Monday, December 23, 2019
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Thursday, December 5, 2019
An Unexpected Sunday
Chapter 03
As the bus came to a halt, Vishnu slowly woke up from the jerk. The bus conductor, who wore a small towel around his neck, started shouting “Pondicherry – Last Stop”. Hearing this, Jacob slowly woke up and leaned towards Vishnu who was looking at the other passengers. “Did we reach?” asked Jacob who has not still got out of his sleep. Vishnu hummed softly which meant positive to that question. Hearing this, Jacob slowly moved away the curtain to check outside. It was dark and the streets didn’t have any lights. Jacob let out a big yet silent yawn and asked for Daniel. Vishnu looked back where Daniel was sitting and saw that Daniel was still in his sleep. The other passengers started slowly removing their luggage from the top space and started moving out. Vishnu turned his head and looked at the crowd who were making their way out of the bus. Jacob who was checking on the reach of his previous night’s post in social network asked Vishnu again about Daniel. Vishnu whispered that Daniel was still sleeping to which Jacob asked to wake him up. Vishnu waited for a second so that the rush was over and they could comfortably move out. Slowly the bus was getting empty and the bus conductor again started to shout at Vishnu to get out. Hearing this, Vishnu got up from his seat and took out his bag from the top luggage space. Then he woke up Daniel by tapping on his shoulder. Daniel opened his eyes and there was one earphone hanging from his ears. Daniel saw that Vishnu and Jacob were about to get out of the bus and he too got up from his seat and took the bottle of water which was kept in front of his seat. On their way out, a small lemon rolled to Jacob’s feet, which he picked up and gave it to Vishnu and started to pull Vishnu’s leg. Vishnu didn’t reply anything and let out a smile.
As the trio made it out, the weather was cold. Jacob and Vishnu started rubbing their forearms while Daniel stood like a rock. Vishnu looked around and found a small tea shop on the same street, a few feet away from where they were standing. While Daniel looked around and found a few auto-rickshaws waiting but on the other end. Daniel, looking at the rickshaw stand, asked out “Let’s Go?” To which the other two replied with a soft hum and Vishnu and Jacob started walking towards the tea shop while Daniel towards the rickshaw stand. Realizing that he was walking alone, Daniel looked back and found that Vishnu and Jacob were walking in the opposite direction. Daniel called them up to which Vishnu waved at him, calling him to the tea shop to have a cup of hot beverage which would comfort them in that chilling weather. Daniel let out a small sigh and accompanied them.
As they were reaching the tea shop, they could see that it was a small shop on wheels that rested on top of four rocks. It had small counters on the back where small drawers were filled with a lot of cigarette packets on one side, pens, pencils, and small sachets of washing powders on the other. Other than that, there were a lot of small sachets of tea and coffee powders hanging down on one corner of the shop. While on the other corner, there were a lot of film magazines in Malayalam, Tamil and English. In front of the shop, there was a big bronze vessel with burnt marks on the outside which could be probably from the fire of the stove. From the vessel, a huge amount of steam rose up and on the other side, there were glass and plastic jars which were filled with local sweets, chocolates, and chewing gums. Approaching to the shop, the trio saw the shop keeper who was of brown complexion, with a full beard, neatly groomed, wearing a yellow and green striped shirt and a light brown dhoti which was commonly seen in Kerala. From the looks of the shop owner, anyone could make out that he was Malayali. Vishnu ordered three cups of tea, two cigarettes in Malayalam. After giving out the smokes, the shop owner took out three glasses from the bottom, dropped a teaspoon of tea powder in each and opened the lid of the big vessel, pouring out a cup of hot water into the three glasses. Stirred it and started pouring the tea from one glass to another. Holding out the hot cup of black tea, Vishnu and Jacob lit their cigarettes. Daniel who got the teacup showed a face of dislike and asked Jacob whether milk tea wasn’t there or what? Hearing this, the shop owner replied that he didn’t receive the milk for the day as it was too early.
As they were having their beverages, Daniel started asking the shop owner whether there were any hotels nearby for a day’s stay. The shop owner started to say about different hotels and their directions. Daniel took note of a few and meantime, all the three have completed their drink and smokes. Paying up and thanking the shop owner for help, the trio made their way to the first hotel that the shop owner mentioned. It was nearby so all of them planned to walk over to the hotel. After about 15 minutes of walking, they reached a small white building with green italic letters saying “Heavenly Abode” on the front. They climbed the steps and opened the glass door, making their way to the reception. As soon as they reached the reception, the receptionist, who was a male, got up from a nap and came up to them. Daniel started inquiring about the rooms while Vishnu and Jacob sat down in the lobby. After the inquiry, Daniel walked to the lobby, where Vishnu and Jacob were sitting, and informed the rooms were pricey. The trio gave a thought to that hotel and decided that they would look for some other place which was cheap. As they moved out of the hotel, the trio saw that the sky was slowly lighting up.
