Epiphany

A lazy Sunday morning.
Me, K and A started out for our weekly ritual – buying groceries and other mundane stuff from ASDA, a store as big as a cricket stadium, where you can get 346 varieties of yoghurt, so much variety that, if you are as lazy as me, you would be turned off from buying the product all.
As we trudged along from our house, we felt the crispness of the wet breeze from over the river.

Me: It’s cold this weekend, isn’t it
K: Nahin yaar, I am not feeling cold at all, infact I am kind of sweating.
Me: That’s because you would have been wearing 4 layers of clothing.
K: Nooo! I am just wearing a Tshirt and this jacket.
Me: I can’t believe you. I am wearing a thermal vest, a t-shirt, a sweater and a jacket and still I am feeling coooooold!!!
A: I am not feeling that cold, but I am not sweating either. Maybe, it’s because of the breeze.
K: Tatt-2, I think you should get yourself tested. You might have some problem yaar. You shouldn’t be feeling this cold. The weather is getting better.
A: Leave it. If he’s feeling cold, let him feel cold. Let him wear one more sweater. Tatt-2, if you want, you can wear my jacket. I would be comfortable without it too.

I took the thick leather jacket from A and wore it. After 10 mins of travelling inside a train, we get down at a station and start walking towards the store.

Me: I am still feeling cold.
K: I have been telling you tatt-2, you seriously have a mental problem. You are wearing such a thick jacket, still you are feeling cold? Strange!
A: Will you guys stop. Time to do some shopping now.

While we were walking inside the store, I dropped a biscuit packet. While I bent down to pick it up, the realization hit me.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, even a thick leather jacket cannot prevent me from feeling cold. Even if I wore a thick sweater over that, I would still feel cold. Sometimes, if you get such a strong overbearing realization about something, you chuckle. You laugh at your helplessness. I was so overwhelmed that I just stayed there and gasped at the ultimate truth of the chillness I was feeling. The truth which gave me anger and laughter at the same time. The truth which made my head hung in shame and which was laughing at me cruelly.

The truth was: My fly was open.

Late - Latif to Early - Murli

Places change you.

I am this typical late commer. I had a 100% record in coming late to class during my engineering days. Since in engineering, the benches get occupied from back to front, I was a non-intentional front bencher because of my punctuality or the lack of it. My friend Amit, sometimes used to get so pissed that he used to call me half an hour before the actual time for group meets so that I make it to the meetings just 10 minutes late.

Infact, I also got a career threatening 'Incomplete' grade during my MBA because I missed 3 classes due to coming late.

But nothing changed.

I started working and this is where I received the shot on my head. I entered my desk 5 minutes late at 7:35, and my boss greets me 'Good Afternoon, Karthik!' with a sarcastic grin. He had slapped me a thousand times and given me 500 lashes without even raising his hand. I got the SMS he sent me.

Nowadays, I am the first person in my desk. Even during my recent visit to India, we friends met at a common place and I reached there 5 mins before time much to their astonishment. This punctuality has made me feel s good about myself. It has given me confidence and doesn't make me defensive right from the beginning wherein I would have to explain/apologize for late coming.
But then, sometimes, in some situations, I do think it is better to err on the side of being late than early. You can't win everything, can you?

Impulse

Day: Friday
Time: 11:00pm

‘Amma, what are your plans for tomorrow?’
‘We are going for a function in the afternoon’
‘Can you please be at home at around 2pm tomorrow? I would be online. We can do video chat through skype.’
‘OK da. We would try to be at home by that time. Tomorrow is Saturday. So, there would be electricity in the afternoon’

Day: Saturday
Time: 2:05pm

‘Amma, are you and appa at home?’
‘Yes da. Are you going to come online? We will turn the computer on.’
‘yeah, in five minutes’

Time : 2:10pm

‘Amma, are you guys online?’
‘Yes da. Webcamera is also working well. Why are you not online?’
‘Ummm…actually, there is a problem with my net connection. I don’t think I can come online today. We can talk over phone’
‘Po da..We wanted to see your face. Haven’t seen you in a while. Today even our webcam is working. So we were looking forward to a video chat with you. Cha, you disappointed us!’
‘Are you really looking forward to seeing my face?’
‘Yes. Please fix your net connection somehow. Else, send some MMS to Arjun. Please!’
‘Awww..OK, if you really want to see me, just open the door’
‘What?!?!’
‘Yeah, open the door’
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Tickets from London to Mumbai: INR* 40,000
Rickshaw from airport to station: INR 200
Fine to TTE for not buying ticket and sitting in first class compartment: INR 500
Rickshaw to home: INR 50
Reaction on a mother’s face on seeing her son who turns up out of the blue on a Saturday morning from 5000 miles away: Priceless!

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Note: * I am a Forex Structurer.