One Phase..Four years.. Few Gits ..

One phase ..Four years of madness, craziness, recklessness..Four years resulting in bonding's for a lifetime..Few lives come together to create a small world of happiness and togetherness ...Friends !!! A life that defined what friendship is and how it thrives, moments which taught me how few people become integral part of our lives, events that made me realise few people can accept us just the way we are , few gits will always know us in and out !



I entered this place called "Tumkur" , never in my 18 years of life i had heard of such a place but now it seems like this place will always be in my memories. Its four years since I came to this SIT and everything still seems like yesterday . First day of my college everything seemed so new, uncertainty hovering above, fear of new people and place, homesickness being the constant companion and studies driving me crazy. I was afraid of people around me because I felt I was from different part of the world, well thats how everybody exclaimed Gulbarga !! so far ! The moment i entered hostel , my very first thought was to pick my bags and go back ! That feeling persisted for long time. I used to dream of my hometown listening to class, I would picture my home and my friends. Sometimes homesickness haunted me in broad day light and others times it crept up to me during dark nights. Hostel made me realize that I love my family the most and that no matter what happens my parents will always be there for me.



When I first came to "my class" , ha ! I was doomed seeing everybody s face, but i found few warming smiles and today they are my best friends. First two semesters that I wrote were the only ones where I can proudly boast of scoring some decent marks. One noon when i returned from routine college I saw a girl standing in mess , she turned out to be my classmate roopa - my delicate darling. Today she s my best friend and has been my roommate for four years and it all seems like yesterday. I remember we both agreeing on same points and bitching about same things ! Yeah we differed a lot in many aspects but that turned out to be the beauty of our friendship thats still going strong and is here to stay. I remember a particular incident when I mischievously smacked her and the next moment her face was shining with tears. I was too embarrassed to tell anything to her because I was clearly misunderstood, she has been a great support to me, always keeping an eye on me, I have attended half of my morning classes just because of her and her dialogue " Idiot ! you ll be running short of attendance , come quickly i ll be waiting for you" . Whenever she said she would wait for me , I felt really glad , not cause she was waiting rather I would delay her too :P

Few more idiots entered my life in second year and since then my SIT life has been a roller coaster ride. I met my another Best git of my life in second year-Megha the Man :P, she unlike my other roommate I mentioned above was totally different, this lady supported me in all my reckless activities while my other roomy was skeptic. This lady cooked up pranks with me to trouble the other one and at times she was the victim of my pranks. Once I had decorated their lovely faces with all creams while they were snoring peacefully , the following morning saw a fit thrown by my delicate darling and the other one was cool about it. I had enjoyed every moment of it :P The loudest symphony ( people called it as noise !! ew) always came from our room, everytime we were caught having fun. These four years have been like golden sand slipping away from my hand while I enjoyed the glitter and shine. I remember a girl in first year who seemed totally out of place just like me , but she was far more upset. Today she s one my best friend - Enter Pallo Rani ! Only I know how I have survived through a class full apathetic people in the beginning , if it was not for her I would have been doomed and would never have known what friendship is. She has helped me come out of my tough times of indecisive attitude.I remember few secret outings we went together, spontaneous, careless, fun filled outings!

I mentioned only about three gits , there are few more to go.. In second year I met some really unusual people ( No offence they still are unusual's) Enter Tham and Nass , In an unfortunate incident I met them in IEEE team and that remains my favorite team of all times. We three worked together so in sync- Tham- One of the Best leader and dynamic personality without whom we used to stay blank ( Yeah cause he was the one who supported my every idea and then would suddenly tell : we can do it this way also !! so we would rather decide to stay blank ), Nass- Leader, Caretaker and Pacifier who has the gift of calming every situation ( How ? Why ? cause he s one of the laziest smart kid ) . Me- A person who always looked forward to hang with these two ! be it work ( through which I learnt a lot from them or be it fun where I lived my life s few best moments) These two have been there for me at all times , its difficult to get used to their absence, but then we will find ways to hang out again cause ours is the best team !

Today I write all of this , cause I know things are changing quickly and am frightened about that. Change though most of the time happens for good but for now am plain blank . I want these gits to know what they mean to me , we have had our great moments together , times of hardships we shared , times of happiness we savoured together. I don know how are things going to be in future, all I want to tell is no matter what our bonds will always be the same ! I don know how I would have lived my life for four years without these gits , who have left ocean of memories in my life. This is dedicated to all these wonderful people ...who will always remain biggest GITS of my life :)

VILLAGE DIARIES

The moment we hear the word Village, we envisage shabby lanes, big haunted houses, people wearing turbans and many other things pop up instantly. Everyone one of us might have their native Villages, but seldom anyone one of us visit. This vacation I spent a week in my native observing their routine.

