Pages from the Zany - F I L E S

It is time a mile stone has reached. It is time for a new phase of my life. It is going to be 20 years since I came down to this earth. At this point of time I just want to remember the life’s best memories in these past 20 years.

Life is a big roller coaster ride. It is filled with ups and downs and I am not going to tell you something new. It is just that each person’s life is unique in ones own way. It has that distinct left or a right turn that makes the entire world’s difference to one’s life. Let me just take you all in a ride back my memory lane.

It was a fine day I guess, July 16- 20 years back morning 5:50 is the exact time of my birth. I was a surprise package! In the sense that I wasn’t expected into this world till September end. But than me being me just was so damn impatient to see this world with my Big eyes and wanted to welcome everything with my tiny hands and feet.

Then time flew, I grew from being such a tiny baby to quite a healthy kid. That was the time I started questioning everything, where did this come from? What is that? How did you get this? And what not? It was also the time when I was joined into school. Those days in CV were the best to last a life time.

My kinder garden teacher Hazel was my first teacher. Me and my cousin were in the same class; well he was born the day before me! And such troublesome kids we both were, always going around wherever the teacher went-tricking the birthday kids in giving us an extra chocolate by asking for the other with such innocent faces, licking all the cream off the birthday cake before prayer gets over and hiding under the desks, crying if the other cries, sleeping if the other sleeps, posing as swimmers for a annual day play given the fact we do not know how to swim- well those are days not to be forgotten!

Then came school and those days of growing up, getting to know all about the Abcs of love, and experiencing those little puppy loves or crushes on god knows how many guys. I guess it is 12 and still counting!! Becoming crazy doing stupid stuff was the way of everyday in school. Then came 10th board exams, I wonder how I studied, on second thoughts I did not study much! I just finished whatever was there to study in the first day of the study holiday and spent the rest of the study holidays watching movies or calling in to SS music reach out program!

11th came and I was asked to make my first choice, which group did I want to get into; I registered for science and ended up sitting in the commerce class. And I should say your entire school life can be summed up entirely in these two years. It is the time for more freedom and responsibility in the school front. You turn to be the seniors in the school. A kinda attitude develops, and it is fun to explore this side of your life. Your teachers and principal treat you like an adult, you feel so great, it is also the time that you age long friendship with your fellow peers get stronger, you get to know them much deeper. It is also the time where your mind is a gamut of emotions, you feel great, low, defenseless, insecure, happiest all in the same time. It is the time where you create an opinion for yourself. A time where you tend to set rigid rules on the way you want to live your life. A time where opinions and ego clashes and you get into serious fights with friends whom you have known since the time you were born. It is a time to learn life the way you want best.

Then you reach an end to school life and join college filled with loads and loads of expectations. You see everything through rosy glasses only to find the hard way it is just plain black and white. You meet new people, you make new friends, and by the time your 3 years in college has ended, it would be like you have known these new friends of yours all through your life. Now is the time you tend to separate time for your friends from school and college. You will be in a confusion on who to call for you birthday treat, wondering if your friends from school and college will get together, and end up giving two different treats. And it is also the time where you tend to feel a little insecure about your school friends, coz even they have moved on and found new friends whom you might not get along with. But then if you notice clearly, it is only your best of friends who will stick on to you till the end. Well all I can say is friendship is a great gift to mankind, without which we all tend to be morons in this world. A person with no friends is not fit to live in this world.

Now was also the time I got confused about the existence of the almighty, I was turning an atheist and now I am spiritual but not religious! I am confused if there is someone who exists up there and should I look up to him through all those names given to him. All I know is this is a phase for my growing up, but then none of my friends would agree I am growing; I tend to be the immature kid always. I started to write by this stage and here you have my blog established, I have also inspired quite a few to start a blog!

So on the eve of my birthday I would like to thank some special people in my life!!

