Atonement

“… He is a man of unimpeachable integrity and has single handedly steered the Agricultural Development Board to dizzying heights,and has strongly defended this organization in the face of wide spread criticism…”,the speech seemed to have no end in sight.He squirmed restlessly in his seat on the dais listening to colleagues heap lavish praise on him on his retirement day,colleagues he hated,and who reciprocated the sentiment in equal measure. He heaved a sigh of relief as the speech finally drew to a close,and at an opportune moment,made good his escape from the hall and dashed to the parking lot. He was in no mood for felicitations and light hearted banter.Pointless.There were massive plans afoot. Tonight was the night of Atonement.

***

He reached for the glove compartment and took out the syringe and dope.White powder on spoon,lighter underneath,had become a reassuring sight over all these years.Heroin had become his sole existential bond with sanity.He needed something to soothe his frayed nerves,and what better way could there be? The groggy appearance that came along with it was attributed to work related stress.Couldnt have been truer. And his family understood.

He switched on his car stereo and jacked it up to full volume. Mutiliate the stillborn-Necrophagist. The irony was lost on him.

As he shot off into the night,his life flashed across his dilated pupils. A passionate,determined,result oriented recruit,his rise along the echelons of bureaucracy was meteoric. He soon found himself at the helm of the Agricultural Development Board.The first case before him was the crisis situation unfolding at cashew plantations in a small village in Kasargod,Kerala. Eager to make his presence felt,he went in for an aggressive strategy.There was this new chemical making waves the world over. There were health concerns attached,but he chose to overlook them.Extensive aerial spraying was ordered. The results were unprecedented.He basked in the accolades being showered on him. It was then that prosperity gave way to unmitigated human disaster. But by then it was too late. An entire village had poison in its genes.

***

The car skidded to a halt. Frayed ends of sanity-Metallica. He killed the engine and walked up to his house. Empty. His wife and daughter were at their native place,scouting for a plot post retirement. Swell.

Letter,will,cheques,documents. Check.

His hands were shaking violently. He needed another shot of dope.

He was all set to go.

Loaded revolver. Silencer. Trigger. Two bullets to the foot.

He winced in pain as he hobbled across to his arm chair. Two shots to inflict suffering,but not fatal. Pain slowly gave way to ecstasy.The night had begun.

It was time for step two.

Blade. Stainless steel. Two slits to the wrist.

Blood gushed out and made puddles on the floor. He was beginning to lose consciousness. Fleeting images of twisted limbs and malformed bodies darted across his eyes.

It was now time for the coup de grace. The crowning glory. He was known for his style,and today was going to be no exception.

It was cocktail time.

A pint of single malt whiskey.A few drops of endosulfan to taste. Stir thoroughly. One gulp.

The last thing he saw before he passed out was the image of a kid with a bloated head,and a vacant stare.

Tuskers win best outfit award,fashionistas take notice

In a development that has created ripples in the fashion circuit and elsewhere, Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s(KTK) distinctive orange-purple jersey has been declared the best outfit in the ipl by fashion mogul FTW. Announcing this at a jam packed press conference in New Delhi Myshell Adam,managing director FTW India said that this was based on public consensus and opinion of a jury comprising of bigwigs in the fashion industry. “It is a comprehensive stamp of approval on their vibrant attire. Just look at the positive energy it brings to their game”,said Mr Adam,a yoga enthusiast.

The team management is clearly overjoyed by this recognition. “We took this with a pinch of salt at first but as it started sinking in,our joy knew no bounds,everyone is on cloud nine. Actually,the designer has told me that my flamboyance was his inspiration”,said a straight faced Sreesanth.

The award got diverse reactions from the fashion junta. While many heralded it as a huge development and a precursor to a significant trend,it was panned by others as being ridiculous. “How on earth can you call something that is loud,in your face and a fashion disaster trendy?”,said famous designer Rina Bangla. However,designer Sabyajhooti Mukherjee had a diametrically opposite view,”it marks a sea change in the fashion perception of people,what was once branded as being gaudy and gay gets selected as best attire,it obviously means abstract,subtler designs are no longer the order of the day.This will obviously get incorporated in our designs as well”.

