Scrabble Scramble

Yes... For the words & tiles we did scramble,

To get the high-scoring words always right.

But picking the tiles was the biggest gamble

As we non-chalantly played late into the night.

If the above rhyme doesn't give you a hint of how I spent last evening, read on...

After visiting the SS Music Office & Savera Hotel to present my Mimicry CD, I had ventured along the Nungambakkam High Road with the thought of visiting 'The Park' as well. But as I neared the building, its aura & magnitude gave me such a complex that I just drove on. It then occured to me that my BITS Junior Lavanya & her hubby Parameshwar were staying in an apartment complex nearby. After a mobile check, it took me 5 mins to join them in their apartment.

What started off as a brief chat over a cup of coffee had the curtains coming down only after a good dinner & a round of Scrabble. The Best & quite mysterious evening, I'd say, for the following reasons - I hadn't stayed that long (around 4.5 hrs) in a friend's place, I was basking in the hospitality of PRP (aka Parameshwar) & Lavs (thatz the way he calls her) and I never knew I could get hooked to a game of scrabble that I finished my dinner at record speed.

The game that started off a bit slow, coz I was playing it at snail's place, took off when I 'tile'd INTERIOR using all the 7 tiles I had got. Now that I had an additional 50 points & the lead, I cud afford to outbabble the game of scrabble (I'm writing this line just for the rhyme).

While this was happening & my mind was placing bets on my flair for alphabets, I couldn't help but notice PRP & Lavs shuttling between the drawing room & the kitchen taking turns at getting the dinner ready. Though I didn't have the right tiles, certain words whizzed past my mind - UNDERSTANDING, CARING, LOVING & HOSPITABLE - which wouldn't have garnered any points in the game but I knew how to win another :) Thanks, Lavs & PRP.

It is lonely at the Top. Is it?

A single water droplet on a lotus leaf
A solitary swan in the same pond

A lone donor in the blood bank
And the only tie I've ever donned

The sparkle, the grace, the kind heart and the elegance
Do stand out for sure. Any looks askance?

If loneliness is by the virtue of the top position occupied
Is loneliness alone, with many other virtues present cap-a-pie'd?

The Grapes must be sour

The following is a snippet from the conversation I had with my friend Lalith in 'The Cascade' restaurant (While eating a fruit salad, with green grapes in it)

Lalith (after tasting a grape from the salad): THE GRAPES ARE SOUR
Me (with a bit of mischief): SAID THE FOX
Lalith (as always): THAT COULDN'T REACH THEM

Everyone's Invited - Part II

This is what I wrote in a card given to Dheepa Renganathan (I worked with her in CNH AOM) & Suraj

Deep within the heart dwells a feeling of HappinesS
Happiness in conveying my wishes to both of U
Everyday, walking hand-in-hand with each otheR
Everyday, may life offer U only the Best & lotsaA
Peace & Prosperity. Greetings to the Groom SuraJ
And the bride Dheepa.

Everyone's Invited - Part I

I had written this for Mekala's wedding with Sathya (observe the first & last characters in each line below)

My Dear Friends and Beloved ColleagueS
Each one of your’s valuable presence is A
Keenly anticipated thing, as we tie the knoT
At the Temple town of India’s beautiful SoutH
Let the Warmest Wishes from your FamilY
And Friends ensure we live happily ever aftA