Kittu

“Ammmaaaaaaa@@@!!!”
“WHERE IS MY KIT???”

Senthil was aghast. He couldn’t find his kit. In two minutes, he would start panicking and shout randomly at everyone. His 7 year old cousin, who had come to stay with them, would get in his way and make him even more irate. The pressure was too much. He would start sweating profusely anytime now.

And he did.

The fuse would blow soon.

And it did.

His mother, incomprehensibly calm as always, gently ascended the staircase. “Enna aachu da kanna?”, she asked. Almost red as a beet now by his repeated excursions from his cupboard to his table, rapidly rummaging everything in sight, a completely berserk Senthil managed to voice out two words. “Kit…(hhu haa)…enge???

His mother, concerned about her darling son’s fatigue, ordered Chellapa to bring tea for everyone. “Are you alright kanna? See that’s why I tell you not to eat this junk food. Romba keduthal adhu. Paavam kozhande. vaadipoitaan…”

Senthil grit his teeth and exploded. “AMMA…”

Chellapa had meanwhile brought the tea.

“Don’t worry kanna. Drink this tea. Everything will be alright”, consoled his mother.

His thaatha and his cousin, Vikram, joined the foray now. Senthil’s mother on seeing them, bellowed out a command to Chellapa not to put sugar in the elder man’s tea. Vikram, feeling neglected, decided to bawl amidst all this hullabaloo to grab everyone’s attention.

“AMMMMMMMMMMA”

A dead silence ensured.

“Kittu (controlled pause) enge?”

Vikram was about to make a movement but stopped on a glare from Senthil. The silence continued.
Then suddenly Thaatha slapped his hand on his forehead and said, “Kitta?? Naan parthen da…”

(A hopeful glance from Senthil)

“Namba Shanmugam veetla thaan iruppan ippo.”

Senthil collapses as his mother gently tries to explain to Thaatha that they are not looking for Kittu, the newspaper boy.

The Yin to my Yan

How would it be if two people could meet, like each other intuitively, recognize each other’s talents, admire the other for their respective endowments and... that’s it?

How would it be if there was no friendship, no enmity, no love, no hate, no crushes, no jealousy, no butterflies-in-the-stomach, no desire to land a punch on the face, no responsibility between those two but just a strong, mutual respect?

Mind boggling? Dry? Unimaginable? Or maybe you don’t want to imagine it?

For me, it’s my deepest yearning. Meeting someone and developing a true, reciprocated veneration for each other. No complicated feelings, no affections beyond admiration and a grudging approval as my equal. More complementary the talents, better the understanding too. Otherwise competition might play spoilsport.

Working together, helping out mutually, the yin to my yan - but just professionally, with exactly the right amount of care involved. Ah! What wonders we could do! What marvels we can create! What could we not achieve!

This desire seems ambitious? Wait. It’s not over yet. 

Now imagine a team. A team full of people with a pool of talents. Pieces of jigsaw fitting together to form a perfect picture. No scratches, no replacements, no bitterness, no sour feeling and no discomfort. A dream team. 

I see promising people all through my day. The ones who can make it to my dream team. But are they really the ones? That’s the puzzling part.

And of course, some relationship always crops up, the desire to punch on the face being the most common. Spoiling it all.

Introspection 2

"There was one group that didn't die and there was another that came back to life"

These lines seem to haunt me day and night. I am so scared that I'll be one of the people who didn't just die. And the thought kills me. (No pun intended)  

But what is being alive? I want to experience each and every thing in the world. I want to try all possible things as well as all impossible ones. I just want to let go of myself and shout from the top of a hill. I want to lose my heart and win it back. I want to feel each and every emotion. I want to experience everything the world has to offer. I want to live like I dream. I want to be free to do what I like. I want to grow wise as I grow old. 

But most importantly, I want to know what I want.

And then I'll believe I am living.

Do you want to build a snowman?

Why do I like Frozen so much? For the record, Frozen is a 2013 classic Walt Disney movie, released in both 2D and 3D, with two Academy awards and one Golden Globe. To me, it's much more.

Liking an animated movie isn't new to me. I love them all. But Frozen is different.

