'Bezubaan Dost' (Friend who can't speak)

'JOEY'

PETA (People for ethical treatment for animals) takes a lot of criticism over their adult campaigns, but you can’t deny they get attention. Whether it is Shipa Shetty, Rakhi Sawant who posed as tiger striped bodysuit campaigning against circus animals, Sherlyn Chopra posing outrageously for the camera at her skimpiest best or Hollywood naked celebrities ads. Every one focuses primarily on the areas in which the greatest numbers of animals suffer the most. Celebrities’ involvement and national media coverage have resulted in countless improvements to the quality of life for animals and have saved countless animals’ lives.

Because of the nudity involvement I always have enjoyed these campaigns. But I have never given it a second thought on its fundamental nature. It’s about the right of all animals to be treated with respect and create awareness amongst people that animals are also humans and they need a space to live.

Recently I got a one-month-old Labrador golden puppy, I named him Joey. My life completely has changed after I brought him to my home. Everyday I want to go home early and play with him. It is extreme fun training joey. He always abides by my commands. All personal or professional tensions disappear when joey is around.

Today, he is 1 month and 24 days old. He is not eating for the past one and half day. Yesterday I took him to the vet and I was shocked when doctor told me that he is infected by Parvo. As I have read before on Parvo which is a fatal disease. Parvovirus is a viral disease of dogs. It affects puppies much more frequently than it affects adult dogs. The virus likes to grow in rapidly dividing cells. The intestinal lining has the biggest concentration of rapidly dividing cells in a puppy's body. The virus attacks and kills these cells, causing diarrhea (often bloody), depression and suppression of white blood cells -- which come from another group of rapidly dividing cells. In very young puppies it can infect the heart muscle and lead to "sudden" death.

Knowing all this about Parvovirus I literally cried and it scared me the most. Doctor gave joey three injections and prescribed him some medicines that we would be giving it to him. Doctor strictly warned us to not let him eat anything till the time Joey is on medication and drips, as food will infect him again.

I tell you, not letting him eat and seeing him mercilessly is a painful task. I can’t empathize him that it is all because of his illness. His soliciting eyes make my heart soaked. I had sleepless night and found myself helpless. There is no other loveable creature like dog. But he can’t tell his pain to me. I can’t tell him why I am not giving him food but only medicines. His intent eyes keep questioning me – ‘Why’. But I can’t explain him the reason. I can only pray and do what doctor is saying to me. I love my dog very much and I am sure he will be back on his foot again. He is my best friend or my Bejubaan Dost, who has opened my eyes of the sufferings on animals, which PETA is doing for so long. I will be writing one more blog on his naughty activities and his immense unconditional love for me. Pray.

Adieu -- Indian Express (my farewell letter)

It's a routine thanksgiving mail, but I have made it a bit poetic, as I wanted to thank each and every individual from all the depts., ground-to-top who was involved, supported or associated with me in whatsoever manner. I hope the individuals involved will accept my gratitude.

IPL (Indian Express Premier League)

Where starlets are gyrated with defining skills,
That is IPL, where everything is pricey and no ills,

I joined IPL 3½ years back,
Bidding was never the issue, as I just wanted the track,

I joined the (RR) Royals of Rajasthan,
Team was new with an acknowledged Kaptaan,

I call it RR, as it wasn't recognized then and new altogether,
But consistent performance of my team has let us added many feathers,

Whether it is fielding, bowling, keeping or batting I gave my best,
Always tried to learn and deliver, by putting myself on test,

Kaptaan showed the faith and confidence in me,
And my Teammates all the way supported me,

BCCI gave me the opportunity to perform,
I am lucky that selectors favored me, and let me formed,

BCCI’s year-end parties, I will definitely miss the most,
I am thankful that I attended few, had lots of masti and enjoyed every toast, :)

In the mid of the tournament my Kaptaan got changed,
New captain is equally genious, with a tag ‘Mr Cool’ that I named,

Unfortunately I would not play more under his captaincy,
But would love to play in future again whenever there is any tendency

How could I forget my coach,
Who has completely changed my attitude and ‘soch’,

He is gem of a person from I got so much to learn,
I won his confidence, put my best, performed and let my name earn,

Brand & Mktg was always been so kind,
As a li’l help of mine was always treated as giant,

The gears and equipments I was given the best,
I thanked the engineers that they tolerated me to rest,

I thanked the human resource for always taking my matter,
To encourage me more and motivate to perform better,

The finance and admin was always in demand,
And I must say that everything was available in a single command,

Whenever I came to bat, I always got the elevated reception,
And it is necessary to start a smiling day at this junction,

Media have always covered me well,
Online is at all times cool and photographers supported me to dwell,

Security have always been so nice,
Housing staff were always available at a single voice,

IPL has added so many feathers in my cap,
I will not loose any, as I will tie them all with the strap,

I know the ground value but need more feathers to fly,
Which I will definitely add by working hard and utmost try,

Wish you all the best and enjoy IPL, it’s the best thing happened ever,
I will save all its good memories and will not forget anything, never-ever.

