Metamorphosis of relations

Many times in life we need an accomplice, a friend or an acquaintance in a new place. Starting from school, college to work we are usually on the lookout for a person with a warm smile. That person calms our nerves and helps us to mingle with the other people around.

Having an elder sibling in the same school comes with a mixed bag of opportunities and benefits. It’s like having a friend in Final year of engineering when you are a fresher (in short you are friends with the baap of the bullies). You can loiter around senior classes and if caught give them the excuse that you have come to meet your elder sibling. You can easily get the parent’s signature on that ‘not-so-good-looking’ report card and someone who can give an alibi in case of any mischief.

The sad part is whenever you are caught (and most probably punished) the horror and embarrassment is shown like a cricket match highlights show at home. Then the most logical thing that comes to mind is fight with your sibling. But again it’s a lose-lose case (even Shiv Khera of ‘You can Win’ can’t bail you out here).After approximately 2 hours you slowly accept the reality and save your energy plotting for a revenge next time .

The bitterness however slowly fades away with time as one discovers that you are no more siblings but best friends with a slight age difference.

Feasible Physics

Finally it was Physics which rescued him.

Raj is a techie in a reputed firm. He is used to spend most of the working hours in an A.C. (air conditioner). Even when he is not working, he has the air ‘conditioned’ working in the backdrop. The sports room, Food courts, Gymnasium, Movie halls or the shopping malls, everywhere he makes sure that he gets the conditioned air. That is not all he even gets his travel tickets in the A.C class through I.R.C.T.C (provided the site doesn’t get hung).

But things of late have changed its course. There is power crisis all over and the temperature has raised several notches. As a result the A.C.’s have to be used very rarely and most times never used at all. He is in panic now. How would he survive the heat? His body by now had developed into something which was only conducive to conditioned air.
He went to the blast furnace ..err food court and got grilled like tandoor. He ran away from there. He went to the Gymnasium only to find the pumping rods emitting sinusoidal heat waves. He went to the Sports room but still the heat was palpable. It seemed to him that the whole Universe has connived to teach him a lesson (remember the Kayanat dialogue by SRK in Om Shanti Om?). Heat-stricken and A.C-deprived he rushed home.

A quick shower helped to lower the temperature. But then power cut and low voltage followed. So he was again feeling the heat and sweating profusely. He did a silent prayer (amidst a loud curse to the Electricity Department) and thought of forgetting the whole turn of events. He took out the book from the shelf and started fanning himself before retiring to sleep. But what he saw in the dim light of his cellphone made him smile. It was like his prayers were answered. It was the physics book which said “Evaporation causes cooling”.

A couple of nights at a friend's house

Time:2400 Hrs
Venue: Friends house

We were very sleepy after the party.There were two bedrooms and a Hall to rest our aching bodies.One bedroom was already occupied.That left one bedroom and a Hall for 4 of us.I decided to sleep in the bedroom.I took the laptop and went to the bed room.Next day I was leaving Mysore ,I placed an alarm of 4:10 am and another of 4:15.I transferred a few songs from the lappie to my cell.Went to switch off the light,had a look at the fan.It was the normal cringing sound of the fan,probably its winding had got jammed I reckoned.I was too tired to imagine anything now.Switched off the light and fell flat on bed.

2 Days Ago
Time:0330 Hrs

"I can't sleep in the bedroom..It's very spooky...Somebody put a mattress in the hall..I'll sleep here" said my friend.I was too sleepy to take notice ,"What the hell are you talking and it's what 3:30 in the morning ?". Others got up and then gave him a place in the hall.
Later in the morning he told the whole episode.

Time:0300 Hrs
Present

I was sweating profusely.I was feeling warm,took off the bed sheet and the vest.Still no good.Had a look at the cringing fan again, the sound had become intolerable now.As if somebody was pressing its neck.The groans of the fan were becoming louder.I thought maybe if I increase the speed of fan the sound will subside.I made it to full speed .Suddenly the sound seemed to subside.I was happy..the room was getting cooler and the sound had reduced.


2 Days Ago
Time:1030 Hrs

I asked my friend (almost giggling), "Hey what happened today morning ? ". We all had thought that he was doing some prank.But when he spoke he was almost shuddering and we could see it in his eyes, he was in shock.
He told how all night the sound of the fan had become unbearable..it was much more than during the day.He thought maybe due to low voltage the speed has decreased and sound has increased.He increased the fan speed to its maximum.
At around 3:30 am the fan stopped all of a sudden.He thought it was going to fall down.But he was too lazy to get up ..also if it fell it would be at his feet.On second thought he got up and thought of switching off the fan. He went to the switch board and as he was putting his finger on the switch, suddenly the fan started rotating in a reverse way with a loud groaning sound.

Time:0330 Hrs
Present

The fan sound suddenly increased manifold times to become almost deafening for me.It woke me from my sleep.I tried to cover my ears and get some much required sleep.I turned my back towards the cieling fan and tried to sleep.It was difficult for me to sleep with the sound.All of a sudden the fan stopped and I remembered the incident that had happened to my friend.I made it clear to my mind that no matter what I wont get up from bed.Just then I heard sounds of switches being put on and off in a hurry.I closed my eyes hard trying not to take notice.After all I was to get up in another 40 mins or so.But it was not to be .... I felt somebody sitting at my back very close to my neck and almost pushing me to the bed.I reckoned it was somebody weighing atleast a good 50 Kilos.It was suffocating now..as the weight slackened I jumped from the bed and ran towards the door without taking a glance at the fan or the bed or at the open windows.
In the other room .. everybody gave me the same look they had given to my friend two days ago..this time however cold sweat lined their face.

