Things and their prominence

From my childhood, I was always attached more to inanimate objects than people. I used to play with things, sometimes it gets broken and I try to repair it and eventually get scolded for it. Also I could not get the heart to throw them away as trash which the adults deem it to be useless and broken. At a very young age I thought each thing has a purpose and can be utilized if we put our creativity and imagination into it. I still do. Whenever I visit shops as a kid, I always get tempted to touch every thing decked on the shelves. I get so fascinated and curious to know what each product can do and how. I wish such enthusiastic curiosity was still alive in many of us who moved on from our true innocent self that we possessed when we were kids. We used to be brave enough to explore and exploit everything we saw. Eventually life happened, we leveled up and unlocked new challenges.

For me each thing I own has a great significant meaning behind it and I believe everyone has one special thing with them that is so close to them too. Certain things reminds us of a memory, certain things makes us feel happy, certain things helps us cope with life or even a part of our life and reasons for the things we own can be a long list. For me one of such thing is my laptop. We are inseparable duo. Actually, I like my laptop better when there is good wifi signal. But still I learnt how much it means to me only when it got broken recently. I kept it on the chair and went to college. When I came back home, I took out my laptop out of it's bag, saw a crack on the screen and when I turned it on it gave me a plain blank white light all over the display. The torture of seeing your laptop not working anymore is horrific to know. 

When it happened, I was not in my sane self. My routine got crashed and I could not submit any College assignments properly which is a big deal for me. I consider myself an Introvert and I tend to be scared to ask help from friends. Even a midget amount of help makes me feel like I am taking advantage of that person who is helping me. I could never be satisfied by a work that was not done by me which was related or referred to me. So, I got sick with cold for a while. Whenever something happens to something so much dear to me, I tend to fall sick and depressed. I felt like a warrior at a war whose weapon got broken. My weapon to survive my life was my laptop. So, it took me a long while to sink in the thought that my laptop got broken and I really need to get it repaired. 

After many days and few powerful inputs from my mom I prepared to get it repaired. Usually for any small malfunctions we used to go to the shop which sold us this laptop I own. But they treated us like some nomadic people rather than customers and that place is situated far away from my home. My mom suggested she saw a laptop service center near my home and I was doubtful about her memory. I asked her whether she saw mobile shop or really a shop which services laptops. She was determined and that's how the journey of my laptop began. We walked together. Passed through a heavily crowded temple where the devotees are so dedicated they don't want to enter the temple premises but to block the footpath present in the temple entrance. How devotional and considerate of them. So, we passed through this and arrived at the shop my mom mentioned. I could interpret it was a mobile sales shop but my mom was persistent.

We entered and asked whether they service laptops. Turns out they don't and guess what they do. They sell mobiles. But the shopkeeper mentioned there is a laptop service center in the basement of the building. It turns out to be the shop which I frequently visit to get xerox, print out and spiral binding. So, I gave him my laptop and I was not having the courage or knowledge to describe the exact problem. So, He checks it out and tells us that it can be repaired. We were so happy until he said that would cost us around 4000 rupees. We came back home. Also there is demonetization happening in India which made my case even worse. To get money from banks and ATM there is a huge queue and hell lot of waiting time. My mom saw me suffering without laptop and she did went out to get money from the bank the next day. Mothers are the best and I am so gifted to have her in my life. The next day, we went again and gave the laptop for servicing and left in a rush. I can't bear the thought of leaving my laptop in the hands of anyone other than me. It means a lot to to me.

After that day I was informed that my Laptop got repaired. I dressed up, took cash from mom and rushed as soon as possible. My brother accompanied me this time. I saw my laptop and asked him did he put a new screen and he replied yes ma'am with a judgmental look. It was like as if my laptop has recovered and discharged from it's ICU. We paid him 4300 rupees and I demanded  for a bill. He made us wait to get a bill which he was making from scratch. But it was worth it. It took me a day to use it again. As if it was some sort of fragile piece of art. My laptop is the best thing that happened to my life so far and it remains to be my best buddy till date. Some things are valuable to us and people realize it when they are on the verge of losing it. It's nice to have that something in our life that rejuvenates us to live. 

