She had a pretty face adorned with an enigmatic smile . She was a black beauty and had I been a poet , I would have likened her to a black pearl , such was her radiance. Her soft lilting voice , her dark wavy hair dancing on her forehead and graceful walk held our attention.
We met her during our short trip to Kerala . As we drove from Cochin to Periyar we wished to quench our thirst with fruit juice . From a distance we could see a shop where fresh pine apple juice was being sold . As we stopped for a drink , the black beauty rushed towards our car. There was a spring in her steps and a welcome smile on her face. She was wearing a simple handloom sari and had a white dupatta thrown casually over her right shoulder. She ushered us to her single room mud house and made us sit comfortably on a bench made of bamboo and wood . She quickly arranged for a bamboo tripod which she lifted with her left hand and arranged in front of us in as decorative manner as was possible in her hut . Behind the hut was a small farm full of pine apple plants . They were selling freshly picked pine apple juice . The black beauty ran to the farm with a sickle , plucked a pine apple with her left hand , then dissected it into small pieces with a fine knife and then she put the pieces into a juicer . She moved the gear of the juicer with her left hand and the fresh juice started pouring in to a container .
Then she poured the juice in to big glasses and brought the tray to our table with her left hand , kept it on the bamboo tripod and served us smilingly . As we asked her about the farm she smilingly answered in broken Hindi mixed generously with Malayali. Though we could not understand everything she was saying we could understand that she and her husband were working on the farm for many years. They looked after the farm and also attended to any thirsty traveller who stopped by to have a drink. They stayed in a tiny hut on the farm itself. Every evening the landlord came and collected the days earning.
I took the glass and moved around in the farm behind that hut and later after I had finished the drink I handed over the glass to the black beauty which she collected with her left hand . I thanked her for the nice juice and for her hospitality , paid her bill and continued our journey .
As we drove ahead , my daughter asked me , ‘ Papa , did you notice something strange about that lady ? ’
I gave a thought and answered ‘ Oh yes , she was working with her left hand only .’ ‘That was because she had no right hand , she had lost her right hand in an accident long back . ’ replied my wife . I was astonished . I looked back towards the hut , there stood the black beauty waving at us with her left hand and a beautiful heavenly smile on her serene face .
‘ God has gifted us with so much but we understand the importance of such divinely gifts only when we loose them . See this young lady who has lost her hand but look how happy she is . Even in this dire poverty where she and her family are practically living hand to mouth , she is able to smile forgetting that she has lost her right hand . Look at the radiance on her face . She is helping her family from dawn to dusk . She is contented . She has no grudges , ’ said my wife . We were all dumb founded .
Truly we all live but only a few live life fully .
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Nest of Love
Since few days , a bird was frequenting my home , and soon followed its mate . Throughout the day the couple would chatter and make lovely sounds . The male bird was dark black in color with beautiful dark red collar . The female was slightly smaller in size , but fully dark . They selected a corner in verandah of our house . Soon they started building a nest .
Throughout day and night , they brought shreds of paper , grass , tiny branches of shrubs and twined these in to a tiny but beautiful nest . We eagerly observed the growth of the nest . Soon the nest was ready . It took about 5 days for them to build the nest . All of a sudden , chattering stopped . We wondered as to what had happened . Soon we discovered that the female had laid eggs - off white eggs with brownish tinge . Throughout the day , she sat on the eggs and incubated . She would sit still for hours together. Her size was larger than the size of the nest . Her wings would remain outside the nest while she sat there patiently . It became a routine for me to see the bird before going out for my work . The first thing I used to do after coming back was to have a look at the nest and see whether there was any sign of new born . The days passed by and every day appeared very long for me . I was not able to hide my eagerness to see the new comers .
There was enthusiasm in our home , my kids were very excited .
“ Papa , what are they doing ?”, asked my youngest daughter .
“ They have built a home , and now they have laid the eggs , and soon tiny kids will be born ,” replied my wife .
“ The way we were born ?” asked the tiny tot . My wife smiled .
The birds remained silent throughout the period of incubation . There was no chattering . Soon the tiny little ones were born . These were featherless bundle of muscle mass with closed eyes and tiny beaks . We all congratulated each other as if there was a new born in our own family .
The mother bird brought eatables and fed the new born , the father bird was hanging around nearby keeping a close watch on the kids .
Often we found the kids were alone and protruding their beaks out as if they were very hungry . Soon the mother would arrive carrying some insects to feed the young ones . The kids started growing . They started making noise and soon chattering restarted . The hungry kids would shout as if they were demanding food and the mother bird would chatter as if to assure that soon the food would be available . The moment , mother bird would arrive with food , the chattering and eagerness of the kids increased . They would jostle among each other to get their share of food .
Once early morning there was a call from my hospital to attend an emergency . I got ready in a huff and rushed to the hospital . As I was nearing the gate , a frail voice called me back . I looked back - my mother was calling me back.
My mother is about to complete her ninth decade . She has tremors involving her hands and tongue . She is lean and thin . Her face is full of wrinkles of wisdom and experience . She is an abode of love , affection and strength for me . I have always remained a tiny kid for her . She was calling me back .
“ Why don’t you have some food and then go to hospital to see patients . After all your return is unpredictable .” said my mother with a trembling voice . She had slowly come out of her room , walked with shaky steps up to the door and called me . Even in most urgent situations , I could never say no to her . I turned back to the dining table . She served breakfast for me . I gulped my breakfast in a hurry . She felt relieved once I finished eating .
