My favourite author - R.K Narayanan

I read an article on R.K Narayanan in the Sunday edition of the Indian Express (mag.
section).It had a title that went like 'Is he a mysorean or a madrasi?'.But as you read the
article you will realise that the writer was not exactly contemplating ,he was making a
strong case for mysore.

I do not know if it Was Chennai or Mysore that struck a chord in Narayanan's heart.But his works have definitely struck chords in mine.

His writings were based on the day to day lives of the common man and that's what was
most endearing to me. 'Truly Indian ' would be the phrase that best described his works.
Be it 'Swami and friends' or 'Malgudi days' the stories engulfed me completely. I could sit
for hours reading his books without getting bored.The English was simple yet used so
powerfully .The way he conveyed emotions , the settings of that period, description of his
characters ,I could go on....he was simply amazing.

When the school broke for a summer vacation after a week of gruelling exams I could
relate completely to the joys of swami and his friends when they got their summer break.When Swami got a blasting from his parents for doing something mischievous I could relate to
my own experiences.So encompassing were narayanan's works...they covered your every mood!

As for his short stories - you couldn't get to understand India better.Stories were spun completely around the lives of the common man. He painted the shades of life so beautifully,be it the life of a watchamn ,a postman, a school-master or a roadside astrologer. When you read his story you get transported to its locale and find yourself an invisible observer amidst the characters that he has sketched so beautifully.

He is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers of our times.

Woes of a lift operator??

The other day while I was chatting with my colleagues during our tea break I noticed the service lift as it opened on my floor. I saw the lift operator sitting on a stool near the panel of buttons.He was expressionless and was mechanically keying in the digits. I suddenly found myself wondering what he must be feeling about his job. Going up and down 12 floors for maybe half a day (if the job was done in shifts) !
I started to think of all those times when I stepped out on the station after a long train journey. The feeling of travelling in a train used to persist for a little more than half a day after which I returned to normalcy :)
If a train journey could affect me this way what an effect this job must be having on him!

Cold

Running nose, streaming eyes , a dozen phlegm expelling sneezes (yuck !) that's how I've been for the past 3 days : ( How I hate cold.
After my day off yesterday I had to drag myself to office this morning. Traffic was at its horrible best and to top it all some dust particle entered one of my already streaming eyes and scratched it, leaving my poor eye all red and watery.

Now at work for around 6 hours the air conditioning seems to have taken a toll on my already aching limbs.Sigh !

Its been a testing day but I will stand up to it .........................hopefully :)