ये होना होता क्या है?

सब कुछ तो किया ,

पर कुछ ना हुआ I

ये होना इतना तिलिस्मि क्यूँ है,

ये होना होता क्या है?

चलना तो माने नहीं रखता है,

कहीं पहुँचना हीं माने रखता हैI

वो कहते हैं इंतेज़ार करो

लेकिन कब तक ?

इधर तो सब धुआँ धुआँ होता है I

क्या पता कब होगा ये होना हमारे साथ?

जैसे सबका होता है I

Travelling through different worlds!

It was somewhere in mid-2012. I was told by my office to go to Delhi from Kolkata. And from there I was supposed to go to Haryana and Punjab with my seniors on a marketing trip to sell pig iron. As I was rummaging through websites to book the train tickets for my journey, I was told that I would go to Delhi by plane along with my two seniors and the company would arrange it. 

One of my seniors said that air journey was kind of reward for me for my good work done (good selling of pig iron). I didn’t believe it at first (as decisions can be changed in seconds in private companies) that the company was so kind to sponsor my air trip, because some fortnight ago there were talks of me being thrown out of the company due to non-performance (the yardsticks of non-performance are drawn out by the employer in such a way that even if you work tooth and nail and achieve targets reasonably, there are heavy chances of you embracing the tag of a non-performer). Though I had sold some good chunk of pig iron but the threat of losing the job loomed large over me.

Anyways, ecstatic to go by plane for the first time in life, I reached the airport next day. After some initial formalities, I boarded the plane. First time in life, I had boarded a plane. My heart was racing; I wanted to cry in exhilaration. But I controlled myself. Maintaining a somber look, I sat on the window seat allotted to me, my seniors sat beside me. 

I put on the belt and when the plane started to soar, I felt as if something was dragging me up in the sky with utmost force putting behind my waist. It was something that I was feeling very first time in life. As the plane reached a certain altitude, it started travelling at a horizontal level. My adrenaline rush subsided a bit but the exploration of the new world was on. And as I watched the scenes outside the window of the plane, I was amazed. I was seeing clouds swimming just beside me. It was all -together a new world for me and I was loving the world outside the window to a tee. Had there not been the glass on the window, I would have stuck my hand out, and squeezed the clouds to drench my hands. 

After an hour or so the plane landed in Delhi. An SUV was waiting for us. We went to the head office in Delhi.  My seniors went to the meeting with top management of the company. I was stopped from going to the meeting and told to wait outside saying that the top management was not happy with me so it was better for me to stay out of the meeting.

After an hour or so, my seniors came out… I had a feeling that something was cooking. Anyways, acting as if I was a total birdbrain who can’t surmise the undercurrent…I continued the journey with my seniors (as if there was any other way out).  We moved towards Haryana in the SUV.

We went to several Pig Iron dealers and businessmen in Haryana and Punjab. Starting from Samhalkha to Ludhiana and Jalandhar. I was seeing the new places and meeting new people. I was kind of enjoying it. The farm houses and the foods were really exhilarating.

I was meeting such rich people for the first time in my life.

We went to one businessman who introduced his son to us. His son had done MBA. And the father proudly announced that he would open one furnace factory(where the pig iron is melted to mold new products) for him.

And I was thinking that how lucky his son was as after doing an MBA he was to become owner of a company and after doing an MBA, here I was running from pillar  to the post, from one businessman to the other to secure just a salary at the end of the month and that too was in danger. What a dichotomy!  

When we were at a different businessman’s place, the conversation on real estate started after we have had our talks for pig iron. Here the businessman, comparing between the situations of real estate in India and Britain, said “Nowadays, it is more beneficial to book a bungalow in London.” And I was like, we, middle class, slog off whole life and still end up retiring in a rented accommodation, owing to exorbitant prices of homes in India, and here he was buying homes in the U.K. But then such is India for us: a coherent scene knitted with incoherent threads.

Anyways, the whole tour ended on a fruitful note, we gathered some orders. I was hoping that this would help my stint in the company.