The award got support from entirely unexpected quarters,with the BJP voicing its approval,”just goes to show the tremendous sway saffron holds over people,it’s a very positive trend for us,in fact we are planning an all India rath yatra to commemorate this occasion”,said a party spokesperson.

Meanwhile,unconfirmed reports state that the queer community plans to make KTK the face of their campaign. “its certainly being considered,I mean,their colour code is consistent with our identity,and if we could take them on board,people will start taking us more seriously”,said a member on the condition of anonymity.

While KTK’s fortunes on the field seem to be on a downward spiral,their prospects off it seem remarkably bright.After all,it’s a whole lot of positive energy.

The 1 year (b)itch

The perception of anniversaries varies with perspective. While to some,it is an occasion for indulgent merry making,its just another passage of 365 days for others. Well, I tread middle ground.

And thus begins another blog post. Cryptic starts such as these are sure bound to test the wavering patience of the handful who actually read the drivel I purvey,so I better buck up and lay some background on this :D

You see,the anniversary I was alluding to is nothing special. Its one year since I started blogging. 365 days since I created a niche for myself in blogosphere,and I felt it would be doing great injustice to purgationofsoul letting this day pass without so much as a mention. And what better way to do it than commemorate the occasion with a post. So here I am,without any agenda,typing away in glee :DWell instead of groping around for a topic,I might as well resort to some good ol dear dairying.. Well I have proven myself to be woefully incapable of any sort of chronicling whatsoever,but there seems to be no other alternative.. you all will have to bear with me,and as the refrain goes,asuvidha ke liye khed hai..

Last week was largely uneventful and mundane,except for the fact that I am now in the comfortable confines of my home in the National Capital,thanks to a study break,dubiously named Vacation. Travel time was mostly spent ruing the absence of headphones(a facebook status update to that effect got 13 likes,bleah), watching movies,viz. gulaal,revolutionary road and dasaratham(kickass,super and intense respectively) and waxing eloquent on the awesomeness that is Konkan railways..

And then Vishu happened.. So did wallet swelling.. not in a manner that would make i-t blokes sit up and take notice,but substantial the same.:)

Vishu always gets off to a hilariously divine start,what with being made to wake up at unearthly hours,grope around in darkness,eyes closed and then being blinded by intense brightness.. Sample this convo,highly stylized and exaggerated,I had with dad on vishu morning .. The latter is trying to wake me up:

D: Gummorning sonny no 1

Me: Hmpf

D:How bout we rise and shine, ye ol egg

Me:Goway

D:Let me inform you,sonny no 1,that if you don’t relieve the pillow and mattress of your bodily pressure this very moment,I ll be obliged to pick up the lil bucket currently lodged in the bathroom and empty its contents on your distinguished self. Are we clear on this?

Me: Now that’s perspective. A’ight, am up.

D:Eyes firmly shut

Me:well they re gummed at present

D:Walk

Me: Where to?

D:You know where

Me:*fumbling around* I hope my health insurance papers are in place

D:alright,sit.

Me:Whew. Now what?

D:Open up.

Me: *blinded by megawatt radiance* Whoa!!

D: alright me old offspring,do you see the deities’ photos?

Me:er yeah,they are slightly off focus though,hang on..*rubs eyes* alright,positive..

D:the cereals and pulses?

Me: nice and clear

D: other miscellaneous items?

Me: sure thing

D:alright,we re good to go,get up

Well,the rest of the week was business as usual.. When business implies dealings with big fat textbooks,it aint anything to write about..

Its time to wind up then,hope to cook up something better than this next time aroundJ cheers..

Trivandrum Travails:Headbangers' Woe

A disclaimer at the outset:This post is not meant to be a no holds barred hate post directed at Kerala’s capital.Trivandrum might have its share(a rather meaty share,actually) of shortcomings that don’t befit a state capital,but none so drastic to fuel an all out down-with- thiruvananthapuram slur. No sir,not at all.

This post focuses,specifically,on a particular afternoon,a fateful afternoon that planted in my friend S the desire to own a Lamb Of God tee. Oh gosh,I ve got it all wrong. Rewind.

