Is there smoke without fire?

Magpie entry 282:

“I want to see Magic” Ryan insisted.

“It’s too late now darling!!! I promise, you will see Magic tomorrow”, Celina promised. She had an idea, on what would be the magic Ryan would witness the next day.

Years ago, when she and her husband were just married, he would show her a lot of tricks masking them under the name of magic. And why wouldn’t he, that’s what he did for a living too. He was a magician. He was very popular, and used to travel to lot of places for these magic shows. One of the tricks was the smoke trick. It was their favorite. Celina wanted to learn the trick.

One night, he blindfolded her, and told her to concentrate on what he says. He taught the trick of creating smoke from mouth, without any fire. She followed his instructions, and could feel smoke making its way out of her mouth. When she opened her eyes, there was a lot of smoke around her. They spent all night smoking, without any fire or cigarettes. It was a fun night they had, blowing smoke at each other.

Initially, Celina accompanied her husband on all his shows. Once Ryan came into their lives, she had to stay back on days when Ryan had school to attend. It was one such night, her husband had gone for his shows, and she was alone with Ryan.

The next morning as she promised, when Ryan was busy fiddling his breakfast, he saw smoke coming out of Celina’s mouth.

“Whoa mom!!! You can do magic just like Papa… I love you” he jumped on Celina and hugged her.

 

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Forever yours

Magpie entry 281:

He was there buried a few feet under. I was a little girl when this happened. But I remember how fond I was of him and the day he was buried in our backyard was one of the sad moments of my life.

Every year, on the anniversary I go near his grave, and mourn for him. Even though I can no longer hug him, I hug the ground where his body was laid to rest. Its been a decade, the ground is no longer bare, there is tall grass in that place, may a few plants which bear beautiful flowers too.

But all I can think of is him.

My parents say, he was very much fond of me, fussed over me when I was baby. I remember growing up with him, eating meals with him, sleeping next to him. And one fine day, when I came home from school, they were taking him to the hospital. I dint know what to do, to reduce the pain which he experienced that day. A couple of days later, what came home in the van, broke my heart. I saw him sleeping in the van, but I could see he was no longer breathing.

Dad dug up a huge pit in the backyard, and said that he now will no longer stay with us in the house, but this will be his new home. And we laid him to rest and closed the pit.

Today, I hug him again on this day, I still cannot get over him. Even though my parents insisted, I promised myself, I will never replace him in my life. I will never get another dog as my pet.

 

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The Mask

Magpie entry 280:

“This is mine”

“No, it’s mine”

“Give it back, you don’t want to face the consequences”

“I don’t care”

The siblings were fighting for it again.

“Stop this fight right now” Their mother was at the door, with her hands on her hips.

She came upto the mask, picked it up and threw it out of the window.People on the ground could see something falling off from the sky. It was huge.

It looked like a face. Was it a spaceship shaped in this way. Was it an alien who was coming down to earth?

As it came near the ground, people could feel the size was much bigger. They made space for it. In a few seconds, the mask nose dived. The people around couldn’t understand, from where such a huge face came from. All they could do is stare up, at the sky. Since nobody could move the mask from the place, they moved on with their work.

The day was over, the lights on the road were switched off, there was no movement on the road.

From somewhere up in the sky, one of the kids, took the torch and pointed it towards the mask.

On the ground, it seemed like a big flashlight focusing on the mask.

In a few seconds, the lips of the masks curled, and the closed eye opened.

 

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Lunch Break

Magpie entry 279:

I keep looking thru the hole, but all I can see in an endless spiral.

I wonder what’s on the other side of the hole.

Somebody once told me, somebody would tumble down the spiral and land in this hole, just as I came in.

But nobody has come here ever since I came here.
Is it really a space where people enter? or is it my imagination, where nobody will enter.

Oh Wait!!! I see someone coming. I see a little girl running down the stairs. It looks like someone is chasing her. There is no worry, she is laughing. It may be a friend of hers. Hope she comes to my space soon and lets me out.

Will she come? Or will the person chasing her catch up with her and take her away.

All I can do is wait and watch. Can I lure this little one in my hole. But does she deserve to come here. It’s a dark hole, a black hole. I had once read people who enter a black hole can never go out.

But that was in the space, this is our mansion. I don’t remember how I ended up in this space. But I want to go out now.

The girl is nearing the hole. She has finally reached the end of the stairs. I have to create some curiosity for her to look into this hole. Then I can pull her in. I will then move out of here.

Before I can think of anything, she is standing below the black hole. She doesn’t have any other place to go to. I will grab her into the hole and nobody will notice. Yes!!! That’s what I will do.

I stretch my hands out of the hole and am about to grab the little girl’s hand, and I hear a voice.

“Sally, how many times have I told you not to come to this place. Next time I see you around this place, I will never bring you to this mansion. Come along, finish your lunch”

Sally ran away. Her mother looked into the hole, she dint see me. But why do I think I know her? Why do I think I have heard her voice?

Just then I heard the voice again. It was my mother. She was standing behind me “Sally, did you not bring anybody today? What will do for lunch today? Anyway we have leftovers for today. Finish your lunch, and resume your hunt after that.” The black was hole was closed.

 

It was lunch break.

 

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The exchange

Magpie entry 278:

Maria had to reach home before the sun set. Nobody in her house knew, what she did the entire day. She did not intend to tell them either. Her parents went to the nearby town to earn their living. Her mother worked as a maid in one of the rich households, and her father worked in a garage. She was a very short girl when she was young, her parents took her to the fair where she was fascinated by the tall people walking around with long costumes. She dreamt someday, she would be as tall as those people. In one such fair, she met a witch, the one who could read minds.

Every evening, Maria took the train, which would take her back home, in time before her parents arrived. They would wonder what she did every day, but would not question her, since she was always busy with the household chores. But that day, she had seen him, and was mesmerized by his golden eyes. She could help but stare at him, and lost track of time.

The witch she had met in the fair years ago, had granted her wish, although Maria had a price to pay. She was made tall and thin, so tall that she resembled a pole now. Her parents were worried on how she would get a suitable boy for marriage, but Maria was not bothered. It was her secret dream to be how she was now. She was happy. She went to the fair, and was given the job, she was so fascinated about. First day when she came home, she heard her parents discuss about her future. She wanted to disclose about her job, but was scared if her parents would reject it, they hated the fair and never let her go. She decided to reveal it to them when the time was right.

She wore colourful clothes in the fair. But on her journey, she preferred to wear black, so that people couldn't identify her much. She changed her hairstyle, with 2 thin plaits, and a hat to cover. Even if somebody met her in the fair, they wouldn't recognize her if they met her elsewhere. That fateful day, when she met the guy with golden eyes, she couldn't think of anything else. All she could do that day was to keep track of his movements. She knew she had seen him, his eyes seemed familiar. When her friend interrupted her thoughts, she realized, she would miss her train.

