Oct/0926
Pursuit of Happiness
In my previous post I complained that I barely receive alerts these days and I guess Rediff server is now settling scores with me by sending them all in bulk.:) Anyways here I'm back with another post.
This time, for a change I'm scripting a trek experience for you all to read and I hope this post will help people willing to visit this place as we never had adequate information about this beautiful spot.
After over 2 months of research and planning, on 10th Oct, 2 Ecologists and 2 Anti-Ecologists, i.e. Dhanush, Karthik and Avin, Brijesh decided go on a trek.
As per the plan we all went on shopping in the morning; All was fine until we were hunting for Sunscreen lotion.
After looking around for 15 minutes we decide to take the aid of sales lady. And on doing that, she placed a dozen of real expensive sunscreen lotions with different SPF values in front of us and that's when we all really felt the needof a girlfriend…
We chose the one with an eye-catching wrapper and she billed the sum smiling at our idiocy'
Once we were done with the shopping, we came home, packed our bags and left for the trek'
As decided we all met at the city Bus stop at 5:30 pm.
We wanted to have some adventure, so instead of taking a direct bus to Kollur, we decided to stretch the trek by splitting the route, so we mounted the bus to Kundapur.
We reached Kundapur at 9:30 pm and then boarded a bus to Byndoor which dropped us at Byndoor at around 10:30 Pm. By the time we reached there all the restaurants were closed and the only restaurant open had nothing else but Biryani in store. And who would say No to that! 
Food was astonishingly cheap (Hope we did not devour Bow-Bow or Ka-Ka Biryani)
After dinner we had the brainwave of heading towards the seashore instead of an inn, we hired a Rickshaw to the seashore which was around 3 miles from the restaurant; we asked the Rickshaw driver if it would be possible for him to pick us up in the morning too. Without a second thought he nodded and handed over his cell number.
we were just about to mount the rickshaw when Avin suddenly developed the yearning to carry some Chilled Drinks to seashore and when we left to buy some , Dhanush who is remarkably good at speaking, silently managed to get the cell number of the next Rickshaw Driver as we always believe in having a plan B.
We came back with a huge bottle of Sprite and Coke each and then we continued our journey towards the sea, after about 15 minutes of travel we reached the seashore, Our driver left with a assurance to return at 6 am in the morning.
The seashore was pretty neat and we could see pitch-black cloudless sky with innumerable stars and the sound of the waves was very pleasant to the ears. We all went to snooze on the rocky shore after scheduling next day plans and calculation of expenses.
Next day we were woken up at 5 am by an eerie noise and it dint take me long to realize it was Danush's cell phone, thanks to the creepy ringtones we have these days..
We all woke up and enjoyed the view of the sea and rising sun while waiting for the Rickshaw.
Here is a view of the sea for you all to perceive -
It was almost 6:10 am and still no sign of the Rickshaw, that's when we called him on his cell and woke him off his sleep only to realize he rejected the call and switched off his cell.
Damn! 15 Minutes to the bus and there is no other way we can cover the distance, meantime Dhanush called up the other driver and he agreed to come to our rescue. And in the next 5 minutes we were loading our bags on to his Jet-engine-propelled Rickshaw which covered the 15 minutes route in 5 minutes and best of all overtook the bus and blocked its way for us.
He is always available at your service at Byndoor and you can take his aid by reaching him at the contact number in the end of the post
We thanked him for his rescue operation and boarded the bus (This route has 1 bus an hour).
After about an hour's journey we reached Kollur (This place is widely known for the famous Mookambika Temple).
From here were supposed to board a bus to Nittur which was at 8:30 am. We still had around 45 minutes in spare, so we decided to get fresh and finish our breakfast in the nearby canteen.
Before we could finish our breakfast in a proper form, our bus arrived and we had to run to the bus-stop with mouth-full of breakfast.
This bus took us to the entrance of the forest after 45 minutes drive through a tough curvy road and finally we were at the starting point of the trek.
Now before we could begin we had 3 tracks to choose from -
1.Jeep track '" Usually senior citizens go with this option '" 1.5 K per Jeep
Karakatte to Kodachadri '" Easy route hence chosen by 85% of the trekkers '" 10.5 Kilometers Trek
Nittur to Kodachadri '"Toughest route of the three where you'll get to enjoy the beauty of nature but it's a little dangerous and tricky route and is said to be a Naxal prone. - 15-20 Kilometers depending on the shortcuts
Since all of us were feeling very energetic and adventurous we decided to take the 3rdroute
The next big challenge was 'How to use sunscreen lotion', again we all regretted for not asking our female friends before the trek.
Now Dhanush came up with a logic that sunscreen lotions are meant to create a thick screen to prevent sun's UV rays from damaging the skin.
The next thing I realized was all the 3 are smearing thick layer of SS lotion appearing
more-o-less like ghosts'
We began the trek at around 10 am and we were walking on the jeep track before we could enter the forest and that's when we found a villager there. We decided to take his guidance.
Hello Thatha, Can you help us with the direction to enter the forest?
He: Sure, just come along with me, my house is just on the way.
After another 20 minutes of walk in the silence of jungle
We: Thatha since when do you stay here?
We almost swooned listening to his answer when he said 'for about 300 years now'
After a gap he continued, we are here since 4 generations, we are farmers.
We: Thatha, do you always walk home with this heavy basket? Don't you have a
bicycle or something?
