My Innermost Sacred Space

It has been over a year that I could pen down my thoughts and post a blog. Well, actually, I have about 3 unfinished blogs since then, 2 unfinished stories and over a 100 gazillion plots in my mind that I had the urge to write about, but couldn't even start and are dying a slow painful death in my mind. But then I couldn't help it you see. All this while I was looking for some inspiration or driving force of motivation to keep me going with whatever has been happening, though in retrospect I always see it as worrying over petty issues, and in the interim losing out on doing things that I love the most, like writing, for one. And though I did have many inspirations but all of them lacked that driving force I think. Well I can say that is because I can feel the difference while I'm having another attempt at this new piece, about which I'm pretty sure will be completed as it is, because this is something that has been closest to my heart of anythings. It had been in me somewhere deep down to express from a very long time and hasn't at all diminished, but only grown.

On the 2nd of Sept, Friday, after visiting my doctor for normal routine checkup at Ashram Chowk, I decided to go over to Connaught Place to do some formal shopping for the oncoming placement season. The feeling of power one has with a few thousand bucks in hand and let free to shop is a feeling indescribable, though, I did make an attempt in my previous blog, hence, I will not go onto that again, as this is for some totally different feeling or emotion. Something that can be experienced only parallel to the materialistic world we live in. Emotions that we may not be aware of consciously, but realize only in retrospect, cherish them and then store them forever in the deep down core of our hearts, just so that we can recall them again and have a reason to smile even in the darkest of hours. I know I may forget the most beautiful story that I read maybe a 100 times, but never will I forget the slightest of details, observable to human eye, of those times or moments that truly count.

So as I was saying, this little unplanned act of going over to Connaught Place from Ashram Chowk, led me to walk down the good ol' parts of memory lane. It had been over a year as well since I followed this path, and this once would the first time I did it in reverse. After crossing the Nizammuddin Station and circling about the India Gate, my personal favorite part of New Delhi starts with taking a right turn to Kasturba Gandhi Marg. As I said I was travelling in reverse, the first to encounter was Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, a centre where I learnt French. A place, you'd know if you've been following my blogs dutifully, which has a beautiful history, a reason that almost acquires like half of me since my conscious awakening after school ended. Then follows the road, the KG Marg, that follows up till the Barakhamba Metro Station.

Those early weekend mornings of french classes, waking up at 5-30 to get ready and reach Tilak Nagar metro station by 6-30, an effort to make it to the class by 7 was in its own way a battle (for if you know me, you know the effort it takes me to relinquish my sleep and be somewhere on time), but it had a thrill at that time for which, surprisingly, I garnered so much energy that never missed me a single class. Though, reason behind it was definitely 'Love'.

Hold on! No! I obviously meant "love for the language"! Haven't you read my blog with the same title? "Amour pour la langue"? You should, it explains it all.

But, of course, I know! In the end, it does mention that therein lay a reason behind the love for the language, and of course, that reason was love as well. So yes, you were correct in assuming the same in the first place. I just thought I could distract you from the obvious, you know. After all, it does make me gush like a blushing bride in excitement to think of those past times, any and every time the topic is brought up. And this is exactly how I felt travelling through that part of Delhi, or rather the 'Heart of Delhi', where somewhere rests my own heart.

So, travelling down the road from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan to Barakhamba MS, I almost relived the times when love blossomed, I got to learn one of the most finest languages in the world, that comes from the country that consists of the "City of Love"; the road where countless number of times me and my friends walked down after the class in hot n humid summers, and also the times when the same sun warmed our backs on wintry mornings. And slowly but steadily, it all helped me in growing as a personality that I am today, and I will take pride in that!!

But the journey just doesn't stop there! Ahead of Barakhamba MS, encloses within the outer and inner circles of Connaught Place, lies one place to with which I share a connection, or rather relation, that I will always fail in describing in words to the fullest of my satisfaction. And that place is Central Park, right in the middle of the heart of Delhi.

People ask me, why is it that I like the place so much?

Some go even further by outrageously calling the place as 'annoying'!!

And some are just so busy with other things, that they never gave it a chance to think about it.

Well I don't blame them, for I could have very well been in the same place. You see, since a small child I had been listening to my cousins or aunts or friends about their visit to Connaught Place, but never had such an opportunity myself. Hence, for me it was some place that people could never be tired of going to, like some mecca of weekend hangout/relaxation. I do have a faint recollection of going for some movie to some cinema in CP as a child, neither of which I remember. But if I really trust my memory, then it had to be the movie 'Roza', and now if I think about it, it had to be Regal Cinema, where me, my mom, cousins and aunt watched it. But that never had an impact, for as I said, I do not remember any details of it.

You see, everyone have their own version of CP. So, everyone else who visited it more often as a child, remembered their own version of visiting the place, like when my friend's grandfather could still ride a scooter and take her/him along. Over the years they grew accustomed to the place, and like other childhood memories, the impact of CP diminished as well I think.

But that wasn't for me. The first time, in my conscious awakening, I visited CP was on 1st Jan 2007, when a dear most friend Abhimanyu Mitra took me and Dinesh Singh, another dear friend, along with him. I can still recall it with every detail as one of the most beautiful evening we 3 spent. The first thing I noticed as we exited from the underground station was the wintry afternoon, with clouds all over and a cool wind blowing across my face, as if the place was conscious of its newest visitor and testing for any hostility. But just as soon the innocent me fell in love with the place, the place itself opened its arms wide open to welcome me only to never let go, because I can never go.

