the painted glass

Cape Town nocturnal

2008-10-25T15:11:00.026-05:00

[This story follows a bit of the context set by A monsoon to haunt. Reading it before you proceed here is highly recommended]

It had been almost a year since I was stationed at Bamako, Mali as Telecommunications Field Engineer with the UN. The first year in the dark continent was quite an adventure in itself, although life was contained almost totally in Mali. I was straining for a break, may be not a vacation as such, but just a short change; and that's why I decided to accept an invitation for a week-long leadership camp at Cape Town, even though it was half a continent away!

I checked into the Table Bay Hotel at 10 past 11:00 PM on Sunday, the 20th of February, 2005. The camp stretched over the five days to follow; Saturday was free, and my return flight was scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday. Saturday would be my big day! I already had a rough agenda in my mind, one was for sure to take a snap against the statue of Bartolomeu Dias, then probably a cable-car ride up the Table Mountain, then may be check out the Lions Head, some aquatics, and then do what ever was popular in Cape Town.

Seldom did I know how dramatically things would change in the next few days to come.

* * * * * *

The programme began at 9 AM on Monday, with the customary breakfast and coffee. We were then shuffled and re-arranged, with each person to be paired up with a randomly chosen activity partner along with a round of introductions. My name was called out for introductions, and then "Dr. Suzanne Roux". I watched, as a pretty lady got up from the group, and walked to the microphone beside me.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Suzanne Roux; I work with WHO on the Global Malaria Programme" She smiled at the group. She had dark red hair, and an athletic physique.
"I'm from Rouen, France, and currently stationed here at Cape Town" Her accent strongly proclaimed her roots.

We retired to the group, while next names were called. As we sat down next to each other, we shook hands, and Suzanne whispered
"My apologies... I didn't quite get your last name, Mr. Kan..."
"Its Kan-ji-ra-thin-kal; but that's okay, you can call me Tedy" I smiled cheerfully
"I'll make that Ted" She too smiled warmly "I'm Suzanne Roux, you may call me Su"

* * * * * *

As days gave way one to the other, we got quite acquainted with each other; thanks to the day long sessions and activities. On Thursday evening, she showed me around the city, and later as we parted, she asked,
"So, what's your plan for the weekend?"
"Well, you know.. some lame plans, nothing solid... But you know what? What I'd like to do is something really cool... you know..? Something adventurous, something even a bit stupid, abnormal... " I went dramatic
"hehe" she laughed "you know what? I know exactly what you could do; and here's the bonus - I'll join you if you agree to my plan"
"Aaha... what's the plan, mi lady?"
"Before that, lemme ask you this - you are good at rock climbing?"
"Yeah, I am"
"How good? Just good? or pretty good?"
"Pretty good, I should say"
"Well then, lets climb the Table mountain tomorrow night!"
"What??? Climb that at night?" I pointed the Table mountain "you nuts?? at night?!!"
"Ted" She paused, gave me a you-idiot look and pointed up the sky "look up"
"Look up what? the sky? the stars? the moon?"
"The moon, you moron! Its full moon!! Tomorrow would be almost as lit as tonight! If you are good at climbing, that's all you need!... plus, what's the fun if there a'int some danger in it" she winked.
"You are nuts!" I circled my forefinger against my temple.
"Hey" she looked at me offended
"You are not serious!" I shot back.
I longed for that expression of her's to change, but her face didnt even twitch.
"Ahhh" I sighed "You are serious"
She pursed her lips and shook her head, giving a oh-yes-I-am-honey look.

I looked at the mountain. It did seem inviting, and may be I too was longing for some real adventure with a tinge of madness in it... And, if she looks so confident, may be I should go for it.

"Alright" I muttered in half-disbelief "Alright, I'll go... but I don't have any gear"
"That's fine, we'll rent it out" She beamed.
"Su, you are wierd!"
"Oui" she laughed. I too joined her in a relaxed chuckle.

"Au revior" I smiled, took a step back and made a little bow
"A bientôt" she too bowed smiling, and we parted for the day.

* * * * * *

Friday seemed to drag on, and by afternoon, I was all waiting for the sun to set. Once out of the center, we went to a gear-rental. I got a pair of climbing shoes, harness and hydration pack, carabiners, quick draws and rope. We then parted to get back to our places to slip into comfortable clothing, and promised to meet each other at six for a light dinner.

Crimson had already spread when we met again. Su wore a tank top and pair of shorts, and me a tank-top and a pair of convertible cargo pants with the lower half off. We had a quick bite, and went through our plan again. We would take a cab to the south-west foot of the mountain; climb up the 1000m vertical stretch; reach the top past midnight; watch the entire 360 degree cityscape in moonlight, spend the night there, wake up to watch the sunrise if possible (which I really doubted after the tiresome climb), roam around the top a bit sight-seeing, and then start the hike down the easier northern side of the mountain, to reach the foot just before evening.

We started the climb at seven.
Twilight gave way to moonlight as the clocked ticked by.

* * * * * *

The climb, against my initial apprehensions, was quite interesting; it seemed quick and tireless, one reason was the absence of sun which tires you off soon; the other of course was the presence of a perfect companion - Su and I talked about everything under the sun and above (yeah, the perfect sort of company that gels with me)

We reached the top of the mountain past midnight, leaving behind a kilometer of vertical climb and five short hours. We took off our gear, changed our shoes, took trotts around the area from brim to brim watching the splendor of Cape town basked in silver, and the serenity of the Atlantic ocean. After 10 minutes of running around, we lay down at last, tired, watching the stars, a little away from the cable-car station.

Su broke the silence "You know the history of Cape Town?"
"Yeah... a bit... Bartolomeu Dias... he found it, called it the cape of storms... and later John II of Portugal named it as Cape of Good hope... yeah... I've heard all those"
"You know where Dias landed?"
"Eh?"
"Do you know where Dias landed?" She turned on her side towards me.
"I guess not... but, is there something like that? I haven't heard of any such po.."
"C'mmon I'll show you" She jumped up to her feet.
I hesitated for a moment wondering if she was just hoaxing it up, but got up anyway, as she ran to a nearby brim.

"There" she pointed west, and looked back at me.
I walked to the brim and stood abreast. "There?"
"Yeah" she continued causally "He was caught up in a storm for 13 days, went that way", drifting her pointed finger towards east, "anchored at Mossel Bay, and later came back and landed here" Her finger traced it way back
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow
"What?"
"Nah... at times, you sound a bit wierd..." I laughed
"I am" she made a pose and smiled
"In a cute way, though" I added with a smile
"hehe" she chuckled
We stood there staring into the moonlit bay for a while more.

"Lets see if we can hear this stone hit the bottom" Su broke the silence again, and tossed with her right foot a small stone which lay around. The stone rolled, and fell down the edge, and we heard a faint thud in a couple of seconds.
"Eh!" I leaned forward to have a look down the edge.
"hm" she added, and went down on all four to take a closer look down.
We did expect to hear a sound, but what was strange was that what we heard was not the sound of stone against stone or gravel, neither did we hear the stone bounce off to make its way further down the stretch. It sounded as if it had hit something softer, a kilometer up the ground on this rocky terrain.

We strained to catch what was down there for a few minutes. Moon was bright, but the place which caught our interest was in the shadows, and we couldn't really make out much. Su had almost given up and started to get back on two, when I noticed something
"Su" I waved her back down, not lifting up my head.
"Saw something?" she got back on her four
"Yeah, aint it rope you see there?" I pointed midway to a slope which went down a little away from where we stood.
She strained her eyes "hmm.. seems so... but what about it? You see lots around"
"no no.. follow it further down" I pointed down the slope
She peered... and in a tone of disbelief, muttered, "Is it?..." her words cut off, as she too pointed to the place I showed her
"Seems so" I looked at her, my eyes reflecting doubt and mystery

It did look in the dim silver, at the edge where shadow crept in, that a pair of climbing shoes lay. It of course was normal for a pair of climbing shoes to be there, someone would have just thrown their damaged pair around, like the pieces of rope. But what was abnormal, was that the pair were lying vertical to the ground, as if they were still worn!

