Catch a rabbit by the ears...

This is more of a reminisce than a blog.  But given the audience - what the hell!! I remember this one time that all the villains of Gajapathi house got together and decided that a rabbit stew was the flavour of the season and we ought to try it out. The aforementioned villains - yours truly among others - decided that flicking a rabbit or two from the school wildlife enclosure is a good starting point.

A plan is thereby drawn up and the team put together. They set off after the duty master's report at around 1 AM on a night with plenty of moonlight. The team comprised of 3 or 4 look-outs around the park and a core group of 'skilled operatives' to carry out the actual operation.  This team was needless to say - led by Manoj (code name 'Scaler') who has a great future in covert ops for the RAW rather than bugging and debugging code for the Japs.  Yours truly (code name 'Tallguy') and Uma ('Meaouw') being the other operatives.

So Scaler does what he does best - he scales the fence in under 10 secs and jumps inside the enclosure - frightening all the rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, swans and the rest of the menagerie, raising a ruckus enough to wake up Moghul house.  However, Saikorians being Saikorians dont give a damn once the lights-out siren goes off; and all is well. Now with some amazing footwork only a trained footballer of his caliber can drum-up, scaler manages to catch a rabbit and neutralize it by holding it up by its ears. Time elapsed : 32 secs.

The plan calls for tossing this rabbit to Tallguy who's hand reaches over the fence. This is to ensure that the rabbit is not set loose outside the enclosure in case the catch is missed. Scaler moves back to the fence and does exactly that. Tall guy catches the rabbit and brings it out. Time elapsed : 1.05 mins.

Meaouw now brings up the supply-and-demand matrix and figures out that a single scrawny creature will not be enough to satisfy all the Red Gorrillas waiting back at base. He urges Scaler to go for a second snatch mission. Cursing all things holy and unholy - Scaler obliges. Time elapsed : 2.07 mins (ya - it was quite an argument)

Tallguy in the meantime is left holding a rabbit by its ears. Being the soft-hearted guy he is - he starts thinking about the rabbit. Here in his hand are the only parts of the rabbit that might not be eaten! He feels bad that all of the rabbit is suspended by those fragile ears. He is concerned that the rabbit might be hurting. Tallguy lets go of the rabbit's ears and holds it by its torso and thats when all hell breaks loose.  The rabbit scratches Tallguy and makes a run for it #^&@@###  Time elapsed : 2.15 mins.

This is something that cannot happen. The theft which would not have been detected due to the large no. of rabbits in the penn, would now be apparent if a rabbit was found running around the park. Scaler being quite notorious in spearheading these kind of operations would be suspected. And once Scaler is interrogated, all other team members would be detected, caught and brutually punished!!! Armageddon.

Tallguy and Meaouw now run behind the rabbit trying to catch it. Meaouw calls out to the look-outs to join in the chase and help re-capture the animal. The park is a hotbed of activity with 5 guys running around and making wild dives and swipes at an animal which has the speed to outrun them, the agility to dodge them and the sharp reflexes to evade them. Time elapsed : 3.00 mins

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Time elapsed : 5.00 mins - no luck

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Time elapsed : 8.00 mins - we are in deep shit

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Time elapsed : 10.00 mins - rabbit 'almost' captured twice

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Time elapsed : 12.20 mins - Scaler moves back from his primary location to help us

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Time elapsed : 15.00 mins - Tallguy has been dunked once and warned 5 times that he will regret this by the irate crew

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Time elapsed : 17.15 mins - finally someone figures out that we are equipped with flashlights and tells the other guys that a rabbit is blinded by sudden light. (Apparently Mr.Appalaswamy mentioned this in class long long ago!!)

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Time elapsed : 19.30 mins. - The rabbit is finally re-captured and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

Some of the crew is in favor of aborting the op and getting out - rabbit or no rabbit. The others want payoff for all the trouble. A vote is taken and Scaler is sent back in. Tallguy is reminded in the nicest language that its a bloody rabbit,  and bloody rabbits are supposed to be held by the ears.  Scaler now grabs a second rabbit and tosses it to Tallguy who retrieves it rather dejectedly :(   Time elapsed : 22.00 mins

Mission is completed. The rabbit stew is cooked next day and rice 'requisitioned' from the mess. All Gajapathians enjoy the Rabbit meat except for Tallguy who is a veggie and has to contend with pickle and rice!!! WTF %^*@@&&))

Moral of the story : Do stuff exactly the way it is supposed to be done - whether you like it or not!!  That's all I can think of. If anyone else learnt something else - lemme know :)

We all need a push sometimes

Recently a house-mate reminded me that I had stopped blogging and I should write something again. I was surprised that someone actually felt so. Afterall, people in school weren't really huge fans of my expressiveness :) !!! Maybe guys just understand me better now.

