tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822119511887963942024-02-07T05:51:11.240-08:00ferrymanbharath gopalanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129022019576845876noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382211951188796394.post-76816705800530900332016-11-21T04:09:00.000-08:002016-11-21T04:09:07.555-08:008.29 Local Beckons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">It’s already 8.27 ante meridian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Parking his scooter at the disheveled
parking-lot of Mambalam station, he was heedlessly rushing like his every usual
day, but without missing any of his automated routines. Probably a psychologist
would term them as OCDs (obsessive compulsive disorders), but he cared a hoot
of what others think of him, leave alone the psychologists. Skipping any of
those die-hard habits, he believed, would make his day miserable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">He shook the handle of his scooter twice to
ensure it was securely locked and fastened his helmet to the bracket; troubled
the handle once again before hurrying towards the station with his sling bag
clung to his shoulder. As he crossed the Ganesha temple, he got out of the
slip-on shoes, stood over them for a moment with his knees slightly bent
forward and knocked his head thrice with his knuckles muttering something like
a prayer; dropped a generous two rupee coin into the usual dented bowl of the
usual leper squatting in the usual place; customarily covered his nostrils as
he speeded through the urinal stink and increased his pace as he neared the
flight of stairs. The siren of the distant train comforted him that he was in
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Start of the day was not anything like this. At
630 in the morning, Parandaman was much more a relaxed person. He would squat
on the small <i>thinnai</i> of his house and spread <i>The Hindu</i> in
front and take the news and his filter coffee in alternate gulps. But it would
gradually gain momentum and when he came out of his bath reciting the slokas,
passed down through the generation, he would already be multi-tasking with
dressing up, stuffing his bag with his paraphernalia like paper, tiffin box etc
at the same time muttering his morning prayers. The sprint would peak at the
breakfast table and he’d gush in whatever was on the plate. ‘Why this
head-butchering urgency? Heaven is not going to fall, if you miss the 8.29’,
his wife’s admonition to slow him down would only irritate him, but he would
not retort. His irritation would show up when he kick-started his scooter which
frequently refused to button-start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Two years back he used to be more stress-free.
He was not very fussy about taking this 8.29 local to Beach station where he
would switch another train to get to his office. Things changed, when a small
unassuming gadget appeared at his front office. This little inanimate creature
reminded him of the old Tamil maxim which roughly translates as ‘don’t
under-estimate the power of the <i>murthy</i> (idol) by its size’.
This biometric reader impartially and religiously recorded the time of entry
and exit of every employee. Initially he didn’t take it too seriously, but one
fine day, it started triggering innocuous mails of his entry and exit timings-
with cc to his boss. He could not ignore it anymore. Initially this had put
undue pressure on him and now has got used to that hurry as a way of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Climbing up a flight of forty steps made him
pant and he halted for a while after going up, as though looking out for the
‘Fast’ train, while trying to control his gasp. Then he alighted on platform no
1 jit (just in time) as the 8.29 arrived at the platform at 8.33.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">The relief of having got into the train faded
away when he lost the lone vacant seat to a senior citizen who overtook him. He
occupied a corner comfortable enough to stand and hold his newspaper. He pulled
out the newspaper from his bag and folded it fourfold and started going on from
where he left. He used this also as a strategy to create an elbow room from the
co-commuters who would soon occupy every inch of the floor-space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">The conversation happening near him drew his
attention and he gave keener ear to it while he kept on the pretense of
reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">‘I can’t believe it, I saw him in our coach two
days back’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">‘But who can predict this yaar? no one is born
with the expiry date. And such things do not come announcing; he was in a hurry
to his office. But he never knew that he was actually in a hurry to leave
forever.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">‘What actually happened?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">‘He was hit and thrown off by the 9.10 local as
he was crossing the track to take the Velachery train on the other platform.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">‘He was really a very nice guy’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">‘Poor fellow, he had such a caring wife. She
couldn’t control her grief. It seems she’d tell him almost every day not to be
in such a maddening hurry. Who knows? May be she had this premonition’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Parandaman couldn’t hear any more. He was full
of emotions -all sympathy for his wife and himself too. He felt how badly he
had been treating his wife. It was after all, the care she had for him that she
showed as anger. How many days has he really cared to appreciate her for the
nice dishes she so-painstakingly prepares. He couldn’t think of a single day,
