All about Sunil - 3

If you have not read about Sunil, please visit the following blogs.

1) Wish him longevity

2) All about Sunil - 2

Four years later…

Sunil’s sister eloped with a guy who was working in a small-scale chemical industry in Pondicherry. Sunil’s mom was not convinced initially, but she learned to accept them a few weeks later. She rung the wedding bells, formally. His sister was happy - so was Sunil and his mother. I couldn't comprehend how Sunil would have felt when he realized that the fourth anniversary of his father and the wedding day of his sister fell on the same day. I am yet to find a word to fill this juncture...!

We were partying that day. Sunil had never boozed until then, but most of our friends forced him to share a toast - One for the happiness of his sister! He was game - plunged into the show head on. That was the first time for me as well. Sunil was very much unstable swinging between his father’s death and his beloved sister’s marriage. We were nostalgic and looked back at the days that had rolled on. Sunil felt bad about his professional life, being a helper in the vegetable shop. “I wish I too studied like you guys... I miss something which I shouldn't have... Wish He still loves me...”, said sunil, pointing to the sky wishing God to be on the tip of his finger nail.

His mother’s idli shop was yielding a considerable sum, abeting their daily needs. Still, his mother wanted him to continue working, assuming that he might discontinue from studies very soon. He joined Vetry tutorial to continue with us, in ninth standard. He was struggling to pick up the mathematical concepts and he decided to join a tuition for coming over his barrier. Mr. X. R. James, well known as the bald headed mathematician in Cuddalore, 57, engineered a way, drilling the mathematical ideas into the thick layers of Sunil’s skull. He started loving mathematics. He found a Magic, slowly reviving his days at the tuition center. Every second was precious and like he started knowing himself. I wish I declared the Magic was because he understood mathematics, but it was because of HER, that girl in the corner seat of the first bench!

Josephine, the angel of the tuition center (to whole of Cuddalore, I would say!) had the most attractive eyes. So, did Sunil leave an eye dedicated to capture every bit of her. Glances were no more glancing between those four eyes...! It was almost continous all the time. Now, Sunil understood how discrete systems become continous in presence of an external force of Intentions. That was the last day of the tuition just before the annual examination. All of a Sudden, a wave of happiness struck every one when the teacher announced that the tuition would be conducted even during the annual holidays.

Sunil couldn't resist tussling his funk when he used to wait for Josephine at the bus stop with his medium sized Captain bi-cycle. I doubt if anyone could ride the bi-cycle slower than him. Yes, he always followed her. Of course, she ever knew that. The last page of his note was filled with the color of the dress against the dates of the month. It was running through months. Sunil managed to impress our teacher staging a consistent performance and with the acumen he had gained through the days. The teacher decided to teach the English grammar for half an hour every day.

It was the day when he started the ‘degrees of comparison’. The teacher was sorting to example of superlative degrees like 'Sunil was the most brilliant student in our class' and so. Josephine looked at him. Wow… Spectacular was her sight! Sunil had that crater on his heart, that moment. That was magnetic. The teacher was explaining…. The most….!#!&# . The teacher also gave other few examples of superlative degree. He told that Josephine was the most beautiful girl in our class. Sunil romantically smiled at her. No words to express the beautiful emotions that they shared amidst the sultry summer and whole of the class which remained a tower of babel. The teacher conducted the weekly tests, every Sunday. Sunil used to correct the answer papers of all students expect his own paper. He made the rounded zeroes to look like a heart-in on Josephine’s paper. Though he would put 9.5 marks for a ten mark question frequently in most of the papers, he preferred putting 10 marks to Josephine's just to ensure that he had more chances of heart-in-ing (ofcourse, without breaking her heart! Else he would have preferred putting two zeros on ten!!). He also expressed his love in her answer sheets. He was very sure that Josephine also had the same feeling for him. The elegant Sunil with the answer sheets was riding the bi-cycle, filled with colorful thoughts. That day we had assembled at our teacher’s Living room. He was startled to know that Mr. X. R. James died of asphyxiation due to heart attack. His heart was broken. The tint of good relationship that he had developed with his most respectable teacher was stumbled to an end. He couldn't trace his feelings for Jasmine, that moment. He was totally down in tears so was the other students including Josephine and I.

