I, Me and... All the Crazy Things That I Do! ^_^

New World

2009-06-24T13:47:00.001+05:30

Well, I'm discarding this blog. The new one is http://shama4friends.blogspot.com See you there!:)

Unbelievable! O_O

2009-05-17T13:17:00.003+05:30

CPIM lost... first time in 32 years... to Trinamool Congress... that also by a large margin! And Congress got re-elected with Mr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister again (I told you Rahul Gandhi is really good... see how much his campaign helped his party? He did a great job) Well, not to pass judgement or anything... we should just wait and watch what happens next. As the people of India have spoken- Perform or Perish...
So, one question to the people who say that "We can't change anything by voting"-
अब बताओ बच्चू... Boss कौन? :)

Apologies...^_^

2009-05-08T19:52:00.003+05:30

Sorry folks... I have got my stupid, silly, unreasonable, unwanted exams coming... So, I won't be posting things I guess... Sheesh! Hate not sketching yaar... x-(

Isn't This Weird? O_O

2009-04-29T17:06:00.002+05:30

Sent to me by one of my friends... Trees... and ballet????? O_o

New MP3 Player

2009-04-27T12:36:00.002+05:30

My "birthday present" from my parents... Yeah, Philips SA2825 2GB MP3 player and this thing is belated, so don't ask me why am I blogging about it now. यार, एक हफ्ता हुआ है मुझे इस चीज़ के साथ बिताए, पर I haven't got any real pleasure (now, now...guys, don't take this in a different sense). I mean, yeah, okay... I have always wanted a MP3 player... of 2 GB capacity... with FM... black... cute... sweet... and loaded with my favourite songs. But somehow, I'm not that happy as I expected to be. One of the main reasons, I think, is that शायद मुझे इसकी सच में ज़रुरत नहीं थी. I always wanted to have the songs I like within reach so that I don't have to switch on my comp every time but I can't term it as a real need or reason to spend 2650 bucks. And another reason is, this device is a sure shot way to drift away from friends (any of you folks want to break up with your girl or guy, try this... hehe!). कुछ दिन पहले तक बस मोनालिसा और सोलांकी के पास phone पर music player था. मेरे पास नहीं था. ऐसी कोई ख़ास problem नहीं थी... गाना सुनना होता था तो उन्ही दोनों से सुन लेती थी. पर अब तो झमेला ये है कि अधिकतर समय हम तीनो कान में earphone डाल लेते हैं और आपस में बात नहीं करते! I got so pissed when I noticed this, that the next day, I intentionally left my player at home even though we had free period. हद है! So, now I have decided- unless I am going to Spanish classes (when I have to sit in the bus for a long time doing nothing) or I'm doing lab work (I don't need to concentrate to do that...^_^) I won't carry my player in my bag... मेरे को सत्य का ज्ञान हो गया है! Next time I buy a gadget, I'll ask myself- DO I REALLY NEED IT?
Adios...

Flora... (I just hope this name suits her!)

2009-04-27T11:59:00.002+05:30

He's So Cute...Gawd!

2009-04-25T19:51:00.004+05:30

[Hey, whatever I'm writing below is what I feel. I may not know a lot of things about the Government and stuff, so feel free to tell me where I'm going wrong...right?]
Yeah...real cute. That was my reaction when I saw the newspaper this morning. Gosh... and white really does suit him.:) And he resembles his dad but is better looking, no doubt on that. But most importantly, he's young and promising. Yeah, you got it folks! It's RAHUL GANDHI. No, let's get serious...it's not just his looks. We certainly need young leaders in our country. A few days back, it was Sachin Pilot who had all my attention, 'cause at that time Young Gandhi was somewhere in the background. See, I'm not much into politics and stuff, but recently two things have forced me to pay attention to this matter called Our Government. One, Jaago Re (Shubha asked me to check the website...it's serious stuff) and two, Lead India (courtesy, The Times of India- my favourite newspaper). Basically, it's these questions (with huge question marks) that they are asking the youth today, the most eye-grabbing questions being- "Why does the world's youngest democracy has the oldest government?" or "Isn't there a retirement age for politicians?" etc. It's kinda easy to say "To hell with it!" and not to give a damn, to ask, "What has that got to do with us?" and go on without a thought to spare for this, but I ask you, "Isn't it going to come back to us in the end?" It is... If you don't know, the latest crap I got to hear from one of the leading parties was something about them putting a stop to English Medium education in the country if they come to power (like I said in my post "The Hate Brigade"...all in the name of what they term as culture). Funny thing is, the prominent party leaders themselves have their kids enrolled in some well-known english-medium schools...:D But my question is- Should we let them do this? Should we let weird, insensible people like these to run our government? Shouldn't we put our efforts into creating a government which knows what is more important- stopping youngsters going into malls or stopping terrorists from sneaking into our country? CAN'T WE DO ANYTHING AT ALL? I'm not much good at motivating people, so I won't say too much...I will let you think about it (while I wait to get my voter ID card...as soon as possible). Hope you get an answer soon. Adios! :)

Weirdo...:D

2009-04-18T21:40:00.001+05:30

Just go through what Solanki Halder (मेरी प्यारी classmate) has written in her blog...scenes in our class! Yeah, well, all that does happen...we are all crazy people doing crazy stuff...:D To hell with our पागलपन hehehe... By the way, I'm not posting anything 'cause I'm really busy. Guess...yeah, right. Goddamned second internal exams. If I could just fry either these WBUT people or the "supposedly" cute puppies living on our college campus (adored by Sola, Mona and ESPECIALLY Shubha)... UFF! One of these freaky days...

Thank You...

2009-04-01T19:04:00.010+05:30

Well...yesterday was my birthday. :) Yeah, okay, I was feeling all special and happy. अरे, साल में एक ही बार तो आता है, ना? And yeah, I had to stay up for the messages and calls at 12... First of all, Asmi called. That also on my landline! Reason? Airtel से मेरे phone पे कोई call लगता ही नहीं है! I don't know why though...some दुश्मनी they have among themselves... whatever. Somebody forgot as I expected. Then messages came(...though the Airtel ones didn't get delivered). आज कल लोग treat के लिए क्या क्या नहीं करते... I went to college, entered the classroom and almost a dozen people wished me "Happy Birthday"! O_o That was something. Then, without me knowing, Monalisa, Solanki and Shubha brought a cake for me! (And no, they didn't do it for a treat... "Mind it") Then a lot of stuff happened... we didn't have a knife so i had to cut the cake with my scale which I later discarded though I had thought of keeping it for memories' sake... there were no candles so these people stuck two ice-cream sticks in the cake (as if I'm a 2 year old kid)... Sola grabbed my arms and Shubha applied lip-gloss on my lips saying "You need to look good today, come-on!"... lot of pics, a weird video taken by Mona and them finishing the ceremony by taking dollops of multi-coloured cream from the cake and sticking it on my nose to make me look like a clown! :D Sola and Mona have just recovered from chicken pox so they said "No" to a treat. Though the guys in my class were continuously bugging me for that... today also they went on for the entire first half. So, at lunch time, I managed to get out of college and get a 2 litre bottle of Sprite (as Kaushik had said "हम काला पानी नहीं पिएगा") and a packet of chips and banged it in front of them when they were having lunch. Then another नौटंकी started. "तुम्हारा birthday है...तुम भी साथ में पियो वरना ले जाओ...हमें नहीं चाहिए..." No matter how much I protested it didn't make a difference to them. So in the end (after Amitesh and Kaushik decided to pour the entire bottle on my head with me climbing on the bench and jumping down on the other side trying hard to escape...though I couldn't, as five of them were surrounding me and Mona and Sola were laughing their heads off) I did take 1 sip (termed as "Formality") and fled from the spot. But still... whatever happened, it was a lot of fun and to tell you people the truth, I loved every moment of it. I don't remember the last time I celebrated my birthday with my friends by cutting a cake. I'll remember this... and I'll miss college. :)

I Have Got Nothing To Say... x-(

2009-03-30T14:56:00.002+05:30

Nowadays I don't even feel like reading the newspaper. It's just too much... a father raping his own daughter??? A FATHER?!!! मुझे बस यह समझ नहीं आ रहा की इंसान किस हद तक गिर चुके हैं... इंसान कहलाने के लायक ही नहीं रहे हम। Screw this goddamned world... x-(

Hope, Fear and Courage...:)

2009-03-20T16:37:00.002+05:30

Well...to tell you the truth, I'm sick. I have a really bad cold and didn't feel like studying and suddenly thought of sketching this.:P बहुत अच्छा तो नहीं बना है पर मेरे ख्याल से चलेगा. Didn't have a very good grip on my pencil.:( Will try to put up a better one next time...:) See ya!

Devotion...I guess that's what this one's about!:)

