The Hood

The Hood

It was not just a sweat shirt. Casuals aren't casual stuff. The hood, color, contrast stripes and my attitude made me look like a suspicious vigilante from an action block buster. I assume we all are well aware of the fact that seasons and occasions are just an excuse to flaunt our wardrobe.  Well, in my case this style was a costly compromise. I had to spend extra cash just to show off. Later I was pondering how I am going to make up for the weekend parties.

With some fake body language and a weird style, I flipped the hood and crossed the corridor of R Mall. My mirror reflection cheered me up showing - thumbs up.  I guess all guys know what I am talking about. All of us have an alter ego or a body double that will praise you for stupid stunts you perform even in front of lame chics. (No offense girls..Chill)

Like a lead, leading the stage, I crossed few giggly girls. Wow! Are they noticing me? I asked myself. With immense curiosity, I peeped through the hood. Now, I got to know the power of sarcasm. Girls are sarcastic pieces of art. If you look at a portrait, u will be deceived by a thought that the portrait is actually looking back at you.  Trust me, what you see are illusions.

Those girls actually had some manufacturing defect in their mouth. They were giggling for a selfie. How stupid was that.

My alter ego just came out of me and slapped me. Like a balloon with a hole in it, my Vin Diesel image flew up, up and away.

Never mind. Refresh your minds. An interesting experience awaits you here. Our alter ego has many faces. The best part is being Invisible and silent.

I am not Harry Potter to use an invisible cloak. But, I have a hood. Again, I flipped and locked the 

zipper. I covered my face and started walking with long strides.

A sudden pressure was felt on my neck. Is someone sitting on me?

I could not turn my head. My breathing became heavy. My heartbeat was alarming my entire body. I had no clue what was happening to me. I tried harder.

1, 2 and 3 breathe.

1, 2 and 3 breathe.

A big sigh came out my mouth. It was like a discharge of cane juice from a sugarcane machine. I felt so relieved. I felt lighter. My vision was sharp and my hearing capacity was stronger like never before.

Every drip, drop and dust was clearly audible. Two massive wings fluttering with great power crossed my sight. Was it a dragon?

No, a dragon fly.

My fingers started to fade. Simultaneously, a pair of hands appeared on the reflection of stagnant coolant water which was leaking from a car. Over a point of time my entire body just disappeared.  The other side of me conjured from the glossy surface of the coolant water.

I am invisible now.

I must be drunk or this must be a dream from the side effect of the mall incident.

All of these may sound silly. But, rewind your memories. Don’t we get invisible most of the time.  Overshadowed by other identities that we try to adapt, our tendencies to remain locked under the familiar warmth gained more density. All we do is observe and ignore things happening around us.

But, this time I chose this power. I wanted to become invisible. For few hours I wanted to conceal my identity.  Most precious things on this earth are not tangible. If we try to feel it, we end up facing great consequences.

I stepped out of my flat to observe the spectacle that emerges every night.

Situated in Mulund, my place is known as the prince of suburbs. This is the only place in Mumbai where you can find some breathing space and fresh air. When the twilight moon displays the spot light on the ink coated tar roads. The street dogs pop out of their den to dance and romance with their beloved.  As a true sign of liberty, there were no honking sounds or any other means of transport. Their tail movement blended with rhythmic creaking sounds of the crickets. To address this entire scenario in Desi style, this was a JUGALBANDHI.

Next stop - Cypress.

Cypress is a small mountain area in Mulund. It’s also an epitome for all posh big shots who spend their post retirement life. At weekends, it’s a hot spot for all hot birds to liter and loiter the natural vicinity with their lame boyfriends.

I come here for bird watching. Just birds guys. Chill

I stepped into the foot of the hill. Around the corner of this fancy epitome lies a small park. The old tribal inhabitants of the mountain were forced out of their homes.  So, this abandoned park became the final destination where they could make a final stand.

Neither shelter nor food, nothing seemed to worry them. With the wide open sky pampering them and a vast solid ground supporting them, they were truly the off springs of Gaya (Mother Earth). Even with all amenities and imperial life style, people around me just had the luxury to spend. But, off all the places I witnessed the luxury to smile on these unknown, uncivilized people.  What I got here was more than an insight. It’s a way of life. Life is a game and every one can’t be the king of queen they want to be.

First time I felt contented and convenient for the way I was.

My cheek bone stretched to release a little tension. Wow. I was smiling.

Here comes the last stop, the theater.