She ran behind the train, on the tracks hoping to catch the train. If she couldn't catch the train, she would be late and her parents would question her. She couldn't afford that, at least not that day. She wasn't prepared to tell her parents. She ran on the tracks, she could see in a few minutes the sun would set. She managed not to get her heels stuck in the tracks, and hopped on the train in the next station.

She reached home and heaved a sigh of relief, since the door was still locked and nobody was home yet. Half an hour later, her parents came in and along with them, came a handsome young man. Maria recognized him instantly. He was the man with the golden eyes from the fair.

“What’s he doing here? How do my parents know him? Will he recognize me?”, all these thoughts engulfed her. Before she could ask anything, her mother came running to her.

“Maria, do you recognize him? He is your brother. We had lost him in the fair years ago”

The memories came rushing to her. The witch had agreed to grant her the wish, if only she would part with her golden eyed brother. And Maria, who couldn't tell right from wrong at that age, had agreed for the exchange. Every day after that, Maria went to the fair, without her parents knowledge to find her brother.

Today her brother stands in front of her. She wants to hug him and apologize to him, but she is also worried. Does he know what she had done to him? Would he tell her parents if he knew? Although she was happy that her brother was back, her guilt kept her busy in a different world.

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The Giant

“Mom, look at that”, Sneha nudged Swati, as they were travelling in the bus. Swati had promised her daughter, to take her to the village, where she had the best vacation of her life.

“It looks weird. Isn’t it?” Sneha asked her pointing her to the farm. Swati was already lost in her thoughts.

Swati was new to the village environment. Her parents worked in a city, and during summer vacation, she visited the village. Since she was the youngest of all her cousins, it was evident; she was the source of their entertainment. Her elder brother, along with his cousins enjoyed teasing his 7 year old sister.

“Good Morning Amma” Swati was still rubbing her eyes. She had just woken up

“How is it that you are up so early today?. It’s just 6.00 AM. You are usually in your dreamland at this time, during vacation” her mother hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.

“Amma, I want to walk around in the field. Can I please go?” Swati pleaded her mother.
“Early in the morning, I won’t let you go alone. You can go with one of your cousins or brother, once they are awake.” was her mother’s response.
Swati went to the backyard sulking, where Leela, her grandmother was drying her hair, after the morning bath.

Leela was in her late 50s. She usually would be in the kitchen at 6 in the morning. But the previous night, she slept late as her sons and daughters, with their families had come to the village after long time. She was too excited and too busy, and slept past midnight.

“What happened to my darling? Did Amma scold you? Come here, I will give you something special” she tried to cheer up the little girl

Swati was least interested in what Leela had in store for her. “Why can’t I go alone to the field? Amma doesn’t let me go” Swati was complaining.

Before her grandmother could answer, one of Swati’s cousins who had just woken up, came to the backyard, and interrupted the conversation “Hey Swati, do you want to see the cow being milked?”

She was so excited at this thought, and ran with her cousin to the cowshed.

Swati had arrived the previous night, and this was the first time she had a look at the village in daylight. There were no limits to her excitement. Every small thing had her exclaiming.

The front yard had a lot of shrubs, which bore colorful flowers. As they passed these, and crossed the gates, the kids reached the cowshed. There were atleast half a dozen cows which she could spot from where she stood. She instantly fell in love with the one which was black and white. It looked just like the one in the butter packets, they got back home. She wanted to touch the cow, just then, one of the cows mooed. It was a fantastic experience for all the kids to see the cow being milked. More so, for Swati, since this was her first experience. She was tempted to drink a glass of milk at that instant, which was surprising as she was not a great fan of milk. By this time Swati had forgotten, her wish to visit the farm.

After lunch, one of her uncle’s announced that he would be going near the farm, and all the kids, who wished not to sleep and wanted to visit the farm, could hop on the jeep. Swati ran and sat in the front seat of the jeep. Two other cousins joined her, the rest of them were too tired of the travel, and wanted to stay indoors. Another reason, they stayed back was Leela had promised to make some yummy savories for them, and they wanted to be the first ones to taste them.

Once they reached the farm, uncle held Sawti’s hand. He had a firm grip, so that she wouldn’t slip on the mud. There was a smile on her face as soon as she saw the Greenland, bordering them were the huge trees. She saw that the farmers were having their lunch under the tree. She wanted to go and play in the shade, but did not want to disturb the farmers there. But seeing her uncle, a few of them came up to him and reported on the happenings. He gave them some more instructions for the rest of the day.

“Are you their teacher uncle?” Swati asked him. He was amused by this question “Why do you think I am their teacher Swati?”
“This is just like in school. When we have a free period, our teacher comes and gives us instructions” was her reply.

Her uncle then explained to her. “Let’s say, this is like school. I am their head master. So I take care of the school and the teachers and ofcourse the students too. There are a few farmers, who have been doing this for a long time, so they are the teachers. There are some new farmers, they are the students”

“Wow, I would like to be in such a school too uncle” Swati was admiring the farm. The so called students were back to work. It was fascinating for her to see them in the field. As she was walked around, she spotted something far away. She came back running to her uncle, and enquired. He was busy with work, hence told her, it was a dangerous place in the farm and that Swati or anybody should not go near the place without elder’s permission. She kept staring at it and decided she will ask her brother if he knew anything about. Initially, she thought of asking her mother, but later decided against it, assuming that was the reason she wasn’t allowed to go to the farm alone.

Once they were home, she had fun with her cousins. They played until the daylight faded away giving way to a beautiful sunset. All the kids were on the terrace, and loved the orange red combination in the sky. To give them company were the munchies their grandmother had prepared. They ate until their stomachs were ready to burst out. Everybody claimed, they wouldn’t have dinner that night. But all that running around in the frontyard and jumping around had them in the dining room, much before dinner time.

After a sumptuous dinner, they resumed playing. The elders too did not interrupt them, as this was the only time, they could enjoy without any school worries.

They were just about to sleep, when Swati told her brother about the weird thing she saw in the farm. He couldn’t understand what Swati was trying to explain to him and told her to remind him about it, the next time they went to the farm.

The next day, Swati woke up to the smell of something delicious. She saw Leela preparing breakfast for the entire family. While she stood, watching her cook, her mother slipped in a glass of milk, which Swati drank without any fuss. All kids were up in the meanwhile and were ready for the breakfast. All of them had planned to spend their day in the farm.

The farmers recognized Swati, and smiled at her. She too smiled and waved her hand in response.
“You are already friends with them, Swati” teased one of her cousins. “Ofcourse they are also students right” she said which surprised the other kids. But they dint ask for any explaination from her. As they walked, Swati froze for a moment. When her brother, who was holding her hand, according their mother’s orders, tried to drag her, she refused to go any further. On probing, she mentioned that uncle had told her not to go, as it was a dangerous place. The elder kids looked at one another, and smiled.

“Yes Swati, only kids who are above 10 years are allowed there. You stay here, we will come back in a while” saying this, all of them ran, leaving Swati and 2 others at the same place. After an hour, when Swati did not see any of her cousins coming back, she panicked and decided to call some of the farmers. Just when she turned around, she heard her brother’s voice, from the direction all of them had gone. She ran that way, and as she neared, she saw the weird creature standing tall.

