*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 48

Jannal Oram 273


Raman glanced at the Rearview mirror and Brigadier Sooryanarayanan's eyes captured that fleeting glance and enquired " Something on your mind Raman or is it just nerves. If it is just nerves then I will happily drop you off at the next Bus stop which is about twenty kms away. If not nerves then spit out what it is that seems to be weighing heavily on you."

With a very soft and apologetic voice, Raman replied " Sir, I want you to know how sorry I am for your loss and that too under such a tragic and cruel circumstance."

Staring at the darkness that was speeding past them, Raman continued " I also apologize on my brother Vijay's behalf for he would want me to do that. He was one of the kindest and most genuine souls that I had the privilege of knowing all though it did not last very long. I apologize for the gentle soul that he was, he would not have wanted any innocent person to have gotten hurt even unknowingly. But, this apology is also from my pain and guilt for I know that I am one of the causes in all this tragedy that has fallen on both of us."

Brigadier Sooryanarayanan remained silent and yet Raman could see from the clenched fists around the steering wheel that the man was a raging storm that was just about ready to explode and then the army veteran sighed deeply and replied in a much calmer and softer tone " Apology accepted young man. I knew my daughter very well Raman and I can guarantee you that it must have been her that made the first move in both her and Vijay meeting up."

He continued, but with a thickened voice which obviously meant that the grief that was obviously taking a tremendous toll on his heart was about to burst its banks and explode and consume everything around him and Raman listened " It did not take long for us to track her movements through her mobile phone and we know that it was she who came to pick up Vijay in her car and then they went out for dinner to a restaurant called " Hidden Paradise" that is actually owned by my family. After their dinner, they seemed to be heading towards India Gate and then they seemed to have taken this sudden and ill-fated trip that led to their deaths on National highway 48."


Raman shook his head in despair " Coincidence, just plain bad luck and just coincidence that they happened to spot the two bas***ds together which must have alerted Vijay for the nexus between a notorious fixer such as Santoshi Lal and a career criminal politician Vaidyanathan which at first is a bit weird and startling also at the same makes us wonder of the reach and mixing of national and state politics and what money can do and how it brings all sorts of criminals together."


Raman's eyes caught sight of lights on both sides of the highway in the distance and then as they neared the area, Brigadier Sooryanarayan slowed the vehicle and exiting the highway drove towards a huge tree and halted the car and in the light of the vehicle's headlights, Raman saw and froze in shock for the place was where Vijay and Poornima had been murdered the previous night.

The car remained, bruised, battered, shot at and remained still carrying in its insides the remains of what had once been alive while the dried, blood red stains all over the front and back seat revealed that death comes in all forms, to all sorts and does not distinguish between good and bad.

Raman stood shivering in pain, anger and a darkness darker than the night now filled his entire being and screaming his rage, he slowly collapsed near the car and began to finally let out his pain and the tears rained down and mixed with the earth as the blood of two innocents had rained down the previous night.

Raman slowly looked up hearing noises and saw a team of six fully armed men step out of the darkness and take positions around Brigadier Sooryanarayanan.

Another vehicle's door opened and out stepped General V.K.Singh, Additional secretary, office of joint operation, Raw and the seven men stood watching the civilian on the ground in front of them.

V.K.Singh lit a cigarette and taking a deep pull on it slowly walked towards Raman and exhaling the cancerous smoke, coughed slightly and spoke " What do you want to do Mr.Raman?"

Raman looked up angrily with tears in his eyes " Kill them all. Each and every one of them who is responsible for this evil act. Hunt them where ever they might be and whoever they might be and kill every last one of them. I don't f**king give a damn who is by my side for I will do it alone and even if God comes in between me and the bas***ds I am after."

Brigadier Sooryanarayanan crouched in front of him and gently held his shoulders " You said it and now we will do it, together. But, it does not end here Raman for we have a long way to go."

Raman stared at him " Long way to go where sir."

" Hot pursuit, my boy for we have found a trail leading from Delhi to Chennai."

Raman's went still in fear and with glittering eyes only managed a croak of a question for his vocal chords failed him as they too were gripped by a deadly fear " Chennai. You mean the minister sir."

He got up and looked at V.K.Singh who was pulling deeply on the remains of a stub of a cigarette " Sir, where does the trail lead to?"

