The Paris Surprise

Year 2018, was when Ruby and I decided to take our kids for our first ever European trip together. Among the destinations we planned to visit, Paris was the last. As a sheer coincidence, that was the year of FIFA football world cup and as destiny would have it, France were the champions that year. It just so happened that the final match was two days before our planned date of arrival in Paris.

The city had gone crazy on the day France won. There was chaos and fights everywhere. It was as though Parisians were in a trance from the win. We were obviously a bit worried about reaching the city given this background. A friend of mine who worked in Paris in fact asked us to drop our plan if it was not urgent. Nevertheless, since we planned it long time ago and this being our last leg of the trip, we decided to go ahead. Fortunately, by the time we reached Paris, the commotion had settled down.

We had booked ourselves a hotel at a place called Clamart and reached the place on a taxi from the train station on the first day. The hotel booking was done based on our research looking at the accessibility via train. Little did we realize that this was the suburbs of Paris and though a train station was right next to the hotel where we stayed, it was not the metro railway network connecting the city directly. While it was a late realization for us, we were quite OK with it since all these contributed to our travel experiences.

The next day we decided to explore the city and headed to the train station near our hotel. As we reached the station, we looked for the ticket counter. While there was one, unfortunately no staff was present. The alternate option was to buy the tickets from an automated kiosk. We thought we will give it a try.

The kiosk had a catch. It only accepted coins. We had Euros, but as currency. While we were trying to check the tickets from the machine, a queue started building behind us. With the machine not allowing currency we were stuck.

As we were wondering what to do, I heard a tiny voice from behind us in the queue, asking in a French laced English, if we needed help. It was a petite lady who was patiently waiting for us to finish our turn at the machine. We tried to explain the situation to her. Without even thinking twice, she took out her purse and paid for all our tickets.

Soon we were on our way to the city. At the station where we all got down, we paid her in currency and she promptly returned the change. The train moved on and all our concerns about friendliness and wellbeing in Paris also went along with it.

Santhosh George Kulangara, one of the most widely travelled person in the world had once said, ‘most of the people across the world are good, unfortunately we get influenced by negativity expressed by one person’s experience and make the mistake of generalising that for all.’

Let us remember to have an open mind during our trips, all the while being aware of our surroundings.

Happy travelling!

 

സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിലെ മുരിങ്ങ

ബാങ്ക് ഉദ്യോഗത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വിരമിച്ച് ഏകദേശം ഒരു ദശാബ്ദ കാലം മറ്റുപല തിരക്കുകളുമായി അപ്പൻ നല്ല ഓട്ടത്തിലായിരുന്നു. അങ്ങനെയിരിക്കയാണ് സ്വതവേ താല്പര്യമുള്ള കൃഷിയുടെ ലോകത്തേക്ക് കൂടുതൽ കടന്നാലോ എന്നൊരു ചിന്ത ഉണ്ടായത്. അതിന് ബലം കിട്ടാനായി ഒരു ചെറിയ വസ്തു വീടിനടുത്ത് തന്നെ മേടിച്ചു. അവിടെ നിലമൊരുക്കി പലതരത്തിലുള്ള പച്ചക്കറികളും പഴവർഗങ്ങളും നട്ടുപിടിപ്പിച്ചു. ആ കൂട്ടത്തിൽ ആ വസ്തുവിന്റെ ഒത്ത നടുക്കായി ഒരു മുരിങ്ങ ചെടിയും നട്ടിരുന്നു.

ദിവസവും എല്ലാ ചെടികളെയും സ്വന്തം മക്കളെ എന്നപോലെ അപ്പൻ നോക്കി. വളമിടലും വെള്ളം ഒഴിക്കലും എല്ലാം തകൃതിയായി നടന്നു. ഒന്നിന് പുറകെ ഒന്നായി ചെടികളൊക്കെ തന്നെ പൂക്കളും കായ്കളും നൽകി അപ്പൻറെ ഉദ്യമത്തെ അനുഗ്രഹിച്ചു.

