Tears from a wounded sky...

Jagged bolts of lightning criss-crossed the sky like two Jedi warriors battling it out with their light-sabres. Dark, menacing crowds gathered together and rumbled threateningly. Suddenly, without warning, the rain came. It was as if the heavens were trying to wash the earth clean of mankind's sins.

People ran helter-skelter, trying to shield themselves, trying to seek shelter underneath the nearest canopy they could find. He watched from his window, his lips curling in an amused smile, as he enjoyed their misery. He watched, as he always did, when She alighted from her 6.00 pm bus, and walked home.

Today, he had to look out just a little bit longer, because the normally crazy Bangalore traffic does get crazier when it rains. Anyway, the bus arrived at 6.15 pm. She took a little longer than usual to get down, because it was pouring like there was no tomorrow.

She wasn't carrying an umbrella, and he smiled at her futile gesture of trying to protect herself against the sheets of rain by holding her hand above her head. It was like using a straw to protect oneself against the wind.

He moved away from the window, and decided to brew some hot tea, so that she could relax after coming in. By the time she walked home, the tea would be ready. She'd greet him with her customary smile, and he'd smile back at her. He decided to change quickly, before she came in. Since she had the other key, she would obviously be able to let herself in.

By the time he changed and got back, he found the teacup still there, filled to the brim, with the tea grown cold. He frowned. Where was she? Oh, she must've gone to the nearby bakery, to get his favourite muffins. He smiled and shook his head - she was so thoughtful!

But after 15 minutes, there was still no sign of her. He was starting to get worried now. Maybe, she was sheltering at the bus stop itself, trying to protect herself from the torrential downpour. He couldn't see her there. A couple of frantic calls to her mobile phone elicited no response. He went back to the window to see if he could spot her.

There seemed to be some kind of hold-up there, quite a traffic jam. There were vehicles honking, some people gesticulating wildly, and speaking in angry tones. Someone seemed to be grabbing the collar of the driver of a truck that was parked lopsidedly across the street. He silently cursed Indian traffic and drivers who lost patience at the slightest of incidents.

But, this didn't seem like a normal traffic jam that is all too reminiscient of our cities. There seemed to be someone lying on the ground. His heart skipped a beat as he realised that it was a female form. He pushed some unpleasant thoughts out of his mind, and continued to peer out into the darkness. If only, he wasn't bound to his wheelchair!!

Could it be her? NO! His mind shouted. She had no business to be there, nearly an hour after she was supposed to be home.

He sank against the curtain, as he caught a glimpse of a battered body, and a wrist that wore the silver bangle that he had got her last week, for her birthday.

No one saw the chocolate muffin roll into a gutter and flow away with the rain water.

The rain continued to fall, like tears from a wounded sky, even as the wind wailed like a soul in distress.

You'll Never Walk Alone...

"In goes the free kick, and the shot come in, and it's INNNN! Milaaaaan have scored! A goal in 50 seconds for Milan... wouldja believe it? Paolo Maldini, the skipper! It's all gone wrong in the first minute; it's a wretched, wretched start for Liverpool."

"Liverpool could be stretched again... Shevchenko inside the penalty area... he's got Crespo for support! Shevchenko crosses, it's 2-0! Crespo, from close range, has doubled Milan’s lead… It’s Liverpool - NIL, and AC Milan - 2, and this final is over!”

“…pass there from Kaka… Carragher can’t get there…What a pass for Crespo! This could be 3-0 and 3-0 it is! What a goal that is!… and Milan now, playing football out of this world, no body can live with this!”

“…another opportunity… towards GERRRAAAAAAARDDDDD!! A goal from Steven Gerrard for Liverpool! Captain’s goal!”

“Hamann, 25 yards out, doesn’t shoot, but Smicer mighhhhhhhhhhttttttt! It’s IN!! It’s IN!! OOOOOOOHHHH, away for Vladimir Smicer!! Miracles are possible! And oh my goodness, do we have a game now!”

“Step up, Xabi Alonso, to equalise, yes, equalise for Liverpool… Alonso, MISSESSSSS!! But scores!! Mission Impossible has been accomplished for Liverpool!

………

“He’s saved it! The European cup is returning to England, and to Anfield! Liverpool are Champions of Europe again”

“Once a European Champion, ALWAYS a European Champion.”

 

 

Today, as the mighty Reds face another test of time, I’m tempted to harken back to that historic day in 2005, when everything was over, but 11 men wearing Red just refused to lose to a ‘superior’ team. They defied logic, the odds that were stacked heavily against them, and the fatigue that comes with a long season of football, to lift that glorious trophy.

