Be sure to read Scene 3. Quite interesting.
This is a new one.People sure stay busy
trying to cheat us, don't they?
SCENE 1.
A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings
in the locker. After the workout and a shower, he came out,
saw the locker open, and thought to himself, 'Funny,
I thought I locked the locker..
Hmm, 'He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make
sure all was in order.
Everything looked okay - all cards were in place...
A few weeks later his credit card bill came -
a whooping bill of $14,000!
He called the credit card company and started
yelling at them, saying that he did not make
the transactions.
Customer care personnel verified that
there was no Mistake in the system and asked
if his card had been stolen..
'No,' he said, but then took out his
wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep -
you guessed it - a switch had been made.
An expired similar credit card from
the same bank was in the wallet.
The thief broke into his locker at the gym
and switched cards.
Verdict: The credit card issuer said since
he did not report the card missing earlier,
he would have to pay the amount owed
to them.
How much did he have to pay for items
he did not buy?
$9,000! Why were there no calls made to
verify the amount swiped?
Small amounts rarely trigger a 'warning bell'
with some credit card companies.
It just so happens that all the small amounts
added up to big one!
============================
SCENE 2.
A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal
with his credit card.
The bill for the meal came, he signed it and
the waitress folded the receipt and passed the
credit card along.
Usually, he would just take it and place it in his
wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he
actually took a look at the car and
behold, it was the expired card of another person.
He called the waitress and she looked perplexed.
She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to
the counter under the watchful eye of the man.
All the waitress did while walking to the counter
was wave the wrong expired card to the counter
cashier, and the counter cashier immediately
looked down and took out the real card.
No exchange of words --- nothing! She took
it and came back to the man with an apology..
Verdict:
Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours.
Check the name on the card every time you
sign for something and/or the card is taken
away for even a short period of time.
Many people just take back the credit card without
even looking at it, 'assuming' that it has to be theirs.
FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT
OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME
IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!
==========================
SCENE 3:
Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to
pick up an order that I had called in.
I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of
course, is linked directly to my checking
account.
The young man behind the counter took my
card, swiped it, then laid it on the counter as
he waited for the approval, which is pretty
standard procedure..
While he waited, he picked up his cell phone
and started dialing.
I noticed the phone because it is the same
model I have, but nothing seemed out of the
ordinary. ? Then I heard a click that sounded
like my phone sounds when I take a picture.
He then gave me back my card but kept the
phone in his hand as if he was still pressing
buttons.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he
is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was
really going on.
It then dawned on me: the only thing there
was my credit card, so now I'm paying close
attention to what he is doing..
He set his phone on the counter, leaving it
open.
About five seconds later, I heard the chime
that tells you that the picture has been saved.
Now I'm standing there struggling with the
fact that this boy just took a picture of my creditcard.
Yes, he played it off well, because had we not
had the same kind of phone, I probably would
never have known what happened.
Needless to say, I immediately cancelled
that card as I was walking out of the pizza
parlor..
All I am saying is, be aware of your
surroundings at all times.
Whenever you are using your credit card
take caution and don't be careless.
Notice who is standing near you and what
they are doing when you use your card.
Be aware of phones, because many have a
camera phone these days.
Showing posts with label Narration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Narration. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
My date with another WOMAN
Dear All,
Please do read.
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER,who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. "What's wrong, are you well," she asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
"I thought that it would be pleasant to be with you," I responded. "Just the two of us." She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, "she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting". We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down,I had to read the menu. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips "It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.
"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation -nothing extraordinary, but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her house later,she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I did to not get to do anything for her.
Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I LOVE YOU!" and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till "some other time."
Pass this along to everyone with an aging parent, to a child, to an adult, to anyone with a parent. Here's hoping today is better than yesterday and tomorrow..........
Please do read.
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER,who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. "What's wrong, are you well," she asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
"I thought that it would be pleasant to be with you," I responded. "Just the two of us." She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, "she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting". We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down,I had to read the menu. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips "It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.
"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation -nothing extraordinary, but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.
As we arrived at her house later,she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I did to not get to do anything for her.
Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I LOVE YOU!" and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till "some other time."
Pass this along to everyone with an aging parent, to a child, to an adult, to anyone with a parent. Here's hoping today is better than yesterday and tomorrow..........
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Life is about correcting mistakes
Monica married Hitesh this day. At the end of the wedding party, Monica's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook. With Rs.1000 deposit amount.
Mother: 'Monica, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life. When there's something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it's about next to the line.
The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I've done the first one for you today. Do the others with Hitesh.When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you've had.'
Monica shared this with Hitesh when getting home. They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.
This was what they did after certain time:
- 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage
- 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Monica
- 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali
- 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Monica got pregnant
- 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted
..... and so on...
However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things.They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the most nasty people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typical nowadays, huh?
One day Monica talked to her Mother:
'Mom, we can't stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can't imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!'
Mother: 'Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'
Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account.
While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home.
When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.
The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Monica. She found a new deposit of Rs.5000.
And a line next to the record: 'This is the day I notice how much I've loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you've brought me.'
They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.
I don't know how much they saved .I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.
"When you fall, in any way, Don't see the place where you fell,
Instead see the place from where you slipped.
Life is about correcting mistakes."
Sunday, July 3, 2011
God Does Exist
A man went to a barber shop to have his hair and his beard cut as always.
He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended him. They talked about so many things and various subjects. suddenly, they touched the subject of God.
The barber said: “Look man, I don’t believe that God exists as you say so.”
Why do you say that?” - asked the client.
Well, it’s so easy, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be no suffering nor pain. I can’t think of a God who permits all of these things.”
The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn’t want to respond so as to prevent an argument. The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. Just after he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard (it seems that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy).
Then the client again entered the barber shop and he said to the barber: know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How come they don’t exist?” - asked the barber. “Well I am here and I am a barber.”
“No!” - the client exclaimed. “They don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that man who walks in the street.”
“Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to me.”
“Exactly!”- affirmed the client. “That’s the point. GOD does exist, what happens is people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
If you like this, share it to other people. If you think God does not exist, don’t do it.
He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended him. They talked about so many things and various subjects. suddenly, they touched the subject of God.
The barber said: “Look man, I don’t believe that God exists as you say so.”
Why do you say that?” - asked the client.
Well, it’s so easy, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God does not exist. Oh, tell me, if God existed, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be no suffering nor pain. I can’t think of a God who permits all of these things.”
The client stopped for a moment thinking but he didn’t want to respond so as to prevent an argument. The barber finished his job and the client went out of the shop. Just after he left the barber shop he saw a man in the street with a long hair and beard (it seems that it had been a long time since he had his cut and he looked so untidy).
Then the client again entered the barber shop and he said to the barber: know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How come they don’t exist?” - asked the barber. “Well I am here and I am a barber.”
“No!” - the client exclaimed. “They don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with long hair and beard like that man who walks in the street.”
“Ah, barbers do exist, what happens is that people do not come to me.”
“Exactly!”- affirmed the client. “That’s the point. GOD does exist, what happens is people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
If you like this, share it to other people. If you think God does not exist, don’t do it.
You must be in Top Management
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She reduced altitude and spotted a man below. She descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me Sir, can you help me? I promised a friend, I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am."
The man below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
''You must be an engineer," said the lady balloonist.
"I am", replied the man. 'How did you know?'
''Well", answered the lady in the balloon, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip even more."
The engineer below responded, "You must be in Top Management."
''I am", replied the lady balloonist, "but, how did you know?''
"Well," said the Engineer, "You don't know where you are, or where you're going. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you, to solve your problems."
The man below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
''You must be an engineer," said the lady balloonist.
"I am", replied the man. 'How did you know?'
''Well", answered the lady in the balloon, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip even more."
The engineer below responded, "You must be in Top Management."
''I am", replied the lady balloonist, "but, how did you know?''
"Well," said the Engineer, "You don't know where you are, or where you're going. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you, to solve your problems."
Friday, July 1, 2011
For All professionals
Dear All,
"In the wake of two shocking incidents that took place in Bangalore and Hyderabad, couples committing suicide because of extra-marital affairs with their colleagues. I just thought of writing a small article on how to avoid such incidents. This is really a serious matter and if not dealt on at an early stage could lead to such incidents in our personal life too. I have done research on human behavior and psychology and am trying to put-in some text which may (or may not) be helpful to you. Never-the-less I feel it's worth knowing such things and if possible every individual can make a conscious effort to more or less follow the same.
Some people don't take advice but taking good advice may do you no harm.
Those who are not married, this is the best article before starting a new relationship if you are ready for it, it will only help you to lead a happy life.
Read on….
We spend 40/45/50/60 hours a week with our colleagues. This is the most we spend with any members of our family. So it's obvious they are an integral part of our life. Good, understood. But an important point to remember is colleagues are colleagues and not friends and if you think they are friends then you are highly mistaken. Imagine working together for 9 hours a day together and then returning home and continuing to talk with your colleague on phone. This is what happened with that Infosys guy who could not stand this behavior of his wife and killed her and committed suicide. Which husband would like his wife talking on phone with her colleague and that too male counterpart? Or which wife will like her husband doing the same? Just keep yourself in that situation and see. Anger will creep in within you.
So whatever gossip or topic you want to discuss with your colleagues do it during office hours and once you are out of office forget about your work and your colleagues unless it's official matter.
Just check this unnecessary talk…
A guy and her colleague walk out of office at 6.30p.m every day. At 7.30 or 8.00 the guy calls that female;
Guy: Hi, how are you? Where have you reached? (Don't you know how she is and where she must be at this time?)
Lady: I am fine. Reached home!
Guy: What are you cooking today?
Lady: So and so
(Now here the lady knows that the guy has called to flirt with her and the call is unnecessary. It's the duty of the female to say something to avoid that guy. If she doesn't at this stage then this call will be going for another 30-45 mins and questions like 'When will you be taking bath? What time you will sleep? What will you bring for me for breakfast for tomorrow will creep in?' and imagine the state of the family members of that lady at this point.
They expect the lady to come and talk with them for sometime but here this lady is enjoying a talk with the guy with whom she has been working since morning.
No wonder such people will have a horrendous married life.
A simple thing to think about is Say you are not married. You go to office and come back say at 6.00 in the evening. You have so much of time left. Can't you read some books and increase your knowledge rather than spending one-two hours on mobile. Girls can start experimenting with new dishes. Main thing to understand is such gossiping on calls becomes on habit and bad habits die-hard. You will be addicted to talking and this can be bad as time goes on. One you start working you have to come out of college life. In college you could enjoy, flirt, and do anything you wanted. But this is real life. Be responsible or else you will be responsible for your terrible life and the life if your husband/wife.
Any person no matter who he/she is would never like his/her wife/husband having such relationship with her/his colleagues.
Guys see to it that you don't put a habit of calling you female-colleagues after office hours or on weekends or holidays, even if they provoke you or give missed calls. Let them spend time with their family members or other friends. You also do the same. Good girls don't give missed calls. And girls who give stay away from them. You can talk as much as you want in office. And if any guy calls a gal then it is not bad to say 'No, Let's talk in office' or 'I am busy, talk with you tomorrow' to that guy. Do it twice and they will automatically stop calling. Guys have this habit of flirting and you allowing them to flirt will only help them do more. Relationships can always be maintained in right manner. Never succumb to emotional pressure like 'You don't want to talk with me or what' or 'You can call him but you can't call me' or 'You talk for so and so time with her but with me only this much'. Some people fall for this because they don't want to lose him/her. Again I say colleague is not a friend. They are just here to work and keep on moving in their life. They go to other company, go for growth and so on. They will not wait for you in the same office to be with you forever. So don't be emotionally attached with your colleagues. They are competitors and always on their toes to show you down in front of seniors and managers. You may not realize now but this is a fact, be ready for it.
Imagine a girl getting married and someone says to her to be husband that guy over there is the one who regularly calls your wife or your wife gives missed calls or calls that guy. Always this thing will remain on the back of his mind. Similarly someone tells the bride that your groom always keeps calling that girl or vice-versa…. Imagine yourself at that place. Situations arise because we allow them to. No one can lead ideal life but we can always make a sincere effort to lead one.
Another note to be taken about: (strictly male to female and female to male contexts)
If your colleague calls you just check out whether if he calls others also and if he doesn't then find out why? No guy will call other girl if he is not interested in that girl. In a group there can be five females but it's not necessary that a guy calls all five. He will only call the one on whom he is interested. Similarly, a girl will not give missed call to everyone. If she gives then she must be really lonely. Stay away from them or you will be caught in their loving talk. Guys normally fall for girls because of their beauty or their talk. So if a guy colleague comes to you and proposes you then it's not his mistake completely, it's more of yours because you were the one who used to give him that space.
Also you become a topic of gossip among your fellow colleagues if they come to know that one of their colleagues is calling you and not calling others. And there is nothing more dangerous than office gossip. It can cost you your job and just remember how easily you got this job.
So please keep your office and its people at office and lead a normal happy life for your good and for the good of your spouse. Send it to your colleagues, friends, relatives, parents and everyone and avoid incidents like the one mentioned at the beginning of this article. If you feel anyone is doing anything mentioned above then just go and tell him/her. You will be helping someone in their life."
