Akathalam

One of the highlighting feature of a reunion with your old friends is the opportunity for boozing that is coupled with it. If you are lucky enough to be a part of a drinking company you will have enjoyed the very moments and will be cherishing it even now provided you are in a state to remember something. As per virtuosos in this field, Booze Company lasts for ever (I’m counting on that!!!). Hope you do follow. What make this drinking company so enjoyable are the talks, booze gives one confidence to talk, more that that it makes you feel free, to talk about anything and everything. I don’t know why the police are still relying on their infamous methods of questioning. They should just get the accused drunk and they will disclose everything they did. It is not even expensive, cheaper the better.

Right from the moment I and Narayan set foot in Trivandrum there has been a single word in our lips ‘Akathalam’. It is a bar located in Sreekaryam near our college. Akathalam can’t just be said as a bar, it is more than that for CETians. Any sort of celebration we had then always ended either in ZAM ZAM or Akathalam one way or another. Zam Zam is known for its sumptuous Shawai and the latter often connotes hospitality, warm comfort and ambience. Akathalam is one of the most prominent things we have missed after leaving the college. Most of us had gone to Trivandrum many a time after leaving the college for different reasons, be it for a tryst with your girlfriend or the everlasting commitment with university. But we didn’t make it to Akathalam. Without a company to hangout even Akathalam doesn’t sound enticing.


Even after having an earnest desire to hang out in Akathalam the plan didn’t work out as we expected.We didn’t get ample time for such a process since many of the members of the team [Me Junu Naru and Renji] were busy with tryst. And the team got bigger, much bigger, with addition of some of our college mates who were staying in Trivandrum. The problem of having a bigger team is that the planning part consumes great chunk of time, more often taking the action part out of the picture . Needless to say the same happened with us. Going to Veli, Kovalam, Sankumukham and many other tourist points came into consideration. What really happened in the end was, made fabulous plans stared each others faces with frustration most of the time and finally went to see a fort for the sake of doing something. After that we, the initial team were left on our own.

We excluding Renji (he left for Calicut) set forth to Akathalam. Sreekaryam, the town was almost silent apart from the sound of a loud speaker. Akathalam is at a walkable distance from Sreekaryam junction. There is a huge gate leading to local bar and our elite Akathalam. The gate was locked. We couldn’t muster any sensible reason for its untimely closure, brain wasn’t fully cooperating. Then the sound from loudspeaker, much the shrieks, became more audible though we were standing at a good distance from it. They were giving accounts of good deeds of Sree Narayana Guru. The day we chose happened to be his Jayanthi or Samadhi what ever.

This is the problem with amateur drinkers. Unlike regular drinkers novices never foresee things. A holiday like Gandhi Jayanthi or Guru Samadhi ain't a normal one for accustomed drinkers. Even if they forget any other eventful day they will keep track of these alcohol non available days.

Frustrated and desperate, we walked back to where we were staying ( our college mate Naushad's house in Chavadymukku). It wasn’t anymore about Akathalam and its warmth or ambience, it was just about getting drunk and having some kind of revenge no matter on whom.
The path leading to the house was an open air hangout for the locals there. There was a wry smile on our faces when we saw three locals getting drunk. One of them noticed it.

X : Entharadei chirickkanathu? (Why the hell are you laughing?)

Messing with Trivandrum locals is the last thing you want to do, certainly not when they are drunk.

I shrugged my shoulders to suggest a 'nothing' . And it did nothing.

Narayan addressed him as Anna and narrated the incident. May be the way he addressed him or the realization that we were younger brothers in the trade, mellowed him. He had a pleasant chat with us and offered us little rum they were having. We weren’t drinkers enough to try Rum, so we humbly denied it.

Our Annan looked at me.

Ninne kandal ariyam vellamadikkum ennu..(You certainly look like a drunkard!!)

Was that a compliment? It was pretty big one considering the fact that it came from a person who is a virtuoso in the field, but I didn’t know if I had to be thankful or not.

Anyways I wasn’t ready to accept it, not yet. So I humbly denied it.

