It is said that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. We were a batch of "promising" future engineers. Our class consisted of 26 boys and 1 girl and yet, we had a hero amidst our ranks. He was a man of very few words. He never liked attention and was often considered an introvert. But then there comes a time when every hero takes his stand. That fleeting moment that marks the character of a higher mortal. I am about to tell you the story of that fateful day when Mr. Binu Blueman chose the path of a hero.
It was late in the morning. The monsoon season had already kicked in and the humidity was at an all time high. The heat was getting to each and everyone of us. To make matters worse we were stuck in a back to back session of Computer Programming class which was taught by a staff whom we all affectionately referred to as Pollachi. There were many reasons why we decided to name her that. But all that is unimportant. She had a high pitched voice which she never had a good command over and we were always at the receiving end of the agonizingly distorted noise that she referred to as "The Basics of C++". But today would be different than all the other days that we ever sat in her class. Today a student would stand up against the ignorant and unjust educational system and ask for rights that were never before considered possible.
As we came to the end of the first session, Pollachi's extraordinary hearing power intercepted a few giggles and chit-chat that had so far gone unnoticed. Although to this day, none of us know who the actual culprits were, Pollachi was certain that it was Mr. Sharif and Mr. Linay. She asked the two innocent victims to stand up and without warning let out an array of high pitched verbal assaults which ended with the line "Now both of you get out of the class!!!". Being responsible members of society, the students argued and tried to prove their innocence but it was worthless. As the argument picked up, Mr. Binu Blueman arose from his chair and presented a question: "Ma'am, can I go out of the class?". Everybody was shocked. It took a while for us to take in what had just happened. Pollachi was taken aback. She raised her voice which was now peaking at an incredibly high frequency and asked "Why are you standing up? Why do you want to get out of the class?". But the only reply she got was "Please ma'am. Please".
Unlike other stories, our hero never got what he wanted but his little act was enough to distract Pollachi from wrecking further damage to innocent victims. The class continued for another 40 minutes. At the end of the class, I ran over to Binu's seat and asked him what prompted him to ask such a thing. Being a man of originality and wisdom, he looked at me and said "With great power comes great responsibility". Those simple words summarized the way of the Heroes.
Whenever I feel there is a need to stand up and fight against the unjust, I always look back at those words and think of the man who made us all realize that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, August 10, 2009
When it rains, it pours!!
Our memories inter-weave and inter link in ways we do not comprehend. A single drop of rain may lead to the memory of a monsoon many seasons ago, which in turn may lead to memories of the friends who were there that rainy day. Pretty soon you’re off on a journey to see the past play hide and seek with the present. And before you know it what started with a drop has become a deluge. When it rains nostalgia it always pours.
There are some moments in life that you wish you could revisit at least once. I’m not talking about the pivotal moments in your life, nothing as life-changing as holding your child for the first time or as dramatic as your first kiss. I’m talking of those seemingly insignificant moments which get entrenched in your psyche, moments which for no easily comprehensible reason might flash before you as you die (not that I have any experience in that field). You wish you were there again to see if it really was as the playback reel in your head tries to convince you. Back in 2002 I had such a day; it was nothing dramatic or life-changing... But that day and the memory of it is a bit of who I am.
We were young, restless and reckless to a fault. In an almost all boy class all we cared about was to live like there was no tomorrow and play like there were no exams. For me and my friends it was football that was all the rage... Now we weren’t particularly gifted players or even close. But that didn’t matter to us. We didn’t play for money or recognition, Hell, sometimes we didn’t even play to win :-) we played for the absolute joy of playing, the joy of being able to run with the wind in your hair, the ball at your feet, your friends screaming your name. We played because the thought of not playing, never crossed our minds.
Now on that particular day it was after special class and it was raining pretty hard. But we were young and carefree and never thought about stuff like pneumonia. Besides I suddenly remembered seeing on the Discovery channel tat staying out while it rains doesn’t lead to fever. It didn’t take much to convince the guys and we were away... I remember only about 4-5 of us who were there that day, I wish I could remember them all. We ran, we fell, we screamed drenched to our bones in the rain, laughing all the while. The rain was relentless. Soon we could barely see each other yet we played on.. The final score was 8-5 or something that day and I scored a few times too but it doesn’t really count as the goalkeeper was trying to wipe the water out of his glasses(why he was doing that while it was still pouring buckets on his head still bewilders me) we played till we couldn’t anymore.. Till our shoes were filled with water and it felt like we were running inside buckets. I remember riding back home in RV's car... I also remember that curious incident with the gearbox and his driver which doesn’t need to be elaborated here.
There were no winners or losers that day. Just a bunch of crazy kids who were having the time of their life :-) they thought the world was a pretty neat place... Their biggest worries were flunking exams and losing the football in the woods near the school ground. They were full of life, ready to take on whatever whimsical fate had to offer. I like to think those crazy kids are still here... Still ready... And on some rainy days that crazy kid in me tells me to chuck the coffee mug out the window and to get drenched again. One of these days I just might!
There are some moments in life that you wish you could revisit at least once. I’m not talking about the pivotal moments in your life, nothing as life-changing as holding your child for the first time or as dramatic as your first kiss. I’m talking of those seemingly insignificant moments which get entrenched in your psyche, moments which for no easily comprehensible reason might flash before you as you die (not that I have any experience in that field). You wish you were there again to see if it really was as the playback reel in your head tries to convince you. Back in 2002 I had such a day; it was nothing dramatic or life-changing... But that day and the memory of it is a bit of who I am.
