Fight Back Fight - Ode to Ruchika

when protectors become the aggressors,
when time becomes crime,
when life runs out and outruns itself,
when hope dies and death is the only hope,
when love cries and cries my love,
when pain lives and lives in pain,
when a tear is shed and shreds fear,

it's time to fight back and back the fight.

Eve's Teasing

It was the year's biggest blockbuster releasing and the hype attached to it made sure the crowds came in huge numbers.The queue was long,and the crowd impatient,a couple of girls were sandwiched in a largely male crowd. Needless to say they were feeling uncomfortable with all the pushing going on. It did not help when some of the authorities started flexing their muscles to get the situation under control. More pushing ensued.

Joseph was also standing in the same queue and getting equally frustrated with the proceedings, so much so that he even thought of leaving the queue, but decided against it. There were just about 10 odd people in front of them, including the two ladies couple of feet ahead.When the jostling got worse, he went up to the ladies in front of him, and said " excuse me, If you want I can buy the tickets for you, and you can stand outside this queue". Before he could feel that he did a good job for the day, one of the ladies yelled at him to go away and gave him a dirty stare,as if he was some sort of a pervert.Joseph was totally stunned.

After the ordeal was over Joseph was driving down back to a local mall,while he was turning his car to enter the mall,he saw an elderly lady and a young girl were crossing the road without looking.He gently braked and got his car to halt - the passing ladies looked at the car and stopped as well, being the gentleman Joseph,he gestured with his hand to indicate it was ok for them to cross the road, and silently said "please carry on". The old got absolutely furious at this.She misinterpreted the gesture to be something rude and yelled back at him.Even the little girl frowned at him and crossed the road with a huff.Joseph could hear them cursing him faintly as they crossed by.Joseph was speechless.Whatever happened to chivalry?

Dejected Joseph went home and slept in the afternoon out of sheer disgust.He shrugged it off convincing himself that it was just ignorance on their part.A promising evening lay ahead of hi. In the evening he had to meet his date and wanted to make sure he didn't carry any of his morning's disappointment .So he took a shower,changed into fresh clothes,put on some YSL M7 and drove out to meet his friend..who was not yet in the girlfriend status, but today could just be the day.

As he parked his vehicle outside the hostel compound,he felt a bit nervous.After all they had recently met and this was the first time he was entering a girls hostel.But Rupali had promised him, that she would be at the gate waiting for him.

She wasn't.

Gathering his courage ,Joseph stepped inside the big gate on to a narrow path leading to the main building entrance.There were girls.Lots of them.Looking at him, measuring him from head to toe,he could feel the ogles and faint snickers as he walked slowly past each block.He didnt know whether to look up or down, look relaxed or tensed, he was getting really nervous now.He decided to walk a little faster.

As he approached the steps leading up to the waiting hall, he saw a bunch of hostel mates sitting on either side, each commenting on the other or cracking jokes.Somewhere he heard a girl talk about the virgin walk,somewhere he heard cackles of Romeo jokes,and somewhere plain noises.
Well not plain noises, they were pretty suggestive noises.This made him feel really uncomfortable.Joseph was not the effeminate sorts by any stretch of imagination, but he was't the bravest one in alien situations either.He muttered under his breath - "be a man" he said quietly and walked up.

One of the ladies on his left was clearing her throat.Obviously trying to get his attention.So he looked up to the condescending lady and gave her a stern look with a polite smile,radiating poise and confidence.Before he could take a step further,from a distant blur he saw a lady walk up to him and stand bang in front.

"May I help you with anything ?" said the condescending woman with a subtle sense of seduction.As he looked up,he saw an Angelina Jolie reincarnate - he was stunned.His mouth went dry.He didn't know whether to smile or ignore.Time stood still.He somehow managed to say some words vaguely,with some blurry eyes, and his heart beating fast...By the time his blurry eyes came back to focus,he saw the angelic face had turned devilish, absolutely red with anger. By the time his senses came back ,there was a loud noise and a heat sensation on his left cheek.He remembered what he said - "err uhh umm mm I ..I want to come inside.." and before he could correct himself, his face got plastered with a tight slap.The echo was loud and everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at them and just then Rupali walked in...




image courtesy :glamourindia/Twinkle

The Reporting Incident.