As we were returning back from Haryana to Delhi, one of my  seniors started getting philosophical sitting on the back seat of the SUV, I was on the front seat beside the driver. He told “Life is full of opportunities Neeraj, be positive in life… ups and downs come in life…”

I was feeling sleepy due to tiredness of the journey of the whole day and it was around midnight also. But his words made me alert, I knew what he meant. I knew my time was up in the company.

Anyways, controlling my emotions I replied, “I agree sir.”

Our SUV was racing at optimum speed. At one place my senior advised the driver to stop. We all got down and went to a place called Sukhdev Dhaba. And I was amazed to see a throng of people binging on pure north Indian delicacies even after mid- night. It seemed like a gala night. People had come there with families also. To think to go out in a mid-night for a dinner with family in a small city like mine might sound bizarre, where most eateries close down as the clock strikes 9 p.m. But things were very normal at the dhaba.  In the dhaba, the night was not sleeping. It was chirping with the chomping of mouth.

After a week from the return of the marketing tour, I was officially told to furnish my resignation. But the tour gave me open- mindedness and opportunities to traverse between different worlds that I would not have got otherwise. 

First opportunity was to be among the world of clouds (which I had only seen from far away earth until then), second was about an enlightenment that even if there are homeless Britons, yet the homes are always available for rich Indians in the U.K, and the third was about the revelation that mid-night is just as perfect as an afternoon for a binge.

###

Conversations on water in an arid land!

When I woke up today, I found myself in an arid land.  The air was bereft of any moist. It seemed as if every gush of air, laced with burning arrows of sunrays, was pricking my body, In short intervals there were sand storms spiraling up and blanketing me completely with sand. There was no sign of a single human, a single tree or a single animal. 

Dusting the sand off my body, I started trudging through the smoldering sand with bare feet in search of water as I was feeling really parched. My throat was bone dry. I saw a small pool of water some ten steps ahead. I raced towards that. But as I reached the place, the pool of water moved some few steps ahead. I was flabbergasted. And then it dawned upon me that it was just a mirage about which I had read in school books.

Frazzled by strolling amid sand, I sat down in the shadow of a big rock to take shelter from scorching sun. As I was resting, I heard some noise of digging. “Someone must be digging for water,” I thought in my mind. I got up and scuttled towards the digging sound.

As I reached there, I saw an old man with long white hair and beard digging the sand frantically.  Some laptops and mobile phones were scattered around the ditch.

“What are you doing?” I asked the old man.

“Can’t you see?” asked the old man in return.

“I can see…but…anyways…do you know where can I find some water…I am really thirsty?”

“What do you think I am searching in the sand? I am also thirsty and thirstier than you,” said the old man in rude tone.

“But why are you digging laptops and mobile phones from the sand don’t you know the place where we can dig some water?”

“I am digging laptops and mobiles because you loved only these, had you loved water, I would not have to be thirsty for fifty years or so?” replied the old man.

“What? you are thirsty for fifty years?”

“Yes, since the year this beautiful city died due to lack of water in June of 2049 to today in June of 2099, I am thirsty,” replied the old man.

“What? It is 2099? I can’t believe it. When last night I slept, it was March 2018,” I opposed.

“Seeing is believing dear, can you see any trace of year 2018 around you?” asked the old man.

“But which city it was?”

“It was a tech city… Bengaluru, in India, people in the city cared more for computers, mobiles and modern technics, but they forgot to take care for water. They forgot to save water. They forgot to respect water. They believed more in cutting chai but forgot to include #CuttingPani in their lifestyle. Gradually, they started dying due to dearth of water and finally they evaporated from this world.”

“I don’t think that people of Bengaluru are such careless fellows, they respect water.”

“Had they respected, you would not have been seeing such dessert around you… and leave about people, do you respect water? When you had kept the tap open while shaving… had you realized that it was a way of wasting water? and when you had thrown the half- drunk bottle of water in the dustbin after your train journey from Patna last month…had you realized that it was a waste of water?” asked the old man in stern voice.

“How do you know all these things? Who are you? And how come you are alive after so many years of human extinction in Bengaluru?” 

