India Shining. . . .

Suddenly everyone is falling in love with her. . . .

Few say she has finally awakened. . .
and few say she is young at 60. . .

yes I am talking about our counrty, our motherland, and we. . .the people. . .

Brand India. . ."
it's all over the place.
People look us with respect now. .
The once lowly placed country has now joined the elite club. . .
and is clambering it's way up to the top of the heap.
Suddenly our population has turned out to a bane. The elephant has now decided to show that "size does matter". For the first time, our employment rate is more than the growth of population rate. And believe me all this is much beyond the stale BPO story.

Acquisitions and mergers are here. . .
MNC's are parking their money here. . .
FDIs are flowing in. . .
the GDP is rising. . .
"India Shinning" has really shown it's true colors.
And we all are happy because we have the money. . .

Even the NRIs suddenly seem to feel nostalgic and are returning. . . .welcome strangers!!
"meri desh ki dharti" is the new theme.
Everyone knows the lolly is here.
Personal ambition is driving most of the present change and will continue to do so.
Greed is Good!

Not only economic changes but there is lot more. Lifestyles are changing, people are changing, women are changing. . .
And Bollywood! yeah it has also undergone a drastic change. . .
(Thanks to mallika Sherawat and co)
Now we love to pay hundred bucks to the cooled coffee which was once served hot at a very minimal price.

but few things still remain the old. . .
The society still frowns as women wear less and less and as the youth get "westernized" . . .
But bridegrooms still prefer virgins; and husband's still prefer their wives to cook and raise kids along with their job.
Still "kundalis" are probed into before marriage and girls are checked if they are "manglik" or not. . .
Cricket is still our first love. . .
Khans still rule the bollywood and Fridays are still the same: First day First shows!
And still the "K-Serials" run their millionth episode. .
And most importantly. . .
Whatever changes or not. .
but our "dear" politicians are still the same. . . .And so are their promises!!!

And you can argue to me that we still have thousands of issues and problems. . .
poverty, illiteracy. . .
the rich are getting richer and the poor ever poorer. . .
Human relations are changing. . .
Social networking: people are willing to talk hours with a person thousands of miles away but they don't know the guy next door!
I know we have still a long way to go. . .
The journey has just started, and we are already late. . .
but. . .
let's be happy that we have started atleast now.
Yes! it is the time to put on our dancing shoes!



Happy Republic Day

The Revolution. . . . .

She is everywhere.

You find her at the coffee bars sipping hookah; at the discos and at the shopping malls.
The call centers, the IT industry, the service sector. . .
She is an engineer, she is a doctor, she is a lawyer. . . .
She also plays tennis and lifts weights. . .
She is the face of the big screen and the queen of the small. . . .
And she also is the president of a billion plus population. . .

She is the New Women.

A bit different from her elder sister of the past who was always guilty of ambitions, desires. . .
Her life started and ended in the four walls.
Family, Husband, Kids, In-laws. . . .

The nineties were the break through. . .
We saw the most beautiful her; the Ms.World, Ms.Universe and she ruled a zillion hearts . . . .

But the new millennium saw a different her. . .

"Liberation" . . .Few termed it
But I say revolution is the correct term. . .
As there is still few more steps for the final liberation. .

She is equipped with multi tasking and dons multiple roles. . .
She is a wife, a daughter-in-law, a mom but. . . .
most importantly, she is herself. She knows what she wants, what are her desires are and what she hates.

But still she is termed as "unethical" and "abominable".

Anyway, when was she spared of criticism. . .
when Indira Gandhi decided to step in her father's shoes, the whole world was skeptical. . .
but we all know what the out come was. .

But the question is, is she missing out something, is she paying a price for her newly attained freedom?
And the answer we all know. . .yes!
She is not accepted completely. . .
She might be successful at her work, but her real success is measured as how good she is as a wife, as a mother, how good are her kids, does she respects her in-laws. . .
Burdens, Bondage. . .
When will she escape?