First and foremost let me get the family done with coz without them I won’t be here right in this place and posting this blog…

So here it goes, my heart filled thanks to my
o Amma- who is most of the times my amma and quarter of the time my friend.
o Appa- whose chellam(sweetie) is me.
o My bro- who encouraged me to read and well without whom I wouldn’t have learnt the art of fighting and arguing.
o My granddad- he is my mom’s father, and I have admired a lot by the way he living his life
o My grandmom- well without her my mom would not have allowed me to experience the freedom she was denied ;) also coz she is one grand mom whom you can’t fool around with.
o My uncles and aunts – my mom’s bros and their better halves, without them my growing up will not be complete
o My cousins – 5 of them without whom my growing up will simply not be a fun filled and those yearlong of pranks, secrets and mischief that we have lived through just could not be compensated by anything else. Especially Arun coz he was born the day before me, and without whom my kindergarden would not have been so great!
o Hazel ma’am – my kinder garden teacher who still remembers me when I go to school.
o Sridevi ma’am – she was more like a friend to us
o Thilagavathy ma’am – without whom my tamil classes would be a lot boring.
o Banumathi ma’am – my eco ma’am who just liked me for what I am.
o FRIENDS – they just make me who I am today and I need a separate list for them
- Ayshwarya – she was my friend for the whole of three years and I wonder what she is doing right now
- Nandini – well I wonder where she is too right now, those days in school with her were the best
- Harhsa – I learnt a bit if hindhi from her, and she is one perfect tomboy, I wonder where you are and whether you remember me!
- Padmini – she was one great dancer and such a down to earth person, same here I wonder where she is.
- Janet – she was a new entry to school and used to call me Bull Bull Rani for which I used to get offended!
- Arjun, Timkumar and Ponselvan – without you guys stupid fights I know my Tamil tuitions wont be that great!
- Swathi – we were quite close for a year or so
- Subhashini – we were super close till we fought really bitterly by the end of the year, if you read this blog subhashini, I still remember all the good times I had with you
- Preethi Paramasivam – we were best of friends and called chatter boxes by almost all the teachers and god knows what we had to talk so much about, now I very badly want to get in touch with her, if anyone knows her contact plz drop by a word to me.
- Visalam – my great friend and god knows wat all we both were up to in those five years we were together in the same school, it is with her I used to go guy hunting in school!
- Abirami – Fondly called as Abby, well she is one best buddy who still keeps in touch with wat is happening in my life and with whom I have shared most of my best moments in life, she is one friend who I can look up to even so many years later.
- Dvijavanthi – it is Dvij-a-van-thi who now calls herself DJ, I was surprised when I found her to be exactly like me, this likeliness just leaded us to crush on the same guys over and over again. If you know me, you know her and vice versa
- Alice George John – I like to call her that, she is one kutty chathan, and has ended to be my real good friend in the three years of college I went with her. She definitely shares both my life’s best and worst moments on my bike roger! And she is my spell-o-checker and partner in riting poems
- Easha – she is simply one sweet heart and can make you feel good on any day.
- Archana – for all the trouble she makes in my life, but in the end of the day she just likes me so much that she just can’t help it 
- Shilpa Gulati – I missed 1 and half year of college life without getting to know her, only to find out she is someone who is just like me, a confused person on this earth trying to come to terms with what life is treating us. And I can assure you that she is one person whom I would not lose contact with.
- Aruna Rajeshwari – she is one person who reads me inside out! I have to thank her for the gift she has made me wait for 6 months before unwrapping it! And well she is one person whose birthday I always forget and look around guiltily when she comes around. She is one person who catches me in my worst moments when I am feeling not so good and putting up a good face, she finds it with just a glance at my face!

I have to mention some of my online buddies who make my virtual life too much fun to live, there is Karan who introduced me to sulekha, Sujata who took opinions from me and posted it in Indian express, Meenakshi Nambiar for taking my posts to the editor’s pick, Hebrew princess for encouraging me to rite more on Blogliterati and featuring me at times in the Featured blogger and editor picks.
Karthik and Sunil from Evam for encouraging my Fan follwing of them ;) then there is Gigi who did mine and Alice’s ambigram and well gave me hints to rite poems, then there is Spammi – my virtual bro – in – law without whom online spamming would be boring, Arunesh my anna and all my blog readers who have the patience to read what I rant and comment too!

I guess that’s about the people I have met in my life and who make my life all the more worthwhile to live, and I would like to clarify that the above order is the order in which these people appeared in my life and are not based on favoritism!! And if by any chance I have missed someone and whom my stupid brain fails to remember I apologize and thank you for also being there in my life. This is just the best blog I have ever written for people close to me on the eve of my birthday, and I hope you all continue to exist in my life and make it even more happy and cherished.


And this blog is for my birthday which is coming this 16th!