The trio planned for the next hotel but it was a bit far from where they stood. So, they got a rickshaw which was just passing by and made their way to the second destination that tea shop owner mentioned. Daniel kept on checking the way, guiding the rickshaw driver to the location, while Jacob and Vishnu watching him. After seeing this sight, Vishnu whispered to Jacob that whether this would end up as how they went for the first-year college examinations? Jacob remembered what happened then and hoped that nothing would go wrong. Seeing how Jacob reacted, Vishnu and Jacob burst into small laughter. Daniel who only noticed when the other two were laughing, he knew that Vishnu and Jacob were pulling his leg. Daniel continued back to do what he was doing. After taking a few turns from the Heavenly Abode hotel, the rickshaw stopped in front of an old building. The building had pale white paint, and on the entrance, there were two pots of decoration plants placed on either side of the entrance. As they entered, they saw a stairway on the left side and a small table under the stairway. Behind the table a small cot with a mat on which a middle-aged man slept. After reaching the desk, Daniel tapped on the table and woke up the man. As soon as he woke up, Daniel asked out, “Room Anna?” The man opened a register and asked for how many days. Daniel looked back at Vishnu and Jacob, who agreed to book the room for one day. Daniel also accepted and said the hotel owner that for one night. The hotel owner looked at Daniel curiously and asked for ID proofs of all three of them. The trio got their identification cards from their wallets and passed it to the hotel owner. The owner informed that he needed the photocopies of their id cards which the trio agreed to give it once they go out and come back. The owner took the trio to room 132 which at the far end of first floor and the trio settled down their luggage around the bed. Vishnu and Jacob, being tired, laid down on the bed which Daniel looked at them, and scolded asking them to get ready so they could leave for the University to get their certificates. After seeing Daniel getting furious, Jacob and Vishnu slowly got up and one by one, the trio started to get ready.
In another hour, the trio made it out of the hotel and moved towards the bus stand with the plan that they would have breakfast on their way. As the trio turned to the next street, they saw that the street was filled with different kinds of shops from clothes to small vendors for vegetables, fruits, cosmetics, and cheap ornaments. Slowly they walked towards a direction which Jacob said that a restaurant could be found in that direction of the street. After some time, they saw a whiteboard with blue borders on the bottom. The board said, “Indian Coffee House” with the word “Coffee” in italics while the other two words were in small block letters. “Indian Coffee House” is a restaurant chain in India and present in almost all the states of India. On the top right corner, there was something written in small Tamil letters which should be the name in the Tamil language. The trio made their way into the restaurant through the sky-blue bordered door. Inside it felt like an old house of Kerala. The infrastructure was built in such a way so that the customers would get a nostalgic feeling when they have food from there. Even the waiters over there had a uniform which was said to be from the British Raj times. The trio took seats near a window which had sky-blue railings separating the restaurant from the outside world. Soon, a waiter dressed in the white, came up to them to take the order. He was large with thick mustache kept to the top. The trio checked through the restaurant food menu which was placed on the table and ordered three different dishes and three cups of tea. In no time, the trio was served with tasty, and delicious food with the hot beverage that they ordered. After having food till their stomach full, the trio got out of the restaurant and moved towards the bus station from where they had to board the bus to university. Jacob took out the Maps application on his phone and started to guide Daniel and Vishnu to the bus station.
As they reached the bus station, Vishnu went towards to get information about the bus to Chidambaram. The inquiry officer guided Vishnu with the details and directed him to the platform where the specific buses would arrive. Vishnu shared the details that he got from the inquiry officer with Daniel and Jacob and the trio made way to the platform. As they reached the platform, the trio noticed an empty bus that was going to Chidambaram. Soon the trio boarded the empty bus and took seats at the rear end. In no time, the conductor and driver boarded the bus and started the journey. Other than the trio, there were only a few passengers on the bus. As the bus left the stand., the conductor started to collect tickets. Daniel checked for the total time of the journey, he found out that it would take more than two hours. Hearing this, Jacob shifted to back seat which was also empty and thought of to take a small nap.
To be continued…
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
An Unexpected Sunday
Chapter
02
As
the alarm started to ring, Vishnu woke up and realized that he slept through
the alarm. He rushed towards the bathroom with his towel and dress. After about
15 minutes in the shower, he made it back to his room. Lucky for him was that
his hostel provided two bathrooms in a room so, he didn't have to worry about
the others who were sharing his room. This bathroom was always assigned for his
use while the other bathroom was attached inside the other room where the three
other roommates stayed. Packing up his travel bag with two pairs of clothes and
a dry towel which was always kept to use while traveling, soap and his
toothbrush was all in Vishnu's travel bag. Slowly he moved out of his room with
his bag and locked the doors behind him. As he made his way down the stairs, he
kept thinking if anything was left out or not. He went towards the small chai
shop which was near his hostel to get smoke and tea. While he was drinking tea
and talking to the shop owner who was a Tamilian and also was of the same age of
Vishnu, Vishnu's mobile started ringing. He realized that it was a call from Daniel,
who has just woken up and was asking about what was Vishnu currently up to.
Vishnu replied that he will be reaching Daniel's room in another half an hour
and then they both disconnected the call. After drinking his tea and paying for
it, Vishnu bid a bye to the shop owner and started walking towards Daniel's
place.