We jumped up to our feet.
"Su, we need to check it out; sad that we didnt carrry a torch" I walked towards the spot where the slope began. Su followed.
I stepped on to the slope, and Su caught my hand "Stop; you'll need the shoes and the gear. Stay, I'll go fetch"

I studied the slope till where it was lit, till Su was back. Both of us slipped in to our climbing shoes, gloves, harnesses, and hooked on the quickdraws. I tied one end of the rope to my harness. Su took a locking position against a rock, and carabined the rope. We shook our heads in agreement, and she slowly loosened the rope, as I carefully climbed down the slope, my target around 100 meters away waiting for me.

* * * * * *

I reached the shadows in less than ten minutes, and carefully grounding my left foot, I gently nudged one of those shoes with my right. In fraction of a moment, I was sure that the shoe was not empty - it was on someone's feet, and that a person lay there infront of me in the darkness, either dead, or alive.

"There's someone here" I yelled up to Su.
"Oh God! Alive?" she yelled back.
"Need to check - can't see; slack me out slowly" I had to go atleast a meter down further to check if the person was alive. But in that darkness, I could never say if I'd step on to a trecherous rim.

Su slacked the rope inch by inch, and I crawled forward slowly making sure all my four were on safe ground. It was a man, I learned soon, and as I touched his stomach, felt a small stone on top, and beneath it, extremely feable undulations of life.

"Su, its a man, he's alive" I yelled
"I'll call 107" Su wound the rope tight to her right hand, and took out cell phone with her left.

I peered around to make out as much as I could. The narrow strip where he lay was over 50 meters from the top of the mountain, but he couldnt have fell from that height. If so, he could seldome have stayed there; in the fall, he would have toppled over, and gone to the depths. I looked back up the slope. Probably he fell somewhere further up the slope, and was damn lucky that he slid down this strip and not topple over or slid further down and over the edge into his death.

"They'll be here soon" Su yelled down
"Anything to check while we wait, doc?" I yelled back
"Yeah, check his pulse"
"Slack me down"
Su eased the rope a bit more, and I crawled a few more inches ahead, and found his wrist.
"Su, no pulse at the wrist"
"You sure? You are non-medical"
"Seems so. Ease me down a bit more, lemme check his carotid"
Su eased me a bit more down, and I felt his neck
"Weak carotid pulse; checking heart beat" I closed in my left ear on to his chest
"Weak heartbeat" I completed my diagnosis and waited for Su to respond.

"Ted" she yelled back "Don't move his body. He might have had a vertebral fracture from the fall, and probably other multiple fractures too. If you move him, it could complicate things"
"Alright. What should I do?"
"Just wait. The rescue would be in here any minute."

I didn't respond. I felt a bit let down, as I was asked just to wait and not do anything to help him; but well, I knew that it was the best to do. Any unnecessary heroics from me could prove adverse for the man who lay there, probably almost half dead.

I reclined slowly from the crawl to a squat against the mountain wall, overlooking the grand canopy spread infront of me.
"Let go" I yelled to Su, giving the rope a light tug, and she loosened her grip on the rope.
I gently wrapped my fingers over the man's ankle, and muttered "Hang in there pal, you'll be alright soon."

* * * * * *

Seven minutes passed by, and then I heard the distant rumble of a helicopter. A minute more, and it was quite near, and I looked up and saw Su waving her hands signaling them.

In a couple of minutes, spotlights were stationed which lit the entire area; I looked up, and saw lifting apparatus being errected. Two men were lowered down via ropes fed over the pullies; they greeted and thanked me and immediately got to examine the man. In the bright light, I saw him clearly - a white man, probably in his late twenties.

One of the men muttered something into his radio, looking up. I gave a glance up, and a stretcher came hanging down from the pullies. The two men skillfully transferred him to the stretcher. I looked up at Su, found her talking to one of the crew; probably updating the medical condition or exchanging contact information. In a minute, the stretcher went up gently but quickly; we watched as the crew above parked the stretcher hanging in mid-air, to safe ground. One of the men beside me muttered to his radio, and was pulled up. The rope was thrown down again, and the other man signalled me to hook it up to my harness. In a minute, both of us where on our way up.

By the time I touched my foot back at the top, the stretcher had already gone inside the chopper. In a minute, the entire apparatus was dismantled and crew was on board. Su was near the chopper, a short distance infront of me; and as the rotor gained speed, she pulled back, her eyes still fixed onthem. I slowly walked to her from behind, and stood beside as the chopper lifted.

"Su" I gently called her
"Oh" She jerked as if woken up from a trance, turned to me, and hugged me tight. I hesitated for a moment, and then wrapped my hands reassuringly around her.
"We did it" She muttered and looked up my face smiling
"Yup" I smiled and shook my head.

We watched the chopper fly down to the city, and then disappear into one of the tiny dots far below. We lay down once more on our backs on the rocky bed, watched the moon with a smile on our lips, and too tired, passed out into a contended slumber.

* * * * * *

It was the rumble of the cable-car engine that woke me; sun was already up, and my watch beeped 8 AM. My body ached every inch, as I slowly got up to a squat. The last night flashed like a dream in front of my eyes, and a smile again spread on my lips with a deep sence of satisfaction. Su was still asleep; I watched her peaceful face for a few moments, and then shook her awake. We sat there for a few minutes in silence, reliving each moment of the last night.

"Lets go get freshned up" Su pointed at the mountain top restaurant "they have wash-rooms there."
We got up gently, and slowly limped to the restaurant.

* * * * * *

The place started swarming with tourists in a while, and we went around sightseeing like any other person around; had a light lunch around noon, and decided its time to start our climb down north.

We sat there for a moment enjoying the view.
"So, we'll reach down there by evening, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Su asked.
"Well, I have a flight to catch tomorrow noon, I guess I'll just go have dinner and sleeeeeeeeeeep"
"You! are! sooooo! Indian!!!" Su frowned
"What Indian?" I made myself sound playfully offended
"Nothing" She looked away with a snort.
"Okay, Frenchy, you tell me... what do we do?" I smiled
"Alrighty" She too smiled cheerfully "Lets see... what about an early dinner...., a movie..., and say we hit a night club?" She asked playfully, pausing in between
"Oh Su!, I donno..." I pursed my lips... "I don't think late-night dancing is gonna help my noon flight"
"Arghhhh" She punched my shoulder
"Ouch" I cried playfully.
"Alright, listen..." She paused, and playfully put her hand around my shoulder "what about a stroll around the city (I'll show you Dias's statue), a candle-lit dinner at a bayfront restaurant, and..."
"... and..?"
"... and, say, we get back to my place for some dessert?" She smiled
"...dessert!?" I paused and rubbed my chin playfully "hmm..."
"yeah... " she chuckled "...dessert"
"well... " I smiled wide at her beaming face "...sounds like a plan!".

A warm wind caressed us and flew away into the wild inlands.

Tail piece:
Su called me late Monday and informed that the man whom we found was Richard Brown, an Australian tourist on his African vacation. Richard survived the accident, though with multiple fractures and a minor cranial hemorrhage; luckily there was no vertebral injury.

[This is a short story from "An African Odyssey", which paints out the Author's life in Africa during the time he served in the UN (2003 - 2006). After having left the New York headquarters in 2004, he served at various locations across Africa, mostly in Mali, till he returned to New York towards the end of 2006. He soon resigned from UN, and returned to his native place - Kerala, India - to continue his adventures there.

Dr. Suzanne Roux continues to work with the UN. She moved to Switzerland in 2007 and now lives in Geneva with her boyfriend.

And, yeah, of course, it's all imaginary ;-)]

A monsoon to haunt!

2007-12-07T09:11:00.004-06:00

The dark sky pelleted again; this time with heavier drops.
The waiter peeped out of the veranda door and called out, "Sir, you might want to move inside - you'll get wet".
I smiled and waved him off "Its okay, I'm enjoying it".
"Fine, sir", he smiled and disappeared.

