1 year ago
Showing posts with label Mandya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mandya. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2008
To me, Deepavali was always synonymous with firecrackers. It is hard to believe that I have not touched even a single firecracker in the last two or three years. It is not that I am against bursting crackers. It is just that I am no longer interested in lighting them. I still love to watch fireworks though. I was one of the lucky few who got to watch the New Year fireworks in London. It was one awesome spectacle.
I believe a lot has to do with company as well. I cannot light a flower-pot all alone and clap for myself! During my school days, all my cousins would come to my place in Mandya and we used to enjoy Deepavali for all three days. The crackers would never suffice. This prompted my dad to go to Sivakasi, a town famous all over India for its fireworks factories, to get a carton full of crackers which, believe it or not, lasted for more than 10 Deepavalis :). If you need tips on how to preserve firecrackers, please contact my mom. She did that! I have never ever dared to complain after that :). I need to thank my parents for providing me with what I wanted and, more importantly, when I wanted.
Three things then started happening parallelly with each passing Deepavali;
- The contents of the box started depleting.
- My cousins and I were growing older and wiser :)
- I gradually lost interest.
I have had my small accidents lighting small crackers but then "What is a Deepavali without a burnt finger!?” I am now looking for a spark that can ignite the interest back in me. One such little spark is in US of A, my sixteen month old nephew who has just learnt to say “BA-BA-BU-BU”. If he wants to light a firecracker someday I'll be the first person to get him what he wants and I will be more than happy to light it along with him.
Now, when I look back at each year and remember each person with whom I have shared my joy, I feel overwhelmed. I want to go back - go back and light that 100-wala all over again.
Here's wishing all the readers of my blog a very happy, safe and a prosperous Deepavali. If you love lighting crackers go ahead and light them. Just make sure you read and follow all the safety instructions written behind those cracker boxes. May the glow of prosperity, happiness and joy brighten your days in the year ahead!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
After contemplating for about thirty minutes, I finally decided to stick to this title. It was a three hour journey from Bangalore to Mysore that took me down the memory lane. I was going to Mysore to attend the engagement of my classmate, also my colleague and friend.
On our way to Mysore we pass through a small city (district headquarters) named Mandya. This is a place where I have spent the maximum part of my life (19 years to be exact) and due to obvious reasons it is a place that is very close to my heart.
The city does not have a bypass road which is annoying for the long distance travellers but it didn't quite annoy me. I was enjoying the ride through the city. I could recognize every building, every tree, my school, our house, shopping streets, movie theatres, and petrol pumps. It was as though every building that I saw was smiling at me and welcoming me back. It was disheartening to see few old buildings demolished but then if the infrastructure of a city has to improve the old has to give way to the new. Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson knew this a long time ago “The old order changeth, giving way to the new.”
It was this five min ride through the city that suddenly took me back by twenty years. For the next hour of my journey, I stopped the music I was listening to, closed my eyes and tried to remember every single bit I could remember about that city. It was just like any flash back that one sees in a movie. All the scenes were flashing right in front of eyes. I so badly wanted to get into those scenes again but all I could manage was to open my eyes and stare at the sunlight that was peeping through the window pane.
I was expecting to meet a lot of (at least ten) old friends during the engagement but only three turned up. Nevertheless, it fun meeting old friends. The conversation started with a 'how are you' but somehow ended up in the usual/formal questions like “Which language do you code in?” and “Who are all your clients?” I am sure all software engineers would second me on this one. We could not really help it. We did not have an odd man/woman out who could divert us away from software! The lunch was delicious and so was the vanilla ice cream. We wished the couple, took photographs and bid good bye to my friend and her parents.
On the way back to Bangalore, I passed through Mandya again but this time it was not the buildings but the twinkling stars and glittering lights that smiled and waved good bye.
The friend whose engagement I went to attend was extremely happy that I could make it. I was happy too that I could share her happiness but even happier that this engagement gave me an opportunity to take the beautiful trip down the memory lane.
On our way to Mysore we pass through a small city (district headquarters) named Mandya. This is a place where I have spent the maximum part of my life (19 years to be exact) and due to obvious reasons it is a place that is very close to my heart.
The city does not have a bypass road which is annoying for the long distance travellers but it didn't quite annoy me. I was enjoying the ride through the city. I could recognize every building, every tree, my school, our house, shopping streets, movie theatres, and petrol pumps. It was as though every building that I saw was smiling at me and welcoming me back. It was disheartening to see few old buildings demolished but then if the infrastructure of a city has to improve the old has to give way to the new. Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson knew this a long time ago “The old order changeth, giving way to the new.”It was this five min ride through the city that suddenly took me back by twenty years. For the next hour of my journey, I stopped the music I was listening to, closed my eyes and tried to remember every single bit I could remember about that city. It was just like any flash back that one sees in a movie. All the scenes were flashing right in front of eyes. I so badly wanted to get into those scenes again but all I could manage was to open my eyes and stare at the sunlight that was peeping through the window pane.
I was expecting to meet a lot of (at least ten) old friends during the engagement but only three turned up. Nevertheless, it fun meeting old friends. The conversation started with a 'how are you' but somehow ended up in the usual/formal questions like “Which language do you code in?” and “Who are all your clients?” I am sure all software engineers would second me on this one. We could not really help it. We did not have an odd man/woman out who could divert us away from software! The lunch was delicious and so was the vanilla ice cream. We wished the couple, took photographs and bid good bye to my friend and her parents.
On the way back to Bangalore, I passed through Mandya again but this time it was not the buildings but the twinkling stars and glittering lights that smiled and waved good bye.
The friend whose engagement I went to attend was extremely happy that I could make it. I was happy too that I could share her happiness but even happier that this engagement gave me an opportunity to take the beautiful trip down the memory lane.
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