The right person

 

   To choose the right boy or the right girl as your life partner is one of the most delicate things in our life (if not now, at least within another couple of years :P) . We have so many things in our mind, a lot of expectations, hopes, dreams and what not !! . I’ve listened to various friends, they are seriously concerned about not getting to meet the “right person” in their life even after so many years. When thinking about all the difficulties one faces to get the right person, I couldn’t help but remember the way Abraham chose his daughter in law for his son Isaac. I’m not getting into the specificities, I’m just sharing this piece of info for those who are not aware of it. That said, It’s for everyone :)

   Abraham did not want a canaanite girl among whom he was dwelling, instead he sends his man to his “own country” to find the right match ! As a foreword, Abraham was not living in his own country, he was called forth by the Lord to come out of his comfort zone and to lead a life in a far off promised land named “Canaan”. He was obedient, and so he did what was expected of him.. That is, he left his comfort zone and went forward to that unknown place which was promised by the Lord. The first striking thing was this, Abraham did not want to get him (his son Isaac) married to a canaanite gal, instead he wanted him to marry a girl from his “kindred” Things are explicitly quoted here and so I’m not elaborating much.. Abraham wanted to take a girl from his kindred, but he neither told his servant to get a girl from a well off family nor did he ask him to get a girl who was beautiful..

  Even interesting is the way that servant chooses the girl ! He goes near the well where the women of that town come to draw water. He prays to God, that he would pick the girl who not only draws water for him but for his 10 camels as well. If you read those verses a little more carefully, you will know that she “voluntarily” commits herself to draw water for his “10 camels” ! In those days, wells were deep enough, and to draw water for all those camels wasn’t an easy task. It was a test, a simple one from which one can learn about her hard work, hospitality, patience and endurance. Well, I have written them in a simple single line but the truth is, these are the basic traits that one should possess in order to build a healthy family. If she, the woman of the house lacks endurance, it would obviously result in a poorly built family. I remember enacting this skit in my school days, where the man of the house asks her to bring some coffee on a fine monday morning. After sipping it, he acrimoniously remarks “who in this world would drink such kinda coffee, even this puppy wouldn’t drink this shit !1! ” She retorts with this answer: “yea, and that’s why I gave that to you” :D Witty, but the gravity of the issue is much greater than what we think of.. the man of the house in turn shows that hatred to his school going kid and to all his office mates. This is a simple example but on a bigger picture there are loads of things to be aware of !!  Girls today have loads to do other than home making, and so providing water for 10 camels is going to be really really tough, at least they should provide water for the chief servant !! (I guess you might have got the point)

  A little more into the passage reveals one other important information, the chief servant delegated by Abraham was doubtful whether if the girl whom he chooses will come along their way. That is, what if she doesn’t accept to be Isaac’s wife or Abraham’s daughter in law ? But when Rebecca’s parents inquired her if she is willing to go with them, she replies : “I will go”.. Submissive nature, surrendering oneself to the master... She is open to things, she listens to various people, analyzes and then answers promptly. She is not portrayed as a “stiff necked” person, instead her flexibility is highlighted by her well chosen answers..

  Last but not the least, when the chief servant and Rebecca approach Isaac’s place, Rebecca covers herself with her veil as soon as the chief reveals Isaac’s identity. Respect !!! This world which we are dealing with it right now, is a lot different from that of Abraham’s, but it doesn’t mean that those things mentioned above does not apply now. Everything quoted above are so generic and are so essential for today’s families. It’s something that I feel are partially “forgotten”. Age,  salary, family background, degree held, company working for or even your beauty, let them not hold you from “respecting one another”.

  All that mentioned above should not be used to judge one another, whereas to know the truths that has been implicitly given to us through these passages. Above all that, you get according to what you have given so far. Based on the seeds that you sow, you will reap..

Reference: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+24&version=KJV

A Kid’s diary

               

                This post is about a tormented kid and his views about his early schooling. Some might really think this post to be an outrageous slur, but this is the bitter truth. Whenever I had a chance to watch some old Tamil movie belonging to those of the 80’s and the early 90’s, I really wonder how those kids witnessing the murder of his/ her parents (mostly belonging to the protagonists part of the movie) remember the antagonists so well that they avenge their parents death even after so many years ! The point I’m putting forth is definitely not about “avenging”, but the scars such horrible incidents leaves us with. Whenever I get a chance to speak to my seniors or my juniors coming from that school, 9/ 10 times we speak about that ! This post consolidates all such “shared” experiences into one.