Anna, satyamayittum look undanne ullu. (though I may be have the looks of a drinker, I'm still a novice)

I would have certainly taken it, if he asked me for the second time. I was standing there with a face wearing an expression which might have said ‘Annan Nirbandhikkukayanengil Kazhikkam’, so were the others.

Your face says it all. He invited us again and none of the objections were strong enough. We had drinks.

Like I said earlier the booze company lasts for ever, when ever we met him after that our Annan smiles and shares a few words with us.

Akathalam still beckons. But I can only say or rather hope: As soon As Possible

a pepe a lee and me

 a pepe a lee and me!!

Man proposes but God disposes. This was how I felt at the end of the day. But I cant put the entire blame on Him. I placed myself in such a situation where He could have done nothing but dispose my plans.

My room mates went home for the weekend. I had plans to go home, but it didn’t work out. My parents didn’t like me reaching there so early (2 am). They were expressing concerns and were giving lectures on the consequences of reaching there at an unearthly hour during the chaotic election period(in kannur!!!). So I dropped my plan and I was stuck in my room alone. The weekend was ahead of me without really knowing what to do with it .

Half of the first day went without any fuss sleeping watching TV and turning few pages of a novel, then I started getting bored. Cleaning the room was a good option for the time killing, an uphill task which can keep you busy till the night unless you are lost in the mess. As usual I deferred it.

I have been planning to buy a jean to give due rest to the single accomplice I have, a black basics trousers. It will certainly try for an escape if I ever let myself out of it. A textile shop, Chaithram, was offering (popular) branded apparels at an affordable price, as the time was in plenty I decided to go over there. I just had a vague idea about the location, wasn’t confident about making it to the textile shop. So I didn’t take much money with me and expected an ATM somewhere in the near vicinity. But the place turned out to be a bundu. But luckily SB card was debit able there. Showering towering praises on the services that SB offer to its customers I went searching for jeans. I picked a ‘pepe’ and a ‘lee’ and went to the counter to settle the bill. The shopkeeper swiped my card and asked me to enter the password

Password !! (oh what was it)

Numerous combinations of 4 digits started to circle around my head. I chose a pin which I thought to be familiar. I tried once, the permission was denied. A digit button in the device was faulty. I tried for the second time with the assumption that the problem was with the device. But the result was same. This time I tried a new combination and the result was different, the account got blocked.

Now the shop keeper started looking me in a suspicious way as if I have done something fishy. My roommate Rishin says that wasn’t related to the card failure, according to him generally I look suspicious. The card attempts might have only added some spice to it.

When the day started I was moderately rich with two different back accounts one financed by my father and the other one by the company I’m working in.The other account didnt hold adequate amount to pay the bill, so I left the place with a promise that I will return with the money. Literally at the end of the day I was almost out of dime waiting for my roommates to turn up.

A pepe a lee and an unsettled bill still waiting for me and I’m back to square one with my old accomplice.

Nileena

Yesterday all of a sudden she came back to me, I mean her name crossed my mind quite unexpectedly. Like the way it came to my mind her entry in my life was sudden and so was the departure, leaving a tiny memory behind, a cherished one though. It brings a smile on my face each time I think about it.

Nileena was much like any other girl we used to ogle during our vayinottam sessions back in our college days. Only difference is that she is the one, as a matter of fact the only one, who said I like you. She just said I like you, but I loved it and her as well.

This was how it really happened.

We didn't let go any chance to talk (The Scientific name is Panchara Adi) to a girl and Nileena was one such victim. We (Hashim Narayan Ranji and me )the usual class bunkers were assembled in the department front taking account of all the trespassers going to and fro (all the girls who are passing by). The day was proving to be futile, we were about to move to the Pancharakadu (name itself says everything about the location). Then suddenly she came in.

Note: She is from Architecture Dept. Their Department  is known for its beauties and she isn't an exception either.