Promptly, we entered the Central Park, which was newly developed and was recently opened for visitors to sit, chat, spend their evening and what not. The first look one gets, after sitting onto those red stone steps of the amphitheater, is the 360 degrees view of the standard white buildings, outlined with green trees and meeting the gray sky over the horizon. I was lost! Not paying any attention to what the other 2 were talking. Though I remember Abhi was silent for a few minutes letting me sink in the vision and then promptly asking, isn't it beautiful. And with a lump forming in my throat with choked words, barely managed to say 'amazing' and nodded my head with the bestest of smiles that I must have smiled in a long time. Breathless!

And yet people ask, why do I love Central Park so much? And with a smile I just reply after a certain pause, if you sit somewhere in the middle of the steps of the amphitheater, its always a soul soothing effect to watch the sky, that meets the standard white buildings outlined with green trees at the horizon; change its color from light blue or cloudy gray in the evening, the deep fire orange near the sunset turn to yellow, to light purple then deep purple of the twilight, and slowly dark blue and finally all black of the nightfall all over the place. And once the night sets in, all the buildings with their shops turning on their lights, every evening is like a Diwali festival, with people hustling and bustling, laughing, chattering, but, at that certain spot of the central park sits a person for whom time just ceases to exist, the noise just quietens to pin drop silence and in all this fervor, that person finds inner peace; and that person is me!

People change, landscape change, situations change, preferences change, but this never ending magic of the great phenomena only makes me fall in love all over again!

So they reason, that they would have loved the place had it not been so crowded. And then can one believe the lovebirds that sit around the park? The couples don't have even a tad bit of decency!

Alas, I say, that it did become so about a year or so back. But then central park or rather CP is something like the planet Pandora from the movie 'Avatar' for me. Its like it is alive! And a few imperfections cannot affect or stop me from loving the place any less. Because you see, I was in love with the place even before I knew love existed; and when I was introduced to the Central Park was the time when it was new and still developing, exactly the time when I too was developing into a personality. The write Joseph Campbell once said, "Your sacred space is where you can find yourself time and again", and this place has exactly been that for me. After all, don't you see! This one chance meeting finally gave me the inspiration to successfully pen down my thoughts. Ah, the relieved man I am at present. :D

Before I end this, there is one more memory that I would like to share. As I mentioned earlier that it was Abhi who introduced me to CP the first time, there was one piece of information that I had which he did not. You see, Abhi is the one person in my circle who has always been good with the routes, no matter how much I fight to disagree with him, only to be proven wrong later on and every common friend of ours present at the scene berating me after! And at that time I was still a novice with Delhi's routes, so when I, for the first time and probably the only time, led him correctly to the "Keventer's" milk shake shop, which at those days served one of the best fruit shakes in Delhi; was like a major heart attack to Abhi's little ego of his showing off. (And I can't restrain myself anymore from putting a tongue out smiley at this :P :P :P). The knowledge of Keventer's location was the only knowledge that I had and the only knowledge that he did not, which let me bask in all the glory for that particular moment. Sir Abhimanyu Mitra, as close is Central Park to me, the place will always be incomplete without your presence alongside.

Whew! If you have reached this far in reading, I truly commend you for the patience that you have shown, dear reader. And as an ending note, I'd like to mention, that while writing this, even to this point I could not decide for a title to this blog. "Heart of the Heart", "My version of CP", "The most beautiful evening", etc were a few of the ones in my mind. But in the end I decided to go with the said title, "My innermost sacred space"!

Just Imagine - You Girls & 2mins Shopping Spree!

This is one of those few times when I would be calling out to my fellow good men.

Almost all of you must be aware of the much hyped, irrational, exasperatingly unbelievable - yet true - nature of shopping, of women. That very need to go and spend (read: throw) some bucks on the things that are never needed once they are owned, but seemed to be the most exclusive of antiquities kept (again read: strewn) at the shop's desk at the time. Most lavishly spent items, that will not be worn after the 1st time because they went out of fashion in an over-night, or came with a warning tag with the price tag about 2nd use.

The items in exchange of what we could buy our necessities for a lifetime!

The most excruciating fact about this nature is the hours they spend at the task. They are shopping for sure, but 99% of the time it is "window shopping". And if one is accompanying them, then only 2 types can remain sane during this herculean ordeal:

1) Hercules himself (though i doubt that, there were no malls or shopping centers or Janpath and Sarojini fish markets then. [:p] )

&

2) if one is a girl herself - a woman with the same mission.

Bad mood she would say: I know what I need... Let's go shopping!

Boredom and she would say: I know what will be exciting... Let's go shopping!

Good mood and she would say: I know what will be even more exciting... Let's go shopping!

While making plans she would say(something I over-heard):

"Tu mili nahi itne din se. And hum shopping bhi nahi gaye kabse. Chalo, let's just go shopping!"

Haven't we all heard those famous lines from those hindi ads:

"Arey SHOPPING hai jana aaj pehli tareek hai"

("Its 1st day of month, Lets go shopping")

"Koi bhi shubh kaam karne se pehle... Kuchh SHOPPING ho jaaye"

("Going to start with a new venture? Let's go shopping")

"Aji shaadi-byaah toh bas bahaana hai... humein toh bas SHOPPING par jana hai"

("Marriage. Wooooo..!! Let's go shopping")

"Money can't buy everything, for everything else, LET'S GO SHOPPING..!"

