Zemblanity.

The car screeched to a halt, and just as soon as he pulled the windows down, the windy breeze along the beach road ran a chill down his spine. The radio was playing the song he loved listening to with her, because he loved the way her eyes lit up as he narrated his share of the lines in a mechanical manner. He had been wanting to see once before she left, and just before she could board the taxi that was waiting for her, Zaid rushed out of the car and yelled ‘Zara, wait up!’ and as he ran towards her, a streak of thunder tore through the midnight sky, and the streetlights all burst shut. In the pitch darkness, as he extended his hand, moonlight shone bright off his ring and just as he held her hand, savage waves tore through the land and washed him all the way up to the streetlights and he fell down to a fall that knocked him out cold. His chest felt hollow, and tears ran down his cheeks as he felt helpless, he wanted to turn and look for her, but his body wouldn’t respond. He wanted to tell her he did love her, and not because of reasons that she already knew, but because he always did, and never knew how to tell her how much he did. His head was dizzying up, and he couldn’t help but shut his eyes slowly, and just as he did, he could hear loud abuses being hurled at him, ‘Something’s not right!’ Zaid thought to himself as he opened his eyes to see his mother yelling at him.

‘Zaid you imbecile! Get up! Look at all the mess you’ve created. Let your father come back, I shall show him how much of a havoc you’ve become. Who even rolls over and fall on the floor and topple everything over and sleeps in the puddle. You’re an absolute idiot. What have you done…’ the rants went on and on, as Zaid heaved a sigh of relief. The realization that what he had just gone through was a nightmare, made him feel like he got another shot at life. ‘Ammi, I leave for office at nine, please pack my lunch. Love you too.’ He smiled as he requested her to calm down and let him get ready for office. Zaid had gotten used to living alone, three years in a busy town like Mumbai had left him very little time to make friends outside his office, all whilst staying far away from home and relatives. If it had not been for Zara, Zaid wouldn’t have even bothered to dress up properly. Zaid worked at a corporate office that tracked and created surveys to help predict results of multiple events, and while he worked behind the hood of this technology, Zara worked on packaging this technology better and help scout for clients. There were only a handful of occasions in which he ever managed to even get into the same room as her for a meeting, and while his heart wanted more, his will always let go when it mattered, and he never spoke to her. Yet, he hoped she would speak to him someday, and dressed up, worked out, and ate well, all to make sure she’d see the best of him if she ever even glanced in his direction. Zaid had fallen sick for a while, and his parents had come over to stay with him till he recovered. ‘Here you go, your lunch is ready, just as you wanted it. Take care of your health better, it won’t be possible for us to keep dropping by like this you know?’ she said, trying very hard to sound like she didn’t care, but she was every bit of a doting mother that she was trying to not look like. ‘Don’t worry too much. I’ll be fine. Tell Abu I’ll be back early tonight, and one last thing, do dreams we have in the morning come true?’ he looked a little worried, but his mother just nodded and said, ‘If you want them to, they’ll come true.’ To which he just smiled and left for his office.

Travelling in the local trains was taxing on his already tight schedule, but after his accident, he wasn’t left with much of a choice either. Zaid was no hero, but he had chosen to stand up to the title when he drove straight into traffic to prevent a newborn from being crushed under the relentless traffic. His insurance ensured he didn’t lose any money, but he believed the price for being bedridden for weeks was the smile on the face of the baby’s mother. He was in no condition to drive yet, and taxis meant having to sit through traffic, so he chose to travel the less comfortable and yet less time consuming way. As he stood there, being swung in either direction due to the boarding and leaving waves of commuters, a familiar face walked into the compartment, and somehow everything felt like an elaborate plot of fate. Zaid was no good at making small talk, and he was far too shy to even make eye contact, yet he couldn’t just stand there and waste the precious opportunity that had presented itself. He snuck through the clogged mess of a compartment and somehow managed to squeak, ‘Zara right? From PR? I work for the Development Team.’ And a visibly shaken Zara just smiled and let it be. He thought she didn’t bother answering back, but little did he know that she had earphones on, and he just snuck back away and got off at his station. He adjusted his tie, wore his glasses, tied his hair back and started walking towards his office humming his favorite song when he felt a slight nudge and heard, ‘That’s my favorite song, didn’t know too many people who even knew of the song. Not bad!’ had she not been around, Zaid would’ve definitely pinched himself all the way to hell. ‘Um. If you knew me, why would you not respond on the train?’ he spoke with a face that was bemused, to which she responded with a laugh. Zaid couldn’t make head or tail of the conversation that had just taken place while he didn’t try too hard either, who’d want to end the conversation they’d imagined in their head so many times? ‘I was listening to music. Earphones!’ she said pointing towards her hand, ‘You look like you’re fit again, they speak very highly of you in the office you know?’ she smiled as she walked. ‘It was nothing but a reflex really, was no hero, will never be one.’ He said, getting into the elevator. ‘You’re handsome, and modest, not too bad.’ She said, whilst getting off, to which he replied ‘See you later the…’ as the elevator doors shut in.

‘Welcome back Zaid! It’s nice to have you back. Let me get you back on track as to what we…’, his boss greeted him and at that moment Zaid felt like a huge burden was lifted off his chest. Lazing in the bed had been way too boring for a mind that loved to take on challenges. While he was lost onto his imagination, his boss had already taken him around to the new conference room and a team was ready there for a briefing. ‘So here you go Zaid, this is the team I’d like you to work with. They’ve already got everything they need, but they need someone to help design the interface to be accessible to our customers.’ While it might sound like jargon to the untrained mind, but all Zaid knew was that, anything that has to do with customer interaction meant Zara. His eyes scoured the room to find her, and they did, she was seated towards the far east of the room, and he managed to smile back at her whilst still talking to the boss. Work had to be completed soon, and that meant overtime duties, and Zaid had already told his mother that he’d be back home soon to meet his father. He rushed through everything as soon as he could, taking notes from Zara’s team and creating work-plans for his team to follow, all whilst managing to soak in the fact that he was having the day of his dreams. ‘All right team, let’s get back here in thirty, and then go at it again.’ He ordered them off for lunch, and while most of them streamed out of the room for the canteen, Zaid slowly opened the lunch his mother had packed for him. ‘Smells good, you made it?’, he didn’t have to look to see who it was, he just knew. ‘Well, this supposed hero, can’t really cook. His mother on the other hand, is the most graceful cook to have existed. Care to taste some?’ he offered her the food while trying to not freak out. ‘Would it be very graceful of me if I refused the kind offer? I don’t really care, but the food looks tasty, so I’ll just have a bite.’  He left early that day, leaving behind a very heavy heart, and a head full of dreams.

