Tuesday, April 08, 2008

55-Fiction - Part 3

Victorious

He swung about to and fro, nimbly dodging his opponents’ attempts to cut him. However, with the speed and precision of a battle trained veteran, he cut them down to size with his sharp weapon. Soon, he was the lone kite fluttering about in the sky, as his master waved to the cheers down below.


Troublesome

He struggled hard to pull the pair, but they obstinately clung on and refused to buckle under his forceful attempt. However, after some desperate antics, they relented and went up his legs. He buttoned the pair of jeans with a heave of relief. Damn! He was growing fatter, and the 2-month old jeans didn’t fit!


Danger

The goldfish swam about wildly in its bowl, as it saw the cat advance stealthily towards it, licking its lips. As the cat began to place its hand in the bowl, something pierced its butt, and it jumped away with a huge yell. Jerry mouse was smiling at the fish, a fork in his hand.


Wherever you go…

I found Cheeka, the hutch dog, sitting on the pavement, its cute innocent face looking weirdly furious. “Hey! What’s ticking u off?” I asked. Cheeka grumbled “The pretty girl over there uses Hutch, and I followed her wherever she went. But her jealous boyfriend made her use Vodafone, and now he is with her everytime!”


Undressed

The place was damn hot, and he needed to remove his attire. He found a cool cave hidden inside the small hill, and crawled inside. Slowly, he removed every inch of the stinky and dirty dress. After he had completely stripped, he slithered out of the cave, leaving behind the rough brown and black snakeskin.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

The April Fools Prank

Henrik Lennart drove his brand new SAAB car across the winding road, savoring the salty breeze drifting towards the Scandinavian coastland. He expertly steered the wheel through the steep roads cut into the cliff, which lead to the small picturesque town of Hakkitm, a popular haven for the tourists from down in the city during the weekends. His wife Olega sat on the passenger seat next to him, her brown hair fluttering through the window with the crisp maritime wind, her face betraying excitement as her eyes took in the beautiful scenery. Occasionally, she shifted her attention to her husband and their doe eyed daughter Anna, who was sitting in the backseat, peering out of the window, her tender hands clutching the rim of the back seat window, mouth open in awe as she was bedazzled by the green blue ocean, the sunlight forming glittering sparks on the surface.

Henrik felt at home finally. His mind was a whirring machine of childhood memories; it had been years since he had left his hometown to try his luck in the richer cities of the mountainous country. The familiar smell of the sea and the alpine trees that dotted the face of the mountainside made his heart thud rapidly, as he continued to focus on negotiating the roads ahead. He smiled at the thought of seeing his mother and sister after a gap of 17 years. His pretty wife saw him smiling to himself; she placed a reassuring hand on his right shoulder, and gave him a beautiful smile.

“Are you nervous honey?” she enquired.

“Nah darling! The feeling of seeing my folks after a really long time is something that I can’t define. I am both nervous and excited at the same time.” He quipped. He peered in the rearview mirror, and said “Anna…. Are you excited to meet grandma and Martha aunty?”

“Yup daddy!” Anna squealed in innocent delight. “This place looks weely pretty mommy. I love the air moving inside the car” she said in her boisterous tone.

Henrik chuckled in response. Olega leaned forward, and he turned to her; they kissed for a few seconds, before he focused his attention on the driving. Within 10 minutes, they had arrived at the town.

Henrik stepped on the brake, as he drove the car beside the pavement, parking it in front of the grocer’s. He stood in his seat silently, watching the hustle and bustle on the streets, reliving the moments he had spent in the same area. The place looked completely different now; however, some of the shops remained the same, as he had remembered. The brown on yellow painted baker’s sign still hung above the door, though it was now old and weathered, and some of the paint was peeling away. The grocer’s shop also looked the same. He motioned to his wife to stay in the car, and got out of the SAAB. After brushing up his tweed jacket and straightening the cuffs, he strolled into the grocer’s shop, hoping to see Mr.Bruno, the grocer who used to give Henrik some chocolates, when he used to do odd jobs for the former. He spotted the grocer at his counter, discussing something with a customer. Mr.Bruon still looked the same, though his hair had grayed and wrinkles were forming on his face. Disguising his smile, Henrik walked over to the spot, and stood in front of the old man.

Mr.Bruno gave a casual glance at the new customer. “How can I help you sir?” he asked.

