Home Sweet Home..

Amit looked anxiously at his watch; it was 3.30 p:m,Nikhil should have been back from school by now.

He looked at all the guests in his house and cursed under his breath.

They had to move today.The third time in the past 2 months, all just because of Nishita;she was always finding faults with whatever house they had been moving in.A number of times he had tried to find out her problem,but she just wasn't ready to speak,as if he didn't even exist for her.Something to do with her job probably,he had seen her upset and crying quite a few times.On top of all that,these guests!Why did her parents force her to organize a havan today?!Guess it was just another bad day in the making.

3.45 p.m.Finally,Nikhil reaches home.Amit can see that Nikhil's day has been equally bad.As soon as he sees his father,the 7 year old runs,hugs him,and starts sobbing,"I missed the school bus again.I was raising my hand on all the questions but Sharma Mam ignored me and when I started crying,she left the class.Is Mamma still angry?".Amit consoles him,"Everything will be fine once we move to some other place.Mamma needs some time alone.When she misses us,she'll call us herself"

"But I don't want to go.We left Mamma alone last month as well!"

Amit gets slightly irritated,"Nikhil,go wash your hands,eat something and pick your bag;we are leaving in 15 minutes.In any case,this place is getting too noisy for me.I don't like your Mother spending time with,of all things,religious type of people now!"

Nikhil timidly obeys.

The noise from inside gets louder.

"Nikhil,hurry!!!"

A gust of wind,sounds of bells clanging,smoke drifting from the holy fire,a chorus of voices chanting,"May peace and salvation be attained by the wandering souls!Peace for everyone!In the world of the living and in the world of the dead!!!"

Nishita starts crying,"No!No!Don't make them go away!Amit,Nikhil!Oh God,why did I have to survive the fire?!Why didn't I die with you?!"

Amit grabs Nikhil's hand and starts running away.Until the next time..

The Stalker..

Since the first time I saw her,

She was all that occupied my mind,

It was hard to believe she was for real,

I had to know,all I could find.

She was the one who was desired by all,

and she gave that pleasure to quite a few,

But I decided I was nobody to judge her,

because deep inside I wanted her too.

They said,'You can't completely trust her,

One day she's with you,the next she's not,

And yet you couldn't ever doubt her,

she was all you had ever sought'.

I felt I couldn't let her out of my sight,

or she would be lost to me forever,

I thought about her when she slept,

and when she was awake,I followed her.

I gathered courage,called out to her many times,

And still she never took notice of me,

The closer I came,the further she moved,

as if scared of being in my proximity.

They labelled me just another crazy stalker,

But to be with her,my soul I would sell,

Don't laugh at me,coz' if you too aren't with her,

Then,like me,one day you'll be stalking Happiness as well.

Inspired by listening Radiohead through the day,followed by 'Every breath you take',the next morning,which I feel should be officially selected as Stalker's Anthem :D

Till Pranked We Stay Apart..

1st April 2015,Mumbai Airport

"Ouch..what was that for?!"

"Ashray,we have been married for 2 years now,stop staring at other women!"

"Nia,I swear I wasn't checking her out,it was her bag,it will look so awesome with this dress of yours"

"Yeah..".Another whack to Ashray's head."Now what was that for?!"

"That was for trying to use something you know is my weakness to distract me!You think I am some kid?!"

"No,I swear..".Nia cuts him off,"Fine!You think the bag looks nice,lets go and ask her,where she got it from."

"Hi,this is my husband Ashray,he was wondering where you got this bag from,and Ashray this is.."

"I am Prerna,glad to meet you,although I must say it's a bit weird".Awkward smiles exchanged.

"Don't mind my wife,she enjoys embarrasing me;putting me in tight spots is her way of passing time."

Prerna smiles,"So where are you guys heading?".Nia replies,"Maldives.".Ashray chips in,"Our 2nd anniversary"

"Oh,when is it?".Ashray makes a face,"Today".Prerna laughs,"Hey c'mon I know it's 1st April but give me a break!"

Nia starts laughing,"No,I am serious,we got married on April 1".Prerna looks at both of them and says,"Why would you ever do that,did people really buy it when you told them about it?"

Ashray looks at Nia grumpily and says,"Well that's a story."

"I am looking forward to hearing it."

Nia can't control her laughter,"Oh Ashray,what the hell!Tell her."

1st April 2013,Family Court

"I am scared".

"Stop whining Ashray,it isn't as if I have got you here to get a full body wax!'

"I wouldn't mind exchanging that for this,this is like committing suicide!"

"Talk like this for a couple more minutes and this place would become a crime scene,that too a murder one!"

"You can't force me into getting married"

"Ashray,let's go over the basics again,you are the guy and I am the girl;I am supposed to be nervous and you are supposed to be taking care of me!"