                My school was a lot different from the other schools in my town, and that notion was one of the main reasons for me being admitted there. Everything seemed pretty normal at first, and I indeed enjoyed them. Facilities, infrastructure, comfort and even “education” (sad, but yea ) comes with a price now. And I knew that my parents literally struggled to pay it. They did their best to give us this so called “quality education”, but then they did not realize what was in store.

                I was asked to read the names of all the acrobatic feats one by one, as my friends performed them live on the stage. It was some kind of a display, and the organizer did not like the way I pronounced few words. He called me to his room for rehearsing it, but then he vanished into thin air by 4.00 pm to the other unit. The very next day, I went by his room to tell him that he had left pretty early the other day, as cool as ever. But the odds turned against me, I don’t know how they punish a 6th grade student for not being punctual, but I was punched on my face. Note : I’m not using the word punch just for the sake of rhyming, I mean it !  Is this how you treat a new student ? what kinda impression  do you think you give them about your school ?

                 A family’s position in the society depends on how good the head of the family leads and organizes it. This applies for an institution as well. Monetarily , that school started flourishing, from a single large house to a huge unit and then a new ground etc., .It was a great investment for all the school board members, as they created this “demand” –> 25 per classroom concept (and no new sections opened). That was the bait But when all these were happening outside, beneath the surface we were facing a lot of issues with the head !

                Lunch was the most thrilling hour as we’d say, we never knew when he might come and what reason he might say to get hold of us, uh mhhmm  sorry punish us.  Once he made us enact a play since we said we didn’t know that story, with a friend playing the lead role in THE EMPEROR’s NEW CLOTHES. Chair on his head as the king, few as ministers and two others as the tailor etc., slapped, punched, kicked and finally asking him to wear that invisible dress.. (Avar veetla thanni varala na kooda adivaanginathu naanga than) isn’t that the dumbest thing ? Uh Uh no wait...  I was the class monitor that time, and one of my cousins who studied with me in that same class had a dirty white shoe, he said that I ignored his mistake just because I was his cousin. And yea, I was beaten to death for the next 25 minutes. Vijendar Singh would have surely lost to him if he was allowed to put up a fight.

                      I was once made to stand out of the classroom with my chair and missed half my exam because I "supposedly" kicked the chair while i was getting up to keep my lunch bag. The chair , it seems , was a property of the school and hence , in the eyes of mr.xx , i kicked the school and that’s why i was made to stand out with the chair.” (yaaruku pirantha enna da ? Suga presavam thaanae- that logic applied),..  don’t start judging I say, hold on… !

               Once myself and my frd were drinking some water from the can after the games period...(4-4:20 hour - compulsory games)...As I was drinking water, my friend suddenly grabbed the tumbler from behind....the whole glass of water spilt on the floor...mr.xx saw that, caught us by our collar and took us to his room.. he then gave us a full drum of water, two tumblers and asked us to empty the whole drum of water eventually we had to drink d full drum... (periya arunachalam appa, panathoda vaadayae thegaataatha mathiri oru punishment vera)

                 Playing with a football beneath the table tennis board just before our real football game, resulted in a “sitting on the ball and rolling it ~ 1 full round”..  so that everyone on that campus is aware of my new punishment ! Whattae, I’m damn sure he has a book written by now : “experimenting with punishments”. Not over yet, I was slapped in front of every single member of the school, hit with a flag bearing 3 foot pole just because my marching was erroneous. And then, My class made some noise  (well which class doesn’t make noise ? :P ), and so they had to kneel beneath a neem tree for that whole hour (red sand + hot sun = his favorite) . Well, I didn’t complete my homework one other day and so I was asked to do “BUNNY JUMPING” around that campus 3 times ! If you forget to bring your swimming costume, you will be asked to "DUCK WALK” around that pool for the next 40 minutes (dreadful you know, you cant walk properly after that)

                Trolling someone is a deadly sin, well even if he punished someone who was in that scene or who went for that excursion then it’s fine. But punishing someone who has never met his friends for the last 15 days and holding him responsible for everything that happened there, is absolutely ridiculous.  (pakkathu veetla paavadai kaanama pona kooda athuku enna than your honour arrest panraanga). One of my classmates delivered a speech (compulsory one), it was a last minute preparation and so he stammered a lot. Instead of punishing him, one other guy was sent out of the class claiming that he introduced this style of preparation.. (nalla kelapuraainga ya beedhiya).. There are so many such incidents that can even make me give a precautionary note as “not for the weak hearted or pregnant ladies” :D

                 Students are mischievous, and I guess that’s how normal kids behave. They way to bring them en-route is of course not by means of such terrible punishments but by love. We are the clay in the hands of the potters. Molding is such a tedious task, look at Dr. Ambedkar’s life :) that shows how well he was molded by a “teacher”. I know a certain friend who writes down mr.xx’s phone number in all those advertising forms or registration forms even now after so many years. Look at that, I mean look at that type of scar !

