Life of My Eye.

It's a weekday in Manila. Kent is at work. My eyes were hurting a bit and after my recent discovery in Singapore about the reduction in my eye power, I wanted to go for a complete eye check up. Mental notes about making these eye check ups a bi annual affair have been made and forgotten in the past 10 years. Until 2005, my parents where in charge of my eye check ups. A routine affair in my life since I was 6 years old. As I sit here in the Lobby of Asian Eye institute, Makati, the mind drifts as usual to the "Waiting in the eye hospital lobby" days of the past. Karyambadi Eye Hospital- The one and only eye hospital in Wayanad( I'm not really sure whether more eye hospitals have come up in Wayanad now.) A regular venue for my Appa-daughter dates and Amma-daughter dates. The place has seen me grow. Seen us as a family grow. From the day we came to know that I had Short-sightedness (-1.00 at the age of 6 was a big deal ), me and my eyes have been a high priority issue in our household. Karyambadi hospital has seen our evolution from personal travels in school vans(because we couldnt afford to have a personal vehicle at that time) to Armada(not the personal vehicle in the conventional sense,since it pretty much served as a students pick up vehicle) to Innova( Armada story continues). Visits with Appa used to be different from the ones with Amma. With Appa came the TIME magazine and Appa talk about dreams,skills,passion,books,interests,people,life,movies. It took me a while to figure out the role those talks played in making the Me that I am now. Me and Appa would occasionally head to the canteen near the exit for a quick coffee and some cream Bun. I think my visits with Amma started after 1997,after Appa went to Saudi for the second time. Those visits saw the different side of our family. 1997-2002 was a rough time. With the entire school to handle,Class 10 affiliation, To Do or Not to Do the Class 12 expansion, daily school problems. The endless list of things. But that didn't come in the way of my eye check ups. Pulling me out of bed before she headed to school on Saturdays, with Subhashettan or Thomman Chettan or Thankanchal at the wheel, we never missed out on our eye check ups. She would be managing school things on the phone while sitting with me in the lobby. Amma had hooked me onto my books by then.The experiments with contact lens was during that period. The Santa Clausy Dr Mohan. The cornea infections. The photophobia. The upgradation from my Soda kuppi(soda bottles) to frameless glasses. The soda kuppi name stuck though. People from school identify me with the soda kuppi,while people whom I've met during the past 5 to 6 years hardly know the soda kuppi me,except a few close friends. From 2005, i was an annual visiting patient at Dr.Aggarwal Calicut . squeezing in doctor appointments between movie trips to Calicut city with friends became the yearly affair. Eye Care on Sm street and Prashanth uncle became my trusted eye glasses and contact lens partners. My most recent visit to the eye hospital with Amma was to Narayana Netralaya, Bangalore in 2012.  Although I was still the clumsy daughter,Amma could relax with me now.

The lark 's on the wing;         
The snail 's on the thorn;
God 's in His heaven—
All 's right with the world!

-Robert Browning

This Soda kuppi no longer give the ophthalmologists a tough time by memorising the alphabets on the Eye Chart and repeating it without actually reading it. While looking through the examination device at the picture of the little white house with the red roof in the green green grassland, I feel completely at home. The wave of familiarity washes over me and I can't stop myself from smiling.

A diary note on February 22,2015- The Year of the Horse Begins for us .

Prambanan temple: A complex on 240 temples built by the Hindu Sanjaya kings around 850 CE. Dedicated to the Trimurti ( Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva )

Notes :

1. The modes of transportation of the Trimurtis ( Angsa/Hansa- Brahma, Garuda- Vishnu, Nandi- Shiva ) have temples dedicated to them in the same compound right across the temples of the deities they transport . It was almost like the driver's quarters next to the employer's bungalow.

2. The proximity of Borobodur( the Biggest Buddhist temple ) and the numerous mosques to the Prambanan temple spoke a lot about the country's religious tolerance and mutual respect. For a moment I'm forced to think, Is this the level to which the events happening in India has brought me down to. Am I acknowledging the kind of insecurities I never thought would ever develop within me. ?

The  architecture is beautiful and wonderfully engineered. You are left awe-struck at the impeccable arrangement of stones, the perfect packing on one stone over another and the engravings on the stones. Having withstood the numerous earthquakes and other natural disasters that the country is prone to, Prambanan temple is Robustness personified!

While you admire the beauty of this architecture marvel, you can't help but wonder( thanks to a little prod by the husband ! ) about the history of slavery that went into the making of it. The philanthropic part of one is forced to ponder over it. 

On that note & some good Bintang beer & avocado shake, we move onto our next ( unknown ) destination.

