The Fallen Love.

The Start Of The Voyage!!!

The phone kept ringing inside while it was raining heavily outside, and after sometime the phone gave up.

Rains.  Balcony Floor.  The Dark Sky.

I so love doing this - While it is raining outside, sitting on the cold floor in the balcony. Losing myself into the beautiful nature with hands resting on the cold metallic railings and face rejoicing the pure contact with the cool-moist breeze flapping my hair. Looking from outside, I might appear lazy and inactive, but from inside I am too much engrossed talking to myself and lost in my mind. After a good amount of time that I had spent in conversation with myself, my self imposed exile was broken because of a sudden loud noise of transformers breaking down, I guess. I was forced back into the same worldly life - Randomness, noise and frenzy everywhere. It made me a bit unhappy coming out of that tranquility, but I stood up and went to the kitchen to have water, wondering how much time had I spent there lost in my thoughts.

After quenching my thirst, while coming out of the kitchen, I realised that someone is knocking the door. I went ahead to open it pondering who would be coming when it is pouring so heavily outside. I opened and, to my surprise, I found Akarsh panting heavily and bustling frantically inside shouting, "Dude, the results are out. I have been calling you but you are not picking up the phone. I am too scared this time. I am going to flunk for sure." I calmed him down saying, "Let's go to college and check the results." He threw himself into the bed.

Who Is Akarsh?

He is my best buddy. Akarsh and I became friends on the very first day of college. I was sitting alone in the open-air-theatre when this guy appeared from nowhere and asked if I was from the first semester. He told me that he was planning to live outside and asked me if I could join him. We discussed and later moved to this new house where we live now. He couldn't study well during the last semester i.e fifth semester because he somehow got embroiled in this I.P.L betting thing. He had lost heavy amount of money. And, in trying to compensate the loss, he started getting trapped more and more into the cobweb. By the time he told me everything, it was already too late. He was under a huge debt. But somehow, with the help of other friends we took him out of that shit. We have been great friends, and I can trust him anytime.

Going To The College. The First Encounter.

I donned my T-shirt and jeans, pulled Akarsh out of the bed and proceeded to the college campus. We had only one umbrella and ,somehow, we managed to travel the distance. At the college gate, disappointment marred us. The guards asked us for our ID cards. Damn, this thing really kills at times. None of us had had the cards. The guards knew us very well but they would not budge. We started having an argument when suddenly a group of 4 girls from our batch (but not from our department) came in walking. We lowered our voices and paused the argument just to present ourselves as nice guys. They all had their umbrellas and to our surprise, they all had their ID cards too. I realised that girls are really better prepared and better organised at whatever they do. They were allowed. We were not. The Rain had stopped by now.

My First Sight Of Hers. Myself - Embarrassed And Dumbfounded.

As soon as the girls moved, we started pleading the guards. This time our voices were low because of embarrassment. The guards were not budging. Still, we were trying our luck. Suddenly, in the middle of this, someone nudged me on the shoulder. As I turned back, I saw a girl standing there. She asked me if she could help us. I was speechless. I stood there frozen seeing the placid beauty in front of me. Before I could have uttered anything, she moved towards the guards and had a conversation with them, finally winning the case. We were allowed to move in. Akarsh, I don't know why but he refused to come in and said he would see the results later. I tried persuading him to come with us but to no avail, and he ran away at a lightening speed. I reasoned that the bad results that he was expecting kept him from coming with us. We moved in - She and I.

Our Very First Walk Together - After The Heavy Rain.

We walked down the alley leading to the examination department. The distance was around 200 yards and this very walk is something I cherish to this date.
The air was cool with a tinge of petrichor (smell of the earth after the rains), sky was a mixture of black and grey clouds. Trees looked greener, the walkway looked cleaner and the chilly light breeze that was blowing made her hair continuously go over her face. I could guess that as her hands kept going over her face to adjust the hair elegantly behind her ears.

I, at this very moment, introduced myself hesitatingly, "Hi, I am Arjun. From E.C.E. Thanks for all the help."