General V.K.Singh, Additional secretary, office of joint operation, Raw looked at the filter that was glowing an angry red and threw it away and the facing Raman said " To you Mr.Raman, the trail leads to you, sir. For, we have picked up the trail of an assassin who has been sent to eliminate you and all those who stand with you."


Far away in Chennai, Shaktivel heard Raman's screams in his dreams " Appa, Appa, wake up and prepare" and opening his eyes came awake and slowly got out of the bed and wondered what the dream was about.

" Iyaa, I pray to god and beg him to keep you safe and well."

Feeling very disturbed and with his thoughts full of his only son Raman, he slowly came down the stairs and then a movement, a shift of darkness near the window put him on total alert and hugging the darkness inside and flattening himself against the wall he slowly came down the stairs.

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day. All the best.

Over the years, ther have been many a time when I have lost it, nearly driven to losing it and the pain and torment threatened to burst its banks called sanity and engulf me totally with its poison and all that which surrounded me.

Shame, guilt, embarrassment and most importantly "EGO" stopped me many a time from reaching out to those that were always near and those that were nearer although they were far away and across oceans.

My only refuge was, were, is " The men and women in Black", yup I mean them black statues that are permanently playing the game called " Statue " and like my favorite actors de niro, pacino, kamal, shivaji, meryl etc are totally involved in their character and refuse to come out of it.

In temples, in churches, and in Mosques I have sat still staring at them, praying and beseeching and begging for relief and sometimes even release.

But mostly, my questions were about suffering that I experienced and the suffering that I saw some of the pieces of my soul enduring and always the voices whispered " It is thus, lest you forget child" and I strained my ears and I strained the ears and all the senses of my soul and at last understood.

It is not forgetting about God but forgetting life, how to live it and most importantly how to love and whom to love.

Yes, if I had not suffered then, I still do now and most certainly will suffer in the future, how then will I know what real happiness is and how will I know who I can trust to lay my shoulder and when to open my arms to embrace and envelope the ones who require my shoulder and chest to lay their weary heads.

I guess wisdom comes with old age and a wee bit wiser, I now welcome both joy and suffering with open arms for they are the two sides of the same coin and make up life in varying measures.

That measurement is up to It, I mean God although we can endure it with just one thought in mind, which is " And this too shall pass".

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful Saturday and a lovely weekend.

Creation is not only about making a new life but sustaining that which is already there and filling it with new energy. Every day, I stand and watch the sun come up, filling its kingdom with light and heat, burning away to dust a few of its family members and filling the others with its nuclear fire.

Like the sun, we too have it in us to fill others with our own energy and all it takes is a gentle smile and kind look of acceptance and a barely perceptible nod of the head as we pass others and as they pass us.

Many a time, I have seen dull and dark faces come alive on seeing a smile of greeting, acceptance of them by the world at large and if that is not creating a new life in a dying soul, a lonely soul, then what do you call it.

Energy is never lost and that energy that came from the gentle, subtle smile declaring " I see you. I wish you well" will and may go long way in boosting a passing strangers soul with a new zest and purpose.

Jannal Oram 275

"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question. Decouvertes

Former DGP of Tamil Nadu and now running his own private security service for selected clients, Mr. Devarajan ended the call and sat still with his eyes closed and in deep thought.

The phone call had been from Delhi and it had informed him about the situation with Raman and his family who were now being targetted by some really bad people.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the clock and saw it was nearly 5.00 pm and picking up his mobile, made the call and made the change. Leaning back into his chair, Devarajan steepled his hands and wondered " There is enough time to prepare, but will it be enough and soon enough."

He made the second call and spoke to Raman's father Shaktivel and explained the situation to him and then both men who felt the same way about Raman planned in detail what to do and how to go about it.


The two-man security team whose job was to watch over Raman's house changed teams every day at exactly 10.30 pm and in three 8 hour shifts that started at 6.30 in the morning and changed at 2.30 pm in the afternoon and the final shift happened at 10.30 and went off smoothly.

One man took a position at the entrance of the house while the other man walked around the compound on a constant vigil and then they exchanged positions after about an hour and this continued the whole day.


Renting as a concept is in vogue these days because of the changing dynamics of India's real estate. As a result of this, finding tenants and making your investment profitable is not as difficult as it must have been earlier. If you are the owner of a prime property, you may be lucky enough to have a beeline outside of your premises.

