Happy Bath-Day to you.....

yup...another B'Day and one more year added....I share the Bday month/week with Gandhiji and my sister...yup 2, 3, 4 of Oct...dono if that's what made me resemble him in stature :( ...but happy that my sis escaped this non-genetic b'day disorder and is not as skinny as i am...

Bday was fun in childhood...i used to wake my sis up from bed and wish her Bday and the next day she would wake me up and wish me...and we used to take our snaps on our bdays...but once sis moved out for her studies, the photosessions came to an end...coming to celebrations, we were very fond of celebrating each others bday in our own sweet ways...yeah..sweet...chocolate ways....i would get her chocolates and the next day she would get me...but all with papa's money :) he was our common banker..he used to say..."you both celebrate each other's bday..but each time its my pocket that gets emptied"...once sis moved out for studies and then later me too, the wishes were restricted to calls and greeting cards. She never missed sending it...this time also she send it all the way to US ...and i did something different this time...i send her a cake...though the cake was lot different from what i saw online, she was happy with my gesture...i believe she never celebrated a bday like this..came as a total surprise for her...



ok..back to my bday...this one was quiet different from previous B'Days....my 1st one in US, 1st one with the new set of friends here..and it was different indeed...it was more of "Bath"-Day for me than a "Birth"day or "BAR"-th-day, the way people generally expect a guy of my age to celebrate bday...it was around 11:50 at night and the friends staying near to my apartments..all with a bag in hand...gifts???? no way....those contained the substances for the holy abhishekam on me...its was my bday and a Friday...what else do they want..no one was in any hurry to finish the bash and return....so around 12,it started with me cutting the icecream-cake..was yummy i must admit...i could taste only a bit and rest was on my face and head...since our floors are carpeted, i suggested going to the bath tub, so as to avoid the later cleaning up process..which i have to do the next day...
so there i was stading in bath tub, awaiting the inevitable....i closed my eyes...wow..it was icy cold...beer...on my head, down my body...i would have preferred that in my mouth rather than on head..i did try to dart my tongue out and sip few..like a snake would do....ok ok..i agree..even dogs do.....instinct u know..the taste of beer!!!..anyway i enjoyed the beer bath.have heard it smooths hair..next was coke...though i dont have the have lice or dandruff on my hair, i liked the pesticide treatment...ice cold coke...next was the worst...i almost felt like an idli sitting in a plate in some rural SouthIndian hotel...yeah..a week old sambar...yuk...the smell was horrible and i almost puked...but in photos it looked like someone puked on me...i immediately opened the shower as it was too stinky...i thought that was it...but soon came egg..smashing on my head one by one..i wanted to look up and see if some hen was sitting over my head, who is hurriedly laying eggs and lessen its weight...these days even animals can be beauty conscious..you never know!!! Have always heard that egg white is good for hair. even though i didnt have the time or opportunity to remove the yoke, i felt that helped. Party was not over yet, then came the chocolate shake. I would have gladly opened my mouth if not for the egg and the sambar that was still on me. Finally they said with a sad face.."everything is over. we didnt have a good collection for him"...if this wasnt a GOOD collection then what was??? they left the bathroom and i was busy cleaning myself of all the mess, partially relieved that the ordeal is over.
Once i was out of the bath, everyone was standing there, rubbing hands and saying....dress up and come..its exercise time...
little did i know that the worst was still to come...and like an icing on the cake, i was lifted in the air(effortlessly i must say) and thrashed...none wanted to miss out and each was taking turn and beating me...few from left side like a Maradonna kick...and from the right like Jackie Chan...and i was like a Bollywood villain...getting thrashed and never getting a chance to retaliate..but the ordeal doesnt end there..the worst thing was yet to come...cleaning the bath tub next day....yuk...i really appreciate the people working in municipalities in India..i understand that they are doing a tough job. Cleaning my bath tub, i suddenly started giving respect to the job they do.. and finally it was by afternoon that i finished everything..took shower and become a BDay boy...
so it was all Bath-Day and Bash-Day for me ..rather than Birth-Day !!! and now am eagerly waiting for the Bdays of my friends...yes PayBack time..