 

That moment was special. Not because the match was won. But because, a team had shown enough courage to not buckle under the pressure, and simply give up. A team had fought back. Even if they’d lost, they’d still have remained Champions of Europe for me, if not the world.

 

Today, I’m sure they’ll put in another heart-warming performance and give it their all! I would be delighted if they win, of course. But even if the result is not in their favour, I’ll be happy as long as they can walk off the field with heads held high, and say that they gave it everything they had.

 

In fact, there’s a part of me that almost wishes that the match doesn’t take on the hue of that historic match versus Milan, and overshadow it. That match was, and is, very very special.

 

I’ve watched it hundreds of times. So much so, I even remember most of the commentary verbatim. Still, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes, and a feeling of warmth in my heart.

 

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone
You'll never walk alone

Banga-lured? Ha!

Well... William Congreve said, "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned" and that's pretty well-said, I guess.

The last couple of days in Bangalore have been pretty disgusting, actually. (Except my awesome office.. )

Auto-wallahs and shopkeepers seem to have taken it upon themselves to make life miserable. Sample some of my experiences today:

Me to auto driver: Indiranagar?

Auto driver: Sure!

Me: How much?

Auto driver: Whatever is a just charge, you pay... 

(*the reasonable charge is 25/-)

Me: (thinking) Wow, finally a nice, old man..who seems reasonable...

Auto driver: You decide.... 40/- or 50/-

Me: :O WTF!!

That adventure over, I reached home in a bus later. Then, I decided to purchase a (pirated) copy of some software that I needed for my crashed laptop.

Me to cyber-cafe owner: I need a copy of XYZ software.

Owner: 200/- 

Me: :O Thanks, I don't need it.

Owner: How much do you think it costs?

Me: In Delhi, I bought it for 50/-

Owner: This is not Delhi, buddy.

Me: Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for you, that's true...

I've never believed in the famous North-South divide and always liked to maintain that it is a myth. I always thought that people made it up to cover their bigotry. But sadly, I think I stand corrected. There are people here who try to fleece you the moment they realise that you don't speak the local language. Of course, these stupid bigots may be few and far between. But then, they are the ones responsible for the regionalism dominating our country today. And yes, if they exist here, they definitely do exist up North too.

I just hope they learn the concept of unity and integration soon enough.

The experience of an amazing workplace and a nice city is being sullied because of some moronic creatures.

P.S. Ironically enough... I work for a team called 'OneIndia' at Microsoft. :)

Banga-lured!

Pretty adventurous, the last few days have been... (No, this is not a conscious effort to sound like Jedi Master Yoda... it is purely incidental that he copied my style in his speech.)

I've been in Bangalore for a few days now, and I love the city already! It's a pretty different experience from Delhi, Chandigarh, or Jamshedpur. And a few key learning points I've gathered so far are:

a) Learning the local language - Kannada, is pretty easy. All you need to do is suffix every word with 'aa'. So sambhar becomes 'sambhar-aa', MG Road becomes 'MG Road-aa' and so on. No, I'm not saying this is all there is to it! It's just that if you manage this bit well enough, you're half-way there. I'll teach you the next half as soon as I learn it myself. Ok-aa?

b) The South Indian food that we are served up North is not authentic, not withstanding the claims of the restaurants. For me, it's a tough choice. I don't like South Indian food, and it costs nearly half as much as the North Indian fare at most places here. So, it is essentially a toss-up between starving myself on North Indian food, and bleeding my pockets dry, or starving myself on South Indian food. (Suggestions will not be appreciated!)

c) Autorickshaw drivers are as cheeky as anywhere in India. I was impressed by the fact that I just had to jump into an auto, and give the driver instructions. The fare would obviously be metered, unlike places like Delhi where these guys grin at you and tell you that the meter is defunct, so you'd have to bargain with them. Of course, my joy was short-lived, when I found that the chap was trying to round off a Rs. 33/- fare to Rs. 40/- just because he'd have to travel some distance before finding himself another passenger. (I resisted a strong urge to 'flip him the bird' and walked on, but not before he had charged me Rs. 35/-.)

Still, there are lots of things that I like. For instance, the weather, the nice and musical lilt of the local accent, and the city overall - to name a few. However, strangely enough, there is lots of piracy here. Every nook and corner seems to have a few hawkers selling pirated movies or books. I wonder what the 'enforcers' charge, to look the other way, and to allow this trade to flourish.

(I'll be writing about my Microsoft experiences later, because I expect them to be thrilling enough to write a few hundred pages.)

P.S. This blog is now 50 posts old. Hurray!