“I am the one who is cursed to be alive till the end of this world…I am Ashwathama,” said the old man removing the hairs dangling on his forehead to wipe something.

As he removed his dangling hair, my eyes went directly on his forehead that was oozing with pus and blood. 

I moved ahead to touch the mythological character, but fell from my bed with a thud.

“What happened?” cried my mother from kitchen.

“Nothing!” I replied to assure her by trying to make my voice as unruffled as possible. My mind was in a spin and body was drenched with sweat. As I managed myself to get back on my bed and rested for a while, I got reminded of a Livepure initiative to save water. Seeing the gruesome future of the city in my dream, I then and there signed the petition. You are also invited to do so. Click here and commit yourself to save water: https://www.change.org/p/cuttingpaani

                                              ###

Language Tussle!

Language is a beautiful tool to express one’s feelings. The world is full of languages where the harmony of brain and tongue belts out magical sounds. If you understand a language it is good but even if you don’t understand a language there is an enigmatic beauty in the incomprehensibility of it. It makes you startle at how others are speaking a language easily and fluently whereas you can only grab the undulating sound of the language.

I work for a multinational company and there my bosses are from France and Belgium, and they speak fluent French. I can only grab the sound of the language. Though once I had given a serious try to learn the French language but couldn’t be consistent. Now I find it amazing that on the one hand there are words incomprehensible to me make true sense to the others understanding it.

And why go far to France to understand incomprehensible beauty of language, in India itself there are several languages and dialects that are incomprehensible for the part of country where they are not spoken. But despite their inexplicitness their beauty remains intact for the people who speak them.

Nowadays, there is a movement to blacken out ‘Hindi’ names from stations in a southern state of India. My opinion is that language is no poison that will contaminate culture of any place; it only provides a new medium of expression. You can’t find everything translated in one language, there is knowledge available in other languages too that you might be bereft of... if you don't allow the access of that language to you.

When one speaks ‘Kannada’, one uses the same ‘vernmala’ consisting of K,Kha,Gha  as hindi,so why there is repulsion against ‘Hindi ’. After all the base of both the languages is ‘Sanskrit’. I hope there comes a day in India when hatred in the name of language transmutes into respect for all languages irrespective of their regional or national character.

###

Games, games, games!

Here steel is melt with the heat of blood, sweat and courage. And gold, silver, and bronze are crafted with sheer determination to only excel.

Bodies making somersaults in the air, water and on earth are there to write new chapter in the history of humanity. They are not there to make the records but to break the boundaries of limitation of human efforts.

Every body part works in a rhythm to achieve a goal. The heart, brain, eyes, hands, and legs are all channelized and focused to design a new and unforgettable moment in history. Here not only winning but participating is also a matter of huge respect. Every participant represents their country and with their total commitment they participate in the games to prove their mettle.

To kiss the medal is dream of every contestant, but finishing last is by no means any mean feat in these games. The games are so majestic that here you can stay behind but loser is none. You might not win a medal but no one can snatch you the privilege of being part such a huge platform.

When you go home, you don’t go empty handed but with bundle of experience of yourself and others to prepare you better for the next time. Don’t forget, life is about hope and there is always a next time in life.

###

Gajar ka halwa and my cravings!

I had been becoming a bit plumpy so I had joined a jim. But it was not being able to shed my extra plump. Because I was a diehard fan of phuchka and rosogullas.  My colleagues used to tease me that I will turn into a girl if I eat more phuchkas. But  no taunting ever dettered me from plunging into the scrumptious and mouth - watering  phuchkas.

And my cravings for sweet rosogullas had sent me on the borderline of being a diabetic. And now I had to think twice about putting my fingers on the spongy entities.

One day I was going through newspaper and saw an ad of sugar-free natura. Since I had to cut down on my rosogulla intake, I decided to make something sweet with the sugar-free natura. I looked around my kitchen and could find nothing interesting to cook. Then I moved to  my refrigerator to quench my thirst and here I got answer for my search:  carrots. I decided to make gajar ka halwa with them to satiate my craving of something sweet.