tackling an IT Bug

wonder whats Sev 1??? there are many definitions to it...most common ones could be ...a developers nightmare...a testers delight... and these are one of those "Tickets", which you get free of cost, is use less and can cause you lot of heartache...
yup..Sev 1 or Severity 1 is the crisis situation in IT, when the testers are not able to continue finding (the immobile) bugs in the code, due to the presence of a larger BUG..and they raise a Sev 1 ticket for that..(i am still clueless on why they call it a ticket and defect a BUG)..and once raised, the developer would be on his toes..trying to fix it up..and worst thing is..Sev1 means 24hrs you got to banish that BUG. ie in a day, you need to trace it, catch them red handed, put spray/fix on it..


I have this friend of mine, who happened to be a regular diet of this BUG. He already is like a straw and if more bugs attack him, he would soon be a tooth pick. and BUGS would find it hard to trace him in the plate. Daily when i lunch with him, the common conversation would be around the new BUGs that have come up..And wait...dont take this guy silly...he has his own ways of dealing with this...may be the IT readers would be benefited from this..

1. As soon as you get a Sev1, look if there is any other system involved in it. Just look around the error and if you happen to find, raise the defect in their name. that would take care of the defect for a day. And by the time other team analyze and come up finding that the bug is in your own code, you are safe.

2. Never attend defects that are less that Sev1. Let it qualify and compete with other bugs and come up to Sev1.(He would always be having 2-3 Sev1 in his kitty. So no time for less severe ones)

3. And this one is a approach you can use to keep your managers at their bay. This can help you extend the deadline by a day or even two

Day 1:
morning:
M: Hi T, what about defect# 1234?
T: Hi M, I am still to look into it. I was busy with few other stuffs.
M: oh. OK. I hope you get it fixed soon. Its Sev1.
T: Yes. [ :( ]

afternoon:
M: Hi T, how is 1234?
T: (1234 is doing fine...its me who is suffering) Yes M I just now started looking into it. I got some leads on that, I am working on that.
M: Thats Great

evening:
M: Hope you are done with 1234..
T: Hi M, the initial ananlyzis was not right..but i have got another lead and I am investigating it. should be done by tomorrow.

Day 2:
morning:
M: Hi T, I guess its roses in the morning. you are done with 1234 rt.
T: (gulp!!) err..T, i think the defects root cause is still to be found out, when i check its interaction with system A and its outbound message to system B, the exception raised in that has an essence of system C's outbound message that comes to our system. So we would need to investigate on the possible chance of this error from an outsider perspective, taking all the 3 systems to be culprits.
M: (?????????) I guess you are working hard on this. i hope this gets resolved soon.

by noon:
before M pings
T: Hi M, seems to be an issue with system X. I have raised defect against them.
M: [:S] ok.

and T remains busy till evening or may be night, gets in touch with all the resources possible and gets the issue sorted, which obviously would be a defect in his code. And by next day he is good to go.. In the mean while system X would be searching for possible solution, to which they are not even remotely connected. By the time they realize it, T would have got the issue fixed.

man...this really works... T has learned to survive....



[pic - A Bug's Life]

a sweet battle....

he was hot...

she was cold...

he was relaxed...

she was sweating...

he was used...

she was misused...

he was precious...

she was cheap...

he was respected...

she was kissed...

he was tall and dark...

she was short and pale...

he earned people money...

she looted them of money...

he gave people designations...

she gave them destinations...

he was every mans dream...

she helped every man dream...

he took people atop skyscrapers...

she took them to skies and beyond...

he made people envy and enemies....

she made them content and friendly...

he never lost anything...

she lost her everything...

still...she manage to keep people happy....she is always my sweetheart...my Corono Extra...love you lots...

they battled with each other for me...and i fell for her...she won over him...

a for apple...b for ball...