he even spoke to her some nice words. He felt cruel about himself. These
thoughts were churning in him even during the day and he decided to should
change himself - from Tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 130%;">The day had worn on and gave in to the next
day. Parandaman was back at the breakfast table. He looked at his watch. Oh,
no, it’s already time for the 8.29 local.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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bharath gopalanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129022019576845876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382211951188796394.post-86231845921711774922016-11-21T03:58:00.001-08:002016-11-21T04:09:51.366-08:00White Moustache and Inertia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">"Everybody
continues to be in the state of rest or uniform motion..." his daughter,
who is in seventh class, was mugging up the Newton's laws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'Hey, it's not
everybody, it is every body' he shouted as he was having his shave in front of
the mirror. Unless he shows his Physics prowess at least once in a day he'd not
get his night's sleep- thought his wife from the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'why is it not
everybody, pappa?' asked his daughter with curiosity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'because, Newton's laws
applies to only inanimate bodies and not to human beings', he said as he came
to her study, wiping his face with the turkish towel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'hey pappa, your white
mousche has grown thicker?'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Hearing this, his wife
came there asking, 'oh, you have not removed it today also. How many times
should I tell you it doesn't look nice on your face?'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'But how can I have it
on somebody else's face?' he tried to joke and evade the issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'Enough, it's dripping
from your face!' remarked she and went back to continue with her morning
chores.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">'What is dripping
pappa?' asked his daughter innocently. It's not a Physics question to show his
brilliance. It's a idiomatic usage in their vernacular, where 'it' denotes
stupidity. But he managed his daughter's question by asking, 'have I not wiped
the foam fully from my face; do you also find it dripping?' Ashamed of his
reply, he could feel it dripping now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">He left the the stubs,
salt-only-no pepper, unshaved on the upper part of his lips for a couple of
days under the pretext of an acne that was showing up below the nose. But
somehow, he later was tempted to grow into a moustache since it reminded him of
his boyhood days. Once it becomes a full thick one, I'd colour it black- he
thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">But no one was tolerant
of this new development either at home or at office. It's after all his mousch,
why should he care about what others say, think or feel about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">But the last one week
had really been literally a struggle defending his new move. He had to answer
many people around him. His boss was more concerned. After five days he
remiinded him whether his acne is still persisting. He was not this concerned
even when he was down with typhoid and didn't turn up to office for a week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">One more day of ordeal
at the office. Work was no big deal. But dealing with the people who came out
with various advice on his mousche was really annoying which he had to put up
with a smiling face, because they all came wearing a well-intentioned garb. His
boss started looking at him as though he was mentally sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 130%;">Next morning he entered
the bathroom with a firm determination. And there he came out with a clean
shaven face. His wife saw him and beamed a broad smile, as though with a pride
of a woman who saved her husband from the brink of a disaster. His daughter
cheered him, 'pappa, today it's not dripping' and went back to her mugging up,
'ever body will continue to be in the state of...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 130%; text-align: justify;">He mused- Newton's law
applies to people as well, but with a small difference: everybody will continue in
the same state and if he or she tried to change the state, all the external
agencies will unite together bring them back to the original state.</span></div>
bharath gopalanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129022019576845876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382211951188796394.post-87587554373806698322016-11-21T03:54:00.001-08:002016-11-21T03:56:41.747-08:00An Octogenarian's Birthday Party<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">I am turning
80 today. My son, his wife and his three-year old son have travelled all the
way from Austin just to celebrate my entering eighties. They are here for the
last one week running around and doing things in a hush-hush manner, lest I
come to know of their secret plans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">I
have stopped being a partying type long ago and in the normal course, I would
have said a blunt 'no' to celebration of any kind. But when my son came on
skype two months back and strongly suggested with an emotional undertone, I
couldn't say 'no'. I also thought probably this could be the only occasion I
may get to see my American-born grandson. Yet, I told him sternly that it
should be a simple home-bound function without much fanfare and with only the
close-ones as guests. All he said was 'leave it to me, I know what you like and
