Empty roads, except for a few buses and cars, with some cyclists and instantly reduced pollution and noise levels, it’s a joy for any Chennaivasi, who wants his/her city like this. For me, it brings back fond memories of Madras and my growing up years – the lovely seventies and eighties.  I made it a point to go on a long drive this morning on the entire stretch of mount road, nungambakkam high road, cathedral road and the marina beach road, as these are precious moments bestowed upon us very rarely.

If only our governments worked constructively towards developing more cities and towns by creating job opportunities locally, people will not move to metros. Real estate prices will not sky-rocket, admissions in schools will not become so competitive, inflation levels would come down and importantly people would lead quality and healthy lives.

And lovers of Madras, Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi like me would get their cities to themselves… I wish…

I had become a chocolate cake. Dark,  gooey, big…dripping with molten chocolate, sending out rich aroma of chocolate and cream.

I was at a party and I see many children around me. While I gape at all of them, I feel a sudden piercing pain on my head as three candles are being stuck.  I sense a sudden excitement in the air, hear  singing and feel a small breath of warm air on my head.

There’s a sudden slicing pain as part of me is being ripped and the pain continues till the full me is sliced into pieces. Every slice from me is now fully aware of “ME” as good as the whole “ME”. ME as a slice in the hands of a child and the excruciating pain of being bitten off by small sets of teeth. At the same time, I sense the joy that eminates from the child and am happy that I brought him joy.  ME as another slice  being packed in a box that is dark, cold and suffocating…I woke up with a start…

Manimaran, Honest, Appu, Samu, Murugan, Sachidanandam, Priyakumar, Sathishkumar, Srinivasan, Logesh, Pavithran, Sandeep Kumar and Thangamary…

Who are they? They are young children in the age group of 12 to 16.

What is common between them? They are one among the millions of children in our country, who are from the underprivileged backgrounds, whose fathers are daily coolies, auto drivers, electricians and tailors; who struggle to make ends meet every day. Some come from broken families, with destitute mothers as their only living relative. Their living conditions are pathetic, lack basic necessities of life, medical convenience, proper sanitation, food and water.

Yet…these children are different. Why?

Because… they are gifted, they are confident, they are focused and they strongly believe… that they can change the face of Indian Sports in future and make a difference. They have never let the adversities of their lives affect their spirit. These talented young stars are fighting against all odds for an opportunity to prove themselves and in that opportunity lies the eluding dream of this great nation…The Olympic Medal.

These young champions were spotted by us and are now in the folds of Disha Sports Academy. They are being trained under the supervision of senior coaches, international and formal players in football, boxing and athletics. We are providing them with quality sports accessories, fitness coaching, nutritional food, medical facilities and scientific training to make them professional sportsmen, who could contest in national and international events.

And we are delighted with the results. Our little champs are making their presence strongly felt in national level competitions. Apart from entering district and state level teams in football and boxing, they have brought home laurels by winning gold and silver medals in national level contests and events.

If one year of support and training could help them reach where they are today, imagine what continuous support could do to them. These little champs have the potential to bring home that elusive medal and it is possible with a little support from you.

You could adopt a champion by paying Rs.10,000 per year. This will pay for all his training expenses throughout the year. We will share with you his / her progress regularly and will make arrangements to meet the champ in person, if you wish to.

You could get in touch with us for any further queries you may have and our members would be more than happy to help you and guide you through the process.

Help us to help them…

Call us now @ 0 9840740854

Team Disha
www.themafoifoundation.org

So what’s interesting? Ha…ha…ha…

Well… Only 1.5% of the total population fall under this category, out of which, 2.5% are male and 1.5% are female.

And who are INTJs…?

INTJs are introspective, analytical, determined persons with natural leadership ability. Being reserved, they prefer to stay in the background while leading. Strategic, knowledgable and adaptable, INTJs are talented in bringing ideas from conception to reality. They expect perfection from themselves as well as others and are comfortable with the leadership of another so long as they are competent. INTJs can also be described as decisive, open-minded, self-confident, attentive, theoretical and pragmatic.