Long names can cause enough headaches at times...especially if you are in the US of A, where we need to put our names in full..either it be your mail id, postal address, filling up forms..rule is..no initials allowed...its easy for Bruce Wills, George Michael, Elton John...but for some one with name Ajay Pathinettam Kandam...it can be hell of a job...
i dont disown my surname... it means a lot to me... i get a lot of respect and am honoured in my hometown because of the surname and i have my whole identity attached to it...

But here in US...its a different story... and the story starts with my name in the records...they missed an "N" in my name and in the client records it reads AJAY PATHINETTAM KADAM..
for them its just an alphabet less... but they dont realize that with the missing of an N they have made me a debtor...mallus who see my name would wonder PATHINETTAM "KADAM"??? they would have heard of Pathinettam Adavu...which of course means last resort..but Kadam?? that would be news to them...they might think..need to watch out for this guy or next thing he will do after shaking hands is..ask for money...cant blame them...my name says it all..and for the ease of processing, they combined the two words and made it pathinettamkadam...which made it even worse to read..even i had difficulty in identifying it...
at times am known as Mr Pathinettam, sometimes Mr Kandam and sometimes K, Ajay Pathinettam..by the time i return back to India, i would have juggled with my name in all the ways possible...and the trouble doesnt end here...
I had a problem with my client laptop and i had to call the support person..and of course they wanted to know my name....in full.. i said..
AJAY...Aae Jay Aae Yee.... Pathinettam Pee Aae tee...
voice from other side interrupted this lullaby...sir can u please spell it like "a" as in "apple"...i said to myself...oh God..I have to do this too...

I had to take my memory back to the kindergarten to remember what all objects we relate the alphabets with..but i dont have a memory so sharp..so had to create new ones...and i somehow managed...

A as in apple
J as in jackal
A as in "another" apple
Y as in youtube

P for pet
A as in apple
T as in tie
H as in hat
I as in India
N as in net
E as in eye -(e as in i ???)...eh..make it elephant..E as in elephant
T as in tie
T as in tie - that will be 2 T as in ties
A as in apple
M as in monkey - (i almost felt like one)

K as in kite
A as in apple
N as in net
D as in..eh.eh..yeah..DOG(should hav stressed more on it,to get rid of my irritation)
A as in apple
M as in monkey

that was a hard task for me..having to spell my name with apples, monkeys and dogs..

leave alone my full name...here people dont know to pronounce even Ajay..they call me Aey Jay...when i hear it..its like A J... next time when someone calls me the same..i should probably reply A Y...and say...yes ma'm thats how u spell my name...A J A Y

something fishy for a saturday ;)

i had started hating weekends and myself...yeah..weekends are boring for me... with nothing to do other than watching movie online and chatting with friends... and now a day its restricted to movies alone as my best buddy has hardly time for chatting with me...how many movies can one watch in a day??? i was really fed up...i put down my computer specs(which i forcefully wear, as i spend even my weekends on this new age smart(idiot) box) and started thinking how to spend the remaining time..with the tennis court dampened by yesterdays rain and with no one for company to venture out, i was almost imprisoned in my own apartment..a self imposed imprisonment(as i didn't lookout for an opportunity to go out), aggravated by nature..

i said to myself..if things go at this rate, i ll lose my self and my jovial nature..felt like moving to darkness...its really horrible to spend time all alone, with nothing to do which interests u. One of my good friend used to complain abt being alone and feeling bored..she used to call me whenever she was feeling bored and i used to get bugged up with her calls..me being born and brought up in a nuclear family and with my parents always busy with their work, i was used to staying alone and minding own business..so i could never understand her, who was brought in a joint family...but now i realized how bad she would have felt on being alone..

but i was not to spend time brooding over the loneliness.. i was looking out for something exciting within the limitation of the four walls..and finally this idea struck me...cooking...i decided..am going to make fish curry...i know am not that good in cooking and its just 3rd time am entering in kitchen to make something on my own..but i was cool..and confident of finishing the entire dish myself in case my roomies find it hard to taste...