what you don't'. I didn't want to be any fussy further.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">I
must have slept a little long, for I already hear the whispers coming from our
drawing room. Out of curiosity, I peep out through the slit in the closed door
to see who all have come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">My
son knows that I have the wont for getting up late and going for a bath
straight from my bed. He had instructed me the previous night that I should
wear the new silk dhothi and the saffron slack kurta, which he specially got
tailor-made for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">I am
seeing many friendly faces milling around in the hall- young and old- some of
them who have worked with me as my colleagues -many of my nephews and nieces
whom I have seen during most part of their growing up- neighbours of past and
present from different time zones of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">Ah,
when did my ears become so sharp! I am able to even hear some of them talking
to those next to them. May be, they are rehearsing what they would say when I
get there. One of my ex-colleagues was nostalgically recalling a training
session of mine when I'd ask them to fantasize their eightieth birthday and
imagine what their guests would speak of them. The exercise was intended to
trigger the thought on life's purpose and vision. I was eavesdropping into what
he was saying, 'remember the eighties exercise, he has truly lived up to what he
used to say- to live a life of simplicity.' Another one was extolling about my
erudition and modesty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">My
son has really surprised me. I never thought he'd invite all those close to my
heart. But how, at all, did he know? As I was relishing the good words coming
in the air, oh, whom am I seeing there in the corner, a fragile figure seated
in a wheel chair, oh, who is that - face looks very familiar, but somehow I am
not able to place him. Is it that I am getting old and memory is growing
weaker? No, not that, I must not have seen him since ages. Suddenly, a chubby
boyish face in school uniform flashed across my mind. Oh, how can I forget my
best buddy in my school? Oh, how we used to chat and giggle over every little
thing for endless hours those days!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">My
zest and eagerness to meet my good old friend got the better of me that I
totally forgot my son's instructions and started walking in to the hall. How
can the celebrity of the day be in the night dress amidst all the important
people of my life? But that thought could not stop me and I found me moving
towards the gathering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">Why
no one is noticing me walking through them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: 1.0gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: 1.0gd; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif";">Oh
god! What am I seeing? I am lying there amidst them, still sleeping peacefully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
bharath gopalanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129022019576845876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382211951188796394.post-56500447457207490692016-11-20T04:19:00.000-08:002016-11-20T04:21:31.102-08:00Grow like a Tree In the Jungle of Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oak
and pine are the tallest of them all <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That
rise over the rest with brisk and risk,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
oh, how mighty is their fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At
the blow of a wind too strong and fast!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">See
the grass that surrounds the pine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smiling
and dancing unmindful of any gale or rain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For
it believes not in growing tall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
in enjoying the every ‘now’ that befall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
is this banyan spreading far and wide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Helping
every branch to grow its stem and root <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
from them draws its strength and spread<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To
provide its underlings the much-needed shade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
is in the newness that the plantain believes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
blooms with a newer shoot day after day;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With
its fruit and bud, and stem and leaves<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
serves the humankind in myriad ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
that Chinese bamboo takes its own sweet time <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not
a month or two, but about years four to five<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On
its 10K hour journey to mastery, as Gladwel asserts,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes,
that is the time bamboo takes to deepen its roots<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 165.65pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grow you may in whatever way <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While
you carry on in the world of work:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taller,
or wider, or newer, or deeper,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
make sure to align it to your inner core. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You
know what really matters at the end of the day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Is
