It was a shock for me to know about the sudden and accidental death of India's most promising young singer Ishmeet Singh. He was winner of Voice of India 1 and also a very talented boy who had attained a lot of name and fame with his beautiful voice when he was barely 19.
I was talking to my mom today morning about the various singers as I was hearing a song sung by Amit Paul in Love Story 2050, then she told me that Ishmeet Singh from Voice of India 1 had also sung a duet with Alka Yagnik which was yet to come on screen. I rememeber having voted for him too. I was so bored of watching the same news regarding the bomb blasts and their detection that I was about to switch off my television when the news flashed in Star News that Ishmeet got drowned while swimming in Maldives island where he had been for a show. The show was not yet done and he had to face this sudden accident. The moment I saw the news I was just shocked. Such a beautiful voice and a person with a calm and composed nature was destined for this!!! I was sitting with my mom and watching this news. At one moment we looked at each other and both of us had our eyes welled up with tears which we both didn't realize.
In fact in the recent days, he was also a part of Jo Jeeta Wahi Superstar where he sang really well. I loved his voice more when he sang my favourite song : " Tum se hi..........." from Jab We Met with so much of feel after Mohit Chauhan.
I can only pray that may his soul rest in peace.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I found this while reading...
In an article published in a newspaper, I found a section where it was alloted only for literary reviews and articles. It was a column where it was written about William Shakespeare. I am a great fan of his plays and whatever he has contributed to English Literature. The writer who is an eminent poet himself quotes after analysing Shakespeares' plays. There have been many critical appreciations and also there have been guide books that explain about the different moods in which he wrote his plays.
The writer quoted, " The character may bear different names,the events may happen at different places but the lines are all alike." When I read it myself I realized that it was actually true. I have studied three of his plays, ' Julius Caesar', 'The Tempest' and ' Othello' in detail and this holds true.
Have you ever felt this?
The writer quoted, " The character may bear different names,the events may happen at different places but the lines are all alike." When I read it myself I realized that it was actually true. I have studied three of his plays, ' Julius Caesar', 'The Tempest' and ' Othello' in detail and this holds true.
Have you ever felt this?
Monday, July 28, 2008
नैना का रहस्य
आप सब शायद पढ़ कर ऐसा लगा हो की नैना सच में मेरी जिंदगी में कोई है. पर ऐसा कुछ नही है. कुछ सत्य और कुछ ख्वाब, इन सब को मिला कर बनी थी नैना. और ये मेरी सबसे पहली हिन्दी कहानी है जो मैंने अपने कॉलेज के प्रथम वर्षा में लिखी थी. सच कहूँ तो मुझे इस नाम " नैना" से प्यार है. नैना ने मुझे एक पहचान दी, नए दोस्त भी दिए और यही कहानी, २००६ में " दैनिक जागरण" पत्रिका, जमशेदपुर सप्प्लिमेंट मे प्रकाशित हुई. सच कहूँ तो मैंने कई बार कोशिश की पर इस कहानी जैसा कभी न लिख पायी.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
नैना
रविवर का दिन था, मैन होस्टेल के अपने होस्टेल के कमरे मे थी. बहार तेज़ हवा चल रही थी. मन अशांत था. हवा में जो वेग और आक्रोश था वह मेरे मन में भी था. पढाई से मेरा मन ऊब चूका था. इतने में मेरी नज़र १९९९ की दिअरी की पड़ी. पन्ने पुराने लग रहे थे पर जिस तरह मैं एक-एक पन्ना पलट रही थी मनो आँखों के सामने एक चलचित्र के रूप में दिख रहे थे.
पहली बार जब मैंने उसे देखा तो कुछ अलग सा लगा. उन झील सी गहरी मासूम आखों में जो चमक थी मनो दुनिया तो की साड़ी चीज़ें उसमें जगमगा उठें. छरहरी सी, खलबली सी, खिलखिलाती हुई वह हाँथ में लिए दौते हुए आ रही थी की मुझसे वो टकराई. मैं मुड़कर गुस्से से उसे देखि क्यूंकि काफी जोर का धक्का लगा था पर उसकी आँखों में वो चमक देखकर मेरे मुख पे जो मुस्कान आई शायद ही वह किसी को देख कर आती. उसने कहा, " आइ ऍम सॉरी." मैं चुपचाप कड़ी देखती रही. इसके बाद न जाने हर दिन वह कहीं न कहीं मिल जाती थी. कभी कैंटीन में, कभी स्कूल गेट के पास, कभी ऑटो स्टैंड...... हर जगह उसकी एक झलक मुझे मिल जाती थी. एक रोज़ कुछ कॉपियां लेकर मेरे सामने से गुजरी. मैंने पूछा, " नाम क्या है तुम्हारा?" उसकी आँखें सब कुछ बयां कर रही थी. कोई दर नहीं था. ऐसा लगा मानो दुनिया पर उसका कब्ज़ा हो. यही तो मुझे उसकी ओर खींच लाई. उसने झट से कहा, "नैना". वह थी तो सिर्फ ग्यारह साल की पर मुखमंडल पर जो तेज़ था वह मैंने आज तक किसी में नहीं देखा था. मुझे उसमें एक अपनापन सा लगने लगा. कक्षा पांच में ही पढ़ती थी पर बातें बड़ी-बड़ी करती थी. किताबे अनगिनत पढ़ चुकी थी और घर में दादी माँ के उपदेश सुनकर नन्हे से दिमाग में ज्ञान का कोष इतना इकट्ठा कर रखा था मानो समुद्र में पानी भी कम पद जाए. उसकी आशावादी दृष्टिकोण से मैं बहुत प्रभावित थी.
नैना दिखने में ठीक ही थी. कद-काठी उम्र के हिसाब से सटीक थी. कंधे तक आने वाले काले मुलायम और बड़ी-बड़ी जिज्ञासु काली आँखें.
तीन महीने हो चले, हम दोनों के बीच जो रिश्ता कायम हो चला था वो अटूट था. शायद इश्वर को यह मंज़ूर नहीं था की नैना हमेशा खुश रहे. काले बादल आखिर किसकी ज़िन्दगी में नहीं आते. पिछले कुछ.. तीन सप्ताह से नैना स्कूल नहीं आ रही थी. मुझे लगा की यूँ ही बुखार होगा, पर जब कोई खबर नहीं मिली तो मैं उसके घर पहुंची. नौकर ने बताया, " वे सब सी.ऍम.सी वेल्लूर गए हैं. तीन सप्ताह बाद आयेंगे." कुछ सप्ताह बाद मैंने नैना को स्कूल में देखा. आज वह गुमसुम सी अपने बेंच पर बैठी हुई थी. मैं चुपके से गयी और उससे पूछा, " क्या हुआ नैना? वेल्लूर गयी थी?मुझे बताया नहीं.किसी की तबीयत ख़राब थी क्या?" मैं क्षण भर के लिए चुप हो गयी. नैना ने जवाब दिया, " कुछ नहीं, मेरी तबियत ठीक नहीं थी.बुखार हो गया."इतने में घंटी बज गई और मैं अपनी कक्षा की ओर चल पड़ी. मेरा मन न जाने क्यूँ उसके गहर की ओर खींचा चला जा रहा था. शाम को उसके घर हो ही आई. उसकी माँ ने दरवाज़ा खोला. मैंने पुछा, " नैना...घर पर है?" उन्होंने कहा, " आओ.. अच्छा हुआ तुम आ गई." मैंने हिम्मत बाँध कर पुछा, " कुछ गंभीर समस्या है क्या?नैना..... को लेकर क्या?" वे हिच्किचायीं ... "नैना.. को...." इतने बोलते ही उनका गला रुंध गया. मैं उत्सुक थी, जी मचल रहा था. " क्या हुआ?"हडबडा कर मैंने पुछा..... " नैना को... छोटी आंत का कैंसर है." इतना कह कर वे तो पड़ीं. मैं सन्न बैठे रही. हाँथ-पैर ठंडे पड़ गए. साहस बटोर कर मैंने पुछा, " कैसे.. कैसे... हुआ?" "हाँ, कुछ ही दिन पहले से वह जो खाती थी पाच नही रहा था, डॉक्टर को दिखाया तो कहा की छोटी अंत में कुछ गडबडी होगी इसलिए सी.ऍम.सी वेल्लूर में दिखा देते तो अच्छा होगा. सी.ऍम.सी में टेस्ट कराने के बाद डॉक्टरों ने ये कह दिया की नैना को छोटी आंत का कैंसर है. इसके लिए कीमोथेरपी की ज़रूरत थी क्यूंकि यह मलिग्ननत कैंसर था." इतना कह कर वे चुप हो गयीं.
मैंने नैना की आहट सुन कर पीछे मुड कर देखा. मेरी आँखें नम हो गई.
" रो क्यूँ रही हो दीदी?" नैना ने पुछा.
"अगर रोने से मैं ठीक हो जाउंगी तो कितना अच्छा होता न, " नैना ने भोली सी आवाज़ में कहा.
उसने मुझसे कहा, " मेरा एक काम करोगी दीदी? "
" हाँ.. हाँ.. बोलो..," मैंने उसे उत्तर दिया.
" तुम तो जानवर, पक्षी, मनुष्य के बारे में पढ़ती हो न.. तुम.. नही आप... मेरी बीमारी के बारे में पता कर के मुझे बताओ न प्लीस." में चुप रही.
एक नासमझ ने मुझसे माँगा भी तो क्या माँगा?
" क्यूँ रे.. पागल हो गई है क्या?"मैंने कहा.
उसने कहा, " नही मुझे अपनी बीमारी के बारे में जानना है".
"अच्छा ठीक है," मैंने आंहें भर कर कहा.
मैंने स्कूल में हमेशा उसका साथ दिया. रोजाना तो वह स्कूल नही आ पाती थी, पर कोशिश यही थी की पढ़ाई ढंग से हो सके. कीमोथीरापी रेडिएशन के चलते उसके बाल झड़ने लगे. शार्रीरिक दुर्बलता बढती जा रही थी. चार महीने बाद उसे वेल्लूर जाना पड़ा. इस बार चिकत्सकों ने उसके बाल कत्वदेने को कहा. नन्ही सी जान से यह बर्दाश नही हुआ. रो - रो कर बेहाल हो गई. घर से बहार निकलने का मन नही करता था. चाहे सोच जैसी भी हो पर थी तो वह एक चोटी सी बच्ची. काफ़ी ज़िद करने के बाद उसे विग दिलाया गया जो वह स्कूल पेहेनकर जाया करती थी. मैंने पहली बार उसकी आंखों में आंसूं देखा. सहानुभूति वाले शब्द भी कम पड़ गए. पता नही चला की मैं क्या बोलूं? इतना मालूम था की वह अपने अन्तिम दिन गिन रही है. उसका कुछ किया नही जा सकता था.मैं उसके साथ हँसी -खुशी रह लेती थी पर सदा मन में दुःख रहता था.
आँखें दब सी गई थीं. दुर्बलता बढ़ गई, खाना गले से नही उतरता था,घर पर ही रहने लगी थी. एक दिन कमजोरी के कारण ' नैना' सदा के लिए पंचतत्त्व में विलीन हो गई.