She was at the back of the creature, she wanted to run away, but she thought about her brother and cousins, and this gave her the courage to stand in front of it and question. As she went to the front, she couldn’t see the face. It was very sunny and since the creature was huge, the glare of the sun prevented her from looking at the creature. She was scared. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She tried to scream at the creature, when she realized her voice had deserted her. Her mother’s voiced echoed in her head, about listening to elders. Why did she not listen to uncle? Why did she have to tell everyone about the dangerous place. It was now her fault that everybody was in trouble.

Tears which filled her eyes had now started to roll down her cheeks. She wanted to be brave, save her brother and cousins, but felt helpless. She dint know, what the huge creature was, blame it on the sunlight, she still couldn’t spot the face. But she did notice that the pant worn by the giant was shabby. The pant had loose ends, and did not even smell great. The shirt also seemed like an old worn out shirt. He must be a kidnapper she thought. She spotted few sticks nearby. She ran to pick up a couple of them, and started hitting the legs. She was amused on why there was no noise from the giant. She hit harder, and she could hear a bone break. This did not stop her and she continued to hit the legs, this time the other one. She again heard a bone break, and in minutes, a huge pile of sticks fell on her. The shabby clothes also were on her head. She was surrounded by her brother and cousins, everybody holding their stomach and laughing at her.

Like a hero who rises from the ashes, Swati rose from the heap of sticks, and gave a long stare. Everybody stopped laughing and apologized. She started throwing the sticks at them. It took time for them to pacify her and also to convince her not to complain to the elders about their prank. By the time they reached home, she knew the giant which she had fought was a scarecrow. At home, they had to come up with a story to tell the elders in the family, so that scarecrow could be back in its place.

As a punishment, for a week all her cousins satisfied all her wishes for a week. She did not stop smiling all those days.

“Mom, why are you smiling? And what is that weird thing?” questioned Sneha.

Swati kept her hand on Sneha’s shoulder and said “Let me tell you a story, then you’ll know what that is”

The Red Post Box

“Wow, it’s so beautiful. I will also send my drawing to tatha” Anu rushed to her room, to bring her drawing book.

“Which one should we send Amma?” she started browsing her book.

“I will get you a sheet of paper. Why don’t you draw something new? Then we can send it “her mother gave her an idea.

Couple of days later, Anu came up with a drawing. It wasn’t a beauty, but for an effort of a 10 year old, it seemed wonderful.

“How can we show this? We will not go to Bangalore until my exams are over” Anu had started sulking

“Why are you sad? We can just post it darling” Her mom

“Post! What’s that?” and that is when Anu came to know about the postal system and how being so far away from her grandparents, she could still share her thoughts and her drawings with them.

The next day, Anu and her mother went to the nearest post box and dropped it in the red box. This post box was located opposite Anu’s school.

In 2 weeks, when Anu went back from school, her mom had great news for her. She had a letter in her hand.

“Is it for me? Did you read it?” Anu was extremely excited.

“I haven’t read your letter dear. I thought you should open your first letter, especially from tatha”. As she opened the blue inland letter, she read slowly

Dear Anu,

I am proud of you my dear girl. Your drawing is very beautiful When you come to Bangalore, I will teach you more. Keep up the good work. I have showed your drawing to everybody in the house. Pati is also very happy. I even showed it my friends. And everybody loved it. For this I give you 4 golden stars.

Lots of Love,

tatha

Anu was extremely happy that she got a letter from her grandfather. She wanted to reply to it immediately. She got the inland letter from her mother, took out her pencil box, sharpened her pencil, and wrote a long letter. Her mother helped her in getting the letter to be posted. Anu volunteered to post the letter as she knew where it had to be done. Her mother allowed her to since it was on the way to school.

Months passed by, and the chain of letters between the them continued.

One day, Anu’s mother came to pick her up from school. She had a letter to post. As they were nearing the post box, Anu pointed elsewhere and said “But, there is where I usually post it amma”. She was pointing it to a letterbox in one of the houses.

Her mother was shocked, “Anu, But that’s a letterbox”.

“But its red in colour Amma. You said I should post it in the red box”, reasoned Anu.

Both of them went to the post box, and dropped the letter, and her mother explained to Anu, the difference between a letterbox and a postbox.

Anu realized her mistake and told her mother that she wanted to apologize to the people in the house for the inconvenience she had caused. Her mother took her to their house, and explained why they had come to the lady of the house.

“So you are the little one, whose posts we were receiving. Its ok my dear, we realized it was a mistake and put all your letters in the post box. Hope your grandfather got all those precious letters” the lady patted Anu’s back.

“I am sorry once again Aunty” Anu was embarrassed and they left from there. Her mom smiled and at her and said that it was ok, and that Anu had learnt her lesson very well.

And it was true, Anu always remembered this phase of her life, everytime she came across a red post box or a red letter box.​

Pleasure or Poison

“Mr & Mrs Ray, The doctor will see you now” the receptionist interrupted the couple, who were deeply engrossed in the magazine kept on the coffee table in the clinic.

As they made way into the doctor’s cabin, there were horrific photos of the mouth cancer, lungs and all those ads which they watched on TV, discouraging people from smoking. At those times, they had mocked “who would quit smoking watching these ads. If people really wanted to, they would quit”. But today, there was no sarcastic smile on their faces. They had the reports in their hands, which would decide the fate.

Holding hands, they entered the cabin, the doctor was looking at the report. They knew in a few minutes, they would get the news officially from the man himself.

“I think you already know what I am about to tell you Satish. But let me confirm. Your lung congestion is getting worse, and we have a doubt it might reach a stage soon, where the route to recovery is not possible. We will have to do a few more tests to see how it goes.”

Nirmala’s eyes were full of tears. She had it under control though. She blamed herself for this situation.

“Doctor, we are ready for the test anytime. But please save my husband” she started to get emotional.

“You know the situation as well, Dr. Nirmala, you have counseled, so many smokers. There is nothing I can hide from you. Once all the tests are complete, we will have a better picture of the situation.” The doctor tried to console her.

Dr. Nirmala was a specialist in psychiatry. She specialized in counseling patients addicted to smoking. There were a lot of patients who gave up smoking after attending her sessions. She did not expect this to happen in her family.

“Satish, how could I not see this coming? I, knew this will happen someday. I give sessions to so many people regarding active & passive smoking, and this happens at our home.”

As the driver pulled out the car from the parking lot. She dragged a cigarette out of her purse, flipped it out, and put it in her mouth. As she took a drag, the smoke reached Satish, and he started to cough.

“I have to give a presentation on Passive Smoking tomorrow. I am yet to prepare the presentation for the same” she had another puff, and the smoke ended up in circles.

Take the Dive

“Mom, Dad, you guys are coming this Sunday right?” Tina asked her parents at the dining table. The family was having dinner together after a long time.

