Life Goes On

My Dad left us midway without giving a prior warning 3 months ago in a road mishap. Aged 55 then, no one could actually guess his age right. Lot of people thought he was in his early 40s owing it to his high energy and youthful looks.

He had his own way of living life. He lived for the moment. He would tell us that tomorrow is uncertain and throughout his journey with us, I saw him following this principle. He believed that Life Goes On no matter what. Whether you had money or not.

He had a lot of friends. While passing by from our street in just about a kilometer radius, he would wave at 10 different people. He used to stop atleast 3-4 times to talk to someone or the other. I felt he knew almost everyone. I used to get so bugged when he did that and would plead to him not to stop anywhere. I feel now I was so wrong. All those people came to offer their last goodbye to him at his funeral. They were all there, feeling equally bad for our loss.

He loved kids. All the kids of our society loved him too. He would call them 'dost' and raised his thumb to them everyday as a sign of friendship. He would become a kid with them and shower his love upon them. How much I wish he showered his love on my kids too. How they would call him 'Nana' and go around sitting on his shoulders just like I did as a child.

Three months passed just like that and with each passing day, I feel he's become even more close to my heart. He isn't there physically. I long to hug him tight and cry but I don't feel his arms. I long to fight with him for no real reason, pick up a debate with him on a silly topic, laugh with him watching Dusty's naughty acts and above all sit with him in deep silence not uttering a word. How I wish he fulfilled my kanyadaan rituals and wished me love for my new life.

There were a lot of things maybe he wanted to tell us but he couldn't because death took him away even before he saw us. I know that I would still live my life and in a matter of few months, everything will get back to normal like nothing happened at all. In a few years, his memories would fade away making way for new ones.

Like it's rightly said, Life Goes On....

A wrong arrangement...

Dressed in a beautiful red lehanga, embellished with gold and diamond jewelry, the blushing bride sat on a bed decorated with flowers. She could hear the chatter batter and laughter of the teens & kids outside and Rajeev, her husband trying hard to keep them away from the room. He was finally successful and closed the door after he came in. Ananya's stomach twisted and her heart raced at almost double the speed when she felt Rajeev coming close to her. They had been engaged for around a month until they tied the knot in a grand affair. Rajeev had treated her well during their engagement days and she fell in love with her fiancee after a couple of meetings.

Rajeev sat on the bed beside her and held her hand. Ananya looked into Rajeev's eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She was tensed, restless and her stomach ached. She wan't sure how Rajeev would take the next step. 'Will I feel good if he touched me', she thought.

It was quite a day. I am tired. Let's go to sleep, Rajeev said interrupting her thoughts.

He said that and went straight to bed. She told herself that maybe he's just tired and everything would be fine the next day. She realized that she is tired too, changed and went to sleep.

Nothing changed even the next day. Not even the day after. Infact nothing changed ever.

Rajeev would come late in the night and go straight to bed. He seemed like a normal person when his parents were around but in their bedroom he was different. He showed least interest in her and never even looked at her. Ananya wasn't sure what to do and whom to talk to. Even Rajeev chucked their honeymoon plans saying that he can't take any further leaves.

She felt it was high time she broke the ice.

I have to talk to you Rajeev, Ananya said closing the door.

I've to head for a meeting. Can we talk later?

No. It's important. I can't wait to talk to you later. I need some answers and I need them now.

Rajeev knew what's coming. He understood he can't run away from Ananya any further. It's time to face her questions.

Wh....what's it Ananya?

I want to know why did you get married to me?


What kind of question is that, Rajeev said avoiding her eyes.


Well, that's absolutely a valid question considering how you treat me in our bedroom.


What do you mean by how I treat you? Did I ever do anything wrong with you?


That's precisely my point. You do nothing. You come, change and sleep. Forget about making love, you never even come close to me. Why did you marry me then?


Look, Ananya, I am really getting late. I need to go.


Answer me Rajeev! Now! Before I scream and you parents know what's happening or rather not happened between us.

Rajeev just stared at Ananya not uttering a word.

Do you love me Rajeev? Don't you find me attractive or beautiful? Don't I ever turn you on?

