Chapter 26: A City That Kissed Me - 1

For all those people out there, reading these words with immense patience and graceful expectations, let me tell you a tale, a tale about a magical land filled with art and joyous music, far far away from the place where you sit. The tale starts on a fine Thursday morning from a beautiful park bench facing the majestic blue ocean. I was sitting on the bench, lost in my thoughts, deep down in my heart, feeling sad. I had some concerns which disturbed me frequently. I tried to move out of the place, where I'm staying for some reasons, but later I came to know that it is not possible to do that because of a contract. There was this loneliness, hectic college work and an argument with my close friend which I wish I could take back. I thought that I was in some kind of a cage, longing for freedom, freedom to fly away from the world I know, from all the sorrows and feelings. I was watching the seagulls flying high above the ocean, far away from the civilization and people. Watching them, for more than a hour, makes you want to fly, fly to a faraway place where everything is beautiful, peaceful and colorful. Obsessed with these dreamy thoughts, I decided to fly away!

 The bench from which the tale begins! 

 Fortunately the following day was a Good Friday. I only had the thought of flying far away, but I had no plans to execute. So when I started thinking about the possible destinations that I could go for and return back within three days, I came up with three options. Sudbury, Montreal and Niagara falls. After much thought, I eliminated Sudbury and Niagara since Sudbury required well laid plans as it is a northern part of the world and Niagara is too close from the place where I'm staying. It won't require three days. So, I made a tick on Montreal, not knowing the fact that the trip is going to change my life, forever! I heard some very simple expressions about Montreal, back when I was in India like 'It is a nice place with beautiful buildings', 'It is a cool place' etc. So I had no expectations about the place. Pictures in Google images and other sites weren't that impressive. I ticked this place because I had no other options. Within dusk, I had a slight idea of what the city has to offer, about the accommodation and the ride which is going to get me there. I decided to tell Dominic about my plan as we have photography and our cameras in common. Within that midnight, we made sure that we get a ride to Montreal. (thanks to kijiji.ca - the rideshare column.)

-Bright Dawn of the Good Friday- We didn't say a thing about the trip to our roommates. Before anyone woke up from their nice and cozy sleep we were standing near the "Gate 3" of Scarborough Town Center waiting for our ride to show up with packed bags in which there were only two T-shirts, brush, paste and some apples. This is an advantage I'm having right now. Nobody cares about me or asks questions about my whereabouts. Even if I'm gone for a week or two, nobody is going to shed a tear or worry about me. But the consequent loneliness is the price one has to pay. We were supposed to leave from Scarborough Town Center at 9 AM. But after three courses of betrayals from three different drivers we finally found a nice Arabic man who offered a ride to Montreal. There were already three people, sitting inside the car. One person, was sitting in front, near the driver. I swear I never had a chance to take a glimpse at him. All I know was that he had a long and weird hair. The other two people were a couple, in their fifties. Besides them the car was full of newspapers and I found a place to sit near a pile. The couple were kind enough to share the space at the back of the car for Dominic. Driver asked "Shall we?" After a nod of agreement the doors were locked and the engine was ignited. After a minute or two, that elegant vehicle geared up and found racing with all the other vehicles, in the neat and smooth 'Highway 401', North America's longest highway!

I never had a chance to travel outside Toronto, before Montreal. Toronto is just the exaggerated and organized version of Chennai, the city which I call home. So, nothing in Toronto, to this date, got my attention. In my opinion, everyone in Toronto are just surviving, nobody seems to be living. Life is so complicated! Nobody stops to hear and admire a musician in a subway or a baby's smile in a bus. Everything is organized and in a hurry. No one stops, not even for a second. So, more than the destination, I was excited about the six hour long drive. We slowly got out of Toronto, the rush, the hurry and the cluster of buildings. At last I saw the sign I was hoping to see. 'Thank You for visiting Toronto, Ontario's capital!' The vehicle reached a whooping speed of 120km/hr. We crossed that sign board and that's when we had our first conversation. I was sitting there with all the newspapers, not believing that we were officially out of Toronto. "So, what brings you to this road trip?" It was the husband. "Montreal! For the Easter holidays." Dominic replied with a smile. "That's amazing! I'm sure you guys are going to have a great time there." He then, introduced himself and his wife. "I'm John and this is my wife Jess."(Names changed) "Hello guys" this was Jess. She has an amazing voice, a right proportion of command and sweetness. We later found that John is from Poland and Jess is from Quebec. John is a traveller and has travelled to a countless number of countries in all the continents and surprisingly he knew a lot about India and Indian food, particularly Kerala. Jess is an intelligent woman, the one you could identify right after a single glimpse. Within an interesting hour, we had many set of conversations about India, Boat house, the name Madras, British rule, Kerala food, Elephants, Toronto zoo etc. By the time the car was passing by a beautiful quiet village. Once you set foot outside of Toronto, it's all about beautiful villages, blue lakes and farms. Most of the sights I saw, were nothing short of spectacular. There are some people in this world whom I love the most, the people who seem to enjoy the beauty of this world with me. I wished that they were there in that ride with me. I saw a narrow road in the middle of a barren field that ends in a magnificent blue ocean. No people, no noise except the hush of the winds and a beautiful wooden house in the middle of the same field, with ocean in the backdrop. The vehicle, in a constant speed, was crossing some peaceful villages, small yet dense woods, lagoons, streams, rivers, farms, barren lands and some roads to nowhere. Another hour later, we finally came to a halt. "Alright, break for 10 minutes" I heard the driver's voice. I was hoping for a break too because of a mighty natural phenomenon.

