Ouucchh.. it pains!!

A friend's SMS last night brought in a great surprise. It was about a net practice session in Kinrara grounds, one of the best International Cricket Grounds in Malaysia. It was the ground where India, West Indies and Australia played DLF Cup a Tri Series in Sept 06. I was unaware of the real surprise that was in store for me. I was told a great deal of effort had gone in booking the nets which was reserved for the Under 19 Malaysian Team. Since I didn't have the right attire for the game the first thing I did was to go and purchase cricket spikes and white T shirt from Carrefoure, not far from my place. A cab was arranged to pick us up at 11:30am. It happened as expected that half the team were not present even after the cab had arrived. Being on time had a different meaning to those guys. Since I was new to this cricketing group I was being told about the how the team was wacked in previous encounters with a company in Singapore. The opponent team had feasted long before the official banquet!!

When I stepped in the ground I was awe stuck by the way the ground was maintained. The picture above explains it all. I'm playing real cricket after a gap of over 7 years and getting cramps and muscle pull all over my body was understandable. Since my forte was bowling I was happy with the ball. I didn't want to try batting as I had the fear of the ball. I wasn't mentally prepared but I had to when guys asked me to pad up. I miss timed most of the shots but I enjoyed playing. Then came the dreaded delivery!! Good Length.. pitched on the off side.. good pace... hit the bat.. top edged and straight ON TO THE FACE.. Yes my face!!

For 2 or 3 seconds everything blacked out. I could see the guys coming towards me but I couldn't hear anything. When I was gaining consciousness the first thing I checked was that my teeth was all in place. I could feel them wholly with my tongue. Relieved I thought at least its not as bad as it could have been. I could feel the swelling on the left cheek just below the eye. It pained when touched. I feared a fracture on the cheek bone. Guys around told me there was a small cut and it was slightly bleeding. I went to the wash room to have it washed with running water. The cold water in the freezer was a great help. As I looked at my face in the mirror.. it felt like seeing a boxer who has just finished a bloody bout.... swollen face with a cut that's bleeding. In the silence I came to realise what went wrong.. Before stepping into the nets I made sure every sensitive part of the body was protected but I didn't realise my face and head was uncovered. I didn't wear the helmet! It was lack of precaution. If I had the helmet this could have been completely avoided. I must say I'm a bit lucky this time. The ball hit right at the spot where it is an inch below the eye and left side of the nose. If it happened on either of them it could have been a totally different story now. As I was resting I understood things are different now than in school or college. If something serious happens and I'm medically grounded it could affect not only me but people around me. I have responsibities. I had to be safe than sorry. Its a wake up call and I learnt a lesson today.

Things are OK now after taking the medicine the doctor had given. The swelling has reduced a little and not much of pain too. The ice bag and anti inflammatory ointment has helped in reducing the swelling but there is a heavy black spot on the place where the ball hit... something like in cartoons when a person is hit in the eye! The doctor tells it will become normal in 2 weeks. I feel very tired and doing all the medication by myself is irritating. I wish there was someone to help me. I'm missing home now!!

Diwali in Kuala Lumpur

Needless to stay this is first Diwali away from family. But the hospitality of good friends and their family made me feel at home. My Diwali started with a soft voice calling me by full name.. "Jayakrishna.." followed by load banging on the door. It was the voice of my house owner I realised and as I gained consciousness from sleep I dragged myself to the door. I opened and there was none. I found no one in the hall and her room was also locked. I thought this was yet another weird dream. I went back to bed and I heard the banging again. Irritated this time I opened the door and there was my house owner.. in traditional South Indian festive attire with a big box of Ferro Rochers! She gave them wishing me for Diwali and told me I should take "oil bath" before the sun came out as that was the custom. It may have been rather demanding but I felt it more of a motherly command. I obliged. In the morning exchange of wishes through SMSs were no different from what I used to have back home. Then breakfast was at Rudra's place with his roommates watching a so called comedy movie "BORAT" (Not my kinda comedy!). I had to leave in half of the movie as Naga and his mother had invited me for lunch.. a full course South Indian meal.. which I really enjoyed. Pankaj and his wife Nishi arranged for evening get together along with some lovely home made sweets and savories. I was touched by all of their warmth and love. For someone one who is away from his home and home country in search of some unclear dream this is how it is. I'm away.. but not alone I realised.

In Malaysia Diwali is a celebrated grandly and its a National holiday. Brickfields has a ten day market with evening stage shows. It is a place to "check out" the Romeos and Juliet's of Malaysian Tamils. Open houses are held at various places. According to Wikipedia " 'Open houses' are held where Hindu Malaysians welcome fellow Malaysians of different races and religions to their house for a sumptuous meal. 'Open house' or 'rumah terbuka' is a practice very much unique to Malaysia that shows the goodwill and friendly ties practised by all Malaysians during any festive occasion." It was the most silent Diwali for me so far. Very few sounds of crackers were heard. Bursting crackers are banned by Govt here. Fireworks are only during Govt functions and New Year. I was born in a place called Sivakasi.. which boasts of the highest number of cracker manufacturing units in India. I have close relatives there and every year they would send us the best crackers for free. During school days on Diwali friends would wait for me and my elder brother in the ground as we would have the best variety of crackers. I still get these back home but now its my cousin who enjoys the pride with his friends. To me Diwali is always a time to get back with street friends and have some cheap fun trying out innovative ways to explode a coconut shell or cracking the wall around the ground using the "Atom Bombs"!!

