Writings Of A Writer

We Pass This Way But Once.......

2012-01-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer – Content is explicitly for To The Next Generation of Faculty ( 2005 Pass-outs and above) . I Am pretty much aware that am too young to suggest to the elders.

Kindly ignore if you are offended.

Guys/Girls,

First – The title has noting to do with what your going to read
Second – I might be wrong about First point as I haven't yet decided what the conclusion is going to be.....

No one likes to take advices. No one likes to change.

And I am %100x^y100 (the scientific calc way) sure this one is not going to work either.

Oh Come on, We are bloody humans, we dont change for nothing. I dint , no one will.

Then what is this about ?

Freedom of Thought......And since am going to pen them down , freedom of expression.

I just remembered being cornered for not opting for a subject, which is assumed to be tougher, and going for another ,which is proved to be easier at one point in time during ….. (intentionally censored, doesn't really matter).

I have utmost respect for a teacher at all times. But that one instance, I remember talking against to justify why I had to choose. I should not have done that. After all , the semester was completed, a word or two about the past doesn't change the future.

Question I asked was … Why should I choose something which I dont like ?

…......

Its not just about choice of subject that am speaking now of, its of life.

Life, the only truth that every morning we wake up to , and the only dream that we sleep for.

For a trained mind its no difficult a task to realize this fact. But then we fail miserably to identify it and eventually remain confused.

Then , how different would it be if I stop working now and go for medical studies ?

Its merely a choice that my damn mind has to make.

A bloody choice.

Please please please guys, dont expect every engineer to launch satellite into the orbit or design a Agni or Pruthvi, not every one is Dr.Kalam (his excellency) .

Dont expect every one to study things their instincts doesnt adapt to.

You must be remembering 3-idiots.

But, here is my version …..

I taught for a while , and teaching is , undoubtedly a great and divinely profession.

Our job is to train the mind to think in the way the books say, or to be specific , in the way things actually work.

Our job is to take a blank pendrive and feed in to it, the first useful information without damaging it.

And trust me , it ends there.

How that trained brain makes use of the information is beyond our scope.

Give advice, dont expect the student to follow it. He might be on his way to make history by taking the unbeaten track. So never take it personal.

Let him burn couple of links in his brain by the attempts. They will reform into a new network, a Package in Database terminology.

….........

Well, that was about giving advice and not expecting the person to follow it.

And the next point......... Important....... The most.....

There is no pre-set destiny for anyone's life.

For No Ones Life. ( Unless you are from the Sonia Gandhi Family !!!)

For god's sake, accept this fact. ( not the Gandhi family fact, am taking about DESTINY)

Being in electrical stream , people would say don't go to software like others, join core company. After all you study electrical for 4 years and then how can you join software. I kept hearing this from the day 1 I joined professional study.

Unfortunately, when I ask some one his company name , the one working in a core company would sharply reply

"its core," with a tone like that of the king who won the battle.

Oh really !, how divine, i think you are the founder and ceo of the firm ? , dude I asked the bloody name of the company.

Or at-least they will add CORE after uttering the company name, as it were a new firm that people are unaware of its activities.

I don't understand what people are so proud of ?

SERVING ? ... we are all serving.

End of day , only one fact matters - Whats your earning for the day ?

The British system of education has already polluted our mind and soul. We hardly think creatively.
But we are mature enough , we know what's right, what's wrong. they why this narrow mindedness.

"Yes am sticking to software, If I don't put my brain to work at-least 5 days a week, i don't feel like am alive.I push my thoughts beyond the horizon of the bookish facts and find the ground realities by playing around the machine "

When I was born I did not know that am good at programming, else i would have opted Computers.... that would be my answer.

But how different that would have been ?.

Assume I opted for Commerce as am good at maths, would I still not be struggling to earn that extra penny for my belly ?

So my friend, you never know what tomorrow will be like.

Let people do what they are willing or enjoy doing.

There was a scientist, ( I don't remember the name) who was a postmaster and yet patented number of inventions.

.....................

Thats it .

If possible encourage students to take challenges, tell them dont just run hither thither for money. Tell them to find life, money will eventually find them.

Question yourself - "What's my purpose here ?"

I think the answer to that question will be our destiny, if there is any and there will one be for sure.

......................

A beggar struggles for a penny for his food, and so does a billionaire. Difference being that the books of accounts reflect increased number of ZERO's to the right of ONE for the later.

So you see, life runs on binary ( 0 & 1) then why complicate it with useless postulates.

If you can, then teach them how to use the BRAIN. Tell them ways and means to multiply a penny.

Trust me , you will be remembered for ever.

Wish you a happy teaching. And am really proud of what you are doing for the nation.

Coffee Shop With A Difference

2012-01-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

That's A Road Side Coffee Shop -

Under the shade of a massive palm tree,
With the early morning breeze blowing in a polite rhythm,
Soothing the deepest of the anguish if any,
The vehicles zooming past on the highway,
With the Stone seating like that in a remote village,
And a hot Ginger tea finding its way down the throat,
Sending a relieving chill with every sip.

Thats a Road Side Coffee Shop -

With the old man's expert hand's in making that ginger tea,
About to break pot's, almost the age of the man that we see,
With her motherly touch the old lady offers an unparalleled kindness,
Its not the drink that's relieving, its the place, i believe
Under the shade of the massive palm tree,
And the stone seating like that in a remote village.
It’s the expert hand and the motherly touch that the drink receives.

That, my friend, was the Road Side Coffee Shop -

New Year Resolution ...

2012-01-02T07:19:00.001-08:00

Silence Over Disagreement !!!

2011-12-31T05:40:00.000-08:00

Expect The Unexpected !!!

2011-12-26T07:37:00.000-08:00

– Dummies Guide To Travelling At Nights …… Alone

The clock on the tower at the middle of junction ticked 1 in the morning. On deserted road, walking alone at that hour of the day, my thoughts flew back to the comforts of the distant ride in the car half an hour back. It was evident that the time was running against me. Not a single vehicle passed by in the past 30 minutes. Another 15 miles of journey awaited me, and I walked looking back intermittently to see if any vehicle would appear.

And I walked…..

………………………

“Oh come on dude. A hundred cab’s pass that way even in the middle of night” , I claimed.

“I have travelled that way even at 2 in the morning at times”, I continued as two of the curious one’s listened.

“So, Lets do it then”, one of them affirmed.

And we proceeded to book the tickets for the 10.30 show in a theater in the middle of the town.

……………………….

The horn from a approaching vehicle brought me back to reality.

I made my move, turned back, pointed my thumb in the direction I intended to travel and I waved. I tried putting up a face of a school kid trying to get that couple of extra marks which he requires to pass the examination.

And the fellow zoomed past me. I was not sure if he paid no attention, or if I was even visible to him.

“F*r ,” my impatience grew and few words of praise escaped. Infact I shouted I realized. The echo from the flyover wall was loud enough.

