From & To Sathish #5 - Page 28

Vaanathai Pola 388

Azhagan smiled at Raman and replied, ' As I said earlier, my story goes a long way back and will need all of your attention and faith which you don't have right now. But, there will come a time when we will meet again and talk more under more favourable circumstances.'

Then he suddenly raised a finger and said, ' one moment please' and closed his eyes and Raman felt the air around him vibrate and travel as waves all around the plane and out into the the open.

The stranger who called himself Azhagan opened his eyes and said, ' well, young man, your cavalry is here and I guess things will begin to warm up now.'

Raman spread his hands and said, ' I know this might sound funny but I still am in the dark and have no clue as to what is going on here or who your and what you are doing on this hijacked plane.'

Azhagan stepped forward, ' I really wish I could stay and talk in detail but it is best that I am not seen for it will invite a lot of trouble for you and for those around you.'

' You mean you are going to leave. Just walk out of the plane. But, this whole airfield is surrounded by armed security forces and I am sure that by now snipers are in place and they will shoot you down.'

Azhagan shrugged his shoulders, ' Don't worry about me, Ram. I will be okay. I have gotten out of far worse situations than snipers and armed men and I am sure I will somehow manage to wriggle out from here without being caught.'

He looked at Raman, ' I can see in your mind that you have been facing a certain problem of a strange nature. I can help you with that ' and placed both his hands on Raman's shoulders and at that very instant his shirt sleeve was pulled backwards and his forearms were revealed and they did not go unseen by Raman's eagle eyes.

Azhagan whispered softly, ' It might feel a bit strange but I promise it will not hurt.'

' What are you going on about hurt and strange, Mister Azhagan?'

' Look into my eyes, Child and stay still' Azhagan whispered and Raman felt it like a command and like an obedient student looked into his eyes and nearly died of shock and fright.

The eyes that had been black or brown now turned a bright and soothing green and then blazed a fiery orange and Raman's eyes closed themselves and that was the last thing he remembered of the stranger called Azhagan.

He heard the voice say, ' It will be okay. Your heart is in the right place and you will never be alone. Call us when you need us. Say my name and I will come to your aid. '

Raman knew that he was unconscious and lying on the ground and yet he somehow managed to summon up a question, ' what is going on? '

He heard the answer in his mind, ' follow the evidence and you will eventually reach the spider in the middle of this evil web' and then everything went dark and he fell asleep.

It was still dark when Raman opened his eyes and found himself lying on the floor of the plane and quickly looked at his watch and saw that he must have unconscious for nearly 20 minutes.

' It is nearly 10.30 pm and that means the government jet carrying my boss V.K.Singh and the Defence Minister would have already landed and they all will have assembled in the air traffic control center.'

Raman looked at the plane that lay in darkness and at all the first-class passengers still fast asleep or in some kind of induced state that resembled sleep and screamed his question, ' What am I going to do now? How am I supposed to explain all this and you, Mister Azhagan or whoever you were? '

The eerie and creepy silence that enveloped the plane and his mind was shattered by the loud ringtone of his mobile phone and nearly caused Raman to suffer a heart attack.

Quickly reaching for his mobile phone that was in his pant pocket, he took it out and and sliding the green button answered his boss V.K.Singh's call.

' Sir'

' Ram, son. Are you okay, child?'

Raman standing all alone in the gigantic plane whispered confusedly, ' I am not sure how to answer that sir. Maybe it will be better if you and your commando team are can make it here right now.'

' What do you mean by that? What about the hijackers?'

Raman closed his eyes not knowing what to do and whispered, ' They are not a threat as of this moment sir. They are all neatly tied up and locked up.'

In the Air traffic control centre, V.K.Singh heard his words and stared at the phone and then stared at everybody and then looked at Brigadier Sooryanarayanan who smiled and said, ' We know what he is capable of. So, nothing surprising if he has taken out the hijackers.'

V.K.Singh looked at the Defence minister who nodded and said, ' we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Go now and remember that the passengers are the first priority and that too all of those from the first class and the business class seats.'

*Today is World Happy Husband Day.

*First quote*

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin, they just can’t face each other, but still they stay together.

– *Al Gore*

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.

– *Socrates*

Wife inspires us to great things and prevent us from achieving them.

– *Mike Tyson*

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

– *Bill Clinton*

There’s a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It’s called marriage.

