mangalapurathe oru pranayakalam..part 2

The life of any s/w engineer in Mangalore circles around a few basic places…their
office..Punjabi dhaba..siddhi sagar..Empire mall n Bharath mall..Am pretty damn sure that
almost 95% f the s/w engineers in here would have gone to the above mentioned places...So
being a part f d elite common software engineer sect even my life in here circled around the
above mentioned places plus a few more places….

As every other engineering graduate I Came into the IT field with big big hopes abt earning
big bucks meeting cool gals having a branded life n all…but never had thot that all this wud b
cumin at a very big cost..At first it was really looking all cool…no work...All day net
connection...My own system...Free local call wala land phone..Free cappuccino n scores f
sizzling pieces J …but once the real work started all ma dreams came down like a palace f
cards..sathyam…pinne angot ullath verum oru yantrikam aaya jeevitham aayirunnu…ravile
8’u manik vayikunna alarm snooze cheyth cheyth 820-830 vare aakiyit enikuka pinne rdy
aayi formal dressum itt 9-915 aakumo officeil varuva…log in to ur system n open the mailbox
innathe pani mail aayit vann kidapundakum…but watz d big deal....i js wana push d time till
evenin..so start playin d sngz..Start d usual lal vs ikka fight through mails (I seriously thot I’ll b
ending that fight in college but I was wrong evn in ma office the fight is continuing.. ”wherever
u go my network follows you” enn ad pole “wherever a malayali goes lal vs ikka fight will go
on” enn enik manasil aayi..) n den go for communicator conference and make fun f dundu n
kuku or cookie …seriously dude for any IT company to work der r 3 basic necessities

* Microsoft Outlook (mail box)
* Office Communicator and
* CCD machines

…. N lo d next second out of blue comes a mail pop up...1 on 1 meeting schedule with
program lead…n dat too in 5 minutes…oh ma god…y din I go to breakfast whn Nipun
called datz the 1st thot dat came to ma mind whn I saw dat meeting request…but ini aalochit
enna kariyam…I tuk a notepad n pen n dragged myself to the conference room…. pinne
Module lead vann ulla usual set of questionz..”Y did u go early yesterday Nidhin, din I tell u
to update the status n go..n what abt the work that I had gvn..did u finish analyzing that..watz
the status of the defect # 285..did u resolve it..???” N I’ll b sittin like am watchn an adoor
gopalakrishnan’s movie..no expressionz on ma face…oru nisahayatha mathram…n no itz not
over…”U r always chattin or sending mail rite y man don’t u have ny wrk to do..try to
complete your work 1st n den go along wth ur other stuffs k… ” innatheyk film theernu
baaki nale continue cheyunath aayirikum… n den he’ll leave askin me to complete the
pending work n the new work that’s assigned to me…man I start cursin myself “Thendiii
inanle mariyadaky update ayichit poya mathiayirunnu..appozha aa charak penn pokuna time
aayi enn paranj avale follow cheyan poyath…ennito aval’k oru boyfrnd und enn njan kandu
pidichu…anagne avalum poyi..n ippo de paniyum katta purath aayi..” But as a matter f fact
there is no use thinkin abt wat had happnd but one thing she was definitely hot.. So back in
ma seat I start goin thru the different modules n defects…3 months rigorous trainin kazhinjit
aan enik oru java code thattiyum muttiyum ezhuthi theerkan pattiyath…aa njan 1 week
mainframe training kond oru mainframe code analyze cheytha engane irikum….desp condition
aayirunnu…but after dat 1 on 1 session I was determined to do sumthin…so I tuk up ma
coffee mug n went to the pantry wth ma mallu set f frndz..n sat der discussin d usual stuffz
movies,partys,weekend plans n ofcourse watz a discussion without gals… N den back to the
analyzing drama….