എല്ലാ ചെടികളും നന്നായി വന്നപ്പോഴും മുരിങ്ങ മാത്രം പൂവിട്ടില്ല, കായും തന്നില്ല. അപ്പൻ വളമിടലും വെള്ളം ഒഴിക്കലും തുടർന്ന് പോന്നു. സ്ഥിരമായി മുരിങ്ങയ്ക്ക് വെള്ളമൊഴിച്ചു കൊണ്ടിരുന്ന അപ്പനോട് അമ്മ പറഞ്ഞു 'ഡാഡി, മുരിങ്ങയ്ക്ക് ഇത്രയും വെള്ളം ആവശ്യമില്ല അതിനെ കുറച്ച് കാലം വെറുതെ വിട്. അപ്പൊ പൂക്കുകയും ചെയ്യും, കായും ഉണ്ടാവും'.

സ്വാഭാവികമായും അപ്പൻ അത് കേട്ടില്ല. മുരിങ്ങ തുടർന്നും വെള്ളം കുടിച്ചു കൊണ്ടേയിരുന്നു. അങ്ങനെ ഏകദേശം മൂന്ന് നാല് വർഷങ്ങൾ കടന്നുപോയി. മുരിങ്ങ ഒരു മാറ്റവും ഇല്ലാതെ നിന്നു.

ഇതിനിടയ്ക്ക് സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിൽ ഒരു അത്യാവശ്യ വേക്കൻസി വന്നപ്പോൾ ദൈവം തമ്പുരാൻ ആളയച്ച് അപ്പനെ അങ്ങ് വിളിച്ചുകൊണ്ട് പോയി. പിന്നെ രണ്ടു കൊല്ലക്കാലം മുരിങ്ങ ശരിക്കും പട്ടിണിയിലായിരുന്നു.

അപ്പൻ സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിൽ ചെന്നതിന്റെ രണ്ടാം വാർഷികം ആഘോഷിക്കാൻ എന്നവണ്ണം ഈ വർഷം കഴിഞ്ഞ മാസം മുരിങ്ങ തകർത്തു പൂത്തു. ഒന്നാന്തരമായി പൂക്കളെല്ലാം കായ് ആവുകയും ചെയ്തു.

അങ്ങനെയിരിക്കെ ഈ മാസം എൻറെ മറ്റൊരു പിറന്നാൾ വന്നു ചേർന്നു. എല്ലാ കൊല്ലവും പിറന്നാളിന്റെ അന്ന് വെളുപ്പിനെ കോഴി കൂവുന്നതിനു മുമ്പ് തന്നെ അപ്പൻറെ ഒരു ഫോൺകോൾ വരുമായിരുന്നു. കഴിഞ്ഞ രണ്ടു വർഷമായി പിറന്നാളിന്റെ അന്ന് ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ ഞാൻ ആഗ്രഹിച്ചിരുന്നതും എന്നാൽ കിട്ടില്ല എന്ന് അറിയാമായിരുന്നതും മറ്റൊന്നായിരുന്നില്ല.

അപ്പോഴാണ് നാട്ടിൽ നിന്ന് ഒരു കസിൻ ചേച്ചി ദുബായിലുള്ള മകളുടെ അടുക്കൽ എത്തിയ കാര്യം അറിഞ്ഞത്. എൻറെ പിറന്നാളിന്റെ അന്ന് കാണാമെന്ന് അവർ പറയുകയും ചെയ്തു. അന്നത്തെ ഓഫീസ് തിരക്കുകൾ എല്ലാം കഴിഞ്ഞ് വൈകുന്നേരം ഞങ്ങളെല്ലാവരും ഒന്നിച്ചുകൂടി. അവർ കൊണ്ടുവന്ന ഒരു പിറന്നാൾ കേക്ക് മുറിച്ച് മധുരം പങ്കിട്ട് കുറേക്കാലം കൂടി എല്ലാവരെയും കണ്ടതിന്റെ സന്തോഷവും ഒക്കെ ആയി വളരെ ഭംഗിയുള്ള ഒരു പിറന്നാൾ ആഘോഷം നടന്നു. എല്ലാം കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ ചേച്ചി എൻറെ കയ്യിൽ ഒരു കവർ തന്നിട്ട് പറഞ്ഞു, 'ഇത് നിൻറെ മമ്മി തന്നു വിട്ടതാണ്. എന്താണെന്ന് തുറന്നു നോക്ക്.'

