on top of the World and beyond the Clouds …

Crack! The shell broke and out emerged a gross yet adorable lil’ birdie. She looked tired, she looked scared. She glanced around herself with her large, black, beady eyes. There seemed to be nobody around. She let out a faint shout with all the strength she could muster…seconds after which, a large “thing” came zooming in…large yet gentle, it was her mother!

Her mother cooed in her ear, stroking her with her wing; looking at her with wonder-filled eyes all the while. The Sun shone bright on their home and instinctively she covered her child’s eye from the strong rays…there was quite some time until her kid could see the big world yet. Tired that she was; lil’ birdie soon slipped into sweet sleep in her mother’s warmth. Loud chirps that sounded similar to hers woke her up from the depths of sleep she had slipped into. Oh, what was cacophony amidst all the calm there was? Lil’ birdie opened her eyes unwillingly and there they were…her sister and two brothers! And they were scared, each one probably more intimidated on hearing the other scream. It took their mother a lot of patience in coaxing them; and there was silence yet again! Our lil’ birdie now had her first favored thing – calmness; and not very long after, the setting Sun with all the hues splattered over joined the list too!

A few hours down the line, the siblings got along very well with each other; all day long, each day they played with each other, with regular “meals” that their mother fed them. Our lil’ birdie grew curious day by day – she wanted to see what was beyond the huge wall that stretched all around them. She tried to take a jump and take a peek - - just, the jump wasn’t big enough. Yet another jump and she almost reached the tip of the wall! Heart thumping excitedly, she jumped again, giving it all she could. A fleeting glance though it was, it was just breath-taking!! The blue sky splattered with hues of the orange setting Sun; and the blooming trees only seemed to add to the colors! Tired from all the jumping, she soon slept.

Meanwhile her mother, watching all of this from a distance smiled to herself…she had sensed it from the very beginning that her first lil’ birdie was different, that she would fly heights! At dawn the following morning, the mother had a great idea; she just couldn’t wait until lil’ birdie woke up. Everything was planned. Once all her kids had had their fill, a time span that seemed like ages, the mother gently pushed her lil’ birdie towards the end of their home. Once she faced the wall, lil’ birdie gasped! There was a raised step at the wall…she could easily walk outside their home! She looked back at her mother inquisitively; her mother gave her a kind smile which made her heart skip a beat yet again. She looked back, all her siblings were en route their siesta. Soon enough, our lil’ birdie was out of the nest, out in the open! The first glance made her dizzy…she just shook her head, refusing to give up. Her mother, pleased with the fiery determination she saw on her child’s face, took off from the branch, giving her an encouraging, assuring glance at the same time. Lil’ birdie raised a leg…immediately withdrew her leg. She heard an encouraging coo from her mother. This time, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and jumped off the branch. She could feel the wind gushing in her ears. She flapped her wings frantically and hard; eyes shut tight. Gradually, the sound of the wind reduced and it was now sweet symphony! She opened her eyes…and lo and behold! She was in mid air; her mother beside her, smiling all the way. The mother left her lil’ birdie to her own solitary pleasure as she soared over the trees, trying to reach the clouds…until her tired self gave in to the speeds of the wind, until the next time!



PS : inspired from “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”
dedicated to Dominic Sir

…after which there was Sunshine, Daisies and everything in between!

She gurgled a baby chuckle; he looked at her, pride brimming in his eyes. There she was, all tiny and beautiful. She was his princess; his kingdom now had a new born – Princess Cynthia!

Bringing up Cynthia was what the king would term as one of the most pleasurable tasks ever! And it wasn’t quite early that Cynthia emerged to be a reasonable and just princess. Confined in a palace all the time rendered her lonely at times. Horse riding lessons were something she cherished and looked forward to having each time. It was when she felt one with nature, galloping amidst the brooks, across the woods, through the sprawling green grass on her favorite horse, Anemos! Anemos was all graceful swift and white, while he rambled on, while the wind blew through Cynthia’s hair.