However, as a landlord, you must be careful while selecting tenants since the profitability of your investments depends entirely on the kind of tenant you have selected for your property. Police verification of your tenants is an integral part of this screening process which must be duly followed for your own security. In case you rent your property without going through this process, trouble may hit you in future, officially, too.

The law makes it mandatory for landlords to carry out police verification of their tenants. Any failure in this regard may invite a jail term or a monetary penalty. Under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which pertains to disobedience of order duly promulgated by public servant, an offender may be "punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month" or with a fine which may "extend to Rs 200".


After the call from Delhi, Devarajan had contacted the Chennai police Commissioner and the information that he had requested had been sent to him after just about twenty minutes in an E-mail containing all the details about the neighbors and their homes around Raman's house in Adyar.

Nearly ninety percent of the houses were occupied by permanent residents or by tenants who had been there for more than a year and that meant they posed no danger to Raman and his family. But the remaining ten percent was the problem for there was a question mark on all of them as there were no proper details about who occupied them, tenants or owners or benamis.

It was neither practical nor feasible to have men in all those unaccounted places at such short notice and which also would then invariably lead to the person or persons who had come from Delhi for Raman being alerted.

Devarajan had known from the very first moment on meeting Raman that he was a special soul and his opinion had been confirmed quickly. Slowly, Raman remained a student no longer but had become more of a son to him and he poured all his time, energy, knowledge and skills into his newfound prodigy and child and it was paid back not only in the form of Raman winning every tournament that he participated in but also in Raman showing the same love that his sensei Devarajan showered on him.

So, protecting Raman and his family was not a job or a duty but more, much more and so Devarajan himself dressed in his old navy blue safari now stood guard at Raman's front door as a lion would rise to protect his cub from danger and inside, Shaktivel stood pressed against the darkness as another lion and so the night wore on with them both waiting for their invisible foe to make a move against their family.


"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Winston Churchill

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day. All the very best.

Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart. Anthony J. D'Angelo

Most beautiful lips and yet if they smile not then they are not.
Most beautiful eyes and yet if they shine not in a smile then they are not.
Most beautiful body and face and yet if their souls do not send forth
a smile and joy then they are not.

A smile, and even the bad teeth that the lips covered is forgotten.
A lovely, gentle smile and even cataract ridden eyes blaze through
A genuine smile and even the ugliest face turns godly beautiful


W*F, are you going on about you dim witted bulb, you may question and I answer, that there is so much to smile about.

The remnants of yesteryears chill that still hangs around in the mornings. The hot cup of coffee that steams caffeine into your senses.

Most importantly, that Satish thinks of you and is sending you this post with a smile.

In the beginning there was only darkness.
Then came light and then came life.
Then, god saw them both and smiled and thus was creation begun.

Be well.

Good morning. I wish you all a beautiful day. All the best.



I stopped questioning my nearest and dearest and those that inhabit the periphery of my existence about life and stopped expecting answers from them and from the Ether.

The most important question that I stopped asking my tribe members was " hey, do you see what I see? Do you feel what I feel?"



Just not possible, impossible even, to see, think, feel the same as I do for their minds are not mine and mine is not theirs and so how is it possible to dive into the depths of the abyss that is my mind and my thoughts when they splash their feet, dip their hands or touch with their fingers the shallows.

It becomes rather tiresome, weary when your own mind changes, shape-shifts like an entity although it does to adapt to every single day of our life and also since it has to rearrange itself to every person it meets and boy, don't we know that everyone is different and thinks different.



Each and every one of our thoughts and emotions differ and vary slightly or greatly and just as the patterns vary in colors and sizes as we twist the kaleidoscope, everyone is different and expects and reacts differently to all that life throws up at them.



Even the deepest kiss of your lover's mouth cannot bring them deep into the core of your soul and give them the power to see and feel what you do.

There is only understanding and realization and that is all I, you or they can offer.

Great sex does not immediately bind two and transforms them into one and neither does bad or boring sex split one into two for soon we come to realize that everything is temporary and every emotion and thought is in a constant state of flux.



W*F SAT, why in God's name do you torment us and yourself with all these thoughts and words, you might prompt me and prod me gently or dare I say harshly.

