Tamhini and D :)

Off tomorrow to Tamhini once again. From being one of the places high on my mother's list of forbidden places, now she surprisingly approves of me travelling there. I have no idea why the sudden change. It has nothing to do with me. Now I wangled it out of here. She trusts one among my friends-a super duper lovable bully who also screams like a cantankerous fisherman when she is 'teaching me the right way' to drive :)

D is pretty cool, she sometimes lets me be sarcastic, lets me wield her camera, lets me exasperate her as much as I can-but oh yes..she does exact her revenge in no uncertain terms. However, now I can't help bursting out with laughter when she is scolding at me for my idiotic driving. Her expressions are priceless at those moments, she doesn't know what to make of me at those moments and there I am doubled up in full glory. D looks comical then, her hair looking like a mop on her head.

Have to get up at 4 tomorrow and I am clueless as to why I signed up for this madness. I absolutely detest waking up at anytime before 8 and this unearthly hour is mighty unsuitable for me. But the trip there holds tantalising promises again-a flaming flash of the Giant Squirrel, the mating song of the cicadas, and Blue Mormons enticing you to follow them before disappearing in the wink of an eye.

little BOY BEGGAR

Begging is to request a donation in a supplicating manner. Beggars are commonly found in public places such as street corners or public transport, where they request money, most commonly in the form of spare change.

This particular beggar that I encountered was a 7 year old, filthily attired in torn clothes, unkempt hair...the usual normal child beggar we spot everywhere. A small 4 year old child clutched his hand and kept up a continuous wail. He was obviously his brother. I had just halted at the Pulgate Signal due to the red signal. As more and more vehicles accumulated at the signal, the elder beggar child jumped into action. He half-dragged, half-pulled his brother towards the vehicles.

They hurried off to a Toyota Innova. The two men sitting inside recoiled at the sight of them. The beggars pounded on the door and window of the car, they tried to open the door and both set up a shrill cry. The man in the car unrolled the window, at least one part of the battle was won by the beggars.

The man then surreptitiously removed a coin from nowhere and fingered it in his fingers. The beggars hadn't seen this and had by that time increased the volume of their shrill. It was pounding my ears though I was with my helmet on. The man handed oven the coin to the boy and within a flash rolled over his window again.

The beggar thankfully received his coin and then stared at it for a very long time and then the scream that emanated from him surpassed all the previous screams. He now banged at the door of the car with an infuriating shriek that his kid brother was startled into silence. And then I realised the meaning of the scream. The coin which the man had handed over was a 50 paisa coin. All the boy's labour, was in the worth just 50 paisa. His tiny fists pummeled the window but the men inside did not relent. The little buy clutched the coin tightly in his hand, then opened his fist to look at it one last time and making sure that the men were looking at him he held it up and then with bitterness in his eyes he threw the coin down and then departed. The signal now turned green.

I can't yet figure out where my disgust should lie. With the men or with the beggar.

And It Rained Today

I like driving in the rain. Mom said that it would rain today. Mom knew right. And the rain lashed like a fury and how! It tore the leaves down and strewed them across the roads like a carpet along with branches and flowers separated prematurely from their stalks. The water bore down across the roads like a river unleashed and tossed and turned us like flowers being blown by a very furious wind. It was just perfect. Just the thing that I was yearning for since a year.

Driving in the rain is truly enjoyable as long as I’m set with decent rainy wear, my helmet and of course my bike which sloughs on faithfully against the rain beating it from all the sides it has.

Today I had a friend along with me so the bike was heavy enough not to topple over because of the blustery weather. The balance was perfect. We screamed, we sang, we laughed and we didn’t cry. People viewed us quite accurately like two lunatics who ought to be taken up to task but we cared not.

The rain made me full and pleased with pure delight. I could laugh at the people waiting on the roads for the rain to cease all because I had my rain-jacket. But my superiority over them was only to make me feel better. I was completely drenched after all in the time that it took to halt the bike, to get the jacket out, to struggle and put the zipper on. Each second was slow and as soaked as the sea. Nevertheless, we managed and it had a curious wet charm of it’s own.

We had just filled our senses with cold-coffee with thunder rumbling over our heads warning us, hinting at us the gift it was going to present to us. The thunder joined us in our laughter. It was pretty wise.

I usually don’t look forward to the rains as it conjures up horrid images of muddy waters mixed with the all the grossest stuff on the road, sticky wet clothes, no electricity and the usual rut. However, now those images seem to have faded in the background no longer threatening me. I quite like the rains now. Though this feeling will vanish in the coming months that I’m sure of.

