..And then there were None.

Author's Note:
This post is long. Quite long. But please don't stop reading in the middle .
And oh yes, any resemblance to real life characters is merely purely PURELY coincidental. Really.

*****************************************

She wasn't late for work. She never was.

But that never stopped her from speeding down Kasthoori Ranga road which was her favourite road in Madras solely because of the speed at which she could drive her Blue-Scooty. The luscious greenery on both sides, the conspicuous absence of gargantuan lorries and the tireless stretch of smooth cement for as far as the eye can see, was more than just an enticing reason to adopt that route to work. Driving and speeding had never been this peaceful before.

She knew the route to work like the back of her hand. Well everybody who took the same route to work did, but she'd known the nature and the soul of that area so well that she subconsciously knew all the spots at which she had to slow down or speed. And it worked each 'n everytime, everyday. She was the master of that route, she knew.

Her mind was the busiest during this time. She would hum a different tune every 30 seconds, try an aalaap for an exotic rAga for the next 120 seconds, think of a friend she'd recently gotten to know and like, reminisce over good times with old friends, try memorizing a DIshitr krithi, wonder what her dad would be doing at this time at home- such a multifaceted array of thoughts, however, never once concentrating on the road and its traffic.
She prided herself for that, for being able to maneuver her vehicle down even the toughest roads of Madras, with such admirable ease and agilance.
That too inspite of her her rash driving.

'Touch wood' is what she'd smile and say when people gasped at her abominable speed on the roads, and she'd immediately lift her right hand and touch her head.

Today was no different. The rAga on her lips today, was vArAmu. Such an enchanting rAgA would have customarily made her close her eyes and surrender but she was after all, driving. She sang, neverthelss, as loud as possible, knowing that at 07:30 AM there would be no one on the roads to turn around and give her the 'huh-what-the..' look.

Half way through Kasthoori Ranga road now, there was still a long way to go. She brought herself to see the road in front of her and register . But for a sinfully beautiful Black Skoda far in front of her Blue Scooty, it was just her vehicle on the road. Just as always.
Lovely.

But all of a sudden the Black Skoda in front of her, came to a halt. A sudden stop.

Ok, this was too sudden. Too unexpected.
Why did the car stop?? Why did it friggin stop??
There wasn't any signal in front..not for miles, and there wasn't any vehicle in front of it either... and what were the chances of an old blind-deaf-dumb lady crossing a usually-desolated road at 7:30 AM in the morning??? Zilch??

Crap..She now had to stop her Scooty. And fast. And how!
Thoughts rushed through her mind as she quickly scrambled for the brakes.

As she was fast approaching it, she had a look at the Car. It was far too shiny and far too beautiful be crashed against. She tried to maneuver her vehicle to the right without skidding and managed to pull the brakes in time, probably saving her from being thrown head over the Skoda-however not without a significant crash at the Car's posterior and a terrible fall.

The next few minutes were a dream. She lay there on the road, with the Blue-Scooty on top of her. Motionless....

(To be continued..)

My Helmet's Redemption

...Our Government has finally done it.

The Law now has it that car-drivers not not strapping their belts (Aww...don't give me any crap about trouser/pant-ka-belt funny-guy..Tamil-Nadu Policemen aren't THAT dumb.THere! No legal hassles attached) and two-wheeler drivers driving without a helmet, will be caught and prosecuted.

Bwahahahahaha...(Evil laughter)

hmm....Lets see...this new Law-thingy does insinuate a few things.

Ayy) I hunt down that big-fat-ugly-red helmet of mine from the cob-web laddened archives of my house (despite learning a lesson the hard way ) and put it out for a while in the sun, to make it more head-friendly (and more spider not-so-friendly)

Bee) My mom takes our car to the garage to fix all the belts in the car even the ones at the back,so that they..come, when pulled (the very way well-behaved belts should behave)

See) Now this is something I'm not so sure about. Should pillion riders be donning a helmet too? I'm quite concerned because I always have someone or the other behind me everytime I ride my vandi.


Well, if yes, I'd very happily share mine..but I don't intend on getting prosecuted in the near future,thank you very much. And for some wicked reason I don't intend on investing on another big-fat-red thing;even if its for you, darling.
So, that brings us to a point of uncertainty in Point#See.

But ...hey, there is a good chance that we don't get caught for my pillion-rider-not-donning-a-helmet.
I'm quite fast on the roads and I could just Vrooooom! past the pot-bellied men-in-white.
My pillion riders love me! :)
(I can say what I want...Its my blog!)

But I'm not getting all jumpy and thrilled by that optimistic-notion because the probability that we're gonna get caught on the road with me maneuvering my loyal blue 2-stroke vandi for reasons apart from you not donning a helmet, is tragically quite large.