2009-03-09T15:35:00.002+05:30

The Hate Brigade

2009-02-16T09:44:00.002+05:30

I have been following the newspapers very closely for the last one week after THE Mangalore incident. The reason? Yeah, right. The war between the moral police and urban India over Valentine’s Day. I checked the sidelines, the editorials, letters of readers, etc etc etc of two different newspapers and came to the following conclusions-
1. Shri Ram Sene activists (and other sentimental groups) are both wrong and right- Why wrong? There are many reasons due to which Gen Y is infuriated, me included. One, they are imposing their personal opinion on us. Two, they are beating people up in the name of culture. Three, they are saying they are doing all this to protect women still they are threatening them only against celebrating Valentine’s day. Four, holding hands is affectionate, not obscene (this is for Mr. Gehlot). Other reasons are not coming to my mind right now. And why right? They are right when they say there are enough days in our own culture to celebrate love, why go for Valentine’s day which is- definitely- an imported one.
2. Renuka Choudhary (I hope I’ve got her name right, she’s a minister after all) too is wrong as well as right- Why right? Obviously she’s against the assault on women and everyone in their right senses should be, since nobody said beating up women is a part of our culture just ‘cause they were drinking. Come on, men also drink. Acceptability and tolerance are actually good, if it’s not too much to ask for. Why wrong? Because of the Pub Bharo movement. She, under any circumstances, shouldn’t encourage drinking. Let’s face it- drinking, smoking and drugs, they do more harm than good (in fact, smoking doesn’t do any good at all, unless you want to do away with your lungs).
3. The Consortium of Pubgoing, Loose and Forward Women (they started The Pink Chaddi movement)- Right for protesting against Shri Ram Sena. People, who are living in this country, they should always speak up for themselves and fight for living life on their own terms, unless they have committed a crime. Personally, I don’t wear spaghetti-tops, skin-tight jeans, I don’t drink, smoke or go to pubs (I am not old enough to do these *chuckles* but given a chance, I don’t think I will…it’s a question of comfort and any sort of addiction is bad) but I don’t think if anybody indulges in all these they should be beaten up. That is plain stupid. Just let them be. None of your business who does what. But, it would have been better if the mode of protest was different instead of sending chaddis. That might have got more supporters. Some people are already calling this obscene and indecent (not me…I was thinking of joining this group at first! As long as it works on fringe-groups, anything will get a thumbs-up from me).
4. Couples indulging in PDA- Holding hands is, as I said, not obscene, it’s affectionate. I don’t think people should mind much, not nowadays, when society is becoming a bit lenient. It might just bring a smile to your lips and a memory to your mind. I have seen guys holding hands, nobody says anything. But whenever it’s a couple, that becomes a talking point. Marriage seems to be the ticket to everything. If a man abuses his wife physically that can be passed off as a small household tiff, but if a guy holds his girlfriend’s hand in public that is oh-so-un-Indian. But, but, but… keep hugging, kissing etc confined to private spaces (or if you are too eager, try a movie hall…hehe!). Our society is not that liberal and most people find the all-over-each-other-in-public situation really awkward. These acts are bound to raise eyebrows and too much of sugar might make you sick!;)
5. Some people are so dumb, I didn’t realize. Some principle of a school reportedly said about sex-education in schools, “Why do you need nude pictures of boys and girls in class? Just teach the boys that they have to be brahmachaari till the age of twenty-five. Just tell the student AIDS is contracted from syringes and blood transfusion.” Very educated, eh?
6. Moral police is neither moral nor police. Nobody appointed them to protect law and order in this country, they are all self appointed and are opposing rapid changes in this country which they think is against our tradition. And they are not exactly very moral. If they beat people up, blacken couples’ faces, burn cards, threaten women with dire consequences against their will in the name of protecting them, stop people from different communities from talking to each-other, harass normal people leading normal lives and do God-knows-what-else which don’t make it to the newspapers then I will rather call them immoral. All they are doing is causing trouble and creating a wall of hatred between different communities living together in harmony in the country.
7. Valentine’s day is just too commercialized. I don’t believe in celebrating this day, except saying “Happy Valentine’s Day” to my friends (after all I love my friends and family, this day is for everybody, not just lovey-dovey couples). Love is not just for one day in a year and it certainly doesn’t reside in ‘V-day Special’ cards and gifts. But if people want to celebrate, I’m happy.:) Celebrating something never hurts. Gives us a reason to smile, doesn’t it?
8. Khushwant Singh- He’s awesome. He made Valentine into velan-time which is an Indian tradition originally from Gujrat! The story had me smiling…even in this hate-each-other season. Yeah, it’s not the season of love. It’s hate all around. Self appointed upholders of Indian morals and values hate the Gen Y for aping the west. Gen Y, in turn, hates these people back, and then these people hate Gen Y even more. Love, you say?

Why am I writing all this? Even I don’t know. One of the reasons, as always, is bugging you.;) My cho-chweet hobby…hehe! All I would like to say is- be brave enough to accept the truth, be honest to yourself and…DON’T TAKE INJUSTICE LYING DOWN.

Had Fun...But Got Tired Too :)

2009-02-02T18:57:00.004+05:30

Hi ho hum… Kolkata Book Fair, huh? I just returned from that crazy place. Well, crazy ‘cause of the number of people who go there… I shouldn’t complain, given the number of people who live in this metro! Hehe… It was good. No, seriously, I mean it. At least for us- me, Solanki and Monalisa- it was good. We didn’t have much trouble since it’s a Monday and we arrived there at two in the afternoon (that’s when it starts). Pretty empty stalls and a map with each of us made it quite convenient (actually the map was VERY confusing…half the stall numbers were not legible). What did we see…umm…lot of books, lot of policemen, lot of food, lot of dust (it clogged my respiratory tract…I’m still coughing), lot of couples (for heaven’s sake it’s not the LAKE) and the American president (nah…that was Obama’s cardboard cut-out). When we got to the food park it looked like more people came there to eat than to buy books. For the first time I saw Sola hogging without a care in the world. Mona का तो पता नहीं कब किस देवी का व्रत लगा रहता है. Today non-veg was a strict no-no for her. Me and Sola had some weird ‘butter-fry’ (sounds like Pokemon’s Butterfree, I know, but this one is made of fish) which made me feel sick later. And most importantly what did we buy? Sola bought the heaviest book- रवीन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर का उपन्यास समग्र (Bengali), Mona also went for a Bengali book, a pretty thin one, some story by सत्यजीत राय and me…I don’t want to look like a complete loser so I guess I won’t tell you guys the name of the book because the only reaction I’ll get is- YOU STILL HAVEN’T READ THAT??? I’ll just say one thing- I got a spiral drawing copy by Navneet. :) Hasta pronto…adios!

My Cho Chweet Room...:)

2009-01-29T18:45:00.008+05:30

Oooh... floor बहुत चमक रहा है, ना? Marble floor. I just love my room.:) And so do most of the people who come to our house!;)

The Comp...:)

2009-01-29T18:43:00.007+05:30

Hmm...our desktop. अब तो internet lappy पे है, तो ये बस गाना सुनने और drawing scan करने के काम आता है.

View From the Entrance...:)

2009-01-29T18:38:00.008+05:30

Thank Gawd, कम से कम फोटो लेते टाइम मेरा रूम थोड़ा बहुत साफ़-सुथरा है! That is the balcony, but I don't usually go there. By the time I get home in the evening that place is full of mosquitoes (speciality of Behala area)!

Calm and Quiet...:)

2009-01-29T18:31:00.008+05:30

मेरे रूम की खिड़की... Yeah, I know the view is not really impressive but देखा जाए तो कोलकाता में बहुत कम इलाके शांत हैं. My home happens to be one of the places.:) Peculiarity of the window in my room is you will always find the water bottle here only, on the window sill...hehe! I, me and my weird habits!:D

My Bookshelf...:)

2009-01-26T15:18:00.010+05:30

Ahh ... well, मेरे रूम में मेरी favourite चीज़ है मेरी bookshelf. Don't look at the top because that is something like बाबा आदम के ज़माने का item... I don't go for singing and drawing competitions anymore. Second shelf is important. That has a lot of stuff given by my friends, a few treasures of mine like old coins etc, a stack of A4 sheets (for lab work you see) and the 50 years calender so that I don't have to bother about getting a new one every year. Then the third shelf...a lot of books for time-pass- Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, some G.K. stuff etc etc. The last shelf has all the old books and copies. I rarely check this place since I don't bother about studies!:)

I Could See You Cry...

2009-01-23T15:29:00.001+05:30

The moment of parting,
Slowly it came,
We still held hands,
We both felt the same,
I saw your sad eyes,
They spoke of pain,
I felt it’s unfair,
Unbearable, insane…

You didn’t shed a tear,
And neither did I,
But I couldn’t let go,
I don’t know why,
You simply looked away,
At the evening sky,
I could feel it in your touch,
I could see you cry.

I felt so myself,
And I, too, looked away,
There was nothing I could do,
No words I could say,
There was that hesitation,
I was getting in the way,
I told myself,
I shouldn’t make you stay.

The next time, I thought,
It will be more-
Special, magical,
I felt happy to the core,
So, when the clock reached
Half past four,
I told you-
“Meet again, for sure.”

You sighed and said-
“Of course, I will.”
Our eyes met, at last,
The moment stood still,
Suffocating, intense,
The pain could kill,
I looked at you, the last time,
To my fill…

I couldn’t stand it,
Any more, any long,
Finally, I let go,
Turned and walked on,
I tried to be brave,
I tried to be strong,
But I cried, because-
You were away … too far, too long.

The Magic In My Life...

2009-01-22T16:30:00.002+05:30

Satyam: The Truth?

2009-01-08T15:50:00.002+05:30

Wednesday saw the collapse of Satyam Computers, what was known as the fourth largest IT company in India. Well, I don't know much of the details as I rarely watch the news (last night was different, my dad told me about it) neither am I concerned about the reasons of it's downfall...it won't be of any help to the general people to know what caused what and resulted in what...utter nonsense. That's important for those who are up and about investigating the matter. What I'm bothered about is something else. The reaction and mood of the people who will get affected due to this huge mess right at the start of 2009. The first thing I got to see in the morning (to remind you, I wake up at 9.45am) was Solanki's text message- "We don't have any hopes of getting employed...can't believe a company like Satyam did this...Pamela's (her neighbour) bro works in Satyam." I groaned. The last conversation with my best friend was still echoing in my ears (Sola's message made it worse). Of late, she's not getting what she wants in terms of GPA. First I didn't understand why is it so but now I think I know. She is hardworking, talented and one of the best students I have seen in my school life. Her problem? The current scenario. When I asked- "Have you given up?" the only thing I got is a "Yeah...kinda." Solanki...well, she is...what should I say, somebody who's almost always brimming with hope and energy and happiness (unless she has these "depression periods") but now even she is telling me looking for a job in this market is hopeless. Her problem? Yeah, again, the current scenario. So, my question is- What has that got to do with YOU? I know I might be labelled as an idiot if I ask people that, because directly or indirectly, it has everything to do with us. What I mean is the attitude. Fine, I know, the market is down, the darn recession is swallowing one nation after another, companies are crashing like card-castles etc etc. But nobody said that is THE END. There's nothing called "The End" (that only happens in movies). You are not going to help anybody by making a face and saying "Look around, it's no use trying now." Life always has a backup. You have to keep trying out new things, there's a lot of stuff out there in the world. Nobody said that private companies are the only thing in this world. Look at me, what am I doing? B. Tech, Computer Science from a little known college in Kolkata. If I describe my future- uncertain, unknown, bleak, hopeless and God-knows-what-else. What do I know? May be nothing to get me something good in my kitty, seeing that I'm not a really great student. But I will NEVER say, "I give up" without trying. So, you may ask whether I have some plan in my head about how to counter these bad times. I'll say yeah, I have. And my plan is? To go on upgrading myself continually and do whatever I'm good at. That might get me somewhere in the end. See, it never hurts to try, and even if I don't get anywhere, I would like to go on fighting for the things I want to achieve rather than sit and do nothing. Like some cute Japanese radio presenter said on Animax today- "Live your fantasy, make it a reality." And if this bugging lecture is not enough to get you people going then listen to ये पल by Aasma- "कर ले थोड़ा इंतज़ार...जाए ना तू फिसल, गुज़रेगा ये पल..."

Oohh La La...