  There was a very small burger shop and a closed convenience store at that place. I couldn't see any other building, not even a house. It is a typical location for a sleazy Hollywood horror movie or maybe for a road trip genre. After a nice and smooth response for the nature's call I had a cheese burger. Not much to say about this part because nothing happened, maybe except for the cute country girl, who served me. I looked through the glass window of that shop, the mystery third man of our car was stretching his arms, facing the other side. Again, nothing about him, except for the weird hairstyle. Skipping some parts like 'shall we?, nod of agreement, engine ignition' we were back in the cozy car, racing again through the highway. I slept, I woke up, gazed through the window, passed through a city called Brockville, Thousand islands, saw the exit sign board of Ontario, welcome sign board of Quebec and finally we took a diversion, entered into another lane, the lane which read 'Montreal.' The initial few minutes into the outskirts of the city, failed to create an impression. Less than ordinary buildings, busy roads, Tim Hortons coffee shops (as common as sighting a car in a road). The car diverged from the road and threw us out near a subway station. "This is the Namur subway station and this would take you inside the city. Enjoy your visit." again it's the Driver's voice. We bid a reluctant goodbye to John and Jess. As the engine sound faded away, we realized that we were the two new strangers who knew nothing except the name of that mysterious and unknown city!

Namur Subway Station

(Note: There are two important notes in this post)
(Note 1: Keeping in mind that, the tale of Montreal is too long to wrap up in a single post, I have divided into two posts.)
(Note 2: Ted and Frenzie, I'm sure you guys are out there somewhere, reading this post, sitting in a cozy couch and tasting one of the finest wines ever made. This note is to say that it was my pleasure to meet you people. You guys are amazing!)

Chapter 25: Barren land and the Beautiful Chimney

The red coloured bus slowly came to a halt. We stepped down from the vehicle and looked around. It was a nice and quiet neighbourhood. It had a closed catholic high school, an Irish pub, a Sushi house, a massage parlour and a quiet little road in which the vehicle frequency was too low. The sun was giving out its final few rays of the day. Dominic accessed the GPS through his phone and found that we had to take that quiet little road to reach the place. The place we were looking for, is called Bluffers Park. It is one of our short exploring/photography trip.

By the end of my first month in Toronto, I understood my routine and every little thing came into picture. In the mean time, I also came to know what the term 'Home Sick' and 'Feeling Lonely' means. I'm thousands of kilometres, twenty hours and $750 away from my home, from my friends and from all the people who could understand me and my weird thoughts and mood. Sometimes the day would start with a blissful but ironically a melancholic dream. The dream of me lying in my good old soft bed, in my home back in my country. The dream would be so realistic that every time I would almost expect to wake up in my own room, filled with the pale yellow morning light. But disappointment would be waiting for me in disguise as my new white coloured Canadian room with broad glass windows allowing the pure white morning sun rays which in no way similar to the beautiful and unique pale yellow morning rays. This loneliness started to grow on me. That growth had an impact, an impact so strong, an impact which made me to forget my own character.

I'm a travel freak. Usually when I'm at a new place, I'd check out the neighbourhood, I'd look for some unique places like lakes or parks. I'd like to establish a comfort zone or rather a personal space of my own in that new place. But for the whole January, I never did any of that. I just went to the college, did my assignments, attended the tests, came back to the room, slept, woke up and for most of the time I regretted my decision of coming to Canada. I never read a book, I never watched a movie. I was forgetting myself in the large intersections, stops and signals of this magnificent city of Toronto. For most of the time, I was resenting the loneliness and having debates with my mind on the topic 'How lonely am I feeling?'

But everything ended one day. That was the day which helped me to figure out the beauty of my loneliness. That day started with the same home dream and regrets. Light showers of pure white and beautiful snowflakes showed up in that peaceful morning. I took a hot water shower and then decided to go to the bank nearby, to deposit some money. That was the first time, I decided to go out alone. I walked through the long and narrow corridors of my apartment and got into the elevator which was going down to the ground floor. When I got into the elevator, there was already a woman and her child. He was a small boy in his third or may be fourth year in this world. He was so charming and playful. I waved at him while his mother was constantly staring at the floor numbers inside the elevator. He was surprised at my friendly approach and waved back. I, then whispered back asking "What's your name?" He giggled and replied "My name is Charles!" and after a small thought he asked
"What's yours?"
"I'm Karthick, nice to meet you" by saying I offered my hand for a shake. He was so happy and excited. He extended his hand. It was a cute little shake. By the time the shake came to an end, the elevator hit the ground floor. I bid one final goodbye to him. He reciprocated the same wave with lots of excitement. I came out of the building and happily encountered the beautiful white snowflakes. It was so soft like cotton and had a pleasing charm. The weather was so pleasant that day. I finished my work at the bank and realized that I was hungry and my stomach was pleading for some input. I saw a small coffee shop opposite to the bank and decided to go there. The place was so small with ten tables and chairs. A middle aged Chinese woman was managing the place. She was unusually attractive. No one was there in that afternoon except me. She first offered me a pleasing smile and then offered a small cup of Irish coffee and a doughnut. When she asked me to select a soup, I asked for the tomato soup and then (my mistake) added "It's pure vegetarian right?"
Her smile turned into a sound laugh. "Tomato soup - pure vegetarian" she repeated this phrase in her own cute accent and laughed. After five minutes I was served with a bowl of tomato soup as promised in the picture. To say the least it was unexpectedly delicious. The hot coffee and sweet doughnut added the delight. I expressed my thanks to her for making the most delicious soup I ever had. She started calling me "Veggie boy" I bid a goodbye to her and I got "Goodbye dear" in reply. I came out of the shop to catch the bus back to my room. That day was so relaxing and charming and ended in a peaceful manner. Not much happened, but it taught me to notice the beauty lying unnoticed in some very tiny things. That evening, I took my camera out, after a very long time, and went out for a small shoot. I enjoyed being alone, being myself. That day helped me to find myself. After that experience, slowly I started my little explorations and photography trips.