As I started back for my work , I heard the chattering of the birds again – I looked at the nest - mother bird was feeding her kids .
All mothers are same , so I thought .
Throughout day and night , they brought shreds of paper , grass , tiny branches of shrubs and twined these in to a tiny but beautiful nest . We eagerly observed the growth of the nest . Soon the nest was ready . It took about 5 days for them to build the nest . All of a sudden , chattering stopped . We wondered as to what had happened . Soon we discovered that the female had laid eggs - off white eggs with brownish tinge . Throughout the day , she sat on the eggs and incubated . She would sit still for hours together. Her size was larger than the size of the nest . Her wings would remain outside the nest while she sat there patiently . It became a routine for me to see the bird before going out for my work . The first thing I used to do after coming back was to have a look at the nest and see whether there was any sign of new born . The days passed by and every day appeared very long for me . I was not able to hide my eagerness to see the new comers .
There was enthusiasm in our home , my kids were very excited .
“ Papa , what are they doing ?”, asked my youngest daughter .
“ They have built a home , and now they have laid the eggs , and soon tiny kids will be born ,” replied my wife .
“ The way we were born ?” asked the tiny tot . My wife smiled .
The birds remained silent throughout the period of incubation . There was no chattering . Soon the tiny little ones were born . These were featherless bundle of muscle mass with closed eyes and tiny beaks . We all congratulated each other as if there was a new born in our own family .
The mother bird brought eatables and fed the new born , the father bird was hanging around nearby keeping a close watch on the kids .
Often we found the kids were alone and protruding their beaks out as if they were very hungry . Soon the mother would arrive carrying some insects to feed the young ones . The kids started growing . They started making noise and soon chattering restarted . The hungry kids would shout as if they were demanding food and the mother bird would chatter as if to assure that soon the food would be available . The moment , mother bird would arrive with food , the chattering and eagerness of the kids increased . They would jostle among each other to get their share of food .
Once early morning there was a call from my hospital to attend an emergency . I got ready in a huff and rushed to the hospital . As I was nearing the gate , a frail voice called me back . I looked back - my mother was calling me back.
My mother is about to complete her ninth decade . She has tremors involving her hands and tongue . She is lean and thin . Her face is full of wrinkles of wisdom and experience . She is an abode of love , affection and strength for me . I have always remained a tiny kid for her . She was calling me back .
“ Why don’t you have some food and then go to hospital to see patients . After all your return is unpredictable .” said my mother with a trembling voice . She had slowly come out of her room , walked with shaky steps up to the door and called me . Even in most urgent situations , I could never say no to her . I turned back to the dining table . She served breakfast for me . I gulped my breakfast in a hurry . She felt relieved once I finished eating .
As I started back for my work , I heard the chattering of the birds again – I looked at the nest - mother bird was feeding her kids .
All mothers are same , so I thought .
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Just cool that heat off
All TV channels , news papers and tabloids are agog with violence , murders , loots , rape and rage . These have become very routine so much so that these appear to be very insignificant events which do not merit any mention .
A brother killing brother , son attacking father , wife plotting against husband and a jealous lover kills his beloved because she did not give an ear to him . What exactly is happening ? Why so much intolerance ?
When a person is angry , momentarily the faculty of reasoning fails . It is difficult to judge good from bad . If an action is done during a fit of rage , almost always it backfires . This results in loss of peace , self respect , respect in society and creates enmity . Then whatever a person may try to undo that action , he does not recover that respect and dignity again .
Many a times a situation arises when it is difficult to control one self . My teacher said , “Count ten , your anger would subside , if you are very-very angry , better count hundred ”. What he meant was that one should never take a precipitous action in the fit of anger . Better cool down , relax and then act if at all you must . One of my acquaintance resigned from the job in a fit of rage only to find that he has landed himself and his family in a financial soup. When I look back , I recollect many events when I expressed my dislikes instantly without giving a thought and almost always I had to eat an humble pie .
One of the ways to win over an unpleasant situation is to see the events from opposition point of view . We tend to judge only one side of the story while often the opposite side has also some substance . This simulates situation of Dhritarashtra who never saw anything wrong in the actions of his son Duryodhan . Even in our day today life we tend to over react in a situation which otherwise could have been ignored .
We often form an opinion without judging the circumstances in which an event happens . Once I expressed my displeasure to my daughter for not listening to me . She started weeping with her hands hiding a piece of paper . I snatched the paper from her hand and found it to be a hand made greeting card with the ‘ Happy birth day , Papa ’ written on it . She was busy in drawing the card when I was calling her . She thought that she would surprise me by offering the hand made birth day wish card but instead she got a firing . I had hurt the innocent child without realizing her sentiments . I took her in my arms with moist eyes .
There are usually three driving forces which make us move . These are name ( or fame ) , money ( or property ) and sex . Most of the problems we see around revolve around these three driving forces . We tend to run after these forces . The craving for these is insatiable . The thirst for these can never be quenched .
Most of the crimes committed are due to one or more of these forces . In today’s rat race of life , we have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values . We have reached Moon and Mars but we do not get time to meet our neighbor staying very next door .