And when I had the first spoon of  steaming gajar ka halwa , it felt devine. Here I am sharing the recipe with you of the Gajar ka Halwa.

Ingrediants:

Grated Carrots -250g, sugar-free natura, Ghee-1 teaspoon,Milk-500g

Method:

First put one teaspoon ghee in kadahi  and  let it become hot and then put the grated carrots in it. Roast it for few minutes and then put sugar-free natura  2 teaspoons (or according to your taste)stir it for two times so that the sugar-free natura gets mingled into the gajar . Now pour the milk and stir till milk is soaked up by the gajar . When milk is soaked up by gajar the take it out in a bowl and garnish it with cashew and almonds.

Here are the pics of my effort.

###

Kissan and my parents’ care!

I used to live in Mumbai,my parents ; in Pune. I was a successful banker in my career. My life was going on the full throttle. My girlfriend used to work in the same bank.

 Right from school days I had been out side of my house. For schooling I was sent to a boarding school. Then I went to different cities for doing my graduation and post graduation. I was a very good student since the beginning. But playing football was my passion. I was the part of the football team of the school. And three years on the trot I was the highest goal scorer.

When I was in boarding, I used to send my pictures to my parents and hand them over to them when they used to come to meet me. My mother is a superb cook. She used to send the ‘Gajar ka halwa’ when my father used to come to meet me. Whenever she used to come to meet me, she used to prepare different kinds of sandwiches drenched with redness of Kissan sauce that she used to bring with her. The lip-smacking taste is still fresh in my mouth.

One time, for a football match, I had invited my parents. That time she made the breakfast  including Kissan jam and sauce for the whole team. I still vividly remember, we had won that match and the evening the party was thrown by my parents.

Later, I got little chance to savour the delicacies of my mother. I became busy with my graduation and post graduation and was two years overseas for my job.  Until there is an emergency,I don’t get to meet my parents. Even on festivals I am busy and don’t find time to go and meet my parents. I had thought that once I get married, I will call them to Pune and we will live together. But since both of us ( me and my girlfriend) are busy ,the marriage is getting postponed.

Nowadays, I mostly get connected with my parents over smartphone . We chat over internet. It seems that it is eons that I have seen my parents in person. As I am talking to you about all these, I really feel like meeting my parents.

I have taken leave from my office and have come home.  Here when I meet my parents in person after so long time. I feel that age has shown effect on their bodies. I could have never understood the necessities of the old age had I not come home. But seeing me at home after so many years, my mom got agile again. She again prepared the lip-smacking   Kissan cuisines and while devouring all of them I decided in my heart that this time I will take my parents to Pune with me.

P.S: This is a creative account!

Airtel 4G and My favourite movie!

I have been a great fan of movies based on world wars. The Reader and The sound of Music are among my favorites. I still remember the hostel days when I used to wait for whole 24 hours for a movie to be downloaded. But now I don’t have that patience and now I don’t have that strength either to be awake in night to check the downloading speed. 

With the time passing by and new stresses of workload coming, the stamina of the college days has dwindled. Now I want things on the net to get downloaded quickly. Though it is not always possible but that is what I wish. Now I wish a whole movie to get downloaded in a fraction of a second.

During the weekends, I want to watch the movies sprawled in my bed. But many times, it is not possible. My girlfriend likes long drives. She being an interior designer has to go to the houses of her clients that are far from the cities. Many times she is away from the town in order to respect her professional obligations.

She had shown me the decorated homes. Some were in the serenity of nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. I also had a long time cherished dream to dwell in such tranquil houses. But my salary didn’t allow me to realize my dream.

But as it is said that sometimes god listens to your wishes, my wish was also listened to by god. One time a client who had a Bungalow in the woods gave the job of decorating the house to my girlfriend and the best part was that the client had to be unavailable in India for fifteen days. In such situation my girlfriend invited me over to see how she works.

