The Great wall of Amsterdam

The wish :

When I finished my first marathon in 2010 and wrote a blog about that, many replied that they were kind of inspired, though each one’s inspiration was in a different way!
Some got inspired to run. Some got inspired to blog. Some even got inspired not to contact me anymore :)

( scared that I might force them to run !" ;)
But overall I was really happy; at least I could make some people change their mind in their own ways!

After my first marathon, I was planning to do 2 more marathons before I hit the Big F and O, this year!
3 Marathons before my 40th birthday.. Kinda wild dream.. but still achievable.. if everything goes well.
But throwing a coin in the wish well, doesn't mean that your wish has to thrive!

First one on the list was the Rotterdam Marathon in April.
2 days before the Rotterdam Marathon, on a sunny Friday I was so thrilled to get my Marathon gear from the officials and to do the big run.

The slip-up :
Saturday, apart from on the TV, sun also started shining on the sky and my good friends thought of having some minutes of another good sport, Cricket.
My mind was telling me not to play any cricket that day. Why to take a risk just a day before my Big day of running!
But I did not use my grey matter. Tada! 
It is seldom that I do not use my grey matter. For eg: my wedding! ;)
Anyway, I thought, I will go and cheer up my friends at the cricket net!. I decided to just wear a normal slip-on and go to the field.
But then.. once I was there at the nets, seeing that pitch, the cricket ball.. I said.. yes.. maybe a couple of overs, I will bowl.

But definitely no batting. Just bowling and that too very casually!

Well.. The sun was shining. eyes were shining. Cricket balls were shining.. and later my injury was also shining! ;) Yes, the ball hit my ankle. Got a swollen foot that night .
Forget the marathon!!! I could'nt even go to the bathroom! Luckily Imannuel's old diapers were still there ! ;)

Well, on that Sunday I watched the marathon on TV. That was also a very different experience. Watching for 2 hours odd, continuously without blinking my eyes..
Without blinking my eyes!
The last time I remembered watching something like that on TV was Lord of the rings and a Bollywood actress's porn ! ;)

Well, this happened in the month of April .Then on the first week of May, my lottery for the New York marathon also failed.

(Yes, even to run 42km , u need to be lucky at the Big apple!), Which means I was left out with two options.

Berlin marathon or Amsterdam marathon for the second time.

I was keener on Berlin, since it was a new course for me and I loved that city when I visited there for the first time, the same year.

The Tata :
I was practicing a bit for the marathon and then something very Indian came on the news.

TCS, the Tata company is going to sponsor the Amsterdam Marathon and I was like ! wow! this is cool.

Tata, apart from being something which every Indian says when they leave home ;) (these days they also have the email signature like this;) ,  is also a company every Indian loves for their vision and their involvement within the country.
 
Amsterdam, The city I've been living for the last 13 years, a city which gave me my first marathon, the city which gave me x number of visits to the foreign police, n number of parking tickets, z number of smoke curls!, 0 girl friends!!

So itz a mix of curry and merry!

So , I decided .
Berlin, I will see you next year. Amsterdam baby, here I come again!

We also have something called Dam to Dam! Oh nothing like any water issue here! Another racing event!, which includes running options from 600 m to 6.2 km to 16 km in different categories.
And this time I was in a mood.. I can't definitely say the word mood, but rather in a frame of mind, passing the passion.. passion of running to normal people .. just like me.. (Even though many people won't agree that I am normal! ;)

Just giving that little tint of running and the joy later!

So on the registration day I could persuade some parents to let their kids run. Convincing the other way was difficult!
Like telling the kids , please tell your dad or mom to run.. please ..please .. ;)
But finally I could make around 6-8 kids, couple of ladies and couple of gents to run .Many of them told me later that what they did was something they never thought they could do! Their participation was kind of a big medal for me! The medal was not just a victory , but it was also kind of a principled boost of confidence to do something which people thought they couldn’t. So everyone was happy, I was happy, the organizers were happy.
The people at the pub were very very happy! ;)

The Day :
Finally my D day came. The Second marathon. And this time I wanted to run for a cause. Raising some funds for some good kids and their education. Good kids, which I know personally. So that was on my cortex.

But somewhere deep in my cerebellum, I thought, I would also do my personal best. Maybe a time starting with 3hrs and 59 minutes and 59 seconds.. Just that 3 hours on my timing.. Thatz all I need!
Breaking the 4 hour barrier!

But for that I have to run 19 minutes better than last year. 19 minutes looks a bit faaaar from ok for a stretch of 42km..Attainable.. but .. there is always a but .. Anything can happen and itz not that easy to improve 19 minutes in a year's time!

On the M day, weather was looking pretty good. Morning was around 4 C and the forecast was sunny, clear, and that it won't go beyond 14 C. Good. My ipod was ready. My telephone was ready. My shoes were ready! The people at the pub for the after-marathon party were also ready ! ;)

When I reached the stadium, the Marathon had already started!!! And I was still outside the stadium along with some 200 odd people! (odd, lazy ..Call whatever you like ;). I thought, I won't switch on  my i-pod now. let me go with the cheerful crowd for sometime and later maybe! Slowly I moved to the starting point.
The time was 09.44, which meant that  If I had to finish this under 4 hours , I should reach  the finishing line at 13:45.
And I started to run. When I looked behind me, I could see like 20-30 people, yet to start. The last bench runners! ;)
and also this meant that there were like 9000+ people in front of me!
Wow!

And I started to run.