"In the wake of two shocking incidents that took place in Bangalore and Hyderabad, couples committing suicide because of extra-marital affairs with their colleagues. I just thought of writing a small article on how to avoid such incidents. This is really a serious matter and if not dealt on at an early stage could lead to such incidents in our personal life too. I have done research on human behavior and psychology and am trying to put-in some text which may (or may not) be helpful to you. Never-the-less I feel it's worth knowing such things and if possible every individual can make a conscious effort to more or less follow the same.
Some people don't take advice but taking good advice may do you no harm.
Those who are not married, this is the best article before starting a new relationship if you are ready for it, it will only help you to lead a happy life.
Read on….
We spend 40/45/50/60 hours a week with our colleagues. This is the most we spend with any members of our family. So it's obvious they are an integral part of our life. Good, understood. But an important point to remember is colleagues are colleagues and not friends and if you think they are friends then you are highly mistaken. Imagine working together for 9 hours a day together and then returning home and continuing to talk with your colleague on phone. This is what happened with that Infosys guy who could not stand this behavior of his wife and killed her and committed suicide. Which husband would like his wife talking on phone with her colleague and that too male counterpart? Or which wife will like her husband doing the same? Just keep yourself in that situation and see. Anger will creep in within you.
So whatever gossip or topic you want to discuss with your colleagues do it during office hours and once you are out of office forget about your work and your colleagues unless it's official matter.
Just check this unnecessary talk…
A guy and her colleague walk out of office at 6.30p.m every day. At 7.30 or 8.00 the guy calls that female;
Guy: Hi, how are you? Where have you reached? (Don't you know how she is and where she must be at this time?)
Lady: I am fine. Reached home!
Guy: What are you cooking today?
Lady: So and so
(Now here the lady knows that the guy has called to flirt with her and the call is unnecessary. It's the duty of the female to say something to avoid that guy. If she doesn't at this stage then this call will be going for another 30-45 mins and questions like 'When will you be taking bath? What time you will sleep? What will you bring for me for breakfast for tomorrow will creep in?' and imagine the state of the family members of that lady at this point.
They expect the lady to come and talk with them for sometime but here this lady is enjoying a talk with the guy with whom she has been working since morning.
No wonder such people will have a horrendous married life.
A simple thing to think about is Say you are not married. You go to office and come back say at 6.00 in the evening. You have so much of time left. Can't you read some books and increase your knowledge rather than spending one-two hours on mobile. Girls can start experimenting with new dishes. Main thing to understand is such gossiping on calls becomes on habit and bad habits die-hard. You will be addicted to talking and this can be bad as time goes on. One you start working you have to come out of college life. In college you could enjoy, flirt, and do anything you wanted. But this is real life. Be responsible or else you will be responsible for your terrible life and the life if your husband/wife.
Any person no matter who he/she is would never like his/her wife/husband having such relationship with her/his colleagues.
Guys see to it that you don't put a habit of calling you female-colleagues after office hours or on weekends or holidays, even if they provoke you or give missed calls. Let them spend time with their family members or other friends. You also do the same. Good girls don't give missed calls. And girls who give stay away from them. You can talk as much as you want in office. And if any guy calls a gal then it is not bad to say 'No, Let's talk in office' or 'I am busy, talk with you tomorrow' to that guy. Do it twice and they will automatically stop calling. Guys have this habit of flirting and you allowing them to flirt will only help them do more. Relationships can always be maintained in right manner. Never succumb to emotional pressure like 'You don't want to talk with me or what' or 'You can call him but you can't call me' or 'You talk for so and so time with her but with me only this much'. Some people fall for this because they don't want to lose him/her. Again I say colleague is not a friend. They are just here to work and keep on moving in their life. They go to other company, go for growth and so on. They will not wait for you in the same office to be with you forever. So don't be emotionally attached with your colleagues. They are competitors and always on their toes to show you down in front of seniors and managers. You may not realize now but this is a fact, be ready for it.
Imagine a girl getting married and someone says to her to be husband that guy over there is the one who regularly calls your wife or your wife gives missed calls or calls that guy. Always this thing will remain on the back of his mind. Similarly someone tells the bride that your groom always keeps calling that girl or vice-versa…. Imagine yourself at that place. Situations arise because we allow them to. No one can lead ideal life but we can always make a sincere effort to lead one.
Another note to be taken about: (strictly male to female and female to male contexts)
If your colleague calls you just check out whether if he calls others also and if he doesn't then find out why? No guy will call other girl if he is not interested in that girl. In a group there can be five females but it's not necessary that a guy calls all five. He will only call the one on whom he is interested. Similarly, a girl will not give missed call to everyone. If she gives then she must be really lonely. Stay away from them or you will be caught in their loving talk. Guys normally fall for girls because of their beauty or their talk. So if a guy colleague comes to you and proposes you then it's not his mistake completely, it's more of yours because you were the one who used to give him that space.
Also you become a topic of gossip among your fellow colleagues if they come to know that one of their colleagues is calling you and not calling others. And there is nothing more dangerous than office gossip. It can cost you your job and just remember how easily you got this job.
So please keep your office and its people at office and lead a normal happy life for your good and for the good of your spouse. Send it to your colleagues, friends, relatives, parents and everyone and avoid incidents like the one mentioned at the beginning of this article. If you feel anyone is doing anything mentioned above then just go and tell him/her. You will be helping someone in their life."
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Most important part of the Body
My mother used to ask me what the most important part of the body is.
Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct Answer.
When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, 'My ears, Mommy.'
She said, 'No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon.'
Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer.
So this time I told her, 'Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.'
She looked at me and told me, 'You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.'
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years,
Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, 'No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child.'
Then one year, my grandfather died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the
second time I saw him cry.
My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to my Grandfather. She asked me, 'Do you know the most important body part
yet, my dear?' I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me..
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, 'This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you were wrong and I have given you an example why.
But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.'
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, 'My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder.'
I asked, 'Is it because it holds up my head?'
She replied, 'No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.'
Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one.
It is made for others and not for yourself. It is sympathetic to the pain of others.
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did . But people will NEVER forget how you made them feel.
The origination of this letter is unknown, but it brings a blessing to everyone who passes it on. Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you always know they are there.
Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct Answer.
When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, 'My ears, Mommy.'
She said, 'No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon.'
Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer.
So this time I told her, 'Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.'
She looked at me and told me, 'You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.'
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years,
Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, 'No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child.'
Then one year, my grandfather died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the
second time I saw him cry.
My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to my Grandfather. She asked me, 'Do you know the most important body part
yet, my dear?' I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me..
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, 'This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you were wrong and I have given you an example why.
But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.'
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, 'My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder.'
I asked, 'Is it because it holds up my head?'
She replied, 'No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.'
Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one.
It is made for others and not for yourself. It is sympathetic to the pain of others.
People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did . But people will NEVER forget how you made them feel.
The origination of this letter is unknown, but it brings a blessing to everyone who passes it on. Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you always know they are there.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Good Story of Narayana Murty & Sudha Murty
An excellent and Great Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography) - pls dont miss it
Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography)
It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco(TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy,bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner. I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m .. at Green Fields hotel on the Main Road ,Pune.
The next day I went there at 7' o ! clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him... And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.
Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty as trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, I want to tell you something. I knew this was it. It was coming. He said, I am 5'4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life an! d I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage...
When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What's his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father.
At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay , was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi(though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life.
Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.
Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.
The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me.. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding.
The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way.
During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni computers in Bombay .. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.
WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT.I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS 400 EACH.
I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem . Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.
IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO CAPITAL...initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background ... Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, This is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the
financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you
have only three years!
Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house.
In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore . Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father
presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk,
secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.
It was like a big joint family, taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was involved with Infosys initially.
Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.
It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request..I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.
I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine. You are responsible for my success.
Love Story of Narayana Murthy (Infosys Founder) and Sudha (From Sudha's Autobiography)
It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco(TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy,bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner. I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m .. at Green Fields hotel on the Main Road ,Pune.
The next day I went there at 7' o ! clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him... And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.
Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty as trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, I want to tell you something. I knew this was it. It was coming. He said, I am 5'4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life an! d I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage...
When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What's his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father.
At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay , was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi(though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life.
Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.
Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.
The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me.. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding.
The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way.
During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni computers in Bombay .. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.
WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT.I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS 400 EACH.
I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem . Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.
IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO CAPITAL...initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background ... Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, This is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the
financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you
have only three years!
Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house.
In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore . Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father
presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk,
secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.
It was like a big joint family, taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was involved with Infosys initially.
Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.
It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request..I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.
I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine. You are responsible for my success.
My First Date
I still remember the first date I ever went on in my life. Usually
first dates are memorable to everyone but for me it was something
that I can never forget. I went out for my first date with my high
school crush when I was in class eleven. It was a day that I planned
for weeks and finally she, Rachna, agreed to come out with me,
Prasun Roy! In school who was famous for being a person with a cool
attitude with no constraints from the family end, whose parents were
more of buddies than dominating guardians! However the fact remained
that I too was from a middle class family with core values and
principles like all others.
Back home I lied to my parents that I was going out for a school
excursion and managed to get the approval of my parents and finally
the day arrived.
After a short lunch at a funky restaurant, Rachna and I went hand in
hand for a movie. As the evening was drawing to a close we were
roaming in the streets of "New Market" talking to each other, about
each other. Life suddenly seemed so beautiful.
All of a sudden, out of the forgotten multitude that was also
walking in the same street, I could see a familiar face quite
distinct- why I didn't know. As realization embraced my
consciousness, I comprehended that the face of the person
approaching me from the other side was of none other than but my
FATHER!
Within a fraction of a second all romanticism vanished from my heart
and a fear engrossed it instead. I could interpret in that short
time the amount of humility and shame I would face suddenly as my
father would recognize me, scold me after we meet, and that was
inevitable! Apart from the scorn that I would face at home, I could
also feel the embarrassment I would face in front of Rachna, who
recognized as the cool guy ... in school as well as back home!
Crippled with the fear I only prayed that the earth would open up
and I would hide there from all the humility. However there seemed
no practical escape from it. Then some thing happened.
My father came near me, along with the now not-so-forgotten
multitude, looked into my eyes as a stranger and passed by me
rubbing his shoulder against mine and passed by without even
recognizing me. It was the biggest shock and relief of my life. I
still don't know which emotion was predominant at that moment.
After sometime, Rachna went away to her home oblivious of the fact
what ever I just revealed, and I came back to mine.
At home that night, life seemed to me like a prison. I went for
dinner with a fearful heart and a lost appetite. To my surprise,
everything was so very normal. My mother served dinner and we all
ate the usual way. This made my life more miserable. I quickly
finished my food and went back to my room. Questions crowded my mind
and I couldn't figure out what might have happened after my father
came back home and revealed about my forged romantic rendezvous. Why
everything was still so normal pained my mind even more!
Presently my father calmly came into my room and sat beside me. I
looked into his eyes with fear in mine but discovered a smooth
comfort in his! He soothingly asked, "So Sunny Boy, how was your
date, I must say she was a pretty and sweet lady!"
Like somewhat mesmerized I revealed everything to him about my first
date and added, "Dad, it was simply out of this world, but the day
passed away like a few minutes only!"
He smiled and said, "You know what, Albert Einstein once said ...
Put your hand on a hot oven for a minute and it would seem like and
hour; put your hand upon those of a pretty lady for an hour and it
would seem like a minute! Now that's relativity. Its all relative,
the fact is how much you cherish what you gained ... RIGHT! This is
the biggest lesson of life my son"
I had never seen my father being like this before; he was more of a
buddy than my guardian actually. I could feel within me that I would
never ever be able to hide anything else from him, he actually
understood me much more than my own self.
We talked for an hour and I would remember those words forever
perhaps! I couldn't interpret whether it was my First Date with my
dream girl or the First Date of knowing my father actually. However
I knew that I realized how much I loved and respected my father
after that. Just as he was leaving my room I called him and
said "Thank You daddy! Thank you so much!"
Both of us knew what I was thankful for and required no mentioning.
He turned towards me with his dreamy eyes and said these words...
"Hey son, how could I ever let you down my child, never! I would
just say, whatever happens in life and whomever you love in your
life and to whatever degree, you only remember one thing that your
Daddy has loved you 18 years more than that. 18 years more than that
dear!"
He switched off the light and went to his room. In the mild blue and
gray of the moonlight ushering into my room through the window I too
could feel one thing ... Yes, its truly 18 more years of Love, I, or
any child, can never ever cover up! It was in fact my First Date,
the first one of actually realizing the Love I had taken for granted
for all those Eighteen Years perhaps! It truly was so.
first dates are memorable to everyone but for me it was something
that I can never forget. I went out for my first date with my high
school crush when I was in class eleven. It was a day that I planned
for weeks and finally she, Rachna, agreed to come out with me,
Prasun Roy! In school who was famous for being a person with a cool
attitude with no constraints from the family end, whose parents were
more of buddies than dominating guardians! However the fact remained
that I too was from a middle class family with core values and
principles like all others.
Back home I lied to my parents that I was going out for a school
excursion and managed to get the approval of my parents and finally
the day arrived.
After a short lunch at a funky restaurant, Rachna and I went hand in
hand for a movie. As the evening was drawing to a close we were
roaming in the streets of "New Market" talking to each other, about
each other. Life suddenly seemed so beautiful.
All of a sudden, out of the forgotten multitude that was also
walking in the same street, I could see a familiar face quite
distinct- why I didn't know. As realization embraced my
consciousness, I comprehended that the face of the person
approaching me from the other side was of none other than but my
FATHER!