I landed up in the scenic beauty of nature with my girlfriend and her other colleagues. The mist had enveloped the bungalow and the sweet chirps of the birds were reverberating in the vicinity.   I was feeling really ecstatic. While my girlfriend was busy whole day in her decoration work, I used to take a tour in the woods. There was a lake nearby and it was an adobe for the foreign birds. It used to be quite an amazing scene with white feathered birds blanketing the banks of the lake. I wanted to share this marvelous moment with my friends on facebook. I took out my cell phone and clicked several pics and made many videos. I wanted to upload them instantly but my internet connection failed me. With a sigh I pocketed my cellphone back in my pocket.

After my return I complained about the problematic internet connection to my girlfriend, in the reply to my complain she handed me over her cellphone saying that she has the fastest Airtel 4G connection and it would not fail me. I tried and it was really working fast. I uploaded the pics and videos on my face book account in a jiffy. I wanted to test the speed of Airtel 4G further so I tried downloading a movie. Being a world war movie fan I typed the name : Europa Europa. And to my surprise it got downloaded in just few seconds. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was really happy that day, I completed the movie keeping awake late in the night. It was a great memory watching my favorite movie in my favorite ambiance. Though, it disturbed my girlfriend a bit but I persuaded her later.

P.S : This is a creative account!

Show Your Love on Rakhi with a Great Gift!

Raksha Bandhan is around the corner marking the beginning of celebrations in this land of festivals. Meant to celebrate the holy bond between a brother and a sister, Raksha Bandhan is one of the most popular festivals in India. Every brother and sister, no matter how far they are from each other, starts planning for the day in advance. Dresses, sweets, and tickets are booked so they can spend the day with each other. Giving special Rakhi gifts to each other is one of the traditions of this festival.

It should not be just any ordinary gift, but one of a kind through which you can show your love and care. Since Raksha Bandhan is not very far away, you better start looking for the special gift before they are out of stock. Being confused with a lot of options at hand can be pretty natural, especially for boys. They are clueless when it comes to shopping for Rakhi gifts online for their sisters.

You are lucky since I have compiled a few choices for you over here,

Beauty sets: Stay Fabulous!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Girls and beauty go hand in hand in every walk of life. No matter if, they apply makeup on daily basis or occasionally, every girl love to get beauty sets as gift. Maybelline, Revlon, L’Oreal have an amazing beauty combo sets having everything a gift can need as her daily beauty needs. The combo set contains kajal, liner, lipstick or lip gloss, nail polish and eye shadow. Your sister will love it.

Grooming kits: Take Care!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Personal grooming being an essential part of daily life makes a really amazing gifting option. From hair styling products to personal care products, you have a lot of options to dig in. Every time your sister will curl her hair, she will thank you for the hair styling kit. Roman beauty and Philips have an amazing range of hair styling products. If your sister love to use fragrant personal hygiene products like body wash, moisturizers, hand and body creams, body mists and lotions, Victoria’s Secret gift sets is right choice!

Nail art kits: Dress those nails!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Nail art has become a popular trend in India. Girls are becoming crazy about it. If your sister is one of those girls who love to dress up her nails, nail art kits will be a fabulous gift for her. Brands like Konad, L’Oreal, Blue Heaven and Street wear have cute nail art combos. You can choose the one in your budget for your sweet sister. 

Dresses: Be the Fashionista!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

When you are clueless about gifts, nothing can beat a cute dress. Show your love for your sister through a gorgeous gift. It can be a fabulous vintage classic with quirky prints or a marvelous flowy maxi dress, just make sure it is as per your sister’s fashion choices.

Perfumes: Spread your fragrance!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Although buying perfumes for someone can be a tricky business, but if you know your sister well, it should not be very difficult for you. You can pick from floral, fruity, musky, woody, spicy or natural notes as per your sister’s preferences. Brands like Givenchy, Dior, Davidoff, Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret are some brands you can try!

Handbags: Perfect arm candy

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Nothing is as perfect as a handbag for girls. We all share this common love no matter how different we are from each other. If you are seeking Raksha Bandhan gifts for your sister, give her a cute handbag with quirky print or sequenced clutch bag, or you can gift her both.

