complicateur
16th October 2008, 06:18 AM
[tscii]On July 29th 2008 there was a 5.4 on the richter earthquake epicentred in Chino Hills in California. I sat in my cubicle through it, completely oblivious and listening to Harris Jayaraj's En Anbe from Sathyam. The incident inspired the fictional (really short) story below. It needs work, so feedback would be appreciated.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notepad and blackberry in hand, I strode out of the conference room in a great hurry, thankful that I had picked the flats over the heels from the line up this morning. No sauntering for me today, not if I had to get those TRP reports out by COB. It is busy work and I always put it off till later. Like Phil said the other day, procrastination is like …, in the end I was just screwing myself. I had acted disgusted when he said it, but I have to admit it was funny and sort of appropriate. Aah, there it is, my other Eden, demiparadise, my cubicle. I set my notepad and blackberry on the desk and pull the Ipod out of the purse. Total godsend that machine. I couldn’t get through the rest of the day without it. I pull my ‘auditiara’, Phil-speak for headphones, on and let the music provide me aural succor. Half a report in I've drifted into cruise control.
Sixth report in, something new pops up on my playlist. Guitar strumming that sounded oddly like a chinese harp.A few interesting notes from the voice and my mind was off standby. Then the chorus. It had a sort of effervescent quality to it. Lifting my memories to a more uncomplicated time. Or was it?
"ஆத்தாடி ஆசை அலை பாய,
சேர்த்துக்கோ மீசை கொட சாய..."
It was his moustache that made me notice him first. Under his nose sat the most anachronistic Frank Zappa moustache. Of course at that time I had no clue who Zappa was, the ‘stache just made him seem older and consequently cooler. Didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes of course. We always sat in the same spots on the college bus. Vandhana and me two rows behind the driver and he and his friend Nari one row behind us on the other side. Isn’t it weird how intrinsically transitive things, like seats, become constancies sometimes? They were the talkative ones, Vandhana and Nari. Partners in crime and otherwise, they always had a wisecrack handy for the cleaners mixtapes and always had a prank in the planning. Birthdays and wastefully spent cakes were their specialty. So much so that people went to extreme lengths to hide their birthdays. I was the spectatorial type and he was... OK, I assigned him the strong but silent role. Why else would both of us pick the window seats? Observer's delights those window seats - just far enough from the action, both inside and outside the bus.
"கூத்தாடி கொட மழை பெய்ய"
It was one of those December chennai evenings. The clouds had spent their rain, everything was damp and the liquid embers were still on the window frames. The cleaner insisted on playing an old Raja mixtape and there were no complaints from the bus inhabitants, for once. I was letting the wind caress my cheeks through the window while stealing the occasional glance towards him. During the peak of one of those pendulous eye movements I spied a tear escaping his eyes. I think Nari noticed it too." என்னடா அழற்ரியா ?" he had asked. "இல்லடா, just a drop of water from the window" he replied, afraid of the hazing that was in store if he couldn't explain it away convincingly. Nari believed him, but I didn't. I had watched as that single tear escaped through the inner corners of his eye. Incongruous little thing - it sat oddly with the rest of his facial features. I don't even know what the tear was doing there, but it was something about him that only I knew and I liked that. As "நேத்து ஒருத்தர ஒருத்தர பார்த்தோம்" played on the stereo, I went into a Raja fueled reverie where everyone was opening our wedding invitations in utter disbelief. How surprised everyone would be when we told everyone about our little love story? How it was the both of us, not Nari and Vandhu, that had gotten together after college? How they would say that it was the silent ones that could never be trusted.....
I am pulled out of my double reverie by Phil's voice. "You didn't feel that?" he asks. "What?" I shoot back. "We just had a minor earthquake. Everyone evacuated the building. I came back to get you". I guess there's some benefit to sleeping with a coworker. I sheepishly gather my Ipod and followed him out, head phones still on my ear. "Princess can't bring herself to take of the tiara, huh?" Phil chuckles. And the song played on...
"ஆத்தாடி அசந்தே போனாயா?
