Anu would love to be here!!!!!!
Anu would love to be here.
He placed the lens cover back on the camera and started climbing up. The towering rock rose up to forty feet in front of him. It was the best place in the jungle on a humid Monday afternoon. Everyone who would like to have a bird's eye view of the green valley and serene river have to climb up this rock that is right in the middle of the jungle. Water sprinkling everywhere, the exterior of the rock was a sight to watch.
Anu would love to be here.
He knew the management would never let Anu come anywhere near the Jungle or the Camp or the water falls. Girls were not allowed on the field. They were confined to the research laboratory.She detested her job and envied him. He detested his job and loved her.
There was a stinking smell everywhere around the rock. For the first couple of weeks, it got on to his nerves. However as days went by he grew accustomed to such smells. Working inside a Jungle, though as an electrical engineer toughened with will , was not easy at this altitude. He reached the top of the rock. From the top he could say that the forest was in a mess. The giant cats were growling in their signature tune. He went to the edge of the rock, looked at them, listened to them and slowly started setting up the 8MP EOS – A routine since this project had been initiated.
Anu would love to be here.
Since his ELT days, he had developed an admiration for this bubbly next batch girl who unfortunately was confined to the air-conditioned interiors of the Lab – located comfortably near the Far East corner of the Game Reserve.In the final phase of their ELT, they had been assigned on different projects – different offices. She never knew him until he sent a mail. She loathed him at first. She fought tooth and nail with him but he never gave in. He did not even remember the face of this girl. Then they started talking. But he seldom spoke because most of the speech was done by Anu. He tried at times to meet her but she would chase him off. It was her moment. She would say that it would be difficult for you. Dont do it. But still he managed to get to her place just to see her face and listen to that hearty laughs. But even then he seldom spoke. She did most of the talking. He could be in the vicinity and stare at her as long as he wanted but he could not say anything back. He would've never let that happen with anyone else but this was Anu. So he let her inside where no one was ever allowed in his life.
Anu would love to be here.
He checked the aperture and shutter speed of the EOS and made a mental note that he should ask the technician to get an extra 1 GB flash card. It was an unwritten rule in the Organisation that Field Cameramen would not carry the toolkit. It was the technician’s job to take up the calibrations and enhancements. He had a similar view. He was pretty lousy with the tools. He could never take a proper lens cleaning without scratching the prism inside the SLR. Anu on the other hand loved doing such things with a remarkable finesse. She wanted to be an geek. When the IT Major wanted to offer her a campus placement she politely took it without even thinking about it. That's why they met in the first place. But Inner peace by Aurobindo was much more interesting to her than Roger.S.Pressman’s Software Engineering principles.
Anu would love to be here.
Their relationship had never been clearly defined. No one, not even them knew where it was heading. It all happened suddenly and so fast that neither of them could fathom something out of it. He suspected that the second most important factor which influenced her decision of joining this Wildlife Research was that he was also offered a job here. The first should be the Research and ofcourse the wildlife.
He fought with her all the time. She argued with him always. She screamed at him. But she was with him almost all the time. They shared a remarkable chemistry. They were the thickest of friends half a second and the bitterest of enemies in the next split. He flunked the very first Project assigned to him. She excelled in hers. He was selected by another project team then. She grew into a star in her team. Her inspirational speeches won her admirations from even senior management which is normally tight lipped. She was the star there. She made the place more lively than anyone else could have. She was the most sought after resource. There were instances when PL's fought with each other for her. And all this was in just 10 months of joining the company. Inspite of all that she was very close with him. She was changing him without him knowing that. Even she dint know that. They were talking laughing and having a great time and he admired her so much he fell in love without even knowing what he was doing. He never told her about this and generally kept his mouth shut all along. He was proud being associated with her.
Anu would love to be here.
He was completed with the shots. He had to leave. He had a long trek in front of him. He had to reach the TWIN WATERFALLS to collect the samples for research. The collection of Snake Venom was one of the toughest jobs. He was in love with the snakes right from childhood. He was amazed at their abilities even without limbs. The way they lived their life and they way they protected themselves from the big bad world left him speechless. He loved this job better than the old one. It was his kinda job. He was a Wildlife survey Officer now in this Himalayan Game Reserve. He felt his self whenever he was out in the mountains. He was also doing Freelance Photography. He was by now quite a famous wildlife photographer in Nepal and India.
Anu would love to be here.