The last time I got wet in the rain; I cried. The time before that I was overcome with contentment along with a squiggly–wiggly feeling in the tummy and this time I guess I’m glad I got wet in the rain. Like I said, I like driving in the rain.

Adventure 1

Returning home at 10.45 a.m from my French Class. Driving. Everything is fine with the world- well almost. Encounter a signal. Closely miss the green light. Nuts and peanuts! The world ceases being fine from this moment onwards and it's over to being not fine. Phone rings. Uh oh! Struggle to get it out of my pant pocket. After a lot of cursing and heaving I finally manage to separate the phone from it's cozy environs into my hands. After a lot of heaving and exclaiming and cursing, I finally manage to separate it from my cozy pocket into my hands. My phone blinks innocently at me. Then I realize that I'm supposed to answer it. I squirm in the sunlight to see who it is.

Sister. Uh oh! Uh oh! I hope that I haven't done anything wrong. Why is she calling me? Fearfully I answer the call. Her tone sounds pitiful. She's asking for help. Something about her bike. It's broken down. I thank God that I didn't break it down. It's okay I tell her. Bike breaking is nothing new for her bike. It just adds more experience to her bike's years. This comment doesn't go down well with her. She wants me to go help her.

Yippee!! I'm her knight in shining armour. Here's a God given opportunity to utilise my super powers and prove to her my worthiness. "Coming Sis!", I exclaim. "Just mind yourself and your bike till I come" She just cuts the phone. "Rude" I say to myself. Maybe next time I'll teach her some manners.

The signal changes to green. I hurriedly send my phone back into it's cozy pocket, kickstart my bike and zoom off. I'm a girl on a mission now. Task-Bail out sis from worhtless bike.

Ufff. Ufff. Ufff. Just when I have to zip super fast all the world wants to drive like a snail. Honk honk. Peep peep. Don't stare weirdo. Look in the front. Grrr-Move away doggie. It's not your day today. Grrr- Mad dogie. "Shoo", I tell it; "Bow-wow", it tells me. I stick my tongue out at it and again zoom away before it gets any weird idea of doing anything to me. It was apparent that it was thinking along those lines by the way it bared it's teeth at me. "Silly doggie", I mutter.

Finally I reach my sis. Even she looks like a lost doggie. "Miaow", I tell her. She tells me to shut up again. I wink at her. She looks ready to strangle me with her bare hands. I give her one last miaow along with my bike. She takes it and goes away.

Me- I hobnob to the bus-stop. I find a bus that would take me home. I find no place to sit. So I plonk myself in the middle of the bus thinking about miaow's and bow-wow's. The bus then gets stalled in the middle of a terrific kissan mixed fruit traffic jam. I decide to figure out life. While I play around with my figures, they decide to collapse. An insect pops into my head. Go away insect. Insect doesn't go. So I decide to locate the reason as to why the insect has come into my head. Search search. Not insect but wallet. Search. Urrff! Bow-wow. Miaow. Miaow. Search search. Wallet search. Search over. No wallet. What to do? What to do? Conductor coming nearer and nearer. Shoo away conductor. Conductor just stares with mild surprise. What to do? I decide to get down before I'm forcefully evicted. I get down. Peoplae stare at me. I stare back at them. Damn! Now I'm more lost than ever.

Then new insect pops into my head. My sis too must be stuck in the kissan mixed fruit traffic jam. Run run. Pant pant. Run run. Don't look people. Mind your own business. Aaah! There I spot my sis.

Hi I tell her,

I'm in need dear.

She asks no question,

Just increases my tension.

It's money that I need,

So give it to me please.

She starts her ranting

While I do the panting.

She shoves a 20 into my hand

And I come out of my trance.

I tell her bye

And she tells me that my brain's a fly.

Fly fly fly. I'm a fly. I want to fly in the sky. No my brain's a bly. It flies. I don't. Ufff.

New mission- Find bus to go back home. Search search. Difficult quest. Bus seems to have disappeared. No wait. Found it. Get into it. Feel happy. Oh shoot! Wrong bus. Get down. Get down again. Search search. I'm in tears now. Uh ho! Traffic is no longer a jam. It's jelly. It's moving. Search search. Eeeeeee. Here it is. Waiting for me. Right where I'd left it. I grin at it sheepishly. Uh oh. Uh oh. It's moving, it's moving... With an almighty cry I heave myself onto the bus. Relief floods me as I stumble but land safely. I hear people sniggering and laughing at me. Conductor hands me the ticket with a wicked knowing twinkle in his eyes. He's laughing at me.

I give him a weak grin and decide to figure out life again.