Introducing Vijay

AVS. A Vijay Sai…. oops… sorry it is actually A Vijaya Sai at the moment due to some trivial oversight at the time of his advent and its accompanying record-keeping procedures. An amazing actor, dancer, artist, musician, satirist, sportsman, chatterbox and much more, each of his aptitudes need to be inspected from an angle that is not by and large applicable for other mortals with a similar talent.

On stage, he might not strike you as the best actor; but on the stage of life, there can be no better. Perhaps there is no playwright who can describe or envisage a character so comprehensively leaving him with no choice but to limit his capabilities in theater. In the open world where the character is fashioned in his mind and the plots and sub-plots are outlined by him, he is invincible.

His dance is but an extension of his versatility in acting. Depending on the audience and its mood, it can take on various forms and hues, vary in energy, enrapture them so as to just leave them gaping or join in and then leave them gasping. The colors in his photographs can be fathomed in his paintings. When there is a camera around, be sure that it is he who is going to spend the maximum time possible with it. The silver lining is that it could be either in front of the camera or behind it.

He is a saxophonist who prefers to keep mathematics- or any academic object for that matter- as far away from him as possible during non-academic times. Eight hours in the day are reserved for sleep. In places where a large number of people congregate, it would be startling if he managed to turn even a page. When any one of key-board, saxophone or food is near him, he would not want anybody to expect him to study. When he is in rooms smaller than 3x3 in dimension, one should of course not expect him to carry his books along!

He does not study in the class-room and surely not in the playground. Then there is the time he has to devote to hone his satirical skills. "I'm studying right now", he says over the phone. Well, let us give him the benefit of doubt.

The baritone- saxophone looked majestic in his arms and so it naturally took some time for him to take the tenor-saxophone. One of the few times you could see him without a glint of mischief in his eyes is when he holds one of these. Another time is when he is involved in an actual basket-ball game with high stakes. The Vijay you get to see at these times is an abnormally serious-looking one. Cricket though is something he can play with a focused but relaxed mind.

The sheer fun of many jokes is only the fact that it is he who is narrating them. It could be a real event or just a figment of his imagination; the unreal part and the sarcastic humor are ingredients that he uses to spice up and season his servings. The entire festival of Shivaratri might pass and you could still be listening to his tales- both short and 'tall'.

Waiting to walk up to this person and shake his hands so that you could enter his world of fun and frolic? BEWARE!!! On any day, he seems unstoppable; on his day, he is unstoppable. Not having found anything of interest inside, his mind can quickly latch on to any opening presented by your very presence as he launches into a hilariously sarcastic fest.

The best thing is to be sporting though because you will get your chances and he will not hold as a grudge your use of these opportunities unless he gets another occasion to exercise his bantering skills.

It took me the better part of the almost seventeen years that I have known him for to understand properly the intention behind his acts. It is all in good humor and that is what one can learn and keep in mind not just when one is with him, but always.

(To give you an idea of how weird his mind can get, he decided to send a very unconventional picture to put up on this page!)

 

Introducing Walia

Walia. Sai Vivek Walia. A gold medalist in economics who actually bowled fast enough to powder a batsman's guard. A brain that functions at ultra-high speeds is only betrayed by the hurried pace of actions that are displayed on a silent countenance.

He loves to play but exercises great restraint and transforms into a hard-working musician once the trumpet is in his hands. He can be seen chattering away joyfully as often as he is spotted studying seriously in a hushed island surrounded by raucous waters.

He is the original 'Guide' who made it fashionable to be one and inspired others to hop on to his small world. He is quite often referred to as 'Heli'- his ticket to the 'Guide kingdom' than as Walia. Anyone's first impression of him can never be the right impression. He might look like a confused person without a care in the world but the reality viewed after a bit of interaction is a starkly different one.

In spite of being his classmate right from my first grade, my view of him keeps changing almost every year. The camera he gives you to take his picture is without any optical zoom and the distance he allows between him and you as you take a shot will only be allowed to decrease with more and more dealings. No wonder, different facets of his personality emerge with more and more communication and you are left wondering about what else you might still be missing.

Never one to hide his ignorance, the words "I don't know" flow out uninhibited from his mouth when asked about something about which he has no idea at all. He does give a short pause before though making sure that he really lacks the knowledge on that front.

However, he does not just say "I don't know". As he is mouthing these words, his body suddenly loses its sense of balance; his legs resemble those of Krishna's as He plays the flute, two high arcs form above his eyes which immediately find the sky above the farthest horizon, his head tilts to one side and his hands resemble the aangika abhinaya called 'Alapadma' in Indian classical dance. In short, he does not say "I don't know" with just his tongue, mouth, throat and whatever; he says so with his entire body. The innocent ignorance is displayed loud and clear.

Those who have not yet seen this all-in-one act can approach him with mind-boggling doubts. This alone cannot guarantee you a vision of the blue moon though; this brilliant mind has answers for most queries.

I do have a tip for those who wish to have a glimpse but then I think you will be more thrilled if you can discover the means yourself. With Walia, the journey is always more interesting than the destination.