He replied by saying No I don't need it as my house is very close to the road…
We: Oh okay, and how close is that?
We went weak in the knee when he said 'Just 5 Kilometers!'
After some more walk he showed us a diversion which would take us to the forest and we thanked him and went our way. The forest did not seem as dense as expected but was tricky enough to give the wrong idea on the route.
After walking on the rocky route for about 2 hours we managed to reach a beautiful field which led us to the entrance of the forest.
The entrance of the forest was very captivating with a small stream which led us to a beautiful waterfall where we could see 20-25 angels oops' I mean girls photo-= shooting 
Now all the 4 of us wanted to appear striking, Dhanush even managed to quickly slip into a black T-shirt. 
We were now supposed to climb the waterfalls and move deep into forest and that's where the actual difficult trek would begin'
We waited for a few minutes for the girls to clear out of our way but that seemed to take longer than expected so we decided to make way and move ahead. The waterfall was very slippery but we managed to hold the branches and climb a little and that's when we realized that there were more girls on the top, blocking our path.
Since we were enjoying the scenic beauty anyway, we decided to wait there and click some photographs (Of waterfalls ofcourse 
)
Meantime all of us got some attention from those girls and the prettiest one of all who was in maroon top made some real good eye-contacts with me.
Just as we were making some more eye-contacts, every girl on the waterfall happened to scream and most of them even fell here and there and it seemed more like a Girl fall than a water fall and that's when a 10-12 feet long Bright Yellow snake came flowing with the water from the top and all my daring friends were nowhere in the scene. It was only me and Ms. Maroon left alone.
Suddenly we see a super man in white Baniyan, who comes from nowhere, holds the snake and throws it away into the forest and vanished into thin air'
Later we helped the ladies descend the waterfall with the help of some vines and resumed our journey.
The forest was dense and the uphill climb made it difficult for us to hold the cam, we had to baby-crawl to get the grip on the slippery rocks of the waterfall.
And after hiking 5 more such waterfalls, we could see a very gigantic waterfall which seemed to be a very difficult hike with huge stones and logs on the way
Once we were all beneath the waterfall we took a shower followed by a little food (No pictures this time, I don't want this blog to be held-up by the censor board )
After spending around half an hour we all decided to recommence our journey as we had to reach the summit before dusk.
Climbing the waterfall straight this time did not seem practical, so we decided to hike by the forest route and after trekking through the dense forest (you can see above) for about 45 minutes we could see a beautiful grassland.
The picturesque view was a treat to the eyes; after looking at the scenic beauty all of us had a sudden urge to photo-shoot 
After Photo-shooting we sat for a while and extracted leeches from our shoes clothing and body.
For all those who do not know, what a leech looks like, here is a view'
More the blood it sucks the bigger it grows (Just like a balloon) and once it is done and cannot carry anymore blood, it falls off and that's when you see blood oozing from the bitten area (A leech bite is more o less painless until you extract it from your skin )
After sometime we again carry on with our journey on the grasslands'
And around 4:15 Pm we reach the Jeep Track and we continue walking towards the destination'.
At around 5:30 Pm we reached the top of the hill where the PWD guest house was located and as expected it was closed for renovation, but as usual we had plan B ready for execution.
We walked towards Bhattra-mane (Priest's house) where we were allotted a little room to spend the night.
We dropped our belongings in the room and raced towards the track on the right of the house to watch the sunset at the sunset point which was located 1.8 Km uphill.
Huffing and puffing we finally managed to reach the top and the view there was breath taking'
We were finally 4215 M above sea-level after the 8 hour long trek'
And finally we managed to capture the sunset'
After climbing all the way downhill we reached Bhattra-Mane and it was around 7:15 Pm.
By now all of us are walking around like robots due to the body ache and we decide to take a shower to calm the ache and that's when we realize that there is no hot water supply or electricity here.
With no other choice we all took 'Candle light bath' in 'Ice Cold water' while singing loudly'
After dinner we all decide to sleep and within half n hour I was woken up by loud snoring and news reading competition held between the three ( In their sleep), there were also some fight scenes included in between'
With no other choice I took out a piece of cotton from the first aid kit and blocked my ear to get some sleep'
Early next day we were woken up by some howling sounds again. Thanks to the weird ringtones Dhanush carries in his phone.
It was hardly 5 Am and we were supposed to ascend another mountain to view the sunrise, this time the one in the east for a change.
Cell phones do not have network access here, but cell phones are programmed to ring at the best wrong time possible, even if you are in the least accessible corner of the world at that point of time'
And my cell phone proved this theory right by ringing right when we were in the following situation and yes undoubtedly it was a WRONG NUMBER!
After hiking for about an hour we reached the summit and waited for the sun, and as anticipated, sun was very punctual'
After some photo-shoot we dismount and reach Bhattra-Mane for breakfast, after breakfast, Priest's mother told us the story of Goddess Mookambika and also showed us the shaft of the Trishool which is buried under the soil using which Goddess Mookambika destroyed Mookasura'
It is said that this shaft is one of the oldest iron ever discovered in India and till date scientists, are unable to detect the blend of ingredients of this iron shaft.
At around 10 am, we start our trek downhill, but this time through the other route (easy route used by the trekkers) which would lead us to Karakatte.
After trekking for about 5 Kilometers we reach a small shop which supplies curd/lemonade/cucumber slices to the trekkers.
After a break of about 20 minutes here, we resume our downhill trek and cover the distance of another 2 Kilometers before we reach the Jeep track.