Thanx so much for everything, pls do keep in touch,
It's a small world, may be next season or next league, let’s team-up again and win …

GOD BLESS
LOVE

At the end of the tournament, if i recall my innings then I find that this is what i have achieved in IPL-- the love of so many people from all departments. PLS be in touch, as I really do value you and your love... thanx so much for everything....

'Look beyond your navel'

(about Saurav and me)

Almost everyone starts his or her career managing a simple task, then you get to manage more than one task, and people start calling these tasks projects. After a while, you come to manage people who manage projects. It’s at that point that people become your project. You will never rise as far as you want to if you do not develop a reputation for leadership, which I learnt now. Unfortunately few things are more difficult to acquire. The most complex undertaking that anyone faces in a career is managing other people. There is only one thing in life that is more complex, and that is raising children. The difference is, the people at work have to listen to you.

Saurav Ganguly has already proven himself as the most successful captain of the Indian cricket team. He balls, bats and gives his best on the field. But the flip side of the story is totally different. When Sreesanth came to Indian Express for Idea Exchange, he was asked who is the best all rounder in the Indian team during the questioning rounds. “Dada is the best all rounder and fielder of the Indian team”, he said mockingly. There could be other players also who feels the same and dislikes him completely. However after so many criticisms he is still standing and has made a superb comeback. He is surely one of my many idols. I truly have learnt from his resilience. It is very apparent that whenever somebody is making headway there are noises and one simply have to endeavor hard without worrying.

People will not stop saying that Ganguly is not a good captain. He wants to win all the matches on his own. He never gives chances to others. He likes people to say good words about him. They could have performed much better under some other captain. You can’t stop people by saying this all BULL SHIT. Whereas truth says, Ganguly is the one under whose captaincy India has won many matches. He is the one who has actually made players like Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and so many.

No captain wants to do all things by himself. It is the team who he leading is itself a big task. He can motivate, encourage, mentor the players but he cannot enter the body of players and give the needed performance. It is the players who need to perform on field and if they are not performing, nothing wrong if he himself wants to ball or put on task and setting an example. BCCI has always blamed him that he always wants to be good with everybody. Why not? There is nothing wrong again; he is a captain and leading a team and not living in a seclusion.

Every leadership has his own advantages and disadvantages. Ganguly is more of an aggressive captain than Rahul who is rather very cool. Dhoni is a great captain with a good combination of aggression and cool attitude. Players may come or may go but captains will always remain distinctive. I personally salute the great leadership of all these captains, bosses, directors, mentors and all the seniors leading the team.

'I am HIV+'

(A real story of my friend)
A guy, who saves his virginity till he turns 25, got orally contacted with a girl and lately fallen in the supine act with no contraceptives. He talked about this unsafe act to his friends who warned him to not to be such resistless while making any contact. He spent his days in panic for the mistake that he had done. The feeling of acquiring the irrecoverable disease was haunting him the most.

Once there was a blood donation camp organised by the university in the campus. He with his appalling thoughts chipped in to donate his blood to know whether he is infected or not. The doctor injected him to take his blood test and gone inside another room to check his blood group and purity. He was perishing with fear of the blood-test result. Doctor comes and tells that his blood group is O+ and he can donate his blood if he wants, which gave him a huge sigh of relief. He donated his blood afterwards. But this daunting feeling had almost killed him of no reason for thinking the consequences of this horrifying disease. It taught him a lesson of the use of contraceptives.

'Keep your friends closer and enemies even more closely'

Friends are always in a bond-ship and that is what the friends are for, but enemy? Though there is no word in my dictionary called ‘enemy’, so I call them snob. One who is condescends toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions and don’t respect others, are snob. I don’t feel that there is any enemy of anybody. There are people who are disrespectful to others are the real foes.