എന്റെ നാല്പത്തിനാലു വർഷത്തെ പിറന്നാൾ സമ്മാനങ്ങളുടെ കൂട്ടത്തിൽ ഏറ്റവും വിലമതിക്കാനാവാത്ത ഒരു സമ്മാനമായിരുന്നു ആ കവറിൽ. വർഷങ്ങൾക്ക് മുൻപ് അപ്പൻ വച്ചുപിടിപ്പിച്ച മുരിങ്ങ ചെടിയിൽ ഉണ്ടായ അഞ്ചാറു കായ്ക്കൾ. അപ്പൻ സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിൽ ചെന്ന് രണ്ട് വർഷത്തിനുശേഷം അവിടുന്ന് അയച്ചുതന്നത് പോലെ.

ഞാനാ കവർ അടച്ചുവച്ചതും അപ്പൻറെ ചിരിക്കുന്ന മുഖം മനസ്സിൽ തെളിഞ്ഞു.

പെട്ടെന്ന് അവിടെ ഒരു അശരീരി മുഴങ്ങിയത് പോലെ എനിക്ക് തോന്നി, 'ഇപ്പോഴെങ്കിലും മനസ്സിലായോ ഞാൻ വെള്ളമൊഴിച്ചതിന്റെ ഗുണം?'

അപ്പൻ സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിലും അപ്പൻ തന്നെ. ഒരു മാറ്റവും ഇല്ല!

That’s not fair!

Here’s a story of how a recent trip to Kerala redefined the meaning of being fair. We were on our way to my wife’s place and stopped at a corner store to get some fruits. I decided to get a few apples and oranges. A basket was kept right in front of the store with red apples neatly arranged. The shop owner asked me to get a few so that he can weigh it for me. As usual I picked up some that appeared without any dents and handed it over to him.

The apples weighed only about a kilogram. Since I wanted 1.5 Kgs, the shop keeper asked me to get a few more. I went back to the basket of apples and picked up some more just the way I selected the initial ones. The moment I placed the additional set on the tray I saw his face changing. Soon enough came the comment that redefined the phrase ‘being fair’ for me.

He said, “Oh! You have selected all good ones again! If you keep doing this I’ll end up not selling the remaining ones. Select something from the rest as well”.

Speechless would’ve been an understatement for my state of mind. For a moment I was not even sure if he really meant what he said. So I reconfirmed with him that he indeed want me to be fair to him and choose a few apples that are not the best.

Apparently, in this part of the world, customer is indeed the king, but at the mercy of the seller!

Tail End: I walked out of the store with 1 Kg of apples.

The Christmas Gift

The school bus stopped right in front of the mansion partially engulfed in mist on that chilly December evening. As she got down, Jessy pulled the cardigan closer to her chest to protect herself from the cold wind. She waved goodbye to her friends and was welcomed back home by the glittering lights that were adding to the celebration scene getting ready for a double delight. Jessy and Jesus shared birthdays! The sentry opened the gate for her and the familiar sight of her beautiful home unravelled in front of her, this time even more beautiful with the lovely lights sparkling all around.

Three luxury cars adorned the main porch, adding to the pomp and glory of the mansion. But to Jessy, there was one eyesore, a car that was parked a bit aside in a dedicated porch. It was an Ambassador painted in yellow and black, the one that was typical of taxis in India in 90’s. This was the only thing about which she fought with her brother John. Even on her last birthday, when she turned fourteen, she asked him as a wish to get rid of the strange car. Her brother as always, with lots of love, promptly turned down this request.

The Ambassador reminded John of his humble beginnings and he wanted to retain it as a sacred memory. There wasn’t anyone else to whom Jessy could complain since from the time she could remember, her brother was the only relative she ever had. There was an old black and white picture of their parents that was prominently placed on the majestic wall of the living room.

