ACCUSED!!!!!!

It’s ironical for having heard such a term in a so called POSH and corporate world while I have the faint memory to connect the term with Police Law and judiciary.

I, Vaibhav Srinivasan, solemnly declare that this article is based on a true experience and some introspection, I encountered few days back in my “Air-conditioned” and creativity confined office campus, which stands erect as a beauty of modern day steel structure completely glossy and amusing in the SEZ outside city limits. Yes., Very same office building, the perfect capitalist in terms of current consumption when the whole state sacrifices their needs for few thousand machines and professionals working inside.

The incident was very simple. Late night beyond 11:30PM, house keepers were allowed to clean our floors and one young fellow, probably of my age has manhandled a small glass article kept on a table. The ability of the sweeper to enjoy the artistic beauty of the fancy doll kept in my colleague’s table was kindled and when he tried to do it away from the eyes of his supervisor, he had failed and in tension he dropped the same.

It resulted in a fuss created by his superior to show off. He scolded very badly and used the term accused. The poor fellow was sent out of the scene getting tagged as misfit and I met him at the corridor when I was on my way for a late night coffee. I took him along with me when I realized the tears rolling down his cheeks.

We were in the fourth floor corridor and he started to talk slowly after wiping his cheeks... Let me put the terms in his plain blatant style and of course I just translate here and surely no exaggeration. He started as…

(Pointing out to a distant place down) There can you see sir? Some small hill kind of thing... I am coming from a village near that hill. We were, of course, a happy family with my dad and mom being the Farming coolie and I was busy with my schooling. We had very little money. I was like all other village lads, who were benefited by the free education from Govt.

Rains betrayed us.. Tractors and other Farm Equipments completely ruined us.. There was no need for Farming coolie and then came the announcement from our Govt. Our Village, safely inside from the sea border, was identified as hot spot for SEZ. We were assured of regular jobs, development, infrastructure, connectivity and what not. For the first time in my life we all had dreamt of seeing our village turning like MADRAS!!  

Cars, internet, Tar roads.. Facilities to come and cater us... It’s going to employ us as well. We were asked to leave our lands and we left our huts and even an asbestos sheeted accommodation was given to us.

Land owners gave away their land to Govt. and were settled with prices. We, the landless laborers were either taken as security guards, or house-keeping assistants. Initially, my mom was washing plates in the cafeteria you eat and my dad was the security guard in Gate-2. Now that competition came for us from North and those guys were ready to grab our chances for very less wages. Helpless, we were… My dad is now sent out of job and he turned lunatic and my mom falls ill often and she couldn’t work well. When I had the dream of learning something artistic, now I am left with no other options to run my family.

He continued with lots of his own story. I came back to my seat and googled with some serious thoughts and here are my findings…

Suicides have become common nowadays. Be it IITian or a farmer… It is a serious problem now. In Tamil Nadu alone, number of farmer suicide occurrences were 500 in 2008 and 1260 in 2009. For a quintal of paddy, manufacturing cost is like 1500 INR and the acquiring cost by Govt. itself is 700-1100 INR.

Tamil Nadu’s demand of food grains annually is 170 Lakh tonnes while the production is just 80 Lakh tonnes. If Karnataka and Andhra doesn’t supply us food, my friend, we are on the verge of starvation. The cost of fertilizers too increasing and the land loses it productivity gradually due to chemicals.

Statistics shut me down and I seriously realized even the domination is in power supply. I started wondering in what way the SEZs are qualified enough to exploit our Agriculture and small-scale industries. I got reminded of my project mate in college, Prasanthi, with whom I had argued much and only now I realize that I had nothing worth arguing and even now I can’t let off my job and stop anything that’s beyond my control. 

I frankly admit that I am currently eaten up by present-selfishness rather than future worries. I want to eat today and so I earn... But when the fear of tomorrow’s food availability comes in me, I get worried. My community should not stay hungry. I am currently developing software which in no direct means would feed a hungry person. And in due process I am sure I would have indirectly exploited farmers to whom the land originally belonged to...

By all means, I tried to justify my stand. But despite doing that.. I admit I feel guilty..

No solution... Whatsoever from me!!!

Just the article ENDS and not my worries…!!!

Pictures courtesy: Google!!! :) 

Fiery!!! More fiery..!!! & finally... Even more... !!!

There were moments in my life where situations set me on fire and I had to do something dramatic and encounter that. This one, happened during my college days is probably the worst ever that someone could even think of.