After
about 30 minutes, Vishnu made it to Daniel's room. Daniel stayed in a clean and
peaceful place as compared to Vishnu's one. On either side of the street, it
was filled with trees and a cool breeze always blew through. The area was a
residential society where some wealthy families - both local and people from
other states lived. Vishnu always wanted to stay in such a place but somehow,
he always ends up on the other side. Climbing up the stair of Daniel's hostel,
the breeze still blew against Vishnu's face making him feel happy. As he
reached the second floor, Vishnu found out that Daniel's room was locked. Also,
Vishnu heard splashing of water to the floor from the bathroom. So, Vishnu
thought that he would wait till Daniel got out from his shower. Vishnu pulled
out his phone, plugged in and started hearing to the music. After about 10
minutes, Daniel got out of the bathroom and unlocked the door. Finding Vishnu's
bag in front of the door, Daniel realized that Vishnu has already reached. Daniel
called Vishnu in and started dressing up. While Daniel wore his casual clothes,
he asked Vishnu why was he dressed up all early as they were only planning to
leave by 6 or 7 pm. As a reply to this question, Vishnu said that he need not
go back later to get his luggage as it was a tiring task and now that he
has everything, they could go together to the bus stand. So, Daniel sat there
by his bed and started browsing through social media, Vishnu browsed through a
book called "Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill" from Daniel’s
collection of books which was kept at one corner of the bed.
It
was noon and Daniel was feeling hungry as he didn't have any breakfast. Even
Vishnu felt the same as all that he had was a cup of tea for his breakfast. So,
Daniel opened up his food app in his mobile and browsed through the deals that
were available for him. The thing is that both Vishnu and Daniel didn't have
any money as they spent it on travel and all other purposes. Whatever amount
they had was necessary not to be spent as they will be traveling for the whole
weekend. So, ordering food was out of their option. Then, Daniel and Vishnu
thought that they will go out and have their lunch from the small restaurant
where they could get meals for just 50 rupees. As they started walking up the
street, they came by this place called "Silver spoon". A pale-yellow
big-name board with green letters imprinted and a leaf symbol which was drawn
next to the text. It was a restaurant but looked pricey. But Vishnu and Daniel
thought that they would just give a try. So slowly they moved into the
restaurant. As they entered the restaurant, the interiors looked very small and
there were like 3 long tables situated in the front. These tables were
surrounded by steel chairs and the wash area was at the far end of the hall. So
they moved on and after washing their hands, they sat down by the table which
was right beneath the ceiling fan. The table had a normal table cloth with red
and white crossed line designs and a glass layer was kept on top. There was a
salt shaker, pepper shaker and a jug filled with water kept on top of all the
tables. Suddenly a person dressed up in a plain blue shirt and black pants came
out from the kitchen and handed over the menu card to Vishnu. After having a
glance, Vishnu handed over the menu card to Daniel. Brushed through the menu
card and then Daniel looked up at Vishnu. They knew that they didn't have
enough money as all the items that were listed in the food menu were way over
their budget. Slowly they saw the hotel owner made his way towards them. then, Daniel
said, "Macha Biriyani is not there" with a sad frown on his face. Understanding
what was Daniel up to, Vishnu joined him in the act. Surprised, Vishnu replied
"What! Biriyani is not there ah? I didn't show up here to eat the
same thing that I could eat at my hostel. Let's leave!" "Fine",
said Daniel and they slowly moved out of the restaurant. For a moment, they
walked with no expressions shown in their face. Suddenly Vishnu burst out to
laughter about what they had done. Walking for five minutes up the street, they
both reached the biriyani place. They made their way into the shop and took
their favorite spot. As usual, they ordered two plates of biriyani and a plate
of kebab which they agreed to share. As they started feasting on their lunch,
Vishnu opened up his mobile and showed the details of hotels that were available
in Pondicherry but was costly. Vishnu again suggested the plan of finding some
cheap place after reaching Pondicherry. But Daniel still stood by his decision
of booking someplace in advance. Vishnu didn't speak any word and continued
finishing his lunch. After having their lunch and paying for it, they both
moved back to Daniel's room. As usual, they both were back on to what they were
doing before. Vishnu thought of reading the book but hesitated because he
didn't like to stop it in between and also, he didn't want to borrow the book
from Daniel.
Time
was five in the evening and Vishnu found out that Daniel was taking a nap.
Vishnu woke up Daniel and asked him to get dressed so that they could leave by
six as planned. Daniel looked on his mobile for time and slowly moved towards
the bathroom to get dressed up. In another 30 minutes, Daniel was also ready
and looked at Vishnu who was making sure for one last time that everything was
packed properly. That's when Daniel asked him, "Bro, why are we carrying
two bags?" Vishnu was a bit confused by hearing this and thought about why
was that a problem. Daniel continued, "Anyway we don't have much luggage
to carry. So, you could actually shift your things into mine." Vishnu
really didn't want to do it at first but when Daniel started to insist him,
Vishnu agreed. In another fifteen minutes, they have packed their bags and were
ready for the journey. Daniel locked his room and carried the bag for Vishnu.