Hash and Narayan started asking questions (Me and Renji were onlookers). Being a fresher she had no other way than to stay there and reply or find some weird reasons to escape our badger. But I think she is intelligent because we were actually not so harmful guys among normal choriyan seniors. Our questioning and bit of sugary interrogations were far better than those of the other guys around. So from her angle it was better to stay with us and answer to our pretty queries in a slippery way than escape us and get caught by some other dangerous herd waiting for her.

Normal doubts like where was she from, who all were there in her family and all finished and then we needed something to add spice to the situation. We asked her about having any boyfriend. She gave a plain No (She had one, we came to know about it only later). Else she would have faced some questions which would have put her in a dire strait and an unattended blushing. Intelligent girl !

"Why don't you have one ?" .

Silence and a smile .

"It's a college, so there is nothing wrong in that. What do you say ?".

No answer.

Just her eyes said

"what should I say?”

Intelligent girl

We tried every sort of questions but she was cunningly slipping through each and every one with her cute smile or not giving answers directly.
We started getting bored. That’s the part where the girl wins. We needed some clear cut answers to get back to the track and carry the show on.

"OK. Among us whom do you like the most?".

I think Hash asked that and she was trapped. She couldn’t escape that question. A direct answer was inevitable. She had no one to help her out. One wrong answer could make her life miserable with some guy walking behind her all the time. She had to think. She kept her wises sharp.

Note: I will try to be cordial with the truth in all possible way. But the only problem is that I'm not so sure about what went across her mind, Narayan got his own ideas which certainly won’t put me in a better view, so I will put my perspective in it.


Her studying gaze passed through each one of us..

These people (narayan and hash) look like real trouble, They have been irritating me like hell. I cant stand it any more. That leaves me with other two.

Oh this chettan (that certainly has to be me ) looks good and he is cool.

And she thought of all these conditions in those quick moments. There was no risk in that.

So she said "I like this chettan the most"..

Intelligent girl


P.S : Courtesy to Nikks(naru)

Seasons

This is a different kind of season. It comes twice in a year. Most prominent of the differences with the normal kind of season is that, it is custom made for each individual. It varies accordingly, with their performances of earlier seasons. What I'm referring to is an Exam Season.

The present season is getting closer. Each time I vow to make it the last one. But then a 'season next' always happens.

Scene - a sample day in a season

A room you might consider calling ‘a dumping zone’, unless you spot three untidy souls in its depths. It was lighted even in that late hours. Three of them were trying hard not to get away from the task they were supposed to carry out before the night fall, to finish three modules from the scratch. They have just returned after watching the Emperor fall before his nemesis Rafael Nadal in the final of French Open making millions of followers disheartened which includes two of them. Other one being a Nadal fan was having every possible happiness in the world. The time was running out. But analyzing the match was of the highest priority for them.

Skinny faced boy started it. Others joined him soon after.

He will certainly take it next time.

Try something else for the time being, man. You have been saying this for last two years.

I’m sure, he was so close this time, just some dip in his confidence, otherwise he would have taken it.

No Chance!

This 'will' and 'won't' continued for a while and a silence came in the end like the one which comes after a war. It was broken by a question from one of them who was by then clumsily lying down in the bed with a book in his hand pretending to be studying
He had just this one doubt.

write ya skip

No one cared to answer the question. The look on his face suggested that he had come up with an answer after some introspection. Cursing the university and exams he finds himself a good place in the bed.

Again a silence prevailed there for a while, only some rattling sounds of a person who was in quest for his sleep.

What about the girl, mate?

Who?

Talks goes on like this, without any topic in particular. What needed is a reason and nothing could ever be more enticing than an Exam Season.

how to look at a girl

It was a nice Sunday evening and I was spending some quality time with her. We were having snacks from her favorite hotel. We looked for a private space but couldn’t find any, so were made to sit in a corner in the highly crammed hotel.