Mr.Bruno doesn’t recognize me… thought Henrik. Those 17 years had changed him a lot; from being a lanky freckled faced, long haired lad, he had become a smart, well built and suave man. Today’s April first; better give my folks a surprise, rather than let the cat out of the bag…It will be fun if Ma and Martha don’t recognize me as well.

“Good day. I would like to know where the nearest lodge is; I have come with my wife and child on vacation here, and we are expected to stay for another two weeks. The rent should be adequate and affordable. Also, I have heard that the Lennart Motel is doing a reasonable business here; however, there are some rumors about the disappearance of some tourists in this place. Is that true?”

“Yeah! But we don’t think the town’s got anything to do with these disappearances. I know everyone here, and no one will dare to risk losing their acceptance in this place by engaging in illegal activities. You know how careless most of the tourists are. Please be careful around here sir. And yeah, the Lennart Motel is still active; they offer a picturesque view of the sea. However, I suggest you try the Brossuc Lodge; they have a lot of facilities that would benefit any tourist, and their restaurant serves excellent sea food.” The grocer went on explaining about the spots to see in Hakkitm, as Henrik listened in rapt attention.

Ten minutes later, he returned to his car and got inside. “Dear… I will book a room for us at the Brossuc lodge; it’s suitable for Anna I guess. The grocer used to be kind to me in my childhood days, but now he doesn’t recognize me at all. We will go to the lodge, but tonight I am going to sleep in my motel. I bet Ma and Martha wont know it’s me, and I will give them a wonderful surprise on this April fool’s day.” He grinned widely.

Olega merely rolled her eyes; her husband never ceased to have wacky ideas up his sleeve. “Ok honey! As you say. I want to see your family as soon as possible, but I guess I don’t wanna disappoint you. Just spend some time with Anna, and go and see your folks in the evening. Please.”

“Sure darling!” He gave Olega a peck, and then turned to see his daughter looking at them, cuddling her teddy bear tightly. “Hey baby… today we will have a lot of fun. Tomorrow you can see grandma and aunty. Fine with you?”

Anna pouted at her father. “Whatever, daddy! I just want to play with you and mom today. I am bored of sitting in the car.!” Henrik smiled and playfully tickled her, causing her to break into childish laughter.

They booked a room at the lodge, and spent the rest of the evening boating in the lake, and going on a shopping spree in the town market. Soon, it was nearly seven when they returned to their hotel, and it was around 8 pm by the time they had their dinner and retired to their room.

Henrik left Olega and Anna in the room, and walked towards the Lennart Motel, carrying a big duffel bag with him. He walked through the nearly empty streets of the town, pulling up his fur jacket to his cheek, braving the biting cold of the night, lost in thoughts.

His father ran the Lennart Motel in his childhood days; he earned a reasonable profit, but never spent it on his family. Whatever his father had saved had been spent in whorehouses, and his father used to beat up his mother whenever she tried to tell him to give some money. Henrik remembered those sounds in the nights, where his father beat up his mother; he had hugged his younger sister of five years, holding her ears so that she would not hear the abuses and the crashing sounds outside the door of their small bedrooms. Henrik had to do odd jobs to support his family, while his mother quietly helped his father in the motel business, taking care of the rooms and cooking the food for the paying guests. He had decided that he would never be like his father, and had a desire to live a better life and in turn help out his mother and sister. However, he knew that his father would never allow him to leave town, so he bided his time, waiting for something to happen.

The opportunity came when he was about 15 years of age. His father had been caught in an uncompromising act with a girl, who happened to be the mistress of a local gangster. The gang had taken his father to their place and shot him blank point in the head. However, his family had no regrets about the death, and his mother assumed charge of the motel. Henrik, however, was not content with running the motel; his ambitions extended beyond the limits of the town. So one night, he bade goodbye to his young sister, and had left a note to his mother conveying his intentions. He had then slunk out of his house, walked a few paces away, and hid in the back of the grocer’s truck, which he knew would go to the nearby city for fresh supplies that morning.

He had reached the city, and hitched a ride to one of the posh cities downtown, where the real wealth lay in wait for him. There, he roamed about the city, doing several small odd jobs to sustain himself, sleeping in public places and utilizing his keen sense of observations to keep in tune with the current affairs in the town. However, his life changed after a year or so, when he had found an abandoned wallet in a park, and had returned it to the owner from the address enclosed inside it. The owner of the wallet happened to be a retail store baron, who had offered him a job as a token for his honesty. There was no looking back since then; he had become loyal to the baron, chauffeuring his car, doing errands for him and many other odd jobs. Within ten years, he had become a trusted member of the baron’s family, and had been granted a rich life. His master sponsored his college education as well, and there he had met Olega. They had fallen in love at first sight, and after two years of dating had finally tied the knot, and later on.

