When in Love, You know it! Really?

“I am in Love” said Reena. Her eyes gleamed in such a way that it could melt anyone’s heart. Not because it was dramatic, but because she was cute. Oh wait, she was just too cute because she was just 14 years old. “You should meet him once aunty, you will definitely approve to my choice. He is so graceful and handsome. Oh look! There he comes” jumped Reena while her aunt was admiring the newly blossomed second love of Reena and Rakesh. They merrily joined hands and strolling. The scene was a sight to remember. “I am 35 and I never had a partner till now. Is something really wrong with me?” thought Ritu worriedly as she witnessed the spectacular love in the air moment. There were too many questions for which Ritu needed answers. Her heart felt really heavy and she decided to stop Reena. “Reena!” called out Ritu “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”. Without batting an eye Reena walked towards Ritu, “Yes aunty?”. The word aunty echoed in Ritu’s head as she blurted out, “How did you find Rakesh? How does it feel to be in love?”. Shy Reena started explaining with a wide proud smile on her face “It all started when Rakesh posted a funny Bitstrip about Karthik. It made me laugh when I was depressed. You know, Karthik ditched me because I decided to change my relationship status to “in a relationship” when I was in love with him. I told him I won’t add his name in it. Still he got so furious. He didn’t want the world to know about it but I did. Well, Rakesh understood me more and made me laugh. He was Karthik’s senior in school. He kept poking me ha ha ha ha and ...” and continued Reena while Ritu was lost. She couldn’t understand a bit of the whole story let alone the Bitstrip part of it. She started worrying more. She wondered if she had stopped evolving. She was so close to having a panic attack when Reena completed her story “when in love you just know it”. After that conversation Ritu decided to delete her Facebook account which she rarely used. “When I was 14 I was happy with my friends and books that I had to hang out with. May be I missed the point but it is better not to know it” thought Ritu when an unknown man asked her “I think I have seen you somewhere” and she replied “Sorry, I am not available online anymore!”

Lap and Nap!

“But, Ma! I need graphics. Can I get an app instead?” sighed Arya.  Arti was disappointed but she decided to do it today. “Ok. Let’s make a deal. You sit and listen to me for 15 minutes and you get to download all the apps that you want. How’s that?” said Arti. “Awesome!” delighted Arya sat still. Arti read the title of the storybook “Lap and Nap” and read articulately “In a digital jungle, lived a boy name Surya. He had cool virtual pals but no real friends. So, one day..”. Arya didn’t realise that it was past 30 minutes. From that day, Arya just needed a “Lap and Nap” at nights and no apps! Arti was so happy that she Whatsapp-ed her happiness with a Facebook friend of hers!

Woof!

“Girl, get ready. Remember, you have to steal a few hearts at the kitty party. Run now!” said Sundari. Obeying her instructions she swiftly ran to the nearest pond, jumped in and swam. Sundari saw her dripping wet and said “Fantastic! Let’s go to our neighbourhood and rock the show”. They promptly entered their neighbour’s home. Group of women, flashy and bored, looked at them with astonishment. That’s when they witnessed the most spectacular shake by Sundari’s girl - meticulous effort to sprinkle water all over them which lit that place with laughter and scream. In chorus they said “How Cute!”. Bailey said “Woof!” and thought “I was just drying myself. I am so glad that a petty thing like this can make people happy. Sundari is happy. I am happy!” Laughter continued and so did the woof woof!

I will live

     He couldn’t count his last breaths. He was tired. Physically but not mentally. His loved ones formed a protective shield. Love, sympathy, prayers and food overflowed. He didn’t have the stamina to tell them that he was “okay”. So, along with his age he gracefully accepted everything that came his way. “Is there anything that you would want us to do grandpa?” questioned Hari. “Ah, I wish I had few of you with me before. I want one good story to be told for the rest of my life and beyond. Take that pen and note down the title please”. “Sure” said Hari. “Words don’t die”. Hari wrote it down and looked at his smiling grandpa who said “and I will live”. He lived, died and lived gracefully.

Book O' Wine

The smell of books
As divine as wine’s
a step closer to addiction
with every droplet of word
Unlocking the shelves
flings dust of gold
I tell you my friend
It’s always better when its old!

