Dusting old talents and bearing new fruits...

Here's a remake on the post from May 2008..

Melancholy Frenzy

Looking out to the horizon,

Watching the sun go down

She reflected on her life so far.

The breeze blowing against her,

The sea washing at her feet

Everything seemed to be a puddle of confusion.

The stillness of the evening sky,

Was creeping into her soul-

And yet, thoughts were ramming on her inside.

Just as the clouds closed in

And hid the sun behind their fluffy contour

She did the same with her emotions.

She found the silence within,

The peace that had left her

Had now once again settled in.

An Afternoon Quite Unlike Others

I would like the draw attention of my fellow readers to the fact that the title only implies the difference of the way my routine afternoons are spent and not necessarily an "out-of-the-world" or remarkable experience. Usually, on free days, my afternoons are spent at home in the confines of my room, on the comfort of my bed, engaged with reading a novel or perhaps even a chat or two with a friend, with light music in the background and cool air blowing in from the windows (or mostly just the ceiling fan).

However, today, was different. It was the first Thursday of the month, which meant, I had a dreaded appointment to keep with the dentist. About a-year-and-a-quarter ago, I decided to get braces, although, everyone including the dentist said it wasn't necessary. Having made my mind up, I went through with it. And so since then, the first Thursday of every month was the slot assigned to meet the doctor. So, if this was my decision, why the dread now, you may ask? Well, as all things, after the initial delight and excitement(??) of wearing braces faded, I began to see the flaw of my choice. It meant I had to go through with this resisting strain put on my teeth no matter what, until the dentist himself was pleased with his work. Last February, I was finally relieved of the braces and quite honestly i felt no different than when the whole process began. I must, however, remind you that the braces never once during the time I had them on, brought me any discomfort or pain. The mouth did feel unusually full, but otherwise everything was fine. So now when I was through with the braces, the doc gives me my retainers and say I have to put them on. And this I did not like one bit. For one, they kept jumping out of place when I spoke and for another it was just pure irritating. And so after one or two days of faithfully wearing them, it reduced to nights only and then eventually I just kept forgetting and the retainers rested in a box on my shelf. A visit to the dentist in the following months caused me some trouble as he reprimanded on my slacking off with the retainer. Not that it made me change; once again, after the initial fire was put out, I went back to not wearing them, until today. As I had to meet the dentist and there was no skipping it. Well, so now I guess you understand why I'd dread this appointment with the dentist.

Today, I woke up and got around by my everyday routine, had breakfast and settled to read the novel I was presently lost in- "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet. The morning went by as such, till noon, when mom reminded me of the appointment I had to keep. After lunch, I stole a couple of moments to finish the chapter I was reading as the hero was just making his comeback and defining his territory. Once that was done, I started to get ready for the appointment. Mom had a couple of stuff to buy as well, so she handed me the list and I walked off into the sun hoping the afternoon would skip by as fast as possible.

The weather was lovely. A sunny day, no less. As I trotted away up the street to the dentist's, I saw a familiar face making her way down. She was an elderly woman, maybe in her early fifties, elegant and there was something about the way she carried herself that gave her a touch of aristocracy. I remember seeing her at church on Sundays, and some loose talk about her being into matchmaking and stuff (kind of typical of the women her age around here). As we neared, I smiled acknowledging her, but boy, was I shocked when she addressed me asking of my family. (But then it isn't all that astonishing. If you've seen me once with my family, the height is kind of gonna stick in your head forever). She assumed I was on my way to college, and I should have left it that way, but NO. I had to open my retainer filled mouth to mumble I was on my way to the doc's. She smiled, we walked on our ways. It then struck me as to how stupid I was. Sometimes, I clear real silly things for no reason. But anyway, what's done was done and I walked on.

Approaching the dentist's I saw it was empty, and figured I reached quite early. However, the nurse informed me the doctor would be unavailable today and make it only next month. I thanked her, and inside I let out a sigh of relief. I thought to myself, I had one month to wear the retainers regularly and minimize the possible dosage of scolding.

I, then, took a look at my mom's shopping list and she needed- bananas, bread, snacks for the evening, milk and some band-aid. I figured I'd go to the supermarket that was just less than half a mile up the road I was on. A supermarket would be easy, since I'd get everything I wanted there, but on the other hand if I chose a particular way back home, I'd find small shops on the way to purchase the items on my list. And so, my first stop was at the grocer right next to the dental clinic. I asked him for half a kilo of small bananas and smiled. He showed me two bunches of bananas, one kind of over-ripe and the not-so-ripe, and asked me which I wanted. Since I was no expert in identifying the ripeness, I told him we needed it for tomorrow morning. And so he cut off some from the not-so-ripe bunch and told it'd be fine for tomorrow. I thanked him and asked him how much it cost. He said Rs. 9 only. Now Mom gave two crisp notes of 100 thinking I'd go to the supermarket. So I had no change and handed him a 100 rupee bill. He jokingly said why not give me a 1000 rupee bill and I smiled candidly and replied: "I will, once I start earning". We shared a polite laugh and I thanked him again and went on my way.