Once he had settled in life, his thoughts had returned to his mother and sister. He wondered how they had been doing all these years. He voiced his desire to his mentor, to return to Hakkitm and meet his family, and his request had been granted. He had taken enough money to last his mother and sister another 5-10 years, and had decided to take his wife and daughter along.

Henrik shook himself out of his reverie, as he came to the Lennart Motel. The old sign had been replaced with a neon one, and the walls were damp in parts. The whole building looked ancient yet sturdy, and the moonlight cast a bright glow on the upper floors of the motel. His heart thumping wildly, he strode along the hard cement pathway to the entrance, flanked by small lawns on either side. He entered the doorway, and narrowed his eyes, trying to adjust to the dim lighting inside the reception. He went to the desk, and pressed the buzzer atop it. Within seconds, he felt a rush of blood, as he saw his mother approach the desk from a side door. She looked better than ever, though her face looked tired and her hair had turned a shade of gray; a red scarf was tied around her head. She looked at him suspiciously, as he attempted to hide his delirious joy and put on a straight face.

“Yes?” she said in her familiar hollow voice.

“Hello! I am looking for a night’s stay here. Do you have a single bedroom available?”

“Yeah we do! The season has barely started, and there are plenty available. In fact, there’s no one else here for tonight.”

She noticed the young man staring at her intently, and felt a surge of unease. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t place it. Finally, the man spoke “How much for the room?”

“That will be 200 Kroner, sir” she replied.

Henrik opened his duffel bag, deliberately exposing its contents to his mother. He fished out five notes from a fat wad of money, nestled among some gifts wrapped in brown paper, and handed it over to his mother.

His mother accepted the money, her eyes momentarily on the bag. She plucked a key from the wall, and called out “Martha! Show our guest to his room.”

Henrik turned towards the sound of footsteps descending down the stairs, and he saw his sister after 17 years. Like him, she too had changed a lot. The puppy fat in her cheeks had gone; in their place were strong cheekbones, and she had an aquiline nose - the traditional Scandinavian woman features. However, he recognized the birthmark on her neck; the memory was so vivid and clear, and his joy knew no bounds as he finally saw how Martha looked like now. She saw him looking at her intently, and averted eye contact with him. She beckoned to him to follow her, and he gave a slight curtsy bow to his mother, before walking up the stairs after Martha. His mind took in every footstep of his sister’s, the outline of her features, her posture and the manner with which she carried herself. Things have really changed a lot, he remarked to himself.

On the first floor, Martha opened one of the room doors for him, and switched on the lights, before moving aside to make way for Henrik to enter. “Please make yourself comfortable Sir. Have a good night!” She said in a pleasant voice.”

“You too Ma… err Madam” he was about to say Martha, before he caught himself. However, his sister appeared not to notice this, as she closed the door behind her. He came to the door, and placed his right ear against it, listening to Martha’s footfalls as she walked hurriedly down the wooden stairs, and a few seconds later, he heard his mother and sister engaged in an animated conversation. He knew they were talking about it, and wondered if they would know it was their long lost family member.

Smiling to himself, he returned to his bed, pulled out a bottle of scotch, and took a sip of it, licking his lips in relish. Ma and Martha are going to be in for a surprise tomorrow… What a good prank to play today! I have made sure Ma sees the money; she must be itching to have some of it, and she will have it. And I hope Martha will like the gifts I have bought for her. I am still thinking of her as a little girl; now she looks so mature. What a day tomorrow is going to be! He took another sip of the scotch, and placed it on the lamp table beside the bed.

He laid in bed, deep in thoughts. Finally, sleep took over him, and he dreamt about his childhood memories. He was so deep in slumber, that he did not hear the key being turned in the door. He did not hear the door creak open. Two pairs of feet silently tiptoed to the bed, but he was oblivious to their presence, as they stood on either side of him. He did not feel or hear anything, until he felt something thrust in his face violently, that he opened his eyes wide in shock, gasping for breath. Simultaneously, he felt his heart being torn apart, as something very sharp was continually being stabbed into it, the warm red blood splashing all over his dress and on the mattress. He struggled to break free; to scream his throat hoarse, but his life was rapidly ebbing out of him. After a minute of violent struggle, blackness took over, and his body went limp.