Unlike our houses, in villages houses are smeared with mud and they have opening where well, cowshed and garden is situated. As I entered our house I could see six pair of eyes examining me. Two cows and a calf were staring me with a questioning look as if saying,” who is this now? When we only skip our two meals daily, how can we feed an extra mouth!”. I later learnt that cattle were collapsing due to hunger as a result of drought. This house was very old and strangely quiet. The house was so cool that it did not matter if there was power or not, cool breeze always flew in and out. As the night approached the electricity made its absence felt and in the pitch dark the house seemed like a haunted one. Next day as i was lazing around I saw two shining eyes in the dark corner of the house. The creature leapt aside to reveal itself , it was a brown and white stripped cat!. Gracefully it entered the kitchen and started purring loudly as if saying, “My bowl is empty! You have not poured milk in it!” My aunt in return replied , “Stop screeching young fellow!”. The cat fell silent immediately. It started screening the place and its eyes rested upon me wide in shock! It ran away as I made a movement. The cat visited the house daily and had its siesta in a secluded corner.

In the evening hours all the residents of village would peep out of their houses to have a chat with neighbours. No villager was a stranger to them , they knew everybody in the village. One morning I woke up with a start due to chirping sounds above my head. As it peered I saw hoard of sparrows fluttering above. They had their cosy nests built on our roof! The sparrows were so busy chirping that my presence went unnoticed. Has anyone seen sparrows on your window sills? Strange, that they their population has dwindled in cities.

I have a friend in my village who. But due to poverty she did not pursue her studies further. Now apart from managing her house , she also takes tuitions for kids in the evening hours. She charges only Rs20 per month for each kid and around 15 of them attend her classes. Does this ring a bell somewhere? Its difficult to digest because our monthly spending shoots high above Rs 300 !

Urban people tend to be paranoid but country folks trust each other, that’s what I noticed during my stay. In villages many elderly people live all alone in big houses without any fear. This is the real concept of freedom for which our ancestors struggled. Today villages are in grave danger as their population is decreasing. People are migrating to cities where they are forced to lead a miserable life. Every city has a slum area, the inhabitants are the same who migrate from villages. If these places are provided with good facilities, this migration will reduce. We cannot afford to lose our villages as they are the epicentre of our culture , agriculture and have huge reserves of manpower. Let us all hope that these lively places will be saved and protected in near future!

MOGULS OF THE DAY.

Sun starts descending slowly, the velvety cover spreads through the sky. The crimson sky engulfs it all, shimmering at places where sun is bright. As I look up at the sky, the reddish orange is all I see, with purple curtains hiding orange under it. Sun looks majestic with zillion rays sprouting out of him, I trace those rays as far as I can but then they disappear. No matter what, the rays travel encountering all the obstacles sometimes they seem to punch a hole through a chunk of cloud. As I look I see a silver lining at the end of chunk. The horizon seems dipped in the splendor colour of the sun and he happily settles in its arms.

As he settles down, hoard of wishes greet him, I try to hear those but all I understand is the chirping sounds of his subjects. His subjects greet him for the day, sometimes twittering in a flock and sometimes silently passing by him.

The night opens its wings slowly, with grace of a beautiful peacock. Eventually night dances all the way until it spreads the cover above me. As I wonder in awe at the perfect darkness, I see diamonds hanging on the black background, shining, tiny stars. They pop up one by one, in few minutes whole dark sky is full of diamonds. I point my finger at one star, it glows brightly while others momentarily disappear. I shift to others and the same thing happens

Its fascinating to watch those shiny little diamonds, the infinite numbers make me forget everything else. The night grows up with an aim of pervading through everything it encounters. Its aim remains concealed for sometime as it penetrates through. As life stands still and watches, the night starts flying magnificently. I admire the beauty of stillness around me, every single life obeys its new ruler—“The Night”.

The silence is impressed naturally, slowly in hushed tones trees and plants whisper about their majesty. The cold breeze pays its respects and brushes the leaves. While taking a walk in a boulevard I felt I was missing out something, i was an uninvited guest in the ‘Night s Kingdom’. As the crickets chirp more loudly and the hushing grows louder, I just admire the night. There is secret meeting going on between them all and I try to decipher it but, but am pushed back by the growing blackness. I wonder at various shades of black, the one in the bush had slightly darker shade than a shadow. Grayish shadows of buildings and trees were covering each other and I stood between those long shadows. I knew after they scare me to leave, they would celebrate till the dawn. They would wave around and enjoy seeing we getting conquered by nights trick of making us sleep.

