It has been a long time......

It has been a long time,precisely 25 months since I wrote my last blog. It is not that the flow of ideas ceased,it is because of lack of time and interest. Now that I have found time and forced myself into my chair and in front of my laptop, I thought of telling you all about happenings in my life and around.

Lot of things happened around me. Last month,one of my sister was raped and brutally beaten up by some bunch of thugs and was thrown onto the platform.She was lying there naked,shivering in the biting cold along with her friend who was equally beaten up with iron rods. Yes, I am talking about the brave heart from Delhi who battled for her life and finally gave up when she thought she will be 'safer' in heaven. Lot of people took to the streets,protesting against the brutal crime,demanding stricter laws be enforced and swifter punishments be given.Hunger strikes and candle light marches followed. I was thinking about the punishment that should be given to those 6 animals,one of them a minor. I have been hearing different opinions from people - some say capital punishment must be given, some are against it. I thought a little differently. All their photos have to be flashed in media. They have to be let out. The people on the roads will take care of the rest.RIP,sister!

In the mean time I was fasting for Sabari Malai Ayyappan. I was satisfied with my fasting and puja. My dad and I, along with 8 others including our guru swami visited the holy place of Sabari Malai. HE was mesmerizing as usual. Everyone will fall in love with HIM. Such is his power.The power of attraction. We had 5 darshans, one with Irumudi. 5 darshans does not suffice and we were not satisfied. But HE is not only for us but for everyone. While on our way back, we had the privilege of visiting some of the holiest shrines in Kerala.Kerala is known for its temples and its size. There is not much of architecture with lot of sculptures as in the temples of Tamilnadu. But they were astoundingly big and vast.Each temple easily covers a football field or two. We went to Ettumanoorappan temple,a Shiva temple in Ettumanoor. We even visited Guruvayur and sought Guruvayurappan's blessings. The best temple I had even been to is Vadakkanathar temple in Thrissur.The temple was vast in terms of area and had all deities inside it. There was extreme silence except for the rustling of the trees and chirping of birds and occasional ringing of temple bell. My mind was at peace. I totally enjoyed the trip and this pilgrimage trip will continue next year also.

My friends and I had planned something big for New Year's eve celebrations. The plan doomed due to various reasons.So instead we decided to have some fun during the subsequent weekend.I had never been to Barbeque Nation,a restaurant loved and recommended by many of my colleagues. According to them, they served the best buffet in a calm and pleasant ambiance.Since it is the most preferred destination for many, it will be packed during weekends.So I had booked a table 3 days in advance. We also planned for a movie - The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey. Everything went as planned - the food,movie and the journey. No hassles,delay or hurdles whatsoever. Had a perfect and memorable Saturday - 5th of Jan.

Ang Lee's Life of Pi was released. Many flocked the theaters and came out satisfied. I did not want to watch the movie. I thought I can live the experience by reading the book, a best-seller by Yann Martel.I was not disappointed. Martel's style of narration and the story was very gripping.A definite page-turner. The book is much better than the movie minus the visuals. Now that I have imagined the whole story in my mind, I am dying to watch it come into life in front of eyes. Currently reading 'The Discovery of India' by Jawaharlal Nehru.

At present I am recovering from my CAT result debacle. This was my third attempt. All attempts were without attending proper coaching.I realized this was the reason for my failure,realized a tad too late.I was not sure of a 90 percentile, but I was not expecting it to be this low either. I do not want to disclose my percentile because of sheer embarrassment. The way I was campaigning that I will be writing CAT and showing off those fat books 5 months before the test date resulted in more embarrassment when the results were out. People around me started asking me the marks and I had to hang my face down. I was not able to say it to my parents either.I even felt that I let myself down,I let my friends down and also my parents down. Two days passed,now I had gathered some confidence by saying "You are not a failure.You are not an idiot.You are not a good-for-nothing lad.It was just the lack of preparation.Better luck next time.". I was back on my feet!


Lot of other things also in mind.I do not want to bother you guys too much as of now.So, see you next time.