A usual routine, they stopped by the crowded market. She just loved the place…besides the entire crowd and the noise; she saw love among her subjects. Standing there, Cynthia felt like a yellow cloth of silk billowing in the breeze. Yet, there was something that made her feel good about the place, and she watched on. Anemos broke her out of her reverie as he turned around and the wind blew into her face again. It was time for the next routine, and they rambled away to good ol’ grandma. There was something about that ramshackle house grandma stayed in, which imbibed a sense of belonging…and all of it felt fresh out of a fable she had read. Ol’ Grandma stayed with her young grandson - an epitome of gentlemanly behavior. There were a million times that she had had to shake herself out of usual reverie, whilst watching him work in such perfect harmony with his wife and ol’ grandma; times when everything seemed so much easier to Cynthia. For a moment she was so close...and now, back in the real World, she was far away again!

It was now time for the customary soup, and his wife served it to her. Each time, each time she drank the soup, she could feel the presence of love in the bow of soup; oh it was so perfect, the perfect blend of everything nice, all in a bowl of utmost care! The lamps lit, they sat round the old table and drank the soup amidst merriment and laughter. The clock struck for the next hour, as though to remind the royal blood in her of her duties and responsibilities as a princess…and it was time to leave again!

Where has all the Wisdom gone?

Some say it’s horizontal,

Some say it’s inclined

Makes you wonder

Oh, am I divined?

Pretends to being aural

It’s nothing short of a battle

The more you whined

Came the babbles of the opined!

Reminiscing college days bring back a few memories, a few hardships that were the “talk of the days”. One such thing I can recollect is the heavily hyped wisdom teeth issue! While some spoke of being the wisest for having grown all 4 (of course, them getting them operated and removed the very next day is a completely different story altogether!); some others were happy being called un-wise and speaking boldly of having none.

What’s it about these teeth anyway is something I’ve never really caught on. While they are a big pain in the gums (literally) while they make way to see the mouth’s upper cavity; a bigger pain when discovered that their roots aren’t normal; and reach the pinnacle of pains when they have to be removed (not mentioning the huge numbers dentists like writing in slips they like to call bills); there’s nothing right about them being called “wisdom” teeth…So, why not think about names they can be called by?

· The not-so-wise teeth (but obvious)

· Pain teeth (duhh!)

· Teeth which pinches the pockets (what was I thinking??)

· Accommodating teeth (come’ on, they grow in such small gaps!)

· Dentist’s jackpot (those bills are surely as good as a lottery!)

· Owners’ false pride (the deformed faces after surgery says it all!)

· Non owners’ true pride (right, you knew this was coming!)

· The unwelcome teeth (ok, can’t you see I’m running out of ideas!)

All right, that’s that. Just in case there was a blurry feeling you’ve had, I’m sure you’ve had wisdom teeth; so, read this carefully and recall…But remember, call it anything you like; just don’t call them wisdom teeth!

Be it “Gracias, Merci, Danke, Arigato, Xie xie or Dhanyawaadagalu”, all I want to say is Thank you!

An end to 4 preset years, a degree at hand. Looking back, 4 years seems to have literally flown past… the same 4 years that was many a time chided at being torturous! Anyway, all farewells done, exams done and all, I somehow feel the need to express a few “thank you’s”; the ones that really helped make the path seem easier. “I thank my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, my sir-who has inspired me all the way, my pet dog-for listening to me at all times, my friends-for listening to me when my dog wasn’t around”…I assure you, all that cliché isn’t what you’ll be reading!

• The first thing that comes to mind was the ravenous feeling that existed, and the classes we had to face during those hours. It is but natural that I first have to thank all my teachers for either not noticing or overlooking (I believe it was always the latter) while we students hog on during their classes. We had variety too, from aromatic dishes that mothers so painstakingly prepare during those wee hours of the morning, to chocolates to chips to juices…everything made its presence felt!To add to nerves were the sounds the chocolate wrappers made or the clanging sound of the lids falling…Of course, all of it was always overseen!

• Guts to glory – Call it fortune or misfortune; no course ends without having to go through numerous exams, tests and what not! Here I find it apt to thank ourselves, in believing that we can prepare, and in fact perform decent even when we begin preparing the night before the exam. And with some of the subjects, even in believing that the tests could be tackled by “guessing” the answers!