Martha continued to hold the pillow over the man’s head, her face drenched with sweat. She paused to catch her breath, and looked at her mother in relief. Her mother looked at the dead body, the kitchen knife still dripping the thick red liquid. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the side of her gloved hand, taking care to ensure that none of the blood came in contact with her skin. She looked at the duffel bag, which was lying on a chair, the money clearly visible, and a smile crossed her face. She nodded to her daughter, and Martha titled her head in satisfaction.

As though by an unspoken agreement, they gathered up the man’s belongings and threw them over his body, before wrapping the blood stained bedspread over it. Martha went out and came back later with a laundry trolley. They huffed and groaned, struggling to transfer the corpse to the trolley. The mother looked about the room, ensuring that nothing was amiss, and they moved out of the room, pushing the trolley forward, the duffel bag safely slung over Martha’s shoulder. The duo went to the back door, and stepped out into a patch of land, which overlooked the ocean at a considerable height. With their combined efforts, they tilted the trolley over the edge of the cliff, and the body plunged down the cliff into the deep end of the clear blue ocean. As soon as they watched the body sink into the water, Martha opened the bag, and gave its contents a cursory examination. “Ma! The man’s got enough money to keep us surviving for atleast 5 years!” She said in a gleeful voice. They walked back to the building, Henrik’s mother’s face impassive and without remorse, and shut the back door.

************************************************************************
A week later, Mr.Orson, the retail baron for whom Henrik was working, was leafing through the city tabloid at breakfast, when suddenly he spotted Henrik’s name in a section of the tabloid. His eyes widened as he read the heading “April Fool’s prank proves costly for son!” He began reading the proceeding paragraph –

In a bizarre case of homicide, a mother and daughter murdered their son/brother, whom they had not seen for several years and hence did not recognize him. Apparently, he did not reveal his identity when he came to their motel, The Lennart Motel in the town of Hakkitm, on the night of April 1st, with the intention of surprising them the next day. He made the mistake of showing his mother a large amount of money in his bag, which unfortunately led to his untimely murder for the motive of getting that money. The duo had dumped the body into the ocean from their backyard. They realized the identity of Henrik Lennart, only after his wife Olega came to the motel the next morning, and unknowingly introduced herself as Henrik’s wife and had then enquired what Henrik had told them last night. The events that followed afterwards are not clear, but the mother and daughter were later found dead in their bedroom, having consumed excessive dosages of cyanides. Investigations are still being carried on, and the wife and daughter of the deceased have been detained at the Mayor’s residence. People should now think twice before playing with others.....

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

55-Fiction Part 2

The killing

She stared in apprehension, as the man moved forward; wielding the big knife which he had just sharpened. He raised the knife, and brought it down with a huge thrust. Chop! Chop! She shut her eyes and stifled a scream. He finished chopping, and handed over the pork to her, and she walked away hurriedly.

The ambush

He nodded to his two accomplices, as they crouched in position, holding their guns. They heard the approaching footsteps from their hiding place. As the sounds came closer, the three ambushed their target, spraying their water guns. However, bucketfuls of water were splashed on them by the girls, who shouted “Holi Hai!” with mischievous delight.

The shell

He felt he was rather ugly, and hence remained wrapped up in his own shell, not giving a damn about the world outside him. He remained in hiding for two days, not eating anything. When he woke up from his slumber, he broke through his cocoon, and realized he had transformed into a beautiful butterfly.

The stalker

Wherever she walked, the sound followed her. She tried to escape from the source of the sound, and looked over her shoulder at every turn, but saw no one stalking her. She paused to catch her breath, and found that an old tin can with a crooked wire had snagged her dupatta, causing the sound!

Eye exercise

She was wearing a gorgeous yellow dupatta, and her straight hair was neatly plaited. Her luscious lips and expressive eyes nearly took away his breath. He walked across the pavement, staring at her, his eyes taking in every detail of her svelte body. However, his eyes missed the lamp post, which was in his path.

Butterfingers

The cricket ball sailed towards butterfingers at the boundary line, and to his surprise his slippery hands safely pouched the red sphere. He was elated, and began dancing in front of the audience. However, his team mate ran to him and shook him angrily. “Idiot, it’s a no-ball, and they have already run five runs!”