Such little time. Such a short span of life and so many equations and I rather do them then just worry about them with the little time I have left than eat, drink, shit and sleep.



I have to confess here that a few friends told me on my face that I should stop sending my thoughts to them for they were becoming too hard and heavy to handle and my only reaction and reply was " I understand" and I mean that, really mean that and I repeat the fifth para of this post.



Each and every one of or thoughts and emotions differ and vary slightly or greatly and just as the patterns vary in colors and sizes as we twist the kaleidoscope, everyone is different and expects and reacts differently to all that life throws up at them.


"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. Audre Lorde

Good morning, Good afternoon, Good evening and Good night.4 time zones, 4 greetings for all of you that dwell in the four corners of this world but dwell united in my soul.

I wish you a great day and a day full of grace and blessings. Familiarity breeds contempt and the truth is never more proven in our daily and familiar world.

Maybe boredom, maybe too much of the same is frustrating and rankles and this is the core truth and law of mother nature that diversity and evolution are more important than Unity.

Otherwise, why would life throw up so many species ranging from the microscopic to the Gigantic whale.

Everything is connected and whether we are aware of it or whether it is even possible to see the larger picture, it just cannot be denied that everything and everyone is connected.

The loss of our soldiers seems to have united the nation as one and rightly so.

But, everyday, thousands die due to poverty and thousands more die by their own hands for all the right reasons and the wrong ones and they go unnoticed.

Worse still, everyday millions of us shuffle like zombies to work and back home not knowing where we are going and why we are going and what we are doing.



As we zoom back on the complete picture, you can see and grasp what I am referring to and how hopeless it all seems and how helpless we feel.

When a dear friend who is more than just a friend told me that his Blood pressure was very high, It really upset me and got me thinking for here is a kind and gentle person who lives a rather quiet and relaxed life, thanks to the choices that he took early in his life.



Even seemingly calm and healthy people's Blood pressure suddenly spikes up and medication is needed. Mystery, suspense or just a plain thriller and horror script.

Unaware, this unescapable poison seems to be seeping into us and into our daily lives via all social platforms and the Impotency of it all hurts and bruises the delicate and strong souls more than the ones who don't give a damn about it and far worse are not even aware of it.



I told my friend, I too lie awake in the darkness and that even in broad daylight I close my eyes and wonder what the f..k is going on in this world and how scary it has all become.

The prime minister bribing the citizens with promises of cash in all our bank accounts, chief ministers announcing Pongal Bonus and other bonuses for everyone and with elections around the corner... stop, I will stop with that.



Blood pressure, panic attacks, Hyper tension, Diabetes, stress etc and yes this is the current situation on the ground we live in and so, welcome to the day to day Nightmare that has now become reality.

Jannal Oram 276

"Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him. Sun Tzu

Raman looked at Brigadier Sooryanarayanan, his face in shock and panic and yelled: " You mean there are people near my house and are going to launch an attack on my family."

Anger filling his entire body, he stepped closer to the Brigadier and growled " How long have you had this information, sir?

Then realizing something, he turned to V.K.Singh, Additional secretary, office of joint operation, Raw and pointed a finger " You, you sir. You knew all about this impending attack on my family by this mysterious assassin and yet you didn't bother to even mention a word about it to me earlier today. Why?

V.K.Singh with a click on his lighter ignited another cigarette and scowled " Filthy habit" and the looked at Raman " I did not for a very simple reason and that reason is there is nothing you can do about it from Delhi. So..."

" So, what do you mean by so? sir" asked Raman whose whole body was beginning to fill with a sense of impending doom and V.K.Singh replied, " So, we took matters in our own hand's young man and also have brought in your best friend who is there right now outside your house standing guard and keeping watch over your family."

Raman immediately knew who he was referring to and immediately reached for his mobile phone to call his sensei, but Brigadier Sooryanaryanan grabbed his hand and stopped him and spoke to him " Raman, calm down son."

" Calm down sir. How can I remain calm when my whole family is in harm's way and I am here when I should rightfully be there to protect them."

V.K.Singh pulling deeply on his cigarette blew smoke in the darkness of the North Indian night " Raman calm down and then think all this over and you will realize what is unravelling before you and in Chennai."

Raman looked at him and then at the Brigadier " I don't have to calm down and think for I know what game you are playing and why you are using my family as pawns."

