Ram Sundar's Log of Random Thoughts

 And the train marches on into the night Through the peaceful morning, into the scorching noon  On a lonely metal road, with nowt but the unending flow of electric poles for company Towns come and go, lives passing by in the blink of an eye The steady beat of the wheels against rail like the heartbeat of a marathoner The passengers sleep and dream While the train marches on into the night... Time stands still here Just a waypoint enroute Bearing silent witness There - a sudden burst of sound Watch as I'm passed by A split second of light and sound And Once again, no one's around Time stands still here

As a child, one of my favourite pastimes was the consumption of good quality tea and coffee. So, when I moved to Chennai for college, I was eagerly awaiting easy access to quality Tamil filter coffee - maybe even Kumbakonam degree coffee. Day 2 at the hostel, and I enter the mess (quite groggily) at 7 am. I make a beeline for the counter dispensing hot beverages, and am instantly awake. In lieu of coffee decoction, I am confronted with a dark, burnt tasting liquid that resembles the 'liquid smoke' seasoning used in barbequing more than coffee. Despondently, I fill up my glass halfway with the liquid, and add some milk and sugar. When mom calls, I grumble over the phone, complaining about the inaccessibility of the most fundamental staple of life - filter coffee.  Switching to tea did not result in a better outlook. The tea was overly sweet, and lacked any flavour which could demarcate it from sweetened and heated milk. Something had to be done - the great Beverage Quest had beg...

  Daniel Ricciardo has been unceremoniously booted from Formula 1. For non-fans, this may seem like an inconsequential piece of news, but to me - it is devastating . A quick intro on Daniel for everyone - he's an Australian (ex)F1 driver, known for his daring late braking overtakes and an infectious positive attitude. He started his career in the top flight of F1 by beating the then reigning champion Sebastian Vettel as his team-mate. His statistics of 8 wins, 3 pole positions and 17 fastest laps may not seem impressive, but as any keen F1 fan knows - numbers don't tell the whole story. In a sport that is filled with high octane drama (much of it made up), his constant cheerfulness was, to me, the antithesis of all the vitriol thrown around in the F1 fanbase. If you started watching F1 in the recent past - you may wonder why he got the title of the 'Honey Badger'. Let's rewind the clock. The year is 2017, at the Italian Grand Prix held at Monza. Daniel's chasing...

One of the most common complaints I have heard in my time as a hosteller has been - a monkey's gotten into my room! Well, at long last, my room too was honoured. A passing monkey deigned to visit my room. The monkey was gracious enough to enter via the (latched) window, and leave via the same window - even going as far as closing it while leaving. So polite! And, rather than inconvenience us by making a mess, it decided to instead leave us perplexed. The open packet of chips left behind by my roommate? Nah. My bottle of peanut butter? Nah. A random assortment of partially filled mineral water bottles (owned by my roommate)? I'll take your entire stock. My innocent bottle of nasal drops? Yes, please. My box of ink bottles, minding their own business? That'll look better on the bed. Monkey see, monkey do, yes. But human confused. 

I still don't know what I'm getting myself into, but here we go. As the days pass me by in college, I find myself wanting to write things down, to journal and document the mundane aspects of life we often ignore. So - I have taken the completely original step of starting a blog! I do not know how often I write here - but I hope I write somewhat consistently. In any case, welcome to my ramblings. I hope I don't bore you. I do hope that I look back upon this in some years and feel nostalgic, and not awkward. (Again, totally original.)