We were young, restless and reckless to a fault. In an almost all boy class all we cared about was to live like there was no tomorrow and play like there were no exams. For me and my friends it was football that was all the rage... Now we weren’t particularly gifted players or even close. But that didn’t matter to us. We didn’t play for money or recognition, Hell, sometimes we didn’t even play to win :-) we played for the absolute joy of playing, the joy of being able to run with the wind in your hair, the ball at your feet, your friends screaming your name. We played because the thought of not playing, never crossed our minds.
Now on that particular day it was after special class and it was raining pretty hard. But we were young and carefree and never thought about stuff like pneumonia. Besides I suddenly remembered seeing on the Discovery channel tat staying out while it rains doesn’t lead to fever. It didn’t take much to convince the guys and we were away... I remember only about 4-5 of us who were there that day, I wish I could remember them all. We ran, we fell, we screamed drenched to our bones in the rain, laughing all the while. The rain was relentless. Soon we could barely see each other yet we played on.. The final score was 8-5 or something that day and I scored a few times too but it doesn’t really count as the goalkeeper was trying to wipe the water out of his glasses(why he was doing that while it was still pouring buckets on his head still bewilders me) we played till we couldn’t anymore.. Till our shoes were filled with water and it felt like we were running inside buckets. I remember riding back home in RV's car... I also remember that curious incident with the gearbox and his driver which doesn’t need to be elaborated here.
There were no winners or losers that day. Just a bunch of crazy kids who were having the time of their life :-) they thought the world was a pretty neat place... Their biggest worries were flunking exams and losing the football in the woods near the school ground. They were full of life, ready to take on whatever whimsical fate had to offer. I like to think those crazy kids are still here... Still ready... And on some rainy days that crazy kid in me tells me to chuck the coffee mug out the window and to get drenched again. One of these days I just might!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Slip of tongue? I don't think so.
When you are in school, you are free to do whatever you want as long as the teachers are not watching. When I was in the eleventh grade, I had a friend who was in love with a certain someone from the other class. Now like all other people who are smitten by someone from the opposite sex, Ed (thought I'd give him a name) here never told the girl how he felt. Weeks went by, then months.
One fine afternoon Ed got into a little altercation with a fellow classmate because the latter called his love interest certain 'names'. Now the abuser, we shall call him Mr. A, was a really healthy person. I mean he was strong. And Ed was the kind of guy who would whack you in the head and then run as far and fast as he could. So when the fight started to heat up, most of us went over to pacify Mr.A by holding him back from ripping Ed apart. When Ed realized he had the advantage of the situation, he vented out his anger with these following words: "Hey! You shut up! You go "fruit" me man!" This was by far the greatest comeback statement I had ever heard from a person. Not only was this statement grammatically wrong but the look of confidence on Ed's face was priceless and as always he ran and we just rolled on the floor laughing. Mr.A was laughing too.
Well a lot of us assumed that it was a slip of tongue but then I managed to irk Ed enough one day and he retorted with the statement: "You don't lose my temper okay?!!!". Well I wanted to crack a nice sarcastic comment but I realized it would not do justice to the words that were just uttered.
So tell me, slip of tongue? I don't think so.
One fine afternoon Ed got into a little altercation with a fellow classmate because the latter called his love interest certain 'names'. Now the abuser, we shall call him Mr. A, was a really healthy person. I mean he was strong. And Ed was the kind of guy who would whack you in the head and then run as far and fast as he could. So when the fight started to heat up, most of us went over to pacify Mr.A by holding him back from ripping Ed apart. When Ed realized he had the advantage of the situation, he vented out his anger with these following words: "Hey! You shut up! You go "fruit" me man!" This was by far the greatest comeback statement I had ever heard from a person. Not only was this statement grammatically wrong but the look of confidence on Ed's face was priceless and as always he ran and we just rolled on the floor laughing. Mr.A was laughing too.
Well a lot of us assumed that it was a slip of tongue but then I managed to irk Ed enough one day and he retorted with the statement: "You don't lose my temper okay?!!!". Well I wanted to crack a nice sarcastic comment but I realized it would not do justice to the words that were just uttered.
So tell me, slip of tongue? I don't think so.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Chapter one: Memories
I've been around for just 20 (odd) years and I have so many memories of moments I wish I could relive again. I have had a lot of good moments and a lot of bad moments too but if there is any point of my life that I would like to go back to, that would be the 5 years I spent in a special (do not misinterpret) school on a hill.
Ever since I graduated and moved on I have never been able to find memories that I could cherish like the ones I had between 1998 - 2003. I know I am not the only one who wishes to go back. I guess everyone who was in that batch wants to go back and have fun again.
And that is exactly what we are hoping to do through this blog. Please feel free to leave your memories and thoughts in the 'comments' section.
Ever since I graduated and moved on I have never been able to find memories that I could cherish like the ones I had between 1998 - 2003. I know I am not the only one who wishes to go back. I guess everyone who was in that batch wants to go back and have fun again.
And that is exactly what we are hoping to do through this blog. Please feel free to leave your memories and thoughts in the 'comments' section.
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