i really enjoyed cooking this time..was fun and there goes my special recipe...
1. coat fish pieces with lil turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt and keep it for some time.may be 10-15 mins.
2. fry these pieces in limited oil in a non stick pan. fry only till its color changes. keep in mind that u r making fish curry n not fry.
3. after taking out fish, saute thinly sliced onion till it turns brownish, then add ginger garlic paste, green chilli and mix well.add salt to taste. Then add turmeric powder, chilli powder, and garam masala and mix it well.
4. Add tomato and heat for some time, pouring 1/4 glass water and making it a paste.
5. Add the slightly fried fish and enough water so that the fish is dipped in the masala.
6. Keep the pan closed for 5-8 mins. then keep watching till the curry becomes slightly thick. turn off the cooking range and keep it closed for sometime.



the curry turned out to be far far better than i expected. it tasted good and was aromatic.. am still waiting for my roomies to arrive and comment on it..but for me..its an awesome dish..and am happy to have done something innovative and interesting in this otherwise boring day of mine...this has really given me the confidence to try out more in kitchen..but only after my roomies testifies it..i do care for their health and taste buds.. :D

nanni aarodu njan chollendu...

mallu's can easily relate to this topic...song from the movie Aham...where Mohanlal is aimlessly wandering and asking these unanswerable/unanswered questions to himself and to God... at 1:30am, sitting in front of my office laptop...even i was in the same mental state as he was...and few unanswerable questions popped up in my mind and the poet in me penned down those...i couldn't resist from writing these words and mailing these to my friends then and there.. more would have flown from my heart..but the angels of sleep didnt allow me to..



nanni aarodu njan chollendu...
2maasam munpe onsiteil ayacha PM inodo?
atho 3kollam munpe select cheytha HRinodo?
nanni aarodu njan chollendu....

nanni aarodu njan chollendu...
3project thalayil vachu thanna mangerinodo
atho thalavedana undakkunna offshorinodo??
nanni aarodu njan chollendu...

nanni aarodu njan chollendu...
ente urakkam keduthunna workinodo
atho enne njetti unarthunna issuesinodo
nanni aarodu njan chollendu....

nanni aarodu njan chollendu...
maari maari theri vilikkuna clientinodo
atho athu kettu theri vilikunna managerinodo
nanni aarodu njan chollendu???



i know these questions would have popped up in all onsite coordinators mind... :)


if my clients/managers/offshore happened to see this..pls take it in a lighter vein and not to be taken into account for my next appraisal.. ;) :D

and non mallus..please excuse..as this post could be written best in malayalam and only in malayalam.. :)

from "no strings attached"...to.."life is cool"

{on empty stomach on a Thursday night...after visiting few excellent blogs}

some times i wonder how good it would be, to live a life with no strings attached... no relationships... no commitments.... no responsibilities...at times i find all these as a burden.some thing which shelves me away from my true self..the independent me..the joyous me...

i know a lot of people will disagree with me in this front...but still...

i have lots of interests - traveling, blogging, photography, but its very disturbing fact to me that, even with lot of time in my hand and the resources readily available, i still don't do anything towards fulfilling it.

I have been in this new place for almost a month - "the other side of the world" as i used to call, when in India. A place which offers a lot for people with travel interest - the land of Statue of Liberty, White House, Times Square, Wall Street Bull, Miami , Key West...lots to list...thats for the traveler me.
I have 24/7 high speed, broadband , wifi internet connection and a personal laptop...for the blogger in me.
I am the proud owner of Canon S5 IS, the best point and shoot camera, as per my knowledge...for the photographer in me.

Being an Onshore coordinator, weekdays are hectic for me, will have enough official work to do and coordinate even on reaching home. But weekends...i am absolutely free from Friday night till Sunday night...a time i can happily blog or visit near by places, or try out my photography skills in this beautiful countryside...or at least try to learn photography in the first place.. i know just obsession wont do, i need to really learn the art of capturing images with life...
but.....what do i do on weekends??? either remained glued to my chair with hands running through the keyboard like Saantana on his guitar...or with mobile fixed to my ear like a call center guy - rightly termed by my roomies. yes. my weekend is restricted to one activity alone...chatting chatting chatting...this is all because of those strings attached to me...the relations....at least now i must learn the lesson of life..enjoy the essence of life...give at most importance to oneself and ones own happiness...