As I return back to my den, I see night gliding past the lonely streets spreading its magic of stillness and silence. Tiny diamonds shine with more glitter and enjoy winking whole night, they are glad those lights which troubled them have died out. But they even know those lights will be back to haunt them the next day. I wanted to spend more of time enjoying calming breeze, but night seemed to threaten me with its absolute darkness ..

My Little Princess..:)

It was a sunny afternoon, not many of sun’s scorching rays were reaching through lush green mask overhead. My little princess in her early teens was playing and humming around,”Dad ! see how I am flying, I will reach stars at this pace,Dad ! see!”. I remember myself watching her fly every time the swing rebounded. I thought Yes! My princess, vast sky is waiting for your invasion. I saw her grow everyday, every new change in her bought a new smile on my face. I remember her tiny hand used to curl around my fingers, the merry laugh when I played with her. There were times when I watched her pensively, I wanted to give my princess everything she needs. I dint want to make her spoilt brat, but I wanted her to be happy always.

When I saw her growing and flourishing, I wondered if I can capture that moment forever. I recited inspirational stories to her, her tiny eyes would bulge with that new piece of knowledge. I was happy that I had become her steadfast friend.
I carefully listened to all she had to say to me, her school stories, her little cycling fights, her want for pocket money and her achievements in daily life. They say nothing can last forever, I began to think on this cliché. My daughter grew beautiful and graceful. She was smart as a button and bold as brass.
I celebrated my victory of making my daughter independent. But I wondered she was fragile , delicate and world outside had gone to dogs. My princess was turning out to be a asset to me as she grew , on the contrary my growth bothered me . I could protect her, shield her, till I had my strength in my hands. She pursued her dreams, I watched her smiling, playing all around the home. She won all the battles in pursuing her dream and returned victoriously. I watched her new expressions, her gestures, she would look at me with such respect and adoration. I was glad I was her hero.

My little princess had become a young enthusiastic lady. I wondered how time flies so quickly. My worries did not cease, they increased. I had to fulfill my last duty as a father. I realized then, marriage was not an easy affair, it demanded great skills on father s part. I realized the happiness and peace a marriage brought into my child s life. It was an uphill task but then it was a father s achievement.
Today I watch a dazzling bride sitting poignantly on the silver plank before me. Beside her is her next hero of her life, her husband. It hurts me a bit to give that throne of heroism to somebody because                     
           I know no one will love my princess the way I do....

A Childs’ Realm

The blue sky was seamless and was concealed with dark thick clouds. Half of the sky was still shining bright yellow other half portrayed a gloomy landscape. He stood dumbstruck watching a new spectacle of nature. He wondered how was it possible, a small kid had never seen it in his seven years of life. He stood transfixed for a moment and thought about his lovely home. He set off towards his purpose of reaching home simultaneously wondering at thick cloud which was starting to seem like a ghost hovering above him, two huge eyes and a ravenous mouth. He followed the bright half of the sky,” my home shining always”.
The bright ominous clouds gave a shudder and puked out. He watched tiny droplets of water fall on his tiny hands. He collected them and drank them, again and again he repeated it. There was a loud thunder and the sky tore apart with that blinding light. The boy ran happily through the downpour. He was drenched completely, jumping in puddles of muddy water, shouting at sky,” come on fight”, with the raindrops. He looked around, he could see green things called trees waving frantically in thunderstorm. He looked up at them,” I will come and save you, don’t cry”, he ran from tree to tree only to find them too huge for him to climb.

His tiny shoes were sloshing through puddles as they threw water out of them, his Tiffin basket was filled with water, oblivious to all of this he went on towards his lovely home. Amidst the shower and roaring thunder and blinding flashes, he scurried towards a lane,” don’t worry , Don’t cry, I will rescue you all”. Playing his heroic part of saving trees and animals, he threw stones at dogs so that they would run and hide from heavenly attack. He waved to birds and yelled,” hey I will take you home, come fly with me”, he remembered his mamma telling him that birds go to their homes in the evening just like he returns from school.


“white ,yellow , pink…..pink, white”, he recited while he played with blossomed flowers bent with the weight of water. He plucked few flowers and tore the petals and put them in a puddle. He squatted on the edge of the puddle and played with those floating petals. Another shot of thunder and lightning, he looked up at the skies sticking his tongue out to drink rainwater.

He saw somebody pull him up , he peered over but rain was obscuring it all. “Oh my god ! oh my god! Where have you been dear, why did you go out of school gate, oh my god !”, his mum was stressed and worried, they had searched for him everywhere in the school and adjoining lanes.