मोबाइल में कॉल आया... मैंने कॉल काट दिया. मेरी आंखों से आंसूं का एक बूँद पन्ने पर गिरा और स्याही फ़ैल गई. आंसूं पोंछ कर मैंने दिअरी बंद कर दी. मेरा मन जो पढ़ाई का बोझ उठाते-उठाते थक चुका था अब सशक्त हो गया क्यूंकि मुझे डोक्टारी की पढ़ाई पूरी करनी थी. किसी के लिए न सही पर " नैना" के लिए. बहार चल रही तेज़ हवा अब धीमी हो चुकी थी और मेरा मन भी शांत हो गया था. मोबाइल लेकर में बालकनी की ओर गई.
पहली बार जब मैंने उसे देखा तो कुछ अलग सा लगा. उन झील सी गहरी मासूम आखों में जो चमक थी मनो दुनिया तो की साड़ी चीज़ें उसमें जगमगा उठें. छरहरी सी, खलबली सी, खिलखिलाती हुई वह हाँथ में लिए दौते हुए आ रही थी की मुझसे वो टकराई. मैं मुड़कर गुस्से से उसे देखि क्यूंकि काफी जोर का धक्का लगा था पर उसकी आँखों में वो चमक देखकर मेरे मुख पे जो मुस्कान आई शायद ही वह किसी को देख कर आती. उसने कहा, " आइ ऍम सॉरी." मैं चुपचाप कड़ी देखती रही. इसके बाद न जाने हर दिन वह कहीं न कहीं मिल जाती थी. कभी कैंटीन में, कभी स्कूल गेट के पास, कभी ऑटो स्टैंड...... हर जगह उसकी एक झलक मुझे मिल जाती थी. एक रोज़ कुछ कॉपियां लेकर मेरे सामने से गुजरी. मैंने पूछा, " नाम क्या है तुम्हारा?" उसकी आँखें सब कुछ बयां कर रही थी. कोई दर नहीं था. ऐसा लगा मानो दुनिया पर उसका कब्ज़ा हो. यही तो मुझे उसकी ओर खींच लाई. उसने झट से कहा, "नैना". वह थी तो सिर्फ ग्यारह साल की पर मुखमंडल पर जो तेज़ था वह मैंने आज तक किसी में नहीं देखा था. मुझे उसमें एक अपनापन सा लगने लगा. कक्षा पांच में ही पढ़ती थी पर बातें बड़ी-बड़ी करती थी. किताबे अनगिनत पढ़ चुकी थी और घर में दादी माँ के उपदेश सुनकर नन्हे से दिमाग में ज्ञान का कोष इतना इकट्ठा कर रखा था मानो समुद्र में पानी भी कम पद जाए. उसकी आशावादी दृष्टिकोण से मैं बहुत प्रभावित थी.
नैना दिखने में ठीक ही थी. कद-काठी उम्र के हिसाब से सटीक थी. कंधे तक आने वाले काले मुलायम और बड़ी-बड़ी जिज्ञासु काली आँखें.
तीन महीने हो चले, हम दोनों के बीच जो रिश्ता कायम हो चला था वो अटूट था. शायद इश्वर को यह मंज़ूर नहीं था की नैना हमेशा खुश रहे. काले बादल आखिर किसकी ज़िन्दगी में नहीं आते. पिछले कुछ.. तीन सप्ताह से नैना स्कूल नहीं आ रही थी. मुझे लगा की यूँ ही बुखार होगा, पर जब कोई खबर नहीं मिली तो मैं उसके घर पहुंची. नौकर ने बताया, " वे सब सी.ऍम.सी वेल्लूर गए हैं. तीन सप्ताह बाद आयेंगे." कुछ सप्ताह बाद मैंने नैना को स्कूल में देखा. आज वह गुमसुम सी अपने बेंच पर बैठी हुई थी. मैं चुपके से गयी और उससे पूछा, " क्या हुआ नैना? वेल्लूर गयी थी?मुझे बताया नहीं.किसी की तबीयत ख़राब थी क्या?" मैं क्षण भर के लिए चुप हो गयी. नैना ने जवाब दिया, " कुछ नहीं, मेरी तबियत ठीक नहीं थी.बुखार हो गया."इतने में घंटी बज गई और मैं अपनी कक्षा की ओर चल पड़ी. मेरा मन न जाने क्यूँ उसके गहर की ओर खींचा चला जा रहा था. शाम को उसके घर हो ही आई. उसकी माँ ने दरवाज़ा खोला. मैंने पुछा, " नैना...घर पर है?" उन्होंने कहा, " आओ.. अच्छा हुआ तुम आ गई." मैंने हिम्मत बाँध कर पुछा, " कुछ गंभीर समस्या है क्या?नैना..... को लेकर क्या?" वे हिच्किचायीं ... "नैना.. को...." इतने बोलते ही उनका गला रुंध गया. मैं उत्सुक थी, जी मचल रहा था. " क्या हुआ?"हडबडा कर मैंने पुछा..... " नैना को... छोटी आंत का कैंसर है." इतना कह कर वे तो पड़ीं. मैं सन्न बैठे रही. हाँथ-पैर ठंडे पड़ गए. साहस बटोर कर मैंने पुछा, " कैसे.. कैसे... हुआ?" "हाँ, कुछ ही दिन पहले से वह जो खाती थी पाच नही रहा था, डॉक्टर को दिखाया तो कहा की छोटी अंत में कुछ गडबडी होगी इसलिए सी.ऍम.सी वेल्लूर में दिखा देते तो अच्छा होगा. सी.ऍम.सी में टेस्ट कराने के बाद डॉक्टरों ने ये कह दिया की नैना को छोटी आंत का कैंसर है. इसके लिए कीमोथेरपी की ज़रूरत थी क्यूंकि यह मलिग्ननत कैंसर था." इतना कह कर वे चुप हो गयीं.
मैंने नैना की आहट सुन कर पीछे मुड कर देखा. मेरी आँखें नम हो गई.
" रो क्यूँ रही हो दीदी?" नैना ने पुछा.
"अगर रोने से मैं ठीक हो जाउंगी तो कितना अच्छा होता न, " नैना ने भोली सी आवाज़ में कहा.
उसने मुझसे कहा, " मेरा एक काम करोगी दीदी? "
" हाँ.. हाँ.. बोलो..," मैंने उसे उत्तर दिया.
" तुम तो जानवर, पक्षी, मनुष्य के बारे में पढ़ती हो न.. तुम.. नही आप... मेरी बीमारी के बारे में पता कर के मुझे बताओ न प्लीस." में चुप रही.
एक नासमझ ने मुझसे माँगा भी तो क्या माँगा?
" क्यूँ रे.. पागल हो गई है क्या?"मैंने कहा.
उसने कहा, " नही मुझे अपनी बीमारी के बारे में जानना है".
"अच्छा ठीक है," मैंने आंहें भर कर कहा.
मैंने स्कूल में हमेशा उसका साथ दिया. रोजाना तो वह स्कूल नही आ पाती थी, पर कोशिश यही थी की पढ़ाई ढंग से हो सके. कीमोथीरापी रेडिएशन के चलते उसके बाल झड़ने लगे. शार्रीरिक दुर्बलता बढती जा रही थी. चार महीने बाद उसे वेल्लूर जाना पड़ा. इस बार चिकत्सकों ने उसके बाल कत्वदेने को कहा. नन्ही सी जान से यह बर्दाश नही हुआ. रो - रो कर बेहाल हो गई. घर से बहार निकलने का मन नही करता था. चाहे सोच जैसी भी हो पर थी तो वह एक चोटी सी बच्ची. काफ़ी ज़िद करने के बाद उसे विग दिलाया गया जो वह स्कूल पेहेनकर जाया करती थी. मैंने पहली बार उसकी आंखों में आंसूं देखा. सहानुभूति वाले शब्द भी कम पड़ गए. पता नही चला की मैं क्या बोलूं? इतना मालूम था की वह अपने अन्तिम दिन गिन रही है. उसका कुछ किया नही जा सकता था.मैं उसके साथ हँसी -खुशी रह लेती थी पर सदा मन में दुःख रहता था.
आँखें दब सी गई थीं. दुर्बलता बढ़ गई, खाना गले से नही उतरता था,घर पर ही रहने लगी थी. एक दिन कमजोरी के कारण ' नैना' सदा के लिए पंचतत्त्व में विलीन हो गई.
मोबाइल में कॉल आया... मैंने कॉल काट दिया. मेरी आंखों से आंसूं का एक बूँद पन्ने पर गिरा और स्याही फ़ैल गई. आंसूं पोंछ कर मैंने दिअरी बंद कर दी. मेरा मन जो पढ़ाई का बोझ उठाते-उठाते थक चुका था अब सशक्त हो गया क्यूंकि मुझे डोक्टारी की पढ़ाई पूरी करनी थी. किसी के लिए न सही पर " नैना" के लिए. बहार चल रही तेज़ हवा अब धीमी हो चुकी थी और मेरा मन भी शांत हो गया था. मोबाइल लेकर में बालकनी की ओर गई.
Friday, July 25, 2008
My next story
Well, for all my hindi readers. The next story will be the first hindi story i wrote and one which is very close to my heart. So, keep reading this section and giving your comments.
The Howrah Mail
contd....
They kept talking about the general stuff and the whole day was over. Anu hadn’t thought that time would fly so fast. It was time for her to get down. It was time for them to get down. They had crossed Basin Bridge and Chennai central was about to arrive. All four got down. Karthik helped the elderly couple with their luggage and called a porter for them. Anu was the last one to get down. She forgot to taken her book. All the passengers had gone and she got down from the empty coach. She was surprised to see Karthik waiting for her.
“Hey…. I thought I will bid you good bye before I leave. It was nice meeting you,” he said in a very friendly tone.
“Same here. Would you mind giving your e-mail id? We can keep in touch.”
“Yes. You are right,” he said.
They exchanged their id’s and then left. Anu kept watching him go and then he vanished in the crowd. She made a call to her aunt to her that she was there and moved toward the pre-paid auto stand.
Anu’s aunt was waiting for her. “Welcome home dear,” she said.
“How was the journey?” Ambika, Anu’s cousin asked.
“It was cool,” Anu said with a mischievous grin. As she said this she got reminded of Karthik again. She was about to tell Ambika the story as it was too early and there was nothing so great to tell also.
“Aunty, give me a cup of your ever refreshing coffee!!” Anu said holding her aunt by her shoulder.
“Sure dear. You know we were waiting for you so that we can give you good news,” her aunt said excitedly.
“What good news?” she asked and looked at Ambika quizzically.
“Tell me, tell me,” she nudged Ambika and seated herself on the kitchen slab and dangled her legs.
“Well, the guy whom we had selected for Ambika is going to meet her today,” her aunt said handing the cup of coffee to Anu.
“That’s super cool. I will be able to see my future…..jiju,” Anu said excitedly.
“Eh! Don’t get so excited. It is not fixed yet and I am just going to meet him,” Ambika said hitting her on her back.
“Okay chill! Go get ready fast,” Anu said washing the cup of coffee and she went to the drawing room and started reading the newspaper.
Ambika was ready and she wore a blue jeans and a pink kurti.
“You are in jeans?” Anu exclaimed.
“Then, what do you expect me to wear a saree and go out with him,” Ambika said with a frown.
“Huh!! Style!! Anu said.
The door bell rang. Anu went to open the door. As soon as she opened the door she was stone cold. She stood there dumbfounded without even welcoming the guest. It was the other person who spoke first.