Our next destination is the ViaVia cafe  & Mediterranean cafe on Jl. Prawirotaman. Mr.Kent's notorious plan to take me to a restaurant that serves Snake meat was served was ( haha ) foiled .The Mediterranean cafe had good music and the perfect square wooden tables for our conversations. And thus we decide to explore the street. Interesting cafes, the kind that makes you want to unearth the stories behind them.  Viavia cafe was one such chance encounter. Good music. Interesting people. The ambience was very very On-the-road ;)

We had a hearty meal and went back to our hotel.

Good wine  & Wine-filled conversations.

We were supposed to go to the Borobodur temple the next day. The Anti-morning people that we are, we slept in and happily missed the 3 AM sunrise at Borobudur. But voila, There is a 6 PM sunset view at Borobodur. As we discuss lunch, it starts raining. It was a pretty sight with the diligent accompaniment of petrichor arising from the freshly drenched soil. But, the fact that it was sort of impossible to get to Borobodur remained. The wayanadan spirit is hurt and challenged. Lets take a bike trip in the rain. Grab those plastic rain coats from the random shop on the road and Lets get going! Well , I got to admit, that was by far the BEST bike trip I've ever had. Not that my collection of bike trips is vast. A quick late lunch at one of the Masakan Padangs. Ah I love those Masakan Padangs ( It's kind of the Indonesian version of our thattu kada cum Oon Ready places ). Fish, beef , chicken, spinach with rice and all this with the typical Malayali flavours. I love Indonesia for this. The view towards which we where speeding was breath-taking. Reminded you of wayanad in a lot of ways.

So we did reach Borobodur and as we prep up to Oohs and Aahs, the guard comes and tells us the temple closes at 5!! Waaaa ?? But what about the sunset at 6 and the amazing photographs of the sunset at 6 ?  Looks like the website had not updated the timings !! And we catch glimpses of the huge temple . Sneaking our heads in through fences and taking pictures of the temple. One of the locals then told us about Manohara hotel where you can get a good view of the temple. It was also the place where heritage studies was being conducted on Borobudur. So in the pretext of getting a room there, we enter the hotel and order 2 cups of coffee at the restaurant. Woah! Brilliancy! Made a mental note to visit Borobudur with Appa ( He would love it ).

Nighty night. Sheraton Hotel , where we were put up, was set in a beautiful location. With a fuming volcano ( Mount Merapi ) for a backdrop and a room that opened to the pool we couldn't ask for more.

That said, we are going back to the Allwyn Kent mode of travelling next time onwards - Hostels and Lonely Planet !! Waiting for our next trip.

A whiff of Kozhikkode

When was the last time you set your feet somewhere and you are literally blown back by this strong wind of memories, pictures,that-happened-theres and you feel like just closing your eyes and wish someone would give you a free trip to the past !
And that is where I found myself a day ago, when I set my feet at SM Street ( ‘mittayi theruvu’). The Sweet Meat street. The shopping hub of Kozhikode city. The place where you are sure you’ll FIND something , even if it’s the most impossible thing to find in the rest of the world.
I wouldn’t claim to be the biggest fan of SM street during my graduation years. I used to inevitably return with my special ‘Kozhikkodan’ headaches everytime I spent more than an hour there. A headache I almost yearn for now. About the headache. As much as I blame it on the crowd or the sun, I know from within ( and always knew it ), that this headache was mostly my shopping-o-phobia playing with my weaker nerve. Those inevitable trips for the onam-saree-jewellery stitching and shopping. The farewell saree shopping.The last minute run for the Farewell-costumes and props. The shopping-for –the sake-of shopping trips. The birthday shopping for my best friend’s boy friend ( Trust me . I’ve never hated the stuff guys wear more).The lens shopping ( after the eye-infection and visit to Vasan’s eye care). The Ragam dance-group shopping( I’LL NEVER forgive you dance devils for making me do that picking-up-from-the-tailor’s job).The one-hour-before-the-movie shopping. Trust me. There was always a reason to visit SM Street.
As I stood there, in the midst of the bustling crowd, I was thankful for those memories. There was a time when I honestly thought none of it would come to an end. That May 2009 would never happen. And yet it happened. May 2009 did come. The batch of 2005-2009 did graduate. The proud graduates did make their way into life outside NITC. Yet , there is that invisible thread that holds us together still doing its job of holding us together. The thread which makes sure that whenever an NITCian meets another NITCian , there is never an awkward pause or a what-do-i-say-next dilemma.
Somethings should be just left unsaid. And the rest that was to follow shall remain that way. Unsaid:)

'You might just as well say,' added the March Hare, 'that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!'