“…approach reality as they would a giant chess board, always seeking strategies that have a high payoff, and always devising contingency plans in case of error or adversity.” - The Portrait of the Mastermind Rational (iNTj) (Keirsey) “…observer, values solitude, perfectionist, detached, private… does not talk about feelings, hard to impress, analytical, likes esoteric things…” - Jung Type Descriptions (INTJ) (similarminds.com) “To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of “definiteness”, of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise — and INTJs can have several — they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how.” - INTJ Profile (TypeLogic)

“At work, INTJs use their conceptual strengths to analyze situations and then develop models to understand and anticipate through relentlessly to reach their goals. They will continue on with their plans, even in the face of adversity and data that might suggest to other more practical types that their goals are no longer feasible. By nature, INTJs are independent individualists.” - INTJ – The Free-Thinker (Lifexplore) “INTJs are natural leaders, although they usually choose to remain in the background until they see a real need to take over the lead. When they are in leadership roles, they are quite effective, because they are able to objectively see the reality of a situation, and are adaptable enough to change things which aren’t working well. They are the supreme strategists – always scanning available ideas and concepts and weighing them against their current strategy, to plan for every conceivable contingency. “ - Portrait of an INTJ (The Personality Page)

According to Srilankan Army  Prabhakaran and his close aides were shot dead, while they were trying to escape in an ambulance.  Prabhakaran’s son Charles Antony and LTTE’s top commander Pottu Amman’s bodies were found and identitified on Monday. But Prabhakaran’s body was not found. Srilankan Army said that the bodies that were found in the area were charred beyond recognition, so they were still searching for Prabhakaran’s body.

If Prabhakaran was killed, it was a great victory for Mahinda Rajapakshe. Killing  a rebel leader like Prabhakaran and wiping out LTTE is a historic moment for the island nation and it deserves mention in the Parliament. And Rajapakshe,  as the leader who spearheaded this operation was solely responsible and the credit is rightfully his. So, why did Mahinda Rajapakshe miss out on such a golden opportunity and did not officially announce the rebel leader’s death in the parliament during his speech on Tuesday?

The Srilankan Army announced that they found Prabhakaran’s body on Tuesday afternoon and the television channels started beaming the deceased leader’s body.  Visuals of an identity card being pulled out of  a pocket were also shown and the close up shot of the id card showed Prabhakaran’s photograph and name.  Seeing the news report, the questions that came to me immediately, which are yet to be answered are

a) Is Prabhakaran a software engineer to be carrying his identity card in his pocket?

b) The recent photos of Prabhakaran released by Srilankan army in their website showed him without moustache. But the dead body shown had a moustache.

c) Prabhakaran is a lot more bulkier in appearance than the dead bodyshown.

d) Prabhakaran and LTTE popularised swallowing cyanide capsule, if on the verge of being captured. Then howcome there is a bullet wound in his head? Wouldn’t he have swallowed a capsule instead?

e) According to Srilankan army, Prabhakaran was shot along with his close aides. Prabhakaran’s body and face shown in the clipping was not charred and was so identifiable. Then why did it take Srilankan army 24 hours to find his body.

f) If the army says that Prabhakaran’s body was not along with his aides, then their claim that Prabhakaran and his aides tried to escape in an ambulance is so very false.

g) Srilankan government announced that some of Prabhakaran’s aides who had surrendered earlier were called to identify the body and no DNA investigations would be done. Some Indian news channels justified this stand of the Srilankan government and said that getting hold of Prabhakaran’s relatives would be difficult, and hence geting their DNA and matching samples would be time consuming. But isn’t Charles Antony who is dead, Prabhakaran’s son?  So why is it difficult to do a DNA test on both of them?

Srilankan government should come clean and tell the world what has really happened to LTTE and its leader. They should let the DNA tests to be conducted outside their country and prove to the world and the Tamil community that they are speaking the truth. They owe this to the displaced Srilankan Tamil community that is spread across the world and it is important for Rajapakshe to win the trust of these people, who are an integral part of   re-building Srilanka now.

