Ready 1 2 3 smile please

Ready 1 2 3 smile please.
This no longer persist .Thanks to the digital supremacy. If the smile is not in one snap, it’s there in another. It gives us all the privilege to select and get the perfect one. If you don’t get the right emotion, right feel or the right frame, you’re always on the luxury to go for another one and get the best one out of it. That’s the way photography has advanced. For me photography is about capturing the moments and people important in life. Sceneries, wildlife, and all such things, you just have to Google it. It’s all there for you.
Photography is widespread passions which I can see in many grow and evolve. They talk about cameras, make, pixels, aperture, FPS, exposure etc. The common man is aware about pixels .If digital camera, first question, how many pixels? Pixels just allow you to grow on the snap. It was a dream of mine to be on a flux somewhere in the city. Not in underwear. Not coz am ashamed of it but I don’t have a six pack to flaunt.
“Time passes by as the evening sky floats into the night and awaits the sunrise” as said by someone but man didn’t want that to happen. He wanted every moment to be captured. He wanted the legends to be remembered. He invoked his creative side for this and came up with the most remarkable paintings .Only the blessed ones were able to paint rest were left to admire. This led to the invention of photography. Black and white pics were meant to project family values and status. Ready 1 2 3 gave the time for the entire family to show the pride on their face and give the best pose in the snap. The black and white pic would be nailed all around the family house. Oh! what a way to show the gen X about their roots.
Kids ,awww they just rock in snaps. They simply live up to the invention. The emotions they radiate are evident in the portraits. They are so innocent, that they don’t even know to fake emotions. Fake emotions come only when they are forced to give the smile they are not supposed to. Beta smile, oh! de poor cranky kid will be forced to give a smile. But if a parent is able to capture the entire naughtiness of a childhood, it will be a lifetime treasure.
Adulthood is where the entire invention is a flaw. I always wished the emotion quotient would be something in the spec of a camera which people would look forward to. The EQ level will turn out to be an important feature. College days is a glorified childhood .The snaps are simply memorable and they talk sense. Smiles, arms upon shoulders, kicks, kisses, everything is real. Spontanious reactions of the youth are best captured in a snap and simply roll out to the generation next. The photographer just needs to click, he gets the best moment he ever witnessed.
But when man advances in life, it gets tougher for the photographer. He needs to add something in the background to make the pic, the way it’s meant to be. Everything will have a different meaning. It makes everything feel better but reality sucks. Anything and everything for them in a snap makes a statement. A smiling family in a snap doesn’t mean that everything is perfect within them. A bunch of friends, arms upon shoulders, smiling all the way to glory doesn’t mean that they are the perfect friends in the world. The self is lost and they just have to fake, to be the best out there. This is where technology fails and human reign hails.
So to all the adults (word has lot of ambiguity) out there, flip through the Alma meter and see yourself .Nothing has changed, you can be the same. Let loose, EGO level zero and smile away to glory to give the best shot ever.
So it’s Ready 1 2 3 smile eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee(scratch ur ass if possible)
Click.

