Lost

I know I have lost something. As soon as I realized I missed my home, I realized I lost something. But the thing is I don’t know what I lost. As days passed by, I slowly started to think what I lost. In pursuit of my lost, I guess I lost myself.

A Very Special Day

I woke up at around 10AM and realized that today is going to be a big day. Yes, I was about give my Oracle “Programming with PL/SQL Certification” – upon completion will make me an Oracle Certified Associate. Bench days – nothing special in office except for my preparations towards the big day. $125 is nearly equal to 6500 bucks. You can’t loose that by just failing in an exam. So, this time my preparation was good enough. Comparing to my first Oracle exam – Introduction to Oracle 9i – where I just studied the DUMPS (A set of questions which we expect in the exam), I actually ‘studied’ the materials. I learned new things and I practiced them at home.

So, I went to the office and prepared again. My exam was scheduled at 3:45 PM, 15^th of September, 2011. Until 3PM that day, I did not complete my preparations. By 3PM, I finished the materials and also, the DUMPS. It’s a rainy season here in Pune from the month June. It should have been finished by the end of August. It was a sunny day, so I did not take any of my jerkins or rain coats. I reached office at around 12PM and studied until 3PM. I started towards the exam center at 3:05 PM. It was drizzling at that time. I thought, ok, it’s not going to be a big rain. But, I was wrong.

Soon after I reached Wipro Phase2, it started to rain a little heavier than expected. Ok, this can be manageable. I can still make in time. I continued riding my Bajaj Caliber (Not exactly mine, a friend of mine) along with my fellow colleague and a good friend – Vinodh Alagan. My thoughts were still on the questions that I just viewed. The rain got a little heavy when I reached WAKAD. I still thought I can make it on time and finish my OCA. But, when I reached the whistling palms, I realized that I am not going to make it. I experienced one of the heaviest rains that I ever saw before from Whistling Palms until my room. I felt like I was inside a heavy water falls. All me (Except my head because helmet is a mandatory in Infy) was drenched in the rain – none was left dry. I decided to go to my room and change before I reach the exam center. It was 3:30 PM when I reached my room.

I got a little time to change and head back towards the exam center. I changed everything and I decided to leave my helmet behind because helmet is not mandatory while driving in Pune. Also, the rain had showed some mercy and stopped a while. I had my Jerkin and a rain pant – so I have no chance of getting drenched. We started again from my room and as soon as I took the first left towards the exam center from my room – the worst was waiting for me. I felt myself again in a water falls. With no helmet, I literally could not see anything before me. With all my rain gears, I still felt I’m getting drenched.

We tried calling the exam center to inform them about our late arrival, but he never picked the phone. We were running late and the rain got worse and worse. I couldn’t go beyond 40 km/h and if I had ever gone beyond that, I’d have ended up in a hospital for sure. It was 3:50 when I was just 2 KMs away from the center – when I got stuck up in a massive traffic. When I was waiting for the traffic to clear, I thought about it for a while – everything before we started for exam was normal and as soon as we started for the exam, everything went wrong. May be, it’s God’s will that we do not make the center on time!

It took 15 minutes to clear the traffic and I was about to enter in to the street where the exam center is waiting for me and welcomed by a surprise. The road was normal the day before – when we went to pay the money and confirm the schedule. Today, it was not. We were not allowed inside the street – a big rope was tied from the both ends and before us were about 10 to 15 vehicles waiting. I saw the road to be under construction and it looked like they’ll not allow us inside. The person aside came to the waiting vehicles and asked them to take diversion, but we never did. Another 5 minutes of wait and then they opened the rope and let us inside. It looked liked an organized way to avoid traffic jam inside the small road.

When we finally reached the exam center at 4:20PM, the person told us that the power is not available and we’ll have to wait for about 15 minutes. He also told us that if it does not come, then he’ll allow us the write the exam in the back-up mode. We waited outside the center for 15 minutes and luckily, the power did come. We started our exam at around 5PM and finished at around 6PM. Happy that everyone qualified and we became the Oracle Certified Associate.

