KRITIKA P-WORLD'S BEST SIS

I remember when i visited Hyderabad, the first person i would look forward to meeting was sis. Our summers would be filled with chasing dragonflies and stringing them with a long thread (It was years before i realised this was animal..or insect cruelty). Sis would always play the cruical role of peace maker in the family, making sure that video games, legos and WWF cards were promptly returned in one piece at the end of the day. She was the appointed guardian of my BDay cake, to ensure the neighborhood gang didn't get the best pieces. Because she was the only girl in family, and was pretty, (the other cousins were dark, fat and just plain ugly), she was pampered and she still is.
None of us three brothers and sis are blood related per-se, but that hasn't stopped us from having our sibling fun and quarrels. Sis still sends rakhis to us by post, though i would love the chance to have it personally tied by her. And there is always a letter accompanying it, a welcome change from the emotionless e-mails i start at.
She puts family and others before her, and believes in charity. This attribute of her, i believe, cost her the best years of  life, teenage. Granny gave sis the ponytails, the nerd glasses, the braces and the dull gowns. By my standards, it was a "dark age in fashion" for her. Thankfully, that phase is long gone, including the fat, and she is at her presentable best.
The distance between us is what makes every family reuinion special. Had we been together, we would not have valued the bro-sis relationship. Her suggestions always get me out of tricky situations.
I feel stupid that i fought with her once and made her cry. People, never make a girl cry. It fills you with a guilt that you carry for life. Me and sis are on good terms now. But i wish i had the wisdom and forgiveness she has.
Sis complains that being born a Scorpion is a curse, 'cause nobody listens to you. But you don't need to speak to communicate. Just a nod and you know we have your back.

Here's a HiFi! to the greatest and the best sis of all, Kritika P.

YASH, A BRUSH OF KINDNESS

I saw Yash for the first time in my Bachelors at St.Philomenas. That was the time when i did not interact with anyone, boys or girls. Especially girls. I was labelled odd and arrogant. I do not remember when i started to  opened with the others in a friendly manner. It must have been the beginning of the second semester. Yash on the other hand seemed to get along with others from the beginning. 

One day in the lab, she posed a question as to whether i was a Tamilian. I never knew my origins would come to be a conversation starter. I replied i am a Hybrid, a mix of Andhra (dad), Tamil (mum) and Karnataka (grew up). That was how our friendship began.

I find her forgiving nature absolutely fascinating. I could never have that attribute, being an Arian. To her, relationships matter a lot. For me, doing the right thing matters a lot, people be dammed. At first glance, her sense of fashion, if she had one, did not impress me. Those were the days when looks mattered to me. I did not think very much of her.

But, time teaches you a lot of things. One important lesson is never to judge people by their looks. It took me some time to see Yash for the wonderful human being that she is, and i wish i had some of her qualities.   She still keeps in touch with me, even though i deleted the numbers of almost all my classmates after college. Yes, some do pop up on Facebook now and then. But in terms of personal interaction, i learnt that it is important to actually see peoples' faces, than poking them online. 

I feel privileged to have a friend like her, who messages unfailingly every morning. At a time when 'I' matters more than 'US', its always good to have a person like Yash as your friend. Cheers to her and her wonderful family, dog included.

VJ, THE DJ OF MY LIFE

People say i'm hip-hop and westernized kind of guy, and oddly i'm a  Mysorean. This is because of one guy, who opened my mind and let me explore the horizons of life and music. The point in your life where you are more likely to fall for drugs and smokes, i was channelized into music. Today if i head bang to western, R&B, pop or rap, its because of this guy. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the first person of my INDIVIDUAL series. It is Vijendra Puranik.

He takes the honor for the third time, as the slam books of my 10th and 12th also feature this guy in the first page. It was fate that i changed my section in 10th and landed up in a different one, at the last bench, next to him. We were on hi-bye terms, until he introduced me to Eminem. That completely blew my mind. I also learnt to be 'branded' observing him. 

We used to cycle back from school. Any true biker or cyclist knows that bonds formed over riding remain for life. I was surprised that this smart guy was in this section, notorious for mischief and dull heads alike. But what a year it was. I was mortified when the math teacher once slapped him in front of the entire class. He just came back calmly and sat down. Me, i would have screamed and ran out like a drama queen. But nope, not VJ. Plus, he was the class rep. That meant we had power on our side, plus access to girls phone numbers.

Unknown to him, my mom and dad had nicknamed him "style king". Whenever he came over to our house, the way he talked, dressed and acted amused my parents. Initially, when he called on the land line and spoke for 2 hours, almost daily, mum was displeased. But later, as Bob Marley said, "cause everything will be alright", mum let go. FYI, VJ did the talking and i just listened, which is true even to this day.

I don't call him up, nor visit him. I don't poke him or send him a card, but he still visits me whenever he comes to Mysore and ofcourse, via Facebook.

The lessons i learnt from him are ingrained in my psyche. Music and all things branded are my choices. More importantly, it's what i learnt from him in all those years that i still cherish to this day, including the fact that i gained a true friend.