In Mommy’s absence Malu comes to Daddy and ask’s, ” can you tie my ponytail for me?” . Daddy thinks, this is my new thing for the day and says sure….now, how difficult can that be?? Read on ;o))))
Take One
A few silky strands of stray hair refuse to be tamed….redo!
Take Two
This time the strays are upfront and my fat fingers can’t get to them while holding the ponytail in my left hand and the comb in the right….redo!
Take Three
All strands are tamed the ponytail is too much to the right…redo!
Take Four
The ponytail fell apart before it could come together…redo!
Take Five
Just about managed……

Malu Says
Daddy you are no good….takes the comb from a satisfied looking Daddy and goes to find Mommy, who was back by then….I was still proud of it…. ;o))))

Prologue – 14Sep12

The first time I set my eyes on him he was standing on a high stool changing a CFL! Here was this sprightly, elderly man doing the job as though it was routine! Shocked as I was, I sounded nonchalant as I walked into my Dad’s house…..   

The Present

Ram Yadavalli is 74 years young ! His cataract dimmed eyes sparkle with the mischievous intensity of a 5 year old!! They come across with a guileless look that brooks no fear! Where does this fearlessness come from??

His energy and enthusiasm, a 20 year old boy will find hard to match! He is perpetually up-to ‘no-good ’, always busy tinkering or if nothing else being playmate to his autistic 4 year old grand-daughter.

How does this welder of 40 years get his attitude, stamina and energy??  Was it his work? Was it his life experiences? Was it his will to win? The answers lie in his past…for this we have a flashback!!………‘ Movie Style ‘   

Flashback 10^th Grade – Circa 1952

Our Cowboy had a big problem!! He just could not seem to pass 10^th Grade! No matter what! No matter the amount of effort! No matter the number of practice exams that were always aced! No matter the ‘ N ‘ number of private tutors his affluent father kept switching in an attempt to get his ‘ Underperforming Kid ‘ to ‘ Perform ‘……

The Present

Ram’s own words are that he just did not feel connected to the subjects that he studied so hard at! In fact he goes further and comments that this situation existed right from the very beginning…and the fact that he got to 10^th was a ‘Herculean Effort’ in itself!

Flashback – Circa 1956

The father now has come up with an ‘ Out of the Box ‘ solution to his son’s fantastic academic performance! Our hero, has apparently been taking apart mechanical stuff at home and not necessarily been putting them back together all the time!! The ‘Phenomenally Intuitive’ Dad has arrived at the answer that will define ‘Ram Yadavalli’s‘  future. He will now be associated with metal-working for the rest of his working life! He was off to Jamshedpur….

The Present

The immediate question that came to my wondering mind was……what was the mindset that ‘Ram Yadavalli’ carried as he moved forward…was it a mindset that…. I have to keep myself busy? Was it a mindset that, I will succeed? Was it just getting away from home? Or, was it a case of Let me Explore and Understand what the World Has to Offer!

The Cowboy

Definition – A hired hand who, tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback.

The other duties were always the big question, they had to do everything from building ranches to getting into gunfights against hostiles etc …..

So how does this fit ‘Ram Yadavalli’ ??

At his Welder/ Fitter job with a major Ferro Alloy Organization, Ram  ‘ The Cowboy ‘, armed with his welding torch ( Gun!! ) and other metal working tools  has climbed 200 foot towers, dived underwater and worked underground with a high voltage alchemy of electricity, height, water & earth…..all forming a ‘Rock Show’ of sound, light and danger that few dare indulge in!! These were termed other duties . His horse was probably an errant cylinder looking to get out of control, identical to the manner in which a ‘Bronco’ looks to take off in the blink of an eye!!  This is Xtreme!!!

Summary

A cowboy has always led life his way……Ram Yadavalli is no different!!…..in the manner of a Cowboy ‘He Won Against All Odds ‘  …that is the essence of ‘The Cowboy Attitude’!!!        

Epilogue

In case you are wondering how does this tie in with the rest of ‘ The Monk who Chucked His Honda City’ series. It does not…..it is one of the many fantastic learnings over the last 210 days!! There is phenomenal beauty and achievement all around you….you just have to realise it!! There-in lies the ‘ Karmic’ connection……

Secunderabad Cantonment 0615hrs 27Oct12
As part of this new kick of byking around…I went into the cantonment about 5km away….there, I saw this group of Jawans who were obviously on training….these young chappies maybe 20years or so, were running at a neat clip…..powered up a steep slope and blasted down again….I pulled up next to them and asked the group leader so is this a regular routine, he looked at me as though I was from another planet!! Looking at the physical strength these young lads exuded…I felt reassured that India was well protected.

The thing about a cantonment is everything is neat, tidy and orderly, even the garbage is neat and orderly! As I rode past the college of electronics, whose main gate was  flanked by two giant dishes, I could not help but wonder in awe at what latest military  secrets were  imparted to various cadre who were the college’s students/alumni…

A little further ahead is the college of aeronautical engineering, just inside the gates is a chopper engine turbine…..anything beyond the gates is off limits, would have given anything to closely inspect this peice of machinery! The guard at the gate on seeing me did a smart salute. As I moved a ahead, on the left was the cadet training college…a MarkII Vijayanta Tank was just inside the gates here…once again off limits….the guard here did a very smart salute as well!

I knew that just ahead was the mission head quarters with ‘ Karam Dharm ‘ written next to the main gates that stood a very imposing 25 feet high…what really interested me was two more MarkII Vijayanta tanks flanking both sides of the main gates and a very neatly painted WWII cannon ( complete with bullock cart wheels ). Gambling on the earlier salutes, I parked my Byk and walked upto the tank parked on the left…..A guard at the gate was onto me in under 30 seconds and very firmly yet politely told me ‘ Sir, you cannot park here’….with a little bit of a punctured air, I got back on the saddle and moved on wistfully looking at the WWII cannon, as I rode past…

The ride back was comparitively uneventful, what struck me was that 90 days ago I did not know what ERP was, today I am deep diving into a completely new industry, in a new city and on a path of discovery…..in the spirit of ‘ Captain jack Sparrow ‘ and his broken compass…..the needle had suddenly locked onto something…..that what he wants most!! The bungee is now in strech mode…can’t wait for the recoil!!!