Whom are you messaging?

“Who is that messaging you so late in the night?” Mind you, it was just a while past 11:15 pm.

Arey yaar, you just can’t stop yourself from being amused on reading a joke-sms. You tend to smile, usually alone – simply because the others around don’t know about the joke. Butterflies start fluttering in your stomach and you giggle.. by yourself, in a very controlled manner, yet displaying external signs of your amusement to the others around.

Things get worse if you just can’t read out the joke, aloud. You quickly want to share it with someone and select the ‘forward’ option and there it goes..

Within no time.. rather, at an unexpected time.. you hear mom’s voice..

“Who is that messaging you so late in the night?”

You hear.. “Who is that still awake?”

You to mom – “Chill mom! Am just forwarding, not chatting.”

You to yourself – mom! Its just past 11. Don’t expect everyone to go to sleep so early. Am the only one, ********, of that kind. The world is out there, totally awake and alive!

Just then you get a chat-sms – a comment, probably, on that joke u just forwarded. And you are in a fix of mixed emotions. Expressions dont know what to say.

Yes, your heart jumps, eager to continue the chat. But first your eyes look at mom’s whereabouts, the fingers waiting desperately to start playing on the keypad.

If the field is clear, you enjoy the singles.. else, grumble on your invisible handicap! : )

The proposal

Ah! It was a wonderful day. Princess and her friends were together again (at another bachelor’s B’day party), talking out through long hours and having fun. They spoke, spoke and spoke. Discussions that lead to no conclusion are always the favourite topics among guys, coz they love debating with girls on the silliest topic on earth. Bla bla bla.. it went on.. They began speaking about relationships, proposals, etc.. Then they made pairs/groups and enacted some funny acts.. (Now, the dialog between Princess and her friend while they were asked to enact the proposal scene..)

“If I were your crush, how would you propose me?”, Princess asked.

“I’d do anything that u’d want me to do for you..”, he said.

“Anything?”

“Yes..”

“Ok, then.. Would you sing for me?”

“Sure..” he said and bent one knee, as-if ready for the show..

“What would you sing?”

“Anything that u’d like..”

“I like Christmas carols.”

All eyebrows up! Eyeballs turning left and right.. Bursts of laughter surrounded us for a really long time. It was fun!

: )

Magic..

There was a bird I thought,
At a distance.. on that tree,
Ya, it looked like some creature that could fly,
So bird I called it, but which.. I wondered.
It had a long tail, like that of a peacock,
So peacock I called it.
It was sitting on the tree, and suddenly, to my surprise, it flew.
Now peacocks don’t fly so high.
It flew up till the building’s height,
A few stories may be, and up into the clear sky.
Then made circles in the air.
Magical rings they seemed to be,
With colours of shining yellow and gold.
Strange, but beautiful; and I stood in awe
Watching it dance to the tune it felt so.
Round and round, it swayed in curves,
Making beautiful shades in the dark sky.
With beauty, grace,
A happy smiling face,
And no one to comment,
It danced to its heart’s content.
Then left a bubble in the air,
That grew so big.. big enough to swallow it in.
Still, it danced inside, though I thought it would faint,
And left another bubble, that grew as large, but slightly smaller,
Which pulled the big bubble, and the bird,
And its wings, and its head..
And everything else..
Until it disappeared, like as if magically dead.
A dream it was, I was sure,
Yet it seems to be so real and near.
Ya, it was magical, that is true,
It made me write another poem, for you.
:)

Have never waited for exams
But now I do,
For it feels like finishing it off
In a day or two.
Wish they were now
In about a month or so,
Never mind the struggle it’d take
Confident, I’d make.
For I see no friend or foe
Only long ‘n lonely distances, to travel alone.

3. (Royal Welcome)

It was the end of autumn and summer had just begun. Nights ended sooner than usual. For a change, Princess decided to go for morning walks – all for fun, it was. But as expected she snoozed the alarm, twice. Heard a voice teasing her that she couldn’t keep resolutions. Then finally got up, ready to take up the challenge, lazily got ready and slowly tied her shoe-laces and set out. Little did she know about how wonderful it would turn out to be!

The moon was out there waiting to be seen by someone atleast, like, for the last time for that night, as if to say that it had done its duty, and now saying good-by for the day. The stars had already left. They are too proud of themselves being *stars*, but the moon is much more humble. So, the walk began.. it was cold and dark everywhere. Princess was wondering what she was doing at such a time on the national highway. Felt like going back home, and into the bed.. oh how nice and cozy it would be, but she continued just to keep up the resolution. Yawning while walking didn’t seem unusual at all.. After quite some time it was getting clearer ( is ‘getting closer to dawn’ a proper sentence?)

