It's not all about the bike

                      Tyres pumped to optimum pressure, water bottles filled, helmets on and we, Prasad and me were all set for the first test ride on our newly acquired bicycles, his a Merida hybrid and mine a Specialized road bike. We took it easy riding towards Evans Bay getting to know our bikes better. The terrain was sloping downwards and we were just fiddling with the controls since no pedaling was needed to keep up with the slow traffic. As soon as we hit the road around the bay the ground leveled out and we were presented with flat shiny tarmac to take our bikes through its paces.

      The first few kilometers were a bit awkward with me trying to get to a comfortable riding position. The hard and slim saddle that kept me dreaming of a rock to sit on was not helping things. Prasad was having his share of troubles getting his bike into the right gears suitable for the terrain. The notorious wellington winds that came in quick gusts kept buffeting us around. We stopped for a couple of minutes and I gave a few tips on riding to Prasad. We resumed riding and luckily the wind subdued a bit letting us find some rhythm on our new bikes.

       In a short time we hit the scenic route around the bay and was rewarded with views of beautiful landscapes all around us. The ever undulating surface of the restless sea was shining in multiple hues of blue, green and purple and in the distance we could see the low mountains standing guard around the harbour. It was difficult to keep our eyes on the road with such views all around us. Every turn of the road offered something new, a beautiful half moon beach or the sea smashing and churning into white foam against the red, black or sand colored rocks, or a flock of seagulls fighting for a dry spot on the surface of a rock, all of it bathed in the bright golden sunlight. This is a route I can ride a hundred times and still be eager to go back to.

       The bike I was on was the other part of excitement. The rigid aluminum body and the carbon fork made the bike precise and predictable. The turns were sharp and always well controlled. The bike was super light compared to the hybrid I had earlier. I felt(and probably looked) like an over sized walrus riding a lean white hawk. Every time I pushed my foot down, the bike wanted to escape from my restraining holds and I felt myself hanging on to the handles desperately trying to control this buckling beast. The aggressive saddle was assaulting my bottom but i could feel its fury abating with every kilometer we passed. In a few kilometres I got the feel of the bike and I could feel my form getting better and my posture was relaxed. I started pushing harder on the pedals and the bike responded with unrestrained enthusiasm and glee. I was soon flying along the road with a new sense of freedom and ease eating up the curves, slopes and flats. I was pretty much in love with this new bike of mine.

       Unfortunately we reached our planed destination pretty soon and it was time to turn back. Prasad being a new rider, I did not want to spoil his enthusiasm by pushing him too hard on his first day of riding. The way back was no less beautiful than the way forward. We were totally lost in the views and our own thoughts that we did not realise when we reached the end of the scenic route.

       Soon it was the last few kilometers to home where lunch was waiting for us. It was at this time that the bike decided to have its revenge on me for being the control freak I am. Being new to New Zealand Prasad was having a bit of trouble figuring out the way back home. I was riding in front and I turned back to check if he was following. The next thing I know is that I'm sprawled on the side walk which claimed a considerable amount of skin from my knee and a small patch from my palm. There was a dull throb on the right elbow in tune with my breathing.

       We pushed the bikes back the last few kilometres to home and went to the hospital and got myself patched up. The doctor put my right arm in a temporary sling and advised to rest it for a couple of days and to give the knee about ten days to grow some fresh skin.

       So I'm going to wait for 10 days and then I'll jump back on that bike and show him who is the boss.

The Bald Man and the Two Maids

Baldness attacked him by the time he was twenty five. At thirty three now he has a sparse growth above his ears and at the back of the head. The rest of his head is dotted with individual hairs standing too far apart like dots of mud splattered on the side of a car on a rainy day. They seem too bored to grow to any substantial length to provide some semblance of cover to the bald areas.

He stayed in a stark white house with white floor tiles, white ceiling fans and white fluorescent lights. His possessions included two comfortable beddings, a plastic table, a chair, a few plates and spoons and a number of books. The books were seen stacked in a shelf or on the floor and a few were found scattered around his bedding. Whenever he was free from his work he will curl up in his bedding with the latest book that captured his attention.

With his intense eyes and attitude, easy smile, mild manners  and careless way of dressing he created a unique impression of contrasting characters in the minds of people he met, like an un-melting scoop of ice cream swirling in a steaming cup of black tea. He had a girl friend who stayed in a different city and used to visit him once every two or three months. She loved ice creams and kept eating them. He detested sweets and kept telling her that she will grow fat with all the ice cream she ate. Somehow miraculously she remained thin and kept smiling at him every time he told her that she will grow fat. On more than one occasion i have watched their mild but intense exchanges with curiosity.