He walked along the stream with its crystal clear sparkling water. He came to the rope bridge and started walking carefully holding the backpack for it held the field equipments like the sample bottles and films and snake collections bags. He momentarily stopped at the center of the bridge to take a look around the area for some kinda wildlife activity. It was so calm and peaceful and all that he could hear was the clicks from his Timex. He looked at it and breathed a heavy sigh. Then he started walking to the end of the bridge. He felt a bit thirsty and hungry. He climbed down to the stream and sat there on the bank with his thoughts filling about Anu.
Anu would love to be here.
She liked him too. She kept saying he was a real sweet guy. Although she dint trust him at the start, she started liking him once they started talking. Soon they found out they had so many common things between them. They were the best of friends that nobody knew. Noone knew about them until one fine day. It was that day when He decided enough is enough and quit his job. He was doing well but could not keep him going against his instincts. The day he left his job, she cried. He promised to call her soon but never did. But she knew how to track him and then came to know what he was and where he was.
It was a rude shock to her Manager when she told that she was quitting. She had got the job as a Research assistant in the same Organisation which conducted research and was majorly into Environmentalist Issues. It was backed up and sponsored by major companies. She was a well known Columnist by then and He was happy that she was there. On her very first day of induction, she was told that she’d be required to work with the Research Department of the Organisation whereas her friend would be in the field most of the time doing collection, photography and field studies that gave the data to be analyzed in the lab. She tried to reason with the HR manager that the very reason why she chose this job over a plush software job. But all went down in vain.
Anu would love to be here.
Helen of Troy grunted as if it was protesting its arrest. The 300 pound bear sitting right next to the wired fence was nicknamed The Helen of Troy simply because of her sheer size. She was kept in a 10 acre fenced area.The laboratory was located in a remote corner of Nepal. The employees knew nothing about the Helen of Troy until a Brad Pitt version of it was released in the town – dubbed in Hindi. Anu hated the movie. She drew comparisons with an old movie of the same story. She did not like Brad Pitt.
Anu would love to be here.
He was walking along the giant coniferous trees to his SUV. She loved those big trees. She had an uncanny knack of talking to the trees. The trees listened to her. When she ordered, the trees obliged. They shared a relationship perplexing to the three dimensional world. Perhaps they worked in a higher dimension.She wanted to be in the field; touch the wild flowers and say hi to the tiny insects crawling the huge forest grounds. However the management did not think so. She raised a hue and cry over the issue. She vociferously protested the gender bias.But it wasn’t gender discrimination. It was more of a safety regulation. Field work in the jungle was too taxing for the women employees. So they were mostly given office work, whereas the supposedly tough men were made in charge of running the field studies and survey's.
Anu would love to be here.
By then he had reached the far end of the forest.He walked over the fortified wall of the check dam the organisation had built for the locals living in that area.He went to the ladder and climbed down to the bottom of the dam where the electrical room was there.He leaned on the motor and looked around.From there, the hills presented a fabulous picture. It was very chill and getting slightly dark. The lights were blazing from the distant town some 40 kms away. The sky was filled with the spongy clouds. The color combination was mind-boggling. He inspected the auxiliary motors quickly and walked to the ladder.
Anu would love to be here.
He checked his watch. He had exactly an hour to log the LLF report and reach the Office for the briefing. He typed everything including the increase in poaching levels though he knew it was not gonna be considered.The weather was enthralling. The energy was almost visible. The forest had its own personality. Many of his friends held the opinion that the forest was living. Though the pay was more, the excitement of climbing a tree to inspect the injured kingfisher's nest was the USP of that job. More than that he loved it.
Anu would love to be here.
He walked briskly to the SUV. His favorite part in the whole day was the drive. The drive from the facility to these interior parts of the jungle was an uphill task. The roads were not good and thats why he loved it. His 2800 litre SUV was good on all terrains. He loved the drive up till the collection point and the return in the evening sun. He reached the SUV finally. He loaded the backpack into the back and sat on the rock. He took the tobacco cylinder and lighted it. He looked at the cigarette. Anu hated him smoking but never told him anything about that. They had small fights now and then about it. And he would stop it for her but he had his occasional puffs. She dint mind that. He threw the cigarette away and started his drive back to the facility.
Anu would love to be here.
He looked at the seat next to him. It was empty. He never allowed anyone to sit there. They both had gone on drives in the SUV quite a few times. All those times when she is with the nature, she loses her composed nature. She gets cranky. Those were their intimate moments. They had walked along the plush meadows together. Though she was not into the forest as much as He has, she knows the forest floor like a book. She has her favorite spots marked with some of her favorite trees and rocks. She was ecstatic when he took her to the twin waterfall which was in the unauthorized area of the game reserve.