Only two things stamped now on my grey matter!

The kids from Janaseva and breaking the 4 hours -barrier!

Janaseva, The aim of this institution is to find destitute children abducted by the beggar-mafia and give them shelter, food and education. A kind of pure love and warmth..I've been there. heard their horrendous stories.

Silent tears. Spend time with them. Quality time...Lovely kids.. My kids played with them.. and I just became part of them.. and wanted that forever.. and I was running for them.

And on the other side, wanted to run under four hours. So I should do my personal best this time. Weather was promising. I knew how the 42k would treat me. Could picturize my previous year run and knew what I should do and what I shouldn't. Well the 'do not's' were a lot, like “focus” on something good while running! ;) just kiddin ! ;)

I ran for about 15 km and still I was not dehydrating myself. So I thought, I should put my complete effort to how much ever I can run..
Meanwhile I was thinking many things under the sky! And I said .. No I won't put my music now. Let me not get immersed in music at this time. Let me think of things. It is actually nice to think many many things while running!

I had my first glass of water , maybe after 21k!

21 kms w/o water ! and I thought , did  I just become a camel or what ! ;)

The wall:

Anyway,
I'd heard of hitting the wall. That is the term they use while running a marathon. The runners just 'hit a wall' and then they decide whether to continue or not.  For my first marathon, my main aim was to finish it. So whenever I felt tired, I walked a bit, then continued again ! But this time I couldn't do that, I had to concentrate on my timing.

So “the wall” feeling… I had never experienced!

And I was running..and running.. When I crossed my 30km mark, I checked the time and it clocked like 2hrs 44 mnts and I was like what ! did I run that good ! wow!
So far so good!
Anything.. Anytime can ensue at any kilometer..Any meter..!
But ,I thought, If I run like this, I think I might be able to cut the mark!.  I might!

Itz just might.. might .. might! Nothing less. Nothing more!

Meanwhile I could see a guy running with a balloon and it was written 4:00 on it with a black marker! and a bunch of other runners with him. If you just follow him, you can finish the 42k in 4 hrs. Thatz all about it! The guy with the 4:00 marker!

(There are also 3:30, 3:15 balloon people like this!).

(There are also balloons with no marker.. Well that goes up to the sky.. Don’t follow that ;))

So I also need to follow this guy, the 4:00 marker guy, enough to make sure that I also finish in 4 hours time!

At one point, I overtook him and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t allow him to overtake me. Well, he overtook me many many times and I knew it was all because of my invariable pace! But I was also doing the same to him. It was kind of a drag race between two unknown strangers!

And I was running and running .

And suddenly I could see ..feel ..my pace was slowing so dramatically and then it just came to a sudden halt.
Halt! Stop! The Circle with that red strip, right in front of me!

2 minutes back I was running and now I just halted. I mean I couldn’t even run a bit. Not even a single step. I could barely walk!

I did hit that wall!

The hinder of marathon was right front of me! Right there

I knew I really wanted to run!

My Mind was shouting at me.. Noby , you've got to make your steps faster. All I could do was just stand there and hear the voices in my head!
I saw the 4:00 balloon passing me. and the other people following it , passing me ...
And I stood there and looked! Maybe the 4 hour barrier, is not for me.. Well, definitely not this time!

But then I have to finish the run.

Jumping the hurdle:

And I told myself. Well I will just walk until that tree and then I will start running again. You started to make your own toll points then !

But then I knew.. that tree.. then that car.. then that chic.. then that stone.. No! it shouldn’t be just walk ! Slowly, I started to run. It was very difficult. The pain was all over me. Nails driving into every single cell!
I ran. Then halted. Walked 2 steps. Then ran for 10 steps. halted.. This continued like , say for 1 km+.

Your mind is like a tunnel then. You only see darkness.. You look for the white light! No where to see.. You don’t hear anyone.. You don’t see anyone.Your  heart beats so much..You sweat for nothing.. You get thirsty  for nothing, yet you don’t feel like drinking anything..
 

And you NEED to run .. you NEED to go on.

Slowly, I could get back to running. I was looking for that 4:00 balloon and now it was nowhere in my sight! Now my next aim was to get that balloon. Grab it and just pop it out and confuse every one who was following that balloon!;)

Never in my life I'd searched for a balloon like this! ;)

Then I saw this balloon ..the balloon which is my main element in my own periodic table .. just going to the entrance of Vondel park, Which meant that I had another 2+ more km to the finishing line.
2+km ....For me these 2+ km at that point,was like swimming across the Cook Strait!

All I could do was to remember all the loved ones that went along in my life. All the blessings we all have got. All the tiny impediments we had intersected! All the turbulent ticks we had triumphed..

And the smiles from the kids of Janaseva.

Yes.. I had to do this. I ran.. At the entrance of Vondel park, I overtook the balloon. I over took the people. I was not even bothered to look at the people around it !

No time to pop the balloon !;)

I ran as much faster ..as much stronger..The Pain.. The ache..the twinge.. All that,I had to forget .. I couldn’t even concentrate on my timing now.
I just ran.
The moment I entered the stadium, I was almost shattered. Another 400 meters more... My friends were all cheering near the finish line.. The very moment I crossed the finishing line, I thanked the almighty ..thanked everyone I knew ..all in one second..,and looked up at the clock!

The clocked showed 13:39! I couldn’t believe myself...I was in tears.. again I looked up.Wiped my tears..looked up again ..13:40...

Yes  ..I did my second marathon in 3 hours and 54 minutes! 25 minutes better than my previous one! 6 minutes faster than I thought!

