Sanketh Sanketh Part - II

I've to travel to France next month, and I was filling some travel request forms in office today. The first informationg I had to enter had me thinking that the "No Last Name" sheriffs had finally caught up with me. First Name(As in Passport)*? No big deal...Sanketh. Last name(As in Passport)*???Fuck. That too, mandatory field!

While talking to my managers, all that jazz about "I don't need a second name to have my identity" came rushing back. I spoke to the concerned person, and he asked me to fill "LNU" or "SNU" in the last name column. LNU meaning Last Name Unknown, SNU meaning Sur Name Unknown / Second Name Unknown. And I was like, "aaHHA! There you go! I don't need no second name!"

The power of Underestimation

Underestimation can be such a wonderfully astonishing motivational tool. When you know that you have the ability, and the minds around you take for granted that you are incapable of even coming close, the anger boiling in your arteries provide a boost that can rarely be matched.

I recently saw a marathon on television. There were many guys, fully toned, looking really fit, sexy shades on to keep their eyes cool while they run like machines with perfect posture that would make an ad director drool. And then there was this small African runner. He looked like he had no fat in his body. He had a surprised anxious look on his face – it was almost like someone had told him, “You keep running, or else, you die”. The running posture of this little man was, to say the least, funny! Hands going sideways, his palms looking like he was trying to fend off the death that was chasing him. I naturally expected this guy to come in at least half a minute after the winner. As the race went on, our little man slowly overtook about 6 guys one by one. Now in the second place, he chased the leader for a while and overtook him. The top 4 runners approached the last turn that led to the final 200-odd meters straight. Near the turn, the stylist guy, currently in 2nd place, in a seemingly heroic move, made an overtake. It was perfect movie-climax moment. His face perspiring, twisting under the effort he was putting to get ahead.

The little African, to my(and the commentator’s) shock, was slowing down drastically, and looking at his watch!! I was like, “What the Fuck! You lead the race for so long, and you are tiring out in the last stretch?!”, Then I felt that maybe he was too immature to put in all his energy for the previous stages, not saving up any for the finish. Maybe he’d run for the time he’d been asked to, by his imaginary mafia oppressors. The stylish guy was busy doing his thing for the cameras, putting all he had left to win by a big margin. And then my jaw dropped. With about 100 meters left, the little man zipped past our Hollywood hunk like he’d farted nitro. The little guy won by about 4 seconds. The race done with, the African played spoilsport for the cameras. No enthu, no celebration, so smile. He was probably thinking, “Ok now, please release my family. These guys won’t let me run anymore”

There are many such incidents that I’ve come across, that are just outrageously awesome. Many have quite a few assumptions about me, and I’ve realized, that there is no use in trying to justify that their thoughts about my ability are not true. It’s quite simply, a lot more satisfying to just prove them wrong. They say my sense of time is quite bad. I hate being written off. This time, instead of arguing back, I replied in action. And yes, trust me, it’s more satisfying than trying to reason out with facts that I’m rarely late for any occasion.

Tube thought - II

"Patience is like Money. What you have never seems to be enough."

At First Sight

It was a Friday evening, and I had had a long day at work. As usual, I was staring out of the window of the van on the way back home. The traffic, quite predictably, was slow moving. MG Road, the hep and happening place, looked quite bleak. Even Floyd playing in my ears couldn’t cheer me up.

Through the small gap between my bus and the pavement barrier slipped in a bike. And there she was. The most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. There she sat, hugging her favourite man. Such pretty eyes, innocence overflowing like the sweet aroma of sunflowers on a lovely bright day. As I looked at her, our eyes met. The small lock of hair across her eyes added to the beauty. There was something about her that was just so pure. I couldn’t help smiling as I looked into her eyes.

She saw me smiling, and turned away. And as I looked on, a few moments later, she turned back to look at me. I looked into her eyes again, and then squinted. I waved at her, and to my surprise, she waved back! A small smile appeared on the corner of her lips. As the traffic started moving, she patted her favourite man on the back, and I heard her say, in her six year old cuteness, “Pappa, still how much longer to meet Mamma?”

"Blood"y scared rats

So I was sitting in the cafeteria and talking to the boys during lunch. Considering the preparations going on around us, the obvious topic of discussion was blood donation. In a moderately advertised campaign, my company has organized a blood donation camp at my campus today.

Basu was quite understandably weary about the whole thing. “The only time I’ve had blood sucked out of me is for the medical test before this job”, he said. I could understand his concern, seeing that he comes from the remote Gulbarga. I explained to him, that it’s a good thing, not only in the sense that it can save lives, but also that it’s good for one’s own health too. He said, “But I’m scared of the needle. It might hurt”, to which I responded with a laugh, and the taunt nudging Subbu “Check it out, this guy’s tensed about needles, when he can save the life a patient on a death bed.” Sheepishly,

Subbu laughs, and proceeds to mumble “Actually, even I’m scared. What if they use the same needles that they use of others? The needles might be infected.” I couldn’t believe my ears. I told him that they use new dispovan needles evertime, and he goes on to amaze me further, adding, “Yeah I know, but there have been cases of even those being infected…”

Three words came to my mind. “What the Fuck?” I can imagine a guy from a rural district being ignorant about such things, but hep ‘dude’ guys from Mysore, who are always very confident and in control when taking Basu’s trip! I was shocked.

And then, Sughosh adds, “Even in barber shops, it’s quite risky.” Subbu adds, “Yeah. That’s why I never let him use blade. I always ask him to use the electric clipper.” That’s it, I couldn’t take the shocks anymore! I got up from the table after informing them, “In clippers, the barber uses the same blades on everyone. Forget AIDS, several skin diseases can get transferred to you. Infact, razor blades are a lot more safe, because they use new blades evertime, and if you tell them, they wash it with dettol water.

Boy am I glad the “half-dude” scared rats did not have an effect on Basu. He just pinged me and said he wants to join me to donate blood.

Summer Cut

Went to the barber's, and told him "Short. Full short", and voila, 10 minutes later, i'm looking entirely different! I don't know why I got it done so short.. Maybe just too many bad hair days. I don't expect to have great hair everyday, but it just gets too irritating if a portion is jutting out oddly everyday! Every morning I woke up, the first thing I said to the mirror as I brushed my teeth was "Fuck. Not again. So today the left side of the army is the rebel." How can I expect world peace when even the hair on my head don't get along?? So I sought the only solution to attain peace. Violence. Chopped them off into submission.

Another thing that comes out of a short hair cut, is a reality check. It's almost like they decided to resign from the army. "It's our way or no way". Oh well, you were gone anyway. Your neighbour pals were the ones doing the 'covering up' work.

Sush says it makes my head look bigger. But more hair means a bigger looking head, right?!

One beauty about this cut- When you take a shower, wow! It just feels so great! Two drops of shampoo and it's all done! Now I can go back to standing under hot running water and headbanging to metal songs playing on the computer speakers!

PS: To concerned friends, don't worry, it'll grow back. :)