The scent of sorrows, intensity of navarasas and master reviews mixed together making the atmosphere filmy. The late night show ended around 2 am. Hundreds of footsteps traveled back to their own dimension after spending 3 hours with their beloved stars.

 This place really has an amazing portal.

Well, I can name it as the Bermuda rectangle. (LAME)

People of this B town (Bollywood town) love to sneak here on weekends. It takes them to a new world of entertainment and enlightenment. Especially at night time, they make your life lively. As the people crossed me, I felt a temporary satisfaction that reality can never be created. It stays for a short time, but that’s what all we need to get revitalized for, the next day.

Yes. Life is simple.

Be invisible, not ignorant.

Observe the simple science of truth that lies behind every action.This invisibility is a choice. The hood is just a median to characterize myself.

Now, discover and allow your hidden persona outside.

C u soon…

Ashwin Muralidharan….

Hey people. If you like my story give your valuable comments. 

A fancy fantasy flower

My benevolent king, I encountered a strange flower today. My journey away from you, frequently alarms your innocent face into my mud muddled thoughts. His Excellency, spear head my feelings and pierce into my vision. Just observe this delightful flower. Elegantly touched by gentle breeze, it sways up and down defying gravity. Feel its movement and memorize this moment to groove your attention towards her. My every beat pumps up gallons of blood without essential oxygen because of my breath taking experiences with her. 

Your highness, departing you was the worst mistake as well as the best decision I ever made. The excruciating pain of crossing each and every milestone without you, now feels sweeter and lighter with the presence of this flower. It taught me how to channelize and cherish my pursuit for pain. Embracing its softness and inhaling its fragrance can cast away any pressure that linger longer in our lives. As a catalyst, it rekindles and reacts with the unbalanced equations of chemistry treasured deep down my memory lane.

But my eminence….

Admit it, you have always been reckless. You rush into a an emotion filled cloud, attracted by a discharge of false appearances around you.  Again and again you reveal your seamless serene smile to unnecessary personas who take advantage on you. Your gentle manliness is not worth to be shared with commonly uncommon characters. Our streamlining urge and sublime nature to nurture and appreciate beauty always comes with a price.

Its true…

Colors come alive and emotions blend with them to give us a heavenly experience.  But, the after effects are only miseries. The real path for enlightenment lies in tranquility. A calm, composed and collective mind can prevail any barrier.

Am leaving this flower right here before it hurts you. 

My road to paradise is not outside. Its inside you my excellency.  My journey ends here. Am coming back to you my king.

Yours truly,

Heart…..

Ashwin Muralidharan.


Ashwin Muralidharan:- Hey people. If you like my story give your valuable comments.

Metro Memory

Chakala, Andheri

Hey people. As you start reading this story, keep in mind that you might have already come across a sweet surprise like this. It could have been a shock or a casual incident but it’s always something special if you notice casually.  You will soon face it in the future. No one can escape this. Just remember one thing, that if you are struck by something like this, then immediately pour it onto to a paper. Let the genius inside you write it. Let the poet inside you romance with your narration.

Well fine,

Let’s go to the story,

I am Ashwin Muralidharan. Doesn’t this name sound filmy?

OK, chill.  I am just trying to make a cool image of myself.

Few years back I visited Mumbai from Chennai. You know sometimes some spots of earth have extra gravitational pull. It pulled my interest and attraction towards it. It became a fantasy for me. At first it was fancy but now it’s my living.

You can imagine what kind of exposure a Chennai boy would get here. I finished my post-graduation; I got a cool set of friends and now am in an awesome job. Even my bachelor phase got inaugurated here.

I live in a capsule accompanied by few doctors and mechanical engineers. Life in this capsule really taught me how to live with rats. Yes, actually they share their room with me. They are really big hearted and big sized fellows who adjust with me.

So soon I will have to say bye to these ratzillas. Sometimes I even wonder, 

Are they ancestors of Godzilla?

I work at Digi Republik. It is an AD agency at Sakinaka, Andheri. So to reach there, I travel 30 minutes by local train and then 20 minutes by metro. Metro in Mumbai is a fresh system. It’s just two or three months old. But the local trains are the worst in INDIA. If you survive Mumbai local trains, you can survive anywhere in this world. To add irritation in this rush and frustration, my mobile got robbed. Seriously, I never expected an idiot to flick my idiotic phone.

Whatever, pride will all stick to lions even when they lose everything. Chill another attempt to make myself cool.

What next?

