Passionate Perceptions

Prologue This narration is about the events that unfolded during our primary and high school buddies’ re-union after almost three decades. It is a harmonious journey, a journey that we would savor all along our lifetime. I have chosen appropriate musical terms as subheadings. A short description of the musical terminologies. Prelude: A short piece of introductory music Interlude: A piece of music rendered between parts of a song Melody: A sequence of satisfying musical notations Harmony: The combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce a pleasing effect Counterpoint: Multiple contrasting melodies (contrapuntal motion) played together, resulting in a harmony. A signature feature of most of Maestro Ilayaraja’s compositions (‘Poomalaiye Thol Serava…’ is an easy example to understand counterpoints. Note the two voices simultaneously overlapping each other beautifully. Master of Masters!). Cresendo: A swelling and overwhelming sound(produces a c...

Venue: Tuition Center Date: Someday in 1987 Every person would have faced embarrassing moments in his/her lifespan. This is one such incident!  It is a custom to have a farewell party on the last day of public exams. A similar event was organized at the private tuition that I attended. All of us assembled at the teacher’s home. Boys on the terrace and girls in the ground floor (The tuition teachers ensured a safe distance between the boys and girls. There was always a boundary) Few of my classmates used to stay at the teacher’s home for night study. And they did their part for the farewell.  Sneaked into the nearby vineyard the previous night and brought a sack full of sour grapes for the party! Some boys kept rolling grapes to the girls, who were waiting downstairs, through the rainwater drainpipe. Guys do innovate! The party was about to begin . The tuition teacher comes upstairs to check the arrangements. He asks  me “Kavi, Can y...

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Venue: GBHSS, 635001, 10th Standard 'A' Section Date: Someday in 1987 I bet all of us would have encountered a teacher with unbelievably skewed mind. And this story is about one you could never imagine. A strange Arithmetic taught to us by the Tamil teacher! Monthly tests were conducted for all subjects except Tamil and the class teacher followed up with our Tamil teacher Mr. Vairam (Name Changed). He just did not comply and the class teacher was forced to report it to the head master. Mr. Vairam was summoned. Before getting into the story few lines on Mr.Vairam's attitude so that you can come to terms with what awaits. Tamil would be the first period and our class of over hundred would keep shouting until he enters. And everyday he would take enormous pleasure in beating all hundred of us for shouting. Without fail he had beaten us, painfully on the palms,  on all school days. I used to plead with my friends in vain. "Daily adi vaangareengale, sorana...

Venue: GBHSS, 635001, 10th Standard 'A' Section Date: Someday in 1987 The English teacher has just left after completing the last but one session before lunch. The class, which had a strength of over hundred, would go berserk during breaks. A teacher from the adjacent ladies staff room would make a visit to contain the noise when the decibels become unbearable! Though it was an all boys schools, popular sport during the breaks is to target each other with paper missiles.😀 Paper missiles, that goes off the target, would get stuck in the cobwebs spread across the tiled roof . But we had an innovative way of bringing the missiles down by throwing one from the pair of chappal at the missile.  Environment friendly we were, three decades ago 😛 Next in session is History & Geography, taught by Mr.BlinkMohan (Name Changed -He had a funny mannerism of blinking both his eyes frequently) On this particular day, the commotion was at its peak and an expert missile re...

A Thought  I salute the individuals who formed and are coordinating this group. 🙏 Getting in touch with primary school friends after 3 decades is an amazing experience! 👌😂💃😇 Let us value this association by stripping down some of our attributes viz. ego, status, education. 😣 Good to normalize ourselves and go back to the school days. I mean the childhood innocence. 👦👧👶 It is a handy eraser of all ill thoughts. By nature,   NONE IS PERFECT. MOREOVER, TO BE PERFECT IS NOT NATURAL .  That is how we subconsciously identify something as natural or manufactured. Do think about it!💭 If some post offends you, believe that the person may not have intended so. Wipe it off with the innocence eraser. It comes handy. Lest, we would not be surviving 15 to 25 yrs of marriage.😉 Participation and expressing oneself is key in preserving associations like this. Feel free to express. It is not good to be silent always.🙇 In Vasu’s words ‘m...