("Paisa kharch kar khushi nahi mil sakti, par SHOPPING kar ke zaroor mil sakti hai")

and my personal favourite, need we all guess it?

"Chalo kuchh SHOPPING ho jaye"

("Let's just go shopping")

How many you guys proposed a date with your girl the next day, and she casually declined as she had to go shopping. And as if that was not enough, she proposed an alternative and invited you to do the grueling task with her. Could you dare to reject that? You could?

Oh, just how could you....!! (snorts... [:p] )

(But the best apart about this case is, even if u did decline the offer, she'll not remember anything of it, as she'd be gone shopping! And that has some mysterious therapeutic feeling attached with it, that will make her forget most dreadful of pains - then who are you! [:p] )

And if there still is a point to be proven with their fanaticism, here is an excerpt of a conversation with a friend about her shopping spree:

Day 1- Friend: Main aaj ek friend ke saath shopping karke aayi!

Day 2- Friend: Main aaj dusri friend ke saath bahot saari shopping karke aayi!

Day 3- Friend: Main aaj ek friend ke liye shopping karne gayi thi and apne liye aur bhi zyada shopping karke aayi!

Day 4- Me(guessing the obvious, asked): Fir aaj kitni shopping kari?

Friend: Nahi yaar, aaj dubara se jaati toh mumma ne khoon kar dena tha.

Day 5- Friend: Main aaj mumma ke saath shopping karke aayi!

See, they are just that good! After all, mothers too were girls on shopping in their days. [:p]

_____________________________________________________________

I'm sure the feeling only adds up for guys who have to provide funds for these outings to their spouses, and honestly, my heart leaps out to the fathers who were "blessed" with daughters, only to empty their pockets as they grew up. (Disclaimer: Any resemblance to go against giving birth to girls so as to keep pockets hefty is co-incidental and purely unintentional")

One can never understand or crack the code for this behavior. As the old saying goes, even God could not understand women after creating them. So we know that we cannot separate need/desire for shopping from them; what if, we reduce the hours time that they take to a moderate but acceptable duration. Can anyone suggest the ideal time duration that you think is possible for a girl or group of girls to finish shopping? 2 hours? 1 hour? Half an hour? What about 15 minutes? Any takers for 15 minutes? Sounds impossible, right!

What would you say if i suggest, 2 minutes? ("arey 2 mins mein toh maggi bhi nahi banti, shopping kaise hogi?")

Okay, then we perform a hypothesis. Imagine, there are 2 girls named CG and PD. We select a day and let it be 17th of August, which ,co-incidentally, is also PD's birthday (and trust me, choice of the day was co-incidental and purely unintentional). So a day before that, let's say they are planning to meet, and though we aren't present on the scene, we can imagine it going like this :

CG: "Kal kya karna hai fir?"

PD: "Tu mili nahi itne dino se and tere saath shopping bhi kabse nahi kari... chal let's go shopping!"

CG: "Yeah mast hai. My sister's marriage is scheduled, I too would like to raid the shops and spend all of my dad's money."

PD: "Good idea. We'll spend the whole day shopping, shopping, shoppinnggg.... lalaaaaa...."

But now we can't let a whole day be spent in just shopping. So we follow a certain steps to complete our hypothesis.

Step 1: On the morning of the 17th, a person called AB gives an idea of watching a movie to CG and CG passes on the idea to PD who also agrees to it. The time and place is decided and the girls enter the movie hall to watch the movie, let's say, "Peepli Live!" (again, all the facts are co-incidental). While the movie is just started, take the next step into action.

Step 2: Again make CG the target (because, for some reasons we assume her to be the wilder crass of the two, which again is purely co-incidental). Once again we give an idea about watching 2 movies back to back using telepathy. She gets totally psyched with going about it and gets her friend PD equally psyched too.

And so it happens, they do watch the other movie "Aisha", come out of the theater after 5 hours and decide of going home. And here is where the actual significance of PD's birthday come in. PD realizes that the day is about to be over and they haven't set a foot on the task they decided, so insists that as it is her birthday and so she wants to do it that day itself. Hence, they divert their route to a nearby shopping mall at "Rajouri" and so the hypothesis starts taking place for real.

With the time constraint of reaching home at time but still possessing the dire need to still have some shopping, our two protagonists enter the western section of the mall. Somehow, and we don't really know why, they like nothing about it.

Point to be noted, only 30 seconds are spent (as per our sources, who bear any resemblance, if any, is totally unintentional and co-incidental)

Next they follow the the Indian section, and as per the cosmic calculations that suggest a strong possibility, both opt for the same dress; since they don't share social life strongly anymore, they both choose to go with it. Time spent: 1 minute. And as luck would have it (you see, for this hypothesis to work, the universe will be conspiring against them and taking our side for once), the cash counter is free and it takes only half a minute for them to pay the cash and be out of the mall.

And so ends our hypothesis. And we observe, the best way to curb the hassle for you guys to accompany in the long tirade of - "bhaiya yeh dikhana" "nahi yeh acha nahi hai, koi aur piece dikhao" - is to get her in the rush to home still dying to shop mode, and then witness our dear little hypothesis work its magic.

DISCLAIMER: Finally, resemblance to any character in the hypothesis with any person(s) living or dead was purely intentional and totally by choice and reason.

CG - Charu Gupta, PD - Charu's friend Parul Dhingra

Priorities First - Rest, Come A Li'l While Later...