Sisters are the cutest gift of God for every brother. Make your doting sister feel special on this Raksha Bandhan with the right gift. Spend some time with her, take her out and make this special day memorable!

P.S: This wonderful write up is creation of Minakshi Pharswal. She is a blogger working with one of India's leading online fashion destination. Being a crazy shopper and blogger,she keeps an eye on latest trends in shopping, fashion, and accessories and writes about them.

Till we meet the next time!

Today , a smile got etched on my lips; the reason behind the smile was a moment rinsed with your reminiscence.

It felt as if something got written on the blank pages of my soul again.

It has been eons since you have left me, but when I remember you, I feel the feeling of yesterday.

I cannot name a relationship with you but in this namelessness, I find a sense of one-ship with you.

I can’t define you but in this abstractness, I have many times refined you.

But still I can’t say that I know you.

For me happiness resides in every layer of your memories that I discover every time remembering you.

I wish you to be unfettered from my memories and appear into my reality.

But life is intertwined with destiny and it is known for its brutality.

Without you there is left nothing within me.

Without you there dies everything within me.

But your memory has resurrective power,

It resurrects every moment of every hour, when you were mine, when my destiny also had a shine.

I will try to preserve this smile till we meet the next time!

Honey Diet and My Honey!

I used to like Piyush a lot. We were studying MBA in the same college but he was in the different section. He was kind of a dude on whom any girl would swoon. I used to steal glance of him while passing the gangway after the class used to get over.

I am not that great cricket fan but I used to go to the lawn with my friends to watch him play during the inter college competitions. I had never overtly expressed my penchant for him but I think that my roommate had an inkling of my fondness for him. But she also never talked with me about this.

Days in the MBA College are hectic. Classes, presentations, seminars sap all the energy of a student. You have to be on your toes always. Surprise quizzes and exams are two demons that would never let you have a tight sleep in an MBA college but whatever sleep I used to manage, I used to dream about Piyush. Whenever I used to think about him, I had goosebumps. And a kind of intoxication used to enwrap me.

I used to feel good after thinking about him. I am kind of a dreamer. Amid the lectures, I used to get rapt in the dreams of how I am meeting Piyush and expressing my love for him. On my confession of love Piyush gets really ecstatic and tells me that he also used to think the same way about me. Then we go to the mall of the city and watch a romantic picture in the theater there. Then the evening ends with a candle light dinner. An utter satisfaction used to fill my heart and then amid the hullabaloo of question and answer session of the class, I would return from my dream trip.

One night my roommate offered to convey my feelings for Piyush to him. Somehow I also agreed. When my roommate went to him to tell him about my feelings, I was watching both of them from a distance. When their conversation ended my roommate came back to me but didn’t utter a word.

When I asked her thousand times only then she told me that he doesn’t like girls who are plumpy…ok fat. To be point blank he said that who would even think of linking an obese girl.

I was devastated. I never thought that he would talk in such rude measure about me. My all dreams were strewn in smithereens around me.

That day I resolved to shed my weight. I started exercising; taking 10 laps of running became a ritual for me. But even after these strenuous exercises I was not being able to shed my weight. Then one day my roommate suggested me to pot for honey diet and told me to choose the trusted Dabur brand of honey. Actually she had also felt bad that day when Piyush had rejected me badly so she used to do all the research for the weight management.

Amazingly, in the next fifteen day that I was on the Honey Diet, I shed my weight tremendously and after one and half month I was in a complete shape.  One day while I was having my breakfast Piyush came up to me and expressed his love for me before whole audience. I was taken aback for a moment. But then I realized that the honey diet of the Dabur Honey had really weaved its magic to make me seem fit in the eyes of Piyush. I was really happy that day to find my honey through honey diet.

P.S: This is a creative story!

UC Browser lets you see cricket just anywhere!

I was a professor of marketing in one of the reputed Business Schools of the city of Nagpur. My job entailed keeping myself engaged in activities related to pedagogy. From Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Four P’s, my life revolved around delicate and difficult theories of marketing. Making students understand the difference between wants and needs and why selling is different from marketing but still constitutes an integral part of marketing was my every mental juggle. Sure I loved marketing as subject from my student days, but there was something else too that I had a great passion for in my life and that was cricket.