 I went to the Air-tel store after working for an entire day. But, before going I got an insight that people advice you especially when you are in a need. What I needed was help and not wrong advice. I would have gone earlier in search of a showroom but my friends said that it will be open till 9 pm. Still I reached the store by 7pm. What I could find was a closed store with a 2 foot lock. This time there was a small difference. My frustration went to my head from heart.

My dad’s words helped to overcome it. “GOOD FOOD AND A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP” will change everything. So, the next morning I left home ASAP.

Then I took the metro. Metro was heavily crowded. It was like the entire Mumbai has come inside metro to cover them from rain. With my woodland shoes, dark jean and a Johnny walker style umbrella, I looked pretty decent in my reflection which was on the window glass.

Was that glass magical or where my eyes hallucinating? I saw a pretty girl’s reflection on the glass. I even saw the girl watching me watching her reflection. Shit, that moment of embarrassment gave me a bad feeling. But, there is nothing good and bad or right and wrong.  I saw her again. This time she turned and looked at me.

For a second, I froze. One reason is because of her beauty and second reason is because of the sudden look. I just looked away. In Marathi or Hindi people call men as Tharki. It means men who are desperate for women. I was afraid that she should not get an impression like that. But I was lucky, she smiled at me.

WOW!!!

Speechless and confused.... what an idiot I am? 

I just look away. Few a minutes later she came a bit close to me. Her fresh smell was pulling me away from the waves of my thoughts. I just felt shy and at the same time happy looking at her. Something was blooming all over my face. Looking at my situation she giggled and looked at me again with a big smile.

Women - The main source of men’s confusion.

I did not know how to react. If I give myself in, she might take it wrong. It might have been a coincidence that she was smiling at someone else. But she was too pretty for me to think about other things.

Women - The main solution for men’s confusion.

This time she sat and waved a sign asking me to sit next her. I was sure this time it was for me. I happily moved to sit. But an old lady sat next to her. Even at times of romance, my fate plays football with me. She again giggled.

All these sweet happenings came to an end. My station came and I had to get out of the train. I saw a small fading expression on her face when I got out. Was she upset? Am I that handsome to attract her? Or all these things were just my Imagination?

Sometimes in life, there are many dreams. Those beautiful dreams are like soap bubbles. They are so pure and clear. They inflate first with so much of intense air which is emotion in my case. It passes through many eyes, getting their attention. Finally it pops and dies. This incident of mine popped up soon but it will never fade off.

The main insight behind this is, there are positive things and negative things all around us. But we have never been in a neutral phase. We feel being in such situations makes us incomplete. Here my story was not extreme or low. I did not ignore or follow her. But still I feel incomplete too. And these incomplete things stay more in your life and complete your feelings. They live longer than the short lives happy feelings.

One good thing is, I got my SIM card now.

Every day, this metro memory will make me search for my metro girl while am traveling.

This metro memory is one of my best memories.

Soon, I will catch with some good stories.

STAY TUNED

Ashwin Muralidharan:- Hey people. If you like my story give your valuable comments. 

Voldemort & Me

Hello people. Its Ashwin Muralidharan here.

Rewinding my life to unwind your time and mood. The cycle of a writer is connected by millions of tiny particles combined together like a chain. The more he pedals, the more it moves forward.

Replace cycle with a bioscope.

You have to roll the lever to move the frames. The crackling sounds of every rotation increases your excitement and anticipation for the motion picture. From the rapid movement of the reel, hundreds of single frames blend together to give birth to a beautiful story.

In my case, now am rolling my lever backwards. A torrent of thoughts brushed my brain buds when I was gazing at the crescent moon at almost odd time of the clock. This gave me a chance to realize some individualities about moon. Mesmerizing, attractive, artistic, magical and mystical. So are the characteristics of women. They are special and unique beings, casting intense enchantment that drives men rampant.

PHASE 1

Half past mid night, my twilight talks cluttered my vision to admire its beauty. The reflection on the pond took me back to my pocket dimension of witchcraft and wizardry. Now let me introduce you, Voldemort.

It’s going to be hard people, but try to forget everything you know about Voldemort.

Step into my dimension. Here Voldemort is the hero. Actually heroin to be precise. She is an amalgamation of elegance and excellence. Exactly before one year I met her in this dimension. With a grey robe and sharp expressions, she grabbed the spot light over her. Our introductions were a kind of injections, slowly seeping into my veins. Over a point of time, her smiles and answers turned into spells that froze me from going forward. The slow paced time, lively heart beats and nervous blood circulation composed a new level of harmony every time I met her.

