Befriending a girl friend..

It was seven in the evening and it was raining for last one hour now. I called up a colleague and asked her if she would come for a cup of coffee at a Café Coffee Day outlet in the vicinity of our office, she candidly agreed.

After a not so hectic day at the office, we were talking about normal office stuff, exchanging gyaan and cribbing over certain routine things. Suddenly she reminded me about somebody which gave me a topic for this blog. She referred to a common friend who did his graduation from a renowned college of Delhi University and also pursued a professional course and eventually landed up in a well known corporate.

He is a normal middle class guy, whose family had great expectations from him on the academic front. That was primarily because he had taken an uncommon decision of not landing up in the family business and carve a niche in the corporate world. He was overcautious about the fact that he should concentrate hard on his studies / professional career and in the process he ignored the options that he had on the personal front.

He had a very good friend in college who used to accompany him to the classes for the professional course. He had feelings for her but every time he made an attempt to express himself, the thought of such things hindering the studies outdid him. Their friends in college had started to cook stories about them and so he parted his ways from her. Today the girl in question is working with one of the most reputed professional firms and recently got engaged with my friend’s namesake. The grudge of not having told her about his emotions, still weighs in his heart.

One lone evening, I had taken this friend out for a dinner when he bloated his heart out. He told me that while he was in school, the constant pressure from his parents to do well academically overshadowed such things as finding a girlfriend for him. He justified the title of “bookworm” that was given to him at his Class XII farewell by scoring 88 percentile marks. With an entry into college accompanied freedom but again the do’s and don’ts which were stuffed in his mind during innumerable lectures at home ruled his mind and he could not find a girlfriend. Time passed by and soon this lad turned into a gentleman earning a 6 figure salary. Throughout his academic career he was unable to decide whether it was the right time to propose to the girls he liked. He had many crushes starting from Class IX till his grads. But the thought that this is high time to focus on studies and prove himself overweighed all other things. He used to think that I’ll have a girlfriend once I complete my studies. But with the completion of education, started another fight and it was finding a befitting job for himself.

With God’s grace, he got a well paying job and is still waiting for a girlfriend. Now sometimes he thinks, that it’s too late now and that may be he will find a girl friend in his spouse only (once he gets married). Today while he has some friends who are girls and with whom he shares things in life but the thought that they are all committed to someone else keeps his craving for a girlfriend alive.

While I and my colleague had a chat about this common friend, we realized that we’ve had two cups of coffee each and the rain had stopped. We left together in my car and I dropped her till a metro station on my way.

But that night, I thought for how long, will that friend of mine, regret over not having found the other half for him. And that in the liberalized / modern India where we live, do we still have youngsters who are so much influenced by the value system inculcated into their minds by their families.

The picture that we see today is clearly that of a westernized society. I recalled that in the Café Coffee Day where we had gone that evening, we saw couples sitting hand in hand (apparently so much hyped about boys with their girl friends). While at one point of time such things were considered taboo, the youth of today is poised to set new trends, showcase their relationships openly and call for attention. The media approach has also changed in as much as the headlines of renowned news channels capturing smooches of superstars with their boy / girl friends. The glossy picture as the media depicts about such superstars and on occasions like Valentine’s Day leads to a regret of not having a girl friend in people like my friend.

But I still wonder if having a girl friend is such an important thing in life, as my friend thinks. I think it’s all in the mind and if you get swayed by the emotions, your heart rules your mind and that is when you think like my friend.

Frens forever..

In the darkest moments of the life,

When it is difficult to decide,

As to what is wrong and what is right,

A friend is a person, who shows you the light,

When the worst of the time beckon upon you,

Friend is the person, you ask what to do,

You share all your emotions be they heavy or light,

And with the same person you often indulge in fight,

You give your opinions and ask for suggestions,

When he is down in trouble, you fire all your guns,

The bond of friendship keeps you together,

Live life to the fullest and stay friends forever..

Vacation Woes..!!