Vishnu stood a little bit confused because Daniel usually doesn't do that. But
Vishnu didn't mind that and slowly they both started walking to the tea shop
near Daniel's place. The place was small, which provided hot beverages along
with snacks and small provisions for the household like washing powder, cooking
products like spices, leaves, bread and masalas. That whole residential area
depended on this small shop as it was easier for them to get all of the small
things. The shop was run by a family who hailed from Kerala. They were there
for a long time and whenever Vishnu visited Daniel's place, he used to always
go to this shop and the relationship was built fast. So as soon as the shop
owner saw Vishnu and Daniel with travel bags, he soon asked about where they
were heading to. Vishnu told about their little journey while having his hot
beverage and a smoke. In time, Daniel called up an online taxi to the bus stop.
Paying up for the beverages and smokes, Vishnu and Daniel entered the taxi and
their travel to the bus stop began. While they were in the taxi, Daniel tried
calling Jacob a lot, but either he disconnected the call or he never attended
the call. Daniel told about this to Vishnu and Vishnu also started trying to call
Jacob. But Jacob didn't pick any calls. Soon the taxi made it to the bus
station and Vishnu and Daniel took their luggage and walked towards the station
master. There, they showed the ticket and the station master replied that the
bus would be arriving in another half an hour and asked them to wait near the
office. So Vishnu and Daniel did as they were instructed and Daniel continued to contact
Jacob. Vishnu messaged Jacob but there was no response from him. Vishnu and Daniel
looked at each other and worried about where Jacob was and didn't want to
travel without him. There were many buses stopped in the station and the crowd
moved in and out of the different buses. After about 15 minutes, Vishnu
received a phone call. The realized that it was from Jacob. They both took a
huge sigh and Vishnu attended the call.
"Bro,
I'm on my way. Don't leave without me" shouted Jacob from the other side
of the call. Vishnu couldn't take it and said that "Talk slowly, where are
you?" "Bro, I had a bad hangover and I slept off. But I'm on my way
now and will be reaching the station in another 10 minutes." By saying
this, Jacob disconnected the call and Vishnu and Daniel had a small smile on
their face. Time was 08.15 at night and a big Volvo bus made it's way into the
station. The vehicle was huge with "K.S.R.T.C" letters written in
bold white colors on the top of the front window frame. On both sides of the
bus, "Airavat" in violet bold italic letters were written. The body
of the bus reflected the white light from the station and made it look like a
huge spaceship. The bus moved past Vishnu and Daniel and stopped a few
steps away from them. Vishnu texted Jacob about the current status and received
a reply suddenly. Slowly a big crowd started to cover the bus entrance. The bus
driver and the conductor, dressed in white, came out of the bus, informing the travelers
that the check-in would only be starting by 09.30 and also said that the bus
won't be stopping anywhere for dinner so they asked the travelers to have their
dinner before the journey began. Slowly the crowd started moving out as the bus
driver and the conductor made their way to the station master's office. Jacob
didn't make it yet and Vishnu and Daniel moved to the entrance of the bus
station. At about 08.50 pm Jacob reached near the entrance and rushed inside
the station. He was in a hurry, that he didn't see Vishnu and Daniel
standing in front of the station. Then, Daniel received a call from Jacob
asking about the where were they standing. To which Daniel replied that all of
the hurries were made up and the bus would only be leaving in another thirty
minutes. Moving towards the old position, Daniel saw a frustrated Jacob but
didn't speak a word when they reached near. Vishnu told Jacob about what the
bus driver told and asked if they wanted to have anything before, they leave. Daniel
told the trio that it would be better if they got some snacks rather than
having something heavy during travel. All three of them agreed to that and
started moving towards the small stalls that were present inside the station. Daniel
got some Lays and a Pepsi while Jacob got a packet of smokes and Vishnu moved
towards the vegetable vendors who were standing next to these stalls. He got
three lemons and got it covered. Seeing this, Daniel and Jacob wondered about
why Vishnu got this and asked him about that. Vishnu replied lemons would help
if anyone got any travel sickness and since they were not having any dinner,
the chances are high. Making sure that they got everything they wanted, the
trio moved back to the bus where they saw the check-in was about to start
and there was that same crowd that they have seen before. The conductor went
inside the bus and brought back a small paperboard which had the details of the
passengers who were traveling. Every passenger was supposed to show their
ticket and a government ID Card. The trio waited till everyone made it inside
the bus and boarded at last. This helped them to find their seats easy. Their
seat was at the middle area where Daniel and Jacob took the window seats while
Vishnu took the aisle seat. The seats were really comfortable and the conductor
started to give a small bottle of water to every passenger as a part of
hospitality. There were two columns of seats which had two seats on both the
column. Jacob and Vishnu sat together while Daniel sat alone who was later
accompanied by an old man. Slowly by 09.55 pm, the bus driver got in and the
bus started to move. Suddenly Vishnu stood up and from his bag which was kept
on the luggage area above their head, he took out his headphones and sat down
on his seat. He plugged in and brushed through the music library, while a
pop-up notification came. It was a message from Daniel in the group that they
created for this travel. It said "And It began..." Replying with a
smiley emoticon, brought a smile in the trio's faces. And Vishnu selected the
shuffle option and closed his eyes. The bus moved slowly from Bangalore to
Pondicherry.
To
be continued...