It was half past six on a Friday evening, and I sat there at the Coffee beanz veranda atop Bhavani, watching the soft steam whirling away from my hot cup of Mocha beans.

The view from here is awesome, especially on a clear day! The roof-top of Bhavani, which itself is on a hill, is like 250 feet above sea level. What do you need to relax after a tough day at work..? I'll say, all you need is this lush green coconut tree canopy spread around, melting into the million crimson mirrors of Arabian sea; the sweet air of coastal Kerala gently caressing your hair; the calm distant blue-green mountains of the Western Ghats... and of course, a hot cup of mocha and a musical backdrop of Ray Charles or Norah Jones.

I took a sip and craned my neck to see if Nithin had come. He was to join me ten minutes ago - poor soul, probably he's stuck in some conference call or something.

A wind blew, and a few drops sprayed on me... I closed my eyes and sank back into my chair. Some say monsoon is all about love and poetry and salvage and greenery... some say, it brings back memories of a lost childhood, those youthful days of school and college, of times you've spent with your dear ones... but..., for me, these rain drops feel a bit different..., sound a bit different... oh yes, memories are what they bring back, of course... certain memories, and certain sounds - but..., of screams, cries and gunfire!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Africa!
I was a kid when I watched 'Gods must be crazy' - the 'click' tongue of the natives fascinated me so much then, that the only thing I wanted to do once I grew up, was to go to Africa; and yeah, speak to the natives in that tongue! I even thought that Africa would be a little country, where all these natives hunted for a living, and they all passed their life in peace and solace, and oh yes, never having been pushed to attend school.

Yup, the school part might have been partially right, but with the rest, Oh my, how wrong I was!!!

It was during my 2nd year of service in the UN, that I stood looking out from our New York headquarters, a sheet of paper dangling from my folded arms - a memo, deputing me off to Mali! By then, I had already learned that Africa was not just a country - It was a whole big continent with 27 of them, almost all haunted with poverty, famines, civil wars, and not to mention, terror. But, you don't join UN to lead a life of comfort - you join it for something else - and that's what put across a smile on my lips as my aircraft screeched down on to the reddish brown earth of Mali.

Six months had passed since the day I got the memo; I was stationed at Bamako, as the regional 'Telecommunications field engineer', in charge of all telecom infrastructure managed by UN in the area. I did miss 'Starbucks' and the busy streets & pubs of New York, but Mali was fun too; well, in a different way! My time in Mali, its political scenario was a bit steamy. Things were under control for sometime, but then there's a limit, especially when you do get an illegal supply of firearms in abundance! The first local riot was reported in Sakoba, a week prior to the onset of the African Monsoon. And, in Africa, this means that pretty soon you can hear gunshots in your neighborhood. I heard the first gunshot three days from then.

The government declared a curfew, and military tanks roaming the streets became a common sight amidst the pouring rain. A week passed without much trouble other than distant gunshots, and occasional faint screams. Streets other than a few were mostly empty, and packed with more soldiers than civilians.

It seemed that everything was returning to normal, when on that heavily pouring Friday, something sinister dug its fangs!

It was past six in the evening; crimson had already crept in, and I was on my drive back home. A military jeep rolled past, soldiers sat drenched in open rain, armed, alert with fingers perched on their triggers. I watched them drift away slowly, my eyes darting between the road and the rearview mirror. A folk of chicken ran across the street suddenly, and I stamped my breaks in reflex. I was almost absent-minded, and this 'reflex breaking' was the last thing I needed - my engine stalled. A four-letter swear word did escape my lips as I leaned over to turn the ignition back on. Hardly had my fingers closed on the key, that a sudden shouting sprang from some where behind. I jerked a look back; the military jeep was like 200 meters away from me, the soldiers were yelling and trying to jump out in panic, and then I noticed it - a streak of fire closing on them from further down the road.

My breath halted. My heart pounded. Each second seemed like a year, and silence filled my ears; and then, after a moment, the vehicle was no more! A deafening blast, a blinding explosion, and I ducked under my seat for cover. Something fell atop my jeep, and rolled down - a military helmet - it was black and red, and oh my, it wasn't empty!

Sirens started howling immediately in the distant - military vehicles rushing to the spot; but something else too sounded at the same time - not far away - machine gun fires!! I pulled out my service pistol and cocked it, ready to fire. Well, I should mention that I had pulled a trigger many times, but that was always at the training room. This was my first field ordeal, and to worsen things, a panic attack crept in. My heart was pounding heavily, breath was deep and shaky, hands shivering, and I was fighting to hold on to the gun. People ran all over in panic, the shops pulled their shutters down, and the entire place was drowned in screams, yells, and growing gun fires. Then I heard a swoosh, a cling, and in a moment, I was staring at a hole on my windshield!

Reflexes - probably if I was good at anything then, that was it. I ducked before the next bullet cut another spider web on my windshield, and in another five seconds, there was no windshield to cast holes anymore. I listened to bullets thumping in to the seats for another couple of seconds more, and then it stopped. Probably my attacker had found another victim, and I knew that I was right, in another second, when a motor bike across the road gave a handful of clinks, and exploded into a ball of fire. I grabbed the moment, and wriggled across the jeep. I was close to the line of shops at this side, and probably if I could steal a moment, I could run and take shelter around the corner of the next shop.

I peeped out for a look; the attackers were nearer, but were now concentrating on breaking open a set of shops nearby - probably around 100 meters away from me. The black smoke from the burning motor bike clouded down around the place I was, and if I was lucky enough, no one might notice the dark green figure crawling out of the shattered jeep, in thick rain. I took a deep breath, and slipped out, and not wasting a moment, ran around the shop's corner. It was a small dark wedge between two shops, and with all my might, I thumped myself into it. It was darker there, and the moment I was in, I felt I had run into something or someone, and in a moment, I learned it was true. Two panicky screams wailed from around me, and I realized in a bolt of shock that I was not alone.

Two kids stood there - a boy and a girl, probably siblings, in a tight hug, protecting each other. They might have thought I was one of the attackers; I grabbed them around and wrapped my hands around their mouths. "Shhhhh" I hissed. "I'm not going to hurt you, stop it! they'll hear!" The kids continued the scream, and I had to repeat it once more, in French, before they even considered shutting up. They were silent in another few seconds, but I was pretty sure that we'd been heard, and guns would be here any moment now.

The sirens were closer now, and I heard more gunfire. Probably more of army was there, and they were exchanging fire. At least there was a chance of hope. The three of us stood there facing the road, expecting a gun to intrude upon us soon. I had released my hands from over their mouths, and the kids were hugging me tight. The marvel of life - in front of death, anything is hope!! The next moment, I saw the bonnet of an outstretched machine gun streaking around the corner, and there stood a man, black and tall, grinning a cruel stretch of lips. A vulture on a prey, his hands closed on the trigger.

Reflexes, I mentioned a while ago, was my best friend. My right hand shot ahead, my forefinger acting on itself upon the trigger. My bullet hit him fraction of a second before he fired his, and a screeching pain shot up my left shoulder joint, as it almost found its mark. Reflexes again. My right forefinger worked like a piston, pumping out bullets one after the other into him, and as I watched, his gun collapsed, and then he beside it, like a lump of log. I kept on pumping bullets even after he fell, and my fingers never stopped until it was only the empty clicks that were left. I stood there like a statue, looking at my dead enemy - my first kill, my eternal stain!

The kids were screaming again, muffling their mouths tight against my belly; I was in a trance, my right hand still outstretched, holding the pistol, the pain from my left shoulder taking me over. I felt weak, I wrapped my hands around the kids, my fingers still fastened around the empty weapon; and I leaned against the wall, and slid down to a squat.