She replied, "Hi, This is Myra from I.S. I have seen you during fests in college. You seem to be in the organising team. Right? "

"Yes, I enjoy organising and managing events." While my voice was a bit trembling, hers was calm and composed.

"So, don't you think, you should have brought your IDs? We saw you both arguing with the guards when we were coming."

"Okay, so you were in that group in which everyone had their IDs and umbrellas like a marriage band-party. For us, it works differently - We share. It is how it works for boys."

"So, that's why even when coming to college, you share the same fate - Not being allowed....Hmmm". And, she said this smilingly. Yes, with a smile on her face and a spark in her eyes that had such a synergism that made her look even more enthralling and captivating. Someone has rightly said that - Smiling girls are the prettiest - and she was no less anyways.

I found this an apt time to look at her. I looked into her face. She looked beautiful. Beautiful in her green top and blue denim. Strands of hair still strewn over her face which I think she least cared of by now. Her glasses were accentuating her doe eyes. And, her gentle soft smile on the lips made every other thing look amazing and beautiful. There are times in your life when you wish you had the button to stop the time and dilate the ongoing, so that it never comes to an end.

I was still looking at her face, when she aroused me to my conscience saying, "Hey, we have reached the examination department. Do you intend to look at the results or go somewhere else? I hope you have come to see the results. Aren't you?"

I said, "Yes. I have come to see the results."

Who Wins: Heart Or Brain?

But things hovering in my mind were totally different. Exam-results were light years apart from my mind and thought. Her sheer presence had taken away the alacrity to know my results this time. I was sure that I was going to pass, which gave me the chance and leverage to think things beyond percentages and points. Since the time she had smiled, I couldn't care less of the results. My brain was in a full-throttle mode. It was judging and answering many questions at the same time - How rational would it be to tell her that she was looking stunningly beautiful, should I talk more or less, should I smile or not, is this the correct time to ask for her number among many others. Trust me the brain starts processing millions of questions per second so much so that, at times, it gets exhausted resulting in erratic and broken behaviour. These are bizarre and destructive times. It presents real example of war within our body. The war that happens between the brain and the heart. The dilemma when you are stuck between what the heart wants and what the brain commands. Yes, it happens with guys too.

And suddenly the words that poured out (I must say on its own) from my mouth were, "Do you know that you are very pretty....". And then the unending silence gripped my body and soul. I swear it was something totally involuntary. But, yes, it came out like a lava through a volcano which can't get hold of it anymore.
I was astonished, astonished at myself, but thanks God that I did say.
After few seconds of discombobulation and unending war within my body, she replied, "Thanks!!!", and, then came that sweet blushing smile on her lovely face. To me, it was like an oasis to a lost wanderer in a desert. I was much, pretty much relieved.
And we both moved into the department to know the results.

Result That Didn't Matter Much Now.

I had got 7.27 point and she was way above mine notching 8.85. I congratulated her for the good results but she seemed low. Her other 3 friends who were there itself came to us where we were standing. They introduced themselves to me and asked Myra about her result. It came to me as a surprise that she was not happy as she was expecting something around 9.
I said, "8.85, how can you still be unhappy? See I've got 7.27, still I am so happy that I can't tell you." Truly, my happiness had no connection with my results. It has its origin in something else, you know.
It was getting difficult seeing her poignant face. I wanted to see the same Myra which I had witnessed during the walk, smiling and all so vivid. Though I truly wanted only Myra to be by my side, still I asked everyone to come to the newly opened Nescafe Coffee outlet in our campus.


Let me make it very clear that I don't like coffee much, but I was ready to have it this time. And, who knew that it was worth having.
Many a time you do things in life that you don't like to do, but you do only and only because it brings smile on someone else's face. And that smile is what you really care for. That smile that you can, anytime, die for. When your happiness is rooted in someone else's.

You don't love someone for what he/she has and how he/she looks, but you love someone only because how he makes you feel in his presence. Every time things might not be said. You have to, at times, sense and understand when someone is unhappy through his/her small acts and gestures. Moreover, what matters is how hard and how well you try to bring that pretty smile back to that beautiful face - where it (smile) belongs to and where it has got its real worth.