“Hi! Anusha. How come you are here?” he spoke.
Anu just came back to her senses when her aunt shouted, “Who is it Anu?”
“Er…Er..she fumbled. It is ….”
By then her aunt came and opened the door wide.
“Welcome Karthik,” she is Anusha, my sister’s daughter.
“Ambika is ready,” she added. Karthik was smiling as usual.
She had developed some kind of liking for him. She didn’t want to show her discomfort so she chose to smile back at him and she stood there listening to Karthik’s story as to how he met him in the train. She was so confused. It took her sometime to realize that possibly he was going to be her sister’s would be.
“Thank God! I did not share my feelings with anyone” she muttered within.
“Let it be a Howrah Mail Secret.”
They kept talking about the general stuff and the whole day was over. Anu hadn’t thought that time would fly so fast. It was time for her to get down. It was time for them to get down. They had crossed Basin Bridge and Chennai central was about to arrive. All four got down. Karthik helped the elderly couple with their luggage and called a porter for them. Anu was the last one to get down. She forgot to taken her book. All the passengers had gone and she got down from the empty coach. She was surprised to see Karthik waiting for her.
“Hey…. I thought I will bid you good bye before I leave. It was nice meeting you,” he said in a very friendly tone.
“Same here. Would you mind giving your e-mail id? We can keep in touch.”
“Yes. You are right,” he said.
They exchanged their id’s and then left. Anu kept watching him go and then he vanished in the crowd. She made a call to her aunt to her that she was there and moved toward the pre-paid auto stand.
Anu’s aunt was waiting for her. “Welcome home dear,” she said.
“How was the journey?” Ambika, Anu’s cousin asked.
“It was cool,” Anu said with a mischievous grin. As she said this she got reminded of Karthik again. She was about to tell Ambika the story as it was too early and there was nothing so great to tell also.
“Aunty, give me a cup of your ever refreshing coffee!!” Anu said holding her aunt by her shoulder.
“Sure dear. You know we were waiting for you so that we can give you good news,” her aunt said excitedly.
“What good news?” she asked and looked at Ambika quizzically.
“Tell me, tell me,” she nudged Ambika and seated herself on the kitchen slab and dangled her legs.
“Well, the guy whom we had selected for Ambika is going to meet her today,” her aunt said handing the cup of coffee to Anu.
“That’s super cool. I will be able to see my future…..jiju,” Anu said excitedly.
“Eh! Don’t get so excited. It is not fixed yet and I am just going to meet him,” Ambika said hitting her on her back.
“Okay chill! Go get ready fast,” Anu said washing the cup of coffee and she went to the drawing room and started reading the newspaper.
Ambika was ready and she wore a blue jeans and a pink kurti.
“You are in jeans?” Anu exclaimed.
“Then, what do you expect me to wear a saree and go out with him,” Ambika said with a frown.
“Huh!! Style!! Anu said.
The door bell rang. Anu went to open the door. As soon as she opened the door she was stone cold. She stood there dumbfounded without even welcoming the guest. It was the other person who spoke first.
“Hi! Anusha. How come you are here?” he spoke.
Anu just came back to her senses when her aunt shouted, “Who is it Anu?”
“Er…Er..she fumbled. It is ….”
By then her aunt came and opened the door wide.
“Welcome Karthik,” she is Anusha, my sister’s daughter.
“Ambika is ready,” she added. Karthik was smiling as usual.
She had developed some kind of liking for him. She didn’t want to show her discomfort so she chose to smile back at him and she stood there listening to Karthik’s story as to how he met him in the train. She was so confused. It took her sometime to realize that possibly he was going to be her sister’s would be.
“Thank God! I did not share my feelings with anyone” she muttered within.
“Let it be a Howrah Mail Secret.”
The Howrah Mail
This was the story I wrote when I was joining VIT. I was in the train I felt like writing this. Usually writing, reading and talking is my best pastimes in the train but if there’s not a good company then I am back to something creative. This was the first story I wrote on my own after school when no one was there to give me a topic and say, “You have to write a story beginning with…..or no one was there to restrict my flow of thoughts and expressions by giving me a word limit.” It is not having much of a good plot or something. It was my first attempt and I remember exactly when I wrote it. I wrote this on 9th July 2005.
Everything seemed clear from one side of the glass window of the AC 2coach but the people on the other side could not see the feelings being reciprocated on the other side. A girl wearing a black denim jeans and a white shirt casual shirt with brown stripes ran across the compartment, opening the push able door with force and stood there at the doorway waving to her mother. “Bye amma. Take care,” she said.
“Bye Anu,” her mother replied with tears welled up in her eyes. Not able to control herself the girl went back and sat near the window wiping a tear or two from the corner of her eyes.
“Ah! The lower berth again. I can look after my luggage well and sleep peacefully,” Anu muttered to herself. The whistle blew and the train started. Soon there was the sound of heavy footsteps that ended near Anu’s compartment. An elderly couple came in pushing the curtain on one side. They had 2 big suitcases and a leather bag. They looked quite well off. The lady had worn a diamond nose stud that was shining even in that dim light of the neon bulb in the small compartment. She had a red round bindi on her forehead and she had worn a south cotton maroon saree. Anu looked at them and tried to help them out in arranging their luggage. “Perfect Madrasi” Anu said to herself with a murk. She dare not react so much as she herself was one like them.
“Where are you going?” the lady asked Anu.
“To Chennai,” there came a flat answer from Anu. She didn’t want to speak a lot. The lady asked again, “Which berth have you got?”Anu had expected this question.
“Em…. Errr…. Lower berth,” Anu said.
“Can you please exchange the lower berth with my berth?” the lady asked politely.
Before Anu could reply the lady spoke again.
“Old bones you know! I cannot climb up. There must be some rules to provide only lower berth to the senior citizens,” she said.
“Yes, they do provide if you mention you are a senior citizen,” Anu said.
“We were a bit late in booking the ticket,” the lady said giving a mischievous yet innocent look on her face. Anu had no choice but accept it.
“Okay. I shall change,” she said.
Now it was the old man who started. “Who is in this seat?” he asked pointing at the lower berth in front of Anu.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“We are Mr. and Mrs. Iyer,” saying this he smiled at Anu.
“Your good name please.”
“Anusha. Anusha Krishnamurthy.”
“Oh! You also an Iyer Brahmin,” the lady said happily.
“Hmmm. Yes,” Anu said with a forceful smile.
The next moment their conversation began. Anu didn’t want to speak so much. She wanted to sleep for sometime but she couldn’t move for the next thirty minutes. The lady kept talking to her in Tamil asking the basic questions of her hometown, family etc.
After all this, Anu had a good sleep. She kept wondering who could be the fourth person. She just wished it could be some girl of her age whom she could talk to and spend the rest 25-30 hours in the train instead of answering the questions of the elderly couple. Time passed and she was quite refreshed by the nap. She was reading her novel when the train halted. She was jolted and pushed to one side of the berth. The iron rod hurt her in her knuckles. “Ouch!” she grumbled in pain. The first impulse was to look at her watch. “What station could it be?” she wondered. She looked at the timetable she had. “Oh! Kharagpur. Right on time,” she mumbled.
No sooner did she say this than a handsome guy somewhere in his late twenties entered. He took his seat in the lower berth beside Mr. Iyer. Anu bent herself a little and peeped from her book. He had a well shaved face, straight, smooth and shining black hair. His height would be somewhere around 5’9”and he was neither too slim nor too healthy. He wore a grayish blue causal pant and a pale yellow t- shirt. He had a very casual yet impressive look. Still she wanted a better view of him but it would not be good for her get down so she was engrossed in her book again.
The old couple kept him engrossed too as he had to exchange seats again. He too had to pass through the same stages of question answer session as Anu had too. Anu wasn’t reading her book but listening to their conversation. She found out that his name was Karthik Subramanian and he was also going to Chennai. Anu went back to where she had stopped reading. She didn’t seem so interested now. It was 9pm already. The elderly couple already started having dinner. Anu sat up and looked down. Karthik was busy listening to music from his i- pod. The couple finished their dinner and it was time for them to sleep. Karthik had to come up and sit. Their dinner was yet to be served. Anu kept looking at him then suddenly she realized that she was actually staring at him. She just blinked her eyes and turned to look here and there. She looked at him again and this time he too was actually smiling at her. It was a refreshing one. Just like coffee. He didn’t speak and neither did Anu have the courage to speak first. She felt it would be so awkward to speak to a guy all of a sudden. After dinner, the lights were switched off and Anu went to sleep. He was lying down and listening to music again. Half his face was covered with the blanket. Suddenly Anu realized that she hadn’t locked her suitcase. She didn’t feel like putting on the light as the other 3 might wake up. She tried to hold the loop with her hand but she couldn’t find it. She tried to give some light from her mobile but no use. She kept struggling for another 2 minutes. “Oh! Where are you stupid loop?” she said irritatingly yet softly.
Suddenly a polite voice said, “May I help you ma’am.”
Anu was taken aback as she got a bit panicked.
Karthik was holding his mobile with its torch light on and gave it to Anu.
“Here. Take this,” he said.
Anu got hold of the loop and fastened her suitcase handle with a chain.
“Thank you,” she said and gave this cell phone back.
She got back to her seat. Karthik was smiling at her again. Anu felt this was an opportunity to speak but then she hesitated. Before she could think more he asked her, “Where are you going ma’am?” It was easier for Anusha now.
“I am going to Chennai.”
“Me too,” Karthik added and brought his hand forward for a warm welcome.
“Oh! Yes, Hi! This is Anusha.”
“Myself…….”
“Karthik, am I right?” Before Karthik could wonder and say anything she replied back saying, “I just heard you telling it to Mr. and Mrs. Iyer.”
She felt elated as the conversation went on.
“So you are a college student?” he asked her.
“Yes. I am 3rd year student of Biotechnology from SRM University, Chennai,” Anu said confidently.
“What about you?”
“I am working in Kharagpur in an IT company,” he said.
“You are going to Chennai for…?”
“I have got an important meeting tomorrow.”
“Oh! Okay.”
They kept talking for a while but it was in whispers now as it was too late.
“I need to sleep now. Hope you don’t mind,” Anu said with a yawn.
“Sure. Why not? Sure ma’am. Good night. We can talk in the morning.”
“Err… would you please not call me ma’am,” Anu said hesitatingly.
“That’ll be fine,” he said with a smile. It was that smile that Anu liked a lot.
Anu couldn’t sleep. She felt restless. She felt as if 2 eyes were continuously looking at her. She tried to open her eyes slowly and looked towards the berth where Karthik was sleeping. He was fast asleep with his back facing towards her.
“What’s happening to me? Why am I getting such feelings and why do I feel attracted towards that guy?” she questioned herself.
There was no answer so she thought it was better she put herself to sleep again and ward of any unwanted thoughts but the same smiling face lingered in her mind. The next day morning she woke up late. It was already 11am. The elderly couple were sitting and talking to each other. Anu looked down and then towards Karthik’s seat. He wasn’t there. She didn’t feel like getting up but it was time for her to brush and get fresh at least. She got down and got fresh. She badly needed a coffee to refresh herself. She tried asking some of the vendors for coffee but it was too late for them to serve coffee still. “It is lunch time Anusha. They will not get coffee now,” Mrs. Iyer said. “Oh! No,” Anu said in dismay. “I am late.”