Anu would love to be here.
He almost hit the tree branch when he got back to himself in the driving seat of the SUV. He had veered off the track slightly and the back tyre had skidded in the mud. He exerted all his energy and turned the SUV back into the track. He checked the electric fences for damages on his way back. Those electric fences were in place to prevent wild animals from entering the facility. Though many of the GEEKS raised their concern against it, he knew it was of very minute charge capacity and it would'nt kill any animal. Even Anu ahd fought with him about this issue. She had even written a column in last year's Reader's Digest. It did cause a stir in the organisation but the management never raised the issue against Anu, considering the merits she had within the facility and with the senior management.
Anu would love to be here.
He reached the facility and parked the SUV in front of his office and walked straight towards the canteen. His stomach had been growling since he started walking back. He was late as usual for the lunch. The Chef at the facility was standing outside the canteen with his hands on his hips.He apologised as he went past him into the canteen. The chef never said anything. He went to their favorite corner in the canteen. There was a big window in that corner which she liked a lot. As he slowly munched his roti, he saw the cafeteria was almost half full. He just wondered and looked at the time. It was almost the Evening Tea Break time.
Anu would love to be here.
He stared at his opposite chair.
Anu would love to be here.
She loved rice with yogurt. If the lunch-break was long enough, she would finish all the yogurt available in the fridge.
He looked at the entrance.
Anu would love to be here.
He stared at the empty chair.
Anu would love to be here.
He was slowly losing it. Anu would love to be there on the forest floor… She would love to be on the top of the check dam inspecting the 30 KW twin gensets. She would love to get drenched in the drizzle from the water sprinkling around the rocky terrain of the waterfalls. She would love to eat yogurt.And he would love to stare at her. He would love to get admonished by her. He would love to be just with her… in this forest.
Anu would love to be here.
The chicken curry, he loved so much tasted bitter. He placed the spoon on the table and took out his hand kerchief. Anu hated tears. At times he would crib when things were not going right but she would scold him whenever she saw his moist eyes. She never let him cry. According to her tears didn’t serve any purpose.He wiped a tear off his eye. She wouldn’t like to see it. She wouldn’t see it. The chef came from the far corner towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He held the chef's hand tightly and closed his eyes.
Anu would love to be here.
He broke down at once. Tears were flowing freely. The chef's question "are you alright??" was fading away in his ears.
Anu would love to be here… in this facility… on the forest floor… in this world… amongst all of us…
AnU would love to be here.
May her soul rest in peace.
He placed the lens cover back on the camera and started climbing up. The towering rock rose up to forty feet in front of him. It was the best place in the jungle on a humid Monday afternoon. Everyone who would like to have a bird's eye view of the green valley and serene river have to climb up this rock that is right in the middle of the jungle. Water sprinkling everywhere, the exterior of the rock was a sight to watch.
Anu would love to be here.
He knew the management would never let Anu come anywhere near the Jungle or the Camp or the water falls. Girls were not allowed on the field. They were confined to the research laboratory.She detested her job and envied him. He detested his job and loved her.
There was a stinking smell everywhere around the rock. For the first couple of weeks, it got on to his nerves. However as days went by he grew accustomed to such smells. Working inside a Jungle, though as an electrical engineer toughened with will , was not easy at this altitude. He reached the top of the rock. From the top he could say that the forest was in a mess. The giant cats were growling in their signature tune. He went to the edge of the rock, looked at them, listened to them and slowly started setting up the 8MP EOS – A routine since this project had been initiated.
Anu would love to be here.
Since his ELT days, he had developed an admiration for this bubbly next batch girl who unfortunately was confined to the air-conditioned interiors of the Lab – located comfortably near the Far East corner of the Game Reserve.In the final phase of their ELT, they had been assigned on different projects – different offices. She never knew him until he sent a mail. She loathed him at first. She fought tooth and nail with him but he never gave in. He did not even remember the face of this girl. Then they started talking. But he seldom spoke because most of the speech was done by Anu. He tried at times to meet her but she would chase him off. It was her moment. She would say that it would be difficult for you. Dont do it. But still he managed to get to her place just to see her face and listen to that hearty laughs. But even then he seldom spoke. She did most of the talking. He could be in the vicinity and stare at her as long as he wanted but he could not say anything back. He would've never let that happen with anyone else but this was Anu. So he let her inside where no one was ever allowed in his life.
Anu would love to be here.