And Yes ..Under four hours.. I just broke the four hours barrier.. Four hours blockade.

On that beautiful Sunday, 16^th October , 2011.. I just ran the marathon under 4 hours!

That feeling at that moment.. All the showers of petals on me.. Felt like the whole stadium was looking at me! All the photographers were looking at me!

The view point:
So now let me tell this again to all my friends... Running  is something we all can do.. It is your own preference how to take it.
But another thing I could really feel this time.. Every obstacle you face in your life is like this wall. But it is only YOU.... only YOU can climb that wall.
Use whatever notions that comes to you. A ladder.. A rope.. A radioactive Spider! ..Itz your own choice..

All that matters is the sentence ''Yes I can do it ! " That is finally the key to all. 42km is your life. You hit the wall here and there. You climb it..and you run again.. ..and finally you beat your own best !

And ...

You Keep Smiling..

P.S: In my last blog about my first marathon "http://me-knobz.blogspot.com/2010/10/ghost-of-pheidippides.html", many people asked me about that mysterious friend whom I mentioned in the blog.

It is my friend "Umashanker Somanchi 'aka' Bobby "

Buddy, I still owe you a lot!

Maple's Cry

There is a beautiful small painting  in my Tharavadu, back in my native place.. Tharavadu, a place where we used to go for family get togethers, festivals or simply to see my grandma. My dad used to take us in his old Ambassador car.The journey itself was picturesque. Drive from my town and then the half hour ferry ride and then the continuation through the coconut grooves, the country side, the simple people, the familiar pets, ponds and narrow roads. 

Blissful!

So back to our painting. It shows a house and couple of trees, with few small additions.

Nothing more.. Nothing less.

But this picture was always stamped in my mind more than any other one in that house.

Ok! So we need some description here.

The house is a typical European kind, with thatched roof. The long straws lie parallel to each other and upon the other, in its own cohesive nature. The windows are big and plain with a thin green wooden frame cutting through the glass pane. The edge of the windows has a kind of rustic look, maybe because of the old iron lining. The doors are dark but bold. The knob has a heavy-looking grip. The shining of the brass is not all over the knob, but mainly on the place where the hand grip always touches on. There is a huge chimney which stands like a smokestack from a distant ship in the horizon. It is built on stones. Here and there you can see some moss. If you look very closely at the walls of the house, you can see a few iron hooks here and there, nailed. Most of them are black in color, but the rusted dusts are palpable. There is also a water mill behind the house. A spring flowing. Cobble stones pave the path from the door steps. There are picket fences, with couple of wooden planks hanging down.

Well, we have seen these kind of pictures in many places... like on those fancy calendars which we used to get just before the New Year starts.

Epoch time!

But, in this picture there was something different.

Crimson.

Yes , the picture from a distance looks like a blaze of Crimson. The gift of the good old kermes insect all over. Yes this was a picture of 'The Fall'.

Autumn.

If you come closer and examine the basis of this crimsonic make-up in this picture, you can see the different shades of leaves , but each with a crimson oriented tint. A small touch ..A small feel of crimson in every leaf, to the least.  But if u even closely revise the leaves.. the pattern.. the colors.. the shapes..;it is unspeakable!

You can see, yellow leaves here and there.. Caesious leaves hidden between the twigs. Rough brown bark with the claw marks of some chipmunks. Rufous tiny branches.. Some leaves still lazy to move from the leek green to another. Some which are half way and then decided to postpone their journey! The ground beneath looks like a carpet woven in leaves. Saffron-coloured maple leaves. Grass hairs still stretched between the fallen leaves to save the dew drops for the next day.

The ground looks flammeous.

And I wonder.. Who had started this magic.

Is nature the real Houdini , trying to hypnotise the illusive mind of humans! Can it mesmerise human eyes like this! Can it voyage us to a world where brushes are living and palettes are inmates!

Even as years passed by, this picture was always there in that wall. Same place with that nail bound to the wall. Through the passage of time, the spiders did their artwork over them.  The edges ragged. Lines squashed here and there . Though the hue of sepia had touched the house, the crimson touch in the picture was always there. That magic was always there.

Years later, when I came to Amsterdam for the first time and when the fall started, I began to see this magic.

Well I can't say, I began to see. I began to feel the magic. Colors of nature started to caress me. The texture of nature's own palette mesmerized me. I was hypnotized by the change. The transformation. 

From green, to light green and then to jade green..... From green to lemon colored-red to purple colored-red..... from green to saffron-orange.....

Some were so bright yellow. Some were tawny. Some were stuck between! It was beautiful. As if God just started to acrylic all over the nature, slowly. The transformation was slow.. But it was magical. It was melodious.

And I was just enjoying this . Capturing it on my own lens. My Retina. No Camera. No focus change. No Shutter speed.

Just me , myself and the charm!

And then it happened. Those colourful leaves began to fall down. All over. When the wind encircled, the leaves were just flying like old memories and reconciled to the ground. A few weeks later, the branches were getting noticeable. The sharp edges of the twigs were clearly poked out to the sky. Mother Earth was covered with different colored leaves. It looked like a giant canvas. But the trees were getting stripped. The Emptiness was obvious. 

It was kind of a metaphor. Some sub divisions in your life are like this. It is green, with different shades cuddling over with pleasant feeling ..and then,  without you realizing, it suddenly begins to fall over. You really want to hold onto it.. But then something, a flaw just kicks it and it makes tracks from its own line.