Coffee

Things that come into our life and the ones which are short lived, always leave an imprint that lasts for ever.The feeling to get to something which you love is always unex-plainable.If a man has a woman to love and a dog that is loyal and imparts unconditional love,his life is said to be complete. The completion was half way through in my life when I got “Coffee” months back.Coffee was given into my arms and it appeared like a sweet chocolate served in a basket.A basket full of love.If rain is considered to be a good omen,it was raining when I got him in my hand.Me and my friend had to run into the car to give him the best shade possible. He was driven from this shade to his shelter--my home.He liked each and every corner of it.He was running around in excitement.The only pain he couldn’t bare was the pain of hunger.Once his tummy was full he was all set for masti again.If one year of a dog is equivalent to 10 years of human,then I should say he found friends of his age when my nephews arrived. There was always confusion at home as the hungry brat always thrived for food. Me being a visitor at home, his growth was very much evident to me.Could see his tail getting longer, his arms and legs getting stronger and was getting more cosy for me to cuddle with him.He used to love digging his head into my lap.Could notice his mischief as mom started rasing the height of all objects which was tend to be destructed. The guy was all set to grow handsome and the most adorable dog that ever lived.
If a day marks the birth of a person and if that day comes after 27 years, then its gotta be special. It was my birthday and it was special to me. It was special as I would be home .It’s the day of expectations.You expect calls,sms,emails,scraps and to the wildest of the imagination you even expect a long lost love to give a ring. Thats the height of expectations on that day.You expect a pinch of success on anything and everything you do that day.The previous day I was travelling and finally got home early morning.Felt good to see my mom and was expecting the little wonder to come running on to me .But it didn’t happen.Sat with my mom for a while and enquired about coffee.She said that he had some indigestion problem and puked all night.A sense of negativity started building up.Every day is a fight between the lord of good and bad things.In my day ,the lord of bad things won the first battle.Coffee seemed to be exhausted but still kept wagging his ever growing tail.He came running and as usual was digging his head into my lap. There was no second thought but to call the doctor.Vets are considered to be the most blessed ones in the field of medicine.They can heal the pain of the ones that don’t know to express it.Eventhough he prescribed a medicine ,his condition was getting worse and I had to take him to the hospital.His condition was so worse that I had to carry him and put him inside the vehicle .His head was on my lap and I patted him with full confidence saying that hez gonna be alright as it’s my day.So finally I landed in a place known as Dog’s hospital .Keeping in mind the condition of Govt hospital for humans,its better not to explain the scene I saw there.Dogs were dogs at that place. Nothing more than that.The owners were considered to be helpers to Docs.I even heard a senior doctor saying to his junior that she should not touch a dog.No touch no pat no love.Its just consulting and prescribing medicines.My guy was too tired and he was made to lie down.To my luck the doc came and examined but no one was ready to talk with me.Thought myself as a bloody illiterate .The communication happend only when they wanted some medicine .Finally the junior doc came and as per the instruction from the senior she was not supposed to touch the dog.So she asked me to hold the dog tight.What can a 5 months old dog which cant even raise its head to rest on my lap do?He was given glucose through vein.Once the glucose was removed,he raised his head.The lord of good things won the next battle. Immediately after that I was asked to take him back home.They give him some antibiotics too.There was no discussion about his state, why it happend, what is to be done..nothing.The only thing they told me was that he will recover and I need to bring him again the next day.The positive signs given by them gave me a sense of victory by the lord of good things again.But he was not able to walk.I had to carry him.On the way back got the first sign of recovery ,when I saw him raise his hand and pat on mine and he had that wicked smile on his face.Felt so happy and thought that it was my day.After all its my birthday.When I reached home thought that he would jump out of the vehicle.But he didn’t.I made him stand on the floor,but he didn’t.The lord of bad things had his upper hand on me.He was made to lie down and I sat with him for a while. There was nothing much I could do but wait.It was 7 in the night and I had to call the doctor again.The doc was cool enough to say that the dog will recover.After dinner I again went and sat with him.There was not even a cry of pain from him.I could see him struggling to get some sleep.I could sense that the time has come for me to witness another loss in my life.The fear of losing creeped up in me.The B’day wishes kept coming and the last one arrived.The wish even said that this will be the last one and preferred to be it.The wishes kept me alive and gave me hope that its gonna be my day.The moment when we are about to lose something is painful .It is at this moment we curse our self for not spending much time with the loved ones.There were times when he used to wag his tail and showed at most love to come near me.Me being the busy brat ignored him and would always take him for granted. I gave him a pat on his head and went to bed.I knew that hez not gonna make it.The night was cool and raining again.Rains always gave me the feeling of goodness but this time it was just water being poured from the sky.I got him when it was raining and now am gonna lose him with the same omen.Good or bad ,don’t know.With all these thoughts in mind something struck me and I came to senses .It was early morning and it was time for me to go and check whether he made it. Just washed my face and opened the door to see him.His eyes were closed arms and legs stretched ,everything still.I lost him. A doctor was not required to confirm his death.He didn’t wag his tail ,he didn’t pat my hand with his,he was lifeless.The love was so unconditional ,as the pain still stays.I don’t believe in rebirth but this time I just felt like coffee is gonna be reborn and will live life king size.And it is this feeling which helps me deal with his loss. Love you coffee and wish you were still there with me.