As we were eating she complained that someone was staring at her. There wasn’t any point in creating an issue there, I asked her to let it go. She didn’t like the way I responded and was having a cold look on her face. I wasn’t sure if she was suggesting that I should question the person who did the blatant act. The point to be brave is always good (especially when you are with a girl). But the anonymity of the person behind my back scared me. If he turned out to be a heavily built one, it would have an opposite effect. I might not be left in a state that would let me do braver deeds later in life. More over we are from the country where Mahatma Gandhi lived!! So I tried to console her. But she was in no mood to let it go that easily and was going to question him. Some how I distracted her from it and we continued our talks.

After a while our anonymous man left. She said he was still staring at her, I was so busy with my Samosa that I missed him. She wasn’t going to leave the topic.

"All men are same, you people always stare at unwanted places“ She said.

What? (I didn’t like her generalizing it) How can you put the blame on rest of us for this?

How do you look at a girl then?

This was much like a question one faces during an engineering ragging section. But you can’t give a similar reply to a girl. There isn’t any point in denying the fact though. I tried to make it as mild as possible.

I look at a girl, you know, much like watching a sunset or a beautiful picture.

Is that so?

I looked at her face. she wasn’t satisfied with my answer.

Ok. I don’t know about the rest. I start with the face.

And?

Don't say that you people never want us to look at you. Why do you waste so much money and time dressing up then?

That is not an excuse for any kind of staring you people give us.

I looked around. We were at a safe distance from eavesdropping ears. But the place however wasn’t safe enough to have a discussion of that kind.

Ok what ever. It is getting late, we will talk about this later.

I paid the bill and we came out of the hotel. We walked in silence for a while. It changed the mood and we didn’t talk about the topic further. After having some pep talks we left for our respective perches.

Some other issues took this topic away from our phone calls during the following days. Even that didn’t help me escape having an introspection. This wasn't a test about the class where you belong, among good boys or bad ones. It was more about the curiosity to know how do I actually look at a girl?

Till that day what ever be the way that I looked at a girl there wasn't any thing that is deliberate in it. There wasn’t any method or plan, it was in a natural way. Mind was directed on its own accord. After that when ever a girl appeared before me there was a smile on my face. I was trying to know how my eyes traveled when I see a girl.

What I said to her is partially correct, watching a girl is much like watching a picture. Generally we are in quest for finding beauty in anything we see, so end up watching or it is better to say the our eyes go for, what that is more beautiful than the rest.

Having someone close will change the way we look at the opposite sex. It brings in some nobility and we tend to be more chivalrous. We wont be gazing in a lecherous way atleast when (not if)they are with us.

After being made to go through such thoughts I couldn’t help but wonder how girls might be returning such favor to us. They might just be seeing some heads dangling in mid air or at least this is what they are trying to make us believe.

Watching or scanning (what ever the name is) a girl is almost the same with the men, it is a basic instinct. Girls do have such instincts as well. But most often they try to hide it with the fear of getting taint in their image. But I’m sure they won’t mind giving furtive glances that won't sully their reputation. I can't possibly say they are capable of giving same level of staring like what a boy does when he see a girl.

And in any case if they start giving some serious staring (not an angry one!!), how will a boy react to it ? Will that be a reaction mixed with some kind of perplexity or delighted that a girl is looking at you or may even feel bit awkward ?
I don't know..

A stranger

While you travel, at times you will get acquainted with people whom you won’t forget for a long time. I too made such acquaintances while I traveled. I think one of them is worth mentioning, a B'lore walla I met here in Kerala.

The IPL second edition was in its final stages. I personally didn’t follow any team for rarely did I get a chance to watch a match. I was being updated with match details by my friends.
That day I was having a journey to Trivandrum from Ernakulam. I don’t remember which train it was, but do remember that I got into a sleeper compartment with a general ticket as the train was about to leave. I was waiting near the foot board to get down in the next station to get back to general compartment

A person was sitting at the foot board enjoying the sceneries outside having a chat over his phone in his mother tongue (not Malayalam), suddenly made a triumphant action. I heard him mentioning Dravid at some point. Only then did I understand that it was regarding IPL. I knew that royal Challengers had a match that night, asked him if they won he said yes and a conversation started. It went on and talk was finally regarding our career and job. I said I’m an engineer!! working in a private company in Ernakulam. There was a startled look on my face when he said he is a Doctor preparing for his MD.