Dominic with his Canon 550D

Sometimes I go out for short photography trips with Dominic, my friend and roommate. We have mutual interests in photography and film making. He has the very same Canon 550D, which I have. We explored some unique places, parks, hills and mainly the places around Lake Ontario. These trips are nothing less than spectacular. Now, this is the reason or a small flash back behind the first paragraph. Bluffers park was one of our scenic and breathtaking photography trips. I think I stopped the paragraph with us taking the quiet little road. Yes! We took the quiet little road and the road led us to a beautiful forest way. It was two kilometres and a half an hour walk through the woods. After few minutes we got completely cut off from the noise and hassles of the society. The place was so quiet and eerily beautiful.

Quiet little Bluffers road

We continued to walk and I was constantly watching the thick blue and pleasantly beautiful sky in a distance. We just heard that Bluffers is a nice forest area. We continued our stroll as the evening was proceeding to an end. The sun showered the place with its pale orange glitters and rays. It was a sweaty walk in the upside hill. We saw a middle aged man walking in a distance and decided to ask him about the whereabouts of the park. We approached him and asked
"Uhh, excuse me, Where's Bluffers Park?"
"Do you see the ocean back there?"
"Ocean! Where?"
"There..." In the direction, he pointed, there was the blue sky I was starring, giving away no sign that its actually an ocean, lying peacefully with little to no waves, making no noise, with its exquisite and admirable deep blue color. That scene, to say the least, took my breath away. The landscape setting was truly inspiring, the sky so bluish pink, clouds scattered around in a pattern, kissing the magnificent blue ocean.

Ocean in disguise ...

We clicked some pictures, while some people were spending their time feeding nuts to the crowded gang of singing birds. Some pictures later, I kept my camera aside and sat comfortably in one of the big rocks facing the ocean. Except the voice of the fresh breeze, and the mesmerizing sound of sea gulls there was no sound, nothing to be heard. I was sitting there, longing to posses the talent of a painter or a poet. It was one of those magical evenings of silence and wonder.

longing to be a poet ...

ocean and the sunset ...

Bluffers park - birds and people

This is one of my fascinating short trips, the beauty of which I could share only verbally or in writing with others. Often, I'll go out alone with only Mozart and my camera as my company. I'm spending hours in the library, hearing Mozart and recently I'm happy that I'm reading a lot. Lone trips are something special and close to my heart. Recently or yesterday, to be exact, I took a route bus, the route 102, I take this bus everyday to go to my college, but never travelled ahead of that stop.

But yesterday, I had an opportunity to sit on one of the most comfortable seat near the heater, and never got down. The bus passed through my college, passed through a small town, crossed a highway, all of the passengers got down in their respective stops but I never did. It was me and the driver. The bus was now travelling in a beautiful road, which passes through a barren farm land. The farm land had the courtesy to not interrupt the beautiful evening sun rays which entered through the glass window of the bus and hugged me. I finally decided to get down and did so in the midst of nowhere. The place was so alluring, as the land had an unknown working factory in a distance with its beautiful and fascinating chimney smoke, sun rays offered an additional beauty to that chimney smoke. With Mozart's divine solo violin flowing like an entrancing falls through my ears, the chimney smoke, barren farm lands, that walk was one of the special moments in my life. Now, I stopped complaining as I began to see and enjoy the true beauty of being alone.

Chapter 24: Toronto Tale

I saw a car parked in front of a big wide building, a pale white colored one with random marble patch, to be specific. It was an office building of some sort. I couldn't see any structure except that one. It was surrounded by an pale green grass meadow. Partial surface of that building was exposed to the lazy rays of the early sun. There were two English gentlemen, both dressed in black long suits wearing a black hat, with a fine line of thread. They were discussing something in front of the parking lot, perhaps an argument, their conversation was not an audible one, as I was looking through the glass walls of Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Yeah! That was my first glimpse of this unbelievably magnificent country called 'Canada'.
I'm sure that it was a pretty normal glimpse, there was nothing to be wondered or nothing to be amazed at. It was just a regular morning in a country that was located in the far north end of this world. To say the least, I was so disappointed at that first sight. I had an entirely different picture in my mind about my first glimpse of the new land, at least to me. Road covered with pure white snow, little white snowflakes accompanying the wind or a place crowded with yellow taxis and foreign people. But no! It was just a clean empty road and a big wide building with two English men.