2009-01-07T17:46:00.006+05:30

So here we are... Arre, I'm talking about the new look of my blog. नया साल, तो थोड़ा बदलना तो पड़ेगा, ना? I changed the look of my Orkut account as well and changed my profile piccys everywhere... Like it a lot in fact. Hope you readers like it too. और पसंद नहीं भी आया तो आपको परेशान करना तो मेरा कर्तव्य बनता है, ना? इस साल इतना पकाऊंगी, देख लेना... अरे अरे, डरते क्यों हैं? राष्ट्रभाषा हिन्दी में नहीं, I'll keep torturing you readers out there in English itself. Like I said, that...is my HOBBY (something like my friend Yo Mama) See ya, poor fellas! :)

The Water Monster 1

2009-01-02T16:05:00.001+05:30

I woke up with a jerk, beads of perspiration on my face. Taking a few deep breaths I sat up.
Just a dream, I thought nervously, looking out of the window. It was dark outside; night had fallen. Just a stupid dream...
I got off my bed and started getting dressed. I had to do something...

I was fifteen years old, I remember very clearly, and had gone out of the house after an argument with my elder brother, Jason. Who does he think he is, I thought angrily. Always telling me what to do... always criticizing me about everything... just because he is older than me doesn't mean---
I kicked a pebble lying on the road and sent it soaring into a neighbour's garden.
He's unfair to Maggie as well, I went on. Of course she wouldn't protest, because she is so scared of him. But he doesn't give a damn to what anyone feels. If he could have heard what I was thinking right now... "Pat! You shouldn't talk in that way! It's bad. If Mother comes to know... "
But Mother always comes to know. And I'm sure that Jason tells her everything... every single little mistake I and Maggie make. Usually she would scold us a bit, but as soon as Jason is out of earshot, Maggie would ask her tearfully, "Why does he have to be so hard on us?"
And Mother would smile and say, "He is your elder brother, Maggie... He wants you to be good."
"He is mean... very mean!" I once told her bitterly, unable to stop myself.
As soon as she heard this, she became very quiet. Then she said, “Tell me something, Patrick. Do you see your Father everyday?"
"No," I replied. "He is always away, working at the oil mill in some other village. He comes home only once or twice a month! How am I supposed to see him everyday?"
"You should understand this, Patrick," Mother said seriously. "There are a lot of responsibilities on Jason's shoulders... things which should have been taken care of by your Father. But he is out there earning money for the family, so that he can make life easier for us. So Jason takes care of family matters, he doesn't let your Father worry about it. All this might have made him a little harsh and impatient... but he loves you and Maggie. He wants you to tread the right path. That's why he doesn't want you to make mistakes! And he fears that if you go astray, he will have Father to answer to. He doesn't want to fail in his job."
It brought a trace of smile to my lips, as I thought about whatever Mother had told me that day. I looked around and saw a cow grazing on the green field a little way off. She was pushing her calf away with her horns, pretty harshly. All the poor calf wanted to do was drink her milk.
"... he loves you and Maggie..."
Mother is right, I thought. But I can't help feeling resentful.
"... all this might have made him harsh and impatient..."
He sure has a lot of things on his mind. What if I had to deal with all the work he takes care of?
I looked up at the sky, imagining it turning black and falling on my head... BANG!
I would freak out, definitely! I started laughing suddenly, my anger ebbed away. But I am not going back right now, I thought. I need some time away from all these busy people, to some place which is quiet... and I knew where to go.
I walked along the bank of the river which flows through our village, from north to south. I walked opposite to the flow of the river. There is a forest at the north end of our village. Our area is very prone to floods and the trees help in controlling the flow of the water. People usually go there to chop firewood. But there is one place which people avoid... a little beyond the outer edge of trees, along the flowing water...people keep away from that part of the river surrounded densely by trees. When I was a kid, everyone used to tell me repeatedly, "That place is dangerous, don't you ever go there..."
"What is so dangerous over there?" I had once asked Jason.
"Don't you know?" he snapped at me. "The water-monster comes there--- that very place--- and hunts for food, deeper into the forest."
I thought he was just trying to scare me. But I was wrong.
Later that night, I asked Mother after supper about it.
"He is kidding, right?"
Mother looked startled, her eyes were wide with fear.
"Don't you ever go there," she said in a fearful whisper. "Jason is right, he's not joking. The water-monster comes over there. You will keep away from that place... won't you?" She added, looking keenly into my eyes. She wanted me to say, "No, of course not, Mother."
I told her that.
But all this monster talk wasn't going to stop me. I was never afraid of the dark, and I didn't believe in ghosts and monsters--- it was all gibberish! So one day I decided to explore the mysterious place myself. Without telling anyone where I was going, I slipped out of the house one afternoon and started walking towards the forest, along the edge of the river. It was summer, and after about half an hour, I was drenched in sweat. My shirt was sticking to me and I felt very thirsty. I washed my face in the cool water of the river and quenched my thirst... and then I set off again. It was not far now. I could already see the trees bordering the forest.
I stood beneath one of the outermost trees, right at the edge of the river, and waited there, trying to listen. I could hear nothing. May be the so-called monster is not at home, I thought, grinning to myself.
But, suddenly there came this weird feeling... What if there is a monster?
I stood there, thinking, whether to go on or not. I made up my mind, monster or no monster, I am going in!
And without any further hesitation, I stepped inside...
The trees were strange. They seemed to be growing in a way as if guarding something, like a fort. One wouldn't be able to see his way ahead at all. Wherever there was a gap between two of them, there was a third one ahead to block the view. And their trunks were unusually thick. I made my way through the shrubbery on the forest floor and the stubborn trees with difficulty and emerged into a clearing...
My jaw dropped open in surprise.
The place was wide and spacious, devoid of any trees or shrubs. They were all growing around the place, at the periphery, as if guarding it on the three sides--- north, south and west. On the east side the river was flowing, slowly and silently. The floor was rocky but even. Except for the twittering of the forest birds and the gentle sound of the flowing water, the place was completely silent. I looked at the guarding wall of trees, the clear river water, and the patch of bright, blue sky above through the canopy of trees... My God, I thought, is this for real? Looks like somebody designed a nice little hideout for himself. There's no way this place is natural. Then I thought of whatever others had told me about the place... There's a monster lurking in that part of the forest... don't you ever go there... the water-monster... you will keep away from there... won't you... The village people would never come here, I thought. Thanks to the stupid story about this place. But if nobody comes here, that means...
I have it all to myself!
After that I started going there regularly. I started thinking of it as my 'hideout'. Nobody used to come there. I had that part of the forest all to myself, and I never told anyone else about it. Occasionally I could hear the faint sound of someone's axe against one of the forest trees, chopping firewood, but other than that it was it was just me in my kingdom.
Thinking about all the things I would say to Jason after I return home, I reached my hideout. I looked around and took a deep breath... it was like a second home to me. I loved that place, it was mine and nobody else knew about it. I walked over to the tree growing at the very edge of the water. It was my favourite spot to sit and relax, because the sunlight was always guarded and never fell on my face directly. I took off my shoes and put my feet in the running water. It was cool and soothing... and I closed my eyes...
I woke up abruptly. Something had disturbed my sleep, but what? I looked around... no one was there. Silly me, I thought smiling to myself. My feet were still in the water and I could see small tadpoles and fishes wandering near them. I dragged my feet out, wet to the knees. Then I heard it again.
It was a low moan, somewhere behind me, beyond the wall of trees, further into the forest.
I got to my feet, listening intently. Someone's here, I thought. But there's no way anyone else knows about this place. I have to check it out.
Putting on my shoes, I crossed the guarding wall of trees, as silently as I could. The space between trees increased as I proceeded further, though the surroundings became much darker. Then I heard it again, a low moan. It seemed to come from the tree just in front of me. I walked up to it, went round its thick trunk, cautiously peeped behind it and gaped.
A girl lay unconscious there, beneath it. Well, she looked like a girl, with her long, dark green hair and slender frame, but she seemed a bit eerily different. Her skin was very pale, almost white, her hair looked like seaweed, long and messy, and whatever she was wearing, it seemed to be made out of some lichen-like material...
I crept closer to her and knelt down, looking carefully at her face. She seems young, I thought. I glanced at her hands and feet, frowned a bit and looked back at her face again. It sent a chill through me.
Her skin was covered with silvery white scales, every inch of it, like a fish, though hers were very difficult to notice. Her eyes, which I had thought to be open, were actually closed and her eyelids were pale and translucent. There were no whites to her eyes and they were very dark, I could see clearly. Her eyebrows were almost non-existent. Her hands and feet, though like a normal human being, had slightly longer fingers and toes and had sharp-looking, claw-like, curved nails. Who is she, I wondered, wishing she would wake up and the very next moment, she moved.
I froze to the spot, hardly daring to breathe, as she slowly pushed herself up from the ground to a sitting position. She seemed very tired and dazed and didn't notice me at first. But soon enough, her eyes found my knees on the ground, traveled up my torso, finally settling on my pale and startled face, inches away from her own.
The first expression on her face was of surprise, and then it was replaced by anger. She stood up--- swaying slightly, I suspected out of weakness--- then turned to go.
"Hey!" I called out to her, without thinking. "Where do you think you---?"
But I never finished my sentence. A second later, the only thing I was aware of was that I was standing with my back pressed against the tree-trunk behind me, my nails digging into its bark... and the girl was at my throat, her sharp teeth bared threateningly, inches from my skin, her hands on my chest, her claw-like nails digging painfully into me... my heart was beating like crazy. A drop of sweat ran down the side of my face.
I don't know why, but she stepped back from me... slowly... looking at my face for a long time. May be she understood that I was scared, really scared, of her. I didn't notice it at that time, but later when I thought about it, she also had an expression of intense fear on her face. She stood watching me, still swaying a bit, probably thinking what to do. Then, without warning, she uttered a high-pitched scream... I flung my hands over my head and shut my eyes.
I don't know how long I was standing with my eyes closed, shielding my head. May be one minute... or maybe five. I just stood there, my heart hammering madly, listening hard... She is going to kill me, I thought insanely, I'm dead!
But nothing happened. I stood still, thinking, what's going on? May be I'm already dead... Yeah, that must be it. But people can't hear birds chirping after dying, can they? Wait! Ghosts can hear and talk and see. But I don't want to be a ghost...
All sorts of stupid thoughts came to my mind as I stood there. Then, when I couldn't hear anything at all except the twittering of birds, I opened my eyes slightly.
Through the narrow opening between my eyelids, I saw the trees in front of me, their leaves swaying in the cool breeze... she had left.