I remember one of my friend telling me, if she had to picture the new woman then she would paint her racing shoulder to shoulder with a man, the difference being she has heavy chains to drag along with her, while the man moves freely. The race never seem to end if she moves ahead; and she is condemned for entering the already lost race if the man moves ahead. . .

Still few things never seem to change, she still fights against dowry deaths, rapes and murders.
Most of them are still denied education. We still don't realize that they are after all half of the population.

But the million dollar question is. . . . .
Is her new achieved freedom at the cost of the men's loss?
Is the years old prophecy of a man's world seeming to end?

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

PS: Thanks to Deepika Sharma (Amalgam) for helping me finish this work.

An Untold Story. . .

Few stories start on a lonely night, few on a battle field and few over a glass of rum. But few remain untold. . . .

I looked again from the corner of my eye, she looked the same always, beautiful.

I don't remember when it all started, maybe months now.
I made up my mind I will talk with her today, yes I will.
I went near her, she pretended as is she didn't see me coming; I tried to open my mouth but then, my legs shivered, and after a second, she was gone. . . .

"forget it dude. you are a coward" Nikki snapped from behind. She was the only friend I had.
"ok ok! there is always a tomorrow, isn't it?" I gave her a sheepish smile.
"whatever" She sighed.

"Beta wake up! You got to go t school!" My mom screamed early in the morning.

Yes. Indeed I was late to school.
She didn't come to school today!
'what happened to her? Is she ill? Oh god how is she now?' All thoughts troubled me.
"Pinky why didn't komal come today?" Pinky was her best friend and also my neighbor.
"How do I know lover boy!" Pinky laughed at me.

It was 6:20 and I was as usual late for my maths tuition.
"So early today? You should have taken your time, why did you rush?" My tuition sir was always filled with sarcasm.
"Sir, actually. . . ."
"Shut up and sit down" He yelled.

I sat down, suddenly my eyes fell on her.
'what is she doing here! Wow!' I looked at her in shock.
"Don't stare at her like this you jerk!" Nikki murmured.
"She just joined today."
"Wow! That's great." I was smiling with joy.
After the tuition was over, she walked straight towards me. I was shocked. . .

She came near and said, "Can you please you take out your cycle fast. I have to take my scooty."
I didn't say a word. Just watched her silently.
"Nikki!! Did you see that!"i screamed in joy. . .
"what she saying you to move your ass?? yeah i did see that"
"whatever. . . she talked with me!" I was all smiles.

After a boring week, I was again puffing and huffing to my tuition. My cycle broke down, so I had to walk all the way.

PEEP PEEP
I turned around and saw her smiling.
"Hi. You walking today? Where's your cycle?" She asked
"Aaaa. . ."
(I pinched myself to make sure I was not dreaming)
"Awww. . ."
"what happened?"
"Err. . . nothing, well my cycle broke down." Somehow I manged to force the words out of my mouth this time.
"Oh! Well It's already six. Don't you think you will be late again?" She questioned.
"Well yeah, I am gonna die!" I said worriedly.
"Don't you worry. I can drop you. " She said with a grin.
"Huh. . " I didn't knew what to say. This was more than a dream-come-true for me.
"Do you wanna drive?" She asked doubtfully.
"Well. . . aaa. . .actually I don't know how to drive?" I said awkwardly.
"What! Haa. ."She laughed in disbelief.
'Damn It!' I screamed to myself.

Days passed. Our friendship blossomed and so did my love for her.
Few days later. . .
My phone rang.
"Hulo. Oh Komal. . . .Hi. ." I answered the call.
She, "What are you doing? Hope you are free. . . .I was thinking if you could with to. . . ."
"Oh sure! I will be there. . . ." I happily agreed.

It was a kind of a semi-date you can say. We had also planned to go a movie.
I called Nikki, she was agony aunt.
"Nikks, she asked me out. . . ." I screamed.
"Humm. . . .so you are on. Whats on the cards? Movie. . . and?? By the way, do you have money??" She asked
"Money!! Aargh! I am out of cash yaar. What do I do?" I was worried.
"Ask your mom!" She.
"Naah! She would kill me if I told her I was going to a movie. She would stop me from going out."
"Well then steal!" Nikki replied
"What Steal! Are you crazy? And from where do I steal" I shouted.
"Well you got no other option also. Take money from your mom's purse. believe me it's ok. When you get your allowance just replace it." She suggested.
I really didn't had any other option.