It was a Monday morning, forecast calls showed up in a bright red circle in Sachin's diary.It was the same routine every week, view, review,question and fire.Many quarters ago he had just for once let his defenses down after posting smashing results,and shared with Ananth," you know when the old gramophone sounds like K.L Sehgal while it actually played Lata , you know it s time to give the gramophone a keying up.You needed some keying up, and see the results - you are the MVP-most valuable player across the department today Ananth."blurted a half drunk Sachin.

Ananth , a typical middle class south Indian boy, his eyes would defy the sharpness of his mind.People often mistook him to be an artist.His middle class life mean't he would spend the better part of his day travelling on a public transport.Somewhere in his eyes,there was a hidden american dream lurking in some corner..."someday ,I 'll get there" he sighed as he prepared his sales forecast for the quarter.

Sachin,was very well networked,being a local in the city for generations, it seemed almost everyone knew him,wherever he went.A keen eye on the business and strong networking always helped him clinch deals even from the most stubborn customers.A very sharp tongue and an ego to boot,his other side was evident only when his team missed their numbers.
On one such Q4, being the end of the fiscal, and numbers not coming in there was reason to get worried.Sachin was furious as some of the other team members had missed their forecast.He was counting on Ananth to get him home.He had worked very closely with him to get the CraftTech deal.Now it was showtime. Ananth had to close and collect the deal.

The clock was ticking faster than usual.Sachin was back at office, and organizing his final deals.When he last checked his watch it was 7PM.Most customer offices would now be closed.But no sign of Ananth.Sachin was beginning to get impatient.Ananth had to report to him the moment CraftTech signed the deal.He didn't...yet.
Another hour of agonizing wait goes by no sign of Ananth Ved or as his cellphone address book would say AV.He was desperate to see AV calling.But that was not to be.Sachin finally broke the code he'd set for himself, and the team, never to call while on a customer visit.

His cell phone showed AV dialling….dialling….dialling…voice mail. “you’ve reached the right number at the wrong time, so please leave a message and your number, I will call you back.Anant.” Beep. Sachin had completely lost his patience by then.” What the hell do you think you are? VP or the owner? Why haven’t you reported back to me? Call me back NOW” growled an irate Sachin and banged the table while disconnecting the phone.

Sachin reopened his eyes to see te HR manager looking at him with a surprised look.”is everything ok Mr.Bhandarkar?....err Sachin is there anything wrong with the contract?””we have made sure all your clauses have been taken care of, in fact I had to get special approval from our senior management in the US.” Said the HR manager with a sense of big accomplishment.
With trembling hands and a choked throat, he signed the offer letter,which made him the new Director for Business Development, co –signed by Ananth Ved, SVP CraftTech Inc. USA.

What a Mind

What a mind is this ?
is ignorance really bliss?
something is amiss,
most thoughts I dismiss,

What a mind is that ?
sometimes crooked sometimes flat?
wants to be thin but is fat,
oh what a brat ,

Where is your mind ?
going forward and then rewind?
stay focused or spread your wings,
life s like that...and a few other things..!

All In A Days Work

It was 6 o clock in the evening,12 candles lit in front of her empty eyes,a faint smile,some tears,and some bruises, they'd all had come to attend Jenny's birthday.

Some were new friends and some were with her ever since she could remember.But something inside told her that today was going to be different. 6 AM tomorrow, she would travel to the big city of dreams.Jenny's father who seldom got up from his drunken stupor had a fresh look on his face today.There was hope in his eyes.He had made all the arrangements,"she would be well taken care of" he thought,"besides she had no future here in this small town" he said to himself silently.

