Pari - short story 2

She was still smiling sitting on corner table . She glanced at him one more time .Was it just a smile or was there a message in it ? Do those glances mean anything ? Finally he decided not to heed and ordered another double on the rocks - his second for the evening. The football match between Real Madrid and Juventus would be last thing he would have watched TV for. But he started looking at TV as he had to divert his mind from the charming beauty. But study of human nature says that your mind pushes you to do what you push it for not doing. That smile was still saying something to him. He had watched cricket for 47 years since he was 5. His focus in whats going on in TV was that of a poet's sitting in a Science conference. His mind was caught up by a smile and a pair of eyes. He came back to senses once there was a big cheer when Ronaldo converted the penalty into a goal.
                 He mustered the courage and looked at the corner table , sheepishly . She was not there anymore. The calm he was faking was not visible anymore. Indifferent eyes turned anxious . They moved from left corner to the right of blazing Hard rock cafe - trying hard to get another glimpse of her. She was not a celebrity. As the eyes failed in the tasks , his legs chipped in for help and took him to a place where he could get a clear view of tables which were not visible sitting on bar counter. Then he rushed out of the bar and looked right on St. Marks Road and then left at MG road intersection. "Who was she ? Why was she smiling like that" - he thought . And those eyes - they were not just any pair of eyes - so deep , so beautiful . He had seen them before. Or may be he was thinking lil too much out of nothing. But who wears Sari in a bar - he asked himself. Though it did not feel strange to him when he saw her sitting in bar . The 'Hard Rock cafe Bengaluru' signage board was lit bright at 11:00 PM on Friday night.
.              He was on the counter once again with 3rd rep of Old No 07 in his hand. Not watching TV anymore. But still thinking of her. Was she a prostitute ? Looking for a customer ? In Hard rock cafe ? He shook his head twice in disgrace to flush such idiotic thoughts out of his mind. Sammy. The low , deep voice from behind had called him. He was shocked. He kept looking straight ahead in the dark mirage created by his mind. Tiny droplets of sweat appeared out of nowhere on his forehead. His throat desert dry. There was only one person on this planet to call him Sammy .His body refused to accompany his pursuit to turn and take a glimpse of love of his life - his Pari. He held his glass strong . It would break if anymore pressure applied. He swigged all in the glass and turned instantaneously. She was smiling as she was sitting in the corner. Its been 32 years. She has not aged at all. He wanted to cry but he could not afford. Parineta sat besides Sameer. Sameer's heart was pumping . They talked for an hour straight and Parineta taked about her family her son being VP of a company , her career. He was graceful while listening all that. She asked about his family . He looked at the TV , took a sip and said "I did not find another Pari". Maybe he was lil drunk.

dupatta - short story 2

She was so excited since when she got H1B visa stamped. It was after a delay of 7 months. She had to leave for a new good in her life. She was full of life - more cheerful and joyful than ever . She was happy moving to United States of America . Her family was happy . She dreamed of living life of pleasure and freedom, of course before she gets married . She missed the freedom of wearing whatever she wanted . Her father did not say anything if she wore a skirt but the skirmish look on his face said it all. He loved him . He was regressive thinking person trying hard to portray himself as a progressive father . But this chance to move to US was like a blessing - to go to no social boundaries zone , to fulfil her dreams . It was a toast for her freedom. She was free to wear whatever she likes . She was feeling little naughty being a spinster.

Finally she landed in New York. She saw people leading a life as they want to . She got goose bumps imagining the same freedom for her .

It was over a month now she being in US. She enjoyed the freedom to full during this time. She wore shorts , skirts , skimpish dresses . She loved that nobody cared what she wears . There were no wild eyes chasing her body . She loved this . It was a lovely sunny day for going out .She was in deep thoughts sitting in her sexy shorts and spaghetti top watching statue of liberty from far. She was not blank but she was not moving . She was not blinking . Without taking her eyes off the statue , she slid one hand in her bag took out beautiful red colored dupatta(Indian Scarf) from her bag donned it over her head from center and revolved one end around her neck to go to her back from one of her shoulder. She blinked for the first time in last 10 minutes. There was a sweet smile of satisfaction on her face.