A couple of feet from their was a bakery. I stopped by and bought some bread and snacks. So now all I had left was the milk and band-aids. Across the bakery, was a small medical store which would get me my band-aids. Crossing over, I asked for a packet of band-aid but they were out of packets and asked if I would like them loose. I was contemplating it in my head, when the old fellow there translated his question in English. I smiled and answered back in Malayalam I'd have 20 of them. He was still looking at me, and I said "Yes, 20 of them please" in English. He counted the strips and handed it to the lady there. And she mumbled the amount. It wasn't quite clear if she said 50 or 80 as the two sounds kinda similar in Malayalam. So, the old fellow there, proud to show of his English, once again butts in to say "Fifty, five zero". I handed him the 100 rupee bill I had. He smiled and asked putting together his broken English, "You don't have less money?". I didn't understand at once what he meant so he tried again saying "You don't have a smaller currency--uh, note?". And then it hit me, he was asking if I had change. But I smiled apologetically saying I didn't as he handed me my change. I thanked them again and left the place.

Now there was a house nearby on the same route who were dealers of milk. So I went there and rang the bell. An unfamiliar face greeted me as I asked for milk and I found out that the family had moved and they stopped selling milk there. So much for everything on my way home, I thought. Now, I'd have to go all the way to supermarket just to buy the milk. But then it dawned on me that a small detour on the way would get me to a small shop that sells milk. I took the path and walked till I reached that shop which was in my neighborhood itself. I stepped in and asked for milk and guy there asks me back, "Smart or Jersey?". I was flabbergasted. Huh, what did he mean Jersey shore and stuff. So I said, still confused, "Um, no. Milma Milk?". And he laughed at my ignorance and said, "Yeah. There's two kinds. Which do you want?" . At this point the only distinction I knew was the color of the packets and I said that I wanted the red ones. So he nodded, "Yeah, those are Jersey." . Well, I now know that I thought, and paid him for the milk and set back on my way home.

Well, and so these meeting with people an sunny afternoon kind of lightened the day a bit more and was a welcome change from my routine. Coming home, I shared it with my Mom and we had a good laugh about it. That was when she suggested I write it down as an afternoon shopping experience. And so I came here and did just that.

Have a wonderful day!

Cheers,

Maryann

My Class ECE 2007-2011, VAST

I don’t know how to start this

But, here, my concerns, I dismiss;

For with you guys I spent four years,

And here we are as engineers!

Aiswarya, you’d find with raised eyebrows

With the long-haired beauty, Drisya, by her side;

One without the other, was hardly a sight,

And together they made the perfect pair.

Seated in front of them was lovely Mridula,

Along with her our rep you’d see,

Arathi, with her jittering charm,

And relentless faithfulness to her trade;

This brings me to our dear old Jijesh

Our humble class rep with quirky wits,

Whose immense efforts paid off,

To result in a wondrous tour!

T’was that tour that strengthened bonds

And shone spotlights on many a trends.

The card player, Ginu, at the forefront

Battled his way through many a barrier!

It would be wrong of me to delay

The mention of the Gossip Central

Deepthy being at its core

With her art of retelling stories!

Nithya followed none too back

With animated expressions of her own;

Purnima joined to fit in perfectly

With Seethal Maria right at her side;

Harsha chipped in duly to fulfil her part

The (certain) teacher’s pet, nonetheless!

Ais, Driz and Aaru joined in the titters

And so you’ve met the Gossip Girls!

Moving on, we come to dedicated pupils,

You’d meet Ajith, the walking Wiki,

Shyam, the persistent student,

Libin, the knowledge thirsty scholar,

And Sudha, the punctual perfectionist;

These are but to name a few!

I’m not quite sure where (Deepak) Prathap would fit,

But (Deepak) V.S. was a peculiar pick.

Tit for tat he bonded with K. R.

And Divya & Simi would fall in step.

Delna is a special interest

And with grace her face would glow;

Simple and set in her ways she was

But caught on as quick as a flash.

I now remember our dearest Beebija

Who bid farewell quite too soon;

The “Oppana” for Arts was her masterpiece

That won laurels for the Department.