I am here justifying the above idiom in a different way. The idiom says that if you keep your enemy closer than your friends, you are unlikely to get hurt later. I say that if you keep your enemy closer then there are chances that you might end up making him/her your best friend, and it has proved right in many cases, at least for me. However I must warn you that it is a feeble task, as it could also go wrong and leave you in pain, so please be cautious while doing that.

I never think of any consequences, so I end-up winning sometime and crying most of the time, but it hardly moves me as I never stop. If I end-up crying, I crib and cry for days and lately cope-up and move on but always ready to help the guilty just to make him/her better for good reasons. My close friends keep on yelling at me that why do I go again where I have already been hurt and try to be nice but my idiotic emotions disregard it always. One should always work closely with his enemies to know them better and make them better by showing your love and the best. At times some do realise their mistakes and some do not, but it’s a part of life. It is their misfortune if they still hate you for no reasons. It is good to learn from your mistakes and your bad experiences. But one should not do the same that these snobs do to you, as there will be no difference then. Believe me guys this is only a thought that I am sharing with you rather than giving you any gyan. -- Love

'Shoaib Malik slapppppppped Sreesanth'

Slipping of a banana peel hurt the one who falls but also brings the smile for others who are watching. Hitting a four on the first ball is a moment of joy for the batsman but not for the bowler. Any incident on or off the field is joy for some and sorrow for others. But sometimes it also becomes controversial for the one who is laughing at the victim’s mistakes. Hence the people are aware of this while doing it. This is what was seen during the IPL’s match between Delhi Daredevil and Mumbai Indians at Mohali one day after the spat between Sreesanth and Harbhajan, which already have huge media coverage.

It was a moment of joy for the Delhi Daredevils in Sunday’s match when in the fifth over Shoaib Malik hit a four on the first ball of Sreesanth. This particular four of the match was so significant that Rameez Raza in his commentary said “Shoaib slappppppppped through the off side”. These words could have easily dissolved as so many fours were hit later on. But Rameez corrected himself after saying that “actually I shouldn’t say it slap, it would become controversial”, so he said “he hit it so hard through the off side”.

Now Harbhajan Singh has been banned for the rest of the IPL matches besides 100 per cent fine on his match fees. Both Bhajji and Sree were seen hand-in-hand and cheering with each other, as if they have sorted out their problem. Harbhajan has realised his mistake and apologized to Sreesanth. Sree also has been so kind of saying Bhajji his elder brother. It’s a part of the game, Sree said on Saturday. That is what the spirit of game is all about, leaving all the bad incidents and move on for better and learn from your mistakes.

'Let the lights be off'

Kolkata is known for its craziest fans of cricket across India. Hidden Garden that hosted 4th IPL match is the proof of that where 90,000 people came to see the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. The hot & humid temperature could not resist the spirit of Kolkata’s cricket fans. However pitch dampened the spirit of the game as it was very slow, dry with uneven bounce.

Arun Lal in his pitch report, before the start of the match predicted that it would be a low scoring match and whoever wins the toss should bat first. As predicted the pitch proved very slow and dry with lots of dust flying but Deccan Chargers managed to put 110 runs on board.

Chasing 111 runs was a dreadful task for Knight Riders who lost half of their wickets because the ball was not coming on the bat easily and wicket was hard to play on. Match was evenly poised when Knight Riders required 23 runs of 22 balls with 5 wickets in hand. But another barrier came when stadium flood lights went off and stopped the play. Arun Lal during the commentary was heard saying that this could result in a tie or perhaps the Duckworth-Lewis method would come into play.

It was a relieving sight for the thousands tensed Knight Riders fans who were cheering for their home team. Some might be praying that the lights should not come back hoping that it could result in a tie. However stadium lights were on once again and Knight Riders won the thrilling match with one over still remaining, which really enlightened the spirit of Kolkata Knight Riders fans back once again.

Two best friends in the muck

I wrote this story last year, but i happen to see these boys again in the surprise rain on April 2, so thought of putting this on my blog...

The heavy downpour of Aug'07 brought the city to a standstill as severe water logging was reported from many arteries. Week after, still there were areas where the drainages were full and water pouring out. Sewages were blocked and water seeping into houses, causing a foul smell. People living in a congested and under-developed area were having a hard time as they could hardly walk on that clammy surface. MCD with limited staff were not able to handle the situation swiftly. In this current chaos and dying situation there were boys Monu and Bappi who were benefiting from all these. These two boys had an unusual work, which they do only in the rainy season.