I was accompanied by two of my friends Dominic and Abhishek. Dominic was my colleague back when I worked as a profile writer, and it was our decision to come to Canada. I knew Abhishek, just before a month from my flight. Dominic was using the terminal's phone line and Abhishek suggested that we should go out of the airport and enquire about the taxi to an old guard standing in front of the terminal. We were not wearing our winter jackets and thermals. From inside the glass window the weather seemed to be fine, a normal sunny weather. So, I opened the doors of the terminal and stepped out into a new country. That was a BIG mistake, BIG!!! I should have worn my winter jacket. I still regret the moment. The moment, when I stepped out, literally, a chill ran down through my spine. That's when I realized that a regular winter day in Canada has a huge difference from that of a regular Indian winter day. I felt that as if my hand was starting to freeze. Dominic, from inside the glass wall, gestured a regular 'what happened' sign. I was shaking and I tried to say 'I need my jacket', instead of my voice, a large breath of snow puff came out of my mouth. That was totally weird and new to me.
After an hour or so, the red coloured taxi dropped us in front of a twenty storey apartment. The taxi driver was very pleasant towards us, he said that he is a Pakistani, working as a part time cab driver and studying Bio Medical at York University. He explained a lot about the Canadian Winter and also said that the word 'Sun' doesn't exactly mean 'Hot' here. We took the highway, so we didn't see much on our way to the apartment. So, as I said, the taxi dropped us in front of an apartment named '80 MORNELLE COURT'. The apartment was located in the small town of Scarborough. I'll explain about the town later in the next paragraph.

View from our Balcony ...

We took the elevator with all our packed luggage and finally reached room number 1204 in the 12th floor. As I had already arranged the accommodation, Sudharshan, our new roommate was waiting for us. He was also fairly new to Canada, just five days new. It was a comfortable two bedroom apartment, with a tidy balcony and a beautiful view. After checking out all the rooms, I was standing out in the balcony, starring down at the park swing near my apartment. Dominic came out with a coffee mug in his hand. It was a silent afternoon. We didn't hear a sound, not even a single thing. In a distance we saw few houses and two tall buildings. Cars and buses were moving back and forth in a road far away, but not so frequent. There was a constant siren sound of an ambulance that came from nowhere. It looked like a toy world. The silence was disturbing for the reason unknown. Finally Dominic broke that silence.

"We're in Canada!"
"Yeah!" I replied in a base tone.
"How do you feel?" he asked again.
" Unbelievable! It's like a dream" I replied.
" Everything was like a dream, our plan, our flight, everything!"

I don't know why, but that made me uncomfortable. I decided to take a nap and after few hours we started to unpack our things, arranged our clothes and stuffs in the close and by the time we finished, we heard a gentle knock on the door. It was Diana and Dillon. Diana is my friend's friend , about whom I wrote, earlier in this paragraph. Dillon is a mutual friend. So, that's it! It's the six of us and an apartment. These are my roommates.

We went out to do a little shopping, the very same evening. We walked for five minutes, to get out of our apartment complex and then we reached a cute little bus stop. We took a bus numbered '38' to a shopping mall called 'Scarborough Town Center'. I think this is the right time t explain about Scarborough. It is a small little coastal town located in the Greater Toronto Area. If Scarborough was a human, then if you ask 'what's up?' to it, it would answer 'nothing much!'

Yeah, nothing happens here. It's just a quiet little town with a fairly medium sized mall, few primary and secondary schools, a college campus and a university campus. But I noticed one incredibly good thing about this place. It is greatly organized. The roads are divided into grids, both in a parallel and horizontal way, neatly organized intersections, punctual and frequent public transportation and to say the least, extremely nice people. People here are so helpful and friendly.

Scarborough Town Center

Scarborough has some the most beautiful parks, a great pure lake, ravines in the woods and some pretty cool bicycle trails. Now, it's been a month since I first stepped into this town. I'm trying to blend in here with the new community, new people, new environment and most importantly new culture. I bought a phone connection, I talk to my friends and family every day, I regularly visit the Toronto Public Library that's near my place, I could take the subway train and I could find my way out if I'm lost in the middle of endless tracks and intersections and I could go to Downtown by taking three different modes of transportations without any help. Today I'm completing my first month here and for one month, I could say for sure that I'm doing a good job of blending in.

My most favorite picture of mine ...

Dominic and Abhishek in the Guildwood Park

Chapter 23: Goodbyes and Goodlucks!

I accept that I was so excited about my big move to Toronto. But as the days passed, I begin to realize one thing, one most important thing! I'm going to travel to an other part of the world, a part which lies in the extreme end of this world, which means that I could not meet or be with my family and my most beloved friends for at least an year. One year is a very long time. I must travel across a winter, summer, spring and an autumn to meet my family and friends again. This thought haunted me for days. I spent some sleepless nights. The travel excitement slowly faded away and I felt a restlessness throughout the week. My final week in India taught me few lessons which I wouldn't have learned, if not for this travel.