“Mamma don’t worry I will save you, look at the trees I saved them and birds! I brought them home with me, am a superhero. His tiny physique was looking tinier with drenched look, but his eyes shining with victory that he had come to his lovely home and had saved the world of its suffering. Now it had stopped raining and sun was peeping out of clouds. His mother hugged him and picked him up, he proudly settled in her arms and waved at sky, trees and birds. The skies were quiet and trees were swaying gently as if they paid their respects to their superhero ,who was fast asleep in his mother’s arms …

Companionship Redefined

It was a mesmerizing evening with birds going back to their cosy warm nests,people peeping out of their homes to feel openness in the air after staying indoors for whole summer day.The sky dazzled with different colors orange,purple, yellow, gray and blue.The very still homes which were dried up due to scorching heat ,once again came to life in the evening.

One juvenile in her early teens returns from the school flustered ,she dumps her bag and calls out to her mum “ hi mamma ,tea  “.Her mum studies her carefully and asks her “ how was the school today?” ,she knew her daughter very well so did not wait for her to reply.Aksa settles  down on a couch and switches on the TV,she gets her cuppa and sips it in peace.She then slowly walks towards her mum ,”Hi mum i had a bad day at school ,you know my test results are out i scored 24/25 in math,23 in science ,23 1/2 in English,I had written everything mum .I came 2nd in class!”,her mum just listened and said ,” Its ok next time you do well”,though she was very happy that her daughter stood second.Aksa was too vexed so she slipped to her secret sanctuary.She climbed up the terrace murmuring under breath,”how ! how could i possibly lose 1st rank ,i must do something more this time”.A cool breeze brushed her cheek ,she replied,”Oh! hi how was your day i know you were waiting for me “.Again breeze blew and she said ,“ya mine was dull,well what's wrong with you , you look so small”.It dawns to her that few branches of the tree were cut down,”Am so sorry ! who did this to you ?I know that lady might have called woodcutters stupid woman! “.She settles down on the terrace floor ,”wow , what a beautiful evening it is ,hey pinkie look sun is looking so dazzling”,like a swift response the tree waved lazily.

She stared at the setting sun awestruck with her friend waving beside her,”Just imagine me and you flying ,kicking away the clouds ,wow “.She looked at tree and said,”What do you think why did i lose my 1st rank?”.The tree swayed gently ,”Oh I know what you are saying I was careless ,i ll work more”.As the night approached ,moon rose from the clouds she said ,” Hey!! Hi! I was looking for you Mooney,you look gorgeous”. Moon smiled at her ,she said ,“When will i get to fly by you ,it will be fun right ” She stood up stupefied staring at the glistening moon.Her mum s voice floated through the silent night ,” Aki come down its dark now”. Aksa brushed the tree s branch ,” My mum s calling i ll be back tomorrow with my books we can study together, I ll scold that woman don't worry bye!” Her mum could see her daughter smiling and dancing .

Few years later Aksa returned to her sanctuary , she was surprised by the emptiness of the place .No breeze greeted her ,nothing waved at her .Her best friend had been chopped off ,there was nothing left of it.She stood stunned in silence,not able to see clearly through her bulging tears .She had lost her ecstasy but she had gained enough wisdom from her friend . Next day she planted two trees ,though she knew that in her entire lifetime the trees would never grow as much as her previous friend had grown. . .  . . . . .

My insightful holidays

Another sluggish day of my holidays had started and i was pleased to cuddle up again.But then my mum started reminding me what my future mother in law would complain about me being reckless , irresponsible blah blah.I thought i ‘d better get up before my mum starts actually behaving like my mother in law.She made me run with her to a grinding shop ,not exactly a shop, the grinding equipment is installed in their house only.It was eleven in the morning ,their house though not so posh was strangely calm.There was open space with garden not so trimmed and sunlight was gracefully dancing at few places.Women of the household had gathered at one place and were preparing traditional Indian papads.They were tattling about various things and laughing gently at some private joke which i was not supposed to hear pst pst pst. .Then i realized that this is the beauty of our country “sense of togetherness” .The best part about us is we seem to be simple and friendly.Well, after spending some time,feeling happy about our people i had to come to terms with reality.

Later in noon I found myself in a cradle ceremony,it was a decent event at my relations place.I was acting clumsily and was gaping at people.I then realised what i was doing when my relative complimented for my blank expression! I happened to meet my uncle.I dint get to speak much as my mum had begun the innings!He used to be a cool guy but now he had become pensive looking.His life was not the way he wanted . I realized that people dream of conquering the world in their childhood but when they interact with outside world they crush their dreams beneath their foot! That's the reason for the frustration ,before they start chasing their dreams they are forced to be responsible.If they stop being responsible and start enjoying their life ,they are opposed.They just finally reconcile and find solace in compromise.After decades they realise that they should have been a bit a bold enough to say No!, for things they dint want in their life.Well all we can do is hope that it does not happen with us (typical Indian style right ).Only constant perseverance combined with efforts will help us go places in our lives!