There is a small hotel here by name 'Kaka's Hotel'. The trekkers who decide to take up the mounting trek by this route usually have their breakfast here.
Since it was around 1:00 pm we decide to empty our food supplies here and that's when Sanorita comes and introduced herself.
Since we had extra supplies, we invited Sanorita to have lunch with us and she gladly accepted the offer, wagging her tail. 
After our lunch we decide to resume our journey as we still had 4 Kilometers to cover in another hour, but this time Sanorita decides to escort us all the way till the bus stop.
The next one hour was spent walking along the Jeep Track, grasping for lungful of air with our baggage as heavy as ourselves on the uneven road.
Sanorita was more than happy to see us grasping for breath while she'd swiftly cover a little distance and wait for us.
Just as we were about 1Km away from Bus Stop, it started drizzling and Sanorita bid farewell and dashed back towards her residence.
Leeches were active now, by the time we reached the stop, we were assaulted by at least a dozen big leeches and that's when we decided to trash the idea of blood donation for the next 3 months.
Just before we exited the forest we got to see a scorpion
After an hour of waiting, our bus finally arrived and on boarding the bus we felt as if we accomplished a huge mission in the forest.
The 30.5 Kilometers long trek and body ache due to it made us realize a fact that - Mard ko bhi Dard hota hai'
After 45 minutes of travel we reached Kollur and visited temple, obtained the blessings of Goddess Mookambika and boarded the Bus to Mangalore.
Here are some contact information for you to keep handy if you have plans to visit this place '"
Guide Vijay - +91 9449618964
Tent and camping arrangements - Manjunath (Manjanna) - +91 9449100850 / (08185)-254613
Bhattra Mane - Seetharam Jogi - +91 9480130939 / +91 9242485087 /+91 9242621925
Rickshaw Driver (Byndoor) - Rakesh - +91 9731434425
Please carry home your trash inpaper bags or use trash bins, do not dispose your garbage in the forest and make it untidy'
Tip - Use Neem Oil, Salt or Lemon Juice, to prevent leech assault and make sure you learn how to use SS lotion.
Oct/0947
The Bucket List
Hello Amigos, hope you”re all doing great as usual. These days I”m barely receiving 4-5 alerts a day compared to 45-50 alerts earlier, so next time you do not see my comments please do feel free to let me know… :-))
It”s quite long since I scribbled something and yesterday I got a mail from a friend reminding me that I haven”t been on iland for over a month now and so I”m back here, not exactly with a post but just a wish-list this time…
Some days back I was watching a movie called “Dasvidaniya” and this movie made me realize that we all take life for granted just like several other things in life. All of us have some little and big wishes in life, some which can be fulfilled while others which cannot be.
This movie provoked me to build two lists of my wishes; one which I think is realistic for me to fulfill and the other which I feel will always remain a reverie. Sharing the latter with you all, who knows KAL HO NA HO. Please do share your wish-lists with me sometime. :-))
My Wish-list
- I wish I could write some really complex poems like my fellow ilanders do, but is anyone out there, ready to read and most of all understand my poems?
- I wish I could go Bungee Jumping and scuba diving, but I”ve got Acrophobia
- I wish I could Meet-up with all my primary school classmates and of course preema (my LKG crush) and spend time with them relishing my scary childhood days, But undeniably they”ll need to get a nod from their GF/BF, husband/wife now.
- I wish I could own a forest someday where I could safeguard and preserve all the animals and nature I love. (Just like John Abraham did!)
- I wish I could direct children into a brighter opportunity, who are perplexed about their future, but I”m lost myself.
- I wish I could go back by some years and save the girl in my college who is no more due to lack of medical attention and financial affordability of her family, but it is too late now.
- I wish I could do something about all the Sexual discrimination, molestation and female feticide going on in our country but who am I at the end of the day? Just another somebody? Or perhaps a nobody…
Aug/0940
College Love - Part 3
Next day at college was kind of awkward for Akshath, he got stares from every other girl in the class, but luckily, it was college fest and so he did not have to tolerate it for long.
He decided to go to his favorite place -The library and start fishing for some good old book.
On the way to library, Akshath met Rekha; she had a swollen red face.
Akshath: Hey Rekha, you seem upset, whats the matter?
Rekha: (Blank Angry Stare)
Akshath: Now what.s that for?
She moved away without bothering to answer, and that was the last time she ever spoke to Akshath.
Next day, 19th Aug was Rakshabhandan, Akshath was very sure that he would have his name in Limca book of records as the man with most Rakhi.s on his hand and of course a big one from Niru would be highlighting.
For a moment he thought of bunking the next day lectures and staying at home, but he din want render himself as a coward and hence decided to attend the lecture.
As usual Joel and Akshath entered the class together, 30% of the guys had been absent and some had been hiding in the library completing fake assignments to escape the noose from their crushes.
Rest of the guys who had Crushes in other colleges managed to attend the classes bravely.
Akshath had expected a gang of girls waiting outside the class for him with different colored Rakhi,s but to his surprise nothing of that sort happened.’
Meantime Joel had another brilliant brainstorm -
Joel: Akshath, you wait in the class, I will renew my library book and be back, that way we’ll know if Niru likes you or not
Akshath: now what the hell do you mean by that?
Joel: when you’re alone, if she fastens a Rakhi to your hand, then better forget it; else there are some chances yet. (Winks)
Akshath: Joel, where do you get such ideas from in the first place? Fine, let this one too be done!