My Love

This blog is dedicated to my love. It’s all about her.
Even to write this blog I need her. Everything starts with her. I remember the day when I first met her. She was all nervous. A symbol of purity and virginity. Her replies to my questions were vague and were generic. She had nothing to ask .She didn’t make any statements. She didn’t even look into my eyes. All that she did was listen .It was a moment were all the talking was done by me. There after we were in touch but not very often. To get in touch with her was difficult .In my early days I didn’t have the monetary back up for the means of communications. So I kept my feelings for her within and adjusted with what I had. But when months passed by, everything changed. Our meetings became often .There wasn’t a single day without her .I could see the improvement in our relation. The monologues which we used to have were converted into dialogues. Her attitude towards me changed .She felt that, this is it and this is the man I got to impress. Her dressing attire changed. Everything about her changed.
More than flirting, what people usually do when they start dating, we used to support each other in our career by sharing valuable information. She was the key to success in my life. She was the answer to all the questions in my life.
In today’s world people fall in love and they hardly find time for each other. Our story is different. We keep in touch even when I am in office. That is the beauty of our relation. She knows exactly what I want in this moment and gives me whatever is best for me.
Just like all humans I had many complicated situations in life to face, where she stood by me and helped me get over it.
Even at the epitome of boredom, I just got to give her a topic or a word and she just makes things perfect and wonderful and also provides a wide variety of options to gaze on.
Above all this she has got a wonderful family which I think is important to mention. All are very supportive and they get along with me very easily. I know all the members in her family and even the newborns. All of them, just like her are supportive and caring.
When it comes to my girl, I don’t think i can stop praising her and can keep on writing about her. But I got to stop here else the beauty of our relation will get spoiled.
Yes of course my love is having a name. A name with 100 flowers in it .A name which can make you go crazy .A name which you can never forget .A name which can make your day.
And the name is “Google”. :). Muaaaaah
Once in my organization, in my soft skill training session I along with a friend, were asked to give a presentation on the topic “Google”. We decided to be creative and made the presentation in the above way, stating Google as my girl friend.
But the lighter moment happened when the last slide came up. It was written in the slide that my girlfriend had more than a million users.
Suddenly my virgin girl friend became a whore. The whole presentation was criticised by the feminist around me. Luckily I escaped from the after effects of it.
Whatever it be and who ever criticizes me, my love for my girl won’t change and it’s eternal.