He was courageous after the pains of his father's death and soon, lots of sighs and gestures were exchanged between them, but not even a single word was uttered explicitly, ever then. The answer sheet was not distributed to her and to neither of the pupil. He had never seen Josephine after that day because she never joined in any of the tuition centers. He concentrated on his 10th std public examinations. The life went on with studies and his work in vegetable shop during early morning, for a daily wage of Rs.20, curing all his physical pain in the memory of his days that he spent with her.

I am not sure if Sunil still remembers those beautiful days, but the heart-ins keep telling a beautiful story with traces of love, passion, pain, and what not... It is everything... Sunil gave me all the answer sheets just before the funeral. All I could do is smile at the heart-ins lying inside my cupboard, when ever I happened to see them. And, spend a minute or two to remember the remarkable source of inspiration Mr. X. R. James!!

TBC...

All About Sunil - part 2

If you have not yet read about Sunil, please visit the following link.

Wish him Longevity!

Five years later…

The persistent poverty of Sunil’s family, forced his father to migrate back to the village for farming. The father’s absence paved the way for Sunil to enjoy with his friends. He hardly studied. The poor academic performance shattered his father’s dreams. His father was found drunken often with his friends in the village. The entire family was forced to migrate back to the village because of sundry reasons. It was inevitable.

One Friday early morning….

Sunil’s drunken father met with a heartbreaking accident, on his way from Pondicherry to Cuddalore. He was found bleeding on his head. Public was completely ignorant to help him. He was taken to the GH by a fellow villager who was on the way to Pondicherry for the same purpose. The first aid was given and the doctors advised to admit him at **** hospital in Chennai. The ambulance, roaring with siren, was going to Chennai, carrying the victim and his wife ………. He died when the ambulance was closing Dindivanam…… Then, the ambulance had to take an U-turn so as the fate of Sunil’s family!

It was very paining to witness 9 years old Sunil, doing the rituals at his father’s funeral. His father was buried. His mother came to know that her husband borrowed lot of money when they were at the town. She was continuously pestered by the lenders. One of the drunken lenders used to fight with his mother. She decided to sell the land to payback the debt. There were no sources of income to survive. His sister attained puberty after two months from the death of their father. Sunil’s mother decided to do the marriage to her daughter within 5 years.

Though the young boy did not understand much of the things happening around him, he realized the pain of his mother’s tears. He was derailed from education when he was his 4^th standard. Yes, Understandable. The mentor, whom he wished the longevity is no more. He terminated his education, and started selling lottery tickets to save some money for his sister’s marriage. His father’s dreams were buried.

The government banned the sales of lottery tickets. Sunil decided to work in the vegetable shop. He was saving money for his sister’s marriage. His mother was running a small idli shop (roatora idli kadai) which would be available only in the morning hours. His sister was assisting their mother….

Continuation : All about Sunil - 3

வறுமையின் நிறம் சிவப்பு!

பூண்டு போல் விதவை கோலம் பூண்டிருந்த மங்கலம் வறுமையின் விளிம்பில் தவித்து கொண்டிருந்தாள்.. அம்மாவும் மகள் தேவியும் சூளை வேலைக்கு சென்று பிழைத்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார்கள். சூளை முதலாளியின் சாபங்களுக்கிடையில் வாழ்க்கைச் சக்கரம் முன்னும் பின்னுமாய் நகர்ந்து கொண்டிருந்தது... வறுமையிலும் உழைத்த மங்கலம் மல்லிகையாய் மெலிந்தாலும் வாழ்க்கையில் மணமில்லை!