You never know who that Good Samaritan who would dare pick you at the middle of night be.

You never know.

As my brain tried searching the broken link of the thoughts that it was occupied with, the ear’s heard the rattling of another approaching vehicle.

The action of the hand seemed involuntary as it took positing of waving for a lift in the direction of my travel. And I stood watching patiently as the vehicle neared.

The wind blew in a rhythm like the waves of the sea on a full moon, strong and high, yet steady.

And I watched the vehicle move past me in equal speed with which it neared. I hung my head facing down and uttered those words that escape the mouth when in frustration, intentionally this time.

I heard the vehicle halt couple of blocks away.

“he is the man !!!” , I turned back and ran towards the vehicle, wondering if he would give me the lift.

………….

“Dude, its already 12.30. I seriously doubt if you will have any mode of transport at this hour”, he exclaimed. “Lets go to my place”

“buddy, I have been travelling this route for years now, “ I boosted on my experience of travelling at nights. “I will find something or the other & reach I will !”

“Suite yourself “, he bayed a fairy well at the point he dropped me.

Another 15 miles of journey awaited me, and I walked looking back intermittenly to see if any vehclie would appear.

And I walked….

………

“I am going towards X-road, will drop you till the junction”, the man in the car said.

“You will find something or the other from there to your destination “, he advised.

“Anything will do sir”, I said to him in a thanking tone as I seated myself by his side.

“where on earth are you coming from at this hour!”, the man questioned as the vehicle picked up some speed.

“A movie- “, I replied too quickly I realized. The overflowing happiness of finding a lift after 40 minutes of walk on a winter cold night made the response time fast.

“Alone ?”

“Oh ! no no”, I was equally quick.”Alone in this route!”, I replied in a broken tone. The shivering made the tongue flicker sending the words intermittently out of mouth.

“I see”, the man exclaimed as he halted the cart at the junction as promised. “from here you will have no trouble going forward”

I showered couple of words of gratitude.

I was at the comfort zone now. There was movement at that junction and I was to make the choice.

And I choose, to have a cup of tea.

The junction was a busy place at any hour of the day. At night , there would be tea and snacks availbale.

The old lady was kind enough to keep the tea hot with all the utensils she had, and 5 bucks she charged for it was fair enough.

“It’s the British you see”, I heard a man speaking. At once I knew he was speaking to me as there was no other soul but for the old lady who paid least attention to any customer.

“they made us addict to TEA & the Chinese to OPIUM”, It was evident that he was drunk. Even as he sipped his cup of the tea, he spoke.

“I see”, I had no choice but to speak, “I never knew that !”, I was ashamed at my ignorance. What if it’s a drunken man speaking, he had a point.

“you youngsters have no knowledge of our history,” he stated to speak. And I made a narrow escape thanking him for that one point of wisdom he showered on to me.

I could hear him continuing the topic with another of the poor souls that halted for a tea , as I crossed the junction in search of another of those good Samaritans.

Another 5 miles…………..

………………….

“Boss, come on, I am going that way !”, the Sardarji gestured as he spoke while I crossed the road.

“Oh ! thanks sir”, It was as though fate waited for me on a bike at the junction.”Thanks a lot!”

The first line he spoke as we set off brought my world to halt.

“Am a bit drunk”, he said with a smile I would define – teasing.”Hope you don’t mind !”.

“Dont mind – what the hell you think I am , super man ?, that I will jump to safety if you hit a road divider or worst case a speeding lorry”, I said to myself bewildered at the calmness with which he confessed.

“Stop the Damn bike- “, I wanted to shout but the next line he uttered, silenced me.

“Am a COP !”

………………………. To Be Continued…

The Learnt Discuss !!!

2011-12-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

Sane or Insane!

2011-12-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

The vehicle was sparsely occupied. An old man found his way past Ajay to the seat right next to the front entry. Another fellow occupied the seat beside the old man, adjusting himself to comfort before the bus set off to accomplish the hour long journey that lay ahead.

Sitting by the window Ajay felt the breeze brush past his earlobes. The cold air found its way into the eardrums sending a chill all over the body. The climate was cool, not intensely though, but sufficient enough to force oneself to cover the ears from the wind that blew.

The next halt of the city bus saw a mother and her child boarding in. The child was no ordinary. It walked in an unnatural manner, lifting each leg with a tremendous effort, as was evident, and placing it forward. Reaching out to the nearest support, the kid would lift the other leg. The mother helped intermittently.

Different, the kid appeared, as most of the eyes, Ajay observed, gazed the creature. Some of which were astounding and some were sympathetic. The kid would pay no attention to any of it though. It went on ascending the steps.

The old man, instantly lifted himself, apparently vacating the place for the kid. The young fellow however paid no attention to the scene.

“Can’t you see, they need a seat? Get up and go back”- an aggressive shout came to the young fellows way. He knew at once, to the intensity of the voice, that it was intended to him, and without a moment’s pause, the fellow made his way backwards. Although the lady searched to find from which of those curios mouths that the voice emerged, probably to shower a line or two of gratitude, but failed to identify which of those few lot made that remark.

And the duo found their way to the seat. The kid gestured his mother, a language only the mother would understand as was apparent. From whatever she understood, she took out the monkey cap and slid it over his head. The kid chuckled, as the mother kept sliding the cap. And everyone watched.

The cold breeze was no more a trouble for him, and he faced window wise and clapped and moved his head in a way only he could do, possible cause of the different ability he had.

Almost everything surprised him. And everyone watched, smiling, at his acts. He giggled whenever there was a little breeze past the window gaps, chuckled when his mother got hold of his hand that he tried waving out of the window. Insisted for tickets. Pulled the change out from his mother’s fist and handed to the conductor. He had a smile to offer and a little wave of the hand to every new passenger that boarded from the front door.

He waved to the bystanders at every stop, saluted the traffic police. As the bus moved past the Temple, he joined his hands in a way to pray and bowed. He clapped at the pigeons that flew over the Lake. Everything amazed him.

And he watched, the frustration people bore on their faces for every little thing that happened, the despair they showed on every stop that the bus halted. He watched the impatience they experienced when in traffic. He smiled at one of the passengers shouting on the conductor for getting a rupee or two back, at the lady that stated a fight with the one next to her for not giving her enough space to sit. He was surprised as to why the driver shouted at people waving hands in the middle of road (requesting to stop the bus).

Ajay kept thinking who sane was, among the two. Was it the boy that amazed himself at every creation of the God, or the rest of us who were disgusted at everything. Was it him, that kept smiling at everything that came his way, or the so called people with common sense who frown at everything that do not occur the way they expect.

The boy made a move to gesture the driver, to stop. Possibly his mother told him that next stop is where they get down. The driver showed no concern.

“Stop the damn bus!”, Ajay shouted from where he was. “The kid wants to get down don’t you see.”