Jessy vaguely recollect her past when they did not have all these luxury in their life. It was her brother’s dedication alone that made him the successful business man the town knows today. She still can’t believe that he used to be behind the wheels of the same Ambassador which she hated from the bottom of her heart. If there was one thing her friends ridiculed her for, it was the strange presence of that car right in front of their grand residence.

There was another weird practice in that house associated to this car. During Christmas and her birthday, the house got decorated with lights of all colours except for the porch where the Ambassador stood. The porch will always be decorated with lights shining in bright red colour. There were strict instructions from John to the staff not to use any other colour for this porch. The car and the porch appeared to Jessy as nothing short of a bad omen bathed in red. Jessy had asked him why and this is one mystery for which she never got a convincing answer.

She had made a decision this year. Christmas this time was not going to be the same. She was not going to turn fifteen without changing the bad omen at least as the first step. She’ll bring more happiness by decorating the age old car and porch with bright and beautiful colours than the depressing red. Next step will be to get rid of the car altogether. She had to plan well for this since it was pretty evident that she was treading dangerous waters on this with her brother!

She invited a few of her friends over. Together they plotted a secret plan. ‘Mission Red Devil’ was launched! First they’ll ensure that the red lights got replaced and then they’ll find a way to get rid of the car altogether. For the first objective, they managed to get hold of one of the staff members in the house and convinced him to get them a bunch of multi-coloured lights.

While they were at it, a familiar face of an old man appeared at the gate. Jessy identified him as the second mystery associated with the Ambassador. This man promptly came during Christmas time every year. John took great efforts to receive him and treat him well. They both will be seen talking for a long time and most of the conversations happened right next to the car. He was introduced once to Jessy as an old friend of John who helped in the days when John was driving the taxi. Nothing more was said about him.

Soon John went out with the old man. While they were away, Jessy and friends acted quickly. Within an hour, they applied garlands of light on the porch with every other colour than red. As they plugged in the light, the gate opened. John was received with the shocking view of a brightly lit car porch where the good old Ambassador was covered in a multi-coloured robe. His expression was priceless! All the red that were missing at the porch found its way to his face. He was furious and the girls had never seen him like that. He didn’t say a word except for asking the staff to put the red lights back on.

Jessy dropped her friends back shortly. She returned home, but to a different one than the one she left. It was a dead house. Even the lights that shined did not seem to bring the life that once filled the space. John was sitting right below the picture frame of their parents and looked devastated. Jessy was quite surprised. Was it all because of the lights? Why was it so important that the change brought such a drastic transformation to their home? She demanded an answer from her brother which was greeted with a terminal silence and that silence killed her.

This was it! She had been patient for the last fifteen years. Each time the question was raised about the car and the strange ways about it at their home, John was quite evasive. She sat down next to him and looked right into his eyes and said, “I really need you to tell me brother, what is the secret with this car and why is a mere change of decoration lights bothering you so much? I’m not a baby anymore for you to hold back the truth. You act like a total stranger each time I come up with this question. You are so weird when it comes to this topic and guess what I feel? I don’t belong here!”

As soon as she finished those last words, John burst into tears with a loud cry! A bunch of emotions that were buried deep down in his mind for the last decade and a half finally found its way out. His memories took him back to a Christmas Eve fifteen years ago. It was quite late in the evening. He was driving the taxi and was about to drop home a young couple expecting their first baby soon. This was his seventh trip for the day and possibly the last one since he was really tired with all the traffic of the season. He badly wanted to get back home and have a peaceful evening all by himself celebrating Christmas. The couple who owned the taxi which he drove had told him to take a day off on Christmas and nothing could get better than that.

As he was taking the final turn to the young couple’s home a flash of a bright light hit the car. He could hardly make out the shape of a truck and took a sharp turn to the left. The truck hit the side where the lady was seated. The impact was huge that he remember the car spinning for a few times before it came to a halt. The young man, soon to be a father, died on the spot. While John though had broken a bone or two, couldn’t help but hear the heart wrenching cry from the fully pregnant lady. The pain was unbearable, yet he managed to crawl out of the car. A passing car stopped by and the man who now visited them every Christmas helped John to take the lady to a nearby hospital. She was unconscious by the time they reached the Emergency section. He was soon taken inside as well and while they prepared him for a surgery, he vaguely remember hearing the doctors speak that the lady won’t make it.