That fateful day had started off a series of events that Zaid would only best describe as surreal. They spoke everyday on the way to the office, in the locals. He managed to get her number, and would spend a few hours of the night making small talk with her, he hated it, but never let that stop him from trying to get to know her better. She’d get him lunch sometimes, and he’d buy her food sometimes, he loved her company, she loved watching him fumble trying to impress her. He thought she’d never notice how he looked at her, with careful intent, and yet so childlike, so pure, she’d disguise her blushing with forced laughter at his lame jokes. While Zaid believed this was all a stroke of fate, little did he know that it was all Zara’s doing. Back in the day when Zaid believed she was never watching and used to stare at her, she knew he was staring. Even when he had saved the child, he had passed out upon the impact, had he stayed conscious he’d have known that it was her who dialed the ambulance. If anyone hadn’t known any better, they’d believe it was some crude form of hide and seek these two were playing with each other. Zara had ensured that Zaid would be the one who’d lead the software end of the team, and everything just fell into place like clockwork. Zaid, not knowing anything about what was happening, was being sucked into the web she had placed so carefully. It was going fine, till the deadline was suddenly pushed ahead of time, and Zaid started driving to work again to reach early, and he’d stay back late in office to make up for the lost time, but lost out on talking with her due to this. Zara was used to her share of admirers, but she felt different around Zaid. There was a sense of comfort and security that she wouldn’t loosely associate with any other person. ‘Staying back today too then? Get some sleep mister, you’ll run yourself into the ground if you work too hard!’ she told him, hugged him before leaving. While it felt normal in her head, it was the first time she had hugged him, and Zaid’s face had gone all peachy from blushing too hard. ‘Sure. Will do.’ He muttered out, gasping for breath. It was only on the train back that she realized that she had just hugged him for the first time, ‘Zara you idiot. What have you done. That idiot must be dying right now.’ She chided herself, while a new message on her phone read, ‘Reader’s Cove, Saturday, at 9?’ Zaid had finally asked her out.

The deadline for the project was Saturday too, so Zaid was mentally fixated on finishing the project on Friday itself so that he could take his own sweet time getting ready and reaching the place on time. ‘Team! I’m no leader, never was, but it’s been a great joy working with all of you on this project. Most people save their victory speeches for when they succeed, but I chose to use mine now, to prove my confidence in our work. We’ll touch many lives with this project. With our new project, automated messages will be sent to all those living in the vicinity of a possible natural calamity. Giving them enough time to vacate. If all information systems work correctly, we’ll be living gods. Stalling destruction as it ravages through.’ The room tore open with applause, it was just about enough inspiration they needed to finish the final tests on the project. ‘Not too bad Mr. Zaid, Zara is impressed.’ She patted his back as she left for lunch.  He stayed back along with the rest of the testing team to finish up the work. It took them hours, but it was finally done. Zara had stayed back to watch Zaid when the results of the test came out. ‘Begin simulation, test satellite signals, and we’re good to go.’ Zara read out the script Zaid had handed to her. He smiled cheekily at her, and she couldn’t help but blush. ‘All systems go.’ He said and as he stood up in anticipation, he didn’t realize it yet, but he ended up holding her in his arms, and neither did she. The meter on the screen filled up, numbers were crunching on the screen, and all the phones in the room started buzzing, messages to evacuate started flashing on their screens, and a simulation of an earthquake galloped the virtual model of the office. Everyone started hooting, and tears ran down Zaid’s cheeks as a now aware Zara hugged him tightly. ‘You don’t look like it, but you’re too strong, could you loosen the hold please, I might choke.’ Zaid told her, trying not to look like he was in pain. Celebrations had started in the office, and while everyone was heading towards the terrace for the party, Zaid stayed back to run the numbers again. Needless to say, Zara stayed back too and she didn’t like the face Zaid made when he was done. ‘The good news is, the project works, the bad news is, the satellite signal strength varies with time and we may not have created enough time to evacuate. I won, and yet I failed.’ He said, whilst crashing to his knees. Zara consoled him, and in the heat of the moment, Zaid pushed her away in despair, and she hurt herself. ‘I’m extremely sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, It’s just that I’m not used to letting anyone see me cry.’ He said, trying to make sure she was alright. ‘I’m fine, but it looks like you might have to drive me home today!’ she was in pain, but she didn’t want to make a fuss about it. Zaid didn’t want to ruin the mood of the team, so he just left with Zara for the night. And when they reached her house, he got off to give her a hug, and ended up just holding her and not talking for a while. ‘How appropriate do you think it is to kiss someone before their first date?’ she asked, and he simply replied by saying, ‘I don’t know, you can apologize and make up for it later?’ and kissed her. She just said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow!’ and ran away, while Zaid kept pinching himself to make sure it was real.

Come Saturday, and the team was informed about the mismatch in timings, and they started working on it, and rectified it to a great extent. The client was mighty pleased by the results, and requested that a beta application be released. After finishing all the formalities for the day, Zaid and Zara rushed for their own respective houses. They hadn’t planned for it, but they ended up wearing matching clothes. They had a great dinner at the beachside restaurant, and Zaid read out his favorite verses from a Rumi Collection, and Zara just listened to him intently. They were just about to leave, when Zara asked to be excused for a minute. ‘Wait okay? I can’t do this in person, so I’ll just be standing outside the restaurant, tell me what you feel about it.’ She said, and left. ‘Sure?’ He was as confused as he could get, and started fidgeting with the application, waiting for her message. While he was at it, he realized there was a bug, and he tried to see the extent of its effect and was going through the application, unknowing he replied back with his standard preset message of ‘Thanks for reaching out to me, I shall get back to you later.’ He realized what he just did, and tried to stop the message from being sent, but it was too late. He stood up and read her message, ‘Hello Zaid. I know you’re too feeble a guy to do this first, so I just thought I’ll do it. I like you, maybe love you too, but yeah, I want you to know it. Would you want to be my boyfriend?’ his tears dripped onto the screen as he ran out looking for her. But she had already left. He picked his car keys up from the Valet, and zoomed right across the streets. He knew she’d go to the Church she said she loved to go to and watch the beach when she felt depressed. Multiple signals and traffic jams later, he almost reached the Church. His favorite song started playing on the radio, and he just felt like an idiot for having done something so stupid. He wanted to tell her loved her too, but her phone was switched off, and his phone was stuck with that app being open. He saw her on the other side of the road and he managed to turn his car around really quickly. His phone started buzzing as he stepped out, and he just threw it into the car and called out her name. And just as she turned, a thunderbolt tore through the skies, and the streetlights burst off. He looked at his palm and he realized he was wearing the ring his mother had given him the morning. His legs fell weak, and tears rolled down, as waves tore through the land, and his phone read, ‘Evacuate.’

May your dreams come true. 

Excuse

‘Sometimes life isn't fair. Happiness is a long shot when your immediate aim is to Survive and live another day. But that's the beauty of life, it's finite. We know it ends, all the misery, all the happiness, it ends. And in the end, all that matters are how much you laughed, how much you gave, and how much you lived, and that is sojourn of life’ he read to himself, scribbling onto his notepad. The newfound city life had gotten to him, he was an optimist, but the shift changed that about him. Urbanization was imminent for his family, his father was the only engineer in the town, and he found better job opportunities in the city, and so they moved. Life was simpler in the town, the city now posed troubles for the feeble mind of Vikram, he had never expected life to be so harsh on the lesser privileged sections of the society. His life was simple enough for him, his ambitions revolved around being able to build a house, provide for his father, buy a fast car, and raise as many dogs as he could, but something changed deep within him, when he saw people sleeping on footpaths. He had heard about it, that some people are lesser privileged than he was, but the reality now loomed in front of his eyes as they lay on the footpath, the cold was intense, and they had just a few rugs to guard them from the stings of the icy breeze.