It was the summer of 1996 and the two month long vacation was knocking at the door. I was pissed off by the thought of recalling what had happened in the last summer vacations. Since my sister had a fracture in her leg, we could not go for an outing to some hill station and stayed at home throughout the two month long period. Our next door neighbor, Mrs.Singh used to come everyday to our house in the afternoon for a cup of tea with my mother and talk at length on the latest buzz in our colony. The topics raised for discussion by her used to swing in alignment with her mood and sometimes were indirectly pinpointed towards me and my kins (two sisters). She did not have an air conditioner at her home and used to come to comfort herself in our house.

Everyday at 12 in the afternoon the door bell would ring and all three of us (me and my kins) used to hold our heads. She would talk nasty things about other people residing in our colony, about the love affair between Mr.Sharma’s son and Mrs.Verma’s daughter, about the fight she had with the milkman, vegetable vendor etc. etc.. She would also cover the dressing sense of the young generation (indirectly making a reference towards me and my sisters), the careless attitude of parents towards the same etc. etc.. She would talk about the married life of her new tenants, about the new sari’s she bought, At many occasions she noticed my face getting red with indignation, but she would continue in complete ignorance of the same as if ruling it out as my childish behavior. My sisters and I had labeled her as the “Aaj Tak” of our colony as she was like a local reporter in our house who would come prepared with answers on all probable questions that may crop up on the topic covered by her.

I recalled the long debates that followed at the dinner table with my Dad, who acted as the redressal forum. My sisters and I used to crib over her comments and plead before our Dad to convince mommy to not to entertain her. My mother, who actually enjoyed such gossip, had an interesting reason to justify her innocence. She would tell Dad that Mrs.Singh had no family to talk to and no air conditioner at home and if she comes for a cup of tea in the afternoon we should not act callous.

I and my kins used to close ourselves in our bedroom and watch television till she was there in the house. That summer was really an awful one. However, after hearing so much about so many people of our colony, my impression of them had changed significantly.

But still for the upcoming vacations of 1996, I did not want to have a repeat of last year and so I planned a week long trip with school friends to Mussorie. The fright of listening to her comments for the remaining days pursued me to join grammar classes. And that summer, everyday at 12 in the afternoon, I attended my English classes which lasted for two hours.

Those were the learning days of my life as I improved on many aspects of my spoken and written English. It is only now do I realize that Mrs. Singh’s habit of attending our house proved to be a blessing in disguise to me and I learnt good English as a result thereof. I express my sincere gratitude to Mrs.Singh. Today, when she has grown old and is incapacitated by her old age, I make it a point to visit her once a week and confirm about her well being. She still visits our house at 12 everyday for a cup of tea, it is only that I am away at office and the two old ladies say cheers with their tea mugs.

Mad-den-ning News!!

The quality of the “breaking news” flashing on the news channels, which by itself have multiplied to become innumerable, seems to be degrading with time. The most famous amongst all in the race is none other than “India TV”. One of other days, I was amazed to see a report featuring dogs as a regular visitor to a temple during the “evening prayers”. And guess what, the anchor of that show was the one and only, Mr. Rajat Sharma.

Then, there was another report; I can easily recall which showcased the plight of Sanjay Dutt, our beloved actor (his popularity charts have been soaring ever since his arrest) in jail. The report covered what he was wearing, what he was eating, how he was behaving etc. etc. (I don’t know how many of us give a damn shit to know that.) But the funniest part of the report was that he snored loudly at night as told to the reporter by Sanju’s accomplices in jail.

Next in the row comes the self acclaimed “sabse tez” news channel, yes you got it right, Aaj Tak. One of the breaking news that I happened to watch on this one was our FM, Mr. Chidambaram got unsolicited calls for cards, phones etc. from here, there and everywhere. The footage included a cartoon of Mr. Chidambaram talking on the cell phone, zooming into him from various angles, giving the viewers an impression as if they are watching a K-soap than a news channel. They made a great hype about the news and it was aired in their primetime as “Break-ing news”. Another programme which they regularly telecast is “Special Report” wherein what I watched today was last thing anybody would prefer watching. They constructed a series of events as to how things went when Salman’s sister went to jail to tie Rakhi on his hand. How can you forget the famous Nokia “BL-5C” battery news which has given such channels a reason to flash breaking news of mobile blasts, every now and then.