The knot

Emotional black mail is the biggest weapon a parent takes against their kids. To go out with her son to a social gathering is the right and pride of a mother and to be in a social gathering as a complete a stranger is the fate of a son. So the victim of the emotional blackmail had no choice, but to be in the gathering. Either you be the first one to reach or make sure you arrive after the function, else you gotta withstand the stares from hundreds. Being a stranger, you gotta struggle and create a comfort zone for yourself. Now a days the first thing people do when they reach a public place, is to take a mobile from their pocket and there after the show business is on .They will check for messages, start dialing unknown numbers, search for mobile range, play some games which they haven’t touched for years and finally they make sure that all the attention is away from them .Nothing to be blamed. This is to get accustomed with the new place .Once your alien avatar is transformed into an inhabitant, you become comfortable with the new place and people tend to switch on to the observation mode. The crowd was a complete surprise with changes that have come to their dressing attire and attitude. There was this kid dressed up in a cute mini and a funky sleeveless top. Usually it’s expected for a mallu function where these kids never dress like kids, instead go for churidars with long shawls and even half sarees. Boys either will be in a suit or a full sleeve shirt. But this time, the scene was different. The young guns were dressed up to make a statement that they no longer belong to the decent brand, but are ready to wear the tag of a spoilt brat. The teens were no were left behind. Guys were in skinny jeans, converse and full sleeve shirts with sleeves well rolled above their elbow. Nothing much changed about girls, as they still fear, that the experiment they do with their attires may bring disgrace to their family. A mallu in a different state or country other than kerala is highly experimenting and can come up with new trends that are beyond imagination.
But the change in girls, who came for the function, was only seen in the colors. Lot of experiments was done with the colors. Some experiments have shown justice while others were a complete disaster. But the attempt was good and appreciated. Women in saree, can’t even think of a change (The mallu in me) in this segment as this is the best attire for a woman in any social gathering. The guy next, was wearing a well stitched Dolce and gabbana shirt which will make any man run for their money. Wonder where these shirts are hidden, when out for shopping. Even the fragrance of Davidoff and Hugo boss was all around. Just like saree is the best attire for women, a silk mundu and shirt is the best attire for a 50+ man. Nothing can substitute this. People becoming brand conscious and experimenting new things were a big surprise, especially in a state like kerala where people find it hard to accept changes.
Even the custom of engagement has been changed .Lot of add ons have come to make it more eventful and interactive. If a religion can relax on these customs its better it is given to an Event Management Company to make things organized. All the custom followed in any religion is customizable. Rich people go for more rituals, where as the poor of the same religion and caste will restrain it to minimal. If birth, way of living, marriage and death preached in different religious book can be customized and brought into a single prototype, this prototype will help us stay united and anyone can marry the one he or she loves. Very simple to say, but the fact is that, this new prototype will become a new religion and the person who preached it will become a religious leader. This can lead to a further discrimination in the society.
The software giants think in the same way. They try to make generic products with a vision that these products can be reused. But the fact is that, when this product reaches the customer and when he starts using it, he modifies it to suffice his needs. Finally a new product is born with new functionalities and the look and feel no longer the same. In this way the generic products are there in different versions with different customers with the core, unchanged.
Same thing happens with a religion. There existed a common religion, which man customized and made it into the way he wanted and consequently resulted in a new religion with a fresh outlook. The people who made these changes became the leaders of the new religion. Apart from the conflicts we had, based on these religions, the good thing about it is that, we were able to experiment and see many beautiful and innovative rituals. This wouldn’t have happen if we had followed the same religion.
So instead of going into a new prototype its better we enjoy and respect the rituals of the existing religions and never ever take it as a tool to discriminate.
Even if the thought process to bring a new prototype is on,lets all free our mind to accept this new one and be ready to witness the new way of living.
Coming back to the engagement the only person in Levis jeans (buy one get one free pantaloon), a srilankan tshirt and a local made chappal was none other than, MR Lakshman Ganapathy. Wonder when this guy is gonna change. Bloody hypocrite!