The story is not yet over. I have to mention here that the time we reached the exam center – 4:20 PM until the time we left from there – 6:30PM, there was no rain. We started towards our room and as soon as I hit the main road, it started to rain again. It became worse when we were just 10 minutes away from our room. We did not stop and got all wet again. The story is not yet over – I have to admit that I never learned any lesson from the above story. There was no power in our flat only and we had to bring an electrician to fix this. I got drenched again while doing so and changed again, got drenched again while bringing the dinner. It was a rainy day after 3PM that day, but then it was one of the memorable days. We are an Oracle Certified Associate!

Migration of the Tamilan: Curse of the Pune

There were days where I dreamt of going outside my hometown. Until my first job (21 years), I have not visited any cities other than my own hometown. I don’t know the reason – but I just dreamt of living in a different city other than my hometown. Chennai was the first one outside my hometown. After Chennai, my dreams started going bigger. That’s exactly how I ended in Pune. Now, these (current) are the days where I dream of going back to my hometown. It atleast took me 2 years to realize why people say “Home sweet home”. It’s been more than 2 years since I started to struggle to find a way for home.

My training in Infosys started at Mysore. A place where almost every infoscions wants to be forever – I can say proudly. Every one of them will have the memories of Mysore. With those, when we heard about our Pune postings, I was somewhat happy. My dreams of exploring India (ok, living in a different city) started to take a picture. It was 1^st of August 2007 when I reached Pune. I remember when I reached Chennai during 2004, it was raining. It happened in Pune as well. When I reached Pune, it was raining all along until we took a taxi and reached our hotel rooms. I should say I was in immediate love with Pune.

Bench days were awesome, but then some of you might remember my passport struggling. Because of the offer letter from Infosys, I missed the police verification and then I had to struggle more than 3 years to get my passport. But, that was my only worry in Pune. My first and only project in Infosys was Level3 Communications. Wonderful project I must say. I had the wonderful team which somewhat kept me going when sometime I felt like I’m in an alien world. I had been under some of the great leaders in Infosys and also, worst. When the best left and the worst came, I started looking for transfer. Transfer, in this world of Infosys, is impossible – they said. That’s nonsense!

Being a stupid, I always said nothing is impossible. So I tried and tried and tried – only to get tired. Now, after being in Pune for more than 4 years, first time, I felt – the one who said “Transfer is impossible” made sense. It is indeed, impossible to get a transfer to Chennai. When my manager said that an official transfer to Chennai is impossible, I thought of going through the personal transfer. So, I contacted a HR person and per him, although there are 5 options to submit a personal transfer, I can use only one out of 3. The reasons on the personal transfer were: “Health – Self”, “Health – Parents”, “Marriage”, “Other Reason” and “Personal Reason”. The last two options were ruled out by the HR and he said that I should choose any one of the first 3.

I’m healthy; I don’t have any health issues other than some frequent headaches. That rules out the first option. I’m still single, so that rules out the 3^rd option. I’m left with the last choice – Health – Parents. My parents are above 60 years of age and are diabetic patients. I thought submitting a doctor certificate would help me. So, I asked them to contact our family doctor and ask him to give me a certificate. I got it and when I uploaded that in the personal transfer request, I got it rejected saying I need to submit more supporting documents. They would not be able to precede that with just a certificate from doctor. Ok, that made sense. I then asked my parents to send me their prescriptions and other medical bills and other records which a normal diabetic patient would have.

I submitted those – as soon as I received them from my parents. Now, the next problem came. The HR who was responsible for my personal transfer went on leave. I do not know the process of how a personal transfer request work, but it took me 1 ½ weeks to change another HR’s name on that request. The new HR said that he’d talk to the Infosys doctors and would let me know. When he finished checking, he said the same thing – upload more medical ‘records’. Now, I seriously doubted if my understanding of English got worse! I forgot what’s a medical ‘report’ or ‘record’.