Joel: and I’m taking Roshan n Victor with me so that she gets some privacy.
Akshath: Privacy with a Rakhi brother, what a noble thought!
Joel smiles and goes out with Roshan Victor and his library book leaving Akshath alone.
It was almost 15 minutes but no sign of Niru or any of her friends with their Rakhi’s. Niru was sitting at the other corner of the class holding a book, as if she was attending a quiz that afternoon.
10 more minutes roll by and Joel roshan and victor return with their hands full of Rakhis. Victor and roshan are furious with Joel for introducing them to this uninvited trouble.
Akshath: hey how did this disaster happen?
Joel: See I tried to help you and I got myself messed-up.
all the girls in the campus have come with Rakhi’s filled in their bags like terrorists with armaments, they are everywhere from library to classroom corridor waiting for guys on whom they suspect.
Thank goodness Reshmi dint fasten any on my wrist so far, and I dint even go to the library by visualizing the danger I could face there.
Victor: you pulled us into this; I and roshan were not at all in the game. And as if the Rakhi’s are not good enough those girls are even demanding Rakhi gifts now.
And Joel you are going to pay for the gifts.
Joel: hey just a sec, Akshath you’ve got no Rakhi in your hand?
Akshath: not till now, and that’s why I ask you guys to stop flirting around, now see the result. Anyways it cannot be reversed now, just make sure that you don’t go out unless in a group or you’ll have to buy gifts for other section girls too. (Winks)
At the end of the day 3-4 girls tied Rakhis to the entire sector of guys in the class.
Few days rolled by and now Chaitrika, who was supposedly Niru”s best friend had also agreed to help to some extent but things dint seem to work, except a few eye-contacts every now and then and soon studies were on full swing and Akshath was finding it hard to concentrate on his studies now.
Akshath was therefore trying to avoid looking towards Niru to stop himself from getting distracted from his studies and this went on until one day she asked Joel about this strange behavior of Akshath.
Joel being a good friend told her the real situation and asked her if she had any interest to take the matter further.
There was no answer from Niru; she just left the place silently.
Months rolled by and now Niru had somehow started acting positively towards Akshath she used to try to help him indirectly in his studies too. She started giving quick glances at him in the classes and labs. She was also seen in a temple on Akshath’s B’day.
It was almost the last month of the Academic year when some people got their Best-wishes books, Niru was one the few, she wanted Akshath to write best-wishes for her, She asked Joel to give the book to Akshath on behalf of her.
When Akshath did not take the book from Joel even after 3 days, Niru herself requested Akshath to write a few lines for her.
Akshath did not have the word NO for Niru; he did write 4 pages for her and returned the book to her through Joel, and just to add some special effects, his friends poured some concentrated perfume droplets on the book just before returning it to her which made the book stink like a perfume factory.
Every person in the class who knew about their un-existing affair borrowed the book by some reason or other to read those last 4 pages written.
It was 2 days before the final examination Study holidays, when Joel asked Niru if she ever developed any feelings for Akshath.
Her one line answer was No, he is not my type!
As for now,
Reshmi, Joel’s love is completing her Therapeutic degree and Joel is still as scared as before to express his love for her.
Victor is till date unable to trap any girl, and is still trying for one of the girl who fastened a Rakhi to his hand for the greed of a gift (Rakhi Shagun) from him.
Roshan is pursuing his technical course and till date is the BHAI (Rakhi Brother) of the college he is in.
Niru is into EnC and has been already hooked on to a guy for over a year now.
Akshath is still seeing off Niru at her regular bus, from a distance of course.
Rekha, till date hates Akshath to the core of her heart and treats him like a stranger whenever she meets him somewhere accidently.
and Me, well i have known Akshath since his very first footstep and that’s the reason I’m writing this. And Niru, if you ever come across this post (I’m sure you will someday), you know this story is related to you and that’s the sole reason yours is the only name I haven’t put an alternative for and I’m not sure if you still remember all these, but Akshath does.
Here is a track from the movie Na Tum Jano Na Hum, which Akshath always wanted to dedicate to you after you left’
Tum se mujhe, pyaar kyon ho gaya
Tum na mile aur main kho gaya
Tum meri khabon se jaa na sake
Tum meri baahon main aa na sake…
Moral - Nah! i dont have a moral this time, but a gyaan -
Eating a Rotten Fruit, Mad Dog Biting, Sleeping near a Drainage, Traveling in a K.S.R.T.C Bus, Drinking Local toddy, are all anyday better than having one way love…
Aug/0922
College Love - Part 2
THE PROPOSAL
So, Joel goes to the class and calls out - Niru, can you please come outside for a minute, I just want to know if we’d require to stick some colored tapes here.
Niru: hey Ashwini why don’t you go out and check out what Joel needs, I’m busy arranging the benches here…
Joel: No No No, it is very creative thought and only creative people like you and me can understand it, so please come out for a min.
Ashwini: Hey what do you mean by that now? Are you trying to say I’m dumb?
Joel: no, noo! uhh well… actually it is… I dint mean that, er… well I shall explain it to you later, right now I need to make a move, have got some important work now.
Niru comes out smiling, looking at Joel who was stuck in tough situation and Joel without another word takes her to the nearby empty classroom where Akshath was waiting for her.