A few days later as he was ready to leave the hospital, the nurses helped him onto the taxi that was waiting to take him home. But just before that, he was directed by a nurse to the neo natal ward. The place was all decorated for Christmas with bright red lights everywhere. The nurse took him to a tiny girl among the other babies there. They called her Jessy, the one that was miraculously saved from a dying mother a few minutes after the clock struck twelve on the Christmas day that year! He looked into her tiny eyes and saw the reflection of the shining red lights in them. They were shining like the Star of Bethlehem. Jessy, his sister, was born in his mind.

He took her to the couple who owned his taxi. For them, John and Jessy became the kids they never had. John inherited the taxi from them and moved to this town later, along with her. He also brought a priceless item along with him. An old black and white picture of the couple which was duly placed on the living room wall.

John finished the narration and looked at his sister. She got up and walked towards the window from where she could see the car that was parked in the porch. He reached out to her and they looked at each other. They could see the reflection of the bright red lights in their eyes. For Jessy, those were the most precious rubies she had ever seen in her life!

Surprise!

Article for Bethlehem Matrimonial - April 2013

As customary to anyone in the IT industry, we also look forward to the weekends to unload the bags that seem to be always full with never ending work during the week. On one such weekend, in between a drive to one of the numerous shopping malls in this desert country, I was casually mentioning to my wife about the good old evening snacks made of rice and how long it had been since we had one.

The weekend went by and we were back to the grind of the weekdays’ schedule. During the mid of the week on an unusually busy and hectic day I reached home even more tired than usual. I had already complained to my wife about how the day was progressing and guess it was quite obvious how disturbed I was when I reached home. All what I wanted was to hit the bed and have a good night’s sleep. Nevertheless we sat down as usual for our evening tea. All of a sudden I saw a casserole appearing from nowhere on the table. That was something very strange since we usually had some biscuits or so along with the tea. I was totally puzzled. She asked me to go ahead and open the lid and I promptly followed the instruction.

It is not an exaggeration if I say whatever complaints I had during that horrendous day just vanished into thin air seeing what was there on the table awaiting me! What was a casual reference to the rice snacks during the previous weekend was there right in front of me. I was elated to the ninth heaven with this absolutely unexpected treat from my beloved! That made my day and needless to say how relaxed I had been after receiving such a lovely surprise.

Many a times what we do not realize is the fact that surprises need not be expensive. We really do not have to think about the diminishing bank balance or increasing credit card limit while planning for a surprise to your loved ones. If you are truly in love, a simple act of surprise will have an even greater value than what the price tag says. It is the intention that matters and not the content.

I honestly believe that everyone in this world loves surprises, of course pleasant ones. This is all the more important while you are married since this is an essential way of showing how much you care and love each other. When you surprise your partner, with a planned gift or otherwise, it shows that you spent some time to think about the significant other in your life.

I keep hearing people ask the question, ‘How is life’? Surprises you get and give in your life helps you answer that question with an emphatic ‘Great’ or ‘Awesome’ whereas a life deprived of these will be one of the most mundane way of living that you have nothing new to be happy about.

What is important and needs to be kept in mind is that surprises can take any form. It need not necessarily be a gift which means surprises are not always to be bought from somewhere and given to your sweetheart. You will be surprised to see how a genuine compliment that you give your partner is more valuable than an expensive gift you would’ve purchased. So are acts of love like a simple hug at an unexpected moment, doing a household chore that you generally leave to your partner and a support given by identifying and encouraging a skill or a talent in your better half. At times these unplanned and non-budgeted surprises will have an even more lasting impact than their expensive counterparts.

Be aware of the value these surprises bring to our daily life and how much of an impact does it have on our physical and emotional well-being. It is quite natural that in the modern day frantic lifestyle you tend to forget to give surprises to each other. At the risk of sounding a bit mechanical it may even be a good idea to maintain a surprise log on which you will mark each time you give a surprise. One look at it will remind you when was the last time you gave a surprise to your dear ones.