{gulping one bottle of beer on a Friday evening..and watching movie "Happy Days"}

actually life is not that complicated as i think it to be.. i can still find time for my hobbies by reducing the time i spend in front of laptop...i needn't try to cut those strings as such...(i know its a hard job)
closed my laptop, took out my camera and shot few sunset pics from my balcony in "Manual mode"...i was happy...finally some image is getting captured...(earlier when in Manual mode, i ended up with a black/dark image)...felt happy..good...a fine start to my hobby..

aaah...bad print...if at all they are doing piracy, why dont they do it in a better way...huh...

{my 2nd beer on my way..destination- stomach}

the bad print spoiled my whole mood..was a good movie..entertaining...aah..wish i had a time machine..just press of a button and back to college....and there is some excitement in untold romance...i really like the chemistry between the 2 main characters...aah...movie getting to my head or the beer??? my typing speed has increased..so it got to be the beer at work...ok...what next??i dont want to watch this movie this way..in such bad print...

{3rd beer opened....}
hmm...my teeth is real strong...i had no problems in opening my 3rd beer...
hey life is really beautiful...why didn't i realize it earlier????
{few more gulps...}
logged in to gtalk....my best buddy...deepu is online....

me:da...me having corona...mexican..3rd on the way....
D: da...me too...my 4th..
me: i ll soon jump to 4th da... :)

there ended the conversaton. felt good...am not alone..

{11:50pm}
something pricking me in the back of my semi unconscious mind....production move...yeah my code is going to production and i need to ensure its certified for production...GTH...i thought...yeah...Go To Hell.... i know the changes made..is not a big issue even if it goes next week..dono y the clients are making a big fuzz abt it...

{1:02am}
yeeks my code is still not in production...did the testing team fail my code? then client gonna say..GTH to me...so will my senior management.. nail biting moment..all the "life is cool" feeling the beer had given is taking a big U turn now...life is not so cool...:(
talked to my offshore..she said..u sleep now..in case of issues, i shall give you a call...those were more than assuring words...esp since i have been sleeping past 2am for past 3-4 days...
so off to sleep...with nightmares of my mobile ringing with call from offshore..
{7:02 am}
i suddenly woke up from my sleep and switched on my office laptop...
1st mail read "you can sleep peacefully...ur code is certified" - from my offshore
so life really is cool....

few learning i got from this 24hrs in my life:
1. all emotions are temporary...
2. don't take any decision in haste...
3. take things lightly, don't think too much emotionally
4. there is no mood that cant be corrected by 3bottles of beer{statutory warning: not advised to follow}

lessons life taught..but which i never learned

Sipping on a beer and sitting in the balcony of this country side apartment...i was thinking....who can be the greatest teacher...other than our own life...but as some great personality said..life is a difficult teacher...as it gives the examination first and lessons later..but what if we lose the examination after repeated learnings???

There are lot many lessons life has taught me...but which i never learned..i sometimes feel..i am a coward...cos i never wanted to admit these harsh realities of life, which was no where close to the dream i had about my life and those around me...i always tried to run away from these...

lesson 1: love and care yourself more than anything or anyone..cos no other person can ever return the love you give, in the same intensity..this is a lesson life has repeatedly taught me..but i fail to learn each time and now i have decided...its high time i start loving myself.

lesson 2: never interfere in others life, doesn't matter who that person is to you or how much ever freedom that person gives you. They may not really like it.

lesson 3: never take anyone for granted. Whether it be parents,friends or gal/boy friends or spouse. everyone is a different person from you and they have to be treated different. never expect them to read your mind and capture your untold feelings. There is nothing like "silence speaks a lot" its utter stupidity.

lesson 4: be selfish. under any situation, be selfish. see how u can feel better out of the situation and how you can escape unhurt. fools are those who care for others, sacrificing one's own happiness for others.
as well said by Chanakya in THE POLITICAL ETHICS OF CHANAKYA PANDIT
"Give up a member to save a family, a family to save a village, a village to save a country, and the country to save yourself."

lesson 5: When you give something, don't expect anything in return. And if you are of the expecting kind, then never give. They don't deserve it.

