MY HERO OF THE YEAR 2010!

A year on the wane- and I sat looking back at the gone days- thinking about that an incident that had an impact on me this year. It gave me my Hero of the year 2010!

Traveling by bus is something that had I learned to enjoy with much difficulty. If I can avoid it, I would. Fact however remains that I had aspired to become a 'Bus Conductor' in my 1st standard (Trust me- I did not know then that Rajnikanth was a Bus Conductor before he became an actor!). I felt and still do feel that it's almost Magical- for at times- a conductor of a crowded bus almost defies gravity and still manages to cut the bus fares! His 'Balancing Act' is that something that attracts me the most! The second thing that attracted me about the Bus Conductors was the Bag- Full of money!!! The clink and clank of coins, the rolls of paper currency held in his hand like a Japanese Hand Fan and bright colored ticket papers! I used to think that Bus Conductors are the richest people around to have got so much money!

But then- as I was growing up, I found that my views about the entire 'Bus Travel' had changed. This happened- to me precise, my 12th standard. I usually avoid crowded buses. But one day- it was very late and I probably had some test or something (else I could have done a “suffering from fever”, of course!) And I boarded this extremely crowded bus at 8:30 AM in the morning. No one would budge and I was hanging out on the foot board of the bus- with only the people hanging behind me to support me! Until then, I who had always admired the heroics of Kamal Hassan in a tamil song- 'Valai Osai' from movie 'Satya' (where he hangs on the steps with the heroine) felt that he should seriously consider a romance inside the bus! Safety first (no pun intended)! I was terrified. I had almost fallen off, whenever the driver felt like pressing the brakes. I got down almost two stops before my bus stop, and walked all the way the school from there, only to stand outside the class for the next 45 minutes for coming late. And, I had missed my test!

As the years rolled on- I had had further unpleasant bus experiences where I had to stand for almost 2 hours when I had to take the public buses to get to my college. And even worse were the exam days- when I actually stood in a crowded bus trying to study a year's worth syllabus in 45 minutes! I had lost my liking for buses since then.

This incident, where I found my Hero happened about a few months back- in a bus. Under unavoidable conditions, I get home by bus. That evening the crowd was unbearable. A group of college students boarded the bus. Almost all of them were trying out various heroics typical to their age. One of them- who looked very determined, did a Kamal Hassan in 'Satya'- paying no heed to the conductor who kept shouting at the top of his voice, asking these guys to get inside the bus. He kept throwing wise-cracks at his friends, holding the bar with just one hand and all the other circus stuff. Suddenly, there was a trouble on the road and the driver applied brake. This clown had lost all his balance and fell right in the middle of the road, amidst the traffic! The Rickshaw-walas and two-wheeler drivers abusing him had absolutely 'no effect' on his thick skull and he boarded the bus once again, now a complete Hero, with all his dumb friends cheering for him!

There was this lady. Sitting in the seat adjacent to the door- fat, dark and her hair tied up high into a thick bun. Her Bindi covered almost her entire forehead. Nobody saw her rising from her seat- and she slapped him real hard on his back with such a force that the fellow was thrown off balance once again! Now looking totally confused and speechless, he silently moved into the crowd and became invisible throughout the rest of the journey!

Kudos to her! I felt like getting her autograph!

It's never too late to tell these 'Roadside Romeos' that heroism is not risking your life! A Hero is someone who values his life! If a Hero has no idea about the value of his life, how can we expect him to value another's? It's a feeling that almost most of us have deep down- to give a good thrashing to these guys, make them behave better for their own good. She had the guts and the heart to do it. She did it. And I am sure- almost everyone who had been on the bus on that day with me would agree- that she is my HERO of the year 2010!

