The Wedding Crashers : ver 20.12

Yes, it has been a while. And no, I still haven't forgotten about this website. But I'm gonna skip the part where I get all mushy from reuniting with my blogging side and get straight to the party here.

The moment our guitar wielding mate Rohin announced that his brother's wedding was to be held on January 1st, the predictable groans of "Not again" were quite clearly heard. That makes it 2 years in a row where we spent our New Year's day on a freaking formal wedding occasion rather than slumped on the bed suffering from a hangover resulting from a night of extreme partying and boozing that went all the way till the sun came up. Also, that makes it 2 years in a row where we spent New Year's day in Kannur when we would prefer being in a slightly more fun place(mentioning Goa here would be an insult to the place).

But in inviting us, Rohin had inadvertently used his friendship card which apparently trumps everything else in the world. And so the day came when we were heaving our luggage into Vijeesh's brand new GL 350 and headed off for a long drive from Kochi to Kannur, accompanied by ex-crazy driver Dilu, evergreen loudmouth Suthin, the gorgeous producer and consumer of laughing gas Sreeja, dream doctor Irene, dope-mistress Monisha and yours truly. Chicken-man Zubin and the Dutchess of Wipro Jency were heading out later that night with their ETA at about 4 in the morning.

Dealing with traffic was the daunting task for the day, but the man behind the wheel fought well and we managed to arrive with 1 hour to spare till the death of 2011. But whatever we experienced during the drive was instantly wiped out at the sight that Rohin greeted us with...namely, his fantastically awesome crib. I'm not exactly the architecture expert here, so the only technical terms I can use to describe the house are "huge", "magnificent", "trippy" and "majestic". After we were done basking in its glory, we munched, got ready and headed to the front yard just in time for the countdown. The rockstar midget Jazim had also arrived for a cameo appearance. Without any reminiscing in the year that was 2011, we raised our glasses after Rohin popped the champagne open(in some style, I might add) to the new year that was upon us. And boy, that was some fine celebration. We got to be in the company of the groom and the fun family for the night. The rest, as you can imagine, was a blur. But the arrival of Zubin and Jency prompted us to leave the palace with the company of Jerson and head to the hotel for some rest before the big event.

The morning arrived and we proceeded to getting ready, trying to look like the hottest men and women ever to have walked the face of the earth. And we pulled it off, at least a little. We proceeded to the wedding hall in some style, backed up by the Merc. The hall, meanwhile, was as grand as it could get, and the perfect setting for the union of two people in love. We were there to witness it, and we did.

Post wedding, we were on the receiving end of some fine lunch and some photo-shooting. After bidding our goodbyes to the happy couple and the family, we were back in the hotel, but the day was far from over. What ensued was a trip to Thalassery where the travellers consisted of only Zubin, myself and the ladies. The highlights of this trip included a visit to his family's place, a brief meeting with Jazim, ice cream, a lot of traffic, a flat tyre, replacing said flat tyre, an accident with a bus that shaved the paint off the right side of the Swift, Zubin chasing said bus to give the driver a piece of his mind and the ride back to the hotel. Saying that 2012 opened up with an explosion would be an understatement.

But thankfully the tiring day ended on a peaceful note as we did something that was common in all our get-togethers: dinner with friends. Especially with our personal stand up comedian Suthin and the banshee Sreeja, the evening could not cease to entertain. There was plenty to talk about and plenty to laugh about...and it was at this moment that I realised that there was absolutely no need for moaning previously about the prospect of attending a wedding on New Year's. It didn't matter whether we were in Kannur or in Amsterdam, at home or at a David Guetta concert, in the middle of a hailstorm or outside on a sunny cloudless day...we would be laughing our asses off and having a good time no matter what. And for that, I'm forever thankful to Morgan Freem-...I mean God.

After all the goodbyes, Team Kochi headed back and this time Vijeesh showed off his driving skills as we reached home in record time. Although the overnight driving did make us fall asleep throughout. Bit by bit, the members of the gang departed with Monisha and myself being the last to leave, taking our time to taste the city that was my home.

It's true when I say that such get-togethers are numbered now...with each of us being absorbed in our own lives in various places across the world. Thus, the immigrant Calvin, the scientist Merin and the sweetest doctor on the planet Susan were dearly missed. But we aren't 99 yet, so as long as our clocks keep ticking, I say the fun is far from over.

But if somebody dares to get married in January 1st again, I swear to God...