Without doubt, I figured that they are not going to give me a transfer. Whatever the document that I’m going to upload, they are going to still need more and more documents. I even uploaded my parent’s Voter ID card – just to let them know that they are above 60 years of age. I’m sure that whatever the document that I uploaded had enough ‘record’ to prove that they are diabetic patients. A person who’s in a HR position or a person who’s a Doctor should have enough education to understand this simple fact – they are old and diabetics. Yet, the policies! Or, should I say Politics?

With utter frustration, I’m writing this. This is in fact, not at all a frustration when compared to the first a letter I typed (when I was still in the project) to upload in the transfer portal! Here’s what it is:


I need a transfer. Why? I need a transfer because, I don’t like Pune. I need a transfer because, I don’t want to stay away from my family, who’s desperately in need of a support. I need a transfer because, I don’t speak Hindi. I need a transfer because, I’m overloaded. I need a transfer because, there’s no one here who can understand me. There are still some poor souls back home, they’ll understand me.

Why the hell are you writing this? I’m writing this because, I need to upload a document in my personal transfer request. I’m writing this because, I don’t have any ‘valid’ reason that ‘I’ think the organization will accept for a transfer. I’m writing this because, I’m frustrated. I’m writing this because, I’m not so good at oral communication and ‘I’ believe I’m good with the written communication.

Where do you need a transfer? One and the only place – Chennai.

Well, it’s been 4 years since I have come to Pune. It’s been 4 years since I joined Infosys. It’s been 4 years since I joined the project “Level3”. It’s been 4 years since I’m happy.

Frustrating work. Alright. We have a project party guys. Yea! At last! There you go. Now, you go to the project party where you are the only fellow who does not know Hindi. People who accompany you always speak in Hindi. Isn’t that so nice to hear? Wow, what a language this Hindi is! It’s all you talk about!

How did you manage to stay in Pune this long? If you can stay in Pune for 4 years, why not 4 more years? Oh. That’s the question I don’t know the answer yet. I don’t know how I managed these 4 years.

Is your career important or your personal transfer important? Your growth will be affected if you get a transfer. Oh, is it? I’m not a tall guy, yet, I don’t want any more growth. I’ve grown enough and I know what is important.

What are you going to do if they deny you a transfer? Very simple question. I wish I expect such simple questions on my next interview.

I know I need more guts to upload these kind of documents in the portal. But, who knows – I might get one very soon!

Numbers and Perspectives

From my Infy Blogs - targeting wider audience.

The thought of writing about numbers and perspectives didn’t occur to me because I’m a mathematician (no, no… No advertisement!). But, whenever I see a number or a set of numbers, I can’t resist myself to sum’em up!

0                   This doesn’t come up in the count – but this is one of the greatest discoveries by an Indian. So, in my perspective, I thought I should give 0 the first place! The super power which ‘nulls’ when multiplied by any number! They call ‘Duck’ if you are out without scoring in Cricket! Let’s move on and get off the mark!

1                   Even though 0 comes before this in the whole number series, we call 1 the first! The position, you can say, everyone wants to become! The first unaccounted prime number; first odd number. I can say she’s unchangeable as she gives exactly the same that you multiply.

2                   The sum of my ‘Date’ of birth (D+D). She has the capability of converting everything (odd, even, prime) to an even number when multiplied. The first even number in the counting.

Now, when talking about even and odd, literally, Odd is something very odd(!) and even is something that should balance. Actually, in my perspective, the ‘odd’ numbers are balanced. When multiplied by an odd, it gives odd and when multiplied by an even, it gives even. Whatever you want – that’s balanced! So, I call 1, 3, 5... to be even numbers. 2, 4, 6… all gives even number only, when multiplied by even or odd. So they are “odd”! So, why they named these wrongly? That’s odd!