Gun fire was heavy, so was the rain, but no one came again; probably the army was all over, and the attackers were fleeing or were cornered. Five minutes passed, gun fire ceased, but I was fighting to hold myself from passing out. I sat there holding them close to my face, absorbing their shiver and sobs, and mumbling softly in French, "It's alright, it'll be over right away, you'll be safe." We heard footsteps and yells nearing again, probably the army's; and as a group pounced around the corner, pointing their guns and yelling "Hands up", I yelled back "Don't shoot, don't shoot, there are kids with me". They closed in, and I passed out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A hand touched my shoulder, and I looked around with a jerk.
"Sorry da, that conf call overshot. Couldn't help it." Nithin dropped into the chair near by.
"Oh... It's okay..." I smiled back
"So, how did it end up?"
"Pretty bad - they say this was not what they wanted."
"Ha ha..!! Same old crap, man... same old crap!!" I laughed out loud.
"Yeah... whatever...! Hey, I'll just go in for a sec and place my order. You want one more?" Nithin glanced at my almost empty cup.
"Sure.. go ahead."

As Nithin climbed back into the shop, I slowly ran my fingers over my left shoulder joint. How much has life changed in the past two years! It's like two worlds apart! Sometimes, I even wonder if it’s the same me, here at Infosys. But then, life is a journey... an endless odyssey from realm to realm... What's the fun if you are to tour the same grounds for eternity? To write the same pages for all time to come...? Life has to change... to evolve... to play new games, to fight new battles, to paint new colors, and to make sure that at the end of the journey, you diary is full... full with tales, adventures... of life lived, sights seen, and hearts conquered!

The rain poured even harder.

[This is a short story from "An African Odyssey", which paints out the Author's life in Africa during the time he served in the UN (2003 - 2006). After having left the New York headquarters in 2004, he served at various locations across Africa, mostly in Mali, till he returned to New York towards the end of 2006. He soon resigned from UN, and returned to his native place - Kerala, India - to continue his adventures there.

And, yeah, of course, it's all imaginary ;-)]

Oh, and btw, the illustration above, of the shoot-out, was a wonderful work from Nithin - yup, the same guy in the story! :-)

A mid-summer memory

2006-09-03T20:42:00.001-05:00

A hot dry wind gusted down the dirt road, and I jerked my face away loathing its caress, ripping my eyes off Shoby's forehead, where I'd been keenly tracking beads of perspiration turning to white salt, for the past quarter an hour. Folks who'd been there would know, noons of mid-summer Pune are not the best times to be out on foot, and, to add to it, the last hope of vigor plummets when it beams that there are no cabs or auto-rickshaws around this remote corner of the suburbs. We had come there to check out a weekend bungee-jumping event.

"Okay... come... lets walk" Shoby sighed.
I followed him, sucking deep on my last bottle of 'Aquafina', throwing a last hollow glance at the screaming bungee jumpers.

We treaded on, kicking dirt, tasting the heat of baked earth up the soles of our sneakers, casting anxious looks around for the faint sight of a vehicle, and gauging how stupid was our idea of mid-summer bungee jumping. In fact, a couple of times, I was almost sure I had hallucinations of a Clint Eastwood in bondage pulling himself through the desert, in the 1966 classic 'The good, the bad and the ugly'.

It seemed like ages, (though my watch argued that it was much shorter), when atlast I heard the faint clatter of a worn-out motorcycle engine. We turned around, and waited for something to crawl out of the dusty bend which we had just passed. The clatter grew loud, and in a minute, a tattered moped creeped out, and perched atop it, a shabby-dressed boy in his mid teens.

Shoby is fast (he is always), and just as if to try our luck, he shot his hand out, thumb upright. The boy had noticed the two of us, and as he passed, eyed Shoby's outstretched arm, scanned his machine's dials, looked ahead down the road, and pulled the breaks. The moped screeched to a halt couple of meters ahead of us.

"Jump in" he gestured, and slipped forward making room for the two of us.
"Okay?" he checked once we had squeezed on.
"Perfect"
"Cool!" He pulled hard on the throttle, and the machine crawled forward.

Well.. we just couldn't believe our luck !!! Had he not stopped, we might have been dragging ourselves on for atleast half an hour more in the red hot dry sun !!! We winked at eachother, smiled, and sat there enjoying the uncomfortable, but oh-so-welcome ride.

I was lost in thoughts, my eyes closed, feeling the warm breeze against my hair, when a violent jerk pulled me awake.
"Are we out of petrol?" asked a startled Shoby
The guy replied calmly "yeah.. tank empty", as he pulled over.
We climbed down, wondering what next, when he pointed ahead and said "walk for another 20 meters, and around the corner you see over there, u'll get an auto-rickshaw"
"Oh.. wow... great..." I craned towards where he pointed, but turned back and asked "...but, what about you?"
"Oh.. I'll be fine - there's a fuel station nearby - I'll just push it till there"
"Are u sure?"
"Oh yes... pls go ahead.."
"Thanks a lot... really... you literally saved us" I shook his hand earnestly
"No problem, sir" he smiled
"Thank you, have a wonderful day"
"you too"

We walked ahead lips shut, and as I turned around the corner, shot a last glance at him. He was pushing the motorcycle on, calm as a monk, as if enjoying every moment of it. I donno... but, I somehow felt, that something is not quite right.

"Can you believe it?" Shoby broke the silence
"uh...?"
"He knew that he didn't have enough fuel.. may be just enough to get him to the next fuel station.. He knew that if he got us on board, it would dry up quicker, and he'd have to push it... " he continued after a pause, in a dreamy voice, "...and.. yeah.. he also knew that if he didn't help, we'd have to walk in the sun all this distance."

The auto-rickshaw we climbed-in rolled ahead. We did see a fuel station couple of kilometers further down the road, to which a still-dreamy Shoby remarked, "Oh man !! and, he knew that he would have to push this far!!!!"

Our hearts sank. We looked at each other. There we were, two engineers, immersed in our hi-tec lives, proud of our salaries and fortunes, boasting of our gadgets and gizmos... but all of a sudden, swept off feet by a breeze so gentle.

What had just happened..? I've read such stuff in moral-science textbooks and childrens' magazines... but never ever had dared to imagine them outside bookleaves...!!!
Could I ever have done such a thing..? Well.. I do help out when it wouldn't hurt to,... but, if it's to cause me harm..? I'm afraid not !! and, yeah... of course, my rational brain would reason it out in my favor... !!"

To this day, I remember him... and whenever I do that, I say a silent prayer and beg for him the choicest of blessings from heaven. A moment of kindness, and he won two souls praying for him their entire life... the slight difference he wanted to make in the life of two strangers, and he tatooed himself in two hearts, never to be forgotten...

May be he invested in us, in his selfless way.. an investment for mankind... for the two of us, it’s a debt... which we'll have to pay in principle and interest back to the world...

I donno... or, may be yes... it all depends upon how our conscience reads it... yeah... whatever.... but there is another thing... apart from all these - one single matter which pricks my heart till date - for not stopping by that fuel station, and running back to him with a bottle of petrol !!!

[The about narrated story is a true incident from my life, during 2004's one-week vacation in Pune, India. I was working for Infosys at Chennai, then, and Shoby was working for Satyam in Pune. And to the question "Who is Shoby?" - well.. Shoby Varghese & I were roomies back in college days :-)]

Good bye & good luck: An epilogue...

2006-07-31T18:28:00.001-05:00

[ My farewell poem to Infosys-Verizon on July 31st, 2006 ]

Snowy caps so far away, they stole my eyes so long ago....
Every dawn, I saw a dream, of flying there, high up the peaks...

I was young, I flapped my wings, my feathers warm in yellow sun...
I left my nest, that cozy nest, my eyes all set on misty peaks...

Off I flew, and off I flew, I loved the beauty all the way...
Off I flew, and off I flew, I saw the wicked and the wise...

And, then I saw, Oh big that tree... green and brown and shade so cool...
I saw its birds, I saw its nests, and Oh I saw its fruits so ripe...

"I've flown a lot, now lemme rest... take a bite, and drink the juice..."
Thought this I, seeing the tree... "I'll start again, soon, in a while"

I hopped around, I met new birds, I learned a lot from wise around...
I played around, I won some games, I loved the way it went about....

I made a nest there in the tree, I hopped around from branch to branch...
I used never my claws to prey, or wings so fine to fly around...