As Akshath saw Niru through the window, coming towards the class , his heartbeat increased, his palms had cold sweat.he was feeling as if he was standing on a Giant Ice-berg dressed up in a thin cotton outfit.
He was nervous and in his nervousness, he forgot all that Joel had trained him for almost an hour.
The next moment when Niru came in and stood in front of him, he almost forgot his motive. he stood there, simply looking at her beautiful eyes for over a minute when she broke the silence.
Niru: Hi Akshath, what up?
Akshath: H… Hi Niru! (Wondering hey, how the hell does she know my name when I struggled so hard to find out her name?)
Akshath: Fine weather huh?
Niru: Are you okay Akshath? It’s raining dogs and cats since 2 days!
Joel who was now supposed to stand by Akshath and help him with the dialogues, was now standing outside with his Hindi text open, perceiving everything from the corner of his eye, grinning and reading the book seriously the next moment.
Akshath: Damn it Joel! I’ve forgotten all the dialogues you trained me with.
Joel now, silently escapes from the scene, looking at the book and smiling, as if it was a real interesting book which he has never come across before.
Akshath: Joel the book your holding is upside-down you idiot, and I never knew Hindi was such an interesting subject for you, tell me if I don’t take Hindi session for you later.
Niru: ok now, What Dialogues were you speaking about?
Akshath: Ummm well er…nothing Niru, really….
Niru: Hmmm what’s it then? Why am I here?
Akshath: well it was like…er…!
Niru: Hmmm I’m listening…
Akshath: Niru, I just wanted to tell you…
Niru: What did you want to tell me?
Akshath: Actually those th…. thr…threee wo…. words…
Niru: Which Three words? (With a Naughty smile)
Akshath: Come on understand, I know you did get the clue.
Niru: I dint Akshath, come-on you can tell me, don’t be so scared of me.
Akshath: What? Scared? and me? No way!
Uh… well to be honest I am!
Ok fine! I just wanted to tell you iii…I….love….
Niru: Whattt????
Akshath: I love India… yeah that’s what I was trying to say, right! 2 days back it was Independence Day right? Phew!
Niru: What? You called me here all the way to tell me that you love India?
By now Joel is almost on the ground, unable to control his laughter…
Akshath: Yes, er… I mean no… I wanted to say I…. I… I love you!.
Niru: (Smiles) What? Come again!
Akshath: yes that’s what I wanted to say and I mean what I said this time.
Niru: (Smiles again) I’m sorry Akshath; I’m not that kind of Girl…
Now Akshath wonders, what on the earth does that mean now?
Did that mean “I’m not kind of girl who will get easily impressed?” or “I’m not the girl who wants to get into these relationships.” or perhaps “you will have to try very hard to impress me”
All right! This answer has too many alternatives. Better clear with her.
Akshath: What do you mean by “that” kind of girl?
Niru: Shut up Akshath!
Akshath: (Thinking) Hmmm. That’s a good way to answer… Just two little words…
But when uttered with right intensity tempo and pitch, creates a fantastic impact!
But the million dollar question is why did she want me to shut up? Did I say anything wrong? Anyways, it’s better not to ask for further elucidation.
Niru: (controlling her smile) so since when is this Love thing going on?
(Akshath Thinking)- Well, how does it actually matter now? Are you going to say yes if I tell you the truth anyway? Or just trying to find out the time invested by me on thinking about you and going to calculate the Rate of Interest?
Akshath: Just a few months.
Niru: How many?
Akshath thinking - Well, she surely is trying to find out the time invested and calculate Rate of Interest…
Akshath: well, since the first day of the college.
Niru: Look Akshath. You are a very sweet guy.
(Akshath Thinking) - If I”m really so sweet guy, why are you not saying yes?
Why are you trying to run away?
Niru: You are a good guy, intelligent and smart.
Don’t fall into all these kind of things. Concentrate on studies. You have big future in front of you.
Akshath: Yeah All right!
Niru: Okay? Bye then, catch you tomorrow?
Akshath: Yeah okay!
To be continued…
Aug/0938
College Love - Part 1
It was a rainy day, the first day of the college when all the first year students had gathered outside the college to get to know where their respective classes were situated.
The campus was intermediate in dimension, but a beautiful one with large shady trees and flowers around, creating a quixotic locale.
A large crowd of students was seen near the notice board positioned at the centre of the campus trying to trace their names and admission numbers in the lists.
It was a pleasant sense to be in the college on the first day and everyone was keyed up to begin their college life.
Just like any other student, even Akshath was excited about his college life, a life which he wanted to enjoy study and prove himself in.
There was still about an hour for the college to begin their regular schedules, when Akshath and his group of 3 friends namely Joel, Victor, Roshan reached the campus.
Joel went ahead towards the notice board to fetch the classroom and section information when the rest of the group stayed back fleetingly looking around at the crowd and campus.
That’s when Akshath noticed this tall girl in Yellow Salwar at a little distance, He was for a moment captivated by her beautiful black ocean deep eyes, child like innocent appearance, Milkyway complexion and stunning saccharine smile.
As the breeze played with her long dark curls, concealing her face, it seemed as if the twilight took over the day and at the next instance her face reemerged from the darkness of her curls, like the sun after the night. It altogether made her look like a seraph to his eyes. It was as if an entire new universe was in front of him.
His heart skipped beats while he was lost in her thoughts and the world seemed motionless, and the very next moment, his best friend Joel came back with the details and interrupted his train of feelings.
