கூல்

"Cool" திரையில் ரஜினி பேசிக்கொண்டு இருந்தார்.

அச்சுதனின் முழுக்கவனமும் ரஜினியின் மீதே இருந்தது. அவன் அருகே அவன் மனைவி சந்தியா. மனைவியை மூன்றாவது முறையாக சிவாஜி படத்திற்கு கூட்டிவந்திருந்தான் அச்சுதன். அவனுக்கு இது ஆறாவது முறை.

Interval வந்தது ரஜினி சிங்கத்தின் உறுமலோடு திரையில் இருந்தார்.

வெளியே வந்து மனைவிக்கு பாப்கார்ன் மற்றும் பெப்சி வாங்கி கொண்டு வந்தான். வரும் வழியில் இறுக்கமான T-Shirtல் வந்திருந்த இரண்டு இளம் பெண்களை ரசித்தான்.

இருக்கையில் அமர்ந்தவுடன் அடுத்த நாள் பற்றின கவலை மனதில் தொற்றியது. வெள்ளிக்கிழமை ஆபிஸை விட்டு கிளம்பும் போது முடிக்காமல் வந்த வேலை பூதாகரமாக திரையில் ஆடியது. வெளியே பார்த்த அதே பெண்கள் மறுபடியும் கண்ணில் பட்டார்கள். ஆபீஸ் வேலை மறந்தது. திரையில் ரஜினி தோன்றி கல்யான கோஷ்டி பற்றி பேச ஆரம்பித்தார். அச்சுதன் அனைத்து கவலயையும் மறந்து படம் பார்த்தான்.

Money Card மூலம் இந்தியாவின் அனைத்து பிரச்சனையையும் தீர்க்க முடியும் என்று சங்கர் கூற படம் முடிந்தது. ஆபிஸ் பற்றிய நினைவு மனதில் ஆயிரம் டன் கப்பலை போல் வந்து உட்கார்ந்தது. வெளியே வந்தவுடன் அனல் முகத்தில் அறைந்தது. இருக்கமான முகத்தோடு பைக்கை நோக்கி நடக்க ஆரம்பித்தான் அச்சுதன். அவன் வேகத்திற்கு ஈடு கொடுக்க முடியாமல் ஓடினாள் சந்தியா.

வெளியே கவுண்டரில் அடுத்த ஷோவிற்கு கூட்டம். அவர்களை பார்க்கும் போது எரிச்சல் பீறிட்டது அச்சுதனிற்கு. பைக்கை உதைத்து கிளப்பினன். மனதில் ரஜினி காணாமல் போயிருந்தார். எதிரே ரஜினி போஸ்டரில் சிரித்தார்.

My Friend Joe

I looked at my son getting ready for his school function. I took my glasses blew hot air and wiped them clean. My wife was putting on him the blazer we bought for him for the special occasion. She looked at me and gave me a smile. I smiled back. Memories of my school days came flooding. I had a very tough childhood. I was different from the other children in the school. When everyone preferred to play baseball I spent time painting, when everyone spent time playing pranks on each other I spent time painting, when everyone else was doing something other than painting, I spent time painting.

I talked less, wore a thick glass and had a stupid grin (at least that’s what my schoolmates (if I can call them mates) used to say). With that kind of description I was the target for everyone to vent out their frustration on someone stronger than them. I have been beaten countless times in the name of fun. They always made an ass out of me and laughed their guts out. When things were going beyond control, I met my friend Joe.

The day I met him I was in the class painting. When I looked up from what I was painting I saw the gang of four coming inside the class room. To tell you more on the gang of four they were the most fearsome gang among the gangs in the school. They never missed any opportunity they got with a weak guy like me to prove their strength. Within few minutes I was lying on the floor with my painting torn to pieces. Nobody complains about these guys as they are less vicious when we don’t complain.

I gathered my specs and wore it. I collected the torn pieces of my painting and put them in the dustbin and came back to my seat to find a guy sitting there. The place next to me had remained always vacant except for now. He looked at me and smiled. I was still in shock and took the seat besides him. "Who could be this guy? Another tormentor?"

