My Life! My World!

ahh! how futile!

// March 18th, 2010 // Comments // Musings

Siva was the accountant in my company. He was in his mid sixties. A tall and strong man for his age. He goes about his work with utmost sincerity and devotion and held the company’s finances together with authority. He was grumpy, a bit short-tempered and a difficult person to build conversations with. I always ensure I give him a lot of respect when I talk to him, because his age and ego commended that kind of respect. Being a slightly sensitive person that he is, one has to be careful not to hurt his ego, cos he is not the type who will hold himself back even at the slightest provocation.

I had recently joined work, and I had problems with my hardware vendor and wanted him changed. Since Siva had to approve this, I went and presented my case. This had happened a couple of times and Siva was still reluctant to change the vendor as the vendor had been doing business with our company for a very long time. So when I went to Siva once again with this request, he was not willing to listen. This rubbed me a bit, as I was one of the senior guys in my company and I could not even present my case to him! I tried to explain further but he simply shut me off, saying he has other things to attend to. This did hurt my ego, and I came back totally annoyed. Although I’d avoided a verbal spat with him at that moment, I was still fuming inside. With the same heat, I started typing an email to my boss building a case against Siva – I did not want to let this go. I did not like being snubbed like that in front of everyone, that too for no fault of mine. And I couldn’t take it easy.

As I drafted the email and was checking and re-checking it, someone entered my cabin. It was Siva. He came and sat next to me, visibly apologetic, and told me, “Sorry Sir, I don’t know how to talk at times. Please don’t mistake me” and followed that with some reasoning of his as to why we should stick on to the same vendor. I was surprised by this, as I had not expected him to take the effort to come over and apologize. I silently discarded the drafted email and continued with the day’s work. And how much I cherish that decision now! If only he had come a few moments later……

Siva is no more now. He passed away in about a month’s time since this incident happened. And for the period between this incident and his death, our relationship was cordial. He even asked my suggestions for purchasing his new bike. The joy he had when he upgraded to his Discover DTS-i…. And how eagerly he would inquire us when his photograph will be published in our website…… How futile….. A heart-attack. Recovery. Another attack. It was all over.

I am still grateful I did not send that email.

Goan Nights – 2

// December 14th, 2009 // Comments // Random, Travelogues

We spent the next day chilling out on the beach, apart from pulling each other’s legs occasionally over the incidents of the previous night… I cant explain how good it was to get into the calm sea with a life jacket on…. We guys were happily floating around chit chatting as the gentle waves, small and big, enveloped us now and then…. Ok, ok… I know where you are getting at… Fast Forward -> Night no 2

The Anjuna Experience:

Adi’s college mate was in Goa at the time we were there. And he happened to know the happening places in Goa. As per his recommendation, we guys headed to Anjuna beach. La Paradiso, to be precise. After paying the entry fee of 1k per head for which we get unlimited drinks, we barge in. The pathway leading to the dance floor itself suggested this place had class. The walls were plastered white and the roof was high. The floors were shining clean and the sideways had ornamental structures erected around. Between the pathway and the dance floor was a balcony that overlooked a landscaped garden. The dance floor was great – large dance area, bordered by huge white pillars. The lighting was dim whitish blue and the DJ was mixing it up well. There were chairs to recline along the wall on one of the sides. The bar came after the dance floor. There was a lounge opposite to the bar where people were relaxing over a drink.

The dance floor was almost empty when we entered. We realized we had come in too early for the party – it was 9 30 PM. So we wandered about, filling ourselves up with some snack…. It was not long before the crowd started coming in… Surprise, surprise – the place was getting filled with firangi chicks! The reason is this – the entry is free for girls! And so are the drinks! Now tell me, why would the women not come in? The chicks that came in were…. HOT!!! There was a post on a corner on which one of the girls climbed up and performed a pole dance! WOW!!! We were on!!! We went to the bar, got ourselves a shot of vodka, pledging ourselves to do better than the previous night! And with this, we all entered the dance floor. We were dancing amidst the firangi chicks but none of us could hit on a woman there – We had no clue how to even initiate a dialog with them. Akshay was the first to try, and came back disappointed. The chicks that he spoke to did not speak English. They were Russian. This saddened Akshay immensely and so he shot himself a few more of vodkas and flattened out. Aswin followed suit, and in no time, we were 2 down. Adi was desperately hitting on a Danish chick who had accompanied his friend (the guy who suggested us the place) but it wasn’t working either. He came up and explained me that firangis only like firangis. As we were talking, an Indian guy, roughly about our age, after getting snubbed by most chicks there, managed to hook on to a firangi hottie and took her with him off the bar. What an inspiring persistence I say!