If not, just like his idol Netaji’s death, Prabhakaran’s would be shrouded in mystery forever.
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Vipin and I have known each other for nearly ten years now. He came to Chennai, as a fresh MBA grad to join the agency I was working for. We struck a good rapport from day one, became best buddies and have managed to remain so till now. We have had great fun together during the one year period he was here in Chennai. He left my Agency to join Toyota in Bangalore, but we have never lost touch and continue to be best friends as ever.

My husband Anand still talks about the time he spent with Vipin during his Bangalore trip and vouches that was and would be the best ever trip in his life. However, both men refuse to tell me what they did together, till date.

Vipin is a “Malayali Jain”. I was very surprised when I heard it for the first time. He belongs to a small community of 20,000 plus Malayalam speaking Jains, who live in Wayanad district of Kerala. And there are Kannada speaking Jains too. And they are a vast majority living in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. It is common for Malayalam and Kannada speaking Jains to marry each other. Vipin started looking for a bride a year ago and to know his story on how he met Latha, visit www.lathavipin.weddingannouncer.com.

Latha is a Kannada speaking Jain and she hails from a place called Kalasa near Horanad in Karnataka. It’s a beautiful valley and the Annapoorani temple there is a well-known pilgrimage centre. This is my third visit to interior Karnataka and I am in deeply love with that State. According to me it is “The Original God’s Own Country”.The place is full of coffee and tea plantations and it rained all three days while we were there. It’s a peaceful place and is untouched by tourists.

We had a great time and got an opportunity to meet Vipin’s family, whom I have known only by name till then and was also pleasantly surprised to find that most of his aunts, uncles and cousins have heard of me and Anand (thanks to Vipin).

This is the first Jain wedding I am attending and I found that many of their rituals are similar to Hindu weddings. I am also posting the wedding photographs taken by Anand here. The wedding feast was a mix of Kerala and Karnataka specialities and I have gained back a few kilos, which I am now trying very hard to shed

She tried to comfort the little girl and tried to calm her down. The delay in bride’s appearance brought the other women in the family to the room. Confused and worried, Chellamma’s mother told her relatives what had just transpired between her and her daughter.

The women started persuade the little girl, some threatening, some cajoling and some bullying. This drove the little Chellamma to the corner of the room and she became even more stubborn refusing to change into the new saree. An elderly aunt of Chellamma went closer and whispered to Chellamma’s ears, “What is the problem little girl? Tell me why you don’t like this maapilai. I will solve your problem” Encouraged by the kind look and words, sobbing Chellamma blurted out,

“I don’t want to marry a maapilai with Kudumi.”

(Kudumi is a small tuft of hair worn by men who studied to be pandits.)

There was mixed reaction among women hearing this. While most of them laughed, some did not know how to react to this. Relieved, Chellamma’s mother hugged the little girl and promised her that she would ensure that Maapilai removed his “kudumi” immediately after the wedding. But Chellamma stood her ground. She would not marry this man with kudumi.

Word spread around and everyone including the groom’s family got to know about bride’s change of mind. Chellamma was called outside and her father asked her to apologise to everyone who were present in the hall and go back and change into new saree. He said that he expected her to obey him and not let him down in front of everyone.

Chellamma was terrified, but was adamant and did not budge. The groom’s mother asked Chellamma in front of everyone to tell her whether she liked the groom and Chellamma shook her head and said in a little voice “I don’t like this maapilai with kudumi. I don’t want to marry him.”

Terribly embarrassed and angry, Chellamma’s father hit Chellamma  and she fainted. He was stopped by others, and Chellamma was taken inside.

The groom’s father finally intervened. Addressing everyone present there, he said,  “Since my son is studying to be a pundit, there is no question of him removing his kudumi. But at the same time, I don’t want Chellamma to be forced into marrying my son if she doesn’t want to. What has happened is very unfortunate and we do not want to blame anyone. We would leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

Being a proud man and a one who believed in keeping his word and family honour, Chellamma’s dad did not want to go back on his word. Saying so in front of all the relatives and guests, he further added, “I stand by my promise that I still would like to marry my daughter to your son. If it is agreeable to you, I would like to give away my last daughter Ambujam instead of Chellamma. I request you as  groom’s father to kindly accept this”

Hearing this, everyone in Chellamma’s family were shocked, but also realised that there was no other way to salvage the family’s honour. The groom’s family agreed to this suggestion after much deliberation and my grandmother Ambujam who was just eleven years old, became the new bride and the marriage was conducted the next day as planned. (I will write about my grandmother’s experience on being made to marry her sister’s groom suddenly  as a separate post later).