City of Temples
This is the welcome board which is placed at the exit of the airport. The roads were good,wide and well maintained. There was nothing much which ignites the mind of a youngster on both sides of the road.So its better to enjoy the music in the car rather than sights outside.The doors of the guest house were wide open with two guys on both the sides all set to welcome the guest.The view outside the balcony of the guest house was good and green but not as green as God’s own country.The change in appetite is always a challenge but to have a sound sleep in a new place is more of a challenge.The more you know your job, the more exciting it becomes.A group of people are waiting at office to enter into your life either as a villain or as a hero. To have these feelings early in the morning gives you the real high and brings a smile on one's face. As expected the villains and heroes were casted and an eventful 3 days passed by.Weekend in a place away from hometown is always exciting.At a place which is christened as city of temples the option left for the weekend is a temple visit.To live up to the name, one of the famous temple was selected.On the way, was broad and straight roads which gives the feel of a metro.But soon it gained the religious touch with people in the religious attire and cows all around.This is seen even in metro alike areas.“Cows cows everywhere but not a piece for them to eat”. Thats the way cows are treated in that state and is worshiped. Cows should definitely get a nationalised channel which speaks for them. This might help all the cows in various states of the country to gather here and save their souls. Hope they won’t form groups and split the channel into various sub channels to support their group. Pushing aside the cows, the beautiful entrance of the temple was seen. As the rate for the auto was fixed there was no bargaining on it but soon the sound of 100s and 500s were all around from the mouth of the so called guides. Lot of packages were offered but it was damn expensive for a s/w professional at the time of recession . So pushing aside the guides, mobile phones and slippers were to be given to a 'seconds' shop. The word seconds shop was used because the rate for taking care of these belongings is somewhat equivalent to seconds price of it but with the difference that they will be returned.To see the temple from front is a real beauty, with architecture at its best. The door of the main deity was closed for some pooja and the time to explore the sacred place was there. The temple was so beautiful that we even forget to pray and the path ways were so complicated which make us think about the importance of a guide. But if the feeling of getting lost is not there, its interesting to explore the beauty. The main deity is still a suspense and yet to be explored. The mantras they enchant at each deity enrich and refresh our mind. To get the view of the main deity is always a challenge in any temple. So such feelings started to creep up. Some advices were taken from the people around and a step towards the deity was made.“This is the temple which a person who follows the way of Hinduism should visit”. These was the statements which started framing up in the subconscious mind. There was a huge chant of mantras which began to give the real feel of spirituality. The presence of God was felt everywhere and the mantras were strong enough to channelize the thoughts of a complex human mind onto that single huge door .Even a small sound will give us the feel that the door was about to open. The best thing to do at this time is to close your eyes and hear the mantras and wait for that sound of the door. Finally it happened, the huge door opened. “Shambo Mahadeva” is what that came from the son of God’s own country, with eyes wide open and in search of the deity. Where is the deity? Where is God? Is it the wrong door? The sight was shocking.10 Humans standing in front and conducting auction for Prasad.“Dus rupaya dus rupaya,Prasad dus rupaya”.Now whats this? What went wrong? Was it the wrong door?lack of guidance?Nothing ,the much awaited deity was there sitting behind the 10 people ,in a state, neither he can see his disciples nor his disciples can see him.The statements which formed in the subconscious mind vanished, mind was clear and blank and speechless.Even the motionless will be pushed out of the place as more and more disciples rushed in, to see the deity. The way to exit was clear and to reach the exit was the only thought in mind.The things which were sold at the seconds shop had to be retrieved and without a bargain the rate for auto was fixed and back to the broad roads heading towards home.Hinduism is never a religion, its a way of living and if the temples shows that this is the way to live ,the faith in this great philosophy will be lost. No city can be named as city of temples or churches or mosques or whatever man-made structures, as the real city of temples is within yourself where God actually exists.