- Inspired by Omar Khayyam

Intelligent Donkey!

“Stay away from me” brayed Montu. “No wonder you are stupid. You don’t associate with intelligent people. How will you grow if you don’t learn? You adamant donkey!” said Mr. Chathurnath. Braying continues and suddenly Mr. Chathurnath realized that Montu was actually laughing. The most shocking part was that Montu was laughing at Mr. Chathurnath. “What’s so funny Mr. Lazy ass” mocked Mr. Chathurnath. “I am adamant. I am lazy. I may be dumb. I don’t want to grow as I have grown to the best or worst already. But it’s a shame” brayed Montu. “Finally you are ashamed” smiled Mr. Chathurnath. “No. It’s a shame that all these years you thought I was a donkey but never realized that I am actually a Mule. You fool!” and the braying continued, happily ever after.

Birthdays Never Die!

She stopped celebrating her birthday. To her it was just another day. It was her birthday and she wanted to spend it alone. Well, if controlling thoughts was as easy as it is shown in the yoga videos she would have definitely spent her day alone floating in air. She couldn't do that and slowly drifted into her past. Right from her childhood she had seen various ways of celebrating birthdays and getting hurt. House parties, surprise parties, midnight parties, parties at an expensive restaurant, parties in the middle of the road, parties with alcohol and music, parties with plethora of gifts and more. Strangely her memory played the nasty trick of remembering things that she should have forgotten and vice-versa. She started thinking about her 5^th birthday. Excitement and expectations were built by her family and friends. So many friends were there accompanied by their parents. Her mother had bought her a cute yellow frock. Her father had bought her a cake that resembled a baby girl’s face. “Make a wish, Make a wish” shouted her friends when she overheard someone say “Why is the face in the cake white? It should be black to look like her”. Part of the crowd laughed out and it was embarrassment that hurt her more than discrimination. She very well remembered her 10^th birthday. The usual excitement and expectations were built by her family and new set of friends. Her mother bought her a new dress. Father bought her a small vanilla cake. No face this time. “Make a wish, Make a wish” shouted her friends when she overheard someone in the group say “The dress doesn't fit her that well, may be her mother should have bought her a better dress”. That day she didn't make a wish but picked a fight with her mother. Her memory took her to her 20^th birthday. Life had changed. Expectations had changed. She had spent many birthdays without her parents by now. This time she wanted to spend it with her first love. She had ignored all her friends and had waited eagerly for one phone-call from that special someone. It was 12:00 am. She waited. It was 12:05 am. She waited. It was 12:30 am. She waited. 1:00 am. She cried for the next whole week and waited for many more months. That special someone neither called nor returned but life moved on. Excitement, expectations, infatuations, disappointments and hurt made her very afraid. Not afraid of anything else but celebrating birthdays. She did manage to spend her birthday without celebrating this time. Though there were cakes, laughter and wine it had no meaning as she considered it to be just another get together with friends. She missed calls as she decided to sleep throughout her birthday. Next day morning her husband’s phone call woke her up with a wide smile. “Good morning sweetheart” whispered her husband. “Good morning” she smiled. “Finally you managed to spend your birthday without celebrating” said her husband. She didn't have the courage to share the reason and was uncertain if her emotions will be understood in the right way. She wasn't happy about not celebrating her first birthday with her husband. So many thoughts had haunted her that pushed her to celebrate her birthday alone “How can I fake a smile? How can I celebrate my birthday without thinking about my past? How can I see my husband get hurt? What if I lose him? Every birthday had brought some disappointment, what’s the surety that it won’t happen again this time?” She was devastated. “I understand that you don’t consider your birthday to be a special occasion but to me it is. After all it was my wife’s birthday yesterday! I wanted to make you feel special. I just want you to be happy” said her husband. In a second her past vanished. She made a promise to herself that she would celebrate her birthdays with her husband. All these years there were only expectations but from that second she had a reason. A reason to celebrate birthdays and a very strong reason to celebrate life. The phone conversation ended and she said to herself “Belated birthday wishes Maya!”