I recall the campaign that was started by “93.5 RED FM” which involved a radio advertisement directed to bring such news channel on track. The ad involved a news reader providing info on the status of a pregnant black hen and the reader repeatedly mentioned that their reporter has been covering the news for the last 4 days and the hen has been diagnosed to lay more than 10 eggs. It was a fabulous effort to teach a lesson to such channels.

In my opinion, there should be a sanity check on the content going on air through such channels. When we say that we are a democratic country, we acknowledge that the press has a right of freedom of expression. However, at the same time, it should be ensured that such a right is not taken for a ride and there should be a regulatory body to monitor the quality of the content. Otherwise, the viewers like me, will continue our careless channel hopper behavior towards such channels.

The Rain Drain..

The Rain Drain..

“Rain Rain,
Go away,
Come again,
Another day,
Little Johnny wants to play.”

This riddle reminds me of my childhood memories of monsoon season. The lazy days when we used to make paper boats and float them in the little ponds formed outside our house by rain waters. I can recall the childish joy of getting drenched from head till toe and jumping around like a crazy frog. The renowned ghazal singer Jagjit Singh has beautifully portrayed it in his words:
“Ye daulat bhi lelo,
Ye shohrat bhi lelo,
Bhale cheen lo mujhse meri jawaani,
Magar mujhko lauta do bachpan ka saawan,
Wo kaagaz ki kashti, wo baarish ka paani…”

I remember the monsoon mornings, when my mother would give me an umbrella with advice of not getting soaked in the expected rains but she knew all that was an effort in vain. On way back from school, we would ask the auto rickshaw walla to stop at the nearby ice lolly shop and enjoy the orange bar with whatever paltry pocket money we got. What followed was the obvious, viral fever.

As they say, time flies like a butterfly. I grew up and entered my teens. The rains were then awaited, by me and my friends, to play football in the huge playground in our colony, which would turn into a messy field in the rainy season. All of us would then show off our skills and prove our physical fitness, as playing on a wet field was never easy. The skids on the field and the bruises on our legs coming from each other’s spikes (special shoes worn for playing football) made the game a muscular sport. The outcome was the pain from injuries that would succumb on us and confide us to our bedrooms for days. But that would never dampen our spirits and we were back on the field every next time, full of zeal and confidence.

The hands of the time machine tickled rapidly and then started my college life. This time, the rains were welcomed by me and my friends for the sluggishness that accompanied it. We would sit in the corridors of our college and have “chai” with sumptuous samosa’s served at the college canteen The other option was to sit at the Café Coffee Day at Kamla Nagar and sip hot coffee as if there was no tomorrow. Those sessions would last for hours with jokes and gossips, being an integral part of it.

Today I sit in my balcony watching the agony of the rain gods. It has been raining cats and dogs for the past twenty four hours and the earthy terrain of Delhi has received a downpour of about 167 mm. The roads are all swamped with the filthy waters which have been let loose by the peripheral drains on the road sides. The traffic jams are taking their own normal time. The news channels are also flooded with reports on the chaotic state of the city life. I took a leave from office and preferred staying back at home to enjoy the weather.

Again on one hand, when the weather is such that there are clouds around but it doesn’t rain, we blame the rain gods for being ruthless and making us a victim of the moist and humid environment. On the other hand when it rains to our satisfaction, this is the plight that we are reduced to.

I think it is all about the perspective about a particular thing which changes with time. While I was a child, I used to welcome monsoons like a thirsty crow. Today I find myself caught up with all strings of office life that the same monsoons appear to be a disturbance in the daily life. The water in front of my house, which was called a pound for floating my paper boat, is now called as “water logging”.
I very humbly acknowledge that with time people and their perspective changes.