-Vysh

The ultimate Chennai survival guide

It's been almost 2 weeks since the inception of my career in Cognizant here in Chennai, and I feel it's only fair to warn all the first-timers in the city and let them know the following tips to survive in a place that the devil himself was forced to flee from.

1: Load up on sun cream and whatever similar products you might have seen on TV that’s gonna help you fight against the mighty powers of the sun skin-wise…because my dear friend, this is where it shines the brightest. And not in a nice manner.

2: Avoid wearing black. Yes, I know it makes you look cool, but here in Chennai it’s only gonna act as a catalyst for the cooking process. So unless you wanna end up as a roasted version of yourself, black is not an option.

3: Carry a hand-sanitizer if possible. Hygiene isn’t exactly perfect here and with the unbearable heat, you’re bound to sweat more and leave yourself a big mess. Gotta keep those hands clean at least, right?

4: Learn a little Tamil. You’d especially need to know how to ask “how much” or say “it’s too much”, when it comes to the following two tips.

5: Avoid the auto-rickshaws as much as possible. There is no auto driver here who’s not out for blood…I mean, money. They will have you on their cross-hairs especially if you’re from outside Tamil Nadu and charge you such rates that it’s gonna give you a stroke.

6: If under some circumstances, the above mentioned point cannot be followed, then the only choice you have left is to verbally fight against them. Trust me, you will have to. They will charge you straight double the actual price. And what you’ve got to do is accept a rate that is straight half of what they are charging. Be stubborn and hold your ground. Do not give in. Then they will be forced to lower the rate but they might not settle for what you want, so you’d have to increase your preferred rate a little more. Finally an adjustment will be reached that’s gonna leave you both unhappy, but that’s life. You’ve gotta suck it up and be happy that you’re paying just Rs. 250 and not Rs.400 for a Rs.100 trip.

7: Walk like you own the street, even if you don’t know where the hell you are. Tourists and other outsiders are easy prey for the auto drivers and they will make you use their service if you look like you’re lost.

8: Carry an umbrella for the heat. It probably might not be…erm…manly for us men, so let’s not make this tip a compulsory one.

9: Go to Besant nagar…the oasis in the desert. I haven’t been to many places in Chennai, but that is one area where the sun doesn’t hit you much and the cool sea breeze is almost as comforting as being in an air-conditioned room, not to mention the presence of really good restaurants and cafes.

10: This need not be specifically said, but always make sure you got easy access to water. Dehydration is one of your biggest enemies here and you will be longing for a glass of chilled water very often.

11: Lastly, don’t let this place bring you down. Chennai might closely resemble hell, but there are fun spots scattered around the city that’s bound to give you a good time. Make use of them and you’ll be fine.

So I guess there are both ups and downs to everything…it’s how you balance them that makes all the difference in the world.

Vysh out

There is no Shift + Delete

A friend on facebook put up a status recently stating that we hold on to memories because that's all what we are left with when people change. A wise statement that got me thinking...and agreeing. There was no debate involved here...what she said was an in-your-face fact that was sadly true.

Everybody's bound to have at least that one person with whom you won't hesitate spilling your guts out. And obviously, as that period of knowing each other increases, so does the strength of that bond. You will not be able to envisage a life without that one person anymore. But at that point, what you should remember is that the higher you go, the harder you fall...but being human has its negative side-effects. We tend not to think of a situation that might destroy our happiness while we are in it. And when you eventually fall, you are gonna suffer for it.

The real sad part is something else. People(at least the ones beyond their teen years) are not that stupid. They do accept that life isn't a bed of roses. Many of them do try to get up after getting beaten. In spite of being brought down, they move forward and continue being human. They continue trusting the ones who still remain in their lives. The real sad part is, despite this the process is repeated again. Yet another one leaves and never comes back. You can toughen up your defenses as much as you like, but no one you're close with is here to stay. They come, they change your life in some significant manner that leaves you either a better person or a complete screw-up, and then they go. Regardless of promises and crossings of hearts.

This made me wonder...is it all worth it? Is it worth letting a person get inside of you, allowing them to get to know you for what you are, thus cementing themselves a seemingly permanent position in your life? An emphatic answer of mine would be "hell no". You are alone, and you always will be. You can live your life by seeking the company of those around you but never getting emotionally attached. The danger signs should light up the moment a bond is created. It's all about being a little smarter in making your choices. Prevention is undoubtedly better than cure after all. Once fallen in the pit, it's impossible to claw your way out. If you succumb to the world of love and all that crap...well, it's gonna be one hell of a ride, alright. Surviving it is a different question.