Within a fraction of a second all romanticism vanished from my heart
and a fear engrossed it instead. I could interpret in that short
time the amount of humility and shame I would face suddenly as my
father would recognize me, scold me after we meet, and that was
inevitable! Apart from the scorn that I would face at home, I could
also feel the embarrassment I would face in front of Rachna, who
recognized as the cool guy ... in school as well as back home!
Crippled with the fear I only prayed that the earth would open up
and I would hide there from all the humility. However there seemed
no practical escape from it. Then some thing happened.
My father came near me, along with the now not-so-forgotten
multitude, looked into my eyes as a stranger and passed by me
rubbing his shoulder against mine and passed by without even
recognizing me. It was the biggest shock and relief of my life. I
still don't know which emotion was predominant at that moment.
After sometime, Rachna went away to her home oblivious of the fact
what ever I just revealed, and I came back to mine.
At home that night, life seemed to me like a prison. I went for
dinner with a fearful heart and a lost appetite. To my surprise,
everything was so very normal. My mother served dinner and we all
ate the usual way. This made my life more miserable. I quickly
finished my food and went back to my room. Questions crowded my mind
and I couldn't figure out what might have happened after my father
came back home and revealed about my forged romantic rendezvous. Why
everything was still so normal pained my mind even more!
Presently my father calmly came into my room and sat beside me. I
looked into his eyes with fear in mine but discovered a smooth
comfort in his! He soothingly asked, "So Sunny Boy, how was your
date, I must say she was a pretty and sweet lady!"
Like somewhat mesmerized I revealed everything to him about my first
date and added, "Dad, it was simply out of this world, but the day
passed away like a few minutes only!"
He smiled and said, "You know what, Albert Einstein once said ...
Put your hand on a hot oven for a minute and it would seem like and
hour; put your hand upon those of a pretty lady for an hour and it
would seem like a minute! Now that's relativity. Its all relative,
the fact is how much you cherish what you gained ... RIGHT! This is
the biggest lesson of life my son"
I had never seen my father being like this before; he was more of a
buddy than my guardian actually. I could feel within me that I would
never ever be able to hide anything else from him, he actually
understood me much more than my own self.
We talked for an hour and I would remember those words forever
perhaps! I couldn't interpret whether it was my First Date with my
dream girl or the First Date of knowing my father actually. However
I knew that I realized how much I loved and respected my father
after that. Just as he was leaving my room I called him and
said "Thank You daddy! Thank you so much!"
Both of us knew what I was thankful for and required no mentioning.
He turned towards me with his dreamy eyes and said these words...
"Hey son, how could I ever let you down my child, never! I would
just say, whatever happens in life and whomever you love in your
life and to whatever degree, you only remember one thing that your
Daddy has loved you 18 years more than that. 18 years more than that
dear!"
He switched off the light and went to his room. In the mild blue and
gray of the moonlight ushering into my room through the window I too
could feel one thing ... Yes, its truly 18 more years of Love, I, or
any child, can never ever cover up! It was in fact my First Date,
the first one of actually realizing the Love I had taken for granted
for all those Eighteen Years perhaps! It truly was so.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Two-friends
Good Morning Class, Today we have a new student among us, her name is
Samyuktha" announced the class teacher "Samyuktha come here, introduce
yourself to the class"
Samyuktha a 12 year old girl, with fair complexion skin and a neatly
pleated
hair on either side of her head was sitting in the one corner of the class.
She slowly got up from her seat. Each one of the student in class started
staring at her. With all those stares, new faces, new city, new school, she
was scared to death. She moved slowly to where her teacher was standing and
faced the class with lowered head as if it were a punishment.
"Samyuktha introduce yourself to class. Why are you lowering your head?
Stand straight up. Don't waste the time of the class" said teacher somewhat
sternly.
"My name is Samyuktha..I..I...I know no English much..i..i.." said
samyuktha
with a very feeble voice.
The whole class started giggling and started hush-hushing comments on
Samyuktha. The teacher asked Samyuktha to go back to her seat hearing the
commotion in the class and asked the class to be quite. Samyuktha almost
had tears in her eyes. She was lost in her own world for the rest of the class.
During Interval she sat alone at her desk, looking at her book but not
looking at the words but thinking about the world she left back in her
small town, Varanasi. "Hi" said a voice. Samyuktha looked up to see a girl
standing there. She was slightly dark complexioned, with a smiling face,
and had hair exactly like Samyuktha's.
"I am Prachi, your classmate. Why are you not having lunch?" said prachi.
"a..umm..i not feeling hungry much." replied Samyuktha.
"Why not? Common I know you felt bad when the class laughed at you. Even I
felt bad but don't care about them. If you don't eat, you will become sick.
Did you bring your lunch box?" said Prachi.
Samyuktha felt a sense of relief after hearing what Prachi said and started
feeling hungry too.
"Yes I brought. Will you eat with me?"asked Samyuktha..
"Yes sure. Lets go outside and eat. We will have some fresh air" said
prachi and took samyuktha's hand and went outside the class to a playground. Both
sat and started eating together. They shared a bit of each others lunch
too.
"so, you miss your old school..isnt it?" asked prachi.
"Yes a lot. I am from Varanasi. Daddy got transfer here. I got no admission
here as my English is poor but daddy gave donation and I got admission..i
will fail sure" said samyuktha sadly.
"Oh don't be sad Samyuktha. I will help you. You will learn everything
easily. Where is your house?" asked Prachi.
"In Vasant Kunj, Phase-1" said Samyuktha. "hey even I stay in same place!"
said Prachi happily.
"Is it." Said Samyuktha gladly.
"Yes, now don't worry at all. We both can study together." Said Prachi
assuring Samyuktha.
"Hey can I call you Samyu?" asked prachi..
"Yes sure, my friends in Varanasicall me with same name. I am happy" said
Samyuktha with a glitter in her eyes. Thus the friendship between Prachi
and Samyuktha started in the 6th standard/grade which grew manifold during the
years to come.
Samyuktha had an intelligent mind which needed some shining and polishing
whereas Prachi was a creative person. Samyuktha and Prachi became best
friends during their first year together itself. They were totally
inseparable. Due to them, both the families of Samyuktha and Prachi too
became good family friends. Samyuktha just about managed to clear her 6th
grade but later with Prachi's support she became more and more confidant.
Prachi used to force Samyuktha to be a flamboyant and aggressive in school
activities which boosted Samyuktha's inner confidence. Samyuktha overcame
all her inhibitions within few years. Prachi was very jovial and used to
crack jokes which Samyuktha cherished. The whole class used to be jealous
of their friendship. Samyuktha and Prachi both excelled with good marks in
their 12th standard and both got admission in B.tech in DelhiUniversity.
Through all these years Samyuktha became very outgoing person. She was now
no more the person which she was 6years ago. She became a smart, stylish
and trendy by the time she turned 18. Prachi on the other hand remained same.
Prachi still doted on Samyuktha and was very possessive about her.
Samyuktha started drawing lot of attention in college. Due to her looks and attitude,
boys went crazy for her on the other hand Prachi was not at all
approachable and she hardly cared about her looks. Samyuktha started loving the
attention showered on her from her B.tech classmates. She participated in a fashion
parade in College's annual function and with that she became an instant hit
through out the college. Prachi always used to pull back Samyuktha to the
ground and asked her not to neglect her studies. Other than Prachi,
Samyuktha started having her own circle of friends in college. When Prachi
and Samyuktha were together, Samyuktha's friends used to talk to her but
didn't give much attention to Prachi. Samyuktha did try to mingle Prachi
with her other friends but Prachi didn't show much interest. There were lot
of times when Samyuktha bunked her classes and Prachi used to make a copy
of notes for Samyuktha too. As Samyuktha became more and more involved in
other activities of college rather than studies, Prachi became too much involved
with her academics and had very few friends or one can say acquaintances
other than Samyuktha. During 2nd year of B.tech, Prachi and Samyuktha
started having some arguments and fights. Samyuktha wanted to enjoy the
college life with fun and being naughty sometimes. Prachi on the other hand
didn't approve with Samyuktha's thinking.
It was during 3rd year of college when Aakash, the 4th year B.tech student
entered Samyuktha's life. He was supposed to be the most handsome guy of
the college. Aakash had the looks of a model with a very sexy voice due to
which he used to compere most of the college shows. Aakash came in touch with
Samyuktha through some common friends and instantly fell in love with her.
Samyuktha, was on top of the world when she came to know about Aakash's
feelings. With Samyuktha and Aakash's love affair going strong, Prachi
distanced more and more from Samyuktha. Prachi hated Aakash to the core and
blamed him for ruining the friendship between her and Samyuktha. Samyuktha
who was blind in love, didn't understand the feelings of Prachi. During 3rd
and 4th year of college, Samyuktha and Prachi rarely used to spend
together.
Going to each others homes became almost null. Samyuktha started suspecting
Prachi to be jealous of her on the other hand Prachi used to miss Samyuktha
and longed for her to be like her old school friend.
One day during the 4th year of her college, Prachi was alone in her room
and was crying looking at the old photos and greeting cards which she got from
Samyuktha for different occasions.
"Prachi what happened? Why are you crying?" asked Prachi's mom with worried
look.
"Nothing..its just that" said Prachi trying to wipe of the tears from her
cheeks.
"Kya hua beta..something wrong in college?" said Prachi's mom
With that Prachi hugged her mom and started sobbing.
"arey arey..what is this..i never saw you crying this way..tell me what
happened..did Samyuktha say something to u?" asked Prachi's mom. Prachi's
mom observed the growing distance between Prachi and Samyuktha but she
never
talked about it with Prachi.
"mom..why do people change in college..why do we get old..school days used
to be so good" said Prachi between her sobs.
"beta..thats life..there's a saying "the only thing which remains constant
is change"..you are not a small girl now..you should understand this..going
to college, getting married, getting career, getting old..all this is part
of life..you should learn to accept this.."said Prachi's mom caressing p's
hair.
"No I will never marry in my life for sure. I cannot accept tha some
outsider comes and changes other relationships in life. I will not let that
happen to my life" said Prachi strongly.
Prachi's mom chose not to argue with her at that time and hoped time will
change her attitude towards life.
"Mom you know this year Samyu forgot to wish me on my birthday. Since that
Aakash came into her life, nothing else is important to her. And tomorrow
its her birthday and I don't feel like wishing her either" said Prachi
"Why not..thats wrong..you should wish her..if you don't wish her there
wont
be difference between you and her. May be after u wish she will realize her
mistake. You should atleast give a try to revive your old friendship." Said
Prachi's mom convincing Prachi to call Samyuktha.
When clock struck 12, Prachi decided to call Samyuktha and dialed her
mobile number. Her mobile was engaged. She tried calling 3-4 times more but still
her line was busy. When it was almost 12:30 A.M she thought of calling her
landline but she held back fearing everybody at her home might get
disturbed. Prachi knew that Samyuktha might be busy talking with Aakash and
hated him more. Next day Samyu didn't turn up at college either. After
college, she went straight to Samyuktha's house with a greeting card and a
small painting which she herself did. Samyuktha was not at home as well,
when confronted with her parents..
"Hey Prachi, Samyu is not with you?" asked Samyukhtha's mom.
"uh...No..Infact I came here to wish her" said Prachi
"She said she will go with you to Aakash's home. Aakash is leaving to US
today. She said she will see him off to the airport and that you will
accompany her" said samyuktha's mother with a angry tone.
"hmm oh, actually I was late to college today..may be that's why she went
alone" said Prachi knowing that Samyuktha would have definetly not taken
her
along to meet Aakash and that she simply bluffed her parents. "Anyway
aunty,
once she comes, give her this card and gift" continued Prachi.
On the way back home Prachi felt happy that Aakash is leaving Indiabut at
the same time felt bad that she was not able to wish Samyuktha personally.
Next day in the college, Prachi was eagerly waiting for Samyuktha to come.
She wanted to see how she reacted for the card and gift. As soon as
Samyuktha entered the class, everybody in the class started wishing her
belated birthday greetings. Many of them showered gifts to her. She greeted
them all with a sad smile. Prachi guessed it must be because Aakash left to
US. After that Samyuktha came to Prachi with a serious expression on her
face..
"So, you must be very happy now?" said Samyuktha.
Prachi was puzzled, but then she immediately remembered that her parents
might have caught her lying to them. "Samyu I had no idea about your plan
yesterday" said Prachi with innocent look.
"Oh don't be so innocent Prachi. The whole class knew I was with Aakash
yesterday.
Since last 5 months you never came to my house. Suddenly you came home
yesterday to spoil my day. That was your plan" accused samyuktha
Prachi was shocked with Samyuktha's behavior and was almost in tears "No,
what will I gain with this Samyu. You are my only friend. I tried calling
you day before yesterday night to wish you at 12 but your line was
constantly busy. Yesterday nobody informed me about your plan."
"C'mon Prachi. I know how much you are jealous of me since I met Aakash.
Prachi you should go and get some life. I never thought that you would come
down to such cheap tricks. Thanks to you my parents have stopped trusting
on
me" said Samyuktha and left the class fuming.
Prachi stood there with tears and embarrassed with all the stares towards
her in the class. The whole class saw what happened between Prachi and
Samyuktha. After that incident almost everybody stopped talking to Prachi.