I always looked fwd for the lunch time..coz thatz whn I get to c ma dream gal…yup
mangalapurath oru pranayakalath njan kanda pavithtram aaya ente pavi (ya datz her name
J..or rather hw I wish to call her..)…. Man she was cute n beautiful oru tani nadan penn
kutti…yeth oru malayali bachelor’inteyum dream gal…kalangam illatha aa mugham n aa chiri
kanan vendi mathram aanu Food Court’il irunn aa uppu vellom polathe sambharum ,thanutha
paper polathe papadavum,rubber polathe rice’um kazhikunath.. Snehathinu vendi enthu
sahikan ready aavanam enn ente yetho oru alavalathi kootukaran paranjath ithin udeschi
aayirikumo entho… Nywayz I badly wanted to get introduced to dis gal..i tried a lot to find
out her IBU n atlast found it n wat I was really happy coz 3 f ma best buddies in mangalore
where in that IBU so I was pretty damn sure f making a gud 1st impression coz I was sure
pattathi , jibu n cookie will help me out…but alas aa moonu perum ente kaalu vaari… Pattathi
was telling that she had a good image n dint want to risk it by introducing me to pavi..n jibu
thendi alavalathi avante ella kariyom njan set aaki koduthu..oru alapuzha achayathi aayirunnu
avante crush.. he din evn bother to show dat courtesy back..n cookie avalde kariyam pinne
parayandalo..she badly wanted sumthn by which she could pester me n lo I gave it to her in
the form of pavi …n they blocked all the possible means by which I could get introduced…n
the worst thing was she was always surrounded by her set f tulu speaking friends (shez a
native f Mangalore)..I never met her alone…. L… man I was desp…The only solace was
that she used to smile @ me evrytime our eyes met ..As a matter f fact my eyes were always
on her J so it would be better to say she smiled whnevr she accidently turned towards ma
side….

Hmm….so life went on as it always does..n we have js 2 options with us..either to sit n cry
over ma lost past which I can nvr get back or move along with time n let life discover the new
wonderz of ma wrld..yup n u guessed it rite I hav decided to move on….well to most f dem I
havnt stopped yet to start moving on…but der r a few stages in life which will make u sit n
think…n yup today d day am hurtin my keyboard like nvr bfr (evn bein a mainframe coder I
nvr hurt ma keyboard I live wth the ctrl+c n ctrl+v buttons..as ma company always
says…REUSE initiative..am a specialist in dat) marks d completion f ma 1 year in ma
cmpny…I js cant belive that according to the financial records I earned abt 2.85lakhs in the
last year..as a matter f fact I dnt evn have 28.5rs in ma account now let alone 2.85lakhs….its
an year since I became a s/w engineer..an IT professional..an Income earner…but watevr dat
may be am still a royal mech in heart n soul….i still do all the stuffs dat I did in coll..play
pranks on frnds…cut classes (nw called knowledge transfer sessions)…spent half f d day in
canteen (nw called FC n pantry)…copy d assignments (nw called reuse initiative)…still
getting supply in exams J (after d series n university exams nw its certification exams)…hang
around wth friends (nw called boozing or coffee breaks)..n ogle @ gals..well derz no IT term
for dat till nw….so life remains d same oly d scenarios , d terms n ppl have changed….but I
havnt…n by d look f things I don’t see myself changing for the nother couple f years…or
rather it will depend on the time till d search for ma achayathi ends…. J J

Mangalapurathe oru pranayakalathu..