Zanychild
Driving people insane as always

4 years before:
She stood with a hand on the desk towering over him who was sitting as casually as he could in the bench. She was burning with rage “what’s you botheration?” she exploded. “No concern of mine” he replied. “You are a chauvinistic creature who doesn’t want me to win you in this competition, you couldn’t stand losing to a woman” she shot back. He said “I did not do anything wrong. All I said was your model building if constructed cannot have a sound foundation due to the structure designed. It is well allowed in the competition to criticize your opponents work” and gave her a triumphant smile. She hated him, completely hated him. This was not the first time, he was doing this. All through her 4 years of college, he found ways to make her lose her cool. He loved irritating her. He had a strong dislike for her. They both could not stand each other.

That was how karthik and vaishnavi spent their college days, always at each others throat. The professors’ always had a tough time finding who excelled whom.


Today:
Karthik worked with a leading architect firm in California. It has been 4 years since he came to the U S of the A. he was moving up the ladder of being a great architect. His dreams were getting realized one by one. He was the best in his job. Now, at the airport waiting for the new employee due to join them from India, he counted the minutes being wasted by waiting for some first time Indian to the US and that too with a bouquet of flowers. He cursed himself for agreeing to pick up the person and here he was waiting for almost 20 minutes and there was no one Indian in sight!

Vaishnavi was in the airport terminal, thinking who it was who had come to pick her up. She was a bit dazzled about the new environment. They said someone would pick her up in the airport and take her straight to the apartment provided for her. And it had been a good half an hour and here she was standing stranded in a new country.
He saw the lady standing in the waiting area. She looked as if she was waiting for someone. He wondered whether this new employee was one of the female species. He wished it would be. He approached her.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around and froze.

He froze.

He coughed “ugh…have you come to join ‘dreams Construction Company’”
“Yes” she said almost in a whisper.
He gave her the bouquet awkwardly and it was accepted awkwardly and said “welcome well I have come to escort you to your apartment.”
“I must have thought of you” she replied.
“Excuse me”
“I just thought who else will make me wait for almost an hour in this unknown country”
“Err. You are mistaken. I have been searching for you for the past 20 minutes, and if that female brain of yours can’t look around and will only stare in the front, it isn’t my fault”
“You haven’t changed a bit have you?”
“Well... There was no need to change”

It was the company meeting to discuss the new project. Everybody was asked to submit their plans. The best one would be selected. He entered the meeting room seeing her running towards the meeting room door. Their plans were shown, and he noticed that her plan was a better improvisation of the plan that she submitted in that competition 4 yrs. back. He noticed that she had accepted his advice, and made the structure strong. He chuckled to himself.

It was lunch. He confronted her and asked her “So you did pay heed to my suggestions”.
“Suggestions?” she blinked at him.
“Your plan, wasn’t it the improvisation of the one submitted 4 years back”
“Hah…that one, well don’t you put up your collar and go around saying I agreed with you. Even before your suggestion, the professor asked me to redesign it at that time itself. But it was too late; the entry had already been submitted. I hoped no one would notice. But you; always waiting for an opportunity to pick on me. And now look at what you said. I heeded your suggestions. Duh! Never!”
“Hey it was just a harmless suggestion…”
But she did not let him finish.
“I know you and you male ego karthik; you need not prove it again” and she stormed from there

He closed his mouth just in time, he was about to ask her for coffee; he stood looking at her disappearing back. He had not felt so happy in all these 4 years. She was here. She was back to biting his neck, and now he admitted how much he missed all those arguments and those sharp remarks about his chauvinist attitude and bigger than world male ego.

She was surprised to see the ‘sorry note’ in her desk. It was signed karthik. She looked around to see where he was. He was nowhere in sight. She felt a sense of satisfaction, a sense of happiness. She was bound with joy. A familiar face in an alien country, even if that familiar face hated her, she was happy.

“Congratulations” Brad her office cabin mate shouted at her as she reached office. “For what?” she inquired him
“Your plan has been approved for construction, the chief wants you to meet him immediately in his office” he said

As she entered the chief’s office, she saw Karthik sitting inside. The chief asked her to sit and said Karthik was just going to make some minor changes in her plan and they were going to work on this project together. She was taken aback, but saw the smile on karthik’s face. Was he mocking her, she wondered.

They worked days and nights, fought through the afternoons, had impossible arguments. Tried to compromise for the company, and they were finally done with the project. But instead of being relieved by the end of the project and the prospect of not working together again, they both felt disappointment that it all got over so soon.