• Come exams, there’s a lot of studying or reading or mugging, etc happening. For those times when there were roughly 2 hours for us to get acquainted with the syllabus for the very first time; I would like to thank those corridors, those stairs, and even the lawns for the comfort at those troubled times; for being the only places we could have group studying sessions, where the topics are just discussed on high octaves with occasional laughter too!

• And yeah! Early morning classes never gave us time to gaze at the mirrors…the best alternative to them? The notice boards! With crystal clear plain glass; the passing glances were enough to set the untidy hair, or the smudge on the face, etc. Special thanks to those for being placed all along the way. Even while not in a hurry, one could comfortably look at themselves while pretending to read the notices on the board!

• Any professional course will have numerous seminars. While some are good and interactive, the others are downright boring! Thanks to the variable-intensity lights in the seminar hall, we could either hear the lectures or just pretend to hear them, and doze away to glory or even keep observing the ones who have and laugh about it later. Though the weather never got very hot, the air-conditioning supported the very cause and reason for sleep always!

• Lastly, I would like to extend my thanks to the photo-copy shops in the vicinity of my college. They are leading such comfortable lives thanks to numerous students getting notes, books and whatnot photocopied! Wait a minute; aren’t they supposed to be thanking us?

You know it’s reliable when it’s tried, tested and approved!

Ok, so how many of us have to weasel our way through the most annoying thing that they call “Traffic”? With road rage being so rampant, and blood pressure levels venturing beyond the 80-120 mark, it is time some super-thinkers took the matter to hand.

One sure-shot method is to look away…away from the literally unmoving bus in front of you; or away from the always-red-signal! And trust me, it sure works! Hell, it works wonders!!

So, where exactly do we look? Remember, the ride isn’t still over! (that’s right, I’m assuming a two wheeler ride). Well, the answer is simple! Look at other people who are in the same situation you are in. And oh Boy! You’ll notice there are so many kinds of people than you ever thought of…all waiting at the same place, for the darned vehicles to move! Anyway, here are some that I’ve noticed, and I claim, if people relate it to themselves, I’m not responsible in any way… I just happen to be a good observer!

• The “I steal glances” type

With their spouse seated behind, and uncomfortable glances at the ‘cute-person-driving-the-car’, these people top the list any day! Yeah, wearing those glasses within the helmet doesn’t seem to help any further, it is evident that they aren’t seeing the signal lights. An occasional yawn and those stretches don’t help hide the gesture either! Even worse, them trying to come up with something to speak to the pillion, and stare at the car in pretext of turning back!

• The “$%^&#@” kind

The most hated. They prove the phrase “tranquil before a storm” right! So calm, so peaceful they seem, yet, just a tiny little mistake from others can trigger their wrath, and snap! they go at it. All the swear words you can think of - they know it, they use it! Had they used their time in developing a productive vocabulary, they’d have scaled heights in literature, or we’d have had better RJs than we have!

• The “I just love my smile” kind

‘Nothing’ sets them smiling, and nothing can seem to stop them from smiling too! No matter if the weather’s too hot, the truck just deposited a layer of soot on their “white” clothes, the sound of the vehicles horn is incessant, or even if the traffic jam has made sure they get late to work, the smile is simply stuck on their face! Three cheers to their optimism!

• The “yes, I frown” kind

Remember, as a kid, we were told of stories of the ‘angel’ having an ‘evil twin’? Well, this is somewhat similar. While the previous category people smile, these have a frown stuck on their face…Yeah, even when they aren’t angry with anybody! Can’t really blame them, they must be drowned in thoughts so deep. I wonder what they do when they have to get their pictures taken…

• The “I rule the road” kind

A pretty good picture of the “King of the Road”, sung by Roger Miller. Except, they aren’t really the nomads they portray to be, with hair longer than their wife’s, tattoos all over, piercings, and all other painful stuff imaginable! Cruising along on their bikes, there’s sure enough hot air around them to fill a balloon! All they seem to know is to honk; and when they do honk, they are expected to get the way. Of course, their look aides this very purpose very well!

P.S: More categories might follow. As I see it, this can be a topic of constant research!!!