Winds of Change

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They never inform you before coming, but arrive when you need them the most,
They keep you waiting till you wish for them with all your heart,
They come when all your tricks are played and have no capacity left for mischief,
They make sure that you are in pure state of body and mind.

Many fear change but change can be good, it makes you feel alive.

I came to this realization when I was in college. Throughout my childhood, we had shifted from home to home every two years. This change brought excitement, new surroundings to explore and new experiences to enjoy. When I was in college, we had lived in the same home for four years without shifting and it was puzzling, I was, we were craving the excitement of our next move.

I went to mother to find out ‘when’ we would shift again. She laughed and told me, ‘When you finally find a place you love, you settle in forever. No one has had any complaints about our home and instead of moving, we will be buying the house.’

I was stunned and disappointed. No more shifting meant no more adventures. The winds of change would be gone forever.

My mum could see the disappointed and she said to me, ‘Just because we have stopped shifting the adventure is not over. Now that you kids have grown up, it is time that instead of making you a part of our adventures we give you a chance to have your own adventures. You will have peace till complete your education. Once you are done, the world will be waiting for you with open arms. The winds of change take you on an adventure and the values that we have imbibed in you will help you change directions, challenge and guide you to do what’s right.’

She was inspiring and even today, when I stand at the rift that the winds of change has brought I remember what she said to me. It helps me decide right and more right.

Most difficult decision of my life

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Don’t be scared of anything or you might find your deepest fears standing in front of you.

In this world full of engineers and doctors kaun  numbers, trigonometry, geometry etc se darta hai. I was! Mathematics terrified me. Every school exam was a trial. I couldn’t wait to finish school and get rid of this terror.

When the time came for my 10^th board exams, I enlisted the help my best friend Surekha, who helped me understand all the basic concepts. The preparation and the exam went well and I thought, I would get a good score to please my parents and then I am done. Unfortunately, I scored 97 marks.

Everyone congratulated me and papa was so happy, he said that I underestimate my skills in mathematics and I should take it up as a subject.

I was shattered.

How on earth could my parents be so cruel, I thought, they knew I spent sleepless nights struggling with mathematics?

Luckily, all wasn’t lost yet.

My school had a black list of students who were to enter 11^th standard. If I was on that list, my chances of getting into a good college would be affected but my parents would be disappointed.

So I prayed to god, that I wasn’t on the black list, got admission in the 11^thstandard. I just forgot to mention the subject while praying.

Unfortunately, the gods were on my parent’s side.

I was amongst the few students who made it to 11^th grade in the same school with the combination of PCM (Physics, Chemistry, MATHS).

I still had the power to quit and have an easy life. After all, there are many average schools who would love to take good students from good schools.

I made the most difficult decision in my life to reject the option of an average school, fulfill my parent’s dreams and study Mathematics.

I have learnt that from difficult decisions comes strength and adventure. I also have learnt 1+1 can be 3 provided you learn how to prove it. 🙂

Bachpan ke din bhi kya din the…..!!

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Our childhood days are unforgettable – the school days, the holidays, the fights with friends and the masti. They are days I will always treasure.

Growing up as one of four, friends were not really required. We four siblings – Raja, Mantri, Chor, Sipaahi, were a group of our own. This was handy especially as we moved to new homes in better neighborhoods every two or three years. Our parents wanted to provide us with the best, homes and schools. 🙂

My childhood is full of great memories that bring warm smiles of remembrance but there are a few memories that bring back terror. I remember when my youngest brother was just a little baby, not even a year old. We were living in the little house surrounded by trees on three sides and a lake on one side. We decided to take our life size doll and go on a trek. We took his water bottle, milk bottle, biscuits and toys. We just didn’t tell mom as we were sure she wouldn’t let him come on our adventure. Why should he miss out on all the fun?

We had a great day, we played and explored. We discovered interesting rocks like archeologists. After a long and exciting day, we headed home. We reached our gates, said goodbye to our friends, only to realize that we have forgotten our brother.

We raced back, terrified. What if he crawled away? What if any animal attacked him? What if someone stole him? We reached the mountain rock where we had left him but he wasn’t there. We were terrified. We slowly looked around. Thankfully, we found him happily playing with his toys just before the rock. We were so relieved and we promised ourselves we would bring him along anymore.

The next time, we headed out on an adventure, despite the terror of that day, we brought him along as he was one of us and the day wouldn’t be complete without him. We were much more careful, reminding each other of his presence.

What a day!

A Short Fiction Story

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Niraj and Tulika were two friends who believed in friendship more than anything else. They remained friends even as life took them on two very different roads.

Tulika got married right after college while Niraj started a transport business without his father’s help in the hills where transport was a necessity not a luxury. Their lives were often busy, but they still kept in touch and supported each other.

4 years after college, Tulika’s life had become a struggle. She had problems conceiving and she became depressed as her family accused her of being infertile. She began undergoing medical treatment to fix the issue but soon realized there was no support from her husband or her family. So, she stopped treatment and got a divorce. Soon after, she got married again to a doctor she meet during her treatment and had a beautiful son. During these trying times – the family taunts and the small town gossip, Niraj stood by Tulika.

4 years after college, Niraj’s business was successful; he got married and had a beautiful baby girl. However, even as his business continued to grow and his personal life began falling apart. Girija, his wife wasn’t happy with how much time he was spending on developing his business and decided to return to her parent’s home and file for divorce. During this trying time, Tulika stood by Niraj.

Tulika looked after his daughter and even, looked for the right wife for him. The doctor, her husband suggested his sister. Unfortunately, on the day of marriage the bride ran away and Niraj was left in despair. Tulika was caught between the two men in her life – her best friend and her husband who had raised his sister. If life couldn’t get any worse, her husband got sick and passed away.

Tulika and Niraj were now both alone. They started working together and helped each other with their children. They lived lonely lives until their children made them realize that they were better together.

Moral of the story, if you find a person with whom you get along very well, be with them and be happy.

A recent travel experience

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I recently took a trip to a small village near my native place to seek blessings from Kula Devi. As we journey to the village, we traveled across the best and worst roads in MP. One of these kachha rastas was a never ending muddy road between green pastures. It was a beautiful sight and we were tempted to get out and walk around.

But we couldn’t!

This area was the source of inspiration for movies like Kayamat se Kayamat tak, Virasat, Shakti etc. It is well known as a home of ruthless individuals, savages, with two or more murders to their names. It is said that these individuals would send their kids to the city to studies and work, encourage them to never return while proudly boasting about their crimes.

I had no words to describe our shock and horror as our driver told us these real life horror stories.

On our way home, we experience another upsetting sight – a long line of people were waiting to see an Ojha baba that could cure all ailments and pains. We stopped and watched as this man chanted in a high pitched voice and sprinkled water of the ill. If anyone complained of pain after his healing, he coerced them into believing they were fine and then asked them to donate to build a temple. 

We asked around and learnt that this man was no spirituality leader but a government employee who had been doing this for 10 years as social service.

This trip was an eye opener. It made me ask myself many questions – what kind of world do we live? How can people behave like this? Why do we behave like civilized individuals out of India but not within India? Why do we follow blindly?

It also brought the realization that for India to grow, we need to stop following blindly and think for ourselves. I pray if prayers really work, that we Indians gain the wisdom to make the right choice.