We tend to be angry when our ego is hurt . We tend to be egoistic if we are empty within . Every time we get angry , we are in fact defeated by ourselves , for it is easy to get angry but difficult not to be ! Those who are full of love , will always forgive and forget . In the history of mankind we find that only those are remembered with affection who have sacrificed , be it Jesus , mother Teresa , Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King . We would like to forget likes of Hitler and Saddam .
During my childhood , whenever for some reason I got angry on any one , my mother would say ‘ krodhe paap , paape mrityu ’ which means , it is sinful to get angry as anger causes self destruction . There are innumerable incidences in the history where anger resulted in self destruction . Whether we talk about mighty Ravana or Duryodhana , it was anger that eventually destroyed them .
Be a little tolerant , hold little patience , sacrifice few egos and extend your hand of love , try to understand other’s point of view and if all these do not prevent you from getting angry , keep the gun aside and just cool that heat off .
A brother killing brother , son attacking father , wife plotting against husband and a jealous lover kills his beloved because she did not give an ear to him . What exactly is happening ? Why so much intolerance ?
When a person is angry , momentarily the faculty of reasoning fails . It is difficult to judge good from bad . If an action is done during a fit of rage , almost always it backfires . This results in loss of peace , self respect , respect in society and creates enmity . Then whatever a person may try to undo that action , he does not recover that respect and dignity again .
Many a times a situation arises when it is difficult to control one self . My teacher said , “Count ten , your anger would subside , if you are very-very angry , better count hundred ”. What he meant was that one should never take a precipitous action in the fit of anger . Better cool down , relax and then act if at all you must . One of my acquaintance resigned from the job in a fit of rage only to find that he has landed himself and his family in a financial soup. When I look back , I recollect many events when I expressed my dislikes instantly without giving a thought and almost always I had to eat an humble pie .
One of the ways to win over an unpleasant situation is to see the events from opposition point of view . We tend to judge only one side of the story while often the opposite side has also some substance . This simulates situation of Dhritarashtra who never saw anything wrong in the actions of his son Duryodhan . Even in our day today life we tend to over react in a situation which otherwise could have been ignored .
We often form an opinion without judging the circumstances in which an event happens . Once I expressed my displeasure to my daughter for not listening to me . She started weeping with her hands hiding a piece of paper . I snatched the paper from her hand and found it to be a hand made greeting card with the ‘ Happy birth day , Papa ’ written on it . She was busy in drawing the card when I was calling her . She thought that she would surprise me by offering the hand made birth day wish card but instead she got a firing . I had hurt the innocent child without realizing her sentiments . I took her in my arms with moist eyes .
There are usually three driving forces which make us move . These are name ( or fame ) , money ( or property ) and sex . Most of the problems we see around revolve around these three driving forces . We tend to run after these forces . The craving for these is insatiable . The thirst for these can never be quenched .
Most of the crimes committed are due to one or more of these forces . In today’s rat race of life , we have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values . We have reached Moon and Mars but we do not get time to meet our neighbor staying very next door .
We tend to be angry when our ego is hurt . We tend to be egoistic if we are empty within . Every time we get angry , we are in fact defeated by ourselves , for it is easy to get angry but difficult not to be ! Those who are full of love , will always forgive and forget . In the history of mankind we find that only those are remembered with affection who have sacrificed , be it Jesus , mother Teresa , Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King . We would like to forget likes of Hitler and Saddam .
During my childhood , whenever for some reason I got angry on any one , my mother would say ‘ krodhe paap , paape mrityu ’ which means , it is sinful to get angry as anger causes self destruction . There are innumerable incidences in the history where anger resulted in self destruction . Whether we talk about mighty Ravana or Duryodhana , it was anger that eventually destroyed them .
Be a little tolerant , hold little patience , sacrifice few egos and extend your hand of love , try to understand other’s point of view and if all these do not prevent you from getting angry , keep the gun aside and just cool that heat off .
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The lighter side of darkness
For the aam aadmi , i.e. the common man the load shedding has proved to be a boon in disguise .
It has instilled a sense of punctuality , endurance , discipline among the masses and also has taught value of money to common man .
Load shedding has taught us the value of time . The government offices are having record attendance now a days . The employees do not have to work as due to load shedding , computers do not work. Once the lights are back , they can do overtime to compensate for lost hours !
Nothing can be more punctual than load shedding schedules . I often correct my watch timings with time of load shedding . By and large electricity department never follow Indian standard time while applying load shedding . They possibly follow Green witch timings , as at exact time , the lights would go off .
The load shedding may help in reducing country’s population by default . By and large during our most crucial moments , the lights go off. When a patient is very critically sick , needs to be brought to the hospital by lift , or needs to be hooked to a cardiac monitor , the lights would go off . The patient undergoing major surgeries or dialysis , or infants in the premature baby unit suffer most .
The wives of the surgeons are very happy as they are now finding their better halves more at home than in the hospital . Their children have also started identifying their parents as their doctor parents find more time for children due to load shedding .
The parents are happy too . The children who had become addicted to television serials are now back to the study tables with kerosene lamps !
Earlier due to well lit nights , the stars in the sky were not visible but now we regularly watch the sky and wonder the creative skills of the Creator . The moon has regained its lost glory , it blesses the world with its soothing light during load shedding hours .
Besides human beings , the vertebrates and invertebrates too are joyful due to load shedding . The mosquitoes are happy as the mosquito repellents are mostly electricity dependent . These are the days of merry making for these poor tiny creatures . After all they also need to survive ! Mosquitoes also help in controlling countries’ population by inflicting humane with dengue and malaria .