On a rainy afternoon, I got a call from my friend. The phone call made it obvious that she was in some kind of a dilemma and she wanted to talk to me about that. After an hour or so we were sitting in a coffee shop which was inside a nice big mall. We talked and talked a lot, we shared our problems, we had a nice lunch, we shopped, we walked a lot and we finished the day with a nice and long bike ride in the rain. That day was certainly, one of the best days of my life. Later that night, I got an update of a new post in her blog. When I checked out, I was so happy to find out some happy words about the day and the bike ride. I realized that how much she means to me and certainly she means a lot more to me than I think!

Somewhere in the middle of the week, I was sitting and watching some comedy show when I heard the calling bell sound. I opened the door to find a courier delivery for my name. A courier? For me? I swear that was the weirdest thing ever happened. I never, ever got a courier or a parcel. The address read one of my college mate's name, who also happened to be my close friend. I was so curious and I opened it with my sister to find a huge surprise! Lots and lots of gifts! Parting gifts! I can't explain the feeling in words. A book of my most beloved author, a cute coffee cup, a beautiful time piece, a pure white sand clock and my most favourite chocolate bars. I was even more surprised when I learnt that she had already discussed about the plan with my sister and got my home address from her. No one had ever did that to me. It takes at least some amount of affection to make this effort, an effort to make me understand that how much I mean to her and I know that I mean a lot more to her than I think!

It was a cold night, the night before my travel. Everything was set, bags were packed and it was the last night in India, in my home, with my sister, with my mom and dad. It was midnight when I finished all of the packing work.
My sister came near me and said "Today is the last day, right?"
"Yeah"
"Hereafter, I must have to watch 'The Mentalist' and 'The Big Bang Theory' all by myself, right?" by saying this she hugged me and started crying. Those words were strong! Simply strong! I was on the verge of crying, but I had to control. I should be strong, or else it would create an impact. I have to show that I'm happy and excited about the travel. At least that would convince my family. I convinced my sister and that moment made me realize how much my sister means to me and how much she loves me. Certainly, we fight a lot, we do use swear words when we fight, but that's what makes the bond strong. I'll never give up on my sister and I'm sure she would never give me up.

I still had two hours left. My uncle and aunt, my close college buddies Ram and Srivatsan helped me a lot in my final stages of packing and we at last we called a cab and I was all set to for my big travel. Half-an hour later we were standing near the 'Departure Gates' of Chennai International Airport. We accompanied my other two friends who were coming with me to Toronto and their family. Lots of my friends and relatives were present that day to bid me goodbye. I never expected that number. I was so surprised to see my mom handling it pretty well. I thought she would be so upset. My dad was so normal as usual, even he's upset he would never showcase that. That's what dads do right? My sister was so happy for my next big step. The tears and hugs made her strong. Inspite of all the tips, advice, ideas, phone calls, kisses, hugs, I managed to share some time with my friends. After few hours, there came the final boarding announcement. There were 'Goodbyes and Goodlucks' everywhere around the place. Goodbyes, waving hands, my friends, relatives, mom, dad and my sister began to disappear as I stepped into the immigration center. After finishing all the formalities I was waiting for the announcement for my flight. That's when I got a message from my sister which said "Mom is crying!"
That's what mom's do right? Act strong before us! I then called again and convinced her while I got another message from my friend with whom I had that unforgettable bike ride. It said "I'm gonna miss you a lot!"

Finally, after a very long wait, there came an announcement for the passengers, asking us to board into the flight. Out of all the confusions and worries I totally forgot that that was my first flight experience. It was much more similar to a first class train and I was lucky to have a window seat. I was told to switch off the mobile phone and exactly ten minutes after that announcement the flight took off with a great speed. The big buildings, small houses and streets were moving away from my sight. Slowly I was moving away from my city. I looked down as far as I could. Things started to fade away. After a minute or two everything just went blank and as the flight drifted through the night sky, small drops of tear started to run through my cheeks. That tear meant everything, everything I ever said and somethings which I never said!

My Window Seat in the flight!

Chapter 22: December Journeys ...

December Journeys:

I'm so sorry as it's been ages since I published a post in this blog. I've been so busy with my big travel. In the mean while I wrote three posts which I'd be posting one by one mentioning their respective dates.

- December 31 -
- Saturday, 23:43 -

A Dream Come True:

"Where are you?"
"I don't know!!!"
Weird right?! The month December of the year 2011 gave me an unusual yet unique opportunity of having this conversation quite often. As an important part of my study abroad plan I booked my flight ticket and I'm eagerly waiting to move to a new and happening city called Toronto. I quit my job by the end of November 2011. After a reluctant goodbye to all my colleagues, I started to drive my two wheeler from the parking lot towards home. I had a bundle of chaotic thoughts moving back and forth, clashing, parting away, lots of questions unanswered! ... 'What am I gonna do?', 'Is it a right decision?', 'Am I doing the right thing?'. These are the just the sample questions I had while driving back home. Out of all that questions, only one caught my attention. "I have one month in hand before leaving to Toronto. How am I gonna use it?" I tried to figure out a productive answer to that question. While stepping into my house, while taking a shower, changing my clothes and finally I had the answer when the day came to an end, while lying in my bed and watching the stars out of my window. 'I'm gonna travel, travel like I never did, to all the places I never visited!' I thought to myself. That thought then took me to Andhra Pradesh, Coimbatore and introduced me to some strange and unique people whom I'll never forget. The very same night I packed my bags and called the 24 hours service centre of Andhra Pradesh Tourism board and booked a ticket to Tirupathi and Papanaasam, two beautiful mountain towns in Andhra Pradesh. My December journeys started at the 1st of december, early in the morning, even before the sunrise!