The starting few scenes portraying the two kid sisters are a pure delight. They depict the innocence of the sisters, their carefree world, and their adorable quality. Magic was just a playmate, an added entertainer. But then, a slip on the ice turns their lives completely around. Two sisters, two princesses, two daughters, two playmates - Elsa and Anna. One is abruptly shut out from the rest of the world as well as her best friend, her sister, but without the added burden of painful memories. Desperate longing and a feeling of unjust loneliness are what she grows up with. Never knowing why, never getting her answers, giving up her hopes of she and her sister ever returning back to how they were before, she is a restless soul, brimming with possibilities, longing to get out of her palace prison. The other sister, the elder one, on the other hand is not so blessed. She knows why she needs to be shut out and why she needs to shut out the world. She knows that she can never touch or hug a living soul without the fear of hurting it. She knows that this ought to be concealed from everyone, even if it means she never gets to be with her best friend, her sister, ever. Even if it means that she gets labelled as cold-hearted and distant. She knows that she has to conceal, to put on a show, no matter what. She knows she needs to build a prison around herself. She knows.

The film takes us through the lives of these sisters when the cat is let out of the bag. Elsa's character, especially, is heart wrenching. Her anguish on hearing her sister's accusations, her inner agitation, the weakening control over her facade, her break from the kingdom, her pent up relief at being alone, her transition from a repressed, scared girl to an excited, confident woman wanting to explore herself and her talents; could even a highly seasoned and talented actor have portrayed all that the animated character's face and expressions spoke? I don't think the soundtrack is genius. I even got impatient during a couple of songs. But 'Let it go' gives me goosebumps. Everytime. That song is worth twice the Oscar it earned. The lyrics are brilliant. And the catchy 'Do you wanna build a snowman?'? I keep humming it. Eternally.

Of course, the film is a landmark for Disney movies. This is the first time that a classic Disney has actively shown a princess making a wrong choice for her true love. This is the first time that a classic Disney has the antagonist portrayed by a presentable looking young prince. This is the first time a classic Disney has shown a princess as less than perfect when she wakes up. This is the first time a classic Disney has interpreted true love as the filial love between siblings.

 And this is the first time a classic Disney has made me empathize with both the sisters, for I can see them in me. Both of them.

'Cause for the first time in forever
There'll be music, there'll be light!
For the first time in forever
I'll be dancing through the night...
Don't know if I'm elated or gassy
But I'm somewhere in that zone!
Cause for the first time in forever
I won't be alone

Tonight, imagine me gown and all
Fetchingly draped against the wall
The picture of sophisticated grace...
For the first time in forever
There'll be magic, there'll be fun!
For the first time in forever
I could be noticed by someone...

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the Queen
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried

Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway

Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You'll never see me cry

Let it go, let it go

Excerpts that caught my eye 3

Am I a lifter or a leaner?

There are only two kinds of people on earth today
Two kinds of people, no more I say.
Not the rich and the poor, for to know a man's wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health,
Not the happy and sad, for in life's passing years,
Each has his laughter and each has his tears.
No, the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
In which class are you? Are you lifting the load
Of some overtaxed lifter who's going down the road
Or are you a leaner who lets others share
Your portion of toil and labor and care?

Excerpts that caught my eye 2

This one is too beautiful.

If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax, I'd limber up. I would be sillier than I've been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously, take more chances, take more trips. I'd climb more mountains, and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who lived seriously, sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than this trip. If I had my life to live over, I would start going barefoot earlier in the spring, and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances, I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.

Excerpts that caught my eye

Sometimes when nothing goes just right
And worry reigns supreme,
When heartache fills the eyes with mist
And all things useless seem,
There's just one thing can drive away
The tears that scald and blind --
Someone to slip a strong arm 'round
And whisper, "Never mind."
No one has ever told just why
Those words such comfort bring;
Nor why that whisper makes our cares
Depart on hurried wing.
Yet troubles say a quick "Good-day,"
We leave them far behind
When someone slips an arm around,
And whispers, "Never mind."
But love must prompt that soft caress-
That love must, aye, be true
Or at that tender, clinging touch
No heart ease come to you,
But if the arm be moved by love,
Sweet comfort you will find
When someone slips an arm around,
And whispers, "Never mind!"