Cricket has been my first love. No I am not one of those fortunate enough guys who have seen greats like Don Bradman,Gary Sobers ,Lala Amarnath, or Gundappa Vishwanath play, but I have seen Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev play and have almost grown up watching Sachin Tendulkar  break all the records of the cricket book. I have seen Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets in an innings,Kapil Dev becoming the higest  test wicket taker , Sunil Gavaskar making 10,000 runs, I have also seen Sachin surpassing him. I have seen the southpaw god Brain Lara make his 400 runs, I have seen Glen McGrath, Shen Warne and Muthaih Murlitheran making the ball a magical lump. I have seen India getting thrashed in 1996 world cup semi -final and I have also seen India winning world cup in 2011.

Today there was a clash between India and Australia in the final of a trilateral series. India had started well but I had to take my classes. I went to the class to teach then the marketing, even cricket is a kind of marketing nowadays. After one and half of an hour,I finished my class and rushed to my car to go home. The distance between my home and the college was of just half an hour of drive. But that day there was a lot of traffic. Perhaps everyone was in a hurry to go to home and watch match. When the traffic didn’t budge for some ten minutes, my attention went to my smartphone, I tried surfing the web to know the score. But the speed was of a snail. It took a hell lot of time to open the website and by then the signal got to green so I had to move on.

After trudging through the traffic, I reached my apartment. Quickly I got off  the car and went to the lift of my apartment.  I was expecting to reach my home soon and imagining of watching the game of cricket ensconced in my sofa. As I was rapt in my imagination, I felt a jerk. The lights went off and I knew that my match was gone. Because last time the lift had stopped and it had stopped for a good two hours. I tried surfing the cricket on my smartphone but of now use. Among other persons in the lift, there was a boy with in the lift as well, he must have been around 20 years and he was busy with his smartphone. He had dreadlocks and weird beard. I never liked that kind of guys. But just out of curiosity, I leaned over to see what he was watching. Given his rapper like appearance, I had little hope that he would have any interest in cricket, but I was wrong, he was watching the match and that too with live real time activities.

I told him that my smartphone was not able to play cricket. He took my phone and downloaded the UC Browser into it. And to my surprise, the UC Browser got downloaded very fast. After that he directed me to UC Cricket, and golly! I was getting the live pictures of cricket in a closed space like the lift. I had to be in the lift for next half an hour and I enjoyed India winning in the lift.

 I thanked the dreadlock guy for his geeky help and to UCBrowser and UC Cricket. Had it not been for UC Browser and UC Cricket, I would have missed a glorious win of India.

A hug to my father!

In my childhood, I was a sheer brat. I never listened to anyone. The minute my father used to go out of house with some work and I didn’t have school then it was very necessary for me to go out as well. Even if I was warned of dire consequences by my mother, I used to go out to play leaving books to flutter in the cool air of fans.

Yes my father was a disciplinarian but I was also a rebellious in nature. The excitement of going out and play or get myself involved in the adventurous activity was a bigger lure to brave the thrashes from my father.

I, with the gang of my friends, used to wander aimlessly in the deserted places that were some one kilometers away from my home. Those days having a bicycle for kids of middle class was a luxury and we didn’t have that luxury but the absence of luxury was in no way any deterrent for me to venture out.

There was also one more thing that interested me the most apart from playing. I was fond of the toothsome churans,Golgapps and Ice Golas that used to be sold outside of the school. I was never allowed the pocket money that was out of proportions but these proportionate limit of pocket money was not enough for my salivating greed of tongue.

