Are you travelling alone?

The vast landscape that my eyes could decipher through the window of side berth recedes as the train made its headway towards its destination. While my eyes were engrossed on the picturesque scenery outside, I heard that voice;

“Are you travelling alone?”

I shifted my gaze towards the direction the voice came from. He appeared to be a man of my age. Along with him was a lady, perhaps his wife. They seemed to be newlywed. A bright yellow mangalsutra adorned her neck.

“Yes”, I replied quizzically.

“Side upper is allotted to us. Our other berth is side lower, but two coaches away. If you don’t mind, can you exchange your seat with ours?” he requested.

It doesn’t make any difference to me. The vast landscape will still be visible, perhaps a moment later. I accepted his polite request, packed my contents and reached the other side-lower berth.

The window view continued to delight my eyes. The vast greenery indicated that the monsoon season had just ended. My eyes took turns to devour nature’s beauty on one side while keeping an eye on fellow passengers.

An older man was adjusting himself on the adjacent lower berth, trying to settle down. A young woman accompanied him. She must be his daughter, I guessed. “Do not worry Dad. I will be in the next coach. I will come here and watch out for you now and then. Now take some rest”, she tried to console him.

The older man, while half-listening to her daughter, fixed his contemplative gaze at me. With a hesitant voice, he asked,

“Are you travelling alone?”

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Click here to read this story in Tamil.

5 arrows: Bhishma and Duryodhana

A brief recap: 

Part 1: Duryodhana felt enraged as eight of his brothers were killed so far after the end of eighth day battle in Kurukshetra, while Kauravas were not even close to capturing Pandavas. His provoking accusation leads Bhishma to take a vow to kill all the Pandavas before next dusk with five golden arrows on which he had imbued his life’s penance.

Part 2: Krishna summoned Arjuna and explained to him about Bhishma's vow with 5 arrows. Not knowing what to do, Arjuna begged Krishna to suggest Pandavas a way out. Krishna asked Arjuna to visit Duryodhana's tent and ask for the 5 arrows.

Part 3: Overwhelmed by Arjuna's presence in his tent, Duryodhana offered Arjuna to ask whatever he wants, not knowing his clever ploy. Counting his lucky stars for this volunteer offer, Arjuna asked Duryodhana for those 5 golden arrows.

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Every new day begins with a sunrise. After a day-long struggle, every living being on Earth goes to sleep with a hope that the modern-day beckons them with a new beginning. The first ray of the sun is significant. One who sees the first ray of Sun is blessed to see a new hope and begin his day on a positive note. Often, a layer of cloud obscures the view changing expectation to despair. A layer of cloud, in the form of 5 arrows, had covered the aspect of Bhishma. Ever since he gave the 5 golden arrows to Duryodhana, Bhishma could not be at peace with himself. 

"How could I do this? How did I allow myself to be provoked by Duryodhana? I should have handled the situation in a better way. What more am I going to do to fulfill my vow? Dear God! What have I done to face this situation? Please answer me", he let out a silent prayer.

With a heavy heart, he donned the attire of commander-in-chief. Every passing minute felt like an arrow piercing through his body. Letting out a long sigh of despair, he left his tent and marched towards Duryodhana's place.

"My dear Duryodhana, to make you happy, I imbibed my lifelong penance on five golden arrows and have it in your possession. I am pretty sure you must have rejoiced your night with the assurance that the five Pandavas will be killed in the battlefield today with those arrows. It is now time to fulfill my vow and satisfy your desire. Bring me those five arrows.", he commanded.

The grief-stricken Duryodhana walked sluggishly towards Bhishma and said in an inaudible voice, "Dear Pitamah, those 5 golden arrows are no longer in my possession".

"What happened Duryodhana? You look troubled. Tell me what happened to those 5 golden arrows? Did someone steal from your tent? How dare!  I will soon find the thief and behead him in front of your eyes. Do not worry."

"No, my dear great-grandfather. Nobody stole those 5 arrows from me."

"What happened then?"

"Last night, Arjuna came to my tent after you left. Overwhelmed by his presence, I immediately offered him to ask whatever he wants, not knowing his clever ploy. He asked for those 5 arrows. I did not have a choice!"

"Unbelievable! How did Arjuna know about those 5 arrows?", Bhishma asked far-fetched.

"I have no idea Pitamah. But I do believe that cowherd Krishna must be behind all this."

Hearing this, Bhishma's face was distorted with rage. "How dare that Krishna tricked you into breaking my vow? To fulfill my vow is my dharma. People call me Bhishma for that very reason! In today's battlefield, I will break Krishna's vow!", he thundered.

What was Krishna's vow? Did Bhishma succeed in breaking Krishna's promise? What happened next? The final part of this five-part series will bring the closure.

Ahalya

Overnight mist blanketed the sky over river Ganges. Soon, the first rays of the rising sun would melt them and make way for a clear morning sky. Gautama arrived at the riverbank, disrobed himself, jumped into the river and took a bath. The ice-cold water on his naked body woke each and every cell, made him feel rejuvenated.

It is during twilight that Gautama would take a bath in river Ganges and perform his morning rituals, followed by offering prayers to the Sun God. He would chant the mantra to Sun God, requesting him to help remove his ignorance and fill his mind with the light of knowledge.

But on that particular day, the Sun God did not appear to accept his offering. Foggy night obscured the view of the moon-lit sky. Deep darkness prevailed everywhere, including his mind.

"Why am I feeling different today?", he asked the question to himself. He could not continue with his daily ritual. Something was bothering him.

"I must find out what is going on with me," he said with determination. He stopped his rituals mid-way, walked home deeply contemplating on his thoughts. He lost control of his mind, and in turn, his senses. A sudden feeling of sexual urge pervaded him. Every part of his body longed to have sex with a beautiful girl.

"If thinking about sex gives me so much pleasure, how would I feel if I actually have it?", his mind asked lustily. He knew the answer.

"Having sex would give me the same feeling as being crowned as king of heaven[1]. But what about my penance?", he engaged his mind with the conversation.

"Don't you want to enjoy all that the materialistic world has to offer?"

"I am a sage. I had renounced everything, and I am living a detached life in a small hut deep inside this forest. Of what use is the worldly enjoyment to me?"

"You had lived your entire life as an A-halya[2]. Now you deserve to have sex and feel what it is like to be the king of heaven", his mind lured him with pleasing words.

He almost gave up arguing with his mind. "Maybe my mind is correct. I have not had sex with a woman in my entire life. Don't I deserve to experience sex at least once?" he asked himself.

Years of penance had taught him how to deal with an open mind. Soon, like the mist exposed to the first ray of sun, the darkness that prevailed in his mind also disappeared.

"How could I even think of having materialistic enjoyment?", he asked himself disbelieving he allowed his mind to lure him. "I deserve to be punished."

He could neither curse A-halya nor the thought of becoming king of heaven!

"Dear Ram, the noblest of all noblemen in this world, please forgive me for my sinful thoughts. Make my mind numb like a stone, that which cannot have any feelings", he prayed to Lord Ram. "I surrender unto your Lotus feet. Please have mercy on me and take complete control of myself".

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[1] Lord Indra.

[2] A-halya means un-plowed, which can also mean a virgin.