The bus set off after the kid & his mother got down, and Ajay knew the answer.

"Sanity Has Nothing To Do With Happiness" Ajay Thought.

I Might Stand High !!!

2011-12-01T10:22:00.001-08:00

After 2 Years

2011-12-01T08:34:00.001-08:00

A Wise Thought !

2011-12-01T08:33:00.002-08:00

A Small Place

2011-12-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Lets Accept It !!!

2011-12-01T07:21:00.001-08:00

The Reminder

2011-11-17T07:36:00.001-08:00

Friday mornings call should have never come…….

……………………..

“Chindi choor !!!” , that’s how I would start the talk usually.

“Kaminey!!!” And a fickle smile audible enough from the other side.

My turn and “kahan margaya re itne din se ?”

“Tu kahaan hai hateley” he would reply.

The answer would be followed by a lengthy, almost never ending talk with no head and tail.

“Hyderbad main aake bhi peecha nahi chodetere tum logaan, chain se jeene nahi dete ree!” , he would utter with a witty voice after getting vexed up of my nag’s.

“jeena kya beeta , marne ke baad bhi nahi choodenge !!!”, I would answer ,and what I would hear will be the smile turning to a laugh.

Never ever imagined that day would arrive so sooner.

………………………

An alert on the lappy woke me up on the morning of 14th November. It was quite a lazy morning being a MONDAY. But the sleep escaped the eyes at the reminder.

It’s his birthday, unfortunately an unhappy one for everybody acquainted with him. It took a while to get to reality that he was no more.

Memories are what am left with. A vaccumme occupied the thoughts.

I remember now, he never said NO ! Be it for a cup of coffee at 12 O’clock in the night or useless project discussion at 4 in the morning, and nor for the late night chatter in the corridor of the hostel from 12 to 4.

And when I caught him smoking I would shout “jaldi maregaa chindi choor”

“Tu bhi shurukar pina hateley nahi to tu tension se aur bhi jaldi marega”, was his answer with that never fading smile of his.

Identity of his own. A Brand.

A “Take for granted” person he was. Reach out to him, and he is there for you.

Memory takes me back to the time when I was in a critical time of submitting a prototype of my project. I was in a state of absolute frustration as the model was not taking the right shape.

A mechanical design flaw was destroying it. Middle of night I woke him up for help. And at a moment’s glace he was at work with me fixing that thing. We worked almost the whole night I remember and the next day was a relief for me.

“don’t even think of thanking – made me stay awake whole night for a f* small thing –“ he shouted out of the corridor.

“I will repay it dude- some time “- I replied.

“Yeah yeah- get me a cup of coffee for now “ was his answer with a tap on the back.

………………..

Time ticked faster it seems in the past two years. We hardly met a couple of time.

And just a week back I got a call from him asking if we could meet that evening.

It was almost 30km distance which needed to be traversed and he insisted he would come down on his bike.

“By the time you reach here, today will become tomorrow”. I said

“Next week on Saturday- I will come half way and we will meet there –“ I assured and he agreed.

………………….

A call to my mobile woke me up at an odd hour on the morning of THAT Friday. A quick look at the watch and it showed 8.20 A.M.

Unwilling I lifted …

“Bharath met with an accident on his way to office”, the voice on the other side trembled as it spoke.

“What !!!” - I dint believe my ears.

“He died while being moved to hospital!!!”

..............................

That call should have never come, I wished as tears rolled in my eyes.

Regret is what I am left with, for not meeting him on the previous Sunday.

A promise of mine would remain un-kept for life.

He left us in sorrow and despair on 11.11.11.

….. In Loving Memory of Bharath Vasi.

Friend,Guide, An Icon,The Brand Man

Hope -

2011-10-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hope - Hmmm..
Hope ..........
Hope is what it takes to stick to a fight....
To believe , there will be light.. even after the darkest night....
Hope is what it takes to keep walking the path the instincts suggest
In daring to rise after every downfall , walking again without rest......
Hope is what it takes in going ahead even with the future's uncertain-ness ...
In chasing that dream , the eye conceives & the brain harness......

Hope.........

Finding Happiness

2011-10-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was told happiness can be found on the next turn - I travelled & took that TURN - & Alas what I realized that it was way too late......

I neglected the little boxes packed with ouches of time I could have spend with my Maa.......was way too busy trying to un-solve the mystery behind the Pythagoras theorem.....

I overlooked that concern my Papa would show in knowing how my day was...........My homework would buy me couple of laurels.....

My sister insisted on playing game of the caroms which she never won against me - but never gave up the fight,...... I was too tired to talk to her even........

And after a quarter century of life - I stand at that very turn I began......

Searching for Happiness ....

Back then I was told I would find happiness down that road I was instructed to traverse - the beaten track......

And Now - I know not, what the path I would take will lead to ... The uncertain future.......

But - I will not miss all those beautiful moments that I get to be with my family -
the strongest of my strengths ... the luckiest of my luck's..... they remain at my side in what ever I end up in....

Thank I must , to the ONE for such a wonderful gift......................

Indian Formula 1

2011-10-11T14:20:00.001-07:00

What more can one ask for. The biggest sporting event "F1" in India.

Gazal Lost Its King

2011-10-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Jagjit Singh - The Mesmeriser

Gazal lost its king - One voice that you would not like to forget. One voice that would make its home in your thoughts let your mind be in any state. It would stay there soothing you in the saddest times or showering laurels in the happiest moments.

Hardly a day passes by without humming any of his works.

Hoshwaloon ko Khabar Kya - The ecstasy of love well depicted in this master piece. No other song , I came, across can make you feel the joy of being in love.

Wo kagaz ki kasti wo barish ka paani....... it reminds of the childhood as though we are reliving the whole of the events.

Syaam Se Aankh main Nami se hai.... the memory of the departed ones or of them that we miss deeply.

A great loss it is to the Music world which is rapidly changing with exodus towards fast track music.

A soul touching voice will no more be heard. But it will surely wander the thoughts -

Meri Awaaz Hi phechaan hai....Gar Yaad Rahe.............

Steve Jobs - Dots Yet To Be Connected

2011-10-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

The change maker is no more - The Dots are yet to be connected. But the trail he left behind will surely be cherished for ages to come. The God of "I" things I would say - So does the world.

The Sugar Spun !

2011-10-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

The cycle bell that Rajesh would ring gathered 20 odd schools kids outside the Primary School.

”Buddi ke baal “, the kids would refer the eatable that Rajesh sold. Primarily cause it appeared to be bunch of old lady’s hair, and secondarily, they did not know if it has any other name as such !

At 5 bucks a packet, Rajesh managed to sell 30 odd in an hour of time.

His day started on a usual note just the way it does on every other morning. He worked on the machine that made the spun sugar. He then packed a bunch of spun sugar, usually pink, carefully into polythene. The school was quite near to his home; hence 50 odd samples would suffice for the morning. He can very well

return after the classes start and prepare another 100 for the lunch break. He would have a 50 of them kept aside.