– *Michael Jordan*

A good wife always forgives her husband when she’s wrong.

– *Barack Obama*

When you are in love,

wonders happen.

But once you get married, you wonder, what happened.

- *Steve Jobs*

And the best one is…

Marriage is a beautiful forest where Brave Lions are killed by Beautiful Deer.

- *Brad Pitt*

While getting married, most of the guys say to girl's parents,

"I will keep your daughter happy for the rest of her life".

Have you ever heard a girl saying something like this to the boy's parents like "I will keep your son happy for the rest of his life"????

Nooo.... because women don't tell lies! 😀😜

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A small argument between a couple turns violent.

Husband says: Don’t let the animal in me come out!

Wife replies: Who’s afraid of a mouse??

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

If wife wants husband’s attention, she just has to look sad and uncomfortable.

If husband wants wife’s attention, he just has to look comfortable & happy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A Philosopher HUSBAND said:- Every WIFE is a ‘Mistress’ of her Husband…

“Miss” for first year & “Stress” for rest of life

Son : Dad, l got selected for a role in a play for annual day!

Dad: What role are you playing?

Son: A husband!

Dad: Stupid, ask for a role with dialogues!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Man outside phone booth: “Excuse me, you are holding phone since 29 minutes and you haven’t spoken a word”.

Man inside: “i am talking to my wife!”

Avan, Aval, Adhu 84

The Royal Enfield's single cylinder's exhaust noise is a very unique and old- world sound. It was the classic " Dhub, Dhub" heavy noise only big bore cylinder's make and that too those from the old world motorcycles. The reader has to know that the Royal Enfield bike aka the Bullet is the only one remaining from pre-independence times and has been in production since the second world war began.

But then come the Japanese manufacturers in 1985 and with their arrival came the advent of smaller, sleeker, lighter, faster and more economical motorcycles and the Enfield bullet has taken a backseat since then. Yet, almost all agree to the fact that the bullet has its own unique presence and sound and that which cannot be duplicated by the smaller and faster two-wheel rockets.

It was still 8.30 am when Ravi's bullet announced to the world that he was leaving Kumarapalayam and even from where she stood, Rasaathi Ammal could see doors opening and children rushing out to wave sad goodbyes for everyone knew that Master sir rode out on his Bullet only when he left the Village for a few days or more.

She slowly sank to the floor totally heartbroken and whispered to herself. ' It's okay. He is your son and you are his mother. Both of you have the right to speak out your minds. There is nothing wrong with it. He has gone away as he always does and he will return after a few days. After all he is the unofficial head of this village and the head master of the school. He knows his duties and he will not shirk them. He will return as he always does.'

She sat alone, a mother totally crushed by life and that of her son's life and she cursed God bitterly for having deprived her son a life of peace, happiness and fulfillment.

She sat there for she had no will to move from that place and then several minutes later she slowly got up invoking her favourite God Lord Muruga's name deciding that there was a better place to sit and talk to even if the plant would not reply back.

Brahma Ganesan was parking his autorickshaw in Madurai Apollo Hospital's parking lot when his phone rang and seeing it was master sir who was calling, answered it with a cheerfully.

' Sir, I was just about to call you to tell you that I have reached the hospital and you have called.'

Ganesan was affectionately called Brahma for a reason and he had been named thus by Ravi himself and now the boy asked the master, ' Iyaa, I can hear your bullet noise. Where are you off to and that too now?'

Ravi had stopped to call Ganesan as an afterthought, switched off the engine and said, ' I have an important meeting and I will be away for a few days. I want you to stay with mother until I return.'

Ganesan who knew his master very well immediately picked up on the vagueness of the reply and also the tension in his master's voice.

' Please, try to go home early and preferably before dark. Can you do that for me please or should I ask it of someone else?'

' Master, why are you hurting me by saying such words. I am your servant and it is my duty to follow your commands. I will do as you wish.'

' Okay. Thank you. If any sort of emergency should arise, call me. Bye.'

Ganesan knew that something was seriously wrong for master sir would have under normal circumstances instantly reprimanded him for using the word servant and yet today he did not and it was as if he did not hear any word that he had spoken.

' What's going on, master sir and what do I tell Gayatri ma'am when I go up to see her?'

What Ravi said now only confirmed to Ganesan that his master was not himself.

' Tell her what you find appropriate at the moment? Don't tell her anything about me. She is a visitor to our village and will leave after her visit is over.'