தன் மகளின் எதிர் காலத்தை நினைத்தே கண்ணீர் சிந்திய இரவுகள் பல. தான் படிக்கவில்லை, தன் மகளும் படிக்காமலே இருந்து தன்னைப் போல் வறுமையில் சிக்க விருப்பமுமில்லை.. உடல் நலம் குன்றுவதால் வேலைக்கும் சரிவர போக முடியாத சூழலில், தன் மகளைப் பள்ளிக்கூடம் அனுப்ப முடிவெடுத்தாள், எங்கள் தமிழச்சி!!

சேற்றைக் கல்லாய் செதுக்கிய சிற்பியின் விரல்களில் எழுதுகோல் தற்போது, எழுதத்தான் எத்தணிக்கிறது! வயிற்று பிழைப்பிற்கே வழியில்லாத நிலையில், மங்கலமும் மகளோடு பள்ளிக்கூடம் சென்று கொண்டே இருக்கிறாள், மதிய சத்துணவைப் பகிர்ந்து உண்ண!!..

கரும வீரருக்கு நன்றிகள் பல! இரண்டு முட்டைகள், வாழைப் பழமும் வழங்க ஆணையிட்ட கலைஞருக்கும் நன்றிகள் பற்பல!! நன்றிகளை உரித்தாக்கினாலும், இலவச வண்ணத் தொலைக்காட்சிகளை வழங்கி வறுமை ஒழிக்கத் தவறியதற்கு, என் நெற்றிக்கண் சுட்டெரிக்கட்டும் சூரியனை!

செய்திக்காக: 2005ல் நான் எழுதிய கீழ்க்கண்ட ஹைக்கூ கவிதையின் கருவே, கதையாய் மேலே...

தந்தையும் மகனும்

பள்ளிக்கூடம் செல்கிறார்கள்,

மதிய சத்துணவிற்காக!!

Aren't you playing, Mr.Bharani?

A siesta, at desk in the office, is a thing of great pleasure. "Hey Bharani.. Manager watched you and he was unhappy about what you did...", would always be ringing in my ears, remiding me that I was still alive on this planet. I always had this faint doubt - Is that my team mates' way of game, to kill their boredom? Also, have wondered as why the hell, the managers seldom felt sleepy!?!

I hated everytime when I was juiced like an orange by this boredom. At the end, I would have no other go other than to play Minesweeper (My only favourite game) which had always aided me in keeping myself active. Minesweeper (MS) is one of the simplest and most creative games I ever know. As I played MS, I would feel a glimpse of joy when my team mates would have their eyes struck to my Desktop. I wanted to express my cardial gratitude to them when they had successfully brought that to my manager's attention. As ever, my Manager expressed his disdain over me.

A scent of guilt, not for killing time but for being caught while killing, was all around my cabin! A bolt of frustration kept my eyes glued to my desktop which was ever in a total haphazard manner. It was then, something sparked from deep underneath my skull... Why don't I try this - a game?

The desktop was filled with files and shortcuts almost to its brim, making it a complete mess. I was trying to sort these files manually based on the type of these files. Certainly, after a few instants, I realized that I was enjoying that instinct of arranging these files. It was more of a game. I figured out two simple rules to give the game, the game thing!

May be this might interest you folks... Try it once...!

Prerequisites:

1) As you align all the icons to the grid, you should consider only ONE empty grid next to the icon for temporary storage and should be chosen only once.

2) Better to have a clumsy desktop (Say, minimum of 20 icons), though it has the recycle bin :-)

Rules of the Game:

1) An icon can be dragged only one step in any of the four directions, provided it is free.

2) An icon should NOT be dragged over the other icon.

Note: Temporary grid is chosen only once and cannot be changed while playing.

I am sure this isn't a total innovation but, it is a great challenge trying this out on the desktop. Also, it is the best hide - When Manager looks at me, he concludes that I'm desperately searching for a file in the desktop! Isn't that Novel? Yes, I work hard to hardly work!

Onus to choose the best thief..

Finally, I have received my voter’s id, after my fourth attempt. I was thinking about the party to which I can cast my vote in the 15th LS election. I decided to read the manifestations of the BJP, the Congress and the third front. Yes! Sitting idle in my office, restricting myself from licking my thumb, I was grazing over them. I bet; it was very tedious to condense the mammoth manifestos and incorporating my views into them.