Me and this bald headed friend of mine used to go out for long rides on our bicycles on weekends. At times we will run for a couple of kilometres in the local park. As you probably know getting out of the bed early in the morning is the most challenging part of exercise on any day. One Saturday, early morning I managed to haul myself out of my bed as soon as i heard the wake up alarm. the trick here is to get yourself out of the bed while your brain is still fuzzy and not give it any chance to analyse the situation and come up with excuses. After getting ready i took out my bicycle and rode towards my friend's house. I reached and rang the bell and my friend let me in.

He offered me a simple smile, turned around and ambled ahead to his bed room wearing his over sized shorts and dilapidated T Shirt. By the time i took off my shoes and reached his room he was already curled up on his bed with a pillow folded in two under his head and a book in his hand. Me standing at the bed room door blocked the sunlight coming from his balcony window and cast a shadow on his book. He looked up and a slight widening of his eyes betrayed a hint of surprise at seeing me in his house. Then having remembered that he himself has let me in only moments before he caught himself, carefully placed a finger in between the pages of the book to mark the place and asked :
"Do you mind waiting a little while? My maids will be in shortly and we can start as soon as they are done."

 I nodded my head in agreement and sat down on the floor with a magazine that was lying around and was soon immersed in an article on a Cup of Perfect Tea.

A strong knock on the front door was followed by the sound of the door opening and his two maids walked in. One was dark and thin with an unremarkable face and the only thing that told me that she is a women was the clothes she wore. The other one was fat and fair with generously proportioned body, shining eyes and a voluptuous mouth full of widely spaced teeth. She was anything but beautiful but radiated a certain sensuality.

They entered the house with an air of confidence and authority and totally ignored my presence on the floor. The thin one took a broom and started sweeping the floor while the fat lady cleared up the kitchen counter to cook for the day.

Disturbed from my reading, I sat on the floor watching the motes of dust dancing in the golden beams of early morning sun and occasionally replying to the questions from my friend. A sudden feel of chillness in the otherwise warm morning made me look up into the eyes of the dark maid. With a barely perceptible flick of her head she told me to move out of her way or else i will be unceremoniously swept and dumped in the dust bin. I promptly got up and walked to the balcony not wanting to inflict up on myself the pain, humiliation and discomfort of being swept and dumped in the bin.

On my way to the balcony i tried to throw a friendly smile at her which met with a frozen armour around her and fizzled out.

At this moment my friend the bald man asked from the bed room : "Coffee?".

It sounded more like a suggestion than a demand. The thin maid turned around and looked at him. In that moment everything about her seemed to change. Gone were the frosted armour and the aggression in her stance and her featureless face showed a few lines at the corners of her mouth and around her eyes which hinted at a slight smile and there was an unmistakable sense of warmth around her. She walked into the kitchen and told the fat one "Sir will have coffee now" which was met with a sensuous smile and twinkling eyes.

" As usual, he will have it without sugar."

"You don't have to remind me every time, i forgot only once."

Listening to their conversation i felt that it was advantageous to have such maids who remembered our preferences. Listening to the bubbling, stirring and cutting sounds from the kitchen i let my eyes wander aimlessly and happened to notice that the other bedroom door was closed.

"Oh!, so there is a guest at home."

I remembered the familiar lady's sandal I saw near the front door when i was taking off my shoes and figured out that my friend's girl friend was at home.

I continued waiting in the balcony for the sweeping ritual to be over so that i can resume my reading. At this moment the other bedroom door opened and I saw pleasant and familiar face of the girl friend which was now partially hidden behind a curtain of dishevelled hair.

She mumbled a greeting and glanced into the kitchen ; " Oh, so they are making coffee for my boy friend."

I was not sure what to make out of the tone she used . I looked into the kitchen and saw three steaming cups of coffee on the kitchen counter. The thin maid was adding copious quantity of sugar to two of the cups. I thought of telling her that I will have mine without sugar, but then remembering her cold eyes I decided against it.

The thin maid picked up two cups and came out of the kitchen. I dusted my hands against each other in preparation to receive the coffee. The maid walked straight into my friend's bedroom without even glancing in my direction. Seeing her enter his room, my friend got up and sat down on the bedding and she offered him a cup. Then she sat on the floor beside the bedding. The fat one soon joined her with the other cup of coffee and they all started drinking their coffee. I looked around and found the amused smile on the girl friend's face which was obviously due to the incredulous expression on my face.