55-Fiction Part 1

What is 55-Fiction? It is nothing but a story consisting of exactly 55 words. Such stories add a new dimension to the art of story telling. Here are some of my attempts on these.

Love story

He had fallen in love with her at first sight, and made attempts to woo her. She was smitten by his constant attention, but her house members were opposed to his presence. But one night, he managed to sneak in and do it with her. Now, she has delivered a litter of six mixed-breed puppies.

The best choice

He stood in the center of the shopping mall, reveling in the wonderful ambience. The place was full of youngsters, who had come to enjoy the evening with friends, and children frolicking about with their parents. This is the perfect choice to send a message he thought, as he detonated the bomb on his body.

The truth

“How dare you take my Robert from me?” the voice screamed as she held the phone at arm’s length, shocked to hear from her boyfriend’s former girlfriend. Tim removed his ear from the door keyhole, and returned to his room with a smile. His sister and Robert would not give him sleepless nights any more.

The perfect script

He had written the perfect script for his new novel, after months of endless research and sleepless nights. But now it was ruined. Everything was undone in a single minute. He glanced at his manuscript sorrowfully, the pages stained with rich red blood. He hadn’t expected killing his wife to be a messy task

The chicken question

A small town man came to the city, and had lunch in one of the non-vegetarian hotels. He scoured the menu, and ordered a plate of chicken 65. When the chicken arrived, he saw only 5 pieces. “Where are the remaining 60 pieces?” he asked. The waiter replied “Sorry I can’t say! Word limit reached!”

Prasanna's day out at Bangalore!

Last week I had made plans to pay a visit to Infosys Bangalore on Friday, and catch up with some fellow bloggers. However, fate had other plans in store, and a day after I booked the tickets, I got a mail stating that I was to write a STAR infoscion final test on Friday, and attendance was compulsory. I had asked them if it was possible to postpone the test, but received no reply from the GEC team in charge. With no choice, I had to attend the test. But nothing can stop me from having fun, so instead I planned the trip for the weekend and Monday. :-) Gleefully I booked the tickets for the to and fro journey.

On Friday, I wrote the test quite well (it was an easy one; how easy it was is left to you ;-) ). This meant I embarked on my Bangalore journey in a good mood. :D I departed from Chennai by an A/C sleeper bus, which proved to be a bit uncomfortable for me, considering how tall I am. :D However, every trip always has its share of bloopers and bad luck. The first thing I realized on reaching Madiwala early Saturday morning was that my mobile would not send any message or give any call; effectively, I finally discovered that my mobile plan did not support roaming. So I used a STD phone in the travel shop which was still open at 5.30 in the morning, and managed to inform my friend about my arrival. My pal Vivin arrived within 15 minutes of the call, and we went back to his house.

Being the lazy bummers we are generally, we had a long morning of sleeping and relaxing. Finally, it was time to decide where to go for the weekend. For Saturday evening, we decided to hang out in one of the malls, and help ourselves to some eye exercise (obviously!). After some deliberation, I zeroed in on Garuda mall, hoping that it would not be as modern as Forum, and would somewhat retain the feeling of the city before IT invaded its premises (like Spencer Plaza in Chennai, which is a unique combination of old shops and the latest swank malls). On reaching Garuda mall, I realized that the scenario here was no different from Forum – expensive shops, couples with a lot of money to spend, or lot of guys like me who had come for sighting. However, instead of becoming bright, my eyes were tortured by the garish costumes many of the wannabe models strutted about in; they looked like they were doing an advertisement for FTV. Sigh! And the tale was not over; one of the girls had ridiculously thin legs, and had the audacity to reveal them by wearing a skirt till above the knees, and to exacerbate the grotesque sight, she wore high heels. Eyes rolling, I remarked to Vivin “ Macha… I thought Siberian cranes came to India
during the winter; this one must be an unique species of crane.” We left Garuda, having wasted enough time milling about the floors, and shelling 40 bucks apiece for the ‘Scary House’ where the only thing that scared me was when Vivin held my hand suddenly when groping in the dark. :D

In the night, I went to the Legends of Rock pub. Hold you horses! I ain’t gonna drink any Fosters or Kingfishers or Vodka or whatever; it’s just that I am a big Arsenal fanatic, and they were telecasting the match there. So we both were at the pub for 2 hours, buying enough stuff to cement our place there :D Thankfully, 300 bucks weren’t wasted, as Arsenal rallied from a man and 2 goals down to win the match :D Oh! Did I forget to mention that the mushroom manchurian there is simply delicious? *yummy*

On a sleepy Sunday, I and Vivin decided to go someplace out of Bangalore, to escape from the maddeningly slow traffic and the bumpy streets. We pored over several sites on Bangalore
tourism, and narrowed down to two choices – Bannerghatta national park or Ramohalli and the Big Banyan Tree(BBT) there. Luckily, we came across a blog on Ramohalli, which pointed out that the BBT had lost most of its old glory and was weathering down. So Bannerghatta national park was the only option.

