The Crestfallen Night

It was an Advertising Awards night at a Resort in Goa. Jazz music was being played in the background. To add to it there were sounds of glass clinging; people cheering each other before taking the sips of their drinks. Lights were dim. She was glowing more in that golden light. Her hair, eyes, lips, had the glow to hypnotise anyone. In her presence, it was difficult to observe anything else. He was usual happy-go-lucky guy. They both were immersed in a light conversation. But they hardly shifted views from each other. She suggested they take a walk outside on the beach, away from the crowd.They walked. The beach is a perfect place for these types of walks. The cool breeze (which made her hair wave making her look more beautiful), the moonlight (the silvery light making the atmosphere more romantic), the waves (filling up for the silence). Both were walking and had many things to talk on; family, friends, food, career, likes/dislikes, et al. They talked about almost everything, except that one thing which was in their hearts, but was struggling to come out. They both were waiting for the other to spill the beans first. After an hour’s walk, they thought let the night pass and they planned to meet the next morning for breakfast.The next morning was not that pleasant. The day was a little gloomy. As promised the last night, she was waiting for him at the Banquet for breakfast. Her eyes were sore. She was offered breakfast by her colleagues, but she refused. She was already so full of emotions. After a long 15 minutes wait, he entered the hall. He had a stern look on his face. The charm he had last night and the constant smile he was carrying was missing today. As soon as he entered, he saw her. Their eyes met. His strong gaze said a lot. They were loudly saying that they won’t trust her or rather anyone anymore. Her eyes wanted to speak but were filled with guilt. They couldn’t meet his for a longer time. The look on her face was full of apologies. He tried hard to ignore her. Behaving as if they don’t know each other.He couldn’t eat anything. His throat was chocked with emotions that were fighting to come out. But he had to control it. Emotions were not supposed to come out when you are on an official trip. He went for some coffee; just to give his colleagues some company. She had her eyes fixed on him. And he didn’t want their eyes to meet again. He didn’t have the strength to speak to the one he had loved for the first time in his life.
Something happened last night. Their happy faces turned into miserable ones. Their hearts filled with love for each other now had guilt, anger, hatred in them. The soft air last night which sang of love now bellowed in pain. They felt they had the world last night; the morning took away everything from them. The couple who thought this night was special, now wished that it had never occurred which will now haunt them for rest of their lives.

 to be continued...

Five Failed Proposals

1. At the Bus Stop:
She was looking like a fairy in red dress. The soft sun rays falling on her tender skin making her skin glow and her hair shine in a manner as if it were given some Photoshop effects. I gathered some strength, went to her and tried to start a conversation at one of the Mumbai’s bus stops:
Me: Erm, excuse me? Are you waiting for the same bus which I’m waiting for?
She: (with a puzzled look) what? Which bus?
Me: I’m waiting for the AC Volvo bus (I thought would impress her)
She: (giving me a ‘either-you-are-too-dumb-or-stupid’ look) No AC bus stops at this bus stop.
*Failed. Finished.*

2. At the Joggers Park:
Some say it’s the motivation for becoming fit that drives you to exercise daily. Some say, it’s your Doctor who warns you and scares you about you falling prey to diseases if you don’t exercise. But then, few know that what drives a lazy guy to get up early and exercise is the girl he’s been eyeing on. She was cute, perfect stats, and a typical face of a fair & lovely Ad model. After getting a clue that I have been watching her since some days, she came up and asked:
She: Hey, what is it? I have been noticing you that you have been watching me since some days…
Me: (dumbstruck! Out of words and thoughts) ummm…nothing…just…
She: what?
Me: (I don’t know what made me say this) I was just seeing how much calories you burn everyday….oO
*Failed. Finished.*

3. At the mall:
Malls can be defined as a place where both the male and female population go crazy. Females for the reason that they have their desired world of shopping and males for the reason that they have their desired world of bird watching.
As soon as I entered the mall on a Saturday afternoon, the cool breeze of the Air Conditioner made me feel better and the aroma soothed me. But immediately I realized that it was not the mall atmosphere that was making this affect on me, it was the girl standing beside me was the reason. Yellow top, casual shorts and that magical sent she was wearing. A combo of wrong place, wrong time and wrong words can cause havoc.
Me: heyyy (with 3 y’s)
She: hey (with only one y)
Me: is the flush working right?
*Failed. Finished*
P.S.: The ‘wrong’ place where the ‘wrong’ words were uttered was near the Washroom.