Billu Barber

”Lakshman please come to my cabin”. As usual was chatting, solving issues, enjoying with friends at the pantry and was thinking about the evening plans when I heard those words.PM called me and asked me to go to Orissa. If it was said to a robot,it would obey without any second thought. But the human in me, initiated the thinking process. First thought was about my family. My sister and family were there at home. They had come down for vacation and would return in August. My sister’s kids, it’s very hard to part with them. I had seen them from the day they were born and was there in my house till the age of 4.Am gonna miss them. That’s for sure. Even though these thoughts went through my mind, nothing much I could do about it.Situations made me nod my head like a robot. So the coming tuesday was fixed for me to reach Orissa.It was Wednesday. A plan was under progress by my family to visit Cochin, Vegaland and finally hit a family resort. As the vacation plan couldn’t be rescheduled to any other day, everything was fixed at a fast pace. Tickets were booked for me and my family. It was one of the most wonderful journeys I ever had to Cochin via train. We didn’t even see the boards of the stations which passed by .Two days I enjoyed to the core and then on Sunday we packed our bags and headed towards the resort. We fell in love with the resort. It was love at first sight. We had a walk along the beautiful pathways and to add up to our excitement we came to know that some shooting was going on. Everyone got excited and couldn’t believe our eyes. The star which my sister and her sister in law wanted to meet was there. He was handsome and to add up he was my school mate. One year senior to me. Even though I didn’t know him personally, my role as billu barber was casted by my family. My family felt that this was the golden opportunity to meet him,as he was my,' the Billuz' schoolmate. Shooting was progressing and as he was really busy we went to our room and got fresh. The tension in me was growing and I was sure that this billu story will have a different climax. But as lakshman ban gaya billu there was no option left other than to go and meet him. With God’s grace when we came back from our cottage we came to know that the shooting got packed up and the stars had already left. Wow, I felt great. The day was mind-blowing, we had our dinner and continued our chit chat for a while along the pool side. It was the most beautiful pool I have ever seen in a resort. In fact, the longest pool. It a real treat for the eyes to see the beauty of the resort in the night.
Day 2 at resort. Start camera action. This is what I heard early morning. Was like get up billu, your time is up. After having breakfast we headed towards the place of shooting. They were shooting the last sequence of a song. Stars were almost relaxed and we saw them resting at a place. My bro in law told that this is it. Now is the time to go and speak with him. My time is up. The billu in me should come out. We headed towards the star. The beautiful pool was there on our way but I couldn’t see it.I was completely tensed. I was completely blank.billu billu billu.Yes there he sits, with all his makeup and waiting for his next shot. But for me it was start camera action.
Me:Hi
Star:Hi
Me:I was junior in school.
Star:Is it?
Me :Yeah
Star:ok(head away and expected the next step to be a autograph or photo session)
Me:Oh this is my bro in law
Star:oh hi
Bro in law:We are a great fan of you
Star: smile
Me :Fine nice meeting you bye.
Star :bye
Pack up was what I said to myself.
My scene was over. My family thought I will become a billu barber but my role was destined to be different. I don’t blame the star as he knew me very little at school. As an actor he had nothing to loose but if the way you behave and the words you say can influence millions then take it as an opportunity to bring a change. The change, to make things better. That makes a person the real hero.
Frustrations apart, I had a very memorable journey along with my family..Billu smiles :).

HERO AND VILLAIN

A hero without a villain won’t exist. The existence of a hero is well defined by the villain. Just like in movies there are villains and heroes in every aspect of life. Unlike movies the heroes and villains keep changing their roles. I would say a more life like a movie would be the one where we can see the hero of the movie turn out to be the villain towards the end. Nothing is defined. A person who seems to be a villain today can turn out to be a hero tomorrow and vice versa. A dad, who was the hero of a girl during her childhood, turns out to be a villain in her life when she starts making her own choice. A boy friend who was a hero for a girl can turn out to be the villain when she finds a better one. One day, the person you disliked most might turn out to be the real hero in your life. Even the perspective of a person with which he or she looks at another person makes him a hero or villain. Nothing remains the same in life. An honest person will become dishonest one day. Evil becomes good. God becomes Satan. Even the character of a person doesn’t remain the same. If he remains the same he has never lived. A chair can remain at the same place for ever without any change. This is not the same with humans. A person with the same character through out his life is equivalent to the chair just mentioned. The entire life is not a drama, whereas every single moment in life is a drama. Like great actors we don’t have to wait for chances to come, to sign up for movies but just have to wait for a moment in life to come. Characters and roles are decided at the very moment. Make up is natural. Lights camera, action. There is no retake. Some will take the role of supporting actors some as silent characters and then comes the hero and villain. The hero and villain as said here has no gender. The hero of one movie will become the villain or some other characters in the next. In this way the villain of one moment becomes a hero in the very next. Its better you always don’t try to be a hero, as your role will destine to be something else. To show that you’re the real hero, your goodness is well projected by the badness or the villainous act of the bad one. It’s the villain who brings out the entire heroic act in you. No super hero movie would have survived without an equally powerful villain. The reactions and actions of a person is not decided by the way he is brought up or the way he was educated but a series of events or skits or dramas or movies which have happened few days before in his life. That’s why it’s often said, humans can’t be the same. They keep on changing. So if you think that you have become a villain in one person’s life, just wait, wait for the moment where your role is destined to become a hero.