The Battle and the Reunion!

Barso Re Megha...

Barso Re Megha Megha

Barso Re Megha Barsoooo...

That song had been on my lips for quite a while now. Oh baby, it's raining cats and dogs out here. But nope, that doesn't stop your’s truly from being religiously back on duty after an interval of…hmm, let’s see...12 days. 12 days? My oh my, now that’s a real record. I’ve never abstained from blogging for so long, but sometimes you are just helpless. College keeps the weekdays rolling, while during the weekends either we would be out shopping or be at a relative’s place. Damn, wasn’t I just BURSTING to blog? And sorry for abandoning the comment replies half way thru. For the past one hour it had been pouring incessantly and the whole time I was out on a three wheeler. Believe me, there’s nothing as rejuvenating as traveling on that vehicle on a rainy day and letting those raindrops caress your face.

Man, I feel so sleepy now, thanks to my cousin, Tammy who kept me awake all night. As you all know, yesterday was the day of solar eclipse and Tammy was all freaked out about the whole “moon blocking the sun” thingy. She thinks the sun and the moon are having a battle out there in the skies and through out the night kept me up with her fricking out of the world doubts. Here’s what happened, at least of what I remember :

Tammy (screaming into my ears, as the clock struck one): Chechiiii!
Me ( sleepy): Huh?
Tammy (shaking me up): Chechi, get up na!
Me: Uh huh
Tammy: Only a few more hours left!
Me: Few more hours? For what?
Tammy: For the result!
Me: Oh that’s okay sweetheart. It’s over. I know you messed up that test of yours coz of the flu. Once in a while, a zero is okay. Not just okay, it's great! Absolutely, no problem.
Tammy: Noooo. I’m not talking about my result. I’m talking about the OTHER result
Me: Ah, you didn’t know that did you? UPA won with a 275-256. But that was a week back. Why should you worry now?
Tammy (yelling out of rage): I’M TALKING ABOUT THE BATTLE! THE ONE BETWEEN THE SUN AND THE MOON!
Me: Oh, that? What about that now?
Tammy (at the verge of tears): What if moon wins? Will we ever get to see day light again?
Me: Sweetheart, for the fourteenth time, the sun is very powerful as compared to the moon. I mean, the moon doesn’t even produce it’s own light. It depends on the sun. SO how would it “win”?
Tammy: So, the sun’s going to win right?
Me: Yeah, dearie. Trust me, the sun would surely rise in a few hours. Now go to sleep, you’ve got school tomorrow.
Tammy (reluctantly): …Okay…

10 mins later

Tammy: You’re sure aren’t you?
Me (irritated): Yaaaaa

15 mins later
Tammy (nudging me): But chechi, what if today’s moon’s lucky day?
Me (losing my control): Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhh. JUST SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP, YOU LIL PESKY PEST!

And then, there was peace…

Grandma helped us add some spice to this hype over solar eclipse with a story narration from her part. It’s like decades ago, our ancestors used to believe that the solar eclipse occurs because the snakes inhabiting the land grew so gigantic that they reached the skies and swallowed the sun. On the day of the solar eclipse they used to cut out coconut palm fronds and beat them against the ground. They thought that by doing so it would make the snake barf the sun out. Tanku was all confused and was like, “But won’t the sun be covered with vomit then?” Uh oh, stumped!

Last week we had gone to Kollam to attend Dad’s batch’s 25th anniversary party. It’s been 25 years since Dad has passed out of college. More than a one hundred twenty five of his batch mates turned up with their families and all of us stayed at a beach resort at Kollam to attend the reunion function which was a two day event. It was a brand new hotel, which was launched just a month back. Calling it just a hotel would be underestimating it. It was an ecotel, as in an eco friendly hotel. The rooms were kept spotlessly clean and you should have seen the bathroom. Everything from soaps to face washes was wrapped in dried banana leaves and tied with cotton thread. The bedroom slippers were made of straw and their shampoos were purely Ayurvedic with roots of herbs immersed in them to imply their eco friendliness! We got a room with a breath taking view, one of those few which overlooked the beach. In the evening, the hotel staff gathered at the beach and played games. And eco friendly games, mind you. One was like, everyone had to clean up the beach and try to collect maximum number of waste materials in their disposal bag, and the person who picked up the most would be declared the winner. Well, I must say, it was an eco friendly as well as a modern hotel at the same time.

Dad was the MC, master of ceremony of the event and whoa, I never knew my dad was such a big star among his college mates. I became a fan of his in an instant. I mean, not that I wasn’t a fan of his earlier. But believe me, I’ve never seen Dad so happy and jolly ever before. The perfection with which he organized the event and the command he had over the stage was truly commendable. For those two days, my dad wasn’t my “dad” but a 20 year old engineering student with eyes that gleamed with youthfulness and mischief. I’m not known as Mahi there, but as the “topiwala’s daughter”. Though Dad actually started wearing caps to hide his receding hairline, it has now become an indispensable part of him, a sort of an identity. Some of the kids there called him “Himesh”. Yeah, he does resemble Himesh to quite some extent. Though of course, minus the moron-ness.

I made friends with many of dad’s batch mates’ children, most of them about my age and two of them even invited me to their house. Gotta love those guys. I mean, um, girls. Usually I’m kind of slow at making friends, but those two siblings became really good friends with me. Oh oh and Mom even introduced me to the guy who ragged her on her first day!

On the second day, which was a Sunday, we caught a bus and took a trip to Dad’s college. Dad and his friends roamed around the campus and popped into classrooms, clicking photos. While they were reliving their green and salad days, me and my new friends were out there building up memories.

I really had fun there, what with new friends to talk to, new shops to shop from, and cute guys to stare at.

Talking about cute guys reminds me; I just purchased the latest Filmfare from the market, the one with Ranbir *swoon* on the cover page looking as *cough* hot as ever and was reading it when Tanku snatched it from me. That kid! Wonder where she hid it. Hang on Ranbir babes... Lo Mein Aa Gaya…