There was a sigh of relief among everyone. But all was not well with Chellamma…

Experience 1: When I went to the neighborhood supermarket two weeks ago, a young volunteer approached me from a well-known personal health care brand. This brand has its own chain of skin clinics across the country. I was requested for my name and contact details and was told that I am being offered a voucher worth Rs. 2900/- for a “Free” skin and hair analysis.

I don’t usually participate in such promos, as they invariably harass you with smses and calls. But in this case, I was interested because I had been planning to visit this clinic and didn’t want to miss the opportunity when it presented itself. That too with a “Free Offer” worth nearly Rs. 3000.  I asked the volunteer, if there was any hidden clause and she promised that there were none and it was absolutely free. With the condition that my number should not be used for anything except contacting me for appointment, I filled the details.

Two days later, I got a call from the company and a young male voice told me that he was calling me to fix an appointment with their dermatologist. I once again checked about the hidden clause and was reassured that there were none. Satisfied, I fixed an appointment for the very next day at 10 am. I was called once again after three hours and this time it was a girl from the clinic closer to my residence. She reconfirmed my appointment, gave me directions and requested me to be there at 9.55 am for registration.

Impressed by their efficiency, I reached the clinic the next morning at 9.55 am. The front office executive was  polite and courteous. I was offered a seat and was handed over an application form to fill. I was told that the dermatologist, who would be doing my skin analysis was on her way and was expected any moment.

I waited for ten minutes and then requested the girl to do my hair analysis, while we waited for the dermatologist. I was told that it was not part of the free offer. Luckily, I was carrying the promo leaflet given to me, which read that I was eligible for a free hair analysis worth Rs. 1000/- and I showed it to her .  She requested me to wait for a minute and went inside to consult with her colleagues. She came back after five minutes and told me apologetically that the machine was kaput and I could get it done at another outlet if I wanted to.

Being an argumentative Indian, I told her that I wanted them to do the hair analysis , not because I want it, but because it is promised to me as part of the free offer. She went inside once again for a discussion and came back and told me that she would give me the telephone number of  another clinic and I should call them directly and fix an appointment  for hair analysis.

It was 10.30 am and still there was no sign of the dermatologist. Since she was not able to reach the dermatologist, the executive quietly disappeared to the back office to chat with her colleagues. After waiting for 40 minutes, I left the clinic requesting them to call me later and re-fix the appointment for another day.

And I am yet to hear from them!

Experience 2: We received a gift voucher from a well-known movie rental service, which was launched a few months ago. It was an offer, which allowed us to “Watch unlimited movies over the next three months”.  To start watching movies we had to register online, which was very easy. We had to create an account, enter our gift coupon voucher code and wow, we were on.

This website allowed us to choose our favourite movies, list them and the movies would be delivered to us the very next day. We could send them a message online to collect the dvd/vcd once we watchedthe movie and another movie from our favourite list would be delivered to us, when they come to collect the dvd/vcd.

Being movie buffs and excited at the prospect of being able to watch unlimited number movies free of cost for the next three months, both me and my husband spent an hour chosing around 65 movies from their list.

We clicked the CD request button and my husband immediately got an SMS that the first movie was going to be delivered the very next morning. This was followed up with a call from the service provider. We were very thrilled, when the movie was delivered promptly the next day as promised. Being a weekend, we watched the movie, the same day and we went online and sent a request to collect the dvd. We got a call and were told that the dvd would be collected and a new movie would be delivered on Monday. But we didn’t hear from the service provider till Wednesday.

