The Wailing II

Before you start reading, please read the first part of this post. Here

Back to her desk, she begins her work. Her phone begins vibrating before emitting the louder notes of her ring tone from her purse. It is Abhi on the line.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

"I am fine" she says.

"I got a call from Dr. Pratima; she said the results are in. Are you sure, you want to go there alone?"

"Yes, I'll manage, don't worry. I'll be coming home after the Clinic. So it's OK"

She had almost forgotten about the appointment. After notifying her boss, she proceeds to the lift. The lift is painted bright to keep the riders from feeling claustrophobic. Colors that represented happiness, the exact opposite of what she is feeling right now. The uneventful lift journey takes her to the ground floor. She hires a taxi and directs it to the Clinic.

On the way to the clinic, while the taxi waits for the lights to change, she sees a couple of half naked kids going from car to car begging for alms. Some windows opened, some did not. One of the kids carrying an infant, for added impact. The infant, started crying, flooding back the memory of the wailing she heard at her desk. That turning her off, she closed her eyes for the rest of the journey, trying not to think of anything but her meeting at the clinic.

The Clinic was the exact same as she remembered the last time she visited. The same bland white walls, with varying shapes of dried moss due to water logging, turning black. One would expect a clinic to be much cleaner. The insides were much better. Almost like a scientific lab, totally sterile. She approached the desk with a deep sense of foreboding.

She knew something was not right from the day she had the abdominal pain and dizziness. She thought it would pass, but it did not. Abhi took her to visit Dr. Pratima, their gynecologist. She did some tests on her and asked them to hope for the best.

The receptionist asked her to wait in the waiting room, while Dr. Pratima finished with another patient. She knew right then, something was indeed wrong as the doctor wanted to convey the news directly to her. She sat down. The table had an assortment of magazines. None interested her. The wall in front of her carried a poster - "Say NO to female infanticide".

Dr. Pratima called her in. She asked her to sit down. With the sundries out of the way, Dr. Pratima got out a yellow envelope with the test results.

"You have, what is called, an Ectopic Pregnancy." That did not make Shanti any more comfortable.

"It is a rare condition, where the fetus lodges in places where it is not supposed to. In your case, it has lodged in the Fallopian Tube. This form is called the Tubal Pregnancy."

She took a long pause put down the results in front of her, looked right in Shanti's eyes and said

“At this point, I have to be very clear with you. If you continue with this pregnancy, you might die!"

"I suggest we dissolve the pregnancy, it is a safe procedure where we will inject a chemical and dissolve the fetus"

The word "dissolve" did it. The room seemed to expand of its own accord. Her vision got blurry. The tears just wouldn't stay in her eyes.

The Wailing began again.

Team Work (e-mail forward)

There are times when you are so swamped with work and other issues you are on edge. But then, you get a mail that simply makes you smile and gain a new perspective on your issues. Here is one that made me laugh and for once I was glad I am on someone's forward list.

Google Fanatics

Some people who are regular on internet have their lives entwined with Google. I might be one of them. Obviously, Google goes out and buys the best free stuff in the business, poor fellows like us need to get involved with Google.

Some people are just plain'ol crazy about Google. Following is an example.

They See this
www.Google.co.in/jobs Google is looking for Java experts. Jobs in Bangalore/Hyderabad. Apply!


and Do this
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+Become+Java+expert+in+two+days+and+apply+to+google

The Wailing - I

She hears the wailing of a child coming from the recesses of the window by her desk at work. The ceaseless crying of the child makes her nervous. It was something she had not experienced before, ever. The day was hot, sweat dripped from her forhead. She reaches for the napkin, then she hears it again. It is an infant, too young to tell if it is a girl or a boy. She swabs her forhead, throws the napkin in the red dustbin below her desk. She tries hard to concentrate on her work. The dealines are approaching, so many peer reviews, so much work left.

The coffee she just got sits there on the desk steaming in a crippled cup. A cup that has folds and creases. Not for long will it stay steaming. The day passes with the sundry events of her job. Meetings, reading innumerable pages of documents, typing lots. In no time, the lunch hour emerges from the glow of her monitor and her computer clock jolts her out of her reverie. The walk to the canteen is uneventful. Her visits to the canteen always rung in one nauseating thought. The time she used to eat the canteen food. A period of disgusting health problems plagued her for months. Now she got food from home. She is close to tears today. Doesn't know why.