அந்த ஒரு ரயில் பயணம்

எனக்கு ரொம்ப நாள் ஆசை இப்படி ஒரு தமிழ் ப்ளாக் எழுதனும்னு கடசியா இப்போ தான் அது நிறைவேருது ... கடந்த வாரம் முழுதும் என்னோட சொந்த ஊரான தூத்துக்குடி ல என்னோட குடும்பத்தார் மத்தில தான் இருந்தேன். ஒவ்வொரு முறை நான் முத்து நகர் ரயில் வண்டில பயணிக்கும் போதும் எனக்கு அந்த ஒரு பயணம் தான் ஞாபகத்துக்கு வருது.. !

வைடிங் லிஸ்ட்ல இருந்த ஒரு பயண சீட்டு வச்சிட்டு தூத்துக்குடில இருந்து சென்னைக்கு பயணிக்கும் போது ஏற்பட்ட அந்த சந்திப்பு இன்னும் என் மனசுல ஒரு ஆழமான ஒரு அழகான சந்திப்பா இருக்குது. தாமதமா ரயில்வே ஸ்டேஷன் னுக்கு வந்த எனக்கு கிடைச்சது படிக்கட்டு பக்கத்துல இரண்டு அடிக்கு ஒரு இடம். அத மூன்ற பங்கிட்டு உக்கார வேண்டிய ஒரு சூழ்நிலை. இதுவும் நமக்கு ஒரு புதுமையான அனுபவம் தானே என்று எண்ணி உகார்ந்துடேன். பக்கத்துல வந்த ஒரு வாலிப நண்பர் பேச தொடங்கினாறு .. வேற என்ன வழி ? பேசி தானே ஆகணும் ! அம்மா குடுத்த பிரியாணியா பகிர்ந்து சாப்பிடும் போது ஆரம்பிச்சது எங்க நட்பு !

அது வர எனக்கு அவர் ஒரு சாதரணமான வாழ்க்கைய வாழ்ந்துட்டு இருக்குற ஒரு சகோதரனாக தான் தென்பட்டாறு .. ஆனா பேச ஆரம்பிச்ச பின்ன தான் தெரிந்தது அவருக்குள்ள பல விஷயங்கள் மூடிகிடகிறது என்று ! அவரோட சம்மதத்தோட அவரோட கதைய உங்ககிட்ட சமர்பிக்குரேன்.. அதுக்கு முன்னாடி என்னோட எழுத்து பிழைகள தயவு செய்து மன்னித்து கொள்ளனும்..

நான் இன்று ஒரு காவல் துறை நண்பன இருக்கேன் டா, என்னோட பள்ளி பருவத்துல திவ்யானு ஒரு பொண்ண விரும்பினேன் .. (இவரும் பாதிக்க பட்ருகாரு போல ) அவங்க வீட்ல ரொம்ப ஒழுக்கத்தோட வலந்தாங்கனு அடி கடி சொல்லுவா.. (எல்லா பொண்ணுங்களும் அத தானே பாஸ் சொல்லறாங்க ) நான் காவல் துறை பயிற்சிகளுக்கு செல்லும் போதெல்லாம் அவளோட பேசுறது உண்டு, அவ அப்போ மருத்துவ துறைல இருந்தா.. நல்ல படிக்குற பொண்ணு, எப்படியோ என்ன விரும்பிட்டா டா. என்னக்கும் அவனா உயிறு. எங்க இருந்து வந்தாங்கனு தெரில்ல அவளோட அத்தை, அவங்களுக்கு ஜாதி மதத்த விட என்னோட இந்த போலீஸ் உத்தியோகம் பிடிகலயாம். ஆரம்பத்துல இருந்தே இதையே சொல்லிட்டு இருந்தாங்க, ஒரு சின்ன பயம் இருந்தது டா மனசுல, எங்க இதெல்லாம் நடந்துருமோனு... யாரு கண்ண வச்சாங்களோ தெரியல, எதிர்பார்த்த மாதிரியே அந்த அத்தை என்னோட வாழ்க்கைல பாஸ்கட் பால் விளயாடிடாங்க டா. என்னோட அப்பா அவரும் ஒரு காவல் துறை அதிகாரி தான், அவர் கிட்ட வந்து என்னோட சேர்கை சரி  இல்லாததாகவும் என்னோட இந்த பழக்கம் எதுவும் சரி இல்லாததாகவும்  சொல்லி என் பேர்ல ஒரு புகார் குடுத்துடாங்க..சொல்லவா வேனும் எங்க அப்பாவுக்கு ? அந்த பொண்ணுக்கு எதுவுமே தெரிய கூடாதுனு அவங்க அத்தை கேட்டு கொண்டதால நானே என்னோட காதலுக்கு முற்றுபுள்ளி வச்சே ஆகவேண்டிய ஒரு கஷ்டமான சூழ்நிலைய எங்க அப்பா உருவாக்கிவிட்டாறு . எனக்கு என்ன செய்யனு தெரியல டா, பொண்ணு கிட்ட போய் என்னனு சொல்லுவேன் ?? எப்படி இந்த உறவ முறிக்க சொல்லுவேன் ? இதுக்கெல்லாம் என்ன காரணம் சொல்லுவேன் ? ஒன்னுமே புரியாம சிக்கிதவிச்சேன்..