"You should have thought of that before running from home and then asking me to the same.I didn't even tell Mom!"

"Ass!What would you have me do,serve pakodey and chai to Sharmaji and family!And what would you have told Aunty,'Mummy,Nia has run away from home and is asking me to do the same,if you allow me,we can run away together?Please,Please!'.Go and meet Karan Johar,he would cast you without an audition in his next movie,'My name is Momma's Boy'"

"But Mom could have talked to Uncle and Aunty!".Whack."What was that for?"

"Dumbo,look at you and look at Sharmaji's son,you really think you stand a chance?!It's like Great Khali vs Rajpal Yadav,no holds barred!"

"But,you literally kidnapped me!"

"Yeah,go and tell the cops that my girlfriend of 3.5 years kidnapped me and is trying to molest me"

"Fine!Who is going to be the witness?"

"Don't worry,I talked to the Taxi Driver and the Security guard"

"Wow!What a Baraat!"

Signatures done,pronounced husband and wife.Nia gets a call.

"Nia didi,where are you?Mamma Papa are worried"

"Riddhi,Ashray and me got married,I am putting you on speaker".Long silence,"Didi,what was the hurry?"

"Arre Riddhi,the whole Sharma Uncle's son thing,and he was going to come today to see me!Did you expect me to catwalk in our verandah for them?!"

"Didi,they knew about Ashray and they like him as well,they did all this drama so that you confess,you were so secretive as if you were dating Osama and CIA was asking for his whereabouts?!They've been asking you for the 3 years and I told dad that it would be a nice Fools' thing too!"

Nia loses it,"You bitch!You call yourselves a sister?!Even a Nazi would be less cruel than you!"

Ashray starts crying,"I got married because of a prank!You dumb,over reacting,insane,cranky,filmy female.I was just 27,my whole life ahead of me.I am ruined!I told you to watch less movies;who elopes these days?!"

Whack."Shut up!You still have your life ahead of you,I am your wife,not Yamraaj"

"Wife!"

1st April,2015,Mumbai Airport

Ashray:"Well that was our story"

Nia:"I'll be back from the ladies' room"

Prerna smiles,"Well,I'll make a move,nice meeting you guys,thanks for the story"

10 minutes later

"Nia,here's the bag.I told you,you never believe me"

"What did you tell her?".Ashray winks,"Just that you were terminally ill and I am fulfilling all your wishes in the 2 months that Doctors have given you"

"You are such an ass!"

"Oh come on!What better way than a prank to celebrate our anniversary".And they both start laughing.


Phew..long one!

Pakistan Cricket's Woes Continue

'How the Mighty have fallen.'The words of a Pakistani Cricket Team supporter after they lost to Afghanistan in the Asian Games cricket event.

Though many feel that this loss to Afghanistan was at behest of the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) as goodwill gesture for appointing Rashid Latif,the former Pakistan wicketkeeper as their coach,for with his English and Cricketing skills,he would have starved to death otherwise,many feel it was another example of the pathetic state of the Pakistan Cricket Team.

The past 2 years has seen them lose, 10 of 19 and 26 of 38 of their Tests and ODIs respectively.The only saving grace believed to be the T20 world cup win in 2009.

But the real downfall started in 2002,when 6 suspected HUJI terrorists failed in their plot to kidnap Indian cricketers,Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly.

A source from PISS(Pakistan International Sportsmen Society),on condition of anonimity told us,"Unlike what the Indian authorities believe that the two would have been ransomed in exchange of jailed terrorists,Pakistan would have given citizenship to the two and asked them to play for us.This plot was formulated by our smartest cricketer,Shoaib Malik,who has an IQ of 31".Incidentially,his batting average is higher than his IQ.

Many also blame this failed bid to kidnap the two Indian stars as the reason for spot-fixing scandal that has plagued the Pak cricket team.Sir Illaiya Nunnuswami,a British lawyer associated with CRAB(Cricketers Regularly Accused of Betting) told us in a matter-of-fact tone,"Had this plot succeeded,who knows how much money PCB would have made.There would have been no need for players to indulge in spot-fixing.After all,Sachin's yearly income would be way higher than the Market Capitalisation of all the companies on Karachi Stock Exchange put together"

Mohammed Amir,the 18-year-old pace sensation,who was in the eye of the storm during the spot-fixing scandal sounded disappointed,"After the publicity that Kasab got,even terrorists from my village were getting higher wages than our international cricketers.What would you have me do,throw no-balls or hand grenades?"

A source close to the team said,"Bismillah-al-Rehman-al-Rahim.Sabse pehle Allah taala ka shukriya karunga.Boys aajkal bahut maayus hain.Aur vo jaun se serial mein Veena Malik ko 'Aaashmit Aaashmit' karte dekh ke toh janaab khoon khaul jaata hai.Bechara Asif.Boys itni achchi performance dete hain,us begairat aurat se zaada achchi acting karte hain,phir bhi unki thoo-thoo hoti hai.Boys ki khwahish hai ki wo ek Hollywood movie mein act karein.Insha-Allah,we bounce back!".