Hmm... Yes! This is nothing new one would read about today. Since early childhood, when the pressure of our schools and colleges went over-burdening, the young and old, all have not resisted themselves from making this prompt suggestion of prioritizing our work as well as the people associated with us. The logic behind it: PROFIT MAXIMIZATION...!!

Simply attend to things first that profit you the most.

For a student, time and energy saving is profit.

For any corporation, well we all know the point. Facts and figures talk about it all.

But what has urged me on to write all this is a small incident that took about an hour ago. I was waiting at the barber-shop for about 15minutes when this gentleman walks in. The two barbers, already attending to two of their customers and trying to sell them their unique 'hair and skin solution' services, direct this newly entered gentleman to the third vacant seat and one of them promptly asks me to come a little while later as he said that it would take some time.

Though fuming silently with a hurt ego, I exited the shop, but all the while kept on thinking as to why those services were being offered to those two persons when all that I'm asked is, 'how short is my hair to be cut' or 'If I can come a li'l while later'.

The answer lied in the basic fact i realized after a few seconds of pondering.

The habit of getting my hair cut to 'microscopic' length saved me from visiting the shop for 4-5 months. Hence, the barber had to please the customers who visit him frequently than I do, also are more capable of being lured into buying those solutions than me the 'fair-skinned-half-yearly-visiting-saving-money-on-frequent-visits' .... [:p] ... had to give a tongue-out to that one... [:p]...!!

And so, the term is coined, 'Priority Customers' or 'Privilege Customers' in the banking sector. Who are offered plush comfortable sofas with AC, coffee/tea with cashew-nut biscuits to go with any time that they desire. And the 'ME', the ordinary customer, with small investments, to whom all that is offered is either a 'Self-servicing Water-cooler', which never has a cool drop for summers or trace of any hygienically cleaned glasses for use; or politely asked to wait for the lunch time; or "to come a li'l while later".

Though nowadays, the banks have come up with the tagline 'Chhote Bade Sab Ke Liye'... I will still see to it Mr. Banker, what all I'm offered or how much more politely can you ask me

"To Come a Li'l While Later"..

Strength of a Woman

Ever seen a woman travelling in a bus or a merto railway and how she would carry one child on her right arm, a handbad on the left and still holding another child with the left hand? Being pushed and pulled in the crowded buses or metros here and there still ensuring the safety of her children. Ever thought anything about it?

Well seeing such a case always stirs up a thought inside me.

Ever thought about your mother.. how she managed to do all that in one day?

What all...?? Let us explore...!!

Do you have any memories from your childhood about the daily routine of your mother? Do you remember her getting up the earliest in the morning and sleeping the last at night? How she would get up and make breakfast for all and drop you off at your school bus-stop. Not to forget, in between she would fight your claims of sleeping for just 5 more minutes, granting them to you, you stealing half an hour, then finally with her threaten of you missing the school bus you would wake up, even though the idea of missing the school seeming to be very attractive at the time.

Then her and you running everything at light's speed, from her throwing you into the bathroom to placing your uniform for minimum access time possible, which you were ordered to do before sleeping last night, you never obeying. From you taking the shortest time possible in having bath.. (sometimes not telling her that you even skipped that, still her getting suspicious of the fact).. to you taking the longest time in checking out how you looked in front of the mirror. From her packing your lunch box and setting the breakfast for you, and you skipping that too in a rush to the bus-stop, eventually to find out you are still late.

And if by some miracle you did make it to board the bus on time, you find out you forgot the lunch box.

Just as you are thinking you would have to stay hungry whole day as there is no money to buy food from canteen, you see from the bus's window, your mother running towards you from a distance making it just in time to hand you your lunch box before the bus leaves. You showing her a stupid all-white grin, now feeling energetic and bright that now everything is in order, that your talented supermom is here to your rescue (as if you were testing her talent... :-p ).

Then after the long tiring day at school when you return to the same bus-stop, she's there to receive you and you hang your heavy bag on her shoulder to relieve your burden saying you are tired as hell. And just after that you running here and there with you friends on the way to your place, suddenly feeling all charged up. Sometimes, when you felt that the unrelenting tormentors at school made you toil more than your limit, you would demand that alongwith the bag, she carries you too. Her silent protest of her being tired as well, but you ignoring her condition and sweetly blackmailing her, that pouting of the lips, those puppy eyes that could melt even a stone... how could she say 'NO' after that.

And once again you having your mischiefs with your friends while being carried on her shoulders, whithout thinking that it might just make even more hard to carry the load.

Still she would never complain....!!

From you returning in the evening after the day's play and waking her from her afternoon nap to feed your empty growling stomach to her sitting with you with patience to help you complete you homework, serving you dinner and a single glass of water which you couldn't get from the kitchen yourself but demanded while sitting in front of the TV as you could not miss on your stupid cartoons which you didn't even like... though always snatching the remote from her while she's watching her favourite soap thinking that is nonsense...

And how to describe the taste in her cooked food. Matching no one else's. The cliche 'Maa ke haath ka Swaad' tasted and experienced by everyone. After certain years, one gets addicted to her cooked food's taste but unknowingly, hence, never occuring for you to appreciate or complement it. Though she knows, that you cannot live without it, from the way you devour it, is a good enough complement for her.

Her finally tucking you into your bed, not before she made you brush your teeth. Sometimes, even telling you good night stories, or rather pressing your forehead or massaging your cramped legs till you slept, all the while yawning herself fiercely.

Still Never Complaining.....!!