ஆசையில் மெலிந்தே போனாயா?
நாக்கடி நலிந்தே போனயா?
காதலில் கரைந்தே போனயா?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notepad and blackberry in hand, I strode out of the conference room in a great hurry, thankful that I had picked the flats over the heels from the line up this morning. No sauntering for me today, not if I had to get those TRP reports out by COB. It is busy work and I always put it off till later. Like Phil said the other day, procrastination is like …, in the end I was just screwing myself. I had acted disgusted when he said it, but I have to admit it was funny and sort of appropriate. Aah, there it is, my other Eden, demiparadise, my cubicle. I set my notepad and blackberry on the desk and pull the Ipod out of the purse. Total godsend that machine. I couldn’t get through the rest of the day without it. I pull my ‘auditiara’, Phil-speak for headphones, on and let the music provide me aural succor. Half a report in I've drifted into cruise control.
Sixth report in, something new pops up on my playlist. Guitar strumming that sounded oddly like a chinese harp.A few interesting notes from the voice and my mind was off standby. Then the chorus. It had a sort of effervescent quality to it. Lifting my memories to a more uncomplicated time. Or was it?
"ஆத்தாடி ஆசை அலை பாய,
சேர்த்துக்கோ மீசை கொட சாய..."
It was his moustache that made me notice him first. Under his nose sat the most anachronistic Frank Zappa moustache. Of course at that time I had no clue who Zappa was, the ‘stache just made him seem older and consequently cooler. Didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes of course. We always sat in the same spots on the college bus. Vandhana and me two rows behind the driver and he and his friend Nari one row behind us on the other side. Isn’t it weird how intrinsically transitive things, like seats, become constancies sometimes? They were the talkative ones, Vandhana and Nari. Partners in crime and otherwise, they always had a wisecrack handy for the cleaners mixtapes and always had a prank in the planning. Birthdays and wastefully spent cakes were their specialty. So much so that people went to extreme lengths to hide their birthdays. I was the spectatorial type and he was... OK, I assigned him the strong but silent role. Why else would both of us pick the window seats? Observer's delights those window seats - just far enough from the action, both inside and outside the bus.
"கூத்தாடி கொட மழை பெய்ய"
It was one of those December chennai evenings. The clouds had spent their rain, everything was damp and the liquid embers were still on the window frames. The cleaner insisted on playing an old Raja mixtape and there were no complaints from the bus inhabitants, for once. I was letting the wind caress my cheeks through the window while stealing the occasional glance towards him. During the peak of one of those pendulous eye movements I spied a tear escaping his eyes. I think Nari noticed it too." என்னடா அழற்ரியா ?" he had asked. "இல்லடா, just a drop of water from the window" he replied, afraid of the hazing that was in store if he couldn't explain it away convincingly. Nari believed him, but I didn't. I had watched as that single tear escaped through the inner corners of his eye. Incongruous little thing - it sat oddly with the rest of his facial features. I don't even know what the tear was doing there, but it was something about him that only I knew and I liked that. As "நேத்து ஒருத்தர ஒருத்தர பார்த்தோம்" played on the stereo, I went into a Raja fueled reverie where everyone was opening our wedding invitations in utter disbelief. How surprised everyone would be when we told everyone about our little love story? How it was the both of us, not Nari and Vandhu, that had gotten together after college? How they would say that it was the silent ones that could never be trusted.....
I am pulled out of my double reverie by Phil's voice. "You didn't feel that?" he asks. "What?" I shoot back. "We just had a minor earthquake. Everyone evacuated the building. I came back to get you". I guess there's some benefit to sleeping with a coworker. I sheepishly gather my Ipod and followed him out, head phones still on my ear. "Princess can't bring herself to take of the tiara, huh?" Phil chuckles. And the song played on...
"ஆத்தாடி அசந்தே போனாயா?
ஆசையில் மெலிந்தே போனாயா?
நாக்கடி நலிந்தே போனயா?
காதலில் கரைந்தே போனயா?"