Why Timmy wouldn't get you a Bangalore sim

'Um....I don't think i have my liscence with me.'That was me with the usual sheepish smile on my face when i kinda forget or lose things.

My parents didnt seem to be quite amused with that statement of mine.After the wonderful experience of getting a cupboard at Marianville,(described in detail here) we were going back to my cousin Jimmy and Timmy's place .I was supposed to get a new sim for myself so that i won't make my dad poorer than he should be.

After the usual talk on how careless I am, blah,blah blah and repeating it in front of Bobby Vellyappan, Maries Velliamma ,Jimmy and Timmy, a magical solution was found for this apocalyptic problem- get one of my cousins to get a sim for me.And the lucky person was Timmy.

He's my age,a nice sweet person,recently graduated as an engineer and who is ,by my standards, quiet. I've never seen him violent or angry. Ever.His final year exams were approaching and he was supposed to stay indoors ar all hours and learn.Now dear cousin Timmy went out and got me a new sim.

Which resulted in-

7 Am:"Get up! it's 7 already! you have to reach your office by 9:30!'

(I know Amma. I have this thingy called an 'alarm' in my phone which I have set so that I can get up when I want.)

9:15AM:"have you started walking to the office? Is there a lot of traffic? Do you remember the way? are there people walking ?Are you about to reach? Are you sure you are on the right way?"

(No, I'm still thinking if i should stay and reply to your questions or get to the office on the first day before time and create an impression. )

1:00 PM: 'Is it your lunch break?What have you got for lunch?Did you buy a pickle bottle yet?Don't go out of the office,just stay there even if the break is long,Okay?'

(yeah,yeah,right.I'll surely stay put when there's a pani puri ,pink guava and lots of other things beckoning my tastebuds to wash away the hostel food)

5:30PM:'Is it over?No? It will get over soon, right? I mean before it is dark?'

(Sure.The main concern of everybody at Draft FCB+Ulka,Bangalore is to ensure that I reach back at Marian Ville before dark.)

6:30PM:'How much longer would you have to stay there? Tell them that your hostel is strict and won't let you in after 7.'

(Ofcourse.That is exactly what i would do on my first day-ask them to leave me early. )

8:00PM:'Are you back? No? It must be really dark ,right? You sure you are on the right road? There are people on the road ,na?Like, don't walk through deserted alleys, Okay?'

(Fine.Fine! And I can cross the road if you would just stop eating my ears.)

9:00PM'Did you have dinner? What was there?"

(Amma.I.Am.Just.Too.Tired.)

11:00PM:'Sleep early, na? You have to wake up tomorrow at 7! Want me to call you?'

(No.But you are not going to 'Not call' ,are you?)

Since my phone connected me with the rest of the world, i had to fight the urge of flushing it down the toilet. But thankfully the no. of calls per day drastically reduced after i lost my temper once and said i won't pick up if there's more than ONE or a maximum of TWO calls a day.

A couple of days later ,i was happily working away on my comp at the office when the phone rang.

'Hello?'

'Hello.May I speak to Mr Rohit?'

Rohit? Oh Timmy! For a fraction of a second i was lost coz i had forgotten Timmy's real name.

'I'm sorry,he's not available right now.Who is this?'

'This is from Airtel, Ma'am. We are calling for the verification process of this number.This is Mr Rohit's number,right?'

'Yes,Yes.I am his sister.'

'What is your address,Ma'am?

well...Jimmy and Timmy lived at Horamavu....

'Horamavu'

'The complete address please.'

'I....I just moved into Bangalore recently...I dont...'

'Ma'am can you tell me your father's name?'

That was easy.

'Bobby'

'Full name please'

Gulp. What was his full name? I call him Bobby Velliappan.Lemme guess...

'um....Bobby Emmatty?'

'Ma'am, I'm sorry,but we have to cancel the connection to this-'

'No, Bobby J Emmatty!'

'Sorry, Ma'am, we'll have to cancel the connection. Kindly contact the customer care.'

'Bobby James Emmatty?'

'Ma'am I have to hang up now.Please contact the customer care.'

Darn. Why the hell did i pick up. And what a great call that was- claiming to be Rohit Bobby's sister without knowing Bobby's full name? Well done, Resh.

Timmy wasn't picking up his phone, but Jimmy was online then and i explained how my mom would die of heart attack if she wouldnt be able to talk to me.Jimmy said that Timmy should be in some class or learning something. After a while, i got through to Timmy.