But again, this is all just one single viewpoint. I can write a completely different blog efficiently portraying a picture of how depending, caring and loving are all right and good. They are...but the difference lies in not crossing the limit to the point where we are reduced to just holding on to our memories. Up to you if you want to be in that situation. Just remember...there is no permanent deletion for those memories. And they will destroy you.

This is vysh...signing out and back into his state of utter boredom.

The Bangalore Escapade

I have some quirks that might prompt you to cock that double barrel shotgun and fire away at me; examples include my hate for anything that is made out of chocolate(except bars) and my dislike for little kids. I had sensed the risk and taken care of few of them; instances include not throwing away the chicken skin from KFC and finally watching Pulp Fiction. If we're talking about places people have been to, and if we take only resident Indians into consideration and probably every outsider who visits this country, then there is one city that should be in the top 3 of that of list : Bangalore. A list that I failed to satisfy. yep, I had never been to that place despite being a college student just 10 hours away for 4 consecutive years. But you can keep your trigger fingers away, for I finally managed to squeeze a trip to the city into a weekend of my life, which otherwise would have been utterly wasted by me anyway.

Word was that there was an unofficial and unplanned get-together of friends at Bangalore and I was sorely tempted to join. And join, I did. The multi-axle air-conditioned bus was nice enough not to make me remember the details of the 10-hour long journey as I arrived at the capital of Karnataka at 7 in the morning, which by the way was the time for the weather to be freezing cold leaving me shivering all over(learn, Kochi, learn!). Shortly rescued by suthin, we headed to his brother's place which was to be my place of residence for the day. Not long after, the size of the gang increased with the addition of calvin, monisha, merin and jazim...kudos to one of them for the increase in 'size'. Despite that, the 6 of us successfully stuffed ourself into an Alto as jazim chauffeured us around some of the prime spots of Bangalore. First stop was for lunch, and we destroyed our starvation at Cafe Masala on a buffet...an expensive buffet.

Right after that, we headed out to Guzzler's Pub for a game of billiards and a brief meeting with our old buddies zubair and ridhi. Stuffed with food and something else, we decided to retire for the day. Initially annoyed that Bangalore wasn't living upto my expectations, a game of God of War 3 on a Playstation 3 displayed brilliantly by a high definition 32" TV while i was swamped on a huge bean bag made me forget about everything else in life. Sigh...I love that bean bag. That's what souls use in heaven, I'm sure.

Soon, the two smallest people of the group bid their goodbyes as the rest of us joined by the residents of the flat headed to Taco Bell for dinner where I had the best damn slush drink on the planet with some quessadilla, a word that monisha failed to pronounce correctly leading to a class of jokes on her that deviated from the usual 'fat' category. The night ended with the obvious, of course. The tall one had the pleasure of sleeping over the bean bag.

Sunday started late thanks to somebody suffering from an hangover...proof that capacity is not directly proportional to height. The two of us headed out to meet zubair at his place from where he took us to Cafe Thulp where calvin and I enjoyed the biggest beef burger I've ever laid my fingers on. Aptly titled 'Moo's your daddy', it was deliciously and lusciously scrumptious. Bless zubair for his awesome lunch choice. Next, we headed to one of the hotspots in Bangalore : Forum mall. Did nothing except pick up a Batman poster for myself and that paved the way for an evening walk to the place that I had been waiting to go for a long time...Purple Haze. The ambience couldn't be better as it lifted us higher with the help of some classic rock music played in the background. Joined by monisha and suthin, it provided an evening to remember. The highlight was undoubtedly my embarrassing moment when I was forced to sip a drink on fire through a bloody straw because I let it heat up too much. Yes I know...amateur.

There was no choice but to crash at zubair's place for the night...and crash we did. Heavily. The tall one again had the privilege of sleeping all over the bean bag HERE. The hangover on Monday was visibly deeper, but we managed to get our asses to the primary place of residence and my Bangalore trip finally culminated in some heavy duty God-slaying, kudos to the PS3 and the bean bag and the 32" TV. Oh boy, it felt good.

suthin and I returned that night to arrive at a comparatively dull and boring Kochi the next morning, only for us to get together the next sunday with Kochiites susan and irene at Panampally Nagar. I guess this gives testament to the fact that when it comes to friends...maybe the place doesn't matter, only the people do. And of course bean bags and playstations and high definition televisions and gigantic burgers and....well...you get the drift.