The mosquito-net sellers are also very happy . They had never seen such a boom in sales of mosquito nets .
The people dealing with inverters and generators are more than happy now a days . Their sales have soared high . Sale of petrol or diesel have also soared high , as the generators need fuel to produce power . It is but natural for the prices of these commodities to go up .
All the good and auspicious works are done during early morning hours , i.e. bramha-muhurtum . Similarly all the black deeds are done in dark hours of night . The thieves and dacoits have hay - day now , thanks to load shedding . The petty thieves and chain snatchers are turning in to full time thieves . The thieves are becoming dacoits . I wonder whether the dacoits would now think of joining politics and bring a constitution amendment to make load shedding compulsory !
Because of hot climate and mosquitoes , people are not getting peaceful sleep during load shedding . The staticians dealing with demography are predicting that there is a likelihood of population boom for obvious reasons !
Load shedding at times may create funny situations . In a town in South India , during a period of load shedding , in a mass marriage ceremony , a groom garlanded a wrong bride in the darkness and a bride in turn garlanded her own friend instead of the groom . Fortunately the wrongs were detected in the right time and then the elders of the family did the needful to rectify the mistakes .
In spite of so many benefits , the aam aadmi are the unhappy lot . These poor , stupid , so called tolerant chaps are drained off and virtually squeezed to the extent of intolerance due to load shedding .
It has instilled a sense of punctuality , endurance , discipline among the masses and also has taught value of money to common man .
Load shedding has taught us the value of time . The government offices are having record attendance now a days . The employees do not have to work as due to load shedding , computers do not work. Once the lights are back , they can do overtime to compensate for lost hours !
Nothing can be more punctual than load shedding schedules . I often correct my watch timings with time of load shedding . By and large electricity department never follow Indian standard time while applying load shedding . They possibly follow Green witch timings , as at exact time , the lights would go off .
The load shedding may help in reducing country’s population by default . By and large during our most crucial moments , the lights go off. When a patient is very critically sick , needs to be brought to the hospital by lift , or needs to be hooked to a cardiac monitor , the lights would go off . The patient undergoing major surgeries or dialysis , or infants in the premature baby unit suffer most .
The wives of the surgeons are very happy as they are now finding their better halves more at home than in the hospital . Their children have also started identifying their parents as their doctor parents find more time for children due to load shedding .
The parents are happy too . The children who had become addicted to television serials are now back to the study tables with kerosene lamps !
Earlier due to well lit nights , the stars in the sky were not visible but now we regularly watch the sky and wonder the creative skills of the Creator . The moon has regained its lost glory , it blesses the world with its soothing light during load shedding hours .
Besides human beings , the vertebrates and invertebrates too are joyful due to load shedding . The mosquitoes are happy as the mosquito repellents are mostly electricity dependent . These are the days of merry making for these poor tiny creatures . After all they also need to survive ! Mosquitoes also help in controlling countries’ population by inflicting humane with dengue and malaria .
The mosquito-net sellers are also very happy . They had never seen such a boom in sales of mosquito nets .
The people dealing with inverters and generators are more than happy now a days . Their sales have soared high . Sale of petrol or diesel have also soared high , as the generators need fuel to produce power . It is but natural for the prices of these commodities to go up .
All the good and auspicious works are done during early morning hours , i.e. bramha-muhurtum . Similarly all the black deeds are done in dark hours of night . The thieves and dacoits have hay - day now , thanks to load shedding . The petty thieves and chain snatchers are turning in to full time thieves . The thieves are becoming dacoits . I wonder whether the dacoits would now think of joining politics and bring a constitution amendment to make load shedding compulsory !
Because of hot climate and mosquitoes , people are not getting peaceful sleep during load shedding . The staticians dealing with demography are predicting that there is a likelihood of population boom for obvious reasons !
Load shedding at times may create funny situations . In a town in South India , during a period of load shedding , in a mass marriage ceremony , a groom garlanded a wrong bride in the darkness and a bride in turn garlanded her own friend instead of the groom . Fortunately the wrongs were detected in the right time and then the elders of the family did the needful to rectify the mistakes .
In spite of so many benefits , the aam aadmi are the unhappy lot . These poor , stupid , so called tolerant chaps are drained off and virtually squeezed to the extent of intolerance due to load shedding .
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Beloved's departure
I love green . Green is the sign of prosperity . Green is soothing to eyes , its a serene color . And she was wearing aquamarine green outfit - a shade of green which we see if we look at deep sea . She was elegant , bright , sober and well dressed draped in aquamarine green - the color I love .So it was not unusual for me to fall flat for her right at the first encounter .
She has been my partner for more than eight years . She can not be forgotten . During all ups and downs of my life , she was there . Whether during rains , chilly winter or scorching heat , she was by my side .
During heavy rains she will just surround me , embrace me and prevent the rains from touching my body . Oh , how secure I felt !
She has been there during scorching heat . She did not allow the rays to touch my face . She used to shower on me a cool breeze . In that cool breeze , my eyes would automatically shut and I felt like going in to a deep slumber .
During chilly winter , she would give me warmth . In her lap I felt safe . She would keep away the chilly wind .
Whether I was in jolly mood or otherwise , my this darling would caress me and cool me down . She would as if sing her heart out to me when I was in blue mood . She was my Love .