The 'Kukkility Op Merky!'- A hilarious encounter It's an English class and Mr. Perumalraj, popularly known as 'Karate Master'  is the teacher. He asks a student to read a poem from the English text book. The student stands up and starts reading the poem as 👇 " The  Ku....Kukkilitty Op........  Merkky!" 😂😂😂 (The sound of it is better expressed in Tamil) Initial reaction from the teacher 😞😞😞 Then turns to 😣😣😣 Later 😧😧😧 At last 😠😠😠 He slowly approaches Mr.குக்கிலிட்டி ஆப் மெற்க்கி (Kukkility Op Merkky) in his own unique demeanor and says "See how nicely he is reading!" And......... (remember 'Karate Master') 👋 "Rap!" on the left (it's not a slap, his raps are unique, only those who have the distinction of receiving it would know. ) Another 👋 "Rap!!!!" on the right Mr. குக்கிலிட்டி ஆப் மெற்க்கி (Kukkility Op Merkky) can only hear "ங்ங்ங்ஙொய்ய்ய்ய்....

Dearie Dengue The setting in It was a pleasant Friday evening in Chennai. 28th of December 2012   I was treating my team in a restaurant for successfully completing a Proof Of Concept . A nagging pain started spreading at the rear of my head, a pain that I haven't encountered before.  Back home the  pain was compounded by chills and a high grade fever. The temperature was hovering around 105 degree Fahrenheit.  The fever subsided a bit on Sunday but I felt that something was amiss. I called my brother, a  surgeon, and he insisted that I do a platelet count. The sample was given on 30th Dec Sunday.  Shruthi, my daughter, has to perform in the new year eve's celebrations at our apartment complex. She was anxious and was rehearsing.  The lab result came and the platelet count was 50000, well below the normal of 150000 I call my brother and he tells me to get admitted in a hospital. It was decided to get admitted in the evenin...

Meen Kuzhambu(Fish Curry) Before lighting the stove Every dish has its own character. A Meen Kuzhambu ('Fish Curry' title is too generic for this recipe) is very special in South Indian cuisine. You can even find reference to fish and rice in ancient Tamil literature. The following lines are from  புறநானூறு - 61. மலைந்தோரும் பணிந்தோரும்! ...... மலங்குமிளிர் செறுவின் தளம்புதடிந் திட்ட பழன வாளைப் பரூஉக்கண் துணியல்.... Which details about how the 'Vaalai' fish were squirming in the waters and the farmers savoring the 'Kuzhambu' with rice to their stomach full 😋 Coming back to the character of the 'Meen Kuzhambu'  it should be  1) Tangy, 2)Spicy, 3) Bright, 4) Have a Crisp aroma and 5) The consistency should be neither too thick nor too thin . A natural honey like consistency. The curry has to stick to the cooked rice grains so that every grain carries with it the whole flavor.  Understanding the character is very important...

Prologue To be frank, I’m a guy who gets in to jitters just by standing on a 2 feet stool to drive a nail in to the wall (Acrophobia!), and my height adds to the misery. When I registered myself as a member to CTC a year back, I told my wife my intention to join a trek which was arranged on Sep 20 and 21 2008. At first she didn’t object but later started objecting ! And I got a phone call from my brother- a surgeon- instructing me to improve my fitness level before attempting a trek. Wise and professional advice it was and I accepted reluctantly (happy now that I accepted it then). I started preparing myself by utilizing the gymnasium -which I never visited even after a year of moving in- at our apartment complex. Started jogging and working out on efx , some ground exercises and when I was able to run 2.5 to 3kms continuously I thought I was fit enough to risk a trek (did help me indeed to some extent)! Got the invitation from Naveen for a moderate (!!!) trek and I registered hap...