"I am Joe" he said.

I looked at him hesitantly. His hands were stretched out for a shake. I took his hand hesitantly and introduced myself. His hand was warm. The moment I grabbed it I felt amazing warmth surrounding me. I forgot about the gang of four. He told me that he had just joined the class and is looking forward to be part of it. I never knew he will become more than a friend to me at that time.

At a time when everybody rejected me in my class Joe stuck on to me. I noticed that people rejected Joe also. I never saw Joe talking to someone else other than me. I assumed may be people hated him because he was friends with me. From then on we hung around together always. He liked my paintings and he talked a lot about painting. The taunting from others still went on but I was not alone, there was Joe for me to comfort me. I never felt miserable after I met Joe. In someway after seeing the confidence in Joe I expected him to thrash those who taunted us but he remained silent and never raised a voice at them. I assumed he must be a frightened little kid as I was inside but who cared, a company was what I needed.

As we moved up the ladder of school life our friendship became stronger. I concentrated more on painting than on studies. Joe encouraged me a lot which led me to participate in competitions where my works were recognized. He was there always for me. I never saw his parents. He said he lived with them beyond the river and his dad was a multimillionaire. I took him once to my home but he insisted on not meeting my parents.

"Shall we go?" my wife's voice brought me back to this world.

"Yes we can" I got up.

I held out a finger for my son to hold on and we three got into the car. My wife drove it as I drifted back into those memories.

When our friendship was at its peak, my dad got transferred. I was supposed to be put in a new school at the new place. The moment when I had to say good bye to Joe was the most painful moment for me. I was very sure I won’t get another Joe, wherever I go. Joe was in tears too. We sat at the desk where we first met. I held onto his hand.

"Joe, I don’t want to go but I have no choice"

"I understand and I will miss you too" he said.

I took my glasses off and wiped my tears.

"Don’t forget me Joe" I continued with trembling voice "Once I become big I will come back here and we will remain as friends forever"

"I will be waiting for you my friend" he said.

"I want to send you mails can I have your address?"

He scribbled something on a paper and gave it to me.

I walked back home with a heavy heart.

We moved to a new place and the first thing I did was to send a letter to him. Everyday I used to wait for his reply but nothing came. Years passed. I started my career as an artist and became successful. Joe was there always in my mind. When I planned to go back to my place to meet him I noticed that I had lost the address he gave me. My attempts in tracking him by enquiring the school management also was futile as I was informed by the school management that they lost most of their records in a fire accident.

So Joe was there only in my mind. I wished he would see my face in newspapers and will contact me but nothing of that sort happened. Slowly the number of times I thought about him reduced. After marriage we decided to move to our old place which was my wife's place as well. When the question about my son's schooling came, my wife immediately suggested the school where I had my education. Though the past memories of harassments haunted me I dismissed them as unnecessary fears. Who knows my son might find his own Joe.

I got down from the car with our son and my wife joined us after parking the car. We three entered the auditorium along with other people. The programs began and it was fun. Our son was playing a role in one of the programs so he left us. I remembered watching programs when I was young in the same auditorium with Joe besides me. I felt nostalgic. I informed wife about visiting the restroom and came out of the auditorium.

The school brought back more memories from the past. I wished Joe was there. I walked along the empty corridors. I peeked inside the classrooms, at the empty desks. I came to the classroom where I first met Joe. My heart started to beat frantically. I laughed at my anxiety and walked towards the room.

I could see the door to the room was open and heard footsteps inside the room. I heard someone falling and kids laughing. I froze as I stared inside the class room. There was a kid with the make up of an angel and few kids around him were kicking him and making fun of him. The kid on the floor had his face pressed on to the floor. I rushed inside to help the kid. When I saw that one of the kids who was mocking the kid on the floor was my son I was filled with mixed emotions of anger, pain, disappointment.

I heard more footsteps behind me and one of the tutors entered and whisked away all the kids except the one on the floor away saying it was time for their play.

I lifted him up.

"Are you ok kid?"