“Here have this one,” Karthik said handing over a cup of coffee to Anu. He had been hearing their short talk for a while
His reactions were so sudden that Anu didn’t know how to react. She didn’t feel like taking it but also wanted coffee badly.
“What about you? You got it for yourself, right?”
“Well, I can get one for myself again. The train will halt for 10 minutes in this station.”
“Okay. Thank You,” Anu said taking a sip of the coffee.
The next moment he was back with another cup of coffee and asked Anu, “So, how was the coffee?”
“Seriously it was too good. I badly wanted one.”
She opened her purse and handed over a 10 rupee note to Karthik.
“Here, keep this. I don’t have change.”
“Eh! I don’t want. After all it is just a coffee.”
“No. I don’t like to keep anything pending especially when it comes to money.”
After a lot of pestering he agreed.
“Okay! I will take it but I don’t have change either so you have to wait till tomorrow so that I can give you another coffee,” he said this and laughed.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer also joined with in.
Anu smiled. He seemed very helpful and looked as if he was a person of values. Still, Anu thought it was too early to decide.
“Which book are you reading?” he asked.
“Oh! It is The God of Small Things.”
“Arundhati Roy?”
“Yes. It has won the booker prize.”
“Yes. I read about it. How’s it going?”
“Very boring in the beginning but now I have got some interest.”
“What about you? What kind of books do you prefer?” Anu asked him keeping her book aside.
“Well, it depends on the time I have and I am not too much into reading. I do that at times. My schedule has become so hectic that I stick to magazines only.”
contd.........
Everything seemed clear from one side of the glass window of the AC 2coach but the people on the other side could not see the feelings being reciprocated on the other side. A girl wearing a black denim jeans and a white shirt casual shirt with brown stripes ran across the compartment, opening the push able door with force and stood there at the doorway waving to her mother. “Bye amma. Take care,” she said.
“Bye Anu,” her mother replied with tears welled up in her eyes. Not able to control herself the girl went back and sat near the window wiping a tear or two from the corner of her eyes.
“Ah! The lower berth again. I can look after my luggage well and sleep peacefully,” Anu muttered to herself. The whistle blew and the train started. Soon there was the sound of heavy footsteps that ended near Anu’s compartment. An elderly couple came in pushing the curtain on one side. They had 2 big suitcases and a leather bag. They looked quite well off. The lady had worn a diamond nose stud that was shining even in that dim light of the neon bulb in the small compartment. She had a red round bindi on her forehead and she had worn a south cotton maroon saree. Anu looked at them and tried to help them out in arranging their luggage. “Perfect Madrasi” Anu said to herself with a murk. She dare not react so much as she herself was one like them.
“Where are you going?” the lady asked Anu.
“To Chennai,” there came a flat answer from Anu. She didn’t want to speak a lot. The lady asked again, “Which berth have you got?”Anu had expected this question.
“Em…. Errr…. Lower berth,” Anu said.
“Can you please exchange the lower berth with my berth?” the lady asked politely.
Before Anu could reply the lady spoke again.
“Old bones you know! I cannot climb up. There must be some rules to provide only lower berth to the senior citizens,” she said.
“Yes, they do provide if you mention you are a senior citizen,” Anu said.
“We were a bit late in booking the ticket,” the lady said giving a mischievous yet innocent look on her face. Anu had no choice but accept it.
“Okay. I shall change,” she said.
Now it was the old man who started. “Who is in this seat?” he asked pointing at the lower berth in front of Anu.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“We are Mr. and Mrs. Iyer,” saying this he smiled at Anu.
“Your good name please.”
“Anusha. Anusha Krishnamurthy.”
“Oh! You also an Iyer Brahmin,” the lady said happily.
“Hmmm. Yes,” Anu said with a forceful smile.
The next moment their conversation began. Anu didn’t want to speak so much. She wanted to sleep for sometime but she couldn’t move for the next thirty minutes. The lady kept talking to her in Tamil asking the basic questions of her hometown, family etc.
After all this, Anu had a good sleep. She kept wondering who could be the fourth person. She just wished it could be some girl of her age whom she could talk to and spend the rest 25-30 hours in the train instead of answering the questions of the elderly couple. Time passed and she was quite refreshed by the nap. She was reading her novel when the train halted. She was jolted and pushed to one side of the berth. The iron rod hurt her in her knuckles. “Ouch!” she grumbled in pain. The first impulse was to look at her watch. “What station could it be?” she wondered. She looked at the timetable she had. “Oh! Kharagpur. Right on time,” she mumbled.
No sooner did she say this than a handsome guy somewhere in his late twenties entered. He took his seat in the lower berth beside Mr. Iyer. Anu bent herself a little and peeped from her book. He had a well shaved face, straight, smooth and shining black hair. His height would be somewhere around 5’9”and he was neither too slim nor too healthy. He wore a grayish blue causal pant and a pale yellow t- shirt. He had a very casual yet impressive look. Still she wanted a better view of him but it would not be good for her get down so she was engrossed in her book again.
The old couple kept him engrossed too as he had to exchange seats again. He too had to pass through the same stages of question answer session as Anu had too. Anu wasn’t reading her book but listening to their conversation. She found out that his name was Karthik Subramanian and he was also going to Chennai. Anu went back to where she had stopped reading. She didn’t seem so interested now. It was 9pm already. The elderly couple already started having dinner. Anu sat up and looked down. Karthik was busy listening to music from his i- pod. The couple finished their dinner and it was time for them to sleep. Karthik had to come up and sit. Their dinner was yet to be served. Anu kept looking at him then suddenly she realized that she was actually staring at him. She just blinked her eyes and turned to look here and there. She looked at him again and this time he too was actually smiling at her. It was a refreshing one. Just like coffee. He didn’t speak and neither did Anu have the courage to speak first. She felt it would be so awkward to speak to a guy all of a sudden. After dinner, the lights were switched off and Anu went to sleep. He was lying down and listening to music again. Half his face was covered with the blanket. Suddenly Anu realized that she hadn’t locked her suitcase. She didn’t feel like putting on the light as the other 3 might wake up. She tried to hold the loop with her hand but she couldn’t find it. She tried to give some light from her mobile but no use. She kept struggling for another 2 minutes. “Oh! Where are you stupid loop?” she said irritatingly yet softly.
Suddenly a polite voice said, “May I help you ma’am.”
Anu was taken aback as she got a bit panicked.
Karthik was holding his mobile with its torch light on and gave it to Anu.
“Here. Take this,” he said.
Anu got hold of the loop and fastened her suitcase handle with a chain.
“Thank you,” she said and gave this cell phone back.
She got back to her seat. Karthik was smiling at her again. Anu felt this was an opportunity to speak but then she hesitated. Before she could think more he asked her, “Where are you going ma’am?” It was easier for Anusha now.
“I am going to Chennai.”
“Me too,” Karthik added and brought his hand forward for a warm welcome.
“Oh! Yes, Hi! This is Anusha.”
“Myself…….”
“Karthik, am I right?” Before Karthik could wonder and say anything she replied back saying, “I just heard you telling it to Mr. and Mrs. Iyer.”
She felt elated as the conversation went on.
“So you are a college student?” he asked her.
“Yes. I am 3rd year student of Biotechnology from SRM University, Chennai,” Anu said confidently.
“What about you?”
“I am working in Kharagpur in an IT company,” he said.
“You are going to Chennai for…?”
“I have got an important meeting tomorrow.”
“Oh! Okay.”
They kept talking for a while but it was in whispers now as it was too late.
“I need to sleep now. Hope you don’t mind,” Anu said with a yawn.
“Sure. Why not? Sure ma’am. Good night. We can talk in the morning.”
“Err… would you please not call me ma’am,” Anu said hesitatingly.
“That’ll be fine,” he said with a smile. It was that smile that Anu liked a lot.
Anu couldn’t sleep. She felt restless. She felt as if 2 eyes were continuously looking at her. She tried to open her eyes slowly and looked towards the berth where Karthik was sleeping. He was fast asleep with his back facing towards her.
“What’s happening to me? Why am I getting such feelings and why do I feel attracted towards that guy?” she questioned herself.
There was no answer so she thought it was better she put herself to sleep again and ward of any unwanted thoughts but the same smiling face lingered in her mind. The next day morning she woke up late. It was already 11am. The elderly couple were sitting and talking to each other. Anu looked down and then towards Karthik’s seat. He wasn’t there. She didn’t feel like getting up but it was time for her to brush and get fresh at least. She got down and got fresh. She badly needed a coffee to refresh herself. She tried asking some of the vendors for coffee but it was too late for them to serve coffee still. “It is lunch time Anusha. They will not get coffee now,” Mrs. Iyer said. “Oh! No,” Anu said in dismay. “I am late.”
“Here have this one,” Karthik said handing over a cup of coffee to Anu. He had been hearing their short talk for a while
His reactions were so sudden that Anu didn’t know how to react. She didn’t feel like taking it but also wanted coffee badly.
“What about you? You got it for yourself, right?”
“Well, I can get one for myself again. The train will halt for 10 minutes in this station.”
“Okay. Thank You,” Anu said taking a sip of the coffee.
The next moment he was back with another cup of coffee and asked Anu, “So, how was the coffee?”
“Seriously it was too good. I badly wanted one.”
She opened her purse and handed over a 10 rupee note to Karthik.
“Here, keep this. I don’t have change.”
“Eh! I don’t want. After all it is just a coffee.”
“No. I don’t like to keep anything pending especially when it comes to money.”
After a lot of pestering he agreed.
“Okay! I will take it but I don’t have change either so you have to wait till tomorrow so that I can give you another coffee,” he said this and laughed.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer also joined with in.
Anu smiled. He seemed very helpful and looked as if he was a person of values. Still, Anu thought it was too early to decide.
“Which book are you reading?” he asked.
“Oh! It is The God of Small Things.”
“Arundhati Roy?”
“Yes. It has won the booker prize.”
“Yes. I read about it. How’s it going?”
“Very boring in the beginning but now I have got some interest.”
“What about you? What kind of books do you prefer?” Anu asked him keeping her book aside.
“Well, it depends on the time I have and I am not too much into reading. I do that at times. My schedule has become so hectic that I stick to magazines only.”
contd.........
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
To the coasts of Karnataka( Day 4)
15-7-2008
It was quite a relaxed day and dad and I walked around Udupi just to get some idea about it. Our train was at night and we had the whole day. I kept searching for some good book stores where I could get some story books and colouring books for my 4 year old cousin Aditi. In that exploration I found that Udupi did have some good collections and unique ones which I wouldn’t get in Jamshedpur or in a metro city. I wanted an umbrella for myself as they looked very colourful and attractive. Colour has always attracted me but there was no use as I already had one for myself.
In this exploration I found a distinguishing characteristic in the women there. I had the ability to find out the place from which any person would belong just by looking at them as people from different place had their own style. Either it is the way they speak, the clothes they wore, the dressing style or behaviour.
