I don’t know whether
I am a good writer or a bad writer.I have no other choice but write. These
pages would take you to Beijing. If not all Beijing, some part of it with absolute
realities. You could call it as my life. But I would call it miserable
life.In Beijing I had all luxuries in the world but without Mom it was just a
hell with all decorations of the mighty heaven. But like every average
Indian I too had to burn my ass to make money to live a life. All the characters are fictitious. You may please go through the pages of Beijing Diary.
31st
March 2012 Beijing, China 7.52 am Saturday
Shanghai –
Beijing south train had pulled it’s brake exactly at 7.52 am at Beijing south
station. The last stop of the train and my first destination to
begin a new life was coincidently same. I stepped out of the train along with
Philip Sir, Jacky Liu (My boss in China) and Benjamin our sales guy (who is
such a nice guy). Trina went home without saying a word to us. But it didn’t
bother me at all. I took a deep breath and inhaled whole Beijing inside me. I
took another one. Then I realized how much I miss Poonkavu temple, how much I
miss India, How Much I miss Kerala, How much I miss Kannur, How much I miss
Home, How much I miss my room and bed, how much I miss sweet Malayalam
melodies, how much I miss every little things back home, which I never knew
existed. I missed every one back home as well. But I missed Mom more than
anyone else.
8.00 am
Jacky went
back home. I, Philip sir and Benjamin took a taxi and left the station. I
couldn’t believe my eyes first, seeing the massive structures, designs and
teenage girls wearing miniskirts. Those were too short in deed. I decided
not to sleep. I wanted to see all the buildings and wished I could have more
eyes. Since I had a sleepless night in the train, my brain switched on the
sleep mode inside me.
8.25 am
We have
reached near the hotel where Philip sir would stay for 3 days. I met Anderson
out there and we greeted each other. We left to the apartment where I would
stay in Beijing. Our flat was big enough for 3 families. But I came to know
that only Anderson and his family stayed there. Anderson guided me to the room
allotted for me. Oh Man I was shocked to see the room. Massive room, Antique
bed and a tidy attached bathroom made me happy. I left the entire luggage there
(Not in the toilet). In no time we left to office.
8.40 am
As Anderson
opened the door of Akay Beijing, aroma of spicy curry powder embraced me.
Interior was set in such a way that one would feel like ‘working’. I thought of
Cochin office when I saw Akay, Cochin photographs on the wall. More I thought
of Cochin unit, more faces flashed through my mind. Jomy Chettan, Rakesh Ettan,
Jaison Chettan, Sam sir and the list went on and on.
8.50 am
I was just
going through my mails and Jacky came to me and introduced rest of the staff in
the office. I met Anny. She could speak English and she greeted me with a
smile. I saw a good fellow worker inside Anny. Another girl was also there. I
don’t remember her name. The only English word I heard from her for the whole
day was ‘Hello’ which she told when I met her early in the morning.
12.30 pm
Lunch was
ready. Anny invited me to the dining room. We all sat there and started eating.
Wait, I should say we all sat down and they started eating. I was still playing
with the chopstick. I wanted to kill that fellow who came with the crazy idea
of using Chopstick and eat him with the chopstick. Anny understood the
situation and gave me a spoon and a knife. But I told her that I would try with
the Chopstick. Sports man in me was ready for a game. Soon I too joined the
warriors and started battling. But it was the worst food I had in China since I
reached there. I was left with no choice but eat. I felt like throwing it down.
Somehow I managed the food and went out. It was really chill out side.
Temperature was about 10 degree centigrade. I decided to start a bad habit
which I tried and miserably failed in the 10th standard. Smoking!
Had I not
charged my nicotine level in that atmosphere, I would have died there. I lit a
cig and inhaled the smoke deep inside. But unlike years ago, I didn’t cough.
After a cig, I felt warm inside and decided to quit smoking forever. A smoker’s
pledge after all!
2.00 pm
I was back
to work. Hence it was my first day I didn’t have much work to do. Jacky gave me
some company’s websites. I just had to go through it carefully and identify the
potentialities in them. Many friends came online in g-mail. I sent ‘hi’ to
everyone. Few of them replied. Few didn’t. I assumed that they would be busy at
work. At least that was what I wanted to believe. I missed all my friends as
well. Sharon, Vyjesh ettan, Thayyib, Amir, Jithin and Shallu were the few of
them I was missing very much.
5.30 Pm
Jacky
dropped us in the hotel where Philip sir checked in in the morning. Philip sir
went to change and I and Anderson waited him in the lobby.
5.45 pm
We were off
to dinner. Yes, in China people take dinner so early that they could go bed
early. No wonder why China is still number one in population. God damn they
have all the time in the world for it!