I wanted to stuff my mouth with every flavours of tangy churans, and Ice golas. But the scant pocket money of mine was a real handicap in attaining the Churanic nirvana. I had seen where my father used to keep the change after returning from the market. That was kind of a piggy bank of our house. The box in which the change coins used to be put was almost full. So, I decided to take some coins from that box. In the start, It was quite fun I was stealing the coins from the box and splurging them on my devil habits of churans and golas. The best part was that nobody in the house ever doubted that the money was  trickling away. Therefore, my audacity knew no bounds. With no one noticing the pilferage,now I become real rapacious and wanted more of the churan and gola dosage. And for that I wanted to steal more.

One day, I robbed the box of the more coins than of permissible limits of my larceny exercise. And that rang the alarm. My mother was the coroner- in- chief who unearthed the heist. She thrashed me and warned me to be ready for more physical exercises in the evening when my father would arrive. I was scared to death. When I got caught, I got ashamed of my deeds. I was feeling very embarrassed. Before getting caught I had never felt that kind of embarrassing feeling.   

I was praying to god seriously for an escape this time.

The evening came and my mother poisoned the ear of my father.  I was standing shuddering before them. My father listened and moved to bathroom to have his customary evening bath. I was thinking that he was making some other plans to teach me a lesson while bathing. But no, even after coming from bathroom he remained calm. He just said “never do it again!”

And that’s it. I moved forward and with my eyes welled up hugged him. My mom was really furious seeing me go scot free but I was happy. It was perhaps the last time that I had hugged my dad. Now I think that he deserves one more hug for being a great father during all these years.

“This father’s day, I am expressing my love towards my dad by participating in the #HugYourDad activity at BlogAdda in association with Vicks.”

An unforgettable kiss of VICCO Turmeric Cream!

I had a dream to open a play school. My mom was a teacher and she was my inspiration. However, I did not want to do the regular teaching. The playschool part was more close to my heart. My mom advised me several times to look for a govt. job and do whatever I like after I get married. For Indian moms the marriage of their daughters are their prime concern since the day a daughter is born, and my mother was no different.

So, an entrepreneurial mind was not that so welcomed in my home. My dad also tried to persuade me away from the playschool thing. But, when I didn’t budge, he asked me a very pertinent question, “Where are you going to get the money for that?”

I had thought that my parents would fund my dream but it wasn’t so. They said pointblank that since it was my dream, it was my responsibility to raise money for that. I also saw some logic in that. Yes, it was my dream, so I had to take care of all the monetary needs that were essential to transmute my dream into a reality.

“Look you don’t have any experience of running a playschool, so it would be better if you join a playschool first and this way you can raise some money also. If you raise half of the amount then I assure you that I would help you out with the other half of the amount, “advised and comforted my mother.

In the intoxication of my dream of opening the playschool, I had totally negated some rational needs to start a business. So, as advised by my mother, I gave interview to some of the play schools of my city and I got selected in one. Though, the salary was low to start with I was told that after observing my performance for six months, I would be given a raise. Anyways, I didn’t have any other way out to understand the nitty- gritty of a playschool.

I got myself totally merged in the rhymes and plays at the play school. On and off, I used to be assigned the administrative tasks of the play school as well. Therefore, I was kind of getting an all-around experience in the play school. I had made some new friends at the school; they were the fellow teachers at the school.

One day, I conducted a play in the school,and after the play I was giving the children chocolates as gift and in return of the chocolate I asked a kiss on my cheek. But the children spurned my request. I was embarrassed that day. With my eyes welled up, I went straight to the bathroom. There in the mirror, I noticed the reason of the kids’ refusal to kiss me. I had cluster of pimples on both sides of my cheek and I was gleefully oblivious to it. Later in the evening, I told my mother about this and then she handed over to me the tube of  VICCO Turmeric Cream. She said that it would reduce the elements that make my skin oily and consequently it will help my skin trounce the pimples.

I applied the cream for fifteen days and now I had a squeaky-clean skin. Now kids were vying with each other to kiss me. It was a great change in my life and I thanked VICCO Turmeric Cream to bring about a radical change in my life. A kiss of VICCO Turmeric Cream changed the destiny of my facial skin and invited the Kids’ kisses too. I really love VICCO Turmeric Cream.

Umm, about my playschool,I will surely launch one some day.

P.S: This is a creative account!