Atlast d d-day came...compri results wer out n danks to ma parents n ma close frndz prayers i got a B+ in d infy final examz...by d-day i was not refern to d day whn results will b out coz i knew ma moms prayers will b answered no matter wat...i was refern to d day whn d postings will b out...had made a small gang durnin d trainin period..d turnin point in ma life..so wntd to b wth mst f dem coz i knew nywayz dey wont b postn us in d same DC coz dat wud hav marked d end f dat DC as in our gang oly 4 ppl,kuku,ammavan,donny n pattathi wntd to wrk..rest all wntd bench..n d posting locations wer disgustn..evn more disgustn dan d veg thali dat we used to get durn d trainin period..it was cmpltly weird..evrybdy wer posted in diff locations n as expected i was a loner in hyderabad...
But once d tradin strtd in d ol barter system i was damn confused...evrybdy got TVM...tou mny used to say dat dey wntd to live atleast 4 a year away frm hme..all proved once agn dat itz easy to say thngs but hard to do dem...n i was stuck up in mangalore as a part f ma 3 way mutual transfer...i was mid way b/w hyd n tvm...n TVM was callin me wth all itz might...n it was tme 4 me to take d mst imp n mature decision f ma life...whtr to go bck to ma hme twn havn lotz f memories...ma hme,ma parents..ma free sms hutch connection..ma pulsar...evrythn dat a normal guy wud dream abt was der 4 me...bt i was confused almst all d decisions dat i made till date depended on ma frndz coz ma life means ma frndz n dis tme also it was no different...cookie(who used to pray everyday she gav options to god so as nt to b so persistent..she tld plz god plz nywer other dan chandigarh,bbsr,pune,mysore n tvm will do..coz she wntd chennai,hyd or bnglr..poor cookie she 4got d fact dat der was a DC in mangalore also..n d gr8 1 up der bein d smartest f d lot posted her to mangalore...nw she cant cmplain naa dat god din hear her wishes..n also she din get ny swaps..!!) n jibu(who badly wntd tvm..he tried his best to get bck der..but der wer sum plans already made 4 him..n he was deprived f d mch deserved tvm) who got stuck up in mnglr wntd me in der..n deep wthn ma heart i wntd a chng..i wntd to live alone n xperience life d way it is...i was thirsty 4 a chng....n atlast tuk d ultimate decision to stay in mangalore...mch to d dismay f mny f ma frndz mst f dem said i was crack..at dat tme i din know whtr i tuk d rite decision or not..but thot evrythn happens 4 a reason.....so stuck on to ma choice...
Mangalore..(dunno whtr i shud say mengalaru aftr wat dey did wth bangalore)....a small semi-metro on d border b/w kerala-god's own country and Karnataka-software professionals own country....d oly knowledge dat i had of mangalore till date was wat i heard frm papers(communal violence dat happened a year bfr..) n saw frm films (in mst f mallu films d villans n hired killers came frm mangalore..)...watevr i wasnt mch bothered abt sch stuffz...d oly prayer in ma mind as is wth ny guy gonna join a big IT cmpny as a professional is dat der shud b lotz f gud lukn gals in der so dat evn if d wrk is screwn u up u hav sumthn to b happy abt n fcourz tell ur frndz bck hme abt to to evoke the green eyed monster in them :P...but d 1st day in cmpny was nt dat gr8 coz i ma HR introduced me to sum guy who tld i'll b in proj frm d very nxt day...crap..wat d helll....!! am not in bench....dat was d wrst thng i wntd to hear n to add to ma worries all ma frndz called up to tell d sad news dat dey r on bench..no bdy gets wat dey wish 4..kya ajeeb zindagi hai naa..aha watevr...varan ullath vazhyil thangulalo....so strtd life in mangala....

N d nxt thng in mind was to find a place to stay....n wat to say evry tom dick n harry in mangalore has got a house 4 rent...n we had d minimum f d requirements...AC bein d 1st..coz it was damn too hot..den 2-3 bedrooms 2-3 bathrooms...TV washn m/c etc..n last bt not d least der shud b lotz f "charaks" nearby...n it was damn easy to get 1..but cash was d problem...whn we wer in coll we cud live wth js a 100 for abt a month..but nw evn whn we get 20k in hand we end up wth a near zero acc balance by d last week f every month...itz said dat d last wrkn day f d month is wat evry s/w professional yerns 4..other dan fridays...ah watevr we ended up in a duplex...tou ma roomie chuts wntd to live in a flat coz usko bachpan se hi flat mein rahne ka sapna tha...but we cudnt find ny desired flat in dat short span f time...n d hme we settled in was gud...tou it din hav nythn dat we wished 4...bt yahaan toh sab kuch rent mein milta hai....our land lady js gav us an empty gas cylinder n a fridge frm d mediveial time dat din evn strt :-) ....but we wer nt bothered..n 4 a s/w engineer comfort has no compromise so we tuk a washn m/c n tv 4 rent on d 1st day...n also tata sky connection...talks r still goin on for fittin an a/c...bt d lan lady dnt wana drill or do ny rewrk on her house....hmm...'ll deal her later...