‘Lay out your bedsheet, and sleep early. First day at college tomorrow, you wouldn’t want to get there too late! Go make some friends and make your father proud.’  Just as these words were ringing in the scantily filled house, ‘Wouldn’t want to get there too early and be awkward either’, Vikram yelled back and went to sleep. Vikram had lost his mother when he was born, his father loved to spoil him by never rejecting any idea he had. While that was amazing, he was too protective as well, monitoring every step he took. As he lay on the bed, glancing onto the moon through the window, he spoke softly to himself. ‘What would you do Ma? There are people out there who aren’t as privileged as I am, I’m glad I have all that I have, but do I stay complacent with that, or do I risk it all and try to get more out of life? I mean, Dad gives it his all and makes sure I get whatever I want, but when the time comes, do you think I should take that leap of faith?’ His father was busy unpacking the boxes, but he knew Vikram was moved by what they had passed by. Raising Vikram was no easy task either, his head full of questions, too many for a single father to answer, but he answered them anyway. However, one question still lingered in his head from when Vikram was just a child. Vikram’s mom was an aspiring writer, and the house was more often than not, filled with books about everything under the sun. Soon after Vikram was born, she passed away, and then, even his father had a question, ‘Why God? Why Me?’

‘Dad, did you know that there were these huge wars called World Wars? A lot of people died apparently!’ an excited Vikram had come home from school once. ‘Our teacher told us these bad people did a lot of bad things to good people and that they lost the war in the end. Isn’t it right that good people always win?’ he said with a smile, and his father patted his hair and said,’ Well, in short, that’s what happened. Do good people always win? Yes, they do, but at a price.’ Vikram didn’t really understand what this price was, but never really bothered asking, but it was stuck in his head. A few years later, he tumbled over a pile of his mom’s books, and came across a book describing the genocides committed during the World Wars. His father tried snatching it away, but he managed to convince him to let it be. ‘Wenn es einen Gott gibt muß er mich um Verzeihung bitten’ the photo read, and the translation ran as follows, ‘If there is a God, He will have to beg my forgiveness.’. He might have been a young kid then, but the effect was profound. As he fell asleep, his father took the book from his hands and got rid of it for the good, but not before seeing what he had been reading. His own thoughts weren’t that different, to him god wasn’t just the messiah people thanked in good times, but he was also the one who let bad things happen to good people knowing that they were never at fault.

‘First day of college! Do you want some coffee, tea? You should be exci…’ his sentence was cut mid-way with a shriek and, ‘Anirban! Shhhhh! Your son is busy trying to get ready’ Vikram yelled, again. ‘Young man, learn to listen to other before speaking next time around’ he couldn’t stop smiling while he tried to chide Vikram. ‘Let’s Go Dad!’ he said, gobbling down the sandwiches, a common sight in the house when he was nervous. ‘People make a lot of hullabaloo over these first impressions, and to an extent, it’s true. But you want to know what’s so much better than worrying about first impressions? Planning for when they realize you’re so much more than just what you appear like. People will judge you, they might even tease you for being a town boy, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s only a matter of perspective, and won’t matter as long as you don’t bow to the pressures. The only definition of you that matters, is defined by you. Now go get yourself a degree, and some memories to treasure for a lifetime’ that’s what he wanted to say, but he knew Vikram was smarter than that, he just said, ‘Don’t get into trouble Kiddo, go learn something new.’ Vikram knew his father was a tough man, he knew he was tougher. Unlike other teenagers who’d pick colleges based on rankings, popularity, party culture, placements, etc. he picked his college based on the hours of community service they’d put in. He wanted to make the world a better place, or at least that’s what he thought.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, unlike what you might have read in your school textbooks or any other books prescribed to you, I’d be trying to teach you, or rather guide you through, History as we know it. A very common phrase I’d love to throw around, is that history is so often written by victors, that we forget the losers point of view. And as all stories go, our history is only as good as the person who’s writing it down. In this course, you’ll have the distinct privilege of reading about historical personalities, and what they did to immortalize themselves. The course credi…’ there was something of an incredible aura around Vikram’s history professor, Beena. She had a different way of looking at things, and Vikram was sold on her ideas and ideologies, in the months to come, she was a significant factor in shaping his personality. ‘So Vikram, you’re finally done with this semester’s courses. What do you plan on doing this summer break? Still inspired by Swades to build a dam and generate electricity for a village, or have you thought of something practical?’ she couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Well, there was always that plan, but don’t quite have it yet. I believe, I’ll work on some social cause or the like. The idea is, I give something back to the society, fill up that hole in my conscience that caved in when I first came to the city, and then move on with life.’ Months had passed by in a flash, and Vikram still remembered the sight of those sleeping on the pavements. His father was waiting in the car, and as Vikram settled into his seat, he said, ‘I’ve been promoted at work Vikram, I know it’s great news, but that means we wouldn’t be able to do the fundraiser for the homeless, as I’ll be busy with the new construction project.’  And just as he expected, Vikram was angry, he’s generally not the kind who’d get mad for cancelling on him, but this was huge.

Not many people put others before themselves in any thought, but Vikram had grown to be quite the opposite. His father too was never restrictive, let Vikram do whatever he wanted to, never forced him to do anything he didn’t like. Vikram knew this too, he knew his father really had no other choice, but yet he found himself growing angrier by the minute. He asked his father to stop the car, and he got off saying, ‘I’m not mad at you dad, but give me a while to myself maybe? I’ll get home for dinner. Don’t worry. And I’ll let you know everywhere I go, you’ll always know where I am. See ya!’ His father new better, and just let this be and drove off. Vikram was fuming, and he didn’t really know what to do with all his anger and just sat down by a footpath, having lost all hope. ‘What’s up Ma! I know I can still do it without Pa, but it’s not the same anymore is it? What’s the point of me doing anything if he won’t be there to see it?’ he spoke to himself, looking at the sky. And just as he was lost in thought, a car zoomed past him and crashed into a tree right in front of his eyes. He ran to the car as soon as he could, he could hear people yelling behind him, someone was calling up an ambulance, someone was shrieking in horror, it didn’t matter to Vikram, all he could see was a dazy picture of a car that had just crashed into the tree, and that he needed to react quickly if he wanted to save anyone in the car. The car had skid and hit the tree sideways, and Vikram, along with a few other pulled apart the door and pulled out two women who were driving the car. The ambulance soon came by, and Vikram got on along with them impulsively, and by the time he realized, he was already at the hospital, filling up details and calling up their family to inform them of the accident. And he texted to his dad, ‘At the Hospital, but I’m fine. Don’t worry.’

