A Policeman’s Smile :)

Today evening on my way back home, at a heavy and noisy traffic junction, I saw a very rare scene. It was a Traffic policeman wearing a rain coat, who was directing the traffic with a smile on his face. He and the rain shared the curse of all the people in a radius of 500 meters. Both were equally helpless. I was so much carried away by that man’s attitude. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Actually if it was a little more peaceful situation, I’d surely go up to him and appreciate his attitude. I totally believe that a true smile is the best way to keep you in a good mood.

A smile is probably one of the simplest of cures for anything in this world such as broken confidence, broken dreams, and even a broken heart. I have almost lost count of how many times I have looked into the mirror and just smiled at myself, and how it has worked to get me out of a bad mood. At the end of it, you become so infected by your own smile, you wish the reflection you are seeing in the mirror were an actual person and you could hug that person and thank him for being so nice to you!

Watching someone smile is contagious, and you almost involuntarily tend to smile back at the person you saw smiling. Let anything be the situation, that man wasn’t handling an easy job there. He was dealing with infinite number of people who by any means just wanted to reach home before it’s too late. This man, the policeman, who might have been standing there for the whole day will be having the same thought in mind as well. But I’m sure that that smile would have released at least some thumbs off the horn button.

Anyways, my salute to that man in uniform for the attitude he carried…

Keep calm and......

2 days and 2 nights at Karunagappally, Kollam.

My friend, roommate and colleague from my previous company; all three being the same guy - Deepak; was all set to furnish his life to the next level. It was his engagement.

~ June 1^st

5:30 am, it was still dark. Wet roads and the dark sky, and it was too cold for life itself to feel alive. We started from our rented house at Ernakulam.

This was not the first time me staying in a company of an entirely different version of Keralites. Different version in the sense entirely different dialect, taste, orders etc. It was joyously different. I was literally enjoying though I had my usual weekend to-do list pending in my Thrissur. :)

The 6 over cricket match in the evening between his cousins with some close-to-real sledging and light moments was amazing. I was just a spectator, just to keep myself safe until the function is over the next day. Lessons learnt need to be applied when situation demands. Let that be another lesson.

~ June 2nd

In frame with the stars of the day. :)

The day!! I was also as tensed as Deepak was (But he seemed cool). Because I was the official photographer!!! I’m pretty damn sure I haven’t made it up to his expectation as it wasn’t my cup of tea by any means. But still he seems satisfied with those. May be he is being nice to me as always.

Like someone said, “Marriage is a day when two people think of their future and the rest think of food.” An engagement is nothing different. People seems like they were starving. And this was the only thing I found in Kollam, which I had seen in Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kasargode and Ernakulam. Like Srinivasan once told, “Story of humans is the same everywhere.”#Sandesham :)

With so many happy moments the function also moved smoothly. The gap granted by the monsoon mustn’t be forgotten when the credits starts rolling upwards.

Never did I feel like a guest. I was a part of it. Here ‘it’ being the family, function, fun and also the part-time umpiring for that 6 over match. Other must-mention characters are the two angels Janaki and Gouri (Deepak’s nieces). They make us feel ashamed pasting a smile on our face with their energy, when we sit tired. Kisses to both of them…

In a nutshell, at the expense of a weekend I got some real good people added to my FB friends list and to my ‘real’ friends list as well… :) Thank you all...

Congrats, Deepak and Aswathy.. God Bless..!!

May

May, this was a very beautiful month with so many good things happening. Like; officially this month started on the 13^th when I joined my new company. April 30^th, was the last day at my previous company, so there was a 12 day ‘vacation’, that’s how I like to call that dozen days. Also, I had a very grand birthday celebration on 11^th May (by Moon Sign) with all my six uncles and aunties, my Mom and my dear little cousins and many others. There was a traditional vegie feast for lunch and a surprise cake cutting in the evening. Surprise!! That’s the word all I could find to explain though an understatement. Surprised also because they made me feel I’m so special to them. Thanks my dearest Appat family for the biggest birthday I have ever had..!!!

All the celebration was at the zenith of happiness as it was on the eve of my cousin sister’s engagement.

As because of these many things happening around me the shell of anxiety that could have developed before joining a new company wasn’t even thought of. After all, everything will be fine at the end and if it’s not, then that’s not the end of it.

But ‘The Alchemist’ is dragging into the third month. Unbelievable!! Am I becoming too busy? Or is it that I’m messing up the time arrangement? May be I gotto move to conclude with the second question. Same is the case of my Nike miles. Not a mile done in May. Not much hopes for the June days too. My bed gets more magnetized on a rainy or a chilled morning. So there is a great-wall between me and the morning jog. But the ‘New Post’ button was clicked thrice in APHORISMS this month. That brings happiness, satisfaction and brings a physical existence for my thoughts too.