Aji, me and Hari were taking some random drinks now and then, and dancing around here and there randomly. There were some really hot ones – the one with a micro mini tight trouser and a big boot, for example. Or the one who did spanish belly dance. Or the one who did techtonic. Or the black and white (B&W henceforth) – wow, what a girl she was! B&W was another Russian chick jiving in the middle of the dance floor. She got the name from the cute tops and 3/4ths she was wearing. She had the style, looks and the attitude and was easily the best pick of the day. After dancing in her vicinity for a while, I went to the bar again to see what I could drink. I was already on a vodka and a beer and I did not know mixing up your drinks will hit you high. As I was wondering what drink to go for, there was this tall chick next to me asking for “rum n cola”. It sounded good to me – So Rum n cola it was. And the next thing I knew was I could not walk in a straight line. I still came back to the dance floor, and danced like a goof ball – I didn’t care anymore. Dancing is fun, no matter you dance with someone or dance alone. So there I was, trying to imitate the firangi chicks’ movements so that I get familiar with party dancing. As I and Hari were experimenting with new groovy moves, John Davis (We call him JD) enters. And the dance floor is never the same again.

Rewind 9 years – Its high school time. JD, Aji and Arun are attending a party thrown by PJ (their school mate). There were some chicks dancing around. JD calls PJ – “Dude, introduce me to the women in the house man!”. PJ introduces JD to 2 girls dancing in a corner. So JD starts grooving with the women. He turns around to Aji with a big grin – “Come on Guys, Come on join us!!” and turns with the same grin. Bingo! The girls had disappeared!

Back to present – I did not know JD’s reputation. JD was down with flu the previous night, so he had missed the Nepali bash too. I should have known when JD told me he was a champion guitarist, cricketer, football player and badminton player. He told me he was now after B&W. Having been in Australia for about 3 years now, JD should have it easy, I thought. I was also looking forward to learn some moves from him. Then JD bends a bit on his front, puts his feet away but draws his knees closer, and starts fervently pulling something from his sides, all the time looking down. Very soon, the realization struck me – JD was actually…. DANCING!!!!! As I was trying to recover from the shock, he was moving towards B&W, repeating his pulls and drags – as if he were a drunk puppet master pulling strings clumsily, except that he was also the puppet. As he approached B&W, the strings got entangled and he fell right beside her with a thud! For a second everyone looked on, including B&W. Then B&W threw a silly smile and moved a bit away and continued her dancing – I will never forget that smile I was rolling on the floor laughing – JD, you made my day

We danced for some more time pointlessly, and then sat out in the balcony where another chick gave us company. She was an English teacher and a mother of two. I dont remember which country she was from. But she did not look like a mother of two After hopping around with us for a while, she went back n joined the Russian Mafia. It was very late by then, (4 AM) and the couples inside were getting hotter… There were public displays of affection in plenty After watching around for a while, we decided to head back. Adi was the same zombie he was the previous night, except that he was now walking with eyes open. It was not until the next morning did Aswin realize he had lost his cell phone. We all had crashed as soon as we hit home, after having been to one of our best ever party nights.

P.S: In case you are wondering what this Russian Mafia is all about, we decoded an international conspiracy the next day, thanks to Akshay. We could not hit on any chick, because the chicks are part of a Russian mafia that does drug trafficking to and from Goa – is what Akshay thinks. Yes Akshay, I agree. If not for the mafia, the night would have been different