That dream so fine, of misty peaks - they ceased to kiss my sleepy eyes...
I danced away, I tranced away, I've reached 'the tree', what's left to win..?

And, then a day, a sunny day, I saw the distant blue and white...
I turned away, but looked again... they caught my eyes and held me there...

The tree is good, the shade is good, the birds and fruits are all so good...
But the dream, the destiny, is not the tree - its in the peaks...

I start again, flapping my wings... I leave the flock to seek my path...
We may meet, there down the lane, in a tree, or at the peak...

Till then folks, I say good-bye... on this day, for its the last...
Thanks to all, and thanks for all... May the good God bless you all...

Bachpan

2006-07-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

what other than a 'sher' can put it right: ??? :-)

कहते है बचपन लौटके नही आता
कहते है बचपन लौटके नही आता
मगर हाए क्या करे... हमारा बचपन तो बीता ही नही जाता

young forever,
tedka.
;-)

Fixing Rex

2006-05-23T19:54:00.002-05:00

[ 'A novelette, rather than a short story' ;-)
Or better, 'a script for a short film' ]

The crimson sky, the ever-morphing clouds, flocks flapping north, canoes scribing streaks... Though Lake Vembanad, so picturesque, with its soft undulations creating a million golden mirrors is an incarnation of immense beauty, today somehow I felt that its mocking me - and my creativity. It was 10 past 6, and twilight had already set in... days are not very long in Alleppey - well, for that matter, its the same almost all over south India - the (un?)privilage of being neighbours with the equator. And, I stood, as usual, with my cofee mug, against the huge glass panes of the 27th floor of Yanthra Robotics, overlooking the splendour of nature, at the east shore of the lake.

But still... today, even the havens of earth would fail to draw a smile on my lips... the fire was deep inside, troubling the roots of my thoughts, challenging the lanes of my intellect... I turned and looked back at my PX7003 humaniod prototype, code name 'Rex' - the source of all my trouble.

PX7003 - my team conceived it - the piece of human creativity Yanthra was tracking close - an aesthetic masterpiece in metal and plastic, which will decide our fate in the market, and my career as a scientist. The 4 prototypes developed after PX6000 had fallen flat in the market, and the PX7003 was where the hope lay - it was the manifestation of all lessons learned. It worked perfect - except for one single feature - the feature, which was promised as our unique quality - telekinesis! The design was perfect - to the peak electronic circuitry and programming could offer, but still, it just didn't work. And without that, Rex would be just be a minor enhancement to any other robot, who could just walk, run, climb, swim or fly around; and we wouldn't be able to sell it as the cost was not justified. The prowess of mental faculty - If I'm able to get the droid to be telekinetic like humans, I'd be setting a world record in breaking the barrier between artificial intellingence and mental faculties in a living form.

Rex was observing me... and when I turned, he walked forward.
"Its beautiful, isnt it..?" he asked...
"hmm..."
"Am I your thought, professor?" he asked, his eyes following a flock of birds flying east...
I didnt answer.. I just let go off my mug, and Rex watched it hover in the air, and drift off towards my table...
"I dont know... I dont know Rex..." I sighed and looked at the mug, as it touched the table. "I've re-examined each of your neural terminals a thousand times, I've reviewed your program a million times..." I turned back to the lake-view...
"May be there's something that we overlooked?" He said, staring at his fist, as he made and unmade it.
"hmm..." I closed my eyes

"Rex, shall we try out the kung-fu program..?" Dr. Rahul, one of my assistants popped his head into my chamber and asked... "Hello Sir" he greeted me.
"Hey, Rahul.".. I returned it... and nodded a permission to Rex
I watched him walk by, and close the door behind.
I stood there for a few more mins, contemplating... then, just grabbed my briefcase and car keys and walked out. "I'll call it a day"

Its been around 30 years since the homosapien race had re-discovered the long-forgotten so-called-psychic-skills, which sprang out of the 'psychic renaissance' of 2102-2105. A fair proportion of mankind use the skills today as a normal part of their life... the rest.. they are like Rex - they ought to, but just are not able to bring it out. At the beginning, things were classified as mental faculties, but slowly science decomposed it, baselined the theories, and defined the principles - the same ones which I had picked and built into Rex's electronics.

The drive back home was hectic, well... ofcourse, friday evenings can't be better. The distant Alleppey skyline peered out of the coconut-tree-canopy. The city - I would have loved to take a walk through the streets and drown myself in the myriad of the metropolis. But, today was different... I was in no mood for the masses... I took a diversion, and headed for the NH47 - the highway would help me hit home soon.

"Pappaaaa movieee.." little Nayana came running (with her barbie in one hand) the moment I pulled up into the garage... "Come come come... we are all readyyyyy...."
I grabbed her with a kiss, locked the car and walked in.
"dee... Give him a minute to fresh up.... shho.. this girl" Celin took her out of my arms... "Howz Rex doing" She asked...
I made a gloom face.
"Oh dont worry... everything will be alright... go take a bath - I'll get you a cofee"
"How was your day?" I asked as I walked towards the stairs
"Great, in fact... remember the surgery I mentioned..? " She paused as she put Nayana down "It went great..." she completed with a huge smile....
"way to go, doc..." I replied with a thumbs-up and a smile as big "another feather on Dr. Celin's cap, huh?". She winked and walked towards the kitchen.
"Paappa pappa look"... Roshan yelled as he jugglled balls 5 feet in front of him. I drew one away from the bunch towards me, and tossed it up.. he manuvered it back into the group before it hit the floor
"U rock, buddy.. u rock" I yelled back, punching up... he giggled. Roshan, who turned 6 a month ago, had just recently started with his telekinesis... he's a quick learner.. It had taken me around 4 months to perform such a feat. Mankind gets better with each generation...
"Where's ur brother?" I shouted out while climbing up (Robin was the first-born, older by 4 years)
"He's in the game room - playing cards with appachhan & ammachhi"
"Kewl"

A cold shower - nothing can calm your mind and body more... I stood there, cooling down, washing away my troubles... for around 10 minutes, until Nayana started pounding the door.
"dee" I heard Celin's yell, and Nayana's fading paces... Time to step out... I pulled out fresh clothes from the wardrobe.
The whole family was in the living room when I came down.. wow.. three generations in a row... happy as in heaven... may be I'm the only one on earth (or hell?) at the moment...

I was rather silent throughout the drive to the restaurant... though the kids were busy in their chatter. Celin glanced a couple of times, but left me to my thoughts - She knows how to handle me. She could measure my entropy, and knew the best way to get me back into equilibrium - leave me to myself - the system would automatically settle down.

We didn't have to wait much at the reception, as we had reservations. The table was round, Nayana sat between Celin and me, Roshan & Robin to my left with their backs against the glass panes, Dad & Mom completed the circle. It was a good spot - near the glass windows, looking over the city from a 100 ft elevation - Alleppey - basking in all glory - the city lights and vehicles were already creating an animated artwork in black and white.

"Hi I'm Manu... I'll be taking care of you today... Here are the menus for the evening... and while you take a look at them, can I get you all something to drink..?" I turned to see the waiter give away the menu cards, with an obsequious smile.
("Manu Krishnan" - I read his badge) - "Thanks Manu, I guess we'll have warm water, and hot chocalate for the kids..... to start with" I smiled..
"Very well, Sir.. I'll be right back" Manu walked away elegantly.

Nayana had already started to climb the table aiming the red roses at the center. Celin gave a stern-mom-look, and she sat back with a cross face. I gave out a short laugh at the scene, and she giggled. Well.. that's pretty much how long an infant's frets last. I caressed her hair, and she climbed on the chair and kissed my cheek (for a rather long period). Celin too wound her hands around her once she sat back, and she giggled again.