‘Never got to thank you, wouldn’t mind joining us for lunch now, would you?’ a message read, on Vikram’s phone. It had been over a month since the accident, Vikram had stayed around long enough to ensure that everything was done to keep the women alive. He had visited them a few days later, and they’d exchanged numbers. He didn’t really want to go, but he did need a break from all the time he had been putting into the fundraiser, so he replied saying, ‘Alright, where do you want to meet up?’ He texted his dad then, ‘Off to the Coffeeplace’. He was almost done with all the preparation for the fundraiser, and his dad was pretty proud of him, though he never praised him, he believed it was about time he did. He offered to drop Vikram by the Coffeeplace that day, but Vikram turned it down, the busy daily metro trains had grown onto him, the longer he stayed out, the more he had started to love the city air, it was no better than his town air, but the city had its own charm. He was an ambitious guy with dreams of changing the world for better, making sure everyone would truly be on the same level playing field. Sometimes his dad would joke that Vikram was trying to play god by changing fates, to which Vikram would jokingly reply, one day I’ll meet him anyway, I’ll ask him if I did a good job. As thoughts mobbed his thinking, the crowded metro train crowd sucked him into the compartment, and so began the journey.

‘On the other side, apparently I was good enough.’, read a message on Anirban’s phone. He called back on the phone, it was switched off. He was in the office when everyone turned the television on, there was a bomb blast in the metro, many people were dead. And Anirban’s chest started pounding. He didn’t know what to do, he ran, ran to the metro station. Kept calling up Vikram, he was supposed to be on the metro, but he prayed to the lord, to not take his only child away, he had already taken the wife away, and now possibly the child too. It was only many days later, that they found Vikram’s body. Unlike others he hadn’t died in the bomb blast, he had died trying to rescue the others from the train crash due to the explosion. No one knew how many lives he had saved, but a truly gifted child was lost that day. Vikram, meaning valor, truly stood by his name. Many mourned his death, Prof. Beena was among them, ‘I had once told him, that only victors make it to the history books, but I never told him that the pages of history are written with the blood of the many who lose their lives along the way.’ Life is a gamble, smallest of the choices we make, change our lives for the better or worse. Fate on the other hand, if you do believe in it, can wreck your life like a hurricane, or bring warmth like the summer that marks the parting of winter. Destiny, however, works in mysterious ways. Anirban did nothing wrong, but he lost everything to tragedies. It so happens that being the nicest human doesn’t get you the kindest fate, if there is a god, he has his own twisted sense of justice and balance. Two months later, Anirban drove his car out early in the morning. It was winter again, and this time around, there was a home for the homeless to sleep in every night. Vikram’s idea of converting parking lots into mobile homes for homeless to sleep in the night and leave early in the morning actually worked. And just as Anirban stood there in silence, the world forgot about a hero who made the smallest change, and gave the biggest sacrifice.

There are millions of such stories, unlike this work of fiction, that actually happen. If there is a god, his scales of justice don't often match our expectations, yet we force through sorrow. Fate and destiny wreck many lives, but they still search for a reason to live on. Some budge and wither, but some survive the tempest. If they still find a reason to wake up the next day and put everything on the line to achieve what they aspire for, 

What is your excuse?


Dedicated to all the heroes, who's sacrifices were never recorded. 

All Smiles / Itadakimasu

‘Tut-a-toot, Tut-a-toot, Tut-a..’, the clock on the wall went on and on till Joel got up and plucked the plug out of the socket. He had missed the alarm, yet again, and he missed another interview. ‘I’ve got to stop sleeping in late’, he muttered to himself as he got ready for another interview which was scheduled for later that day. ‘One left today, one tomorrow, and two, the day after!’ he exhaled slowly as he bowed down to tie his laces. His pet cat, Noori, looked on as her master left again, for yet another interview in the last three months. Unemployment hadn’t gone down well with Joel, he had put on a couple ounces, and he had grown softer with time. He barely looked like his old self, an out-of-work Medico isn’t exactly the kind a Daily Newspaper would look for while scouring for journalists. His time in the civil wars as part of the NGOs he used to work for, was the only bright spot on his normal-looking resume.

‘Joel Shawn Teller, 35, Unemployed for the past three months, a trained doctor who’s worked in Gaza, Cairo, Tel Aviv and the like, Interested in Cooking! Hmm!’, the energy in the room dropped dead the moment the editor read Joel’s resume out. The interview went just fine, a lot like the other dozen he’d been to last month. Everywhere he went, there were two things common; First, that he’d always not get the job and second, she’d be there too. Just as he stepped out of his interview, he spotted her yet again, and he let out a smile he had accustomed himself to give out every time he ran into her. She smiled back too and shrugged her way into the interview room and as he saw her disappearing into the room he let out his real smile, a quaint smile and he walked out. It all started a couple of months ago, when he first walked into the office of a gossip magazine. His options were thinning down and he was just as desperate to get a job and spend his time writing, and that’s when he ran into her as he walked into the interview room. This went on for the next few weeks, and that’s when he decided to make a move, and hence he asked her if she was free for a cup of coffee later that evening. As he would have it, she said yes, and she ended up waiting for him at a coffee house as he overslept his alarm. They hadn’t exchanged numbers or names, but after that evening, he didn’t have the nerve to approach her ever again.

‘We meet again!’, she muttered this time. It was the last interview that month, and just like always, they had both applied for the same position again. ‘Can’t really help the fact that my luck kind of always runs out on me’, he let out a smile saying that. His heart was thumping harder, his pulse was racing, he hadn’t felt such a rush since he last ran his scissors and knives in the wars. She found herself at ease around him as her words rushed out without having to think twice, and before she knew it, she had already told him everything about her. They tanked that interview too, but it barely mattered to the both of them. They might have lost out on the job, but they won big on this friendship. And as they spoke over a multitude of cups of coffees, they found out more about each other and found themselves at crossroads on what they love. He had inherited a huge estate from his uncle, and along with that, a significant amount of wealth that’d keep him going while he was out of employment and a newfound tag of an orphan. She was the daughter of a diplomat and had lost her mother early in her childhood, and her father was now stuck in a civil war and couldn’t be flown out in time from the embassy. Joel had seen so much death in those wars, he knew her father didn’t stand a great chance of surviving but he kept mum about it and just kept listening to her. ‘I think I’ll get going now! Let’s meet again sometime?’, she said just as he realized how he had left her hanging the last time. ‘How about my place tomorrow for lunch? I could show you how I cook, and besides I can’t be late that way!’ he said, while his face made it plenty evident that he really wanted her to come. ‘Hm. I wouldn’t mind that. Noon it is then! Also, here’s my number.’ She said whilst writing down her name and number on a paper towel. He gave her the address and took the number and bid adieu. ‘Sonya, not too bad a name.’, ‘Joel, not that bad a name!’ they spoke to themselves in their heads as they walked out.