After the movie and shopping we went to an Ice-cream parlor.
She smiled at me. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
"I have come up with a name for you?" SHE said proudly.
"What! Really?" I replied somewhat surprised and somewhat curiously.
"Matty! Did you like it?" She looked at me eagerly waiting for an applaud.
yeah girls love this "nick-naming" sessions. If given a chance they would name every single soul
they know.
"why not i also give you a nick-name?. . . How about Komli. . .naah. . . komi? Koms? Komolika??" I made fun of her. . .but we agreed that komal siuted her and "matty" was a lovely name. I loved the name and loved her more than me.

Six months later, the board exam was over. Everyone was so happy. We felt like the kings; like we had conquered something. We had finished schooling.

"I have a good news." My dad announced.
"We are shifting to Hyderabad!" He said happily.
"wow thats great." my mom was happy than ever.
"what!! I won't come. I am not going anywhere. I have all my friends here. How can you expect me to leave this place." I screamed, I was angry, I was shocked. The very thought of leaving all my friends bought a chill in my veins.

But I knew everything was in vain. My parents were determined as we were actually moving to our hometown but I wanted to tell them that this is my home, this is my heaven, these are my friends. I can't live without them. But they didn't listen. Who would to a 15 year old. . . .

The time came for my farewell. Komal and Nikks had come to the station.
I tell you I really hate these farewells. I hate to leave my best friends.
But. . .

We promised to remain in touch. And we did so. Phone internet letters we had done everything.
I missed her more than everything. I pinned for her. Every second I thought of her. Every other girl reminded me of her.
Four years passed by. But our friendship never drifted. Though sometimes I felt she was no more the sweet little girl I knew, but. . .

It was summer. I was going to hometown. To my friends. To Nikks, To her. . . .
I reached the city. The streets didn't change, I felt like a lost boy reuniting with her mother. Nikki came to pick me up. She was the same, my best girl, my best friend.
I called up komal and we decided to meet at out old meeting point.

I was nervous. . . .do I look good? what will she say after seeing me? I would tell her how much I love her. She would also say yes. Yes she loves me. . .

We met, we shook our hands, exchanged smiles. She looked beautiful.
And. . .

"Riiiing Riiing" Her mobile rang.

Afetr few mins. . .
"Oh sorry it was my boy friend. . . ." She said to me.

I smiled at my fate and my heart cried . . . .

That was my first love.

The Longest Night Of My Life

I still remember the night of thirteenth December 2006. The unforgettable Friday the thirteenth.
It rained heavily. Maybe a cyclone.
The News reader warned people to stay indoors. For the time being he was my only company as my parents were out of station. No food in the house. I couldn't even get something from outside.
"what am I gonna do?" I screamed to myself.
"One day without food you wont die matty. Remember fasting is good for health." My alter ego replied.

I sighed in dismay. The loneliness was killing me.
I took a deep breath and said to myself, "what worse can it happen!"

"SHITTTTTTT!!!!!
A power cut at this hour! Aaaarrrrggghhh!!!"

It was pitch dark.
My mom had warned me to get some candles from the shop.
'Oh mom, I wish you were with me!'

My body shivered. Partly due to the storm and partly because of a strange fear.
Maybe the darkness; maybe the loneliness.

CRRRRRRAAAAAAASSSSSSHHhhhh
Suddenly there was a breaking noise. I was taken by shock.
'it's the wind; don't worry' I said to myself and tried to calmed down.

The storm beat the windows. I had to shut it down or the floor would be wet with water.
I went near the window. . . .

something stopped my steps. . .

it was a shadow of a man, a humanly figure. . . .

But what on earth was he doing in my backyard at this hour!!!!

"Must be a thief!" I concluded.
I thought of screaming. . . but maybe he is armed and who will listen to me in this strom.
I grabbed the broom and silently I went near the backyard.