BJP lead NDA:

I was taken aback when I was reading the BJP’s manifesto by the way it was exaggerated in the media. Excerpts from BJP manifesto.

1) NDA’s lucid vision about fighting against the terror by improving upon the POTA, completely revamping intelligence agencies, setting up intelligence agencies, issuing national ID card etc is very impressive. NDA still enjoys the faith of most of citizens because of its track record of national security policies and their implementation.

2) On reviving the national economy from recession to growth, most of the points are unclear.

3) Though NDA remains committed to implementation of the 33% political representation from women, it’s a never-ending story.

4) BJP promises to facilitate the protection of Tamils in Sri Lanka. This just seems to be a political placard against the Congress. So, in my perspective, I would declare this agenda, null and void. I’m just wondering who (ministers) will coordinate with BJP from TamilNadu.

5) Oath to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. This is being exaggerated by the media neglecting a plenty of other good things to discuss about. However, this agenda is a s**t as far as I’m concerned. It’s not that I’m saying this just because I’m an atheist. But, I am trying my humanity inside. There are strong reasons that it could lead to civil instability in India. Nobody wants to see a second episode of 6/12. Even BJP does not discuss about this issue in the rallies, since they are aware of a potential danger of back-firing on them.

6) BJP promises 35 kg rice and wheat at Rs 2/Kg. This is a gimmick to woo the BPL people. Note that Congress promises 25 Kg rice and wheat at Rs 3/Kg, which seems to be an optimized value. I’m not sure how much of accurate calculation and analysis has been done to arrive at these numbers.

Though BJP has the edge over the counter-parts in terms of manifesto, BJP is still widely considered as a regional party with a soft corner towards religion. It may provide the best of national security at the border against the intruders but at the cost of communal violence inside the country. Its weakness is that it does not even have few other major regional parties in the lotus pond, though there are speculations about Jaya joining NDA, post-election. Varun episode will have negligible impact on the result, though he was popularized. I would be surprised if BJP is able to win maximum of 20 constituencies from TN, AP and Kerala. BJP is still literally contesting in half of India.

Congress lead UPA:

Congress manifesto boasts about the sign off of indo-us nuclear deal, waiver of farmer loans worth of 65K crores, implementation of NREGA scheme, fastest GDP growth etc. The future plans are almost same as that of NDA’s in issues like fighting against terrorism, women empowerment, IT development. Surprisingly, congress did not mention anything about the completion of RamSethu project. It enjoys the reputation of its financial security track records.

The seat-sharing negotiations were going well initially until it took nose-dive when Lalu and Mulayam Singh refused to offer the number of seats demanded by Congress. This could very well prove to be the worst decision made by the think-tank of Congress. The opinion polls hint that Congress has upper hand against BJP in many constituencies. I would not be surprised if Congress again tries to steer the ship against the toughest coalition muddy water. The aam admi will give priority to financial security rather than the national security, which could very well be provided by UPA as most of us believe.

Third Front:

The CPI(M) manifesto blames the Congress for the price rice, BJP for communal violence threats. It has little to offer other than the restatement of its known positions like improving the food security, amending 123 agreement, caring for the BPL people. It promises to provide the farm loan at 4% interest rate, 14 essential commodities. The manifesto is exclaimed as the old wine in a new bottle by the political analysts. CPI will make the higher class people to cast their votes this time (obviously, against it) because of the fear of possible stringent actions against the investment policies. Thanks to the third front!

The strength of third front is having popular regional parties like JD(S), AIADMK, PMK, TDP, NCP, BJD in its bucket. The prime ministerial candidate is a major issue, as there are high possibilities of alter-ego and opportunistic jump of regional parties from one pool to the other, just for the sake of money. Though the iron lady of Indian politics, Maya decided to face this election on her own irrespective of tacit agreement with third front, there is a possibility of joining into the third front post-elections by demanding the prime ministerial post. The BSP is expected to win at least 30-40 constituencies by not only sweeping the entire Dalits vote out of 80 constituencies in UP. I don’t see anything to be bewildered, if India happens to see five prime ministers from different parties without the LS election for 4-5 years.