‘Oh, her name’s Noori! She’s a Bay Cat. Probably the last of her kind. Be careful though, she bites!’ he responded to Sonya’s inquiries. ‘Are you done with the preparation yet? I guess I’m a little too hungry right now.’, she said, as her face showed hints of grave hunger and just then, Noori bit her but she didn’t say anything though she was bleeding. ‘Come here! I’ll show you how it’s made, and maybe then you can yell at me for delaying it for so long.’, he said playfully. As she entered the kitchen she found a new person in there! Joel looked all cleaned up in his avatar as the chef. And with surgical precision he ran the knives along the meat to give them just the right amount of gashes in the right intensities. She was in awe, he was working like a machine, just when he was done with one item, he moved onto another with perfection, the transitions felt seamless, he was so good at it that she barely noticed that it went on for an hour and that she was hungry. ‘You have been served!’ he said, as kept all the dishes on the dining table. Just as she was done eating, her phone rang and she ran out with muffed tears after lifting the call. She ran out with her coat and he didn’t waste a moment to dart out after her. Call in Ill fate or just destiny, he tripped over a stone and fell, and when he rose there was no sign of her. He didn’t expect her to leave like that, but he couldn’t do much and that feeling of helplessness riled him up. He got home, only to find Noori tugging at her scarf, ‘You like her too?’ he said, wiping off the blood from her whiskers. He expected to see her at the next interview, but that didn’t happen, and it went on that way for the whole month. He was agitated, he felt the anguish building up within him. He had gotten used to seeing her all the time before every interview and the sudden withdrawal definitely affected him a lot for some strange reason.

‘So, can it be done or not?’, Joel yelled over the phone. He had contacted a black market insider to get him Sonya’s listed address from the phone number she had given him as it was a diplomat’s line and the telecom company wouldn’t tell him her address. ‘It’ll cost you a lot more if you plan on yelling like that mister!’ the voice on the phone said and Joel apologized and made a deal. He was clearly shaken and wanted to see her face again. His phone buzzed and he picked up his coat and ran to his car and pulled it out of the garage as the tires screeched. He found his hearth thumping and his pulse racing again. He felt like he was in a war again, or maybe he really was in one. And as the tires screeched again, to a halt this time, he stepped out and ran to the door and knocked without second thoughts. Out she came and his world was at peace again. ‘Joel! What are you doing here? How’d you know I lived here? I’m really sorry about tha..’ she was speaking alright, but he was busy just looking at her as he finally started thinking straight. ‘I was just worried about you, so I pulled a few strings and got your address. I could leave right now if you want me to.’ He said, fully hoping that she’d not say that. He really wanted to stay. ‘Nothing like that. Haha. Stay! Come on in, I’ll make you a cup of coffee.’ She said taking his coat.

‘My father came back home that day, but he wasn’t conscious when they got him in. They told me he had a stroke, so I ran to the hospital. He’s been in the hospital ever since, and I’ve been taking care of him. He just got better a couple of days back, and I guess he’ll be home tomorrow.’, she said as he sipped down his cup of coffee. ‘So that means no more interviews I guess? Haha, Just take care and stay safe.’ He said while getting up and ready to leave. ‘Nothing of that sort, Dad might get better in a few months, so I’ll probably get back to getting rejected then.’ She smiled and handed him back the coat. He prayed to the lord that she’d get back to the interviews this time, especially as he had been getting accepted off late, and he kept rejecting those offers in the hope that he’d see her in the next interview. His prayers were answered, as she showed up at the next interview. He went into the interview and spoke gibberish and got himself rejected and waited patiently for her to be done with her interview. ‘Oh there you are, How was the interview, and How’s your father doing?’ he asked while giving her a hug. ‘Oh, I got the job, and my dad? He died later that day. Apparently some nurse gave him the wrong sedative and that reduced his pulse rate a little too much and with no experienced doctors by the side, some doctor used the defibrillator and gave too hard a counter-shock and he passed away.’, her face was emotionless while she said it.

A month had passed now, and a knock on the door woke up Joel. ‘Morning Sir! We’re here to ask you something about the disappearance of Miss Sonya. We believe you knew her? Her call records show that she called you a couple of times last month before she disappeared.’ The police officers at his front door looked like they meant business. ‘Well, We are just acquaintances, we met at a couple of interviews, and I told her I was a doctor before, and she told me about what happened with her father. I suspected foul play and suggested that she file a police complaint seeking an enquiry into the death of her father. And if my memory serves me right she last called me a month ago telling me that she’s going to a Police Station at Church Street and thanked me for my help.’, he told them, while serving them some coffee. ‘Well, that corroborates with the evidence we’ve found so far. Thanks Mr. Teller. Some excellent coffee by the way.’ They shook hands and Joel walked them out, and as they were leaving Noori climbed onto his shoulder and coughed something onto his neck. ‘A finger? Now where’d you find that! Bad cat Noori.’ He smiled as he walked up to his refrigerator. He smiled again, a quaint smile, and shut the deep freezer and went to his interview. He was all smiles, why wouldn’t he be happy, he saw the same face that he was used to seeing before interviews, only this time it was severed and in his freezer.

Itadakimasu.

Mirror Man

‘It’s just a phase, You’ll grow out of it.’ Was what I told myself back when I was 13 or 14 years old. Puberty is widely perceived to be one of the most transformative phases in a human’s life, both physically and mentally. While assuming the same, I just went on ahead with life as it was, never bothered to stop and look back to see how much I was changing, or rather how much I had already changed. I believe that I didn’t see it this clearly then, and quite reasonably so, I didn’t have a reason to. It is now that I’m 18, I look back and realize that I made a misstep somewhere. Voice cracked, Shoulders got wider, but somewhere in all this chaos, I forgot to develop a personality for myself.

How do you feel after watching a very inspiring movie, or maybe a heavy action-packed movie? Do you feel the adrenaline rushing, or maybe your emotions gushing? There lies my problem. Just as most of us just feel that way and forget about it, my make-shift personality serves the purpose every now and then, and fades away. While this lets me be so many versions of me, it also adds to the agony of not being able to react to the same circumstances in the same way. How would you react if you realized that your mind is too fast at adapting to your surroundings? That it changes the way you speak to different people based on how they speak with you? And that you start using the phrases the other person uses, the way the other person speaks, and in the end, how the other person thinks about everything? While it does have its own quips and helps in making you more relatable to the others, it makes you more like the others around you. When the people around you keep changing too fast, or if you’re alone for too long a period of time, what would you do? You have nobody to reflect yourself on. And in extension, you have no personality of yourself. Would you still be ready to take on the world as a Mirror Man, mirroring the light and the dark, the emptiness too? And in the end, would you still be proud to be nothing but a reflection, an after-image?