Life is like a jukebox which plays the song you want for the amount you insert. Why then not play the song of life by inserting a few surprises here and there. It is only for a short while that we are here, make it worthwhile!

Ask yourself the question, “When was the last time you surprised your loved ones?”

A Basketful of Surprise!

After a few considerations, my only Brother-in-law decided to take the plunge into the wonderland called 'Married Life'. Needless to say, he was soon in a state of delirium tying hard to figure out the difference between nights and days, thanks to the late night phone conversations with his soon-to-be-sweetheart. All this while there was one little soul who was totally busy figuring out the artistic details about the wedding. My darling devil she was!

In the traditional Catholic society, a married sister of the groom commands a kind of respect which is something short of royalty. The reverence becomes manifold if she happens to be the only sister! I need to be a little immodest here and add that a fair share of the attention is also received by the brother-in-law of the groom.

With a few months into married life ourselves, I was fortunate to realize one fascinating characteristic of my sweetheart. She has a distinctive talent to create a marvel out of the most insignificant looking material lying around! So there she was; trying to make her brother's wedding a fairy tale one with the resources she had access to.

I heard her speaking to mom a few weeks before the wedding about buying some sort of a basket made of cane. She was also talking about nets and ribbons to add to the set. Conversations were plenty about size of the basket and color of ribbons. It is a matter of fact that I was not a keen listener to these and so didn't make out what she was up to.

The evening before wedding, I saw her scooting to a room back home with a basket and some assortments. The curious cat inside me got jolted up and swiftly followed her to the room. But all what I saw was a basket, some clothes, ribbons and nets in different colors. The cat lost its interest and moved to further more interesting actions which a wedding eve is never deprived of.

Moments passed by and I was cruising past the chocolate brown glass topped table en route to kitchen to pick up something. As if gravity got the better of me, my legs refused to move an inch beyond a spot. There, perched on that glass table was a heavenly beauty residing in all its glory! The simple basket of cane had gone through such a transformation that it became an incredible example for a work of art!

A pure white piece of satin became the seat, lovely nets floated around the basket giving it a fairy touch and curly golden ribbons were shining as though to proclaim to the world that a new life has been instilled! To top it all, a pair of exquisite lemon yellow roses adorned the basket to complete the royal touch!

Presenting the little beauty in its entire splendor to you…

The Sandwich Surprise!

I've been keeping my back pain issue on the back burner for a while. I guess it had to wait till the time I got married since my darling wife was instrumental in finally getting me to the affirmative mode to meet the doc. We had to spend some time at the hospital campus and in between had some light snacks before we headed back home.

We reached home by afternoon and were not exactly hungry since the snacks had played a cameo to satiate the need for the hour. So we settled for the next best thing available; watch a movie with a bottle of Cranberry Breezer that was still there in our refrigerator. We shared the drink and soon my sweetheart started getting a strange feeling as the red color liquid traversed through her food pipe. It produced so much of a biological impact that soon she was screaming about the burning sensation. Being the more experienced among the two of us about the world of alcohol, I realized it is nothing but the effect of a not-so-full tummy having a tete-a-tete with the Breezer. 

A powerful alarm went off and the romantic bugger inside me was pretty shaken up! An opportunity which I believe occurs only to newly married couples! Ten minutes is all what I asked my beloved, rushed to the fridge and to my pleasure discovered a portion of beef roast in there. The pan was heated up in no time; drops of oil kissed the vessel, onions chopped in a jiffy and the dish was spiced up by squeezing half a lemon which added a peculiar tangy flavor to the dish! Three slices of bread seemed ready to receive the limited edition delicacy which was garnished with tasty tomato ketchup.

The twins of those slices covered the top and then it was time for the magical touch of all! Three lovely smileys from the family of ketchup became the face of the creation. Lo and behold! The most beautiful sandwich in the entire world was right in front of the eyes of my dear one!

She was watching me all the while from our couch and it took a solid couple of seconds for her to realize what the whole drama was about. The sandwiches smiled at her and I was greeted with the loveliest of the expressions I'd ever seen!

This is what made my girl happy: