Indian Ameri
Wednesday
It's an honor Sir!
It seems to be ages that I penned a post on something thats apart from the random glow bulbs of philosophy, and especially on something that would become a grain of memory in the vast sands of a memorable life. Anyways, digging into the reel......
The train of life has brought into perspective many travelers with whom I've spent quite some time. In the context of showing emotions to bugs/insects/animals specifically, I've seen a myriad of villainous characters ranging from stone kill a stray dog to electric heating a bed bug (both by very close friends). But rarely I see a few who really care about their living non-human neighbors. One of the cricket games from the past few weeks was a special one in witnessing such a character.
Handling my batting stance with calm composure, and meditating the phrase, "Move your feet and watch the ball" like for the millionth time, I watched my first tap of the bat on the pitch. My eyes caught up on the moving speck, and the realized mind stopped the meditation, broke the composure, and eventually halted the arm in doing the second tap. Obviously, I moved from my stance, and palmed the bowler to an abrupt fitful stop. To the sudden roar of the mind-game sledging, I went onto my knees, arched my back, and blew the speck to 'repeated' safety. Then rose up to the opponent captain and apologized for delaying the game. There was one fielder - soft in his youth, hard in his voice, and confident in his character who walked up to the turf, squatted on the crease, watched the ant completely walk out of safety, rose up, said to me, "Nice save yaar!!" in the typical cricket jargon, and smiled back to his fielding position. While, the mind was playing games in deciphering the intent of action as, if it was sledging or genuine character, the friendly heart hoped that it was the latter. To my surprise, he reached his spot and then wished me "Good luck!" just confirming that the heart won yet again over the stuffed mind.
For five straight years, I've been prodded by my own team mates for wishing my opponents good luck as I keep. I've even been lectured on the disadvantages of doing it - the main point being that it shows our weakness. BS is what the heart muted my mind with when I hear such conversations from my own pillars. And in five straight years for the first time, I was not mocked in my attempt to save one of the several ants that pass over the batting crease at the home field. After the single I took from the very next ball, I felt like I just had a century to my belt. I was happy for witnessing something genuinely good after a really long time in life. And am grateful for being instilled with such a character. To whoever you were, and whatever was your name kiddo, I honor you for proving me with this memorable moment....... :)
Labels: baldy logs, cricket
Friday
The return of Chota Bheem from India
Age: 2 yrs and a few days.
Weight: 68 lbs (3 months back was 47 lbs - Is cholesterol the major content of my mum's/his grandmum's love?)
Name: No longer goes with "Jay". Responds to only "Babu Jayanth" (Thanks to G2 (gradnpa 2 - dad's elder bro)! Only he can induce such localization).
Favorite food: Anything that has chocolate in it (Asked for chocolate syrup over chocolate cake for the few minutes he spent time with me)
Hobby: Asking repetitive questions (Ex: Daddy, what are you doing? - like 10 times. Uncle Haarii, what is that?, etc)
Often used Punch dialogue: Chota Bheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem will save you (and then goes pow pow pow on everyone except me... :D - Thanks to Pogo channel back in India - he knows mahabarath more than me.)
Biggest achievement in life so far: Voluntarily tonsured in Krishna's house (Tirupathi for him) and has been more than happy being that way.
Favorite music instrument: His dad's tonsured head. I hope that knocks some sense into his brain... :P
Image when he was in India with me
Labels: baldy logs, dad-grandson, India, nephew
Impartially Partial
Wiping the sweat from the 25 min walk, I pushed the teak wood-mahogany clad door to see a pile of people standing in queue witnessing the pre-trial. My first bulb flickered dubiously on the extent of my formal wear trying to be the deviation from the inverted Gauss bell of khaakis, torn jeans, and everything away from decency.
Less than a minute into the scene over there, the judge got upset over the fact that the afro-american lady started speaking on the phone with her husband as the judge proceeded with the case. More gallantry of the respected Ma'am, was analyzed by cases such as "84 year old granny cited for animal cruelty, a man admitting DUI but denying that he drove 'HIS' car, a cleopatra morphed pretty women accepting the possession of marijuana, three non-english speaking Amigos caught for smuggling 100 different goods in a state fair denying the fact that they knew each other, while they were all caught in the same caravan, a few other suspended licenses etc."
About half an hour later, the lady judge (whom by now, I started liking for her simplicity in character and jovial good mood in a gravity situation) honored my efforts of standing on the queue rather than sitting, and pulled me in. With the incredulously long Amru-serpentined slang of a name finally spelt right, the courtroom cop understood that I was not in the allocated time. Twenty minutes later, in the next session, the judge directed me through the crowd of felons to the trial dias like the way Moses guided his followers through the sea.
Judge (J): Cite your name son!
I: ------ (H2S CD)
J: (Reading through the citation statement) I see that you've been driving with a suspended license. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
I: Hmmmm..... (looked at the judge, waited for her to focus her eyes on my face)..... Partially guilty Ma'am.
J: (Zooming through her bifocals) Explain (in a soft confused tone).....