Ananya, you certainly are beautiful, competent, attractive and the perfect marriage material. But you ain't the girl I am in love with. Infact, it's not even a girl I am in love with.

The newly wedded bride gave her husband a puzzled look.

I like men Ananya. I am gay.


What? What did you just say?


Yes Ananya. I am gay. Women don't turn me on. It's men who get my hormones running. I tried telling this to my parents but could not gather the guts. I am sorry but we can't make love for sure.


Then why did you get married to me? You had no right to play with my life! You could have told this to me before getting married Rajeev. I would have said no to your parents. You telling me this now! What do you expect me to do?

I don't know Ananya. I am feeling guilty too. I could have told you earlier but my parents would have found another match for me if you rejected their proposal. I had to marry someone and it happened to be you. I an sorry.

Rajeev said that and left.

Ananya stood at her place dumbfounded not knowing what do to......

Conclusion: Well, so, arranged marriages have their share of risks. So, I had rather have a love marriage ;) You already know the person beforehand in a love marriage, but in an arranged marriage, the man could be a gay, impotent or in love with someone else. So, my vote goes to Love Marriage :)

This is my entry for the Indiblogger Contest, Love Marriage ya Arranged Marriage, the new TV show on Sony Entertainment Television. Know more about the show here 

Miss You Daddy

Dad,

You left us helpless and lonely in this selfish world without any warning. I had never ever imagined God would take you away from us so mercilessly. I had imagined you bidding me goodbye with teary eyes on my wedding night and later playing with my kids. I had never ever thought you would force me to bid you adieu forever.

How do you expect me to forget that fateful day ever in my life? When you were taken away from me forever for no mistake of yours. When you were taken away from me due to someone else's carelessness? How do I forgive that careless driver who took your life away? How will I ever be able to get over you and move on Daddy?

When I suffer with a headache, you were always ready with a disprin. Now my heart's heavy and it aches Dad. What medicine will you give me that will ease this pain? Will disprin work just like how it worked on my headache?

When you get Chicken home on a weekday, I would ask you why did you get Chicken today, lets eat on Sunday. You would answer, 'Agar main subah nahin utha toh. Aaj khaana ho toh aaj hi khaana chahiye. Kya pata main subah naa rahoon.' I laughed it off whenever you said that Daddy. But today I feel you were so right. You were fit and fine when you left home in the morning and never came back.

I took you for granted when you were alive. How I would fight with you when you would keep all the fans switched on for no reason. How I would scream at you when you fought with Mom for some vague reason. Whom should I scream at now? Who would deal with my tantrums now?

One thing that your demise had taught me Daddy is that life is uncertain and death is inevitable. Thinking what will happen tomorrow ruins our present and worrying about a problem takes away the moment's joy. You never know how and when death would come and take us away forever from our loved ones. Your death has taught me to cherish the current moment, love unconditionally and express it when the time is in your hands, and most importantly value people when they are alive because how much ever you want to value them later, they ain't alive to see it and feel happy about it.

P.S: Wish I could tell you Daddy how much I miss you.

Love,
Namu

Har ek boondh zaroori hota hai!

Now, how precious do you think is Water? Not just the drinking Water but Water in whole. You need Water right from the time you get up in the morning. First you need Water to brush your teeth. Then for potty. Then bath. Then when you go to pee multiple times in a day. To wash your hands before and after every meal. To clean the house. To clean the utensils. And the list is endless...

How would you actually manage when your watchman comes and tells you that there is no bore Water for the entire day? You will feel helpless. You did not store Water in advance. Not a drop in any of the buckets. That's exactly what has happened to every family living in our complex. We were told that there will not be Water for the whole day. And we were like OMG!



This was not for a day. Our building maintenance uncle took good 2 days to analyze why there is a water problem. Either the ground water level has gone down or the motor might need a repair. On the whole, we have been suffereing since 5 days with minimal water supply. The problem is still not fixed and we have started saving bore Water just like how we save drinking Water. We are given water once or twice a day which is just enough for all of us to take bath or go to potty. We try to store as much Water as we can.