எல்லா தெய்வங்களையும் கும்பிட்டுவிட்டு போனேன், எல்லா தயிரியமும் வர வச்சிட்டு போய் சொன்னேன், எங்க வீட்ல ஒத்துக்க மாட்டாங்கனு, எங்க அப்பா தெளிவா சொல்லிடாங்க என்ன மறந்துரு அப்படின்னு .. இதுக்கு மேலையும் என்னால உன்கிட்ட உண்மைய மறைக்க முடியாது, இது தான் உண்மைனு சொல்லி முடிச்சிட்டேன் .. கத்தி கதறி கூச்சல் போட்டு உலகத்துல இருக்குற எல்லா தகாத வார்த்தைகள வைத்து என்ன திட்டிட்டு கெளம்பிட்ட.. என்னால ஆண்வர்கமே அணைக்கு அவகிட்ட இருந்து திட்டு வாங்குச்சு ! அது வர எனக்கு ஒரு வலி தெரியல, எங்க அப்பா சொன்னது ஒரு விதத்துல சரியா தான் பட்டுச்சு, அதுல ஒரு லாஜிக் இருந்துச்சு.. எப்படி போயும் போயும் என்ன போல ஒரு சாதாரண காவல் துறை அதிகாரிக்கு ஒரு மருத்துவ துறைல உள்ள ஒரு பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்து குடுப்பாங்கனு..

வருஷங்கள் போச்சு, எல்லதயுமே மறந்துட்டு ஒரு அமைதியான வாழ்கைய வாழ்ந்துட்டு இருந்தேன். மேற்படிப்புக்காக பெங்களுரு போயிருந்தேன், அப்போ என்னோட கூட வேல செய்யுற பலரை சந்திக்க நேர்ந்தது. கூட்டதுல ஒரு தெரிஞ்ச முகம். எங்க ஊர் பொண்ணு ஒருத்தியும் அந்த பயிற்சி முடிக்க வந்துருந்தது அப்போ தான் தெரியவந்தது.என்ன ஒரு ஆச்சரியம், நம்ம ஊரு பொண்ணு அதுவும் இங்க, என்ன ஒரு வியப்பு ! பயிற்சி முடிவுல அவளே வந்து என்கிட்ட பேசினா, ரொம்ப நல்ல பொண்ண தெரிஞ்ச (முதல எந்த பொண்ணு தான் டா தப்பான பொண்ண தெரியுரா ? ) நல்ல பேச துடங்கினோம், பத்து நாள் பயிற்சி முடியும் போது எங்களோட நட்பு ரொம்ப நெருக்கமா மாறிடுச்சு.. எனக்கும் பிடிச்சிருந்துச்சு..அவளுக்கு என்ன ரொம்பவே பிடிச்சிருந்துச்சு ! அவளோட வயசுக்கு அவ ரொம்ப தெளிவாகவும் ரொம்ப திறமையான பொன்னாகவும் தெரிஞ்ச.. அதனால , அதனால ?! அவளையே திருமணம் செஞ்சிக்கலாம்னு முடிவு பண்ணினேன்.. அவளுக்கு ரொம்ப சந்தோசம், தல கால் தெரியாம குதிக்க ஆரம்பிச்சிட்டா. அத பார்த்த நான் ரொம்ப  குடுத்துவச்சவன்னு நானே பாரட்டிகிட்டேன், எல்லாம் நல்லபடியா போய்கிட்டே இருக்க, அவளோட வீட்ல பேசவேண்டிய நேரம் வந்துச்சு.