26/11- THE NUMBERS

Two years ago- this day, I had realized something. I had realized that the term "Terrorism" was not just a term used by politicians almost everyday of their term in or out of office. It is not just a term that could grab you a prize when used appropriately in say- a debate or essay-writing contest in schools. It is not just a term used in lazy chats along with tea and biscuits. It is a term, very real. And its reality is something that you realize only when you feel it. Not read, not talk, not think- but feel it. You feel it- when those Numbers- 200 or 300 on the television screens cease to remain mere numbers. You feel it when you dread the ringing of your phone. You feel it- when you see a family lose a father, or a husband or a brother or an uncle- in a mere moment that you had never thought you would see soon. People are born and are dead each day of the year. But on a few of those days, the birth or the death mean something to you. Not numbers on television screens or the newspapers- but an invisible rope tying up something tight deep down in your mind.

The two years have faded in time. And every now and then, during this time- when media runs out of stories or when celebrities “Tweet” about it, the episode emerges out from its ruins like some ghost of the Christmas Past! And as all the “dutiful” citizens do- we usually tend to stop doing- whatever that is, we do and listen to what the media has got to say. Even though we are all the “all-knowing”, “cynical”, “true-citizens” of this great Nation- we still like to believe that justice prevails sometimes. It’s a real word that means something outside the dictionary too. Even though we are realists, our thoughts, still tend to get influenced by fantasy. We try, earnestly, to be the “unintelligent”. And it is with all these fantasies crowding our thoughts- we pause to live our lives and listen to what the media has got to say. Sometimes- rebut, or denial at times or sometimes it is about how the “sole-captive” enjoys singing old Bollywood numbers! With a secret pride whooping the conquest of intelligence and realism over fable and fantasy- We, the Citizens, go back to our “peaceful lives”.

Two years the candles had burnt with their flames fueled by the souls of the lives gone. And let’s say, twenty years from now- something does happen. Something close enough to “Justice”. But when that happens- this great nation would have lost those citizens who would have cared for this “Justice”! Twenty years from now- from being “Acts of Terror” or “Loss of loved ones”- the invisible knot suffocating us now- would cease to do so. What was felt now- would go back once again to be “Numbers” in the pages of history. Just like Jallianwala Bagh Massacre or Hiroshima/Nagasaki. The children of the future would have to remember these “Numbers”- as they would become answers to questions on the question papers. They would mean nothing. It would feel nothing. It would remain “Numbers”- black symbols on the white pages, its existence not felt though, real.

Is this what we want? Let Lives be valued as lives- not mere numbers. And I shall wait for that to happen. I shall wait...

Older Articles on this: "Home" Calling... , A Reason, to Cry...

THE LONELY FROG

Amidst the blissful lotus pond
Moon and water shared a bond
There, lay a frog with watery eyes;
In search of a friend from land or skies!

Days and months, he waited in vain,
His heart grew weak and brittle with pain!
"A friend would come"- hoping, he stayed;
And one spring day, his prayer got paid!

Along came a buzzing, a tiny figure in sky,
Landed beside him there, a cute dragon fly!
"Here is my friend", the little frog thought,
And went along there, for its friendship he sought!

"Stay away from me", said the dragon fly,
"For I’d soon end up being a dessert in your pie"!
"No!" said the frog, his eyes filled with tears,
"Say not such words, for in my heart they pierce"!

"Don’t cry Mr. Frog", said the fly, touched,
"For I accept your friendship, and adore it, as much"!
And so, they remained friends, true to their words,
And no more was the frog lonely, from that day onwards!

PS: My attempt at a story poem!

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

Happy Diwali people!

See you soon with my next post.. Until then...

PS: Doodles done on MS-Paint

WHAT THEY CALL- “THE PASSING CLOUD”…

It is something that the elders in the house call- "passing cloud". There are so many things that mean so much more to us and so less to them. No complaints. This is not going to be about the generation gap and the little tantrums. It was the festivities around that made me open up my MS- Word this morning. Festivities- the first thing that comes to my mind- is slow background humming number by Lata- The Mangeshkar, mother holding the ‘Arthi ki Thali’, ‘Me watching’, sour faced, and someone says to me- ‘Why so serious’? Ok. I got carried away.