These are few of the many lessons life has taught me....but if you want to find happiness, better follow...thats my motto for now.

a friendship poem

Me as a poet....trust me...I wrote this poem in the sixth semester of my college... the inspiration for penning this down was the feeling of departure from the college as well my close friend.

I came to college with lots of hope
From my parents,sister and myself
And where do I stand
Amongst the ruins of my own life

I dreamed big and wanted to standout
From the normal crowds around
But i find myself lost,
with even my identity at stake.

When i became desperate
and lost all my hope
I met you,and...
suddenly I was in a new world

Your friendship, your love,
was enough for me to thrive
Your mere presence,
changed my life foever

And I felt, at least I
have a nice friendship to remember
The world may give different meanings
But ours will be true friendship to the core

When you talk to me in class,
my heart skips a beat
not because of the love for you,
But because of the fear of society

But when i am all alone,
I think about you the most
I would never get tired,
talking to you all day long

But now i feel insecure
A year from now our class will end
And we will have to part into
our own world,where we may be total strangers.

copyright reserved

a bottle of beer for Maveli

Onam was again round the corner...a festival thats celebrated by all mallus (keralites) in the true mallu spirit..But that was not my case...I thought of skipping my Onam so that i could go on a long holiday the week after...So here I was..the lone soul in room..(in Chennai would be more appropriate,as all chennai mallus had gone home)..spending time lonely was never an issue for me...i thought i would spend it watching movie in television and also browsing..but soon the boredom bug bit me..never thought being alone would be this boring. the feeling of not being at home for Onam was the catalyst of this boredom...but that was enough to ignite and even explode the feeling of loneliness. So i browsed thru the papers for any decent flicks running in theaters...there are 2 things if u go for a movie at INOX..one is the pleasure of watching the movie in excellent theater and second being the crowd that gets assembled in City Center..no prices for guessing that i meant the crowd of gorgeous gals..
so i booked for "Hey babyy"..though i knew the story...movie was decent enough with excellent comic timings from Akshay n Hritesh...but to my disappointment, the crowd was not as good as i expected. so returned early to home..next thought i had was how to spend the night alone..i didn have to fry my brain too much...i thought..a movie in tv and a bottle of beer...wat a perfect combo...so i started off from home with the new bag company had provided as a part of our IBU celebration...i somehow managed to get a bottle of KF...a chilled one...on the way back i was thinking abt the wonderful way i ll be spending the night...by the time i reached home with beer..it was 10:45PM...i closed the door..put on my shorts n tshirt..and opened the bag....SPLASH...there goes my entertainment for the night...the bottle broke..spilling beer all over the floor..i somehow managed to clean the place in seconds...but i couldnt contain the desire to have a beer...i didnt have the patience or time to change my dress...as the shop closes at 11. I took 60rs from my purse, took my bike keys, locked door and was off in a hurry to the "SHOP" or "SHAAP" as mallus call it..but to my disappointment, the shops were closed..i tried the far off ones too..speeding in my bike... but without success..finally decided to return home empty handed...as soon as i crossed the apartment gate, some instinct started telling me....ajay...something is wrong..u have forgotten something...i always gets the instinct or what u call the inner voice when something goes wrong...and it always comes true also...this time it was the key...i had forgotten to take the flat keys from my purse...
It was close to midnight...me standing in my shorts n t shirts and 60rs to live for the next 3days..there was no place to sleep either...the only way to break in was by breaking the lock...but finding the right man for the job, at that hour was a difficult task...but thankfully managed to find a very opportunist guy, who charged me 150rs for breaking the lock and another 150 for fixing the same... my fate... i had to agree as i was homeless without breaking it...
huh... finally broke in to my own house... later in bed..i was taking account...

A bottle beer...60rs
Breaking lock...150rs
Fixing lock...150rs
The look on my face after the incident...PRICELESS...