He however waited for someone anxiously at the gate. A kid it was, that would buy most of them. It was 5 past 10 already and the a view from the gate indicated the classes began , yet there was no sign of this boy.

“Is he not coming ?, should I wait or go !“ , Rajesh thought as he kept staring at the right turn at the end of road , from where the boy usually came.

It was almost a year ago that they met. That morning Rajesh was at the school gate with his spun packets. He managed to sell very little that morning. it was a cloudy and it started to rain eventually.

Rajesh tried moving his bicycle to look for shelter, but the vehicle refused to move cause of the chain that stuck the wheel from moving. By the time he could free the wheel from the chains grip, the rain had his packets drenched and what was left behind was the sticky liquid dropping out of the packets.

There were enough packets that would add up to a KG or Two of sugar. That meant a huge loss compared to the little profit he made. A loss implied a night without dinner for his family.

He sat by the footpath. Few tear drops escaped his eyes out of sorrow. A night of suffering is all it counted.

Moments later, there came and stopped a car, a black one. It had an amazing glitter all over its body. At the front was a still circle with a inverted Y, Rajesh observed. He was too depressed to think what on earth it stopped in from of him.

A boy of around 12 or 14 years of age got down out of the vehicle and walked straight to him.

“What makes you cry!”, commanded the boy with a tone of authority rich men are adorned with.

Without a word Rajesh showed the packets hanging from the stick, most of which were soaked in water.

“Get me a 50 of these in the afternoon- I will buy them at 6 bucks each….” saying thus the boy turned and walked to the car. The driver of the vehicle had already opened the door for the boy to get in, however the boy stopped and turned to Rajesh.

“I want every one of them, miss the count and you will miss all the bucks…” and moments later the car zoomed past him into the school.

Rajesh did not get why the boy wanted to buy so many of them and that too at a price higher that what he usually sold at.He was excited and thought no more, rose to his feet, got hold of the bicycle and stated home. On his way back the same car overtook him with a lightning speed.

Rajesh hurried back from home with the number of packets the boy told him, to be on the safer side he carried some additional numbers....."miss the count and you will miss all the bucks…" he remembered

He was surprised to find the boy at the spot they met, minus the car with the inverted Y in the metal circle.

“You are late. Anyway. Did you get 50 of them? “, the boy questioned with almost a similar tone.

“Yes I did!”

“Count them!”, he ordered, “fast!”, not paying much attention to Rajesh’s panting.

Rajesh parked the bicycle and counted the packets.

“Faster!” the boy got impatient at the speed with which Rajesh counted.

“Forty, forty one, …… “,

“Enough! Take this and give those to Me.”, he handed 300 bucks. Before Rajesh could react, he grabbed the stick removed the extra packets and hung them to the bicycle and gone he was.

Rajesh, though happy, could not really figure out what one earth the boy was going to do with them. “Might be his birthday!” he thought to himself as he started the ride back.

It was after a long time he was happy.

The other day, the boy came to where Rajesh parked his bicycle. Paid him 300 and took 50 packets.

“Can I know what the occasion today is?” Rajesh questioned curiously.

“None of your bloody business okhaii!” answered the boy aggressively.

The next day the boy came, he bought the same quantity and left.

And this continued to almost a year, Rajesh never questioned the boy there after.All he would do was to keep 50 packets and sometimes a 100, aside without selling even if he ran out of general stock. He would wait for the boy and the boy never missed to buy.

One day the boy did not come, nor did he turned up the next day. And the next and the next. Days passed.

He did not come even today.

Rajesh was anxious why the boy did not turn up. He walked into the school to enquire. It was after long time that he stepped inside that school again. The one which use to be his until that unfortunate event.

He was unsure whom to ask.

“Rajesh!” he heard someone calling.

“You are looking for Sidharth, if am not wrong?” a lady questioned as he she neared him.

“…I ??”,

“The boy who bought sugar spun from you!”

“How did you know that?”

“Well, Sidharth told me you will come looking for him when he is gone. So you stated going to school with you savings I learnt?”

“Who told you that now?”

“Why do you think he would buy 100 of them on the month ends?”

“…..”, indeed , Rajesh thought to himself. The boy would buy double the quantity, and that too one or two days prior to the end of month.

“Where is he now?” Rajesh questioned the lady.

What the lady told in return was something unbelievable. With a heavy heart Rajesh walked by the school compound.

“Why should it happen to him!”, it was heartbreaking to hear that. “it’s unfair God” he shouted skywards in sorrow.

Rajesh sat on the bridge over the canal on the banks of which the school stood. It was almost a year and a half that his father expired. Unable to pay the fee, he continued his father profession. Little he made to feed himself and his mother. But after he met the boy he made extra bucks. He saved some to go to school.

Now the world seemed to at standstill but for the steam of water that was flowing with a rhythmic sound.

A pile of packets by the wall captured his attention.

A pile of packets, partially pink in color........

I Exist Damn It! What If My FACEBOOK Page Does Not!!!

2011-03-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

“Are you not on FACEBOOK! “

“Hmm! “ , Raj replied with a half a smile to cover up his discomfort.

“Really? “ , came the question his way…..

“Hmm”.. Raj maintained a status quo. Lately he adapted to appear calm, even though the question annoyed him.

“I can’t believe it!“ the fellow exclaimed, as though a punishable offence is committed.

“You have to “, he made the point clear & leaned back to rest and closed his eyes.

“Being so”cialized, these days, implies a FACEBOOK, that’s the bottom line.

   The journey was exhaustive being lengthy. And Raj was happy to find a fellow of his age to chitchat with. But the fellow’s over enthusiasm about knowing stuff Raj did not, kept Raj frustrating as they moved on.

“Hey... Did you ever see anything like this” he stated after an unconcerned HI, showing yet another of those electronic gadgets from his bag, besides the N* Nokia, A* IPAD, F*T* watch and some more of those cozy thing he was adorned with. He had almost everything a person of his age is expected to have.

“That’s a present from my cousin: cool huuunhh!!” … “Ofcoures from US “he informed, as if he expected the question.

“But I can’t believe you are not of FB. Come-on half of the world is!”…and he continued

   FACEBOOK has this, FACEBOOK has that… it has what ORKUT or TAGGED do not have and what it has not, that ORKUT and TAGGED have….

And he made an attempt to invent putting his brain at work … once at least …

“You know what… There should be forum in FACEBOOK for people who are not on FACEBOOK… “

“In there people who are not on FACEBOOK can explain why they are not on FACEBOOK…. There must be reason rii’ght. …. Trust me half of the world is on FACEBOOK. There must be sooo”lid reason to be not on FACEBOOK..”

“if they were on FACEBOOK and they no longer are … then what made them to move out of FACEBOOK…… who the hell would want to move out of …. FACEBOOOK : the most happening thing around…….“ he continued not being bothered if he was listened to.