' But, master sir......hello, hello sir?

Ganesan found emptiness on the other side and felt the same begin to fill his mind and not knowing what to do next did the next best thing and which was call Master sir's mother.

The phone rang for a long time but went unanswered and that itself was unusual for Amma usually picked it up on the fifth or sixth ring and Ganesan deciding that he would go back to the house after he was done checking on Gayatri ma'am, slowly walked towards and into the hospital.

A and E Unknown and nameless

A was all alone in the universe with its emptiness. Other than that it knew its name was A. But A did not know what to make of the emptiness and how to get rid of it. So, one day A started walking and after a long time saw another in the distance coming towards it.

A stopped walking and looked and looked at the other who came nearer and nearer and then the other stopped and looked at A.

' I am E.'

' I am called A.'

A and E looked at each other and A told E, " You have a lot of hair and it looks beautiful.'

E thanked A and since it was obvious that A was not blessed with the same amount of hair, played nice and said, ' You have a lot of heart.'

A slightly taken aback smiled shyly and replied, ' I am sorry but it is full of questions and at the same time largely empty.'

E's eyebrows lifted up and it opened its mouth in surprise, ' Oh! But I do too. I mean my situation is the same as you.'

A and E stood staring at each other and then both decided that their respective paths were opposite to each other and decided to spend some time in the same place.

Over time they began to call each other Adam and Eve and all was well in their similar emptiness and questions.

Then time passed, life happened and both stood looking at each other and A said, I am sorry E but the emptiness remains and so do all the questions.'

E nodded, ' I know A. I thought you would be able to answer all the questions that are in my head and that you would be able to fill the emptiness in me.'

A's eyebrows lifted up and its mouth opened wide in shock, ' Oh! I thought the same.'

E looked at A, ' but the little time you were here, I did not feel the emptiness nor was I curious about finding answers to the questions that have come back again.'

A smiled shyly, ' I am sorry but I too thought that you would be the magic that would drive away my emptiness and questions.'

A stood watching as E went back to walking her original path and soon receded into the distance and slowly A too began walking.

' Well, looks like E too has the same problems as me' A thought and resumed walking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jiMxuPggzA

Avan, Aval, Adhu 85

" And they lived happily ever after" is a satisfactory ending for all stories and for a matter of fact movies too. But, the proof is in living the life and life itself is so similar to a mega serial. I mean the endless episodes and the never-ending problems that sap you and drain you of all will and energy and with it the love and happiness.

'Happily ever after' or 'Happy ever after' are typically used as a formulaic ending to a fairy tale or children's story, or in romantic novels to describe wedded bliss. The meaning is quite literal - 'from then onwards and forever, happiness pervades'.

The first time that the term 'happily ever after' is used in relation to marriage is in Giovanni Boccaccio's translation of Il Decamerone, 1702. However, that's not how the phrase was originally used. When first coined, the expression 'the ever after' was a reference to Heaven. When people were described as 'happy ever after' what was meant was that they were 'happy in the ever after'.

This dates back to at least the 16th century, as in this piece by the French Protestant reformer Augustin Marlorat - A Catholike and Ecclesiasticall exposition of the Holy Gospel, 1570:But after that Christe rose againe from death, then they were apointed ordinary teachers of the church: & in this respecte, this honour pertained vnto the ever after.

The first use of 'happy ever after' that I know of is from the same writer, a few years later, in A Catholike exposition vpon the Reuelation of Sainct John, 1574:Moreouer John had commended faith sufficiently when he sayde, that the dead whiche dye in the Lord are happier ever after.

So, the 16th century 'happy [in the] ever after' meant eternal happiness in heaven, which migrated into the 18th century 'happy ever after' meaning 'together forever in wedded bliss'.

I have always wondered why nobody ever uses the word peace in ending a story, such as " and they lived peacefully with each other" for maybe the writer knows that happiness is at least doable while peacefully is a rather difficult thing to reach or aspire for.

While life outside her hospital room was taking a different path to what she was planning and dreaming of, Gayatri was lost in her world and on top of it. For the very first time in her life, she felt a strange emotion begin to ensconce her being. She had finally made peace with her stepmother and was now free of all burdens that she had carried all her adult life and was ready to go to the man she knew was perfect for her.

She gently touched her lips which had been kissed by Ravi and her heart nearly broke free from the moorings of its chest and wanted to fly out of her body like a bird taking its first flight.