Soft music was playing - it was well tuned - it soothed you, but you would bearly notice it. I knew this one - it was in my collection - a very old 'Santoor' composition from 'Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma'. I whispered into Roshan's ears "The work you hear was created over 100 years ago". "Wow" he replied, and wisphered the same to Robin. Robin leaned forward and asked "Who's the artist, Papa?" I opened my mouth to answer, but suddenly jerked back, as he shot up from his chair, with his left arm stretched ahead, palm spread and curved as if performing a magical gesture. I turned, and saw a tray, a set of mugs and glass tumblers floating scattered in the air, brown and transparent liquid patterns, and a Manu pulling himself back to his feet. By the time he got up, the fluid was back in their containers, the containers back on the tray, and the tray hovering in front of him to take charge.
"Wow... that was cool, man... thanks a lot" Manu kept the tray on our table, and started clapping. The whole bunch of witnesses joined in...
Robin gave a ceremonial bow with a huge smile, and sat down.

"My apologies... should have been more careful when walking down a busy hall.. I'll be right back with a fresh pick.. excuse me..." Manu picked up the tray and walked back.
"That was pretty impressive, my boy" I smiled at Robin once Manu left
"Thanks Papa"
"I see that you still have those gestures"
"That's just showbiz, Papa... a more stylish presentation - you know, like doing magic or something..."
I just smiled and brushed his hair reaching out around Roshan.

Manu was back in a while. He kept the mugs and tumblers on the table.
"So, are we ready with the picks for dinner" He asked with a genuine smile...
"um.. can we have around 10 more minutes...? the kids need a bit more time" Celin replied.
"Sure... pls take your time..." He smiled and started back with a slight bow... He then stopped and contiued "um... can I ask a question... if you dont mind?"
Celin took it "Sure... shoot"
"Can all of you do that..?" He looked at Robin, and vaguely imitated his gestures "I mean... controlling stuff without touching them and all?"
"Yes... why do you ask..? Can't you?" Celin got herself engaged in the conversation
"I'm afraid 'no'... well... you know... I've tried it a few times... but somehow it never worked... Is it genetic or something..? 'cause my parents were never able to do it... I mean it doesn't really make sense, right..? that u can control something without touching... of course I know lotsa people can do it... but... " (sigh) "I donno... I'd like to be able to do it... but somehow, I'm not able to... u know what I mean?"
"Precisely" Celin gave her 'doc' nod.
"Tell me, Manu... have you never asked anyone for help all these years?" She continued
"I did, when I was a kid... But, u know... since my parents couldn't do it, I was not sure if I could... Even the whole of my immediate relatives didn't have it in them... I had sought help of teachers, they told me all the theory and the stuff... but somehow it never worked for me"
"Okay..." Celin scanned us, and repositioned herself comfortably towards Manu. Well, we knew, that as per her body-language, this meant that she is determined to solve the problem.
"Manu, have u worked with magnets"
"Yes, m'am"
"Have you seen steel pins around magnets"
"Yes"
"Have you observed that when a non-magnetic pin sticks on to the magnet, the pin too can attract other pins..? or, in other words, become a magnet... And if you leave it long enough with the magnet, the pin aquires some magnetism for itself..?"
"Yes, m'am... I've known that"
"Well... lemme let you out a secret... not one which many knows... telekinesis too is like that... if you touch a telekinetic person, you too would become telekinetic"
("what???" I almost was about to yell... "nonsence"... but then... its Celin... She's not silly... I listened on... The rest of the family too had jolted at that point... but, they too listened on...)
"No way..." Manu looked at all of us... and looked back at Celin "Really..?"
"Trust me... I'm a doctor" Celin fished into her handbag, and pulled out her badge.
"Okay..." Manu seemed to be permeable to the idea now.
"Why..? you want proof"
"Well..." he looked puzzled...
"Okay... see my little daughter here..? She's 3 years old" Nayana gazed at Celin with wide eyes, and looked at all of us. I'm sure she had no idea of what was going on, for when mom smiled at her, she giggled happily stuffing four fingers into her mouth. Celin pulled the hand out of her mouth and gave her 'the look'.
"She has no idea of what telekinesis is, and has no power or knowledge to do any such feat" She looked at Manu...
"Nayana, do u want that flower?" Celin ran her hand into Nayana's hair, pointing the vase at the center.
Nayana giggled, jumped up, and got ready to climb the table.
"uh-uh... nooo" Celin blocked her.
"See, if she wants something, she goes to get it... not pull it towards her"
Manu listened, not blinking even once, expecting something huge to happen... like a miracle.
"Now, watch..." Celin moved closer to Nayana, took hold of her right hand, and sofly stretched her left hand ahead. She then leaned, and placed her lips close to Nayana's ears. She whispered something, Nayana giggled and urged forward, and the red rose stripped itself off from the vase, and flew to her little hand.
"Wow !!!" Manu exclaimed
"See... do you believe now..? You wanna try..?" Celin asked
"Sure" He almost cried in excitement
(Nayana had already started tearing off petals from the rose, and examining each with immense curiosity native to a child)
"Pull in a chair and join us" We all adjusted our chairs to make space for one between Celin and mom. "Put this on" She pulled out her electronic stethoscope from the bag, and handed it over to him. "This will block outside noises, and you will hear only me". She kept the probe in her hand, and adjusted the knob.

"Okay, lets start. Close your eyes, relax... concentrate... take 3 deep breaths... I'm now going to let my power flow into you, strengthening your senses, empowering you to do this..." She spoke softly into the probe, and clutched his left forearm.
"You will now feel a tingling sensation flowing into you from my palm. That's the power filling you.. In 2 minutes, you will be soaking in it... You are now feeling a special sensation in your muscles, a very peculiar consciousness on your skin, you are able to identify even the tiniest of perceptions... The throbbing of a vein, the mild wind when people walk past you... The awareness is getting stronger each moment, as my power is filling you... You are now able to identify all the tiny sensations throughtout your body - beneath and over your skin... The movement of your hair strands, the flow of blood through the veins... everything... Now you are almost full with my power... the sensations are intense now... so powerful, that you can even sense your clothes, the tick on your watch, the minute vibrations it causes, the tiny wind against the fabric... you can clearly distinguish the feelings on your skin, and those on your clothes... My power is filling you up to the brim... Your senses are so powerful, that you now sense everything around you... you can feel the table infront of you, the chairs and the people around you... you can clearly distinguish each and everything, as my power is now full in you... you are now like the steel pin on a magnet... you have the entire quality of the magnet... I'd like you to reach out with your senses and feel the vase at the middle of the table... You can feel the smooth curves on it, the beautiful roses in it... feel one of the roses... sense its velvet petals... now, move down the petals, and feel the stem of the rose... you can feel the rough surface of the stem... wind your senses around the stem... try sensing the weight of the rose by giving it a slight nudge... the rose is very light... you have picked up hundreds of such roses in your life... you can feel the weight of the rose, its gravity, and u know that it is easy to lift it up. Go ahead... and pick it up... my power is full in you, and you can do it as Nayana did... get it out of the vase... now, pull it towards you... let it float infront of you..."

"Open your eyes, and take a look" Celin stopped with a smile..
"Ahhhh!!!" Manu amlost screamed with ecstasy when he saw what he had done !!! The rose fell down now. He pulled off the stethoscope...
"Wow... its incredible... I mean.. woohoooo..." He whooped. We all gave a low clap, and he responded with a huge hearty smile. "Thank YOU, ma'm..."
"So, I guess now you are convinced that you have the capability to do it"
"Yessss.. I've seen with my own eyes that I can do it..."
"Good"
"One question... like the steel pin, when taken away from the magnet, will I lose this..?"
"That's the one difference between the steel pin and us humans. You will not lose this, and if you keep on practicing, it will grow in you"
"Really???"
"Trust me... you know you can"
"I know.. I know.. I trust you... whoohooo.. wow" he started whooping again...
We all smiled at each other...
"Okay, then.. I guess I'll leave u guyz to decide on you menu" He got up.. the huge smile was still on his face...
"I guess your dinner today is on the house..." He added..
Celin cut him "For this..? No, Manu... if you want to thank me, help someone else the same way later in your life" She held a reassuring smile.
Manu posed for a while, with an gratified and obliged face "... ofcourse... " and after a thoughful pause, "... sure.. ofcourse..."
"Very well... meet you in 10 minutes" Celin gestured an adieu and turned back to us.