She takes a plate from the stand goes to her favourite table just beside the canteen window overlooking the lake. She settles down and is happy she no longer eats the canteen food. The tasty home made food looks and is indeed mouthwatering. Eating by her window was one of the things she liked about her day. The cool breeze from the lake and the taste of spice on her tongue was unbeatable. The breeze is warm today. Halfway through her lunch, she gets a call from her husband enquiring how her day has been. Very well she replies and resumes her lunch. Then, she hears it again. The wailing. Incessant. The unforgiving cry of an infant bitten by pangs of hunger. The food no longer appeals to her. She looks around the canteen, everybody is eating, chatting, going out, coming in. None seem to be bothered about the wailing child. She must be the only one hearing it. She does sit beside the window. Her apetite is diminished. She packs her box and leaves.

Rain

When it rains in Hyderabad, it is lovely. I for one like those evening rains, that start in late afternoon continue till dinner and stop. The night drive gets exciting with wet roads and the cool breeze. The dawn comes with a promise of bright weather, with the rain having washed the skies. It brings a clear sky allowing one to see farther than on a normal day and with those minute details that make you think if your sight has improved.

The morning brings a wet perfume to your sense that is nostalgic. The washed away mud settles along paths and is smooth like the beach sand to touch. The pattern of the water flow still etched on it, tempting you to disturb it. The trees are greener to the eye, the flowers more colorful. The winds of the rain have blown away the weak, about to fall leaves.

The after effects of the rain are beautiful but a few moments before the rain starts, the atmosphere is heavy, breeze bringing the clouds to you. The slight drizzle before the downpour reminds you to take shelter or not. Being at a job, I could not take the liberty of drenching myself in rain. But I did see a couple of people giving in to the luxuries of rain drops on their skins and clothes as they were returning home to the cozy comfort of the dry soft towel and a hot cup of coffee.

I believe rains everywhere tend to arouse similar feelings and sights. Our great-great-great grandfathers, who were farmers, must have waited days and months together to experience the joy and miracle that rains bring to their farms and fields. Maybe this joy transcended into our genes as well and thus we celebrate that rare rain that visits us in the middle of a hot summer. Hoping God gives us more such pleasurable times.

Work/Life

Does your work define your life or does your life define your work?


A single question, when broken into two, can help the right answer to just pop in front of your eyes. Let us split the above question into two parts.

• Does your work define your life? Or
• Does your life define your work?

In my answer, I believe my life guides my work. I don't live to work, but I work to live my life.

So often I see people just hammer away the entire day at work, hardly giving a moment of thought about their life. There are so many things that can be done apart from work. Even a person with limited interests can dedicate a reasonable amount of time to anything other than work.

Fast paced life is one culprit. Everybody is on the move for long term, short term or ephemeral interests. A lot many poems have been written describing the inattentive humans passing by Nature's everyday miracles. Maybe it will take a sudden change or a calamity for such people to pause, take a look and wonder only to realize that they had taken so much for granted.

I had received a forward in email that said that work is only a way to sustain life. To finance the many wonderful things that can be done in life. Multi national companies a greater greed to minimize costs maximize earnings has led to some lovely innovations in the fields of human resource management.

Companies invest in avenues to keep the employee at work as long as possible. Recreations, Fitness, Food are only few of the perks provided on campus to keep the employees tied in for longer times. Even people are to blame; they find the company's fast internet better than the slow connection at home or none at all. The Air conditioning is always on!! Why go home??

It is about time people begin to realize that Work is what we do for others, live is what we do for ourselves. Life is short, do what is lively!!

By the way what type are you? Living to Work or Working to Live?

Breaking it into two questions... Select one and put in comments

• Living to Work? Or
• Working to Live?

THE Long Weekend

Long weekends are the most fun-filled for the earnest. This long weekend began with 17th March, Saturday and spanned upto 19th march, Monday - being the Telugu New Year Ugadi. Wish you all a happy Ugadi. I was earnest in trying to squeeze out as much fun from this weekend as I could and I started planning very early. Booked tickets for a movie on Saturday. Took quite some communication with friends, to gather 9 souls for the movie. 24 emails, a dozen phone calls and a few smses.

I slept late on Friday late around 4:00 a.m. Woke up early at on Saturday 8:30 a.m. to watch the qualifying of the Formula 1 in Australia. Had a wonderful time watching the start of a new season of racing, considering I did not watch even a single race last year. After I finished, I went voting for the MLC Graduate Constituency. That was a cool thing to do, exercising the Franchise.