அதே தொழில் செய்யுற அந்த பையன மணந்து கொள்ள விருப்பம்னு அவங்க வீட்ல அவல பேச சொன்னேன் .. பேசிட்டு வந்த மறுநாளே காணாம போன குழந்தைய போல எங்க வீட்ல மறுத்துட்டாங்க, எங்க அப்பாக்கு இதுல சுத்தமா இஷ்டம் இல்லையாம் மறந்திட சொல்லிடாங்கனு பாதர்த்தம, எதார்த்தம சொன்ன டா..எனக்கு ஒன்னுமே புரியல..என்னடா நடக்குது இங்க ? நல்ல நிலமைல இருக்குற எனக்கு கட்டிகுடுகுரதுல என்ன பிரேச்சனயாம் ? எதுக்குமே பதில் வரல .. உடஞ்சி போய்டேன்.. கண்ணெல்லாம் கலங்கி, கதறி அழுதேன்.. துடைக்க யாருமே வரல டா.கோவிலுக்கு போன ஆறுதலா இருக்கும்னு அங்க போய் அமைதியா உக்கார்ந்து இருந்தேன்.. அப்போ தான் ஒரு பழக்கப்பட்ட குரல், எப்படி டா இருக்க ??? அப்படின்னு.. திரும்பி பார்த்த திவ்யா ஒரு தக்ஷன தட்டோட ..என்ன டா கோவில் பக்கமா வந்துருக்க ? அது உனக்கு ரொம்ப புதுசாச்சேனு சொன்னா !! என்னால என் துக்கத சொல்லாம இருக்க முடியல, நடந்தத எல்லாம் சொன்னேன்.. சொல்லி முடிக்குரதுக்கு முன்னாடியே அவளோட கண்ணும் கலங்கிருச்சு. வருத்தபடாத டா, அவ எந்த நிலமைல இந்த முடிவ எடுத்தாலோ ? கடவுளுக்கு தானே தெரியும்..

4 வருஷத்துக்கு முன்னாடி நீ எனக்கு சொன்னது இததானே டா !! அப்போ எனக்கு எங்க அத்தை உங்க அப்பாவா சந்திச்சதும் என்ன சொன்னாங்கனும் தெரியாது, நீ எந்த நிலமைல இருந்தனும் தெரியாது.. அப்போ தெரிஞ்சாதேல்லாம் ஒரு விதமான ஏமாற்றம், ஒரு கோபம். ஆனா இன்னைக்கு எனக்கு தெரிஞ்சத போல உனக்கும் ஒரு நாள் உண்மை தெரியும், அதுவர வலி தாங்கித்தான் ஆகவேண்டும். அவ பாவம் டா, நான் உன்ன சபிச்ச மாதிரி அவள சபிச்சுராத.. அப்பறம் உனக்கு ஏற்பட்ட மாதிரி ஒரு இழப்பு அவளுக்கும் ஏற்படபோகுது.. அன்னைகே திவ்யா கிட்ட கண்ணீர் மல்க மண்ணிப்பு கேட்டேன் டா.. நம்ம என்ன விதைகிறோமோ அத அறுத்து தான் ஆகவேண்டும் !! அப்படின்னு கண்ணீரோட அவர் கதைய முடிசிகிட்டாறு, கேட்ட எனக்கு ரொம்ப கஷ்டமா இருந்துச்சு, பகிர்ந்துகனும்னு ஆசைப்பட்டேன் .. அதனால தான் இன்னைக்கு இப்படி ஒரு ப்ளாக் போஸ்ட் மூலமா பகிர்ந்துகிறேன்..

அன்புடன்,
வினி

Quake !!