I don't remember how I felt exactly, when I saw this for the first time.  

Was I hurt or did I have a crystal of anguish or did I just think, let nature take its own path and you be the silent onlooker, as always!

Later, on a silent night, I took the pen and jotted down a few lines.... What if I am the maple leaf , amidst the other leaves , enjoying this fall , knowing that it will happen to me also soon..  

This one is dedicated to any leaf...Any maple... which has a heart.. and its own sensitivity....

... and I call it the Maple's Cry!

Maple's Cry

I don't know how long this would last
miles of smiles on one end
fire of cries on the other
Broken promises Endowed minutes
Shattered laughter Seattle dreams
Frozen gapes Crawling spirits
Changing colors Canine howls
Entranced Heaven Middle Earth
Curly Barks Twisted roots
Silver Streaks radiant cobble
Crimson Trail Silent night
I looked I sighed
I wish I could live forever
But I am just a maple ,
this is the fall, this is the end
I can't dream I can't hope
All I can do is enjoy the moment
and then chuckle and die!

My unknown friend!

An old one.. Came across while I was deleting old mails from my mail box ~ knobz

I am not posting all my responses.. 

One to Mr.Chan and another one to Mr.lee.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All.. not a blog.. but better than that !

 

Well u all know about the scams , which u used to get in your mail box.. claiming for couple of million dollars!! blah blah..

Sometimes when  I am bored, I used to respond that I am interested and then the fun begins!

Once I was mailing and finally I said my name is Bond! The other person was so much pissed off. that reply was worth a million !

 

Ok this is a guy who tells he is the director or hang seng bank in HK.
This is what I did to him..( All the maroon ones are my replies)

Pink ones are some comments from me

============================================================================================== 

I got the mail first and this was my first response

The first mail

Date: Friday, August 28, 2009, 1:38 AM

From: Gallagher, Chelsea [gallagherc] <gallagherc@student.wpunj.edu>
Subject: Await Your Response.Contact; patrickchan77@sify.com
To:

I am mr patrick chan
Director of HS bank Hong kong,
contact for a businessdeal of 12.5m Dollars
contact email:patrickchan77@sify.com

Noby wrote on Aug 28th

Dear Patrick chan,
Are you brother of Jacky chan. he is also from Hong kong.
I am a big fan

============================================================================================== 

From: patrick chan <patrickchan51@hotmail.com>
August 28, 2009
First I wish to thank you for your response.

I sincerely appreciate your interest to assist me in this transaction, however I would like to be sure of your willingness, trustworthiness and commitment to execute this project with me, I cannot afford to compromise these virtues and none of your personal information will be shared with anybody whatsoever, I have my principles.

About me and the funds: Like I said earlier, I am Mr. Patrick Chan a Director of the Hang Seng Bank LTD Hong Kong. My client Col. Ahmad Ali Moh'd Hassan, who was with the Iraqi forces and also a Merchant, made a fixed deposit with a value of 12.5m USD for 18 months with my bank. Upon maturity several notices was sent to him but we did not hear from him or any of his relatives. It was later discovered that he and his family were killed in Iraqi war with NO living witness to this fund. Now what I want to do is to place you as the next of kin to my late client since he had none and have the funds released to you for the both of us to share in the ratio 50% for me and 50% for you.

I got hold of your email through the web directories and I had decided to contact you since I needed a reliable foreigner that can help me pull the funds out of my bank as I cannot do it myself and I do not want anyone around me (family, friends and my bank) to be aware that the move is from me.

You should not have anything to worry about, as I want you to know that I have had everything planned out so that we shall come out successful. I have contacted an attorney that will prepare the necessary document that will back you up as the next of kin to Col. Ahmad Ali Mohamed Hassan, and all that is required from you at this stage is for you to provide me with your Full Names, your Age and Address so that the attorney can commence his job. The attorney will prepare the Affidavits which shall legally put you in place as next of kin, he will obtain the necessary clearances which will cover all the aspects involved in this transaction from the Hong Kong authorities including the Justice department.

What I expect from you is trust and commitment, I want this huge sum of money (Twelve Million Five Hundred Thousand United State Dollars) transferred with your assistance. The fact that you are a foreigner give you the priviledge to stand in as my deceased client beneficiary and I assure you that none of his relatives will ever come for the funds. What bothers me most is that according to the laws of my country at the expiration of 4 years the funds will revert to the ownership of the Hong Kong Government if nobody applies to claim the funds. Hence, I want us to act fast and get this funds transferred in our favour and as a banker I know that if we follow up this transaction diligently it would be completed within 12 working days.

I want you to assure me that you will follow up this business seriously and as soon as I hear from you with your information, I shall give the Attorney a go-ahead to prepare the documents in your name. I shall be waiting for your response and assurance in this regard, you need to be someone whom I can rely upon, at least for absolute commitment.

I await your response.

Sincerely,
Patrick Chan

Noby Tharian on Aug 28th

Dear Patric
Thank you for your quick reply. I really appreciate that you had chose me for this
transaction. Yes you are right, I hold actually 2 passports.and One is European
Which will makes things easier for you .

I reside in Luzern ,Switzerland. But time to time I will be travelling.
I will also introduce you to some bankers here in Luzern and also in Zurich,
which I think will make this transaction pretty more clear and straight.

Surely you can trust me in this matter. and I won't notofy this to anyone.
Since the amount is big, if the outside world comes to know it will put
both of us in danger.