When I was really young, I always Idolized my parents and my brother. Sub-consciously I became more like what they are, more than what I actually wanted to be. As and when I delved into the magical world of books, newspapers and television, I found more people to replicate, more feats to desire and achieve. I made up my views about things and events based not on popular opinion, but by putting myself in the footholds of my idols, and I guess that’s where I started slipping into a world of twists, twirls, and swirls that kept me in the loop of staying dependent on everyone else around me to stay and live a life as myself. When I first realized that I was actually just repeating what my closest friends do, and I’m speaking exactly like the one speaker I idolize, it hit me really hard. When the realization struck, it left me dizzy and confused. While the first of the many questions that popped up in my head was, ‘Is it normal? Do others face it too?’ and that’s when my other half of the journey to self-realization started. I kept questioning myself as to why did I not solve this problem before, but then again, Don’t you have to know that the problem exists before you can find a solution for it? As I tried to snap out of it, I couldn’t help but wonder why I did I ever develop this trait to start with? And when the answers started flowing in, I don’t think I was equipped enough to take it constructively. What I was facing, was just a very aggravated form of an issue almost everyone faces in the daily course of their lives. We are all biased, opinionated, and in the end, very judgmental as a social animal as our evolution would have it. We all feel the need to impress someone or the other at some point in our life, and it most commonly ends right after you’re done with that, but it carried on in my case. It might have been the greed to keep someone impressed at all times, or the insecurity of being treated differently if I ended up any different from what I initially was, but in the end, reality came crashing in, and I wasn’t ready.

I’ve read across many literary works that a major portion of our life is spent trying to figure out what we actually want to do. And here I was, trying to figure out who I was. I met many people through my formative years, arrogant, stubborn, kind, sweet, humble, annoying, all the same; and I went on ahead reflecting themselves on me and salvaging whatever tiny bits of their personality that I thought would like nice on me as well. It was almost as if that I was trying to make a pearl out of their grains of sand. To my surprise, it worked fairly well. I felt uneasy knowing full well every time I spoke; I was in fact aping someone I knew. As I kept digging up into my own past, and tried actively not to be like anyone else, I realized something strange, it was extremely tough, almost as if the brain was addicted to functioning like other humans around me. Knowing now that there wasn’t much I was able to do about the problem by eradicating it, I tried my hand at mastering it instead. If I was able to become like someone without even trying, could I possibly be able to understand how they think the way they think? Could I possibly now delve into whether there are other people like me out there? Other Mirror Men, lost in the world where there’s too much left unexplored. I might have been born two centuries too late to explore the earth, and two centuries too early to explore other earths, I believe that I was born just in time to explore the world, not the landscapes, but the people. I realized that it was just my personality that was mimicking itself, but there are people out there making those extremely important decisions in their life based on what the others around them behave and think. There are humans believing blindly in the words of those misleading leaders who strike a chord by simply bringing up terrors that will never happen.

I know I am a Mirror Man, and that I choose to live this way from now on. Salvaging everything that I can from each and every person I meet and making it my own little trait after slight modifications. I can survive by doing this, but can the world say the same? Can public opinion be swayed around the same way as my personality can be? Can there come to the fore a force of reckoning which can make the world turn a blind eye to the actual problems and simple guide them away from all these issues? And if that force does come about, will the world throw its weight around and fight? Or will it just stand and watch, while Mirror Men like me simply watch, learn and salvage. In our world where our memories are fleeting, our messaging ephemeral, and every relation transient, will a Mirror Man survive? And will all the others react and reason with imminent doom or will they simply divide themselves into the same old groups of left, right and middle, or will they ever live a moment together as one.

Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Why do you flee?

Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Will you ever become strong enough to decree?

Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Will you ever break out of your own fantasy?

Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Will you ever stop crediting everything to destiny?

Oh Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Will you ever stop reflecting?

Oh Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Will you ever reason with everything self-defeating?

Oh Mirror Man, Mirror Man,

Will the World ever stop and see?

What a farce it’s come to be.  

Relationships; Love And Beyond.

 To begin with, these ideas are solely reflective of how I think the society and the average Indian parent responds to the term ‘Relationships’ and how the present generations always seem to have a liberal outlook towards the same. The essay, which is going to follow soon after this, is only a commentary on how we as a living life form need the accompaniment of another life form. Apologies in advance to those who might feel violated after reading this. Also, Maa and Pa, if you’re reading this, please don’t disown me. Haha.

Relationships. The term used to define a special bond between two people, most commonly based on some affection, emotion, or some common cause of action between the two. It is however, most commonly misinterpreted. The narrowest meaning that it draws is the Relationship between two lovers. There is a relationship between a brother and another. There is a relationship between a father and a daughter. There is a relationship between a coach and the team. There is a relationship between a boss and an employee. There is a relationship between you and your pet. And even beyond that, you share a relationship with objects, crudely put, an attachment with those objects. How is it so that we as humans, the most intelligible race to walk this earth right now, can’t seem to perfect this concept of Relationships. Whatever the reasons may be, I believe it’s worth the time to solve this riddle.

Assuming the fact that it is perfectly alright to use the term Relationship freely so, and to use it critically only towards the one between lovers, I’d like to draw out different lines of arguments. While we greatly pride in the fact that we are growing as a society and are becoming increasingly liberal towards how we look at institutions like Love and Affection, we are also the same society which witnesses honour killings and suicides caused due to depressions induced by relationships. When we are so great a society to accept the fact that love is most divine a feeling that even our gods felt, but we’re also so naïve to not accept that our teens can feel the same emotion, there is little room to debate the merits of the same. It is reasonable however that people have their reservations about this concept of Relationships and Dating. The last time people accepted any belief without questioning its merits, it spread pretty spot on. I guess we call it religion now.

While Parents continue to quote examples of how relationships seem to be destroying their kids, there seems to be something fishy in the picture. Selective Interpretation is what is ruining this concept. Agreed, that relationships aren’t always going to last, But I’m amongst those who believe that everything has to last its complete cycle before you can judge it and add a tag to it that it isn’t meant to be a positive thing. What other experience in your life teaches you about how to carry all the necessary luggage of studies, career, and work and still value the people you love, better than a relationship? Yes, it does break the hearts of many when people break up. But, show me one method of learning in life that doesn’t involve chances of failure? Having said so, relationships do come at a very costly price. A price that is going to be explained in detail.

 Friendzone. An infamous position to be in, if your love is one sided. The interpretation, and very well, its existence, have a well-founded base of misconception. There exists a perilous and troubling reality behind it. When a romantic partner says NO, not everyone reacts with a light hearted attitude. The stigma behind this is the fact that most youth believe that with passage of time, their romantic interest will exhibit interest in them. And sadly though, not every wait results in a successful founding of a relationship. One sided love is as toxic and harmful as any addiction. And by the misappropriate usage of this term, Friendzone, it somehow shifts the onus from the person who is in love to the person who is loved. And by the huge public backing to this trend, everyone cheers for the other to get out of this so called Friendzone. The problem behind this sort of backing, is deep rooted. When some one person fails to get together with their amour, there arise feelings of spite, hatred, self-loathing and so on.

Well, all that only happens when the other counterpart doesn’t exhibit the same feelings. The loss of self-esteem is in fact, tremendous. But, then again, does it boost the esteem by a good fraction if they are successful? There are many who believe that relationships are nothing but a waste of time and energies. And they do have some merit to their arguments. Relationships are in fact, at times, painstaking. And when we get to break-ups, they are absolutely heart-breaking. The depressions that follow are pretty well known, Thanks to the ridiculous Bollywood/Tollywood movies that show pretty spot on that after a break up the men always end up becoming alcoholics and drug abusers. (Just Kidding about the Drug Abuse.)