The day faced a heavy downpour at four in the morning. I was standing outside a gas station, waiting for an Andhra Pradesh Tourism Volvo. After a seven minutes wait, a white bus came into my sight. I started my adventorous and exciting journey to Andhra Pradesh!

When I first entered into the bus, I saw many confused and strange looks. There were people from all walks of life. A North Indian couple, a 70 year old youngster, a middle aged single man from Andhra, an engineering student and many more from different backgrounds. I finally settled in my seat. I was so excited as it was near the window. Leaving the chill breeze and cold drops outside the bus started to move in a steady speed. I slept off as soon as the bus started and I had no clue about that. A two or three hours, I guess, I'm not so sure. But when I woke up, I saw something beautiful and magnificient outside the window. Mr. Sun just woke up like me and he was giving that lazy glimpse, a beautiful pale orange glimpse. The bus was travelling in the midst of a magnificient green farm. The pale orange light spread throughout the farm and there was lots of birds chirping and talking to each other! The previous day, I swear, I never know that I'm about to have this experience. Life continues to suprise me in its own way and I absolutely love that!

As expected, that day proved to be a great one, an unforgettable day! I went to Papanaasam, a dam and mountain town and Upper Tirupathi, a temple and mountain town. The dam's water splash, the mountain's greenery and magesty, its wildlife, unique and colorful birds, the turn-o-turn mountain drive and many more! I returned to my home, late that night after a very long and different day. That day was like a dream, a dream come true!

Coimbatore - A scenic experience:

Not more than two after the Andhra Pradesh experience, I got a phone call from my aunt. She insisted that I had to come and stay at their place for atleast two days. My aunt and my uncle lived in Atlanta, USA for more than forty years and now they have settled in a quite and beautiful community near the city of Coimbatore. I've never been to their place, but I heard from my sister, that the community was situated in the midst of a most peaceful and scenic village. I then called my cousin Balaji and asked him to accompany me to Coimbatore. He agreed to come with me and took an off from his work for a week and one fine night we were all set for another 12 hours long journey!

Next morning when I woke up, I was sitting in a cozy window seat of a volvo, and again I met Mr. Sun with his same old lazy yet beautiful pale orange glimpse. I prefer only night travels when it comes to a long journey. So whenever I get a phone call while travelling in the bus asking "Where are you?" I'd say "I don't know!" I may be in the midst of a farm, or a road in the middle of nowhere!

The next two days were nothing but a joy ride. I was so impressed with Coimbatore. The roads were so neat and everything is so organized. We got to a village called Madampatti near Coimbatore. I have to mention that the place was so beautiful, I mean it was fantastic, surrounded by mountains and unimaginably tall waterfalls! It is the border of Tamilnadu state. It is right to use the word 'scenic' to describe the place. We walked a lot, hiked, had a mountain ride in the car, went to temples, enjoyed the cold climate! After two days, we bid a big goodbye to my uncle and aunt, a reluctant goodbye it was!

Pondichery and Auroville:

I haven't had the opportunity to visit a beautiful and different French settlement called Pondichery. Eventhough it's just a 3 hours bus ride from my place, I haven't seen it, not even once. Since I thought that I shouldn't have a regret when I board the flight, me and my sister planned a family trip with our cousins' family. We decided to visit their place first and then from there we planned to go to a French village called Auroville and the town of Pondichery. Once again, an early morning I woke up and outside the window, I saw that I was riding in the road which passes through a beautiful river on both sides, and ofcourse, the lazy pale orange glimpse! That was a four day trip, and it turned into an utmost fun, I would've regretted for sure if I had not gone with them. My mom, dad, my sister, my cousins Raghul, Praveen, Kiran and their parents and me, a great group trip! Vandavasi is a quite and peaceful old town. That night, after a very long time, I slept in the open terrace of my cousins' beautiful house. The next day we were headed towards Auroville village. After a hour long ride from Vandavasi, we caught a neat highway and it lead straight to Auroville. Auroville's beautiful beach filled with cute French girls and its magnificient French architecture buldings and European Cafe's made me speechless. I never imagined it to be like this. 'Little Europe' would be the right name for that place. Pondichery is an extended version of Auroville. The highlight of Pondichery is its black rock beach and Annai Ashram. The beach side view of the town made me sit there for a long time, I sat there for nearly two hours, enjoying the picture perfect buildings and cute children riding in European cycles! I returned back home and I realized one thing, I now got rid of all those unwanted questions from my mind and instead I filled it with those picture perfect scenes from my December Journeys!

Chapter 21: Surprises & Confessions

I got my visa and I’m flying to Toronto, Canada by the first week of January 2012, I quit my job, I started to write a new script for a documentary film, I nearly loved a girl. What a way to start a new post?!