My blogging flagged off in a fit of boredom one day in office about 2 years ago. "An idle man's brain is a devil's workshop" is one of the first quotes we all picked up in school and it is actually true - as all those of us who are on bench sometimes will agree whole heartedly. Now, soon after this, my workload went up and my real career put an end to my blogging career. I have tried numerous times but failed - opened up this page and stared it for a few minutes before closing it again and moving on to more 'seemingly constructive' things. But this gentleman's request to renew my blog kicked me into action once again.

It is strange that we all need a push to do things. Usually we need a heavy push to do stuff that we are not very keen on doing. But even for things that we like and cherish, we atleast need a slight nudge to get going. But once things are in motion - the Kinetic Energy will keep them going. So thanks Ekambaram for giving me that nudge. You will see me actively writing stuff here which people might or might not want to read!! But I will nevertheless plough on - oblivious to the grumbling or catcalls of my readers. This rock has been set in motion and now it rolls - or is it 'Rocks n Rolls' :) ??

Gajapathian!!
What's that??

I wrote a blog about why I cannot write a blog. However more than the topic, the name of my blog - Gajapathian created more interest and curiosity in people. Since then, people have asked me what's a Gajapathian.

Some knowledgeable folks have suggested that its got something to do with an 'Elephant'. Well, it certainly does - but certainly not in reference to me being the size of one!!!! Gajapathi is a dynasty which ruled North Andhra circa 1300 AD. I would want to lay to rest all speculation that I am a decendant or something of this great dynasty. I wouldn't even think of claiming to be one!

My relation with this dynasty is something as follows : I am an alumnus of Sainik School, Korukonda (hereinafter referred to as 'Saikorian') and we had houses named after the great dynasties of southern India. Gajapathi house was one among them and I was a part of this house for 7 long years. Now we were fiercely spirited about our house and always strived for one-upmanship of the same whether it be in sports, academics, parades or whatnot!

Saikorians are a crazy lot you know! They are intelligent but also foolish; they are hard but also soft; they are fearless but also timid; they are shrewd but also simple. These are the kind of guys who can be physically present but mentally absent and vice versa - dont ask me how!! Some things are inexplicable and Saikorians are completely incomprehensible in some regards.

Gajapathians expound the qualities of the dynasty that they are named after. They are one hell of a clan!! Royal, brave, exceedingly smart, extravagant, open-hearted, affectionate and yes once again - completely crazy. Now, whether I like it or not - I seem to have picked up most of these 'features'. I take great pride in being a Saikorian and I take greater pride in being a Gajapathian. Hence when I was thinking for an appropriate name for my blog - I homed in on this. I want my articles to be hallmarks of Gajapathian qualities. I may not strike a cord in someone when they read my articles; they need not be moved by them, they need not be provoked by them; they need not get tears of sadness or peals of laughter - but yes they should certainly be able to identify with me and what I stand for........after all - I am a Gajapathian!!!

Why I cannot write a blog..

I have been wanting to write a blog for long. Now comes the important part... what do I write about??? I have started writing on a myriad of topics and left off in between without publishing them. Well I simply couldn't finish due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes I felt that the topic is too mundane, sometimes I simply couldn't get my thoughts together, sometimes I discover someone has done it much before and much better than me and sometimes I really didnt have the time or patience to finish it!!!!!

So, that set me thinking - what does anyone want to write about?? And what would set them to sit down and finish what they started out to do? The answer is plainly very simple - people want to express something they feel very strongly about. Something that would make them sit and give it their time, energy and patience.

Unfortunately I discover I don't have too many things that I feel about very strongly. I am a normal man going about doing my things in a normal fashion in a normal world. So what can 'normal' people like me have to express? I am still looking for answers. I hope that one of these days I would find the answer to this. Till then, maybe my half-baked attempts to write widely acclaimed, award winning, record shattering, people moving pieces of literature wouldn't be too spectacular!

"To strive to seek to find and never to yield" is something I believe in. Let me wait for inspiration to come to me. Let me wait for an idea to germinate in me. Let me wait for a cloud of thought in an otherwise clear sky that would shower in words of wisdom. That day I will set out to write my masterpiece.......!!!!!!