4. At a food stall:
Actions speak louder than words. And Improper actions prevent the further exchange of words.
Sometimes these roadside food stalls seem to be to be millionaires with the crowd flocking to savour the junk yet delicious food. And usually these places do attract groups of beautiful girls. There is always a cherry on the cake. I meant, there is always that one girl in the group who sways you off your feet. And you vow to do anything to impress her.
She: (To the stall owner) Bhaiya, please give our order quickly…we have been waiting since long…
Me: (Knowing the owner, and wanting to impress her) Aye Raju, give their fast man..
She: (getting her order and content came upto me) Hey, thank you for your word. That really helped…
Me: (glitter in my eyes, food in my mouth) Burp!!!
*Failed. Finished*

5. At the Cinema Hall:
Bollywood movies do influence our lives. Especially after watching SRK’s romantic movies. The ‘Aashiq’ keeda in the guys gets active after watching these movies.
It was intermission. People crowding at the stall for popcorn and cold drinks. She was returning to the Auditorium with her stuff when one of her friends called out “Kiran, wait…”. So, I knew her name now. She dropped her keys.
Me: Excuse me…(running towards her)
She: (turning towards me) Yes??
Me: (in full gear to impress her) Your keys kkkkkiran…
*Failed. Finished*

जी लो ज़िंदगी

इस  दिल से निकली आह को कोई समझे...

इस  रूह  को  ना  मिलने वाली  पनाह  को  कोई  समझे ...

ख्वाब  पुरे  देखने  से  पहेले  ही  आँख  खुल  जाती  है ...

अधूरे  ख्वाब  पुरे  करते-करते  नींद  आजाती  है ...

ज़िंदगी  में  हमेशा  कामयाब ना  हो  सके  तो  क्या ..

ज़िंदगी  में  हमेशा  मुस्कुरा  ना  सके  तो  क्या ...

खुदा ने  दी  है  एक  ज़िंदगी  जीने  के  लिए ...

क्यों  ना  जीभर के  जिए  हर  पल  सारी  ज़िंदगी  के  लिए ... 

Mumbai Monologue

Everyday an Adventure
Everyday a Fray
To attain that perfect Stature
You are still willing to Stay

It brings out sweat
It brings out tears
Inspite the umpteen threats
You make your living here

You become strong
You become tough
Moving through the throng
You learn to live enough

You did think to give-up
You did think to leave
And you had that hiccup
Which made you believe

Today it is gloomy
Tomorrow it'll be bright
Even a stranger would become a family
And this city will teach you to fight

