The Thirteen Rupee Travels – And More

Prologue - I've spoken about this gazillion times and yet, I feel I owe this experiance a lot more. So, disbelievers go away, but I assure - you will miss a lot... (Lot of what?) Anyway, since people are so jobless in the holidays, I'm sure one can spare time enough to read, once again, the story of my Thirteen Rupee Travels. So, here it goes... one last time.

The Earth felt white hot as I seemed to have reached the ends of the inhabited world. A blast of hot air seemed to boil the ground. His putrid breath lingered- ominous. Even, as in reflex action, my breath did cease… For I shalt not breathe Ammonia, Methelene Chloride and the likes. Nay, I shall find sweet Oxygen and only then will I rest!

‘Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd’, established in the year of the Lord 1992, is a company of great repute – and it has, I concede, lived up to its name until now, to say the least. And seeing signposts indicating ‘Orchid’ some 20 kilometres from my beachside abode, I took heart – ‘Quality and Comfort’, could I ask for more? I had wondered how lucky I was when I saw those majestic (when inside; from the outside – the adjective would be ‘monstrous’) buses plying the roads. These illusions kept me going, a fuel of some sort… It was 1^st June 2009 when truth finally dawned upon me!

It was that day when Providence decided to switch sides and how! The day when I would realize that the ‘Orchid’ sign 20km away is but the R&D Center and the plant I ought to go to was actually 42km from home; the day when they told me that their buses weren’t meant for trainees; the day I, being as naïve as I was then, accepted a project instead of observing my way out of the plant.

Soon, I was a regular visitor of Phase 25 – DMF, DMAC recovery section – the plant which is, as you might have guessed seeing how lucky I have been, the farthest unit from the main gate. My initial exponential learning curve (accompanied with, ‘This guy is from IIT!’ murmurs) reached saturation and I felt e^x had just been divided by some extraordinary number! Stagnation is never a pleasant experience, but put it together with a Chemical Industry and lack of company – Presto! You’ve brewed the most destructive concoction…

Well, I do not gloat when I say that I DID manage to solve the problem given to me, trivial though it definitely was NOT. This, using a subject I haven’t yet studied and I began, for the first time, contemplating a future in Chemical Engineering. But such joys are so often short lived, and the absence of things to do got to me fast. I began to wonder (and mentioned this to a friend or two) about how ‘Dolce far Niente’ had ceased to hold. The fact that I barely stayed in the factory for 3 hours at a stretch may speak for itself – but people failed to notice the effort behind the 3 hrs… the 2 hour travel either way on 13 Rupee bus tickets. I have a collection of these tickets now – a file full of them!

As in most stories, this one has a nice ending too. Albeit the solution, we have suffering… Albeit the suffering, a solution does exist! Scoff if you want to, but those idle times, which can be painful indeed, were no longer as idle… as I scaled the columns, and at a 50 foot height, simply stared at the sky – taking shelter behind a heat-exchanger or two. Backwaters at a distance make you forget that you still wander within the boundaries of an industry. And birds, I realized, inspired me as they did quite the same thing – sit and stare. Well, this joblessness was beautiful and 13 Rupee tickets were made worth the while…

As I walked away leaving the two mighty chimneys astern, the bright sun hid behind the cumulus gathering – which I noted were coloured in deep grey. The tree canopy notwithstanding, a first drop fell even as I stared heavenwards. It was not just Oxygen I had found – but a whole new side to life! I walked keeping true, readying myself for the two hour trip back home – with ‘Rain drops in the sky…’ – of the Colonial Cousins, on my lips…

Food, Fun, Frolic... It's Frikkin' far!

A very long time after my last post, I chose to write again... But even as I start typing, I notice my fingers have become stubbier and my shoulders have broadened a bit. The highly overdue change in diet came on the 13th of May and ever since, my body has been greedily accepting everything that was being fed to it! Albeit putting on a couple of kilogrammes, I wouldn't call myself flabby; forget 'fat'! Just 'healthy', maybe... And then I wonder how I looked before I got here.

Multitudes of chocolate, regular doses of caffeine, some marmalade sandwiches, truffles, souffles, croissants, doughnuts, Bagels and very authentic and delicious local cuisines later, I wonder why I would ever go back to R-land! Even that dreadful drink at Costa in Terminal 1C at Delhi had tasted heavenly then! Why, I think the 'fodder' (so say the labourers who eat there) they provide us with at my intern is way better than Friday special at the mess!

My intern is going pretty well and coming to think of it, I'm actually learning stuff. But more interesting than visiting the Vacuum Distillation Columns, I've met some pretty decent people (not as interesting as the people Jetty has made 'friends' with though) out there who really make it worth travelling 90kms everyday! The travel is hell on Earth, I assure you. Now that I have trudged through the first 10 days, I'm looking forward to the next 15 to fly by.

Actually, it's been keeping me busy off late. Initially boredom filled my heart and I wished I hadn't left R-Land and all... But then, my Other Life kicked in. School friends, the intern, T20, movies, family, holiday trips and more friends have made it much more interesting. Even the weather has gotten a lot more pleasant now - not that humid. And yet, a spur-of-the-moment decision made me tell the barber, "Yeah... Shave of the hair." The rest, as they say, is history. Ksp and Dela have company. 