There are unconfirmed reports that M.Night Shyamalan,whose directorial ventures have just been falling apart like the Pakistani Team,has been approached by Shoaib Akhtar to direct a movie with him as the lead and Virender Sehwag as his nemesis.

There has also been discontent over the PCB banning Twitter and Facebook for Pakistani cricketers.Nilofer Bano,chairperson PETA(Pakistan English Teachers' Association),was pretty much outraged,"I myself know of 3 cricketers who have spent their whole annual income to learn English so that they can Tweet without shame.Is this the way PCB would encourage the spirit of learning and considering how less they play these days,they need Facebook for timepass,don't they?!"

But there is hope that all is not lost yet,the Pakistani Team is embarking on a tour of Newzealand to face the Black Caps who were beaten black and blue by Bangladesh and India(4-0 and 5-0 respectively) recently.Waqar Younis,the current Pakistani Coach before embarking on this tour,said,"This is the best possible preparation we can have for the World Cup 2011".No one could disagree with him on that one!

Shorelines..

We are shorelines,
Lost between the sea and the land,
Building castles of our future,
with our past that is like the abundant sand.

Let's talk about you and me,
Similar but for just one difference,
We are shorelines,just opposite each other,
Seperated by a sea of silence.

Or did we choose to be what we are?
Maybe at one time,we weren't as far away,
Probably love can still bridge us,
but this silence drowns everything we say.

Each moment,this sea will erode us a bit more,
and the space between us would grow,
That sometime you'll end up being beyond my vision,
is something I realised a while ago.

So let the waves of time carry and bury,
everything that we shared in the depths of this sea,
And as I look at two parallel lines,
I smile as I am reminded of you and me.

Cause' even though it is only at infinity,
parallel lines end up meeting too,
And if you promise on trying to get there,
I'll be there somehow,waiting for you.


Last serious one for some time to come!

The Perfect World..

I am not a visionary,neither am I blessed with any extra sensory perception.Yet,I see things differently,a way which might offend you.

The Sun is Yellow to You,it isn't to me;Snow is White to You,it isn't to me.

They say I hallucinate;well,what is a hallucination?It is defined as perception of something despite the absence of stimuli.I have a question,when there is no light,you perceive darkness;is that a hallucination?When there is no sound,you feel the silence,is that a hallucination too?Or for that matter,the happiness or sadness you sometimes feel for no apparent reason,would you be comfortable,if I called that,a hallucination?

Yes,I stand in minority.I doubt if any of you would concur with my view of reality.To me reality,is what I can and wish to see and isn't it better that way?To me,nothing seems hideous,the flowers are always in bloom,people are always smiling.

I always believed that a person ends up seeing more than he needs to in life and that is the cause of all his misery,well,I am free of that curse!

When I told all this to people initially,I knew they shook their head in disbelief thinking,"Probably he has lost his mind in the accident",some probably laughed too,a couple were humane enough to touch my arm with sympathy,like I was somebody on a deathbed.

And even now,I know you don't believe me but it's fine,really,I mean it,for I might too sometimes find it hard to believe what someone has to tell me.

"Get up!It's time for you to take your evening walk,take your walking stick"."And there is nobody sitting around you,so stop talking to yourselves,you are blind not crazy!".

I do suffer these breaks in my reality,you know,how I hate them!Even though I am blind,I know,the world is only what you make of it,nothing more,nothing less.Fortunately,for me it's much easier to construct my perfect world,all I have to do is close my eyes and escape this wretched darkness.

Hitch-Hiker

The sun refused to rise,
Fearing that it would drown,
in the darkness that envelopes me,
behind,besides,beyond,all around.

Mocked by happiness each day,
Estranged for long from satisfaction,
My smiles reek of cynicism and contempt,
My only acquaintances unanswered questions.

Even raindrops bruise me,
Silence pierces my ears,
Abandoned by all I cared for,
Surrounded by my fears.

I drive on the Highway of Hopelessness,
& my failures like milestones gleam,
I try evading the potholes of reality,
trying to save my fragile dreams.

There she stood in the dust and heat,
trying to hitch-hike a ride,
& despite Loneliness already being my companion,
I made a stop at her side.

She looked battered and broken,
with tattered clothes her body adorned,
And yet her eyes were full of dreams,
and on her lips there was a song.

She hopped in without a word,
Like a lost friend from times gone,
She made me smile when I was unhappy,
& when tired,she took to driving me on.

Then one day we made it out,
Leaving behind that forsaken land,
I asked her for her name & she said it was Hope,
& then I always travelled with her,she holding my hand.