We started to Bannerghatta from Dairy circle, waiting for the route 365 volvo bus which would take us directly to the place. However, I saw a sugarcane juice stall at the bus, and was tempted to taste the sweet juice. As we were waiting for the drink, our bus came to the stop. We couldn’t board the bus, because we had given our order; with a sigh, we watched the majestic red Volvo bus roll on towards Bannerghatta road, lapping up the sweet juice. :D We waited for some time, hoping the next Volvo would arrive soon; however 25- 30 minutes had elapsed, and there was no sign of any Volvo. We couldn’t wait any longer, and boarded one of the normal private buses. However, half way through, when the bus stopped for sometime, waiting for more passengers to come inside, we happened to see the Volvo bus pass by. Had we waited for 5 more minutes, we would have been enjoying the A/C, and reached the park directly. After 40 minutes, the bus dropped us about a kilometer away from the park. We strolled across the sandy road, stopping by an arch, where we took photographs with the beautiful green scenery in the background.

Once at the park, we booked tickets for the tiger and lion safari, and waited in the queue for 15 minutes. The queue for the grand safari, which included deer and bear as well, was twice as long, and we were lucky not to opt for it. The safari tempo arrived finally, and we were lucky to get the two-seater next to the driver, which means we had a great view of the trail ahead. All the windows were reinforced with metal grids, with a small opening at the center. The van took us down a narrow road with a lot of slopes, and the children inside squealed, oohed and aahed at the splendid scenery in the backdrop. Then we came to a gate marked ‘Lion Safari’, and a narrow beaten trail led us to an enclosure, where to my disappointment, we saw lions behind the meshed wire barriers. They were no free than the lions that I saw in Mysore zoo, and I wondered why it was a safari at all. Vivin assured me that the safari wasn’t over yet, and how right he was.

After some photo shots of the lions, the driver took us to another gate marked ‘Tiger Safari’, and from there onwards it was a memorable event to remember. Being in the front seat, we had an excellent view of a tiger, as it strayed on our path and ambled slowly up the curved path. On negotiating the curved trail, we were met with an awesome sight – four tigers were gathered right in front of the van. These beautiful striped beasts were kind of frightening at close range, and I was thankful of the protective meshes in the van. Two of the tigers were fighting, and we managed to take some snaps and a video of the whole incident. After some five minutes of watching the beasts growling and doing God knows what, we moved across the path, and the tigers moved aside to make way.


We continued across the trail, and came across more tigers. Finally, we came up to a royal white Bengal tiger, which was casually lolling about, looking bored. Vivin took a couple of photographs at close range, before the white beast decided to get lost and slunk away.

We drove for some more minutes, reveling in the beauty of the surrounding hills and trees. I suggested that we visit the butterfly park as well, and we requested the driver to drop us there. When we came to butterfly park, the rain clouds had burst finally, and it started raining heavily, as we hurriedly donned our rain cheaters and huddled under Vivin’s umbrella. The fleeting rain brought about a wonderful cool air, and I enjoyed being in it for some time. At that time, we found that it had been raining ice cubes in the city. :-)

We came to the butterfly park, where a giant butterfly greeted us, as we entered through the door in its middle part :D The view inside was beautiful; the place was full of plants and flowers, and a small pond was visible in the center. If one looks up, he/she can see a huge dome, dotted with several triangular bags, which I assumed was where the butterflies took shelter. There were a lot of flowers and some unique plants, but only very few butterflies were among them. Vivin and I had a whale of a time, using my camera as much as possible. I tried to take snaps that looked like those posted by RB, Veetrag, Prasoon and other great photographers (Don’t ask me about EXIF details… I plead ignorance :D)