Yesterday- the Vijayadasami day- was just another day in a 365 day calendar. I work up late. I brushed my teeth late. Just a usual holiday business! The one good thing perhaps was- I put a nice big Thika on our cat- Thuppaandi (doesn’t mean anything. Mom named him. Thought it was a nice and funny name). He was quizzical about the entire ordeal- couldn’t understand why the entire ‘family tree’ was surrounded around him and laughing! The surprise and innocence in him- made it funnier!

But the Yesterday made me think. I am beginning to think that this line is such a cliché! In the past 4 years since I began blogging, I might have used this "made me think" line on countless occasions. Sometimes I "think" that all this "thinking" has left me with so much more to "think"- that the entire "thinking" in the process had ultimately yielded nothing worthwhile! All the philosophies and principles I had formulated inside my mind- had stayed there safe and sound- untouched by the practical world! Thanks to the "thinking".

Well, once again- the Yesterday made me think. As a young girl- I had always been enthusiastic about buying new dresses or celebrating something! But out of the blue- there is this new me- who has not only stopped thinking about the festivities- but there is something else- a strange dark evil force- stopping me to be happy about going out and shop, celebrate etc. A holiday- these days- mean just another day when I can stretch myself and do nothing!

With Diwali around the corner- I am seriously thinking about a ‘make-over’!

ACCIDENT

55 Fiction


He should not have spoken to her that way. He was sorry. He knew he was doing the right thing now.

Waiting for the Gynecologist, Dr. Sheila- he thought about the first moment they met. Everything had been so perfect. But now- this accident!

“Mr. Sharma”?
“Yes”
“Abortion? Patient”?
“Yes. Leela…”
“Mrs. Leela Patnaik”?

NEWS ON THE MOVE?

Today- 30th Sep, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: The news channels hyping up the Ayodhya Verdict to a fairly predictable effect. Certain organizations have closed down their office premises. A good thing- on the whole. While a certain poor, unlucky souls, such as yours truly, are still inside the office building, trying to predict if the office would be closed soon or not. The time is 2:00 PM- and the big people here have no intention to stop working. May be they have decided that there is not going to be much hue and cry, after all? Personally- I think all this anxiety in me is due to the news channels. One Burkha Dutt can make your pulse rate reach the sky! Imagine what a prize this is! A verdict after ages! Now this is just me- post my "news-reading" phase!

I used to think that the verdict was never going to come out. Not before the Common wealth Games at least. The game has had enough trouble so far- and the government does not need another communal riot- especially in the face of the Games! I can imagine how that would be! An end to all that "Athithi Devo Bhavah" campaign of our tourism department! That’s again me- post my "news-reading" phase! I wonder why we read news!? Don’t we have enough trouble already getting on with our own lives? Besides- there is nothing good there- happening in the news channels. It’s all a "Peepli [LIVE]" over there- a media that loves disaster! And to think things like "Commonwealth Games" just land in their lap! Amongst all this shrieks about "uncovering" corruption- a small bit of news did make me happy. Mary Kom- 5 time world champion boxer, returning home after her 5th victory!

The time is 2:11 PM and still no announcements about letting us go. Well my office and I have this in common. Neither of us thinks that anything was going to happen! Besides- c’mon! This is just High Court judgment! Whichever party loses- is sure to appeal! Big deal! Now that would take another, what- 50 years?

Thinking about this- leads me to another thought! Will my kids know who Rama is? Will they know Babar? Most of my friends have no clue whatsoever about Ramayana or the Mahabharata! Most people- friends I have known- take fancy in saying that they are atheists. To think that this is an issue that has been going since the 1800s!

Well I don’t have any view about the whole issue. I, like the media here- am awaiting the verdict. I also believe that this verdict could change a few things. Change many things. Like letting us off work? Nah! 2:20 PM… Now that’s not going to happen is it?