He nodded he was ok. I was surprised to see that he was not crying. Infact he was cheerful. I was ashamed my son was among those who harassed this kid.

"Good. Come let's go to the auditorium"

"I will come with my friend" he said.

"All your friends must be there at auditorium"

"I have only one friend and he is here with me"

"Where?" I looked around but found no one.

"He is there" he pointed to the desk where I met Joe the first time.

My mind was doing some wild calculations. I needed only one answer to prove my calculations were right.

"What's your friend’s name?"

"Joe" he said.

Delirious

When the three entered into her room they saw her staring out the window.
He recognised her immediatley and ran over to her and hugged her.
She was shocked to see him.
"Honey where were you what happened I remember only the accident" she cried
"I missed you sweetheart. Honey I am sorry for all I did. I do love you. I was an idiot not to express it"
The trouble inside her heart was gone she hugged him tighter happily.
She vanished from his grip.
All he remembered after she vanished was her happy smiling face.
The other two said "We told you it is not peculiar to see people vanish into thin air. We dont know what the hell is happening"
Though he was sad that she was not with him, he was happy that his mission was accomplished.
***
They came inside the room again.
"We found a girl few months ago and she landed up here as you did, that is out of thin air. Though it is not unusual for us to hear of people appearing out of thin air and people vanishing into this air it sometimes makes us wonder what the hell is going on"
He became excited.
"I want to see her. Take me to her"
The two of them took him to meet her
***
They came out of the room.
"Could it be that he is looking for the girl we found few months ago?" asked one of them.
"That is exactly what I am thinking"
"Let us take him to her"
***
"Where are you from?"
"California"
"Your address?"
He said.
"We verified that address but we dont have that address in our list"
"What place is this?"
"This is Olamo"
"Where is it?"
"Olamo is in America"
"Am I dreaming? What is happening to me. I just tried to kill myself but these bunch of jokers are saying I am in Olamo." his mind screamed.
"Could it be, could it be I am there in the inbetween zone?"
"Whats that wound on your head? Who caused it?"
"I caused it. I tried to kill myself"
"Why did you try to kill yourself?"
"I wanted to meet my wife"
"Where is your wife?"
"That is what I have to find"
"You are confusing us"
"I am as confused as you are."
The people who questioned him left the room.
***
"When was the last time we had someone like this guy?"
"We had someone few months back who didnt have one hand. Do you remember?"
"Yeah I remember. It was gory. I remember the girl we found recently"
"This place has become very unusual. People appear from thin air and people disappear into thin air"
"They keep talking about some story about someone beating them up or commiting suicide"
"I think they speak the truth, we can see that they bleed to death"
"I think most of them are just insane and hurt themselves because none of the details they say are verifiable"
"Well may be there exists another universe and these people are just aliens"
"Oh come on dont tell me you believe in aliens"
They walked away with their echoing laugh.
***
They found him lying in a pool of water that had formed due to the after noon rain. His face was covered with blood. They called for an ambulance.
He opened his eyes and saw that he was lying in a room which resembled a hospital. He tried to move but the pain in his head was unbearable.
The two people who admitted him at the hospital approached him.
"What happened to you? What is your name? Where are you from?"
He stared at them blankly.
***
He put the nozzle inside his mouth.
The talk he had with his friend disturbed him a lot. His friend had said the only way to find out is to go there ourselves. Another hint he got from his friend was that souls with troubled mind are the ones which get lost.
"You dont have the right to take your life. It's a sin. Don't commit it" his mind screamed.
"I can't live in this world where she is not there. I have to meet her and convey my love to her and take her to her final destination" the other side of his mind screamed.
The gun smelled of grease but he didnt find any traces of grease outside but thats not important now.
His finger landed on the trigger.
***
They found her body mangled between the crumpled steel structure which was once a car.
"Oh my God ! I dont think she will be alive"
"She is dead" the doctor confirmed.
He got the news when he was in a meeting.
Everything was over in the next three days.
After few months he was going through her things one by one. He came to her diary. He opened it and started going through it. All the pages were filled with her beautiful handwriting. The content of those made him cry. It said that she has been feeling lonely because he was concentrating more on work. She felt neglected. She was searching for the lost love. She concluded that the the love is lost for ever. She thought she will never get him back again. She lost him to his work. She was depressed.
He never thought she was feeling that way.
"God, I loved her. Yes I have failed in expressing it to her. I wish I conveyed that to her properly. Now its too late"
He conveyed his feelings to his friend. His friend who had been there for him in all difficult situations listened.
Few days later they were in a bar.
"I have some news for you."
He looked at his friend quizzically.
"Promise me you wouldnt get angry"
He kept staring at him.
"Your wife is not there"
"My wife is not where?"
"She is not there" his friend pointed a finger upwards.
"What the ?" he didnt complete the sentence
"Well, I was just trying to help you. I wanted to convey to her that you loved her very much"
"So what did you do?"
"I tried to talk to some people"
"You mean dead people"
"Yes. Dont be mad at me. I wanted to make her realize that you loved her"
"You shouldnt talk to dead people its not right to disturb them. It is a sin"
"Now listen, The importan thing now is your wife is not there"
"What do you mean not there?"
"She is not up there"
"You mean upper world"
"Yeah you can call it upper world or heaven or hell whatever but the important thing now is she is not there"
"If she is not there and we know that she is dead and not here then where is she? I dont believe in this"
"Trust me. I know what I am talking. Though souls get lost very rarely they say there has been times when people took sometime after they die to reach the final place. They dont know what those lost souls do in the time gap. There are cases like people who died years ago have not reached their final destination still"
He stared at his friends face dumbstruck.
His friend continued "This happens to people who die with something bothering their mind"
"So you are saying my wife is wandering somewhere in between this earth and heaven"
"Yes you can say so. I can communicate to people who have reached their final destination but nobody knows where the lost souls go or do. The only way to find out is to go to that lost world ourselves but we dont know how to go there. We can only pray that she reaches her final destination soon"
PS : Those who are wondering what the hell is this story about - this is based on an assumption that there exists another world inbetween final destination and earth. That world is functioning as a normal world. The souls which have inhabited that world for long time has converted that world to resemble our world as close as possible. They think that they are living in earth.