behind the mask - short story 1

This tall man had a huge smile on his face and the sound of laughter was even louder than his gestures . He went past - spreading joy and happiness - all the children celebrating the birthday of their friend  Baby, in a beautiful luxurious villa in Mahim,Mumbai . Baby looked the prettiest girl on earth in her gorgeous crystal white frock with beats all around and light pink laces throughout the edges.She was the princess of the evening. She had to blow the candles away but she was eagerly waiting for her father to arrive . He was expected to arrive any time from work . He had already sent a monstrous cake for her beloved daughter . But unfortunately got caught in a very important business meeting. The gathering kept looking at the door . Every now and then people had smile on the face merely looking at this shining smiling face and pleasing laughter of the tall man . He seemed to be happiest among all . Baby was getting anxious and this man too was waiting for her dad to arrive more than anyone else . Finally the Dad arrived and the girl rushed towards the Dad to hug her. Dad lifted her in his arms and kissed her . Soon people gathered around the cake. The candles were blown and the cake was cut with cheers all around . The party was almost over in an hour  . Everybody but children was drained . The tall guy spread cheers and happiness all around as he laughed loud for one last time before he faced the wall. He took out his smiling mickey mouse mask and wipe his tears off. This Kids entertainer rushed to the Dad for payment and requested for a piece of cake too . He took 50 Rs note from dad , went to the medical shop , bought the medicine and spurted for his home. He could not afford another loss in a day. He had lost his elder daughter last night. He reached his home in Dharavi Slum, gave medicine to her daughter and then slid the piece of cake towards her and smiled. He was not laughing . The little girl hugged him. He kissed her on head. Tears came out of his eyes. She was his princess. Sitting in the corner , his wife had a light smile behind the tears.

The train from Bangalore to Delhi

Bangalore is an IT hub and a decent chunk of those employees are from North India. Many of these people board a train from Bangalore to Delhi. The train that departs from Bangalore to Delhi has following characters on board :

A family that does not talk to anybody : This gang has husband wife and young kids . More often than not the guy is from IT and had accumulated lot of money. Parents of this family speak to their kids in English. At times the wifey is little bad with English but still tries to speak in .They are happy among themselves and seldom speak to co passengers. Never to bachelors.

Young IT girls  : IT girls from Bangalore to Delhi usually travel in huddle of two or more. They are happy among themselves and do a lot of infamous bragging and back-biting.They don't speak to co passengers unless they don't have ticket or they have a waiting list.Sometime even if they have confirmed ticket, they talk to above family.

Without ticket guy: This guy travelling in sleeper class either does not have ticket or has a general class ticket. This guy goes to the chart outside various compartments and finally short-lists one which either has probability of finding seats or finding young girls. He becomes a fugitive when TTE comes and is seen running here and there when TTE comes. toilets are his favourite locations, but boasts about travelling without ticket to co passengers later on. He is ready to spend first night on floor , hence carries newspaper and a sheet for sound sleep.

Waiting list man : This guy is always seen running here and there behind the TTE . He has ticket in waiting and tries to get it confirmed on board. He follows the TTE like his shade from one compartment to other back and forth to get the ticket confirmed. If the energy of this guy is channelized , India can get a medal in marathon .TTE finally charges 200 Rs of bribe and gives him confirmed ticket(s) from Bhopal for the coming night. Mind you from Bhopal train has dozens of vacant seats but this idiot bribes 200 Rs for that . The without ticket guy gets seat from Bhopal without bribing anybody. He laughs at the waiting list man!!

Sutta smoker  This guy is a character. He is scared of smoking in train as it is prohibited but the urge always take over. He is in a gang . If not , by the end of the journey , he has a gang. if he forgets to buy a smoke, is seen talking to the biryani guy to arrange a sutta for him , every time he comes to sell the Biryani . He always get stares and is looked down by passer bys while he is smoking. At the max he gets a scold from aunty jee or elderly for smoking after which he and his smoke move little further. But actually he does not care . What he cares about is his lady in the hand.

I dont care guy : This guy pretends to be cool dude . Usually has lot of money. Carries Expensive phones,bracelets,shades and has spikes . He is like " YO BABY " . Fellow passengers laugh at him but he does not care . He listens songs , watches video on phone . He acts like travelling alone . shakes head with earphones on . Survives on lays, cold drink and plum cake.

I don't get enough air guy : This guy has a confirmed ticket to start with. But the without ticket guy generally has the privilege to use his seat all day long because this guy does seem to be getting enough air while sitting on his seat.He likes standing on door to get the air at 65 km per hour , He stands there and standss and standss and standss, comes back to his seat for 5 mins goes back and stands and standss and standss on the door fighting against the air every inch of his body.

The pattebaazzz  : This is another crowd puller gang sometime known , while at times unknown to each other . These guys play cards for long hours and are very proud to kill time without bothering for it. The onlookers have their share of entertainment too. they shout , LOL and have a sheet to throw cards on. Their streak is generally halted by the lunch or if some station approaches. And halt is generally requested by the ones who are on loosing end. They stretch their body for 5 mins once they stop playing after long hours. 

a guitarist : This guy is like an entertainer . He plays guitar and people appreciate . Kids from adjacent compartments come see him play , rush back , come again . This guy does not like stations. As station comes everybody is eager to have a tea on station and this guy loses focus . This guy tries to show off to girls passing by and in nearby compartments but always fails.