“Shall we…” both of them said at the same time.
“Go ahead karthik”
“No, ladies first!” he said and smiled at her.
“Surprising… shall we celebrate the close of this project?”
“Bingo” he laughed at her. She blinked.
“I was about to say the same thing” he equipped in.

At the restaurant, after dinner he told her he would be working on a new project, due to which he would be going to Chicago for a few days. He saw disappointment cloud in her face. She recovered quickly and did not see his amused glance.

He dropped her in her apartment, when she was about to get down he laughed. She gave him an inquiring look. “I was just thinking of the achievement we have made”
“Oh the project…of course it was a grand success!” she remarked
“Nay, not the project. We both had not bit both our necks for the past 6 hours!” and chuckled

She murmured a yes smiling and bade him goodbye. She was about to go when he called her again.
She gave him another inquiring look. He put out his hand and asked “friends?” she laughed at it and shook his hand back “ok…friends”

When she turned to leave he coughed again getting her attention.
She turned again “Now what karthik?”
“Did I ever tell you I love you?”

She froze in her place.

He continued “I would not have told you. Because all we did was argue. I have been in love with you from the first time you stood against me. I loved the way you stood stubborn on your point. I have been nurturing my feelings for the past 8 years. I thought you will laugh at me. You always saw me as the male chauvinistic pig with a big male ego. I tried to change what you thought of me. Now I have a tinge of hope that I succeeded. I am not a person who waits till the other person also falls in love with me. When I am clear and confident about my feelings, I thought this was the best time to tell it. So here I have done my job. It is up to you to decide where we go from here”

She stood speechless. She was completely flabbergasted!


Zanychild
Driving people insane as always

I flew up from my chair in my accounts class…I suddenly felt so light…I couldn’t sense anything…I couldn’t touch anything…I was floating in the air...I looked down…people were gathering around the chair I was sitting…I wondered what had happened….I couldn’t control my moments….I felt so light and good…I felt like a bird flying in freedom…I was raising higher and higher…I did not know how to stop myself…I tried shouting my friend’s name…who had gathered at my chair below…she couldn’t hear me…I was puzzled…what is happening? I heard my friend let out a shriek…she shouted she could not feel my pulse…she said she feared I might have been dead…I was laughing at the commotion they were creating below me…while I was happily floating around….WHAT….Excuse me….what did I say my friend feared….Did she say I am DEAD….as in D-E-A-D!!....is it why I am floating now…I couldn’t believe it…I did not feel a thing…what is the proof that I died? I don’t even know the reason for my death which they say that has been caused….all I can feel is very light and happy…I am puzzled!! This is very unfair…….I call down to the people….I shout to them I am right above them…they do not hear me!

Some one tapped on my shoulder…I turn and I am awestruck…I wished my friend was with me to see this person…oh my…he looked so damn cute…he had straw-colored hair…and deep blue eyes that glinted in the ends…that makes you want to drown into the depths of the vast blueness…I must have been gaping at him with my mouth wide open…coz he coughed…I closed my mouth and went back to my puzzled look…then I noticed, even he was floating in the air like me…
’brad’ he said…
’bread’ I said
‘Not bread…it is brad’….
’bred’ I said pronouncing it the way he pronounced it…he smiled and acknowledged it…oh my…he has got just the perfect teeth…they were so white…naturally too….I must have been staring through him in my own world…that he waved at me…I came back to my senses…
‘I am your official transporter to the other world’
Other world….I thought there was only one world in our solar system….
‘What other world?’
‘The world of the spirits….the world of after lives’
‘After lives…excuse me…I am still very much alive…!’
He smiled at me ‘indeed you are not alive, that is the reason I am here’
‘If you are here…why should I be dead?’
‘If you can see me…then you are dead my girl’
I just stood staring at him…he took my hands and glided me across the room…
He told me the way to control your movement on air is very much similar to swimming…just push yourself forward and beat your legs….and use your hands like the wings of a bird to change directions..
It was now easier for me to move about in the air…and it was great fun too…I felt like I was starring in a superman movie…everything below was soo small like ants…I was interrupted in my thoughts by his
‘We need to go higher’
‘Higher?’
‘Yeah, past the clouds’
‘Oh’
He suddenly pulled me across and drifted towards a corner….and I heard a plane pass just near my face…
He grumbled ‘Air traffic has become so severe due to the vast technological developments made by mortals!’
I smiled at it; he looked very cute when he grumbles!
We flew higher…without realizing we both were hand in hand!