Another irony of May was that on a same day (May 16^th) news headlines had three very unfortunate and unpopular stories (Sreesant, Ranjini Haridas & Kalabhavan Mani) and in the very same May, Malayalam was declared as the classical language by GOI. Nothing to connect with the former trio, but too much fluctuation for the language in the same month.

Anyways, for me, another month slips away like the Thai Airways… “Smooth as silk”

The Balnce Of An Average Grihasthashrami.

There are some pictures or scenes in our daily life that goes unnoticed. Last weekend while waiting for the green light at Naikanal signal, Thrissur Round, I just took a 180 degree look from left shoulder to the right. It was just the usual panorama; some entering the Swaraj Round from Shornur Road while some entering Vadakkumnadhan Temple area; in the snack shop to the corner where the roads met, the glass containers were being filled with hot and spicy tea-time snacks; the juice store next to that was having a busy day, thanks to the red hot Sun; there was a traffic policeman who was shaking his pen to note down the number of a fellow who was a bit impatient to wait for the green and then to my right was a five-headed family waiting for the green on the balance of a pair of tyres and green light is on.

We, who were waiting for the green, started to move together like in a race. One scene that always appears while I stand in the front line of a traffic signal is of a horse race and when the green is like the gun shot when the gates open and the gallop begin.

As I moved forward the panorama of Thrissur Round kept refreshing only leaving that Grihasthashrami’s (Family man) balance kind of imprinted on all frames I saw. That man was not performing a circus-trick or something like the Tornado wing of the Indian Army with five people (including him) on that two-wheeler. He was running a family. He is the Average Grihasthashrami – The Family Man.

It’s just a normal scene. One thing I told my Mom who was sitting next to me when I saw this man, “the whole life of that man is focused just not to lose the balance of that motorcycle which can be a marked as a metaphor to his life.”

What is life? He is not cared about life at all. He just keeps things moving and leaves life unattended or let’s say uncelebrated and finally when the game-over bell rings, his children will be the only proof of his existence on this planet.

It’s a subject that I’m totally inexperienced in. The post is about what I observed; the spark or really ‘living’ life is really missing in the world around us. They just come from somewhere, spend some time on earth and just leave.

Happiness is as ubiquitous as we believe the Almighty is. Like what Mr. Kamal Hassan says in Anbesivam, “I see goodness in you and that goodness is the Almighty.” And I believe that mind which finds the Almighty is capable enough to find happiness too…

I would rather wish to have a set of four-wheelers instead of two. Don’t mistake. It is not the case of wheels of the vehicle we own, but the fear of losing focus can be set free to fly away from within us. And the weight of a four or a five headed family is easily distributed on a well-aligned set of 4 wheels. :)

People are so busy. Rushing and running to reach on time. To reach office on time in the morning and to reach at least five minutes early in the evening. Hardly some realize that in this process, days and months and years are draining. They forget their hobbies, their interest and some even forgot when they laughed out loud from the bottom of their heart and eventually one becomes a stranger to himself as time gallops.

Yes! We need to race, but we need to realize there is no trophy at the end of the race for the one who comes first. And even if there is a trophy it should not be at our life’s cost.

April

April... Aahh.., I'm tired. But am happy to the core. Festivals, get-togethers everything happening good at the expense of pure human energy which forces me to say that I'm tired.

An overall change has begun to roll. I'm not having a role in the play rather sit comfortably in the pavilion and let destiny take its turn to roll the dice. That was indeed a big lesson learnt. "Stay calm", is the slogan. Whenever life twirls in an arrhythmic music all you gotto do is to stay calm.

April also gifted me a long awaited change. Yesterday while playing Temple Run on my Tab, I stuck up on an idea that this game has a close resemblance to our life. Where the life is the temple, we are the runner and the coins that we collect are the friends we gain that helps us to gain bonus in the later run. The next level of Temple Run starts from May 13th. I got an opportunity in another company. Eager!!!

iSmart, my first company, was my learning ground like she was for many others. The unparalleled exposure and experience this company gave was molding me from a boy to a professional in the corporate world. And all these were not my achievement rather it was the presence of a Godfather here too like I used to have their presence everywhere. At school, college likewise here too. But the interesting fact was that none of them might have recognized the position or how much they have influenced me and how much their presence and interaction have supported and boosted me. It moreover like the tribal prince in Mahabharatha, Mr. Ekalavya. Not the thumb cutting part. But the teacher not knowing about an unknown student. A kind of a one way traffic.

So far the change in the course of tide seems interesting. One thing I hate about April is that every year this month makes me older. That happened this year too… :)

March

A month that marched away faster than the short Feb. It was rather a 31 days anticipatory extention of the short Feb. There was ample space to provide space for a potpouri of twists, tension, hope and some happiness.

Of all incidences, death of Anoop's wife was what touched and squeezed my heart so much after a long while. Though I personally admire death, sometimes I feel like Death is a bit ruthless in choosing its prey. I do not have any words of condolence for him. Just a prayer that may He grant him the ability to stand. Time is the best healer.