So let me ask you the same question again... Do you have such memories? Ever wondered how she managed all that in just one day?

Well I would say such are the memories I have and yes, it always made me wonder whenever I saw such a strength.

Always making me feel i never thanked my mother enough to let her know, unadmittedly, unknowingly, still, how special she is in all of our lives.

So this blog is dedicated to my Mom. I thank you mom for always waking me up on time, for the most delicious food than everyone else's in my class (yes I'm being biased), for carrying and soothing me whenever I was tired and hurt, for your supermom like capability which instilled confidence in me to pass my day bravely.

For I know Mom... that no matter what or where, even when the whole world turns against me... I always knew... You would always have been there...
I know.. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE THERE... JUST FOR ME....!!

AND I CAN'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE FOR IT THAN I DO AT PRESENT WHILE WRITING THIS.

And for you dear readers, I would like to add, The Secret behind all of it has to be the unbreakable, never-ending .. 'Strength of a Woman' .. or also.. 'The Unconditional Love of a Mother' .. gifted to every woman by the almighty.

P.S.: I would also confess, I don't know how you would have felt while reading this but, I myself did get too senti and emotional while typing the last few lines. [:-p]

Hindustan.. Meri Jaan..

Last Sunday (15-Feb-09), strolling around the weekly market round the corner, must say, I was saved by one of the most disgusting accidents that anyone would pray not to experience before leaving his/her... I mean... her/his house whenever they leave.

By intuition, or may be by the same prayer of mine being answered, I stopped just inches away from a person who couldn't resist blowing his nose right at the center of the market. Either by the sudden spill of his all-the-while-before-warning-to-spill mucus, or by the irresistible nature of his public perverseness, he chose it to do it right in the mid of the trajectory of my path..

I know... Yuck..!!.. And Thank God..!!..

Anyways, 4 months since my last post, I don't just intend to explain my great luck in being saved of the humility. The irony lies in the fact that, the guy who could not resist his public perverseness was wearing a white jacket, with clearly big bold letters in black reading..... I N D I A ...!!

To think, suddenly such an action was justified! Not that one had to give a logical reason as to why he couldn't stop himself, as there was actually none!

Well, this is India. I mean, it wasn't always the same, but it has developed in its public perverseness coming off age, advancing in its 'public display of affection' with the cleanliness. (By the way, did any moral police supporter read this..?? Aww... snap..!!)

We all love our country land, that is why how can we see it barren. We need to fill it up with something. And if not anything green, what the heck, at least it is bio-degradable. (It is, isnt it..?? I mean that thing in your nose, :-p)

So, the next time we see anyone littering around, we should congratulate for her/his hearty unconditional contribution, and our chest swelling in pride, because we made our country proud.

So this blog is dedicated to the cleanliness freak people like Chaya, Nupur, Kanika, Bani, etc etc... (well you can see, all girls..!)... so the message goes out to them, that.. " The next time you scold any of us men for not having any public sense or civic sense...
Remember! It is all non-sense to us 'Men of Honour', and we will have nothing come in between us and making our country proud, hence, it is our birth given right to litter around and blow out that mucus. You like it or not..!'

This is India... Hindustan... Meri jaan... Yahan Sab Chalta hai... All is wise in here... So come, let's join our hands, and let us all blow that nose in the public the next time we are out... and make sure you wear something that boasts itself to be an INDIAN too...!!

Throw those ice-cream wrappers or toffee wrappers or any damned thing wrapper while walking on the street, the public 'USE-ME' dustbins were made just for that purpose, to be kept neat and clean. Why increase the MCD cleanliness worker's burden..??

And anyways, just me not littering around will not make a difference. It is the others who are to be stopped. They do it, why not me!

After all, I am an INDIAN too. And I make my country proud..!!..

*********

P.S.: If anyone read this, that too carefully, one might have noticed the CHANGE. I mean in the writing style, the perverseness can never be changed ofcourse.

I mean... the transformation of he/she, his/her .. to ... she/he, her/his...

This is just about another story coming up... ;-)

A Dark Hour.... Pt. 2

So, after recieving the much expected comments over my last blog, I'm Back.... with the second part to it... as I see many are waiting to know what happened next... so here it is...
The start of 'The Dark Hour'....


As the guy is hit by the car in his vague attempt to avoid it, the scene in itself was so horrific that it still causes goosebumps whenever the 3 of us (me, Kani and Chaya) are reminded of it. I still remember seeing that Kani had her mouth covered tight with her hands seeing the car's unexpected reaction to her intention of stopping it, and still a squeal managed to escape her throat as Chaya is at the backseat with eyes wide in shock and both their skins as white as a marble... and me sitting at the passenger's seat pulling on to the steering wheel as if that will stop the car.


Eventually, the car stops turning to its left any further and the engine stops. Seeing the guy falling on the right side of the car with car moving ahead of him, the first thought i have in mind is that we are successful in killing a person finally, thanks to my stupid desire of teaching them how to drive on MY CAR....

As you see my car did not have any horns... no not the ones you find on animals... the car's horns were not working, as good as not having them at all; and then the breaks had betrayed me a lot in the past too....
adding to that my decision of teaching them in a block of more than 10 houses around us would actually cause such a major catastrophie.... no one could imagine it in their wildest nightmares..!

(ofcourse a lot of people after getting to know of the incident pin-pointed at the decision.... damn them!! )

So as soon as the car stops, the other 3 guys come towards the car with the intention of killing the hell out of the driver, and I thanked God it was Kani... (not because they would not beat me, but because seeing a female... they just verbally shouted... something i was happy to compromise with at the time... )

I try to open my side of the door only to realize the reason for our car to stop...