This problem has got me ponder over how important Water is to mankind or for that matter to Earth. I wonder how the animals roaming on the roads and birds in specific survive during summers. It's so difficult for humans to survive without water even for a day! And these poor creatures have been victims of our development. For that matter, even Dusty feels restless when it is too hot and sits in the bathroom just to feel a little cold.

I take an oath that I will never waste water in my life! Har ek boondh zaroori hai yaar!

It was never going to be an ordinary day...

It was never going to be an ordinary day. It was her birthday. I had planned everything well in advance. She did not know anything about my plans. Our relationship was a long distance one where we got to meet only once or twice a month since I worked in Bangalore and she worked in Mumbai. We met through common friends around 2 years ago and hit off instantly. Couple of casual meetings, a proposal from me and we started dating. After around 6 months of our courtship, I got a job in Bangalore and I had to relocate.

I wanted to surprise her on her birthday and make it the best birthday of her life. I did not wanted her to know that I would be flying to meet her on her birthday. So, when she called me to confirm if I am coming to meet her, I told her that I am tied up with hell lot of meetings and I can't come to see her. She was obviously pissed with me and hung up the phone on my face. She later called up to let me know she understands that work is important too and said we will celebrate her birthday some other day together.

She lived alone in a decent apartment in Mumbai. Whenever I went to see her, we would spend almost the entire time in her apartment. I loved cooking for her and she loved eating. We were just perfect together. I never knew how time flew when I was with her. She had a face as beautiful as that of an angel. She had a great body as she liked working out. She never had to try hard to turn me on as the very sight of her did the magic.

Her birthday was on Wednesday. I boarded the flight to Mumbai late Tuesday night. I reached Mumbai at around 12:30 AM and took a cab to her apartment. I knew she must have been expecting my call at sharp 12 but I was in flight then. She must have tried my number too but it must given her a message that the number is switched off. She must be even more angry now but I knew it will all be fine when she would see me.

All the moments spent with her were still clear in my memory. I had picked a beautiful white knee length dress for her. 'How angelic she would look in this dress!' I said to myself. Of course there were flowers and chocolates too and a champagne bottle.

I got down from the cab, paid the driver and rushed to her apartment. She lived in the 3rd floor. I had no patience to wait for the lift to come so I took the stairs. I did not wanted to ring the doorbell so I instead took out the spare key of her apartment from my wallet. I unlocked the door and entered her house. I opened the door of her bedroom slowly and stood frozen right where I was! I could not believe what I saw!

There lay my angelic beauty soaked in her own blood...

At that instance, I felt my whole world crashing. I felt numb. I stood right in my place for God knows how much time dumb-struck. My heart thumped so hard that I felt it might just fall out. Tears rolled down my face as I saw her lying motionless on her bed. It took me a while to call out her name.

'Payal!' I screamed!

I rushed to her and took her in my arms. Her eyes were closed. My senses stopped working. I closed my eyes and cried out loud. I felt someone wiping my tears. My heart skipped a beat.

I opened my eyes and saw her smiling at me. I thought I was dreaming. She reached for my lips, kissed me and whispered, I Love You baby...

It was a prank. She played a prank on me. She was very much alive and fine too. It took me a while to regain my senses. She laughed but I did not even smile. I was still in shock.

She tried reaching my phone but it was switched off. She was quite angry that I did not even bother to wish her at 12. She came near the window to close it when she saw me getting down from the cab. She was so happy that I came all the way from Bangalore to be with her. She wanted to surprise me instead and thought about this prank. She had some red dye with her which she immediately sprinkled on the bed and on her and lay pretending to be dead.

I slapped her hard and then hugged her tight. It was never really going to be an ordinary day. The rest of the day was as beautiful and extra-ordinary as it can be.

This post is part of the contest It was never going to be an ordinary day.. on WriteUpCafe.com

Can I ever repay your unconditional love?

You brought me in this beautiful World
Going through a pain which I certainly would not bear
You understood I am hungry when no one else did
You smiled your angelic smile when I stood up on my own

You taught me morals, you taught me what's right
You hugged me tight when I shivered with cold at night
You showed me the path when I din't know where to go
You slapped me hard when I came home with a bruised elbow

You believed in me when no one else did
You knew when I lied but still smiled
And said you trusted me
You got up before me during my exams to make me a cup of tea
You tolerated silently when I vented my frustration on you
You let me go out on my birthday even though you wanted me at home

You loved me and without conditions
How could I ever repay for all that you had done for me?
All I can do is take care of you and Love You with all that I have

Happy Mother's Day Mom!
I Love You!