Jenny was getting dressed up for the evening, and had packed her bags for tomorrows journey.Deep inside, she knew it would be some time before she would come back.She took a long hard look at her corner in that one room house.She left nothing behind, certainly not her memories.

Jenny's father borrowed some more money,and bought a new bottle tonight,his last night of responsibility.He would be a free man from tomorrow,and perhaps rich too.Jenny's sale would fetch him 5000 bucks.!He had worked so hard for this deal, all in a hard days work finally paying off.

Suddenly,Jenny's out of focus eyes,and shaking body both came back to reality.
"Here's your 500 bucks" the man said gingerly...and then got up and left Jenny with her old friends..empty eyes,a faint smile,some tears,and some bruises and some new ones like the 24 candles...all in a day's or rather night's work.



The window rolls down,
A pair of eyes frown,
muffled voices drown,
seems from out of town.

Walking by the road side,
some tease and some chide,
I no longer try to hide,
move on,brush them aside.

It's been a tough night,
no sign of money tonight,
must get back for another shift,
this time I'll take the lift.

I am fighting for a living,
But i die everyday,
I hope this is my last outing,
I don't want to be a prey,
my fate is not be a destitute,
someday I will not be
this roadside prostitute...

Walk of life !

Since one of the teacher's had called in sick so Tobu and his friend were sitting and enjoying the sunlight after so many cold winter mornings....but their joy was short lived.

"What are you doing" ? asked an irate Mr.Thomas ."Hmm just killing time Mr.Thomas" quipped Tobu. "Why don't you go kill yourself" shot back Mr.Thomas with a raised hand.Scared Tobu and his friend scampered away before they got hit.What made his fear last longer than usual was the fact that Mr.Thomas was also his evening tuition teacher.Tobu went to take special classes to catch up because he had joined mid -year after his father's transfer.

The seconds ticked faster than usual as Tobu looked at the old grandpa clock.The minutes seem to be running really fast, and by the time Tobu came back to his senses the clock showed 7.10PM. The noise of the seconds ticking were deafening in an otherwise noisy household.He was late.To be at Mr.Thomas' residence at 7.30PM he needed to be out by 7PM.Being new to the area didn't help either.

Tobu decided to cut across the cemetery diagonally to reach Mr. Thomas's residence quicker.The short-cut would save him some time.It was a dark and chilly December night.The mercury had dipped below normal which led to very few people being outdoors.The full moon showed brightly up in the sky and Tobu took a deep breath and walked in through the iron gates of the cemetery.He clutched his books tightly and walked briskly with his head down.the wind chill was biting his ears.

Suddenly he heard a voice.He froze for a moment.Trying not to anticipate the worst, but he had to look up.the moon showed brightly on his grammy's face.she stood there with an extended hand.Tobu's heart was racing and the goosebumps were going crazy on his arms.The moment of silence was as if time had stood still.Before he realized what he was doing, he saw himself reaching out to grammy's outstretched hands.

As he walked , he felt he was gliding, the thorns didn't hurt below, the mud never splashed, the stones never hurt.He could literally feel her hand pulling him through the road,he was shivering now...but kept going as if in a trance.As they reached near the exit gate of the cemetery at the other end, Grammy looked back and seemed to be saying "take care" and she vanished into the darkness ahead of the lone surviving lamp post.Tobu was in a state of complete stupor.He ran like he never had before,his heart beat now so loud that he could hear every beat pound his head.

"Ting tong" rang the door bell at Mr.Thomas' residence.The grumpy old man opened the door and was taken aback seeing Tobu in that harried state.He gave Tobu some water as he welcomed him inside, a side which Tobu had not seen before. " why are you here Tobu?" asked Mr Thomas with a genuinely worried look.A confused Tobu gulped the water and blurted "tuition sir." He couldn't understand why Mr.Thomas looked so exasperated. After all he'd made it in time - it was 7.30Pm on the dot.