I waited almost a year for this to happen. I started my ‘study abroad’ plan somewhere before May 2010. It was a wonderful experience, to say the least. It offered me a lot of things, things ranging from frustration to friendship. I chose to divert from Mechanical engineering to Filmmaking. I now know that it is not an easy task at all. To quench my travel thirst I planned for my higher studies abroad and to fulfill my passion, I chose filmmaking. The application process took me to New York, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Australia, Canada and mainly New Zealand. I made a lot of friends in New Zealand, including the staffs of my film school. I’m so unfortunate as I couldn’t make it to the beautiful village of Taradale. My NZ visa application got rejected as I had applied for a film making course in spite of having a degree in Mechanical Engineering. But Canada is so generous to accept me! I’m getting ready for a fierce winter and lot of wilderness. So I started my purchase today. I bought some winter clothes like jerkins, woolen jackets, some branded casual shirts and jeans, winter gloves etc. I’m slowly getting ready to move out of my homeland, out of my beautiful country. Hardly one month to go! I’m going to miss almost everything, everything from family, friends, Pani Poori, Idly sambar, first day first show of a commercial movie to lone mountains of Guduvanchery.
But I know one thing. I can’t stay away from this place for a long time.

I worked as a Research Analyst in a corporate company called Connectivity Data Systems. I only worked there for three months but I’ve grown closer to that place because of my friends and the stress-free work environment. It is a startup company and has a lot of opportunities, offers a good pay and paves way for your career growth. I had to quit because of the ‘study abroad’ plan. Otherwise I would have stayed there for a longer period of time and enjoyed the fifteen minutes break, midnight cab ride, time with my friends and lots of beautiful girls.

As I quit my job, I had literally no work to do, not even a house hold work. I was so bored. I decided to roam around my city in a rainy afternoon. I went to the beach, some shopping malls, a war cemetery, an old museum, central station and at last Coyembedu Bus Terminus. That day showed me the beauty of my city from the point of an outsider. I really enjoyed each and every moment of my short travel. That’s the day in which I decided to make a documentary film about the magnificent city of Chennai. Chennai is my home for four years and this is the least I could do. I’m in the process of writing the script. I decided to feature a Chinese restaurant called China Palace in my movie. After a very kind and long request, the owner finally allowed to record few seconds inside the place and as a bonus, he also agreed to speak in that video about the restaurant and its origin.

I'm not going to say much about it, but finally, about the girl I said, Love is not the right word here, an emotional attachment or perhaps a sense of admiration. I really (I mean really really) like her. But one fine morning she made me realize that I’m just a stranger. I never expressed my feelings to her and I’m never going to express it forever. It stays with me as a secret. It is best for both of us, especially for her.

Chapter 20: Birthday Adventures !!!

It's been a long time since I wrote a post in this blog. That's because nothing happened in my life. Absolutely nothing!!! Not even a single exciting thing, until the midnight of November 07 (My Birthday!!!). That day started with an unexpected birthday call from a beloved friend of mine at 11:55 PM.

She asked "What's your birthday plan?"
"Well, I don't have any plans, as of now. But I have to pick up my friend from the bus terminus. He's coming from Bangalore."
"Now?? ... It's so late"
"Yeah, I told him to start at night so that he could reach here by day. (sigh) It's okay, I better start now."
I swear I haven't had the faintest idea about the turn that night was about to take. I should have stayed at home.

PART ONE: THE MIDNIGHT POLICE

- Coyambedu Bus Terminus -
- 12:45 AM -

After a search of good fifteen minutes, I got a glimpse of his weirdest yellow and red bag. I called out his nickname and he suddenly recognized my voice and within ten minutes time I was driving my bike in an average of 70 kmph while he was swearing at the top of his voice about his girlfriend with whom he broke up before two days. That night was so peaceful with gentle breeze accompanied by a light drizzle. I stopped the bike for a red signal. Just a moment before it turned to green, we heard a voice, a voice so commanding "Stop there guys!!!"
We turned to see a sincere traffic police standing in the middle of an empty road waiting for us.

"Okay, take out your license, insurance and RC Book" the same commanding voice.
I suddenly realized that I didn't have any of the above mentioned papers.
"Sir, I left my license at home …” I stammered.
“Okay, take out your RC book”
“Sir, I left my RC book at home”
His face was not the same again.
“Show the insurance papers”
“Sir, I left my … “
“What the??? !!! You should’ve stayed at home then!” He continued
“Without holding license, insurance and RC book, sums up to Rs.2500”
“What the!!!??? … I’m afraid I haven’t got that much”
“I’m afraid you both have to come to the station with me … It’s just opposite to that water tank.”
“Sir please … we’re in a hurry”
“No can do sir!”

My friend was so silent while the above conversation took place. I seriously don’t know what struck him, but suddenly he opened his mouth to say “Chennai Sucks!!!”

That statement led us to the following situation.

- Ashok Nagar Police Station -
- 1:30 AM -

I didn’t know that a police station at the midnight would look so lively. There was a constant ‘buzz’ sound from the tube light and the place was super busy, almost everyone was occupied with something, even the people inside bars. We slowly approached the officer who brought us there.

“Excuse me sir, we have no balance credit in our cell, can we use your phone?” I’m sure he was irritated.
“Nnnnope” he stressed too much on that ‘n’.
“What shall we do now?” my friend asked.
“I’m thinking … “

I had no balance credit on my cell phone to make a call and my friend had negative credit. I thought if we stand there for some time, may be that officer would let us go.