Finale of October'16

October must be one weird month. It started off very differently and ended with lots of elements of life. In my previous blog, I mentioned about how it started, now will be providing you with the details of it's climax. Till 25th October I was having a combination of study holidays and exams. I always try to study as late as possible because of my horrendous memory. I might be a victim to amnesia or I might be hallucinating about it whatsoever this method has always been working out for me. So, after 25th I was having semester holidays and Deepavali holidays. 

Oct 26, 2016: Beginning of holidays

Finally, exams got over and I wanted to relax a bit so slept for a long time and woke up late. I woke up to see too many messages in my phone. I might have slight symptoms of Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) towards messages. I tend to check all the messages without fail. It seems my department assigned my class to finish a survey about soaps and shampoos. That too 5 filled surveys in both category which means I had to sacrifice my precious day by dedicating myself to fill the survey and request other people to fill it and send it back to my class leader. Now that's what I got in the name of holiday. But, certain duties even though it is useless for us to do; we need to fulfill it and forgo our holiday spirits. I couldn't believe survey filling can consume a whole day.

Oct 27, 2016: Bus ticket booking

Second day of the holidays. I thought to myself no more work and responsibilities, lets enjoy it to the fullest. But life has it's own will to destroy our peace of mind. I got immediate another task for the day. *Poof* The so called second holiday was gone with the wind within minutes. Life can be demanding at times.

My aunt who is an elder sister to my mom came to India from U.S. to visit my grandma who resides at my native place. So, my mom also wanted to pay a visit to them. So, she asked me to accompany her to book a ticket. We walked near the bus stop and took a bus to C.M.B.T. (Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminal) in Koyembedu. It is known as the biggest bus terminal in Asia according to Internet sources.  We arrive at C.M.B.T. and walk towards the ticket booking center. Due to fast approaching Deepavali festival, Tamil Nadu government has added additional buses for the public convenience to visit their hometowns which I presume. My native is in Andhra which means an other state of India so the ticket booking booth was far away from the entrance. We walked and saw couple of help desks that has been set up temporarily, buses that is routed to different places some of which I have never heard of before, and finally we reach our booth.

The kiosk was a filthy room that was opposite to a toilet. A lady was seated inside that cubicle who provides Information and tickets regarding Andhra Pradesh Government Buses. She was seen through a hole provided in a grimy glass window secured by equally grimy metal bars. It was extremely inconvenient for my mom to converse with her to book a ticket. But eventually we booked a ticket after my mom interrogated her with lots of possible and impossible questions. We finished our ticket booking and were walking back to the entrance and suddenly my mom reminded of us being alone and hungry while she is away and wanted to buy some biscuits. She spotted a store and started interrogating that vendor about the rates and prices of the biscuits. I am a person who hates spending money unnecessarily and if I really wanted something; I do a hefty amount of thought processing before really purchasing anything. Meanwhile, my mother is completely opposite to me. She buys immediately if she wishes to buy something without giving it a thought..

Later, she was not satisfied by the choices in the store and left. I felt terrible for the guy who responded all the questions to my mom and she just left without buying anything. When I told her about her behaviour she just denied it by saying its his duty to serve customers and our choice to whether purchase or not. Most of the parents, especially my mom has a way of making flawless legit points. Then, she got reminded of something again and I was already drowsy from lack of sleep and wanted to go home as soon as possible. She forgot to book her return ticket to Chennai. We walked again to the same kiosk and went through same ticket booking process again. We finally accomplished booking our tickets and took a bus home.

I still had some more time of the day to spend meaningfully. So, I watched few episodes of Korean dramas and read a book. My advice to you all: Spend each ounce of time towards what interests you. Never spend your time on boring activities because wasted time can never be regained. At the same time stop worrying about wasting time and be grateful for what our life has to offer.

Oct 28, 2016: Mom vanishes from home

My mom kept on reminding me what to do and what not to do while she was away. She prepared extra amounts of food and told us to eat it whenever we were hungry. She took her luggage and was stating she was going. We said bye. She came again and repeated the same for a few times and we got annoyed and said just go and reach the bus stop on time. She made an on purpose faux frown and went off. My brother and I were immediately got glued to our gadgets. The day for some reason felt relaxing at first but was never ending. Usually my mom is a constant chatterbox in better terms she's a garrulous person. She never stops nagging and always find ways to express all the faults in the world with the people who are dear to her. Life usually goes a bit fast forward when she's in the house. That moment we felt what happens in her absence. Its probably nothing but something that make us to feel a bit missing without the presence of a particular thing.