The days are never always the same . Human heart must not be trusted . Especially a man always has one or other weakness . I have weakness for beauty . I can not possibly blame myself for this . After all its the rule of the nature to fall for beauty ! History shows that even the Gods and rishis have fallen for beauty .
One fine day , I met another beauty , very elegant , beautiful , sophisticated , and charming . My heart dwindled and from that moment , my inclination was towards the new entrant in my life . My Love must have understood this . She must have felt how cruel I have been to her , for I have used her for so many years . During good and bad days , she shared with me all the joys and agony , but now the time had changed . She must have felt it . A night before , when I had finally decided to leave her for ever , I touched her tenderly , kissed her and embraced her .
“You have been my love for years darling , but you see , my heart is weak and feeble . I am unable to resist the beauty of the new entrant in my life .” She possibly understood . She said nothing . But I could feel her silent cry . She definitely did not want to leave me . I had always been very gentle and loving towards her . Did she feel cheated ? Did she say that a man must not be believed .
How unfaithful a man could be !!
I handed her over to an unknown person with broken heart . He took her away from me . I felt a sharp shooting pain in my heart . Then I realized for the first time that I had fallen in her love . But it was too late to withdraw from my commitments to the new beauty . I looked at my Love being towed away and with heavy heart I waved her good bye .
She was my aquamarine green car of last eight years .
She has been my partner for more than eight years . She can not be forgotten . During all ups and downs of my life , she was there . Whether during rains , chilly winter or scorching heat , she was by my side .
During heavy rains she will just surround me , embrace me and prevent the rains from touching my body . Oh , how secure I felt !
She has been there during scorching heat . She did not allow the rays to touch my face . She used to shower on me a cool breeze . In that cool breeze , my eyes would automatically shut and I felt like going in to a deep slumber .
During chilly winter , she would give me warmth . In her lap I felt safe . She would keep away the chilly wind .
Whether I was in jolly mood or otherwise , my this darling would caress me and cool me down . She would as if sing her heart out to me when I was in blue mood . She was my Love .
The days are never always the same . Human heart must not be trusted . Especially a man always has one or other weakness . I have weakness for beauty . I can not possibly blame myself for this . After all its the rule of the nature to fall for beauty ! History shows that even the Gods and rishis have fallen for beauty .
One fine day , I met another beauty , very elegant , beautiful , sophisticated , and charming . My heart dwindled and from that moment , my inclination was towards the new entrant in my life . My Love must have understood this . She must have felt how cruel I have been to her , for I have used her for so many years . During good and bad days , she shared with me all the joys and agony , but now the time had changed . She must have felt it . A night before , when I had finally decided to leave her for ever , I touched her tenderly , kissed her and embraced her .
“You have been my love for years darling , but you see , my heart is weak and feeble . I am unable to resist the beauty of the new entrant in my life .” She possibly understood . She said nothing . But I could feel her silent cry . She definitely did not want to leave me . I had always been very gentle and loving towards her . Did she feel cheated ? Did she say that a man must not be believed .
How unfaithful a man could be !!
I handed her over to an unknown person with broken heart . He took her away from me . I felt a sharp shooting pain in my heart . Then I realized for the first time that I had fallen in her love . But it was too late to withdraw from my commitments to the new beauty . I looked at my Love being towed away and with heavy heart I waved her good bye .
She was my aquamarine green car of last eight years .
Friday, September 26, 2008
Aborted Love
I had fallen in love .
She was a beautiful lass in her twenties , fair , charming and always smiling . When she talked , stars glittered and a sweet fragrance spread all around . She had dove like eyes . A sweet smile adored her face . With movements of her head , her earrings would dance . Her wavy hairs played hide and seek game on her innocent face .
I saw her first in a social gathering while celebrating Durga Pooja . I saw her offering prayers to the goddess . With closed eyes and calm face she looked exceptionally beautiful . I thought that I must get acquainted with her . But how to start ? Soon I got an opportunity , she was sitting alone in the pooja pandal . Where the heart loves , there the legs walk .
I approached her and asked , “ Pinki , when did you come here ?”
She said smilingly , “ Since an hour , but by the way , I am not Pinki , but I am Anju . ” Albeit I knew that she is not Pinki but that was my way of finding out her name !
“Oh , Anju , your face looks so familiar , by the way , do you stay in civil lines ? ” I must know where she stays.
“ I stay in Ramdaspeth ” said she and added , “ why don’t you just say that you wished to talk to me ”. We both laughed . We developed a good friendship over a period of time .
Later whenever she met me , my heart would sing a wild song , it would race fast and my face would turn pink .
She took keen interest in whatever I did . She had a good sense of humor .
Once with a trembling heart , I proposed her to accompany me for a movie . To my great delight she agreed instantly .
On the D day , I decided that in order to impress her , I must look smart . I had a clean shave . Looked at the mirror , oh , no , not good enough , I shaved again . I wore nicest dress , looked myself thousands of times in the mirror . Do I look presentable ? Oh, no , my shirt does not go well with my trousers . I changed the shirt , looked at the mirror , oh no , the shirt is definitely sparkling , but the trouser looked a bit dull . Now it was the turn of the trouser to be changed . It went on and on and on . Some time I changed the wrist watch , at times the handkerchief , applied a little powder and thought the next moment that it looks little too much , and washed my face off the powder . My shirt got wet in the process . I had to change the shirt but then the new shirt again did not go well with my trouser !
I had my shoes shined and spent half an hour to give my shoes a shiny look .
