Tangled in Thoughts

Being Vodafone Kerala circle's postpaid customer is an unending test of patience. And I am but a meek student who is failing the trials that are being administered to me so voluntarily and readily by Vodafone Kerala (read,  not what I signed up for ). This is the story of how I, who was an unassuming and a generally satisfied customer of Vodafone, was led to embark upon a journey of realisation with Vodafone Kerala circle.  It could only have been destiny that brought me to this ultimate spiritual centre but I just did not know it yet when I made the momentous decision to shift from Vodafone Mumbai circle to Vodafone Kerala circle. How doltish of me to view the act of changing my customer care circle simply as an issue of practicality! But it matters not now for this is how we learn things.  For no explainable reason, I decided to adult the eff up and get some issues with my bank sorted on a random day during the court vacations that I would hav...

The past two years in Bombay marked a tumultuous phase in my life. Bombay tried and tested me in every way possible. I don't exactly remember when this change occurred but after a certain point, my everyday life had become existence at best and survival at worst. I do not recall this period as a time when I was looking forward to much in life. But yet, I remember Bombay with a lot of humility for the lessons I took from this phase. I remember a lot of incidents from this phase and my raw and human reactions to those. Among all of them, there is one that I still vividly remember for being so surreal. I think this is the true power of our mind for it can hold onto certain memories and emotions no matter how much time lapses since the experience itself. It would have been a night like any other normal nights after office had I taken the usual road to the station from my office. But for no explainable reason, on that night, I decided to take the road parallel to my usual road inst...

Bombay നഗരത്തെക്കുറിച്ച്‌ ഓർക്കുമ്പോൾ മനസ്സിലോടിയെത്തുന്ന ചില ചിത്രങ്ങളുണ്ട് എനിക്ക്. കണ്ണെത്താദൂരത്തോളമായി ഉയർന്നു നിൽക്കുന്ന പല വർണ്ണങ്ങളിലും മാതൃകകളിലും പണിത വലിയ കെട്ടിടങ്ങൾ. ബാൽക്കണി ഒരു ആഡംബരമാവുന്ന അവിടുത്തെ തിങ്ങിനിറഞ്ഞു നിൽക്കുന്ന apartments. തുണി വിരിക്കാനും മറ്റുമായി മൃഗശാലകളെ ഓർമിപ്പിക്കും വിധം ഇരുമ്പു കമ്പിക്കൂടുകൾ കൊണ്ട് ജനലുകൾ മറച്ചു വെച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന കുടുസു മുറികളുള്ള ചെറു ഇടങ്ങൾ- ഒരു ശരാശരി apartment ഇങ്ങനെ ആണ്. പലപ്പോഴും അർത്ഥമില്ലാത്ത എന്റെ ദിവസേനയുള്ള യാത്രക്കിടയിൽ അത്തരം കെട്ടിടങ്ങളെ നോക്കിയിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ എനിക്ക് തോന്നിയിട്ടുണ്ട് അവയെല്ലാം തീപ്പെട്ടിക്കൂടുകൾ ആണെന്ന്. ഒറ്റമുറിയുള്ള, വരാന്തകളും പൂമുറ്റവും ഇല്ലാത്ത വീടുകൾ; അവക്കുള്ളിൽ വസിക്കുന്ന അനേകം കുടുംബങ്ങളും വളരുന്ന എത്രയോ കുട്ടികളും.  രാത്രികാലങ്ങളിൽ തിരിച്ചു വീട്ടിലേക്കുള്ള യാത്രകൾക്കിടയിൽ ഞാൻ എന്റെ മനസ്സിൽ അവയെ എപ്പോഴോ  'matchbox houses of  Bombay' എന്ന് വിശേഷിപ്പിച്ചു. പിന്നെ എപ്പോഴോ ഒരു ശപഥവും എടുത്തു- അധിക കാലം അവിടെ ഒരു  matchbox house ഇൽ കഴിയുകയില്ല. ഇന്നല്ലെങ്കിൽ നാളെ...

Beneath the blue, amidst the green Here we stand, here we breathe As children of the earth. Dear friend, follow me, won't you? As I walk towards these meadows There's much to see and much to listen to. And here, on the nature's lap, we'll sit. Because once in a while, my friend You need an escape, a momentary detour A delightful distraction for some introspection. You'll be surprised, my friend By what you'll learn. So let us sit here In silence, in this green haven. Watch around! Look at the trees standing afar The grazing cattle and the plants in perennial bloom And oh, can't you feel the wind on your face? Close your eyes and sense the arrival of the rains. Relax, we don't need a shield from the rain. Not today, my friend. For today, we'll let ourselves be here. We'll stay here, mind and body. We'll let the rain fall. We'll let the wind blow our hair. For when will another moment come? So just hold my ...

Nothing quite says 'Malayali' like the excitement for Onam and the festivities connected with it. Being a Malayali, I too get excited for Onam every year. Onam involves a myriad of unique and vibrant festivities. But Onam at home has always come with its own set of usual ceremonies. Each day of Onam would begin with the frenzy about making the most colourful Pookkalam possible. Brother and I would pluck flowers, spend an hour or so deliberating on unique Pookalam designs and invariably end up fighting over something or the other. Mother would take me for her usual Onam shopping and  hop between each and every Onam sale/exhibition/market that would open up. Father would buy fresh flowers from the market and take photos of the Pookkalams that Brother and I would manage to create despite our fight. And as a family, we would also patiently watch the new movies played on Asianet, Surya etc. while savouring our Onam sadya and payasam like any other Malayali family. ...

It's always the penultimate day of a home vacation that's the hardest to survive. On the last day of a vacation, I'm usually busy attending and making phone calls, meeting up with friends and relatives I couldn't meet during the vacation, going out or packing. On the penultimate day, however, I usually find myself reflecting upon the rosy days that flew by oh-so-fast. Today is the last but one day of a long 10 day vacation at home. While I genuinely felt I learnt a little bit more on how to survive on my own in Mumbai, these 10 days of staying home has made me feel depressed of going back. It's truly sad that one cannot always stay home and be a child.The thought of the inevitable journey away from home is disappointing. The realisation that I have to go back to my ordinary everyday existence is crushing, and more so when that realisation strikes me on New Year's Eve. Am I looking forward to 2019? I do not know. I'm not particularly thrilled about the n...

2017 is coming to an end. As every year draws to the end, I usually think about how fast the year went. But not this time. Possibly because a lot of things happened this year. I graduated from college and officially became an adult, working and all, albeit a dysfunctional one (still counts, I guess). Thank heavens for technology for without it, I would have gone insane in this madly fast city. Technology is what keeps me close to the people I love and care about, while living afar. Transport can only take you so far with  time and money constraints. Alone and canoeing away slowly, trying to not fall into chasms on the way, in what seems like a never ending flood. That's how it feels, living here on my own. It's been tough. It's been taxing. It's been humbling. Living on my own in a city so far away from home has been a lot of things. The limitless city is still out of my limits, it seems. Here's to a better year. Thanks to the ones who have been helping me ke...