This is how we - Myra and I - met for the first time. Many things still under the carpet, why did Myra come back to help us enter the campus if we were unknown to her, how did the things unfurled further, the twists and the turns, the trivial quarrels and the sweet appeasements, and how did we become the best of friends and still continue to be - All coming in the next parts. Until then keep guessing and keep smiling, for someone else might be needing it.

They rightly say:
Until you fight, until you fail and until you fall, you don't get things worth dying for!!!

Scream Of Silence.

Of all the dispositions that we, the humans, possess, the most confusing, the most perplexing and more often than not, the one that throws us into chasms of predicament is, the mode of Silence.
Silence, because it doesn't make itself clear of its intentions. Silence, because it doesn't let other person know of your mushrooming thoughts. Silence, because it draws myriad connotations and innuendos to different people.

There are times when we have to face silence as an answer when we actually expected some response. Oppositely, there are times as well, when you are the one expressing your pang through the scream of your silence. At times, we know that being silent would be the best answer to a situation. Also, sometimes it's better not to open your mouth and let everyone know of your ignorance.
Be it whatever, but it obviously is something that sometimes is the best and at other times, the worst form of a response. Be prudent enough to handle it properly...

Let's look at few situations:

1) I know the truth, that's why I am silent :
At times, people know the truth and so they keep themselves mum. I mean, saying the truth would throw the person telling 'stories' into a state of utter shock and utter chagrin (because he thinks that no one knows the truth). The purpose here is to avoid 'baring' the person in front of all; so, we in such situation tend to be silent. Haven't we faced this situation many times ???

2) I was silent as I wanted to help you :
Many times, we keep our stories boxed, only because we want to help someone. This situation is not uncommon and faced by all aplenty. This silence helps the other person besides, making the bond stronger.

I remember one incident from my school days, when one of our friends had broken a glass pane of our classroom and when questioned by the class teacher about who the culprit was, we all went into a state of 'maun', as if we didn't know it. We all knew it, as we all were part of the drama that culminated into a ruckus. But as the saying goes, 'United we stand, Divided we fall', we all decided that we wouldn't divulge the name, as the friend who was the culprit, was apologetic and needed to be condoned. Most importantly, what led us to take that unanimous decision was that we all shared a level of camaraderie unparalleled, unmatched. And, the saying proved itself correct. 'The court' in absence of witnesses couldn't indict anyone. This incident, in turn, brought us even more close.
I don't know how correct was the idea behind this, but definitely the lesson and importance of standing together as a bunch would vanquish any other idea.

3) When Silence is the only saviour :
This one is a bit hilarious. I remember not only one but many classes wherein we couldn't understand a thing and when teacher fired the cascade of questions to us, we all were dumbfounded. We had no option but to remain silent. I guess all of us, definitely would have had this hell of an experience when you'd have thought---'Answer kahan se dun..question tak toh samajh me aa nahi ra...Chup hi raho' ;)

4) Silence, at times, is the best choice :
At times, we have to face situations when we are unsure, where we find ourselves embroiled in such a confounding state, that silence seems to be the best answer. Not because we don't know, not because we don't want to answer but, because of the prevailing dilemmic situation, our senses seem to stop working and we are unable to extricate ourselves, howsoever we try.
I remember an incident with one of my friends. 10th board exams' results were just out and there was a great commotion in our minds, let alone parents, about the selection of streams.
This very friend of mine wanted to opt Commerce. But as he was a 'good' student, who had notched a good percentage as well, his parents thought otherwise and wanted him to go for Science. He would tell us his plight and we couldn't do anything but to 'advise' him to remain calm, 'silent', and to give no reactions at all. As we all were naive, one thought that used to pester us a lot was that, that parents' advice mightn't be totally wrong as well as they had more experience but then, most importantly, it was against what our friend wanted.
Few hard days passed, he used to be silent and calm as against being discourteous, rustic and rude to his parents and ultimately, his parents calmed down and came to the conclusion that yes, commerce was what he wanted and only that would do him good.
How this change in perspective (of the parents) happened, no one knows but certainly, had he been impolite, the situation today could have been different. Thus, we could say that silence covertly played the role of an ice-breaker.