Kind regards
Noby

============================================================================================== 

--- On Fri, 8/28/09, patrick chan <patrickchan51@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: patrick chan <patrickchan51@hotmail.com>
Date: Friday, August 28, 2009, 8:56 PM

Dear Noby,

I wish to thank you once again for your genuine interest in this transaction, I am very glad to note that you are a noble, matured person whom I can rely on for your capabilities to handle this project. Like I said before,due to this issue on my hands now it became necessary for me to seek your assistance, I appreciate the fact that you are ready to assist me in executing this project,and also you will help me in investing my money in your country.

You should not have anything to worry about, I will do everything legally required to ensure that the project goes smoothly, it shall pass through all process and Laws of International Banking, you have my word. And having resolved to entrust this transaction into your hands, I want to remind you that it needs your commitment and diligent follow up. If you work seriously, the entire transaction should be over in a couple of days.

HOW IT WILL WORK: Pls note that my Attorney will prepare the necessary documents that will back you up as the Next of Kin to the late Col. Ahmad Ali Mohamed Hassan. Okay. After you have been made the next of kin, the Attorney will also file in for claims on your behalf and secure the necessary approval and a letter of probate in your favour for the move of the funds into an account that you will provide. Note; the provision of the account is all that is needed from you and this is the only part that you are required play.
Hence, for the sake of this project, I'd like to suggest, that you open an Offshore Account with a foreign bank in Europe and where we will transfer the funds into.The money would be transferred to your account which you will open with the bank. The reason is that it will protect us from my bank and your bank too, and I want us to enjoy this money in peace when we conclude. Also it will protect us from Government taxes and world monetary regulatory bodies. I advise you work with my instructions and follow them religiously. Note also, that I cannot transfer this money in my name as my bank will be aware that it is from me, this is where I need you. As a result of this you will have to open an account in the corresponding bank, I will obtain a certificate of deposit from my bank(Hang Seng Bank),it will be issued in your name and this will make you the owner of the funds. After this the money will be banked online and you can thereafter make transfers in safe bits into any of your designated account anywhere, around the world and a part be left in the Europe account till I will be able to travel to meet with you for the sharing. This is the best way I have found it.

Also, I will need you to send me a copy of any form of your identification (Driver's licence or International passport) I want to be sure that I am transacting with the correct person. I hope you will understand why I need all these, the money in question is big and I want to ensure that I know you well before I shall proceed to give you all the details to commence the project, I will also send you a copy of my international passport or my BANK ID upon the receipt of your identification.

More so at this moment I am checking on all my Offshore bank contacts  suitable to handle such funds transfer with customer privacy and rights based on experiences of top executives whom have had such funds in the past and as soon as I receive your means of identification I will send you the bank details for you to make inquiry on how you can set-up the Offshore/online account.

Ensure that you keep this project confidential, do not discuss it with anybody, because of the confidential nature of this transaction and my work.

Awaiting your kind response.

Sincerely,
Patrick Chan

--- On Tur, 9/1/09, Noby wrote wrote:

Noby Tharian"  To: "patrick chan" <patrickchan51@hotmail.com>
Dear Patric
Good day.

Sorry for the delay. Was in Milan for a Business meeting . Also have to go to London to meet some clients.

I also spoke with my Bank Manager whom I know personally and he said he can help me in all way.
Regarding opening the offshore account , I have to figure out with my attorney. Because
I have two at the Carribeans, but thatz for my personal use .
So have to check whether I can do at the same place or somewhere in Europe.

I will get back to you about it soon.

Later
Noby

============================================================================================== 

 On Tue, 9/1/09, patrick chan <patrickchan51@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Noby,

Thanks for your mail and may God bless you.

For trust I attach herewith a scanned copy of my international passport and a recent family picture for your reference and I want you to do same in your next response by sending a copy of your identity. As soon as I hear from you again, I shall get back to you with the details for further procedures and the detail to contact a bank in Europe for an account opening.

Looking forward to hearing from you soonest.

Best Regards,
Patrick

This time he send me an attatchment of one chinese family photo, claiming that is patrick chan. also some adobe photoshop passport copy!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
No reply from me.  I want to check  Mr.chan's patience !!

On Fri, 9/4/09, patrick chan <patrickchan51@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Noby,

Thanks for your mail and may God bless you..

 I want you to do same in your next response by sending a copy of your identity. As soon as I hear from you again, 
Looking forward to hearing from you soonest.

Best Regards,
Patrick

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
on sept 6th i wrote :

Dear Patrick
Good day to you ! Again I was running around for my business . There was some business disruptions in US, mainly because of credit crisis.

Have to deal with some banks in NY.
I will be goin to the East coast for the weekend.

Tue I will be goin to Sydney and most probably I will be coming to Hong Kong.
I will be coming with my attorney . Is there anyway we can meet up in HK.
I will be staying in The Peninsula Hotel.( not sure though)
I will be there until Friday evening

Will mail in detail about my meetings in HK

Regards
Noby

P.s: Nice Family Photo

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No news from him! By this time he start realizing! Check this <---------

Re: Send To Me A Copy Of Your Identity
Friday, September 11, 2009 12:23 PM

From: "Noby Tharian" To: "patrick chan" <patrickchan51@hotmail.com>

Dear Mr.Chan
How are you? Thank you for the lovely time you'd spend with me last week. As I promised I'd send you the Swiss delicacy to your address. Also I'd put a new surprise for you . It's a new product and will launch only by end 2011. As I was one of the invitee for the sample , I'd send you across the gift. Hope you will like this.