Durn d 1st week f stay we all tuk care not to litter d place n keep it as clean as possible..but den it turned out to b d usual bachelor hangout..d shoes n dirty socks n chappals dat ly in d frnt room reminds u f d bogies f a train dat ly haphazardly after an accident...d bedroom had 3 big mattress wth bedsheets so brown in colour dat u feel like itz d ground for sum mud bike racin...n itz better dat i dnt say nythn abt d bathrooms....We had plans f strtn cookin @ hme..but d thot f an unclean kitchen wth plates lyn in d washbasin wth stains f tomato fry or kadai paneer or evn d pans lyn around wth bits of maggie feedin insects n flys f all shapes n sizes n d waste bin overflowin wth the leftovers of chkn curry parotta n all made us drop dat idea...den der was d biggest threat to a bachelor livin away frm family -washn clothes...evn tou we had a washn m/c we had to rub d collar n cuffs f our xecutive shrts naa...n der wer sum who used to wear d same shrt for 1 or 2 weeks..nywayz i had 4 seen dat issue so had 2 setz f dresses 4 me...each 4 a week so d repeatation wont b der evry week naa..it'll b der oly alternatively...arey ek bada s/w cmpny mein kaam karta hoo toh appearance ka khayal toh rakhna padega naa...(kanan oru luk illengilum njan kallip alle..)..

For abt 4 months datz 120 dreadful dayz...dat was ma trainin period...it was hell...seriously if i had studied evn wth .001% seriousness in ma btech life i wud hav landed cmfrtably in sum mech job like jenu,thulli,patti pra or sasi...but i shud say 1 thng d trainin period was d mst unforgetable xperience f ma life....sathyam...i studied java der n bck here in mangalore i was gvn a proj in mainframe....wat d F$%^.....java polum nere chuvve arinjudathe enik mainframe project'o ith enna annyayam'aa....but avshyakaranu auchityam illalo.....so i was gvn trainin in mainframe...n dat too 4 js abt a week...after dat i was askd to strt codin....man.....new software...d technological JARGONS dat i havnt evn heard abt n long sessions (i evn slpt in a 1 on 1 session...man am gr8..) werein d top guns wer gvn us a well outlined idea abt sum crap business logic dat wont fit into d groove f a mecanical guy.....tried ma max to stay awake...but all was in vain...it was like sittin n watchn a kannada or telngu film...but atleast dose filmz had sum structs n curves to luk upon..here it was js cmplt darkness n a screen full f codes in greek n latin......den thot f gvn sum rest to ma eyes coz dey had to search 4 elegant structures(:P) durn d breaks naa...bt had to nod evry nw n den so dat d guy who was blabberrn out der wud thnk dat am understnandn evrythn....n 1 day out f d blue he askd me...so nidhin wat do u infer frm all dis....wat...i was literally shocked....i din know wat d hell was goin on...wat d crap am i gona say....i was nvr in sch a situatn evr bfr let alond d sessions in coll...but dat was no big deal coz i was damn sure all ma amigoz will b standn up wth me in d nxt couple f min wth d same smile as dat on ma face wch will make evn our poor lecturer desp n still say "ne okke enna undakan e padikane.." ....but dis was an entirely diff situatn...n d luk on ma face was evn worse dan wat sreesanth had after bhajii gav him dat mch deserved tight slap...but here i din deserve it...den y me.....but thanks to our kerala univ n ma guru ikka who taught me how to blabber in ma answer sheet to gain a few marks....i said sumthn related to ma business unit n was saved...coz he tot i understud d vague idea.....mean while ma wrk strtd n dankz to d help f ma collegues njan tattiyum muttiyum avide kadich pidich ninu....

N den came dat day.....i was havn fud in fudcourt wth ma frndz n der came dat enchantin beauty...one luk @ her n ma heart missed a beat.....pavithram aaya aa mugham....dos eyes...d smile....dat dimple in her cheeks whn she smiled....man she was 1 hell f a gal...…nalla nadan penn kutti.....n der strtd d new phase in ma life........
...keep on readn folks i'll b bck soon...wth news abt d gal who chngd ma prespective f life...ma projs ma roomies n more abt mangala life..n do gve ur sugesstionz...... :-)