“Of course my dear, we wouldn’t miss it for anything in this world” answered her dad.

“Mom?” she wanted her mother to answer and waited for a Yes from her too.

“I will try my dear. You know that this month has been very busy for dad and me. But I will definetly try to be there my dear” her mom was trying her best to keep the option open for her daughter, yet not hurt her.

“Yeah like last month, where you guys dint come” Tina got up from the dining table and stormed into her room.

“Couldn’t we have just told her we will come” Stephan grumbled

“Yeah, and when she finds out we were not there. What happens then Stephen? She is a growing kid. We cannot keep her protected all the time. And it’s better she understands us now, than blaming us for the lie, don’t you think” Rina was saddened that Stephan was not supporting her decision.

“But what is the point of telling her half the truth. We don’t tell her why we can’t go with her, it will make her hate us even more, rather than understand our situation.” Stephan was trying to reason it out.

Saturday evening, Rina knocked the door of Tina’s room.

“Darling!!! Are you ready for tomorrow?” she looked at Tina’s bag which was packed.

“Yes mom. Can’t you guys please come tomorrow. I know you both are very busy, but just this once, I really want you guys to come there to support me” she pleaded.

“Tina, remember this my dear. Your dad and me love you. We want to be with you in all your milestones in life. We really do. But sometimes life puts you in situations where you can’t do anything but let go of your choice.”

On Sunday morning, Tina was ready to leave. Stephan and Rina kissed her forehead and wished her luck. She reached the venue and went into the changing room. It was a big day for her. She was going to dive from 15ft. She saw her friends, her competitors. There were some beginners on one end who seemed to be  more nervous. On the other end she saw some who were to jump from higher altitudes. They were as nervous as she was or more, she wouldn’t know.

Tina found an unoccupied bench and sat there with her bag next to her. Just then some one entered the room, and announced, the event will commence shortly and all the participants were to assemble near the arena in 15 mins. Tina quickly changed into her swimsuit and left with the others to the arena.

As she reached, the backstage, where all the participants were in a queue, and she saw lot of families in the area. They had come to wish their kids, siblings, and here she was alone. She knew today her parents would come. She could feel it. But where were they? Why were they not giving her their time? She did not understand. She did not want to either. She just wanted them there at that moment, encouraging her.

As they stood in lie, everybody was facing the arena, and she alone was looking back. She pulled the towel she had wrapped herself, her eyes still looking for the most important people in her life. She was close to the door. Once she entered that door, there was no looking back.

A minute later, she stepped in. Now all she could see was a huge crowd around the swimming pool. As she climbed the stairs to reach the 15ft high, she could feel rushes of memories. The day her parents bought the swimsuit, first day in the swimming pool, first lesson, first dive. By this time she had reached the top, it was her turn next. She took a couple of deep breaths, and walked to the tip. She adjusted her cap to cover her ears, put on her goggles, looked down at the water. She smiled at the water.

Her hands were up in the air folded, and she took position. She jumped, and everybody in the stadium saw the rotations and twists in awe, and they heard a splash in water. It was a perfect dive. When her head came out of water, she was thrilled to see the entire area applauding her. She ran towards the drying area.

“Mom, dad, you guys came… Did you see? Was I good? When did you get here” she ran into her parents who were holding the towel for her to dry her up.

She dint care for the answers anymore. She was happy. Her parents had come to see her dive. She dint care about anything else anymore.

Birthday Gift

“Baba, What will be my Birthday gift this time?” Rishi asked, with his mouth full of rice.
“Have I not told you, not to talk when you have food in your mouth. You will choke one day like this” his mom reprimanded him
He gulped the rice and repeated the question.

“It’s a surprise. You will know about it soon. Finish your dinner and wash your hands. We have to go feed the animals in the shed”
“Please baba, atleast give me a clue” he insisted
“Not tonight. Off you go now”

Rishi always loved this part of the evening, when he would feed the animals with his father. He had a feeling, these were not just animals, but his own siblings. He believed, that the animals could communicate with him. As he went near them and touched, and called out their names, their reaction always made his heart jump with joy. Every evening, he would stroke on their head, tickle their neck, and would put the feed in their respective areas. It was definitely a wonderful family. 

That night, he couldn’t sleep until late. He was thinking about his birthday gift. He would be 10 years old. He would no longer be a little boy. He was determined he would get the surprise out of Baba.

His mother woke him early the next day. She said he had to accompany baba, who was going to the city. Rishi was very excited. He guessed, it was probably for his birthday gift. They got into a non-stop, and so was he, talking non-stop to his baba. He could feel it when they were about to enter the city. It was noisy, but he loved the noise. He was always curious to know, why cities were so noisy, compared to his village. They entered a cab, which took them to a quiet place. Rishi was tucked into a comfortable bed. He was tired of the lack of sleep the previous night and also the bus journey, he drifted to sleep in a jiffy.

A couple of days later, on his birthday, his parents were standing near his bed. 

“Baba, is my gift ready?” Rishi asked.
“Almost my dear boy, almost” and his baba looked at the doctor. His mother pressed baba’s hands, she was then signaled to stand in a pre-decided place.

“So, Master Rishi, are you ready for your gift?” The doctor asked
“Ofcourse, can you please take out this blindfold, enough of surprises now” Rishi was getting impatient.

As Rishi opened his eyes slowly, he saw his parents for the first time in his life. He was not sure if it was them, only way to find out was to feel them. 
“Ma, baba is that you?” Rishi tried to extend his hand to reach them. Both held his hand and nodded. His mother had to wipe of the tears coming from her eyes. She couldn’t believe that her son could now see her.

“Ma, you are so beautiful and Baba, you are a strong man. I can see both of you. I can’t believe it. This is the best birthday gift” Rishi again spoke non-stop, till he was interrupted by the doctor to take some rest.

Couple of days later, on the way back to the village, Rishi was the most silent person in the bus. He did not want to miss out a single sight outside. As soon as they reached their house, he ran to the shed. He couldn’t identify which animal was called by which name. As soon as he touched them and called out their names, all the animals reacted in the usual way. Rishi was so glad, he could feel them and now he could see them as well.

The School

Sheshadri woke up at 5.00AM, his usual time every day. He completed his morning rituals and was at the breakfast table by 7.00aM. He had the day’s newspaper in his hand. While he was busy pondering over some important news item, his wife snatched the paper and kept a plate in front of him. It was his favorite breakfast.


“What’s special today? You have prepared my favorite after a long time” he winked at her

“Ofcourse it’s a special day. Isn’t It?” She smiled and went in to get the hot cup of filter coffee.

After the breakfast, Sheshadri went to his room to get dressed. He took out the neatly ironed crisp white dhoti. It had a very thin golden zari border. He then took out his favorite light blue shirt, and then wore the black coat, which made him look very handsome. As he proceeded to leave the room, near the door was his cream and gold turban, which he picked on the way out. As he was nearing the main door, he realized he forgot his most loved possession. He went back to his writing desk and picked up his pen. He put it in the pocket of his coat.