' Stop it, you silly woman, and calm down. You are not a teenager anymore who is going through the emotions of falling in love for the very first time' she chided herself and yet the very thought of Ravi made her feel like jumping around and screaming her heart out.

She collapsed on the bed and whispered to the room, ' I know I have to take it slow and easy. I will try but I am sure I am going to fail for this really feels like the first time for me.'

Love and the euphoria it bestows on a person lifted her up from the bed and then realizing that she had asked for the bill to be sent up to her room since she had decided to voluntarily discharge herself, quickly slipped into appropriate clothes.

She stopped adjusting the scarf that she had thrown across her shoulders and that fell on both her ample breasts and asked her reflection on the mirror.

' Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Will I love or will I fail and fall?'

Gayatri looked at herself in the mirror and said, ' Gaya, you are not a child anymore. Not even a teenager but an adult woman in her early middle-age years. So, I hope you know what you are getting into.'

The knock on the door was tentative and it slowly opened after she had said " Come in" in a loud voice.

' Thank you for bringing the bill up to my room' she said and went to her handbag to pick out one of her debit cards and turning to see the person who had entered was none other than Ganesan.

Although she was surprised to see him, she welcomed him with a cheerful voice, ' Brahma, just the man I was thinking about calling and the man himself has arrived at my doorstep.'

Ganesan stood there with a fake smile that did not put stars and emotions in his eyes and just about managed a hello and stood fidgeting with his shirt and totally occupied with the number of buttons that were on his shirt.

Gayatri was about to ask him what was wrong and in through the open door came a smart looking woman dressed in a blue saree and blue blouse and with her hair all neat and proper in a bun and she said, ' Good morning ma'am. My name is Shreelekha and I am the head of the Accounts department.'

' Wow! Head of a department! How can I help you Shreelekha?'

' Ma'am, I was just informed about you leaving us and that you had requested for the bill to be sent up to your room.'

' Correct' Gayatri said and offered her the card she had taken out from her handbag and which was politely declined by Shreelekha.

' I am sorry ma'am but your bill has already been settled by Mr Ravi Kumar and I have come in person to inform you about it.'

Gayatri's eyes glanced at the phone and Shreelekha smiled politely and said, ' No ma'am. The boss told me to specifically come in person and see to all your needs.'

Gayatri now glanced at Ganesan and said, ' I will thank your master for this when I see him in person for that is where we are going right now, young man.'

Turning to Shreelekha, ' Thank you so much for looking after me.'

After the lady had left, Gayatri went towards Ganesan, ' Little Bro, what's with the sad sack and grumpy face? Cheer up, man.'

Pointing to the small holdall that was in the cupboard, ' Please, can you get that for me' and once Ganesan had picked it up, both left the room and went down to the parking lot and got into the autorickshaw.

Gayatri tapped Ganesan's head and said, ' Hello, mister. What's wrong with you? This silence is so untypical of you. Say something, please.'

Ganesan turned around looked at her sadly and Gayatri irritated by his mood, complained, ' Here I am feeling like I am on top of the world and yet here you are all sad and gloomy.'

Ganesan did his best and just about managed a slightly better and brighter smile and said, ' I am not feeling too well, ma'am. That's all.'

He wanted so badly to tell her that Master sir was not just at home but nowhere in or near the village and that he was very far from all of them.

But he did not for he knew his Master very well and knew Master's mother even better.

' I don't know what is going in here between all of them. So, it's better to shut my trap and stay quiet' Ganesan thought to himself and looked at Gayatri and said, ' Ma'am, I hope, wish and pray that God blesses you with all that you wish and more of all that.'

Gayatri smiled, ' Thank you Ganesa. I really need all the wishes I can get for what I am about to do. I hope your wishes make my wishes come true.'

Vaanathai Pola 389

Nearly twenty vehicles and almost all of them carrying armed commandos raced towards the Qantas A380 plane and parked themselves around the massive plane.

Brigadier Sooryanarayanan rapped out orders and nearly 60 commandos jumped out of the vehicles they had arrived in and stood facing the plane and with their machine guns pointed at it.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh smiled at Raw chief V.K.Singh and both glanced at the dozens of Ambulances coming racing towards them along with many trucks from the Fire department and emergency rescue services.