To be precise, Bengali women who were married generally wore red and white plastic bangles and they had a shine on their faces, women from Bihar wore a thick line of sindoor with red bangles generally, and women from Gujarat could be distinguished by the kind of saree they wore. They are very neatly clad in a light weight cotton saree. Women from Tamil Nadu usually put flowers in their hair and they are mostly leaden with gold jewellery which is generally very prominent contrasting the look of the women from Andhra Pradesh who dressed up in the same way as the former but they generally had a yellow tinge because of the turmeric applied on their face. They had a kind of calmness in their faces. Women from Kerala had a very simple yet confident look. They mostly leave their hair open and knot it at the end. To go to the far north, women from Punjab had contrasting characteristics. They always kept a rich look on their face.
So, women in Karnataka also had something different. They wore a mangalsutra around their neck which had black beads on either sides and there were beads of gold in the middle in contrast to the women from other places who differed with this one. This was a bit long and it looked the same when I saw some of the women residents there. They had a very soft accent which was dragging yet pleasing to hear. I liked the look and the mangalsutra made them look more beautiful.
That evening was great. The weather became very nice in the evening. The cool breeze made me realize that I was in a coastal area.
So, here I end my short yet refreshing first time visit to Karnataka. I have to live here for 3 more years and hope I can learn Kannada soon.
It was quite a relaxed day and dad and I walked around Udupi just to get some idea about it. Our train was at night and we had the whole day. I kept searching for some good book stores where I could get some story books and colouring books for my 4 year old cousin Aditi. In that exploration I found that Udupi did have some good collections and unique ones which I wouldn’t get in Jamshedpur or in a metro city. I wanted an umbrella for myself as they looked very colourful and attractive. Colour has always attracted me but there was no use as I already had one for myself.
In this exploration I found a distinguishing characteristic in the women there. I had the ability to find out the place from which any person would belong just by looking at them as people from different place had their own style. Either it is the way they speak, the clothes they wore, the dressing style or behaviour.
To be precise, Bengali women who were married generally wore red and white plastic bangles and they had a shine on their faces, women from Bihar wore a thick line of sindoor with red bangles generally, and women from Gujarat could be distinguished by the kind of saree they wore. They are very neatly clad in a light weight cotton saree. Women from Tamil Nadu usually put flowers in their hair and they are mostly leaden with gold jewellery which is generally very prominent contrasting the look of the women from Andhra Pradesh who dressed up in the same way as the former but they generally had a yellow tinge because of the turmeric applied on their face. They had a kind of calmness in their faces. Women from Kerala had a very simple yet confident look. They mostly leave their hair open and knot it at the end. To go to the far north, women from Punjab had contrasting characteristics. They always kept a rich look on their face.
So, women in Karnataka also had something different. They wore a mangalsutra around their neck which had black beads on either sides and there were beads of gold in the middle in contrast to the women from other places who differed with this one. This was a bit long and it looked the same when I saw some of the women residents there. They had a very soft accent which was dragging yet pleasing to hear. I liked the look and the mangalsutra made them look more beautiful.
That evening was great. The weather became very nice in the evening. The cool breeze made me realize that I was in a coastal area.
So, here I end my short yet refreshing first time visit to Karnataka. I have to live here for 3 more years and hope I can learn Kannada soon.
To the coasts of Karnataka( Day 3)
14-7-2008
This was the most crucial day for me. I was quite familiar with place by then but my dad still was confused. The arrangement of the buildings was like a maze. If one has a look at the map, there were buildings spread wide apart and it was not so easy to know the nook and corner of the campus. VIT had been built later and the plan was chalked out well. The major difference was that Manipal University was spread at a larger area than VIT but the way VIT has been constructed is good enough to attract the crowd. We were almost in time to the waiting hall when I met some of my friends whom I had met during the examination. There were new faces only and from different parts of the country. We entered the counselling hall. The procedure seemed familiar and even the staff were the same. When the Director Admission started announcing the rules, I started feeling void. They had not put the chart showing the number of seats available yet. That was unusual. Thirty minutes passed. I shut my eyes tightly. I didn’t know how to react. The number of seats would decide today whether I could make it or not. It was there the very next moment. My dad took out his glasses and started reading. My first choice was Bio Chemistry; it had 21 seats in Manipal and 25 seats in Mangalore. It was the same for others like Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology and Pharmacology. Molecular Biology and Human Genetics had been reduced to 2 years and it had only 5 seats. I had no hopes with that though it seemed lucrative. After filling the forms they called out the ranks. It started with 17.
Phew... I heaved a sigh of relief. 16 candidates absent and I had better chances. I strained my ears to hear every part of the announcement they made. In another 20 minutes I was called. Now I was confident. The seat is mine. Still there were only 3 seats allotted for Medical Bio Chemistry. The seats got filled for Molecular Biology first then Microbiology started its pace along with Bio Chemistry. In between I was surprised to see that people were willing taking Anatomy and Physiology. I felt really good to see people with varied interests. I spoke to many in this 20 minutes wait till my name was called and of course my old friends were there who had written the exam with me at the Kolkata center. I was happy. My dad was still stuck to the screen but relaxed. I paid the fees, got my admission letter and then the first thing I did was I spoke to my mom. My dad kept watching people. He refused to speak anything. He told me, “Do your work fast. Don’t waste time in talking. I am sitting here.”
It was all done by 1 pm. The hostel, the admission and we also got a chance to see one of the flats which we could get. The first impression of the look was: VIT hostels are the best. I still hadn’t visited many girls’ hostels but when I went to some they looked okay to me but not bad either. Still as I said, too early to say anything as I had seen only 3 or 4 of them. It was a relaxed day altogether. We also met a professor and for the first time I entered the Bio Chemistry Department. I realized that I was in a place with an atmosphere that made me feel I was in a hospital. All future doctors with lab coats and stethoscopes walking here and there, some with a badge bearing their names and some without them I liked it in fact I had always wanted to study this course in a medical college. Medical Bio Chemistry was something I had wanted from the time I was in B.Sc and my dream college was JIPMER, Pondicherry. Still, KMC was none the less.
I was on which cloud I don’t know myself. I don’t think it was 9. I beg to differ, it must be more.
This was the most crucial day for me. I was quite familiar with place by then but my dad still was confused. The arrangement of the buildings was like a maze. If one has a look at the map, there were buildings spread wide apart and it was not so easy to know the nook and corner of the campus. VIT had been built later and the plan was chalked out well. The major difference was that Manipal University was spread at a larger area than VIT but the way VIT has been constructed is good enough to attract the crowd. We were almost in time to the waiting hall when I met some of my friends whom I had met during the examination. There were new faces only and from different parts of the country. We entered the counselling hall. The procedure seemed familiar and even the staff were the same. When the Director Admission started announcing the rules, I started feeling void. They had not put the chart showing the number of seats available yet. That was unusual. Thirty minutes passed. I shut my eyes tightly. I didn’t know how to react. The number of seats would decide today whether I could make it or not. It was there the very next moment. My dad took out his glasses and started reading. My first choice was Bio Chemistry; it had 21 seats in Manipal and 25 seats in Mangalore. It was the same for others like Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology and Pharmacology. Molecular Biology and Human Genetics had been reduced to 2 years and it had only 5 seats. I had no hopes with that though it seemed lucrative. After filling the forms they called out the ranks. It started with 17.
Phew... I heaved a sigh of relief. 16 candidates absent and I had better chances. I strained my ears to hear every part of the announcement they made. In another 20 minutes I was called. Now I was confident. The seat is mine. Still there were only 3 seats allotted for Medical Bio Chemistry. The seats got filled for Molecular Biology first then Microbiology started its pace along with Bio Chemistry. In between I was surprised to see that people were willing taking Anatomy and Physiology. I felt really good to see people with varied interests. I spoke to many in this 20 minutes wait till my name was called and of course my old friends were there who had written the exam with me at the Kolkata center. I was happy. My dad was still stuck to the screen but relaxed. I paid the fees, got my admission letter and then the first thing I did was I spoke to my mom. My dad kept watching people. He refused to speak anything. He told me, “Do your work fast. Don’t waste time in talking. I am sitting here.”
It was all done by 1 pm. The hostel, the admission and we also got a chance to see one of the flats which we could get. The first impression of the look was: VIT hostels are the best. I still hadn’t visited many girls’ hostels but when I went to some they looked okay to me but not bad either. Still as I said, too early to say anything as I had seen only 3 or 4 of them. It was a relaxed day altogether. We also met a professor and for the first time I entered the Bio Chemistry Department. I realized that I was in a place with an atmosphere that made me feel I was in a hospital. All future doctors with lab coats and stethoscopes walking here and there, some with a badge bearing their names and some without them I liked it in fact I had always wanted to study this course in a medical college. Medical Bio Chemistry was something I had wanted from the time I was in B.Sc and my dream college was JIPMER, Pondicherry. Still, KMC was none the less.
I was on which cloud I don’t know myself. I don’t think it was 9. I beg to differ, it must be more.
To the coasts of Karnataka (Day 2)
13- 7- 2008
I had my first round of counselling at 2pm. We planned to leave a bit early as it was our first visit and I could get an idea that Manipal University was spread out in acres and it would be difficult to find out places there. We took a city bus and reached the Tiger Circle bus stop. It was a 20 min ride and Manipal was situated at a greater altitude than Udupi. There was difference of ages between the two places. Udupi was in the Stone Age while Manipal had been developed very well. (That was what the local people there said). Manipal was cool to look at. The hostel buildings could be seen on the left as we moved towards the college.
I stood up to leave when the conducted nudged me with his elbow and said, “ Tisss.. tissss..” I didn’t like the gesture in the first place and then I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. I was taken aback first, I thought why must he be talking of TISS, it is in Mumbai (well just kidding)? This was the first thought that came to my mind. After having survived in places where I could understand the local language that is Hindi, Tamil and Bengali I was having a tough time with Kannada. My dad was managing with Tamil but I was confused as to which language I must use. Either I must speak in Hindi or in Tamil or in the sign language. Sign language worked in such cases when one is not able to understand what the other person is trying to say. I looked quizzically at the conductor. He showed me the tickets in his hand and asked in action if I had taken the ticket. Ah…..while getting down he was asking me that. Well, I showed him mine and got down. I was not feeling good. All that I had heard all this while was songs and conversations in Kannada and I didn’t know a single word of it. I was remembering my north Indian friends then, they would have also felt the same when they were in VIT. It was in our company that they learnt Tamil. At that moment I seriously needed someone who could teach me Kannada.
We got down and went inside the building just in front of the bus stop. Near the stop there was a pale yellow coloured old building with old fashioned windows and it read, Kasturba Medical College. Then I took a deep breath and looked at it again. Possibly I would be studying there. Dad walked ahead and I was walking behind slowly, observing the place and the people. In fact if someone noticed my facial expressions then they would know I was new to the place. Dad turned around and called me, “Seekram va, approma pakkalam.”(Come fast, you can see all that later). My dad was always hyperactive; I think that is why I had in my blood too. There was 1 hour more and we were in our destination but still hadn’t reached the counselling hall. Now it was time for me to ask the people for the way. Many students came and I asked them the way to the counselling hall. They looked liked first years and as I had thought they didn’t know where the counselling hall was. Then I found some girls who were first year Nursing students and they helped us to move out of that place and reach the main building. It was another 1 km walk. I could see the huge (seriously it was huge) Main Building which was on the prospectus covers. The first impression one could get was: It doesn’t seem like a college’s administrative building but like a MNC with the grayish – black tinted glass with manipal.edu reflecting from it in when the sun rays fell on it. It looked beautiful .Well, before that, there was a food court, it was having 4 floors, fully air conditioned and it looked quite good. One, like the food courts in the shopping malls. We were at the entrance next and I was searching my name on the notice board. I got mine but to my dismay there were three more with rank 75 as mine. I looked again and there were many ranks which had been secured by 3-4 candidates. I actually didn’t have much chance today for Medical Biotechnology as there were only 21 seats. It was possible only if I had been somewhere below 50 but mine was 75. Still, there was a kind of relaxation in mind that I had a better chance the next day. There was big fountain in front of the main building.