FLASH-BACK
Joel and Akshath had always been best buddies since school days, and understood each other pretty well, Victor and Roshan were also counted among those friends but they were known for their tomfoolery and hence were not taken seriously by people who knew them intimately.
Akshath had always been of reserved types, who spoke less and had serious looks while Joel had a carefree attitude and had always been comfortable managing females, People often misunderstood Akshath’s reserved behavior as his Attitude.
Victor and Roshan were Chance-Pe-Dance types who were at all times in hunt for a chance to converse with females, but at the end of the day, girls used to render them as brothers
PRESENT-DAY
In the next few minutes they reached their class, it was huge one with 3 paddles of benches placed side by side, occupying the entire width of the room with approximately a seating capacity for 80+ students.
The left side was completely taken into custody by girls and thus the right one was to be occupied by boys
The First 4 and the last 3 benches were reserved in the right side while the Middle ones unoccupied, Akshath and Joel tossed their bag over the first available empty bench in the right and Roshan and Victor Followed.
After about half an hour of idling, the lecturers started impending one after the other introducing themselves, their contribution and the syllabus for that academic year.
The day went on quite well until their Principal dropped in, to introduce himself and the facilities the college provided. He spoke for almost an hour hysterically without letting anyone open their beaks.
At the end of an hour, when he had boasted enough of his accomplishment, his dedication towards the college, his contributions, his rules, his success strategy, his contribution towards setting the Academic syllabus, his research papers etc, he finally held his words to know if anyone had any doubts and questions concerning his lecture but none of them had the nerve to bear him for another session.
With no other choice, he left the class and that’s when the students sighed a breath of relief.
The only topic of Mutual interest, which he spoke, was of his two daughters who were of course studying in a better college.
The next day was quite interesting too; students were given opportunity to explore the campus, restroom, canteen, library, Computer/Physics/Chemistry laboratory, gymnasium and seniors. Yes seniors too!
The seniors were very friendly folks, all they did was little Ragging, little Trashing and make their juniors complete their Assignments/Punishment-Writings on time.
This went on for about a week and now classes were on with a mild swing. One day when way back after lunch, Akshath notices Ms Yellow and her friends hanging out near the corridor.
Akshath and Joel stay back and watch them from a distance and by this time Akshath has already told Joel about his soft corner for Ms Yellow who was not observed after the first day. They decide to wait and follow them to find about their subject-stream and classroom.
After a few minutes the girls start disappearing towards their classroom and Akshath and Joel followed them from a distance only to discover that they belonged to the same subject stream and classroom as that of theirs. Akshath was thrilled, now the next step would be to find her name and this was a difficult process as everyone was new to the college and not many knew each other.
For the next few days Akshath and Joel were concentrating more on the lecturer’s attendance session than on their classes. Some lecturers were lazy enough to call the attendance, while the rest just passed the register around the class to sign which made it more intricate for them.
So, Mission “Name Search” was on for about a week when finally they discovered her name was Niru and the girl always with her, who was supposedly her best friend was Chaitrika.
He also found out that he and she had all the subjects in common, except the languages and as a result she had to move to a different classroom for language.
This was the only time Akshath hated to sit in the classroom.
Akshath with a few others was pretty good at languages and hence had made a good impression in the language class and people who often faced trouble writing down notes/essays/Assignments or workbooks would come to him for help. Thus he had managed to earn some new friends. One of them was the next bench girl Rekha.
Rekha and Akshath soon turned out to be fast friends and she often borrowed books from him and also wrote for him during his absence. Rekha also used to help Akshath with his Physics/Chemistry practical’s at which she was good at.
Joel being a good friend, after consistent efforts had somehow managed to speak to Niru twice or thrice by now.
Days rolled on and it was 17thAugust, the big day.
Niru was seen in a beautiful Rose pink Salwar with a red rose neatly Clipped onto her loosely tied long hair. Her Silver tinted Bindi Shone brightly on her forehead like full moon. She seemed more beautiful than ever and as usual a wisp of hair was covering a part of her beautiful face. As an impact of that Akshath was completely inebriated.
He could neither set his eyes off her nor think of anything other than her.
A College festival had been set up the next day and hence a group of 4 guys and 6 gals decided to stay back after the college to decorate the classroom at the end of the day, while others would be busy organizing the rest of the process.
Joel somehow got to know that Niru was going to stay back too, and instantaneously they both made up their minds to stay back too.
Akshath just wanted to stay back and help or perhaps try to speak to Niru for the very first time, but Joel had something else in mind.
Both of them were waiting silently in the corridor in front of the class for everyone to vacate the class when Joel broke the silence first by striking a conversation
Joel: Akshath, tell you what, why don’t you go ahead and propose her today?
Akshath: what? Have you rented your Brain? Where do you get these Govinda-film type ideas from?
Joel: Hey it’s just easy buddy, Relax! All you’ve to do is go to her and tell her your feelings, that’s it!
Akshath: Really? I thought I was supposed to answer physics viva, Damn it!
Joel: Come-on buddy be a sport! you can do it, you’re smart, handsome and cool, all you’ve got to do is tell her that you love her.
Akshath: Mahn! Use your brains buddy, she doesn’t even know who I am and you want me to tell her that I love her, does it all seem so easy to you? Alright, I’ve a better idea, why don’t you go and tell her that I love her?
Joel: Don’t be silly, I never knew you are such a coward. Alright! I will just be next to you guys and help you if you ever forget the dialogues I prepare you with.