Pretty flowers of the Gulmohor and similar trees had begun to shed their petals. And they all lay there on the ground, as if to welcome the morning walkers. The pathway looked like a carpet, coloured in patches of red, orange and yellow. Some places were patched with dry leaves, and the rest of the road was bare. Wow! What a wonderful sight it was! Quiet a few vehicles rode that way, but surely they must not have enjoyed the sight enough. Then at a particular point, at a crossroad, one could hear the sound of water, trying hard to gush out, but unable to do so, probably because of a very small outlet. That was a starting point of a water pipe, a valve may be. But the sound of the struggling water was so pleasing to hear. And after some more time, on the way back home I mean, one could see the sky changing colours beautifully, from the initial darker shades of blue to it’s lighter tints, then to a mix of orangey yellow, and then bright, really bright. And all this setting for a delightful sunrise, which occurred in moments you couldn’t even count. Ah, so lovely!

Indeed it was a Royal Welcome!

2. (Involved)

“Seriously yaar, it’s been enough; enough of running away from boredom and these weakening thoughts. Enough of being idle”, Princess thought. “I’m gonna get involved, into some activity or the other. After all life’s motive is this, right? -to be involved into something until you never know what happened to you!!

Complex, is it? There could be complexities even more complex.

So, involvement is the key to a life of simplicity. Isn’t it?”

1. (Dry weather and the Diary)

It was a warm afternoon. The sun shone bright outside. Even a peep out of the room seemed to be eye-cracking. There was a power cut. So neither the fan would work, nor the PC, nor the TV. The radio was spoilt, and the i-pod had lost charge. Princess was bored. Dull day, so to say.

She went up to her diary. This diary was the first lucky one that she must have ever used as a diary. And since this was a rare time of the year -one of its kind- as she had got a good long holiday, Princess had decided to make it beautiful. It was her responsibility, she thought. Indeed, it was this Dry weather that led to the birth of the Diary. She noted down random things and events that either occurred or were planned. She decorated her diary, literally. It looked good. Indeed, the year was being made fondly memorable. Though, the diary had many things hidden, while mostly revealing the fun part of it. Only Princess would know, and may be a few others. The rest was buried in memories to be forgotten. Now, this had turned out to be one asset she would never want to loose. Experiences and attitude, the outcome and their memories, were recorded in there. The rest was left to history.

It’s always friends..!!!

Sometime back, during vacations, a house in our neighbourhood was robbed; and robbed heavily. The family had been on a week long holiday for the rarest of times. And for some reason the robbers had their selected list of items – Branded clothes, Some money left open, and Mangoes! Yes, they robbed mangoes too.. Ate a few, left the peals there and took away the rest. Indeed, they were hungry robbers! (I wonder if they took away the shoes as well.. If at all they had planned for a Feast.) No electronics were even touched! Surprising! Coz they all lay there.. open.. Only ‘they’ knew why?!!!

Rumours spread. Such a planned and dined robbery was sure to be made by some known fellas (bastards). Known fellas are called friends, right? May not be best friends, but friends.. yeah!

It’s always friends..!!!

Similarly, only a friend can betray. For, for a friend to betray someone, one must have the privileges of a friend.

That’s why.. It’s always friends..!!!

Also, you do things, things in secret, and you wish them to be secret always. But you are caught. And when you are caught, it’s got-to be either by a cop Or a friend.

It’s always friends..!!!

It feels like a celebrity.. hehe!!

When you are tracked all through.. When every move of yours is followed.. You feel like a celeb.

When someone insists on befriending you.. When that someone does things to impress you, and remains unsuccessful.. You feel like a celeb.

When you are watched for even which way you look.. May be even which way you walk.. You feel like a celeb.

When that someone imagines what you might be thinking.. When they try to read your thoughts.. You feel like a celeb.

When you get free publicity for doing nothing.. When actually you abstain from doing something.. You feel like a celeb.

When you are a topic of discussion.. Whether the topic is sweet or sour, cold or hot.. You feel like a celeb.

When you are the center of attraction.. For no reason what-so-ever.. You feel like a celeb.

When you hide your head in the sand like an ostrich, and think that no one can see you.. You feel like a celeb.