My comparisons started. Was it like my VIT? Did I get the same warmth when I entered here? There was one thing common here, the fountain and as one entered there were flags of different countries and in VIT we had the different clocks showing the time of the main countries. This showed that both places had a cosmopolitan crowd. This main building was certainly spooky as there was pin drop silence in the waiting hall. May be it was Sunday and there were only those who had come for the counselling. We sat in a sofa and waited. I looked at people and the kind of students. The whole time, I didn’t speak a word to my dad. He was also quiet and I knew he had a question in his mind that why was I so quiet. It was obvious as my mind was already preoccupied with innumerous thoughts. I was actually listening to the conversation that was going on between 2 girls sitting right in front of me. They looked, hep, the chill out kind and after sometime I realized that they would certainly be from this college because of the confidence with which they spoke. I tried to speak to them and got some idea about the conversation.
One of them asked me, “You are from which college?”
I proudly said in an authoritative tone, “VIT.”
The moment I said this, her expression changed and I felt like just moving out from there.
I asked her, “Why, what happened, what’s wrong?”
She said, “Oh, how do you study there? There are so many students in one batch. I had joined VIT and I was there for some days and then I left.”
“Oh, I see,” I said biting my teeth.
Well, it was the truth what she said but what she spoke later made me angry.
She said, “We never had so much of crowd even in B.Sc here. We had a beautiful lab.”
Well, everyone will boast about their college and those girls looked like that. At least I would not do this way unless it was genuine.
I asked her, “Then why did you join VIT? You got such a good rank here then you could have just thought of joining here again.”
She was speechless for a moment. She smiled back and said in an uneasy way, “Ya, actually I thought I could try for a change.”
I didn’t want to say anything more. I had done my job and then I was feeling better. We were called into the counselling hall the next moment. It was in the underground and looked good. It gave a serious kind of atmosphere. The screen showed the number of seats for Medical Biotechnology and Regenerative medicine. They started calling out people one by one and then I knew my rank wasn’t going to come for Medical Biotechnology. I was called soon but they offered me Regenerative medicine but I didn’t want that. I was waitlisted for M.Sc Medical Biotechnology. We had no more work. When I came out, I saw the same girls again. This time they came and spoke to asking if I had got or not. I liked the attitude then. They actually helped me with some basic info about the college and the hostels there. I bade good bye and the same girl whom I had spoken to in the morning said while going, “All the best for tomorrow. I hope you get what you want.” I smiled back at her.
I went to the food court with my dad and we were actually searching what we could eat that time. There was Subway, Barista, Noodle King and more but I was not interested in eating but watching the crowd there. I would keep my comments reserved to myself now as it was too early for me to say anything. We left the place and then went to the famous Udupi Krishna temple which was coincidently very near to our hotel. I had heard a lot about it and when I went there felt really good. It was not like a temple but it looked like a serene place where all could just come, sit and go. I can’t explain more as divine places are divine and there’s nothing that can explain divinity.
I can only say that after I came back home I was watching an episode in Discovery Travel and Living and they showed the Udupi Krishna Temple.
I had my first round of counselling at 2pm. We planned to leave a bit early as it was our first visit and I could get an idea that Manipal University was spread out in acres and it would be difficult to find out places there. We took a city bus and reached the Tiger Circle bus stop. It was a 20 min ride and Manipal was situated at a greater altitude than Udupi. There was difference of ages between the two places. Udupi was in the Stone Age while Manipal had been developed very well. (That was what the local people there said). Manipal was cool to look at. The hostel buildings could be seen on the left as we moved towards the college.
I stood up to leave when the conducted nudged me with his elbow and said, “ Tisss.. tissss..” I didn’t like the gesture in the first place and then I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. I was taken aback first, I thought why must he be talking of TISS, it is in Mumbai (well just kidding)? This was the first thought that came to my mind. After having survived in places where I could understand the local language that is Hindi, Tamil and Bengali I was having a tough time with Kannada. My dad was managing with Tamil but I was confused as to which language I must use. Either I must speak in Hindi or in Tamil or in the sign language. Sign language worked in such cases when one is not able to understand what the other person is trying to say. I looked quizzically at the conductor. He showed me the tickets in his hand and asked in action if I had taken the ticket. Ah…..while getting down he was asking me that. Well, I showed him mine and got down. I was not feeling good. All that I had heard all this while was songs and conversations in Kannada and I didn’t know a single word of it. I was remembering my north Indian friends then, they would have also felt the same when they were in VIT. It was in our company that they learnt Tamil. At that moment I seriously needed someone who could teach me Kannada.
We got down and went inside the building just in front of the bus stop. Near the stop there was a pale yellow coloured old building with old fashioned windows and it read, Kasturba Medical College. Then I took a deep breath and looked at it again. Possibly I would be studying there. Dad walked ahead and I was walking behind slowly, observing the place and the people. In fact if someone noticed my facial expressions then they would know I was new to the place. Dad turned around and called me, “Seekram va, approma pakkalam.”(Come fast, you can see all that later). My dad was always hyperactive; I think that is why I had in my blood too. There was 1 hour more and we were in our destination but still hadn’t reached the counselling hall. Now it was time for me to ask the people for the way. Many students came and I asked them the way to the counselling hall. They looked liked first years and as I had thought they didn’t know where the counselling hall was. Then I found some girls who were first year Nursing students and they helped us to move out of that place and reach the main building. It was another 1 km walk. I could see the huge (seriously it was huge) Main Building which was on the prospectus covers. The first impression one could get was: It doesn’t seem like a college’s administrative building but like a MNC with the grayish – black tinted glass with manipal.edu reflecting from it in when the sun rays fell on it. It looked beautiful .Well, before that, there was a food court, it was having 4 floors, fully air conditioned and it looked quite good. One, like the food courts in the shopping malls. We were at the entrance next and I was searching my name on the notice board. I got mine but to my dismay there were three more with rank 75 as mine. I looked again and there were many ranks which had been secured by 3-4 candidates. I actually didn’t have much chance today for Medical Biotechnology as there were only 21 seats. It was possible only if I had been somewhere below 50 but mine was 75. Still, there was a kind of relaxation in mind that I had a better chance the next day. There was big fountain in front of the main building.
My comparisons started. Was it like my VIT? Did I get the same warmth when I entered here? There was one thing common here, the fountain and as one entered there were flags of different countries and in VIT we had the different clocks showing the time of the main countries. This showed that both places had a cosmopolitan crowd. This main building was certainly spooky as there was pin drop silence in the waiting hall. May be it was Sunday and there were only those who had come for the counselling. We sat in a sofa and waited. I looked at people and the kind of students. The whole time, I didn’t speak a word to my dad. He was also quiet and I knew he had a question in his mind that why was I so quiet. It was obvious as my mind was already preoccupied with innumerous thoughts. I was actually listening to the conversation that was going on between 2 girls sitting right in front of me. They looked, hep, the chill out kind and after sometime I realized that they would certainly be from this college because of the confidence with which they spoke. I tried to speak to them and got some idea about the conversation.
One of them asked me, “You are from which college?”
I proudly said in an authoritative tone, “VIT.”
The moment I said this, her expression changed and I felt like just moving out from there.
I asked her, “Why, what happened, what’s wrong?”
She said, “Oh, how do you study there? There are so many students in one batch. I had joined VIT and I was there for some days and then I left.”
“Oh, I see,” I said biting my teeth.
Well, it was the truth what she said but what she spoke later made me angry.
She said, “We never had so much of crowd even in B.Sc here. We had a beautiful lab.”
Well, everyone will boast about their college and those girls looked like that. At least I would not do this way unless it was genuine.
I asked her, “Then why did you join VIT? You got such a good rank here then you could have just thought of joining here again.”
She was speechless for a moment. She smiled back and said in an uneasy way, “Ya, actually I thought I could try for a change.”
I didn’t want to say anything more. I had done my job and then I was feeling better. We were called into the counselling hall the next moment. It was in the underground and looked good. It gave a serious kind of atmosphere. The screen showed the number of seats for Medical Biotechnology and Regenerative medicine. They started calling out people one by one and then I knew my rank wasn’t going to come for Medical Biotechnology. I was called soon but they offered me Regenerative medicine but I didn’t want that. I was waitlisted for M.Sc Medical Biotechnology. We had no more work. When I came out, I saw the same girls again. This time they came and spoke to asking if I had got or not. I liked the attitude then. They actually helped me with some basic info about the college and the hostels there. I bade good bye and the same girl whom I had spoken to in the morning said while going, “All the best for tomorrow. I hope you get what you want.” I smiled back at her.
I went to the food court with my dad and we were actually searching what we could eat that time. There was Subway, Barista, Noodle King and more but I was not interested in eating but watching the crowd there. I would keep my comments reserved to myself now as it was too early for me to say anything. We left the place and then went to the famous Udupi Krishna temple which was coincidently very near to our hotel. I had heard a lot about it and when I went there felt really good. It was not like a temple but it looked like a serene place where all could just come, sit and go. I can’t explain more as divine places are divine and there’s nothing that can explain divinity.
I can only say that after I came back home I was watching an episode in Discovery Travel and Living and they showed the Udupi Krishna Temple.
To the coasts of Karnataka (Day 1)
12-7-2008
I was not into blogging these days as I was busy with my counselling. I had been to Manipal for my counselling. It was a 2 day procedure but to be on the safer side dad took a time of 4 days. I was wondering as to what we would do there after counselling. We were in Chennai and from there we went to Mangalore first. I must tell you all that this was the first time I was traveling down south farther than Tamil Nadu. I had been to Palakkad in Kerala just once and I don’t remember anything as I was just 7 years old then. All trains to Mangalore took this route, that is , they travelled from Tamil Nadu and then entered Kerala and then taking a turn as the western ghats came in the middle, it entered Karnataka.
After Chennai the first station was Katpadi and before the station came it was my college, VIT. I was feeling really bad when I was passing by. The huge buildings seemed to question me, “You are leaving me and going?” I gave a sigh and replied to myself, “I really don’t know what the answer to this question is. I will not think much over this. I will do as things come by.” Actually there was no use thinking as no one knew what was going to happen. I was keeping my fingers crossed.