“You must talk to Mark Zuckerberg about this……!” Raj interrupted, rather aggressively after his tolerance reached to verge of breaking. After all he heard the name a 100 odd times…..

“I was saying who would want to move out of “FACEBOOK””, it was evident he was trying to prove there was no world if no FACEBOOK. What Raj wondered was if he paid attention to the his statement….

“By the way… who the hell is MARK Z… Zuc.. What’s that …. Dint catch you….” ….

“ it’s ZU’ KAR’ BERG” Raj replied with a notion of pride.” He is the one who created the FACEBOOK“he concluded.

“Ohh……! “He exclaimed and he turned to face the window. One could see a certain inconvenience in his attitude. Raj assumed he felt sorry for not being abreast of the man who made half the world stick to his invention……

“Who cares anyway….”, he broke the silence with the same enthu as before, ”So I was taking of a forum in FB…” he continued being least worried of the information that was provided.

Raj paid no attention to what was being said…. wondered how the meaning of acquaintance is being changed
from being physically aware of a person to virtual sense, in the e-world, where one is least certain of the identity people provide.

“Guess what I have 1400 friends out there in the FACEBOOK ! “.. he declared after a momentary silence ….”Four”teeeen hundred odd you see….” He concluded expecting Raj to be bewildered at his achievement.

“ohk”, Raj subdued his anguish. Replied merely to respect the protocol of conversation.

“and they span, all around the world… “ he continued, unconcerned, “500 from the US, can you believe it. ?” …..
“do have a bloody choice!”. Raj ruled out sarcastically.

“u don’t believe it right !!!”, he took the sarcasm to disbelief..

“God save him from my wrath, I am about to burst.” Raj told to himself. “I believe you my friend…..!”, he replied trying to sound normal all along.

He never cared to listen to the conformation and he continued,” how can you even think of believing, you never even sa”w the FACEBOOK! “

He struck the wrong note. Raj was out of mind at his last words.

“How many friends you said you have?”, Raj was angry, but tried sounding tranquil.

“What? .. “ he was surprised at the question .

“Friends! How many of them you have? “
“1400 plus “

“Give a count including your real life friends”

“Another 20 odd! “. He replied after a moment of thought.

“Good.. When did you last talk to any of you real life friends?”

“3 days ……. 4 .. a week back I guess “

“Now think well before you answer the next question …. Say you are in deep trouble, god forbid, and it’s a matter of life and death; give a count of people who will come to your rescue- !”
……………….
“Three or four may be! “, he was alarmed no doubt.

“Where are they from? The FACEBOOOOK ? “

“No, they are my school mates and a couple of them my neighbors.”

“When is the last time you had a talk with any of these people whom you can count your life on?”

He was silent. It has been ages one can sense.

“And you claim to have 1400 odd friends. I don’t say it’s not a worth to have a chain of contacts. Or a page in the social network. But that’s not life. FACEBOOK cannot be life. “

He turned pale; Raj knew he would dislike the whole conversation. But he pulled the string harder, and pay the price he must.

“Its people around us who count. They are the real ones. They deserve our time. That is what I feel” ……

“ I have 20 odd friends, I meet every one once in 2 days, I talk to them , their families, we party we share …. We live… We exist! “

“My FACEBOOK page doesn’t exist, but I do……..!

Now…………Ask yourself! “
…
…
…
“Dude, What you do?”, Raj broke the silence, which lasted for a while now.

“Sorry sir “”,

“I said what you do for a living? “.

“I work at the reception, for a continental hotel! And what about you sir? “

Raj smiled and said,
“Well…….
…………. ……I program…………..
……………………….for the FACEBOOK”……………………………………………….”

   And silence is what followed as the plane soared, piercing its way past the ambush of clouds and the sun, after traversing half the world, continued its journey down the western horizon……

The Bicycle

2011-03-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

The T-Wave that struck the city recently left no part of the social life untouched. Auto’s, the only mode of transport back and forth to office, went on strike, the other day. Some way I managed to reach office. Going back was now the challenge I had to face.

I set out. Walked past the main gate, and was aghast to see not a single vehicle to take a ride on. Couple of calls I made to enquire the cause for the horrific state. Waited for a while and seeing no light of hope, I let me legs do the job.

People of the same profession are sympathetic to their fellow mates, and to exploit a lift under such circumstances is easy. But that hour in the day saw not many coming off their duties and there was not much movement on the road. The few, who came, were already booked with fellow riders and I was left with no option but to walk my way back to the junction from where I could manage to get a city bus.

I walked… though the junction looked to be at farther end of the world cause of the tiredness clouding the body and soul, I walked. And after a few steps I heard a bell ring of a bicycle. Surprised I was, for, on this path I walked, a bicycle was least expected.

I turned to see who that gentle man was, that dared move around on a bicycle. The surprised was levitated as I found that the rider was a little boy, of 10 or 12. He could barely touch both the pedals at a time. And he made a herculean effort to ride the bicycle over the elevated road.

A boy, of 10 or 12. With curly untidy hair. The dress he wore was on the verge of being torn. Most part of it was dirty, little that was neat, had cloth patches used to cover up the torn part .the feet had cracks, evidently because of the chemicals the cement has. Paint like white shade covered all of the visible skin and most part of his dress. A boy of 10 or 12.

A ray of hope, I realized, on a path which saw no vehicle for 15 minutes. But with the attire I possessed, would I take a ride? , pondering thus,

“Could you give a ride?” I requested the boy who kept pedaling as he moved past me. He stared at me as though I made an unpardonable crime by intervening into his world of joyousness he made out of the bicycling.

He stopped after couple of steps. Possibly for the innocent face I put up, or at the attire I wore.

“Sit”, the boy commanded.

“You sit, I’ll ride”, I insisted as I caught hold of the handle.

“Nop, I will ride!” the boy never left the handle go out of his grip.

“No, you will not be able to! let me ride”, I replied at the innocence of the boy. ”you are just a little kid”, I tried bullying.

And he handed his vehicle to me. We set off, once I made him sit on cross bar…..

“Where do you work?” I questioned out of curiosity.

“Back at the construction “, he replied, “my mother, father, and uncle work “, he continued, mostly, enthusiastically.

“No school?” I asked. I could see his face turn to an expression we call frown.

“T-Band – !”, he said.

“Hmm…. Where are you going then? “,

“To get a cigarette packet!” the boy replied, “to the junction!”

“You smoke? “, I teased.

“Noooooooo… for my father, mother. Uncle and their friend!” he smiled as he replied.

“Don’t they know it’s harmful” I questioned to see what he would say. He nodded as an answer and smiled.

My muscles were stressed at the effort I put up. It was ages that I rode a cycle. Ages it has been that I even touched one. Or well... the truth is that the body has accustomed itself for a stress free life. It’s the mind that is stressed out in the kind of work I do. The body, it’s at resting state most of the times. And for a sudden motion from stand still, after effects are deemed to follow.

