Snippets_06

>May really is the month of hot sun and weddings..isn't it??


>and there is a social compulsion to attend these weddings if you are given an invite (mind you..we wont invite you for our functions if you don't for yours)

>I am 25 now and that means most of the people I know are either married or about to get married and I do respect them enough to attend their weddings (no really I go for the food and for the possibility to meet a Kamalini Mukherjee type figure... In my mind I am always a Kamal hassan)

>This is how I view weddings generally.Lots of flowers are thrown about claiming to be decoration. Too much jewellery is worn by people and they wear funny costumes..especially the groom & bride.. The food is normally excessive and at times delicious. People pass comments like "payyan ok.ponnu sumaaru thaan or payyan konjam vayasaanavan maadiri theriyaraan illa." (The groom is too good for the girl or the groom looks like the girl's dad). Most people invariably spend a big portion of their life savings on their child(ren)'s weddings.. (alaiyapayuthe style wedding with AR Rahman BGM is a myth boss)

>I often end up thinking to myself "Do I really need to have forsaken my pleasures of solitude to have attended this?" Am i going to follow up on the misery of these fellows' married life or will I even see them again?

>I cant but think of George Carlin's quote on Churches -'A place where people gather to compare clothing' and say to myself- Boy this applies very well to weddings..

>And to think I will one day probably have to play clown in this sort of a circus is deeply troubling…

Snippets_05

> IIT M maybe famous for many things but the only attraction for me there is the cheap and good food outlets
> As I go into one, there are many female students snacking, chatting, even gorging...
> I spot something peculiar then
> Every single female (student) is sitting with one leg crossed on top of another (even crossing posture it is called.. yes yes.. I googled this phrase)
> The old timers might say that this is arrogance
> The Gen Y probably thinks it is confidence that makes them do this
> As I age, I am not sure which one is right
> But the one thing I am sure of is that the IIT figures are way hotter than the CEG ones...

Snippets_04

Location : Nameless Hair Salon, Velachery, 11 am
> I enter into a hot, crowded hair salon.
> I quickly get across to a Dhina-Thanthi (Tamil newspaper) to fan myself (No power supply in Tamil Nadu Boss)
> As I await my turn, I try and eavesdrop on the conversations that are happening around me
> One reasonably groomed fellow says to another " I was not available yesterday da. Went to Vellore to see my sister. She has given birth to twins"
> He goes on.. "Both of them are girls. Now they have 3 girl children.."
> The other person chimes in now "oops. Their lives are screwed.. ain't so?" , he says.
> "No no. The brother in law is trying to sell these twins. He is looking for interested parties inside the hospital itself. Maybe he will get hold of a broker"
> I am shocked.. stunned.. I don't even know how to react to what i have just heard.
> As I exit the salon only one thought comes to mind... This country will forever be a Third World Country...!

Snippets_03

Location: Taramani, Chennai; 2 pm
> People around me stand in a synchronized motion
> They say that the earth is shaking
> I can feel nothing really but all are asked to evacuate the building
> As I try to get out, I can feel the building shake
> I see scores of people trying to get out through a cramped staircase
> Some people are genuinely scared; some were exiting anyway to get a smoke
> As we wander out, people say a Tsunami is going to hit us in 3 hours
> 2 thoughts come to my mind instantly on hearing this
> 1- I should have a sumptuous dinner tonight. Probably with ice-cream
> 2- Will the IPL game be cancelled then?
> Now I know what my priorities are in life...!

Snippets_02

Location - Taramani, Chennai, 12 pm
>I get into a Share-Auto with 8 other people on a sweltering day to get to my workplace
>Violating all safety & emission norms, the share auto zooms past several traffic cops interested only in harassing motorcycle riders
> An impoverished frail looking old lady extends her arms for a ride to a street 100 meters across the current location of the auto
> The auto driver is happy to take her in and charges twice the amount for this distance
> The old lady is dissapointed
> I look towards the auto driver only to see a glaring red badge
> The following letters are imprinted on it along with a picture of a sickle- CITU
> Now there is one ideology that has NOT GONE WRONG...!!!

Snippets_01

> Location: Grocery Store, Chennai, 11 am.
> I stand in a line at the cash counter. middle aged guy stands in-front of me
> guy says to his son - "dei, i asked you to bring goldwinner oil da".
> son says "appa, i brought that only no?''
>Dad goes into the store to get the correct item
> I think to myself "what a prick of a guy. the little kid is right"
>comes back with the same oil as the son but with more number of items-cream biscuits, cakes, cool drinks, chocolates and other snacks.
>The son's face lights up. He hugs his dad
>Apparently like love, sometimes, parenting can be beautiful too....!!!