Normal life in Chennai and other coastal areas in Tamil Nadu came to a halt on Wednesday afternoon following those mild tremors that were a fall out of the massive earthquake near Sumatra in Indonesia. Well, that’s part of the news,  but the way our normal life came to a halt was hilarious ! We also knew that the two most affected places during that earthquake were Facebook and Twitter  
As a part of our relaxing therapy , we played  table tennis for around 30 minutes.  We use this 1-2pm as our standard timing, as the TT table was the second most highly used equipment next to the coffee vending machines at office . Once we were done, we headed to the cafeteria to have our lunch.  As usual we started trolling one of our friends with some funny pictures taken at college. It was then our Director came running in, to announce the earthquake news. Since we were at one end, we didn’t hear anything at first, and so we thought that he was calling us for an emergency meeting. On the other side, we were starving to death and were desperate enough to carry on with our lunch. But within few minutes, we were the only people left out.  We had no other choice, but to leave the cafeteria and get down to the rescue zone (too much of Counter Strike ).
It was only after getting down, we witnessed a plenty of things going around !  First thing that I noticed were photographers , different types of photographers all around. One set of people tried to utilize the opportunity to take a photograph of their female / male co-workers . And then there were these people who were taking group photos amidst that crowd as if they were the part of a winning IPL team at a post match presentation. Third and the largest category of people were trying to take a long shot as in a Shankar’s movie. Even I tried to take some, but since I was short enough ,  I couldn’t get that long shot as expected. It was when I noticed the fourth set of photographers still at the 7th floor  trying to take the top view shot amidst all these chaos ! (I remembered that guy who’ll try to capture Godzilla’s atrocious moves by standing beneath it instead of running of his life )
                After witnessing those terrific photographers, we saw couples everywhere,  you might ask me “yea  so what ? you can see them everywhere, even now”, true but even amidst those tremors few reserved all the shady short trees planted in the garden for them to… * yea discuss about their future *.. that’s how they call it   My my, they didn’t leave the short bushes either ! The summers in Chennai are so hot, that could turn a fish into a dry fish within a couple of minutes and  for those couples who came out late had no other choice but to take a sun bath.
 We went in after the first tremor, and as soon as we sat down in our respective cubes we entered the holiday mood besides all this commotion. Most of them felt the second tremor as soon as we settled down.  It was when everyone started packing really fast.  A certain team’s  supervisor asked everybody to evacuate the place really quick, it was when my friend  asked for 10 more minutes just because the movie he was copying from a friend’s hard disk was pretty slow  !!  We can even accept this guy, but our guru to the right (“iddiyae vilunthaalum work pannuvaen” #thamizh) he was working till that last moment, Not to mention that he is the technical guru of our team. 
                   One other ridiculous thing that happened in a certain MNC’s buildings : nobody were allowed to go out as their buildings were strong enough for earthquakes with a Richter of 11.7 Thoppi Thoppi but some of our friends from here called them and shared all their quake stories !!
               I did not seriously understand why we were waiting beneath those huge weak buildings, because if an earthquake occurs, then I’m sure all of us would have lost our lives. Initially we were asked to move into the safe zone of the park, that was an open area which can accommodate only people from one/two towers but there were 10+ towers totally !  So I guess, because of lack of space people just stood out where ever they wished too. An earthquake would never set a reminder event to our outlook before attacking us, the max we can do is to take all the preventive measures !

Corporate Ethics : revisited !