Dearest Mom Dearest Daughter :)

I am Me

I like my clothes at their shabbiest best
I like my hair left loose to the air
I like my life in a certain way
I can deal with you being the way you like and expect the same for me
I am ME

I am moody
I do not pay attention to half of the things you say
I take you for granted sometimes
I forget to keep in touch sometimes
But still I am ME

I am warm, loving and caring
I can breakdown for the simplest things and be strong in the toughest times
I cry when I see tears in your eyes
I say sorry for the silliest reasons
I am Me

I may look grown up but I am a child at heart.
I may be silent sometimes that's because my thoughts are somewhere else
My heart is a deep ocean of secrets where you will drown
I am Me

I am not the best girl you'll ever meet
I lose it when you compare me to the perfect girl
I am not perfect in most of the things I do
I am perfect in my own special way
I am Me

I love
I laugh
I cry
I frown
I see
I feel
I live
I am Me

A Letter to the Telecom Operators

Dear Telecom Operators,

We know that you guys are letting us stay connected with all our friends through your awesome network and great connectivity and trust me it's not a favor. We are charged a good amount to money for this each month which we pay without much ado. Other than letting us talk to our friends, you offer us a number of Value Added Services (VAS) like Hello Tunes (Or Dialer Tones or whatever), which are also not for Free. You charge a good Rs. 30 as a monthly Rental and Rs. 15 for every song we change even though I am sure it doesn't cost you so much. So when I give a call to my friend, I am curious to know what song has he on as his Hello Tune but this is what I listen to:

Press star and 9 to copy this song. Charges Rs. 15 for song selection and Rs. 30 per month for Hello Tune.. Hello...

So, even before this irritating message is completed and I get to hear the song, my friend answers the call. Can you please tell me why is he paying you Rs. 30 per month? Is it so that we hear your never ending advertisements? Trust me, the boring trin trin is better than that lady's voice! She's so annoying!

I tell my friend I want to hear the song begging him not to answer the call. I am forced to hear the annoying message again and then the lovely song. Well, thank you for that. I appreciate that you remember playing the song after your so-important advertisement.

Ah! I can't blame you completely, can I? You do give me a free hand. Incase I do not want my callers to hear any promo, I have to make a call to you and plead for the same. Now, what do you think dude? Would there be anyone who would, in the first place, want that promo to be played? Then why play it and then remove it on request?

Recently, I've noticed something else. I have a number of my friends who are Vodafone Network users. This is what I hear when I call them:

Switch to Vodafone now and enjoy all local calls at 1 paise for 2 seconds.  Trin Trin.....

How should I tell you that I am not interested in switching to Vodafone? Is there a specific key I could press to tell you I am not, so that I don't have to hear that message again? How should I convey the message that I am happy with my current network even though it does suck sometimes? Though I am being charged some extra bucks, I still do not want to switch? May be I should send you a recorded voice because that's the language you probably understand.

We already see a lot of your advertisements on TV and we love them too. Isn't that enough? Please stop this nonsense or else I... what can I do? Other than just blogging? Ah! Never mind.

P.S: I was so annoyed with these stupid ads that I had to write this post. Besides, there was no other topic I could think of.

P.P.S: I am sorry that I am unable to read/comment on your posts. I am somehow keeping busy these days but I miss reading your posts. I will do stop by your blog this week and will leave comments too :) 

Time to Change - Let's Control Traffic!

If there's one thing which irks all of us around then that certainly is traffic! But what do we do to get that down?

Nothing!

We are the ones who complaint about the the roads being so busy. We crib about the ever-increasing traffic but do we ever leave our vehicles at home?

Never!

There could be a shop which is just half a kilometer away but we still go on our vehicle instead of walking. It takes ages for us to reach a certain place which would otherwise take half the time thanks to constant jams. The peak times are morning between 9:00 to 10:00 and evenings from 6:30 to 8:00. Sometimes, we are halted at a place for long that we could actually take a short nap!