There was a slight drizzle on Saturday (Aug15) morning in Chhattar Pur when these two boys spotted. They were wearing dirty clothes, was completely drenched in muck. They were emanating awful bad smell as they were taking out metals from the drains with a big magnet, which was attached to a thick wooden rod. They insert that rod in the drain and move it back and forth for three to four times and then take out. Any metal blocking the drain or existing get glued to the magnet and then they take out that rod from the drain and take off the metals, jewellery, coins, iron etc that got stick to the magnet with their bare hands and put it into their thailas (bags).

One of the boys whose name was Monu lives in Usmanpur near Seelampur and he hails from Vardhaman, Kolkata. He was from a poor family and have seven members in the family. He is the eldest son of his parents and has two sisters and two younger brothers. He sends Rs 3000-4000 to their parents every month. He said “I can do this work on my conditions as there is no senior-junior in this work and nobody can scold me for anything. I am a boss of my own work.”

Monu said that he and his friend Bappi rummage around for metals from the drains only in the rainy season, as every metal in form of jewellery, iron, coins, etc flows down to the drains and it is very easy to dig them out. We do other works also like serving in the marriage parties and some labour works. We are doing this for the last 10 years. We earn Rs 200-300 per day after selling the metal, which we collect it from the drains. We have travelled all parts of delhi for this work. We start early morning at 6 and finish 2 in the noon and never leave the area unless it is finished completely.

Another boy, Bappi who was earlier busy in metal picking said, “People often make fun of them, they laugh at us and deliberately tell us to glean metals in some drains near their houses assuming that it will clear the drain blockages.” He did not say anything about himself, as he was very shy. But he told that his life is as same as Monu. “MCD people encourage us and support our work viewing that it will clean the blockages of drains. But they have never awarded us or offered us any job in MCD as told by Monu.

Sultan Singh, one of the resident of the colony where these two boys found working said that after the heavy Wednesday and Thursday rain no MCD guy has turn up to their streets to clean up the blockages. The water is pouring out on the streets. These boys who I have seen only in the rainy season are of a great help. They take out the small and heavy metals from the drains, which clear the blockages.

Monu and Bappi had work and they were working with full dignity, hard work and confidence. They had atleast hope against hope. Where rain had dampened people’s lives and with flood alert in most of the eastern region these boys were living their livelihood because of rain. One’s loss is another’s gain.

'Me the Farmer'

After 3 years of blood-sweat cultivation of my crops I am finally moving to irrigate preexisting fields elsewhere. It will be a challenge for a farmer like me who likes to sow seeds in his own fields, but I am eagerly looking forward to face this challenge.

I believe the crops that I invested in have really given me good returns in terms of generating consumers and buyers. The bull that helped me in harvesting the fields was very supportive. Pesticides, seeds, farm machinery etc were the cores of this fertile field, without which this would not have been possible. I want to thank the bank for its trust shown in me. I could not have done anything without its support and belief. I also want to thank the government for waiving off loans and giving me an opportunity to work on other fields.

It was a learning experience where I learnt how to sow seeds, fertilise fields and harvest crops. Now I have to learn what more I can contribute to preexisting fields. It will again be a learning task for me. I will plough it with my untiring shoulders and will put my very best to it, rest I leave it to the monsoons, climate and the God almighty.

The most dirtiest job on earth – Is there any?

I once read a blog of my friend saying a cab driver who earns Rs 3,000 per month, risks his entire life on roads in the chaos and aggressive traffic is the dirtiest job. Later I read somewhere about men working in neck deep drainage for cleaning out the blockages. I also saw the pictures of those men working, in some newspaper. There are innumerable examples that make you think of the different dirtiest jobs.

One day on my way to office, I saw a man working on the 27th floor of a building & standing outside the floor’s window without any safety equipment on, any wrong move & he would be dead.

Yesterday (March 4), my friend and me talked to our 18 year old cafeteria serving boy who earns Rs 2,200 p.m. He left his studies after class 2 when his father passed away. He sends all his money back home. His story really sensitised us.

I had gone to shimla on 2nd March. When I wake up at 8.30 am and sneaked outside from the sumptuous hotel window, I saw labourers crushing stones, loading bricks and pulling out thick rusty iron rods (sariyas) with their bare hands for the construction of a building, which was adjacent to the hotel. It was a pitiful sight. As I said there is hell lot of examples, which we cannot discuss. As we always get emotional and sensitive by seeing these poor people working hard to earn their living.

I want to ask all of you, do you feel that is there any dirtiest job on earth? Tell me why?
Can’t a driver own a number of cars and run an auto company?
Can’t a servant own a cafeteria one day?