That was all the negatives I could cough up? No. We’re all a part of a generation that doesn’t think twice before challenging age old notions of culture. While culture dictates that philandering relationships are equivalent to sinning, these young rebels can’t wait to unleash their rebellion and defiance to the said culture. Lust carries the same weight as love in some relationships, and that forms the shaky base to a shady relationship. Sexual frustration is a common sight in relationships these days, and unfortunately so, it is these kinds of relationships that worry the parents the most. Agreed that human curiosity is a big deal, and I’m not being biased here, but do you think it is justified to use a relationship to quell this lust?

As is with any case, there’s a great deal of positives to take away from Relationships. They make one more responsible, they make the world a better place while it lasts, and they give you a reasoning. If anything, Relationships are a learning experience if used rightly. The stakes are definitely high, given that it involves the lives of two individuals and unfortunately in most cases, the reputation and name of two families. They are a risk you should be willing to take very responsibly. Because fortunately or unfortunately, the society we live in right now judges everyone very easily. Love is a very fluttering emotion. It can leave you flabbergasted for more. We feel love in the strangest ways at times. For me true love is when my dog makes it a point to keep licking my face even when it knows I’m tired of its shit. Love to me is when my mom makes me my favourite food when I get back home from the hostel without being lectured about it being unhealthy. Love is when I can hug my dad for absolutely no reason to irritate him and stop him from working on whatever he’s working on.

The same way that version of love is pure, so is the love in most relationships. While one of my friends tells me the truest love she saw was when her grandmother used to taste the tea for her granddad to see if it’s too hot, there’s another who hopes she’d find a guy whose thought waves would match hers and maybe then they’d resonate together. (THESE GEEKY ROMANCES I TELL YOU.) There will always be versions of love. And I guess if you just add some commitment to it, you’ll find yourself in a relationship. There will be those who’ll tell you that it is indeed a waste of time, well I’ll tell you, what a wondrous waste of time. There will be those who’ll tell you your heart might break, well I’ll tell you, what better a time to test the strengths of your heart than when you can actually recuperate from the loss? There will be those who’ll tell you there’s time for better things to come, well I’ll tell you, what better a time to revel in the joy of love than today? For as long as we don’t forget the fact that any and every relationship can have love as its causal link, there is always hope for prosperity and growth. It is an adventure at its best, and well, are you ready for some?

There once stood a tree,

That sheltered hearts which were free.

Once rain wreaked all havoc and set everything in commotion,

Among those effected was one who lost all emotion.

She took shelter under the tree that night,

It’s then that the man emerged in sight.

They spoke of nothing,

But yet they sparked quite something.

Lost in thought,

A war of hearts they fought.

Her insecurities shone out bright,

And he by all means wanted to set that right.

His brawn shone brighter than his brains,

But she liked that too, for it shielded them from the rains.

Love, or no love, there was something in the air,

And they too felt this feeling so rare.

Love is a very rare and a treasured feeling. Relationships are nothing but means to an ends to explore this feeling of love. If possible, give it some thought. Because your parents might be against it, the society will definitely have a field day troubling the living hell out of you, and if your parents are in fact supportive, the relationship’s break up will hurt even more. If you came searching for solutions to the problem of how we perceive relationships, Apologies. This article was only meant to stir up some thoughts. While happily dousing ourselves in the days of youth, let’s not forget that these relationships are way more than just a fancy commitment. And if you’re feeling just as adventurous with your loved one, Go Ahead, it might just be your Adventure of a lifetime. 

You've got One life, One Shot, One Chance, and just One goal ahead of you, would you still take the risk?

Patriotism, In The Era of Internet.

Freedom of Speech! Well you read that right. It's that one fundamental right that has been bestowed upon us as a part of a social agreement between us and the state, or even simply put, the basic rights you get from the Government, which by the way, is run based on our votes. A lot has been  happening lately, and before I went ahead and posted my opinions about any issue, I had to get my facts right. You ask me why? Well, for starters, nothing will ever be truly lost on the internet, and I want to leave the right impression behind.

Life, as we know it, has changed a great deal since the internet came around. And with Life, it also changed the way we looked at it, and the way we expressed our gratitude, dissent, love, hate, and perspectives. Our views are no longer limited to our friends circle, once on the internet, EVERYONE is going to read it. So what happens when one person, or a group of persons, goes ahead and preaches, what may be their own Utopian concept of the way we're supposed to be living, EVERYONE reads it, and that sets the House Of Cards rolling down. Patriotism, as a concept, is in itself very self defeating. Or at least that is what I believe. And as you may reasonably foresee, I believe Nationalism is a fad too. And to explain the same, I'll direct the rest of this article. These views are definitely not influenced by the biased media, or the supposedly unbiased student movements in India. So! Read on to see how I've tried to strike a balance between Activism, Blind Patriotism, and apparently Extremism.

As of 2013, India houses 1.252 Billion people. And trust me when I say this, You can't expect all of them to have the same outlook towards a problem or an issue. Some of the recent incidents which bring this to light are the JNU Fiasco, The Hyderabad University- Rohith Vemula Case, and even the Haryana Riots! As the situation stands, it is indeed safe to say India isn't the only country facing a similar issue. European Countries facing the Immigrants Transfer Issues, America having its own sweet time with a Fascist Donald Trump, and China's South China Sea dispute, all have a key factor tying all of them together. Excessive Love for one's country, Lack of Trust in others' countries, Believing that ones country is truly the best one that there is, which one could also believe to be borderline Jingoistic Behavior.

While one side of the story rests heavily on the fact that since we are citizens of this country, we have every right to criticise the way we work; The other side rests on the fact that the means adopted to criticise are neither fair or acceptable. While we are at this, It should also be highlighted that hasty generalisation has led to a lot of students being caught in crossfire. While the media is busy covering what one politician had to say about Condoms being found in the Campus, social media was abuzz with updates from students who were frisked just for uttering the words J.N.U. Agreed that the actions of the students might have been a little too extreme, but how do you justify generalising a factions actions as the whole student fraternity’s actions? Personally, I do have my reservations about why someone would yell anti-national slogans, but I also understand that these Universities are supposed to do the same! No, not make anti nationals, but rouse curiosity, spread knowledge, and quash ignorance.

While I was completing my research on this issue, I happened to stroll across a brilliantly crafted speech by the HRD Minister, but well, even that has a loophole. It selectively picks on some students who have vandalised our fabled gods and goddesses and their backstories. She incisively uses these examples and then shifts attention to the other issues, of Caste and Race. Having felt the heat and aftermath of the Riots myself, I can definitely tell you it was a means too extreme to an ends too biased. People who love their caste so much and identify themselves by it, are, on a microscale, the same as Nationalists! Going by this logic, all our freedom fighters were extremists too, and as I read somewhere, Our Beloved Tagore would have been jailed for Anti- National Songs!