The poor chap had to leave his books go to the Airtel customer care and fix things for me when he should have been earnestly learning.

My internship was over and I was enjoying the last weekend at Bangalore with an assortment of friends- Shibu,his junior ,Jo and cousin Nitin.While coming back from Amoeba,I just looked around my camera bag for my phone and I couldnt feel it. No amount of frantic search in/out that place could find it and i sadly realized that my phone has also entered the long list of things I'd lost recently,including 4 umbrellas and one sim.(the stars hadn't revealed yet that one more umbrella would be lost and that i would jump into a swimming pool with the new phone i was going to buy).

The sad news had to be broken to my folks who'd be coming to B'lore the next day.So i called up Amma from Nitin's phone.

'You lost your phone now????What were you thinking?How could you lose your phone???Now how will i get to meet and everything else? Silly Idiot!'

Nitin had to part with his phone for the night so that my mom could sleep peacefully during her busride to Bangalore.

Now dear Timmy, who was supposed to learn for his exams, who was not permitted to wander around with Nitin and me because of the exam, had to take away a few hours of his precious time trying to cancel the number-

'What was the last call made from this number?'

'I don't know...It was with my sister'

'What was the duration of your last call?'

'@#$%%^6^77'

From what i've heard, Timmy lost his cool completely and swore that he would not offer to buy a sim for any living soul on this planet.And though i caused him to lose out on many many hours,he's finally an engineer now :)

:( :)

a group of friends

class time fun

teases and laughs

'intersting pen'

friendship pacts

signed and torn

comes a new year

comes new surprises

silence and no chatter

a quest to know why

a piece of paper

alphanumerals scattered

'it's not from,me,but him'

says the messesnger

alone inside my room

upon my study table

time,time again

i try to make sense

one new method tried

and it all fell to places

'***** ***** ******'

a lump inside my throat

butterflies inside my tummy

what do i do now?

what shall i say now?

pretended i didnt know

pretended i didnt care

until that fateful day

my friends tried to say

then i had to say

that i knew it too

but right now i dont want

all this silly stuff

let us both be friends

let us both grow up

let us stand on our own legs

and let us then decide

it took a lot of coaxing

to get him to talk to me

but then with time

the best of help

we grew to be good friends

and then to best of friends

and then,my best(est) friend

inaugerating pens

letters in old notebooks

words written in blood

poems and quotations.

walks to tuition class

waits till i go back

drenched in the rain

feelings unspoken

fights in between

always solved by friends

trys to move apart

but always comes together

when new people came

when new loves blossomed

the old 'friendship' couldnt resist

to see it silently

denied being jealous,

but jealousy was all

untill i had to go and say

i felt the same too.

but time cahnges people

time changes things

my bird was not the same

i'll never get the same

together the journey went on

with rough moments now and then

passions grew stronger

they expressed

egos too, may be

and they too.

the next separation was

for me the worst by far.

no one can get it

not even him

and so the distance's far

tried to be close still

but somehow didnt work

had to part our ways

a year of solid silence

talks are now not real

and when real ,not right

lives have twisted,tangled

lets not get them mangled

memories just come

when we least expect

a song,a sight,a note

is all that it takes

I Need It...

My teeth are stained reddish violet.I long to suck more of that liquid.I can't stop myself.I need more.I dip the icy chunk again and again into the dark liquid and suck it hard.And within a few minutes, that Kalakhatta is also over.

'Can i borrow twenty bucks, plz?' i ask any familiar face around coz i've finished all the money on me already. Now for my favorite- Panipuri.

There are a few sacks full of the puris in the stall and near it are the vessels filled with the tastiest, tangiest liquids ever concocted. And a bit of the aloo and whatever it is mix.

I get my paper bowl.

'Teeka or medium?'

'Medium'

A hole is cracked on my first puri, in it goes to the sweet and sour tamarind water which is thick and gooey, and now it takes a dip into the less viscous green hot thingy and he holds it out to me.

As i put it in my mouth there is a burst of various tastes tingling my tastebuds. There are crisp bits of the puri and a mouthfull of tasty water and before i can savor the taste of each part of it separately,i am handed out the next one. And the next...And so it goes. It doesnt even take two minutes for my twenty bucks to depart from me in this process. But thats just one amongst all the other 20 Rs notes that have gone away from me. Including the one today.