It is we people who differentiates jobs. It is us who are saying what is good or bad. But we have forgotten one thing that to achieve a goal, one has to give his whole life to it by working hard and putting his soul in the job. There are no shortcuts to success.

What shame boss? Tell me what shame?
Somebody who is working with whatsoever job he is doing, he should not regret for it. That is why we say work is worship.

Please motivate these people and encourage them to work hard towards their goals, which can be achieved with strong will power and determination. Help them to get them better jobs. It will be of great help rather than giving alms or showing pity to somebody.

Rightly said by Shri Krishna to Arjuna

Karmanay evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadachana
Ma karma phala hetur bhur ma tesango stva karmani

Purport: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

'Rose Day - Rosy Bird Story'

A bird that opened his eyes on the shutter of a shop,
Bird was dependant, as he could not fly or hop,

He grew older and got beautiful pink white wings,
He aimed for the blue sky, spread his wings, and wiggle in rings,

From one tree to another tree, one place to another place,
Motive was simple, to earn life and not let left behind in the race,

He was happy but not completely satisfied,
As he was alone in the journey that make him always petrified,

Dishearteningly he flew high, reached top of the mountain,
To leave the world down under him, yet he still feels the pain,

He lose his faith, decided to go back to the old shop,
He was leaned and frail, finally back from hilltop,

He reached the shutter with a gaunt look,
His hopes were shattered when he back to his old nook,

He landed, and found one more nest close to his,
Another bird was cooing & the sight was bliss,

He approached to see her from close,
But another bird came, immediately he gets back on his toes,

They cooed and beaked together as if they are snuggling,
Our bird cried, as the sight was very disheartening,

He yet again flew from there to find a different nook,
On his way he found a lost tree,
He supposed that it is dejected and congestion free,

He landed on that tree on one of the branch,
Incidentally he found a nest and bird hatching, but on a different branch,

He was tired, so stayed there & watched her for hours,
Hatching bird appeared hungry but couldn’t fly for another more hours,

Apparently our bird flew and brings back some food,
He landed near the nest, and gave his beak to offer her food,

It was a pleasant sight,
As the food for her was some respite,

She cooed and cuddled him with warm & cozy
Finally our bird got the company that made his life rosy.

A happy end of the story,
With no distress, no misery and ended with glory.

‘Never let down yourself as then only you will rise’

'The next big thing happened to Indian cricket'

When 6’4” tall, 19 years old, Delhi lad, rhythmic, high-arm action with 135-144-kph-speed bowler -- Ishan Sharma made his place to the Indian team nobody expected that how good he is going to be. An injury to Munaf Patel provided him an opening during India's tour of Bangladesh in May 2007 but it was in Australia where he caught the attention when Zaheer and Sreesanth couldn’t get their place in the team due to injuries. It prompted Steve Waugh to call him the next best thing happened to Indian cricket. He showed he could move the ball both ways and his probing spell in second innings in Perth, where he set-up Ricky Ponting, was really the gem of the innings. He showed his gutsy performance by bowling 10 overs on the trot, where he got world no. 1 batsman out on the first delivery of his 9th over. He was unplayable during those overs. After the perth test Anil Kumble said that “Ishan reminds me of young Javagal Srinath.”

Sunday, 3rd Feb, one-day international, washed out due to rain intervals. But Ishan’s two overs where he also got his first wicket were never seemed to me that he is a youngster and it’s his second one-day international only. I really loved the sight of his fast deliveries hitting the deck and defeating the batsmen. This is only a start, and I wanted to be the first one to write about him but many things have already been said. He is truly the find of the tournament.

Watch out for this Delhi lad as he is really the next big thing happened to Indian cricket.

'Zizu-Materazzi vs Bhajji-Symonds'

The recent controversy between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds seemingly ended after so much ‘ho-halla.’ This racism controversy reminds me of Zinedine Zidane head-butt to Marco Materazzi during the FIFA world cup 2006. I tried comparing these two incidents, as both are sportsmen controversies.

Materazzi got head-butted by Zizu because the Italian defender had thrown some lewd comments on Zizu’s sister and mother, whereas Bhajji abused Symonds and the Australian took this forward as racism charges. Zizu and Materazzi both understands english well and know that who is saying what. Whereas Symonds doesn’t understand hindi and had complained match referee that Bhajji has said monkey to him. Symonds is innocent here, as he had reacted on the word, which he actually heard, because ‘MAA KI’ and ‘MONKEY’ rather sounds the same.