We had hit another car on the left side... smashing its driver's seat door...!!
And dear Lord..!! Was it smashed or what...!!

Enters the devil's advocate...


Then came an uncle who owned the house to which the car belonged and he straightaway takes out the keys... all the while making me realize the deep trouble me and especially Kani are in... and chances of escaping close to being none...


Then Kani and Chaya exit the car, me finally able to get out of the confines of the car trap... and first thing I look out for is ..If.. my fears have been true in any sort of way...

I sigh a relief to find the person just lying on the nearby bench, breathing and most importantly with no signs of blood... except for, just a scratch on the arm, that too due to the fall on the road... Apart from a concussion on the leg... miraculously nothing else damage to him from being hit by the car..!

As he was writhing in pain, I apologize for the accident to the other 3 who charged at us (just verbally..) and try and explain them that nothing was actually intended but just a mistake which did not quite them but still did lower the anger in their voice..

Seeing the drama, slowly a swarm of 20 people surround us on the road which did not give me a very good feeling...

Just about then somebody shouts... " Dial 100... call the police!!"...
and I swear at him silently... ' Damn you !@^$&%*?^! '

The uncle who snatched the keys... I tell him that my fraternal uncle lives just on the other side of the neighborhood.... and he assures me that he recognized me the very instant inside the car... and shouts away at the police lover and scares him off...
(amazing me at his guts... also inducing the uncertainty of the danger ahead...)

Also as the hurted guy stands up and is able to walk... this uncle joins me in consoling the four guys and hovers them away from the scene too....

One of the 3 guys replies... ' Its okay with us now... and you may return their keys... '
To which the goody-good uncle replies.... ' They smashed my car... I have to deal with that too... you people go... '

With this my fear of being wretched returns, the smiles on Kani's and Chaya's faces, which returned by seeing the hitted guy walk away, fades away too as they see the damage... And yet again I call upon God to get us out as soon as possible with little damage and also hoping that the 'good-uptil-now-uncle' would not turn 'not-so-good-anymore' ... which i knew would eventually be.

My nervousness increases when I realize that the house we're infront of has a small shop on which stood a hoarding which read ...

' Legal papers, Affidavit, etc etc... contact: Lawyer (XYZ) Singh ' ...

Now I start cursing and swearing at my incredible fate furiously... also being all the more nervous... seeing which the Mr. Lawyer Singh comforts me saying...
' Nothing to worry... Mistakes happen... this will be solved out too.... '

' Yeah Right.. it will be.. waiting for you to quote the price Mr. Lawyer.. '
* I think and shiver also experiencing the mixed feeling of being nervous while being furious at myself *

And then comes another voice.... " Lawyer saab... you don't have to worry... I'm the witness... I saw everything... I'll be there if you need me... "

My eyes immidiately drift towards the source only to find a half naked retired man standing in his balcony. I just try to Zap him with my LAZER EYES..!!

Hell, nothing that I wished for was working right now..!!

Lawyer Singh pacified him for us too... and once again asks me not to worry..
" Till I'm here.. no one else can even cast an eye on you.. "

' Right agian... no one else..!! And what about you sir... what you looking out for... bait us out to fry the big fish (read BiG Gandhi notes..).. ?? ' ...
* still I just think and must have turned pale, but maintaining my calm *

One look over Kani and I forget my worries because she's in deeper trouble than me... If my folks get to know of it... at most I'll be disowned by my family... in the least I will be scraped off of all my liberties...

But Kani did not have a driver's license, not even a learner's one... and she can be jailed for it if this Mr. Lawyer grows onto his greed or one of these suddenly sprouting patriots might actually report to the police...

Or worst still... getting to know about this by her folks will be darker for her than for me by my parents reaction...

Also then the psychological factor that will handicap her mentality to learn driving ever again because of the first bad experience....

Time: 5:30 on 3rd of Oct '08...

A Dark Hour....

Many a times in our life, most of us come across certain situations that make a great impact on our lives: sometimes good and sometimes bad; sometimes temporarily and sometimes - unfortunately (or fortunately) - for the whole life. How fortunate having the impact depends upon whether the impact was to be cherished or is to be -- Loathed..!!

In this small insignificant (..so far..) life of mine, a lot of these situations have been dawned upon me by the so called Mr. Fate - who makes its presence felt all the time and disappears when needed the most - and according to me, the good time is not any good luck but a blessing from GOD... and the Dark Hours or the bad times are not just any bad luck but just a passing 'Phase of Life'.

Since my last post, in an attempt to revive my newly found passion for writing, I got to encounter another one of these 'Phases of Life'... but so intense in its own, any other 'Dark Hours' so far, that it seems to have created a great impact... not only in just my case... but with everyone who was involved in it.

The biggest question here is: whether one should be relieved of the outcome or one should be regretting over one's own incapability to handle the situation in anyway near to humanity..??
(To think, this one question has had my brain storming with thoughts to such an intense that it almost popped one of my head nerves causing me to faint -- luckily enough no one knows about it, of course apart from those who will read this :-p )

* Well, do not jump off your seats just yet, the mystery of this 'Dark Hour' will be out soon *

Friday, 3rd Oct 2008: Yet another normal morning, with me getting up late as usual for college (as the whole night was spent thinking about something to write :-P )... and seeing that there is no hope I'll be making it on time (usual again), I start with my getting ready routine with my usual turtle pace - and luckily enough make to college for the last lecture of the day before 1 pm... and gladly enough (as usual like always), that was canceled too!