5) And then, times when you are at the receiving end of silence :
That perplexing and anguishing moment, when you are expecting an answer eagerly and you are given nothing but silence. How hard and harsh those times could prove to us. In absence of a clear answer, our further course of action gets impeded. And, that surely is a grave and grim foggy situation. It proves to be an ordeal and then only we realize, how difficult it is to be on the receiving end of a silence.

Silence raises more questions than answers. It sometimes could be good to exhibit but at times difficult to handle as well. It starts creating notions that might or mightn't be true. Sometimes, when you are silent, it's just for the sake of others and many a time when you are silent, it's just because you don't want that burning thing inside you, to become cognizable. There come times when we want silence itself to answer things on its own, in its own ways. Sometimes it's necessary, sometimes it's a shenanigan and sometimes it's indispensable. Whatever it is and howsoever form it is used in, I hope all of us have faced the scream of silence sometimes in our life and it would have definitely bewildered us all, if not anything.

Silence does say many things than it literally implies.

What A Treat It Was --- Listening To Sachin's Farewell Speech !!!

Aah...Finally the Great man bids adieu....It feels so poignant and hard to believe that.
And what a final speech that he delivered...It was just fascinating and awe inspiring...
His speech included all and left none. The speech exemplifies why he's a great man and will always be.

Speech's points in the same order said by him:
-First of all he expressed his thankfulness to his late father. He reiterated what he had advised him during his speech.
*Never take shortcuts.
*However hard the times may be, don't you ever give up.
*The most important thing in life is to be a good human being. Bad times will come and Good times will go, but what should you always be, is a good person. Try to become a good human being first and rest will follow.

-He thanked his mom for his proper care, upbringing and tolerating all his mischiefs.

-He told that the longest partnership that he has had, has been with his wife Anjali and he made it a point to thank her for withstanding him all over years. He also said that she has taken the responsibility of the family when he was not there. Last but not the least, he expressed his love for her and there you could see Anjali, who is rather shy of showing feelings, crying.

-He thanked his children Saara and Arjun and told them that they are special to him, admitting the fact that he couldn't devote much time to them, but the coming times would all be theirs.

-He then thanked his in-laws and all his family, starting from his sister, brothers, aunt and uncle.
Sister, who presented him his first Kashmir Willow bat. Brother for making what he is today, a cricketer. Aunt and uncle, with whom he used to live for years, for stadium was quite far from his home. He thanked his aunt for treating him as his own son.

-He made it a point to emphasize the importance of having a strong family. Family that supports you during ups and down, good times and the bad.

-He then thanked all his childhood friends, his teammates, old and young with whom he shared the dressing room.

-He thanked his coach for everything and made it a point that all the years Achrekar never praised him fearing that could make Sachin complacent. And said humorously that now he could do that.

-Then thanked Mumbai Cricket association and BCCI and all the people there.

Then he reiterated the brief message that he gave to the team when he was given his last match's cap by Dhoni to him:
-Play with right spirit, right values and bring laurels to the country, because you all are the chosen ones.
-We all are like stewards to this game, pay respect to the 22-yards because this is something that gives you all.

-He then thanked his doctors and physios for treating his illness and maintaining his body.
-Then he thanked his Late manager(Mark) who died in 2001, his current management team and his current manager.
-Media that gave him all the attention, photographers who have given him precious moments to cheer all through his life.

Then he thanked all the people for all the support and belief shown in him; people who have fasted for him, done crazy things for he could score more and many others.

What a scintillating speech it was, if and only if you would have listened to it Live. He left none and emphasized the importance of following your passion, family and friends, and by far the most important thing in life - Being a good human being.

Thanks for all the great moments that you have given to the country and been the reason for bringing cheers to many. You are an epitome of Talent, Integrity and Humility.

Thank you great man. You may be short but truly a 'tall' man.
#That_Sinking_Feeling !!!
#Legends_Never_Retire.

Words that must remain unspoken...

What Not To Say !!!