I actually asked my father yesterday and tried to take his comments on both these controversies without telling him my view.

Me: Whether Zizu was right?
Pa: Yes, because Materazzi was wrong.
Me: Is Symonds wrong?
Pa: Yes?
Me: Why?
Pa: Because we Indians are always against racism and we cannot tolerate this charge.

Then I explained him my aforesaid views. His opinion got slightly changed and he said: ‘Actually its Bhajji’s mistake but Symonds had forwarded it wrongly.’

I think, Australians have misrepresented this case by taking support of false or I would rather say overconfident charges. Harbhajan could have been easily banned for one test or two one-day matches under level 2.8 clause of ICC if Symonds have complained it as abusive remarks and not racism charges (which involved players’ and nation’s pride).

As Navjyot Singh Sidhu says: “Agar meri chachi ki moochhein hoti to mein use chacha na kehta”

I think world has a different opinion and cannot be similar on any matter and there are no ifs and buts in this world. Being an Indian I will always stand against racism, as we really know what racism is. But I feel that Harbhajan instead of abusing could have been rude and showed his aggression on field just like the way Australians do. That is why I am a fan of Sreesanth as he gives back to them what he takes.

Pyaar karo nafrat nahin, gussa karo par gaali nahin,
Dosti karo par dushmani nahin, galtiyaan galat aur maafi sahi,
Sabak lekar tum aage badho, badlo soch, fir zindagi nayi…

‘My first blood written love letter’

This is again a story that conjures up images of the DTC buses as mentioned in my previous blog. Why somebody writes a love letter and with his own blood? Insanity, craziness or suicidal? There could possibly be many reasons, but this story is completely different. Please forgive my grammatical errors, as I am not here to give any gyan or so. I want to share my life with many of you and will try my best to bring a hint of smile on your face. If you get to learn something out of my mistakes then nothing like it. I request all my media friends not to mind my ‘angrezi’ and help me out in nurturing it. Here the story starts:

I had a friend Lalit, who lived in my vicinity. He was two years younger to me. We used to board DTC buses for our schools from the same bus stop. His school was 2km farther than mine. As I said in my earlier blog that there was quite a rush those days on the DTC buses which were full of students and daily passengers. Lalit actually started liking a girl whose name was Praveena. He was very much in love with her. One day he showed me the girl who managed to board the same bus from a different bus stop. Lalit got so much fascinated with Praveena that he and us (me and some other friends) started passing indirect comments. We laughed, teased and made fun of all the boys and girls present in the same bus. The best part is that the girls always reciprocated to our harmless jokes. It is a wonderful childhood memory, which we still cannot forget. Lalit decided to propose Praveena, but he couldn’t do so as her friends were always around her.

One day I went to Lalit’s shop where he used to work part time. He was completely lost in her dreams. I snapped my fingers then only he realized that I came. I asked him ‘what is the matter boss’. He said that he wants to write a letter and express his love for Praveena. I was shocked to know when he said that he wants to write the letter with his own blood.

“Paagal he kya -- Dimaag kharab ho gaya he tera” (I said)
‘HAAN, Dimaag kharab ho gaya he mera’ (He replied)
‘Kuchh bhi ho jaaye, I will write’

He was carrying a blade and he tried to slit his finger. He tried it 3-4 times, but failed as it was a painful process and in spite of his deliberate cuts, blood was not coming out. Seeing this insanity of Lalit I offered him to let me slit my finger and write that letter for him. Lalit growled -- ‘No man let me do’. All his efforts were going in vain. I took the blade forcefully from him, but he snatched it back. In the process my finger got cut. So I finally said to Lalit ‘dekh meine bola tha na, mujhe likhne de’. Inadvertently he agreed and I wrote the letter with my blood for him. My first blood letter that I wrote was for my friend’s love and not mine.

‘Picture abhi baaki he mere dost’

After 3 days I got to know from some of my friend that Lalit met with an accident and got seriously injured. So Lucky, Vicky (another friends) and I went to see him. We were shocked to see his wounds. His face was heavily bruised. I asked him what happened.

‘Kya hua bhai, How did it happen?’
“Pehle darwaja band kar” (he replied)
‘Uske bhaiyon ne hockiyon se maara mujhe!’
‘Abey saale bola tha na tujhe’ (I said)
Vicky said, let’s go and smash them bastards.
“Nahin yaar, yeh sab pyaar karne ki sajaa he, jo mujhe manjoor he”
what? (we burst and couldn’t stop laughing)

THIS STORY ENDED ON A NOTE THAT ‘NEVER EVER UNDER OR OVER ESTIMATE ANY GIRL.’