* You should get the idea how my everyday is a usual routine *

Hence, to make a change in this habitualness of everyday routine I decided to do something totally out of the way. Me, Abhi and Kani went to Tilak Nagar for some college work and had 'Gol Gappe' instead. ( No that is not the out of the way decision).

The thing was, on the way back, I persuaded Kani to be learning how to drive on my car later that evening. (She was reluctant but I have learnt how to - to some extent - have my way with the girls :-p .. though sadly, to a very small extent )

So later that evening, Kani broke her shoe and while she was getting it repaired, I thought to try teaching Chaya instead in the meanwhile, who was very much eager and jumped in excitement over my suggestion :-p ...

1st mistake : I take her to a nearby block of houses, behind my uncle's house - instead of an open area with no fear of traffic - and on a desserted lane start off with her lessons.

With a few odd first time mistakes she is able to pick up the trick and I let her drive for few metres before calling it off for the day. Happy with the progress on the first day, we decide being regular on it, but that she would have to pay for the petrol of course :-p ...

After this being said and done, I pick-up Kani and Abhi from college back to the same driving area.

2nd mistake: And so the lessons of driving with Kani start and after explaining a bit of my basics to her she is brilliantly able to pick up the trick in just one go. At this, Abhi tries and explains me that she needs to know the real basics first, but I insist that 'lemme have it my way'.

And it so happens that after Kani puts the car into the gear and accelerates and drives for about 120 mtrs with just a little help of mine in steering the car she reaches the end of the block and is required to make a left turn. As she is making the left turn, I see 4 boys right infront of the car...!! And I shout : ...BREAK...!!!

Kani presses her foot with all her might and force, just upon the accelerator!

The car engine growls and charges down at the guys!

I immidiately pull the handbrake but because of the momentum of the car making it of no use, I turn the wheel to its extreme left as much as it can turn.

Result: The guy on the extreme left is swept off his feet and is carried along with the car...!!

(End of part 1... to be continued ... :-p)

Books That Wrote Something.....

Today, the 28th of Sept 2008 at sometime around 1400hrs ...(or 02:00 PM for those who are not used to the 24hrs time format :-p )... I was traveling by Metro, coming back from my MCA coaching class with my friend Divya... and it so happens that in front of us is a girl... (for guys interested in this... she wasn't much pretty with face... but had a decent figure :-p )... and she was reading a novel.

As with the constant metro announcement that irks every single nerve attached to your ear, one would have had problems concentrating reading, and this girl was no exception.
In an attempt to focus she was mumbling what ever she was reading, and Divya pointed it out to me and said ... ' It looks as if she is trying to cram the whole novel.' Observing now at the girl more keenly, i noticed that the novel was none other than the famous Indian best seller...
' Five Point Someone ' ... by Chetan Bhagat (An IITian and an IIM-A qualified high intellectual brain gifted person for whom India can be proud of).

Well, just a glance at the book and all the deep down buried memories came flashing back in an instant... though oddly this time, instead of a depressing abominable null passing over me, an urge to write the story behind it grabbed me, and so, i could not just resist having my new post about this. I thought of posting something else before this, but now i guess this will be it...

I had always had passion for reading, and with the discovery of various novels (mostly mystery) in my school library, it very soon became my biggest hobby for any and all times. The ones of Agatha Christie put me on the track to observe people of their nature and characteristics and observe things keenly. Finding myself successful in analyzing the situations correctly, i knew that a new part in me was carved with the help of...
'The Marvels of Agatha Christie' ....

And so, in this post, I will write about... ' The Books That Wrote Something in My Life '....

Hmmm... 19th Sept 2006: I remember this day as it is the b'day of my school friend whom I kinda liked, and the same year we had just entered college, she outside delhi and me in delhi starting with my BCA.

1st event of the day to change my life...

As my friend was out of Delhi, still I planned to call at her home number to wish her in hope that maybe she will be there for the occasion. Alas, that was not to be. And the call is recieved by her Mum! ... :-p

After a bit of introduction for a few good minutes, the common interrogation starts..
Her Mum: ' So where you taken admission?? What are you doing? '

Me: 'Well I'm doing BCA, Auntie! From IP Univ. '

Her Mum: (with a common curiosity & disgusting tone) : 'BCA!! What did you have in 12th? Commerce without maths?' ..
(commerce without maths was for the lowest graded students of school)

Me (with a taken aback expression) : 'No auntie!! I was in your daughter's class only. I was a non-med computer science student. Had scored good in 10th to acquire it easily.'
( saying last two lines with a certain pride, with also trying to impress her mom ... :-p ) ... sadly that wasn't to be either..

Her Mum(with even more exasperated disgust) : 'Then why are you doing BCA?'

Me (with helpless silent indignation) : 'Could not make it to any engineering college auntie. Did not prepare well for them... '

Ahh... cannot write any further about the silent tele-communicated (s)laughter of my feel-good factor to make it to a college. You probably get the idea...!!

2nd event of the day to change my life....

Well it was night actually. At 11:00 PM i start reading the novel.. 'Five Point Someone'.. first few pages of introduction so well written to grab my attention to such a level that, I got my eyes off the book only after finishing the last page... and did not bat an eyelid in between...!!