We reached Mangalore the next day. The whole journey was really good. It was beautiful to see only water everywhere with coconut trees and palm trees and I could find only lush greenery there. It was raining also as Kerala and Karnataka had been experiencing the monsoon rains still. Well, the weather was actually welcoming. We had to go to Udupi station which was the nearest place from Manipal. There were plenty of buses plying from Mangalore to Udupi at only 33 rupees per head. It was an economical ride but the journey was full of bumps and jerks. There were bridges on at every step as I could only see the green colour of the moss covered river bed that was hitting my eyes. I could see the tradition of Kerala with a mixture of Karnataka. I was observing the people of Karnataka closely for the first time. I had been to Bangalore twice but never had a chance to spend much time there. It was a 1 hour 45 min journey. My dad wasn’t happy with the bus journey but I didn’t know how time flew by. I was observing the local resident’s life, the culture and the houses also were of a different construct than one could see in Tamil Nadu. To tell the truth, I myself didn’t like bus journeys. I always preferred to travel by train but here we had only connections by road so there was no other option but I loved the journey( only as it was the first time for me). We reached Udupi. The bus had to pass through the city and it looked good. A small place tough but I found the life different. I was wondering, as to what could be the occupation of the people there. I could see mostly garment shops and shops will lots of umbrellas, indicating that it was a place rains were seen quite often. Our hotel was in Udupi and we found that it was the central place. We could explore the area better and just by talking a walk. That was the best part. Talking about the food, I had never tasted the proper Mangalorian food. It didn’t taste so good for my taste buds but I got used to it later in my 4 days stay.
I was not into blogging these days as I was busy with my counselling. I had been to Manipal for my counselling. It was a 2 day procedure but to be on the safer side dad took a time of 4 days. I was wondering as to what we would do there after counselling. We were in Chennai and from there we went to Mangalore first. I must tell you all that this was the first time I was traveling down south farther than Tamil Nadu. I had been to Palakkad in Kerala just once and I don’t remember anything as I was just 7 years old then. All trains to Mangalore took this route, that is , they travelled from Tamil Nadu and then entered Kerala and then taking a turn as the western ghats came in the middle, it entered Karnataka.
After Chennai the first station was Katpadi and before the station came it was my college, VIT. I was feeling really bad when I was passing by. The huge buildings seemed to question me, “You are leaving me and going?” I gave a sigh and replied to myself, “I really don’t know what the answer to this question is. I will not think much over this. I will do as things come by.” Actually there was no use thinking as no one knew what was going to happen. I was keeping my fingers crossed.
We reached Mangalore the next day. The whole journey was really good. It was beautiful to see only water everywhere with coconut trees and palm trees and I could find only lush greenery there. It was raining also as Kerala and Karnataka had been experiencing the monsoon rains still. Well, the weather was actually welcoming. We had to go to Udupi station which was the nearest place from Manipal. There were plenty of buses plying from Mangalore to Udupi at only 33 rupees per head. It was an economical ride but the journey was full of bumps and jerks. There were bridges on at every step as I could only see the green colour of the moss covered river bed that was hitting my eyes. I could see the tradition of Kerala with a mixture of Karnataka. I was observing the people of Karnataka closely for the first time. I had been to Bangalore twice but never had a chance to spend much time there. It was a 1 hour 45 min journey. My dad wasn’t happy with the bus journey but I didn’t know how time flew by. I was observing the local resident’s life, the culture and the houses also were of a different construct than one could see in Tamil Nadu. To tell the truth, I myself didn’t like bus journeys. I always preferred to travel by train but here we had only connections by road so there was no other option but I loved the journey( only as it was the first time for me). We reached Udupi. The bus had to pass through the city and it looked good. A small place tough but I found the life different. I was wondering, as to what could be the occupation of the people there. I could see mostly garment shops and shops will lots of umbrellas, indicating that it was a place rains were seen quite often. Our hotel was in Udupi and we found that it was the central place. We could explore the area better and just by talking a walk. That was the best part. Talking about the food, I had never tasted the proper Mangalorian food. It didn’t taste so good for my taste buds but I got used to it later in my 4 days stay.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
My Dream
Kuch is tarah……………
The irony is, I haven’t seen the video of my favourite song yet and don’t want to also because I have created my own video in my mind.
This is a song sung by Atif Aslam which made me go crazy about his singing because of the way he portrays different kinds of emotions in his songs. This is a song that is very close to my heart and in fact from then I started liking all his songs. People are still crazy about his songs like, Tere bin( Bas ek Pal), Pehli Nazar( Race) now it is Bakhuda tumhin ho( Kismat Konnection) and his albums like Mere Kahani and Doori but I always have Kuch is tarah as my first pick.
The irony is, I haven’t seen the video of my favourite song yet and don’t want to also because I have created my own video in my mind.
That was 'MY DREAM'.
Kuch Is Tarah
Kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
Aansun tere, saare, meri palkon pe sajade
Kuch is tarah teri palkein mere palkon se mila de
Aansun tere, saare, meri palkon pe sajade
Kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
Kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
Aansun se teri saare mere palkon pe sajade
Tu har ghadi , har waqt, mere saath raha hai
Haan yeh jism, khabhi rooh, khabhi paas raha hai
Jo bhi gum hain yeh tere unhein tu mera bata de
Kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
Aansun se teri saare mere palkon pe sajade
Aansun se teri saare mere palkon pe sajade
Mujhko to tere chehre pe yeh gum nahi jachta
Jayiz nahi lagta mujhe gum se tera rishta
Sun meri guzarish ise chehre se hatade
Sun meri guzarish ise chehre se hatade
Kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de
Aansun tere saare meri palkon pe sajade
Kuch is tarah teri palkein meri palkon se mila de.................
Wish , it could happen in reality also. Keep guessing what my dream was???
Monday, July 7, 2008
Arranged marriage- Yes Please!
Hold on… I am not talking about my marriage and neither am I here to have a debate on the very old topic, Love marriage vs. Arranged marriage.
This was the title of a program that was shown in TIMES NOW news channel yesterday at 9 PM. I was just turning channels when I saw this one. The title attracted me because; of late I was doing the job of a so called assistant match maker. [Just kidding]
I was trying to help out my uncle and aunt to find a suitable bride for my cousin brother as he wanted his parents to do the job. Surprising, isn’t it? When one hears a guy of THIS generation talk like this. This is nothing; I was surprised all the more when I saw this showcase in TIMES NOW. I must say, I found it quite interesting.
They had actually brought into reality some of the couples who had had an arranged marriage as they wanted it. This is what all parents want but today the scenario has changed completely. The parents themselves stress on their children to look for a bride/groom for themselves as they want their children to be happy. This has helped to bridge the gap. Now the point that was highlighted here was that there were some who wanted their parents to do the job just as my brother. For them, love marriage was not something to think about.
Reasons were different for different people but most of them were under the spell of one strong cliché that I will quote here - NO TIME FOR LOVE.
It’s not a man’s world alone anymore. All work and in their busy schedules and high tech jobs in the MNC’S , Software companies and other professional jobs it is really difficult for them to find time to actually find their kind of love. Some had the open mind and an open heart but could never find someone suitable with whom their frequency matched. Here comes a topic that I would relate with the latest movie -
Kismet Konnection, which yet to hit the big screens. So, what one needs to have for a love marriage apart from the life partner is a KISMET (Kimsat) to get one suitable and also a KONNECTION (Connection) has to be established between the two for the relationship to work out. I think the couples of today are not wrong if they say – “ARRANGED MARRIAGE- Yes Please!”
What do they do? They ultimately depend on an arranged marriage but even an arranged marriage is not the one like it used to be when our parents got married. The whole concept has changed keeping in mind the family values. There were some young couples who had a talk with the channel on this. They had also been a victim of the problems that I have stated earlier, so they tried this MATRIMONIAL thing. Internet of course has helped them a lot along with the match makers. They found them some of the best source by which they could interact and then the same story continues.
To quote some of the views of a newly married couple who felt Arranged marriage still had its own value in this present day.
The girl says speaks.
“For me arranged marriage was like a fairy tale. My parents told me to meet a guy out of the blue but I was not ready for it. I said NO to it but then they gave me an option to let them know if I was seeing anyone. I realized then that I had no other go as I hadn’t thought about it. Just keeping in mind that I didn’t want to sound too backward by going with arranged marriage I argued with my parents on it. Later when I thought over it I decided that I could go my way in this option too. It wasn’t that bad as people thought. I met some guys and among them I found one whose thoughts did match with mine and then I felt he was the perfect one for me. We dated each other for six months and then got married. So you see it was love cum arranged.”
She says this and is in all smiles.
When they spoke to the guy who is her husband now, he said – “I had never been so open to arranged marriage. In fact I used to advise people not to go for it. My parents gave me this option and I had to show my tantrums but I had no other go but to meet her. The first thing that happened was that my friends started shouting at me that I was not doing the right thing. Still, I had a positive attitude. I met her and spoke to her and then we got married. Now, after marriage I have something exciting everyday as I get to know my wife more.”
This was one such couple who spoke but they had many on the show. It was surprising for me as I had never expected such a thing and it was a nice exposure for the people as well as booster for the morale of all those eligible bachelors and maids who were yet to find their life partners.
So, I round of by saying that if one is not able to establish a KISMET KONNECTION then try out the other way round as even that needs a KISMAT and a CONNECTION. Still, if you don’t have any nothing to worry, watch the movie – KISMET KONNECTION (18th July) and check out how Shahid and Vidya try to establish this.
This was the title of a program that was shown in TIMES NOW news channel yesterday at 9 PM. I was just turning channels when I saw this one. The title attracted me because; of late I was doing the job of a so called assistant match maker. [Just kidding]
I was trying to help out my uncle and aunt to find a suitable bride for my cousin brother as he wanted his parents to do the job. Surprising, isn’t it? When one hears a guy of THIS generation talk like this. This is nothing; I was surprised all the more when I saw this showcase in TIMES NOW. I must say, I found it quite interesting.
They had actually brought into reality some of the couples who had had an arranged marriage as they wanted it. This is what all parents want but today the scenario has changed completely. The parents themselves stress on their children to look for a bride/groom for themselves as they want their children to be happy. This has helped to bridge the gap. Now the point that was highlighted here was that there were some who wanted their parents to do the job just as my brother. For them, love marriage was not something to think about.
Reasons were different for different people but most of them were under the spell of one strong cliché that I will quote here - NO TIME FOR LOVE.
It’s not a man’s world alone anymore. All work and in their busy schedules and high tech jobs in the MNC’S , Software companies and other professional jobs it is really difficult for them to find time to actually find their kind of love. Some had the open mind and an open heart but could never find someone suitable with whom their frequency matched. Here comes a topic that I would relate with the latest movie -
Kismet Konnection, which yet to hit the big screens. So, what one needs to have for a love marriage apart from the life partner is a KISMET (Kimsat) to get one suitable and also a KONNECTION (Connection) has to be established between the two for the relationship to work out. I think the couples of today are not wrong if they say – “ARRANGED MARRIAGE- Yes Please!”
What do they do? They ultimately depend on an arranged marriage but even an arranged marriage is not the one like it used to be when our parents got married. The whole concept has changed keeping in mind the family values. There were some young couples who had a talk with the channel on this. They had also been a victim of the problems that I have stated earlier, so they tried this MATRIMONIAL thing. Internet of course has helped them a lot along with the match makers. They found them some of the best source by which they could interact and then the same story continues.
To quote some of the views of a newly married couple who felt Arranged marriage still had its own value in this present day.
The girl says speaks.
“For me arranged marriage was like a fairy tale. My parents told me to meet a guy out of the blue but I was not ready for it. I said NO to it but then they gave me an option to let them know if I was seeing anyone. I realized then that I had no other go as I hadn’t thought about it. Just keeping in mind that I didn’t want to sound too backward by going with arranged marriage I argued with my parents on it. Later when I thought over it I decided that I could go my way in this option too. It wasn’t that bad as people thought. I met some guys and among them I found one whose thoughts did match with mine and then I felt he was the perfect one for me. We dated each other for six months and then got married. So you see it was love cum arranged.”