“What work u do..?” I asked him breaking the silence which lasted for a while.

“I carry brinks to the top and empty cement trays to bottom”, he replied. “And I water the walls when all bricks are over!”

“And what are you paid.”

“My father knows it!” he said. ”he buys me a rubber ball and couple of chocolates now and then.”

“He promised that he will buy a dress this Sunday. But there was no work for two days. So he doesn’t have money now.”

There was no work for two days. I remembered the T-Band and yet another national band called by the opposition condemning the price hike.

“We dint even had breakfast today”, the boy interrupted my flow of thoughts.

“Mother said, we have to save some grains for couple of days, there could be more bands soon.” the boy concluded.

Save the daily wages the family gets, they seem not to have any regular source of income. And the price hike and agitations add to their misery.

We neared the junction and my thoughts were filled with vacuum as I peddled.

There was misery, suffering all around. Question was “who is responsible?”

“wanna eat something ?” , I asked the boy out of concern. Long days work it must have been.

“May be a cup of tea? “, I re-questioned after he nodded.

He took the control of the cycle back as soon as I got down. And before I could even make an attempt to offer him something, gone he was……….

The Seat By The Window!

2011-01-14T05:54:00.000-08:00

“ is someone sitti……..” I felt I heard someone saying ……
   The voice damped out…….deep sleep gulped me…… why would I love to break such a heavenly Trans to answer a stupid question…….“is the seat occupied ! “……….. generally
& if it’s a man who is asking ……..particularly !!!
   I dint move a bit. The hand ki that I used to cover my eyes provided a blurred visual of people searching for places to seat themselves.
   I boarded the bus to the city at the start point and there were hardly 3 to 4 passengers. Although I sat by the window initially, but altered my place to the one next as the cold breeze of 6 in the morning, that was finding its way from the miniature gaps the windows left, was piercing the body like the sharp knives cutting through the soft skin, once the bus setoff.
   And eventually, I was carried to the heavenly worlds of dreamland where I wandered the beautiful landmasses the waterfalls, deserts and past the oceans and …… .
“ is that seat occupied ! “ the voice commanded , I could sense.
Crap!!!
   Such was the nap that an hour passed in a blink of an eye. I wondered when we traveled that 30km and reached the next major stop, which at other times is a hell lot to cover particularly on the dusty roads partially under repair most of the times.
“The seat…….” The man became restless. I could not gather why he insisted on enquiring me until I saw the baggage on the seat by the window.
   The Bag ……….. My Bag , I remember placing it there.
“I guess so…….!” I finally replied.
   That was the punishment I could give for disturbing ….. thrice…….
   The man moved onto the next vacant seat behind me…..
“ keep walking ……….!” I felt the joy restore, which I lost when he woke me out of the nap of utmost ecstasy.
   And I slid back the Handki over my eyes to prevent the ascending brightness, as the sun started to appear, from stealing off, that little drowsiness that was left behind.
And
“Is the seat occupied !!! “ …………. I heard someone utter…………..
“ Nop ………….. not at all “, I said as I moved the baggage to my lap and gave way to the person to the seat by the window, smiling all along !!!
   Of course it was a lady……… fairy?......... can say so………….. fair enough though ! if not fairy!
“Not every day one happens to acquire such a lively (lovely) co- traveler”
   Someone truly said………… “Every dog………….!” Ahh…..not an apt comparison I suppose.. yet
   Well…… she settled and no sooner she did, I observed that little of the drowsiness escaped off the eyes.
   The brain became alert. Chemical imbalance, I read it sometime back, out of extreme excitement possibly cause of high sensory activity which might involve vision as well, triggered by the proximity effects …… that’s a bit of information I suppose.
   And the handki moved to my pocket,…………….voluntarily
   And we set off again to cover rest of the 4 hours of journey.
………………………….
   The ring tone of a mobile woke me up……
   Not sure when I slipped to sleep.
“What the H….” , I held my words. After all it was her mobile.
   Never mind ….. I thought.
“….office ! …. No … won’t be going today! ,” I (over)heard followed by a chuckle…..
   The sweet voice sounded like a hundred violin’s playing “Come Josephine in My Flying Machine!” at the background.
   God has a way with the design of the female species, I thought.
   If the girl is cute, Then let the voice be sweet. – I smiled to myself at the thought, and felt proud of the discovery. Unfortunately I had no one to share it with.
   There is another side of it I realized. If the girl is cute, then let the boy hear her voice as sweet, irrespective of the modulation her throat brings about – and the smile faded…..
   Gaad izz great !
   And I decided to start a conversation. After all, not every day you get to make a friend.. girl to be specific.
   The call ended…. I made up a question in my mind “ which company you work for…. “ that sounded apt for the situation. Safe and diplomatic. All is well… I told my conscience. My heart raced. All of a sudden I could hear nothing but my heartbeat. It’s a stranger that I must start to talk. The words passed off the throat. Reached the mouth I could feel…. And
“…….. “ , I felt I spoke, but the voice never came out ,I released. And she put the mobile back to her handbag, closed her eyes to rest.
“shit ! dumba** “ , my brain prompted the heart ! or the other way round as I leaned back out to mourn on my failure.
   Trust me; the words never came out of the mouth.
   Half the journey was already covered I realized.
   The time showed 8.30.
   Another call to her mobile and my fortune favored to listen to that sweet voice.
“ will reach by 11. Not sure if I will go to the office. ..” she replied…
   Fate, I assumed, gave a second change.
   The call ended….. I had the question at my disposal… “ which company you work for…. “
Ya .. that’s the question … apt one…. I practiced to myself a couple of time…. So as not to sound stupid…. My heart raced as I rehearsed…. I could hear nothing but the question and the heart beat intermittently.
“ which ………. !” ,
   Ah… ! she turned to face me…… for a moments glace and back she leaned and closed her eyes.
I clearly saw her this time, I was left dumbfound.
   She turned out to be prettier than I assumed she was, at the first time I saw her . Drowsy I was. And the proximity of a female species does make the mind go crazy. I had little more that a glance to decide on her features then.
   Little more than a glace I had, even now. But her face glowed cause of the sun rays that escaped the window on the other side, that hit her.
   Did she hear me? ..
   Did she not? . I pondered scolding myself all the way for being an introvert.
“nine onza nine…. nine twoza eighteen…. Nine threezaa twentyseven….”, a girl on the front seat was uttering.
   And we smiled. She smiled.
“so you work for a software firm….!”
   Bravo …. I asked just to find the glace to extend to a stare in amazement.
“Of course yes! “She replied. “About you?’
“hmm ... unfortunately!” I took my turn to reply and she burst into a laugh.
   God indeed has a way with pretty girls.
“which company? “, I questioned.
“Wipro …… And you! … Don’t tell me you are from Wipro As well!” she said in a teasing tone.
God ……… indeed.
“ha ... no no… it’s CG!” I replied with a smile following her.
and we kept talking……bout work…..bout qualification….. bout recession….. bout nativity and nothing at times.
   She amazed me in every possible way a girl is expected to. And she smiled at my silly answers. Exclaimed at the little truthful information I conveyed just to see her wondering.
   Time flew with Josephine in Flying Machine….. faster the clock changed.
   Why does happy time end so fast, god has a way with that too….. I had no choice.
And we neared….
   She explained a route to the office, which I pretended not to be aware of …. Just to hear her speak of course.
   And she did it in quite a detail that I felt like telling the truth that I knew the route….
   But ….. I never said so.
   Fortunately her residence was on the same route and we decided to board a city bus once we reached the city.
   We found couple of seats similar to the one we traveled to the city in.
   One by the window and the next one to it.
   I offered her the seat by the window…… the bus was completely occupied with that last two vacant seats being captured by us. Couple of people boarding behind us and were forced to stand.
“should I ask for her number? mail id? … “was the next question that constantly hit my thoughts after every pause we took of the conversation?
   And before I could push myself beyond that threshold to dare ask a contact, her destination was reached.
We shared a fairy well….
   And she got off the bus leaving a vacuum in my thoughts.
   The world suddenly went numb... Nothing really seemed real.
   I was doubtful if I was even travelling in a city …….. or was wandering in a desert of loneliness…
“Do you believe in destiny” my conscience questioned.
   If I do, then we would cross ways some time ……
“can you give way please!” …….
   I was dragged to reality before I finished my conversation with my conscience.
“Sure …..!”, I lifted my face just to find ………….
   And the pleasure restored, heartbeat raised, and unexplainable joyful inconvenience surrounded me as the bus took pace ………….
GAAD IZZZ GREAT !