Prachi remained aloof from everybody even outside the college. She remained
to her self and kept herself busy with studies. After 6 months, college was
over and since then Prachi and Samyuktha never met.
Soon after graduation Prachi started searching for jobs and almost
immediately she was placed in TCS, Bangalore. Prachi didn't knew what
happened to Samyuktha and didn't care to find out. She moved to
Bangaloreimmediately and took an apartment all by for herself. She lived
alone. In office she used to talk with others when only it was required for
work. She was not friendly with anybody. She used to eat alone in the
office
canteen. Everybody in the office used to call her with different names like
'sadist', 'psycho','poor thing'..etc etc. Life went on.
2 years later, one fine day early in the morning at around 7:00 AM Prachi
heard the door bell. She looked at her watch and wondered who would be
ringing the bell at this time. She just got up to get ready for the office.
She went and opened the door to see a young man standing there with a small
bowl in his hand. He was about 6 feet height with curly hair and lean
figure
and good features. Prachi looked at him with red face.
"Hi..umm..i am Mayank, your new neighbor" said Mayank.
"So...."said Prachi with irritation.
"I am sorry, actually I came to borrow some sugar. I moved in this
apartment
today morning. I have the habit of drinking tea early in the morning..so if
you plz don't mind can u plz lend some teaspoons of sugar" said mayank with
pleading eyes.
"So..for your tea..you disturb other people early in the morning" said
Prachi and started closing her door.
'Plz plz plz don't close the door..if I don't have tea in the morning I get
sick.. I tried many other doors, but only you opened it..plz ' pleaded
Mayank once again.
Prachi closed the door on the face of Mayank and he stood there stand still
for a minute and started moving to his apartment when he heard the click of
the door open from his behind. He looked back to see Prachi standing there
with Sugar bottle in her hand.
"Hey..thank u so much..errr...i thought..u got angry...u saved my life..u
know"
said mayank gladly.
"How many teaspoons do u want?" said Prachi seriously ignoring the
excitement of Mayank.
"umm..oh..umm..2 spoons" said Mayank somewhat embarrassed.
Prachi took 2 teaspoons of sugar and poured it in the bowl of Mayank and
without a word went back inside the home closing the door behind
"Thank you" said Mayank to the closed door!
Prachi got ready for the office and left the home exactly at 8.45am as she
used to do daily. Her day in the office went on as usual and at one
instance
while having tea she remembered the early morning incident. She realized
she
doesn't even remember the face of the guy clearly
Back at the home at around 8pm she heard her door bell ringing again. When
she opened, she realized it's the same morning guy standing outside.
"Now what??" said Prachi again irritated.
"Actually I bought the sugar in the afternoon...so thought of giving you
back
your 2 spoons of sugar which u gave me......" said Mayank with little
naughtiness in his eyes.
"Whaaaat" said Prachi with disbelief.
"Here your 2 spoons of sugar" said mayank again bringing the small bowl in
his hand towards her.
"Godddd..wait...here" said Prachi and closed the door. She went back inside
the home to her kitchen and came back with Sugar bottle. When she opened
the
door, Mayank was still standing there waiting for her.
"Here now put that sugar inside this bottle" said Prachi handing over the
bottle to Mayank.
Mayank pours down the sugar in the bottle.
"Ok..Anything else?" Said Prachi with an angry tone.
"Nope..thats it..thank you for lending me sugar in the morning..otherwise I
would have been dead by now" grinned Mayank
"Its ok. Goodnight!" said Prachi somewhat mellowing down and closed the
door.
Prachi felt amused by the behavior of Mayank and the fact that he came to
return back the two spoons of sugar.
"Was he trying to impress me" thought Prachi..."Anyway good, I didn't give
him
any kind of that impression..now he will never approach me again"
Next day after coming back from work, again her door bell rang. Prachi
somehow suspected it must be Mayank again and she was right.
"What??" Said Prachi hardly opening the door enough.
"umm..i am sorry...umm..to disturb u again..actually I need to make an
urgent
call to my parents in Bombay. I don't know why but my mobile is not
activated yet. So, can I please make a call from your phone?" asked Mayank.
"Good lord..there are thousand PCO's outside this apartment..why don't u go
and call from there?" said Prachi annoyed.
"Actually there's only one PCO nearby and today that is closed due to ID
festival..i went and enquired and the next one is 3kms from here..well it
was urgent..otherwise I am sorry I wouldn't have disturbed you" said Mayank
with pleading eyes again.
"huh..wait I will bring my mobile.." said prachi and closed the door behind
, again to come back with her mobile.
Mayank takes the fone and moves little far away from her. Prachi stands
there for a while and then goes back inside the home, with door almost
closed. After a short while she hears a knock on her door.
"Thank you so much..i cant tell you..how grateful I am today..had it been
not your Mobile..i would have not known that in khichdi I need to add 3
glasses of water for 1 cup of rice.." said mayank happily
"Whaatttttt...your urgent call was about khichdi???" said Prachi somewhat
angrily.
"umm..yaa...u know..i love the khichdi which my mom makes..so..anyway..here
take this 10rs for the STD call" said mayank handing over a 10 rupee note
to
Prachi.
Prachi takes 10Rs note without a word and hopes not to create any good
image
of herself in front of him.
"Hey thanks a lot..for everything Prachi" said Mayank
"How do you know my name?" said Prachi with surprise.
"Well you wrote Prachi on your Mobile's screen" smiled Mayank.
"Ok..goodnight" said Prachi and closed the door.
"There is something peculiar with this man..." thought Prachi again.
Through
out that day and next day Prachi kept thinking about Mayank and felt bad
that he was coming again and again in her thoughts. She tried her best to
remind herself that she should not fall into any kind of distractions in
her
life. There is no place for a man in her life.
Till next couple of days she never met Mayank but he never went out of her
mind. She was angry that she was thinking about him how much ever she tried
avoiding. One day again in the evening she heard her door bell. She was in
kitchen cooking dinner for herself and when the door bell rang, she ran
into
the bathroom to comb her hair neatly and then went to open the door .
"Hi" said Mayank with his ever charming smile.
Prachi making sure that she is not pleased seeing him asked him with
monotonous tone " yes, what do u want now?"
"nothing..today I came to give you something?" said Mayank.
"well you have given me money for the call you made from my fone last
time..now what?" said Prachi
"not that..today I made gajar ka halwa and it came out really well..so came
here to share with you some" said Mayank bringing his hand forward from
behind with a box.
Gajar ka halwa was Prachi's favourite sweet dish but she resisted from
showing any kind of positive emotion.
"see mayank..i don't know what you think about me..but I don't like such
gestures from anybody..i hardly know you..as a neighbor I helped you
..thats
all..dont expect anything else...do u understand that?..now you can
leave.."
said Prachi fighting back her inner emotions.
Mayank stood there like a rock for a minute .
"sorry Prachi..i don't consider you just as a neighbor but as a friend in
need..but ..but..i respect your privacy..today is my birthday...I don't
know
anybody else in this city..so thought to share this halwa with the first
person I came to know in this city..anyway I wont disturb you again" said
Mayank and started to leave.
After hearing that its his birthday, Prachi felt a guilt pang and stopped
him "hello..wait..umm..i am sorry..i didn't know its your birthday..Happy
Birthday" said Prachi loudly.
"Thank you" said Mayank turning back to look at her.
"Well, can I taste your Halwa..ofcourse if you are not mad at me" said
Prachi with a smile for the first time.
Mayank was surprised to look at her beautiful smiling face for the first
time and was smitten.
"Heyyy..no..not at all.." said Mayank and gave her the box he brought.
Prachi opened the box and tried some with her hand.
"ummm..it tastes great" said Prachi licking her fingers "can I keep whole
of
this box."
"oh sure.. that was for you anyway.." said Mayank "I guess I should be
leaving now".
"Ok..will return the box tomorrow..by the way happy birthday again" said
Prachi.
"umm..u know what..i was lying..its not my birthday" said Mayank and before
Prachi could say anything, he ran back upstairs to his apartment.
Prachi stood there in disbelief but later smiled at herself thinking how
easily she got fooled. She somehow didn't feel mad at Mayank later and
relished the halwa.
As usual Mayank's magic lingered on Prachi for that day and next day. When
it was time to return the box to Mayank, Prachi questioned herself whether
to go or not to go to his house to return the box. Finally she decided to
listen to her heart and braced herself to go to Mayank's house.
She pressed the door bell of Mayank's house and waited for few seconds when
Mayank opened the door.
He had a big cutlery spoon in one hand and was wearing an apron.
"Hey, what a correct timing..can u plz taste my rajma curry and let me know
if everything is ok?" saying this Mayank left her at the door went towards
his kitchen.
Prachi was standing at the door steps unable to decide whether to go in or
not. "Prachi...come in..where are you" shouted Mayank from his Kitchen.
Prachi stepped in the house and realized that this was the first time since
she came to Bangaloredid she stepped into anybody's house. She noticed, the
house was clean and neat, had decent furniture and she could listen some
soft soothing music from the speakers somewhere. Prachi walked slowly
towards the kitchen. Mayank was ready with some rajma in a small bowl and
asked her to taste it.
"ummm..its nice...everything is ok..." said Prachi after tasting the Rajma
"oh good...see my mom doesn't believe that I am good cook..i will have to
make
you talk to her one day...then only she might believe" said Mayank feeling
satisfied.
"Ok, I will leave now" said Prachi.
"Why?..i have prepared dinner for both of us." Said Mayank.
"What....?" Said prachi.
"Well I knew you would come home to return my box today and obviously you
will come little early..and also I am sure you would not have got time to
cook dinner by now" said Mayank while putting plates on the dining table.
"How were you so sure that I would come?" asked Prachi amused.
"Well I can read People's mind..after all I am a Psychiatrist" said Mayank
"Psychiatrist!!" exclaimed Prachi.
"ya why?..cant handsome men become psychiatrists?" said Mayank naughtily.
"aha..i didn't mean that" smiled Prachi "I don't know if you are lying or
telling truth..yesterday you were saying it was your birthday..now today
you
are saying you are a Psychiatrist!"
"no..seriously..i am a Psychiatrist..i don't lie on Wednesdays..u know"
said
Mayank.
"uh..u r impossible..anyway what made u believe that I will have dinner
with
you" asked Prachi
"Well, today is my birthday..and I knew you wont be able to say no" said
Mayank.
"What..plz..you think I can be fooled twice?" said Prachi
"ha ha..see I was born on 6th aug and today its 6th nov ..so its my monthly
birthday" said Mayank showing her the seat to sit.
Prachi and Mayank laughed together and started having dinner together.
Mayank was indeed a good cook and Prachi liked everything prepared by
him..no not only the food..but she realized she liked Mayank's charming
nature.
"So, what made you come to Bangalore?" asked Prachi having her sweet dish.
"I saw that this city had lot of scope for doctors like me..so I choose
this
place for my practice" said Mayank.
"Scope!" exclaimed Prachi
"yeah..you see..Bangaloreis a software hub for India..and hence more
patients for me" said Mayank with a naughty smile again.
"aha..so you mean software engineers are mad people?..Mister..Even I am a
software engineer..remember that!" said Prachi.
"Oh..is it..i never knew that beautiful gals too are becoming software
engineers" said Mayank flirtingly.
Prachi wanted to reply him back and suddenly realized that Mayank was
complementing her and gave him a smile.
"thanks" said Prachi blushing.
"thank god..you understood that" said Mayank with a twinkle in his eyes.
While Prachi was about to leave his house after dinner. Mayank asked "So at
what time should I come for dinner tomorrow at your house?"
"what?" said prachi and stared at him questioningly.
"yeah..you are a self-respect girl right..i know you will return my
dinner!!" said Mayank again with his flirting smile.
Prachi couldn't stop smiling and said "hmmm..smart..haan..come at
8pm..dinner will be ready."
After coming home , thoughts of Mayank and whatever they talked lingered in
Prachi's mind. She looked herself in mirror a thousand times. All her life
never did any guy talked to her the way, Mayank talked. She realized she
smiled and laughed so many times on that single day. Mayank did some magic
on her.
Next day she was not able to concentrate in her office work too. She was
too
busy thinking what she should prepare for dinner and what all she need to
buy to prepare food. She even tried searching some recipes on the internet.
She left office early at 5 pm and went to grocery store to buy all
vegetables and groceries to prepare dinner. She decided to make Jeera rice,
Palak Paneer, Cabbaga kofta, rotis, fruit salad and lassi. She finished off
everything by 7:30 and cleaned the kitchen and dining hall. She realized
she
never cooked so fast earlier. She dressed herself in one of her best casual
salwar suits and waited for him. Exactly at 8pm her door bell rang. She
wanted to run and open the door but she resisted and took some time to
open.
Mayank looked handsome as ever. He wore a short kurti and jeans and looked
cute.
"Wow you look wonderful" said Mayank.
"Thanks. Come in." Said Prachi blushing.
Mayank stepped into her house for first time and was soon impressed.
"You did all those paintings?" asked mayank looking at big canvas paintings
in her hall.
"Hmm..yeah..i do it for my timepass" said Prachi.
"Oh man...they don't look like timepass paintings Prachi..these are master
pieces!!" said Mayank who kept gazing at those beautiful paintings.