It was also nice that I'd the opportunity to meet you .. Like I said you look very different in picture than in physical.
Hope my attorney have handled you all the papers .Like you'd requested the paper, the confidential , I am not faxing you or sending you by e-mail .. My secretary is flying this weekend to HK to handle you the papers in person.

I will also take care of your visit in October. I will let you know soon about your stay.

Have a nice weekend Mr.Chan

Kind regards
Noby

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No news from him! By this time he start realizing more!

From: "Noby Tharian"  To: patrickchan51@hotmail.com

Dear Patrick
Thank you for the wonderful hospitality last week end.
I arrived in London on Monday evening. Tuesday , after the meeting with Barclay's, I flew
to Geneva. My wife is very happy to see the gift by Mrs.Chan.
She also said her big thank you .

I will be flying again to the far east on the second week of November for a meet.
After that I also have a meeting in Shang Hai.
I hope I can drop to Hong kong for a weekend , then!

thanking you again
Kind regards
Noby
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He stopped mailing me !!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an another one 

--- On Wed, 6/23/10, Ye Chin lee wrote:

From: Ye Chin lee
Subject: More information
To: "Noby Tharian" 
Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 11:04 PM

Dear Noby,

I am in receipt of your email and glad you have accepted to partner with me in this, I will give you all the information you need and will actually check further if my late cleint is in any way related to you. We never know when life is about to shower us with good fortune, however we spend so much time wishing that life does. The uniqueness of your name has made it possible for us to come together and share some decent money. You see, someone close to me recently became very sick and her operation is about to be carried out. It involves a lot of money and this is not a good time in my family now so this has to be done instead of leaving this money for corrupt government officials. I will keep the name of this person until I meet you in person

In everything one does with another: there must be a meeting of minds. In Latin, its called “consensus adidem”: Without both of us seeing and assessing the situation through the same eyeball there cannot and will never be success or progress. So as we say in Chinese thoroughness is what is needed here.

I need you to obey my every instruction and do exactly as I say. You must let me direct this project for us to succeed and this is not negotiable. It is when there is no leadership and no meeting of minds that there are problems. Everything is going to be done in sequence. I will imagine that the whole process should take about 2 weeks before the money will be in your personal account.
At this time, I still have access to the files. I will be instructing a solicitor in Hong Kong to prepare all the documents in your name, this will include a legal testament backdated to reflect it was done before Mr Alfred died saying that Mr Alfred appointed you as his next of kin and beneficiary of his account in Wing Hang Bank of Hong Kong. This document is what I will include in the file and present to the senior management of my bank when I tell them about the notice from the specialist bank about the funds of Mr Alfred. The bank will meet to discuss his death and then as he has already appointed you as his next of kin in the file I will present to them, transfer of the value will be approved and then authorization given to the specialist bank to make payment to you. Please this is very important and your total commitment is what is desired.

I understand the important responsibility you are taking for this deal to be successful as without you, we cannot lay claim to the funds, hence for your involvement, I am willing we share the money 40% to you, 60% to me but you can let me know if this is not okay with you. The most important thing is for everything to happen smoothly without any problem, and that all of us can enjoy our share of this money with absolute peace of mind. This cannot be over emphasized as we all have names and families to protect.
So you are doing absolutely nothing wrong or taking any risk.
Most communication will be done via email address because I really do not understand English but I can write.If you must hear from me through the telephone, send your telephone number so that I can look for a away to call you. I do not want traces for now connecting me and you except through email.

At this stage I am sure you have plenty questions you want to ask. We are going to take this matter on a step-by-step basis. However something that I must point out to you is that there is no wrong on your part. You must understand why there must be serious confidentiality about this whole process. The specialist bank deals with high net worth individuals and giant corporations. As soon as Wing Hang Bank of Hong Kong has gone through all formalities with you, they will instruct the specialist bank to make payments to you. This will be done through an attorney as certain verifications required by law have to be done and when I have made the necessary amendments, you become the legal beneficiary.
My friend please let us be positive and show discretion as we both make one of the most fruitful steps of our lives. You can ask me whatever question you wish in your next e-mail so that we can start as soon as we can.

Thank you and God bless.

Yours,
Chin Lee Ye

P.S. Let me know you received this email

My Reply

From: Noby Tharian 
Subject: Re: More information
To: "Ye Chin lee"
Date: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 11:59 AM

Dear Mr.Lee
Thank you for the quick reply. Please let me know about Alfred and I want to make sure that itz the same grand uncle of mine. Otherwise if someone comes later and claim for the money or whatsoever, we will have to log behind this .
It's actually so nice to hear that the account is in Wing Hang Bank . Dr Cheng Hon Kwan , is a very good friend of mine, in fact we had dine together only 3 weeks back in Macao.
He is a very good friend of mine. But that part leave to me. I was wondering , what a small
banking world ..isn't it Mr.Lee.

Your English is perfect and I was wondering you cannot understand it.
But let me know which language you are comfortable with. One of my business in US is
about translators. I have a company which employ like 100 multi-lingual translators.
So language wise I don't have any trouble.

Anyway I will be on my business trip for next 2 days. I will be still available on this account.
I don't know I will be goin to far east, because after my meeting , I will be going to south Africa for the football. I got the tickets for quarter to finals with the guests. I can't miss that !

Awaiting for your reply
Noby

and many more !!!!!!