6.00 pm
Anderson
took us to a restaurant and ordered some dishes. Philip sir was suggesting him
something. I sat down like an idiot and watched them. My knowledge in Chinese
dishes was very limited. Noodles and chilly chicken were the only Chinese
dishes I knew. In no time waiters started bringing all the dishes. I saw five
unknown dishes on the table. Philip sir then told me that this is a custom in
China that they would order dishes till there is no place left on the table for
another one.
I wondered
if the entire populations in China eats like this thrice a day, world would
soon become a place there is no food left. We somehow finished it with a bottle
of wine which contains 53% Alcohol and left the place. Chinese people don’t
dilute the spirit. It was anyway nice to taste the spirit in it’s original
form.
7.45 pm
Philip sir
bid us goodnight and left to the hotel. I and Anderson bought a packet of
oatmeal and a pack of milk and left to the apartment.
8.00 pm
We both
reached the apartment. I bid goodnight to Anderson and took a shower. Then I
started checking my mails and video chatting with someone who is damn important
in my life.
9.30 pm
I don’t know
what made me missed my Mom more than ever before and soon I realized it was
raining inside me when it was quit chill outside the apartment. Soon the level of
water raised and it became a flood inside. Over flowing water rushed through my
eyes as if a dam had broken down completely. I cried loud calling out my mom in
every nano second which has passed. I didn’t have much balance in my skype to
call home and tell them to call me back. I logged in to g-mail. Luckily Jostna,
a trustworthy friend of mine was online. I asked her to call my home and tell
Mom to call me. She did it in no time and started consoling me as an elder
sister. I have many cousin sisters who are elder to me. But none of them had
ever showed a hint of caring in my whole life. I thanked Jostna once again and
logged out from g-mail.
10.10 pm
Mom called.
I didn’t tell her that I miss her so much. I thought why making important ones
in your life so sad when you are thousands of miles away from them. I buried
all the sorrows inside me. For the first time in my life I felt so content
after burying them inside!
11.00 pm
I was lying
on the bed and thinking about everyone back home. One picture stood there
unmoved before my eyes. It was the picture of Poonkavu Temple. Soon the walls
of my dreams started displaying each one of the Gods and Goddesses who have
been protecting me from the evil forces. (Being an evil I seriously wonder why,
still God is caring me like anything).
1st April, 2012 Sunday
6.00 am
It was
Anderson’s call which rattled my sleep. Bugger wanted me to accompany him for a
morning walk. But I was very sleepy. Because the biological clock inside me was
not yet set with the Chinese Standard Time. But I stood up and got ready for
the fucking
walk. On the way Anderson asked me in his broken English, “Jango, you
Indians never do exercise no? “. I just wrote it correctly for your
understanding my dear Diary. He asked something else. I wanted to tell him
that, we play shuttle badminton every morning for 2 hours. But thought of
explaining him what I said made me stop and I gave him a wry smile. It will
take hours to make Anderson understood what I wanted to tell. Why take unnecessary
risks early in the morning, I thought.
6.10 am
Both of us
reached that park where Anderson stated some stretching, which even nursery
kids would do without much difficulty. When I started stretching my own way,
curious Anderson also started to copy my work. As long as it didn’t matter, I
kept quit. After 30 minutes we decided to go back home.
6.45 am
After
reaching home, I rushed to the toilet to finish all the basic routine one would
do in the morning. When the warm water embraced my body, sleep went away
somewhere.
7.15 am
I cooked
milk and later applied it in oatmeal and had it. Anderson went a step ahead and
added an egg in his bowl of oatmeal. After finishing it he told me that it was
such a stupid thing adding egg in the oatmeal. I wanted to tell him that; there
are only few things that he would do without stupidity. But I didn’t tell him
and finished my oatmeal.
7.50 am
Jacky had
asked us to go for an exhibition somewhere in Beijing city. Hence I and
Anderson started our journey to the exhibition center in a bus. Unlike in India
there is no conductor in buses in China. We had to swipe a card and they would
take the money required.
8.20 am
We got down
near a subway station. In subway station also the procedure was the same. The
same card would help you to get in the train. We got in the train and it left
the station exactly after 2 minutes. Chinese subway is just like Indian metro
railway service. The train reached our destination in 5 minutes and we bored
another train from that station. Anderson asked me to get down when we reached
a massive station. It was really big. When we stepped outside I could see the
big buildings, attractive designs and Porsche cars running all along the road.
9.00 am
We finally
reached the location where agricultural exhibition was underway. We met
Benjamin there and he told us that, the exhibition was not meant for us and we
didn’t have ticket to check in. I was utterly disappointed hearing that. But I
didn’t want to waste my time crying over there. As always I preferred to cry in
the night. I asked Anderson to take few photographs. Anderson took a few lying
over the floor as if a professional photographer. I thanked him and we three
started our way back to office.