The story of 3 guys, making it to the prestigious IIT, uncertain, unaware, insecure, (etc etc..) as they enter college. Mess up with life just in the rebel against the education system and in an attempt to try and be someone that they were not to be. After the tragic failure of the 'fool-proof' plan and the mishap in the episode of the heavenly love story (which anyone would dream to have.. ).. the book, the story..everything... shook me to my core...

Already i was worked up completely for not making to an engineering college, and a book based on IITian grounds was exactly what i needed to add depth to the enormity of the situation. I'll be honest... I did not sleep for the next 3 nights...

I realized the 1st mistake that I made in life: Its always fun to be enjoying the present moment without thinking of the future... but what I forgot was, even though living the present.. one should not forget the dreams one sees to accomplish in life. Thinking too much of the future is harmful, but not thinking at all can be fatal. Never should anyone oscillate between the extremes of uncertainty. That there is a thin line differentiating between the desire and the reality, and anyone misjudging in between them will end up in a fall face down.

I realized that i had not only played with my future, but along with it shattered the faith, hope and dreams that were seen by so many of my family members, especially my grand parents. And then saw that i have a chance to make up for it in my upcoming college life and yet again the same competent situation of post-grad. And made sure that this time the experience of failure is not repeated... And so started the B.E.A.U.T.ful college life, with everyday being a new experience and a new lesson with a new perspective....

Amazing as it was, that a simple book could actually make me think wonders in just an overnight. It is said that enlightenment is like a flash which could appear in less than a fraction of a second.. though it took me from 11:00pm to 5:00am next day... :-p
I do not know if it was the result of damage to my brain caused by 3 sleepless days and nights... but all that i knew was that..
'This Book Wrote Something In My Life To Remain Forever.... '

(End of Part 1... to be contd....)

Love For The Langauge.....

... 'Amour pour la langue' ...

A title ...which means the same as the ' Post's Title ' in French...
I thought of keeping it just about now ....
but then dropped the idea, as for my promise in my last blog, this is not the blog dedicated to French.

This will be a short blog (hopefully :-p ) which i write to express my love in general for any language that i know, and every other language.

Lately a common use of slang is in practice by today's youth,
(apparently copied from the West, as is the trend with our movies.. :-p )...
So i thought to comment something upon it just about now.

It causes me immense displeasure, I don't know why, when people make the use of slang in their speech and in their Text messages.

For I believe, that the identity of any language is in its purity of words, grammar with the correct punctuation. Hence, abiding by this principle of mine I do pledge to post my blogs in the purest form of language that I write in, whether people who take pain to read them find me old-fashioned, prude, orthodox, or even.... DUMB...!!

The common form of slang that any of us normally come across are the use of:

• 'Ma' instead of 'My' , 'Mine', etc.
• Eating out the last alphabet of most of the words to reduce the pain to write.
• 'r bttr stll tng t ll th vwls frm ll th wrds sd n th sttmnt' .. which means --> 'Or better still eating out all the vowels from all the words used in the statement' .. :-p

• The most insane slang i came across was when a guy used the phonetic word .. 'umm' .. which symbolises the action.. 1) person tasting food.. 2) person in deep thought.. 3) or a person highly sexcited.. anyways coming back to the point... this 'cool dude' used the word... 'umm'.. ' I am '.

I mean just imagine you ask someone .. ' How are you? ' .. and they reply... ' Ummmmm...!! .. gud ' ... :-p ... normal maybe for u... but insanely idiotically funny for me ...

• N finly, eatng out sum f d alphabts 4m d wrds 2 mk it shrt enuf 2 fit in 1 txt msg... Though acceptable...
  

but what irritates me the most is the use of .. ' F ' .. instead .. ' OF '...
I mean everyone knows what the 'F' word means... :-p .. imagine that being reminded to you everytime you see it while reading the text.... changing it into a whole vulgar meaning ... :-p

'Hi! Cud u jst retrn me 1 F the thing i gav u?? ' ..... yet again.. funny... !! .. :-p


Though, you will notice the immense use of French phrases in my posts, and might call it my flaunting of the language.. well I do admit that I will flaunt... but not the knowledge...
But my ...... ' Amour Pour La Langue... '

À Mes Grands Parents....

From a long time i had been having this urge to start writing something of my own, but as with the laziness ( :-p ) , and probably more because of the fact that there is a deep ocean of thoughts that i am fully immersed in, could never decide from where to start.

But today i just made up my mind to at least start off with something, and slowly but steadily clear my mind of all the shackles of thoughts and dreams that were never poured out.. or not even ever realized...!!!

As my first blog, I would love to dedicate it and show my immense gratitude and respect (though expressed rarely).... towards the two most beautiful human beings, without whom i could not be anything that I'm today...... To my Grand Parents...!!

Most of what I type in my upcoming blogs, I believe, will mostly be something that i've inherited from my grand father, describing whom with words will be insulting the magnitude of respect I've always had for him... and also my grand mother, who has been really close and caring towards me since childhood, and has supported me all my life.

People talk of believing in God even when they say they havent seen him/her (I'm no chauvinist y nature :-p ) .
I, on the other hand, claim to be living with the 2 person who are above the Almighty for me....

Hence, my first ever blog..... to Maaji and Daddy.... :-D ...

P.S.: The title is in French, meaning... 'To My Grand Parents'... Only recently I've fallen in love with this language, so many of the phrases i use might also be from French.
These is a whole story behind this liking, and I promise to dedicate one blog to that too..