Well the thing with metal,is that it gets to your head. Now we have,in our hostel, been having a major upheaval in music preferences over the past few months..Pink Floyd,Led Zeppelin,Jimi Hendrix,His Own Lamb, have been steadily gaining in popularity.The hair dresser looks at our locks with longing and melancholy writ large on his face.The neck remains perennially sore owing to headbanging of a particularly violent nature.. It is a culture,more than just being a genre of music,and the sense of belonging is particularly intense,making you want to express your veneration for your fav bands by sporting their memorabilia.

Right,so lets cut back to the day in question here.We(me,S and J) are in the city(er,I am being very liberal when I say city) for nadunissi naaygal (super movie btw,totally untrodden path in tamil cinema)..We walk out of the cinema,largely contented,on account of a forty rupees well spent,totally jobless and hours on end to kill. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop,they say.. and it so happened that that day,the devil came to roost in S’s mind. And thus started a wild goose chase around tvm’s apparel shops,for a Lamb Of God tee.

It would be an understatement to classify the afternoon as merely being eventful.It was a laugh riot. We were this close to being branded mentally unstable.I am pretty sure I heard a “yavan aaredey” (what specimen is this,mate?) while walking outta more than one shop. The conversation everywhere was essentially the same:

S:boss,you people have band tees?

Shopkeeper(SK):sure sir,which brand do you want?

S:er,band,mate.. not brand. You have?

SK:bandaa??*incredulous look* er no sir,we don’t.

S:No?i m sure we saw one outside when we walked in. right?*waning confidence*

Me:hmmm lemme try.. dey,you have black tees?round neck?

SK:*face lightens up by several lumens* sir yes sirJ which colour do you want?red pink blue green?

S:dude!BLACK ROUND NECK!!?

SK:*frowns* sir… yes sir..*shuffles around uneasily,looks at colleague,colleague resolutely becomes interested in a speck of dust*

*picks out several tees from the shelf,thankfully black,none matching our description*

J(to a harrowed S):dey,machi,this aint working,our search engine needs better keywords to narrow down the field

J(to SK):boss,you have a black roundneck tee with prints of huge,menacing people on it?vverum jangaa.

SK:*scornful look,contempt writ large* oh,*those* tees.. no,er,sir.. We don’t bring em in these days,moving stock alla.

S:no wonder..*visibly disappointed*

SK:*with great reluctance*anything else,sir?

S:!@@#$%$^$W$%$^

Me:*groan*

The convo has been anglicized,but it was infinitely more side splitting in malayalam.Well,truth be told,we did come across some band tees,but much to our chagrin,LoG was missing.

S has still not got his tee,but like any valiant warrior,vows to strive endlessly till the day he treats his torso to a Lamb tee.. Optimism knows no bounds,I suppose..

Grumpy New Year:A weakly round up

All good things come to an end

All not-so-good things also come to an end.

All good things have an uncanny knack of reaching the finish line in a hurry.

All awesome things shave a few days off the record set by all good things.

That,in a claustrophobia inducing nutshell,is a synopsis of my wonderful vacation in saddi dilli.:)

No wait,this requires some explanation. I ve been racking the ol lemon a good deal of late,trying to cook up something appropriate to give the blog a new lease of life. But the Blogger's block is like the mould that conveniently grows on an innocent loaf of bread you leave behind,you would rather not skim it off.Well,my point is:this blog was created with the intention of catering to the creative excesses i occasionally commit.Being that as it may,an occasional dear diaryesque post,like this,goes a long way in bringing the Blog back in circulation:)

Alright,rambling done and dusted with,I will get going with my weakly round up:)

The vacation got off to a rather uneventful start,a rather uneventful flight to the national capital,including a rather uneventful stopover at chennai,largely spent lapping up herr Wodehouse's magic,and shamelessly staring at,er,people in general;)

The flight was largely sleep inducing,dilli ki sardi is anything but:) There s something about winter that makes people compose odes in its honour:)And you wouldnt fault me for walking out of the airport,into the nippy winter evening with a spring in my steps.