So I went online and sent the request once again on Thursday. And the second movie was delivered on Friday. This lapse in pick up and delivery continued another three times and I finally lost interest and gave up.

A few days later, when we casually mentioned this to another friend who had also received a free offer from this service provider, we found that he had  faced similar problems. In his case he was calling the service provider and told us that they had lost interest in delivering movies for him after four times.

In these difficult times all companies are fighting to get the customer and retain the customer. It becomes the responsibility of the Marketing team to come up with unique ideas, promos and offers to lure the customer and make him spend.

But when a promo is launched, it is important for everyone in the company, who interfaces with the customer to understand the objective of the promo and clearly know what their delivery responsibilities are. The promise that is being made, has to be delivered to the prospect or the customer without any compromise.Because first experience always creates a lasting impression.

It was my first interaction with those brands in both cases and my impressions are

Skin Clinic:

• The employees were not well informed about the offer (Hair and Skin Analysis).

• The employees were not trained to deal with a difficult customer. When I insisted on getting the hair analysis done, they washed their hands-off by asking me to call another clinic and fix the appointment myself.

• As a customer, I felt let-down.  I went with certain expectations based on the promises made to me and it was not full-filled.

• As a customer, they don’t respect me. I had fixed an appointment and they made me wait.

• And lastly… they don’t need me as a customer. Because they have never called me again to re-fix the appointment.

Movie Rental Service:

* They are not serious about their offer .

* By delaying pick-ups and deliveries, they don’t want me to see the movies free.

* Their service standards are poor.

There was a chance that I may have visited the Skin Clinic and used their services and my husband would have become a paid member of the movie rental service, if we had not received these “Free Offers” from them. But this  experience has put us both off and we do not want to deal with these two brands again in the near future.

“Free Offer” is a double-edged sword. The impressions it creates, be it positive or negative, lasts very long.

இடையில் எப்பொழுதாவது என் நண்பர்கள் இன்னும் வந்து சேரவில்லையே என்ற கவலை சிறிது தோன்றுவதுண்டு. ஆனால் மலை உச்சியின் உள்ள அதியசங்கள் என்னை ஈர்த்து விடுவதால் நான் அந்த கவலை தோன்றிய அடுத்த நொடியே மறைந்துவிடும்.

மாளிகையைப் போன்ற பரப்பைக்கொண்ட அந்த இடத்தில் சுவர்களோ, கதவுகளோ, ஜன்னல்களோ இல்லை. பிரகாசமான ஒளிப் பரவிய தூரம் வரை வழவழப்பான பளிங்கு தரை மட்டுமே. அங்கு இருக்கும் எல்லாருடய வாழ்க்கையும் அந்த வெளிச்சத்திலேயே. எல்லோரையயும் எல்லாரும் எப்பொழுதும் கவனித்துக்கொண்டே வாழ்வது புரிந்தது. எல்லாரைப் பற்றியும் எல்லாருக்கும் தெரிந்திருந்தது. இந்த ஒளி வெள்ளத்தில் எதைதான் மறைக்க முடியும்?

மலையின் கீழ் இருப்பவர்களுக்கு கூட இவர்களைப் பற்றிய பல விவரங்கள் அத்துப்படி. மலை உச்சியில் என்ன நடக்கிறது என்பதை அறிந்துக் கொள்ள அவர்களுக்கு அவ்வளவு ஆர்வம். எப்பொழுதும் இதைப்பற்றியே பேசிக்கொண்டும், ஆராய்ந்துக்கொண்டும் இருக்கும் பலரை நான் அறிவேன். ஆனாலும் இங்கு உச்சியில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு ஒருவரை பற்றி மற்றவருக்கு தெரிந்த அளவு கீழே உள்ளவர்களுக்கு தெரிய வாய்ப்பில்லை.

பல பரிச்சியமான முகங்களை மிக அருகில் காணமுடிவது அங்கு இன்னொரு அதிசியம். கீழே இருந்தப்போது இவர்களைப் பற்றியெல்லாம் அறிய நானும் மிகுந்த ஆர்வம் கொண்டு திரிந்தேன். ஆனால் இன்று, பெரியவருடன் இருப்பவன் என்று என்னைப் பலருக்கு தெரிந்திருந்தது. சிலர் என்னுடன் பேசுவதும், சிரிப்பதும், கையசைப்பதும் உண்டு. அதில் எனக்கு மிகவும் பெருமை.