He checked the aperture and shutter speed of the EOS and made a mental note that he should ask the technician to get an extra 1 GB flash card. It was an unwritten rule in the Organisation that Field Cameramen would not carry the toolkit. It was the technician’s job to take up the calibrations and enhancements. He had a similar view. He was pretty lousy with the tools. He could never take a proper lens cleaning without scratching the prism inside the SLR. Anu on the other hand loved doing such things with a remarkable finesse. She wanted to be an geek. When the IT Major wanted to offer her a campus placement she politely took it without even thinking about it. That's why they met in the first place. But Inner peace by Aurobindo was much more interesting to her than Roger.S.Pressman’s Software Engineering principles.
Anu would love to be here.
Their relationship had never been clearly defined. No one, not even them knew where it was heading. It all happened suddenly and so fast that neither of them could fathom something out of it. He suspected that the second most important factor which influenced her decision of joining this Wildlife Research was that he was also offered a job here. The first should be the Research and ofcourse the wildlife.
He fought with her all the time. She argued with him always. She screamed at him. But she was with him almost all the time. They shared a remarkable chemistry. They were the thickest of friends half a second and the bitterest of enemies in the next split. He flunked the very first Project assigned to him. She excelled in hers. He was selected by another project team then. She grew into a star in her team. Her inspirational speeches
Anu would love to be here.
He was completed with the shots. He had to leave. He had a long trek in front of him. He had to reach the TWIN WATERFALLS to collect the samples for research. The collection of Snake Venom was one of the toughest jobs. He was in love with the snakes right from childhood. He was amazed at their abilities even without limbs. The way they lived their life and they way they protected themselves from the big bad world left him speechless. He loved this job better than the old one. It was his kinda job. He was a Wildlife survey Officer now in this Himalayan Game Reserve. He felt his self whenever he was out in the mountains. He was also doing Freelance Photography. He was by now quite a famous wildlife photographer in Nepal and India.
Anu would love to be here.
He walked along the stream with its crystal clear sparkling water. He came to the rope bridge and started walking carefully holding the backpack for it held the field equipments like the sample bottles and films and snake collections bags. He momentarily stopped at the center of the bridge to take a look around the area for some kinda wildlife activity. It was so calm and peaceful and all that he could hear was the clicks from his Timex. He looked at it and breathed a heavy sigh. Then he started walking to the end of the bridge. He felt a bit thirsty and hungry. He climbed down to the stream and sat there on the bank with his thoughts filling about Anu.
Anu would love to be here.
She liked him too. She kept saying he was a real sweet guy. Although she dint trust him at the start, she started liking him once they started talking. Soon they found out they had so many common things between them. They were the best of friends that nobody knew. Noone knew about them until one fine day. It was that day when He decided enough is enough and quit his job. He was doing well but could not keep him going against his instincts. The day he left his job, she cried. He promised to call her soon but never did. But she knew how to track him and then came to know what he was and where he was.
It was a rude shock to her Manager when she told that she was quitting. She had got the job as a Research assistant in the same Organisation which conducted research and was majorly into Environmentalist Issues. It was backed up and sponsored by major companies. She was a well known Columnist by then and He was happy that she was there. On her very first day of induction, she was told that she’d be required to work with the Research Department of the Organisation whereas her friend would be in the field most of the time doing collection, photography and field studies that gave the data to be analyzed in the lab. She tried to reason with the HR manager that the very reason why she chose this job over a plush software job. But all went down in vain.
Anu would love to be here.
Helen of Troy grunted as if it was protesting its arrest. The 300 pound bear sitting right next to the wired fence was nicknamed The Helen of Troy simply because of her sheer size. She was kept in a 10 acre fenced area.The laboratory was located in a remote corner of Nepal. The employees knew nothing about the Helen of Troy until a Brad Pitt version of it was released in the town – dubbed in Hindi. Anu hated the movie. She drew comparisons with an old movie of the same story. She did not like Brad Pitt.
Anu would love to be here.
He was walking along the giant coniferous trees to his SUV. She loved those big trees. She had an uncanny knack of talking to the trees. The trees listened to her. When she ordered, the trees obliged. They shared a relationship perplexing to the three dimensional world. Perhaps they worked in a higher dimension.She wanted to be in the field; touch the wild flowers and say hi to the tiny insects crawling the huge forest grounds. However the management did not think so. She raised a hue and cry over the issue. She vociferously protested the gender bias.But it wasn’t gender discrimination. It was more of a safety regulation. Field work in the jungle was too taxing for the women employees. So they were mostly given office work, whereas the supposedly tough men were made in charge of running the field studies and survey's.
Anu would love to be here.