Akshath: What? Am I going to recite your dialogues there? What the hell!
Joel: You love her or not?
Akshath: I do.
Joel: Then do what I say, I’m experienced in all this, trust me! (Winks)
Akshath: whatever, Hope we don’t end up in the Principals room tomorrow. Alright, now what I am supposed to do?
From the next instance Joel and Akshath had an exchange of number of ideas and Joel trained Akshath with a certain set of dialogues for almost 38 Minutes and 43 Seconds and now all was in place, Akshath was all set to propose Niru.
To be continued…
Aug/0935
Nature Photography
Most of us think photography is all about capturing our uncles and aunties in some gathering or capturing models in their micro mini garments.
And there are some freaky people like me who consider automobiles too.
I’ve always been fascinated by those wonderful landscapes and lush greenery, nature has provided us with and always wanted to relish their beauty.
And that’s how Nature photography turned into my leisure pursuit.
I’ve often experienced this is-this-guy-sane? Look by my folks when I tried to capture some clouds, trees or vegetation. And I believe there are a very few people who genuinely appreciate and like photography and one of them is my friend Anvesha who has always been interested in the pictures I managed to capture.
As per her wish I’m posting some random shots from my collection here and I’d like to dedicate this post to her and all my friends at iland
Please do leave your comments, so as to facilitate me to learn my mistakes and improve myself next time.
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Aug/0945
My Second love story…
Most of my friends do argue “First love is last love”, even I was a firm believer of this phrase until I fell in love for the second time in my life.
Initially I did not realize how this happened with me but ever since I saw her for the first time, I lost my sleep, peace and control over my mind.
It all happened, one fine Saturday at twilight 2 years back in the month of April, to be precise on 21st April 2007 when I was walking down the boulevard towards home with my group of friends, that’s when I saw this beautiful lady standing with her friends in her most striking looks.
The moment I saw her, I realized that she was the one for me; it was love at first sight for the second time in my life.
I felt she was the one made just for me; she was the beauty for whom I was waiting for all these years, I just could not take my eyes off her and found myself standing alone looking at her in arena, that’s when I realized that my friends were gone and they did not even realize I was missing.
Perhaps they were all too busy discussing on how to escape from girls this Rakhi season, as it requires a lot of advance planning you see.
Even though I did not want to leave that place, I decided to follow them and get back home as soon as possible, as we all had decided to celebrate our weekend evening at sea shore.
I spent a restless night that Saturday and I thought it was quite common and might be just a crush at the end of the day and I would forget her soon.
But that dint seem to happen.
Next day being Sunday, I went to the same place to check if she was around but she was nowhere to be seen.
She was again in her usual place on Monday.
After spending another couple of sleepless nights in her thoughts I wanted to let her know about my feelings for her.
But I did not want to take any decision in urgency or confusion; after all it was a commitment.
But, soon I realized that it was not just a crush when I started perceiving her in my dreams, in streets, in parking, in temples in short everywhere I went!
That’s when I realized that I had no other choice but to approach her and put forward my love for her.
So, I knew it’s time to use money power and impress her as I did not see any other means to earn her love .
It was 25th April; I went to the place where I saw her for the first time. She was still there in her same majestic looks standing with her bunch of friends.
I decided to go close to her, I was nervous; my heartbeat rate started increasing gradually, but for some reason I wanted to do it; there was no point in looking back now.
As I moved close to her I could hear my heartbeat loud and clear.
I gifted her a cheque and asked her if she’d be mine, she was totally surprised by my unpredicted offer and gave a shocking gaze at me for some seconds and finally smiled and accepted my offer.
I was extremely delighted on her acceptance of my proposal and that was one of the most memorable days of my life.
It’s almost 2 and half years now, I and my black beauty share a wonderful relationship and are very much attached to each other.
That’s THE END of my sweet love story…
Hey wait a second, why are you guys having that SHOCKED!! ex-pression on your faces followed by a big question mark in your mind?
Come-on guys I’m not a racist, I was writing about my BIKE!!!
Now I’m sure most of you here are waiting to thrash me black n blue, and people who have this objective please flush it out, I’m going on a vacation until you all calm down…*winks*
Jul/0920
Birthday Cake…
Friends, thanks a ton for all the wishes and blessings you all showered on my friend on
her birthday and making it very special. And since our B’day girl Sarita is
getting too many requests for birthday cake and treat, she has finally decided
to part with a small measure of the cake and share it with all of us…:-)
And Sonali, you can take a massive piece as you love chocolate cakes…
Here is a thank you note from Sarita herself for all the wishes you friends showered on her -
Hi friends,
I wish to thank all of you for the warm wishes that you have sent my way…
I am deeply touched and truly blest by the generosity and warmth that all of you have shown towards me…
I have requested Karthik to post my thank you note on his iland as many of you are not aware of mine and he has kindly agreed.
Karthik, like the ethereal magician, with a wave of the magic wand changed just another
B’day into an extra-special one for me… I wish I knew of words better than thank you to say to him as it falls far below what I want to convey…
I agree with everyone that I am lucky to have a friend like Karthik.
Thanks once again…
Have a great day, Keep smiling,
Sarita.
P.S.- Rakheeji, please do not forget about the Rasgullas…I am always ready forthem!! :))))))
Jul/0930
Special Day - A Birthday!