He saw that and asked “Don’t I look like a doctor?”

“No. As a matter of fact I didn’t expect you to be one.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t imagine a doctor to be a one with a cleanly shaved head traveling on the foot board of a train.

Hmmm.. We are also humans right?

I guess it is time to change my views.

I like to take risks in my life and I enjoy traveling like this.

Won’t you feel sleepy?

No I don’t sleep while traveling

.
I gave him free lecture on the danger of sitting on the foot board. My parents give me tons of advices on such things each time I make a train journey, so it wasn’t difficult for me to give a lecture myself (now a days I let them know about my journeys only when it is over). He merely smiled.

The talk continued and the train was approaching Kottayam. He suggested that I don’t have to go back to general compartment. He got down in Kottayam and I found an unoccupied upper berth keeping in mind that I don’t have an excuse to say if a TTE appears before me. But luckily no one came and I reached Trivandrum in the morning. I don’t know what paid off in the end, the risk I have taken like he said or the little fortune what we call beginners luck.

I don’t remember his name now, you won’t blame me for that if you know me well enough. But it really was a nice experience meeting him.

Les Noces

Les Noces is a French word for wedding. Yesterday 12th of July my college-mate Hasna got married.  It is not for the first time I’m attending a marriage function. And Hasna wasn't the first one from my class in college to get married. Two others got married before her but I couldn't attend both. So it was for the first time I was attending a function like this of any of my classmates. Countless others right from my school days might have got married which I’m totally unaware of, so I need not go into that.

The marriage was held at Municipal Town hall in Manjeri. Most of my classmates were expected to be there. Junu Hash and Narayan were busy with their own issues, so they were not attending. I was in two minds about going. Me Ojas and Abdulla were exchanging calls but none of us could convince each other to go. It was a chance to meet old friends. The call for rendezvous was strong but my laziness got better of it in the end. I decided not to go until I received a call from Abdu early in the morning.

The moment I set forth I knew I wouldn’t make it to the function on time, but still decided to go on with it. I went to the railway station to see if I could find any train that would take me to the nearest possible station. But it was long gone by then and there were no further trains available in that direction for an hour or so. Only option left for me was to travel by bus. From what I hear from my Manjeri friends direct buses to Manjeri are a rarity. I learned it the hard way.
 When I reached the KSRTC bus terminal there were none and there were none for no time soon. The person sitting in the enquiry gave me a strange look when I asked him about the direct bus. I had to take a bus from Ernakulam to Trissur then to Perinthalmanna and finally to Manjeri.

I don’t really like to have longer journeys in a bus. It usually takes the hell out of me, that bus journey made my conviction even stronger. As it was raining, the bus was moving in a slow pace. When I reached Manjeri it was almost three. I took an auto and went to the auditorium. Oja and Abdu were bit earlier than me and they could meet many of our classmates. They were waiting for me to meet the bride and her groom. Without wasting any time we met Hasna conveyed our regards and wished her for a prosperous married life. We had a photo session in case someone asks for the proof that we were there (orkut album suggests that there are some snaps of Oja and Abdu taken on the occasion, so in that case it is just for me). We told her that we had to be leaving as it will be late for us to reach our respective locations(as if we were spending the whole day there). So it was over in about half an hour (20 minutes was spent on eating Biriyani). We met many of our classmates on the way and got a glimpse of some from a distance.

After the function we went to Jithin’s house. After spending some time with his parents we went to Calicut. Met Nikhil in calicut (he reached there after attending another marriage function), had a little chat over a cup of tea. He displayed his new Canon and soon Abdu was found trying his skills with that (luckily Nikhil got his canon back without any damage). And finally it was time to return back to Ernakulam. I reached here around 2am.

Everyone was asking me why I didn’t attend Hasna’s Marriage. I can’t blame them. It was strange when I looked back. The reckless twelve hour journey I had made to spend less than a couple of hours with friends. But I don’t think I repent over that decision. Only remorse is that I should have made the decision bit earlier.