5 arrows: Arjuna and Duryodhana

A brief recap from Part 1: Duryodhana felt enraged as eight of his brothers were killed so far after the end of eighth day battle in Kurukshetra, while Kauravas were not even close to capturing Pandavas. His provoking accusation leads Bhishma to take a vow to kill all the Pandavas before next dusk with five golden arrows on which he had imbued his life’s penance.

Part 2: Krishna summoned Arjuna and explained to him about Bhishma's vow with 5 arrows. Not knowing what to do, Arjuna begged Krishna to suggest Pandavas a way out. Krishna asked Arjuna to visit Duryodhana's tent and ask for the 5 arrows.

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“Welcome my dear Arjuna! What a pleasant surprise? Have you come here to accept the defeat of Pandavas? Did your elder brother Yudhistra send you here with a deal to surrender?”, Duryodhana continued to direct all the questions towards Arjuna.

Unsure of where to start, Arjuna was measuring his pace and said, “First let me in my dear brother, won't you?”

“Of course! Do come in. I shall fight with you only on the battlefield. Be my guest here. After all, you had saved my life when I was fighting with Chitrasena”. Duryodhana recollected the incident that happened just before the beginning of the Kurukshetra war. I feel happy to receive you here in my tent in the middle of this historic battle. Ask me whatever you want. I, Duryodhana, will fulfill your wish”, he continued.

Hearing those words, Arjuna clearly understood Krishna's plan. “I must admit that I was thinking about every possible way to avoid conflicts that may arise due to my visit here. But you surprised me by recollecting the fight between Chitrasena and myself, whom your own close friend and a mighty warrior, Karna, could not defeat. I have indeed come here to ask you for a favor. How magnanimous of you to offer me a wish even before I asked!” Arjuna replied in the same length.

“What is it that you want Arjuna? Feel free to ask me whatever you want. Do you want a small kingdom for yourself? I shall certainly give it to you, now that you have entered my tent with open hands”.

“Thank you, my dear brother, for such a generous offer. But no, thank you. I do not want any kingdom for myself, nor am I going to ask you the same for my brothers. I have come here to ask you the 5 arrows which our great grandfather Bhishma had given it to you”.

“But, how did you even know about those 5 arrows?”, Duryodhana stammered. “Certainly, I shall not give those arrows to you. Those five arrows are meant to kill each one of your brothers including yourself tomorrow on the battlefield”.

"You cannot go back on your own words, Duryodhana. It does not befit your status”, Arjuna hits Duryodhana where it hurts, his ego.

Holding a deep grudge, Duryodhana handed over the 5 golden arrows which were earmarked to kill the Pandavas and win the war the next day.

Did Duryodhana craft his own defeat in the battle? Was Pitamah Bhishma happy with this sudden change of events? More mysteries will be unfolded in next parts of the series.

5 arrows: Krishna and Arjuna

A brief recap from Part 1: Duryodhana felt enraged as eight of his brothers were killed so far after the end of eighth day battle in Kurukshetra, while Kauravas were not even close to capturing Pandavas. His provoking accusation leads Bhishma to take a vow to kill all the Pandavas before next dusk with five golden arrows on which he had imbued his life’s penance.

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Krishna was pacing back and forth when Arjuna entered.

“You have ordered me to come immediately, Krishna. What is the matter? Why so urgency? Has something happened to you or someone I know?” Arjuna straightaway shot questions at Krishna impatiently.

“Have I ever called you if there is no pressing matter for discussion Arjuna?” Krishna asked with a meaningful smile. “But first come inside and have a seat, my dear friend,” he welcomed him in.

Arjuna strode across the room, seated himself on a makeshift chair and said, “I am all ears. Please tell me what is so important that you sent out to me at this hour?”

“Don’t you know the reason yourself by now Arjuna? I am surprised! How can you not know about the immediate threat to the life of five Pandavas?”

Arjuna knew that Duryodhana was enraged when he left the battlefield at the end of Day 8. He sounded his eldest brother Yudhistra and commander Dhristadyumna when both were busy making strategic plans for the next day battle. But he was so confused when Krishna talked about the immediate threat.

What could be the reason behind Krishna words of caution? Did Duryodhana prayed to Lord Brahma or Shiva and got immortality as a boon? Even so, of what use is such a blessing when Lord Krishna, the supreme personality is fighting by his side? “My beloved Krishna, please explain to me the situation. I could not comprehend any immediate threat,” he begged.

“Hear me out Arjuna. Your great grandfather Bhishma has taken a vow to kill each of the five Pandavas in tomorrow’s battlefield. He had imbued his life’s penance on five golden arrows and informed Duryodhana that he would use it tomorrow to kill each one of you”.

Arjuna’s heart skipped a beat! The whole world knows about the strength of Bhishma’s vow. At the same time, he wondered aloud what made Bhishma take such a disheartening pledge after fully aware of the consequences! Sure of Krishna’s potency to stop this from happening, Arjuna immediately raised from his seat and said,

“My dear Krishna, I do not know what made my great grandfather to take such a vow. But if he had taken it, I believe Pandavas must fulfill it. The world knows that Bhishma never failed in his endeavor. Pandavas are ready to lay down our life in front of Bhishma at the stroke of the first ray of sun tomorrow. Only this can save Pitamah from embarassment.”

“Do you think that will solve the problem Arjuna? This is what Duryodhana want!”

After deep contemplation, Arjuna gave up and said, "Please show us a way out Krishna,” his voice choked out of surrender.

“Do not worry, my dear friend. I know what to do. At present, Duryodhana is having those five golden arrows under his custody since he did not trust Bhishma completely. All you have to do is to go to his tent and ask for those five arrows”.

“What? Why would Duryodhana give me those arrows if he knows for sure that those arrows will certainly bring victory to his side?” Arjuna sounded more confused now.

“Do as I say Arjuna. Do not even hesitate for a minute”, Krishna warned Arjuna briefly recapping his sermon from Bhagavad Gita he just spoke at the beginning of the war.

“Please accept my sincere apologies for doubting you, my lord. I will obey your command”. Saying thus, Arjuna left Krishna’s tent and headed towards Duryodhana’s.

Having lost eight of his kin already, will revengeful Duryodhana receive Arjuna with warm greetings? Even so, will Duryodhana give those five arrows to Arjuna knowing well that it will only lead to preparing his own grave? The third part of this five-part series will uncover more mystery.

Smart Bribe

"Sir, do you want your vehicle to be packed?", labor asked him as Vinod entered through the parcel office of Bhubaneswar railway station." I will charge only Rs. 450 and my work will be neat", he continued. 

Vinod thought about the offer for a minute and nodded his approval. In the next 30 minutes, his bike would be neatly packed and ready to be parceled by a train. He was not in a hurry, though. The train would only leave at noon the next day.

Leaving his vehicle to the labor, he proceeded towards a counter at the parcel office to get the booking done. A railway clerk was looking through his rimmed spectacles at the computer monitor as if a movie is being screened.

Vinod waited to get the clerk's attention. "Perhaps he is still busy with a past booking," he thought. A few minutes went by, but the clerk neither took his eyes off from the monitor, nor he acknowledged the presence of Vinod.

"Sir, will you please do the parcel booking of my bike which is being packed at your office?", he asked politely and waited for his response. 