Diwali brings back many such memories that will always remain close to my heart. Now that is history and I can only think of them with a feeling that I'm glad that it happened. To me Diwali will always be festival of light and love.

Unexplained Dreams

Strange things happen to me when I sleep. Vivid pictures of totally unrelated incidents pass my mind as I sleep. I can remember them just as I get up but they slowly fade away from my memory as I move along the madness of the passing day. Its been the case with me for many years. when I sleep the body rests but the mind remains still wandering searching for answers to the questions that trouble me in the day. The result of this is disturbed sleep and I do not feel fresh as I wake up next morning. But quite interestingly I have found solution to many problems. Like for example the blog description.. "Faster than Ray of Light". I got this name when I got up from a sleep after I went to bed thinking what to name my blog the previous night. The reason it "light" was deliberate I think as my mind keeps thinking about something that it relates to light and happiness knowingly or unknowingly. I know why my mind thinks of light and happiness but it is irrelevant here. I believe in the power of the mind and I want to know what these strange dreams want to tell me. I have decided to write down these dreams and see if I can relate it to something.

THE DREAM - 5th Nov 2007

BEGIN

I was leaning against a red sedan and watching a kid near a school gate. The kid was about 7 yrs old and was wearing a white and white school uniform, with a big shoulder bag behind him and a water bottle on his side. He was cute and had glasses with black frame. He was active and was a big hit among the other parents who came to pick up their children. He didnt have any worries in his mind and I wished I was as happy as he was. So I went up to him and started talking. He casually answered me as he was playing with his other friends. I asked him where's his house and I would leave him in his house. He said its only 5 min walk and he can walk on his own. I told him that I will come along and he didnt refuse. So we started to talk and walk. On the way he was kicking the stones. I saw an innocence in him that I had rarely seen before. As we walked I felt I was walking down a familiar street. The houses, play ground and road was known to me before though I dont remember when I'd been here. He pointed to a banglow that was painted white and maroon and said that was his house. I asked the kid who is his father and he told me his name. And I quickly asked him who is his mother and he told me the name.. I knew it had to be this!!

END

I shuddered as I got up. I took the mobile that was besides the bed. The time was 12:37 AM. Three missed calls and one SMS. I vaguely ran through the list of callers and the message. The name pf the kid's mother was still on my head as it was a very different name and I thought I had come across this name when I was in school but just couldnt remember who it was. I wanted to store it so quickly typed it in my message box and then slept. As today at work there was an important client audit we were quite busy right from the time I stepped in. Without knowing I had typed something in my message box I replied to a friends sms that came along asking "What time Lunch?". It was only in the afternoon I realised I had stored this name in it. Now it was gone as it was replaced with my reply to my friend. The name starts with "A" and some thing like Arth... and ends in "i"... no not Arthi! I just couldnt figure it after thinking the whole day but nevertheless I thought I will write it down and see if it will relate to any of my other dreams. In the meanwhile you guys can think of a name with this combination let me know..

Hairy Tale

I woke up in the morning scratching my head. It was so itchy and the scratching was soothing. It was only after a while I noticed white tiny flakes on my dark blue T shirt.. Dandruff!! It was just like in those shampoo ads which so far I thought was just an exaggeration. I had to see it to believe it. I was big headed that all along I was thinking that, unlike many other people I knew, I never had this and will never ever have it but I was wrong. Hair falling has been a concern for a long time and to add to this now.. another problem Dandruff. The long hours of working with computers, compromising health, is slowly taking its toll on me. Now that its in.. I'm gonna have big trouble for the rest of my life.

I'm going to start a home medication that my mom has told me. To start off with I went to the barber in the morning to have a real close hair cut. Well choice to have a close hair cut was of my own as I think a big burden is taken off your head and you can concentrate more on the goal you wish to pursue. I'm influenced by the Buddhist and Army men. Infact the kind of hair cut I had today was one like that of a Buddhist Monk... An electric clipper with 3 Inch blade was used. Visibly all part of the head now has equal hair length. It was agonizing to see flocks of hair fall on the floor. As the barber was doing my hair I could imagine a strange similarity to a gardener mowing his field!! With the hair gone I decided to remove my one month old well grown beard too. It took me one full hour to have it removed. And the result.. a new look. Now I only hope people don't have trouble recognizing me at the Immigration Office as I'm going to Singapore next week :)

Listen to this audio.. it was sent to me by a friend in one his usual forwards. I found this interesting. Amazing Virtual Experience in Sound. Its Binaural recording… Use Stereo Headphones only.

Statutory Warning: DO NOT LISTEN UNLESS YOU HAVE HEAD PHONES!!