In Vacant or in Pensive Mood

After three years of getting to know each other, we had just started dating. I had graduated and joined an NGO. He still had a year to go. I worked in Adyar. He lived in Tambaram, close to college. I signed off at around 6:00 pm every day. He finished college by noon, went home and worked on his assignments till 4:00 pm. I would take the side exit on to a quiet lane outside my office. He would be waiting there, under the blooming tree, for me. Holding hands, we would walk to the nearest bus stop and sit there until a fairly empty bus arrived. We would then sit next to each other in the bus, and just be... ...till we had to get off and board a share auto, where we'd do the same. Sometimes, we'd take a quick detour; a stopover to grab a coffee or ice-cream. On other days, it was just the simple commute. Reaching the stop closest to where I took my last connecting auto home (phew, yes), we would bid goodbye. A smile, a knowing nod, and a hug that says "I don't want to lea...

TN 11 AD 0*1*. It's been almost a month since the incident. The memory is fading, but I still find myself discreetly scanning number plates during my 22-km ride to work and back every day. I'm not afraid of bumping into him anymore, I just don't want to be taken by surprise if he should appear again. The occasional starer is someone I deal with easily - a death glare and a "what's your problem?" does it. The passerby with the passing comment is exactly that. I don't even give half a ear to it. The fellow motorist with the lewd singing lasts but a brief moment; a slight move of the wrist, a little acceleration on my two-wheeler, and he's left behind eating the dust I raised. Then what made Mr. TN 11 AD 0*1* so different? It was his persistence. I don't know when it really began. I was in an exceptionally good mood that day. It had just rained about an hour ago, the first rain in a long time! The Pluviophile in me was admiring the beauty of ...

Have you tried taking a share auto on your way to work in the morning? In the mad rush, when the entire population is in motion, each one travelling from his/her end of the city to the other, share autos are among the coolest - untouched by the frantic pace at which the rest of the world is rushing by. Although they are a fairly slow mode of transport, a lot of middle class people choose the share auto for regular travel. When compared to the public buses, these are convenient because they are less crowded - at least one can be assured of some butt space, if not a comfortable seat. They are also more frequent than buses and also more flexible - allowing passengers to hop on and off anywhere along the fixed route. If you ask me, the share auto is for people who start early - especially in the mornings. From experience, share autos are not for me in the mornings! I don't mind share autos in the evenings, or when I am going somewhere in no hurry. Why? Not only because they...

Since the time I remember, I've always been one of those persons who lived far away. When I was a kid, my home was only about 5 kms from school, but when compared to the other kids who could just walk up to school in a matter of 5 minutes, I lived far away. As I grew up over the years, the distance I've had to travel on a regular basis has also progressively grown. I did my Bachelor's degree in a place about 10 kms from my home, my first job was a little farther, and the college where I did my Master's degree a bit more. Well, you get the picture! It has never been far enough to stay in a hostel, but it has always been quite a time-consuming commute. Now, I travel roughly about 45 kilometres every day in my commute between home and work. Sometimes, I choose to ride my two-wheeler, sometimes I choose to travel by public transport. Either way, my journey is long enough for my mind to sink in and get lost in a world of thoughts. I have found that these journ...