At last , I got ready . I sprayed a little perfume and started for theatre hall . Am I too early to reach ? She will presume that I am too eager to meet her . Oh , no , I should be reaching the hall little late . In fact , let her wait for me . Very thought of her waiting for me gave me a sense of déjà vu .
I reached the hall just little ahead of the time . Soon I saw the sweet thing reaching the hall . She wore a light pink attire – the color of romance .
‘Hello’, said she .
‘Hi ’, I replied . ‘ How is life ?’ I asked her with full enthusiasm .
But my enthusiasm dampened a little . She was accompanied by a boy . My heart sank . Who could he be ? Love is blind , friendship closes its eyes .
“ Meet my fiancée , Arun ” she gave a sweet smile and introduced the lad , who I felt was most indecently dressed , his shirt did not match with his trousers , had face full of unkempt beard , wore dirty shoes .
Many are the roads that do not lead to the heart . I felt like having eaten few quinine tablets . My love feelings evaporated in to thin air .
She was a beautiful lass in her twenties , fair , charming and always smiling . When she talked , stars glittered and a sweet fragrance spread all around . She had dove like eyes . A sweet smile adored her face . With movements of her head , her earrings would dance . Her wavy hairs played hide and seek game on her innocent face .
I saw her first in a social gathering while celebrating Durga Pooja . I saw her offering prayers to the goddess . With closed eyes and calm face she looked exceptionally beautiful . I thought that I must get acquainted with her . But how to start ? Soon I got an opportunity , she was sitting alone in the pooja pandal . Where the heart loves , there the legs walk .
I approached her and asked , “ Pinki , when did you come here ?”
She said smilingly , “ Since an hour , but by the way , I am not Pinki , but I am Anju . ” Albeit I knew that she is not Pinki but that was my way of finding out her name !
“Oh , Anju , your face looks so familiar , by the way , do you stay in civil lines ? ” I must know where she stays.
“ I stay in Ramdaspeth ” said she and added , “ why don’t you just say that you wished to talk to me ”. We both laughed . We developed a good friendship over a period of time .
Later whenever she met me , my heart would sing a wild song , it would race fast and my face would turn pink .
She took keen interest in whatever I did . She had a good sense of humor .
Once with a trembling heart , I proposed her to accompany me for a movie . To my great delight she agreed instantly .
On the D day , I decided that in order to impress her , I must look smart . I had a clean shave . Looked at the mirror , oh , no , not good enough , I shaved again . I wore nicest dress , looked myself thousands of times in the mirror . Do I look presentable ? Oh, no , my shirt does not go well with my trousers . I changed the shirt , looked at the mirror , oh no , the shirt is definitely sparkling , but the trouser looked a bit dull . Now it was the turn of the trouser to be changed . It went on and on and on . Some time I changed the wrist watch , at times the handkerchief , applied a little powder and thought the next moment that it looks little too much , and washed my face off the powder . My shirt got wet in the process . I had to change the shirt but then the new shirt again did not go well with my trouser !
I had my shoes shined and spent half an hour to give my shoes a shiny look .
At last , I got ready . I sprayed a little perfume and started for theatre hall . Am I too early to reach ? She will presume that I am too eager to meet her . Oh , no , I should be reaching the hall little late . In fact , let her wait for me . Very thought of her waiting for me gave me a sense of déjà vu .
I reached the hall just little ahead of the time . Soon I saw the sweet thing reaching the hall . She wore a light pink attire – the color of romance .
‘Hello’, said she .
‘Hi ’, I replied . ‘ How is life ?’ I asked her with full enthusiasm .
But my enthusiasm dampened a little . She was accompanied by a boy . My heart sank . Who could he be ? Love is blind , friendship closes its eyes .
“ Meet my fiancée , Arun ” she gave a sweet smile and introduced the lad , who I felt was most indecently dressed , his shirt did not match with his trousers , had face full of unkempt beard , wore dirty shoes .
Many are the roads that do not lead to the heart . I felt like having eaten few quinine tablets . My love feelings evaporated in to thin air .
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Lucrative Dowry
She is very sweet , beautiful and pretty . With her unkempt careless hairs touching her rosy cheeks and innocent looks , she must be a heart throb of many youths . So it is natural for any one to fall in love with her .
First time I saw her was when she was moving around in the Taj corridors at Agra she was looking at Taj with awe , wondering if any one could make such a magnificent structure just for love !
Next time I saw this beauty was at Jaipur palace with a bright tikka on her fore head on the occasion of holi . She was holding her dear papa’s hand .
I saw all these in television off course .
Her name is Chelesa and her father is Bill . As in case of most fathers , Bill must also be worried about the marriage of his only daughter , an apple of his eyes .
Recently she has been proposed . What if Bill is ex-president of United States , he too must have felt relieved to get a proposal of marriage for his loving daughter from a distant corner of Kenya . The dowry is also very lucrative , 40 goats and 20 cows !
This reminds me of miss Allis , another beauty from distant Swaziland , whom I happened to meet in Cape Town a couple of years back . I felt interested as she was also a practicing doctor - a homeopath , practicing in Swaziland . She was about 22 yrs old , fair beauty , 6’2’’ tall and naturally attractive . She had come to South Africa to meet her friend at Cape Town during the period I was working in Groote Schuur Hospital . As we were gossiping over a tea , she told me how she had been proposed by a young man who had offered 6 cows and 10 goats as dowry to her father . Unlike India , in African tribes , the custom is just reverse . Its the groom who offers dowry to the bride’s father . When Allis turned down the proposal , the man commented as how foolish she was to refuse such a nice proposal . After all “ 6 cows and 10 goats” , that’s rich dowry for a girl like Allis !