Later towards the end of March some rendezvous gifted a flamboyant curtain drop for my March. Life of Pi was the book of the month. Another version of Cast Away and Robinson Crusoe. Version in the sense when spoken about the two common subjects dealt; suffering and survival. And the quote that stuck me was...

“You might think I lost all hope at that point. I did. And as a result I perked up and felt much better.” 

The much awaited April slowly steps down from the calendar on the wall. The next 30 days are going to fly at light's pace. A Vishu and the mighty Thrissur Pooram and my normal tensions all coming together means I'm gonna need some bigger container for storing energy to survive this month. Happiness come to play the creamy layer role in the pot of emotions.

Happiness. I won't leave it. Even if sometimes I feel its a fake reality. Believe me, it gives you better mileage than any other emotion. :)

February

2013 sheds another month. February to me was a montage of emotions. Soon after the first week I landed home after the two months onsite tenure. Yet another two months have come to an end. Busy and not-so-busy working days, shrinking countdowns, stabbing Saturday nights again and again and again with movies all over the world (with subtitles)…all these have become a habit now when I’m switched to the onsite mode.

Being at home is like having several ‘NZT’ pills for limitless happiness. Also, after eleven months I was able to kick start my bullet. He like an obedient child woke up from an eleven month meditation        . That moment was magical enough to cut down that eleven month separation. Felt as if I got my wings and horns back. That always makes me feel that I’m a little different from the normal race horses like any other RE enthusiast.

February was a quiet and swift month for Thrissur always keeps me busy. Not a single mile was covered this month vs. the 100+ mile of January. Illusions by Richard Bach was the book of the month. Its a companionship and an enlightenment story.

Two quotes from Shimoda's 'The Messiah's Handbook and Reminders for the Advanced Soul' are worth repeating:

"Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet them than your acquaintences will know you in a thousand years."

and

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly."

February is not completed. It needs to be carried off to March….

Some ‘times’ make hope elasticize to the maximum… February was one of that kind. But no world ends here. Like what the Messiah told; this can't be an end, may be its a plot preparation to pop out and flutter. I hope...

JANUARY

Well, 2013 is 31 days old and this is the first time to click the ‘New Post’ button on Aphorisms. I’m free or rather I have no commitments and apart from that there isn’t anyone waiting for a new post on Aphorisms. So there isn’t much to worry when the ‘New Post’ button is left undisturbed for a while. Still, at times I do find it pretty hard to moor my mind that scatters and races to each and every nook and corner of my past, present, thoughts, dreams and senses in search of something to write.

That was when I thought of a kind of conventional diary entry. Just briefly explain my day. But for a lazy chap like me that won’t roll for more than a week. Writing is perhaps an infection to which I’m deeply addicted to.

That slothful thought was something that motivated me elaborate the span to jot down from a day to a month. Now let’s see how far and well is this going to roll down the unknown road that 2013 have for me.

~January~

New Year was born as I was speaking to Amma over phone. Fireworks, greetings, hugs, shake hands, updating FB status all happening with a slight sarcasm towards the poor old misinterpreted Mayans and the too brilliant NASA spokespersons who came every now and then on the Discovery channel advertising the “Doomsday”.

Happy that the New Year resolutions remain solid even as a month sings off. A total distance of 100+ mi jogging was done this month which proves that my leg has far past the ‘recovery state’ which also proclaims that I may be ready to kick start my Bullet when I reach home this time. Happy!! Anxious!!!

Completed reading Paulo Coelho’s Aleph. I was reading Paulo Coelho’s work for the first time. I really loved the way he treated the mystical realism and the beauty of sentences that leave a lasting impression on me. For example, there was a place where he explains a hug.

“A gesture as old as humanity itself, and which means far more than the meeting of two bodies. An embrace means: I don’t feel threatened by you; I’m not afraid to be this close; I can relax, feel at home, feel protected and in the presence of someone who understands me. It is said that each time we embrace someone warmly, we gain an extra day of life. So please, embrace me now.”

That brings about a better definition, meaning, feel and a new dimension for that gesture… Hug.

January was a busy but not-so-busy month work wise. Days went on quite smoothly despite some negligible issues. On the 16^th, that 23 year old girl from Delhi kept flashing in my mind. It’s been a month since she left home. Ten days later on 26^th, India celebrated her 64^th Republic day amid protests. But most people who then yelled to boycott the Republic Day function forgot all that a month later. Forgetting has become a national disease. She doesn’t have to be our sister, daughter, niece or friend to feel so much for.

Issues are developing exponentially in our country which are quite capable enough to wake the ‘Indian’ or ‘Anniyan’ in us. But Indians or Anniyans are fair only when Mr.Shanker narrates.

May God bless our country…

Another 8 days more and I’ll be at home. Time often moves at snail’s pace as the number of days fall shorter. Quite ridiculous...!!!

And that’s My January signing off.

Welcome February…