”It’s high time guys, now that you have been dropped into the middle of the ocean, you have two options, either you get killed by the sharks out there or swim across the ocean and get to the other end. No, you cant come back to the same shore where you began, men armed with guns are there at the shore !”  This was the welcome quote given by a renown leader when I entered my corporate life. He was right, we ought to get past those sharks, and swim across which is not an easy task at all. But there are few things that I would like to share, which might help you swim a couple of miles more.
Before all that, I’m dedicating this post to a junior guy who hastily left even before I shared these things with him.
Myth 1 : Whichever company you work for, may it be a product based or a service based, remember it’s not the techie guy who outshines everybody.
If you were thinking it the other way, I guess you need to reconsider it. The guy who is technically well equipped cannot survive without a marketing skill. Whatever may have been the task assigned to him / her, say he/she might have written a new driver or a component  or he/she could have fixed a minor website issue, what one needs here is the ability to project the accomplishment that he/she has done. No, I’m not asking you to send mails at the end of each minor task late at night, that’s “over projecting” which might end up with extra load of work assigned to you. At the same time, you cannot project something that you have not done or not known so far (I’m purposefully adding “not known” here). That names you as a non-trustable resource. Yea, it’s very delicate and I’m sure you can develop this skill with a help of a mentor.  If you have watched this movie named “Hitch”, you’ll know how delicately Will Smith teaches him to hold his girl by her waist. If your hand moves up, it’s holding her like a friend or if u grab her ass that becomes a lecherous move. SO That spot is right out there.
Myth 2 : To research , learn and then fix is not always going to work.
See, there are two main things you ought to keep in your mind while you are working on something. TIME and PRIORITY !! if we are about to hit a deadline and you are out there doing a research kinda to fix a simple one, yea yea you are obviously screwing it up. The same applies here, if you are boss wants you to fix a production issue don’t be Dr. Vasikaran or a GD Naidu . Get help from somebody somehow and close it immediately. The research things and “what would I learn out of this?” kinda questions can be answered when you have got nothing to do ! Feel free to get help from anyone anytime. Don’t ever feel bad about it, else you can’t learn something new. But at the same time, It’s not necessary to broadcast a message to everyone saying that “Hey, I do not know anything”, “Nan jailuku poraen jailuku poraen, nanum rowdy, naanum rowdy” kinda .. Nope ! .. There is a special myth(4) explaining about this below..
Myth 3 : Even if there is nothing much to be done for a project, the management’s tendency is to show that there is so much within..
Don’t panic !! Don’t ever panic !!! As you are new to this project, get along with the other senior members of the team. Talk to them and get an overview of how things are working and what are pending. If you are asked for a daily stand up, just be present, merely present. Everybody knows that you are new, they are not going to expect you to lift the mountain in a day. But they act as if they expect you to lift one. Never mind, that won’t affect your performance rating . 
Myth 4 : “Paavam punniyam paartha intha thozhiluku vara mudiyaathu” #Tamizh .. You cannot be a saint, if you want to be in this field . 
You cannot be so humble and expect the management to do things for you. Plainly speaking, that will not pay your EMIs. If you are trying to be so humble, watch out ! There are so many people just like the hawk to grab all your credits. They just wait on their prey, a single mistake and your gone. I knew one of my friend who worked all night long with a presentation, with all the statistical data put together and the very next morning someone else presented it , and they took all his credits. What is the use of all that hard work that went in ? I’m definitely not asking you to steal someone’s credits, but I’m asking to you stand firm with what you have done. And yea, don’t pretend as if it was an easy task too. Stealing someone’s credits/work is just same as adulterating.

She wasn’t beautiful part -2

         ..  continued..  In every group, there will be a smart guy who speaks more than that tea's worth. Forgive him, for i have spoken the same dialogue so many times .. Yea, I did not wait for anything he continued, She had replies that had a positive touch. And so, I slipped my phone number carefully while she was about to travel to her native.

[Side Note : I’m writing something that happened just like a pattern in many of my friends life. *evil grin* for all those who took it the other way ]

     From then on, it started with :  "had ur dinner ?” ..  “cross the road carefully” .. “eat properly” and then to :"what’s your favorite color ? …  "who do u like in ur family ?"  “Do you know to cook ?” (eligible for a TV host ? yes ). Those are the times when one finds the virtual world more colorful and interesting than reality. He looked pale, he said  “It was then I found out that she was already in a complicated relationship “. God !! What ?? Yea, he continued with a serious tone, she has a guy studying abroad whom she calls as her best buddy blah blah...

     There’s a another type of guy in every team, who looks at everything with a positive attitude, he went forth, and had his say  : “hey what if he's the best buddy ? How do you think that affects your chances of getting through” .  (As if he is attempting to get through Civil services exam) Mr. Attitude continued, It's simple,  put down your thoughts and let her decide what she wants. One of my other friend in the group  opposed it, he said that it would be one of the biggest mistakes in his career, never try your luck with a girl who is in a complicated relationship. It makes the situation even more worse. Those words are still there in my heart, I can never forget him, but what’s the use ?Spilt MILK !

      Hero nodded his head, acknowledging the above said words and we kinda guessed what might have happened. He started off again, I shared my views : getting settled, with her by my side and I also had a feeling like one of those fairy tales : “happy lived ever after” .  I shared her my point of views of how I would like to take her from this point (Mt or a Cliff ??  ) etc., At first she was snuggling to get into a comfortable position but later on, *I felt* she was totally comfortable with me. I had an opportunity to meet her,  her cousin, and that cousin’s girl friend on a certain day in the city. And we even managed to spend that whole day in a couple of tourist spots. It was then, she opened up some more interesting facts, he sighed.

       She told me a weird thing, What now ??!.. She told me that her mom was not interested in getting her married to some other guy at any cost. But why and whom does she think of getting her married to ? was the question which popped immediately. Well of course, he continued, (like MS Dhoni in a post match presentation..) Her mom has other plans for her it seems, which she herself is not aware of and she said that she is emotionally attached to her than any other person in this world. Even a test tube baby loves his/her mom, why do they utter such words ? as if they are they only creatures who are attached to their moms… Phew murmured the girl hater.