When that someone cannot imagine the extent to which you can act like a celeb.. You feel like a celeb.

When in life you feel you are down.. Just moments before you realize that it’s all up.. You feel like a celeb.

When your life looks like a mess to others.. While in reality it may be just perfect.. You feel like a celeb.

When that someone performs a comedy of errors.. When you enjoy the attention you are getting.. You feel like a celeb.

When you are happy and unaffected by outside talks, words or deeds.. You feel like a celeb.

Isn't it?

SILENCE

Who said, “If Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden”, ??? - False it is.

For once, Tin happened to experience a whole new situation in his life, one like smelling the odour coming out of a sugar factory.

This was Tin – a jolly good fellow in every walk of life. He believed in keeping the atmosphere pleasant. Enjoying every moment being his passion for life, he would make new friends pretty quickly.

Now, he was a young guy, just out of college, and searching for a job. It was his interview day. He had applied in a large shipping agency and they needed lots of workers to join the crew. While waiting for his turn to come, unlike the other applicants who were getting anxious every now and then, this lad stayed cool. He was observing things around and trying to enjoy the ongoing skit, where helpers assisted the applicants and the interviewers. They were running around like as-if settling things out of a big mess. One such helper Avi was guiding Tin and a few others. Anxious interviewees made the atmosphere cold. Silence filled the air for most of the time and occasionally a few scared footsteps were heard. It seemed like a dungeon wherein a serial killer was waiting to do his job as victims approached him one by one. Tin broke the silence, made friends with Avi.

“Is this all we need to take in?”

“Yes, they won’t bother much.”

“How is it inside the dungeon?”

“There are two. One in this room and another in that..”

Just then, a.. tired of life kind-off.. old man walked out and in through one of those dungeons. Poor fellow was given the job of the serial killer for that day.

“How is this taskmaster?”

“He is crack”.. (Giggles surround).. “very slow and Strict too.”

“And I am going to be killed by him, right??”

“Yes”.. “The other one is good. He is recruiting many.”

“Then send me there..”

Now, Avi seemed to be dog tired, still kept a smile on his face constantly, and that attracted Tin. Avi told Tin, it was a hard life in this agency. But optimistic Tin showed extra excitement like an ever-ready battery. Avi smiled. Probably, he remembered his interview day. He sent Tin in the better dungeon and Tin was happy. Tin got the job easily and was heartily glad, for now he had something to do.

He was to be boarded on a ship - Riana. But this also meant that he had to be away from home for months. Anyways, he had to do it. Excitedly, he boarded the ship at the earliest he could. There he met many others, different crew members doing different jobs in different departments. He befriended most of them.

Riana was beautiful. A small cruise ship when compared to the other ships of the agency, but very big one for Tin. It had three decks. The top was the open deck, with a golf court, a garden lawn with snacks and drinks. Cool blue waters shone on all sides during the day, and at night created a deeply chilled atmosphere. The middle deck had food and lodging facilities for all. The bottom deck included games, entertainment theaters, and party rooms. An alluring waterfall ran down from the top to the bottom deck, behind the stairway. Another tantalizing thing was a painting in one of the corridors.

“Wow!”, exclaimed Tin to his fellow worker, whose name was Rev. They were passing that way, towards the food-house. They both were managers of that food-house.

“That painting was got from an antique store.”, Rev said, “Beautiful, isn’t it? It will soon be shifted into our food-house. It would make a nice show piece on wall opposite the cashier”.

“Oh! Is it?”

Nod.

Now that painting of an unknown author was a special one. Rev had to take it safely somewhere, but this he hadn’t told Tin. He somehow managed to put it under Tin’s responsibility. Tin saw to it well and they often admired it for hours. One fine afternoon, when the ship landed on the shore, the police came in for a casual checkup. They found stolen gold inside the frame. Since it was under Tin’s responsibility, he was caught and put in jail.. actually Trapped..!! And jail is never a good place to be in.

Tin had nothing to say but that he was innocent. He preferred to be quiet, as no one would accept his plea. He was jailed for 2 years.

Now there were different facilities available in jail, for the prisoners -Things to do, to learn, that could earn them a living once they got out. Tin found new life in there. But how good was it? Once he got out, he could again apply to join the ship, but would they take him? And even if he got that job, would he be accepted by his fellowmen? Would he make friends the same way as before? Questions in his mind wouldn’t end. But one thing needs to be answered..

Was his new life worth?.. worth his silence?