The times I love to be with myself.With the incessant drizzling. A hot cup of tea. And lots and lots of time for myself( without feeling guilty ). I probably should be one satisfied person. The choices I've made doesnt seem to be so bad. Atleast,as of now, they seem pretty logical and earthly.
Transition time! After a ripe 11 months of 'professional' life, I'm gearing up for another 'college' life. And for the past 2 weeks I've seldom slept without waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares about new people, the new city, the new life.AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaahhh!! (oops..thats the real me)
Did I make the right choice. For a person who cant decide on what to eat for lunch, I guess I've done a pretty neat job this time. And as much as I want to write more, at the moment, I'm confused about whether I've to go back to my lazing around looking out or continue with this.mm...Maybe later:):)
Cya folks! Guess I'm beginning to like what I get:)

Sugar plum

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie
You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop
spikum-spukum-spum,the Apple of my Eye
And I love you so and I want you to know
That I'll always be right here
And I love to sing sweet songs to YOU
BECAUSE
YOU ARE SO DEAAARRRR ..( this is the point were my kid sister(8 year old ) gives me that neck-breaking hug).
We have our routines. Me and my li'l sister!
-->The chicken dance with the bum-HI5s!
-->The I'm-HOME routine where she comes running from one end of the room( Totally movie style and booyyyy Can she run) and Jumps onto me( standing at the other end of the room) and Kisses me right on the lips( Yeah. I'd hate it if she ever grew up and stopped doing that )
-->THe LOVE talks. For her, love is what oru cherukkanum pennum( one guy and a girl) has for each other and they kiss and get married.She simply cannot accept it when I tell her I 'love' my brother and that I 'love' her..And she simply says "ayyyee...CHE!( which is like EUUUU )'
My adorable li'l sister . This one is for you:)

I Do!

Aha!!! For all those who were misled to thinking that I’m going to get hitched..
I have no intention of being ‘TIED UP’ BY THE KNOT anytime in the near future.
This blog is about another WHINE reason of mine. About why I agree with anyone and everyone during an argument. Trust me I DO! After an initial resistance of probably 2 minutes, I give in.
Now when I come to think about it. There could be many reasons I react to an ARG situation this way.
P.NO.1: Me
P.NO.2: The argue-mate!
Reason no.1:
I don’t really enjoy being with people who are not happy. And people tend to be happy when they see their point has been agreed to.
P.No.2’s point taken-->P.No.2 smiling -->P.No.1( ME ) smiling
Reason no.2:
I don’t have an opinion of my own. I have so less experience in life, so little knowledge about what happens around me, that I really don’t have anything to argue back with.
Somebody, please tell Reason no.2 is not right. ( I’m the one whining here. Remember )
Reason no.3:
I don’t like people opposing my ideas. I prefer pouting and sulking about it , rather than being beaten to death with the P.NO.2’s argument.
Reason no.4:
I don’t enjoy voicing my thoughts. WHICH IS NOT TRUE.
Reason no.5:
I don’t know
Reason no.6:
Ok…I don’t argue with myself as well!so Chapter closed.

Now, I have to come up with a conclusion for this eh! Ok. Here goes.
I don’t argue. Hence I become friends with a large variety of people.When I say variety, I mean people who cannot stand the sight of each other tend to be friends with me …Which is OK. As long as they stay at different poles of the world and I’m at the equator and I can go and meet them individually without having one see the other!
So why don’t I argue. I DON’T KNOW!
Do I want to argue?? NOOO
Am I happy the way I am?? I DON’T KNOW!
Is there some particular person whom I wanna be like ??? MAYBEE..BUT NOT JUST ONE. I NEED A MIX OF MANY PEOPLE.
Do I know Myself??

DO I HAVE TO ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS!
And There!! Lies my solution!
I just don’t like being asked questions. I like the way things are at the moment. I have no questions. And even if I have , they are ones which would make people uneasy.Which is not something which would help me in LOVING myself!
So I keep my mouth SHUT:)
Let the ones who want to Argue ARGUE away..!
And do I agree with you?
I DO!!

A 2011 version of me

WHEN I --> WHINE

Let me start with an apology
1.To the bloggers all over the world.
2. To all those people who actually might expect to make some sense out of all that I tend to scribble here and would inadvertently be disappointed( The stumblers ).

APOLOGIES
1.Dear bloggers,
I honestly admire your amazing work at letting the world know your perspective of everything that is happening around you. I’m not sure my blog would help in any way to that effort. I would rather call this ramblings of a chaotic mind which is not in any way productive or helpful to anyone in this world except for all those people who are at present my ‘whining victims’. A Thousand Apologies ( The Mind your Language style )
2.Dear ‘Stumblers’
I wouldn’t go as far as to accusing the Internet ( read ‘google’ ) for the misfortune that has befell you, which is STUMBLING upon this blog. Again A THOUSAND APOLOGIES.