I tried to open the door slowly. . . . . .

THHHHUUUUUUUUDDDDDD
"Ooooh God!!!!" I screamed as I slipped and fell on the wet floor.

I must have alerted him. he must have escaped.

NO He didn't go. He was moving nearer.
Suddenly I looked down.

HE HAD NO HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT THE HELLLLLLL!!!!!!!

I was shivering. I was almost dead.
I had never encountered ghosts but . . . . why me!!!

I shut my eyes and prayed the almighty. My heart beat a thousand times a minute.
I was sooo afraid even to scream. I couldn't utter a word in fear.

BAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNGGGG!!!

The door fell open. . . . and i screamed "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH"

And. . . . .

I saw my shirt hanged by the clothesline in the backyard.
I had forgotten to bring it inside when my mom left it to dry.

"FUCK!!!! it's my shirt!!!!!"
Fuck man fuck!

"Aaah. . . ." I almost died of heart attack.

I panted heavily. I breathed in relief.
Then I got up and shut the door.

luckily after hours of searching, I found a small torch. I decided to go to my bed room and shut myself under the blanket.

As I walked on, i saw somethign shining in the dark. I couldn't understand for a sec.
"aaaaahhh" I screamed.

meeeeeaaaw.

SHIT! It was just a cat. it must have come in doors through the open windows.

I jumped on to the bed and prayed for the sun to arrive.
It was the longest night of my life.

"Fuck man! Fuck!! You got scared of your shirt! Ha Ha" Rahul shrieked as I narrated him the whole episode.
"But dude. . . .I don't remember any cyclone in December 2006 and in fact it never rained at all that year due to drought. And I don't remember any Friday the thirteens in that December also?? Ok forget it. Tell me which flats do have backyards and how did you think someone could climb all the six floors in a stormy night to your so called backyard!!!"

"WHATTT!! Well Just shut up. If you don't wanna believe don't believe. I don't care!" I yelled at him.

"ok ok relax dude!! Just chill ok." Rahul replied cooly.
"well I have a story too. wanna hear?" He looked at me excitedly. It was still seven and I had plenty time to kill.
"Shoot!" I said.

'The other day, me and my friend were at the graveyard near my place, having our usual booze session.
Suddenly my friend had to rush quickly to his place and I was left alone with two tins of beer.
I couldn't carry them home neither could drink on the roads.
So I decided to finish of the drinks at the graveyard and get back to my place.

Suddenly my eyes fell on a grave.
it read:
Rose Fernandes
Born: 5th Jan 1985 Died: 27 Aug 2007

Oh fuck! It's your B'day Rose! Happy b'day dear Rose Fernandes.
Why did you die so young?

"beacuse I had cancer. Anyway thanks for wishing me rahul!"

"WHATTTTT!! Who r u?? WHo is the bloddy bastard who is playign such a trick!!" I screamed

"It's me. Rose. Don't fear I won;t harm you." A women in white sari replied back as she moved towards me.

I ran as fast I can and ran untill i reached my home and shut myself in my room.
I can never forget the night."

"WHAT!!!!! You Boozed in a Graveyard?? And you are telling me you saw a dead women talking to you when you got high? Well tell you what you are nothing more than a drunken brat. At least my story didn't involve ghosts!!!!! get real dude." I roared.

"you don't believe me! well come with me to the graveyard I will show her." rahul spoke back.

"Are you nuts? You a mad man. I won't come with you anywhere." Me

"Ha! Why Mr.Coward? Looks like you wet your pants just by hearing the name of the graveyard." Rahul bawled.

"Give me a break ok. Look I am not coward." Me again

"Then come with me" Rahul challenged.

"Fine. Lets go and meet your new dead friend. Maybe I will ask her out." I snapped back

we went to the graveyard. But as I entered my hands shivered. I don't believe i was doing such a crazy thing. We entered and then. . . .

"Well dude sorry! " rahul spoke as we entered the graveyard.