- Ashok Nagar Police Station -
- 2:30 AM -

We were still standing at the same place where I thought about leaving. He acted as if we were not there. But suddenly, a miracle happened (I thought it was a miracle!!!) I heard my cell ring. I seriously hoped that it should be one of my friends so that I could ask for a favor. But my hopes shattered when I saw the number, an international number!!! I picked up the call …

“Hello”
“Happy birthday dude!!! This is Rags dude”

Rags (aka) Raghunathan is my school mate. He lives in New Jersey, United States. I was happy that he called to wish for my birthday, but I was in no mood to appreciate that. (Sorry Rags!!! Thanks a lot for your wishes).

“Hello Rags, thanks for the wishes”
“What’s your plans for tomorrow? How are mom and dad? How’s India?” he built his questions.
The police officer was approaching us.
“India is fine Raghu, listen! am sorry, I’ll call you back, am not in the situation to talk with you right now. Thanks for your wishes man”
“No problem, cool man … bye, enjoy the day”

By the time I disconnected, the officer reached us and asked me “Who’s on the line?”
My friend replied “His friend from United States sir, wishing him a happy birthday”
“Oh, it’s your birthday??”
“Yes sir”
“So, what have you decided? gonna pay the amount?”
“I don’t have that amount sir”
“What about your friend?”
“No sir, if he had any amount, he would have given it.”
My friend interrupted again “Hey, as a matter of fact, I do have the amount!”
“What!!!???” it’s me.
“What!!!???” it’s that police officer.
“I thought you would let us go in a few minutes. But you are one strict officer!” I didn’t expect that answer. I was watching the police officer’s face change. He was totally annoyed.
“I apologize for him, am so sorry sir, I swear he didn’t mean that.”
“Just give the damn money and go.” he had a straight face.

My friend took the money out of his wallet and gave it to him. In turn he gave my key back. We were stepping out of the station and I heard the officer’s voice again. He was pointing at my friend.
“Hey you, I shouldn’t see your face anywhere, again!”
“Okay sir” he replied in a polite manner and the moment when I started my bike he shouted
“I’m from Bangalore, you won’t see me anymore!!!” I hope he didn’t hear that as the rain started to pour heavily. I didn’t say a word to him while driving. He thought I was annoyed about the incident happened. But something bothered me more. My bike started to make squeaky noises which usually mean that it’s going to stop. The road was empty and the rain was merciless. The sound of the thunder and frequent lighting made that night, a weird one.

PART TWO: THE PERFECT STRANGER

We were walking and in addition to that I was pushing my bike along. It seemed that the rain won’t stop till morning. My friend was constantly yapping about the police station incident. Fortunately I couldn’t hear him properly in that sound of the heavy rain. I tried the self-start button and it didn’t work. I tried kick starting, but I got the same result. In a distance, we saw a closed road side juice shop and decided to take a shelter. I was surprised to see a man standing there.

He seemed to be in his late thirties with a receding hairline. He was dressed in his formals. He was wearing specs. To sum it all up, he was a typical Indian middle aged working class man. The three of us stood there without saying a single word, hearing the rain. Finally that stranger broke the silence.

“Hey guys, I know this is weird, but … can I get a ride?”
“We’re already two and the bike got its own problem. So … I guess no.” I replied.
“Who cares if we do a ‘triples’ ride in this night?”
“Actually, I do. We just got out of the police station. I don’t even have the necessary papers.”
“My house is just near Ashok Nagar bus stop. I can’t walk now. Even the share auto won’t be available now. So please … “
“But my bike???”
“If I successfully start your bike, then you’ll have to drop me. Deal?”
“Yeah deal!” my friend replied again.

- Ambedkar Road -
- 3:00 AM -

I seriously didn’t think that I would actually sit behind and let a stranger drive my bike on a rainy midnight. (Actually, it was early morning!!!) It’s important to note that it’s a triples ride and no need to say that he started my bike in a single kick. The stranger started a conversation again. My friend was silently sitting in between us. He shouted every time when he asked a question as the sound of the rain was so huge.
“So, are you a student?” he shouted.
“No … I finished my Bachelors” I shouted again.
“Good for you. I’m working in ‘Indian Bank.’ I have two cute kids. My wife would be waiting for me” He shouted again.
“Listen! I can’t shout again, my throat’s bugging me. So … “ I shouted for the last time.
“Okay, I understand. I’m sorry … So what did you do in your Bachelors.”
I didn’t reply.
A few minutes later, he dropped himself at his home and bid a reluctant goodbye with lot of thanks’.

- My House -
-3:45 AM -

I dropped my friend at his cousins’ and at last I reached home. I took a hot bath and it was almost 4:00 AM. I was lying in the bed looking out of my bedroom window. I thought about all the incidents happened. I have to admit, it was exciting. Not every day, I could come across such incidents, such exciting and thrilling incidents. I then thought about writing this post and before I know, I was fast asleep. The next day, I woke up with a birthday wish from my college mate. I looked out of my window again. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was so clear. The day swallowed up the heavy rain and the sun looked at me as if nothing happened in the previous night. I have one word which sums up everything that happened the previous night.
W.E.I.R.D.