'Fly in your dreams'

Did you ever fly, in the beautiful sky?
Fly in your dreams, for the future realms.
Life look so easy, as no storm, no lightening and only breezy.
You can see the kite’s view, visit places that are new.
You don’t have to drive fast, as you are the only who is first-n-last.
No fuel, no servicing, no transport, but smoothing ride with all the comforts.
Pedestrians, trespassers are not allowed, as entry is restricted and bestowed.
No VIP stopping & no republic day parades, pleasant nature, greenery that you’ll only gaze.
It is wonderful to be up there. Leaving the world down under here.
I love to do this often. Open eyes that cannot see, closed eyes have always more fun.
So one should always dream to be crème de la crème.

My first crush

Most of us in our childhood days must have fallen in love or had some crush on someone.

I used to be a very shy boy during my schooling days. I always turned my eyes down whenever I happened to see any girl. I studied in the boys’ school. My first crush, which I actually remember is when I was in class XII. My school was 8 kms away from home and I used to commute through DTC busses. During those days, majority of the students of different schools used to commute through DTC busses. I had never been so enthusiastic about the girls who managed to travel with me on the same bus.

One day, my friend, just out of a curiosity told me about one girl who got a very magnificent personality and who also used to board the bus from the same bus stop, where I was attached to board. He showed me the girl one day. I started gazing her daily just to know more about her. I came to know later that she is from the same place and lives within my vicinity. Apparently I started liking her presence around me in the bus. Luckily her school was also at the same place where mine was and the school timings was only of half an hour difference.

Those were the days when for the first time in my life I started watching a girl very intently. I had always tried to get the nearest seat to her on the bus, as there was quite a rush on the busses during those early mornings. Busses instantly get filled in few minutes.

I am still amused when I recall my earlier days, when I quickly latched on to the ladies seat after I boarded the bus. Seeking she would come and I would offer my seat to her and give her my school bag to hold. This continued for a few months, but I never tried to say a single word to her apart from giving her my bag.

There were times when my school gets closed earlier than the normal timings because of various reasons. But I never went back home early. As I used to wait for the afternoon bus when she would also be there. I was accustomed to wait many hours to go home with her. I never showed her that my eyes only wanted to see her. Many a times my heart got butchered when she talked with other boys. So I finally decided that I would talk to her one day.

And the day that I had chosen, was my birthday. Luckily there was no holiday on that day. I knew that she would come, so I was waiting to let her pass my house so that I can follow easily. At last she came with her sister and I started following her to the bus stop. I was urging and motivating myself to speak to her. I gathered all my strength & accosted her before the bus stop and said.

“Excuse me, Excuse me”
‘Yes!’
(I was carrying chocolates on occasion of my birthday. I took it out in my hand and said…)
“Today is my birthday and this is for you”
‘Me? SORRY.’
(I didn’t know what to say that time, so I said…)
“Neeraj samajh ke le lo”
(Neeraj was her brother) [ohh shit, what I said, but that time I really didn’t know what to say].
She took the chocolate. I also gave one to her sister.

The 8 km journey that day was the most embarrassing of my life, as she, her sister, and all of her friends kept laughing at me and passing indirect comments on me.

My crush episode got over and now after so many long years I have moved on to another. If I recall my memories then I can tell you that it is altogether a very different feeling and one should definitely live up to it.

Bachpan ki wo sunhari yaadein, aksar puchha karti hein,
Ki agar tum yeh karte to yeh hota,
Agar tum woh karte, to woh hota,
Magar mera yeh bechara mann, kahan suna karta tha..
Dilaasa mein khud ko deta hoon, ki pehle to mein bachcha tha,
Ab hoga to mein yeh karoonga,
Tab hoga to mein woh karoonga,
Pyaar mile ya na mile, dosti zaroor karoonga, aur neeraj nahin banooga.

'My take on TZP'

This is my first blog entry. I don't know how to swim in the sea of blogs, so I would try to put all inexperienced writing skills to sail on my frail boat. And my first brief sojourn of this world web journey is the movie - 'Taare Zameen Par' (TZP). I am very late in giving you my version of TZP, as I saw it very late. I wanted to see it with my parents, but I was not getting the tickets for the weekends. After all the busy work schedules and houseful days I finally saw the movie with my parents and sister on Jan 20.