Being in the middle of the park, surrounded by exotic flowers and plants (which would make a photographer forget about everything else), and hearing the constant pattering of the rain against the giant dome of the butterfly park, I could not have asked for a better evening. :-) There was even a butterfly museum, where they had big screens with all information about butterflies, as well as a projector screen showing a video of the life cycle of these fairy insects. My crazy side took over me, and we took some snaps with big butterfly pictures in the background, as though we were acting in Starship Troopers. :D We took some close up shots of two butterflies, trying all possible combinations to get the perfect one. By then the rain had stopped, and we decided to leave. Again, my crazy side took over, and we took a snap of each other, posing at a distance from the entrance, so that the wings and antennae appeared to sprout from our body. :D And at that time, I thought of a name for myself – The Butterfly King :P









The rain had seemed to make the scenery more beautiful, after the clouds had cleared that is. We took some more snaps in the nearby lawns, with the sunset in the background. And finally, we returned to the hustle and bustle of the city, tired but happy. It was a fitting end to the weekend for me. And imagine, I might have not got to see all this if I had not drunk the sugarcane juice, and taken the Volvo bus! :D



Come Monday, and I was ready to go to Infy Bangalore, to meet my old pals and of course interact with the bloggers whom I were dying to meet. I got my first taste of the famous Bangalore traffic on Hosur Road, which was moving at a snail’s pace. A note about the bus – I like the spacious seats! They are just perfect for my long legs :D I reached office after 45 minutes, and observed the crowd there, silently comparing them with the employees at Shols. Bangalore is more business like than Shols, and everyone there tends to walk hurriedly to their place. :-) The only folks engaged in conversations were the young employees like me.

The campus was enormous, and there were more people than I had seen in Mysore. I got lost in the urban maze, looking about for building 40 where Amith was sitting. I managed to find the building after half an hour, and met my college senior Amith. We had some small talk and he gave me a system; ten minutes later, I met the most wanted person in Infy Bangalore – the lanky Casanova Adi! :D I liked him at first sight, and any stupid thoughts of fighting with him over Ice went into the dustbin! :P The three of us had some fun pulling Ice’s legs through communicator. I found out a ridiculous fact – Adi had to work in project, even though it was his last week here. Pruntz, are you reading this? :D




I met my classmates over lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon with them. I indulged in some chit chat over communicator, waiting for the clock to strike four. When it did, Amith and I went to terminal, and Adi accompanied us. We reached there, and waited for the other folks to arrive. Another person whom I looked forward, Wesley, arrived on the scene with Natarajan C and Kumar Veetrag. Later, Snehith and Ankita arrived as well; the latter hadn’t met any other blogger, and Adi was confused as to who she was. I recognized all the well known bloggers except NatC! He was not what I expected to me, and as I remarked later yesterday ‘ He didn’t look like a tamilian!’ :P We waited for others to turn up, but sadly no one came.

We engaged in small talk, but Wesley did most of the talking though, cracking jokes and occasionally checking the tweets on his mobile. I was not so conversant, and listened to the other folks. NatC had to go to a meeting, and KV had left earlier as he was engaged. Wesley had expected Adi to give the treat, but I told he had to treat us for winning the MVP award; NatC, Amith and Adi were unanimous in my choice; we coerced Wes into parting with 160 bucks at Chocolate :-) NatC had to leave soon to attend a meeting, so the rest of us sat down and relished our cake and pastry. Wesley was focused on finishing off his chocolate pastry, content to leave nothing in the cup, and Amith found it amusing :P We engaged in some more casual conversation, before the Lj-cut warrior reminded me that I had to see a manager about some project, in a tone that would befit a project manager himself :D The birthday girl Soumya dropped by for a minute to say ’hi’ and promised a treat for the Bangalore bloggers the next time she comes (Sigh! Bang and MCity bloggers get too many treats! :@ :@ :@ ) Before we parted ways, I finally remembered I had tagged my camera along, and we took some snaps. (Sorry NatC and KV, I should have taken a snap first before you guys left :-( )

Manas didn't come because he didn't know the venue of the meet :-(. And Bindu later told me that work and fever prevented her from coming (Atleast Soumya came for a minute! :@)



I met the project manager there, and was told I may work on a project from Chennai; being in Bangalore would mostly not materialize. I was pleased with how the day had gone, and left Infy in a good mood. That was the end of my Bangalore journey. I am thankful to my best buddy Vivin and all the bloggers who attended the meet, for making this occasion a memorable one. :-)

P.S. My dead mobile finally became alive once I reached the TN border. :D