The clerk lets a glance at him as if to tell him that he was aware of his presence, but did nothing. Vinod continued to wait. Meanwhile, the labor had finished his job and demanded money. 

Vinod went with the labor to inspect his bike and gave him the money after he felt satisfied with the work. "The packing is so secure that the vehicle would be well protected during its 1500 km journey down south", he felt. The labor took the money and offered to pull the vehicle to the loading platform. Vinod came back to the counter and waited for the clerk's attention.

"Sir, please take this," he heard a voice from a man who pushed Vinod aside to give Rs. 500 cash to the clerk. Vinod let a sigh but felt relieved with the fact that the clerk was at least doing some work and finished one booking while he was away with the labor.

But his happiness was short-lived when he saw the clerk taking Rs. 500 and asked him what he wanted. "I came first," Vinod wanted to yell at both of them. But he kept quiet and waited for the business to get over so that he can proceed next.

"I want to parcel some items," the person replied with a grin.

The clerk took the parcel items, weighed and calculated the charges. After feeding some data on the computer, he replied, "Rs. 1100", to the man over the counter. While the man was counting rupees, the clerk completed the transaction, printed the bill and hand over a copy to him.

Picking up the copy of the bill, he pushed 6 Rs. 100 notes through the counter and left hurriedly.

"Where is the balance amount?", the clerk yelled at him as an attempt to stop him.

"That is what I gave to you at the beginning," he shouted back with a grin and walked away.

5 arrows: Duryodhana and Bhishma

The atmosphere was filled with the overwhelming smell of burning flesh and bone from the mass funeral. Hundreds of thousands of men had lost their lives in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, one of the gruesome war histories has ever witnessed. Many more have lost their limbs and other body parts fighting a brave battle between the good and the bad. Both Kauravas and Pandavas fought the war with valor and maximum resistance that the end of the war is nowhere in sight even after the end of the eighth day.

Duryodhana occupying a makeshift chair outside his tent sobbed continuously looking at the lifeless bodies of eight of his kinsmen who died in the battlefield at the hands of Bhima. His red, swollen eyes and grief-stricken face cried for revenge. “Pandavas should die, every one of them,” he grudged. It seems to be an impossible task as long as the old man acted as his Commander-in-chief, he thought, eying at his great-grandfather Bhishma scornfully.

“There is only one way to end this battle without losing more of your kinsmen, my dear son. It is to seek peace with the Pandavas”, Bhishma spoke to the lamented Duryodhana.

The words of Bhishma drove him crazy. “How can such words come out from your mouth, my great-grandfather? Are you fighting the battle for Pandavas or for us?” he asked. “Did you switch your loyalty? Have you forgotten your vow to protect Hastinapur from its enemies?” he continued his questions as if there was a war between them and he was shooting each item as if they were a string of arrows pointed towards Bhishma’s heart.

His last question reminded the invincible warrior of his vow to his father that he would remain celibate and protect Hastinapur as a servant and not as a ruler. “How can you utter such nonsense Duryodhana? To protect Hastinapur has been my Dharma and I have been pursuing it with utmost sincerity. The fact that I was standing in front of you on this battlefield and had raised my arms against your cousin proves the point”.

“But it is of no use old man. You are indeed standing here and physically fighting for us. But your heart is with the Pandavas. Deep in your heart, you yearn for their victory. Why else would it take eight days for you to fight against five Pandavas whose collective strength does not match your valor?”

Duryodhana's words were provocative. He conveniently forgot that Bhishma had accepted Duryodhan’s request to command his army on the condition that he would not harm the Pandava brothers. But having seen his kinsmen’s lifeless bodies, he could not satisfy himself with the mere destruction of Pandava’s army. He would like to see them killed brutally, the way his brothers were killed by the ruthless murderer.

“How dare you suspect my integrity?” Bhishma roared. An awful silence reigned throughout the Kauravas camp.

“It is now the time for you to prove it, dear pitamah,” he replied.

Bhishma hasted to his tent furiously, picked up five golden arrows from his quiver, chanted verses and meditated on them briefly. He then returned to Duryodhana and declared, “I have imbued my life’s penance on these five golden arrows. Tomorrow, I will kill the Pandavas using these arrows”.

Duryodhana felt elated hearing Bhishma’s response. Why would not he? Tomorrow, everything would come to an end. The war and with it the killings of his brothers and on top of all, the downfall of his enemies. He whistled in joy. Not having complete faith in Bhishma’s words, he ordered Bhishma to make him custody of those five arrows saying he would return them the next morning.

Did the five golden arrows take the life of Pandavas? Of course, we know that that did not happen. However, there can be no second opinion about the power of Bhishma’s penance. So why did not the five golden arrows kill the Pandavas? What happened to them? The second part of this five-part series will shed more light on these questions.

A cup of filter coffee

No meal is satiating if it does not end with a cup of filter coffee for Vasundhara. No wonder; being middle aged women, she was born and brought up in an orthodox Tambrahm family. The fact that she could not get a good darshan of Sri Jagannath at Puri Dham did not bother her even more than not having a single restaurant that served a cup of filter coffee.

"Do not worry Ma'am. There are many more restaurants on our way back home. You will definitely get a cup of filter coffee", the autowallah assured her. "Let's go then", she urged him thinking of the prospect of tasting a cup of authentic filter coffee. Hailing from Kumbakonam, a temple town itself, she could not believe that Puri does not have a single shop that serves a cup of filter coffee.

On our way back to Bhubaneswar, our autowallah enquired at every chai and coffee shop that our eyes could find, but still no luck, until we came to this shop. "I will prepare a special filter coffee for you Ma'am", he replied.

He must be over fifty, but with jeans on, he looked like a man in his early forties. "Please sit while I prepare coffee for you", he said.

"Make it four, for all of us", Vasundhara ordered.

"Sure Ma'am, as you please".

While the rest were seated, Vasundhara could not contain her excitement. She watched the chaiwallah like a toddler looking at her doll. A few more people entered the shop and ordered for cups of tea.

The chaiwallah counted the number of cups to be served mentally and added a few spoons of tea powder to a pot of boiling milk. "He is making tea for other customers when I had placed an order for coffee!", she felt agitated but decided to wait as he is the only chaiwallah who agreed to prepare and serve a cup of filter coffee.

After the tea powder mixed thoroughly with milk, he added crushed elachi and ginger to make it spicy. He then filtered out the tea and transferred it into another vessel.

"How effortlessly he made this tea! I will take it next time", she thought to herself. While she was expecting that he will pour the tea on cups and serve other customers, she got shocked on seeing what the chaiwallah did next.

Taking a bottle of Nescafe, he carefully added a few spoons of coffee powder on the tea that he just filtered!

"Ma'am, here is your special filter coffee", he said handing over a cup of tea-fee.

One Five-Year-Old Day

"I should not have watched a wizard story a night before my interview", Tejas muttered to himself, disbelieving what he saw in the mirror.

"How can I go like this to the interview? I look like a five-year-old kid!", he talked to his reflection. "You always wanted to be a kid, don't you?", the mirror asked in reply.

"Whatever", he gestured as if he disagreed with his own choice at the moment. "Thank God, at least I have my kid's dress to wear!", he exclaimed. He took a quick bath, wore his kid's dress and rushed to the bus stop.

