but it was too costly. Even training on the rusted Cessnas in this rusted Kerala cost u a fortune of over 10 lakhs and think about training under some good companies!! Though becoming a commercial pilot was at my heart, I was the same interested in pursuing the path of an air force pilot. Thatz how I wrote the combined defense services (CDS) exam. I passed it!! but then was the interview! The interview is much harder than what the exam is. 7 days interview. It was in between that interview that I got the very first sms from you. I wrote a story as reply, I knew later, that u got only the first 2 lines! I thot whatever I filled in that box went 2 ur fone.

Only 2 people out of those 60 were selected for the medicals. The medicals, I’ve heard, is funny. They ask u to ’smile’. When u open up ur mouth with all the 28 odd teeth, they say, ’smile ur buttocks’. I didn’t belong to that 2. That was the end of my air force carrier. I don’t have anymore chances! I wrote the CDS again, and was called for the army, 4 months b4. Through CDS, you can get the best post when u enter the defense. but I’m too much in love with the oceans now! I didn’t go.

I haven’t lost my desire to be airborne. Maybe I would have a biplane for myself…

hey, Richard Bach has a biplane. He’s a philosophy-fiction-ideas-life mixed writer too. Thatz what attracted me to him.

Still I strain my neck and wonder over the speck soaring far above.

14 Oct, 2002

wherez my blue fairy?

I shud’ve been roaming with priya these days, after the exams. We’d planned to go to mattancherry, the jew palace and other such places she haven’t yet seen and cherai again. She must be seeing better places now, right? Lucky girl! Enjoying without me. dushta… Did u see AI (“artificial intelligence”)? I wish I had met with the same blue fairy that Pinocchio once met.

Hey, I went for swimming in the nearby river (meenachil aar), after a long time.. it was refreshing. I used to go there and swim a lot, years b4, without any company. The same now. I think I’ll go and swim there whenever I feel like. Want to come with me? sure, u r most welcome! O’ I love playing with water..and ofcourse, playing with u too. When I was young, i.e. when they were in Nigeria and me at my ‘amma veedu’ at chengalam, I used to go to the nearby ‘valari’ (stream) and play and catch ‘meen’ ~ vazhakka varayan, nettiyel ponnan, etc etc, tying one end of the ‘thorth’ on my neck and catching with the other end open. Sometimes there wud be cousins or friends so that we together hold the ends and do the part. Mummy had a lot of angala-penganmar that I always had some company and really I love them a lot for that still. I was there from LKG to class I. I used to go to st.joseph’s kunnumbhagam then. Lalu uncle used to tell me the story of amoeba and her little children when I used to sleep with him. I used to fight with kitty chechi. Once I even pee-peed on her head when she was lying on bed. I will do that on u next time we make kachara. It wud be refreshing.

am a nostalgic person and I love to hold on to those sweet memories. u know, when I remember abt georgy’s childhood, one thing that comes to my memory often is this : he joined at alphonsa, bgm in LKG when I was in class 3 or 4 there. Whenever he got any sweets for bdays of his friends, he used to keep one for me till evening when we met. I still can’t deduce why he didn’t eat them all?! at such a young stage! and I devoured what he gave me without any shame!

So much blunders to keep u bored. Will tell the remaining later or u will start dozing off in front of toshu. bye da.

saw stuart little 2 today. Inspiring! Every cloud has a silver lining! thank you for standing with me in happiness and sorrow. I love you so much. Study well and keep faith. All the breast!

Sept 4, 2002