Had the oppurtunity to go through my diary a couple of days back...The first entry reads Feb 2001 and the latest one on Munnar and the diary is not even one fourth over.I write in my diary only in periods of intense emotion but there are some entries which dispute this fact...
Went to bangalore for the weekend.Brr...train arrived at 4:30a.m ....it was freezing.Went to her home from the station.An unforgettable two days for more than one reason.At the end of it all one hopes to have emerged saner...or has one?
Life can seem to be topsy turvy when one looks back.Arrogance can become calculated aloofness in hindsight.But let there be no doubt about it,the girl in the train charmed me no end.One cannot call it friendship or dare call it infatuation. Acquaintance fails to explore the depth of the situation.Ah, Ruskin Bond's poem comes to the mind.
Enough for me you are beautiful,
Beauty posessed diminishes
Better a dream of love
Than love's dream broken
Better a look exchanged
Than love's word spoken
Enough for me that you walk past
A firefly flashing in the dark
J was in town again,this time for TOEFL and ofcourse Shetty joined us for lunch.The question was where to go.It's pretty difficult to pinpoint a decent place to dine(or lunch) in Trivandrum.We settled for Rangoli ,which never disappointed.We arrived at 1:30 ,hoping for the AC to cool us off..but the AC was not working and there just seemed one waiter who was also acting as the man taking orders.Maybe hes the cook too , J suggested.Very funny!!So we pushed off from there to Residency Tower for the 195/- buffet.Never had been to the place and must admit the food and the atmosphere was excellent.
On the way there, we jumped a traffic light and were told to park by a very angry policeman.No doubt ,if u were standing in the sun that long and had to deal with fools who kept jumping lights and pedestrians who kept crossing when they were not supposed to, you wouled be angry .A second policeman came up...
"Pattathu poyi oru petty adakkanam,ariyallo?"(You have to go to Pattom police atation and pay a petty fine.You know that ofcourse.).
Dear old Shetty(new to town) heard it as petty(in malayalam means box).He thought that the policeman was asking for a favour like to have his box dropped in Pattom(quite far from where we stood).Why the impudence of the rascal!!
"Athonnum pattathilla" fumes Shetty.(That can't be done).The policeman was taken aback at this, just as I was.A look of suspicion came to his eyes.Maybe we were some big shots?He asked our professions and ofcourse then things went easy.Shetty was in the Gov. service and that helped too.He let us off with a warning but we parted with smiles.
There is a ceremony of sorts going on in Mr Gorgeous's aka Nobody's place.It all originated from a not too kind coment on why we blog and why people read us.My reason for blogging was mainly to give vent to my frustrations and to improve my writing skills(what little is left)..The trip to Munnar has certainly soothed my nerves though I don't expect the effects to last long.One of the reasons maybe that I'm hard put to blog these days..But of course there are my regular blogs to read and that itself takes around an hour.. :)
Saw Dil Chahta Hai again( fifth time?) and man, its a superb movie ,a real work of art!!
On the way there, we jumped a traffic light and were told to park by a very angry policeman.No doubt ,if u were standing in the sun that long and had to deal with fools who kept jumping lights and pedestrians who kept crossing when they were not supposed to, you wouled be angry .A second policeman came up...
"Pattathu poyi oru petty adakkanam,ariyallo?"(You have to go to Pattom police atation and pay a petty fine.You know that ofcourse.).
Dear old Shetty(new to town) heard it as petty(in malayalam means box).He thought that the policeman was asking for a favour like to have his box dropped in Pattom(quite far from where we stood).Why the impudence of the rascal!!
"Athonnum pattathilla" fumes Shetty.(That can't be done).The policeman was taken aback at this, just as I was.A look of suspicion came to his eyes.Maybe we were some big shots?He asked our professions and ofcourse then things went easy.Shetty was in the Gov. service and that helped too.He let us off with a warning but we parted with smiles.
There is a ceremony of sorts going on in Mr Gorgeous's aka Nobody's place.It all originated from a not too kind coment on why we blog and why people read us.My reason for blogging was mainly to give vent to my frustrations and to improve my writing skills(what little is left)..The trip to Munnar has certainly soothed my nerves though I don't expect the effects to last long.One of the reasons maybe that I'm hard put to blog these days..But of course there are my regular blogs to read and that itself takes around an hour.. :)
Saw Dil Chahta Hai again( fifth time?) and man, its a superb movie ,a real work of art!!
The First Time Part 2
The morning was crisp and cold with the freshness of mountains in the air.Walking along the road with little or no traffic and only the sounds of nature was a rare privilege.The sound of my shoes on the ground seemed almost blasphemous.
BSNL has network coverage in Munnar,the only cell phone company to do so.But on hindsight,I'm glad I left it behind.With the exception of a small Sansui TV in the I.B ,I'm cut off from the "civilized world".
I met the D.F.O in the morning .I owed her a visit anyway.Without her helping hand,I wouldn't be here.I told her how much I was enjoying myself and the stay.I told her about the location of the I.B and how it fitted my plans to a T.She recommended me going to Marayoor , famous for its sandalwood forest.
The drive to Marayoor is inarguably the most beautiful drives in the world.Forests,tea plantations,majestic mountains,waterfalls,the smell of tea,by God it's divine.There are buses and jeeps plying regularly .I took the jeep for the view and for that sense of adventure (not much though) you get while travelling with total strangers.I was wedged in between the driver and the gear of the jeep.There were 4 persons in the front seat excluding the driver.The driver sits with half his ass hanging out in the mountain air but mercifully with both his legs inside.The person sitting next to him(poor me) will have one leg between the driver and the gear.But incidentally it wasn't that uncomfortable.But for the weakhearted pleasure loving folk, I suggest a private vehicle ;)
The people in the forest office were very accomodating and they sent a forest guard with me for trekking.Saw this prehistoric painting on top of a rock shaped like a serpent's head.Below those faint paintings was written in bold blue "priya I love you" and many such declarations from our cultured love sick countrymen.Then there was an unexplored cave...very spooky, dark and unbearably hot..
It was good fast trekking and I was exhausted when we finally reached the top.The view was great and the breeze was cool and steady.There were sandalwood trees all around and many more cut by poachers.It's incredible what man will do for money. Madhu,my guide, was an affable chap .He spoke of his hardships while we went to his village and had tea in his shop.There is a children's park which has a huge banyan tree standing majestically in the middle.But the park is in disuse and the place looks shabby and abandoned.
Back in Munnar , had a very interesting conversation with a forest guard who lamented the changing climate and the increase in pollution.There were "illegeal couples" in the inner posh resorts,he deplored.The people here are very friendly and theres the city antagonism missing here in relationships.
The night air is cool and calm.The sky is lit up with stars and one can make out all the constellations with absolute ease.There are no visitors here in the I.B except me and it's unbelievably quiet and peaceful.Just the sounds of the night and the cook preparing dinner in the kitchen.
-Sanitised,harmless excerpts from The Devil's Diary.
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