Mr.Thomas asked Tobu his residence telephone number."Hello this is Mr.Thomas Tobu's teacher, can I talk to Tobu's father please." he said in tone of urgency.
"yes Mr.Thomas - is Tobu with you?" asked a worried Tobu's father."don't worry he's safe." answered Mr.Thomas in a reassuring tone." I will make sure he stays here in the night." Tobu looked up suddenly and couldn't believe his ears. The phone hung up before he could muster the courage to speak up.

Mr.Thomas came and sat beside him and said "Tobu you shouldn't have done that, you cant take risks like that".Tobu was puzzled, how did Mr.Thomas know he came through the cemetery.? He had just left his home and his family knew where he was going, so why were they worried?What was going on here? The last 30 minutes had been surreal, so many things happened he was completely in a state of shock. Mr.Thomas said,"why did you run across the cemetery, you could have hurt yourself.Times are not good. The road across the cemetery is being repaired,but the potholes are dangerous." As Tobu was about to say " but but Mr.Thomas I didn't run acrossss"- he got interrupted -" relax young man,now that you are safe here, I will ask Mrs. Thomas to make some food for you and you can sleep in the guest room tonight, tomorrow morning you can go home."Tobu was blank...but he nodded without questioning.

6.30AM the next day.As the newspaper man threw the rolled up newspaper it hit the guest room window and fell in the balcony.Tobu woke up with a start.It was a cold,foggy winter morning,he rubbed his eyes, temporarily forgetting what he d been through the previous night, and opened the balcony door slowly.
A cold wind gushed past his face and as he looked down, he saw the news paper lying near his feet.He picked the newspaper up gingerly and opened to read the headlines.

The eyes were still blurry, usual stuff he glanced, politics,sports, murders, crime etcetera..till his eyes came across a peculiar photograph on the lower end on the right side of the second page. "cemetery under attack - 3 criminals hiding in the local cemetery were killed in a police encounter around 7.20PM yesterday night - local authorities had cordoned off the place at a short notice following a tip off. the police successfully nabbed one culprit alive hiding near the exit gate - the double murder mystery is now solved. "

55

They were soft,tenderly caressing,following the curves,gently stopping then moving,sometimes diving right inside.The moment was electric,waves of passion ran through my body,I wanted it to stop,but the urge was overflowing,the intensity high,the imagination wild,possibilities multiplied in my mind..my face looked flushed,I slowly opened my eyes & it was the camera lens caressing my face..and heard "cut it".

Carpe Diem

If Albert Einstein just thought about the theory and never wrote it down,or never tried or tested or spoke about it...he would be a nobody today.take a pause and think about it.

Somebody else would have done that discovery or invention and history books would have been written differently.We all have these fleeting thoughts cross our minds every now and then, but we ignore them.We dismiss them off casually.We think they re not important till we see someone else take a similar thought and score big time.There s no point claiming later on...as by then there would be 300 "me-too's" already ahead of you and the world would obviously not care two hoots.

Early days of internet we had a plethora of search engines, Altavista,Metacrawler,dogpile,Lycos,Goto etc etc. Being extremely kicked about this new thing called internet,I went into an overdrive to search information and was fascinated every time I queried and got thousands of results. More information meant more hyperlinks on the home page...so much so that the whole page looked like an absolute mess, cluttered with hundreds of links and advertisements galore.

It is then I thought wouldn't it be nice to have one clean page without all this clutter? Maybe an interactive person, like a receptionist, where you can ask a question and get lots of answers.It would be cool to just have the search bar and nothing else.But I shrugged it off.

Almost a year and half later,I typed www.google.com


It is then I realized never to give up on your instincts.Back yourself.Believe in yourself,it is wise not over-estimate,but certainly foolish to under-estimate yourself.The world will always provide enough reasons to forget and shrug it off,but you have to persist and win. If you don't seize that moment....it will become someone's moment...and later your lament.