His smile and nod of appreciation were directed at the small trucks that were lumbering along behind the ambulances and the trucks of the fire department and they came dragging mobile Airstairs behind them and he commented, ' Raman does think of everything, V.K.' and glanced at the plane that stood several metres above their heads and then both of them saw the cockpit door open and Raman peep out from the plane and yell, ' Is the pilot here?'

V.K.Singh waved and a mobile Airstair was rushed to the cockpit and placed close to the plane and an airforce commando pilot went up the stairs with the speed of a cat and a few minutes later, all eight doors of the massive plane including the emergency exits slowly opened wide and invited anyone who was interested in boarding it.

V.k.Singh's walkie talkie aka two-way radio squawked and he answered it knowing fully well that it was Raman who was calling and said, ' Raman, go on.'

' Boss, just you and Minister sir and nobody else.'

V.K.Singh was surprised and yet realising and knowing fully well that Raman never did anything without a specific reason or purpose, said, ' Ram beta, I am your boss but the authority lies with Minister Rajnath Singhji. So, please, talk to him.'

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took the walkie talkie and spoke to Raman, ' Sir, I hope that you know what you are doing. Time is of the essence here. We don't know what is in the plane or what was done with it after being hijacked. For all you know, there could be a nuclear weapon on board and which might explode any moment.'

' True, minister sir. But, it has not and if the people had wished so, then they could have detonated the weapon while in air and not wait until now.'

Brigadier Sooryanarayanan barked in his trademark army trained dog voice, ' Mr Raman, maybe the scum were waiting for the defence minister's arrival and maybe he is the real target.'

There was pin-drop silence and then Raman's voice came loud and clear as he addressed the Defence Minister, ' Sir, do you think that you are the target and that the criminals would have been waiting for your arrival to trigger the bomb while they have six members belonging to the British Royal Family along with the Deputy Prime Minister of UK and a few cabinet ministers and then add to those high-value targets, a dozen members of the United Nations and several other important dignitaries.'

The lines were delivered with great respect but also tinged with a hint of sarcasm and both V.K.Singh and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh knew that Raman's clarification was specifically meant for Brigadier Sooryanarayanan's ears.

V.k.Singh looked at Brigadier Sooryanarayanan and winked and said, ' Soorya, you are not going to learn your lesson, ever. So, please, just ...'

Cursing Raman in both Hindi and English, Brigadier Sooryanarayanan walked away towards his commandos and began barking at them.

V.k.Singh looked at Rajnath Singh, ' Don't mind him for he still hasn't recovered from the loss of his only child Poornima who was murdered by those Assassins in Delhi and at the behest of the late Vaidyanathan. The Brigadier still blames Raman for his loss for it was his enmity with the late minister that led to his daughter's murder.'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, ' but why does he not understand that Raman too suffered a tremendous loss with the death of his best friend, Vijay Bhaskar.'

The Mobile Airstairs was positioned and Minister Rajnath Singh was about to climb up when his mobile phone rang and he picked it up and saw that it was a Whatsapp video call and was stunned to see Prime Minister Modi's face in the screen.

He hurriedly answered it, ' Ji,'

Prime Minister Modi's voice came through loud and clear although it was a bit strained, ' Rajnathji, I just got a call from the White House and that too from the secretary of defence who requested that they need an audience with Raman. Please advise Raman to take the call.'

Rajnath Singh looked at V.k.Singh and both stared at Prime Minister Modi and waited for an explanation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sighed tiredly and said, ' Gentleman, I have no clue as to what they want with Raman but I am guessing that it has to do with the current situation you are in right this moment.'

Normally his eyes that blazed bravely seemed a bit confused as he continued, ' Just get it done and I mean that. Tell Raman that it is my personal request and also tell him that it would make me very happy if he did so. The Americans sounded really desperate and they also meant business and we know what happens when they feel both and mix both.'

Both of them stood staring at the screen as it slowly faded into darkness after the call had ended and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh looked at V.K.Singh with an incredulous expression, ' A call from the White House for Raman. What's going on, V.K? Wow! The White House.'

The incredulous expression vanished replaced by one filled with hope and he whispered to V.K.Singh, ' You think I will be allowed into the Oval office if I happen to tag along with Raman if and when he is invited to the White House.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbWyzD63iDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O4y4efIee8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo_fyI1VGmI

Trolls and memes keep me rolling in laughter. Honestly, the editing is top-notch and shows the creators punny bone in good light.

Enjoy.