The Water Monster 2

2009-01-02T16:04:00.001+05:30

Who is she...? Where did she come from...? Patrick... I shouldn't have shouted at her... Patrick... May be that scared her and... May be that's why she attacked...
PATRICK!
"Huh?" I asked, looking up, startled. Mother and Jason were both staring at me (well, Jason was glaring actually) while Maggie was giggling.
"W--- what happened?" I asked, totally lost. I was sitting at the dinner table with my family. It is a low table and we sit on cushions around it. I and Maggie were on one side while Jason and Mother sat facing us. Mother was ladling soup into our bowls, Maggie was staring eagerly at it and Jason was sitting with a pencil and a small notebook on his hand, scribbling something and nodding to himself. He works in a baker's shop in the village and often does that at the dinner table while Mother serves us food. Apparently, he takes care of most of the things sold there, noting them down in his notebook and the old baker depends on him immensely for running the bakery. The only time Jason leaves his notebook and talks at the dinner table is when Father comes home.
Tonight, however, he was glaring at me, his pencil suspended over his notebook, a slight frown on his face. I got really annoyed by his stare and looked at Mother instead. Maggie was still giggling.
"Is something wrong, Pat?" she asked with concern.
"No," I answered, a little defensively. "Why?"
"Nothing," Jason spoke sarcastically. "Just that she was going on asking you how much soup you want but you didn't answer and were staring into space with a blank expression. But that's perfectly normal though, isn't it?"
Maggie burst into a fit of giggles.
"You should have seen your face, Pat!" she told me, somehow managing to speak coherently. "You looked funny!"
"Yeah," I muttered to myself. "I wish she would have found my face funny."
"Did you say something?" Mother asked, now clearly worried. "You are not sick, are you?"
"No, I'm absolutely fine, Mother," I assured her hurriedly. "Really. And I would like my bowl full. That soup smells darn nice!"
Mother smiled at me, reassured. Jason stared at me for a long time, but I was quite attentive towards my food after that and he didn't say anything else.
I couldn't sleep that night. Beside me Jason snored away under the single sheet we were sharing. Jason and I share the same room and the same bed, while Mother sleeps with Maggie in the second bedroom beside ours. Each of the beds in our home consists of a thick hand-made mattress laid on the floor, preferably beside a large window, with two fluffy pillows and light-coloured sheets in the summer or dark blankets in the winter. A water-jug always stands on the wooden floor beside the bed in every bedroom.
Jason's snores are not too loud. I sleep beside him every night and I don't find it that much disturbing. But that night, I just couldn't sleep. I kept tossing in the bed from side to side, my eyes closed, trying to shut out the thoughts which were coming to my mind. But it was no use and after about an hour or so, I found myself sitting up on my bed, fully awake. Jason was muttering in his sleep, "... two loaves of white bread... that would be... I will buy a new blanket for my mother..."
Blanket, I thought, watching him. It was not winter yet, the weather was warm enough, but the nights were a bit cold. I lay down on my bed again, pulling the sheet up to my chin. Tomorrow I'll ask Mother if I should take out all the blankets from the other bedroom and lay them out in the sun, I thought. I'll be glad to have a blanket at night before long, its getting cold. Then suddenly this thought came to my mind, I don't think she has blankets...
I shook my head vigorously, trying not to think about her. Jason gave a particularly loud snore and muttered, "... the oven's not working properly..."
Is bakery the only thing this guy thinks about? I shut my eyes again and a voice in my mind said, "Is that mysterious girl the only thing you think about?"
I got out of my bed, drank some water from the bedside jug and went to the window. It was a full moon and silvery light was streaming into the room. I hoisted myself up on the window sill and felt the cool breeze on my face.
Why did she attack me? Is she really the monster everyone talks about?
I could see the dark trees of the forest... they looked tiny and black, even in the full moon. I could see the river as well, flowing silently, its surface shimmering in the moonlight. And I remembered her face as she stepped back from me... in the forest...
She seemed scared... May be her actions were defensive. But...
I thought of her long, claw-like nails... Perfect to kill a living being with one easy swipe...
That doesn't prove anything, I argued against my negative thoughts. They are just...
"Just what?" nagged the voice in my mind again, prodding my common sense within. "Whom are you kidding, idiot?"
Still, I went on, still... the nails don't prove anything...
"You want more?" the voice challenged. "You forgot about her savage teeth bared threateningly... inches away from your throat... "
I shuddered and bit my lip.
Still, I want to go back... back to my hideout. Its mine and I won't let anyone else have it... not even a monster. I'll have to check tomorrow.
This time, the voice in my mind remained silent. I smiled.
Tomorrow afternoon, I thought decidedly, going back to sleep quietly, pulling the sheet back on myself.
Tomorrow was a disappointment.
She didn't come.

I passed the guarding wall of trees with difficulty. It was not because of the trees (they were the same as always), it was because of the load I was carrying--- a bunch of firewood from a dry tree on the other side of the forest, away from the river. We never had to get firewood from the forest. Jason used to buy a bunch of good, dry firewood on his way home from the bakery every evening. It didn't matter too much, since we were better off in financial matters than most families in our village. All because of Father, working so far away, and Jason as well, who laboured hard to keep everything in order in the family. But then, one day Mother told Jason that we shouldn't spend on things which we can get easily from somewhere else, without spending anything. I remember it was after Father fell sick for a week or so and couldn't go to work. He stayed at home while Mother looked after him, till he was cured by the herbs given by the village doctor. So, she asked Jason not to spend unnecessarily and the first thing she wanted to change was buying firewood. Jason, in turn, told her that he can't get firewood from the forest since he has to work in the bakery. I was there when this discussion was taking place. At that point, Mother and Jason went quiet suddenly and I looked up to find both of them staring at me.
So, that was it. I was given the responsibility to get firewood from the forest every afternoon. I accepted the work gladly, because that meant I could be at my hideout every afternoon without any awkward questions. It was not because of that mysterious girl who had appeared there out of the blue, attacked me and disappeared suddenly... I had never seen her since. It had been almost a year now and I didn't expect her to turn up again. I had even forgotten how she looked like. Even though I used to wonder about her at times, it was as though I was thinking about something which doesn't exist. That was just a hallucination, I told myself, shutting her out of my mind. A stupid hallucination I had...
I crossed the guarding wall of trees, dragging the bunch of firewood along. I had my lunch packed neatly in a parcel of cloth; Maggie had prepared egg-sandwiches for me. Her cooking was improving a lot and she knew what I liked. I stepped into the clearing, put down the bundle and as soon as I proceeded towards the river to wash my hands and face I saw something in front of me and frowned.
A pile of what looked like seaweed was dumped on the edge of the water, glistening in the sun. I stepped forward cautiously towards it and (trust me, I got the shock of my life) the pile suddenly moved. Before I knew what was happening, I was staring into a face which was eerily different and weirdly familiar at the same time. In an instant I recognized her. My God, I thought, it’s her!
She looked the same as before--- dark eyes with no whites, traces of eyebrows, almost absent nose, long claw-like hands and feet, scaly skin and some lichen-like stuff as clothing. Only her hair had grown longer and messier, what I had taken to be a pile of seaweed! She didn't speak as I stood there, nor did she jump at my throat like the day I first met her. I half-expected her to attack me again and didn't move an inch.
"Err...“ I began uncertainly. "It’s you... Isn't it?"
She nodded slowly, still looking at me. She seemed to understand me and for some reason I was surprised that she did.
"W--- who are you?" I was going to ask her, "What are you?" but stopped myself.
She remained silent for a moment and then said, "Fish."
I gaped at her. She can speak and understand my language? Though I don’t know why it baffled me so much. May be because she seemed like a non-human creature. Her voice was hoarse and a bit rough, and she spoke slowly. Fish? I thought. That doesn't make any sense at all...
"You can't be a fish," I told her and her eyes widened enquiringly.
I’m too fast for her, I thought, trying to understand whatever she meant by fish. I have to slow down.
I spoke to her more slowly and clearly. "You mean... You live in the water?"
She frowned this time. It’s hopeless, I thought, staring at the river which was flowing silently. Then suddenly an idea struck me.
I walked to the edge of the river, put my hand in the water and moved it back and forth, making a swishing sound.
"Water?" I asked her again. "Do you live in the water?" She looked at the river, then back to my face and nodded.
Good, I thought, satisfied that I was able to make her understand, and smiled. She smiled back.
"Well... What is your name?"
It was my turn to frown at her in confusion this time. She simply shook her head.
"Your name," I repeated even more slowly, but she just shook her head.
"You don't have a name?" I asked in surprise.
"No," she said, in that same hoarse voice. Then she pointed at me and asked, "What are you?"
Pretty offensive, I thought, half-laughing. I guess she just wants to know my name.
"Umm... Patrick," I told her.
"Umpatrick," she repeated and my face fell.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Patrick. I am Patrick."
This time she understood and said, "You Patrick."
I nodded enthusiastically, but she was looking elsewhere... looking at something behind me. I turned to see what had caught her attention. It was my lunch.
But it’s wrapped in a piece of cloth, I thought. Can she see through that? Don't tell me...
"Do you want to eat?" I asked her, speaking slowly again.
"Eat," she repeated, whether she understood or not I didn't know.
I brought the parcel over to where she was sitting and unwrapped it. There were four thick sandwiches. I tore-off a small piece from the topmost one and gave it to her. She sniffed at it.
"It’s not for sniffing, you know," I told her. She stared at me in confusion. "Yeah, I'm too fast... sorry."
I tore off another small piece of sandwich at stuffed it into my mouth. Maggie is really getting good in the kitchen, I thought.
Taking the hint, she slowly put her piece of sandwich into her mouth as well. First she chewed slowly, then swallowed it fast.
May be she liked it, I thought and held out the remaining of the sandwich to her, immediately wishing I hadn't.
For a moment she gazed at the sandwich in my hand, and then she lunged at it. Totally taken by surprise, I withdrew my hand but the damage was already done. There were four deep cuts on my forearm which was bleeding heavily. I hurried to the edge of the river and put my hand into the running water. It throbbed painfully.