" Pawns, games" yelled Brigadier Sooryanarayanan and his whole body trembling with anger and pain, stepped close to Raman and yelled in his face " I have lost my only child, a dozen of my best commandos lie now hidden in darkness around your house to protect your family and you dare to stand here and accuse us of playing games. This is a bloody game that you and your friends started and which has claimed my child's life."

V.K.Singh placed a placatory hand on the raging Brigadier and said softly " hey Soorya, calm down or you are going to burst some important pipe or valve due to high blood pressure."

Brigadier Sooryanarayanan quickly turned on V.K.Singh and yelled " You and your intelligence games and pawns and it is me and my men that have to face all this shit and crap from civilians. A f**king mess I say. I wish the army took over governing of this country for then we will really see better days for everyone."

V.K.Singh calmly pulled on his cigarette and instead of answering the Brigadier turned and facing the fields that lay like dark velvet under a moonless night, gently blew smoke over them and chuckled " Brigadier, our neighbour Pakistan has been under army rule and you see where they are when compared to us. Our neighbour to the north, China is under the army and communist party and for all their yells of economy and power, where do they stand on civil rights and other basic freedoms that every life craves and needs."

Pointing towards the East with his cigarette, he spoke " Burma, are you forgetting what the army did to Aung San Suu Kyi and is that what you want for all Indians. "


Brigadier Sooryanarayanan opened his mouth to deliver a harsh reply but V.K.Singh raised a hand and stopping him continued " You are just being emotional and also forgetting that you have seen worse than the loss of your only child for you have lost dozens of such sons and daughters over the years in our borders and have grieved the same way as you grieve for Poornima now."

With a flick of this thumb its neighbouring finger, he sent the cigarette stub flying away into the night and it flew leaving a trail of sparks in the blackness and turning to Raman " young man, your family is under no danger for they are well protected and your dad too knows what is going on. There are commandos on the rooftops of the adjoining buildings covering every inch of your compound and so relax please and let them do their jobs."

Raman glared at them for a few seconds and then taking deep breaths to calm his body and mind, closed his eyes and dived into a brief meditative state and then coming out of it looked at V.K.Singh " How did you track the assassins to Chennai sir?"

" we began tracking all phone calls made from Santoshi Lal's mobile from the moment you told me what Vijay informed you last night before being murdered. We placed both his mobile and minister Vaidyanathan's mobile nos at the center of our search and soon realized that Vaidyanathan was of no use and so concentrated on the calls coming and going from Santoshi Lal's mobile and backtracked all the calls using towers as GPS locators and concluded from that as to what happened last night."

Raman in an urgent voice " I know what happened for Vijay told me that and " his speech was halted by V.k.Singh who continued " Using all the mobile phone data, we could make out that a call was made from Santoshi Lal's mobile and it lasted just a few seconds and a minute after that the very same mobile was tracked behind Vijay and Poornima's phones and using data we saw that they were following Santoshi Lal and Vaidyanathan totally unaware of the fact that they were, in fact, being followed by this assassin or assassins who are now in Chennai. But, the tracks stop at the Chennai airport for I think the assassin has gotten a new mobile phone and we are waiting for him to get in touch with Santoshi who is in a farmhouse just five km from here."

Raman looked at both of them and then asked V.K.Singh " What is going to happen to the men who are about to attack my family?" who replied, " take them alive if possible and if that is not an option then I have issued orders to kill them on sight."

" No, sir. I have a better plan for the situation and I will tell you about it if you are willing to listen to me."

Good morning. I wish you all a beautiful day. All the very best.

Build a bridge by extending your hand.

Over the eons, some of the many fantastic constructions and feats of engineering by man has been the building of bridges over raging rivers, across jungles, over mountains and even over oceans to connect land with land and to help man cross over.

But, in all that we have forgotten the most simple bridges that can be built with words and kindness and bridges built over pure love. These bridges are much more stronger than stone, brick and wood and they do much more than just helping man to move forth and back.

Bridges between souls and bridges connecting all life and mankind in particular and the earth will be a much better place to exist and for us to leave behind for those who will soon follow our footsteps.

Time will bring down man made bridges and all other construction but time will lose with the bridges that man builds between souls and minds.

I really wish I had the gift to say it better and express it more beautifully but for now this simple and humble bridge of words and thoughts of mine should hopefully do.