I crave for it these days. Usually my cravings are for chicken in any form, so long as it is dead and not bloody. But this little round goblet of exploding tastes have won my heart over now.There are no city trips for me now,which does not include a plate(or two or three or more) of panipuri. May be i'm full with a pizza from Pizza hut, a happy meal from Mc Donalds, a nice dosa from Vaishali, paneer and romali roti from good luck or a sub from subway....i need my panipuri.

This post ends here with my stating again that i love panipuri. A lot.

HATE HOSPITALS

Today was supposed to be another lazy day, waking up at 9, hanging out with friends...Going to the zoo n palace with Jo, Suraj n Arun, to be precise. But some 1200 coconuts stopped suraj from joining us, so that stopped Ka, so that would mean only two of us, so postponed. My dad took this opportunity to take me to the doc before leaving to Pune.

I had checked my blood group only a couple of months back and even that had taken 3 nurses at the polyclinic and my dad. I hate going to hospitals. What was wrong with me ? Nothing. But my mom wanted a doctor to say that before i left.

So dad and i were at the Trichur Heart hospital.

'I'll go and see if Victor is there. Collect the registration card'

Dad went to find that Doc.

'150 Ruppees. Get your BP checked before you go to the OP' said that lady at the counter.

Giving 150 Rs to her was fine. But getting my BP checked? Nope. I walked straight to the OP without casting a glance towards those blue uniformed nurses who sat to check the BP. But another from the blue tribe found me and sent me to check it. And my pulse, height and weight. Totally hated it.

Since my dad had to say some reason for bringing me to see the doc, he told about my 'blacking out's. When my doggie Scooby was being given gluose and shots at the veterinary hospital a few weeks back, i had felt giddy. I hate everything about hospitals right from the phenyl smell to the green sheets to the various equipments to the scary docs. Veterinary hospital had felt much better than the ones for humans, but still...........And there was another time when i wanted to sit down instead of standing up and singing with the choir early in d morning right after i got up, without eating anything, before the mass. But i was okay after i had sometime to lay down or sit down for a while.

'Did you have double vision when you had these black outs?'

'No'

'Did you feel sweaty, felt like puking or have a headache?'

'No'

'Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?'

'Can i go home?'

Laying down on that bed like thingy with green sheets on it was awkward. I have never been on a hospital bed since my mom and i came back home after she got me out of her tummy. That was like, um,almost twenty one years earlier. Doctors torture you. He scratched on the underside of my foot and hit my ankle with something and said that my reflexes were fine. And push my toe against his pushing it down. and lifting my legs without bending my knees(That was fine coz it was similar to the stretching excersises after badminton. And good thing i chose to wear that stupid blue jeans instead of the black skirt) And then more torture by pointing a torch into each of my eyes , asking me to stick my tongue out....Phew, i was glad to get up from there and get back on to the chair.

'Every thing seems fine. You must have felt giddy because of the uneasiness of being at a hospital and because you didnt have breakfast that morning'

Yup. Right. Off to home.

'But just to make sure, why don't we take a blood test and a scan?'

Dad? i didn't sign up for anything that gets a needle anywhere near me! Couldn't yell that out to him,but i guess he got that from my look.

'We'll get it done soon, dear'

'I don't want to.'

'Well, you needn't do the blood test. Go for the scan. Its just like taking a photograph.' the doctor intervened.

Okay. I had gone to the hospital scared of getting a shot. Now there were no needles involved, but i'm getting SCANNED?

'It's a modern hospital thingy,' joked dad. 'When you get in hospital, the exits are only through a lab, an x-ray room or a scanning room. Victor must've suggested it coz it was the shortest way out.'

Nice try.

No dad near by. He was off to pay the bill and i was lead to the scanning room by a white coat lady. A blue shirt guy sat inside that room. Scanning machine. First time i'm seeing one. even that had green sheets. Yuck. Uncomfortable time on it, with two straps making sure i'm in the right position( or may be to make sure i don't run off.) Felt Glad that only my head went inside that thingy. Wouldv'e felt worse if i was sucked in by the giant machine altogether. Good thing i'll be dead before they put me in a coffin. Wouldn't want it the other way round.

Found dad after the great scan. Mom called just then. And on hearing that i was 'SCANNED' guess she almost fainted. Did i just say fainted? May be we should bring her over tomorrow. And check her up. After all it was her idea to sent me to get a check up! Like my dad said to the doc, either make sure my daughter is fine physically or that my wife is fine mentally. She's too over concerned!