After I came back got online and talked to some friends. During the day, my parents realized something and decided that Biryani was in order. My mom rolled out a smashing tasty Biryani in a short time!! It was a tasty treat. With my stomach full; I went shopping for a pair of trousers (long overdue). Already had in mind what I wanted to buy and got it quickly and got going for the movie.

BOY!! What a movie!!!

I shall not delve into the story much. I'd like to describe it in some words.

Simply Stupendous, Bulging Biceps, Clean Cuts, Courageous Comrades, Vicious Wives, Sparkling Blood, Twisting Oracles, Ugly Hunchbacks, Swinging Swords, Smashing Shields and many other things to watch out for.

Things I have never seen in any other movie:

• So many fit and good looking human bodies
• Such stylish spilling of blood
• Such a tall villain yet so less clothed :P
• An old movie look throughout (tint or sepia)
• A totally modern soundtrack
• Wonderfully and imaginatively mutated humans
• And a lot other things that need to be seen

Short Summary of movie: An intense small scale struggle by 300 men out to die for a cause greater than their own lives that provided the impetus to a Larger War to confront a King who thinks he is God.

Once we were done with the movie we went to Anu's place to watch the first cricket match for India in this edition of the World Cup. We were totally charged up!! By the time we reached the house, India were already 2 wickets down and in the dumps. Nothing much went well after that. We were egging on India to score over 200 but sadly without much support it wasn't possible.

Hunger called and we ordered food from the restaurant and had stomach fills of Biryani and Cool drinks. After that the people present surprised me with this..

click the image for Larger version

Then we had nothing better to do, cricket was boring, so we got down to playing a few games. Amazing fun ensued with known and unknown games.

The following being some of them:

• Pictionary
• Red Hands
• Taboo
• Thumsup
• Puzzles
• Stories
• Magic tricks
• and many other fun games

Amazingly funny and full time pass. We carried on till the time the game was coming to a close, then after India lost, we started cursing every other cricketer in Indian team, like a good fan of course, and then switched off the TV. And what ensued later was a mix of gibberish between people low on sleep. We discussed various topics. Major among them being this.

click the image for Larger version

HAHA... Genetics and all apart we had great fun. Some more than others - Deep and Adi having to answer the doorbell early in the morning, and Deep switching off alarms. I got only three hours of sleep. Woke up to the news that even Pakistan had lost its match to Ireland, BIG surprise that!!!

First thing we did after waking up in the morning was to watch the Formula 1 Race. Formula 1 Races are most exciting at the start but we woke late so caught up with 43 laps of pure brilliance of Kimi Raikonnen and others. Some exhilarating accidents over the course of the race and a few Dosas (thin pan cakes) by Anu's mom did great to us.

With stomachs full, we went to check out the previous night’s pictures and videos. While we were at the computer, we even popped in a movie. One which we already had watched so skipped through to the most interesting parts and enjoyed full time. Well, all were sleepy but had long distances to get back home and in a Very HOT Sun too. Before leaving Anu’s Place I took some pics. They came out great. Visit my Flickr Page to take a look.

Deep tagged along with me and we reached my place and saw some serials and had a tasty lunch. We also had ice-cream and Deep took a small nap. I had a nice shower later and my tiredness was gone. Sleep was long overdue and I crashed into bed at midnight.

Was woken up by my dad momentarily who announced that BOB WOOLMER PASSED AWAY. Pakistani coach, found dead in his hotel. I went back to sleep building a conspiracy theory of a Fan killing BOB for Pakistan's defeat and the World Cup being suspended entirely. But when I woke up I realized it was a medical death.

Now, I lazed around a bit and spent some time before I could sit down again to watch India's second match, which I am doing currently - watching the Bermudans miss n no. of deliveries without knicking them. And the Match started, and so did this blog. I got pissed off when India lost an early wicket, but then watching the Indians bat and post their first ever 400+ total and set a world record got me to finish this blog.

It has been a great long weekend, with a Solar Eclipse which I slept through. Such moments make me think how important friends are, how important spending time with them is. And I am grateful to Allah for having blessed me with this time among such fun and great guys and gals.

I'd like to thank Adi, Aks, Anu, CD, Prassi, Simi and others for these lovely things. Have fun youuuuu.