"Oh please...I am not a trained painter..thanks anyway..come lets have
dinner"
said Prachi.
When Mayank saw what all she prepared, he said "sorry for giving you
trouble!"
"No its fine. Cooking for one person extra is not a trouble" said Prachi
while serving food in his plate.
"Don't say that otherwise I might come everyday" said Mayank.
Prachi wanted that to happen everyday. She never felt so happy after a long
time. Throughout the dinner, Mayank kept on praising her food and she got
more and more attracted to Mayank's charm. After dinner they talked for
long
time. Mayank kept making jokes and Prachi laughed non-stop. Prachi never
realized when it was already 11:30pm.
Mayank suddenly looked at his watch and realized it was late. "Hey
..sorry..its late..i should leave..you have to get up early to the office
again tomorrow" said mayank and got up to leave.
Prachi didn't want him to leave and wanted to stop him for some more time.
"yeah..it was ...it was nice having you here today" stammered Prachi.
"really?" said Mayank
"yeah...u know..i never smiled and laughed this much before Mayank. You
brought something back which I lost long time ago." Said prachi, her eyes
were almost in tears.
Mayank kept looking at her for sometime.
"so where is my fees?" said mayank.
"Fees??" questioned Prachi.
"yeah for bringing back what u lost!" said Mayank.
"aha..so I am your first patient it seems...tell me whats urfees, I will
give
you" said Prachi with a smile.
"ummm...lets see..umm" said mayank making a thinking gesture "how about one
more dinner, this time somewhere outside"
"done" said prachi almost immediately.
"wow...that's an improvement ..i thought you would me hit" said Mayank
laughing.
And then for coming weeks they were inseparable. They met almost everyday
for dinner. Mayank and Prachi were madly in love with each other but never
expressed it to each other. Prachi started smiling more and more and became
more communicative in office with colleagues. All her colleagues were
surprised to see the change in her behavior. She even started taking care
on
what she was wearing and how she looked.
One day in a restaurant, Mayank seemed little restless.
"What happened to you today?" asked Prachi.
"Actually I wanted to tell you something..dont know how you will react!"
confessed Mayank.
Prachi suspected that he might propose her and felt little nervous deep
beneath her heart but was still waiting for this moment since long.
"Its ok Mayank..tell me...since when did u get so nervous in front of me?"
said Prachi.
"hmm..its not nervousness but..i don't want you to hate me after what I
will
tell you" said Mayank.
"Now...plz..dont keep me in suspense!!" requested Prachi not able to keep
bear
the excitement.
"Actually, few days back I read a article in a newspaper. There is going to
be a painting exhibition for new talents in Mumbai. That's going to be
conducted by Tina Ambani, wife of Anil Ambani of Reliance Industries.
Without your permission I sent your name and one of the photos of your
painting. Today I got a reply from Tina Ambani herself and she is pleased
with your painting and want that to be exhibited. I know you are going to
be
mad at me now but Prachi I want the whole world to know your talent" said
Mayank holding one of the hands of Prachi.
Prachi listened to all with complete silence. She didn't knew how to react.
She was expecting something else. She was in love with Mayank but with what
Mayank told her, she could not hold back her tears. Tears rolled over her
cheeks and she couldn't speak.
"uh..oh..sorry Prachi..i dreaded this..i didn't want to hurt you..Your
paintings were so impressive, that I felt it should not confine just within
four walls of your home. I guess I should have asked you before. I am sorry
again" said Mayank with guilty.
"uh..no no..dont say sorry Mayank..its just that..i never thought you cared
about me so much..i never realized that you felt my paintings were worth
sending to an exhibition...i..i..am surprised ...but I don't think I am
worth
it....i do it for my own pleasure.." said Prachi with chocking voice.
Mayank holding her hand tight "I already told you this before..your
painting
are master pieces and now the response from Tina Ambani herself tells you
what you are worth of. Prachi you should learn to be proud of your own
talent..you really don't know what you are worth of..."
After a 2 minutes of silence. "I don't know Mayank..how to thank you for
all
this...how will I be able to return the favour" said Prachi.
"The fact that you are not mad at mr after hearing this, is itself a big
favor" said Mayank smiling "And the by the way, there would be competition
too in that exhibition and whoever wins, will get a sum of Rs 5lakhs and a
contract to do the painting of Reliance's New office in Mumbai."
"oh is it...that sounds interesting..i hope you wont ask 5lakhs in return
of
favour" said Prachi teasingly.
"ha ha..may be" said Mayank.
Mayank took care of logistics of sending Paintings to Mumbai. All 5 of her
paintings were selected for exhibition. Prachi and Mayank both went to
Mumbai together on the day of the opening of the exhibition. There were
total of 25 paintings altogether. Prachi was nervous to talk to Tina Ambani
but Mayank stood beside her and gave his support. Prachi and Mayank could
notice that Prachi's painting caught most of the attention from viewers.
Prachi and Mayank spent that day in Mumbai doing shopping and sight-seeing.
She couldn't believe she was with Mayank for whole day. They were hardly in
their hotel rooms and were roaming around till 2 am midnight. When they
came
back to their hotel, they were both tired and dozed of almost immediately
in
their respective rooms. They returned back to Bangalorenext day by early
morning flight. Exhibition was held for 2 more weeks and results were out
the last day. As expected Prachi's paintings won the first place.
Mayank was ecstatic with the news and Prachi was more pleased to see Mayank
happy than winning the actual award. Calls didn't stop pouring in Prachi's
phone that day. Her office was proud of her after hearing the news.
Prachi's
parents were both surprised and felt on top of the world.
While they both were on flight to Mumbai to receive the award.. Mayank
whispered in Prachi's ears "Prachi when we will go back to Bangalore, I
will
ask you to return my favour"
Prachi looked surprised and said "I will be pleased"
The award ceremony went on very well. Prachi had to speak few words on the
stage after receiving the award and she was very nervous about it but one
look at Mayank and words flew from her mouth smoothely. She became a
celebrity overnight. It was one of the memorable days ever for Prachi and
now Prachi was looking forward to what Mayank would ask her after returning
to Bangalore.
Mayank asked her to come home for dinner the day they returned. Prachi was
on cloud 9 and she was sure that Mayank would propose her. She looked
forward for the evening and got ready on time. She looked in the mirror
some
100 times before making sure she looked perfect. Sharp at 8pm she went to
Mayank's home and rang the bell.
Mayank opened the door and stared at her.
"Oh my god..dont do this to me!" said Mayank.
"What did I do?" said Prachi surprised.
"You look ravishing..what if I get heartattack? I am just a psychiatrist
not
a cardiologist" said Mayank again with his flirting smile.
Prachi blushed and felt shy.
Mayank took her hand and made her sit on the sofa. Mayank sat on the small
chair beside her still holding her hand.
Mayank stared at her for a minute and said "actually I have two things to
ask from you Prachi"
"And what are those?" said Prachi, her hands going numb.
Mayank took a deep breath.
"Prachi I want you to forgive Samyu..i mean Samyuktha" said Mayank.
Prachi didn't understand what was Mayank talking about for a second and
later got shocked.
"Yes your friend Samyuktha, Prachi" said Mayank.
Prachi took back her hand which Mayank was holding and stared at him with
thousand questions in her mind. Mayank looked away from her and stared
behind her. Prachi didn't understand where he was looking and turned to the
direction where he was looking. Samyuktha was standing there behind her.
Prachi got shocked looking at her after all these years.
"Prachi..hi...how are you?...." said Samyuktha slowly.
Prachi looked back at Mayank.. "So you knew me from before hand..and all
this was one big drama?" said Prachi with anger.
"See Prachi..yes I knew you ..but all this is not a drama...don't get me
wrong...i..." said Mayank when Prachi cut him in mid-sentence and left his
home
in rage without looking back.
Mayank ran for her but Prachi didn't let him in her house. She closed the
doors and went to her bedroom weeping. Mayank tried calling her mobile, but
she kept it off. Mayank tried knocking her door many times but she didn't
budge from her bedroom. The whole night Prachi kept reeling back to the
time
she met Mayank for first time, how she spent time with Mayank and felt sad
that all that was a drama. He did it all for Samyuktha not because he liked
her. She hated Samyuktha for coming back in her life again. Everything was
so beautiful till yesterday. She ruined everything again.
She slept sobbing in her bedroom and didnt know when it was already 9am in
the morning. She realized she had headache and called her office to tell
she
will be on leave. She noticed a letter near her main door. She knew it must
be from Mayank and didn't touch it for long but kept looking at it. After
few hours passed she decided to read it. It was not from Mayank but from
Samyuktha.
Dear Prachi,
I know you are still very angry with me. And I know I deserved it. Prachi I
cam here all the way from US just for you. After leaving college, I soon
went to US for higher studies and later married Aakash. Life was rosy for
few years but I realized I lost all my friends. Even after marriage Aakash
kept in touch with his old school friends but I didn't had any genuine
friends. The one genuine friend I had, I broke her heart. I wanted to get
in
touch with you again but was afraid of your reaction. I tried contacting
your parents in delhiand they said you left Bangalore. They told me how
much
you have changed and distanced yourself from everybody even with your own
parents. Then I realized I am the reason behind it. Prachi when I was in
college I was naïve and was drawn to all attentions. I didn't understand
what was right or wrong. When I was in school, you helped me to come out of
my shell and later you went into the same cocoon because of me. You don't
know how bad I felt later when I realized my mistake. I wanted to repent
for
everything I did and wanted to bring back that old charming Prachi.
Mayank is school friend of Aakash. I met him when i visited Indialast time
and became good friends. When Mayank decided that he wanted to go to
Bangalorefor his medical practice, I told him about you. I asked him if its
possible for him to get in touch with you. I took your address from your
parents and luckily Mayank got a flat for rent in your apartment. Mayank
kept telling me about you whenever he met you. I realized you have changed
a
lot and felt guilty. Mayank and I decided to tell you about me when the
right time comes. Prachi, Mayank likes and respects you a lot. Being a
psychiatrist he knew you are not the person you were projecting. He wanted
to bring out real you and I was happy that what I couldn't do, atleast he
can do that and did that.
Prachi I am leaving to Delhitoday by 5pm flight. I want to say sorry to you
again in person though its ok if you don't forgive me. And one more thing,
if you want to hate me still, its ok, but don't hate Mayank. Whatever he
did
was not because I asked him to do but he himself wanted it to do. I
primarily wanted to be in touch with you through Mayank, nothing else. I am
not sure if you will forgive me or not but I want to say Sorry for one last
time.
Love
Samyu.
Prachi read that letter for 10 times and tear swelled from her eyes. At 4'o
clock she decided to go to Airport. She reached airport by 4:30 and saw
Samyu there. Samyu was overwhelmed with joy when she saw prachi. As Prachi
came near she swung and hugged her with tears.
"I knew..i knew you would come" said Samyuktha
"How wouldn't I ..i wanted to hear a sorry from you" said Prachi with
tears.
"I am so so so so sorry Prachi..you don't know how happy and relieved I am
after all these years..." said Samyuktha.
"Me too...and...I want to say thank you!" said prachi
"Thank you?" puzzled Samyuktha
"Yeah..thank you for sending Mayank in my life" said Prachi
"I guess that was fate Prachi...I didn't send him..but it was a
co-incidence
that you happened to be my friend...err...aren't we friends"
"Yes..yes..now again don't make me cry..cried a lot since yesterday" said
prachi with a smile.
"ha ha ok ok.." said Samyuktha.
"That's bad, you friends are having good time and forgot about me" said
Mayank from behind.
Prachi looked back with surprise and became happy to see him there.
"Mayank, you wanted to ask one more thing to Prachi yesterday night
right..why don't you ask that?" said Samyuktha looking at Mayank.
"May I madam?" asked Mayank looking at Prachi.
Mayank bent down on his knees and took out a small box from his pocket.
"Will you make tea for me early in the morning everyday , will you cook
dinner for me every day, listen to my bak-bak everyday, sleep with me in my
bed, ....be my better half for rest of my life" said Mayank showing the
ring
to her.
"Yes" said Prachi smiling but with tears " you guys are making me cry like
anything".
"I hope you will not cry for rest of your life" said Mayank and hugged
Prachi.
It was time Samyuktha to leave and she once again hugged and congratulated
Prachi. Then congratulated Mayank and thanked him for everything.
Samyuktha" announced the class teacher "Samyuktha come here, introduce
yourself to the class"
Samyuktha a 12 year old girl, with fair complexion skin and a neatly
pleated
hair on either side of her head was sitting in the one corner of the class.
She slowly got up from her seat. Each one of the student in class started
staring at her. With all those stares, new faces, new city, new school, she
was scared to death. She moved slowly to where her teacher was standing and
faced the class with lowered head as if it were a punishment.
"Samyuktha introduce yourself to class. Why are you lowering your head?
Stand straight up. Don't waste the time of the class" said teacher somewhat
sternly.
"My name is Samyuktha..I..I...I know no English much..i..i.." said
samyuktha
with a very feeble voice.
The whole class started giggling and started hush-hushing comments on
Samyuktha. The teacher asked Samyuktha to go back to her seat hearing the
commotion in the class and asked the class to be quite. Samyuktha almost
had tears in her eyes. She was lost in her own world for the rest of the class.