This is vysh...signing out.

The Wedding Crashers

2010 has been another explosive year in terms of the 207 get-togethers...and we decided to end it and begin the next year with a bang. and a big bang it was :)

the first trip taken by this gang in rails....it took around 6 to 7 hours for suthin,rohin,ali,susan,merin,irene and myself to reach kannur from ernakulam. it wasnt an eventful ride...half the time was spent trying to get some seats and the other half just hanging on the steps of the train, enjoying the wind. but we wasted no time as we gathered around under the roof that rohin's flat provided.

with only hours left till the curtain fell down on a magnificent and dreadful year that was 2010, we brought all the food and the drinks down on the table and began our celebration. probably the most magnificent aspect of the year was that we were still together, exploiting fun in every way possible. a celebration was mandatory :) the star of the night was arguably the smallest thing in the house : merin (for reasons that can't be divulged here). she and the rest of us paved the way for the new year and hopefully for a lot more confluences.

but the celebrations didnt end there. joined shortly by zubin, jency and the last minute surprise that was sreeja, we proceeded to provide the real big bang to 2011 by heading to jazim's brother's wedding party. and oh boy, a party it was :D

once again, the each of us were dressed to kill and we made sure there were no leftovers in the food department or in the entertainment department. and by entertainment, i mean a lot of singing, and a lot of dancing. We had given the meaning of January 1st a whole new makeover :)

January 2nd marked our railway return to ernakulam and the end of this very special get-together...and a promise that this aint gonna be the last.

this is vysh....signing out.

This jobless phase

Trust me, i was sitting in front of this page for 15 minutes trying to figure out something to write about. don't know why it took so long, but then it clicked me...best thing to write about when u got a moment of inspiration to blog, is whatever you're going through at moment. got just one word for ya in my case....jobless.

it's been 7 months since college officially ended for me. but forget that number for now. a phase of life got over the moment i wrote the last exam in April. and anybody in that position definitely deserves a break. so it's understandable that i spent the month of May doing absolutely nothing. well...not exactly 'nothing'...we did move in to our new place in May, and we used all that time to adjust to the new environment. again...understandable.

Come June, you know that the break cannot be over yet...you had spent 4 years huffing and puffing after all. and what better way to blast your holidays other than a trip to Goa...but sit home and watch the football world cup! the timing just couldn't be better. so i spent the month cheering away for england...but before i could even so much as wave the bloody flag, they got eliminated. ah well...football is football. we all ended up enjoying the one month long tournament anyway....predicting the outcomes, swearing against the brazilians, debating about refereeing decisions, taking part in the million facebook battles....it was all very much fun.

Come July, the world cup is over and we are all exhausted, but still looking for something else new in life to look forward to. and in my case, my folks had come down from uae. ah cmon Mr. Conscience....family comes first right? so there you go, i got something else to do now. no guilt anywhere in my mind yet. spend some quality time with mom, dad and sis. share out the different stories happening in india and in uae. eat mom's food and get well-fed. or rather, get the chevrolet beat in my hands asap and blast off with my mates each time i return to 2k3 with the excuse of attending CAT classes. wohoooo!

August has arrived, and then the mental countdown to my birthday automatically begins. family is still around, so i still got something to do. and then the day comes when i'm finally crowned as an engineer. wohoo again. more reason to keep going in this flow of jobless-ness.

Come September, family returns back to uae. and THEN, the guilt slowly starts creeping in. i suddenly realise...wait a sec, it's been 4 months since college officially ended! and then the fact that i've cleared all my papers brings me no more satisfaction, but only more guilt that i've done absolutely nothing with my life even at this point. i search for more distractions, but i can't find any. there's a limit to how many movie tickets i can purchase. and the damn rabbits have gone to hell. and then, i do the ultimate thing that any man does to make himself feel more like a man and also to get distracted...join the gym :)

September clearly defined the meaning the jobless-ness for me, but i was thankfully deprived from thinking too much about it thanks to my slowly developing biceps and the amount of time i spent on the bed, sleeping away to glory.

October barely starts and bam! i'm bleeding out on the floor thanks to a pop music video, a tv remote control and the obstinacy of 2 idiots fighting over it. few hours later i'm getting a TT shot, local anesthesia and getting plastic surgery done above my right eyebrow. ah cmon, Mr. Conscience...can't you see that i'm injured here??? i need 20 days rest!

