The Swimming Tales..!!!

"It was all wet around, I couldn't decipher if it was water or sweat! The panic had completely fogged out all the rationality! I tried to rub it off my eyes! I had to search the person responsible! And there I found him in the pool, moving across the water! My immediate reaction - You ASS#@$$%##$...!!! I never realized how long I kept the curses on for! The best thing however was the response I heard - hey what happened, man!? (That moment when you'd do anything to bang your head in wall or the relevant person's!)"

Rewind...

One of the many things which is yet to be checked on my check-list is to learn swimming. I have been amazingly successful at giving up the innumerable instances where I have started to learn it and then "poof" something happens, and I stop. Since coming to Europe, its even bigger an embarrassment when you go off to the lakes with your friends and they jump into water, asking you to join them. The only thing I could muster up with courage and a faint smile is the very well known "I don't know swimming!". The immediate question which follows is, "are you aqua-phobic?" (Oh yeah, if not knowing to swim was not embarrassing enough!) But yeah this I was not. (Yeah definitely not! Except for the scene of being surrounded by sea at night!) Now that coming to Europe gave me the freedom of making my schedules, completely based on my rational thoughts (Oh boy!), my immediate thought was learn swimming. (Quite obviously!)

Over a period I tried to figure how to move around in water (ofcourse not with my legs!). I remember in Germany, a friend and me used to visit the pools and we would try to move around and compete as by how many inches(ahem!) we managed move. Since I moved to Linz, I decided that it was time to manipulate these inches to meters or centimeters, atleast. Apparently I found another friend who knew how to swim. That brought a smile and I was of the opinion, finally I might be able to learn it. (Haha, Mr.Fate had other thoughts!). On a particular Sunday, my friend and I decided to venture the pools and I had hoped he would teach me a few techniques.

Before entering the water-
Me - "Dude, so how do I go about it?"
Friend - "I dont know, just move your arms and legs." (WTF..!!!)
Me (with the most confused expression ever)- "You sure, you know swimming!"
Friend - "Hahahahahaha...!"
Me - "Dei, I am serious!" 

The next comment of his was the remaining part of the event that followed.

Friend - "Just move your arms like this, flap your legs, and move towards the deeper part of the water, you'll learn it automatically. It starts subconsciously!!!"

I immediately remembered the lectures given at my bachelors college. The reason you ask, they were the worst lectures ever, but after hearing to this comment, all of that made a lot more sense than this. But that's not the worst part yet. So I decided to play a bit with my subconscious. The only sensible part of the evening I did was to take a pool buoy, and try to venture into the deep part, more than 1.8 m deep. I was happy with the distance I was covering and got a bit confident there. And just then, the pool buoy slips out of my hands, panic sets in, and I submerge in water. I try to wave my hands so that my friend or someone would take notice, but no one was around (We had to go on a Sunday!). The second sensible part of the evening, for some reason I kept swimming close to the edges of the pool. After around 15-20 seconds, (which felt like an hour) I saw a railing around the edge, which became my only hope. One leap, and somehow I manage to catch it and was able to lift myself off water. I was wondering all the time, how come my friend didn't see me waving my arms. Oh well, he was busy swimming somewhere else in the pool.

Well lesson learnt there, my next swimming lesson is going to be with a PROFESSIONAL, PERIOD!

After all that verbose of swearing, my friend earned the title "WORST TEACHER EVER!"

A Cat-Mouse story..!!!

Doors banging, glasses breaking, things going "clank-boom-baam-bash-...", literally making any peaceful environment, a center stage of chaos, all the doing of two insignificant characters, with a rivalry equaling the US and the early USSR, and yet bringing a smile to everyone's face. Rings a bell! Yes the very old Tom and Jerry cartoon, one which breaks the wall for ages.

"It's a cat and a mouse story! What could be so funny about it?" was my first comment when a friend of mine, first told me about this cartoon years ago. Ofcourse, the explanation from his side wasn't too artistic enough to even relate to the original.

The morning of the 2010, greeted me with this pack on a German channel. Now thats whats wonderful about Tom and Jerry, you don't need a language to understand it. Just a kind of dose, I required for the new years day. Thanks to this the day turned out to be less dreadful than I had imagined. It did get me a bit nostalgic, on the days, where my Dad and I would fight for the remote to just get the TV on, to watch the same channel and same cartoon (Never wondered, why there'd be struggle for watching the same cartoon!!!). Nothing would prevent the sunday morning 7am show of T&J on cartoon network, until the stupid CAS (Pay Channel) system arrived. But then some other alternate channels would always air the show. I don't even remember how many times I 'd have watched the same thing, everytime it succeeds to burst my stomach open. I guess I even had a CD collection of the same. It worked all the time when we had relatives and their KIDS over. Everytime you feel like loosing control, just play it on, and there is silence in the room. Almost works with the adults too. One of the few things which makes you tickle, and instills the lost innocence in your laughter.