Oct 29, 2016: Very important day

It's the day my brother was born and its the day the auspicious festival Deepavali was celebrated in the year 2016. Some say it is Diwali, some say it is Deepavali, but I assume most of the people like me says it's a beautiful holiday. Morning was filled with cracker sounds which I strongly detest. Many of us know it is festival of lights not sounds. My dad wanted us to be well fed while my mom was away and asked us for our breakfast choices and I said I was not hungry and he didn't even gave a thought to my opinion. I have a habit of eating less in the morning and more in the evening. But for some reason my family can't understand my body's hunger timings and ends up feeding me more or starving me more at times. Meanwhile, my brother has this amazing talent of tolerating people. He just blurted out "anything is fine".

That's how I ended up eating two large dosas, one oily poori and a bangle sized vada. Accompanied by coconut chutney, tomato chutney, sambhar and a potato side dish. I ate all those just because my dad was insistent and was watching over us finish eating all the foods he proudly bought to fulfill my hunger-less stomach. Everyone who knows me very well knows how meticulously I eat. I am well known for my eating styles and habits. I was both appreciated and criticized for my eating decisions by everyone I knew till now. Everyone are different and people just can't accept a person having a different eating pattern.

Usually the TV channels show good choice of films to watch. This time films shown were boring and repeated ones. My phone buzzed with Deepavali wishes. I was wishing them back. I got something even special on this day - The cold. I got sick and was sneezing more than the times I was breathing. We ate noodles for lunch. Anything warm can make a cold person be at ease. The warm soupy instant noodles soothed me for a while. Later, I scribbled some patterns with chalk pieces in the name of kolam on the floor. Then, I finished a series of Korean drama and it became night. We were watching discreetly at the fireworks which the tenants were bursting.

Mom arrives and starts talking about her arrival confusion. I did miss her nagging but sometimes I hope she realizes the preciousness of silence.

Oct 30, 2016: Usual routine holiday

Mom was back. My aunt gifted us with lots of goodies. We ate foreign biscuits and chocolates. Mom started her work of annoying us with her blabber. We distracted ourselves with the help of Internet. The day ended but my cold didn't.

Oct 31, 2016: Sleep deprived and lots more worse stuff

I was carefree and sleeping in the bed without any worries other than my cold. I am woken up by my mom. I saw glass shattered all over the hall, broken cupboard and a my brother with his bleeding wrists. I immediately brush my teeth, change my clothes and rush over to a medical shop. There was another customer who came prior to me and was taking her own time to decide what to purchase. So, I started looking upon all the medicines and other things arranged in the shop. She leaves and I blurt out what I need in lightning speed. The cashier/store representative got confused and I repeated each item slowly. She showed the things I needed and started tapping buttons of the keyboard to prepare the bill. I paid, took the things that I purchased and left as quickly as possible.

My mom dabbed a chunk of cotton with the antiseptic liquid and rubbed it over my brother's bruises. She made sure to advice him constantly with each rub. Then his bruises were covered with band aids. Till this moment I was clueless about what was going on. When I asked about it, My mom started crying. She cries rarely and started telling philosophy with regards to parenting. The reason was my brother missed his college bus and came home. He had an important test on that day and was ready to bunk it. This made my mom angry and to yell at him. Eventually he wanted my mom to stop talking and tried to hit the wall. Instead his arm hits the glass panel of the cupboard nearby and that explains how the hall was looking like a crime scene in the morning. My mom made an enquiry with his college faculty and made him to go to college by other buses. He was reluctant at first but agreed eventually. I was sent along with him to make sure he gets into a bus.

I came back home which was having power cut. How unpredictable life can be? Any irrelevant incident can become relevantly influential towards our life. I took headphones, my phone and headed towards the bamboo swing that is hung at the entrance of the house. I Listened to radio, passed time by swinging and waited for the current to comeback.

That's how October 2016 ended for me!