3                   The first interesting number to me. You multiply any number with this number and sum up the total. It’ll either give you 3 or 6 or 9. Nothing else. In cricket, they call a ‘hat-trick’ if you take 3 wickets in 3 balls. Associating cricket with 3 again, David Shepherd’s unlucky score – 111 has 3 one! Is 3 really an unlucky number or 1? Even Lord Shiva comes with 3 eyes.

4                   The sum of my Date of Birth (DD+MM+YYYY). Again, an even number which gives only even number when multiplied. The first number which is divisible in the count. A boundary in cricket. Infosys is my 4^th employer. My cubicle has 4 seats:-D. They say 4 is the smallest composite number. 4 remembers me a square. Sometimes I remember a video on which, when asked for how many sides does a triangle have, a fellow answered – “umm… Damn, 4?”

5                   I liked this number very much in my school days because it’s easy to say the 5 tables! The product always ends with either 5 or 0. Pentagon or a star can be associated with 5. The Olympic rings are 5. When you divide any number by 5, it’ll give you either no or a finite decimal. The result is not infinitive like when you divide 2 by 3. When I was doing my schoolings, the government used to say “3 children per family”. So, 3 children and 2 parents make 5, a perfect family! And my family is perfect. This is not applicable now! :-P

6                   Six. Raise your two hands up! Nowadays 6 makes me remember Yuvraj Singh! Poor Stuart Broad! Divisible rule for 6 is also very easy to learn – anything that’s divisible by 2 and 3 is divisible by 6. The sum of the first 3 natural numbers is 6. Hexagon! Honey bee-hive!

7                   I would call this number an adamant or non-flexible. When it comes to 7, I feel it is un-controllable. One of the prime numbers for which there’s no divisible rule (Well, I guess there’s one, but it is very very very very hard to understand). It makes me feel like a 7 year old kid not obeying to parents! Rainbow has 7 colors. The 7 raagas – “Saptha Swaram”. 7 Wonders!

8                   Unlucky. One word, which describes 8. In my perspective, most of the people in the world think 8 is an unlucky number. In my case, 8’s very lucky. In other words, wherever I go – 8 follows. Most of my register number during schoolings summed up to 8. Roll number in College is 8. My employee # in Infy sums up to 8. Infact, if you replace 1 for A, 2 for B and so on and sum up my first name, it gives 8! Eight also remembers me of the 8 Lakshmi’s in Hinduism – the “Ashta Lakshmis”.

9                   Even though 8 is my lucky number, I always wished 9 should be. 9 remembers me Chemistry! Well, I’m a very poor chemistry student (Scored 44 out of 150!) and whenever a chemical reaction happens, the professor would tell us that the H2O just evaporates. Disappears. 9 also evaporates when you add any number to it. Disappears! Add 1 to 9 and you’ll get 1 again (Don’t tell me 9+1=10. 10 is again 1+0 = 1). Add 9 to 9 and you’ll get 9 again! Wow! I love it! Nonagon or “Tata Nano” remembers 9 to me!

PS: A few of the number factors were taken from wiki.

Birthday...

Birthday. The one, which comes once in a year. Some might hate it and a lot would love it. Unfortunately, I fall in the few category. Has anyone realized that every birthday that you celebrate – takes you a little closer to your death? You are losing your youth and are being pushed towards the old age! I feel that someone might have realized that every birthday is going to be a step towards death, and fooled the whole world that we should celebrate them! That’s the reason why I fall into ‘the few’ category. The reason may not be justified, but then, not everything in the world is justified. Sometimes I feel that somebody corrupted me. As they say, “I was born intelligent, education ruined me” – that is not entirely true. I’m just going to describe some of the birthday events that I remember. I’m not a kind of person who had quite a lot ‘memorable’ birthdays, so this is not going to be a lengthy article.