Python

ஓரு பக்கம் அடர்ந்த மரங்கள் மறுபக்கம் நேற்று பெய்த மழையில் ஆக்ரோஷமாக ஓடும் தேம்ஸ். நல்ல இருட்டு வெகு தூரத்தில் ஸ்டெயின்ஸ் நகரின் மின்விளக்குகள் கண் சிமிட்டிக்கொண்டிருந்தன.

என்னுடைய நடையில் வேகம் கூடியது . நண்பன் கூறின பாம்பு பற்றிய எண்ணம் மனதுக்குள் வந்துக்கொண்டே இருந்தது.

பாம்புகள் மேல் எனக்கு எப்பொழுதுமே ஒரு ஈடுபாடு உண்டு. அவைகளை சூழ்ந்துள்ள மர்மமே இதற்கு காரணம். இருந்தாலும் பாம்பும் மனிதனும் சேர்ந்த பிராணி என்றால் சிறிது ம்ம்ம் இல்லை பெரிய பயமே உள்ளது.

திடீரென்று பின்னால் மிதிவண்டி வரும் சத்தம் கேட்டு ஒரமாக ஒதுங்கினேன். கால் தவறி அந்த ஆக்ரோஷ்மான நதியில் விழுந்தேன்.

(நாளை தொடரும்)

Here is an old new about a Python which tried to eat an Alligator and had its guts split. If you have the stomach to see such pictures click here

If you are in Chennai and interested in taking PMP certification here is an article in todays Hindu on that.

Suddenly in Tamilnadu the Mullaiperiyar Dam issue has become the hottest topic. We dont know what happened to the cauvery issue.

There is lot of build up for the Telugu film Sainikudu atleast in sify. The power of media is awesome. They can really make or break a movie. Let us wait and see what they plan to do for Sainikudu.

Have a great weekend.