3 of us on a mission

"hey...Michael Jackson's coat"...this scream from my friend woke me up from my slumber...we were 3 ppl on our way for a cultural fest and my buddy was supposed to dance to the steps of MJ....and what dance without MJ's get up..so no coat means no dance..we had only an hour or two left for the event to start...we started pressurizing our brains..which were almost rusted out by the lectures in college...idea !!! ...shall rent it from some dry cleaners...an idea that works well in movies...but we were traveling to a place which was unknown to us..so no one would rent it out...again pressure on brain...
suddenly my mobile rang...it was our friend living in the same place where we were heading to...as soon as we attended the call..we shouted.."we need a coat"...didn't give her enough time to even say any excuse...finally she agreed...she borrowed it from her friends uncle...under one and only one condition..it has to be returned in one piece at the earliest...we were planing to return to college as soon as the program gets over...meaning we need to somehow return it at midnight..
we reached the place in an hour and half and there was our friend waiting with the coat..sporting a not so happy smile..."will return in tonight itself na...uncle need it moro for a meeting"..we assured her...promised to return to her by the time she leave the place...
but as usual...the fest started late...we waited for our turn...10:00..10:30..11:00..with each passing moment,we noted that the number of facial muscles she using is fast changing from 17 to 43..from smile to frown...
finally the threshold reached..she said..."am leaving..return the coat tonight itself for your own good"...
And around 11:30 our dance started. He was pretty cool..danced well and was looking kinda MJ in that coat..and by 11:40 everything was over. Our next prob was about returning the coat. anyway we didn have any choice. So we took a bus to her house. As we were not sure of her address, we got down at the nearest bus stop and took an auto...and it was close to 11:55...we were going through the colony in auto,stopping in front of each house and reading the name board. the driver would have got scared, thinking we are some burglars...we were moving at a very slow pace..i had been to her home once so the other 2 friends were depending on me...finally i managed to track her house. Next question was how can we pass the coat to her?gate was locked..her parents might be fast asleep..its not right to knock at a gals house at this time of the night...finally decided to ring her up and ask..sheesh...call was not going...stupid network..but somehow we had to convey that we are waiting outside and wat can be done next?..auto driver intervened..sir...any problem..wat are u up to?..we didn reply...
Finally decided to ring her home no..no option we had...she took the phone in 1st ring.."i expected this...my mob has some prob..so i thought u dumbo's will call to land line..so was waiting"...she came to the balcony in 1st floor..she couldn't talk loudly as her parents were sleeping in the next room..so we had to behave like prehistoric men..communicating in signals..i signaled her.."shall i jump the fence and keep the coat next to the door?? "...atleast that was what i meant to convey...she waved her hand..and in fraction of a second i jumped the fence,placed the bag, jumped back and smiled at her feeling proud of my quick action..she just stared with open mouth..she was speechless for sometime..then as if waking up from sleep..she suddenly started waving her hand...i understood the signal..."Dumbo..take the bag out..papa will kill me if he get to know"...and again i had to put my acrobatic skill to action..in few seconds i was back with bag on hand...
the auto driver stood there puzzled...we 3 guys were standing in front of this gals house and she was in balcony communicating to us through signals..."runaway??" this doubt would have raised in his mind for sure
finally we agreed up on one solution..her cousins friend will come and get it from us at bus stand..we were relieved...no more jumping fences or chances of getting caught for burglary...
we got into the auto..."bus stand"..i said....driver smiled and said..."sir...if you wanted to present that gift, you could have brought a rope, tied this to its end and could have easily lift this up to her...if you had told me ..i would have helped you out...i know how important this hour is for you lovers..."...."wat???? lovers?? gift???" we 3 sat in the auto puzzled...suddenly my friend started laughing...and showed us his watch....time was past 12...and date read 14th Feb...sheesh...Valentine's Day...and all of us started laughing...in between our laughter, we somehow managed to convey to the driver what we were intending to do...but he was not to believe it...finally we reached bus stand...and handed over the coat and took our return bus to college...laughing all the way.....