Musings, facts and fun

“I am not going to school today”, Ruhi whined stomping her feet as her face continued to turn red. “Yes, you are. You just cannot miss school for random reasons”, I sternly retorted while bundling up her lunch case. “Mom! Have a look outside, it’s raining heavily. My clothes and shoes will get all wet and dirty”, she tried to point me towards the heavy downpour outside, standing on her toes to reach the window I sighed. Unlike most kids her age, Ruhi was extremely punctilious to ensure her clothes didn’t have even the tiniest bit of dirt. “The monsoon season has started, Ruhi. The weather will be like this for months; and I am not letting you miss school anymore. Now, why don’t you make it easy for both of us and wear your rain jacket and get ready to go. Come on, I know how much love your new red polka dot raincoat, don’t you? And since you are so particular about getting dirty, I will also keep your old jacket in your bag as a spare. Now, Is it okay?” I said as I motione...

It was an unforgettable day for me. I handed off 50 bucks to the auto-wala and hesitatingly entered the college gates for the first time only to be welcomed by an amazingly never seen before spectacle. “Is this supposed to be a place to study!” were the first thoughts to cross my mind as I saw a bunch of guys sitting in a pool of smoke in a corner, gaudy graffiti written on the cafeteria walls and girls promenading in the smallest of clothes. I was myself in a total chaos at that moment, wearing an old pair of jeans and a loosely fitted kurti iced with unkempt hair, a combo which left absolutely no stones unturned in making me out of place. I silently gruntled at my parents for having me admitted in a place where apparently only the creamy class studied; or seemingly caroused for that matter. “Why did dad get me admitted in this madhouse; how am I going survive a single day here, let alone 3 years”. As I walked past looking from one side to the other; I was taken aback by the eno...

"I am going to Tracy's place dad; don't wait for dinner!" Jamie cried out from the patio before shutting down the door noisily behind him. Phil smiled briefly as he got seatead next to the window while watching his son pull out his bike from the garage underneath. He knew the phase of life Jamie was going through very well. He, too, had been in the same juvenile days; which though were ages back, yet seemed to have happened just a while back. Those are the times when a man is teeming with energies and rebellion; his desires being wildly turbulent. While his mind got teleported to his heyday, he chuckled at the thought of the craziest things he did in his life; traveling almost half the world with no money; falling in love with Amanda, the prettiest girl in town; pestering all his teachers all the time; and how he drank and ate uncontrollably. It was young blood after all; passionate, energetic and untamed. With numerous memories of his youth chiming i...

"I am going to die" .. Thoughts continued to jolt in Jay's mind as tiny droplets of sweat trickled down his forehead; gently circling his eyes only to fall off the edges. His fists were clenched, eyes closed hard and mouth reciting a prayer. . He had been tied up at his torso to a chair for the last 8 hours and he was already on the verge of breaking down. The only thing he desperately craved for at the moment was to get out of the shackles. His eyes now looked frantically in search of an opening, a hope. There was a small window located about 3 feet from where he was tied but the view outside managed to only sicken him. Scared to death, he yearned for fresh air. He had been given a stale sandwich as lunch but he hardly cared about it. He wanted freedom. He wanted to live and to breathe. Food could wait. There are some moments in life when you feel pathetically helpless with your future appearing bleak. Jay was going through one of those disastrous ti...

Following is a story that was conjured more than a year back; only making its way to the blog today. I owe my vote of thanks to Rohit sir for the discussion we had that laid the foundation of the idea. Sitting at the window pane at twilight with a cup of hot tea and peering across Mumbai landscape used to be Natasha’s favorite daily regime. She felt rejuvenated staring at the endless expanse and the infinite commixing of the sky and the sea, which used to act as her daily dose of new energies and ideas.  Moving in to the sea side apartment was one of the best decisions she had taken. It was always a relaxing experience to glance out and find kids playing in the nearby park, couples walking along the cobblework, and the spectacular setting sun. But, that day when she was in dire need of a good story for her magazine ‘Diva’, the sickening sight outside pathetically failed at generating ideas and her mind was all void. There are some days when the yellow dwindling li...

“Trriiiing”, the door bell rang for the third time.. ‘’Not again Shanta bai!!! Can’t I get a moment of peace in my own home??”, I cried out. I kept tossing in the bed and plopped down with my hands pulling the pillow over my ears hoping that Shanta Bai would go away. She didn’t and shortly the bell rang again, this time  longer and shriller than before. I shrugged and got up; and as I swung myself out of bed the sheet entwined my legs and got pulled along. Groaning, I made my way downstairs; reached the door and pulled it open. “Shanta bai kitni baar bola aapko!!” I shouted out at the poor petite figure standing outside. “Sorry?”, came the reply like a melody. What! this definitely wasn’t the croaky throat of Shanta Bai. I squinted and rubbed my eyes hard to budge them open. They almost popped out as I saw the figure of a pretty young girl dressed in blue salwar kameez standing in front of me. She tucked at the loose end of her white dupatta and was staring at me with an ...

She smiled as she recounted her 10 th birthday when wrapped in a pink glaze paper, her uncle gave the book ‘The Love Magic’ in her hands. ‘She is just 10. This is her age to do math and to not read some fancy love fantasies not meant for her age’, she had overheard her mum talking furiously  to uncle John over the phone, soon after the party ended and they had finished unpacking all gifts. But this did not bother Erica; it rather stirred her curiosity as she quickly flicked open her bedside lamp and got started to unfolding her new possession. She read for 6 hours continuously that night, she read about Katie, about Mark, about their magical love. ‘Magic doesn’t happen in real life honey, these books just present a rosy picture of everything. But you have to be careful and just can’t be hoping for some thing to happen’, is what mum told her over breakfast the other day. Erica’s puffy eyes did little to hide the fact that she spent the whole night reading the book and mum kn...

At 10 minutes before midnight, the confetti spread with an explosion and instantly blanketed the sky in a golden white slush. The celebration had already been kicked off even before the clock could strike the first hour of the New Year. Ravi glanced out of his hotel room and saw people drinking and dancing on loud music in the garden downstrairs, where Mr.Mehrotra, the business tycoon, had thrown a lavish party.  The festivities around him reminded him of his home. He spent his childhood with his younger sister Meenu and mother in a small village near the coast. His mother would be mostly ill and so he had to leave school and work as a delivery boy to support the house. He was known to always reach on time and execute each assignment so well that several grocery and meat shops employed him. He used to bring home 400 each month from the shops and a handful of more money if some customers were generous enough to give a tip after delivery. Every morning his day started with cle...