Wooohooo!!! Here comes another special day
Few decades back, a sweet little girl was sent to this earth by god on this day to put a smile back on people's face who lost it somewhere in the journey of life
This cute little girl is one among the few popular writers at iland, without whose comments and suggestions every post of her friends seems to be incomplete.
She is the same girl who is soo mature but still childish at the same time, sweet like a honeydew, caring as a best friend can be, best painter, wild-life photographer, lecturer, guide, around and not to forget a best friend with whom everyone looks forward to spend some time with
She is one of the first few people who added me at iland and she never skipped a chance to comment on every single post of mine
After sharing the same web-space for over a year now, I recently discovered a sweet friend in her
I know most of you here must have already got the clue, but just as a formality let me reveal her name
She is none other than Sarita Singh alias S.S
So friends, please wish my friend a very happy Birthday
And mind you, she is a HR manager and people who are expecting a promotion or an appraisal this year better wish her soon
And here is a really big cake for her, please don't forget to collect some pieces from her
And here are few lines for you Sarita '
God gave a gift to the world when you were born a person who loves, who cares,
who sees a person's need and fills it, who encourages and lifts people up,
who spends energy on others rather than herself,
someone who touches each life she enters, and makes a difference in the world,
because ripples of kindness flow outward as each person you have touched, touches others.
Your birthday deserves to be a national holiday, because you are a special treasure for all that you've done.
May the love you have shown to others return to you, multiplied.
I wish you the happiest of birthdays, and many, many more,
so that others have time to appreciate you as much as I do…
And in my style, wish you a very happy Birthday Sherni!!!
Jul/0931
Jinxed Red T-Shirt
Most of us consider jinxed objects only to be a superstition and I was one of them until this incident.
It was around 3 weeks back when I was at Bharath Mall again with my friends just to kill some time
We were casually roaming around in the mall when one of my friends had an urge to get into the sport equipment shop.
Since I was not interested in any sports equipment, I decided to have a glance at the nearby Apparel store with a female friend who was not interested in sports equipments either.
As I was browsing around, a beautiful apple red T-Shirt caught my attention and I decided to buy it, meantime even my friend liked a colorful T- shirt with all the 7 colors in rainbow and more, she called me to discuss my opinion on it saying she was shopping for her brother;
I subconsciously approved her selection without a second thought
Little did I know that I was the little brother who was going to be the proud owner of that T-Shirt.
Meantime my other friends were done with their shopping at sports store and we all got our selections billed
As soon as I got my red T-Shirt in my hand, my friend handed over the second packet to me saying you'll look good in it, you keep it
Never did I expect anyone to gift me a Joker costume, and that too after discussing my opinion on it
Last weekend I decided to wear my new red T-Shirt for the very first time, and that's when the real trouble started.
I had a appointment at the dentists place just for a casual checkup, and I turned up there half n hour early in order to get my work done quickly, but the Dentist turned up half n hour late for some reason unknown to me, so I had to rush home after meeting him at stairs as I had to reach office on time.
I rushed back home, parked my bike and ran towards bus stop only to find that I've missed my usual bus just by 30 seconds
Since I did not want to walk half a mile back home to get my bike, I decided to wait for the next bus which was 10 minutes later.
I plugged my I-pod and was enjoying my favorite tracks for some time when I got a peck on my shoulder.
I turned back only to find a old man only pointing at his wrist, and since I knew that I'm no doctor and dint look like one either I knew he wanted to know the time and not his pulse rate.
I threw a glance at my watch and was horrified to discover that the time was 3:30, on a second careful look, I found that it was the watch which in topsy-turvy position and when I tried to put it back in the right posture, I realized that it was the watch dial which was tilted by 180 degree
To avoid further confusion I took out my cell phone and verified the time and was relieved to find it was still 9:00, I resumed back to my music until I observed that there were no buses coming my way.
It was already 9:30 and so I decided to call my colleague and let him know that I'd be reaching late
I took out my cell phone and dialed his number and that's when an unknown lady told me that I had insufficient balance to call him
How the hell did that happen now, I asked myself
But I had no answer to my question and with no other choice, I reached to the nearby Coin Phone to call my colleague and inform about the situation and that's when the phone gave me a real good electric shock
I was in no mood for any more shocks and hence returned to the bus stop
Soon I got to know the secret behind my insufficient balance when a friend called me and also complained about the spooky song he could hear while calling me, That's when I realized it was Caller Tune which gobbled my balance
How did my cellular operator know that I needed a caller tune in such a situation rather than a little balance to report to my office
Thanks for setting it up without my consent, you saved a lot of my effort, I was anyway going to set it in another 15-20 years
After another 10 minutes of waiting, an over-crowded bus arrived at the stop
The bus was leaning towards its left due to the weight of people on foot board and I did not have anymore time to waste and hence i decided to mount this one
With one leg on footboard and other almost in the air, sharing the footboard with 3 other people we hardly had travelled 2 miles comfortably when it started raining, or should I say pouring
It was pouring so heavily, and as if that was not enough the wheels were splashing the mud water on us
After another 30 minutes of travel, drenched like a cat I finally managed to reach office shivering, and guess what's the good news?
Now we have 3 reporting managers instead of 2
Yippee!!! What could be better than this?
After this day I decided not to wear this red T-Shirt anymore and keep it locked safely
Moral: Wearing untested T-Shirts can sometimes be injurious to your health, please use the trail room first and buy it only if you come out safe
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