Barely had I finished reading it when I spotted a stray dog. The mobile was in my hand and I was riding the vehicle haphazardly (my normal way).

I couldn't make a guess of the dog's idea. It may have mistaken the mobile to be a biscuit. Slowly, but stealthily it started following me. It started barking and he was joined by his mates. Soon, my grave fear turned true. There were 2 dogs on either side of me, chasing, barking, fighting with each other for the food (Geeves, it was my Mobile) I had in my hand. But how on earth could I be rendered with a situation like this. I've fought my way past numerous dogs, but certainly not a pack of dogs. The lonely road had just started and not a single person could I spot. It was not until 5 minutes that I found a person while the dogs kept chasing me as if I was their owner (which, I would never be).

It wasn't fear that gripped me through this arduous, strenuous exercise. I was a novice to this superficial circumstance which made it even more interesting and surprising. They weren't in any mood of letting me go until the road came to an end until the pack of dogs found another person with a biscuit in hand :)

A delightful summer day showed me the way
To a nefarious night, to test my might
Only to see me tread back with a glee
Unscathed and unmatched to have another day!

Another day! Another event! Another post! That's how my journey called blogging is moving across the unknown realms.

- Gopsay.

July... at its very best!

A handful of people agree that I remember the past quite a lot. I too agree with them, but the only exception I find myself with is remembering the long, boring theoretical stuff that my school texts render me with. Perhaps, that is why I had no other option but to copy during the Boards. (Oh my Gosh! I'm going away from the topic.)

July brings to me some fond memories. It is in July that I search sincerely for my texts. This is because the first set of exams for the year commence by this time. I confess that I was (and I maintain that I was) a student dedicated to studying three years ago. Then, as nature is, things changed and I've become a perfectly and flawlessly spoiled brat. This is how my nostalgia goes:

It was a perfect Monday at my school in 2007. The climate was beautifully poised to welcome whatever I got as my marks for the first exams of the year. But will I be convinced with whatever I got? "No', is the only honest answer that I could afford then (and even now). One by one, every answer sheet was distributed. Three more papers were all that were left undistributed. Two of my friends and I were having the same total. Finally we got the three papers. Sandeep, one of my best friends, was leading me by 7 marks in the grand total while Sarath's total was 1 mark short of mine.....

Just then, the 'eureka' moment arrived. I had cut down a 10 mark question which was correct. Without the knowledge of anyone, I slowly made my way to the last bench of the class and got the sum written again in the same paper. Wearing a look of innocence, I went to the teacher and said, "Good morning, ma'am. It seems you didn't offer me marks for the 10 mark sum!" The math teacher believed me and gave me 8 marks, not the 10. While all this happened, Sarath too was left with the same state as I was. Sarath and I eked out a deal which made it a point that he'll make some changes in his answer sheet, but he won't get more than 8 marks for his sum. I too agreed with the deal. Unfortunately, the math teacher gave him all the 10 marks which, in turn meant I was 1 mark short of him in the total.

With a good deal of raw enthusiasm and fight for non-existent justice, I called for a 2 mark decrease in his marks so that I would be getting more marks than him. Math teacher tactically convinced me that he got what he'd deserved (but then, was it what he 'deserved' for cheating her in a better way than I did?) .

But wait!!! Spare a thought for one more person in the picture. There was one big loser at the bottom. It was my pal, Sandeep. While two cheated and got the first and second position, this unfortunate fellow was left with cursing his hard luck. He was the original topper among us yet he ended up being the last. The math teacher scolded him, "See others! Why didn't you write the exam well?" The question should have been, " Why didn't you cheat me as they did?"

To be frank, whenever an exam result is out, we three of them have always been in the middle of some nail-biting results. Now, one of them has moved to a different school. Inspite of that, I always give my other friend a run for his money.

-Gopsay.

What's that sound? Version 2.0

It was late in the night.
Arvind was working with the various assignments given to him at school . Meanwhile, he was having my earphones on and was entangled in the sound of music. Then, getting bored of more and more music, he switched off his gadget. Eerily, he started hearing a sound, an uniform sound. "Was it the sound of wind whizzing past my house?", he thought. Then an afterthought struck him, 'does wind blow uniformly?' Scolding himself for some absurd, eccentric thinking, he never gave food for that thought. But his ears couldn't escape that sound, that uniform, enchanting sound which had suddenly become the centre of his curiosity.

He couldn't avoid guessing what it would be. (Is it a burglar making his way in stealthily? Oops, He's not Sherlock Holmes and this is not the Red-Headed League) Is it the sound of water gushing out of the taps left open? Being busy doing nothing, he tried to guess some others. But, he had to finally consider that this one was the only guess of some sense. Lazily, he stood up, searched all the rooms to see whether any taps were open. Nope! He couldn't find any of the taps open. Just then, he had a sudden thought of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Another afterthought again, he said to himself, "Haha! Trying to be a detective or what? You're fit enough only to read those books, bloke!"