"Hey kiddo, is your father coming to drop you in school?", the bus conductor asked him.

"No. Please give me a ticket to textile stop"

"Oh, so your father works there", the conductor continued handing over the ticket to him.

Tejas got down at his stop, walked towards the entrance to the company that had invited him for an interview. At the entrance, the security officer sized him up with his look and stopped him.

"Whom do you want to meet son?", the officer asked him.

"I want to meet HR manager. Please tell him I have come to attend an interview".

"Good joke kiddo. Go to school. You should not be here at this time".

"Dear Lord, how can I make him understand!", he sought out divine's intervention to bring him out from this mess.

After a brief minute, he asked, "could you please call the HR manager? Maybe I could explain to him".

Giving a confused look, the officer asked him to wait a minute, went inside and dialed an internal number from his desk. After a few minutes, he gestured Tejas to come in.

"Sir, I have a boy here, he must be five or six. He says he is here to attend an interview today!".

The HR manager must have blasted him for wasting his time with such a silly request, for a change in expression on the security officer's face was apparent.

While he was trying to pacify the manager, Tejas found an opportunity to sneak in through the entrance and ran up to the reception hall where other candidates were waiting to be interviewed.

Fortunately, nobody noticed him more than a glance. The security officer must have thought that the boy had left the place after playing a prank with him, for Tejas did not see him after he sneaked in.

After about half an hour, his name was called. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the interview hall.

"Looks like the candidate did not come to the interview today", Tejas heard one of the interviewer talking to the other. How can they see the presence of a small boy who is not even taller than their work table!

"No Sir, I am right here", he raised his voice to gather their attention.

"Who are you son? How did you get in here?"

"My name is Tejas. I am here to attend the interview today. Hearing his response, the entire committee laughed together as if they heard the joke of the year.

"Please ask me questions, then you will not laugh at me", Tejas replied.

"Let us have some fun. After all, we need some entertainment to increase our energy level", head of the interview committee said and others nodded their heads in agreement.

Tejas reply to their first question must have surprised them, for their face expression suddenly changed to become serious. Question after questions was asked and Tejas replied to most of them.

"Kid, I appreciate your knowledge. Even people with experience sometimes struggle to answer some of the questions we asked you today. However, we cannot give you a job as it is illegal", the head of the interview committee said, summing up the interview process.

Tejas returned home with disappointment. Tears filled his eyes and he sobbed continuously. He slept not knowing how to come out from his dreary world. When he got up again, it was already next morning.

Cursing his fate under his breath, he took the newspaper and went to brush his teeth. He could not contain his laughter when he read the news headlines, "Five-year-old kid aced a job interview".

When he looked at the mirror, he realized that that five-year-old kid does not exist anymore.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Monsoon Pregnancy

The month of December had just started. Winter monsoon was already at its peak, bringing more rain to the plains. Flood damages and record low temperatures were the topics discussed by everyone in the southern states of India. Only a couple of weeks ago, one of the worst cyclones hit the entire state of Andhra Pradesh propagating its remnants in the form of frequent rains scattered all over Tamil Nadu.

"I was on my 39th week into my pregnancy with my first baby. I still remember the day vividly", Kamatchi recollected that momentous day from her past.

Kamatchi is 55 years old now. Age had painted extra wrinkles on her face, adding more beauty with maturity. A few black hairs on her head showed that she still has years to live and share her life stories with generations.

"It happened 36 years ago! I was only seventeen then", she traversed through time. "Only a year before did I enter into the wedlock. I wanted to complete my school education, but my parents had another idea."

I paused and reflected on myself. I am Swati, Kamatchi's last daughter. When I was 16, going to school was the norm. To my generation, it was hard to believe that completing a school or going for graduate studies was a privilege once. 

That is when I felt that my mother is a phenomenal woman I have ever seen. She wanted to see her daughters graduate in higher studies, that which was denied to her when she was young.

"What other idea did your parents have?" I asked her. I was as curious to know about her first pregnancy as I was on my own.

"It was to align with the society's expectations of getting their daughter married as soon as she attained her puberty. Within a few months of my marriage, I became pregnant".

I recollected my prenatal appointments with an obstetrician. "Did you visit a doctor regularly?" I asked her curiously.

"My dear, during my days, my mother and other elderly women in our locality were the obstetricians. Each day they would prepare some healthy food cooked with herbals and make me eat. This, they said, would take care of nausea and other pregnancy-related complications".

"Did not you feel any complications?" I asked her curiously recounting my days of nausea.

"Not that I can remember, until the day my water broke, that is to say."

"What happened then?" I asked her.

"It was around 11.30 in the night when my water broke. There was continuous rain since the previous night. Most roads were filled with knee-deep water. As soon as my water broke, I started getting convulsions. I could not bear the pain any longer. But then, we did not have a car or a two-wheeler to be rushed to the hospital".

"How did you reach the hospital then?" anxiety engulfed me.

"My father made my mother and myself wait outside of our house, walked to the nearest railway station to inquire about the next train that would take us to town."

A stark contrast hit my mind hard. On the day when my water broke, I called my best friend who had earlier happily agreed to give us a ride to the hospital.

"My dad came home with his face lit brightly," she said, breaking my chain of thoughts. "Come soon. A train is about to arrive at the station. I had already bought the tickets". For the first time, I felt God is listening to my prayers.

Holding my father and mother's arms from both the sides, we walked to the nearest railway station, all the while my mouth chanting "Mariamma," begging her to be with me till I pull this through.

There was a power outage then because of heavy rain. By the time we walked through the muddy waters and hasted to the station, the train had arrived.

We got down at the town railway station and reached the government hospital by a bullock cart. My father sent for a nurse to attend me, who in turn had carried the news to the lady doctor on call. The doctor, who had just come from her home, injected chloroform, full body anesthesia.

"Were they monitoring your blood pressure and baby's heartbeat?", I asked her innocently.

"Who knows? The next thing I know was that my daughter was born".

Oppiliappan, the unparalleled one.

 Image courtesy: Divine Brahmanda

Markandeya could not believe what he just heard. "Is he out of his mind?", he wondered.

"It was all my fault. I should not have provided refuge to the old man who was on his way to somewhere. Why did I invite him into my house?", he asked himself.

The old man was seated across Markandeya and was trying to read through his mind. "Have you considered my proposal, Sir?", he asked.

Narayana was the elder brother of Lord Balaji, the mighty, rich and popular ruler of seven hills. At his prime age, he looked like a cupid with broad shoulders and thin waist. His tall appearance made him appear mighty and grand. There was a huge competition from the kings of nearby provinces who wanted to marry off one of their daughters to him.

But he did not like any of the princesses he was introduced to.

"I have decided to undergo a long journey in search of my dream girl", said Narayana. Lord Balaji knew that this day would come. But he did not expect it to come so early.

"But brother, you still have your age. I shall make arrangements for you to visit all the provinces which are under my control and be their guest. Maybe you will find one of their daughters to be your dream girl"

"I so want to believe your words come true. But dear brother, I have lost all my hopes. Moreover, my instinct is warning me against such belief. Something tells me that I'm searching for her at the wrong place."