He Was Family

2010-11-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

Boys don’t cry!

Do they …

They don’t …. I dint cry

But he was family after all.

I dint talk much to him recently. I was a grown up now. Not a school going kid, who had ample time to play around, anymore. However we would exchange those concerned looks.

Did I say school, ah! What a beautiful time we had. I would hurry back home just to find him waiting for me, not sure if he did wait, but I would assume so. I would teach him how to catch the ball. He learnt it pretty well sooner than we expected. He would go catch it and get it back, only if that female dint cross his mind or way, otherwise he would follow her leaving the ball to its fate, which would, of course, be me getting it myself. He was a naughty fellow indeed.

And he was a terror. People literally feared to walk that way he went. Merely his sight would send a shiver down one’s spine. It won’t be exaggerating if I say that no one ever dared look him into his eyes. He remained unpredictable to us even. We never knew what make him happy and what made him sad. If he was too happy, he was too dangerous to mess around with. He caught my foot couple of times I tried messing, but was careful enough not to cause any damage as such. But he certainly left a fear in me and I started being careful not to play pranks.

We were all busy figuring and fixing our own lives that we forgot to spend time with him. The moment I g0t back home I buried myself into the 17” monitor surfing net like a mad man. Only when I went to the stairs that I remembered he was around. I wondered what he was feeling like. But was too busy to wait and enquire and would simply get back to the PC.

Lately he was being sad and would go around the streets in search of his mates. He would return late at nights. Sometimes dint return at all. I was too busy with my life that I barely noticed until today, at this point in time , when I realized what I have lost. That 24k idiot box would not shower the affection that he would have done. Had I spent all that time with him, I would have left with sweet memories of his at least. I guess I would not forgive myself for that.

He is no more. A call to my home was answered by sad news. He was run over by a speeding school bus. He dint suffer much however. The death came almost instantly. Thank god he dint suffer that pain.

But surely he left us all in pain. A vacuum occupied my thoughts the moment I heard the news. All the happy past flashed. Suddenly I was here and suddenly I was there. I tried stopping the flow of thoughts that literally brought my world to standstill. I was no more concentrating on what I was doing. The world went numb.

We would call him KARAN, the unbeatable one. What if he was a dog, he was family after all.

And I dint cry.

Boys don’t cry.

But for those few drops that managed to slip out of my grip in trying to hold them back and which I quickly dried before anyone could see them.

Boys don’t cry, lest there would be no point in being a boy.

But he was family…..

He lacked the tongue but not heart.

An Appointment

2010-11-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

It’s when a dozen voices start answering you for the address enquiry you make to the person sitting next to you, in a densely packed CITY bus, guiding you almost till the destination is reached, that you realize you are in Hyderabad. If you are lucky, there will be cases when you will be escorted to the place you wish to reach. I wasn’t that lucky however at that hour of the day. It was not a busy hour; however the traffic on the way was quite enough to give the bus a halt sometimes as long as 15 minutes at a stretch. Being somewhere on time is a dream that never come true for me. Sometimes I start late, and other times ….. I start late…..

All in all, I never miss to be there, even if it’s an hour delayed. With a look at the mobile I realized I was running late by 15 minutes. The stop seemed to be nearing and just then I heard

“This is where you have to get down ! “ the conductor shouting from the other end of the bus.

“Yeah !, this is the stop , don’t jump,”, an old man insisted looking at my position on the foot board, “ the bus will stop at the stop !” he concluded.

“ Come on uncle , am a software professional !” , I tried to convey but my voice never reached the poor fellows ears.

“right here , this is it “, the boy who stood by my seat all along conveyed. He looked quite happy to get that seat as I left it. No wonder he was in a good mood to inform.

“ya I was told !” I replied.

It appeared to me as if I were a thief, being chased and the crowd shouting “Catch him catch him!” on my back as so many of them were eager to get me off the bus. The place was quite familiar to me and as it had been 3 years that I dint move around, that I just wanted to confirm if I was getting down at the right place. But the CROWD.

I quickly jumped off the bus as it slowed down just near to the stop, ignoring the old man’s instructions. I could still hear him shouting, not to do it. The place changed a lot as 3 years is quite a long time and for a Hitech city as this, things change rapidly and get beyond the point of recognition. The divider that lay in the middle of road appeared more or less like the china wall. Raised 2 feet above the ground, I couldn’t figure out if it was just a road divider or a country’s border.

“ Bloody contractors , they leave no chance to eat away governments money!”. Said I to the man who was in the venture of crossing the wall, sorry divider, along with me. He ignored my statement and went on his way jumping onto the other side. I wondered if he was a contractor himself as I crossed to the other end of the road. “ Who cares anyway!”.

The last time I moved around the place, it was deserted, almost no shop’s or bakeries. Things changed a lot. I slipped myself into one of those familiar looking streets as I moved ahead to make the appointment happen. It was already 25 minutes past 7, and I desperately looked around to get good picture of the place and to see if I could recognize any of the surroundings. I failed miserably and without wasting much time on pondering the reasons of my failure, I enquired in one of those road side CHAT BHANDAR’s.