In African continent , only the rich landlords can afford to offer such proposals .
Swaziland by itself is a very interesting country . Love flows freely here . It is not unnatural then that the incidence of HIV and AIDS is maximum in this poor country . Swaziland is surrounded by South Africa from all sides . It depends upon that country for almost everything .
Swaziland is ruled by a king . The existing king is about 37 years old and has eleven wives and innumerable children most of whom he does not know by name. I do understand his dilemma – how can one remember the names of so many kids!
The king of Swaziland has a wonderful custom to choose his wife .On his birthday he holds a grand party. All the young and beautiful ladies across his kingdom are invited to this annual event . The girl he fancies is chosen as his wife. He of course presents a dowry to bride’s father . No father can possibly resist the temptation of royal dowry and no girl can resist the title of “ her highness” , even though it is only till the king’s next birthday when he chooses a new wife.
This custom is going on since many generations . The present king’s father had 42 wives .
One interesting fact Allis told me was that the present king is very intelligent and handsome . She was also invited to the palace once for the annual reception , but could not be that lucky one to be called as “her highness”.
Another fact she revealed was that the present king is very careful person – all his wives undergo HIV testing annually!!
First time I saw her was when she was moving around in the Taj corridors at Agra she was looking at Taj with awe , wondering if any one could make such a magnificent structure just for love !
Next time I saw this beauty was at Jaipur palace with a bright tikka on her fore head on the occasion of holi . She was holding her dear papa’s hand .
I saw all these in television off course .
Her name is Chelesa and her father is Bill . As in case of most fathers , Bill must also be worried about the marriage of his only daughter , an apple of his eyes .
Recently she has been proposed . What if Bill is ex-president of United States , he too must have felt relieved to get a proposal of marriage for his loving daughter from a distant corner of Kenya . The dowry is also very lucrative , 40 goats and 20 cows !
This reminds me of miss Allis , another beauty from distant Swaziland , whom I happened to meet in Cape Town a couple of years back . I felt interested as she was also a practicing doctor - a homeopath , practicing in Swaziland . She was about 22 yrs old , fair beauty , 6’2’’ tall and naturally attractive . She had come to South Africa to meet her friend at Cape Town during the period I was working in Groote Schuur Hospital . As we were gossiping over a tea , she told me how she had been proposed by a young man who had offered 6 cows and 10 goats as dowry to her father . Unlike India , in African tribes , the custom is just reverse . Its the groom who offers dowry to the bride’s father . When Allis turned down the proposal , the man commented as how foolish she was to refuse such a nice proposal . After all “ 6 cows and 10 goats” , that’s rich dowry for a girl like Allis !
In African continent , only the rich landlords can afford to offer such proposals .
Swaziland by itself is a very interesting country . Love flows freely here . It is not unnatural then that the incidence of HIV and AIDS is maximum in this poor country . Swaziland is surrounded by South Africa from all sides . It depends upon that country for almost everything .
Swaziland is ruled by a king . The existing king is about 37 years old and has eleven wives and innumerable children most of whom he does not know by name. I do understand his dilemma – how can one remember the names of so many kids!
The king of Swaziland has a wonderful custom to choose his wife .On his birthday he holds a grand party. All the young and beautiful ladies across his kingdom are invited to this annual event . The girl he fancies is chosen as his wife. He of course presents a dowry to bride’s father . No father can possibly resist the temptation of royal dowry and no girl can resist the title of “ her highness” , even though it is only till the king’s next birthday when he chooses a new wife.
This custom is going on since many generations . The present king’s father had 42 wives .
One interesting fact Allis told me was that the present king is very intelligent and handsome . She was also invited to the palace once for the annual reception , but could not be that lucky one to be called as “her highness”.
Another fact she revealed was that the present king is very careful person – all his wives undergo HIV testing annually!!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Bald Truth
I loved my father very much . He was well built , hard worker , had a deep voice and could sing well . He was a poet , used to pen nice Bengali and English poems . Occasionally , during our school days, he would write Hindi poems for us . He was a towering personality . He was tall , handsome and was bald . His bald forehead had added to his personality . During my child hood days , I wished to follow his footsteps . I wanted to be like him .
But as I grew up , as compared to him , I found myself a dwarf in every aspect. I am neither well built , nor a hard worker . I do not posses qualities of poetry writing and can not sing well .However I inherited one thing from him -- baldness . As I reached thirty plus , I found my lovely dense hairs getting sparse and gradually my beautiful hairs bid me good bye .
There was an intense struggle on my part to hide this baldness. I started spending more time in combing and bring the remaining hairs on the bald portion . But the mirror always spoke the truth .
Gradually I started accepting the truth of life - yes I am bald .
There are many benefits of being bald . I do not have to spend on hair oil which is a costly commodity . I save a lot on shampoo , hair creams , herbal products etc. As I have very few hairs left on my head , I do not have to colour my hairs black like my other colleagues do.
If we see the history of the world , most of the great men were bald . Father of the nation , our beloved mahatma Gandhi was bald . Every one knows his contribution in freedom struggle . At that time did any one say , see mahatma , you are bald ! In fact people fell at his feet , feet of a great man , who we all must realize , was bald .