As Sheshadri walked, almost every day greeted him with a smile. There was no doubt; he was one of the most respected men in the entire community. In 20 minutes, he reached school. He had been a part of school, from the time he was a kid.

The first time he came to the school, was with his dad. They did not have uniforms then. He wore a mini white dhoti and a grey shirt with a black turban. His grandmother had pinned up a peacock feather to his turban. She always thought of him as Lord Krishna. He had been a top scorer in Mathematics, Science and Sanskrit. He had ventured out of the town to gain knowledge in the 3 subjects. He had come to the town and joined the same school as a teacher. In a few years, he was able to convince everybody that girls deserved to be in such a great school and they deserved to have girls in their school. Years later, his children were students of the school.

He had served the school for 35 years. It was time for him to retire. Neither him nor the school wanted him to leave. But they had to abide by the rules. As he entered his room, there was a note kept on his desk

“Beloved Sir,

You have always been our inspiration. We will be grateful our entire life. We would like to invite you to the auditorium, for a little surprise. Please grace the occasion.

-A humble request from your students and staff”

He remembered how he had gone in search of the best builders in town to get the auditorium built. It surely was one of the best in couple of towns nearby. As he neared, the building seemed too huge and overwhelming to him. The security guard near the door, smiled and bowed in respect, and opened the door. As Sheshadri stepped in, he could hear the loudest applause ever in his life. The number of people in the auditorium was astonishing. Students had come from all over the country. As he neared the stage, the crowd cheered. He took the centre stage, folded his hands in front of everybody, and bowed down. The applause had stopped but there was not a single person present who had not stood up. He gestured them to take their seats. He also took his place on the stage.

The farewell went for hours together, where Sheshadri did not utter a word, but everybody else wanted to convey what his role had been in their lives. He was moved by their speech, and content that he had touched so many lives. The vice-principal of the school came to make a speech. He wished Sheshadri for a peaceful life ahead and mentioned that they would be like lost sheep without his guidance, and that even though he would officially not be a part of the school, his suggestions and guidance would always be required.

Finally, it was time for Sheshadri to give the speech. He had never liked long speeches as a kid. He had followed the same principle as a teacher and till date as a principal. His speech was always, short and crisp. He made sure they left a mark on the audience. But today, he was emotional. He dint know how to talk. For the first time in years, he felt, he would probably fumble in front of his students. His first speech as a student flashed in front of him. He remembered, he was the 1st standard, and he was supposed to talk about a topic for a minute. The topic given to him was school. Sheshadri smiled. He knew what he was about to tell his audience.

As he came near the mike, students rose from their chairs. Sheshadri neared the mike.

“Thank you. Please be seated. I might fumble if I see all of you stand. You don’t want to do that to your old man now. Do you?” Everybody laughed and sat down.

“I remember the first time I was asked to give a speech in my life. I was given a minute to speak. As I picked the sheet of paper, my hands trembled. But the moment I read what was in the sheet of paper, I had a smile on my face and my father says, he saw a twinkle in my eyes. The topic I had to speak for a minute was “school”. I spoke for a few seconds. I finally ended saying “I will never ever leave this school. I love it here”. Little did I know then, that I would stick to my words. I have always loved the school, and the reason behind it is all you students, teachers and the staff. I will always have time for you people. And today as I leave from here, I would like to repeat what I had said decades ago, I will never ever leave this school. I love it here. My soul will always find peace here”

He bowed in front of everybody, waved his hand at them and moved out of the auditorium.

'Ranga-Swamy'

Ranga kept his foot on the bed sheet, while Swamy was trying to pull it, trying to cover his face. A few minutes later, when Swamy knew his efforts were futile, he rolled the sheets over Ranga. There were no beds to make early in the morning, for they had no beds to sleep on. They slept on the floor. There was no room to clean. They did not even have a house, and were satisfied sleeping on the pavement of the railway station. This was their life for years, from the time they were born.


“Ranga-Swamy”, the station master, Pratap called out, and both ran upto him. It was their breakfast time. This was the one meal he could provide to the duo. Pratap had given them shelter years before. Both were at his doorstep. His family was huge; hence he couldn’t afford to accept them to be a part of his family. He secretly allowed them to stay near the railway station. He would buy breakfast for them on the way. The porters took pity on them and allowed them to help in the work. They got their share and lived off it in a corner.

Even though both grew up together, they were different in many ways. Swamy was always the one who spoke to everybody; Ranga was the stronger one, but a silent follower of Swamy. His eyes did most of the talking. “Ranga-Swamy” were the names given by Pratap, to the lovely duo.

As days passed by, Swamy noticed Ranga was slowly losing his strength. He wanted to take Ranga to a doctor, but they hardly made money to satisfy the daily needs, spending for a doctor visit seemed out of bounds. Swamy decided, he would take help from Pratap, just this once. The duo never accepted any monetary help from him. They knew how difficult it was for Pratap to manage his family. They not intend to burden him with their problems. But, this time, Swamy couldn’t resist. It was not for him, but for his companion, who had been with him all these years. There was not a day which passed by, when ‘Ranga-Swamy’ were not together.

The next morning, Pratap handed over the breakfast to the duo. Ranga took the food and walked away, he wasn’t cheerful, like the usual. Swamy later discussed the problem with Pratap. Even though Pratap could not afford to take care of them, he considered them their own. He checked the amount he had in his safe deposit box. They decided to take Ranga for a check-up the next day.

A month later, Swamy woke up. But, this time, there was nobody to pull his sheets, nobody to roll over the bed sheets with him. His companion Ranga had moved over to a different world, leaving Swamy alone in the world, they had shared till then. Swamy quietly folded the sheets and kept it away. He went on with his routine; the smile on the 12 year old boy was missing.

A fortnight earlier, when Pratap and Swamy took Ranga for the doctor visit, they were shocked to learn, Ranga had only a few more days left. Though Pratap understood the situation, it was difficult for Swamy. Ranga was also around 12 years. The doctor then explained to Swamy, a dog’s life span is different from that of a human and Ranga, being a dog, was nearing the end of his life.

The week after the visit was most miserable. But, the duo had the satisfaction of being with each other, their entire life. Ranga had pulled the sheets from Swamy’s face and once they both had rolled over the sheets and on each other, they started panting for breadth. Ranga was on his best friend’s lap, in a few minutes he became motionless. Swamy knew, it was time. A tear drop from Swamy’s eyes trickled down to Ranga’s face.

A decade later, Swamy still is a porter in the railway station. He tries to help any stray animal. He has an old photograph of Ranga and him, which Pratap had gifted him. The void left by Ranga has not been filled by anyone in his life yet. Pratap hopes one day Swamy will find someone, who does just that, takes Ranga’s place in Swamy’s heart. “Ranga-Swamy” till then will remain inseparable.

The Bell

Kumar was returning to his village after a decade. The city had given him all that he had wished for, as a kid. It was a long journey in his life to blend into the city life. But, it would be longer to go back to his original life. It was as if all these years he was living in a dream. A dream, where he lived as someone else. He had no regrets of leaving his village, for he knew, he would return.