"So...?" she smiled
"Mom... that was brilliant" Robin was at the peak of excitement.
"It indeed was" Dad and mom added
Celin looked at me...
"You rock!!!" I put all my emotion in one single phrase adorned with a huge smile.
She smiled back hearty, and winked...
"Now, explain... " I leaned forward with a smile... "for the kids..."
She laughed... "Okay... sure.." she cleared her throat
"Manu was a subject clouded with doubts on his capability. The doubt had already started metamorphing in to a belief system, reinforced by the feedback from parents, relatives, and experience from the teachers he mentioned, and that too, in a vicious circle. As we talked, he was trying to defend that belief, which is a part of his ego, using formatted reasons. The framed rational was dominating, but, still there was a little vent in the armour, where somehow he still hoped if he could do it. I decided to strike there... My agenda would be to widen that gap, and to reprogram him with the new belief of 'possibilities' rather than 'impossibilities'... But to believe, a typical human intellect needs proof of sight and experience... I started the conditioning process with the analogy of magnet and steel.. yeah, that's nonsence, I know... but, at times, illusions can help the process... Once I instilled in him that little thought, I had to get it strong in him, strong enough for me to work further on it. So, I gave him Nayana. I gave him the illusion that my touch gave Nayana the power to pull that flower to her, though it was me who did it. It gave him feedback from his own senses, and the rapid-fire of proofs weakened his existing belief system. But, I had little time here... this tiny incident had lightned his cynicism, but if I let him think, his rationale would challenge and overcome it, and he'd be back at where we started. So, I struck when the iron was hot. I gave him the illusion of offering to share my power, thereby further conditioning him for the metamorphosis. His psyche was so receptive by then, that I used a bit of verbal suggestion - hypnotic techniques, to easliy deliver the idea... The ambience created by the stethoscope promoted the suggestions more effectively..."
She contiued after a pause "Well... all I did was I placed 'possiblity' over his 'rationale'"
"Heyy.. !!!" Something in those words struck me...
"The very basic principle of any so called 'mental faculty'" Celin stopped and looked at me... "what happened?"
"'Possbility' over 'rationale'...!!! That's it... "
"What..?"
"The 'if-else' clauses... the rational processing and the telekinesis processing... Rex..!! I need to check the code..." I was now mumbling to myself, oblivious of my surroundings.
"Excuse me guyz..." I snatched out the computer from the belt clip and placed it on the table. the virtual screen & keyboard beamed themselves to life. In a short while, I was through the retinal scan into Yantra's network, and loaded Rex's code. I scrolled down the familiar code of the module I was looking for... there it was... a long cascade of 'if-else' clauses... and amoung the dozens of them, I spotted it... the two clauses which discriminated 'arithmentical-reasoning' and 'possibilities'... the clause for possibilites came after the one for reasoning... and that's why the control never reached this code fragment. The reasoning snippet would always take the control over, and process based on its logic. I moved my fingers, selected the reasoning-clause, and pasted it after the 'else' clause for possibilities. My heart was pounding hard, my fingers where shivering, as I started the build.

I looked up and scanned my surroundings... 5 pairs of eyes peering me (Nayana was still enjoying her rose)... I swallowed a faint gulp, and kept low... I looked back into the translucent optic screen. It was still compiling... I picked up my phone, and dialled
"Rahul ?"
"Yes, sir"
"You still at office?"
"Yes, sir.. I was just getting ready to leave... Is something wrong?"
"I need a favour"
"sure sir.. tell me"
"I think I fixed the bug... I've fired a build.. should be done in a few minutes.. I'd like you to reload Rex with the new binary"
"Oh... sure.. okay, Sir... I'll do that.."
"I'll stand by" I paused and looked nervously at my family. I had already started shaking my legs, cracking my knuckles, looking around with dreamy eyes, scratching my head, and massaging my temples. I got off into a totally different world, where there was only me, Rex, my code and Rahul.
The clock ticked by...
"Sir.." Rahul pinged "The binary has been reloaded.. booting him up"
"'kay"

"Rex is up, Sir... I'm switching to speaker from headset.. Rex, prof is on line"
"Thanks, Rahul... How are you, Rex?"
"perfect, professor"
"Rex, listen... I guess we've fixed the bug... listen to me carefully"
"I'm alert, sir..."
"Okay... great. Rahul, do you have a pencil with you?"
"Yes, Sir"
"Rex, Dr. Rahul will now throw the pencil up... Catch it before it touches the ground"
"Sir..?"
"Without using your limbs or extensions"
"You sure, Sir?"
"I'm sure... Rahul, now."
I heard the faint thud of the pencil hitting the carpet
"Rahul..?"
"No sir... he didn't"
"Try again..."
"Okay.."
again the sound of pencil on carpet.
"I'm sorry sir"
"Hold on..."
The vein on my forehead had already bulged out... I looked at Celin "I know I've fixed the bug... but he's still not able to... May be the AI needs somekind of training... I dont know.."
"Are u sure the code is perfect?" Celin enquired
"umm... 100 percent"
"And your only suspicion is on the training required for his AI"
"I guess so"
"Gimme the phone"
"ehh?"
"Trust me"
She took the phone from me.
"Rex..? This is Dr. Celin"
"Hello, m'am... I remember we have been introduced earlier"
"Perfect... I see that you are having a bit of difficulty there..?"
I listened to Celin... She kept on and on... it went similar to the one that happened a while ago, just that the dialogues were now adapted for a machine, and the subject was Rex, and not Manu.

She looked at me after a while, smiled, switched on the speaker, and said, "Rahul, now"
I heard the faint cling of wood being tossed, and nothing else... no thud, no cling... a short silence... and then a yell, "wooohoooo", Rahul's...
I jumped up, and with a whoop, shot my fist into the air... "Yesssssss" a moment, then stooped over Nayana and wrapped Celin in a tight bear hug. She was laughing. Another moment, and I realized that the whole population was staring at me... I gave out an embarressed laugh, waved an apology, but with a huge smile, sat back...
"What's next Sir..?" Rahul was now almost yelling...
"Go have a blast, my boy... enjoy your weekend... monday would be our big day..."
a "wooohooo" was the reply...
"Its a happy moment, Sir... I hope we'll be having a great time ahead" Rex's gay-tone synthesis was working perfect.
"Ofcourse, Rex... ofcourse..." I was still all in my gay-tone
"Okay, Sir... I guess we'll reconvene on Monday?"
"Sure, my boy... catch you on monday.. bye"
"Bye, professor"

Roshan and Robin had already grabbed me around, and Nayana as if it was a competition, jumped in too, with her chuckle. I hugged them tight, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Hey, guyz... ready with your menu?"
I opened my eyes... Manu was back with his little notepad
"Manu, can I ask you something..?" I had that childish naughty smile...
"Sure, sir..." he replied puzzled
"For the last time..... " I paused "...gimme 10 more minutes..."
The entire family irrupted into a laughter...

Reflection on ripples... (an adieu to Sweety)

2006-05-18T17:50:00.001-05:00

"The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though apparently a paradox, rung in my ears..." With elbows resting on the patio railing, right palm strangling the neck of a 12-oz budweiser, I stood there last night, gazing into the dark, chewing over the fading lines from Mary Shelly. The W600i was still humming Norah Jones out from somewhere in my 'cargos', the 'timex' chirped once, but, thoughts were louder than all those, for this one time...

The thought...? Well..., the one that kept amusing my complex neural lanes was "the bonding between minds" - how certain people could get into your lives so quickly and quietly, bond so well, leaving you wonder what the glue was !!! They may have totally opposite tastes, might ask u to stop shaking ur legs, might scold u for leaving thrash in your own car, but still... they might have a fragrance, a glee, which u'd like to have around..., always !

Saturday evening would leave a void in the lives of a few people here in Dallas - not sure how long it would last, for life is strange - but it will, for sure. We would miss someone who dashed into our lives a month and a half ago - a lively, artful & trendy spirit, with a penchant to eat out (though beaming with exquisite culinary finesse), embellished with a huge smile, and expressive facial gestures - someone we call "Sweety Brigit Valeppilly Xavier".