There were indeed other incidents being highlighted by these so called Anti-Nationals, and one of the most controversial issues was Indian Army's brutality in Kashmir. A quick google search would lead one to the Kunan Poshpora Incident, which I'd suggest readers to look up for themselves. Yet again this strand of their debate is highly specific, and targets a specific section of the Army, and quite frankly speaking, they are right when they say they have the right to criticize the way our country works. While this view is from a layman's standpoint, the very same negligibly knowledgeable Layman would praise the same Military's quick response in times of natural disasters. Their rescue operations are generally front page headlines, and it's not that easy to turn a deaf ear to these heroics. Not just at times such as that, any call of distress has the same army walk in to save the nation's public, from threats both external and internal. While I've been a firsthand witness to the reliability of the Army, (Rapid Action Force + Army= Safety from Haryana Riots + Immense Respect for their Sacrifices) I can't not notice the AFSPA- The Armed Forces Special Powers Act.While I may not have the standing of a learned diplomat, I do have a fair understanding that this very same act derives its origins from an Act which was framed to curb the Quit India Movement. And as it may be, I don't agree with how such power can be put in the Army's hands without a proper system in place to check on the possible violations that could be caused due to them. Which brings me to another critical cog in the wheel of Justice and Good Governance, The Legislative. But before we move on, think for a minute, Are all the soldiers in the Indian Armed Forces Patriots? Or are they Nationalists? Or even worse, Jingoists? Well, the answer may vary for different people, but one can't simply write them off because a small faction resorted to grave lows. Action needs to be taken. But to what degree?

The Legislative in India, is more a mockery of family lines than anything at the first look. I don't understand what one of these new generation Princes is doing by going out and announcing the present government doesn't care about people's voices, while it was his own government that set the criminal to a death penalty. The criminal in question is the same one that sparked the JNU row. While this was happening, Riots broke out in another part of India, and the supreme power, was actually concentrating on some scheme regarding cows. How can one be so proud of a country that is riddled by such problems? And why is it that Human Curiosity and Criticism is now being Punished? And Yet Again! Why is it that we see students taking to roads to achieve their means? It is indeed a tough task to make sure that all peoples of this nation are served what they need, but why is it that Violence is being used as a means to achieve that end?

Yes! Patriotism, In The Era of Internet, is nothing like what it used to be years ago. This very same Internet once toppled governments, restored democracy, but why is it that today, it's pushing us into the darkness? If it can topple, It Can resurrect too. It is indeed very easy to pick a side. #IstandwithJNU (or)  #ShutDownJNU, these two phrases are the two extreme sides of the same coin. While one side has a few that show utter disregard to what the country has to offer, the other side has ridiculous fanatics who'll tie any dirty laundry to a genuine question to make it sound bad. Am I a Patriot? Maybe Yes, Maybe No. And what side do I pick to stand with? I choose to stand with the side of Freedom. Words these days spread faster and are also misinterpreted even faster so.

I am a Citizen of India. I do love my country. And I definitely am not blind to not see that there's a lot wrong with this country. But I do know something for sure. If I was born anyplace else, I may not have felt the same. And to deal with the wrongs of a few, I wouldn't drag the country to a shame.

Satyamev Jayate. 

Education.

What was once Education is now termed Wisdom. Rather than being an experience enriching an individual’s intellect and making sure they’d ease into the society, Education today has become a means to an end. The Ends being getting into XYZ University, Getting an ABC Degree, so that you can be a PQR at an MNC. Has the system corroded or has the one most powerful weapon of civilization taken the necessary evolution to keep humanity on track for the years to come? Read on to find out.

In so far as the rest of the article is to continue, It is my own take on how education might have come into being and institutionalised specifically in my own capacities as a writer.

While many regard Ramayana, Mahabharata, Quran, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib and several other religious texts to be the docets of their religions, I believe they were mere reflections of people trying to bring out an ideal world, an ideal man, and all possessed a core set of beliefs which would appeal to the masses to make them believe truly that this path was a nice one to take. Irrespective of beliefs, faiths, Religion and Religious works are and will continue to be a human’s first experience with the process of Education. They educate you about their own versions of Good and Bad, God and Devil, and so on.

Moving further on, Education has gone through a lot of changes from time to time, adapting itself to the needs of the day. Education at one point of time meant creating fire out of rubbing flints, and in another age meant bending wood into circular shapes and making wheels, and at another meant learning the arts of their trade, war tactics and the like. It has gone from being elitist to being a beacon of hope for the poor to get to the same level playing field of the rich, to being the only distinction between being cultured and non-cultured, and becoming the process any human around the world would look at as the critical requisite and way for better things to come.

During the ages of colonization and world wars, many viewed education as a foreign evil, and denounced it in retaliation. Well, that is history now isn’t it? The very fabric on which many modern countries are built on today are based on the same newer more liberal thoughts brought about because of the varied forms of education at the foray. Education has indeed changed the course of human history more than we credit it for. It’s indeed gone places from sketched on the wall to having its oldest manuscripts protected within the comforts of the four walls of a museum. It has indeed ushered us to greater heights and given us a common platform, setting up all the minds around the world to brainstorm and put their collective efforts to keep humanity on track; But hey! It has also given us destruction, annihilation, deep rooted racism, and much more.

What do we do when we go heads up against a problem with the very same system that is supposed to solve all problems? Education today is nothing more than the prep up for a rat race that is ridiculed with problems of elitism and institutionalisation. India, today has more people going to school than it ever did in it’s past, but is it educating its masses the right way? Or is there a blink and miss somewhere? When youngsters aren’t allowed to drive on roads if they’re younger than 18 because you can’t trust them with a vehicle, What good is the system doing by letting them make potentially life altering choices from as young as 16 years old? 
Education needs to be hands on, leave alone rote learn everything! I do indeed understand the need for having a strong base in all the possible subjects we are mandated to learn till our high schooling, but it is the profiling done soon after that leaves me both spellbound and awestruck. The amount of stress put on children is abnormally high and leaves a very strong imprint on them. Not pointing fingers here! If this system gave us the smartest minds yet, think of all the possibilities it’ll hold when we better and perfect this system! It’s just about time we stop treating education as a cash cow and keep milking it by offering ridiculously high cost education which is worthless and start changing the way we educate and make it approachable for everyone, rich and poor alike.

I do realise these topics have been brought forward many many times over, but then the reason for them popping back up so often signals at how the problem was never tackled efficiently. Schools these days try so hard to sell the idea of holistic development, but trust me when I say this, no kid will ever grow holistically if you keep burdening him with the orthodox ways of teaching. Fortunately or unfortunately this generation’s attention span is the same as the memory capacity of a goldfish, minute. We can’t reverse their evolution, but we can definitely change our methods to better cater to the needs of today. Before we teach them the complex intricacies of Differentiation and Integration, lets teach them why they pay the taxes that they do over the food they eat, the clothes they buy, and how do they know their money is well spent.

Years from now, we’ll see a revolution anyway. People like me are merely the starting drizzles creating ripples on the surface of education. Well, what do they say? When it rains, it pours! Change will come our way, it’s only about how prepared are we to tackle it. We need our youth smarter now than before. We’ve seen the world go at loggerheads with itself and start a world war, let’s hope we educate our youth well enough to make sure humanity is never threatened by itself again. Should there comes a day when Education leads to the downfall of humanity, it’ll be another brick in the wall, and Pink Floyd will be humming away, ‘We Don’t Need No Education…’