You all might wonder, why I called her Voldemort.

Well, it’s about the nose. She has a small cute one. It turns red when she is angry and it goes blue when she is sad. I thought of Voldemort whenever I saw her nose. Days passed. Slowly, I did not know how react or respond to her. Response had a thought process behind it. Reactions are backed up by emotions. The output was always reactions.

Her inquisitive eyes, brain boggling statements and ambitious actions always kept me at the end of my seat. My dictionary had no more words to frame a sentence about her beauty. Her brain goes wider than sky and her attitude goes deeper than the sea. Like all young girls, even she had some qualities of gaining attention. Well, she automatically controlled the wandering sights and narrowed it towards her. I danced, played and even studied with her.

Sometimes I studied her too. WOW. She was an architectural marvel. But all beauty and brainy girls had some imperfections to stop their flow. But, this females imperfections made her more cute and attractive.

The next phase will tell you about our indulgence with each other.

PHASE 2

I guess you all remember the photosynthesis experiments we did in school. Even when we close a plant with carton box, the plant grows towards the hole where sunlight comes from. I was like a small light source or like a beacon which lightened her dark situations sometimes.

Well you all know my fate. I always had a huge gap between me and girls in my life. Even in my sweetest of dreams, desserts go in reverse- STRESSED. But luck knocked me once with a lethal combination.

Just like rose with spines.

I tried to hold this rose, which belonged to a different garden. Even the rose responded to me. When things were going little comfortably, our symphony went to a different level.

A new level with new location. With gentle talks and romantic ambience, we became a little close with our feeling. That was the last instance for both of us. The sinful indulgence grew as a guilt in both of us. It also gave me a strong side effect called crush or infatuation or love.

As always, the feelings inside me grew hard and became a burden. One day I threw it completely out of my dimension. The spell broke and Voldemort permanently left out of my life.

I don’t know, how I should call this phase.

Yes, it’s magic.

Magic is targeted deception. It gains our attention, and drags us closer and closer. When we get too close, it vanishes in thin air like nothing happened. Well, even she would have felt hard about me too. But I wish for her happiness with her guy. This fantasy will remain as a fantasy.

For the good of both of us, I wrapped this dimension into golden frames with a touch of antiquity and profundity.

I hope this bioscope show was interesting for you. If u have missed some fantasy moments in your life, just rewind and meet your Voldemort there. There is no one to stop you.

There might have been few glitches and stitches in this story, but a real story will never be flawless. Because it’s your story and your life. You can customize it any time.

Now peep out of your window, the moon is waiting for you.

Have a happy show.

Fire Cracker

Dreams do come alive. Just like a dose of CPR and a dash of lightning, they even shock you to bliss.

WOW.

 Just imagine a figment of your imagination coming alive and romancing with your senses. My ears and eyes stopped listening to me the moment she came in my life. Sayalee, a live wire fluttering gorgeously with a mission to resurrect my sense of art and taste.  Her name signifies a delicate white flower. Indeed, like a flower she seamlessly lets her mushroom hair to fall on her extra expressive face. Her syllables and vowels always miss my ears where in my focus has always been struck on her ever blossoming smile from her cherry lips. The word signature got its new definition from this delicate white flower. She carries herself comfortably where any connoisseur would rate her from classic to contemporary. Her gentle gestures, funny dialogues, cute expressions, body language and many more substance are always documented by my 6^th sense.

Yes, boss…It’s just like another brick in the wall. What’s special about this girl? You may think.

That’s where the element of surprise hits you. She is a fire cracker. Her entry begins with a blast. She is an epitome of energy. Even my colleagues call her a power source. She is a strong woman with amazing resolve. She has been through phases where other cloaked girly characters would have not even imagined.  Her flamboyancy, flawlessness, fortitude and freedom sense makes her a warrior. She is a perfect blend of poet Bharathi’s modern women and William Marston’s wonder women. Even with enormous ambition, perfect attitude and great momentum, her entire spectrum will have a tinge of toddler that will make other smile and make the moment to cherish with her. Neither a glistering crystal nor a blistering pearl will be as serene and pure like her innocence. To make my heart complete, she is a photographer like me too. Actually a better one than me.

Friendship with you keeps me in the good books of luck. But poets and artists like me are always (Pursuing to be one, so never mind) always fixed with one philosophy in life - “Beauty is meant to be admired, not touched”. I wish I can share my good feeling with you. 