Those innocent blunders, those hearty threats and those lively laughs... those "Syrian vs Latin fights"... And as for me, those "grrr... daa.. kaalu kulukkaathae!!!" - we'd miss all those...

If it would work, the four of us (Aneesh, Vini, Kuri & me) would sing "Ayyo sweety pokalle", but alas... can't help it, can we..!!!

Memories are like imprints... but unlike the ones on sand which are at the mercy of waves and tides, they stay for ever... bringing back to our lips a smile, to our eyes a gleam... of days lived and laughter shared...

signing off...
tedka.
Apr 28, 2006 7:20 PM

When the student is ready, the teacher appears...

2006-05-11T23:36:00.001-05:00

Chinku was (in?)famous for his fear of water - take him to a pond, and u can see a budding sprinter - trick him to go near a lake, u'd starting rethinking the ability of human limbs to deliver escape velocity - tie him and take him to the sea, well make sure that u have the paramedics ready!!!

He was famous for one more thing - slumber! Once a drunk Jhonny ran the trimmer through his entire facial hair, and he didnt even flinch - hah, and he didnt even notice it till the next day noon, when he was getting ready for lunch !!!

Oh my!! Did I list only his vices...? well... there is one thing remarkable about this guy - his "determination"!!! Once he sets his mind upon something - I guess only God Almighty can knock him out. A few scores worthwhile to mention are, shedding 20 kgs of body weight in 3 weeks, writing a whole C++ server for TN-validation in 2 hours, and, yeah... a 12 oz budweiser in 15 seconds (though I'd prefer to call it "aquired alcoholism")!!! But the best thing about him, which I liked was, he was kind of a thinker, u know - the kinda folks who ponders over things, for inner meanings etc...? yeah.. one of those! Sometimes, while we are having some conversation, something trivial (for us - comnom folks) would strike him, and he'd be lost in thoughts... and when we shake him up, he starts - "do u realize?" and the stuff that continues, would sound mostly like "blah blah blah" to us less-thinky souls.

It was one of those jolly days, that we happened to win a lucky draw for a lake-cruise for 5. Our gang of 5 wouldnt be complete without Chinku - 2 weeks of brainwashing and pressurizing succeeded in making him agree for the 'ordeal'. And, we could literally see pain and strain in his face, as the day neared. Atlast, we started feeling pity, so we gave him the choice to opt-out, but he held to his word - may be his ego (or dignity, whatever) didnt allow him to break the promise.

The cruise started fine, with the cool november Texan breeze against our loose hair. The first half an hour went clicking snaps on the deck, and once we got bored, we retired to our pack of cards - the cabin was cozy, and the beer added to the merry. The cruise was a 2-hour one, and we decided to spend the next atleast 1 hour, playing 'rummy'.

The clock ticked by, and as Alco was shuffling for the 3rd round (and, that translated to atleast 4 rounds of beer till then), Chinku excused himself for the restroom. May be it was the beer - we continued with the game, until while shuffling for the 4th round, Aneesh realized that Chinku wasn't with us. It took all of us a while to realize (damn the beer) that one woulndt need 15 mins to void his bladders, and we all set out searching for him. It started calm, but after a round of "Chinkuuuuuuuu" calls, adrenalin did start pumping in, and soon we realized the truth - the cruiser didnt have him on-board!!!

We informed the captain, and he adviced us not to panic (uh !!!???), and radioed someone. We ran to the deck to scan the horizon, whether there was a spec of two hands above the waters waving for help. No, there was none! Someone suggested to try his mobile (grrrrr.... the beer!!) After around 10 mins, the captain ran back to the deck, yelling that "he's safe, he's safe"!!! He told us that the patrol folks found him at the shore a minute ago. "
"At the shore!!!???? did u say S-H-O-R-E shore..?????"" "No, that would be impossible?? Oh my God... dont tell me u mean't..."
"No no no.. he's alive" - the captain didnt let me finish.
"Oh... thank God... thank God... Praise the Lord" I sighed.

Anybody who thought that we continued the cruise - I'd say they are sick!!! We hit shore within the next 10mins, and ran to Chinku, who was now seated on a chair at the patrol guyz's station, clad in a thick towel. We ran to him (he was still wet) - we could almost imagine how he'd be looking now - with his phobia and all those stuff - "half dead"!!... but, as our paces closed-on, and his face was more clear to our naked eyes, we spotted something else - a Chinku, who was smiling... and that familiar gleam was in his eyes - that gleam which typically proclaimed that he had done something cool - had beat some records - u know what I mean?!

We gathered around him, with the typical questions and blah blah... and he re-assured us that everything is fine. We didnt trouble him with more questions, and our drive back home was rather silent.

Once at home, we watched him curl up in the sofa, grab the remote, and turn on the TV - I in turn turned it off, and we all stared at him.
"What??" he looked me
silence...
"Okay, guyz... relax..." he put the remote down
silence...
He stared outside... and started "Remember what I told once..? We are all governed by the options we choose for ourselves?..."
"Chinkuuuu, cut the crap!!!!" Alco yelled back at him.
silence...
Chinku sighed "Okay.. okay.. see.. listen to me... "
We all turned our heads away...
"Please... let me...... " ...... "...explain..."
We contiued our stance...
"When we were playing, I was absorbed in thoughts about my phobia... I always wanted to overcome it, but never was able to... the wish was strong, but the mind was feeble... When I was in the restroom, the thought struck me, that we are what we choose to be... and I realized that I chose to fear the water all these days... and If I chose not to fear it, that's it... I'll no longer fear it... to try my theory out, I went to the deck... with great difficultly and conflict of mind, I managed to reach till the railings at the edge... I stood there for a few minutes, re-iterating my theory"
We still didnt look back at him... and more that than, we all held that "oh-crap-not-again" expression on our faces...
He continued after a pause "Then that turbulance struk, when the boat jerked"
"The boat jerked???" I thought "(damn the beer!!!)"
"... and I lost my balance, and fell off into the lake..."
he paused, and we all looked back at him...
"I drowned... I tried to get back to the surface, and yell for help... but I kept drowning... and a moment came, when I realized that I was going to die..."
We kept staring at him...
"and, then I realized... and I chose life to death.... I calmed down for a moment, I recollected the principles of buoyancy, bought my body to the posture which altered my center of gravity..."
"Oh please... cut the crappppp!!!" I murmered, looking away...
he continued, as if he didn't hear... (may be he didn't) "... and I slowly floated up to the surface... the boat was already away, and I was sure that the wind wouldnt let my yells reach you..."
"but, this is not the point of the day..." he continued after a pause, (and I looked back at him with an "oh-yeah?" expression) "the lesson of the day is when-the-sudent-is-ready,-the-teacher-appears"
(crap crap crappppp) I was yelling in my mind now.
"As I floated there, with my ears, lungs and belly full of water, I realized that if I can choose to live, I can choose to swim too... I remembered seeing dogs who splashed into water and swam to fetch balls back to the kids - they never went to swimming class - their parents never taught them to do it... its instinct... its will... its the knowledge that 'I can do it'... and the absence of the doubt 'can I do it?'... and the whole talent asleep in us comes to life... It's nature who taught the dogs to swim... and we all constutite the nature... and nature is us... the same magic in dogs is present in us too... and I doubted no more - I swam to the shore - my arms moved in the fashion it should be, my legs moved the way they ought to - not the way scientific swimming advices - but the way nature teaches us to survive - I swam, and I reached the shore"

It was the panic-alarm of some car parked outside, that brought us all back awake... we were all staring at him spellbound... we did have conflicts inside (yeah... the 'crap' stuff), but we couldn't deny the fact that it all happened - the proof was infront of us... !! alive and talking !!!

We stood there, our lips tight...
Chinku silently grabbed the remote, and switched the television back on... the channel was playing the 7th season of F.R.I.E.N.D.S...