The Water Monster 4

2009-01-02T16:03:00.004+05:30

“Of course I think so!”
“Well… he’s like that just on the outside,” I said, leaning back against the tree we were sitting under. “Actually, he’s the one who takes care of everything in Father’s absence… But, he is a very nice person. That’s what Mother keeps telling us all the time. And I can’t say I know him better than she does.”
“Still it doesn’t compensate for his behaviour towards his younger brother and sister.”
“You wouldn’t really bother if you were me. He is like that only… he has alway been like that.”
“He’s ten years older than you, isn’t he?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “He’s twenty-six.” That is something I’ve always wondered about, I thought, gazing up at the canopy of trees. For some reason, he seems much older than that… I’ve always felt like he’s a million miles away from me and Maggie. My gaze dropped lower and settled on Pearl’s thoughtful face.
“Hmm…” she muttered, “Are big brothers always so snobbish?”
“No!” I laughed at her question.
“Forget him,” she said quickly. “Tell me about your Mother.”
“My Mother, huh? She’s the sweetest person on earth, I think.”
“Even sweeter than Maggie?”
“Now, I don’t know the answer to that… I can’t choose between my mother and my sister! Every person thinks his mother is the best in the world. That’s why I said that.”
“Really?” Pearl’s eyes were wide with curiosity again.
“Yeah…” I was a bit confused. Don’t tell me…
“I wish I had a mother,” she said, confirming my thoughts. “It must be nice having a family around.”
She was gazing at me again. I found it difficult to look into those curious eyes. Must be so lonely without a family around, I thought a little sadly. But she was smiling. May be you can’t miss something which never existed for you…
“What about your father?” she asked.
“What about him?”
“You have a father as well, don’t you?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded. “But he’s rarely at home, so I can’t say much about him. He works somewhere far away and comes home only once a month. I wish he could stay with us more than that, but that’s the way it is. But he’s a very caring person.” I finished with a watery smile.
“Hmm…” Pearl was again lost in her own thoughts.
“What are you thinking?” I asked her, but she kept quiet.
“Patrick,” she asked after a while. “I’m not your family… then what do I mean to you?”
I stared at her. What does she mean to me? I looked at her face, full of curiosity and eagerness, her dark eyes without whites, her long seaweed-like hair, her scaly skin, her long hands and feet… What does she mean to me?
“Hmm?” she urged, waiting for my answer.
“I... uh…” I stammered. I had never thought about it before, and now I felt utterly perplexed. What does she mean to me?
The princess of the seven seas,
She came out of the deep.
She was alone, she had no one,
And all she could do was weep.
The ground was hard, the sun was harsh,
As she kept walking on.
She lived on fruits and river-water,
And slept from dusk to dawn.
These lines formed in my mind all of a sudden as I went on looking at Pearl and searched for an answer to her question.
“I don’t know,” I confessed.
“Huh?” She seemed disappointed.
“I’ll think about it and tell you later, alright?” I assured her hurriedly.
The princess of the seven seas…
“All right…” she said, sounding unconvinced. I took her hand in mine.
“Promise,” I said and she gave a small smile.
I got to my feet.
“It’s getting late,” I told her. “I should head back home. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, getting up as well. As usual, she came closer to me and licked my left cheek. Now that I knew the reason, I didn’t flinch. It was her way of saying good-bye, the left cheek. Hello was the right one, I figured. But for some reason, I put my arms around her and gave her a small hug.
“Pearl…”
“Yes?” she asked, as she stepped away from me.
Princess of the seven seas… What was I getting myself into? Stay away, the voice in my mind warned. You will never get out of this one…
“I’m glad I met you.”

The princess of the seven seas,
She came out of the deep.
She was alone, she had no one,
And all she could do was weep.
The ground was hard, the sun was harsh,
As she kept walking on.
She lived on fruits and river-water,
And slept from dusk to dawn.
Then one day, she met someone---
A young village guy.
He found her in a forest, tired,
As he was passing by.
She slowly came to know him more,
And he knew her well.
They met each-other everyday,
As if bound by a spell.
The bond grew stronger, hidden from all,
While they came to know---
It was something more than that,
And the feeling did show.
It had to happen someday, sometime,
So, one fine summer dawn---
They let go of themselves in love,
And couldn’t stop then on.
“They let go in what?” asked Pearl, confused.
I was sitting with her on the very edge of water and reciting the poem I had made up. She was always nagging me that she wanted to hear it, as I always used to say the first line “The princess of the seven seas” and stop.
“Is that a boat?” she asked, now utterly lost. “They let go of themselves in a---”
“No, it’s not a boat,” I said, shaking my head hopelessly. “They let go of themselves in love.”
“Now, what does that mean?” she asked, making a face. “You never told me that word.”
“It’s a feeling,” I explained, “An emotion which you feel for someone special. Like, I love my family a lot.”
“That means caring about them and liking them a big deal,” she said, thoughtful. “That is love… Pretty confusing!”
“Why is that?” How can it be confusing, I wondered.
“That doesn’t exactly fit in the story, does it?”
“It’s not a story!”
“Whatever… But it doesn’t really fit. ‘And they couldn’t stop then on.’ What was that about?”
“Never mind, you won’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
I was getting really impatient by that time. Why doesn’t she get it?
“It’s something you feel for someone special, someone really close to your heart. It’s---”
“---just the way I feel for you.”
I stared at her face in disbelief. What is she saying? What does she think she’s saying?
“You’re kidding me!” I said after a long silence. But she didn’t seem bothered.
“And why is that?” she asked, sounding even more confused. “Is it something wrong?”
Yes, that’s wrong, I thought insanely. That’s the worst thing you could do. It’s wrong for you to love me. It’s wrong to feel anything like that because we are just too different. It’s wrong for me to get involved with you. It’s wrong for me to---
“It can’t be something wrong, you know,” she spoke up suddenly, “Because I think it’s a wonderful feeling. You are my friend, my family, everything. And I’ve never met anyone as nice and honest as you. All the humans I’ve met, whether accidentally or out of curiosity, they just chase me away. They hate me… all of them. They scare me with their weapons, their burning sticks. That’s the reason I attacked you when I first met you.” She sounded very apologetic all of a sudden. “I’m sorry, I never meant to.”
Her whole body was shaking slightly, I noticed. She seemed to be sobbing, though I couldn’t see any tears. Do water creatures shed tears at all? I wondered.
“Pearl?”
She didn’t look up, but continued to sob with her head down. I never realized how tough it was for her to be always alone, always hunted, always being labeled as a monster… Even though she didn’t understand human speech, she felt the hatred wherever she went. I placed my hand on hers and squeezed her fingers slightly.
“It’s okay,” I told her, “You don’t have to be sorry. And whatever you said about people hating you… well, they don’t know you, do they? They are scared of you. They don’t know how innocent and harmless you really are.”
She looked up into my face, her eyes full of pleading and sadness.
“You---”, she hiccoughed, “You told me I’m precious. You really think so? You don’t hate me as well, do you?”
“Yes, you are very precious to me. That’s what I truly feel,” I answered her in an assuring voice. “And…”
I paused and looked at her sad face.
“I can never hate you.”
She smiled, looking slightly happier and asked, “What about the rest of the story?”
“Story?” I said blankly. Then I remembered. “I told you it’s a poem!”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving her hand casually. “Whatever… What about the rest of it? It’s not finished, is it?”
“No,” I said, lost in thought. “I haven’t thought of anything after that… I’ll let you know when I finish it.”
The princess of the seven seas…

Knock-knock!
It was winter and I had dropped off to sleep pretty early. But today it was different than usual. Jason was not at home. He had gone to the next village to meet Father for some reason and was not supposed to be back before two days. It was blissful solitude as I lay on my bed, because I knew I wouldn’t have to put up with maddeningly loud snores for two full nights. I am the king of my bed, I thought, as I snuggled under the blanket I didn’t have to share that night. God! This is life…
Knock-knock!
I opened my eyes wearily; someone was knocking at the door.
Knock-knock!
That’s weird, I thought. The sound’s not coming from the door at all!
I sat up on my bed, listening intently. It came again and my eyes traveled all across the room, finally settling on the window.
Somebody’s there at the window, I thought. Then I realized the strangeness of the whole situation. At the window? Good God!
Moonlight was streaming in through the glass. Silently, I crept up to it and opened it. It creaked and then everything was silent. I watched in utter astonishment as something dark entered the room quickly and rested on the floor.

The Water Monster 3

2009-01-02T16:03:00.003+05:30

I glanced up at her. Her eyes were fixed on my bleeding arm, wide with horror. Clearly, she hadn't meant to hurt me.
"I sorry..." she whispered sadly.
For some reason, I smiled in spite of the stinging wound.
"You know that word?" I asked her. "Funny..."
I realized I was getting late for home. I didn't want Mother to suspect anything, least of all, ask questions. Jason was away at work, so he wasn't a problem. Mother is easy to convince, I thought, as I washed the cloth in which the sandwiches were packed earlier. Careful to hide all the four cuts, I wrapped it around my arm tightly and secured it with a knot. I'll tell Mother I got cut by the jagged end of a piece of wood, I decided and walked back to the bunch of firewood I had cut. She was also standing now... still gazing at my wounded arm with those sad eyes...
"Well," I said, "I have to go now... I'll come tomorrow."
She nodded slowly, still staring at my right arm. I sighed.
"My arm's going to be just fine," I spoke slowly, walking back to her, trying to make her understand. "Don't you worry... okay?"
She nodded again, this time, looking up at my face. Then, suddenly, she stepped closer and before I knew what was happening, she had licked my left cheek!
"W--- what the---" I stammered, at a loss to understand what she did.
She stayed quiet for a moment, apparently thinking, then said, "Salt..." and without another word, she started walking towards the river. I watched as she stopped right at the edge of the water, then with an astonishing leap, she dived into the river, noiselessly.
That was smooth, I thought as I turned to leave.
Mother made quite a fuss over my arm, wrapped up in the bloodstained cloth. "Where in the name of God did you get hurt like that?” ... "Why didn't you just come back home when you got hurt?" ... "You should go see the doctor... He can patch you up properly." There's no way I'm going to the doctor, I thought, shaking my head in exasperation.
After much argument, Mother finally agreed to let me take care of my arm myself. Maggie prepared hot water in a trough, gave me a clean towel, a thick wad of cotton, some herbal ointment and a long strip of cloth to wrap my arm in, and I retreated to my bedroom upstairs quietly.
After about half an hour or so, my arm was bandaged properly and felt much better. Maggie made me some warm soup and watched sternly as I had a few spoonfuls.
"What?" I asked her, looking up from my bowl.
She stayed quiet for a long moment and then spoke, "You shouldn't hide things..."
"Huh?" I asked, puzzled. "You are talking about this?" I held up my right arm.
"Uh-huh," she nodded. "Why didn't you let Mother have a look at it?"
"She probably would've fainted if I had done that," I said casually. "The wound is pretty nasty. Though I feel better now, loads better..." I looked up at her again.
She just stood watching me silently, her back to the kitchen counter, her hands on her waist... Just like Mother, I thought, finishing the soup. Worrying herself sick...
"Maggie!" Mother's faint voice from outside the house broke the silence. "Can you come and help me with the laundry for a bit?"
"Coming!" Maggie called back. She took the bowl from me, placed it in the kitchen sink and made for the door quickly.
"Be careful not to hurt yourself like that again," she said, walking past me, ruffling my hair as she went... I smiled and closed my eyes, thinking about how lucky I am to have a sister like her...
After that day, I started visiting her regularly. In the beginning, there was nothing that we could talk about properly to each other. She didn't understand or speak human language too well. Most of the times she was confused as I struggled to make conversation. Sign language was my ultimate option but I was bad at it as well. I had a lot of trouble understanding her too, as she often talked using disconnected words. Almost two months passed away like this, without any proper communication, and both of us were lost and confused. Slowly she started understanding what I was saying to her. She was intelligent, and remembered the common conversational words I spoke. I felt like I was teaching a child--- innocent... ignorant... She learned, and spoke, and learned some more till, after about a month or so, she was able to speak better, and I heard the first proper statement she said on her own.
"Patrick is nice," she said. "Patrick is a good teacher."
"Wow... Congratulations!" I said happily. "That's your first proper sentence till now."
Her eyes brightened up.
"Thankoo," she said in her hoarse voice.
"You said it wrong again!" I said exasperatedly. She says it wrong all the time, I thought. It's not that tough...
She was gazing silently at me. I knew it to be a signal of asking for an explanation.
"It's thank you," I told her slowly and clearly. "Thank. You."
"Ooo..." she said again, making a shrill noise and I covered my ears with my palms. She used to end up making a shrill sound whenever she tried too hard to pronounce any particular word. "Thankoo..." She stopped as I shook my head vigorously. Looking at my face, she started laughing. Her laugh was more like a high-pitched gargling noise.
"Intentional mistake, eh?" I asked her in an irritated manner.
She nodded and laughed again. What is so funny? I thought.
"By the way..." I said slowly, "I found a name for you..."
"Name?" she asked, puzzled. She paused for a while and said, "Patrick name?"
"That's my name," I told her. "I'm talking about yours... What if I call you... Pearl?"
"Pearl..." she repeated, lost in thought. I knew she was trying to remember if I had mentioned that word earlier. I had not.
"It’s a... umm... something which is found in the sea..." I said. She nodded. I had taught her that 'big water' was actually called 'sea'. Or 'ocean', if you go further. Whatever... My Geography is bad enough.
"It's found inside oysters..." I explained more. "Oysters... Like this." I cupped my hands to resemble an oyster, opening and closing. Suddenly she jumped with excitement.
"I know! I know!" she squealed shrilly. "Its white! White! Whi---"
"Yeah, I guess," I said hastily, shielding my ears again.
"But it closes," she muttered sadly, her voice dropping.
"Well... yes," I answered. "It does. But that's not what I'm talking about."
She blinked in a confused way.
"Your name..." I said slowly. "It's Pearl from now... Okay?"
"Pearl?" she asked.
"Yes, Pearl."
I looked at her thoughtful face, and waited. She went on staring at me for a long time. Then quite abruptly, she said, "Okay." I beamed.
"All right then," I said, getting to my feet. "I should get going now..."