Another brick in the wall

                     

Act I(Travel plan and design)

When my brother and his family of three visited us in Amsterdam, touring  just in the city was not the main activity .We were also planning to see some other countries , or any city which we haven’t  seen/traveled before .

So one day during  our end of the day activities,(which always consists of lots of cholesterol and distilled spring water from Scotland!), we decided to go to Berlin.

Berlin. A city where the Right brawled with the left,  the tyrant stink spread during the war , Red battled with the blue ,the cold wall in the midst..

A city not to be left out.

So we decided , yes, let us all go to Berlin. So we were 5 from my side and 3 from my brother’s side , summing up to 8 people . And I have a 7 seater , Opel.

2 in the front, 3 in the middle and 2 in the back(for kids, as a thumb rule!)

8 people. 7 seats.

Houston! We have a one seat short! Are we ready to set off?

The morning  before we left , I took two pillows,  jammed between the last two seats and put a heavy blanket on the seat, so that , from a distance it looks like a Maharaja’s diwan!

(I even covered the seat belts , so that my car itself had a Royal look!)

We started off and in one hour I could hear my son asking , Dad when are we going to reach and when I looked through the rear view mirror, it was from the one in the middle (the pillow seat! )

Throughout the journey, the same question was asked by all the three kids , which means one of them was having the Diwan trouble!

When I saw any 8/9 seater rented car on the road, I just gave myself a grin and said.. No one knows how to cope up with the economical strategy of travelling !

Reached Berlin , spend a day there. On the day back to Amsterdam, we thought , how about a drive to the German-Polish Border and visiting the nearest town at the border. We figured out that it is a town called Kostrzyn , but we wanted to visit a little more bigger city. So we thought of going to Poznan.

Like always, the “7 seater opel Zafira” aka “8 seater Tharian Stuffira” was ready to steer.

The kids were jumping in the back, listening to some good music, and the sun shined on the metal.

Perfect pix .

Suddenly a Police car overtook us . I just said, kids be careful. Don’t jump.

I was just one minute late to tell that.

I could see they put the lights on  and the sentence “follow” in German. Well “to follow” in German or Tulu or Chinese , we don’t need the alphabets. All we need is a police car and  sudden flashing lights !

We followed them to the nearest gas station.

Unlike in US, here in Europe we follow the police! There the Police follows you and in India we follow no one  ;)

Act II (Highway and gas station)                                                                         

The music was still going good. The singer was telling “ Such a beautiful day and everything seems to be fine”. The singer became my greatest enemy at that moment!

Cops came . Rolled down my window. Said something in German. I smiled.(Luckily I spend an extra 3 minutes for that day brushing).

I gave my license. Everything looks good. Asked my papers. Checked it .

Genuine.

And then I saw , his eyebrows just went like the Amsterdam bridge. He checked the car , the paper , the car and I knew the singer was wrong! . Hated that singer even more!

He peeped inside. There in the Diwan, the three kids, (with no seat belts and no child seat)  gave a big smile. They were so happy to see the German police this close.

And he said to me( in English).. ''Hmm no belts.. no child seat...

You are finished !  ''( I think he was trying to translate his German, like , you are in trouble!)

My wife thought “ If my husband is finished, who is going to drive us back !”

The cop asked me , so how many seats does this car have. I said 8.  He said something in German to his colleague. I think he said something like” I never knew Opel makes 8 seater Zafira for the Dutch people!  Damn Dutch!”.

The cop asked me to step out and open the hatch door. I opened . Some stuff fell out and there , these two German cops saw the most funniest thing after Mr.Bean’s car.

Two seats .Two normal seat and in the middle space , a pillow trying it’s best to come out between that space!

I didn’t hear their laugh! But actually I felt like laughing!

He said, ''hmm.. Now you are not only finished, you are in Big trouble.''

He said , ''two offense, one, the kids not having proper safety and another having an extra kid in the back seat.''

I think he also wanted to tell , “  and you insulted a German Car company with some local pillow !''   ;)

So I asked him , what to do now. He said, you can call a taxi from the nearest  town , go there, buy the car seat  and the kids have to go in the cab as well to the town.

Which means I have to tell the cab driver to get two child seats too!

Nearest town! We were in the middle of nowhere! Even Santa doesn’t come to this place, and the cops expect me to get a cab!

He said “The nearest  town is 10 km from here(lucky me, we were only 10 km from the border!). Since it is Sunday, the chances are very low for the shops to be open. But first let me finish off the paper work and the penalty procedure.”

I walked to the station with them.

Act III.( Inside the station) 

One guy was looking at the rule manual and it took him some time to see the rule “where the owner  changed the number of seat to more!”  And they have rule for that!!  So I am not the first guy who did this!!
 Another Cop was seeing the TV program . If you watch that program for 10 minutes, you will curse the man who invented TV!  And my cop( oh yes! Now he is mine!) , opened his computer.

He asked me ..So where were you heading to( in his broken English) and I said Poznan. And he asked where are you from, I said Amsterdam and he asked  , so what is in Poznan and I said, “well Just want to see the town for 10 minutes  and have a coffee”

He looked at me so astonished , as if he just saw a Martian in brown color.” You drove all the way from Amsterdam just to see Poznan for 10 minutes and a coffee!''

I couldn't control my laughter. But the actor inside me was so serious.

“No.. No .. We were in Berlin yesterday and today while going back to Amsterdam, we thought of seeing Poznan.''

So he understood. We have a communication problem here rather than the 8 seat problem!

After some time , he showed me something on the screen. I checked and it was in German! And next to it, in another window , the Dutch translation of the German sentence!

