Close Encounter of the Third Kind!

I have always had a hunch that OJ and I would be kindred souls but I had so far no tangible proof for this hunch. But his recent trip to Chennai with Sankari provided ample proof for it. Actually his very landing at the Chennai Airport started with a proof when he waved at me from the arrival lounge and rushed straight to the toilet! I felt instantly relieved. No, no, I did not mean I felt relieved by his going to the toilet. Such a thing could happen only between the Corsican Brothers but not us! What I meant was that his action of rushing straight to the toilet immediately upon arrival at his destination was very much like what I always did. I knew then that his trip to Chennai was going to be a song and all my apprehensions were just baseless.

When OJ first revealed his intentions to spend a month in Chennai to escape the chill winter weather of Kolkatta, all the fancy butterflies that Akila Mani was raving about entered my stomach to signal to the world how nervous I was. To tell you the truth, I always felt intimidated by the power of OJ’s writing and his constant striving towards perfection gave him the strong aura of a ‘hard to please’ man. So I had to start planning his visit to the minutest detail. Besides chanting my Gayathri Mantra, I started chanting ‘Cheeniya! One wrong step and you are going to be in serious trouble with OJ!’ The butterflies kept multiplying in my stomach faster than Noah’s paired creatures as the date of his arrival drew near. The final countdown was more stringent than what they normally did in Sriharikota before launching a space craft.

On the appointed day, his Indigo flight arrived on the dot and after a few anxious minutes, I could see the charming couple from Kolkatta whom Kamalji had rightly described as Biswajeet and Mala Sinha. On the way to his Service Apartment that I had fixed for him, we halted at a well-known vegetarian restaurant for our dinner and as we set forth to attack the goodies placed in front of us, I decided to break the unpleasant news to him. ‘OJ, I have some unpleasant news for you’, I started in a quivering voice. ‘Will it be so unpleasant that I may have to take the return flight tomorrow?’ he asked me in a loaded voice. A clever guy, this OJ is! He had me there. Now how would you answer such a question? First of all, I do not know his range of unpleasant news to gauge whether the one I had in my mind would qualify for his ‘Quit Chennai’ decision. Secondly I had no idea if he would just follow up his Quit Chennai threat tamely by taking the return flight or would he subject me to a grand ‘dressing down’?

So keeping my fingers crossed as is normal in such trying circumstances, I told him that his room would be available only from the next day and that for one night he might have to occupy a dilapidated room provided as an alternative by the Service Provider. He looked instantly relieved as if dilapidated rooms were really his cup of tea and forgetting that he had just dipped his fingers in the thick Sambar, he slapped me on the back and shouted ‘No worry my pal! Lead me to that room’. My eyes got misty as I thanked him profusely and from that moment onwards OJ became my best friend in the world!

What happened for the next thirty days had been eloquently narrated by him accompanied by nice photographs and I do not think I can add any further value to his eloquence. But I must mention one thing. If OJ became my best friend in the world, our wives became closer than blood sisters! They were getting closer and closer with each passing day and they started missing each other prospectively even before the couple left for Kolkatta! The penultimate day turned out to be unforgettable and when they bade goodbye to each other, their eyes were brimming with tears!

I must thank IL, Jey and Malathy for providing us a great platform to build new relationships and this month-long Odyssey of OJ and Sankari would be the first of its kind in Internet History.

 

My dear Srama
When I was your age, we had only ordinary pads which we used to give solidity to the paper on which we were scribbling our thoughts. Ever since the egoistic 'i' got attached to it, things started going wrong, very wrong indeed! I cannot but recall your recent classic about Perspectives when you say that your iPad made you mad. There are millions of people whose iPads do not hang just twice but forever! Are you not lucky there?

OJ da is NOT what comes through in his writing. The real OJ never sulks, is capable of a lot of compromise, takes people earnestly no matter how old or young they are, has a great voice that puts the 'Ashani Sankhet' (Distant Thunder) to shame, is never without a smile, can find a toilet even in Sahara, is blessed with a wonderful wife, willing to learn even from youngsters who are one tenth of his age, an ace photographer like Dhiraj Chawda, one who can view even such mundane stuff like making of dosa with childlike wonder and so on. In fact, I can go on listing it out here but I want to ration them for my other replies!

Indra and Sankari were perhaps the cosmic cause for my chancing upon OJ in IL and my persistence with him despite all his tantrums as a writer. They are now the female version of Damon and Pythias!
Sri

 

My dear syamala
There is a small correction to your opening sentence. I was not a perfect host but just a host. But OJ turned out to be the perfect guest taking everything in his stride. There were perhaps a hundred reasons for him to grumble during his month-long stay but he would not utter a word. With that kind of a guest, any host would look like a perfect host!

And believe me, OJ and Sankari have an immense capacity to see only the good in everything. My cocktail just appears perfect because of the extraordinary interest that he took in everything that I showed him. Even if I had showed the worst slums of Chennai, he would have extolled the virtues of poverty. He is indeed an amazing guy!

Krithi will be only too pleased to transfer the know how of solving the Rubik's Cube to you! Both my grand daughters are experts in it. Krithi can teach you Chess too if your are interested. She is an awesome player! When I questioned her about it, she told me that solving Rubic's Cube and playing chess were all based on the same logic! I just told her, 'Oh, I see!'

Finally, when did I become a 'Sir' for you? You always used to address me as Sri. How did the 'r' and 'i' get interchanged?
Sri

 

My dear Viji
Last month and half had been really hectic and I could hardly find time to contribute anything worthwhile in IL. I am slowly getting back to my normal routine and you will see me more frequently.

OJ and Sankari have left an indelible impression on our hearts and what an incredible addition to my family they are! Normally when we talk of addition to the family, it would mean the arrival of a newborn but in my case the addition has been caused by a couple who are almost our peers. If OJ had come alone and gone back, we would have just become much closer pals but Sankari and Indra have made all the difference! Like Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, I have already declared, 'Kolkatta Chalo!'

We had a wonderful musical session on the last day. When you and I meet next time, I'll sing 'Malarndum malaradha paadhi malar pola' for you!
Sri