1-2-3-4-5-6

1 am they decide...2 am they start preparing....3 am they leave....and the rest you know... (the random story continues)
They had two bikes, 1 Activa and 1 scooty (it was borrowed from one of the guy’s girlfriend). The Scooty guy was a bit scared- ‘If she comes to know that her scooty has been driven to Lonavla, I am screwed’. But somehow others convinced him by saying, “you may get another girlfriend and even a better vehicle, but not another chance like this”
It was 2:30 am now. 2 to 3 of them went to check the fuel in all the vehicles. They came back rushing inside the apartment in less than 5 minutes. They looked as if they were put inside a refrigerator for sometime. One of them said, “Guys lets drop the plan; I don’t think we’ll be able to survive in this cold” saying this he ran straight inside the loo. One of the guys immediately followed him and locked the toilet door from outside and also switched off the light. He said, “So you enjoy here, we are leaving”. The guy shouted from inside, “No, please, open the door, sorry, I am also coming, sorry, please....”
Their attire was so heavy that one of the neighbours (who woke up by their noises) thought of them as Terrorists. One of them had to remove his helmet to calm down their paranoid neighbour.
Now it was 3 am. Without caring about noise, roaring their engines into life they began. After travelling for about 5 kms, one of the guys stopped. He had to pee. The other guys also joined him. They were all standing beside each other in a line alongside a road which connected to the highway. A traffic cop on patrol saw them. The sight of 7 guys urinating at around 3:30 am on the road made the cop suspicious of the guys being drunk. He approached them and called, “hey, what are you guys doing at this point of time?” One of the guys said, “Sir, just a second, let us finish”. The cop was getting furious. “Show me your licences and papers”, he said. They all took out their licences and were handing over to the cop, when he immediately stopped, “wash your hands first”. They took out the bottle washed their hands and showed their licences and papers. One of the guy was carrying his father’s licence as his own was lost. He had replaced the picture of the licence with his without changing any details. But the cop could not figure it out. After seeing their documents the cop came nearer and sniffed them as a Labrador. He found everything fine and left. They felt light (from heart as well as body) and continued the adventure.
After covering for about half the distance, one of them stopped the bike and asked everyone to stop. “What happened?” asked one of them. “Let’s do some photography”. The other guy said, “Here...what is this place?” Without a second thought they all came in to give their poses. There was a fight of who will click the picture as everyone wanted to be in the frame. One of them said, “Pictures would have come even better if there would have been any girls with us”. As soon as he said this, two of the notorious guys thought that he should be made a girl and should be asked to pose like one. So, they took the towel (the one which was being used as a muffler), and wrapped it around his head, saying him that it’s cold and you should cover your ears. Without he knowing, pictures were clicked and he was portrayed as a girl in the pictures.
They reached Lonavla at around 5:30 am; just before the sunrise. They reached the sunrise point before time. Just some minutes before sunrise, they started singing with their teeth chattering with cold “Geevvee mee sssoome ssuunshhine, Geevvee mee sssoome rrain, Geevvee mee oonnother chhancee iee waaannaa grrrrow up once aggggain. LLLAAAA LLLLAAAA LLLAAAA (clap) LLLAAAA LLLLAAAA LLLAAAA (clap) LLLAAAA LLLLAAAA LLLAAAA (clap) LALA LALA LAAA LALAAAA”
The first sunshine hit their faces and brought up smiles. The satisfied looks on their faces replaced the tired and sleepy look. Now that they witnessed the sunrise, they were hungry. They ordered some pakodas and chai after 10 minutes of bargain. After a good filling, one of them took a long burp and asked, “What now? Let’s go to Mumbai” other one said in a grumpy voice with a big piece of pakoda in his mouth, “Shut up; let’s go back and sleep” Everyone agreed to that.
On their way back they saw a small lake. The bright morning sun was shining over the water giving it a shiny golden glow. They were excited at the sight of this and were tempted to go near the lake. One of them pointed on a board on the fencing which read, “Company’s property. Do not trespass” They just stood there looking at the beautiful sight. One of them went close to the fencing and saw that it was slightly broken. He somehow got through it and shouted with joy as if he achieved something great. All of them one by one went through it and reached the bank except one who thought to remain behind and take a nap on the bike with helmet on his face. Another round of photography was conducted. They styled their hair with the water and posed differently.
So now they left and without any halts they reached back to Pune tired and exhausted. No one even bothered to change their clothes. They just slept straight away. They woke up in the evening one by one. One of them said in a tired voice,” Did we really go to Lonavla at 3 am...” The other guy took out his phone and showed him the pictures where he was portrayed like a girl without he being aware. He was shocked,” When did this happen?”
One of them said, “Dude, It just happened, Randomly....” ;)