The first ever birthday that I really ‘celebrated’ was on 2006, when I turned 23. Well, that was not exactly a celebration of my birthday, but that was the day when the company that I worked decided to go for a ‘day out’. It just happened to be my birthday. So, on that day, we were taken to the famous East Cost Road on Chennai and were dropped inside a resort named ‘Blue moon’. I was there on my first ever new birthday dress with all my friends. There were people hired to conduct a series of events like tug of war and a lot of competitions. Seriously, I did not win a single competition. Although, I did acted in a drama organized by my lead (Srini) and the main theme of that drama is to tease all the company top management! The company that I worked for was a very small one and had about 400 employees only. So, the memorable event happened when one of the organizers asked if anyone had a birthday that day. I was there – pushed by all my friends and in the center. There were two good singers in my company and they were invited to sing the birthday song. I was standing in the middle of the circle, surrounded by the 400 employees around me and was listening to the birthday song, sung by two girls. I would never forget that. Of course, that was followed by birthday ‘bumps’ later.

The second one that I remember was my next, 24^th Birthday when I joined Infosys. I joined Infosys on 18^th of June. Barely know any of my batch-mates, my birthday was soon there. After the training that we had all the time in Mysore, as usual, I was on my room. I got a call from Shyam – one of my best friends till now that we have a combined dinner that day on FC2. Unaware of the celebration arranged there, I went. I saw all my batch-mates, watching me and another girl, named “Anjali” who, also had a birthday on 11^th of July. There were two cakes, one for me and another for her. We cut the cake in front of all my batch-mates singing the birthday song for us and then shared them among us as well. I honestly, did not expect the party at all and it was a big surprise for me. I still count Shyam as one of my best friends – this incident just built the basement.


The final and third one was on my 26^th Birthday. I was posted to Pune after my training in Mysore and have been into one project since then. It took at least a year for me to talk freely with some of the other ‘Tamil’ speaking guys in Pune. Some of them were Mujeeb, Vignesh, Vinodh, Thiru, Ashok, Venki etc. I get to know about these guys when we started playing Cricket. Birthdays, as usual, came every year. This time, almost every year, I got a cake. I had one un-fulfilled wish till then. It was – I was never wished exactly at 12 on any of my birthdays. That may look cheap to some of you, but then I don’t care. I don’t know when, but looks like I shared this with Mujeeb. He counted on my birthday that year and even though I know there’s gonna be a celebration – I was unaware that my so long un-fulfilled wish is going to be fulfilled. I was taken to FC1 by around 11:45 and all my friends were buying the cake for me. We had some chocolates and then at exactly 12 in the midnight, I got a call from Mujeeb. I was searching for him in the FC, but he was not at sight. I thought the venue was moved somewhere, so he was just calling me to come there. I attended the call and he wished me. That was a pleasant surprise! He also told me that – don’t ever say that you were never wished exactly at 12 anymore.


That’s it then. It’s my birthday today and I don’t have any more surprises! Infact, it was quite an ordinary day today. I always feel happy when I write something like this. I wanted to be happy today and so, I wrote this. The facts described above actually, never happened again. Celebration with almost all the employees, Two birthdays at a time and the 12 o’ clock wish – never repeated. I just wanted to re-live in those memories and I did. I don’t have the photos of the last two memorable birthdays, so I just shared the first.

The Marriage of Mujeeb Rahman Moideen - Part 2

As we reached late from the night of Mujeeb Rahaman Moideen’s marriage, we over slept for some time on the Thursday, 19^th of May. Almost everyone woke up in the afternoon. We had a little time before it gets dark, so we decided to go to the Sims Park nearby. The time would be around 2PM when we reached there by bus. I’d proudly say that the bus system and expense in Tamil Nadu is way better and much cheaper than anywhere in India. We paid about 3 rupees a head to reach there. The park was a bit crowded. After all, it was summer time. Everyone would love to come to Ooty!