"Why do you always do that?" I almost yelled, pushing her away slightly. "It’s--- it’s so---"
Pearl looked up at me innocently and asked, "It’s so what?"
"Disgusting?" I suggested, a bit angrily. Why... I thought. Why, why, why!
"For you... may be yes," she said, sitting down at our usual place. "But I want to make sure..."
"Sure of what?" I asked, slightly curious. She sighed.
"I can't see very well when I'm out of water. I like to know it’s you. My tongue... well, it's like a dog's nose, I guess."
There was a long moment of silence. Then she spoke, "Are you angry?"
I didn't answer, not sure of what to say. She sighed again.
"Okay then. I'll stop---"
"No, it's fine," I blurted, before I could stop myself, hardly aware of what I was talking about. "You... you can... If you can't see too well in air..."
I didn't know why I said I was okay with it... Okay with her licking my face! Everyday as soon as she saw me, she would lick my right cheek. No matter how much I tried to stop her, she would do that... I never knew the reason. Now I understood...
I sat down beside her quietly.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah, I am," I said in a decided voice.
"All right then..." she said, leaning towards me, looking keenly at my face. I closed my eyes in a hypnotized way... letting go...
Then I felt it... It was really weird, as I felt her close to me, her tongue on my cheek, warm and wet... But strangely enough, I didn't feel repulsed this time... I felt as if she was trying to... know me.
She withdrew slowly. I opened my eyes. She was smiling.
"W--- what happened?" I asked her.
"That was... nice," she said slowly. “You are a good person... I could taste it."
"Don't tell me... You could taste that I am a good person? Taste my goodness?"
"Yes, I can do that." She spotted the look on my face and laughed. "Of course, you didn't know." She added.
"Sounds ridiculous, actually," I muttered and started unwrapping the parcel of lunch. She glanced at it.
"Oooh! Steamed rice," she said happily. "I love the smell..."
"You do?" I asked in a surprised way. I always thought mashed potatoes were her favourite.
"Yeah, but its second best to mashed potatoes."
Silly me, I thought, shaking my head and smiling. Mashed potatoes are still her favourite, I should have known...
"What?" she asked, seeing me shake my head.
"Never mind..." I waved the question away. "Let's eat. I'm hungry."
We spent the next few minutes eating silently during which Pearl gave me many curious glances. I didn't speak a word though. Women, I thought hopelessly. They are all the same... Just too inquisitive at times...
After we washed up, she asked, “Is something the matter?"
"No, why?"
"Nothing," she said and kept quiet. I busied myself with securing the bunch of firewood more tightly.
"Patrick?"
"Huh?" I asked, turning to face her. She was sitting beneath a tree, leaning against its thick trunk. Her eyes were fixed on my face.
"Well..." she spoke slowly, "Can you tell me about your family?"
"My family?" I repeated blankly, wondering why she was asking about it.
"Yeah, you always tell me that you have a mother, a father, a younger sister and an elder brother. Tell me about them."
I stared at her for a long moment.
"All right," I said, walking up to the tree and sitting on the ground next to her. "Whom do you want to hear about first?"
"Umm... Your sister."
"Really?" I was surprised at her choice. I thought she will ask about my mother first. But then, I wondered, her way of thinking might be different than normal people...
"You talk about her most of the time and well, she's the one who prepares your lunch."
"That's why? Okay then... my sister. Her name's Maggie, which you already know. She is a year younger than me and the sweetest sister one can wish for. She is kind, caring and hardworking and she is close to me. I mean, closer to me than my elder brother."
“Why is that so?” Pearl asked, her dark eyes widening slightly.
“Umm… that’s because Jason is--- what should I say--- sometimes very mean towards us,” I explained. “He’s always been like that, as far as I can remember. He always keeps complaining about us to Mother, always very particular about our behaviour and above all, always trying to get things done exactly the way he wants… one heck of a big brother!”
“He shouldn’t be like that,” Pearl said in an indignant tone.
I looked up at her face. She seemed angry, with her eyes narrowed.
“You think so?” I asked, smiling at her indignation.

The Water Monster 5

2009-01-02T16:02:00.001+05:30

“Hi!” I knew that voice!
“Pearl?” I almost shouted out of bewilderment. Swiftly, I walked across the room and bolted the door.
“What the--- what are you doing here?” I asked as I turned to face her. She was perched on the window-sill, smiling. “Do you have any idea of what will happen if somebody spots you?”
“Nobody will,” she said in an assuring way. “That’s why I came now.”
“Why--- what’s wrong?” I asked. “Is something the matter? Why are you here?”
“You said you brother is not at home,” she said casually. “I thought I’ll come to say hello.”
“That’s all?” This is ridiculous, I thought.
“I’ll be gone before long, don’t worry.”
“Yeah,” I said, sarcastically, “Worry is definitely the last thing on my mind right now…”
I went to the bed and sat down, leaning on the wall. I wasn’t sleepy anymore, I was tensed. It’s alright, I told myself. Everyone’s sleeping now. There’s no way anyone will find out about her.
“You know,” she spoke up in a slightly confused way, “Today…” She paused.
“What?” I asked.
“I saw a guy eating another girl on the other side of the river.”
“What?” I almost yelled and slid off the bed.
“Yeah, he seemed to be gnawing at her lips… I went closer to get a better look. The girl didn’t seem to mind at all. What a weirdo!”
“Gnawing at her lips?” I was totally confused. People eating each other up? Then I understood quite suddenly.
“Oh! You mean they were kissing?” I asked, half-laughing.
“What-ing?”
“Kissing. That’s something you do when---” I stopped short.
“When?” Pearl was staring at me curiously.
“When you really love someone,” I finished. Both of us went on looking at each other for a long time in silence.
“Is that so?” she asked after a while. I nodded, still looking at her face intently; her gaze was fixed on mine. I got to my feet and walked up to her. She looked very different in the silvery moonlight.
“Have you kissed anyone?” she asked, not even slightly bothered… not knowing what it really is… unlike me.
“No,” I answered, smiling. “It’s not something you do to just anyone.”
“Really?”
“Yeah… Why are you asking?”
“Because if you had, I could have asked you how it feels. I wish I knew… words don’t explain that much.”
I couldn’t say anything else. I was scared about what would happen if I said anything to her at all. We were still looking into each other’s faces. I don’t know what was she thinking but I felt like I had found my world in her. She was my friend, true, but though I hated to admit it, she was much more than just that.
“You love her, don’t you?” the voice in my head teased me.
I looked away from her face quickly, staring at the shimmering, silvery river instead, thinking of the day I had met her. Had I realized how much I would get involved into this? Had I realized that …
I looked at Pearl again. She was sitting on the window-sill with her eyes closed. Some might think she is scary, I thought, with her nails and scales and stuff. That’s just because she’s different. For me … she’s an angel.
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” the voice in my head spoke again. “She looks exactly like a goddess.”
I don’t care, arguing with the voice again, as I often did in strange circumstances. I don’t care what she looks like. I just know one thing that…
“Aren’t you sleepy?” Pearl asked suddenly. She was gazing at me again, smiling for some reason.
“What are you smiling for?” I asked, curious.
“Nothing,” she shrugged. “I was just thinking about what I feel.”
“About what?” I asked. She got to her feet and I couldn’t help stepping a bit closer to her.
“About you. I don’t understand.”
“Understand what?” That whether you… I didn’t want to think.
“Earlier I didn’t even know about your existence. But now it’s like I can’t exist without you.”
“Really?” I was surprised that I could speak. She had told me exactly what I feel for her … exactly the same thing.
“Yeah,” she said and smiled at me. “These feelings are pretty complicated, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are.” You have no idea.
“I guess I should get going, Patrick.”
“You think so?” I don’t want you to go, not yet!
“If you don’t get enough sleep now, you will yawn all through tomorrow afternoon. So, yes, I think I should go.” She was giving me mock stern look.
“Don’t stare at me like that.” I just want to go on looking.
“Okay, okay… I won’t.” She stepped even closer to me, with that smile. I felt temporarily lost. I knew what she was about to do and closed my eyes. A moment later, I felt her on my left cheek. Before I could stop myself, I had my arms around her, holding her close. She was surprised but didn’t pull away. Instead, she looked into my face and asked, “Is something wrong, Pat?”
Everything, I thought, helplessly.
“Nothing,” I told her. For some reason, I couldn’t let go, but held her close.
“Do you…” she began, doubtfully.
“What?”
“Do you mind if I …”
“If?” I asked again. I raised my right arm to remove a strand of her seaweed like hair from her face. To my surprise, she hugged me tightly, closing her eyes as she did so.
“I seriously don’t understand what I feel,” she whispered.
Neither do I, I thought, lost for words.