9.15 am
We decided
to go back office by bus since bus journey would be appropriate for site
seeing. When we were waiting for the bus, I came to know that in Beijing there
is electric bus also. It is just similar to our electric train in India. Inside
the bus I was so happy sitting by the window and seeing the mighty buildings
around. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the Beijing Olympic Stadium in
distance. One more building caught my attention. It was nothing but IBM’s
office. It was designed in such a way that every single passenger would look at
it and let out a WOW!
10.00 am
We reached
office and settle with work. Wait, we reached office and they have become busy
at work. I was just about to settle and Jacky called me. He wanted me to go
through some more company websites to understand the potentialities in them. I
came back to my cubicle and switched on my laptop. Soon I found myself engaged
with checking my mails not the company websites that Jacky insisted. Sometimes
I wonder why people insist something to others. Why can’t they leave people
alone in their world and work according to their wish. Why people even restrict
freedom. But soon I found myself checking those websites.
10.30 am
Philip Sir
and Jacky went out to check few plants in Beijing. As they went out, I threw my
hands up in the air and let a sigh. I didn’t know whether it was a sigh of
relief or just another sigh!
But the
worker in me was not ready to be lazy. I pushed hours checking some websites.
Few of them were really interesting and some were quite boring. After finishing
the so called ‘Website scanning’, I logged in yahoo messenger and g-mail to
check whether some friends were online. Nobody was there with a green light on.
Sometimes if
you want friends online, none of them would be there. Sometimes if you want
none of them online and just want to be alone, all of them would be online and
throwing Hi’s at you.
12.30 pm
When Trina
called me for lunch, I pretended as if I didn’t hear her and started going
through the websites as if I was searching for something important. Poor girl
had to come to me and invite me at last. I shut down the
system and went to have lunch. Before entering the dining room I prayed to God
for not bringing the same food we had last day before my eyes. Luckily it was
something else that I found on the table. We had food peacefully. I played
around with chopsticks once again and created a mess all over the table. But
nothing wrong in it, I thought. When you were kid you eat like that only. More
food would be going out of your mouth initially. Then slowly you find the
direction with your spoon or plain hand. I let a sigh and hoped one fine day I
would also eat like these Chinese people with the stick.
2.00 pm
I went back
to my cubicle and found some friends online. Luckily they were free and we
started chatting. It went on and on. I had to stop it to start working on the
websites. Some very interesting websites even displayed how to make some
dishes. I watched them keenly with a thought of experimenting after reaching
home. The thought of home once again shred few tears. I let them go.
5.30 pm
Jacky
dropped us near to the hotel where Philip sir stayed. Philip sir went inside to
check some mails and I and Anderson waited him in the lobby. It took around 20
minutes for Mr. P to come to the lobby and we strolled towards a restaurant.
Anderson guided us through a beautiful park. Ancient Chinese houses, massive
buildings, a beautiful lake, lake view hotel and many more things feasted my
eyes. Soon we reached near a town and found few restaurants. Anderson selected
one restaurant and told us that they serve good food. Then three went to a
super market. Mr. P bought a Chinese wine and I told him I would have beer this
time, not the wine. He bought me 2 bottles of beer. Then we searched for
cornflakes and Philip sir bought me one oatmeal variety, which I could use for
making Breakfast or dinner.
6.50 pm
We settled
down in a restaurant and as always Anderson and Philip sir ordered something
and poor me who didn’t even know the name of a single dish waited for them to
arrive. In no time waiters started bringing the food on the table and soon the
table became full. The good looking dishes tasted horrible and not so good
looking tasted yummy. I enjoyed both. Diary you know how much I love food
irrespective of the places and varieties. After finishing my 2 bottles beer and
food I felt full. But Anderson bought me another bottle of beer, this time a
bigger one and gave it to me. I had to drink it.
7.50 pm
We left the
hotel and started walking back. Philip sir bid us bye when we reached near his
hotel and I and Anderson walked alone to our apartment. We bought milk from the
Wu-mart and left to home.
8.20 pm
I was tired
when we entered inside the apartment. I took a shower came in front of the system
to have a chat with someone important it went on till 10.30.
10.45 pm
Since we
have 3 holidays at a stretch, I decided to watch a movie online. I watched
CID.MOOSA, a Dileep movie which I had seen more than 5 times. But I thought of
watching it again. It is nowhere written that watching a movie more than 5
times is a crime!
1.30pm
I decided to
sleep.
Yawns and
more yawns
Thanks For your time
Sharath Muthirakkal
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