The architect of modern India is Jawaharlal Nehru . He was intelligent , far sighted and honest to the core . He decided the destiny of the country and off course - he too was bald .
Netaji Subhash , a brave leader , who was president of Indian National Congress , who fooled the English men following his house arrest , whom even Hitler respected for his courage , too was bald .
Music maestro S.D.Burman, Naushad , Roshan, directors Hrishikesh Mukherjee , Yash Chopra , Mahesh Bhatt are all bald. Who can forget versatile Rafi, Talat , Manna and Mukesh who ruled over the hearts of many , they were great and off course bald .
Intelligence and baldness go hand in hand . Almost all noble laureates have receding hair line .
Baldness is a sign of prosperity . Most of the multibillionaires are bald . They have palatial houses , big business empires and fleet of four wheelers . Presently I am also thinking of purchasing a second hand bicycle !
It is a known fact that the cause of baldness is male hormone . Those who are more sexy , are bald . As I remember my bachelorhood days , a gush of adrenalin flows in to my veins , my heart gallops fast like a wild horse and ear-pinnas become warm . At this point I must not reveal stories of my good old golden days lest this article be read by my beloved wife !
Unlike general perception , baldy men are cool headed . Shiny bald head reflects light and keeps the head cool . While a head full of black hairs absorbs light & heat and tends to be hot . Besides this , bald head is in direct contact with environment and hence better ventilated . During rains , a person with head full of hairs is likely to retain moisture and catch cold but a baldy will not .
When there are so many advantages of being bald , I really feel proud to be an egg headed and do not feel necessity of hiding my prestigious baldness with a wig . Nor do I feel an urge to grow vegetations on my unfertile head with chemical or bio-fertilisers . Afterall , baldness is a divine gift , very few fortunate ones get this boon .
As I was writing this article , my nephew Satyajeet entered my home , he is a young man with dense hairs on his head . As it was friendship day , he was planning to meet his friends . He had parted his hairs like John Abraham , today’s matinee idol and has even colored his hairs bronze in the middle . I looked at him wistfully and sighed , alas , if I could move the hands of the clock anticlockwise !!
Shibu 18.8.05
But as I grew up , as compared to him , I found myself a dwarf in every aspect. I am neither well built , nor a hard worker . I do not posses qualities of poetry writing and can not sing well .However I inherited one thing from him -- baldness . As I reached thirty plus , I found my lovely dense hairs getting sparse and gradually my beautiful hairs bid me good bye .
There was an intense struggle on my part to hide this baldness. I started spending more time in combing and bring the remaining hairs on the bald portion . But the mirror always spoke the truth .
Gradually I started accepting the truth of life - yes I am bald .
There are many benefits of being bald . I do not have to spend on hair oil which is a costly commodity . I save a lot on shampoo , hair creams , herbal products etc. As I have very few hairs left on my head , I do not have to colour my hairs black like my other colleagues do.
If we see the history of the world , most of the great men were bald . Father of the nation , our beloved mahatma Gandhi was bald . Every one knows his contribution in freedom struggle . At that time did any one say , see mahatma , you are bald ! In fact people fell at his feet , feet of a great man , who we all must realize , was bald .
The architect of modern India is Jawaharlal Nehru . He was intelligent , far sighted and honest to the core . He decided the destiny of the country and off course - he too was bald .
Netaji Subhash , a brave leader , who was president of Indian National Congress , who fooled the English men following his house arrest , whom even Hitler respected for his courage , too was bald .
Music maestro S.D.Burman, Naushad , Roshan, directors Hrishikesh Mukherjee , Yash Chopra , Mahesh Bhatt are all bald. Who can forget versatile Rafi, Talat , Manna and Mukesh who ruled over the hearts of many , they were great and off course bald .
Intelligence and baldness go hand in hand . Almost all noble laureates have receding hair line .
Baldness is a sign of prosperity . Most of the multibillionaires are bald . They have palatial houses , big business empires and fleet of four wheelers . Presently I am also thinking of purchasing a second hand bicycle !
It is a known fact that the cause of baldness is male hormone . Those who are more sexy , are bald . As I remember my bachelorhood days , a gush of adrenalin flows in to my veins , my heart gallops fast like a wild horse and ear-pinnas become warm . At this point I must not reveal stories of my good old golden days lest this article be read by my beloved wife !
Unlike general perception , baldy men are cool headed . Shiny bald head reflects light and keeps the head cool . While a head full of black hairs absorbs light & heat and tends to be hot . Besides this , bald head is in direct contact with environment and hence better ventilated . During rains , a person with head full of hairs is likely to retain moisture and catch cold but a baldy will not .
When there are so many advantages of being bald , I really feel proud to be an egg headed and do not feel necessity of hiding my prestigious baldness with a wig . Nor do I feel an urge to grow vegetations on my unfertile head with chemical or bio-fertilisers . Afterall , baldness is a divine gift , very few fortunate ones get this boon .
As I was writing this article , my nephew Satyajeet entered my home , he is a young man with dense hairs on his head . As it was friendship day , he was planning to meet his friends . He had parted his hairs like John Abraham , today’s matinee idol and has even colored his hairs bronze in the middle . I looked at him wistfully and sighed , alas , if I could move the hands of the clock anticlockwise !!
Shibu 18.8.05
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