அப்பொழுது என்னை நோக்கி வந்த பெண்ணை நான் அறிவேன். அவள் மிக பிரபலமான விளையாட்டு வீராங்கனை. என்னைப் பார்த்து புன்னகைத்தவள், ’பெரியவருடன்தானே?’ என்று கேட்டாள்.

நானும் ஆமென தலையசைக்க, ’இந்த இடம் பிடித்திருஇறதா?’ என்றாள்.

’மிகவும் பிடித்திருக்கிறது. என் நண்பர்களுக்காக காத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன். அவர்களும் வந்துவிட்டால் இன்னும் பிடித்துவிடும்’ என்றேன்.

அவள் அதைப் பொருட்படுத்தாமல் ’எல்லா இடமும் போய் வந்தாகிவிட்டதா?‘ எனக் கேட்டாள்.

’கொஞ்சம்தான். இன்னும் பார்த்துக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறேன். இந்த இடம் இன்னும் முழுவதும் பழகவில்லை. மிகவும் வழுக்குவதால் பார்த்து கவனமாக ஒவ்வொரு அடியாக எடுத்து வைத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்’, என்றேன்.

’உன்னை பெரியவருடம் முதல் நாள் பார்த்தபோதே எனக்கு நீ வித்தியாசமானவன் என்று தெரிந்தது. புத்திசாலி நீ. பிழைத்துக்கொள்வாய்,’ என்று சிரித்துக் கொண்டே கூறிவிட்டு சென்றுவிட்டாள்.

’இங்கேயே நின்னுட்டே? வா… போகலாம்’, என்று அழைத்த சிவாவை பின்தொடரலானேன்.

சிவா பல வருடங்களுக்கு முன்பே உச்சிக்கு வந்தவன். அவனும் பெரியவரால் முதல் நாளே அடையாளம் காணப்பட்டவன். அவனுக்கு அங்கு உள்ள மூலைமுடுக்குகளெல்லாம் அத்துப்படி. அங்கு உள்ளவர்களைப் பற்றிய விவரங்கள் அனைத்தும் அவன் விரல் நுனிகளில் வைத்திருப்பவன். என்னைப்போல் தட்டுதடுமாறாமல் எல்லா இடத்துக்கும் அனாயசமாக சென்று வருபவன் அவன். ஆனால் பொருமையற்றவன். ஒரு முறை அவன் கூறிய விஷயத்தைப் பற்றி திருப்பிக் கேட்டால் கோபம் வந்துவிடும்.

நான் புதியவன் என வித்தியாசமாக அவன் நடத்தியதில்லை. வந்த புதிதிலேயே அங்கு உள்ள பல விஷயங்களையும் எனக்கு தெளிவுப்படுத்தியிருக்கிறான். அவனிடம் உள்ள இன்னொறு குறை, அவன் தற்பெறுமைக்காரன் என்பதுதான்.  அங்கு நடக்கும் பல விஷயங்களில் தன் பங்கும் இருப்பதாக கூறிக்கொள்வான்.

முதலில் அவன் கூறுவதையெல்லாம் கேள்வி கேட்காமல் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டேன். மற்றவர்களையும் நான் கூர்ந்து கவனிக்க ஆரம்பித்தபோது அவனின் இந்த குணம் புரிபட்டது. ஆனால் அதை நான் பெரிதுப்படுத்தவில்லை. அவன் கூறுவதை நான் முற்றிலுமாக நம்பவில்லை என்று தெரிந்தால் அவன் என்னிடம் பேசுவதை நிறுத்திவிடுவான்.

அங்கு நான் கற்றுக்கொள்ள இன்னும் பல விஷயங்கள் உள்ளன. அதற்கு அவன் துணை எனக்கு தேவை. அதனால் பொருத்துக்கொண்டேன். அவன் கூறுவதையெல்லாம் நான் பதில் பேசாமல் கேட்கிறேன் என்ற காரணத்தால் அவன் என்னை பல இடங்களுக்கும் அழைத்து சென்றான்.