I've found a lot of time to myself too, these holidays. All Virgos enjoy time to themselves. Time for retrospection. Time for planning. Time to think... I've done all that. Retrospecting the past few years of my life has made me happy in general and the 'few' drawbacks will be addressed by my future plans! I've also had time to get back to writing (though, not posting) poetry, stories and random texts...

I appreciate Real's urge to reconstitute the Galacticos though I think it's sheer madness. Once bitten - twice shy, I'd say. They don't think so. Last time so many stars got together, they flopped after one season. Only time will tell.

Hope everyone is having as much fun. Cheers!

LATE EDIT: The world is NOT a wanna-be! At least not here, not now... For the record: I adore Dosais, Vadais (note the spellings) and Rasam rice among others!

End

This is the end,

My only friend - The End.

The joy and elation of Eleventh and Twelfth seem far off and hazy now. Those were the days when people were actually overjoyed. Ecstatic as they were, celebrations were wild and varied (and weird) and complete. I saw people take immense pleasure in simply catching up with those lost hours with dear old Morpheus. I saw people play 'Condition Zero' without some twelve hours without break. And when I saw people running through the library (some sort of a victory lap) with the sole motive of disturbing others in the house of knowledge, I realized that I had seen everything! But those phantasmagorical (parrdon its frequent usage, Dela) times seem a distant history.

It seems to date back to as far as the day when a certain Chronotron came to my humble abode in Chennai asking for advice for filling his JEE form, as far back as the day we designed the first WONA teaser for the first yearites' recruitment, as far back as Thomso - when it was happening and maybe even the time when I had just joined the insti. Two years,I have spent here and it already feels a lifetime. R-Land feels too dear and I shall forever regret leaving it when my time comes. Why, I regret leaving it even now, even for these two months... though home seems to be an inviting prospective. Holidays may be fun but it is only for that much time. Later, the drab humdrum of life sets in gouging out that last ounce of excitement and rendering even those fun moments useless. In other words, to me, holidays are a harbinger of boredom.

I put my act together this time however, to fight this boredom. I shall not succumb! Part of my preparation included getting as many movies as possible from the Velociraptor's infinite collection of movies (1 TB is infinite enough for me). One last time, I dragged my lappy along to visit the Farmhouse. A few hung moments later, my computers 160 GB were full and yet... I felt so empty. It was only then dawning upon me that this separation was not just temporary.

As a silent watcher of the scrabble game in which 'Granule' was the greatest word (though the points didn't say a similar story), I silently reflected upon the times bygone. Happy days when I was still carefree, when I didn't think such a time would come.... These holidays aren't as simple as the end of college or a summer break.

When I started packing for my Spicejet trip back home, I noticed the words etched on my trunk - ANIRUDH ARUN - 070607 - BTech Metallurgy. I still remember that day - like it was only yesterday. Like I have only just entered my sophomore year. Time is strange and time is cruel. Things of the distant past seem so near and yet, things just bygone seems eons ago! A discussion about the various developments in the literary world with the Lord, the Chronotron, Master Lefty, the Infidel, the PiSRA and the Complex-Analyst later, we decided it was time to leave. As I left, the only words I had were, "Bye Lefty. See you in November." So simple the words, yet so heavy they felt! A warm handshake with Lefty and a hug from Rapu later, I was off for S7.

Had I been alone then, the story might have been considerably different. By no means am I soft and mushy at heart but this was something else. I did not know these people as well as I ought to have known, and yet the burden of separation was so profound. The Exodus has come.

It set me thinking about the one year which lay between now and the time when we'd have to part with another beloved batch... There were no signs of rain but Petrichor penetrated every corner. Had it not been for the comrades who shared that walk along with me, the droplets would have fallen.

Time is cruel, as I've already said. Wonderful times pass by in a jiffy and bad hours simly crawl by... But Time is a healer and most importantly, Time goes on... Time doesn't wait for any one. (as Lezz and Hari Haran seem to have so aptly put it) We get our chances just once and its only just that we take them then and there. I've already felt like I've lost so much... So many opportunities... Yet, nothing.

But then again, opportunities take many forms. If not this, then maybe something else. So, I await the test of time. These holidays may very well turn out to be great. For one thing, I've got an intern - my first. I really hope that I like it. As for the other things I await, the UCL finals (even after those shattered dreams, third time in a row) and more importantly, the FA Cup. IPL seems to be a time-filler of sorts finally, though it has clearly flattered to decieve. With hopes for good times ahead and with an inventory of some cult classics, I hope to fight boredom and conquer that elusive 'enjoyable holidays'.

But for that, I really need to get some sleep. And catch the bus tomorrow at eight. So, adieu Roorkee. Au revoir, fourth years. Catch you in a couple of months, the remaining of you lot. Cheerio.

Of our elaborate plans, the end

Of everything that stands, the end.

But maybe this end isn't going to be so sad after all.