Lord Balaji knew that his brother had made a decision and would not change his mind for whatever reasons. "At least allow me to make arrangements for some of our men to come with you and help you till you find your special someone", he said.

"That is not possible, Lord Balaji. I do not know how long it would take to find her. If it takes several years, I would be wasting the lives of those men for my own sake! I will not allow that to happen".

The next morning, Narayana left the palace of seven hills. His brother had made arrangements for food and shelter for Narayana till he was within the territory of seven hills. He had passed a word to all the kings from nearby provinces asking them to offer any help he may require, should he ask them.

That was forty years ago! During the passing years, Narayana had walked to all corners of the world and had met plenty of girls, none of whom looked even remotely like the girl he was searching to find. After an arduous journey to all around, he finally reached a small village located nearby Kudanthai, a temple town.

It was while he spent his previous night at Thanjavur that he heard from people about Rishi Markandeya who lives in an ashram near Kudanthai. He decided to pay him a visit.

A sudden surge of happiness beckoned him as he reached near the ashram. He could hear his inner voice saying his long search was about to end. "Markandeya is a Rishi. Through his penance, he has acquired immense knowledge of everything. Maybe he will tell me where to find my dream girl", he thought.

Markandeya welcomed the old man into his hut and offered him a meal. It was when Narayana was having his meal that he noticed her for the first time. He knew at that moment that she was the one he has been searching for all through his life!

"Her name is Bhumi", Markandeya introduced his adopted daughter to Narayana.

"Nice to see you", he said. "I have a feeling that we have met somewhere before", he added. Shyness enveloped her suddenly and so intensely when she heard him talking to her. She let out a smile at him and ran inside.

He felt sad at her sudden disappearance. He could not eat anymore. His breathing became uneven, and all through the while he was having his lunch, his eyes darted in search of her. He finished his meal in a haste, washed his hands and took a seat beside Markandeya.

"May I ask you what brings you here?", Markandeya asked.

"Your daughter", he replied instantly.

"I took a long journey a few decades ago in a quest to find my dream girl and marry her. There was so many princesses waiting for my nod to marry them. But I did not like any of them. My instinct told me that I would find my dream girl only when I take a long journey in search of her".

That was forty years ago! I have been to lots of places, met zillions of people and their daughters who wanted to marry me. But I could not marry them. At one point in my life, I even feared that I may never be able to find my dream girl. But my instinct had guided me all the way until I reached your place.

"It was when I saw Bhumi that I realized she is my dream girl. She is the one I have been searching for all my life. Will you please marry her off to me?"

"Markandeya could not believe what he just heard".

"My Lord, forgive me for saying this. But you are an old man. You may not live for long. How can I marry off my daughter to you? God forbid, what if something happens to you soon? My daughter is very young. No father would want to see her daughter suffering from loneliness for the rest of her life".

"I may be old, but I still have my age. I can still fight and rule from this place for the next hundred years!", he said.

"Let your words come true. But how will I know that she is your dream girl? What if it's your lust and not love that convinces you that she is your dream girl?"

Narayana reflected on that question for a long time. "Could he be true? Is it the lust or love that describes my feelings for her?", he contemplated on his own thoughts.

"Lust is like salt in a meal. I sure have a lust for her, but that does not explain all my feelings to her. Salt is added only for taste. Can anyone really have just salt as their meals?"

"True. But one who has tasted salt in his life will never be able to give it up. Humans would age with time, and so will my daughter. If you like the meal only because of its salty taste, you will soon get bored of her when the quantity of salt decreases with time".

"I certainly agree with you, sage Markandeya. Lust adds a flavor to life, but only love lasts forever. I promise you that I would never expect a meal from Bhumi with salt. This promise will be a symbolic gesture of my true love".

"My blessings to you and my daughter. With such a vow, you have become an unparallel human being. After your marriage, you will be named as Lord Oppiliappan, the unparalleled one".

When the time stood still!

Image courtesy: Wikimedia

Draupadi was dragged into King Dhritarashtra's court by Dushashana. Duryodhana's lustful eyes craved to see her naked.

"Disrobe her, my dear brother Dushashana", he ordered. "Parade her naked in the court and make her sit on my lap".

How the wise men in the court wished the time would stand still that moment!

Indeed, for Draupadi, the time stood still when she was dragged into the court. She knew what the wicked mind of Duryodhana would think of her. She knew he would order his brother to disrobe her, make her naked and parade her in the court. None of what happened in the court registered in her mind, for her time had stood still.

Duryodhana never had a good opinion about Draupadi. Who would? After all, she was married to five brothers!

"It would not be a difficult task for you to walk naked in this court, Draupadi. More than one man had already seen you naked before", said Karna. The evil-minded ones roared in laughter to what Karna said.

Pandavas, who were reduced to slaves, cried inside. Even the wise men could not help but only witness the acts of evil. For them all, Draupadi was the wife of five brothers.

But, for Krishna, Draupadi was different. She was an embodiment of the society in which we live in. The society whose dignity was upheld with the fabric she wore.

The thread forms the basic part of the society, its people. The interlace represents the learned ones. The fabric was woven from each string of threads which were interlaced with another. How can he allow the evil to disrobe her?

"It was time to set an example for evil ones", he thought. He decided to extend the fabric which the evil ones are trying to strip. He set Draupadi's time in motion.

For, after all, he is Lord Krishna, the savior.

Orphaned

The morning sun was playing hide and seek in between the clouds. Vanitha wanted to go out and play the game with her friends. "Your father will be home in a while Vani. We are going out today. Don't go out for playing. Get ready soon,", her mother ordered.

She does not have a new dress to change, nor does she have soap and water to wash her face. She limped back inside and waited for her father to arrive.

"Are you ready?" she heard her father's voice as he was entering.

Muthu whispered something in Banu's ears as they were leaving. They walked to the bus stand nearby. 

Vanitha was jumping in joy when they reached the bus stand. She had never been to the bus stand even though her slum is only a stone throw away from there. The bus stand was buzzing with activity, buses coming in and leaving out boarding and dropping passengers to and from their destinations. 

Muthu helped Vanitha who was walking with a limp as he was searching for the bus that would take them to their destination, if only he had one in his mind. He found an empty seat in the waiting area and said, "Vanitha, sit here. Mom and I will be here in a while", leaving her on her own.

After a few footsteps, her mother turned back, hugged her, planted a kiss on her cheeks and gave a biscuit packet to her. "Here Vani, take this. If you feel hungry, you can open this and eat,", she said. 

Vanitha looked at her mom with a puzzled expression. She had never given her a biscuit to eat, leave alone a full packet for herself!

"May I eat all the biscuits, mom?", she asked.

"Yes, dear," she replied and left before she could hold the tear that rolled off her cheeks and disappeared in her lips.

"Mom had changed ever since she met the doctor today morning," Vanitha thought to herself.

"I will wait for you here, mom. Come back soon.", she said.

Little did Vanitha realized that her name would appear next day in all the newspapers, "Three-Year-Old polio attacked girl was found abandoned at a bus stand. If you have any information about this girl, please contact the nearest police station with details".

Fish and a bait - a true story

The sun shone directly above the head, announcing the arrival of noon without wasting anyone's time looking at their watches. The last person in the street disappeared into one of the houses giving the road a deserted look. No one dares to take the wrath of the noon sun. "This is the time conmen would make an attempt," the police commissioner alerted the Trichy residents, "for they will be able to rob and leave without anyone to notice."