So there goes around 20 days without any further guilt or even gym :( but by the time i'm almost fully recovered, the familiar feeling of "what the hell are you doing with your life?" creeps back in. People ask me, " How's your CAT preps going?". and i reply, "huh...what CAT? oh...the thing i spent more than 16000 bucks for? oh yea, that's going fine". or at least that's what the people hear. but inside, my heart had just plummeted down. deep deep down.

Come November, the situation hasn't changed. except now it's indeed been 7 months since college ended. yes, now the statistic is very scary. the only hope i have is the result of a certain interview for a big company that i attended. until that comes out successful(or goes to hell, so that i can do something about CAT or fly off to UAE and rot), i'm still gonna be sitting.....what's that word again....oh yeah.....jobless.

which explains why i have all the time in the world to sit and think about something to blog about, and even more time to write it all down. no tension of meeting deadlines, no hassle of waking up early in the morning, no responsibility of completing projects, no schedules to be made for the next week, no late night cramming...just no fuss and absolutely no brainwork.

"ahhh.....what a life!", some of you might chant. think again.

yours

vysh

Birthday Bash:Part 2 + 2k3 hideout

Yep, we're back in business.

And I'm skipping the preview and heading straight to the point.

Last year, there was a birthday blast that concerned a houseboat and my own house. exactly 365 days later, we repeated the feat...sans the houseboat. nevertheless, we were strengthened by the presence of susan, who was unable to make it last year, and also the newest member of the family....ali. moreover, this time we were also gifted by the holy vessels of transportation....namely zubin's swift and my beat. yes, times have indeed changed.

after zubin had to survive the terrible ordeal of handling all the women by himself at our fav burger/pizza outlet Pik-A-Byte, the entire group of 12 assembled by night and headed out to my turf. the source of fun that night was nothing but the gang itself, which needless to say, sufficed. zubin and ali added a little something by singing away with rohin providing the stringwork.

however, the next day brought us the opportunity to hit marari beach in alleppy. echoes of our previous alleppy trip resonated as we rampaged through the sea and made sure that we didnt leave till we were sapped out of all energy. but with loudmouths like suthin and sreeja onboard, it seemed like we had limitless energy anyway... :)

But the real party was waiting for after nightfall...the big treat at Wyte Fort by the birthday people....namely irene, zubin, jency, jazim, susan and myself. dressed to kill, we couldnt have looked better that night. nor could we be louder in that huge buffet hall. our mouths and our behaviour just weren't matching our formal outfits...not that any of us cared in the first place :D

Joined shortly by dilu and jersen, we had a brilliant round of dinner before heading back home for one last night of fun that included some hilarious games of blindfold(no one were at the risk of drowning this time) and more late night chatting. Early morning brought the departure of the gang members...though only for some time. because we re-united 2 months later....this time, under the very roof of 2k3 itself. and this time, we brought in yet another new member...karthik 'tiger' madhavan.

Being in kochi, we made use of our usual spots....Pik-A-Byte, Wangs and Sand Dunes. and in the case of the christians among us....the church. If you want to know the rest....i'm sorry. you just had to be there :) but i can paint a small picture with the following fleeting images :

1- sreeja in her red nightgown that made her look like a mom

2- zubin singing his own versions of popular songs

3- rohin doing his work on the guitar for the above mentioned songs

4- merin being 'blown away by the wind' at the beach

5- jazim's treachery causing ali to be caught by rohin at blindfold

6- suthin slipping and falling down hard during the above mentioned game

7- susan smacking our tennis ball away and out of the boundary with the cricket bat, losing the ball in the process

8- calvin grabbing the camera off the top of the swift and running away with the lens pointed at him, the timer running and us chasing him trying to get into the frame

9- irene trying to work my beat out on the front yard

10- the number of dirty jokes we made and the scores we kept

11- susan top scoring for the above mentioned point

12- jency and that laugh of hers

13- need i mention sreeja's laugh?

14- ali showing the newbies exactly how to perform the art of taking sheesha

15- merin and her dress that looked like a tablecloth

16- irene and her injured toe that forced suthin and i to go all the way to kollencherry to pick her up

17- jency banging away on karthik as he refused to give up zubin

18- merin laughing her ass out and then whispering the joke in sreeja's ear causing obvious destruction(seriously, what the hell is all that about???)

19- rohin showing his expertise in a field other than music....lame jokes

20- and many many many more....

Where we are concerned, the industry of fun just can't be taken down.

Yours truly

Vysh