I was staying in a college hostel and it was the eve of beginning of study holidays. We were busy in packing our luggage and I was so excited the moment I was thinking about the home food, Mom's care and recently brought DVD player at home. Little I had known that time that this little gadget was going to spoil my entire vacation.

I had a friend in the next room of my hostel and we both were fans of actor Kamal Hasan. He had a collection of his comedy movies in a DVD and I had got his permission earlier to take home that DVD and enjoy watching it with my family. My family members are very much conservative and I wanted to surprise them with this movie collection as soon as i reach home. I had a night long journey and the moment I entered my house, I could smell the aroma of specially cooked dishes exclusively for me. It was a Saturday morning and my younger brother and Dad were getting ready. I hurriedly inserted the DVD into the player and I was asked to fill in a water bottle for my brother and I went inside the kitchen.

Few moments passed by and I could hear my Mom screaming on top of her voice and it later burst out as cry. When I came inside the hall I could realize the DVD reduced to pieces and My Dad too entered from another room. For few moments, I couldn't even realize what was going around me. Everything stood still for me as i was standing frozen, dumb and I could recollect that moment. My mom was shouting heavily which was evident from her annoyed face. My dad too joined in unison with her and brother was watching us.


I was brought back to senses with a slap I received on my left cheek. The reason was simple. The DVD I had brought was not a Kamal comedy movie one but it somehow got mixed up with other ones in the room and this one was a porno flick and it got resumed from an obscene part in the movie. This was more than enough for my highly conservative parents to burn out, as the anger gradually turned as tears and it made my situation even worse.

I had to convince my parents about my innocence and this took a lot of diplomatic efforts. I even had to do some justifications that No guy would ever dare to bring these things to house and I had to quote examples about hostel life, freedom given and we constructively utilizing the same. I returned back to hostel the same day and for a week almost I was engrossed with this issue. My other roommates came after ten days and I found the culprit who took my DVD instead of his. Once I narrated this remarkable happening, they all were initially looking at me helplessly. But, after a few minutes of silence,all of them busted out in laughter at the same instant and one even complained that I had to lose a DVD!!!

Anyways, with the belief that my parents relied on me and with the help of friends and brother, I brought back things to normalcy and this happening eventually turned out as something to be laughed at nowadays.

To All My teachers!!!

When she stood tall there in the class and taught me how to write the alphabets, hardly I knew that she is lighting the lamp of my life. Like all, I cried in KG classes but from there I learnt what the teachers really mean to every individual. For every child, they are the first outsider whom they meet and who nourish their nurturing talents. But later we don’t even bother to mind our parents and blindly believe the teachers. We learn from them, and we even surpass them in knowledge. But, the gratitude we owe to them is something which one cannot repay in a lifetime.


We meet different teachers at different points of life and each one is different in their own aspects. Luckily for me, my teachers, both in school and college have been my role models and impact of them is seen in me in every aspect.
My school believed in the culturally sound “Guru-Sishya Parampara” and we even celebrated “Guru Poornima” on par with teacher’s day. In fact, I still remember few teachers who resembled a second mom and school being my second home.  My school taught me values beyond the books in which the teacher’s role was instrumental. School Teachers shape our dreams, drives and they even play a greater role in choosing our favorite subject to proceed on. We were even given a chance to handle the lower classes on this September 5 and it made me realize the pleasure in teaching.
College was fun and teachers were even friendlier. Never had I dreamed, I would call up a teacher on the eve of exam and get to know about a basic fundamental concept. How many times you ask, whenever you ask and where ever you stop them (I still remember learning a concept of fourier in canteen and my sir was patient enough), they are always eager, quench our thirst of knowledge.
This tradition even continues in office. Only difference is the way they are called… “Trainers”. Still, the tradition continues and will continue forever. I dedicate a sincere gratitude to all my teachers and I am sure they are the ladders for our heights. Happy teachers day to all!!
P.S: Tagging few of my teachers till date from school, college and Office here.  Thank you all!!

MY LIFE - Journeys :)

Trying to pen down some peculiar experiences of my life in recent years, I try to accumulate my thoughts. Feeling funny, or even inspiring, pour in your thoughts, feedback and even scolding…  A Big Thanks in advance…. 

Trips to Chennai 

Going to Chennai was always one interesting experience to me. While my other friends were too busy in packing planning and booking tickets, I was almost half the way all times in the journey. I had company with few likeminded people who loved travel. I am a traveler who travels without a proper plan encountering adventurous thrilling and even bizarre experiences. Travel has always been my passion and I never planned my journeys.  In the initial first year I have faint memories of my dad booking a train ticket to me. Then on, it’s my decision about the mode. I have come in buses, trains, tempo traveler; lift in cars and even in a truck. Only thing left to try out is the first class in train.