But he certainly couldn't avoid that sound. Where was it from?What does it have to do at this time of the night? He searched his house, all over again. But again- same result- nothing of importance. He wandered around the house, probably a little disappointed and aimless as well. It was a test to his endurance and skill (if he had anything remaining!). With all hopes sent packed in the wind, he was walking slowly to retire to bed.

Suddenly, his eyes were fixed on the window sill. He could see droplets of water hanging on it.
There, it dawned on him, the real reason behind the sound. He went to the balcony and viewed it for himself. It was the rain, the belligerent rain, hustling and bustling through the thin air, and pouring out like never before...
His mind had another afterthought, "How the hell did you miss guessing this out?"



- Mind it! This is just an imagination. I wanted to summarize it by rendering a lively feeling to my thought through my words. Do send in your comments on this topic.

Gopsay a.k.a. Gopalakrishnan. :)

The D-Day

One month into the holidays, it was partying and stuff that consumed the days. Slowly, the days rolled on and it was time for some reality check coming my way. As announced, the results were one week away. I was spending the whole lot of time chatting on how much I'd score with my friends. "I'd get above 460!" said one. "I'm darn scared. How much will I get", said the other. Who asked for the results? The name, ending with the result section indicating PASS was all that I needed. In fact, everyone wanted the same, except some queer cases who were on the prowl to get the 'state first' and all that. Everything was going fine for a fitting finale. But whenever I propose a way for myself, it always happens the other way round. It was a thumping Thursday. I had just finished playing online. Just then, everything went from bad to worse. Here goes the conversation.

++++--------++++
Sridhar: Hiya! Our results will be out on Saturday.
Gopsay: Stop kidding yaar. I know it's only after a week.
Sridhar: I too thought the same. But the flash news in TV has changed it all.
Gopsay: (Surprised.. Then shocked. Now trembling)
I can't believe this! Let me check out myself
Sridhar: Anyway, the news won't change. Have a look. :)
++++---------++++


The news never changed. "Results on Saturday", was the only news displayed. Now in tatters, I phoned all of my friends and got them into an unknown, untraveled, unraveled phase of time. They too were as scared as I was. Slowly I found my way back to Gtalk. There was a message from another friend of mine, "Results on Saturday! Enjoy!" Touche. Close Gtalk. And rewind to the past:
Lots of questions.

• Why did I write a poem on the day when I had Bio exam?
  
• Why was I online before my Math exam? (I was online before all the exams!)
  
• How many 'tutorial colleges' have I Found so far? :)

The day was over. It was a Frenzied Friday. I was not happy with the 'Flash News matter'. "How can I visit umpteen temples within a day?" The job was tough. A bit of badminton was never going to be bad. Now that was done. A long walk to the library (just 2 kms) only to find it locked (terrible even on the eve of the results?). Slowly the day fizzled out. A bit of chatting, and the day fizzled out. The D-Day came; came at last. Only two of them were online. The results were to be published at 9:30 am. A bit of guessing and I cracked the website at 8:45 am only to see my results. (What I eked out is another story :D)



For the next week or so, my Orkut profile had this name: Gopalakrishnan.. Overwhelmed! I had ended up with 93% in my boards.
_____________________

Lost in the Night Sky!

It was pitch black all over
And the eyes saw
Everything but nothing.

It was a boulevard of dreams
Which remained unscathed just as
An unrehearsed, untouched bunch.
Slowly, the pitch black came into light
For me to visualize the dreams.


Turning round and round, I could
See the cluster of twinkling dreams,
Scattered all across the realms of my eyes
When the soothing effect of-
The mesmerizing moonlight, that dazzled
Was matched by none. But then,
The subtle lights suddenly brightened
And the twinkling dreams... dwindled away.






- In the modern world, catching a glimpse of the Night Sky is a rare phenomenon. So, let with a bunch of similes/metaphors, I've given a brief account of the night sky as it is. I'll be back with more. :)
Cheers,
Gopsay

The Epitome of Melee

It was erstwhile Madras (and the current Chennai), where this happened. Madras was (and is) known for its splendid shopping centers. It was a sunny Sunday and the family was caught in what seemed to them an unfamiliar melee as they shopped in Madras. The time was 4 pm. They knew that they had their train at 7.30 pm. Yet, they appeared to be in no mood to curb their shopping. The time passed and the money as well, passed hands. At last, they ended their shopping session, just as the clock struck 5.30 pm. A visit to the restaurant notwithstanding, they were quite optimistic about catching up with the train. The time now was well above 6 pm. They slowly felt they were on the other side of the clock and had to hurry. With umpteen suitcases to be carried, it was never a surprise that they hired an auto to reach the railway station. "Do you think we'll reach the train?" asked the youngest of them. No one had the answer. Little did they know that it was the Melee of Madrasian Traffic that had the final say. The junction was a fair distance away from where they started, around 14 kms. Slowly they made their way through the traffic. "What if we get stuck in all the signals?" the usually brisk granny thought. Three signals had been crossed by then and to their misfortune, everytime they reached for it, the only light that flickered was red!

