In Vacant or in Pensive Mood

Growing up is a huge responsibility. When we were children, we were just waiting to grow up and go to work! We thought that life was easier for our parents and the other adults we knew because they had no homework to worry about when they got back from work. We associated school to torture when we compared them with our childish imaginations of adult life. And, although some of us did say that we wanted to become doctors or teachers when we grew up, the span of our imaginations could not be limited to those few words put into our heads by adults. Take, for example, what my little sister used to say she wanted to be when she grew up; “Haaayah” , her version of Aayah , a name we use for maids who clean, and help the teachers in the kindergarten. She also used to claim that her Haayah was her best friend! My little cousin once said he wanted to be a lorry (truck) driver. What simple, uncomplicated wishes they were, very unlike the clichéd aspirations we were expected to possess. ...

This is some information I compiled during the Rabies Awareness Campaign we conducted at Madras Christian College, Chennai. This page is an extension to the previous post: A Memoir , dedicated to my friend, Alan. Rabies   is a zoonosis caused by the virus Lyssavirus rabies , which attacks the central nervous system. Rabies can be transmitted to humans from infected dogs, cats, bats, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, wolves, etc. may transmit the disease. A person is exposed to rabies either due to a bite from a rabid animal, or from exposure to its saliva on an open wound/cut. People who have been bitten by a stray/non-vaccinated animal, or licked by one over broken skin, should be treated within 12-48 hours. People exposed to rabies need to be treated with rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine initially. They must also get additional vaccine injections on the 3 rd , 7 th , 14 th  and 28 th  day after the first treatment. Rabies is 100% preventable if the treatment ...

Two months ago, on 20 th February 2014, Alan Joash Samuel, our dear friend and classmate, passed away due to Rabies. The weeks that preceded it, and those that followed, have been the toughest phase of my life, emotionally. I tried to write, but I wasn’t in a state of mind to blog about it. Now that I am back here after a long break from blogging, I feel that it would be unjust if I don’t record the event that impacted my life in such a big way. So, I’m putting together here what I wrote at different points during the last two months. It’s been over a week from that dismal day, yet our hearts refuse to be comforted. His sudden and unexpected death has left us all shattered. We didn't get a chance to tell him how much he meant to us, how precious his role in influencing our lives. W e didn’t have the time to bid him goodbye. Even though my mind is still fogged by the sorrow weighing my heart down, I now recollect the events of the past few months. In late October 2013,...

There was a phase in my life when I had been fascinated by the idea of having a big brother. I didn't have one myself, but just hearing people talk of their big brothers and the sweet things they did made me wish I had one too. Soon enough, my wish was granted. A second cousin I had hardly spoken to before, but had met many times during my vacations in Kerala, landed in my city to study engineering. Although I was wary of it in the beginning, I was able to accept him as my brother and enjoy the sisterly pampering he offered. I realised that you don't necessarily have to be siblings to be a big brother and a baby sister! Wonderfully enough, this realisation brought me some more big brothers. They pampered me, and filled my life with a certain happiness that compared to nothing I had felt before. I fed my hunger for affection with all the chocolates they bought me. Well, I LOVED it! I started looking up to my brothers for almost everything. When it came to some important deci...

One weekend, I was trying out a feature I didn’t quite understand in my computer, and so I clicked the ‘Help’ link. A popup help window opened, and as I was reading through it, I found myself constantly thinking about the technical writer who must have published it. The faceless, nameless author of the Help content would have put in several hours of research, relentlessly pursued the developers and SMEs (subject-matter experts) for information, made over a hundred calls, and sent an equally overwhelming number of mails to clarify details. At the same time, this technical writer would have also had to deal with a pushy project manager from the developing team who believes that technical writing is the simplest job in the world, pressing deadlines to the writer’s face without giving a second’s thought to the fact that he himself couldn’t, if he tried, write to save his life! While the usual claim is that the Help document looks simple and understandable, and so must be easy to write...

You know what the biggest curse to a writer is? Not having enough time to write! Having to live so many different roles in life that are apparently more important than writing for one’s pleasure, especially when the muses are at work. Take my case, for instance. My primary role, currently, is that of a student. And like all students, I have a lot of academic work on the top of my priority list, whether I like it or not. Whether or not writing is my passion, I need to put my assignments first in line. Here’s a situation I go through pretty often. It is about 8:00 pm, and I am just getting back from college, after a hard day. I have assignments on my mind, and tests that I need to prepare for. I am trying to plan out the few hours left in front of me before I have to start on a 2-hour journey back to college early the next morning. I have to stay up the whole night, I decide. There is no way I’m sleeping tonight! Worried thoughts haunt my mind, and I’m feeling pretty beat up already. ...

Once again, I managed to drag myself out of bed, bathe in heated water, dress up in a hurry, partially comb my wet hair, and finally rush to the bus stop at 6:45 am. My earrings and safety pins were still clenched in my fist, and the things inside the bag slung over my shoulder lay cluttered as I pulled out my ID card and wore it around my neck. The bus would be there any minute. The bus arrived at 6:50 am, and I boarded it with a smile, and waded through the aisle as I looked for a place to sit. Coming to two empty seats adjacent to each other, I dropped my bag into the first one, and slid my own self into the other one by the window. I opened out the closed window and immediately felt content as the pleasant morning breeze made its way in. Quickly, I organized the things in my bag, put on my earrings, pinned up my clothes wherever necessary, opened out my hair and combed it lightly. Then I adjusted my seat to just the right position; pushed back so that I could lean comfortably,...