அடுத்து மலை உச்சியிலேயே உள்ள மிகமுக்கியமான இடத்துக்கு அழைத்து செல்வதாக கூறியிருக்கிறான்.

எனக்கும் மனதில் குறுகுறுப்பு. நடையில் வேகத்தை கூட்டினேன். இதோ… பிரதான வாயிலை அடைந்துவிட்டேன். வானை முட்டி நிற்கும் கதவுகள் தங்கமா, வெள்ளியா அல்லது அதனைக்காட்டிலும் மேலான உலோகத்தால் செய்யப்பட்டவையா என்று தெரியவில்லை. எங்கிருந்தோ வரும் ஒளியை அவை பிரதிபலிக்கின்றதா, அல்லது அவற்றிலிருந்தே ஒளி உண்டாகிறதா என்றும் புரியவில்லை. ஆனால் திடீர் பிரகாசம் கண்களை கூசவைத்தது.

கதவுகளைத் தாண்டி என்ன உள்ளது என காணவேண்டும் என ஆர்வம் மீற கண்களை இடுக்கி என்முன்னே சென்றுக்கொண்டிருந்த மனிதரின் தோள்களில் கைவைத்து ஒரு முறை எம்பி நோக்கினேன். அவர் முறைத்ததை சட்டை செய்யவில்லை.

மிகப்பிரகாசமான ஒளியுடன் எங்கு நோக்கிலும் மனித வெள்ளம் தெரிந்தது. மிக உயர்ந்த துணியால் செய்யப்பட்ட ஆடைகளும், ஆபரணங்களும் எல்லோரிடமும். சிலர் பாடிக்கொண்டிருந்தனர். சிலர் ஆடிக்கொண்டிருந்தனர். சிலர் கூடி அமர்ந்து கதைப்பேசுவது தெரிந்தது. எல்லோர் முகத்திலும் சிரிப்பு. அவர் உடல்களும் தகதகவென ஒளிர்வது தெரிந்தது.

பிரதான வாயிலை கடந்து உள்ளே நுழைந்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும் எங்களைப் போன்ற புதியவர்களை யாரும் ஏறெடுத்தும் பார்க்கவில்லை. கரடுமுரடான பாதையில் பலமணி நேரம் நடந்து பழகிய கால்களுக்கு தீடிரென வழுவழுப்பாகிய தரை பழக மறுத்ததால் எச்சரிக்கை உணர்வுடன் மெதுவாக நடக்கலானேன்.

என்னுடன் வந்த சிலர் இந்த திடீர் மாற்றம் புரிபடாமல் உள்ளே நுழைந்தவுடனேயே வழுக்கி விழுவதைக் காணமுடிந்தது. விழுந்த சிலர் தட்டுத்தடுமாரி எழுந்து நடக்க முயற்சிப்பதையும், பலர் அப்படியே சோர்வுடன் விழுந்துகிடப்பதையும் பார்த்து மனதில் வலித்தோன்றியது. இந்த இடத்தை அடைய எத்தனை கஷ்டப்பட்டு வந்தார்கள். வந்தவுடனேயே இப்படி வழுக்கி விட்டார்களே. இங்கு உள்ள எதையுமே இன்னும் பார்க்கவில்லையே என மனத்தில் கேள்வி எழும்பியது.

அவர்களுடைய விதி அவ்வளவுதான். நீ உன் பாதையில் கவனமாக போ… இன்னும் நீ காணவேண்டியது நிறைய உள்ளது என மனத்தை தேற்றிக்கொண்டு நடையைத் தொடர்ந்தேன்.

