My Life, A Cocktail

I watched through my window, the couple seated at the park. They weren't talking, simply holding hands, and contemplating Life. The lady gazed at the pretty flowers that covered the park in a colorful blanket. Instantly, a smile appeared on her face. She thought to herself how beautiful these flowers were, he had got her these flowers many a times, and thats why they were beautiful. The man looked at the sun that set behind the trees. The sky was orange with a dash of violet. How beautiful it looked. This was that sky he had flown over, with her many a times. And thats why it was beautiful. I smiled. They looked so beautiful together. I had sat in that park with "my him" many a times. And thats why the couple looked beautiful.

It was like I was dreaming, one of those rare dreams, where you can touch, smell and hear, like real. My dad had just casually made a statement and I sat there, without the tiniest bit of reaction, as my mind struggled to sink in the waves that had just crossed my ears. Dad had said, “Mom’s coming back.” I knew I had finally gulped the news when I caught my mind unawares, already relishing at the thought of carrying a lunch box everyday to work. Well, so, she was going to be back. I thought of the times when she was here, very few memories came to me. It happens all the time, that when you want to picture something of the past, you try to picture it in the physical setup where it had occurred. My mom hadn’t been with us in this particular home for a long time. It made me feel like I had forgotten of how it was with mom around. Had I? Whatever, there was this pang of happiness that filled my heart. Though I knew I had to wait another whole month for her to be back, but then, the past 9

Head high, egoistic and charming. Welcome to the world of Men. A species, strong and pragmatic, curious, confident and secure, a class in itself. Now, why did God have to make them so? To take on the world, lead and help. I have a problem with a few of them. Men marry for different reasons. And there are others who don’t marry, or at least don’t want to. There are a few extremes, who would rather adopt a child, definitely very nice, but talk about marriage to them, and you get an outright No. My problem is with such people. They want to help, so they adopt. They are sympathetic towards the world’s so many poor children, who have no one to live by. These kids are scared, and these men want to help. Understandable. But aren’t women equally impotent? Now, wait a minute, I know a lot of women would want to pounce on me for saying this, but lets face it, aren’t we all a bunch of insecure minds, craving company? Maybe not a very nice way of describing the women community, but considering mys

I can get real crazy at times. It was a dull saturday afternoon, and I had spent the whole day doing nothing. I hadn't planned anything for this particular weekend, coz I had meant to do nothing. I had had a long week in office, and I wasn't in the mood to strain myself anymore. But, suddenly, a kind of restlessness sunk into me, and the next moment I saw myself, all dressed up and ready, I was gonna go to the near by health and glow. This is one shop, second to the stationeries and book stores, that I love to visit. So off I was. I stepped into the cloud of dust outside my building, and I wondered for the umpteenth time, why we had chosen this place, next to the highway, to live. With loads of sand on my face, as though nicely made up with some compact powder, I managed to hire an auto. In less than ten minutes, I reached the shop. I went in. Beauty is a wonderful thing. I mean, people seem to be ready to do anything for it. Here I was, in this classy shop, where everything lo

Yes, you could sue me for using an ad line, but the temptation was just too huge to resist. In fact, the very line was what got me thinking to write this piece what I call an article; and this is my way of paying tribute. Anyways, getting down to the point, the first time I heard this string of words dramatized together, I had felt this was just many of those which implored attention. But there came one idle moment, when my mind had nothing much to brood over, and without consulting me it had started its cruise about this particular arrangement of words. I got all set to reprimand, but then my mind, being clever as it always is, worked out this esoteric interpretation and placed it in a finely decorated platter in front me; I was cajoled into it. From then on, my mind took over, bold and straight, with the air of a winner, the mind walked to the center stage, to put its audience in a trance. Listen, it said. Listen to the moment that is passing by; listen to the silence that is slowing

Seven a.m. on a Thursday morning saw us all, for once together, seated comfortably in a Qualis, the baby shifting arms, all of us in quiet happiness. Togetherness is a wonderful feeling, isn’t it, all NRIs would agree. We raced on the NH4, Pune- Bangalore highway, one of the best maintained ones, I must admit, as we passed through winding ghats and mystic tunnels. It was fun, especially the tunnels, we all waited, we knew the baby would cry at the sudden darkness, we waited thinking about different techniques to console him, we would pass the entire stretch of the tunnel, and naughty little Varun would just wait along with us, in silent amazement, as though he was one enlightened fellow, who knew that there was light at the end of every tunnel! Some more driving, a stop at the usual Hotel Nataraj for breakfast, then taking the diversion for Panchgani, we soon were driving past boarding schools and the near by Vayi village. Enter Mahabhaleshwar. Mapro was our first halt. For those who h

The D day had come, though not so for me, coz somehow I have always been the one who believes that life gives us too many options. I’ll swear that’s life’s favorite trick! Anyways, I woke myself in the morning, very reluctantly; assuring myself that after all this too was only going to add to my experience. A quick shower, and the necessary stuff on my face (I don’t like to call it make up, sounds pretty artificial!), and my hair done, I picked up the book I had purchased year before last, for my CAT preparation. A glance at every page, and I was all set to leave. My dad wished me luck, and I wondered about the days of school, how cute and beautiful they were, how nice it was to plan time tables for study, how nice it was to feel tense, how nice to be consoled by a wish of luck! Somehow, all these had long gone from my life, I haven’t felt the least tense for exams ever since. I hired an auto, and it sped across the thankfully empty roads, till its halt at the Christ College. A huge cr