Chennaiyil joraana mazhaikkaalam

It rained today. Here, in Chennai. The blue abode up above grew all murky and what followed was a generous downpour of H2O. No sweeteners, preservatives, wasn't carbonated or extracted from fruit concentrate. A shower of pure, unadulterated H2O. I got caught up in it while riding back home and it turned out to be such a nice experience. It eased traffic, the dense lot of commuters crowding under covers, awnings and shelters to escape the rain. Only four wheelers rode on and they too, were slow and accommodating.

It all started like this. The clouds thickened and there was a perceptible drop in temperature. When I started riding my bike, there came a forceful cool breeze. A meek kind of gust which made fallen leaves, torn up paper and roadside plastic scatter and swirl without pattern, as if terrorising them by announcing the arrival of a sudden torrent of rain and making them disperse in chaos. Then came the raindrops, stiff and firm, dropping heavily on the helmet. COME HAD THE RAINMAN. He sent shaft after shaft of pure rain drops down, playing and rejoicing with the few who cared to play along and sternly intimidating those who tried to escape him by indicating that he'd continue for some hours to come. Some immediately ran for shelter, some cursed and tried to hurry to their quite near destinations, some vacillated and looked around trying to make a choice while some rode on. Within seconds, the rain drops were coming down with a flourish, the initial stiffness of the clouds easing out as a travel-weary person on reaching his lodging would ease up while slowly un-shouldering his luggage. I just drove, happy to be in that place at that time. I got quite lucky, you see. A moving traffic that wasn't heavy, accompanied by a good steady shower of cool rain, the comforting thought that I'd soon reach home to warmth and dry clothes and perhaps some hot food, all combined well to place me perfectly in the position to get the most out of the rain episode. This was also the first good shower in quite some time, so the roads weren't really bad. Of course, when this gets over, it is all going to get slushy and stinky but as for now, the setting was perfect.

So I reached home and thought if I should write about this. We sometimes write for ourselves and often for others. But in certain cases, we write for the sake of an experience. Some wonderful experience which deserves to be remembered, which deserves its place in writing, just so that they are preserved, in however minuscule a forum. I guess this was one such pleasant experience - a little romantic, poetic and much cliched, yes, - but still so damn pleasant that it does deserve its own little dwelling in this maze of a world.

One of those satisying weekends! - Sunday

Sunday, mate. Fun-day. It was the perfect climax to the week. A sleep that stretched to the wee hours of afternoon. Direct lunch. Then caught up with friends. The best thing in life would be to have a rocking set of accessible friends. You meet a lot of rocking guys, they stay with you a while and get scattered to some other part of the city, if not the world. They are not accessible most of the time. But not your neighbourhood guys. Friends here, though in different universities or jobs always are readily accessible for fun - especially on a weekend. So I caught up with the guys after a lot of days. And was enchanted. They still called each other by nicknames. You know, the sort we give each other when we do our sixth grade. It sticks. And some the sort we give each other in high school - the cheeky ones for cocky guys. And if you're thinking - 'High school is so over', I do beg your pardon. High school, my friends, is never over. Ditto with neigbourhood fun. Never gets over. So we played cards, and football and then some more cards.

A lot of fun, they say, and a bit of a run,
Is top class life, second to none.

Some life lessons I learned walking along the great glen!

I went on a hike in Scotland along the Great Glen during the spring of 2010. It was a very memorable trip for a lot of reasons. I accompanied Dolly Sim, a veteran hiker, now serving as a naval officer in Singapore. While on the go, I couldn't figure out east or west but she was always great at finding a way out through the woods. I remember, we even wandered into a creepy place in the middle of the woods decorated with plastic dolls and threads hanging from trees and recorded a video just in case we don't make it out of there alive! So without further ado, I'd like very much to reminisce on that lovely experience and list out some things that I took back from the 6 day trip.

1. Lead a good life and play your fiddle with pride! - On the first day of our hike, we were having our dinner in a beautiful home-stay. It was just getting dark outside and from the door I could see Ben Nevis, the tallest peak in Britain. It stood majestic and undaunted, framed in the fading silver light. Just a couple of days earlier, I got all worked up to submit a couple of sheets of assignment on time. But at that moment, staring at that intimidating yet welcoming mountain, all those worries and shackles in which your mind is almost always caught up, seemed so irrelevant and silly. Life seemed so simple and easy. So if you're all worked up at something, just pause and check if it's worth it. Just lead a good life and keep it simple.

Lesson 1: Life is simple. Keep it that way.

2. Have a thick skin to enjoy life - The trees and mountains and farms and meadows were all so blissful and satisfied, it seemed to me. You bend a branch on your way, it gets back to where it was when you're gone. It doesn't chase you to get even. I know it cannot do that but it is also not worth it. You can't drill sense into the galactically stupid. Do your job well, help if possible and leave it at that. Interference often makes situations worse (The string of U.S secretaries of state would probably vouch for it).

Lesson 2: Don't waste your time trying to get even.

3. Know when to say nothing! - I often rambled on things and Dolly shared her experiences too. But at times during our walk, we just walked. Nobody said anything, it was just the rustling of the leaves and the rush of the water. These phases were so lovely. And Dolly just knew and kept it that way. She never spoilt these silent spells with 'hey the weather is good' or 'those trees are lovely'. She sensed perfectly when to say nothing.

Lesson 3: Silence at the right time is awesome. In the long scheme of things:
When the quality is less and talk seems like a lot of bore;
It is not that I like speech the less, but value silence the more.


4. The country charm - It was the first time I was venturing into the countryside for almost a week. The famed charm of nature and the merry, easy-going attitude of the people really got to me. I made a note to myself to live in a village in India for at least two years.

Lesson 3: Experienced the beauty of a laid-back country life.

5. That terrific gesture! - This was perhaps the defining moment of the hike for me. We were in the last phase of the walk and I'd lost my jerkin on the way. We were in high altitudes, it was moorland, the wind was cold and then it started drizzling. My fingers soon went numb and the rain was really consistent now. I looked at Dolly and asked 'Why aren't you wearing your jerkin?' She said 'Well, it wouldn't be good if I wear it and you just get wet. So I decided I'd give you company!'. Dear me! Was I touched! We walked a few paces in silence and then I mockingly said 'If you're bent on getting wet, then I'll use your jerkin'. She smiled back and we just walked in the rain, without a jerkin.

Lesson 5: When the moment comes, choose the right, large-hearted thing to do.

For a much better and less bullshitty account on the hike, visit Dolly's blog. She has a complete account of all her hikes (remember, I told you she's a veteran!).