Ha ha ha ! Now this is too much! I still held my laughter!

This cop had gone to Google translation and wanted me to understand clearly, what he meant!

So he was trying to translate the German sentence  to Dutch.  Looking at the Dutch sentence , I actually wanted to tell him, “Please open another window, so that I can translate this Dutch to English !”

Anyway, since his German was also poor, the sentences were very short , so Google was ok!

My friend came inside. Germans were talking in German, we were talking in Malayalam, and on TV nobody knew what language he was talking !

Finally “my cop”  said, well the main concern is the safety of the kids.(using computer/translation). Because if he tried to speak, he might say something and I might think he is more concerned about the safety of ‘his’ kids because of ‘my’ driving !

He said he also has a kid, the cop who is watching the TV also has kids, the cop who is writing the penalty also has kids.

My friend, who is still a  bachelor is the only person now left out in that room! ;)

4 fathers. One Bachelor.  All four of us thought. Lucky bachelor! ;)

The penalty came up to 80 Eur. Luckily he didn’t try to translate 80 Eur.

My cop typed in his computer, “Shall I call the cab?.”

The TV cop called the Cab  agency. He said something. My cop wrote that on the computer and  Google translated.

I read and tried to translate it to English/Malayalam. The price is 40 Eur for the cab from the town and back.

I started to act. I said, My god! 40 Eur. I nodded and my expression was like .. “If I pay that , what am I going to do with the mortgage for this month!!” ( I need to act in these kind of situations!).
So I was like , looking here and there , down and up.

So now all the eyes were on me plus the guy’s ear who is on the other side of the phone.

It was like the last scene of a Manoj Shymalan Movie. No one knows what is going to happen.

Dum.dum.dum.dum..

I have to say a yes. So my friend was about to tell “Ok”

I said, “buddy try to act as the 40 Eur is like 4000 Eur. So we both were like amithab-dharmendra, Sharukh-Salman, nazir-madhu , Mel-Danny, ..

Finally , I said with a deep breath.. “Ok. Please..”   ( I could hear ..”And the Oscar goes to ..”)

So we have a 80 Eur penalty. I opened my wallet. I took 70 Eur and I told my friend.. Anyway we've got penalty, let us finish off the weight in our wallet. So we took all the possible change.

Like 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents.. Finally we gave him like a handful of money  with lot of clinging sound!

I came out and went to the car. Kids were still excited. They not only saw the German police so close by, but also had the chance to touch German police cars !!!

I came and said , we got a penalty of 80 eur and my wife said. Only 80! Wow! Wow!  I thought it will be like 450!

What ? She never thought of my job promotion, she never thought of my favorite food, she never thought of the color of my underwear.. and here at the polish border she thought of 450 Eur!

Lucky Bachelor!

For a moment I wanted to tell her “ please go inside and watch that TV show for some time. Your mind will get little more clear! “

Now we were waiting for the cab.

So the plan was , My friend and two kids would go to the nearest town. (provided the car will have two car seats). We will follow them to the town. Go to the Railway station. From there they will take the train to Berlin.  Then ,We would go by my car to Berlin.  And From Berlin , either “we all” go together  to Amsterdam(650+ km on German road) or they take the train to Amsterdam.

So our thoughts were all on...... 650+km on German highway.

I was picturizing,

“a radio wave about 8 seater in a 7 seater opel , dutch registration.  5 police cars chasing. I am at full speed. The radio still singing the same song. Kids getting more excited..  Now 5 police cars..wow!''

Nope.

I don’t want anyone to get any more excited!

The cab came. Coincidentally , another Opel Zafira!  The only difference was that ,it had no Diwan. ;)

For my eldest son , the car seat was merely a thermocol piece seat and for my second son it was a proper car seat. When we saw the thermocol piece, we just asked the cab driver whether we can buy it from him. We asked him the price and he said 15 ( which only costs 5 or 6 in the shop) and we said Yes!  (The cab driver, thanking the person whom he saw first, that day.. for his lottery.)

So now the plan changed. I can get one more kid in my car! ( which saves a train ticket!).

I just asked him how much it would cost for the cab drive to Berlin and out of joy he said 120 and we said YES!

Another lottery for him. (later we came to know it will be at least 200 Eur from there to Berlin). I think the cab driver, out of excitement , said 120!

(later ,he  must have cursed  the person who he saw  first , that day !)

So now we saved two train tickets from the nearby town to Berlin( If there is a train) and the most important,  the Time. Because we had to go back to Berlin now .So Poland was cancelled.

Actually we wanted to go to Sauchensen Concentration Camp near Berlin. But if I ask the cab driver to drop us there ..that will be too much !  ;)

Now my second son was transferred to the new car/car seat. My friend went along.

(The previous day , we were at Check point Charley in Berlin where the US and USSR used to exchange spies during the cold war.)

And now my second son thought “ Oh my , was I a spy.. I never knew.. and they are transferring me. At the border. Is this the Tharian check point!”

So now, two Opel Zafira going back to Berlin. We went to the camp. My friend and my second son went to Berlin and then to Amsterdam by train . They reached at 10.30 p.m and we reached at 02.00 early in the morning.My friend had made some nice dish and also another friend of ours had brought some Biriyani for us.

Had food.

My second son saw me the next day and he still couldn’t believe that he was at the same old house.

Maybe he is thinking  that he is a double agent!

And I was humming,  “All in all it was all just bricks in the wall......”