பரமானந்தம்

திடீர்னு என்னோட செல் போன் ட்ரிங்கியது பார்த்தால் நண்பன் ராமு விடமிருந்து கால்

"ஹலோ சொல்டா"

"எங்கேடா இருக்கே"

"நான் நிதேஷ் வீட்டுக்கு போய்க்கிட்டு இருக்கேன் டா"

"ஓ, போகும் போது பாத்து போடா அந்த தேம்ஸ் ரூட் லே போகாதே"

"ஏண்டா?"

"ஆறு மணிக்கு மேல பாம்பு மனுஷன் வருவானாம்"

"என்னடா உளறறே"

"உண்மை தாண்டா போய்ட்டு சீக்ரம் வந்து சேர்"

போன் கட் செய்து விட்டான்

பாம்பாவது மனுஷனாவது னு மனசுகுள்ளே நினைச்சுக்கிட்டு

"தீப்பிடிக்க தீப்பிடிக்க " என்ற பாடலை முனுமுனுத்துக்கொண்டே முன்னேறினேன்..

(நாளை தொடரும்)

Now General Knowledge Inland Taipan is the most venomous snake in the world. To make it less dangerous GOD created it quite shy. To learn more about them click here

Now to Entertainment, Rajini's grandson has been named Yathra yes we all knew Rajini would give some different name.

பாம்பு மனிதன்

ஆமாம் நீங்க நினைக்கறது சரி தான். நேத்து நான் பாம்பு மனிதனை பார்த்தேன். பல பேர் சொல்லியிருக்காங்க பாம்பு மனிதனை பாக்க முடியாதுன்னு ஆனா நேற்று எதிர் பார்க்காத நேரத்தில பாம்பு மனிதனை பார்த்தேன். நேற்று சுமார் ஒரு ஆறு மணி இருக்கும் நான் தேம்ஸ் நதி (அட ஆமாங்க தேம்ஸ் நதி தான்) ஓரமா நடந்து வந்து கிட்டு இறுந்தேன். நல்ல இருட்டு, சரியான குளிர் வேற. குல்லா ஒன்ன போட்டுகிட்டு விரு விரு னு போய்க்கிட்டு இருந்தேன்....
(நாளை தொடரும்)

Those who cant read Tamil dont worry, the above paragraph just talks about my encounter with the Snake Man in the shores of River Thames.

22nd Nov 2006 Hindu has a news about a MTC which ran without control and killed 2 people. One of them a software engineer was in an auto when the auto driver stopped the auto to enquire about an address. Another person is a coolie who had stopped to take rest.

We dont know when disaster strikes. Very pathetic. The way our government values human life is very pathetic. It takes absolutely zero effort to ensure safety in road. Hats off. Rats.

So what is government doing? Yes it now has very strict laws that if a movie has a tamil name there wont be any entertainment tax. Very good job. Ellarum kai thatungapa. It will change Madras as Chennai, Bangalore as Bengaluru, Bombay as Mumbai.

Talking about Cricket I see a lot of smilarities with between India and the west. Yes guy we are comparable to west here. West here is England. Both India and England never wins game on pure talent. They win it by fluke and they talk about that for very long time. India keeps boasting about its world cup victory, we can only pity them.

Time

All of them entered into the room and took their seats. This was the only room available for their meeting in the campus sprawling acres. After walking through corridors which resembled a maze they found the room. The first thing Siva Rajesh noted as he entered the room was there was no source for natural light into that room. Someone switched on the lights and a dim white light filled the entire room. On three sides Siva Rajesh saw that he was covered by walls without windows and on one side there was a glass door which had a dark corridor beyond.

“Hello Guys, lets start our team meeting. The first thing on the agenda is updating status. Can everyone update the status of your work?”

The leader of his team started the meeting.

Everybody started telling that X is pending and Y is completed and Siva Rajesh did his part.

“Next Joshua Peethambaram will give a presentation on the latest technology called Palmistry”

“What the hell is that?” Siva Rajesh thought.

The guy who joined the team very recently got up from his seat and went to the white board.