Pankajam finished her lunch and was about to take a midday nap when she heard the bell. Her instinct warned her to call the police and see who the caller was.

"Hello, Grandma. My name is Saravanan", he introduced himself with a sugar-coated voice when she answered the door, with a safety chain latched. She took a closer look at him. He appeared to be in his early thirties, neatly dressed in formals, two carton boxes in one of his hands and a briefcase in another.

"What does the briefcase contain?" she wondered. "I do not remember anyone named Saravanan. What do you want?", she asked him, her voice raised giving away her fear.

Pankajam was eighty-three, a widow who spent most of her time in solitude watching tv or sleeping. Both her son and daughter were married and settled in their respective lives. When they insisted on staying with one of them, Pankajam decided to spend her last days in the house that was built brick-by-brick by her husband. She survived with the pension money provided by the government after her husband died a decade ago.

"Grandma, I have come here to help you," he said. "I am a sales executive. Our company had recently launched a new product specifically for old people to help them preparing food faster with no extra effort", he explained. 

He showed one of the carton boxes to her and asked if he could demonstrate the product. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the box and took the induction stove outside.

"The induction stove helps you cook food in no time, Grandma. You can sit comfortably watching your favorite serials on TV while the stove cooks your food", Saravanan canvassed for the product.

"I don't need an induction stove. I already have one."

"Look at our fingers, grandma. There are five of them, but each one is different and serves a different purpose. Our company product is certainly different from the one you already have", he replied, without even bothering to have a look at the model she had.

"I am still not interested," she said.

Saravanan felt disappointed, will the stove inside the carton again and was about to leave when he said, "I'm sure you aren't interested with the freebies that we are giving to promote sales of our product too."

"What freebies?"

Saravanan knew that the fish had caught the bait. He opened another carton and took out a few vessels.

"As an introductory offer, we are giving you a complete set of cooking vessels in three different sizes and a non-stick Tawa for free. You only pay Rs. 4200 for the induction stove and the complete set is all yours", he said.

"Rs. 4200? No way,", she bargained. They finally agreed to Rs. 3500 and struck a deal.

Pleased with the bargain, she offered him for the first time to come inside her home and have a seat. "Show me the freebies, or else I would not trust you," she demanded.

Saravanan opened another carton from which he took out a set of kitchen utensils, three of them in different sizes, all made of stainless steel, a non-stick Tawa and spread them in front of her.

Satisfied, she asked him to remain seated while she went inside her room in search of her purse. Rs. 4500 is all she had, from ten years of savings she had from the meager pension amount that is just enough for her to survive. She carefully counted Rs. 3500 with denominations in hundreds, tens and even a few coins, put the remaining amount back into her purse, locked it in safe and came out.

After collecting the money from her, Saravanan said, "I forgot to mention about a lucky draw Grandma," sensing how far he can carry the fish with the bait.

"What lucky draw?".

"There is a good chance for you to win another induction stove with a complete set of freebies, free of cost," he carefully prepared another bait.

"Oh! Really?" she gaped in amazement.

"Yes, Grandma! I would let you know if you win the first prize. But you must promise me to pay the remaining Rs. 700 if you win", he added. "Please have my card. It has my mobile number. Please feel free to call me anytime if you have any problems with the product", he said.

The induction stove worked perfectly and cooked her food really fast. Pankajam was only happy that she had bought the right product with a bargain. But her happiness did not last for long. The stove started making troubles after its honeymoon phase.

"The stove is not heating up even after a long time," she called Saravanan and made a complaint. "I will come to see you today itself, Grandma," he assured her.

That afternoon, Saravanan came to attend her problems with the stove. "Customer satisfaction is our motto, profit comes only next," he said. "Let me take the stove and ask our technical representative to have a look at it, Grandma. We will replace the product with a new one if you are not satisfied with our service".

"How long will it take for servicing it," she asked.

"If we could not get it ready by tomorrow, we will give you a new product," he replied.

When he was about to leave, he said: "Grandma, by the way, I heard that your purchase has got the first prize in the lucky draw this month!"

"Wonderful," she exclaimed.

"Now that you had won the first prize, would you please give me the remaining Rs.700?", he reminded her of a promise made earlier.

"Wait a minute," she said, went inside, took Rs. 700 from her purse and gave it to him. "When will I get the gift?", she asked him.

"Tomorrow, along with your own purchase," he replied and left.

After two days, Pankajam tried calling Saravanan at his mobile number for the umpteenth time. "The number you are calling is currently not reachable," is all she got as an answer to her calls.

Taken - a short story

Hari stopped his car a few feet away from the entrance, swung the door open, and walked to the gate. The gate was kept opened as if someone rushed out in a hurry and had no time to lock.

He entered the gate, walked cautiously to the patio. His mind alarmed him that something is wrong. The front door was ajar, and there is no sign of life inside. He pushed the door open and went inside.

The hall was a mess. The coffee table was turned upside down with its legs broken, cushions in chairs were shredded as if somebody was searching for some valuables inside. The TV was cut into small pieces. He imagined someone lifted the TV and forced it down with a thud.

The wall clock was misaligned from vertical, the glass broken. Hari found that the clock had stopped at 2:57, an hour ago from now. He cleared all the mess to make himself a path and rushed towards his bedroom. "Where is Meena?" his mind asked him.

"Meena," he cried while rushing towards the bedroom. His mind imagined everything it could imagine. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and went inside. Articles and books he had preserved on the racks were shattered and scattered on the floor. The king-size bed was intact, but the bedspread was pulled out from it as if someone had dragged the person sleeping on the bed along with the quilt.

"They have taken Meena!", the thought suddenly dawned on him. His mind scanned the entire area searching for a clue, a clue which will take him closer to where she was taken. A shred of evidence which will help him understand the motive of kidnappers. Was she taken for a ransom? Are they expecting a secret document from me?

He oversaw his steps, trying his best to avoid altering the scene. He was inching closer to bed, examining for a clue when he placed a foot on the silky smooth bedspread and slipped.

"Honey, what happened?"

Hari got up from the floor, supported his sprained hips with his hand, and asked her, "Are you alright? Where did they take you? Did they torture you for something?"

Meena got up from the bed, turned on the lights, and found Hari in a confused and alarmed state.  She reached for him, planted a kiss on his forehead, and said, "Don't watch too many movies hon."

The story of Kurma Avatar

The fluttering of waves causing undulations at the surface of an ocean is due to external disturbances; a combined action due to sun-moon's gravity and trade winds. These disturbances are not felt at a depth in the sea. Deep inside, much away from external factors that make our emotions flutter, lies eternal peace. Human life endeavors to reach the bottom in a sea of emotions, a level at which the fast-moving world slows down and moves at a snail's pace. But how to reach there?

For reaching the depths, we need a guru or an advisor. But then, how can we identify a guru?

A guru is the one who had been to the depth of the ocean before and had experienced oneness with eternal peace. He/She is the one who knows what eternal peace feels like. The guru knows how to hold their breath and plunge deep into the ocean, moving away from all external disturbances that cause flutters in their mind. Their ability to control their mind and be with eternal peace makes them a tall stature that which can be matched only with a mountain. 