“Is this the way to Hyd Eye Clinic!”, I asked. The fellow gave a sarcastic look, as the smile faded which he put up when I was approaching his vehicle, probably because I was interrupting his work or might be that he was expecting a customer out of me and I turned out to be yet another trespasser into his part of the land.

“ Go straight !” he commanded as I was just nearing the 4 wheeler, pointing to the direction he insisted me to move, and I guess wishing that I don’t get much nearer to his kingdom.

“ thanks !” I dint lose my part of decency as I replied with a smile expecting the smile back, which never came my way.

The street narrowed into a lane as I moved ahead hurriedly without paying much attention to the surroundings. The screen shot of my last visit to the place suggested my moving to the next lane and I did exactly as was expected to do. The time running out on the other hand, I never cared to pay attention to the notice boards around. As I entered the lane, i could see no proper light source around but for the headlamps of the vehicles passing by now and then. I moved ahead expecting to find the place. a couple of enquires and I was advised to move ahead. A junction came where I had to make choice between two ways. I took the right and I was right in choosing it, I guessed.

I walked for another 5 minutes and the place started looking familiar to me. I presumed I was finally there. The lane broadened into a street and there I could see the board of the place I wished to give a visit. What I saw next startled me. Looking at left I could see the same Chat Bhandar I enquired in. soon I realized that I missed reading the boards and made a merry go round of the place. since there were no customers at his vehicle , the owner smiled at me, as I looked puzzled. I guess he got that I made a fool out of myself.

The appointment went quite well, however the smile dint leave my thought. I dint want to get into a fight so I slowly slipped off to the other road instead of going from the one I came, after the appointment. Soon I caught a City bus back to my abode.

“The way that I came was the way I should be going back!”, thinking thus I seated myself to the nearest empty place I could find .

“ IIIT Stop” , I told the conductor as I got some change off my pocket sufficient enough to get the ticket, as he approached me after quite a lot many stops after I boarded.

“We come that way, we don’t go the same way , you are into the wrong bus !” the fellow exclaimed as he smiled . The bus moved past the nearest stop to my location .

“NOT AGAIN ……….!” I shouted in despair.

A Ten !

2010-11-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

The morning sun was getting brighter and the climate was getting hotter as the bus set off after a long wait. Running late on Monday morning I was in no mood to wait for another bus, though the one am sitting in was fully loaded with almost no gap even for the wind to pass by. Had I not jumped into the bus when it was about to reach the start point I would not have made it to that seat immediately next to the reserved seats for ladies. It was a 2 seater and I left the window coz of the sunrays that were directly hitting the head. The 10 o’clock sun shone at its best and, 1 minute at such a spot and you will have the baking effect.

A boy found his way to the seat immediately after me and was about to jump into the seat by the window. As it was a seat painted in green I took the chance to seat myself into it without paying much attention to the paint above the window indicating ladies reservation. Generally it’s the yellow painted ones are reserved for them. The boy was careful enough and he pointed to the paint as he paused in his attempt to occupy the seat.

“The seat is in green !” , I said ,”we can argue if someone insists us to get up”, I explained as he looked confused unable to decide on whether to sit or not to. Further he had no choice either but for sitting on that one empty place in the whole bus. He adjusted himself.

The bus took pace and I started to search some pretty face in the front to sooth the eyes. Unable to find any that could capture my attention; I turned to the streets and wondered if I would ever make it to the office with that speed the bus was being driven.

“Ticket’s!”, commanded the conductor as he snapped his fingers.

‘Gachibowli….” Said I as I gave the Rs.12 that’s needed for the ticket.

‘Here … !” he whispered as he handed over the ticket.

At that very moment a lady found the vacant seat in the one before us and got herself into that place.

“Ticket’s!”,the conductor snapped again pointing to the women.

“Gachibowli…. “ the lady requested as she gave the Rs.20 that was with her.

The conductor took the 20 and slipped it into the bag he carried, and got the ticket punched. The lady gave a Rs.2 coin so as to get Rs.10 back from the conductor. The man took out a 10 and held it in his hand as he saw her searching for the coin in her bag, obviously he was expecting the 2 so that he don’t have to give Rs 8 in return. The man took the 2 from the lady, handed the ticket but did not give the 10, and moved ahead to the next seat.

“I gave a 20 !” the lady shouted as she was bewildered at the act of the conductor.

“no you dint !”, the man replied showing the 10+2 which he still held In his hand.

“No, I gave 20 , you dint return the 10 !” the lady explained.

He got furious and took out all the money he had in his bag and showed there was no 20.

“She took out 20, am not sure if she gave you!” the man standing next to her informed as the conductor put up a question mark face looking at him expecting him to clarify.

“She gave 20 !” I could not wait anymore to help the lady get back her 10, and being a spectator of the thing that was happening.

“Ohh ! is it.. !” the fellow gave a sarcastic statement , “ if there are soo many witnesses of the 20 she never gave, what’s there for me to say” , he concluded as he gave the 10 to her.

Evidently, he was not worried of the 10 he lost , but what mattered most was the defame he faced. Now was the trouble time for me. I giggled as he turned his back on to us, looking at the situation he was in. A blunder from my end as he heard me even after my being at most careful.

He might have let gone the issue had he not heard me smiling at his back. Now he was furious. He looked at me with an urge to hit me hard, I could feel it in his gaze. My being next to the ladies seat saved me……… I guessed.

At the next stop a group of women with their children boarded from the front, and reached directly to the place I was sitting in. one of the ladies pointed at the painting above the window. I knew she was expecting me and the fellow next to me to get up and get lost as it was ladies seat.

I pointed at the seat indicating it was green and not yellow.

She got my intension and again asked me to look up.

“Bloody hell !” I thought, and was about to make a move but the fellow next to me insisted to stay, so I paused.

The kids, they almost started seating themselves on the seat. The lady gave a look at the children and then to me. Blackmail , I felt for a while, but had no choice but to get up looking at the little menace’s that were making hell lot of noise.

There came the conductor again. Quite happy to see the situation I was in. gave a sarcastic smile. Gave the tickets to the ladies & giggled as he left the spot I was standing in. I could see the joy in his face. He was the happiest being on earth at that moment.

I couldn’t help but smile as he left. I was angry at the kids but felt pity for the conductor. At one point I was so furious , I thought of giving the Re.10, which he lost , out of my pocket . But then , Rs.10 is quite a big amount and I gave up the idea.

The bus picked up speed but the traffic on the road made it run late by almost a half hour. I was too late to the office already and could not afford to waste any more time. So I jumped out of the running bus at the IIIT stop where I could find the shuttle directly to office. The bus stopped however since few girls were to get down at the very spot.

There he was !... the conductor standing at the back door of the bus, looking at me, with an expression I would never forget. He came all the way from the front just to catch me get down, and why will he not……………

I owed him the Rs.10 he lost in battle with the lady.