The other sex : These Eunuchs are another important part of this journey . They can board train from any station to any station. They are like policemen seeking hafta . They generally look for weak targets who are scared of their condemnation. Once they locate the target , they use various tactics to get the money from them like touching them here and there ;) , lifting their saarees , kissing apart from clapping .

Jameen Ka Aadmi : This buddy was never meant for train . Ye Jameen se juda aadmi h (he is connected to the soil) . He never misses any opportunity to get down from train on every station. Apart from stations he can be seen on the track , nearby the track whenever train stops for a technical halt, technical fault , a red signal , for train crossing, somebody pulls a chain. As soon as train speed goes below the speed of 10 km per hour , he is near the orgasm and attains when he gets down on train halt. He can be seen boarding the train in last. he likes running a bit with train before boarding it.

a gizmo kid : This kid generally belongs to the family discussed above. He is a GIZMO . has a specs on the nose and plays games throughout the journey. Parents struggle to feed him . He does not like interruption . He rarely looks at co passengers . He is low on confidence and as soon as he makes an eye contact with co passenger , shies away behind her mother.

Laptop guy: Last but not the least , this guy has a laptop and battery connector near his seat. Generally carries ANDAAZ APNA APNA , BORDER , LAGAAN and RAM LAKHAN  in his armour. He is crowd puller . He keeps the laptop on the food serving stand on side of compartment and starts the movie. People start gathering and have paisa vasool entertainment .

TRAVEL INDIAN RAILWAYS FROM BANGALORE TO DELHI TO EXPERIENCE THE FUN

Who gets the KURSI of the great indian polity

There are lesser words in English language that are more traumatic and haunting than the F-word . But the F-word no longer hurts the Govt. of India. It is the C-word that haunts it . Corruption has evolved as such a common man phenomenon that this can be a game changer in Indian Polity. It is being put forward as an electoral issue. The change has been unprecedented and a welcome one too. Has there really been so much corruption as much is the publicity of it or is it that opposition party has been able to take it to common man more effectively. I would feel that it is a mix of both.
                      The great corruption story of India is not a recent phenomenon . We are a group of over a billion corrupt people living in one great nation . This is as per my definition. If I apply the same definition to rest of the world , the figures would be shameful for all of us living on this lovely planet earth. As per my definition of the corruption goes , it is taking any undue benefit in lieu of some giving some favor - small or big.The corruption for me need not be in govt offices, it can be among private parties too.Passing/receiving undue benefits under any sort of influence will be considered corruption.So I believe all you readers out there are corrupt in some way or other. If you think you ain't , please revert back to me. You will be an inspiration to me as well as others.
                   Now this ghost of corruption has entered in our govt's roots. It has been there in govt functionaries since the government was first made in India.Today we hear huge sums and extraordinary numbers in news involved in various scams in news, on daily basis. But for me corruption lies in those small amount(s) that I see or face in my daily life . My corruption is on the govt controlled Ration Shop, my corruption is in the Passport office. I need to bribe Police for identity verification for passport. My corruption lies with the postman who asks for 100 Rs to deliver the passport otherwise he wont deliver me future mails.I have to bribe traffic police , I bribe university departments , I need to pay bribe to tehsildars, i bribe judiciary . My bribe feeds ministers and politicians.Oh Man! I am an Indian and I love bribing around . I have found such a pleasure in bribing around people that I feel unconfortable if I dont pay bribe for my work done. I feel kind of stressed. If I pay bribe , I get good sound sleep . I am comfortable bribing. Its in my blood.
                   There was a huge fury and outburst when Anti corruption crusader Anna Hazare lifted the bastion of anti corruption lokpal bill movement. Throughout India , majorly youth came out on streets in support.This gave hope that citizens in this country are not dead . They were ready to come out of their comfort zone and do something to get out of their shackles . The major and may be only agenda was to get a Jan Lokpal Bill and that too a strong one passed in parliament. This bill would induct fear among govt and its employees. But are we ready enough to make use of this bill?

No .. The answer is No. What I feel today is that only we can save ourselves from us . There is a culprit in each one of us . The comfort lies with pointing finger to others but when it comes to us , we make  a shield - "iske bina kaam nahi chalta, ye mera India hai" . We pay bribe of 100 Rs in fear of not going to court for paying which takes 20 mins.

The government will never work for people because that will close their shops. They have their compulsions . They have to do business . At end of the day it comes down to how much they earned for the day. So they will do their business which starts for KURSI and ends at KURSI . This will remail until we the voters step up and make the corruption as basis of whom we vote to . VOTE against CORRUPTION.