End of the Dravidian era

History is laden with historic data. Data that was once real time. History taught us ,India was divided by Aryan's and Dravidian's. Too bad for the history teacher we already knew about Dravid (Later we came to know Aryan too in Mohabbatein).Only thing we didn't know was there was a huge family of Dravidian's.

Next moment I and my followers began thinking about how one Dravid has done to the team and now a whole team of Dravidian's will do for the team. So in humble respect for the clan we all closed the history book, stood up and did a forward defence (Spoiler- History teacher was still there).So we made a desperate attempt to fall at her feet (like a diving Arjuna Ranatunga to make the crease of a Ponting's throw).Luckily for us our teacher was also a fan of Rahul Dravid (Thank god for His dashing looks).Our case went for referral (not the one you are thinking here :)).

The third umpire our principal was not so considerate enough. We faced the punishment like an Aussie facing Murali on a 5th day pitch. Deep inside our respect for the "The Wall" grew. It made us more gritty, determined and bold. So much that we ventured to play cricket without Helmets on a cement pitch. I was lucky to escape with a black eye and a broken finger nail others were not and so were hospitalised without their mother's permission.

Over the years Rahul Dravid made his presence amongst the female folk too. I remember some of my classmates going crazy for his 6" by 6" poster or for the Dravid Vs Ganguly debate albeit the topic was "who was more handsome" :P .It only made me go onto the field and practice that copy-book on-drive and the straight drive while some tried their obnoxious shots which we call today as "helicopter shot".

In the later part there was one bowler whom world cricket feared, Shoaib Akhtar. He was as wayward as a Nantie Hayward but if he found the line and length he was too hot to handle. Ask any Indian top order batsmen and they will swear on their mother's name. Even a guy named "Amey Khurasia" had bad luck to debut against Shoaib Akhtar. His stay on the crease used to be short but not before he could patent some moves for "Step Up" with his footwork (Now you know why "Step Up 2 and 3 never became as popular as the original).

Now let me come back to the fight. Dravid facing Shoaib...one could almost feel the heart pumping gallons of blood...and then one pause when the bat meets the ball, thud and the ball would lie at Dravid's feet. (Like you see the prehistoric elephant/rhino nose diving at the killer's feet).We could see a muttering shoaib coming now with more vengeance and atrocity but the ball would see the same fate. It was like watching the win of good over evil and the match consequence was of lesser importance, a moral battle was won. Inspired by Dravid's resilience other lesser mortals too joined him. Slowly the demon was turned down into a mere mortal.

If test cricket is what cricket guru's say is real cricket then he has left behind a gallery of achievements. Kolkata test, Adelaide test, Multan, Lords, Barbados, Auckland, Bridgetown, Johannesburg, he has his name in the Hall of Achievers.


Day before yesterday as I watched him "hang his boots" in a press conference I quickly stole a glance to check if my right hand had gone up to salute the "hero".

Fireway

As I sat on my seat watching Agneepath a few things came to my mind.Will it match up to the hype and expectations? Will Hrithik do justice to the angry young man he was emulating? Will Karan Malhotra the debutant director cast magic with his direction ? Will Sanjay Dutt be the perfect villian ?


Two hours and 40 minutes later all my questions were answered.Agneepath is now one of my all time favourite movies.I am going to watch it again.The screenplay and plot is so captivating that one can really feel pity when Hrithik gets beaten or when he gets to meet his sister.Hrithik has very few dialogues but his expression is simply priceless.


The less talked about actor Priyanka has done extremely well.Going a step ahead from Kaminey where she was a "marathi mulgi" she has kept the balance between sensuality and grace.Just observe her expressions in "Guna guna" and I am sure one will be bowled over by the charm.


Sanju baba I must say has done many good films but this one will set a different benchmark for him.He is simply superb and frightening.Director Karan Malhotra has surely handled him well.His gigantic frame and shaved eyebrows and kohled eyes sent shivers down the spine.


Background score is brilliant and did I forget "Chikni Chameli" ? ;) ...I know there are no better words to express that. :)


P.S: Kar Shapath Kar Shapath Kar Shapath
Fireway Fireway fireway

No Pain ...No Gain

Have you ever felt the same?

A thousand rays putting you on flame

A sea of undercurrents making perilous attempts

To make you unstable like a volcano at its vaults

Have you ever felt the numbness?

Feeling not an ounce of pain after a million stabs

On heart and up to whatever depths you can fathom

You are almost on the verge of spitting out venom

Yet you choose to keep mum

Allow the pain to slowly eat away your glum

Believe that only pain can overcome pain

Understand that there is no bargain in pain

You show a smiling face for the world to know

Without being an actor you put up the greatest show

P.S: Dedicated to all those persons in my life who bravely tide over adversities and never fluster or complain any single moment.