The family constituted of people of all ages, from a boy of 6 to a grandmom of 65. They had to juggle between speed and safety. At one point of time everyone felt sure that they would miss the train. It was Madras Mayhem for them. They had to stop at every signal. They couldn't do anything else. A helicopter could've airlifted them to the station, they could've started early. They hoped the train would start late. If that happened, would they still be able to catch up with the train? The answer to it was blowing away in the wind, without an answer to its rescue.

They had caught a glimpse of the Raliway Station, a few metres away. But, they weren't helped in even a single way as the road signal flashed the 'red' light. "Let's hope the same 'red' signal flashes for the train as well", said another. They finally made their way into the station and the platform as well. Where was the train? It was slowly gaining it's speed. The grandma had to run like anything and slowly the drama unfolded. To their greatest agony, the suitcases outnumbered the family. Grandma made her way in the first and slowly the others crept in before it was too late. It was a thrilling experience for the youngest of them all, the 6year old (because all he did was look & lament at others' helplessness).


They decided not repeat it once again. When they had to catch the 7.30 pm train the next time round, they were at the Station well before the clock on top of the building had struck 4 pm. :)

- This happened in reality too. I was a 6 year old then. So, all I had to do was to wait and watch as the things unfolded. Now, I have the luxury so as to wait and watch how the reactions to this short story (or rather a shorter long story) are.

The Curse of God? 1

Three friends decided to give the quiz competition to be organized a try. Jayson, John and Sam were the friends. Jayson and John had already won several competitions while Sam was an inevitable addition to the group. The competition was to start at 2 pm. They sat on the edge of their seats.

While Jayson and John were busy showing Sam the guys to whom they had lost to in previous attempts, Sam was busy goggling the cake he had. None of them had any thought of having their hand on the prize that was to be given, a brand new Mp3 player. Instead, each one had their own insane thoughts and schedules. Jayson was eager to see the premiere of his favorite film on TV at 5 pm. While Jayson thought so, John, who used to top the class more often than others wanted to have a luncheon. Sam had promised his friend of turning up for a cricket match at 4 pm. The three musketeers had mustered various ideas except the idea of winning the prize.

The competition started. There were 500 teams and John quipped, "Never on earth are we going to win this! If we win it, it'll be due to The Curse of God, for sure!" The 20 questions were like 20 wars and they were happy to give their sheets away. The result was to be announced after 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes were over, it seemed for them that they were 30 erstwhile years. Everyone was curious to know the result. The three friends were sure that they were to be shown the door. Of the 6 teams to be selected, two of them were revealed. While all this was happening, the three dudes are happy to be just clapping. Then, the third finalist was slowly revealed.

"Jayson", said the quiz master. Jayson was cool enough to say, "There are many Jaysons here!" "John", said the quiz master. Still, they were quite sure they were not the ones. Finally, the person said, "Sam!" On hearing these words, they jumped of their chairs just like a baby that was falling off the cradle. Just as the sounds of applause roared, they walked majestically to the dais. Sam still couldn't believe it. He punched his fists against the wall, felt the pain and concluded that the events weren't a dream. Suddenly an afterthought clouded Sam's mind, "Is this The Curse of God?"

- Alright! I got this insane idea scripted in my mind when I was writing my Physics board exam paper. I gave food for this thought and yes, this is where it's ended up! :)

Gopsay.

True Lies!

When he says that he's good
And insists that he lacks bad blood,
I say he's playing in a pond of lies.

He quips that he isn't sad
And tips that I am mad.
But I say he's pondering over a pool of lies.

He ensures that he is a couch potato
And emphasizes on leaving others untouched.
Yet I say he's lying in a lake of lies.

He jumps with joy on seeing a dame
And loses the clock yearning for fame.
Still, I say he's floating in a ocean of lies.

But when he says he's none other than myself,
In a lighter vein, with injured pride,
I would say, "There lies the truth!"

- My board exams aren't over as yet. I took time off to ensure that I still ended up writing excessive scraps of articles and poems under the title, 'Parts and Parcels of Life'. I took 20 minutes for penning this down and now, I've left it for others to see. Have a nice time reading it! It's more than just an interim relief for me!

Cheers,
Gopsay