Scatterbrain, I love you:

“The light of my Life” (Scatterbrain) has gone to spend some time with her folks for a week, and I’m left all alone at home. The house feels so bare. Even the TV and couch misses her being there. I guess this time; her going away has been quite hurting, even though it is only for a week and I know that she’s mine and mine alone eternally. It has been only 2 days since she left and I already feel like a baby weeping out to her to come back. They say big men are the most emotional – maybe that’s why I feel this way. :(

Ever since I met her 5 years back, my life has been a rollercoaster ride, and I’ve loved every single moment spent with her. We got married on a beautiful date (07/07/07) and it is going to be one year since. I was always terrified of getting married, but since day one, its have been extremely exciting and have no regrets. We do have our highs and lows from time to time, but the best part of the fight is when we make-up for it.

Being married to Scatterbrain is like living life in the movie “The Sound of Music”. There’s so much laughter, singing, dancing, and so much fun. She even manages to cheer me up almost every evening when I come back home from a hard days work. All my worries and tensions fade away when I’m with her. She is what every husband could ever ask for. And I feel on top of the world to be married to her. Everyday is a brand new day. The whole of last year feels like a dream to me, it feels like it all happened just yesterday.

Scatterbrain you are the best and my heart beats like Shivamani on the drums when you’re around me...:)

A Remarkable tuk –tuk man

The rising fuel prices have been eating into most of our daily expenses, and I wonder where this is all going. The salary remains the same but the cost of living goes up. Here are some cartoons I received in a fwd mail.



Have you even sat in an auto rickshaw and wondered if the driver was a genuine guy, and that he was demanding a fair price for your destination? Most of us have a pre-conceived notion that auto drivers are always trying to take advantage of people, by taking them for a ride. It is true but not all of them. They normally do that because they think you are an “Out of Towner” and could take advantage of the situation. I’m sure most of us are in some way egocentric when it comes to our own benefits.

Yesterday I had a chance to travel in an auto to work and as usual I raised my hand to the next auto in sight. This guy was really nice. He was kind and he had that sense of dependability and made sure he was respectful and requested for a fair price from my home to office. I normally have to brawl and argue with these guys, and end up paying almost Rs.70 for about 5 km distance. A fair fee would be between Rs.50 to Rs.60. This guy asked me, how much I would normally pay for this distance, and me trying to be all straightforward, told him in a very cheeky tone that I pay only Rs.50 and nothing more than that. To my surprise he offered to use his meter for the journey. Normally auto drivers never offer to use their meters since the prices were too low for them to break even. In my mind I was wondering if his meter was rigged. Anyway I took my chances and sat in the auto. When I reached office and looked at the meter and the amount was Rs.40, and the auto driver also told me that I need not pay Rs.50 as agreed before, but to pay only Rs.40 as per the meter reading. I felt a little guilty for all that went through my mind during my ride to office, and so I insisted and paid him Rs.60 and told him “I wished all auto drivers in Chennai were like you.” I would consider this as one of my best moments in an auto. It is very extraordinary to come across people like him.

We Treat God Heals

CFH (Christian Fellowship Hospital) Oddanchatram, is a hospital catering to the people who live in around the poverty stricken villages of Oddanchatram. Oddanchatram is a little town located in the district of Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India.

The story of CFH is that of a few people venturing into a very backward area as a three-man team including a doctor - living in mud wall huts and starting in a one-room dispensary. "The Christian Fellowship Hospital, founded in 1955 by Dr. A.K. Tharien. It is a 289-bed, multi-specialty, secondary level care hospital catering to the poor in and around Oddanchatram. It has primary care centers in the surrounding villages and hills like Pachalur. Every day, Christian Fellowship Hospital receives an average of 1,500-1,700 outpatients. The Hospital Staff are a living example for Christ and simple in their lives". - from the CFH Website.

As the story goes back in time, when Dr. A.K Tharien (My Grandfather in law) had a vision to serve the poor with medical help without any foreign aid. He identified Oddanchatram (ODC) since this town had minimal resources available. (now it is a flourishing business town) They lacked proper electricity and food supply. The villagers were not aware of such a thing as medicine. The Dr, took a small haunted house on rent since it was not occupied by anyone and started a small clinic. His first patient was a pregnant lady who came with complications. The only thing that could save her life was a cesarean operation. She was about to be disowned by her family who could not take her to the nearest hospital (30 kms away) and left to die. The Dr and his team of 3 staff decided to do the best they could . They sterilized their equipment, including kitchen knives and bed sheets conducted the operation on the kitchen table and helped deliver the child. Both mother and child were safe. This was the biggest miracle seen by the people of the villages near by. The hospital’s growth began there and it continues.....

Days of Glory:

I was looking for some inspiration to write about, the one thing that crossed my mind was my days in college. I am really proud to have been a student from MCC (Madras Christian College). Those days of my life were like a three year holiday!!! It is not because I didn’t attend classes, it is just that all the other activities got us so involved that we didn’t even realize that each year was coming to an end. And before we knew it we were thrown out in the real world.

The first year started with the Principal’s speech and a campus walk escorted by our seniors, who were just waiting to pounce on us. The 1st year students had many names those days (Pissakaattan, Kaattan, piece of S@#T, fresh meat, etc...), and the “hall boys” (resident students) were made to wear full-sleeved formal shirts with unbuttoned sleeves and rubber bathroom slippers. Their hair had to be cut short and faces, clean shaven. This was the dress code if you were a member of the hall. The day-scholars had a different treatment; they were ragged & humiliated on the train journey for about 45 minutes from Tambaram all the way up to Egmore. This sounds very traumatic but quite honestly, I enjoyed it!!! I can remember the times when I have been so broke; even to buy my self a ticket worth 5 bucks to get back home. Being broke was normality back in the days. There was a time when my buddies and I were so hungry we went to this shady joint near the railway station to grab a bite of whatever we could get with the pieces of change we had in our pockets. Halfway through the meal we found a well cooked spider in the food, but considering the hunger we continued to eat.

Times have changed now, and college going kids have a completely different lifestyle. I’m sure they also have their share of fun. The 2nd and 3rd year of my graduation was not as thrilling as the 1st year. That’s cause I was busy clearing all my arrears, and slowly getting ready to face the world and dreaming about a great career :)

I’m quite happy about the way things are today, I would have never imagined being where I am today four years ago. Sometimes I wish I had worked harder in my studies during my school and college days :(

Here are lyrics to a song that my buddies and I wrote, while we were lazing around at the café with a cup of kaapi and dhum!!! This song became famous after our acoustic band's first performance at the IIT college fest. The Band was called “The Lumbadi Lungies and the Chorous Mangalams”

We don’t smoke marijuana in MCC,
We don’t take our trips on LSD,
We don’t spike our hair like them pansies
I’m Proud to be a hippie from MCC.

I’m Proud to be a hippie from MCC.
The girls are not really pretty cant you see,
They always love to wear our lungies,
But there still cooler, than the Stella Kutties.

I’m Proud to be a hippie from MCC.
The guys are simply Kaattans cant you see,
But their still cooler than the Loyola sissies
Guess who loves them ? WCC

Comments are welcome...