The leader settled in his chair comfortably. Siva Rajesh knew all this new technology is only for the people who are at the lower end of the ladder. The leader will go into his dream world for the next 30 minutes. And he knew very well that the leader will expect everyone to be Palmistry gurus after this 30 minutes session.

Joshua Peethambaram in an aim to get into the good books of the leader started talking animatedly waving his arms in the air.

Siva Rajesh decided Palmistry is not for him and he started gazing at each one. His eyes rested on Rupali. She had her arms folded and was looking keenly at Joshua Peethambaram. He saw that she has applied Pink nail polish. She had long nails which looked beautiful. “I think she has a crush on me”. He then moved to the next person and finally rested his eyes on Valarpirai. “Wow look at her hair. The way it flows into her shoulder it’s a poem”.

He debated within himself who is better Valarpirai or Rupali.

Suddenly he felt the room was caving on to him. He saw Joshua Peethambram waving hands in air and talking but no voice came. He saw the walls of the room have suddenly become closer. Rupali had her head now in an angle and he felt pain in his neck.

“Please straighten up your head Rupali. Looking at you having your neck bent like that is painful to me”

He saw Valarpirai she was slowly rocking in her chair. She is just shaking her legs to some tune which she is singing in her mind and swaying her torso.

He couldn’t find if his team leader was asleep or awake as he had his glasses on. All he could see was reflections in his team leaders glasses.

“Stop it Joshua or Peethambram whoever you are. Nobody cares about this stupid Palmistry”

He loosened his tie. He felt suffocating. “God, is the air conditioner working?”

He checked his watch. The second’s needle didn’t move. “The battery is weak?” before he could complete his thought it was moving. “Did I have a blackout?“

He could see he was climbing on to the centre table where Valarpirai had her hands rested gracefully. Seeing him she removed her hands. He danced on the table and shouted “This is discostry”.
He got up from his seat and left the room.

Joshua Peethambaram continued as if nothing happened.

The moment he came out of the room the difference in room temperature and the outside temperature made his face cringe.

“What the hell am I doing here?”. He looked around him and saw the huge campus spread around him and saw a lonely crow at the top of a Palm tree cawing in that afternoon heat.

**

“Are you ok Siva Rajesh?” asked Kulfi.

Only Kulfi came to his mind whenever he saw this person.

“No” Siva Rajesh replied.

Kulfi who was expecting “Yes” for an answer panicked for a second and opened his mouth for the next question.

“I am fine” Siva Rajesh replied and closed his eyes.

The din all around him calmed down the moment he close his eyes. He opened his eyes and saw himself inside the bus and the bus travelling. But he noticed some difference which he hadn’t noticed before. He could feel that the bus was not moving. It was static but it was rocking slowly. He looked outside the window and saw the world moving. He saw that only the place was moving and not the bus. “How is this possible? That is against all scientific principles. Leave alone scientific principles its against common sense.

Slowly he could see that he was simply sitting in a chair and around him he could see there was something which resembled a bus and outside the bus the places were moving. It resembled the way they shoot for movies.

He checked the time and it was time the bus reached his stop. He looked outside and saw the familiar street bustling with activity. The bus stopped and he got down and walked to his house.

He saw his brother sitting before the television and his sister painting something.

“Are you hungry?” his mother.

“No I am fine”

He went into the bath. He splashed water on his face. He looked at his palms they looked dry. There was no trace of water. He again took some water in his palms and splashed on his face. Now he saw his palms were wet.

He dried his face and for a moment he found the towel dry with no traces of wetness but the wetness appeared after a few moments.

He snatched the remote from his brother’s hands and switched the channel to watch sports. His brother hated Golf so he left murmuring. He watched the match for sometime. He checked the time and found it was time for dinner and he felt hungry. The hunger was not there until he checked the time.

During dinner a vision of someone floating in space kept flashing in his mind.
He was not hungry one moment and wondered what he was doing with dishes spread before him. One by one everything vanished and there was just him and emptiness.

Another moment he was hungry and devoured the food.

After dinner he sat before the television. His brother has tuned it to a Movie channel.