Mountain is a symbol of infinite patience. The external factors such as rain, wind, and heat weathers the surface of a mountain, but the changes due to weathering in its shape and structure are infinitesimally smaller. Mountain does not scold the external factors to stay away from it. It stops turbulent wind and regulates its direction of flow through plains and passes. It cools down the moisture in the air giving birth to rain clouds. It provides space for a river to originate and allow the water to flow over its surface in a quest to find its destiny.

A mountain changes the direction of a fluttered mind and channelize our thoughts and help us to stay focused. They teach how to cool our emotions when they boil over. They allow our ideas to flow and guides us to reach the path of attaining eternal peace through experience. But the mountain does not say, "take this path." Instead, they allow the water to find its own path because a mountain knows that experience is a better teacher.

Now that we have learned to identify a guru, how can we learn to find the path towards an ocean? The experience of a mountain comes in handy. But it needs more than that for water to reach the depth of the sea.

The characteristic of a river is that it never flows straight from its origin to the end. We need to approach a guru with an open mind, a mind which is flexible like a serpent and accommodative of newer perspectives. With the help of a guru and a free spirit, one learns to identify good and evil with an unbiased mind. It's a big struggle initially, for when we question our actions with an impartial thought we will find how sick and venomous our activities in the past had been. But then, mistakes that happened when we were biased and ignorant are forgiven when we dedicate our actions to God. 

Think about it. When we realize the mistakes of being ignorant, learn to control our emotions that flutter at external disturbances and approach good and evil with an unbiased mind, have we not found our way to the depth of the ocean? The bottom where eternal peace resides? The extent where Kurma (turtle) resides? The wisdom where Lord Vishnu, the savior of our life, resides?

Image courtesy: Wikipedia.

How to sell a book?

"Narayana! Narayana!", sage Naradha chanted the name of Lord Vishnu when he entered sage Valmiki's hut. "How are you Valmiki, author of 'The Story of Ram'?", he asked.

"Good to see you sage Naradha," Valmiki welcomed Naradha into his Ashram. "To be honest, the book is not doing well! I'm worried about my royalty," Valmiki replied with a sad expression on his face.

"Alas! Several years ago, all the Devas, including Lord Indra, prayed to Lord Vishnu. They prayed to the supreme God to restore Dharma and bring in peace to the earthlings. That was the time I asked you to write a book on Lord Ram!"

"I remember that day very well sage Naradha! Back then, I was a bandit with no home or family to look after me. It was at that time that we met when you showed me an alternate way to live a life with dignity."

"True indeed!", replied Naradha. "Narayana! Narayana!", he chanted the name of Lord Vishnu again.

"With blessings from Lord Vishnu and you as my beacon, I went to Ayodhya and other places where Lord Ram had been to, interviewed a lot of people and wrote my first book. I even chose the title of my book as "The Story of Ram."

"Narayana! Narayana! I heard that the book had captured the life and messages of Lord Ram very well?"

"True, sage Naradha. The book had come out very well. I submitted a draft version to the publishers, and they felt pleased!"

"Then what is your problem sage Valmiki? What is the reason behind the sadness on your face?"

"The publisher sent me a pigeon yesterday with a message saying there is a steady decline in the demand for my book. They added that they have no choice but to stop the production until there is a demand enough to at least recover the production cost."

"Narayana! Narayana!", sage Naradha exclaimed in surprise!

Naradha walked out of sage Valmiki's hut, became oneness with nature and contemplated, "What is wrong with the people of Ayodhya? What made them decide that they no longer want to read or hear stories about the great hero who is the architect of Ayodhya and established Ram Rajya!".

"Narayana! Narayana!", sage Narayana chanted the name of Lord Vishnu as he entered into sage Valmiki's hut again. "I found a solution," he said, lighting up sage Valmiki's face with a smile for the first time.

"Sage Naradha, you are my savior! You first changed my life from a bandit to a writer, and now you have a solution to my problem in selling the book! I have no words to express my respect and gratitude towards you."

"Narayana! Narayana! Let all credits go to Lord Vishnu, the protector of all life", both sage Naradha and sage Valmiki meditated on Lord Vishnu for a minute.

"What should I do now, sage Naradha? I am waiting for your command,", sage Valmiki asked Naradha.

"To become a successful author, writing a good book alone is not enough! You should have a marketing strategy to popularise your book."

"I cannot see your point sage Naradha! Can you explain the marketing strategy further?"

"It's simple Valmiki! Introduce some controversial chapters at the end of your book, which will take care of popularizing it!"

"I see your point now, sage Naradha! The controversial chapters will make people talk about my book, and soon words will spread about it!"

"You got it! But there is a difficulty, which I will leave it up to you to face it", sage Naradha said with a meaningful smile on his face.

"I can see the difficulty myself, sage Naradha! People had accepted Lord Ram as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the true savior of every life on mother Earth. The controversial chapters may not appeal to the people, and so they may collectively decide to discard my book!"

"Shrewd!"

"I know how to deal with that problem sage Naradha! I will introduce a controversy in Ram Rajya by telling people that Lord Ram had accepted Goddess Sita after she spent a year with the evil Lord Ravanan."

"But sage Valmiki, did not Lord Ram asked Sita to prove her chastity by invoking Agni Pariksha?"

"Sure, he did. But Goddess Sita invoked the Agni Pariksha in Sri Lanka, which is far away from Ayodhya! I can use this point to separate Goddess Sita from Lord Ram."

"Narayana! Narayana! Sage Valmiki, I am afraid you are out of your mind!"

"I understand why you are saying so, sage Naradha. But with all due respect to Lord Ram, believe me, Naradha! This controversial chapter will only intensify the love between Lord Ram and Goddess Sita".

"How so, I wonder," said sage Naradha.

"Goddess Sita is pregnant now. The separation will allow Lord Ram to focus on administrating his country while Sita Devi will be looked after by Shri Hanuman and myself at my Ashram".

After contemplating on Valmiki's idea for a while, Naradha said: "But I still do not think that is enough to popularise your book."

"True Naradha! That's where the final chapter comes in."

"Please tell me about the final chapter as well sage Valmiki," said Naradha

"I will raise Goddess Sita's children and educate them with all that I had learned so far. When the time comes, I will teach them "The Story of Ram," and will ask them to sing and popularise it to the people of Ayodhya and other countries as well."

"Very shrewd! The controversial chapters will become more authentic because it would be sung and popularised by Lord Ram's children themselves! That's a clever strategy, Valmiki! My best wishes to you for becoming a successful writer."

"Please accept all my respects for you," sage Valmiki prostrated before sage Naradha and sought his blessings.

"I bless you that "The Story of Ram" will become a triumphant epic. Generations to come will sing and praise Lord Ram's life and his messages and may you live even after your life through your book", blessing sage Valmiki thus, sage Naradha chanted "Narayana! Narayana!" and let sage Valmiki finish the final chapters, the life of Ram after Ramayan.

Sow shall you reap!

The M70 bus that would take me from Velachery to CMBT arrived at the IIT bus stop after what looked like an eternity. Along with a small crowd, I boarded the bus, found a space where only my leg could go through and tried to apply my knowledge of Physics to balance myself in a dynamic equilibrium.