So, what could we actually do?

If I could change something around me, then that would be how the traffic is generally handled. My hero had actually mentioned this to me once and I really liked the idea. The idea is as follows:

• There should be a rule by the Government according to which all citizens should opt for a public transport at-least twice in a week so that less vehicles are seen on roads. This would help us in minimizing the jams to a certain level.

• There shouldn't be more than 2 vehicles in a house which has around 5 people. Now, why would you need separate bike/car for every person living in the same house?
• A random day can be declared as No Red Car day (or some other color for that matter). So, every citizen owning a red car should leave his car at home (exceptions for any emergencies). 
• Office hours should have a gap of atleast an hour. Like some companies should start functioning at 8 AM, some at 9 AM and so. This would lead to people leaving at different times, so minimum traffic. ;)

A little change in our everyday life will leave a great impact on our environment. Also, walking for short distances like when you go Grocery shopping could actually give you a good health too. ;)


On a lighter note, sales people should be called by companies only when they would buy the product/service. All negotiations should be done over the phone so that the roads are not that busy during the day. You know there's no point in going to a client who would eventually not buy anything :P So, the customers around should call the sales reps only when they are actually buying and not for the heck of it. ;)

It's time to think!

It's time to change!

Written for Indiblogger contest , Time to Change, an initiative by Stayfree who believe, a little chance can make a big difference!

P.S: I've a soft corner for Sales people since I am a Sales Professional too! ;)

A day worth remembering....

It's that day of the year again when men desperately try wooing their women and women wait for surprises from their partners. So howz it for me?

The last year's Valentine's Day was my first Valentine with my hero. He was out of town (Kerala) on urgent work and was expected to return only on February 16. I was feeling quite low and was certainly not happy as I expected a big surprise from him knowing his romantic side. But when I discussed with him my idea of Valentine's Day, I learnt how he dislikes the idea of celebrating love for just one day! I obviously was upset with his version as somehow I always loved Valentine's Day (okay, I know this is girlish and absurd but I can't help it ;)).

When I came to work on February 14, I received a cute customized e-card from him on my email with all our pictures beautifully arranged. Though I loved the card, I thought this is the least I could expect from an anti-Valentine's Day person. The previous day he told me that he's going to some hilly area in some part of Kerala on February 14th to trek and he's phone would be out of reach (how much I hated this).  So, I gave up the idea of receiving any romantic surprises from him and decided to be by myself on V-Day.

My colleagues cum friends were all excitedly telling me about their plans for the evening and I was wondering what I could possibly do. I saw his name flash on my mobile at around 11:30. I picked up the phone expecting nothing at all, speaking general things.

My Hero: What are you upto?
Me: Nothing. Just at work.
My Hero: Not going anywhere? I know I am not there but you could always go out with Deepa or anyone else right?
Me: Yeah rite! Ah. Yeah but I guess I will go home. Everyone have got plans of their own (trying to sound as upset as I can).
My Hero: Oh. By the way, what would you do if I come in front of you right now?
Me: Err. What?
My Hero: Look back. (I was in speaking to him from my office's entrance).
Me: What? Oh my God!!!! You here!!!!!

I jumped with joy when I saw him in front of me smiling! I rushed to him and gave him a tight hug (as tight as I could ;)).

Me: Weren't you in Kerala? How did you come? And so suddenly? You din't tell me!
My Hero: How would that be a surprise then? I came via plane to take my sweet heart out on the day which means a lot to her. I finished my work way in advance to be with you today. It doesn't matter if I like this day or not. You love it so do I. :)

I was moved by this gesture of his. I'd never thought he would come just because I like the idea of celebrating Valentine's Day.

What did I do next? Ofcourse I took an off immediately and went out with my love. We had pizza at Pizza Hut (I love pizzas), caught some English movie and then headed to our then favourite Cafe Coffee Day. :)

No matter how special he makes my each Valentine, the one day I would cherish and remember forever would be the last year's one. :)

P.S: Happy Valentine's Day people! ;)