The varied personalities of a regular Homosapien

Continued from Part I... Continued from Part II... Apr 1 2005 Evening Session: I was excited. I was nervous. I was happy. I was sad. I was ready. I was a wreck. I was grateful. I was sorry. I was new. I was old. I was here. I was not. Bhagawan was coming for Darshan. He was moving too slow. Come fast Swami. I want to give you this letter and see you eye on eye for maybe the last time. Will I ever get this chance again. He was moving too fast. Slow down Swami. Let me relish every aspect of your personality. Your smile. Your frown. Your conscious indifference. Your chuckle. Your mock anger. The way you take the letter. The way you lift up the curls which mischievously descend onto your face. The way you lift the kerchief. The way you keep it back. The way you shower your love, oh the love, the love, the love. Is it really the last day? Can I not be your student any more? Will I be relegated to be seated among the old students, when I return. I love you Swami. I love...

Continued from Part I...  (Since the gap between Part I and Part II is 3.5 years, I suggest you please read Part I before continuing below)  April 1 2005 The Bhajans reached its crescendo with the pace getting faster and faster, moving my thoughts along in similar speed. Suddenly, without warning, the sound of "Aum Jai Jagadesha Hare..." started, much to the disappointment of the assembly. We had all been made April Fools. Immediately, I rushed to my father and said, the tie is not all that important. I will share it with some classmate of mine. A scene of some Kamal Hassan film, in which he does that was playing in my mind. So, it seemed a cool thing to do. We would stay back for the evening session and leave for Bangalore in the night. During the afternoon session, I was seated on the third row but directly in front of Swami's Chair. IF , Bhagawan decides to sit on stage, I would have a wonderful view but THAT was not very regular. Swami used to usually take...

" I know that it is easy for us to think that He does not care about any of us leaving. After all, there are new students coming in every year. That however is far from the truth. He feels the pain of separation many times more than we do. So kindly at least give a letter and take leave off Him before you go for your job. " These words of a classmate of mine had touched me deeply. I have no idea to this day why he said this to me but that is what stopped me from leaving Parthi on the night of March 31st. It was the All Fools Day of 2005. It was the first day after I completed my Masters of Business Administration in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, 2 years after I had set foot in Prasanthi Nilayam for the very first time. Two very memorable years as a Sai Student.  Bhagawan arrived in my life as a photograph when I was about 7 years old through the medium of my newly-wed aunt and uncle. My mother, more out of a need to not offend the new me...

Now that you have read the worst story I ever wrote, It is time I introduced you to some of my better work, lest I lose all the respect of my readers. This story was written by me during my MBA days when I was fascinated by P.G.Wodehouse and Douglas Adams . There were many a night when I stayed up to read but not the texts. It was the brilliance of Jeeves and the eccentricities of Zaphod Beeblebrox that kept me up at night. Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/10/18 Ever since I read that Adams himself was inspired by Wodehouse and since he applied it in the genre of Science Fiction, it was almost unrecognisable, I thought... let me try it with Spirituality. Presumptuous? I suppose so but nevertheless, a short story competition in Asian Age spurred me into this ridiculous experiment and the result of it is down here for you to judge. Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado I present, "A matter of confidence..." "Kreeng, Kreeng", wa...

The writer's block hits the best of us. While the many who expressed their anguish at my silence moved my heart, it is the few who expressed gratitude for not insulting their sanity which drove me to action. Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/03/03 This below is a short story for children, I wrote during my student days on the theme, "and the sun rose". If this does not give you your dose of madness, I don't know what will, I was sitting in my favourite couch at home watching Sachin and Sehwag making mince meat out of Glen McGrath, when the Mysore bonda which I was about to put in my mouth suddenly started screaming in a little girl’s voice, "Aaaa…" I got up with a start only to realise that though the bonda had been a dream, the scream was real enough. The voice seemed to be that of Shania Lee, the youngest among the inter-continental group of nine students on a world tour organised by the United Nations for spreading uni...

On the third day, we had a coastal ride and an ayurvedic massage scheduled. I was in the second batch of the ride and the last one for the massage. That meant a lazy morning with nothing to do. For me that means only one thing: A long walk and what is more, a walk along the shore letting the sea caress my feet with its temptingly chill and silky fingers. Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/06/27 Now an idiosyncrasy I share with many Tamils born during the 80s and the 70s is to walk with my hands in my pockets (why do we do that? It is never cold in Chennai. One answer: Style) and the boombox in my head playing "Kadalin Deepam Ondru". Despite being a Kamal Fan, this Rajini number is my default walk song.  Ilaiyaraaja 's music is extra-ordinary and Rajini's cool, casual and yet thoroughly love-stricken stroll in the woods is a visual thoroughly imprinted in our minds. Though Shankar and ARR tried to replace the above song with  Kadh...