When you have the power to stop the irritating printer sound and key board clicks in office and grab my attention, you must understand me and stop the time around us sayalee.

But Women in my life always come with a compromise. She belongs to someone else. Lucky him. So, without any hard feeling, I am going be the friend who will make a difference without any expectations.

It’s completely perfect. This woman will be a beautiful flower from the garden of experiences. She will be one of the most adventurous books, I have ever come across. Finally she will be the character of my art.

 I thank her for teaching me what art is. It’s being yourself.

Ashwin Muralidharan
Hey people. If you like my story give your valuable comments. 

My Biker Chic

Hey guys, here I am.

Ashwin Muralidharan. With another soul freezing, solo experience.

It was sweet, seamless and royal. Well, to be precise, “Royal Enfield”.

Let me tell you about Prometheus. He suffered an eternal torment by Zeus. He stole the holy fire from Greek gods and gave it to the humans. As punishment, everyday an eagle plucked his heart and killed him again and again. Thus, it was an eternal torment.

I am no less than Prometheus. In my case the punishment was poetic. The pain was pleasant, refreshing, memorable and alarming. During some special moments, mesmerising women abduct my heart. These magic moments are perfectly designed by a jerk. People call him cupid. This guy loves to play football with my feelings.

“Chic”- As we all know, a contemporary word to describe beautiful women. But a biker chic is an absolute fancy of my life. From the day of my adolescence, two things always got my attention. One were BULLET bikes and the other were chic’s who sit behind.

Bullet bike has a special feature. Any anonymous weak, puny guy is transformed into a charismatic hunk, sitting on it. It carries a character. Handsome and sexy will be the perfect words to distinguish bullet when it carries chics.  So, to me owning a bullet will be a pride possession. It’s a journey of patience with savings.

This luxurious journey got more interesting with a sweet accident, with Sruthi and her black matt Thunder Bird 500cc. Sounds awesome right? A gorgeous woman riding a cruise bike!

Oh hell ya! Wow.

Day’s pressures linger longer in our minds than we think. My head was whistling like one hot oven, sprouting steams all over. My desperate need of oxygen made me move my stoned calf muscles. I was loitering around the lawn area, listening and humming, imagining myself as Javid Ali.

I never bothered for the poor souls around me. Dogs or humans, both face a lethal consequence when they hear my voice. But I have always noticed something. Whenever people go to bliss, the climate changes or the time freezes.

My medium paced tempo walk and mild chillness in the winter night blended with the feeble flickering street lamp. The yellow beacon signalled me to wait and turn back. Far away a bright source of light was approaching like the polar express lost its way towards winter point. Lucky me, I was enjoying the sound of it. It was a bullet. The beats were so rhythmic and it combined with a melodious BGM ringing in my ears.

This is the phase where my anticipation grows. It came close to me. With my cool looks and stunning gestures (Imagination..Never mind) I set my vision towards the person who was riding it.

HOLY COW! It was a girl. With rugged boots, open helmet, cargo pants and leather jacket, she was a complete package. That moment, I fell in love again. For few instance, I was teleported to my dream sequence. I was crossing Ladak Lake with a sand storm 550 and she in her classic 350. 

I was lost. My long term passion was travelling in front of my eyes. I just followed her track and faced her eye to eye. I stood in front of her and said- “You are awesome. You make this bike beautiful.”

With a small chuckle and a blush in her face she said thanks.

When she removed her helmet, her disturbed hair sprung out like fine tuned guitar chords. I wanted to talk more and know more about her, but I didn't want her to get a bad impression on me.

That was the worst good night dialogue I said that night. I was gazing her like a child gazing over a Choco lava cake.

Later, after many days, I saw her again. This time things were comfortable for her. Not for me. I needed extra courage to talk to the women I had crush with. She introduced herself as Sruthi. This name was way too familiar for me.

She had a cute dimple on her cheeks, which attracted me and distracted from concentrating on her words. To ignite my desire, she was also a photographer like me. I thought I should just convey my feeling to her. But, as you know my fate, she was already engaged.

Common man.

She said, my would be loves bullet too.  My mood went for a toss. But, that’s ok. Only incomplete memories stay longer than complete short lived happy feelings. She will be the perfect off tone of my life.

I have to thank her to improve my importance over my dream bike.

Thank you, Sruthi.

Hope, in the future we can be good friends or biking partners.

My journey continues......... (Without a Chic).......... Bullet awaits.

Ashwin Muralidharan:- Hey people. If you like my story give your valuable comments.