not the money you earned or the fame you reaped;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
how happy were you, is what truly counts,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
putting that smile on the face of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <b>- Bharath Gopalan<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
</div>
bharath gopalanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129022019576845876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382211951188796394.post-12610788155126076032016-11-19T09:52:00.001-08:002016-11-20T04:08:59.302-08:00Die-hard Hoarder of Notes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Demonetisation
came as a big jolt to me, at a time I could have least expected it. I was travelling
and my worry was more about what would happen to all my notes I have been
hoarding for long.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZNFzL2rJMo1pY4FY99WuVfXCiwh_bfYxRkz9toHt1a2eqz8SZKFYrLFAzO4sero2i4C4y-HPKUc70OReb1-_wULI5MGMyLPbLJsnwm6jK_y_SfJSCWGEOFpPT0XiF5q5_TMZItRnd74/s1600/518084-500-notes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZNFzL2rJMo1pY4FY99WuVfXCiwh_bfYxRkz9toHt1a2eqz8SZKFYrLFAzO4sero2i4C4y-HPKUc70OReb1-_wULI5MGMyLPbLJsnwm6jK_y_SfJSCWGEOFpPT0XiF5q5_TMZItRnd74/s320/518084-500-notes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 371.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">8<sup>th</sup> November 2016, it was night ten past ten. The
flight hit the runway with a thud at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
International Airport and was jerking awake the sleepy passengers all the way like
an auto-ride on Lakeview road back home at chennai. ‘....You are free to use
your mobile phones now, but keep your seat belts fastened until the plane comes
to a complete halt. Please remember to take your belongings from the seat
pocket’, announced the flight attendant into her hand-held phone. I pulled out from
the seat pocket in front of me, the printout of my ticket on the back of which
I had scribbled down many of my random thoughts in my hardly-decipherable handwriting,
folded it carefully as though it were some precious thing and pushed into my
shirt packet. Yes, I had jotted down some thoughts on a recent experience with
a cabbie that affected me deeply. And I must say it is my wont to scribble my thoughts like this on every
piece of paper I find.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 371.25pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Let
me get back to my story. I pulled out my MotoG and powered it on. As the
Samsungs and iphones around me got alive instantly and were beeping and pouring out all
their three-hours of pent-up messages like a loyal pet on master’s return, my
mobile was still struggling to find its signal. I could hear someone yelling,
‘hei, this can’t be true yaaar’ looking at his mobile. Another was speculating that
ensuing elections could be the reason. As I was trying to make out what they
they all talking about, the watsup messages in my phone were also cryptic: ‘the
media prepared for Trump; Modi came out of syllabus’; ‘America counting votes;
India counting notes’. As I moved up to the earlier ones sent, it started
making sense to me; all the messages starting from eight pm had just one theme –
deometisation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
opened my wallet, Gandhiji was smiling at my spate, from ten pieces of
atm-fresh 500s that I had drawn that morning and stuffed into my wallet. I
remembered how quickly I brushed aside the thought: why no 100s at all. As I
was wondering how I would push the next four days at Kolkata without any valid
notes in my wallet, another thought stuck me. Notes- what will happen to all my
notes at home. Come to think of it, they are lying in bits and pieces in every
nook and corner of my home and some of them in my office too. You will find
them hidden in my books and diaries or even the old newspapers. I have been
thinking converting all my notes and moving them into digital for some time,
but I knew it was a monumental task; I have not even kept track of them and
would not be able to provide a coherent account. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My
wife had given a warning threat to me as I was leaving home in the evening. I
am going to throw out all these old magazines and books to radhiwala. Though she
is a cleanliness freak, this was something she has been putting up with. May be, she is running out of patience now. Does
she know the real value buried inside each of them? If only she would try to skim
though and get all those notes stuffed inside. Would she care to do it? Why not call her and
tell her openly all about it? But
somehow, my prestige stopped me from doing that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Somehow
I managed the next four days with the help of plastic money and some friends, and returned home on Saturday. First thing I did, after clearing my packet of all
my paraphernalia on my desk, was to rush to the room to ensure my precious notes
are untouched. Oh what a relief, everything was intact, the way I left them. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Can
I clear your desk of these papers and throw them in trash?’ shouted my wife from the hall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘oh
no, why are you in such a hurry?’ I rushed to salvage all the <b><i>Notes</i></b>
I have made on the air ticket printout and on other bits of paper during my four
days sojourn at Kolkata. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
opened my laptop with a strong determination. Yes, I am going to digitise all my
<i>notes</i> right away- right from today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
bharath gopalanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16129022019576845876noreply@blogger.com0