The bus was crowded, but Kumar had managed to get a window seat. It was probably the effect of his attire. The neatly pressed white shirt and the blue jeans, which he had changed into at the railway station, made him look no less than a movie star. The Polaroid dark glasses on his chalked out face, and the neatly set hair just added more stars to his appearance. As soon as he got the luggage loaded on the bus, the other passengers made way and let him select any seat on the bus. He was busy soaking in the scenery the route had to offer. He had four hours before he could reach his house, his village, the place where he spent his childhood.

His thoughts were running faster than the bus. Were they running ahead to see his future? Or to go back to the sweet memories of the place, was something nobody except Kumar could tell. He remembered his house and the temple. Both the places, where his favorites in the village. He would always enquire about them. He had unlimited memories from the time spent near the temple. He would go there every day with his friends. The banyan tree, on the banks of the river, just behind the temple, used to be their hangout place. He would run into the temple and try to touch the huge temple bell. He wasn’t tall enough then, to touch it. He would come back with a long face, to cheer him up, his friends would form a tower, for him to climb up and hit the bell. After this they would run away fearing the scolding from the temple priest.  Since Kumar would fall from the top of the tower, almost every day there would be wound or a bruise on his body.

The bell rang, but this time, it wasn’t the temple bell. It was the simple bell in the bus, which brought back Kumar from his memories. His village was just a kilometer away and this was to alert everybody to get ready to make their way to the door. The scenes seemed familiar to him. The long stretches of farmlands with men and women toiling in the harsh sun. He could see huge towers too in the middle of these farms. He understood them to be the assets of the cell phone companies. He wondered, even if there were problems for water and electricity, there was no dearth of cell phones.

The sudden break on the bus put a break to his train of thoughts. As he set his foot on the road, unloaded his luggage from the bus, and the bus continued his journey, he saw a dozen people waiting on the other side of the road. They had flower garlands, basket of flowers, drums, and trumpets. As soon as he crossed the road, he was surrounded by his uncles, cousins, who lifted him on their shoulders. The welcome party paraded on the roads of the village and finally stopped in front of the huge gate. The drums and trumpets did not stop until the huge gate opened.

Kumar stepped in, on one side, he saw the cowshed. There were a dozen of cows. Few years back, when he left, there were just a couple of cows and one of them was pregnant, due to deliver the calf. The sight of the cows and and cow dung in round shapes on the wall brought a smile to his face. He remembered how he would help his mother make those cow dung cakes. In that excitement, he would smear the dung all over his body and would get scolded by his mom for messing himself. His mother would remove his dirty clothes and bather him with the water from the well.

As he stared at the well, he visualized a small boy playing with a bucket of water. The boy’s mother was forcing him to quit playing, bathe quickly and change into the dry clothes. She was splashing water on him. He could feel the same, and realized, somebody was actually sprinkling water on him. He looked at the hand. They were the same tender hands which took care of him in his childhood. The same hands which bid good bye to him, when he was set to leave the village. He touched the hand and kept it on his head. His mother had promised him, whatever happened; she would never leave his side. She had kept her promise. She was his moral support.

He looked at her eyes. He could see tears, similar to how they were when he was leaving. There was one difference, this time he could spot the joy hidden n them. The tears were shining like diamonds. The mother and son hugged each other. As they parted, Kumar’s father stepped forward. He was waiting for this embrace for a long time. He met his relatives, distributed the gifts he had carefully packed for everyone. His mom just couldn’t take her eyes off him and her fingers were busy ruffling his hair. His father looked at him with pride, while Kumar felt content lying on the floor with his head supported on his mother’s lap.

Kumar was eager to visit his childhood hangout place, the temple. In the evening, he dressed up in the traditional attire and went to the temple. As he entered, he saw a tower of kids and one short boy, trying to reach the bell. Just when the boy was about to touch it, the priest came running with a stick to chase the boys. The tower collapsed. The boy touched the ground, luckily fell on his palms. Kumar could understand the feelings of the boy. He went near the boy, lifted him up and helped him strike the bell. The joy on the boy’s face gave Kumar immense happiness, probably much more than, is he had hit the bell himself.

A month later, there was a development in the temple. In one corner of the temple, there were multiple bells hanging at different heights. Everybody now had access to the bells. Ofcourse, this did not stop the boys to form the tower. This was to hit the bell which was six feet above the ground. Kumar felt, his decision to come back home was not wrong afterall.

The Come Back

In a village near Chitradurga, Sundari seemed like the happiest woman of the day. She had woken up an hour earlier than the usual. Had she slept at all the previous night was questionable. She had completed all her morning rituals much ahead of sunrise. Sundari was the river bank when she witnessed the sun rise. It was the usual time and the same scene, but on that day, it seemed like the most beautiful sunrise she had even seen in her lifetime. After the mesmerizing sight she filled her mud pots with water and headed back home.

As she reached home, her husband had woken up, completed his morning rituals and was offering his prayers to God. She hurried to the kitchen to make him a drink. He always had a glassful of Kashaya after the prayers. It was hot drink comprising of water boiled with pepper corn, cumin and few leaves of holy basil. She would add a clove and a cardamom too, so that it would lend a sweet flavor and acted as a mint too.

It was a special day for the couple. Their son was to return. He was taken away fourteen years back. Sundari remembered the day very well. The entire village had seen her cry. She wailed as if her son was about lose his life. In a way, it was true. He wouldn’t be a free person anymore. He would be bound. “Why at such a young age?” she would question her husband once in a while. He could only hide his tears and pat on her shoulder as she leaned on his body for comfort.

Her son would accompany her to the river bank. He loved flowing water. While she would sit at the banks, he would be busy swimming and splashing water all over. Once done and out of water, he would come running to her, she would wipe him and dress him up with fresh clothes. Both of them would sit on a rock nearby and watch the sun rise just behind the small temple on the huge mountain.

Both would go to the palace after this. Sundari was one of the maids there and her son was one of the playmates of the prince. The two boys were very close to each other. Together, they would have the best times. They would run around the palace troubling the guards and maids. Sundari once caught them red-handed, stealing a snack item from the kitchen. She chased them until they reached the Queen’s harem. The boys ran and hid behind the queen. She was a kind lady and did not punish either of them and sent them away to play, also assuring Sundari that it was alright.

She knew, for the prince, it wasn’t an offense, but her son, couldn’t be behaving this way in the palace. As a punishment, she did not take him to the the palace for a couple of days, but was forced to bring him back on the little prince’s orders.

Days passed by, one day the guards were at Sundari’s doorsteps. They were summoned at the king’s courtroom. She knew, they were in trouble, because of their son. They were in the courtroom; the couple were trembling with fear, although the boy was fearless and wore a beautiful smile and a twinkle in the eye.