3-4-5-6-7

......3am.......4 Bikes...5 degree temperature...65 kms... 7 friends.......
Welcome to the world of Randomness, where even Random is very Random. Here, the most unimagined things take place. But mostly you end up satisfied with what you did and you even realise that it might not have been so beautiful experience if it were planned.
Well, so the 7 friends, on 4 bikes (out of which 2 were mopeds), left for Lonavla at 3am from Pune...they just decided some 2 hours ago about it.
On a Saturday night after a good supper, these 7 crazy nuts were busy with some or the other activity. 2 of them were watching a stupid movie without volume; 1 had a bad stomach, so he settled himself in the loo; 2 of them were batting (code word for chatting with girlfriend on phone) and the remaining 2 were comparing their bellys (and trying to count their abs)
Suddenly the guy came out of the loo and shouted out loud; everyone ignored him for the first time. The second time he shouted so loud that everyone had to pounce on him and shut him up (as it was 1 am and the neighbours were sleeping). All 6 of them, one by one started jumping on him, that he fell down. All 6 of them were on him now. He somehow managed to escape and then he said in a wisper like voice, "Guys, lets go to Lonavla......now.....what say?"
Everyone just paused as if someone had hit a 'pause' button. All of them started exchanging looks with each other.
One of them said,"Are you out of your mind? Look how cold it is outside"
He replied,"Dude, life gives you only one chance, you might not get to do this again. Kya pata kal ho naa ho..."
A little smirk developed on everyones face. So, finally after arguing much they settled on a common consensus. "Ok Fine, lets go!!!"
They started preparing themselves for the big ride. It was 2 am now. And it was chilling out there. Everyone started pulling out jackets, sweaters, mufflers, gloves, form their wardrobes. One of them couldn't find a muffler, so he rolled his towel and tied it around his neck.
Now they had only two bikes, and one Activa and a scooty. "Nevermind", said one of them. "Now no looking back. Lets just experience this adventure"
3 am now and they began the journey...
the real story begins now....but u'll have to wait for the next post....;)coming soon...

Mai “Neta” banna chahta hu...

Finally I discovered the sole reason for which I chose to do MBA- Placements. Being in the final year, and on the peak season of getting a ‘naukri’, which will determine my status Quo, everyone starts taking things seriously. So, I am no exception. Herd Mentality.
The company, package, profile, and every such syndrome starts showing up when you are in the final year. Also, it’s a mixed feeling when any of your friends get placed with a good package. As said by Farhan (Madhvan) in 3 Idiots, “When your best friend fails, you feel bad. But when he comes first, you feel more bad.” So you are under pressure to grab whatever opportunity comes in your way. It is a tough job to get a job, but come on; I don’t wanna be left out.
Everyone thinks that he/she can hit the bulls eye in one go. Getting a pay package of 10-15 lakhs per annum is a piece of cake. But people break their teeth while trying to get a bite and that is when they become aware that the cake is made up of Rock and you need metal teeth to get the taste of it. So the ground reality is you wont get fat package it you are a fresher. There are always some compromises one has to make in life. Here, it is either to take a job that offers you a decent package but not the work you are interested in or slog with less money (sometimes it gives you the feeling that you are working for free) in the area of your interest.
But I had a problem. Neither of the choices would suffice my requirement. Good package in the field I wanted to work was not possible as I being a fresher; also I did not want to take any other job. But as it is said (I am not sure who said it) that ‘Money can make you forget anything, and can lure you towards anything’, so I was much smitten by it. No one on the Globe would have ever thought of doing this after an MBA, except if he/she has chosen ‘Political Science’ or ‘Economics’ as their subjects. So, I had decided that I want to become a ‘neta’.
Friends thought that I have gone crazy; my parents also took me to a psychiatrist for a check-up. But after constant hammering by everyone, I finally confessed why I made such a stupid decision. Being an MP has certain benefits:
• The basic pay you get is Rs. 50,000 per month
• Office expenses at around Rs.40,000 per month
• Constituency allowance Rs.40,000 pm
• Interest-free loans for buying cars Rs.4L per month
• Road mileage rate for vehicles used Rs.16/km
• Your spouse can travel any number of times in first class in railways
• Pension Rs.20,000 pm
Additional Perks:
• 1,50,000 free phone calls a year on 3 landlines and 2 mobiles
• Rent free housing; govt pays rent on furniture upto Rs.60,000 and Rs.1500 for additional items
• 50,000 units of electricity every year
• 400 kilo litres of water
Eligibility Criteria:
• Atleast 10th pass (or even fail will do)
• There should be some complaints filed against you
• You should have atleast once been to the jail
• You should have good marketing and communication skills (needed to promote yourself at the elections)
• You should be aggressive enough to prove your point, even if you are wrong
• You should be expert in throwing shoes...your aim should be perfect
Thus, I am still trying to convince my parents to allow me to become a neta, as this is one of the rare professions where there can be a 200% hike in your salary in one can still ask for more increment...I still have my fingers crossed...