        His tone became even more duller, when he said, I didn’t know machan, I didn’t know the implication of those words first. But after saying all that, she came near me held my hand and said “don’t let me off at any point of your life” .. That’s the epic moment we were waiting for, whistles all over the room. The guy who spoke about the complicated relationship, had the guts to stay calm. As soon as the celebrations were over, he said you cannot trust such kinda gals who are fickle minded. Risky !

        But he continued, She wants to fall in love, she likes me very much but at the same time, she wants to do what her mom decides for her. (Briefly in Tamizh, Kilinja kudai kiliyaaama venum) Like that of a pendulum, her thoughts were swaying from one corner to the other. What else do you think I can do ? Nothing much, I used to come back to my room everyday and rant about her missing messages. And I used to ask my roomie (–> me ), why do I feel so bad when she despises me, I have even written down letters, things that I wanted to tell her. I have even tried convincing myself that this will not happen and to carry on with my life. As a friend said, keep the green tree in your heart, the singing bird will surely come.. (wait, wait.. Even I’m searching for him ) But, “Mudiyala” he concluded.. It was time and that talk became so serious that somebody had to definitely break the ice.

        We were damn interested, we asked him “ after that ?” yea, all of them together in that chorus fashion.. Well, I waited for a few more months and then came a shocker. She said that she is getting engaged , and she will be leaving to Singapore immediately after that. Her mom came to know about all this stuff, and they immediately decided to send her off. He said that casually, just like ordering a pizza at Dominoes. (We were like WTF?!), he said, yea she decided to marry the guy whom her mom has decided for her. But even while conveying that message, She said that she likes me and she wants to be with me. Atrocious, what does she think of you ??   A tool ? A toy ??, we lost our temper. We didn’t know what might have been running in that girl’s mind but we were damn sure that this guy lost that spirit with which he started narrating that story.

        Finally, the guy who spoke with much clarity all throughout the talk concluded, I knew this da.. This  happens, and that was the reason why men of the 70s / 80s never allowed women to decide on things which they were never good at. I know that’s a bit too strong to quote here but yes, that was a college boys’ perspective, so to say a losing side’s perspective. Why does one have to spoil other’s life, if they themselves are not sure about how things are going to be ? We accepted all this, but even after so many things, he said that the girl still tried convincing him that “SHE STILL LOVED HIM” [dot]

She wasn't beautiful

Whenever I ask my friends to narrate their romantic stories, the first thing they say is "She was such a beautiful girl" (even if she looks like a witch, we are forced to accept that with a smile and collect that free tea which they get for you ;) )! Just to break away from that cliche I've planned to narrate a story with a different start. Hmm.. hmm, anyways title's partially true as well (forgive me). Wait a sec, I missed a cautionary note here: This post is a blend of some *Truth and fiction* and I've made sure, the composition / blend is perfect.

This is one of those stories that I've heard during a semester's eve. One would not get to know how special that eve is except for an engineer,when the book remains totally untouched for the last 6 months ! Even then, that's when we share a lot of thriller / romantic / action stories that had happened in the past. One such a romantic thriller is this one, I do not know how many of would nod your head after reading this but I'm sure this should have happened in many of our lives.

Met her in a wedding occasion, he said.. Hey, you said orkut the other day ? interrupted a friend with his recent finding, yea yea.. I came to know about her through Orkut but met her for the first time in a wedding occasion, he managed to answer..the way a guy manages to connect those dots while narrating, Aiyo.. ! (*Orkut is a social networking website :P ) after that, i sent a msg via Orkut saying that I might know her through one of my family members, you should have seen his facial reactions,especially when he said "my family members". Waah, I still don't remember a single good thing that he has shared about his relatives in the recent past. But now, to get a single positive tip about how she was related to her, he has performed some kinda FBI investigation.

It is that day I understood a fact that not only a jealous girl but a boy who wants to know about his gal would dare to do anything to get the info they need. Somehow, I tracked all the related details da, he continued..She seems to be my cup of tea. Trust me, even If she has committed a couple of murders and she is a part of a terrorist organisation, he would say the same thing. She seems to be a comely girl and I indirectly asked her if she was "Single". She said that she wasn't interested in a relationship right from her schooling and she said that she hasn't met her kinda boy yet. Her parents are friendly with her, and her mom seems to be a very straight forward person. She has a sister it seems ra, but her route is clear. (actually he meant to say, his route was clear) Finally a friend interrupted him, he said..wow, thats amazing..!! She comes from a good family bg, same community, "distant" relative and the most important thing is she's still SINGLE.. so what are you waiting for ?

To be continued..