What they heard in the courtroom was unbelievable. Sundari was speechless. She did not know how to react. They just bowed in front of the king and came back home. That night Sundari had tears flowing on her cheeks like flood. The next day, when the guards came to take her son away, she was uncontrollable. Finally, her husband had to drag her into the house, so that they wouldn’t come in the way of the king’s orders.

After 14 years, she dint know if her son would recognize her. She wanted to make dishes which he used to love and relish. But now, she wasn’t sure if he liked the same stuff. She din't even know, if her son would like anything back at home. Sensing her anxiety, her husband comforted her. He assured her, their son would love anything she had made. After all, he wouldn’t have had the luxury all those years, away from them.

Late in the morning, the guards came in a carriage and let him out. There was a man in his early twenties. He body seemed to be sculpted. He had a heavy bangle of sorts hanging on one of his wrists. A maroon cloth wrapped his upper body, and a shining white dhoti as a contrast for the bottom. His left ear was pierced and had a small yet thick ring. There was bright red vermillon placed in the centre of his temple. As the wind blew the shoulder length wavy hair, just tried to fly backward. He looked like the most handsome man, the village had seen in years.

Sundari was amazed at this sight. It was her son, in front of her, in flesh and blood. She wanted to run upto him and hug him, cup his face in her hands and feel the moment of truth. She was awestruck by his appearance.

He was looking at his humble abode. The house was decorated with wild flowers. The simplicity made it appear beautiful. But what caught his attention, was the sight of the couple, his parents. They looked the same as the day he left them. There were probably stands of silver on their head, but they were mostly dominated by the black hair. Also, a very few wrinkles, just to prove they had grown wiser.

He could no longer control his urge and ran upto them. He bent down to seek their blessings and finally the moment, which the trio longed for, he hugged his parents. It was lunch time and the couple were busy catching up with their sons life till date. They were grateful to the king for sending their son, along with the prince, to the Gurukul.

Ragini

Ragini, a 10 year old, was the most cheerful girl Mandari Village had seen in years. Everybody in the village loved her. Every morning, she would be seen coming out of a place as good as heaven, with a pot on her head. She would walk till the river, to fill water. They had a huge well at the backyard; this water was used for household purposes. They needed the water from the sacred river only for the rituals. She would wear a long skirt, a matching blouse both with zari border. She would have 2 thick long plaits, and a strand of Jasmine buds adored one of the plaits. She had a dozen of glass bangles to match with her dress. But there was one way, which couldn’t prevent anybody from noticing her. Her silver anklets, with a numerous small bells. The moment stepped, the anklets would catch the attention of everybody around.

With a pot of water on her head, Ragini playfully would walk thru the fields; greet everybody on her way towards the house. The house where she stayed wasn’t less charming. Small hills surrounded the huge house. The entrance of the house was a beautiful arch, with iron rods shaped like arrows pointing down, forming the border for the arch. There was a long corridor, adorned with classy antique artifacts and paintings. The house had a smell of fresh flowers.

It was the rainy season, as soon as Ragini entered the house with the pot of water, it had started drizzling outside. She loved the rains. She had heard stories from the elders at home, about heaven and gods. And when it rained, she would run to the backyard, and lean at the door and watch the scenery change. It looked like heaven, same as the stories she had heard. At front, the arch seemed like a waterfall, with water dripping from the arrows pointing down. Once the rain stopped, the drops of water at the tip of the arrows would shine like crystals. Ragini would try to jump and touch these crystals. She could never succeed and the guards near the house would lift her up so that she could touch them. She always told them “I will grow tall one day, and you will not have to lift me anymore”. They could only smile at the little girl’s innocence. She would then run into the house, and into her father’s arms. He would lift her up and turn her around. She would get a thrill in rotating, just like a fan on the roof. Her mother would see this from the kitchen door, smile at Ragini and her father. She would serve the breakfast and Ragini insisted her dad feed her every morsel she ate.

Years passed by, Ragini was turning into a fine young girl. She would still go to the river everyday, to fetch the pot of water. Their house was still the heaven she imagined it to be. There were just minor changes. She no longer needed anyone’s help to touch the crystal like water droplets, for now she could jump a little and reach them easily. Her father couldn’t lift her up and twirl her around. But she insisted, he hold her hands, and they make rounds under the fan. She would still like to be fed breakfast by her father. But now her mother no longer smiled at this. Instead there was worry on her face, a tear drop in the corner of her eye. Ragini tried to ask her mother, but was shooed away saying she was imagining.

Then came the auspicious month of weddings, many of Ragini’s friends who were younger than her, at the age of 13 were getting married. She would wonder at times, why her parents unlike others never worried about her wedding. It was not that she wanted to go away from her parents. But the unusual behavior of her parents haunted her. But everytime she would look at her mother’s worried face, she understood, probably mother was thinking about Ragini’s wedding, and that is why the worry.

It was a special day, Ragini would turn 15. She was dressed up in the most expensive saree and ornaments. The 2 plaits which showed her innocence, was not present that day. Instead it was one thick plait, and she looked like an elegant lady. The sting of jasmine buds, added to the beauty of her long hair. Everybody in the household was ready, with fine clothing and jewellery. There was just one thing missing, on them. The smile. Ragini was the only cheerful girl in the entire house. She couldn’t understand, why were everybody mourning. She went and asked her father if she was dead. He was holding back his tears all the while, and on hearing this question, he burst out crying aloud. For her this was a horrible sight, she had never ever seen such a sight in her life. Her father was crying.

Everybody boarded the horse carriage, she insisted, she sit with her father. She wanted to know the reason for him crying. As the carriage moved forward, she kept asking her father, why he cried. His eyes were closed, but she could see the tear drop in the corner of the eye, trying to have a leap from his face on his shoulder. She took the end of her saree and wiped off the tear. She wanted to change the mood of her father. She started talking about the trees, the animals, the river, her friends to cheer him up. Her father managed to give a fake smile to her. She was content; she had managed to bring a smile on her father’s worried face. As she turned back, she glanced the carriage her mother was in. She was crying too. All the ladies in that carriage were trying to console her, but were not successful. She could sense they were going in the same route, which they usually take to visit her maternal grandparents. She was concerned, and hoping, her grandparents were safe.

Just before entering the village, the carriages took a turn, and stopped near a huge ground. It seemed like the whole village had gathered. As people from the carriages went in, a couple came up to Ragini’s parents and greeted them. Ragini’s family were shown a place to rest, It was under a huge banyan tree. A confused Ragini, now pleaded her parents to explain the happenings. Finally her father told her about something, she was unaware in her lifetime.

She was 3 years old, when Ragini was married off to a boy. He was not more than 6 years. When he was around 10, a deadly disease struck the village, and most of the kids lost their lives. As fate would have it, Ragini’s husband parted with the mortal world. Since Ragini was still a kid, when this happened, elders decided she should live her childhood as a happy child, and not knowing about this unfortunate event which had ruined her life. Today, as she was crossing the threshold of childhood and entering adolescence, she would be made aware of her life.

Ragini was shocked, even though her physical body had grown out of the innocent childhood, her mind had not.