யார் நீ? இங்கே ஏன் வந்தாய்? என்ன செய்கிறாய்? உன் நோக்கம் என்ன? என்று கேள்வி கேட்க அங்கு யாரும் இல்லை. பார்க்க பார்க்க பரவசமூட்டும் பல காட்சிகள் தோன்றலாயின. செல்வத்தின் செழிப்பான அடையாளங்கள் எல்லா இடங்களிலும் நிறைந்திருப்பதை பார்க்க முடிந்தது. தோட்டங்களில் தங்க செடிகளில் வைரம், வைடூரியம், மாணிக்கம் பதித்த மலர்கள் பூத்திருந்தன. எங்கிருந்து வருகிறது என்று கண்டுப்பிடிக்க முடியாத ஒளி வெள்ளம் எல்லா திக்கிலும் பரவி இருந்தது.

நடந்து வந்த பாதையை சற்று திரும்பி நோக்கினேன். பிரகாசமான ஒளி வெள்ளத்தால் பிரதான வாயிலோ, அதற்கு அந்த பக்கம் உள்ள பாதையோ கண்ணுக்கு புலப்படவில்லை. மனதில் சிறு அச்சம் எட்டிப்பார்த்தது. எல்லா இடங்களிலும் மனிதர்கள் பரவி இருந்தனர். ஆண்கள், பெண்கள், சிறுவர்கள், சிறுமிகள், இளைஞர்கள், முதியவர்கள், சீனர்கள், இந்தியர்கள், அமெரிக்கர்கள், ஜப்பானியர்கள், ஆங்கிலேயர்கள் என பலரும் கலந்திருந்தனர். எல்லா மொழிகளும் அங்கு பேசப்பட்டன. இவர்கள் அனவரும் நான் கடந்து வந்த அதே பாதையை கடந்து வந்தவர்களா? என்ற பிரமிப்பு ஏற்பட்டது.

என்னை சுற்றி நடக்கும் அதியசங்களினால் ஈர்க்கப்பட்டிருந்த நான் என்னை நோக்கி வந்த அந்த முதியவரை கவனிக்கவில்லை. ’புதுசா நீ? இப்போதான் வந்தியா?’ என்று மிக அருகில் கேட்ட குரலால் ஒரு நிமிடம் அதிர்ந்து, அவரை நோக்கினேன்.

அவருக்கு ஐம்பது அல்லது அறுபது வயதிருக்கலாம். அல்லது அதற்கு மேலும் இருக்கலாம். சரியாக மதிப்பிடமுடியவில்லை. சாந்தமான முகம், பார்த்தவுடன் மனதில் ஒரு நிம்மதியை உண்டாக்கியது. அங்கு உள்ள மற்றவர்களைப்போல் அவரும் நல்ல உடுப்பு அணிந்திருந்தார். அங்கு உள்ள ஒளி அவர் உடலில் பட்டு மின்னுகிறதா அல்லது அவர் உடலிலுருந்தே அந்த ஒளி ஏற்படுகிறதா என்று புரியவில்லை.

’ஆமாம் ஐயா. பத்து நிமிஷம் ஆச்சு’ என்றேன்.

‘தனியா வந்திருக்கே போல?’ என்று அவர் என்னை புன்முறுவலுடன் நோக்க,

’எனக்கொன்னும் பயமில்ல. பல எடத்துக்கும் தனியா போய் வந்த அனுபவம் எனக்கிருக்கு’ என்று மிகவும் பெருமையுடன் கூறினேன்.

என் தலையை வாஞ்சையுடன் தடவி சிரித்த அவர், ’பல இடமும் இதுவும் ஒன்னா? இங்கே பார்க்கறது எல்லாம் நிசம் இல்லே. நெசத்த யாரும் பார்க்கறது இல்லே. எல்லாமே இங்கே வித்தியாசம். சின்னவனா தெரியர. ஆனா புத்திசாலித்தனமா புரிஞ்சு நடந்துக்கோ. பொழைச்சுக்குவே’ என்றார்.

பதில் பேசாமல் அவரை நான் பார்த்துக்கொண்டே நிற்க, ’இன்னும் சாப்பிடல போல இருக்கு, வா என்கூட’ என்று அழைக்க, மகுடிக்கு கட்டுப்பட்ட பாம்புபோல அவர் பின்னே நான் சென்றேன்.