December 31, 2011
The rain that began as a drizzle around 6pm yesterday rapidly strengthened into the night. And then it rained. And rained and rained. It rained all the way till 10am today. After respite of an hour, it returned strongly and continued till late in the afternoon. Low lying areas of the city have been flooded.
Five deaths reported so far.
Two houses completely destroyed. 48 damaged.
Shutters of the Neyyar dam have been lifted.
Because of all the plants near our front wall, it is difficult for people on the street to notice if anyone is sitting on our verandah. Achan and I were bemoaning the bad weather, when an umbrella appeared on the street. It proprietor was a tall, hefty young man.
"He must have lost his way," Achan said. Since we live at the end of the street, people usually miss the last exit out of the housing colony and do a turnaround after our house. So it was a reasonable guess from Achan.
However, the man did not turn around and hurry away from his mistake.
The man loitered.
Umbrella accentuated loitering.
Rain was drowning all other sounds. Tiny sunbirds were finding shelter inside the thick jasmine brush.
Stochastic movement by a young man at the end of the street in this scenario naturally raised suspicion.
Newspapers have been doing a good job reporting dramatically the rising thefts from homes in the city.
We left the weather for a while and focused on the man.
Now he did look suspicious. He surely had something to hide.
That slouching gait, the slow pirouetting, the indecision, the tilts of the head, the repeated glances up the street. The smell of crime rose above the rain.
And then he acted!
Moving to the corner of the street where the walls of the last homes meet, he urinated.
The umbrella, looking askance, aslant on his shoulder, slowly heaved in relief.
In Singapore, I am told, this is a crime. But I guess, in Singapore, people don't have to walk inside labyrinthine housing colonies when the heavens burst out choking puny human bladders.
Once he was done, he strode back up the street with confident steps and an inflated chest. Deflated bladder implied.
The black umbrella proudly twirled.
2011 draws to a close. It's been a whirlwind year for the world. Since pictures tell the story better, here is an outstanding recap:http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/30-amazing-photographs-and-the-stories-behind-them
The year has been eventful at a personal level as well. Photo 8 in the above collection reminds me that I stumbled on Paramasiva Iyer's tour de force, The Riks early in 2011.
I came to India after a gap of 7 years. Our nuclear family was back together in this home after 15 years. My sister got married. As the year ends, I am on my way to becoming an uncle.
Photo 9 in the set above invokes physical pain in my muscles that still remember the recent hospital stay. I am becoming comfortable with the permanent presence of foreign bodies, meshes and bolts, in me for the rest of my life. Compared to the ideas, delusions, dreams and despairs that have bandaged my mind over the years, they are value additions.
I owe my healthy future to a wonderful team of doctors.
2011 reaffirmed that I owe my life to my parents.
It was good to be reminded after 33 years of life.
I am away from old friends and mentors, both human and animal. I have managed some new ones.
I am thankful for those who care and with whom I can share.
I am thankful for the technology that attempts to make up for a fraction of their actual presence.
I finished higher education and traveled back from beloved Texas, my home away from home, to lush Kerala only to discover how much I did not know.
I laughed, LOLed and traded insults.
Injuries and memories trigger the same tears.
I have spurned and I have yearned.
I have been silenced by gestures beyond words.
Much more than years past, 2011, gloriously reasserted my simplistic philosophy of life: Don't get used to anything; get used to everything!
Happy New Year!
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