Friday, May 24, 2019
An Unexpected Sunday
CHAPTER
01
“Bro you should come with us. You are the only one who has a little knowledge about the language compared to us. Whatever you say, we will be travelling together” said Daniel. They stood to the side of the crowded street having a hot beverage. Daniel was a young strong guy who was 5 feet tall wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans. He also carried a
thin backpack in which was an art book with some pencils. Accompanying him was, Vishnu and Jacob. Vishnu was a short fat guy who had a messy hair with a medium beard, wearing a casual shirt with jeans who also carried a backpack which was
fat with all the old magazines which he has purchased for his photography to look for references. Jacob was a tall brown guy, lean, wearing a t-shirt and on top of that, a casual shirt with a pair of headphones around his neck, always engaged into music and shooting vine videos to post in his social network site. All three of them were college mates even though Vishnu was in a different course. During college days, it was particularly seen that people from the same state always mingled up together. There were actually 7 people including these three friends who were known as the SPG’s abbreviation for Smoking Paying Guests. The name for the group fells because of their smoking habits and was very popular for getting caught red-handed in public by teachers. Even though the name was said, not everyone in the group was into the habit of smoking. Daniel was one of them who wasn’t
into that. He has tried his hands-on cigarettes but soon left it because he couldn’t withstand the cough that comes for first-time smokers. He coughed so hard that, almost his face looked pale & his eyeballs were going to pop out! Daniel and Jacob were good artists who were very keen on drawing and were into animation. Vishnu, on the other hand, was a writer and was studying video
editing as he wanted to make it into Film making. In order to achieve his dream, Vishnu is now taking a photography class under a well-known photographer who has accepted to teach him the knowledge of composition and cinematography skills. Daniel is a freelance artist doing mural paintings for his clients and other
art projects too. Jacob, on the other hand, is working in a reputed animation company in Kerala where he has already spent almost one year. Jacob has come to his college to collect his certificates as he is trying to find a job abroad. All three of them were facing the same problem as they haven’t received their certificates from the college. But of those three, Vishnu has got some of his certificates as he has faced with some issues in his personal life. On the other hand, Jacob and Daniel have received none of their certificates from the college. When they asked the college authority, the certificates would take another one-month time to reach the college or they would have to visit the university
which was in Tamilnadu and get the certificates in hand. Since Jacob had a job, and he couldn’t waste any more time to travel back and collect the certificates after one month, so they agreed to go to the university and collect the certificates by hand. But none of them knew to speak the language as Vishnu did. Vishnu has spent some of his time in Tamil Nadu on the basis of his
educational purposes. So now while Daniel and Vishnu were having an argument on the travel between each other, Jacob was busy shooting videos for his social media sites. After completing the shoot for his daily posts, Jacob returned to the group hearing the argument even though he didn’t have any idea about what were they talking about. Taking his drink from the shop counter, Jacob asked Daniel about what were they arguing for a long time. Daniel also was planning to accompany Jacob in the journey to the university to receive the certificates but Vishnu wasn’t actually interested to go, as he had only one certificate left to collect and he was willing to wait patiently and get it from college after one
month. Jacob after hearing about the little talk suddenly joined with Daniel insisting Vishnu join the journey with them as they might face trouble with the language. Vishnu didn’t wish to go because he didn’t have enough money for travelling but Daniel said he would cover up for Vishnu’s travel expenses, but
Vishnu should return the money later and they wanted him to go with them. After a long argument which lasted for like half an hour, Vishnu, in the end, accepted to go with them. Vishnu was moreover forced to go with them even though he doesn’t know if he will get his certificate or not because when he asked in college, they told him that his certificate wasn’t ready and it would
take a months’ time to receive it. So, after a long time, the three of them planned to travel and also maybe this might be last time, they will be travelling together. Jacob was already planning to leave abroad looking for a job, Daniel was getting busy with works and clients and Vishnu was on his first steps towards entering the industry.
After having tea, Jacob had to buy a jacket from
the market where he could find some which were cheap and also stylish. So, they moved on to some stores where they have gone through various jackets but they didn’t like it as it looked so lame on Jacob. Moving towards the deep street, they saw a shop which had a red name board which said: “Haji Mastan Textiles”
with a small round LED signboard near the entrance, which showed a sign of a shirt and pants logo in it blinking. Even though the entrance looked small, the shop interiors extended towards the backside. As they entered the shop, a fat man wearing a taqiyah, sat to the right of the entrance with his one leg raised
and rested on the chair. He wore a big white salwar kameez which had stains, which could probably be from his lunch, down to his beard. He had a long beard which actually covered up the neck and extended down his collar. As the three friends entered the shop which was well lit with white LED tube lights, the
shop owner put down his leg and stood and wished the young boys a good evening. The light was so bright that, they felt like they entered into a movie set where some sci-fi movie was being shot. As a reply, the boys smiled back at him and was followed by a question. “How may I help you?” asked the shop owner. Shocked by the English proficiency of the shop owner, Jacob explained to the shop owner about what he was looking for? Hearing Jacob’s demands, the shop owner called out for someone by shouting towards the interior of the shop. “Kamal!!! Idar Aaja. Customer ko sambhaal.” Hearing this, a lean guy, wearing a fancy shirt with big collars, which looked like those shirts that actors wore in 90’s films, came out from the garment racks. He came towards the owner where he was told about
what the customers wanted and was assigned to guide them. Soon he took the boys into the store and showed them a section where the jackets for young adults were sold. The shop was filled with different collections of clothes, from kids to adults, both men, and women. They had clothes for every occasion for sale,
and for every time of the day. After going through all the designs available over there, none of really captured or satisfied their hearts. With a disappointed heart, they went through the last bunch of jackets available. But negative, they still couldn’t find something. Even when they were leaving the shop, Daniel
tried to put some words of hope. “At least, we are going to Pondicherry, where we could see a lot of hippie fashions, so no need to worry much.” That thought made way for a slight hope but still signs of disappointment could be seen in
Jacob’s face.
After thanking the shop owner for his hospitality, they got back to the street. Time was almost getting dark. The prayer from Muslim mosque which was in the next street could be heard. But still, the market was crowded, as it was before they entered the shop. Streets were filled in such a way that
in order to get out, they had to squeeze themselves out of that crowd. After putting in much effort, they made it to the subway station, which was on the main road from where these streets extended. Getting the small brown coin shaped ticket, which was only available for the subway transport, they moved past the platform gates. The clean polished tiles and the well-lit platform had a few people waiting for trains. The platform was well lit, that
Vishnu thought of bringing a music band and start a music concert over there. Both ends of the platform were having stairways for entry and exit. Vishnu saw a few young people standing together and having fun between each other, laughing making jokes about each other, at one corner of the platform, a family that had two kids holding a toy car which was of different colours who were accompanied by their parents and their grandmother lost in the world of the mid-life crisis talks. The two kids were busy arguing about the colour their car has and trying to prove the best. Vishnu also noticed a few pair of young lovers scattered on the other end of the platform. Some talking, some fighting, some stood silent, while some sat together and relaxed on the staircases. Soon, an announcement was made about a
train passing by which was not to their station. They could see some of the lovebirds and the family moved towards the entrance position which was marked on the floor with bright yellow paint. Soon a white painted, shining with the lights of the platform, a fast running beast made its way from the left side of the rails. Slowly, it came to a halt and the doors swooshed open towards the side. A big crowd jumped out of the train, pushing the three young friends backwards causing discomfort even for the new passengers of that train. The platform was filled with people and slowly some of them made their way towards the exit staircases. Some guy even crashed on Daniel shoulders, which made him angry. But soon the crowd was fading away as the next announcement was made. Listening to the announcement, they knew that it was their transport and waited at the entry position. Another train similar to the last one came but was found to be
more crowded than the last one. But comparing to the last train, only a few people got down at the station and the three young friends looked at each other, understanding that this journey is going to be a hard one. With much effort, they entered into the train making way towards the alley which was a better position to occupy seats, if any was found. Standing squeezed to the pole, Daniel and Vishnu started to laugh at themselves for the condition that they got themselves into, while Jacob got lost in the world of music. The various stations came and went by. People got down and into the train but the crowd was the same till their station. When their destination arrived, Daniel who was
familiar with the stations as he has travelled by this mode more than the other two, inform the other two and tried to get down as soon as possible. Like the entry, even the exit also was a tiring and hectic job to make their way past the crowd and make it to the platform. Vishnu was a paranoid guy and was always
afraid if he would lose his wallet and the house keys in the crowd. In order to get his senses high, Daniel has also warned that there can be pickpockets and also sometimes it can slip out of the pockets. When they made it out to the platform, the first thing that Vishnu made sure was whether everything was in his pockets. Being assured of that, they made it out the check-out gates
returning the coin tickets back in the machine.
From the station, since Jacob was staying with some of his family members, they parted their ways making sure that Daniel was the one who was assigned to book tickets for all of them for the next day’s journey. As they got out of the station, Jacob went to the bus station crossing the road to catch up a bus to his place. While Daniel and Vishnu hired a rickshaw, which went up to Daniel’s place. Vishnu’s place was just half kilometre from there, so he thought he would better walk from Daniel’s place in order to save money. Soon an old yellow and black rickshaw with tattered seats and mud filled floor mat driven by a person who was almost
in his 70’s came up to their position. At first glance of the rickshaw, they knew that this rickshaw driver will be a slow snail and will take a long time to reach their destination. Even while entering the rickshaw, Daniel and Vishnu had a petty argument about who is going to sit on the alley side and on the far
end. But that ended as the rickshaw driver started staring at the two idiots who were arguing for some stupidity on the road. Daniel didn’t give up and made Vishnu get into the auto and sit on the far end. The triumph from that small victory was seen in Daniel’s face in the way how he started to pull Vishnu’s
leg. In a moment of time, that was also forgotten. As the journey started it wasn’t what the two of them were expecting. They recognized that the rickshaw driver was a rash driver. He made it past through the traffic jam with a slight escape from other vehicles and took sudden turns. After about 15 to 20 minutes,
Daniel and Vishnu found themselves alive and reached safely at Daniel’s place. Daniel paid up the money for the rickshaw. As soon as he got paid, the rickshaw zoomed out from the street to his next customer. As the rickshaw turned to the main road, the trails were still noticeable for Daniel and Vishnu. After taking
a huge gasp, Daniel suggested they would have dinner together. After thinking for a moment, Vishnu too joined him towards their favourite place to have their favourite dish, Biriyani. As they started walking down the dark streets filled with trees on one side and houses on the other, Daniel asked Vishnu to check
for any hotels for their accommodation purposes in Pondicherry. Vishnu suggested to Daniel that it was a better plan to go there and stay in any local hotel as their motive was just for a one-night stay. But Daniel resisted and asked Vishnu to start checking. Vishnu didn’t have another chance to say and started checking for hotels available. After walking for 10 – 15 mins, they both entered into another street. This was a commercial street but there was not much crowd as compared to the main city. The whole area was a residential area where some of the middle-class families of that area stayed, and this was the only commercial area that was nearby for the residents to get the
provisions and household items. As the street began, there was a small clinic which had a pharmacy attached to it. The clinic had only one doctor assigned to it, who was an old, fat guy, with more mass to be seen on his stomach part. He had a small day – night reading spectacles resting on his big nose and is always seen busy with filling up some papers. Accompanying him were two lady nurses, of which one was a dark old woman who just knew the native language and the other was a young nurse, fair coloured, wearing a jacket on top of her white saree. The pharmacy was looked after two young guys who dressed up
formally and had a kind attitude towards the customers. Past the clinic, after a few footsteps, on the opposite of the road was a small pop up shop that provided tea and smokes. This shop was run by an old couple where the lady, wearing an old saree who always sat on the chair near the small shop. The shop
was placed on a cart with wheels and it can be moved wherever they wish to. Only a few customers were seen to buy stuff from that shop. Other than tea and smokes, they provide small local snacks, homemade biscuits and toffees too. Moving forward on the other side of the road was a small yet large supermarket
which was owned by people from Kerala. They were run by Muslim people as the decorations and the name board of the shop was seen with a touch of Arabian style. The owners could be mostly from the northern part of Kerala where a large Muslim community was said to reside. Attached to the supermarket, they
also maintained a small fruit and vegetable shop where everything for daily meals was kept. Inside the supermarket, everything from cosmetics to manufactured products was kept and it was always found to be crowded. Daniel always prefers to buy stuff from this supermarket. Moving forward, there were
two big apartments next to the supermarket which was guarded by a single security guard. The guard was a friendly man and always befriend everyone easily. He talks the native language, English Hindi, Tamil and a little bit of Malayalam too. He was an old guy in his 50s or 60s, lean with a stubbed beard, a jovial person which was exactly opposite too his looks and was friends to Daniel too. Whenever Daniel passes by those apartments, the security guard stands up and greets Daniel in a humble way. As Daniel and Vishnu were walking towards the restaurant, the security guard saw them and made way to the road in
order to wish them. The guard, with respect, greeted them with a salute and asked about where were they going to. Daniel replied that they were going up to the restaurant to have dinner and will talk to him later on his way back. Daniel said so because the restaurant will be closed in another half an hour and continued walking to the restaurant. As they turned to the next street on
the next right, A small shop with a burnt stove kept in front of the shop was seen and on top of that stove was a big utensil on which rice was being made. Next, to the stove, there were small trays in which the spices and masala were kept. Beside that was a northeastern guy who was cooking fried rice with the flame
burning high up in the air and with the vessel in his hand, turning side to side for the rice to get cooked properly with masala and spices that have been added. Inside the shop, a small wooden table was placed with a chair where the owner sat, taking orders from customers and collected cash from them. On the right corner of the shop, there was a small blue refrigerator where all the cool drinks were stored. They had different
soft drinks, small juice packets, yoghurt packets and also vegetables kept at the bottom portion. On the left side of the shop was where the tables and chair were arranged for the customers to sit and enjoy their meal. The plastic tables which had two red ketchup bottles with the stains of dried ketchup at tips and
a steel jug of water were found on each one. On the left corner at the far end, a wash section was maintained for the customers to wash their hands before their meals. As Daniel and Vishnu entered, the shop owner who was an old man smiled at them and showed them the way to their favourite table. Whenever Daniel visits the restaurant, he always preferred to sit at the table positioned at the far end of the shop. There wasn’t a reason for sitting at this position for Daniel, but the air circulation at that place was better than in any other places of that restaurant. There was a small window beside this table. The window doors were made out of wood which had holes in them but was covered by political and film posters. After washing their hands, Daniel and Vishnu rested their bags beside them and sat down at their favourite positions. The waiter who was busy in the kitchen which was located inside the restaurant came out asking for their