Things assumed an upward curve thereafter,with two awesome meetups with school blokes,to quote a photo caption i lifted from facebook:The day we met after we became men:)

The best part of going home,however,is positioning your posterior on the comfy sofa,cocooned from head to toe with several layers of woollens,munching away at whatever you salvage from the kitchen(much to the mother's consternation). bliss. absolute. A possible fallout of this school of thought,however,is that you begin to mirror a couch potato(a bulbous,overfed,underworked potato,at that).Movie watchage also happened,Tarantino's death proof(paper thin storyline,kickass film),al pacino's and justice for all,scent of a woman(stupendous,stupendous),and a whole cartload of movies on telly.

All good things come to an end.

The end,again,was largely uneventful,an 18 hour delay notwithstanding,nothing to blog about;)

Realization dawns. dear diary aint my cuppa. Something better,next time,i promise,to quote the Indian Railways:asuvidha ke liye khed hai ;)

Alright then,i ll get back to dreaming about fog,hot water and rajaai:)toodles:)

Beverage Corporation to sue Kerala Tourism

The Kerala Beverage Corporation(Bevco) today announced its intent to drag Kerala Tourism (KT) to court. Speaking at a press conference,the Managing Director said that it had taken strong offense to Bevco being given the snub in the recently released short film on kerala.

The film was released at a glitzy event in London,as part of the KT promotion drive,and was touted as being a glimpse of the diaspora on offer in God's Own Country.This however was subjected to immense ridicule by Kerala's sizeable drinking population.

"The tourism thingy is a whole lot of bullcrap,kerala's entire socio political framework is on display outside Bevco outlets,this is what defines a Malayali,this is our identity!!",said a remarkably eloquent and liberally greased gentleman waiting patiently for his pint.

"We have a certain responsibility towards society,we uphold the interests of every individual who savours his favourite label after a hard day's work.Another damning factor is the revenue Bevco pumps into the Government's coffers,surely you cant overlook that!!",said the managing director,who appeared to be pretty incensed.

Support poured in from entirely unexpected quarters.The School Teachers' Association has reportedly written to KT to look into the matter with eager urgency."The queue outside an outlet is the best place to teach young kids the virtues of discipline and patience.We re even contemplating organizing field trips for our students,such is the stature Bevco holds here",said a representative.

Bevco,will,in protest be downing shutters tomorrow,but have rushed in buffer stock so as to avoid possible mass suicides.

Justifying the lockdown,a store owner said,"a daily pint is of paramount importance to the average malayali,even more than their patram,beedi and chaaya(newspaper,beedi and tea)".

Kerala Tourism spokespersons were not available for comment as they were busy stocking up for tomorrow.However,unconfirmed reports do point to the possibility of an early out-of-court settlement,as KT seem to have realized their folly,and are ready to atone for their blasphemy.

Delhi roads to be turned into waterways

In an epoch making move that has caught everyone by surprise,The Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD),announced its intent to cash in on the woeful waterlogging crisis by turning all roads into waterways and operating ferries. The announcement was followed,almost immediately,by bluelines flocking to the garage in a bid to dabble in remodelling and try passing off the buses as ferries.In completely unrelated news,a massive spurt in people signing up for swimming lessons was recorded.

"This just goes to prove that Delhi is an awesome city,a city that knows how to tide over difficulties. The Commonwealth Games will happen as per plan",said the chief minister Sheila Dikshit,though mediapersons at the press conference were left wondering what she meant.

"This move is primarily to ease the workload on our phone operators who are tired of hanging up each time people call in to report waterlogging",said a source who wished to remain anonymous.

The Delhi government has roped in beleagured,though still flamboyant ipl main man Lalit Modi to oversee the leasing out of various routes across the city to key corporate players who shall be given the responsibility of operating services.

Speaking to the press after the plan was unveiled,an ecstatic mr Modi said,"This is an honour. I m fpeechleff"

Allaying fears over the transparency of the whole process,he said,"The bidding shall be as per rules laid out by the government,there will be no foul play,mere lifp ki kasam!(i swear by my lisp)".

If all goes as per plan,Delhi will be the first city to turn a rather harrowing situation to its advantage.

Many cities all over the world have reportedly expressed interest in following in Delhi's footsteps.