I: The indicator part of the citation was my mistake your honor. It was 3 in the morning and I was in a left only lane. So I did not put the indicator coz I was tired of no sleep. About the suspended license that was a genuine mistake from the cops side.
J: Anything you say can be used against you son. Tell me about the cops mistake.
I: The day I was caught that led to the traffic school citation, I mentioned him the current address was different from that of the issued license. I presume that he used the old one and so I recieved no documentation regarding the school work.
J: A common error it seems. Go, get your license after finishing traffic school and come back on Sept 17th at 4:30 pm. And please don't be early!!
I: (Gave a smile) Again a mistake your honor, from the recent cops citation. The time he wrote looks like a 3:30 instead of a 5:30.
J: (Gives a gesture to the courtroom cop to get the document, takes a look at it, smiles) Son!! You have every right to sue the cop for his bad handwriting.
I: (along with the courtroom which laughs slightly) Sorry your honor, I can't do it!
J: The forgiving kind of a person I see, then. (Smiles with a funny attitude this time)
I: (Fully understanding the situation of good mood) Hmmm... "I Object your honor" (I smile coz of the satisfaction of saying that statement for real in a court room) I won't sue the cop coz I can't afford an attorney.
J: (Smile vanishes......) Then you can use the help of the public attorney.
I: Ohkay your honor. Hope I get a million dollars from it. :D
The end charges was left with a warning, get my license by taking classes (which I've got to do asap to do my St. Louis and Atlanta trip), and then provide the new license as proof of confidence. Now I have my Mazda car trial on the 28th and 29th. Hope I have the same mood, and a similar judge to get the right judgement.
Off the blind-balance: See this video of coldplay (Yellow). Check the statement "Our cheapest & best video we think. It was all meant to be big + grand, but it rained." in the about the video part. Now, watch the video, understand the mastermind/masterpiece or whatever u call behind the video. It's a thought provoking video (forget the song, the lyrics, the guy. Just look at the background coz it speaks volumes about the guy who planned to shoot this video). If you don't understand the uniqueness of this video, then do comment and I'll supply your light. (Hint: The rays of sun takes 8 minutes to reach earth). The guy walks in slowmotion, but the song is sung with exact lip sync (Another rare trait of camera work and artistic practice). Now see The Scientist - This is a reverse reeled song where everything moves backwards except the lip sync of the song. Guess how they did the video.....
Song for the blog post - Closer
Told a few of my roomies about dad's statement on me that shattered all goodness in me. One guy really impressed me with his efforts to console my feelings with at least 7 different interpretations of the statement. I am somehow blessed with such great roomies everytime. :)
Twisted my ankle again. But this time it happened coz I took preventive 'jumping jack' measures not to step over an ant. I have the next 5:30 hrs to cure the injury before I confirm my presence in the already twice missed EKU game (I never lost with this neighbor team. But UKCC lost twice in my absence scoring 108 and 89. Though the guys mindset is reeking 'Revenge', my mindset has always been, 'Why are these guys hyping up a low on morale team all the time?')
And finally
Happy Independence Day (:India flag)
Less than a minute into the scene over there, the judge got upset over the fact that the afro-american lady started speaking on the phone with her husband as the judge proceeded with the case. More gallantry of the respected Ma'am, was analyzed by cases such as "84 year old granny cited for animal cruelty, a man admitting DUI but denying that he drove 'HIS' car, a cleopatra morphed pretty women accepting the possession of marijuana, three non-english speaking Amigos caught for smuggling 100 different goods in a state fair denying the fact that they knew each other, while they were all caught in the same caravan, a few other suspended licenses etc."
About half an hour later, the lady judge (whom by now, I started liking for her simplicity in character and jovial good mood in a gravity situation) honored my efforts of standing on the queue rather than sitting, and pulled me in. With the incredulously long Amru-serpentined slang of a name finally spelt right, the courtroom cop understood that I was not in the allocated time. Twenty minutes later, in the next session, the judge directed me through the crowd of felons to the trial dias like the way Moses guided his followers through the sea.
Judge (J): Cite your name son!
I: ------ (H2S CD)
J: (Reading through the citation statement) I see that you've been driving with a suspended license. Do you plead guilty or not guilty?
I: Hmmmm..... (looked at the judge, waited for her to focus her eyes on my face)..... Partially guilty Ma'am.
J: (Zooming through her bifocals) Explain (in a soft confused tone).....
I: The indicator part of the citation was my mistake your honor. It was 3 in the morning and I was in a left only lane. So I did not put the indicator coz I was tired of no sleep. About the suspended license that was a genuine mistake from the cops side.
J: Anything you say can be used against you son. Tell me about the cops mistake.
I: The day I was caught that led to the traffic school citation, I mentioned him the current address was different from that of the issued license. I presume that he used the old one and so I recieved no documentation regarding the school work.
J: A common error it seems. Go, get your license after finishing traffic school and come back on Sept 17th at 4:30 pm. And please don't be early!!
I: (Gave a smile) Again a mistake your honor, from the recent cops citation. The time he wrote looks like a 3:30 instead of a 5:30.
J: (Gives a gesture to the courtroom cop to get the document, takes a look at it, smiles) Son!! You have every right to sue the cop for his bad handwriting.