The Terrace - A Trip down the memory lane..!!!

Right then, now that I have renamed my blog, although, not necessarily I will be writing in relation to the caption everytime, but it sounds savvy, :D. This post will ring a bell to a few of my blog's followers, and guys just correct me if am wrong anywhere. This also is a description of a few of my most enjoyable days in Chennai. The characters here, Ma, Mu, Ab, Ant and ofcourse myself (cant hide me, since its a personal story!). The moment, ok I dont remember the exact date (like hell I would!), +2 graduated and preparation for entry into Professional Entrance Exam (TNPCEE). I guess these people, if they are reading this post, already know what I am going to talk about.

Scene 1 (Ma and Harish, during the +2 -Board exam preparation)

A very typical day for a student going to give the board exams for the last grade in school, revising the books, looking through question papers, just to get one more mark in the practice tests, except that this misses some reality in it, keeping me on bed with the door of my room closed and fantasies just within my reach. Just then annoying ring of phone wakes me up and mom yells out "Harishaa" (Mom seemed to be comfortable adding a few a's always to my name, making it sound to eternity!!). "§$&%%§$&$%&, nice timing, just a few minutes more and I would have been a state topper". Anyways Ma and I almost had talks everyday, atleast twice, discussing 'also' about studies and just to know how much time the other has wasted, without studying. A mutually extended knowledge about the amount of time spent not studying, always helps in pacifying for the time I used to end up sleeping. However, on that Ma had a few things more in his mind to analyze. Being in +2 grade, options get streamlined and yes it was about a girl in his neighborhood.

Ma - "Machan (machan is a synonym to the common hindi word between two buddies like yaar and synonymous to dude of english!) saw this female from my balcony da, I think she studies in the school nearby, +2 grade, drives to school in cycle daily! looks like we 've quite a 'look' at each other. Her name's, Ry".
Quite evidently, my response, "I am coming over in the evening, at what time she returns? ". Ma- "I think 4pm, but then what will you tell at home?".
Me- "The usual, group studies! :D :D"

Scene 2 (At Ma's place, evening 4 15 pm, being on time atleast for some reasons!)

Me- "So where is she? did I miss her?"
Ma- "I dont think so, she must be coming this way in another 10 mins, atleast if she hasnt taken any half day!"
After an eternal 30 mins, the street continues to remain full of kids playing cricket, which was also good, as we can have a better look at Ry. But the Man above, had other plans, for no female driving the cycle went and we ended up sitting with books atleast for sometime.

The next few days, breezed past as the exams began, nevertheless, our gang Mu, Ab and Ant also came to know about this female, Ma had been 'looking' at, but we hardly got time to stalk-out again. Nevertheless, Ma enjoyed those instances of divine coincidence, and he also had a talk, or did he. I guess he will reply to this post, when he reads.

Scene 3

Mu's place, terrace, along with Ma, Ab, Ant and myself, pretty worked up times, for the entrance exam for Professional studies lay ahead.

Mu and Ma stayed nearby, separated by a street and the houses along the street were quite visible. For a change, the 5 of us were far from distraction, the seriousness of getting into the lines we wanted and in good colleges elevated and at times we realized that a break was badly required. The time 5pm, still very evident in my mind, coz that was when it started. I had just got up to give a stretch to a rather stout me, then, and turned around in the direction of Ma's house, when a sudden movement on the terrace near Ma's place caught my sight. Quite obviously, it had to be a female, so I asked the other guys, to check it out. And boy, did we have interesting scenes there, only for me to realize, that the other guys were already seeing in the direction. The girl, with open hair giving quite casual and suave walk on the terrace, with a good mix of some sleazy moves, intentionally or unintentionally, kept us glued to her for quite sometime, giving us the much required break (am not in for detailed description here..!!). It was a few moments until Ma realized who she was and he ended up screaming, thats Ry and thats her house's terrace. We only wished that the terrace would start moving, so that we could have glimpse of her face, only in vain, which Ma had already had a premier of. The next half an hour, flew past like it was just minutes, giving us the indication that break time's over, and time to get back to work.

That was the last time we saw Ry, Ma although had a few more glimpses, before she shifted her place. This post came forth, after I went through another blog of a friend of mine, retrospecting a few of my +2 grade experiences, as they were one of the best days of my life, bringing a smile whenever they creep in.