So, there we were – I, Thiru, Vinodh, Ranga, Yatin, Brabin and Shyam. The park was full of flowers. Variety of them and we were soon taking snaps. We saw some trees – their origin and ages written on. Most of them were from Australia and were more than 100 years old. Some of them were attractive while some of them just stood tall. Newly married (or lovers may be) were seen almost everywhere in the park. We mischievously took some of their photos without their knowledge – considering our willingness to see those girls later! It was fun, with a lots of jokes cracked, some specific insults (not the one which hurts) and so on. The park was soon boring and we came out of it. It was around 3:30PM when we finished our little lunch – some chilli bajji, tea, Mango etc.

Yatin Singh Bhabal.

We still had a lot of time. We were busy talking about where to go and about the time to get there and suddenly it was 4:30. So, it was ultimately decided that we just go to our room, and shut ourselves up! So, this time, since it was down the hill, we decided to walk down. We got a call from one of our buddy – Uma who has just reached Coonoor. We called him and gave him directions to reach where we were. Once he reached, I realized that it was almost 2 years since I met him. Warm hellos and welcomes were there and then we moved down the hill, talking, talking and talking only. It was when Thiru, Vinodh and Brabin insisted that they take some more snacks, we left them there and went down to see the surprise that was waiting for us.

Uma Shankar Rajagopal

We all had our cameras and were busy taking some snaps down the hill. Then, we saw some nice doves. The pigeon family birds were all over there and we saw a man who should be in his early sixties. All his hairs were white, including his moustache and beard. He saw us with a welcome smile, so till Thiru, Vinodh and Brabin finish their little snack, we decided to have a small chat with him. So, we asked him if we can take some snaps, he said, sure.  We went inside his little ‘zoo’ and saw all colours of doves, some nice little Finches, love birds and a parrot. The surrounding was good with all the sounds these birds make and we were busy taking snaps. After this, we had a talk with him. He remembered me of the person ‘Pettaikaaran’ in the film “Aadukalam”.

We initially asked him if this route takes us down to Coonoor, to which he agreed. Then, we asked him about the birds and he said that he uses these birds, especially doves, for racing. “Racing” with doves? That’s the question we asked him immediately. He said yes, racing with doves. We asked more about it and he said there are still races between doves from various part of Tamil Nadu. The race would eventually start from Chennai and at around 6 in the morning, the doves are set free and the one which reaches the destination (Coonoor) quickly, declared winner. Prize money will be there, of course. We asked him about the time taken by these birds and he said, usually it is about 12 hours.


When asked like what happens if the dove, set free at the race, doesn’t return to you at all? He smiled and said they usually do come back. If they don’t, he still doesn’t get angry or worried about it. He said out of the 10 birds in the race, one may not come back! Normally, after 6 in the evening, they will not be able to see. If more time takes for them to reach the destination, they stay somewhere before it gets dark and fly back in the morning to the destination. He said he’s happy feeding them and participating in these races. These many years in Tamil Nadu and still, I have never heard about the races on doves. That was a surprising story that we heard from a person who’s a lover of birds.

We turned our attention from the doves towards the only parrot in the cage and she started to yell at him. He consoled her and asked her to talk to us – to which, she yelled again. He said, she’s not in good mood today, sorry guys! Every finger that we tried to insert into the cage to try and touch the parrot, she tried to bite every one of it. By this time, the snacks eaters came back and we bid adieu to him and walked down the hill. We reached our room with Uma and it started to rain. Summer rains may be rare in the other part of India, but not at Ooty. It was cool and we stopped for some tea. Rain and tea – a very good combination, especially at the place where tea’s were grown.

We played some cards to kill the time and it was good to have an old chap back. We enquired a lot about Uma and then we shared some of ours. In the evening, we had calls from some of our other folks who were making to Mujeeb’s reception. Venki, Ravi and Bijith came on the night of 19^th May. The Reception was on 20^th May. And it has already been a very good trip for us. All the old friends were back again under the same roof. Fun was unlimited, as always!