 

The Cat who stole my time

I opened my eyes one morning. 'Hmmm, still sleepy, should I go back to sleep one more time. If mommy comes I'll ask her to let me sleep for JUST 2 more minutes.' Again I drifted off to sleep. Two minutes later(I'm sure it was 2 minutes) my eyes opened again and through the gap in the window shades I could see it was light outside. Better get up and brush. I love the smell of toothpaste. At times I wonder why food can't smell like tooth paste. Mom laughs at me when I say this. Well, she can laugh all she wants. I get some on my brush and it smells of strawberries and mint and something else, it is so good. Dad says I can't eat it at all. I don't eat toothpaste, not much anyway:-). It makes me feel all minty when I burp and my eyes water a bit. I finished brushing and found my way to the dining table.

Without much effort I climbed on to the dining chair. If I sit straight with my legs folded under me, my chin reaches well above the table. Dad says I need to use the baby chair. But then think of how I will feel if my friends walk in and see me sitting on a baby chair.

My mom walks by and asks, 'oh you are up. Are you hungry?'.

I look at her, nod my head and said, 'I brushed'.

'Good, I will get you something.'

Again I nod my head.

Mom comes back with a glass of milk and some yellow batter fried bananas. I was expecting Idly and sambar for breakfast. I press my lips together and look up at my mom without really raising my head, the 'serious look' I practised before the mirror yesterday or 'was it today?'. Mom smiles and with her eyes asks what is wrong.

The bananas smell heavenly, way better than Idly and sambar, mom seems to have put some ghee on top. With a shake of my head I told her that nothing is wrong and takes a quick bite from the banana. The smell of ghee fills my mouth and it feels great when my teeth breaks through the crispy batter outside and reach the sweet, soft banana inside. The batter on the cold ones are a little squishy and rubbery but tastes great.  I worked through the rest of them real quick except for one bite and sat savouring the taste left behind.

Is that all I'm getting for breakfast? I look up expectantly at my mom.

She asks " Still hungry".

Well! not really, but generally I have something more for breakfast.

Mom stands there, looking at me while I decide whether I'm hungry or not. I close both my eyes and says no. My mom glances towards the full glass of milk and with a hint of smile on her face, raises her brows. How can she smile and at the same time look serious. I must practise that look. I reluctantly reaches towards the glass. 'The Complete food' smells like 'The complete ugh' no matter how much vanilla or chocolate mom adds in it.

I pinch my nose, take a sip and I can feel the taste of vanilla with that cloying richness of milk underneath. I struggle through the rest of the glass. I know that mom won't let me get off the chair without finishing the glass. Once finished I quickly eat the last bit of banana to get the 'milk taste' off my mouth.

I climbed off the chair with much lesser effort than yesterday. Dad must be telling the truth, the beans and chicken does have an effect, I seem to have grown overnight.

I washed my hands and face and asked my mom, ' Mom, can I go out with Arun for cycling."

"Yes, why not? I too will come out for a walk with you."

"Ok"

But then mom rarely goes for walk in the morning.

I stepped out of the house with my cycle. My dad had removed the supporting wheels last week and I have learnt to ride on my own over the week. Now I can't wait to show it off to Arun and my other friends. At the end of the drive way I noticed a tom cat dull grey and white in color walking with a lazy swagger. Some thing about cats have always amazed me. They never seem to hurry. They will sit in one place stare at you then lick and scratch themselves all over, stare at you some more, stretch, yawn and then stare at you again. Do they not have any homework or dance classes?  My friend Diya keeps saying that cats steal time from children. Last week a cat stole Diya's whole morning. I think she is lying. How can a cat steal time?

Oh I need to be at Diya's home today afternoon to play snake and ladder. I have promised her to be there. I checked out the expression on mom's face. She seems happy enough.

Mustering my courage and trying to sound as normal as possible I asked : "Mom, can I go to Diya's house today afternoon?"

All of a sudden my mom laughed out loud and said : " Sweetie, it is already evening."

I was taken aback. Where did my morning and afternoon go. I just woke up brushed and had my breakfast. How come it is already evening.

Then I saw the tom cat looking at me with that look of triumph on its face. That is when I realised that Diya was telling the truth. The cat has indeed stolen my time. I decided to get my time back and walked briskly towards the cat with the most serious expression I have practised. Just when I was about to ask, the cat jumped on to the boundary wall, glanced at me with casual indifference, arched is back and disappeared on to the other side. I was left on the drive way fuming.