Arun still lives in our memories

His apt remarks and positive aura

Filled every corner and space of our being

With the freshness of blooming flowers;

My days at the hostel are pretty faded

Although you’ve given me loads to cherish.

Tania, my roomie, we were quite compatible

Aysha and Remya, quite inseparable!

Asha dearest shared her room with them.

Jing-jang Anjing and crazy Rejani

Shared another room together;

Calm composed Sneha camped in yet another.

There are a few name doubles

Anand K.V and Sagar (xgr);

The two are as different as could be,

One tall and charismatic, the other short and artistic.

Aswathy M.A and Aswathy Ajit follow them

Just as before, have their distinctions.

One sweet and naive,

The other sweet and spicy;

We now come to the Deepak duos, Pratap and V.S.

I have no words to allure their persona

A little like them we have the Nithin pair,

One the thinker, the other a performer;

Sarath P.K and Narayan comes next

One plain while the other complex!

And at last we have the Vysak square

One boisterous, the other artistic!

Like pieces of a puzzle set

Are these next four

Deepthy, Seira, Harsha & Shabana-

A gossiper, a superstar, a nerd and a bride!

Another set of bold folks follow

Each with their own style

Amrutha, Manju, Sreeja and Hitha

With Achu, Ammu and Anisha;

A trio that travels together

Whom I’ve had the chance to be with;

Vinny, Aseela and Smruthy

Are truly rare people to mix with.

An audacious bunch now comes along

Prasob, Kiran, Nitheesh and Ragesh.

Along with them sometimes you’d find,

Our young scholar, LibinKumar.

A trait to admire and one so rare

Rivin acquires and carries it with pride.

No matter what the sticky situation

He always comes out in a refined manner.

Sonu is one you cannot miss

Friendly, helpful and a bag full of surprise;

Ajeesh comes off as a silent person

Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find the fun.

Here now I cite two specific people,

Who requires mention 'cause of their guest appearance;

Nirmal and Likhanov were my peers

For oh-so-many days I can count on my fingers!

There is this corner in my class

In the far left side of the room

Its occupants are an eccentric lot

Ones you cannot forget even by a long shot.

I start with Mido, the fashion guru

Friends say, he would've been a model, if it were for the height.

His partner in crime, Lithin K.U

My lab batch mate from 1^st year that too!

Don, I’d say, is quite the Casanova

I daresay you all agree with me.

Dingu, my brother, you’d know him as Divish

A childlike dear of the block;

Standing tall, you’d see him there

With a lost expression defining his face

The bearer of this portrait is Rahul

And mostly, we’d have silly arguments.

Another tall figure with dashing looks

And might I add- a unique name

Is Datto Ram T.R., the sculptured prince

Whose charisma fades at the slightest movement!

A silent and strong character resides

In Sarath P. Kumar, or, to me, he's Cakes.

He spreads cheer, helps around and yet remains mysterious

With a window wedged slightly into the unknown;

And now I introduce an integral person

Who may not always be at this corner

Yet his guise is quite alluring

This is Vishnu, the quintessential entertainer.

The last few I saved for they are my closest

I give you Paru, my first ever bench mate.

Like a lottery I attained their company

Rajitha, Meghana and Anjali,

Time flew when I was with you.

Parvathy, in many ways we're both alike and yet so different,

Meghana, cutie pie, my sole confidant during labs,

Rajitha, who always found that perfect balance,

Between friends and fun and studies.

And last but not the least, let's not forget

Dearest Anjali, with her trade mark smile

And the largest ever accessory collection I’ve seen.

Cheers to you all, my classmates

Without whom my college life would've been a void.

My only desire for years from now

Is that we all bond with the same love.

Wondering Ahead...

I long to see

How we'll turn out to be?

Years from now,

Wedding bells and vows-

Will we remember each other?

And those days,

When foes turned friends,

And friends, lovers!

No matter how much time flies by,

I wish to keep you near by.

And the fond memories we've shared

Like a pocket mirror of joy,

Reflecting the happiness in me.

Controversial Mix

Sweat trickled down her brow

Tears welled up and held within

Random thoughts cluttered her mind

Elegant, as she held herself-

Nowhere could she find peace

Good friends all around her

That supported her with all they did

Happiness was all that they saw in her.

What went around inside her soul?

Invisible to the outside world

Try as she might to express, but-

Hope and joy was all she showed

Interacting like a butterfly, she fluttered

Not a moment of weakness displayed.

Mystery hung all about her,

Everlasting and smiling at all.

Merry Christmas

And yet another festive time. Lights and stars and warmth and love all flying about in the air in abundance!

Merry Christmas all!!

P.S. where do i hang the mistle-toe??? ;-)