In a crowded bus, such as the one I was traveling in, the passengers would automatically form a human chain, pass the money and collect their tickets. When I was about to pass the money to the nearest passenger, a hand pushed me yelling "Don't fall on me, move!".

The push toppled me for a moment, knocked off the balance of a few passengers nearby while I was trying to regain mine. From the crowd, I observed that the voice came from a person who was seated. Before I could reply to him, I heard an angry voice shouting "Don't you know how to hold on to a support? Why are you pushing everyone around?", apparently oblivious to the person who started the chaos. I apologized (to no one in particular) to bring the situation under control, passed the money to the human chain and collected my ticket.

The bus would have moved only a few feet when the driver pulled it off the road! After a brief discussion with the driver, the conductor turned towards us and said "The bus broke down. All of you get down and board another bus".

Cursing under our breaths, we got off the bus, waited for ten minutes before the conductor flagged a D70 and authorized our tickets with his signatures for us to travel on that bus. D70 was not as crowded, and there were several empty seats, one of which I occupied. The D70 driver waited till the bus reached its saturation level, and pressed the pedal to the floor.

A cool breeze flowed through the window, caressed my face and dissipated into the crowd which was packed to its maximum. When the driver applied the brake to avoid a pothole, which eventually he ran through, a passenger toppled and stamped on my feet. I was about to yell "Don't fall on me, move!" when he apologized "Sorry Sir! I lost my balance!", to no one in particular.

Nithya

Nithya closed the book she was reading, kept it on her table, put her reading glasses inside their box, and moved to her bed when she got the text "Hi dear! How are you?".

The text came from an unknown number. "Could this be my longtime friend whom I lost touch with? Must be one of my school friends! It has been so long!"

"I am fine! What took you so long, my dear, to know that a friend exists in this remote space and has been waiting for long to get in touch with you?", she replied.

"I am sorry! You must have mistaken me. I am Ajay, and I am not the friend you were expecting to get in touch with."

She read the last reply twice to make head or tail out of it. He is undoubtedly not her friend, for his number is not in her contact list. So what does he want from me? When her thoughts reached a dead end, she asked him, "Who are you?"

"I am Ajay. Am working for a construction company as a design engineer. And I am currently located in Singapore." After a few minutes pause, she got another text saying, "Can I know about you?"

"I don't remember if I know you! How did you get my cell phone number?" she asked him.

"One of my friends gave me your number and asked me to talk to you. Is it okay if I call you now?" he asked.

"Who could he be? Why does he want to talk to me? And who was this friend who gave my number to him? Does his friend know me?" Before asking any of these questions, her cell phone alerted her of an incoming call from an unknown number. After letting it ring half a dozen times, she took the call.

"Hi! Who is this?" was all she could manage to ask him.

"Hello again! This is Ajay! May I know your name, please?" replied the voice.

"You don't even know my name! What do you want to talk to me about?"

After a momentary pause, he replied, "I know I am not your friend. But can't I become one now?"

After much contemplation, she said, "Nithya."

"Sweet name! By the way, I am 26. May I know how old you are?"

Age? What next? Size? Well, it sounds fun. Let me see how far he can get.

"23"

"23? Strange coincidence! I guessed you would be 23!"

"Oh, really? How come?"

"From your voice. It sounds like a 23-year-old."

She giggled for a while. "What else can you guess from my voice?"

"I guess you don't have a boyfriend?"

"What makes you think so?"

"Its a hunch. By the way, do you have a boyfriend?"

Do I have a boyfriend? What should I tell him? That I had one who passed away recently?

"Let's agree to a condition that I will not ask about your past, and you will respect the same?" she said.

After much thought, he replied, "Sure." She figured out that his "Sure" sounded like "What the hell."

"Well, we haven't seen each other. We do not know anything about our likes and dislikes, dreams and passions and so on. I know its too early and premature to ask this question. But I have a feeling that we are meant for each other. Do you feel the same way about me too?" he asked.

Is he proposing to me? Not so early! We don't even know what the other one looks like! When she was about to reply, she heard the doorknob click, and the door open, through it a girl in her early twenties entered.

"Grandma! Aren't you sleeping yet? Whom are you talking to, at this hour?"

One Enemy

The king was pacing up and down in his private chamber when the minister came in.

"Your Highness! I disagree with your idea of forging an alliance with the company men", the minister said.

Ours is the best army in the world. We have several lakh skillful infantry who can fight with swords and spears. 

Our cavalry is the best in the world. We have thousands of cavalrymen, each of them an expert at wielding swords when the horses' race at lightning speed. Some of them can also shoot arrows, or throw spears with precision and accuracy that are second to none! 

"We have enough of the army to protect our boundary from all the sides," the minister's voice beamed with pride for his command and their collective abilities.

"My friend, thank you for updating me on the strength of our army. I am sure we can win all the battles, should we need to face a threat in the future. But then, let's have a great vision, my friend. You will then appreciate that I made my decision in the great interest of our kingdom,", the king replied.

Portuguese are marching towards us from the south-west, while French recently captured Pondicherry. We have a constant threat from Mughals in the north. Though the company men (East India Company, or the British) are not interested in politics, they spread all over. 

I do bet that we have the best army in the world, but should we always have to live with a constant fear of battles?

The question, my friend, is who our enemies are? The entire Bharat has been divided into several kingdoms; each of the rulers is fighting for his own power. While we are busy fighting against each other, the foreigners are coming in large numbers, enslaving us, and forcing us to trade with them.

"I am sure, with our army, we can win the battle for our kingdom. But, what we need is to think of winning the battle for all the kingdoms of Bharat", the king said in a reverberating voice. The minister absorbed the king's message and asked, "What do you see in Robert Clive? Of all the company men, why him?"

The king was happy that his minister understood his point of view. With a smile on his face, he replied, "While the other company men are trying to get our trade rights with them, it is only Clive who appears to have a vision of uniting the whole kingdom under one rule. Giving away the Cuddalore fort to him will help him achieve that goal"

"But what do we get in return, your highness?", the minister asked.

"One enemy! Clive has the potential to lead an army and fight with other foreigners."

"But, the United Bharat will come under foreign rule. How can we let that happen my lord", the minister asked the king.

"True my friend! We cannot do anything about this. For centuries, we have had a lot of infighting and some of our own rulers are responsible for letting the foreigners come in and involve them in our politics. If we unite our nation under one foreign rule, we can identify that one enemy, who is common to all.

"But the one nation will be the most divisive one, my lord. Am afraid we may fall into a deep pit from which we can never come out again", the minister said in a grieved tone.

"I wish a Mahatma be born who will have the charisma to unite the whole nation and fight against the common enemy. But for now, we need to do this as our duty, irrespective of whether a Mahatma will be born or not", the king said.

"This is how Robert Clive captured the Cuddalore fort, and the rest is history," I finished telling the story to Deepak.

"Those who want to get down at Jipmer or Ashram, please come forward," the conductor was calling out to the passengers. "Should we get down here?" Deepak asked me.

"Let us get down at the Pondicherry bus stand, and roam around the city for a while before we take the connecting bus," I replied.

"I thought the same too," Deepak said. "Let us say "hi" to the French before we go to see the British."