order. Daniel and Vishnu discussed for a few seconds and ordered two plates of their favourite dish, Biriyani and a plate of Kebabs. They could only buy one plate of Kebab as they were preparing themselves for a long journey. Within the next ten minutes, Daniel and Vishnu received their plates of biriyani while the boy who was standing at the front prepared kebabs for them. As he put the chicken pieces into the hot oil, the sound of boiling could be heard by them. Soon they started to enjoy their meal and parallelly planning out their trip to Pondicherry. Daniel insisted Vishnu to check for some hotels where they could
stay while they were at Pondicherry. And Vishnu without any words of resistance started to check for hotels and inns that were available at the main centre. But Vishnu noticed that these hotels were luxurious as well as pricey too. Vishnu gave a hint about finding a cheap hotel after they reach the destination as booking a hotel for just two days purpose was a stupid idea. Daniel didn’t
accept that idea and stayed to his decision to book for a hotel so they could directly go and stay there. Vishnu assured that he would look for some places and give the necessary details by tonight. Daniel took on the responsibility to book the bus tickets for travel for all three of them. Soon Kebabs were delivered, and Daniel and Vishnu completed their dinner. After paying up the
shop owner for the dinner and bidding him a bye, they both made their way back to Daniel’s house. On their way back, Daniel checked for the security guard but he wasn’t around. So, they continued their walk. On the way, Daniel started browsing for places to visit in Pondicherry. He found several travel websites
and started to bookmark them. After both of them made it to Daniel’s place, and also because time was too late, Vishnu hired another taxi to his place because he felt already filled up by the dinner and he was in no mood to take a walk. Daniel and Vishnu who stood on the roadside started discussing the different places present in Pondicherry where they could
visit. Within the next minutes, a rickshaw with green and yellow paint entered their street. As the rickshaw stopped beside Vishnu, he checked whether the details that were given in the booking application and the rickshaw matched each other. After confirming the details, Vishnu boarded the rickshaw and asked
the driver to start. Before leaving, Daniel reminded him again about the fact of checking the hotel details with their price rates. In return, Vishnu replied that the most important task was to book bus tickets for the travel. After assuring about the tasks, Vishnu asked the driver to start the journey.
It almost took another 15 mins for the rickshaw to reach Vishnu’s position. After paying the fare, Vishnu opened the small black gate of his hostel and climbed the stairs to the second floor where his room was located. The whole hostel was fast asleep, and lights all were turned off. As Vishnu reached the corridors of the second floor, suddenly he received a notification on his mobile. A new group was created in his messaging application named “Mission: Pondicherry” which included three members – Daniel, Jacob and himself. Slowly he opened the doors to his room and kept down his bag beside his bed. While changing into
nightdress, he received another notification with the screenshots that showed their travel details. After putting on his night clothes, Vishnu laid down on the bed and asked about how their stay was going to be. Daniel again reminded him that it was his duty to look for hotels and find a cheap one. Vishnu again suggested his plan to find a cheap hotel after reaching there. Jacob also
accepted that idea and said it was a better plan than booking for some luxurious one for just a stay for 2 days. In the end, Daniel accepted the plan and messaged the whole plan in text.
" FRI 4th May 2018 – Journey by Bus @ 10.00 pm
SAT 5th May 2018 – Appointment at University @ 12.00 pm
SUN 6th May 2018 – Journey back with certificates. "
The plan was approved by all three of them, and everyone planned to meet at the boarding point the next day. By texting that, Vishnu disabled his mobile data and set the alarm to 07.00 am and nodded off to sleep.
To be continued…
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Panchamania - A Tribute to R D Burman
A Live concert from Daur Purane Yaad Aaye at Baldwin Methodist College, Bangalore as a tribute to one of the greatest music director, R D Burman, also nicknamed as Pancham.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Monday, March 18, 2019
About Me
I'm Vaishakh S Unnithan, hailing from Kerala, an aspirant filmmaker, a writer, and also an MBA Graduate. I have worked on event coverage, tried my hands-on video editing, have directed a short film, prepared screenplays and have done trailer cuts. I look towards writing stories and making movies filled with drama and emotions from experiences. I am a good observer who can suggest, collect and transform ideas and dream to make a movie out of it. I write poems, quotes, one-liners, tales and screenplays. Besides this, I love to watch a lot of inspiring works done by great artists and analyze them to learn those techniques so I could implement these techniques into my works. I seek opportunities which will help me to reach my goal of becoming an acclaimed writer and director in the film industry.
I have started this blog so as to showcase my writing skills and also as a platform to display my portfolio to the world. I have been assisting freelance directors where I have learned about cinematography, the composition and most importantly the time management that should be maintained during work. I’m passionate about film making and hope to create remarkable works for the world. I’ve also tried my hands-on photography skills where I have worked as an assistant for product shoot. I’m more focused into the direction, as I’ve much confidence in how to direct a crew and work with perfection. I am a good learner and prefer to work with different styles every time.
Once Again, Thank you for visiting my blog and hope to see you back around here soon!
--Vaishakh Somasekharan
Friday, March 15, 2019
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Yourquotes Profile
My Yourquotes Profile : https://www.yourquote.in/vaishakh-somasekharan-dbv8/quotes
Friday, January 4, 2019
BOWL'D OVER 2019
Hosted by Mrs Gomathi Suresh
Venue: Gallery Manora, 100 feet Road, Indiranagar
Date: Opening Night
17 January, 2019 @ 7pm
Artist Demo & Walkthrough
19 January, 2019 @ 11am
For all you ceramic artists and bowl enthusiasts, head down to Gallery Manora on the above-mentioned dates!
Follow Gallery Manora on:
- Website: https://gallerymanora.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gallerymanora
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/gallerymanora
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