By then he had reached the far end of the forest.He walked over the fortified wall of the check dam the organisation had built for the locals living in that area.He went to the ladder and climbed down to the bottom of the dam where the electrical room was there.He leaned on the motor and looked around.From there, the hills presented a fabulous picture. It was very chill and getting slightly dark. The lights were blazing from the distant town some 40 kms away. The sky was filled with the spongy clouds. The color combination was mind-boggling. He inspected the auxiliary motors quickly and walked to the ladder.
Anu would love to be here.
He checked his watch. He had exactly an hour to log the LLF
Anu would love to be here.
He walked briskly to the SUV. His favorite part in the whole day was the drive. The drive from the facility to these interior parts of the jungle was an uphill task. The roads were not good and thats why he loved it. His 2800 litre SUV was good on all terrains. He loved the drive up till the collection point and the return in the evening sun. He reached the SUV finally. He loaded the backpack into the back and sat on the rock. He took the tobacco cylinder and lighted it. He looked at the cigarette. Anu hated him smoking but never told him anything about that. They had small fights now and then about it. And he would stop it for her but he had his occasional puffs. She dint mind that. He threw the cigarette away and started his drive back to the facility.
Anu would love to be here.
He looked at the seat next to him. It was empty. He never allowed anyone to sit there. They both had gone on drives in the SUV quite a few times. All those times when she is with the nature, she loses her composed nature. She gets cranky. Those were their intimate moments. They had walked along the plush meadows together. Though she was not into the forest as much as He has, she knows the forest floor like a book. She has her favorite spots marked with some of her favorite trees and rocks. She was ecstatic when he took her to the twin waterfall which was in the unauthorized area of the game reserve.
Anu would love to be here.
He almost hit the tree branch when he got back to himself in the driving seat of the SUV. He had veered off the track slightly and the back tyre had skidded in the mud. He exerted all his energy and turned the SUV back into the track. He checked the electric fences for damages on his way back. Those electric fences were in place to prevent wild animals from entering the facility. Though many of the GEEKS raised their concern against it, he knew it was of very minute charge capacity and it would'nt kill any animal. Even Anu ahd fought with him about this issue. She had even written a column in last year's Reader's Digest. It did cause a stir in the organisation but the management never raised the issue against Anu, considering the merits she had within the facility and with the senior management.
Anu would love to be here.
He reached the facility and parked the SUV in front of his office and walked straight towards the canteen. His stomach had been growling since he started walking back. He was late as usual for the lunch. The Chef at the facility was standing outside the canteen with his hands on his hips.He apologised as he went past him into the canteen. The chef never said anything. He went to their favorite corner in the canteen. There was a big window in that corner which she liked a lot. As he slowly munched his roti, he saw the cafeteria was almost half full. He just wondered and looked at the time. It was almost the Evening Tea Break time.
Anu would love to be here.
He stared at his opposite chair.
Anu would love to be here.
She loved rice with yogurt. If the lunch-break was long enough, she would finish all the yogurt available in the fridge.
He looked at the entrance.
Anu would love to be here.
He stared at the empty chair.
Anu would love to be here.
He was slowly losing it. Anu would love to be there on the forest floor… She would love to be on the top of the check dam inspecting the 30 KW twin gensets. She would love to get drenched in the drizzle from the water sprinkling around the rocky terrain of the waterfalls. She would love to eat yogurt.And he would love to stare at her. He would love to get admonished by her. He would love to be just with her… in this forest.
Anu would love to be here.
The chicken curry, he loved so much tasted bitter. He placed the spoon on the table and took out his hand kerchief. Anu hated tears. At times he would crib when things were not going right but she would scold him whenever she saw his moist eyes. She never let him cry. According to her tears didn’t serve any purpose.He wiped a tear off his eye. She wouldn’t like to see it. She wouldn’t see it. The chef came from the far corner towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He held the chef's hand tightly and closed his eyes.
Anu would love to be here.
He broke down at once. Tears were flowing freely. The chef's question "are you alright??" was fading away in his ears.
Anu would love to be here… in this facility… on the forest floor… in this world… amongst all of us…
AnU would love to be here.
May her soul rest in peace.
posted by Arjun.C.N at 3:21 AM
2 Comments:
Left a huge lump in my throat. Very well written.
Been thru ur posts...and u seem have intimate knowledge of shattering loss. Or incredibile imagination!
I love the slightly Indian tone to ur blogs, this one was long, but beautiful.
Whether there was ever a real Anu not, the Anu in ur post sounds like a woman worth knowing.
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