Meda(walk)am..!!

There is an area adjacent to the Pallikaranai marshland area in Chennai called Medavakkam. And there lived a great soul called Ravindran Chellappa ;) into the winding inroads of what has now become a jungle of concrete and was earlier no better as a vast plain and dry stretch of land with conditions of extreme weather - but that is a saving grace from the heartland of Chennai which knows only of heat heat and more heat..!!

Great people are bound to get associated only with other great people... and it can't be anymore true..! That's how I probably got hooked up with Sabesh Sundaram (a.k.a Sab), my colleague and friend who was residing in the same area. And folks, Sab is really great... If I should say in Tamil - avar romba nallavaru..!!

We were not aspiring to participate in any walkathon competitions. All we wanted to do was - find sometime each day when we can walk as much possible. From there stemmed the very many "memoragraphed" 'walk-the-talks' with the role of Shekar Gupta alternating between myself and Sab.

We often never knew when we started to walk in day and lesser said about the end time, the better..!! And what did the walk-the-talks cover? Just about anything - it could have been how I managed to get something accomplished in a two line awk program to an extensive analysis of how and why trains always find a place in any dream that Sab gets to wake with ;) But this was a routine that I am sure both of us loved growing with. So much so, whenever we meet in the office amidst our other friends and colleagues, we were nicknamed "Medawalkers!"

There are some days which remain firmly etched on my mind... Sample this - there was a time when Sab had a call requesting him to return home within the next 1 hour. And we had already walked off a cool 8.5 KM away from Medavakkam and positioned ourselves facing the Madras Christian College entrance, all set to walk back.

What do you think we decided? To the take the bus? Call an auto? No..!! We challenged ourselves to walk back 8.5 KM in the hour's timeframe..! We started at 10 PM and it was a sharp 11 PM when we hit the "Medavakkam Koot Road" junction.

I offered to accompany him to his house before heading towards my own. And guess what was the argument for the heck of it? I would be covering "more" distance than him if I accompanied him to his home and then head back to mine and thereby our records wouldn't be equal..!! :)

Well, that was just for the sake of an argument... Sab knows that during the nights, the way to his home would be like treading in the equatorial rainforest for the first time... dark and dangerous... ;) And the stray dogs in and around his place would love to howl at their highest pitch only during the times I enter their street in the night, giving a feel as if I am getting into some haunted locality..!! ;) And given his knowledge about the extent to which I like horror movies, haunted places and the darkness, he would advise that I carry on to my well-lit brighter side of the planet..!! :) A true and good friend would always lead you from darkness to the light, won' he? ;) :)

Now, when I get back to Chennai, I wish I find a place somewhere again in Medavakkam and that I can continue my walk-the-talk shows with Sab..!!