We reached a big white gate…he went and identified himself as ‘transporter 09765’ and the huge gate opened…I was blinded by the light…he gave me coolers to wear…and wearing them we went in…he asked me to register my name and my birth date in the register counter…and then I was taken to a place which very much looked like our sathyam cinemas!...
‘Are we going to watch a movie?’
‘Yep’
‘I want to watch Spiderman 3….you took me before they could release it…can I see it here?’
‘Spiderman?...I do not know abt that movie…but we are gonna see your movie’
‘My movie???!!!’
‘Yeah’
We went in and were seated….and it ran before me….my total 18 and a half years of life….till the minute I drifted from my chair…I sniffed a sob and told him that nobody has taken such a perfect movie just for me….it was so wonderful of you….he gave a startled look and said
‘I did not take this movie, we have a separate film department for all this’
‘Oh is it soo…then I wish to meet the director of this film…I want him to go back to India and take such amazing movies’
‘oh yeah he went there once…he got crazy about the film industry down there and came back in the same speed in which he went, yeah now we can go to the review room’
‘Review room?’
‘Ya…now they will review what good you have done…what bad you have done…they confirm you are the said person in the movie and decide on whether you will go to hell or heaven’
‘Oh…….how interesting….will you accompany me to hell or heaven Brad?’
‘No…I part at the gates of those…from then on the world of hell or heaven is completely for you to explore’
After some 2 hours of debating…the review team was confused with their result…they said I confirm to the movie…but I wasn’t supposed to be here….I was supposed to be here only after some 50 years…but everything else was right…they did not know what went wrong…the death chart…they said…had my name twice…..I had something unaccomplished in earth…they will send me in half state there…as they cannot grant me Visa to enter hell or heaven….so I had no other option but to jump between earth and here…
‘Half state? Un-accomplishment? Visa?’ I was completely puzzled….they then said that till things sought out, Brad will accompany me to wherever I go…to keep an eye on me…

So we returned back….to earth…
Brad asked me ‘Did you have any deep desire?’
‘Desire? .....hmmm….yeah to eats tons and tons of ice creams and chocolates everyday’
He laughed at this ‘Not such desires…something big enough, which wants you to stay in the world?’
‘Hmmm…I have no idea Brad’
‘Anyway we will encounter what is making you stay here’
‘Yeah….shall we go home?’
‘Ya…sure’
We reached home…the home was silent…as if it was in a graveyard…it was dark too…I shouted
‘MOM’
‘Your mom can’t hear you’
I could sense regret in his voice…
‘Oh………………………….’
And I saw Mom, Dad, Bro, my friends, relatives….everybody was outside near me….my body!!....they were all crying….lots more people were coming to the house…
I couldn’t bear the sight…I turned and Brad caught hold of me…I silently wept in his shirt…I looked up
‘Why I brad?’
He couldn’t reply…he was rooted to the place looking at my family and friends….
‘They need me Brad’
‘They do’
‘I want to go back to them….I want to hug my parents….I want to fight with my brother….I want to play pranks with my friends…..I want to do a lot more things…..’
Brad just hugged me tighter…
Suddenly we were transported back to the review room...they said they had found the reason for the confusion…they said I was not supposed to die…I had a lot more to see and achieve in life…many people need me in earth…many people live for me…I live for many people…they shouldn’t be disappointed too soon…many people’s life will depend on my future existence….there was a small error…and I need to be transported back to my life form….and that too immediately before my soul’s last remains drift from my body…

We were transported back to my house….I was completely bewildered at what was happening….Brad asked me to walk in to my body…I saw my mom staring at me….I did not know she can sense me….I smiled at her…..she smiled back!
‘Walk in?’
‘Yeah….just concentrate on your body and walk in’
I walked….walked to my body….I went into it…I suddenly felt that I had entered a tornado….everything was spinning around me….and suddenly I got up….I felt my mom’s hands around me in a protective hug….everybody gathered at my house were staring in disbelief at me….they couldn’t believe their own eyes…only my mom said
‘I knew you will come back’
And I saw Brad smile and disappear into thin air behind her…

# inspired from the drama Crazy Ghosts

You May Be a Bit Schizotypal...

A bit odd and socially isolated. You couldn't care less of what others think. And some of your beliefs are a little weird. Like that time you thought you were Jesus.