I take up the day journeys like the mission Chennai trip where I would aim to reach Chennai at the earliest. I used to get down in Chennai Trichy highway in a place called paal pannai which is the nearest stop from my college in the highway. I block the buses on the way to Chennai and board them and this particular day I met one childhood friend of mine from my village with whom I was talking for some minutes in a tea stall there. When enquired, he said he works as a cleaner in a lorry agency and he offered me a lift to Chennai that afternoon.

I instantly accepted and I made the driver as a friend and we started towards Chennai. With Illayaraja songs on the way and interesting discussions, it was made one of the best ever journeys I had ever taken up. The lorry driver was narrating his experiences of a typical lorry driver encounters. He was a Rajni fan to my surprise and we were eagerly discussing about the ROBOT movie too. And we had a Tea party in a shop and before I offered to pay the bill the driver already has finished with that.  He got so excited that he was introducing me to everyone whom he met in that route in which he drove regularly. I was even shocked about the amount that a lorry agency pays in toll booths.

My friend, the cleaner of the lorry dropped his schooling in 6th standard and he worked at various places in and around Trichy. I realized the recent droughts of the decade from 1999 to2009 played a worst impact on delta farmers and their kids were being sent to work. 

It was about 9:30 in the night we crossed SRM and he said in an apologizing tone that he had to take the Chennai Bye Pass road and he cannot drop me in my area, which is Chromepet. I was caught by his love and I had just realized from my friend that he had a son who passed away recently.  To my surprise, the Lorry driver was stunningly knowledgeable that he had read Sci-fi novels of Sujatha and he could even narrate an incident from that.  One day’s journey has taught me so many things.

When I happily narrated these to my roommates, they started laughing and I could not react anything. But this news had spread like anything to all that even the just met friends identified me with this incident. I am least bothered and all I could feel is everyday gives you a new lesson. My passion to travel still continues and lot many new adventures I encounter. I even met a group of one MLA supporters sarcastically passing comments about the Govt in an unreserved compartment journey in guruvayur express. Hoping for many such experiences, I still travel….   

My last day at the hostel.... officially:)

December 30 2010!! Perhaps the last day at the hostel officially. and ironically my first Blog:)
SASTRA home!! the place which really means a lot to a person like me. I came to a private hostel in the first year where i was totally new to the system. I have heard an old myth amongst the college students that people whom you meet in the first year as your roommates and close ones are the guys with whom you ll be greatly bonded to in the remaining years.  yes indeed .. that stays factual.

The "supposed to be frightening" FIRST YEAR:
This night i do not know why but i don feel like sleeping at all. Maybe the very thought of the moment i am going to vacate prevents me from dosing off. My first year was awesome and perhaps the best. It gave me only few hostel friends but those are the ones who still know me perfectly. I can never forget the lovely memoirs..For the first time in my life i had cut a cake for my birthday. Till then I never knew such a moment was hidden 314 km away from my house. Walking 4 km to college was hectic.. but even that was made joyous when friends were around. I had a first and last ever serious fight of my college life there with sriram where i banged his head to a wall. Thank god he did not hit me back ;) !! My economic trips to chennai with my roommate gymmer, Photo session during exams with Jay n shyam, short outings with Bharathwaj and co. , sleepless chats with chandru narsiman etc, every day college was made enjoyable with sharath venky and vicky around, daily playing of cricket, comedies with shiva santosh etc... still stays evergreen in my memory:) 20 odd guys gave life to a deserted land along the highway in the name of......" VENKY TOWERS".....!!!!

THE PARADISE:
 The moment we stepped in, we realized that the place deserved the name given to it. With healthy food, people like Arunbabu, Hariharasudhan, awesome ambiance and mainly the avoiding of walking long distance the place was a real paradise to me. Roommates like the studious venky and jolly carefree Sudhan made the stay enjoyable. Carrom and lawn were dragging my time. I still remember the never ending phone talks in paradise terrace. Later we came inside the campus and with pathetic conditions we completed the year. Significant happenings include me getting a Bi-cycle and breaking that in a single day, the lankan war and our secret movie there, the comedies made in the room and once at my home, all cherishable memoirs:)

My college and specifically the hostel life has taken new turns when i came to third year.. in my next Blog:)