“Good morning,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes sleepily. Maggie nodded at me, giving me her radiant smile, as always.
It was one of those summer mornings, bright and sunny, and all of us were up early. Well, in our family, Jason is always the first one awake followed by Mother. And I am always the last. I don’t understand how Maggie, who is younger than me, manages to get up before me. Summer is still okay, winter is like some sort of curse for me. I can never help oversleeping! The usual morning scene in my bedroom in winter consists of an exasperated Maggie standing at the foot of my bed, with her hands on her hips, asking me over and over again to get up and me snoring under the blanket, oblivious to everything else. Jason never bothers waking me up in the morning, no matter what season it is. His standard dialogue is, “Useless!” And I don’t bother arguing with him. I mean, who would?
That day, Jason had again gone off to the other village and Mother had gone to the market to buy things. It was just me and Maggie at home. She seemed very cheerful for some reason.
“You look very happy,” I commented, as she set a plate of toast and scrambled eggs on the table in front of me.
“I am,” she answered, going back to the kitchen counter again to prepare tea for me and herself.
I waited for her to speak. This is the main problem with Maggie. She is of a very sweet and easygoing nature, but whenever something happens she won’t tell you everything clearly straightaway, irrespective of whether it’s good or bad. Jason often loses his temper over this habit of hers. In return, she never tells him anything. She tells me since I know the trick--- stay silent for five minutes and don’t give her curious glances. She will tell you. I smiled and went quiet, busying myself with my breakfast.
“Won’t you ask me what happened?” Maggie asked after a while when I didn’t say anything.
“I thought you didn’t want to tell me,” I replied innocently. She came with two cups of tea and sat down at the table in front of me.
“You know that water monster everybody talks about?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Yeah…” I nodded slowly, my tea-cup suspended in mid air. I felt like something was welling up inside me… something like fear.
“The villagers caught it last night.”
“WHAT?”
Maggie winced, taken aback at my reaction. I had yelled in shock.
“Sorry,” I told her, trying to act calm. “I never knew there was a water monster for real. I just… never mind.”
“Well, there is a water monster for real, if you don’t know, Pat,” she said after a minute of silence. “Everything is not just a story.”
“I--- I guess so.”
I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t speak. I just sat at the table, silent.
“What does that--- that monster look like?”
“They are saying it looks like a girl but has very eerie features.” She shrugged. “Long claw-like nails, messy seaweed like hair, scaly skin---”
“When did they catch her?” I cut across her description.
“Last night. The most startling thing is it was found near our house.”
I stayed silent. That means she was coming to meet me again in the night, I thought and cursed my fate.
“Does she speak?” I couldn’t help asking.
“Not at all,” Maggie almost laughed at my question. “How can you expect a water creature to speak our language?”
“I was just asking.” I went quiet again. I needed to know where she was, without making it too obvious.
“I hope they have put her somewhere far away from the village so that she can’t hurt anyone,” I said in an even voice, hating myself for saying that.
“No, it’s tied to the huge tree near the village square,” she replied. “Not too far away. The village head thought people should have a look at it so that they don’t neglect his advice and stay away from dangerous places in future. As for hurting other people, it’s bound properly enough for one day and it seems too weak to break free.”
“One day?” I didn’t like the sound of it.
“Yes. If she is still alive out of water till tomorrow, the villagers will set it on--- Are you alright, Pat? You look ill.”
I nodded, unable to speak. I was horrified at what Maggie had said. I knew what was going to happen to Pearl even though I didn’t hear the last word. It made me shudder.
“Maggie,” I said, trying hard to stop my hands from shaking, “I don’t feel like eating anymore. I’m feeling a bit sick. I’ll just go upstairs and rest…”
A few minutes later, I slammed my bedroom door shut. I felt like I was in some sort of nightmare and fear was eating me from the inside. I lay down on my bed, tired… lost…
The princess of the seven seas,
She came out of the deep.
She was alone, she had no one,
And all she could do was weep.
The ground was hard, the sun was harsh,
As she kept walking on.
She lived on fruits and river-water,
And slept from dusk to dawn.
Then one day, she met someone---
A young village guy.
He found her in a forest, tired,
As he was passing by.
She slowly came to know him more,
And he knew her well.
They met each-other everyday,
As if bound by a spell.
The bond grew stronger, hidden from all,
While they came to know---
It was something more than that,
And the feeling did show.
It had to happen someday, sometime,
So, one fine summer dawn---
They let go of themselves in love,
And couldn’t stop then on.
But the happiness and the laughter,
Didn’t stay for long.
God had planned to test the bond,
Which had grown so strong.
So, one day, the princess sweet,
Was caught by villagers and bound,
She was hurt, lonely and sad,
But didn’t make a sound.
She knew her friend and love will come,
And she’ll be free and happy again.
So, she waited for that time,
Though she didn’t know when.
“I won’t let you die, Pearl,” I whispered, burying my face in my pillow. “I promise…”
And I cried.

The Water Monster 6

2009-01-02T15:59:00.002+05:30

I woke up with a jerk, beads of perspiration on my face. Taking a few deep breaths I sat up.
Just a dream, I thought nervously, looking out of the window. It was dark outside; night had fallen. Just a stupid dream...
I got off my bed and started getting dressed. I had to do something...
Jason was not there and that was a great comfort for me. I didn’t have to bother about waking him up accidentally. I looked around and spotted a plate of food near the bed. Maggie must have told Mother that I was not well. I hadn’t eaten all day, pretending to be asleep, still I didn’t feel hungry at all. The sight of food made me sick to the pit of my stomach. I turned away.
I crept downstairs barefoot, without making a sound. I could have climbed down through my bedroom window but I knew that would be noisy enough to wake Mother up. I went to the kitchen, took the broad, heavy knife which was used to cut meat, lit a lantern and crept to the backdoor. I remembered something quite suddenly and went upstairs to my room again. I hurried back downstairs with a dark coloured sheet, large enough to wrap Pearl into, took the knife and the lantern and stepped out into the night.
I had walked a small distance when someone called out, “Hey, you!”
I froze in my steps. I had the sheet draped around my shoulders coming down to my waist, concealing the knife behind me. The only thing I had in my hand was the lantern. I turned to see who had called.
“Where do you think you are going, boy?” a man asked, taking long strides towards me. “How old are you?”
“Nineteen, sir,” I said in a calm voice.
“Nineteen, eh?” The man looked at me, recognition dawning on his face. “You are not Christopher’s younger son, are you?”
“Yes, sir,” I nodded, giving him a small smile.
“Why are you out so late at night?” he asked, looking a bit friendlier.
“Actually, sir, my mother lost one of her earrings,” I spoke, trying to be convincing enough. “She thinks she lost it on her way back from the market in the evening, a few hours ago. Since my elder brother isn’t here right now, she asked me to go and see whether I can manage to find it.”
“Alright,” the man said in a gruff voice. “Just don’t go near the place where that monster is tied up, okay?”
“Isn’t anybody guarding that place?” I asked in surprised tone.
“Yes, there are two guards there,” he said seriously. “The problem is, nobody knows what sort of creature it is and people are scared about what it can do to them if they get too close. Even the guys who are guarding it in shifts of three hours, two at a time, they want to get away from it.”
“Oh, I see,” I muttered. I had just got an idea about how to free Pearl. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ll keep away from that place.”
“Go back home within an hour, get it, son?” he added, turning to go. “If you get into trouble, I’m here.” Saying this, he left.
I heaved a sigh of relief and started on my way to the village square.
It was really dark when I reached there. I had to approach the guards, but I didn’t know how. There were two of them, in front of the huge tree in the village square, just as the man had told me earlier. They were huddled together, glancing at the tree every few seconds, evidently scared. Slowly, I walked towards them.
“Excuse me,” I called out to them, as I got closer. “Did you find any earring around this place?”
The fatter of the two guards got to his feet, his stick in his hand.
“Stupid kid,” he growled, sounding angrier at his bad luck than my appearance. “You came here to look for a sissy earring in the middle of the night?”
“Mother sent me here,” I told him quietly. “And if you are bothered about the monster, I’m not scared of it.”
The guard looked at me in a very irritated way.
“Listen boy,” he said through gritted teeth, his nose inches from mine. “If that monster does something stupid to you, I’m not responsible. Get it?”
“It’s tied there,” I said, walking closer to the tree. “It can’t do any---”
I stopped short, making a choking noise. My lantern fell down and smashed on the ground, extinguishing the flame.
“Hey,” the other guard said, now on his feet, staring at me. “What’s wrong with him?”
The fat guard seemed to be at a loss of what to say or do as I sank to my knees, coughing, choking and uttering hoarse screams.
“Help…” I said in a barely audible voice, stretching my arm towards the pair of them. They stepped back from me, their faces white.
“What in the world---” the thinner of the two said in a shaky voice.
“It’s…” I choked again. “It’s going… to… kill me… help!” And with a final shudder, I fell silent.
The next thing I heard was the sound of running feet and a clatter of sticks falling on the ground as the two guards ran for their lives. I remained still for a few more seconds, and then sprang to my feet.
“Pearl?” I called, running frantically towards the tree. It was very dark and I couldn’t see properly. “Are you there?”
“Is that you, Patrick?” came a weak voice. I could make out the dark shape tied to the trunk. I reached her and started cutting the ropes in a frenzy.
“Stay still,” I told her, as I worked with the knife, barely able to see anything.
“I thought I heard your voice a while ago,” she whispered. “Were you hurt or something? I heard you asking for help.”
“I was trying to scare the guards away.” I cut my hand accidentally but didn’t bother to stop. “Did they hurt you?”
“Not really. Just that the ropes are too tight. Still, my skin has got bleeding cracks at places. I didn’t get water, you see…”
Finally, I finished cutting the ropes. They loosened and fell apart and she collapsed at once.
“You have to get back to the river,” I said, holding her. “Then you’ll be okay.”
“I won’t be okay anymore, Patrick,” she whispered weakly, scaring me. “I have stayed out of water for too long. I just wanted to see whether you’d come to free me… I’m glad you did.”
“Don’t say all that!” I told her fiercely, but she simply closed her eyes. “You’ll be just fine, understand?” It had started to rain. I somehow managed to wrap her up in the sheet and took her up in my arms. Then, I set off in the direction of the river as fast as I could.