“I have seen this movie” he tried hard to recollect the name. “Yes. It’s Matrix with its stupid logic”

He went to bed.

**

He was not in his bed. He was just floating. There was nothing to hold him but he remained floating at the same location. But in vast emptiness one can’t be sure about location. He kept floating.

The realisation came onto him. The world around him, the persons around him all was just his imagination. There was no one else other than himself. All others are just his imagination. He felt great about the power of his imagination.

He tried to pinch himself. His hand couldn’t find the other hand. “Where is my other hand?”

“asdaer sadfas erreer asdasf”

“Could it be that I myself don’t exist. If the whole world is an imagination then I could be an imagination as well”

“ghgfj zzhjp poipo”

The vast empty void remained.

Gurubaran

A fake intellectual called Gurubaran

Gurubaran looked excited. He had a brown envelope in his left hand and half a glass of lemon tea in the right hand. He sipped the tea and grazed the letter for the 14th time. you cannot call it a letter also you cannot call it a parcel. The cover had 24 sheets of white paper and only one line of message in the first sheet. The telegraphic message read "One eyed yogi will be arriving on 06-05-06 by Kaveri express from LA. Please receive at Egmore"

Why 24 sheets for a single line message? He also fruitlessly checked for any other encrypted message inside it. He referred to 12th class chemistry guide 'Ganga' and applied citric acid and other sweet smelling agents on all the sheets. Also he had problem in understanding the date. Since the date was just 06-05-06 he was not sure whether he has to use the "dd/mm/yy" or "mm/dd/yy" or "yy/mm/dd" or "yy/dd/mm". Different combinations generated in him different facial contortions and twirl in his stomach.

Also his worries doubled when he started to analyze how can yogi arrive at Egmore when he is actually coming from Los Angeles? And that too by Kaveri Express. Gurubaran was already weak in math, physics and chemistry. He dialed his friend, Giridhar, at Stanmore to explain this situation. Giridhar asked him to use Poisson distribution to find out Yogi's availability on all of the combinations.

Gurubaran thanked Giridhar and continued thinking Why not Tambram which is nearer to my home? Why Egmore?

whether the date is 6th june or 5th June or 6th may? Whether the year is 2005 or 2006?

With mounting curiosity Gurubaran called yogi's secretary Anita.


Anita used American accent mixed with Australian slang. Gurubaran could only say "Yes", "yes", "Oh", "thanks" and finally he told a big lie to Anita that her voice was breaking and before she could respond he switched off his mobile and broke his SIM card.

"How Anita will be looking?" occupied Gurubaran's mind.

Gurubaran opened his laptop and sent a mail to Anita.

He got the following out of office reply from Anita.

"Currently I am accompanying Yogi on his trip to India. For any emergency please contact Gurubaran, our offshore point of contact."

Gurubaran knew the repercussions if he failed to receive Yogi on the stipulated day. He might be asked to address a group of 2000. "Please save me from the nightmare." shouted Gurubaran!

Just then a firm hand pressed Gurubaran's Left shoulder.

"Are you Gurubaran?"


"Yes"

"I am the one eyed yogi", smiled a man with red color cooling glass. Yogi removed his glass extended his right hand for a shake.


"Hello Sir. Don't cheat me. Yogi has one eye closed. For you both eyes looks ok"

Yogi pinched Gurubaran's calf muscle and tickled his funny bone.


I have two eyes and I can use one or both or none.

I am totally confused sir.

Yogi laughed at Gurubaran and asked him to hop in the reverse direction. Gurubaran obeyed.

"Do not think too much. What you may see may not be true. What you think may not be true. That is why you think of all the possibilities. What did you do to the remaining white sheets? Did it not convey the message to you? Keep your mind empty was my message."


"Are you ready?"

Gurubaran stammered "frr..forr...For what?"

"For tomorrow's presentation" said Yogi. You are going to take 1 hour session for retired but angry IIT Civil department professors on Aerial structures.

"Sir...."

Knot - Me, All Else Kowsik (kowsik.ramachandran@gmail.com)