It was a just a simple talk with someone that made me cogitating about the  importance of unspoken words or simply say that at times we must know what not to say. Not only because it avoids offending the other person but also to make us act more humane.

We are social animals and aren't we ?? We grow up with kids, live with family, work with colleagues and enjoy with friends. We thrive in society and it sustains us too. And thus, we should be very cognizant of our words and actions. Mentioned below are a few situations where we should control our words.

# Avoid bragging about yourself #
Don't be of the type who keep gasconading about themselves, their achievements, their extraordinary feats. These kind of people keep blowing their trumpets like horns in the traffic that make ears go deaf. Don't be hungry for appreciation.
At times, the situation demands us to put forward our achievements and we must do that, but there should be modesty and graciousness. We must work hard for ourselves, for our improvement, must help others in need. It gives us a sense of fulfillment, a sense of satisfaction. And, if we have done something 'good', appreciation comes on its own from friends and family. Appreciation is something that is given not asked.

# Avoid saying words that make people feel disheartened #
Put yourself in shoes of someone who has failed miserably despite continuous efforts. Would you like being treated as a loser ?? Or would you like something that boosts your mettle and revitalizes you.
If you go near someone who has faced defeat and is disheartened, utter words that make him regain the lost strength, re-energize his mind, body and soul. I feel that sympathizing with him/her does nothing except reminding the person of his/her loss. So, don't you utter a word that makes him realize his defeat.
Choosing words that infuse a sense of enthusiasm and perseverance can do hell lot of good for the crestfallen person.
Words can be morale boosters. Choose it wisely.

# Avoid saying words that are critical of others #
Some people tend to be more critical of others, finding faults in each and everything of others. If you really have found some, keep it to yourself. No one asked to give a pompous speech about it. And then, there are a few people who just enjoy picking faults in others and when they find themselves in a group (all of fault-finders) they just relish it.
First of all, we must scrutinize ourselves before scrutinizing others. When there is a plethora of blemishes within ourselves, do we deserve to be judgmental of others.
Should you need to tell someone anything, tell him in a way that he recognizes and realizes them but not get offended. Put yourself in others' shoes before criticizing/commenting on others.

# Avoid telling a friend of yours of his disability #
If a friend is in anyway, disabled, don't make him feel pity by using words of sympathy. Don't tell him that he is considered different. Just let him blend in the group as others. But don't forget his problem. Treat him, tell him and enjoy with him as any another person in the group. This way he would, at least, for sometime, not feel biased, not feel cheated by God.
We must be thankful to God that we are good and abled. And then, I have met people, who are abled yet so 'disabled'.

# Avoid making fun of others #
Now this is very subtle. In no way, I am saying that we must avoid cracking jokes with friends and having fun. But what must be taken care of, are words that may hurt someone. Sometimes people tend to get much personal and start commenting vehemently in a way that could lacerate someone's feelings. People should desist from commenting in this fashion. When someone starts doing this, the onus is on others to stop this happening.
Sarcasm in words should be strictly avoided.

# Avoid making promises which u can't keep #
Promises must be kept. If we can't keep our words, we should not give our words also.
Once we have promised something, we must try our level best to achieve it. Words do matter and people would definitely judge you seeing whether you kept your promise (or at least tried to achieve it) or not.
The best practice would be to avoid making one, if you can't keep it.

# Avoid saying "No" to people asking for help #
Helping others in no way will weaken, impoverish or belittle us, but on the other hand, might support  the one in need. So, if we are not very much busy, we must listen and try to assist the ones who need our help.
Helping others give a sense of contentment and peace. Also, good deeds would definitely return to us with good omen, in one way or the other.

# Avoid saying words that are disparaging of the fairer sex #
In a society like ours, where discrimination with women is still prevalent, our women have to face many prejudices and discrimination. From female foeticide to discrimination, from illiteracy to illegal trafficking, from facing eve teasing to lewd and sexist comments, our women actually have to face more than what meets the eyes. Despite all the odds being faced, today they are playing an important role in the development of our society and country.
Avoid doing something or uttering words that exemplify the above. We should give them an environment free of any disparity and bias.Treat them with respect, protect them and give them their worth. Rather we should be thankful and proud of them because they are not only beautiful but are strong too.