During Interval she sat alone at her desk, looking at her book but not
looking at the words but thinking about the world she left back in her
small town, Varanasi. "Hi" said a voice. Samyuktha looked up to see a girl
standing there. She was slightly dark complexioned, with a smiling face,
and had hair exactly like Samyuktha's.
"I am Prachi, your classmate. Why are you not having lunch?" said prachi.
"a..umm..i not feeling hungry much." replied Samyuktha.
"Why not? Common I know you felt bad when the class laughed at you. Even I
felt bad but don't care about them. If you don't eat, you will become sick.
Did you bring your lunch box?" said Prachi.
Samyuktha felt a sense of relief after hearing what Prachi said and started
feeling hungry too.
"Yes I brought. Will you eat with me?"asked Samyuktha..
"Yes sure. Lets go outside and eat. We will have some fresh air" said
prachi and took samyuktha's hand and went outside the class to a playground. Both
sat and started eating together. They shared a bit of each others lunch
too.
"so, you miss your old school..isnt it?" asked prachi.
"Yes a lot. I am from Varanasi. Daddy got transfer here. I got no admission
here as my English is poor but daddy gave donation and I got admission..i
will fail sure" said samyuktha sadly.
"Oh don't be sad Samyuktha. I will help you. You will learn everything
easily. Where is your house?" asked Prachi.
"In Vasant Kunj, Phase-1" said Samyuktha. "hey even I stay in same place!"
said Prachi happily.
"Is it." Said Samyuktha gladly.
"Yes, now don't worry at all. We both can study together." Said Prachi
assuring Samyuktha.
"Hey can I call you Samyu?" asked prachi..
"Yes sure, my friends in Varanasicall me with same name. I am happy" said
Samyuktha with a glitter in her eyes. Thus the friendship between Prachi
and Samyuktha started in the 6th standard/grade which grew manifold during the
years to come.
Samyuktha had an intelligent mind which needed some shining and polishing
whereas Prachi was a creative person. Samyuktha and Prachi became best
friends during their first year together itself. They were totally
inseparable. Due to them, both the families of Samyuktha and Prachi too
became good family friends. Samyuktha just about managed to clear her 6th
grade but later with Prachi's support she became more and more confidant.
Prachi used to force Samyuktha to be a flamboyant and aggressive in school
activities which boosted Samyuktha's inner confidence. Samyuktha overcame
all her inhibitions within few years. Prachi was very jovial and used to
crack jokes which Samyuktha cherished. The whole class used to be jealous
of their friendship. Samyuktha and Prachi both excelled with good marks in
their 12th standard and both got admission in B.tech in DelhiUniversity.
Through all these years Samyuktha became very outgoing person. She was now
no more the person which she was 6years ago. She became a smart, stylish
and trendy by the time she turned 18. Prachi on the other hand remained same.
Prachi still doted on Samyuktha and was very possessive about her.
Samyuktha started drawing lot of attention in college. Due to her looks and attitude,
boys went crazy for her on the other hand Prachi was not at all
approachable and she hardly cared about her looks. Samyuktha started loving the
attention showered on her from her B.tech classmates. She participated in a fashion
parade in College's annual function and with that she became an instant hit
through out the college. Prachi always used to pull back Samyuktha to the
ground and asked her not to neglect her studies. Other than Prachi,
Samyuktha started having her own circle of friends in college. When Prachi
and Samyuktha were together, Samyuktha's friends used to talk to her but
didn't give much attention to Prachi. Samyuktha did try to mingle Prachi
with her other friends but Prachi didn't show much interest. There were lot
of times when Samyuktha bunked her classes and Prachi used to make a copy
of notes for Samyuktha too. As Samyuktha became more and more involved in
other activities of college rather than studies, Prachi became too much involved
with her academics and had very few friends or one can say acquaintances
other than Samyuktha. During 2nd year of B.tech, Prachi and Samyuktha
started having some arguments and fights. Samyuktha wanted to enjoy the
college life with fun and being naughty sometimes. Prachi on the other hand
didn't approve with Samyuktha's thinking.
It was during 3rd year of college when Aakash, the 4th year B.tech student
entered Samyuktha's life. He was supposed to be the most handsome guy of
the college. Aakash had the looks of a model with a very sexy voice due to
which he used to compere most of the college shows. Aakash came in touch with
Samyuktha through some common friends and instantly fell in love with her.
Samyuktha, was on top of the world when she came to know about Aakash's
feelings. With Samyuktha and Aakash's love affair going strong, Prachi
distanced more and more from Samyuktha. Prachi hated Aakash to the core and
blamed him for ruining the friendship between her and Samyuktha. Samyuktha
who was blind in love, didn't understand the feelings of Prachi. During 3rd
and 4th year of college, Samyuktha and Prachi rarely used to spend
together.
Going to each others homes became almost null. Samyuktha started suspecting
Prachi to be jealous of her on the other hand Prachi used to miss Samyuktha
and longed for her to be like her old school friend.
One day during the 4th year of her college, Prachi was alone in her room
and was crying looking at the old photos and greeting cards which she got from
Samyuktha for different occasions.
"Prachi what happened? Why are you crying?" asked Prachi's mom with worried
look.
"Nothing..its just that" said Prachi trying to wipe of the tears from her
cheeks.
"Kya hua beta..something wrong in college?" said Prachi's mom
With that Prachi hugged her mom and started sobbing.
"arey arey..what is this..i never saw you crying this way..tell me what
happened..did Samyuktha say something to u?" asked Prachi's mom. Prachi's
mom observed the growing distance between Prachi and Samyuktha but she
never
talked about it with Prachi.
"mom..why do people change in college..why do we get old..school days used
to be so good" said Prachi between her sobs.
"beta..thats life..there's a saying "the only thing which remains constant
is change"..you are not a small girl now..you should understand this..going
to college, getting married, getting career, getting old..all this is part
of life..you should learn to accept this.."said Prachi's mom caressing p's
hair.
"No I will never marry in my life for sure. I cannot accept tha some
outsider comes and changes other relationships in life. I will not let that
happen to my life" said Prachi strongly.
Prachi's mom chose not to argue with her at that time and hoped time will
change her attitude towards life.
"Mom you know this year Samyu forgot to wish me on my birthday. Since that
Aakash came into her life, nothing else is important to her. And tomorrow
its her birthday and I don't feel like wishing her either" said Prachi
"Why not..thats wrong..you should wish her..if you don't wish her there
wont
be difference between you and her. May be after u wish she will realize her
mistake. You should atleast give a try to revive your old friendship." Said
Prachi's mom convincing Prachi to call Samyuktha.
When clock struck 12, Prachi decided to call Samyuktha and dialed her
mobile number. Her mobile was engaged. She tried calling 3-4 times more but still
her line was busy. When it was almost 12:30 A.M she thought of calling her
landline but she held back fearing everybody at her home might get
disturbed. Prachi knew that Samyuktha might be busy talking with Aakash and
hated him more. Next day Samyu didn't turn up at college either. After
college, she went straight to Samyuktha's house with a greeting card and a
small painting which she herself did. Samyuktha was not at home as well,
when confronted with her parents..
"Hey Prachi, Samyu is not with you?" asked Samyukhtha's mom.
"uh...No..Infact I came here to wish her" said Prachi
"She said she will go with you to Aakash's home. Aakash is leaving to US
today. She said she will see him off to the airport and that you will
accompany her" said samyuktha's mother with a angry tone.
"hmm oh, actually I was late to college today..may be that's why she went
alone" said Prachi knowing that Samyuktha would have definetly not taken
her
along to meet Aakash and that she simply bluffed her parents. "Anyway
aunty,
once she comes, give her this card and gift" continued Prachi.
On the way back home Prachi felt happy that Aakash is leaving Indiabut at
the same time felt bad that she was not able to wish Samyuktha personally.
Next day in the college, Prachi was eagerly waiting for Samyuktha to come.
She wanted to see how she reacted for the card and gift. As soon as
Samyuktha entered the class, everybody in the class started wishing her
belated birthday greetings. Many of them showered gifts to her. She greeted
them all with a sad smile. Prachi guessed it must be because Aakash left to
US. After that Samyuktha came to Prachi with a serious expression on her
face..
"So, you must be very happy now?" said Samyuktha.
Prachi was puzzled, but then she immediately remembered that her parents
might have caught her lying to them. "Samyu I had no idea about your plan
yesterday" said Prachi with innocent look.
"Oh don't be so innocent Prachi. The whole class knew I was with Aakash
yesterday.
Since last 5 months you never came to my house. Suddenly you came home
yesterday to spoil my day. That was your plan" accused samyuktha
Prachi was shocked with Samyuktha's behavior and was almost in tears "No,
what will I gain with this Samyu. You are my only friend. I tried calling
you day before yesterday night to wish you at 12 but your line was
constantly busy. Yesterday nobody informed me about your plan."
"C'mon Prachi. I know how much you are jealous of me since I met Aakash.
Prachi you should go and get some life. I never thought that you would come
down to such cheap tricks. Thanks to you my parents have stopped trusting
on
me" said Samyuktha and left the class fuming.
Prachi stood there with tears and embarrassed with all the stares towards
her in the class. The whole class saw what happened between Prachi and
Samyuktha. After that incident almost everybody stopped talking to Prachi.
Prachi remained aloof from everybody even outside the college. She remained
to her self and kept herself busy with studies. After 6 months, college was
over and since then Prachi and Samyuktha never met.
Soon after graduation Prachi started searching for jobs and almost
immediately she was placed in TCS, Bangalore. Prachi didn't knew what
happened to Samyuktha and didn't care to find out. She moved to
Bangaloreimmediately and took an apartment all by for herself. She lived
alone. In office she used to talk with others when only it was required for
work. She was not friendly with anybody. She used to eat alone in the
office
canteen. Everybody in the office used to call her with different names like
'sadist', 'psycho','poor thing'..etc etc. Life went on.
2 years later, one fine day early in the morning at around 7:00 AM Prachi
heard the door bell. She looked at her watch and wondered who would be
ringing the bell at this time. She just got up to get ready for the office.
She went and opened the door to see a young man standing there with a small
bowl in his hand. He was about 6 feet height with curly hair and lean
figure
and good features. Prachi looked at him with red face.
"Hi..umm..i am Mayank, your new neighbor" said Mayank.
"So...."said Prachi with irritation.
"I am sorry, actually I came to borrow some sugar. I moved in this
apartment
today morning. I have the habit of drinking tea early in the morning..so if
you plz don't mind can u plz lend some teaspoons of sugar" said mayank with
pleading eyes.
"So..for your tea..you disturb other people early in the morning" said
Prachi and started closing her door.
'Plz plz plz don't close the door..if I don't have tea in the morning I get
sick.. I tried many other doors, but only you opened it..plz ' pleaded
Mayank once again.
Prachi closed the door on the face of Mayank and he stood there stand still
for a minute and started moving to his apartment when he heard the click of
the door open from his behind. He looked back to see Prachi standing there
with Sugar bottle in her hand.
"Hey..thank u so much..errr...i thought..u got angry...u saved my life..u
know"
said mayank gladly.
"How many teaspoons do u want?" said Prachi seriously ignoring the
excitement of Mayank.
"umm..oh..umm..2 spoons" said Mayank somewhat embarrassed.
Prachi took 2 teaspoons of sugar and poured it in the bowl of Mayank and
without a word went back inside the home closing the door behind
"Thank you" said Mayank to the closed door!
Prachi got ready for the office and left the home exactly at 8.45am as she
used to do daily. Her day in the office went on as usual and at one
instance
while having tea she remembered the early morning incident. She realized
she
doesn't even remember the face of the guy clearly
Back at the home at around 8pm she heard her door bell ringing again. When
she opened, she realized it's the same morning guy standing outside.
"Now what??" said Prachi again irritated.
"Actually I bought the sugar in the afternoon...so thought of giving you
back
your 2 spoons of sugar which u gave me......" said Mayank with little
naughtiness in his eyes.
"Whaaaat" said Prachi with disbelief.
"Here your 2 spoons of sugar" said mayank again bringing the small bowl in
his hand towards her.
"Godddd..wait...here" said Prachi and closed the door. She went back inside
the home to her kitchen and came back with Sugar bottle. When she opened
the
door, Mayank was still standing there waiting for her.
"Here now put that sugar inside this bottle" said Prachi handing over the
bottle to Mayank.
Mayank pours down the sugar in the bottle.
"Ok..Anything else?" Said Prachi with an angry tone.
"Nope..thats it..thank you for lending me sugar in the morning..otherwise I
would have been dead by now" grinned Mayank
"Its ok. Goodnight!" said Prachi somewhat mellowing down and closed the
door.
Prachi felt amused by the behavior of Mayank and the fact that he came to
return back the two spoons of sugar.
"Was he trying to impress me" thought Prachi..."Anyway good, I didn't give
him
any kind of that impression..now he will never approach me again"
Next day after coming back from work, again her door bell rang. Prachi
somehow suspected it must be Mayank again and she was right.
"What??" Said Prachi hardly opening the door enough.
"umm..i am sorry...umm..to disturb u again..actually I need to make an
urgent
call to my parents in Bombay. I don't know why but my mobile is not
activated yet. So, can I please make a call from your phone?" asked Mayank.
"Good lord..there are thousand PCO's outside this apartment..why don't u go
and call from there?" said Prachi annoyed.