She says this and is in all smiles.
When they spoke to the guy who is her husband now, he said – “I had never been so open to arranged marriage. In fact I used to advise people not to go for it. My parents gave me this option and I had to show my tantrums but I had no other go but to meet her. The first thing that happened was that my friends started shouting at me that I was not doing the right thing. Still, I had a positive attitude. I met her and spoke to her and then we got married. Now, after marriage I have something exciting everyday as I get to know my wife more.”
This was one such couple who spoke but they had many on the show. It was surprising for me as I had never expected such a thing and it was a nice exposure for the people as well as booster for the morale of all those eligible bachelors and maids who were yet to find their life partners.
So, I round of by saying that if one is not able to establish a KISMET KONNECTION then try out the other way round as even that needs a KISMAT and a CONNECTION. Still, if you don’t have any nothing to worry, watch the movie – KISMET KONNECTION (18th July) and check out how Shahid and Vidya try to establish this.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
To all my readers
Thank you all for giving your comments on my story. There will be more from me.. Wait for my book review on - " Seizure- Robin Cook"
I have seen some new visitors in my blog, some whom I can't even trace out. One person is there called, Ashu who is reading my blog regularly and i don't know who's this person?
" Hey Ashu if you are reading my blog then do give ur mail id or something."
I have seen some new visitors in my blog, some whom I can't even trace out. One person is there called, Ashu who is reading my blog regularly and i don't know who's this person?
" Hey Ashu if you are reading my blog then do give ur mail id or something."
Friday, July 4, 2008
बोझिल मन
पता नहीं क्यूँ, आज मन उतना पुलकित नहीं . लगता है कुछ अधूरा सा है और इस अधूरे से एहसास को दूर करने के लिए मैंने अपने लैपटॉप पे वोह सारी तसवीरें देखनी शुरू करी जो मैंने अपने ग्रदुअशन के प्रथम वर्ष से ली थीं. अच्छा भी लगा और अपने दोस्तों की याद भी बहुत आ रही है. अभी शायद मेरे पास सोचने के लिए काफी समय है इसलिए मैं इतना कुछ महसूस कर पा रही हूँ. पर शायद पढाई के शुरू होने के बाद इतना बुरा नहीं लगेगा!
बस, उन्हीं तस्वीरों को जब मैं देख रही थी तो मुझे ये तस्वीर दिखी , ये हमने अणि के मोटो ल-७ से लिया था जब हम तिरुपति जा रहे थे. शाम का समाया था. सूरज डूब रहा है और इस डूबते हुए सूरज ने मुझे आज फिर सशक्त बना दिया.
बस, उन्हीं तस्वीरों को जब मैं देख रही थी तो मुझे ये तस्वीर दिखी , ये हमने अणि के मोटो ल-७ से लिया था जब हम तिरुपति जा रहे थे. शाम का समाया था. सूरज डूब रहा है और इस डूबते हुए सूरज ने मुझे आज फिर सशक्त बना दिया.
हे बोझिल मन, आज तूने मुझसे कहा, " ये ज़िन्दगी क्या है?";
मैंने कहा, "उस डूबते हुए सूरज को देख, मूर्ख, डूब कर भी कितना खुश लग रहा है;
उसकी लालिमा को देख, उसमें कहाँ वो बोझिलता है?"
मैंने सोचा आज डूब रहा है तो कल उसे उगाना भी है! इसी सोच को रखते हुए मैंने अपना मूड ठीक कर लिया और बस अपने काम में लग गयी. अपनी किताब पढने लगी और अब देखा तो कहानी में काफी दिलचस्पी भी लगने लगी.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Divinity
This title was given to the picture that you can see here.
I have taken from my friend’s flickr blog : Vaidyanathan's Photo Magic"
It is one of the best of the so called ‘simple’ yet classy photographic skills I have seen so far. Of all the photos there I liked this one. It clicked something in me.
First, because of the way it has been taken and second reason is that I am south Indian. This lamp is quite common in south Indian families. It is called the “Kaamakshi Vilaku” (in Tamil). Only one, is lighted if it has to be but as the tradition says we generally light two oil lamps at home but this ONE lamp serves the purpose. It is named after Goddess Kaamakshi who is said to reside in Kancheepuram.
I felt like penning down a few lines when I saw this photo.
When I look at it, I feel I am watching a lamp of eternity,
It is just a flame, but it gives me serenity.
A simple oil lamp but it has the power to enlighten the divine.
The flame burns and so does it speak.
It gives the message: “One flame can do it all……”
So, what does that mean?
No body can do everything but everyone can do something.
1000 candles are not always needed to lighten a place, 1000 hands are not always required when it comes to doing something good.
It just passes on the message that the effort of ONE can also do wonders.
When I look at it, I feel I am watching a lamp of eternity,
It is just a flame, but it gives me serenity.
A simple oil lamp but it has the power to enlighten the divine.
The flame burns and so does it speak.
It gives the message: “One flame can do it all……”
So, what does that mean?
No body can do everything but everyone can do something.
1000 candles are not always needed to lighten a place, 1000 hands are not always required when it comes to doing something good.
It just passes on the message that the effort of ONE can also do wonders.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
मेरे हाँथ खज़ाना लग गया !
आज सुबह कि बात है में अपनी आंटी से अपने ब्लॉग के बारे में ही बातें कर रही थी. इतने में मेरी नज़र कमरे के ऐसे कोने पर पड़ी जहाँ सिर्फ धूल ही धूल दिख रहा था. सोचा कुछ तो होगा वहां. मैंने भी थोडी मशक्कत के बाद धुल मिटटी झाड़ कर देखा तो बहुत सारी किताबें मिली. आंटी बोली ," अरे ये क्या कर रही हो. वैसे भी बहुत धूल है. छोडो तुम !"
में तो मानने से रही. एकएक कर सारी किताबें देखने लगी. पहले तो उसमें चेतन भगत के दो उपन्यास थे और तीसरा था रोबिन कुक का ' मोरटल फीअर ' देख के ही मन खुश हो गया. मेरे पास कुछ तो था नया पढने को. उसके बाद मुझे जो मिला वोह में अपने स्वप्न में भी नहीं सोच सकती थी कि में पढ़ पाउंगी.
मुझे मिली जयशंकर प्रसाद जी कि " कामायनी"जिसमें उनकी कालजयी रचनायें थी. उसी कि कुछ पंक्तियाँ में आपके समक्ष पेश कर रही हूँ. यही रचना मैंने सबसे पहले पढ़ी. उसके बाद मुझे यशपाल जी का ऐतिहासिक उपन्यास " अमिता " दिखा फिर मैंने मैथिलीशरण गुप्त जी द्वारा लिखा गया " साकेत " भी देखा.
मैंने इन सब के नाम सिर्फ अपनी स्कूल में सुन रखे थे और बस इनकी कुछ कहानियाँ पढ़ी थीं. आज जब मेरे हाँथ में ये बेहतरीन रचनाएँ थी तो मेरे लिए इससे बड़ी ख़ुशी कि बात कुछ और नहीं थी. मेरी आंटी ने अपने म.ऐ में ये सब पढ़ा था. खैर मुझे तो काफी कुछ मिल गया. उसी का एक अंश प्रस्तुतु है. शायद आप सब कि याद भी ताजा करा दे.
जयशंकर प्रसाद जी मेरे पसंदीदा लेखकों में से एक हैं !
स्वप्न - जयशंकर प्रसाद
संध्या अरुण जलज केसर ले अब तक मनन थी बहलाती ,
मुरझा कर कब गिरी तामरस, उसको खोज कहाँ पाती !
क्षितिज भाल का कुमकुम मिटता मलिन कालिमा के कर से,
कोकिल की काकली वृथा ही अब कलियों पर मंडराती !
कामायनी कुसुम वसुधा पर पड़ी , न वह मकरंद रहा;
एक चित्र बस रेखाओं का, अब उसमें है रंग कहाँ !
वह प्रभात का हीनकाल शशि, किरण कहाँ चांदनी रही,
वह संध्या थी, रवि शशि तारा ये सब कोई नहीं जहाँ !
"जीवन में सुख अधिक कि दुःख, मन्दाकिनी कुछ बोलोगी?
नभ में नखत अधिक, सागर में या बुदबुद हैं गिन दोगी?
प्रतिबिम्ब हैं तारा तुम में, सिन्धु मिलन को जाती हो,
या दोनों प्रतिबिम्ब एक के इस रहस्य को खोलोगी !"
में तो मानने से रही. एकएक कर सारी किताबें देखने लगी. पहले तो उसमें चेतन भगत के दो उपन्यास थे और तीसरा था रोबिन कुक का ' मोरटल फीअर ' देख के ही मन खुश हो गया. मेरे पास कुछ तो था नया पढने को. उसके बाद मुझे जो मिला वोह में अपने स्वप्न में भी नहीं सोच सकती थी कि में पढ़ पाउंगी.
मुझे मिली जयशंकर प्रसाद जी कि " कामायनी"जिसमें उनकी कालजयी रचनायें थी. उसी कि कुछ पंक्तियाँ में आपके समक्ष पेश कर रही हूँ. यही रचना मैंने सबसे पहले पढ़ी. उसके बाद मुझे यशपाल जी का ऐतिहासिक उपन्यास " अमिता " दिखा फिर मैंने मैथिलीशरण गुप्त जी द्वारा लिखा गया " साकेत " भी देखा.
मैंने इन सब के नाम सिर्फ अपनी स्कूल में सुन रखे थे और बस इनकी कुछ कहानियाँ पढ़ी थीं. आज जब मेरे हाँथ में ये बेहतरीन रचनाएँ थी तो मेरे लिए इससे बड़ी ख़ुशी कि बात कुछ और नहीं थी. मेरी आंटी ने अपने म.ऐ में ये सब पढ़ा था. खैर मुझे तो काफी कुछ मिल गया. उसी का एक अंश प्रस्तुतु है. शायद आप सब कि याद भी ताजा करा दे.
जयशंकर प्रसाद जी मेरे पसंदीदा लेखकों में से एक हैं !
स्वप्न - जयशंकर प्रसाद
संध्या अरुण जलज केसर ले अब तक मनन थी बहलाती ,
मुरझा कर कब गिरी तामरस, उसको खोज कहाँ पाती !
क्षितिज भाल का कुमकुम मिटता मलिन कालिमा के कर से,
कोकिल की काकली वृथा ही अब कलियों पर मंडराती !
कामायनी कुसुम वसुधा पर पड़ी , न वह मकरंद रहा;
एक चित्र बस रेखाओं का, अब उसमें है रंग कहाँ !
वह प्रभात का हीनकाल शशि, किरण कहाँ चांदनी रही,
वह संध्या थी, रवि शशि तारा ये सब कोई नहीं जहाँ !
"जीवन में सुख अधिक कि दुःख, मन्दाकिनी कुछ बोलोगी?
नभ में नखत अधिक, सागर में या बुदबुद हैं गिन दोगी?
प्रतिबिम्ब हैं तारा तुम में, सिन्धु मिलन को जाती हो,
या दोनों प्रतिबिम्ब एक के इस रहस्य को खोलोगी !"
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