So either way you 'n I are meat, sweetie!
(that still brings us to a point of uncertainty in Point#See)


Never mind..

At this moment when early cab drivers,lack of good sleep, unfinished documents,an mp3 player that needs fixing and an impending Quality Audit at work ,are issues to be considered, 'Point#See' doesn't really gain top priority in my things-to-worry-about list.


There!
Well...whadya know? This country IS getting better after all...'n I'm so proud of it.
Now, if only the idea of a ban on auto-drivers' reckless driving could sink in.

(But who listens to me! Bah!)

;)

Helmets are a girl's best friend

Hi Logon!


(The bulk of juntha who read the first line as log-on, please take a long coffee break, come back and start all over again)

Hi Ppl...

I love my helmet!

Hope you guys are doing splendidly well this fine Friday morning!
Bet you hundred bucks that half of you readers spent at least 11 seconds this morning, on your way to work, marvelling at how fast the last one week has sped by, and how last Friday just seemed like....a few days back.
Well...Thats 'Corporate Life ' for you.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Amen to that.

I, for one, have actually stopped cribbing about my life. Cool na?
I mean....me, the goddess of complaints...NOT even bothering to make my life sound more crappier than someone else's ...wow, indeed a transformation, I might add.

Well lets just put it this way...
Splendrous architectural ambience,ravenous appetite, delicious food, money in the wallet, jovial team-mates, friendly boss, so-far-interesting job (touch wood), decent project, good pay (yeah rite!!), and enthusiastic 'ol me.....
All this sums up to form an ambitious and explosive combination.
Yeah....Thats what YOU might think...but..hehe.....I've STILL found some reasons to crib. ;)
Lets just hope that the light at the end of this tunnel is goddamn bright. ;)
More about my reason-to-crib in my next mail. (Yes, there's more where this came from)


Right....Just a few days back..... I was sitting on my living-room sofa with my legs crossed and eyes gazing at the ceiling (Legs crossed on a sofa...yes,I know I'm weird), and thinking to my-esteemed-self ...
' Ah, Life is stagnant. Stagnant indeed! You need some thrill Maythini ...Something out-of-the-blue....Something that would make you say, Oh yes....That day, god!! Remarkable! I'll never forget that day!! '

hmm....Funny how life ' misinterprets ' what you mean, in the most inexplicable of ways.
How?
Wait....I shall explain.

(I still love my helmet though)

Yesterday,after a good day at work, and a quick conversation with Takloo, I was riding my Scooty home...speeding quite a bit, unable to curtail my excitement to see my father who'd just come home on a 2 week vacation.
( Okay..not speeding a bit, quite a lot actually. 65km/hr is quite a speed for a poor two-stroke engine, called Scooty's Engine, to bear)

Nevertheless...I was just approaching my abode... When I spot a huge garbage bin at the centre of the road.

Let me quickly describe what these blessed 'Garbage bins' in Madras look like.....They are huge, unattractive, stinky, 3 feet high, 2 feet broad and 2 feet long... dark green in colour (which makes them look practically invisible at night time) and last but definitely not the least, a necessary evil.

Ok...My mind took a microsecond to register the presence of the garbage bin ahead and the fact that it was far too opaque for my Scooty to just drive through...So I make a sudden jolt to the left, to circumvent the obstacle.

But to my surprise what do I see on the road....Oil !!!
Yes, oil!
Oil spilt all over the place!!!!!

Ahhhh.....So THATs why the garbage bin was placed on the road as an obstacle...To act as a speed-braker, for people who might skid on the oil that was spilt in front of the bin.

Ah, the irony of late realisation!
Too late!

The oil had already done its job....and my Scooty skid majjjjorly with me on top of it. (Picture Hrithik Roshan in the former half of Kaho Naa Pyar Hai...Its always nice to have a dramatic effect in a story thats being narrated)

I fall..my bag falls, myScooty falls...bigggg scary fall !! People come running....blah-blah-blah!
Had bruises allover..but head, untouched, depite falling head first on the road.
My big fat ugly helmet had saved me.
Helmet saved me.
Helmet helmet helmet!!
God bless my helmet.

Helmet helmet helmet......You're something I wont forget...!!
(Think I'll compose a song and dedicate it to this incredible piece of plastic...or metal....or whatever!! )

So...How am I going to conclude this piece of blah-blah?


ONE: Be careful what you wish for. I did get my memorable day after all...But with a sadistic sort of thrill at the end...which, at the end of the day, DID make me say....Ah! That day...I will never forget! (For all the wrong reasons)

:D

TWO : Always love thy helmet.

:)