"sorry? why so?" Me a bit astonished

"You won! Actually I was just kidding. There is no rose. I wanted to test your courage." Rahul replied.

"Oh god you are such a. . . . I told you see. there are no such fucking things as ghosts!!" Me again.

Just then someone came from the behind and. . . .

"Are you looking for me?"
A young woman in white sari was standing behind us. . . . .

New Year Blues

This year kicked off just in the usual way. . . . . .

got drunk. . .with friends. . .
but this time i got high with just two pegs. . .
roamed on the streets and wished every human soul present. . . .hugged strangers. . .
and finally slept at 4 in the morning

woke up and headed towards home. . . . .

the girl next door stood before me, she was looking great, damn beautiful. . .
i have been trying to talk to her since the past two months. . .

suddenly she smiled and spoke "happy new year bhaiya"

BHAIYA!!!!!!!
aarrghhh!!

what a start!!!

by the way did i tell you guys i had a rocking week.

Christmas and New year at the Goa beaches, the bikini babes, the non-stop boozing sessions, and the NUDE beaches. . . .non-stop fun, forget everything and just enjoy with your friends. . .

while all my friends were doing that i was writing exams, MBA entrances!!
and in between i was off to Tirupati and chennai. . . with my family a compensation kinda of thing for missing out the big tour with my friends!

well the only good thing that happened to me was i met Ritu after 10 long months
(she is my childhood friend, who lives in chennai)

and all my new year resolutions have not taken off yet. . .

before i end this post let me tell u a funny incident which happened with me in a train while returning from chennai

"My mom killed me through out the trip! She made me walk 17kms uphill to the tirupati temple. and now, she got some dozzen sarees and made me carry them! tell you what women can live without everything, food, water, air. . . but not shopping!
I cursed myself for a while and then went over check my name in the reservation list.
it read :

Mythreya 21 m seat no: 45
Sirisha 19 f seat no: 46
Manisha 18 f seat no: 47
Sundarammma 70 f seat no:48
krishan swamy 48 m seat no:49

i saw the two 18 & 19 figures and smiled. wow it would be fun!!

As i entered the compartment I saw two beautiful girls. they looked damn cute, one of them wearing a jeans and short top and the other a salwaar kammez; i looked with my jaws open. . .

maybe i should say hi, no i will ask where are you going, should i tell my name first??
or how abt 'i have seen you somewhere' ; naah. . .
all these thoughts ran into my mind.

then suddenly someone called me from behind, i turned to see a three hundred pounds and 6 feet 3 inch tall guy staring at me sternly.
"Yes Sir" i replied politely.
"what are you doing here? why are you standing here?" he screamed
I tried to yell back but seeing his body i thought why take risk with ur life and calmly replied,
"this is my seat and i have a reservation"
"so what! sit in the side berth. we are one family" he yelled back.
I sat in the side berth but now the hefty big guy had obstructed my NSP.

whats an NSP? it's full form of nayan sukh prapti. to be precise my eye candies.
(btw. . .a girl told me that)
then i decided to go to the upper berth; no not to look at the hot chics but to just lay down and catch a novel. But when I went up the old woman looked at me as if I was going to molest her grand daughters.
she said to her son, "Can't you get our seats near some ladies. Why did you get it among stupid bachelors. you know these brats even get drunk in trains!"

what the fuck!!!
how do i look like. . . .man these old women; just because they are old they think they can say any damn thing.
But I ignored her kept myself busy with the novel.

after few mins i just looked at the girl in jeans from the corner of my eyes and then suddenly i realized that the old grandma had her eyes fixed at me and caught me bird watching!
"Here take this shawl and cover yourself it's too cold" she screamed at the girl.
"No. i feel hot." the girl resisted.
"Do what I say. You don't know anything." the old lady again.

I watched with awe all the drama and thought it's better i close my eyes rather than see such crazy things.
meanwhile rahul called me, "Dude! where r u now? Any girls in your compartment?"
"No man! I am not that lucky!" I replied with a sigh and slept at 7pm.

anyway now i got used to all these things. . .

happy new year to all my readers!!