Above are a few situations where we must exercise control over our words and select them with utter care.
You can be a very successful person but if you don't keep these small things in mind, you can never be a good human being !!!  

Throw Ego and Forgive !!!

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. 
One morning, when the boy was around two years old, the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and put it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to it and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned; she was terrified. How would she face her husband? When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. “I Love You Darling.” The husband’s totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to put the bottle away, this would not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her. 
Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who’s to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know, and miss out on the warmth in human relationships we could receive by giving each other support. After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don’t multiply pain, anguish and suffering by holding onto forgiveness. Let go of all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. If everyone could look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be fewer problems in the world.
(Read this article somewhere, and it made me realize that forgiving really is so easy. It eases our heart and gives peace to the mind. It strengthens human bond and enriches it with love.)

What I Saw And What I Felt !!!

It is a trivial incident that I witnessed a few days back, that I am putting forward in my words. It really was a petty experience, petty to the extent that some might scoff at it, but for me it was as subtle as it could be, strong enough that I couldn't desist from pondering over it.

I was standing in my balcony, looking at the hoard of people emerging and disappearing in the milieu. As it was morning time, people were rushing to their offices and few were returning home. (After the rush in the office.) Rush both the ways !! Startled and lost at the sight, suddenly something gravitated my attention and I was forced to come out of my self-imposed coma. 

What I saw was a pretty sight of two kids, who emerged out of nowhere and were hand in hand. Of course, one looked the elder brother(around 5 yrs.) and the other one small but cute sister, around 2 years. They started playing on the road, unruffled and unfettered by the movement of the automobiles. It was not that they were unaware of the perilous situation they were in, but the sole cause of playing and most importantly enjoying life, in whatever you have got, won over it. 

The kids were playing and suddenly the elder brother approached his sister. He went near her and whispered few words into her ear. She listened to the words with gasp attention. It vividly reminded me of the time I used to trick my sister into playing hide and seek, made her the thief first and used to hide in a place, which I was certain she could never figure out. I could sense this happening now.

And the same happened, the sis went near a wall, closed her eyes and started mumbling something, which I couldn't understand. Her brother started running on his small naked feet, made himself comfortably poised and hid himself behind a car which was far away from the place, where sis was still leaning over the wall, and mumbling.

Sister after a while opens her eyes fervidly, moves around in a circle, with twinkling eyes, searching for her brother. She moves here and there, to look for her brother. She goes near the bushes and small plants. Behind the wall and behind the pile of bricks. She tries again but fails. She tries again but ultimately the colour of her face starts fading. She starts treading quickly, going left and then right, straight and then back.. All this while her brother is able to see all his sister's movements and her failed attempts at finding him.

And ultimately, the thing happened. The thing that I was fearing to happen. The cute little loses her patience and starts crying badly, yearning for her brother. Small drops of tears start trickling down her cheek that made her look even more cute and lovely. She could sense that her brother was missing. She knew that she had tried whatever she could but could not find him and that made her poignant and gloomy.

What made me more amazed and moved, was still to be presented before my eyes.

After seeing his sis crying badly, the bro becomes happy, kinda the same happiness that we/I used to be, after fooling our little sis during childhood and feeling on top of the world. This happiness seemed to be offensive but was really sweet because it was wrapped with the foil of love and care. The guy runs a long distance to catch hold of his sis, whose face was, by now, drenched in a pool of tears. He runs, pulls her and hugs her tightly. Consoling her, he tells her that he was not far away but near only, pointing to the place where he was hiding. She too holds him tightly after winning him back, knowing that he has not left, he has not gone, he has not deserted her. The sight was very touching, emotional and thought provoking.

I have seen many people who are well to do, have all the means but still lament, are still unhappy and discontented. Problem lies in their attitude towards life. People tend to forget that there are many people who are happy with less than what we have. So, whatever be the situation, whatever be the condition, don't you ever forget to celebrate, with joy, this little span of time called Life. Fill it with happiness, fill it with people who love you, swell it with fun and swell it with vigour and let go of what you can't control !!!

