"*Aaaachoooooooo*" ;)

Today, I ask you kadavule , to throw any kind of adversary you can imagine of at me, but never again, this damn cold, This damnation OF THE COLD !!! If ever given ever given an extra thought to what that 'common cold' can do to you? You are so wrong! Here I am , the sole witness to the evilness and brutality of that “common cold“ .It not only makes your nose run so hard it could win a marathon, triathlon or whatever Athlon; it changes your entire life.

Suddenly, you can't eat what you want. All those dahi chats and cold juices are sudden out of your lists. You may have the money that day by god’s grace and there will be your best friend will be standing like a hawk near the bill counter, making sure you order all hot things on a hot afternoon with a sweet disposition! Evil tyranny! You can't buy cokes, ice creams and all those chocolates that suddenly appear twelve * twenty four times tastier. Instead, you have to buy no less than 7 extra rolls of tissue paper.

You can't sit in lab without irritating your colleague with a *snort snort* every few minutes. You annoy them even more when you request them, with your phlegm-dripping nose, smelly handkerchief and *achhooooo* saliva dripping mouth, "Do you mind if I switch off the A/c for a while?” Imagine what being a constant annoyance at lab could mean. It can affect your treat, your morale, your work atmosphere, your productivity, your share of your colleague's lunch and so much more. But try asking for leave because you caught a cold, and they say, "Come on, it's just a cold". Just a cold? It could cost me my whole life, goddamnit!

Well if you're in college and a student though, cold can be fun. At least, for your classmates. It is afternoon, the room is warm, the boring lecturer is droning on to glory and everyone daydreaming with glazed eyes. And then, suddenly, "Acchoo!” There is a muffled mutter of 'Excuse me'. In the next two minutes, "Achoo Achoo" again. Now everyone's attention is focused on you. They are glad for the change - even sneezing sounds better than the lecture. The lecturer glares at you and goes back to his notes. He begins to speak again, "So, as I was saying, the most important concept you need to understand today is" - "Aa... Aah... Aacchhooo!” Now the class is in splits. "I'm so - *achhooo* - sorry, sssir" *acchooo*

Sleeping is a nightmare. If you sleep at all, that is. To start with, the A/c is switched off. Your delicate body that was accustomed to sleeping at 18 degrees centigrade refuses to sleep in the 30 degree nights of Chennai. And then there are the mosquitoes that use the non-a/c nights to the maximum and threaten to leave you anemic by morning. Then of course, there is the cold itself. Your nose either runs rivers down it (like Mumbai in the monsoons) or blocks itself up (like the Cauvery dam). Net result - you either need to keep awake all night trying to wipe goo off your face Or, you die of suffocation.

What cannot be cured has to be endured they say. But the thing with colds is that you have to endure them till they decide to cure themselves. Colds have character. I always remember Rajinikanth’s dialogue in “Chandramukhi” “Maatharai sapta 7 naal, maatharai sapdaati oru vaaram,” Anyhow this one week is gonna be a hell for me. Sometimes I can almost hear them mock at me when I pop in a pill, "You think you can kill me with that? Try me!” Well, say what you want, this one I'm never going to be able to make friends with.

All the owners of running noses in the world, I'm with you in your struggle against this horrible disease! See a doc, Stay patient (in both senses) and May the Lord bless you with the virtue of endurance. Amen.!