Many of my office colleagues and friends have seen the movie and we discussed some of its emotional scenes. 9 out of 10 people I asked had cried in the movie. We have never imagined that why do we cry watching movies? People's behaviour ought to be different so as of every individual. But there are many scenes in the movie that made you cry and laugh in majority. Many people in the cinema hall who I was sensing cautiously, laughed and cried at the same scene, where I my parents and sister did. You can hear easily that people are laughing but one cannot see tears sitting at back. Honestly speaking I noticed that some of those were wiping out tears with their caress hands. The movie gives a very sweet and influential message to all the parents and the youngsters. It gives a superb message for the teachers to how to inculcate the young with a sense of duty.

Every person has atleast gone through that tinge phase, which Ishaan (Darsheel Safari) was going through. We can easily relate to him and recall our childhood days where many of our desires got punctured. There are many scenes in the movie, which I cannot forget as I felt that I am also related with some of those.

SCENE 1: Aamir at a dhaba, sees a poor child washing dishes. He gave him tea and biscuits and watches with his soaked eyes.
My incident: My friend and I were having beers at an isolated place near by a small basti of labours. We were discussing the bad phases of our lives and suddenly a very young boy who was hardly 7-8 years old came to me and says "Bhaiya Khaali botal mujhe de dena." I cannot tell you what feeling I had that time as one empty bottle costs only Rs 2 and how it can be so helpful for somebody. That really soaked my eyes. He was wondering around us and waiting for us to finish. I gave the empty bottles and few bucks to him. This incident gave us all the answers that we (me and my friend) were discussing. Sometimes we crib about our lives and says that 'why God why' are we going through this unbearable phase. And God gives us answers by showing us, which we cannot see. God has his own ways to teach and introduce us to the lives.

SCENE 2: 'Kya banega bada hoke, puri zindagi mein khilata rahoonga kya'
Correctly replied by Aamir - 'Zara sochiye us bache ke self-confidence ki dhajjiyan ud jaati hongi'
Expectation is the root of all causes. If we do something for someone we want him/her to reciprocate. Why do we that?-no answer. But we keep on doing without thinking of its consequences. Why we expect from our adolescents who are still learning to travel the rigid journey of their lives. Can't we support them till they understand the means of commuting of this hard-core journey? We all need to understand this.
"Bachpan ke din chaar, na aayenge baar baar, jee le, jee le, jee le mere yaar, jeb khaali to udhaar"

SCENE 3: Best of the movie - "Khyal karte heing aap? Kabhi yeh bola he beta tum gir bhi gaye to kya hua, main hoon na tumhe sambhalne ke liye, acha laga ye jaan ke, khyaal karte hein aap.
We as adult know that 3x9=27 and somebody like Ishaan, who is a kid and doesn't understands the words/figures/letters properly and see it as 3x9=3, so what is his fault in it? There are hell lots of things like that, and we just need to understand it. Every individual is different and perceive things differently. For example if I ask you to make directions between 1 and 12 in a clock. Some will make clockwise circle, anticlockwise circle, straight line between 1&12 and some will have a different way of depicting it. We only need to respect and understand each and every person's point of view and here I am particularly talking about the children.
"Dekho inhein yeh hain aus ki boondein, patton ki god mein aasman se koodhein.
Angadayee lein phir karwat badal kar, nazuk se mothi, has de pisal kar"

SCENE 4: "Teri parwaah karta hoon mein maa" (song)
It is a beautiful portrayal of a child's view of his eternal companion, his own Godsend - Maa. Words really cannot express the impact of this song had on me. It is an emotional roller coaster song that has the potential of bringing tears to your eyes with flashbacks of your own childhood or somewhere in between.
When I first heard this song in the office, I literally had goose bumps, my eyes got soaked and I got very emotional. I saved that song in my mobile and let it rung in front of my mom at home. I still cry and get emotional whenever I hear this song.

SCENE 5: Painting competition
The only thing, which I thought in the movie that was missing, was the Ishaan's previous schoolteacher who did not participate in the competition. The appreciation or some moral encouragement of them to Ishaan would have added more strength and confidence to Ishaan. Anyways, this is my view, and still I liked the movie very much.

Conclusion
Anybody who has seen this movie will love it simply because it has a strong potential to rekindle our own childhood and remind us of what life was like growing up as a kid, at home/school/outdoors, with your parents, siblings and other close relations such as teachers etc and the way you saw the world it was meant to be seen... innocent eyes, simple heart and a dreamy mind full of curiosity and wonder... TZP relives all that and more.