I was swarmed with ambivalence, mixed feeling of bitter and sweet. Bitter because of the guy who made his sis cry but sweet coz he still cared and loved. And the cute sis, oh I just adored her !!! The instant ramification of the incident was far reaching. It started a chain reaction of thoughts, one after another. I was inundated with thoughts, and lost, thinking of the present day life where people don't care, where people are cozy in their lies, where there is mutual distrust, where there is pretentious display of affection and where there is less love and more hatred.

We are wealthy, still we are poor !!! Empty from inside, hollow, because we don't have the feelings as the duo had... Who actually were the kids of a destitute labourer-couple. And the kids despite having nothing, no proper dress, no proper footwear and probably no proper food too, had the most important prize of life called Love.

And, I continued my perusal of the environs with a silent but satisfying smile on my face......

Uttarakhand Disaster - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly !

The Uttarakhand catastrophe has brought to the fore, more things than just inability and spineless attitude of the so called government and the meanness of the political class.

During the time when thousands of lives have been lost, many are stranded, many made homeless and kin-less, we can find our politicians doing mud slinging over each other and politicizing the matter. There have been cases where these debauched people have fought over claiming sole rights for 'carrying'  the rescue operation. Allegations were made, bombastic claims were raised despite the fact that the 'real-saviours' , the class of people who risked whatever they could, played its role as godly and as humanely as possible, without losing its calm and composure. They are the Army personnnel, ITBP jawaans, who have and are still doing their part without stopping, unfazed by the terrain, unfazed by the weather condition and unfazed by death.

The political class of our country, of which we all know, how much they are capable of, in fostering scams, misappropriation of public money and many sinful others. But, when it comes to real task, real job, real show of courage, they unleash their real self, real character, real disposition. Knave, unapologetic, callous and churlish, that they are. Had it been a test of something like embezzlement, I am more than sure, that our politicians would outclass anyone.

When thousands are still missing and dying, politicians are making it a matter of pride for themselves that 'they' have actually 'led ' and 'carried'  the rescue operation. Some want to emerge as a Rambo in this sombre time, some 'want'  to donate a hefty amount, so that they can claim later on that they played a pivotal role in the operation. Some want to elicit political profit out of this grim situation. Some are claiming that the team from their states saved so many people including 'those from other states'  too, as if disaster struck people, seeing the states to which they belonged. 

There have been several cases were the stranded people were persecuted, thrashed, looted and left to die by the locals. There was a case where a family was forced to give a ransom amount in return for a small child who was abducted by the locals. Food was sold at a price that was just unjust. The time that demanded rising to the occasion and lending a hand of help, people made  this an opportune time to pacify the mammon inside, to hurt the already aggrieved and to debilitate the already languishing souls.

The only silver lining and a matter of pride that came, was in the form of our jawaans  from Army and ITBP, who worked with mammoth perseverance, courage and will, to rescue the stranded ones. They worked despite the environs filled with trepidation, fear and dread. These gritty guys made people cross the gorges, rivers and mountains, more often than not carrying old, weak and small ones on their backs. It must have been an ordeal for the jawaans  to carry out the operation, but they never made tall, exaggerating and pompous claims as our politicians, who are still fighting for their claims in rescue operation.

Making grandiloquent claim, while sitting in the cozy comfort of the sofas of home is very easy, whereas it takes a big heart to jump into a precarious, dangerous and grim situation like this and be of any help, risking your own life. Army is still in the last stage of its operation, trying to rescue hitherto stranded people. Still has it not given its hope; because it is something they thrive on. My sincere symapthy to all those families who have lost their kith and kin. My heart goes out to the jawaans who were killed in the helicopter crash that occurred while rescuing the people. 

They are the people who need to be exalted, eulogized and celebrated rather than the politicians, who are just a class of depraved people.

They are the ones who really have walked into the battle field, defying death and risking everything. They are the ones who have risen to the occasion. They are the ones who have given life to others. 

And, they are the ones who have rekindled and restored the faith in humanity and benevolence.

Theirs not to reason why, 

Theirs but to do and die”

                                 ― Alfred Tennyson