Fourth Front:

‘Opportunism’ is the word that strikes my mind when I think of fourth front. An aimless alliance formed by the trio Mulayam-Lalu-Paswan.The PRP leader Chiranjeevi expressed his interest in joining the fourth front. I’m pretty much sure about Lalu returning to the UPA (by demanding huge amount and being convinced by the likes of Sonia and Pranab). There is not much to talk about the opportunists.

What could be the result!?!

Even though the BJP manifesto is impressive, I worry about the economical feasibility of implementation of the schemes, considering the recession. In my view, the most possible outcome of this election will be a hanging parliament situation followed by the formation of UPA government by pulling the horses from counter-parts. Opportunists would be the king-makers after the election. I have to admit that I’m not very confident on this prediction, because I don’t have good knowledge about the hidden treasures with the mammoths. Money is once again going to play vital role, which is a shame on the whole of India. The meltdown of national leadership is very clear now as this will lead to difficulties in solving the inter-state issues. The high emergence of regional parties will aggravate the pain at the centre to pass the bills. The onus to choose the best thief is on us! I felt that I have social responsibility not to use words like thief, but couldn't find a better word. I regret my vocabulary at times like this!

Wish Him Longevity!!

Sunil, a salubrious baby at birth, grew up into a notorious kid, much to the displeasure of fellow villagers. Sunil was a very adamant kid and short tempered. He was well known for throwing the stones at others. His father was a jobless farmer who hardly worked on the field. His father got a job for a meager salary and decided to migrate to the town for his son's education.

Like most other kids, Sunil always refused to go to the school. He used to jump out of the rickshaw when he was on the way to the school. Sometimes, he used to abscond from the school in the lunch hour and walked around 5 kilometers to reach the home on his own. It was a burden for his parents to send him to the school for education. His parent's dreams were shattered because of his disinclination towards education. There were only days with tears in their eyes rather than happiness on their face. His father lost the interest in his job though there was a paucity of workers.

The days rolled on and Sunil was very excited about the upcoming annual holidays. He dreamt of going back to village and playing with his friends. But, probably that should have been the worst vacation holidays he would have ever expected. His father, fed up with his negligent attitude towards studies, decided to teach him the alphabets and numbers. It was a bitter pill to swallow for him. He was flogged and forced to study. His father turned into a villain to him, right from the day he was flogged.

Sunil started obeying to his father's orders. He knew that if at all he passed the LKG, it was because of the mercy of his teachers and the school norms. He stopped absconding from the school in UKG. His father put all the efforts to educate Sunil. Sunil showed a bit of hint that he was improving. His handwriting improved better and started the UKG as a mediocre student. He studied well and secured very good marks under his father's care and tutelage. He was a first rank holder in the quarterly examinations and he continued to study well. He was selected as a best performer in his class. Sunil's parents were on the cloud nine after hearing that his son would be receiving the prize from the Collector. They bought a new uniform and a pair of new shoe and socks for their son by spending a month's salary on a day just before the 'parents day'. The below picture is a snapshot of that happiest moment.

Sunil was instructed to say 'Thank You, Sir' to the Collector with the smiling face. He was busy in following the instructions during the prize ceremony while his parents were overwhelmed with tears of joy. It was unarguably the happiest day of his life, even though he is not sure till now whether he was happy or not on that day. Yes. It was truly the parents' day! This parents day was the day that changed his life. This was the day, Sunil’s father decided to work with determination for his children. This was the day that he brought laurels to his parents for the first time. His father has been a mentor in many aspects of his life and is a villain-turned-hero now :-) . Wish his father a good health and longevity. The unsung heroine of this story is his mom, who shared this story few days before. There will surely be a blog about her, but not in the near future since it would have to be served with different flavors.

Continuation : All about Sunil - Part 2