Dedicating this to the bachelorhood of Mujeeb. Happy Family man!

The Marriage of Mujeeb Rahman Moideen

Mujeeb Rahman Moideen – One of my best friends. He was getting married. I did what a best friend would do – take two weeks leave, go to his marriage and enjoy. This summer, with Pune getting hotter and hotter, his marriage may be a reason to go to Ooty! But the chillness of Ooty was the least that I enjoyed. The most I enjoyed are the moments spent along with all the old pals (some new ones as well) on a typical Muslim marriage day. Thanks to you Mujji – it was an unforgettable experience.

Our plan was simple. Mujeeb’s marriage was on 18^th May. We were supposed to be there in Coonoor by 17^th of May. Our plan was to reach Coimbatore by 5PM, 17^th May. We can then catch a cab or a bus and reach Coonoor before it’s too late. We started from our respective natives on 17^th May and I’m the one who kept the promise. I reached Coimbatore by 4:40PM and called one by one. Everyone said that they’re on the way and it’d take 45 minutes for them to reach. The worst part of my waiting came when I called Ranga (Ranganathan Ragothaman) after 45 minutes and he said the same timing – he’d be there in about 45 minutes! Finally we all were in a cab towards Coonoor at about 8PM. Let me introduce my friends – Thiru, Vinodh, Ranga and Yatin – a new pal into my list. We reached late and met Shyam & Mr. and Mrs. Badri who reached there before us. We had dinner at Mujeeb’s home, met his family and it was wonderful. I still can’t forget the Sambar there!


On the marriage day, a bus was booked which bagged all the relatives of Mujeeb along with us and slowly, crawled towards Manappuram, Kerala. The marriage was arranged at the bride’s home-town and from Coonoor it takes about 6 hours to reach there by bus. Guys – as always, booked the last seats and it was full of noise. On our request, Mujeeb was travelling with us in the bus and we started to tease him all the way. Occasional stops for tea/ breakfast and other than that the travelling was very good until Mujeeb was with us. He had to get down at one stage and get into an Indica with his close relatives, do a fresh-up (makeup’s as well), and change. We reached Kerala at around 2 in the noon and the climate was just opposite to that of Ooty. By this time, I had made two more new pals – Sooraj and Saran.


It was a busy day on that particular marriage hall. 3 marriages were scheduled and it was quite a scene. Fully crowded and everyone’s looking for something. Photographers were busy taking snaps. Children play at the entrance – some mothers cautioning or chasing them. There we were – sitting just behind Mujeeb – who’s surrounded by atleast 4 people. One of them was the bride’s father and some of them were err… I don’t know how to call them! Some seniors, who conduct marriages, may be. They prayed – the way a Muslim would do. And then came the agreement (I really don’t know if that’s an agreement. I’m sorry if calling that an agreement would be an offense – I didn’t mean to. Everything there was written in Malayalam and it’s Chinese to me). Mujeeb has to fill that form-kind-of-agreement and sign. He was assisted or instructed by the seniors around him to complete. I believe the same kind-of-stuff would be done for bride as well which we did not witness.


When this was complete, it is said that the marriage is complete. We shook hand with Mujeeb, said “Congrats”. It is their formality that Mujeeb have his lunch with his friends, after the marriage. We had lunch; thankfully, there were Vegetarian foods as well. After marriage, we left towards a river which was very near to the marriage hall. The water was good, some of them took bath. We did not bring any clothes, so we just walked though the banks and enjoyed the breeze. I don’t know how those kind of lovely evenings just fly. It was soon dark and we had to leave towards Coonoor. Mujeeb did not accompany us this time (rightfully so) in the bus and it was a kind of boring-and-sleeping-journey back. We reached late and were directly dropped at Mujeeb’s home. We had dinner and left towards our lodge. At the end of 18^th May, we were exhausted and slept immediately, unaware of the things that’s going to happen the next day.


-- To be continued…