"Actually there's only one PCO nearby and today that is closed due to ID
festival..i went and enquired and the next one is 3kms from here..well it
was urgent..otherwise I am sorry I wouldn't have disturbed you" said Mayank
with pleading eyes again.
"huh..wait I will bring my mobile.." said prachi and closed the door behind
, again to come back with her mobile.
Mayank takes the fone and moves little far away from her. Prachi stands
there for a while and then goes back inside the home, with door almost
closed. After a short while she hears a knock on her door.
"Thank you so much..i cant tell you..how grateful I am today..had it been
not your Mobile..i would have not known that in khichdi I need to add 3
glasses of water for 1 cup of rice.." said mayank happily
"Whaatttttt...your urgent call was about khichdi???" said Prachi somewhat
angrily.
"umm..yaa...u know..i love the khichdi which my mom makes..so..anyway..here
take this 10rs for the STD call" said mayank handing over a 10 rupee note
to
Prachi.
Prachi takes 10Rs note without a word and hopes not to create any good
image
of herself in front of him.
"Hey thanks a lot..for everything Prachi" said Mayank
"How do you know my name?" said Prachi with surprise.
"Well you wrote Prachi on your Mobile's screen" smiled Mayank.
"Ok..goodnight" said Prachi and closed the door.
"There is something peculiar with this man..." thought Prachi again.
Through
out that day and next day Prachi kept thinking about Mayank and felt bad
that he was coming again and again in her thoughts. She tried her best to
remind herself that she should not fall into any kind of distractions in
her
life. There is no place for a man in her life.
Till next couple of days she never met Mayank but he never went out of her
mind. She was angry that she was thinking about him how much ever she tried
avoiding. One day again in the evening she heard her door bell. She was in
kitchen cooking dinner for herself and when the door bell rang, she ran
into
the bathroom to comb her hair neatly and then went to open the door .
"Hi" said Mayank with his ever charming smile.
Prachi making sure that she is not pleased seeing him asked him with
monotonous tone " yes, what do u want now?"
"nothing..today I came to give you something?" said Mayank.
"well you have given me money for the call you made from my fone last
time..now what?" said Prachi
"not that..today I made gajar ka halwa and it came out really well..so came
here to share with you some" said Mayank bringing his hand forward from
behind with a box.
Gajar ka halwa was Prachi's favourite sweet dish but she resisted from
showing any kind of positive emotion.
"see mayank..i don't know what you think about me..but I don't like such
gestures from anybody..i hardly know you..as a neighbor I helped you
..thats
all..dont expect anything else...do u understand that?..now you can
leave.."
said Prachi fighting back her inner emotions.
Mayank stood there like a rock for a minute .
"sorry Prachi..i don't consider you just as a neighbor but as a friend in
need..but ..but..i respect your privacy..today is my birthday...I don't
know
anybody else in this city..so thought to share this halwa with the first
person I came to know in this city..anyway I wont disturb you again" said
Mayank and started to leave.
After hearing that its his birthday, Prachi felt a guilt pang and stopped
him "hello..wait..umm..i am sorry..i didn't know its your birthday..Happy
Birthday" said Prachi loudly.
"Thank you" said Mayank turning back to look at her.
"Well, can I taste your Halwa..ofcourse if you are not mad at me" said
Prachi with a smile for the first time.
Mayank was surprised to look at her beautiful smiling face for the first
time and was smitten.
"Heyyy..no..not at all.." said Mayank and gave her the box he brought.
Prachi opened the box and tried some with her hand.
"ummm..it tastes great" said Prachi licking her fingers "can I keep whole
of
this box."
"oh sure.. that was for you anyway.." said Mayank "I guess I should be
leaving now".
"Ok..will return the box tomorrow..by the way happy birthday again" said
Prachi.
"umm..u know what..i was lying..its not my birthday" said Mayank and before
Prachi could say anything, he ran back upstairs to his apartment.
Prachi stood there in disbelief but later smiled at herself thinking how
easily she got fooled. She somehow didn't feel mad at Mayank later and
relished the halwa.
As usual Mayank's magic lingered on Prachi for that day and next day. When
it was time to return the box to Mayank, Prachi questioned herself whether
to go or not to go to his house to return the box. Finally she decided to
listen to her heart and braced herself to go to Mayank's house.
She pressed the door bell of Mayank's house and waited for few seconds when
Mayank opened the door.
He had a big cutlery spoon in one hand and was wearing an apron.
"Hey, what a correct timing..can u plz taste my rajma curry and let me know
if everything is ok?" saying this Mayank left her at the door went towards
his kitchen.
Prachi was standing at the door steps unable to decide whether to go in or
not. "Prachi...come in..where are you" shouted Mayank from his Kitchen.
Prachi stepped in the house and realized that this was the first time since
she came to Bangaloredid she stepped into anybody's house. She noticed, the
house was clean and neat, had decent furniture and she could listen some
soft soothing music from the speakers somewhere. Prachi walked slowly
towards the kitchen. Mayank was ready with some rajma in a small bowl and
asked her to taste it.
"ummm..its nice...everything is ok..." said Prachi after tasting the Rajma
"oh good...see my mom doesn't believe that I am good cook..i will have to
make
you talk to her one day...then only she might believe" said Mayank feeling
satisfied.
"Ok, I will leave now" said Prachi.
"Why?..i have prepared dinner for both of us." Said Mayank.
"What....?" Said prachi.
"Well I knew you would come home to return my box today and obviously you
will come little early..and also I am sure you would not have got time to
cook dinner by now" said Mayank while putting plates on the dining table.
"How were you so sure that I would come?" asked Prachi amused.
"Well I can read People's mind..after all I am a Psychiatrist" said Mayank
"Psychiatrist!!" exclaimed Prachi.
"ya why?..cant handsome men become psychiatrists?" said Mayank naughtily.
"aha..i didn't mean that" smiled Prachi "I don't know if you are lying or
telling truth..yesterday you were saying it was your birthday..now today
you
are saying you are a Psychiatrist!"
"no..seriously..i am a Psychiatrist..i don't lie on Wednesdays..u know"
said
Mayank.
"uh..u r impossible..anyway what made u believe that I will have dinner
with
you" asked Prachi
"Well, today is my birthday..and I knew you wont be able to say no" said
Mayank.
"What..plz..you think I can be fooled twice?" said Prachi
"ha ha..see I was born on 6th aug and today its 6th nov ..so its my monthly
birthday" said Mayank showing her the seat to sit.
Prachi and Mayank laughed together and started having dinner together.
Mayank was indeed a good cook and Prachi liked everything prepared by
him..no not only the food..but she realized she liked Mayank's charming
nature.
"So, what made you come to Bangalore?" asked Prachi having her sweet dish.
"I saw that this city had lot of scope for doctors like me..so I choose
this
place for my practice" said Mayank.
"Scope!" exclaimed Prachi
"yeah..you see..Bangaloreis a software hub for India..and hence more
patients for me" said Mayank with a naughty smile again.
"aha..so you mean software engineers are mad people?..Mister..Even I am a
software engineer..remember that!" said Prachi.
"Oh..is it..i never knew that beautiful gals too are becoming software
engineers" said Mayank flirtingly.
Prachi wanted to reply him back and suddenly realized that Mayank was
complementing her and gave him a smile.
"thanks" said Prachi blushing.
"thank god..you understood that" said Mayank with a twinkle in his eyes.
While Prachi was about to leave his house after dinner. Mayank asked "So at
what time should I come for dinner tomorrow at your house?"
"what?" said prachi and stared at him questioningly.
"yeah..you are a self-respect girl right..i know you will return my
dinner!!" said Mayank again with his flirting smile.
Prachi couldn't stop smiling and said "hmmm..smart..haan..come at
8pm..dinner will be ready."
After coming home , thoughts of Mayank and whatever they talked lingered in
Prachi's mind. She looked herself in mirror a thousand times. All her life
never did any guy talked to her the way, Mayank talked. She realized she
smiled and laughed so many times on that single day. Mayank did some magic
on her.
Next day she was not able to concentrate in her office work too. She was
too
busy thinking what she should prepare for dinner and what all she need to
buy to prepare food. She even tried searching some recipes on the internet.
She left office early at 5 pm and went to grocery store to buy all
vegetables and groceries to prepare dinner. She decided to make Jeera rice,
Palak Paneer, Cabbaga kofta, rotis, fruit salad and lassi. She finished off
everything by 7:30 and cleaned the kitchen and dining hall. She realized
she
never cooked so fast earlier. She dressed herself in one of her best casual
salwar suits and waited for him. Exactly at 8pm her door bell rang. She
wanted to run and open the door but she resisted and took some time to
open.
Mayank looked handsome as ever. He wore a short kurti and jeans and looked
cute.
"Wow you look wonderful" said Mayank.
"Thanks. Come in." Said Prachi blushing.
Mayank stepped into her house for first time and was soon impressed.
"You did all those paintings?" asked mayank looking at big canvas paintings
in her hall.
"Hmm..yeah..i do it for my timepass" said Prachi.
"Oh man...they don't look like timepass paintings Prachi..these are master
pieces!!" said Mayank who kept gazing at those beautiful paintings.
"Oh please...I am not a trained painter..thanks anyway..come lets have
dinner"
said Prachi.
When Mayank saw what all she prepared, he said "sorry for giving you
trouble!"
"No its fine. Cooking for one person extra is not a trouble" said Prachi
while serving food in his plate.
"Don't say that otherwise I might come everyday" said Mayank.
Prachi wanted that to happen everyday. She never felt so happy after a long
time. Throughout the dinner, Mayank kept on praising her food and she got
more and more attracted to Mayank's charm. After dinner they talked for
long
time. Mayank kept making jokes and Prachi laughed non-stop. Prachi never
realized when it was already 11:30pm.
Mayank suddenly looked at his watch and realized it was late. "Hey
..sorry..its late..i should leave..you have to get up early to the office
again tomorrow" said mayank and got up to leave.
Prachi didn't want him to leave and wanted to stop him for some more time.
"yeah..it was ...it was nice having you here today" stammered Prachi.
"really?" said Mayank
"yeah...u know..i never smiled and laughed this much before Mayank. You
brought something back which I lost long time ago." Said prachi, her eyes
were almost in tears.
Mayank kept looking at her for sometime.
"so where is my fees?" said mayank.
"Fees??" questioned Prachi.
"yeah for bringing back what u lost!" said Mayank.
"aha..so I am your first patient it seems...tell me whats urfees, I will
give
you" said Prachi with a smile.
"ummm...lets see..umm" said mayank making a thinking gesture "how about one
more dinner, this time somewhere outside"
"done" said prachi almost immediately.
"wow...that's an improvement ..i thought you would me hit" said Mayank
laughing.
And then for coming weeks they were inseparable. They met almost everyday
for dinner. Mayank and Prachi were madly in love with each other but never
expressed it to each other. Prachi started smiling more and more and became
more communicative in office with colleagues. All her colleagues were
surprised to see the change in her behavior. She even started taking care
on
what she was wearing and how she looked.
One day in a restaurant, Mayank seemed little restless.
"What happened to you today?" asked Prachi.
"Actually I wanted to tell you something..dont know how you will react!"
confessed Mayank.
Prachi suspected that he might propose her and felt little nervous deep
beneath her heart but was still waiting for this moment since long.
"Its ok Mayank..tell me...since when did u get so nervous in front of me?"
said Prachi.
"hmm..its not nervousness but..i don't want you to hate me after what I
will
tell you" said Mayank.
"Now...plz..dont keep me in suspense!!" requested Prachi not able to keep
bear
the excitement.
"Actually, few days back I read a article in a newspaper. There is going to
be a painting exhibition for new talents in Mumbai. That's going to be
conducted by Tina Ambani, wife of Anil Ambani of Reliance Industries.
Without your permission I sent your name and one of the photos of your
painting. Today I got a reply from Tina Ambani herself and she is pleased
with your painting and want that to be exhibited. I know you are going to
be
mad at me now but Prachi I want the whole world to know your talent" said
Mayank holding one of the hands of Prachi.
Prachi listened to all with complete silence. She didn't knew how to react.
She was expecting something else. She was in love with Mayank but with what
Mayank told her, she could not hold back her tears. Tears rolled over her
cheeks and she couldn't speak.
"uh..oh..sorry Prachi..i dreaded this..i didn't want to hurt you..Your
paintings were so impressive, that I felt it should not confine just within
four walls of your home. I guess I should have asked you before. I am sorry
again" said Mayank with guilty.
"uh..no no..dont say sorry Mayank..its just that..i never thought you cared
about me so much..i never realized that you felt my paintings were worth
sending to an exhibition...i..i..am surprised ...but I don't think I am
worth
it....i do it for my own pleasure.." said Prachi with chocking voice.
Mayank holding her hand tight "I already told you this before..your
painting
are master pieces and now the response from Tina Ambani herself tells you
what you are worth of. Prachi you should learn to be proud of your own
talent..you really don't know what you are worth of..."
After a 2 minutes of silence. "I don't know Mayank..how to thank you for
all
this...how will I be able to return the favour" said Prachi.
"The fact that you are not mad at mr after hearing this, is itself a big
favor" said Mayank smiling "And the by the way, there would be competition
too in that exhibition and whoever wins, will get a sum of Rs 5lakhs and a
contract to do the painting of Reliance's New office in Mumbai."
"oh is it...that sounds interesting..i hope you wont ask 5lakhs in return
of
favour" said Prachi teasingly.