“Father, What will happen to me now?” was a innocent question she asked him. Before he could answer, a few ladies took her away. Her father could listen to her cries, her mother couldn’t take all this and wanted to save her daughter from the rituals, but was not allowed to go anywhere.

Within a few minutes, the beautiful, cheerful and colourful Ragini changed into a lifeless body. Her soul was taken away. Now all that stood in front of her parents, was a body, who did not know how to react to the situation.

In a few minutes, after the soul parted from her body, she was placed in the sacred fire, for a ritual named ‘Sati’. Her lifeless body turned ashes.

Kill To Win

The “Kill to Win” fights happened every year. The crowd had gathered in huge numbers. It was the day of the “Big” fight. The Finale. Both the fighters were experts. They had not lost a single fight. They had never faced each other in any tournament. They were brothers, hence were never allowed to compete against each other. These fights never enthused the duo. It was the pressure of the audience, and the money involved in these fights, the owners coaxed the duo to participate in the fights.

The knives were sharpened and tied to them, this could be used later. Both of them seemed to be well fed, for they looked bigger than the normal. As they took the centre stage, the crowd cheered. They were doped, as the anger in their eyes dint seem genuine. How else could the owners get the two to fight against each other? They were at their respective stands waiting for the whistle.

The whistle blew and they ran towards each other. There was a head on collision. Neither of them backed out. It seemed like none of the other parts existed. They used their head to hit each other. The knife tied also came into play. There were scratches found on both of them. The heat on the centre stage increased. Drops of blood on the stage were visible. Both of them were bleeding at many places. But the format was “Kill to Win”, so no mercy was taken. The match wouldn’t end until one of them had the last breath of life.

There came a moment when, one of them was too fatigued. He wasn’t able to respond to the blows. He was on the verge of collapsing.

Just then a whistle blew. The crowd was confused. They looked at the direction of the whistle. They were shocked to see, police vans coming in. Behind the vans was the ambulance. The stretchers came out and fighters were carefully carried on the stretchers, into the ambulance. It was a Veterinary Ambulance. The police had decided, they had to stop these “Cock Fights”, else the PETA would give them a tough time. What better time to do this, than on the final day of “Kill to Win” Cockfights.

The Race

The view from the mountain top was amazing. Vikas did not know if there existed anything better in the world. This would be his first time. He was planning to jump from this point on his bike. He wasn’t supposed to take this path. It was Out of Bounds for racers. He even wondered, how he was allowed till this point, inspite of the barricades around. Vikas had taken the wrong way, in the middle of the race, by mistake, and that’s how he reached that point.

He knew he had to get back to the race, though he dint know how he would do it. There was just one thought hovering his mind at that instant, to jump from the point, so that he could reach somewhere near his competitors.

Vikas stood at the tip for a couple of minutes. All of a sudden he jumped. He had a safe landing. To his surprise, he was just 100m from the winning point. He cruised that distance and lifted both his hands embracing the win. Even though he was the winner, there was some confusion on how he reached the point. The software cleared the confusion. He had got extra point for the stunts performed, When he jumped from the tip of the mountain, he had performed the greatest stunt in the history of the race. This made him gain all the points to put him in a place ahead of his competitors.

“GAME OVER” flashed on Vikas’s laptop screen. He was overjoyed. Infact the feeling was much more than that. He placed the laptop on the bed. He sat and pushed his wheelchair towards the kitchen to have the yummy lunch which his mother had prepared.

As he closed the door behind him, a newspaper cutting stuck to the door fell down. It read “Star Bike Racer, Vikas Manchanda loses his limbs performing a dangerous stunt on the mountains”

Little Guy

This was the first time he was out on the roads alone. His mother had warned him, but he was adamant. He was standing, all alone to cross the road. It was peak hour, and the road had all possible vehicles in huge numbers. He had to dodge all this to reach the other end of the road.

He kept one foot in the front, in a moment he pulled it back, just before a bike went past him. He could recollect his mother’s warnings. But he had to prove to her, he was no longer the little guy.

The next time he was careful and covered a few steps. He had just covered quarter of the distance, a car just passed by, he took a few steps back, another bike behind him, he had to take few steps forward. He was hoping he had wings to fly away. Yet, he had managed to cover most of the distance, doing this go back-come front routine.

“Look at that little guy crossing the road” a guy in the car was telling his wife.She was trying to get a glimpse of this, when she saw a huge tyre crushing the little one.

The mother, stood helpless, on the other end, not able to go near her son, after his death.

“Oh no, you shouldn’t have told me to see that” the lady in the car said
“What happened?” he asked

“What’s the use of camouflage if it can’t save you? The little chameleon is dead. An auto just ran over it” she felt sorry for the little guy.

Crowded Bus

“The bus is yet to start, it’s already full. I was just lucky to get a seat. Call it my luck, that I got a seat facing everybody in the bus. This meant total entertainment. I was scanning the bus for interesting faces.My eyes stopped when I noticed a pretty face. She wasn’t a beauty queen, but you could just feel some warmth in her face. Any guy would just fall for this girl. She had the window seat, hence was busy looking outside. Rishi, you should come in this bus often.”
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"When will this bus start? I am lucky today, to get a window seat. The aisle seats are so boring. Now I can just forget all my worries, and just observe people on the roads. Or I can just keep the window open, close my eyes and feel the air, which would start hitting my face, in sometime. Aah!!! There comes the driver, I hope he starts the bus soon."
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"Nice Tea. Now it’s time to get into the bus, and wage a war against traffic. Everybody thinks, we bus drivers have it easy. Nobody realizes how much stress we have to deal with, due to traffic. It’s the peak hour; it will take 2 hours to reach the last stop. I am already hungry, wonder what my wife has packed for lunch. If it’s not good enough, I’ll exchange it with Suma’s lunch. After all having a lady conductor in the bus has its advantages."
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"I think we should start in 2 minutes. I will finish the first round of giving out tickets. It seems there is going to be ticket checking after 2 stops. Ticket… Ticket… Why don’t you people bring any change? Are we running a bank here, that you will give us a Rs.500 note for a Rs.7 ticket and I will have the change. Move back, move back. Uncle, why are you standing here? Couldn’t you ask one of the young boys to give you a seat? Hello Sir, We know you are staring at a pretty face, but do you mind doing that standing. Uncle can take a seat here."
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"I gave up the seat for the old man. Not only did I lose the sight of the pretty girl, but I got pushed back and forth in the bus. What a crowded bus. Rishi, lesson to be learnt, never enter a crowded bus."

Unknown number

He was plannning to call her today, again. It was 4th day in a row, she had avoided his call. He had no choice but to call her. He had got her number 10days back and he had called her since. After a few calls, she started ignoring him. He couldnt let her go. He had to call her. Just when he was wondering how to reach her, an idea flashed in his mind.

Her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She was in a fix, but finally decided to pick the call. As soon as he heard her sweet voice, he said, "Hello Madam. This is a call from XXXX phone services. You are our valued customer....."