I: (along with the courtroom which laughs slightly) Sorry your honor, I can't do it!
J: The forgiving kind of a person I see, then. (Smiles with a funny attitude this time)
I: (Fully understanding the situation of good mood) Hmmm... "I Object your honor" (I smile coz of the satisfaction of saying that statement for real in a court room) I won't sue the cop coz I can't afford an attorney.
J: (Smile vanishes......) Then you can use the help of the public attorney.
I: Ohkay your honor. Hope I get a million dollars from it. :D
The end charges was left with a warning, get my license by taking classes (which I've got to do asap to do my St. Louis and Atlanta trip), and then provide the new license as proof of confidence. Now I have my Mazda car trial on the 28th and 29th. Hope I have the same mood, and a similar judge to get the right judgement.
Off the blind-balance: See this video of coldplay (Yellow). Check the statement "Our cheapest & best video we think. It was all meant to be big + grand, but it rained." in the about the video part. Now, watch the video, understand the mastermind/masterpiece or whatever u call behind the video. It's a thought provoking video (forget the song, the lyrics, the guy. Just look at the background coz it speaks volumes about the guy who planned to shoot this video). If you don't understand the uniqueness of this video, then do comment and I'll supply your light. (Hint: The rays of sun takes 8 minutes to reach earth). The guy walks in slowmotion, but the song is sung with exact lip sync (Another rare trait of camera work and artistic practice). Now see The Scientist - This is a reverse reeled song where everything moves backwards except the lip sync of the song. Guess how they did the video.....
Song for the blog post - Closer
Told a few of my roomies about dad's statement on me that shattered all goodness in me. One guy really impressed me with his efforts to console my feelings with at least 7 different interpretations of the statement. I am somehow blessed with such great roomies everytime. :)
Twisted my ankle again. But this time it happened coz I took preventive 'jumping jack' measures not to step over an ant. I have the next 5:30 hrs to cure the injury before I confirm my presence in the already twice missed EKU game (I never lost with this neighbor team. But UKCC lost twice in my absence scoring 108 and 89. Though the guys mindset is reeking 'Revenge', my mindset has always been, 'Why are these guys hyping up a low on morale team all the time?')
And finally
Happy Independence Day (:India flag)
Labels: baldy logs, dad-son, Songs
Tuesday
The Statement
Four years ago, a merry conversation on the prospectus of a future initial ended up with a confident challenge. That, I'd shave my head off if I don't become the untreatable kind of a doctor, before I turn 26. This week, out of NO curiosity, but in hope of a change, I 'did' stick to my word of defeat. :D. Therein, started the mental pen of 'baldy logs' which in turn amused many a merry event outta me.
A license bargain wasn't enough to shackle my fourth anniversary celebration of rioting the land of opportunities. A 13 mile biking of the best kind shed a full moon bow at the river of candle memories. The return journey at 4-5 in the morning was drenched with an electrical storm. Concerned, the monkey with the cymbal of the ever so wandering mind worried about the lightning greeting. Nothing had changed and everything might have changed as per the half yearly report.
An ankle twist later, a viru knock later, a math-crack later, a life of million little happy things later, and a feel of an aeon later, the belief on self was shattered. A single statement, so strongly put forth, so emotionally divulged, so abruptly loose-tongued, I understood that I am deeply entangled in the web of my dark ages. What's in it, if a son is not what he is to his father? The last time a similar feeling occured, I tried to mend the error and it ended up as an air punch that still spills my gut. In spite of a million little happy things that happened before, and will happen later AGAIN, somehow, the feeble heart struggles to the fear of finding a way to compensate for all that was truly, wholely, and entirely attempted for good.
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand. There is no going back. There are things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep. That have taken hold."
The irony is that of the compulsory next four hour sleep, which will bring in the power of the professional mind to maraude over the personal beliefs of failure.
A license bargain wasn't enough to shackle my fourth anniversary celebration of rioting the land of opportunities. A 13 mile biking of the best kind shed a full moon bow at the river of candle memories. The return journey at 4-5 in the morning was drenched with an electrical storm. Concerned, the monkey with the cymbal of the ever so wandering mind worried about the lightning greeting. Nothing had changed and everything might have changed as per the half yearly report.
An ankle twist later, a viru knock later, a math-crack later, a life of million little happy things later, and a feel of an aeon later, the belief on self was shattered. A single statement, so strongly put forth, so emotionally divulged, so abruptly loose-tongued, I understood that I am deeply entangled in the web of my dark ages. What's in it, if a son is not what he is to his father? The last time a similar feeling occured, I tried to mend the error and it ended up as an air punch that still spills my gut. In spite of a million little happy things that happened before, and will happen later AGAIN, somehow, the feeble heart struggles to the fear of finding a way to compensate for all that was truly, wholely, and entirely attempted for good.
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand. There is no going back. There are things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep. That have taken hold."
The irony is that of the compulsory next four hour sleep, which will bring in the power of the professional mind to maraude over the personal beliefs of failure.
Labels: Anniversary, baldy logs, dad-son, slumber along shadows, So-So mood