"ha ha..may be" said Mayank.
Mayank took care of logistics of sending Paintings to Mumbai. All 5 of her
paintings were selected for exhibition. Prachi and Mayank both went to
Mumbai together on the day of the opening of the exhibition. There were
total of 25 paintings altogether. Prachi was nervous to talk to Tina Ambani
but Mayank stood beside her and gave his support. Prachi and Mayank could
notice that Prachi's painting caught most of the attention from viewers.
Prachi and Mayank spent that day in Mumbai doing shopping and sight-seeing.
She couldn't believe she was with Mayank for whole day. They were hardly in
their hotel rooms and were roaming around till 2 am midnight. When they
came
back to their hotel, they were both tired and dozed of almost immediately
in
their respective rooms. They returned back to Bangalorenext day by early
morning flight. Exhibition was held for 2 more weeks and results were out
the last day. As expected Prachi's paintings won the first place.
Mayank was ecstatic with the news and Prachi was more pleased to see Mayank
happy than winning the actual award. Calls didn't stop pouring in Prachi's
phone that day. Her office was proud of her after hearing the news.
Prachi's
parents were both surprised and felt on top of the world.
While they both were on flight to Mumbai to receive the award.. Mayank
whispered in Prachi's ears "Prachi when we will go back to Bangalore, I
will
ask you to return my favour"
Prachi looked surprised and said "I will be pleased"
The award ceremony went on very well. Prachi had to speak few words on the
stage after receiving the award and she was very nervous about it but one
look at Mayank and words flew from her mouth smoothely. She became a
celebrity overnight. It was one of the memorable days ever for Prachi and
now Prachi was looking forward to what Mayank would ask her after returning
to Bangalore.
Mayank asked her to come home for dinner the day they returned. Prachi was
on cloud 9 and she was sure that Mayank would propose her. She looked
forward for the evening and got ready on time. She looked in the mirror
some
100 times before making sure she looked perfect. Sharp at 8pm she went to
Mayank's home and rang the bell.
Mayank opened the door and stared at her.
"Oh my god..dont do this to me!" said Mayank.
"What did I do?" said Prachi surprised.
"You look ravishing..what if I get heartattack? I am just a psychiatrist
not
a cardiologist" said Mayank again with his flirting smile.
Prachi blushed and felt shy.
Mayank took her hand and made her sit on the sofa. Mayank sat on the small
chair beside her still holding her hand.
Mayank stared at her for a minute and said "actually I have two things to
ask from you Prachi"
"And what are those?" said Prachi, her hands going numb.
Mayank took a deep breath.
"Prachi I want you to forgive Samyu..i mean Samyuktha" said Mayank.
Prachi didn't understand what was Mayank talking about for a second and
later got shocked.
"Yes your friend Samyuktha, Prachi" said Mayank.
Prachi took back her hand which Mayank was holding and stared at him with
thousand questions in her mind. Mayank looked away from her and stared
behind her. Prachi didn't understand where he was looking and turned to the
direction where he was looking. Samyuktha was standing there behind her.
Prachi got shocked looking at her after all these years.
"Prachi..hi...how are you?...." said Samyuktha slowly.
Prachi looked back at Mayank.. "So you knew me from before hand..and all
this was one big drama?" said Prachi with anger.
"See Prachi..yes I knew you ..but all this is not a drama...don't get me
wrong...i..." said Mayank when Prachi cut him in mid-sentence and left his
home
in rage without looking back.
Mayank ran for her but Prachi didn't let him in her house. She closed the
doors and went to her bedroom weeping. Mayank tried calling her mobile, but
she kept it off. Mayank tried knocking her door many times but she didn't
budge from her bedroom. The whole night Prachi kept reeling back to the
time
she met Mayank for first time, how she spent time with Mayank and felt sad
that all that was a drama. He did it all for Samyuktha not because he liked
her. She hated Samyuktha for coming back in her life again. Everything was
so beautiful till yesterday. She ruined everything again.
She slept sobbing in her bedroom and didnt know when it was already 9am in
the morning. She realized she had headache and called her office to tell
she
will be on leave. She noticed a letter near her main door. She knew it must
be from Mayank and didn't touch it for long but kept looking at it. After
few hours passed she decided to read it. It was not from Mayank but from
Samyuktha.
Dear Prachi,
I know you are still very angry with me. And I know I deserved it. Prachi I
cam here all the way from US just for you. After leaving college, I soon
went to US for higher studies and later married Aakash. Life was rosy for
few years but I realized I lost all my friends. Even after marriage Aakash
kept in touch with his old school friends but I didn't had any genuine
friends. The one genuine friend I had, I broke her heart. I wanted to get
in
touch with you again but was afraid of your reaction. I tried contacting
your parents in delhiand they said you left Bangalore. They told me how
much
you have changed and distanced yourself from everybody even with your own
parents. Then I realized I am the reason behind it. Prachi when I was in
college I was naïve and was drawn to all attentions. I didn't understand
what was right or wrong. When I was in school, you helped me to come out of
my shell and later you went into the same cocoon because of me. You don't
know how bad I felt later when I realized my mistake. I wanted to repent
for
everything I did and wanted to bring back that old charming Prachi.
Mayank is school friend of Aakash. I met him when i visited Indialast time
and became good friends. When Mayank decided that he wanted to go to
Bangalorefor his medical practice, I told him about you. I asked him if its
possible for him to get in touch with you. I took your address from your
parents and luckily Mayank got a flat for rent in your apartment. Mayank
kept telling me about you whenever he met you. I realized you have changed
a
lot and felt guilty. Mayank and I decided to tell you about me when the
right time comes. Prachi, Mayank likes and respects you a lot. Being a
psychiatrist he knew you are not the person you were projecting. He wanted
to bring out real you and I was happy that what I couldn't do, atleast he
can do that and did that.
Prachi I am leaving to Delhitoday by 5pm flight. I want to say sorry to you
again in person though its ok if you don't forgive me. And one more thing,
if you want to hate me still, its ok, but don't hate Mayank. Whatever he
did
was not because I asked him to do but he himself wanted it to do. I
primarily wanted to be in touch with you through Mayank, nothing else. I am
not sure if you will forgive me or not but I want to say Sorry for one last
time.
Love
Samyu.
Prachi read that letter for 10 times and tear swelled from her eyes. At 4'o
clock she decided to go to Airport. She reached airport by 4:30 and saw
Samyu there. Samyu was overwhelmed with joy when she saw prachi. As Prachi
came near she swung and hugged her with tears.
"I knew..i knew you would come" said Samyuktha
"How wouldn't I ..i wanted to hear a sorry from you" said Prachi with
tears.
"I am so so so so sorry Prachi..you don't know how happy and relieved I am
after all these years..." said Samyuktha.
"Me too...and...I want to say thank you!" said prachi
"Thank you?" puzzled Samyuktha
"Yeah..thank you for sending Mayank in my life" said Prachi
"I guess that was fate Prachi...I didn't send him..but it was a
co-incidence
that you happened to be my friend...err...aren't we friends"
"Yes..yes..now again don't make me cry..cried a lot since yesterday" said
prachi with a smile.
"ha ha ok ok.." said Samyuktha.
"That's bad, you friends are having good time and forgot about me" said
Mayank from behind.
Prachi looked back with surprise and became happy to see him there.
"Mayank, you wanted to ask one more thing to Prachi yesterday night
right..why don't you ask that?" said Samyuktha looking at Mayank.
"May I madam?" asked Mayank looking at Prachi.
Mayank bent down on his knees and took out a small box from his pocket.
"Will you make tea for me early in the morning everyday , will you cook
dinner for me every day, listen to my bak-bak everyday, sleep with me in my
bed, ....be my better half for rest of my life" said Mayank showing the
ring
to her.
"Yes" said Prachi smiling but with tears " you guys are making me cry like
anything".
"I hope you will not cry for rest of your life" said Mayank and hugged
Prachi.
It was time Samyuktha to leave and she once again hugged and congratulated
Prachi. Then congratulated Mayank and thanked him for everything.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Ultimate...
See the end.. its toooo good
As a daily habit, the 10-year Old Pintu was reading newspaper.Suddenly he
asked his father, " Dad! What does it mean by 'Governance System' ? "
" Its Like....", father said while thinking, " See! I earn and bring money to
home, mean's I am a 'Money Holder'. Your mother decides where and how to
spend that money and that means she is 'Government'. That maid in our home
is doing all the household works, so she will be 'Labour Class'.. You are a
'Common man' or 'Public'. Your kid brother is 'Future' or the 'Next
Generation', understand?".
That day Pintu slept with all those thoughts. In the middle of the night he
woke-up because his kid brother was crying. He wetted the matrices so he was
crying. Pintu went to woke-up his mother. She was in deep sleep so Pintu
went to the Maiden's room to wake her up. But there his father was sleeping
with the maid. So he came back with frustration. Next morning father asked
Pintu, " Hey Pintu Darling! You understood the 'Governance System'? ". Pintu
replied, " Yeah Dad, I understood! When money Holder is exploiting Labour
Class, our Government is sleeping. Future of our nation is crying for not
getting their basic needs fulfilled and in all this Common Man is
suffering!"
As a daily habit, the 10-year Old Pintu was reading newspaper.Suddenly he
asked his father, " Dad! What does it mean by 'Governance System' ? "
" Its Like....", father said while thinking, " See! I earn and bring money to
home, mean's I am a 'Money Holder'. Your mother decides where and how to
spend that money and that means she is 'Government'. That maid in our home
is doing all the household works, so she will be 'Labour Class'.. You are a
'Common man' or 'Public'. Your kid brother is 'Future' or the 'Next
Generation', understand?".
That day Pintu slept with all those thoughts. In the middle of the night he
woke-up because his kid brother was crying. He wetted the matrices so he was
crying. Pintu went to woke-up his mother. She was in deep sleep so Pintu
went to the Maiden's room to wake her up. But there his father was sleeping
with the maid. So he came back with frustration. Next morning father asked
Pintu, " Hey Pintu Darling! You understood the 'Governance System'? ". Pintu
replied, " Yeah Dad, I understood! When money Holder is exploiting Labour
Class, our Government is sleeping. Future of our nation is crying for not
getting their basic needs fulfilled and in all this Common Man is
suffering!"
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Buffalo & the Horse
Once upon a time a horse and a buffalo lived in a beautiful meadow up in the mountains.
There was plenty of grass to eat and water to drink, and the two had become good friends. But one year, there was no rain. The meadow stream dried up and the grass turned brown.
Soon the horse and buffalo found themselves fighting over the scarce water and grass. One day, their daily fight became violent. The buffalo jabbed the horse with her sharp horns. The badly injured horse had no option but to flee.
A few days passed and the horse started feeling much better. He still had not forgotten how the buffalo had hurt him, and started planning his revenge. After much thought, he decided to approach a man and ask for his help. On hearing the horse’s tale, the man shrugged and said, "Well, you fought with each other, and you lost. Why should I get into this? Anyway, the buffalo has sharp horns. If she can hurt you, she will definitely kill me." With that the man told the horse to leave him so he could get on with his work.
Once again the horse pleaded with the man. He said, "If you help me, I will help you capture the buffalo. Then you can keep her, and I get to have the meadow all to myself."
The man laughed and said, "What will I do with a captured buffalo; it is of no use to me."
The horse then told the man about the buffalo’s sweet milk. "It not only tastes very good, it is also very healthy. If you were to drink it every day you will become more powerful than all the animals in the jungle." The man seemed impressed and agreed to help the horse. But the buffalo’s horns still worried him.
But the horse had a plan. "What you need," he said, "is a big fat stick. Just climb onto my back and every time I run past the buffalo, you hit her with the stick. She cannot run as fast as me so she will not be able to catch us." The plan sounded good so the man decided to go along with it.
Next morning the man climbed onto the horse’s back, holding a big fat stick. When they found the buffalo in the meadow, the horse started to run past the buffalo. The plan was working. After a few hard hits with the stick, the buffalo fell to the ground. The man captured the buffalo and tied her to a tree next to his hut.
The horse was really happy now that he had got rid of the buffalo from the meadow. He thanked the man and was about to leave when he found that he too was tied to the tree. The horse turned to the man and said, "Dear friend, now that our work is over, you can release me. I can enjoy the meadow and you can enjoy the buffalo’s milk.
The man in turn said, "My dear friend, you have been of such help to me. You have not just taught me how to capture a buffalo but also taught me how to ride horses. Now that I know how useful the two of you are, how can I possibly let either of you go? I promise I will take good care of you."
The sad horse felt betrayed. But after thinking for some time he realised that he was suffering because he had been petty and vengeful. By telling the secret of the buffalo’s milk to the man, he had betrayed his friend, the buffalo. From that day on, he decided he would never again betray anybody’s trust, not even his captor’s, the man. Perhaps that is why horses are known as man’s trusted friends.
The Fork ( Good Story )
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order", she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor didn't know what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork'.
It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...
Like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance. So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them : "Keep your fork...the best is yet to come".
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman the last time he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing, her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman about what it symbolized to her.
The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.
So the next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.
The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.
"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor didn't know what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork'.
It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...
Like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance. So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them : "Keep your fork...the best is yet to come".
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman the last time he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing, her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman about what it symbolized to her.
The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.
So the next time you reach down for your fork let it remind you, oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.