Mind in a stand-by mode

As usual I started the day, going through the newspaper. But, this day was different. Lot of interesting news both good and bad went straight to my mind and brain. Some of them...

• 
  Teen Smoking
• 
  Maddy's snippets
• 
  Soundara Rajan, a guy who has won several medals for cycling including International with his artificial lower limb
• 
  AIR's carnatic music sales
• 
  Sivathanu Pillai on Innovation
• 
  91 Indian women in race for Peace Nobel
• 
  Former US President Nixon's comment on Indira gandhi as "Old Witch" and Indians as Bastards
• 
  Picture of bodies from tunnel at Ghatghar hydel project
• 
  Hayden-Jones encounter

Thoughts were juggling, messing up all these in mind till i saw the picture of children in dynamic silhouette, with their care-free thrills as monsoon clouds gathering with a silver lining over the sky. In fact, i was starring at the picture for over 10 min with some memories running background @@@!!


WHERE HAVE THOSE DAYS GONE???

A series of fortunate events one evening...

I have heard stories of being good to strangers during my childhood. But, this is the first time i have encountered it.

Returning from a meeting with Karthik and Karuna of Evam and of course Student Concepts guys(members) there, i left my bag which had some books, notes and a set of my resume in an ATM centre. I was not aware of that.

I was watching the movie 'A series of Unfortunate Events' in Studio-5. Received a missed call and i thought my friend was kidding with me. Sent a message 'i am in a movie. pls call me later'. 'Your bag is in my charge', was the reply.

I realized that i had left my bag, but couldn't remember where. I called that guy and he was waiting to give me the bag. His name is VENKAT, working in Radiant Kashyap, C P R Road, Alwarpet. “So many people leave their things(mostly mobiles) in the ATM centre and I have personally handed over them to the owner”, says VENKAT who goes to the ATM centre daily. Long live his service. I will remember him for ever.

my understanding of mathematics

ADD your BEERS without
SUBRACTing your PEERS
MULTIPLY your CHEERS with
DIVIDing your TEARS

sonnet on me by myself (none is ready to write on me. thats why!)

hello i am rajaram
born at madurai
studied in chennai
not in amsterdam

making things with perfection
taking a pride
in every stride
is always my passion

to be positive in thought
and doing things daring
is a bond in my heart
and friends with me caring

will take me high
scaling the whole sky

Fire…

I still remember that moment, when the Parade Officer with his baton struck with a huge force on my back. I was in the lying position with a Self Loading rifle (SLR) aiming at my target. The second I released the first bullet, the baton struck me. Turning back with fear and anguish I looked at the officer with a ‘Why’ look.

He asked me “Which is your target?”... “No. 4”, I replied

He asked “Then… where did you fire?”... Butterflies started flying in my stomach and brain.

I was in the Senior Division NCC of 13 Tamilnadu Battalion force. I was a first year cadet then. It was a thrilling and unforgettable experience for me that day. We had a very good drill (with rolls, monkey jumps) before we started firing.

Mighty sun was showing all its power on my head.

It was sweating and the weapon was about 10 kgs. It was 10 rounds to start with. The first one hit my co-cadet’s target earning me a slap from the baton.

Then, with the ache I pushed myself aggressively and finished my rounds.

I was having some tips on improvising from my co-cadet who said “I had hit all the 10 rounds in my target. The officer praised me for that”.

I was listening to him with a big ‘O’ in my mouth.

The proceedings came down earlier and the officer decided to give a chance with a superior weapon called Light Machine Gun (LMG), for those who had done well with the SLR.

The tip-guy (the guy who was giving me tips) was on a high. To his dismay, his name was not there in the list.
I was in a jubilant mood, not because of his rejection. My name was in the second place (from last) in the list.

That moment I saw a big ‘O’ larger than mine in the tip-guy’s mouth.

With a sense of pride having the LMG in hand and with perfection I released the trigger. That Parade Officer who hit me was nearby watching me. He posed a rewarding smile and said

“Go On... You will never miss your targets hereafter…”

The other bullets carried his words along with it.

It’s an unforgettable day in my life.

The face of Courage and Determination at 11

He looks frail. But Syed Abdul Razaak has nerves of steel. For a 11-year-old boy, raising Rs. 80,000 to save his mother's heart is no small achievement. In fact, he relentlessly continues to collect the rest of the Rs. 1.23 lakhs needed for aortic valve replacement for A. Ayesha, his 33-year-old mother.

This standard VI student of a school on Vincent Road here juggles with domestic commitment and studies. He has to look after a 10-year-old brother and a three-year-old sister. "I study while on bus to school and between midnight and 1 a.m. after I finish domestic chores."

Razaak is scared to say why his well-educated father left them. But he is determined to save his mother. "I travelled to Tiruchi, Gobichettipalayam, Dharapuram, Udumalpet, Mettupalayam, Udhagamandalam, Erode and Salem to meet people for surgery expenses."

People at a mosque here provided him with the address of philanthropists. (The surgery is to be performed at the G. Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Hospital in the city. It has also provided some concession.)
The way he has collected funds so far reveals maturity beyond his age. "I first got Rs. 1,500 from a mosque in Coimbatore. Of this, I set aside Rs. 1,000 for the surgery and used the rest for travel to various places to mobilise funds."

On how he travelled, Razaak says: "I left by bus at 6 a.m. to these places. There I walked to meet various persons and got back to Coimbatore by 10 p.m."

Ayesha's heart disorder was detected only in April. Till then, she worked in a pharmacy for five years and as a postal savings agent. But the family is said to have struggled to make both ends meet. Fortunately for Razaak and his siblings, a minorities' trust pays their school fees.

"I like Science and Social Studies. I want to study well. I do not play any sport. I was happy collecting stamps and coins. But now I need to save my mother," he says.

A precious piece

THE BEST OF THE WORST

THE WORST HIJACKING

We shall never know the identity of the man who in 1976 made the most unsuccessful hijack attempt ever. On a flight across America, he rose from his seat, drew gun and took the stewardess hostage. "Take me to Detroit," he demanded. "We're already going to Detroit," she replied. "Oh ... good,"he said, and sat down again.


THE WORST BANK ROBBERY

In August 1975 three men were on their way in to robthe Royal Bank of Scotland at Rothesay, when they got stuck in the revolving doors. They had to be helped free by the staff and, after thankingeveryone, sheeishly left the building. A few minutes later they returnedand announced their intention of robbing the bank, but none of the staffbelieved them. When they demanded 5,000 pounds in cash, the head cashierlaughed at them, convinced that it was a practical joke. Then one ofthe men jumped over the counter, but fell to the floor lutching hisankle. The other two tried to make their getaway, but got trapped in therevolving doors again.


THE WORST ANIMAL RESCUE

During the firemen's strike of1978, the British Army had taken over emergency fire fighting and on 14 January they were called out by an elderly lady in South London to retrieve her cat which had become trapped up a tree. They arrived with impressive haste and soon discharged their duty. So grateful was the lady that she invited them all in for tea. Driving off later, with fond farewells completed, they ran over the cat and killed it!!


LAWYERS VS INSURANCE

This is the best lawyer story of the year, decade, and probably the century. A Charlotte, NC, lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued .. and won! In delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The Judge stated, nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable fire, and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires."

NOW FOR THE BEST PART

...After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine. This is a true story and was the 1st place winner inthe recent Criminal Lawyers Award Contest.