“Patrick, it’s not going to work,” Pearl said, her low voice barely audible above the splashing sound of the heavy rain and the roaring river. I ignored her. I carried her, wading into the water and lowered her slowly, sinking to my knees as I did so. The river seemed to swell; the water was up to my chest.
“Patrick…” she spoke again, looking into my face.
“Stop trying to talk,” I said, looking at her full in the face for the first time that night. “Just… just get better. Okay?”
She simply stared at me with those dark eyes. Then she said, “I cant get better. I’m sorry.”
“Try, at least!” I almost yelled in my despair. “For my sake?”
She placed her hand on the side of my face and I took it in my own.
“I have to go, Patrick,” she whispered. The water was up to my shoulders, increasing fast.
“Then I’ll go with you,” I told her. “I can’t stay.”
“You have to stay… You have to live on. Your family is here.”
“I want to go with you,” I repeated, putting my arms around her so that her head rested on my shoulder. “And I will…” She put her arms around my neck.
“Patrick?” she asked without looking up.
“Yes?”
“Can you recite that poem again for me?”
The water was now up to my chin. It was only a matter of time before we would both drown in the furious river… It didn’t bother me.
“If you say so…” and I began.
“The princess of the seven seas,
She came out of the deep.
She was alone, she had no one,
And all she could do was weep.
The ground was hard, the sun was harsh,
As she kept walking on.
She lived on fruits and river-water,
And slept from dusk to dawn.
Then one day, she met someone---
A young village guy.
He found her in a forest, tired,
As he was passing by.
She slowly came to know him more,
And he knew her well.
They met each-other everyday,
As if bound by a spell.
The bond grew stronger, hidden from all,
While they came to know---
It was something more than that,
And the feeling did show.
It had to happen someday, sometime,
So, one fine summer dawn---
They let go of themselves in love,
And couldn’t stop then on.
But the happiness and the laughter,
Didn’t stay for long.
God had planned to test the bond,
Which had grown so strong.
So, one day, the princess sweet,
Was caught by villagers and bound,
She was hurt, lonely and sad,
But didn’t make a sound.
She knew her friend and love will come,
And she’ll be free and happy again.
So, she waited for that time,
Though she didn’t know when.
But when the young boy came to her rescue,
It was just too late.
One glance at her face told him that
What was in her fate.
He took the princess to the sea,
The water swirling blue,
She said, “Farewell, I have to go…”
He said, “I’ll go with you.”
And so, the princess with her prince,
Was happy at last and free,
And together, smiling, hand in hand,
They slept under the sea…”

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly... 2008

2008-12-31T15:38:00.000+05:30

Well, well... suddenly I got this idea into my head, while sipping tea (I made, yippee...this is one of those rare things I can do properly) last evening, thinking of the year which is almost drawing to a close (today's 31st...gosh!) that it would be nice to blog about whatever happened, good or bad, 'cause that would give me another excuse to torture all you readers out there...hehe! So, here goes nothing...

The GOOD Stuff...

2008-12-31T15:34:00.002+05:30

1. First thing that happened in January, WBUT results were out and thankfully enough my GPA didn’t decrease… Whew!
2. Then what…Oh yeah! The College Fest. Enjoyed a bit, though I didn’t go to Nazrul Manch on the final day. Honestly, if you guys ask me I was looking forward to something else at that time, not the fest! SOME people will realize what I’m talking about…hehe!
3. Hmm… My friendship with Solanki definitely makes it to this list. It improved and I’m glad about it. Earlier there was so much Why-Don’t-You-Try-To-Understand shit between us.
4. Monalisa’s attitude of course! Ah…What a relief, man! She listened when I told her I hate her clinginess (yeah, you got it- I hate clingy people). And she has become a close friend now.
5. Freedom at last- Ahem! I mean freedom from Physics and Chemistry and other shitty subjects in the third sem. Yuck…seriously!
6. Coming to know that SBA ma'am (Smita Basu, if you don't know, who's like an angel on earth) is our H.O.D. Sweet surprise!
7. Joining Hi5, maintaining my Gmail account properly and leaving Orkut! The first thing is not that important, Gmail is and well...I'm glad about the last bit that I did it.
8. The new Internet scheme at home! It's like a dream come true... Finally I got rid of dial-up. Sheesh!
9. Starting this blog, 'cause like I said, I write crap and like to go on torturing you readers out there. That's my hobby!
10. Writing some poems though they are a bit stupid may be. Who cares! I’m not writing for a book for heaven’s sake!
11. I got to know "somebody" better. And I got a new nickname for that "somebody".
12. Studying, I think, a bit better in the third sem. See, I'm not really brainy or anything, it's just a tiny flicker of hope. Never mind, I don't care whether I studied or not! Just that my GPA shouldn't decrease and if it does... I'm toast!
13. Getting to see a lot of good Animes and succeeding in getting a lot of songs. I just can’t live without music. Getting to know about Simple Plan, The Click Five, Linkin Park (I know I’m a duffer…please spare me), Evanescence and other bands.
14. Then? Well…getting admission in a Spanish Communicative Course, though I don’t know whether I’ll manage that language.
15. And…A Confession…I’m just so glad.

The BAD Stuff...

2008-12-31T15:33:00.000+05:30

1. Not enough improvement in my second semester GPA (though it didn’t decrease, as I said).
2. The Fresher’s was a mess thanks to the rain…absolute dampener! Though the guys worked really hard for everything. Par “Shaheed Toh Hona Hi Tha…”
3. Shubhangini and us. Even if you are reading this, Shubha, I’m going to write this. She has gone far away. I don’t mind and I can’t say whatever she is doing is wrong or anything just that I feel sad about it. Still…if you are happy, so am I.
4. Tuhina went mad around holidays (third sem). I don’t know what was wrong; she was suddenly behaving very weird. Though, thankfully enough, she’s okay in the head now.
5. PPL (Principles of Programming Languages or Pakau Programming Language, whichever you prefer though the latter is more appropriate) as a subject. And the worst thing is, this subject will be eating my head off till fourth year!
6. As if PPL isn’t bad enough, we got SH (someone go and tell him, he has chosen the wrong profession…that guy can’t teach) to teach us that one heck of a thing!
7. 160by2.com going bonkers. Someone told me that if I send a message once from that site it gets delivered some twenty times.
8. Airtel going nuts as well. It reduced the rates as well as the free stuff customers used to get. Though my cell phone allowance went up to 200 bucks, it doesn’t make a difference. Such a pain in the neck!
9. Not being able to finish a story I had started with so much hope…Some things never change. I’m very bad at concluding whatever I start. I abandoned the whole thing in the middle and it’s highly unlikely that I’ll take it up again.
10. I’m still not getting anywhere in writing Full-Of-Emotions stuff. And I can’t do away with rhyming words…I’m not exactly complaining. Never mind!
11. I hurt “somebody” a lot this year. I wish I had a time machine…
12. I’m still doubtful about getting better GPA. A bit scared…this is odd semester.
13. Not being able to watch a good movie with Sola and Mona. I really wanted to, though not right now. Sola please don’t throttle me for this. I know I cancelled our plans of going out…not in the mood. Sorry.
14. Not being able to get admission in Japanese Language course. Tried a lot…didn’t get it anywhere. Session starts in July!
15. A nightmare on the 27th of December. I can’t forgive myself…I really wish I had a time machine!

And the UGLY...

2008-12-31T15:32:00.000+05:30

Don’t even ask…do you expect me to blog about it? No way!

DISCONNECTED... :)

2008-12-29T15:51:00.001+05:30

Well... This New Year I'm definitely trying something 'new'. Disconnecting myself from the rest of the world. Rest of the world basically means my friends ('cause I'm definitely not going to my relatives, or for a trip with my family)... Asmita, Shikha, Navani, Solanki, Monalisa, Shubha, Ipsita, Annu, Sharmistha, Utsav, Avinash, Asha, Divya, Kaushik etc etc etc... (don't get mad at me now if I've not mentioned your name here! T_T I suffer from weak memory...) These people will not be able to reach me on my cell and I absolutely forbid any attempt to contact me on my landline for "New Year Wishes" (they will never forget the response they will get if they dare do that...hmph!). I need some time off from this freaky You-Have-To-Wish-Me-On-New-Year period of time. I don't complain about it usually... I like it (don't take it otherwise) I really do... keeping in touch with friends, wishing them, being happy, smiling and laughing with the people I love the most... but something has made me realize, I cause a lot of pain to these very people who love me and care about me... and I have done something for which I don't deserve to be forgiven. Till date I have never felt like this. If ever I had done something to hurt someone I have had some reason, either my short temper (which can't be helped), or my possesive attitude (which, I think, I inherited from my Sun Sign... again it can't be helped), or sometimes maybe I have been right in my own way... I always had the right to be forgiven, there was always the scope for the incident to be forgotten for good... But what happened this time, it is unforgivable. I don't even have the right to go and say sorry, I haven't, I simply can't. I just can't seem to come to terms with the fact that I have done something so terrible... I just stare into the darkness at night and ask myself, "How could I?" The only thing I can do is wait... Wait in the hope that everything will be alright again. So, guys and gals, till that time I am DISCONNECTED. As my status message in Orkut, Facebook and Hi5 reads--- "I Won't Be Available This New Year... No Calls, No SMS, No emails..." Bubbye till the 6th of January... and Happy New Year 2009. See ya! :)

WITH YOU...

2008-12-27T12:12:00.003+05:30

Whenever I close my eyes,
Trying to recall,
When was the time we first met,
When and how did I fall,
I just can't remember the time,
Or even that insane day,
When we had to say goodbye,
And I had to go away.
But I can't let go of memories,
You know that very well,
And when I look in your eyes,
My heart just seems to swell.
You know what I feel for you, but-
You try not to see,
And every passing moment says,
You're drifting away from me.
You are what I want the most,
It makes my very soul ache,
Sometimes it makes me feel like,
My whole life is at stake.
The day you leave me alone, I-
Don't know what I'll do,
May be I'll go back to God and-
Leave my heart with you.

MAINE KAHA THA, NA?

2008-12-19T20:04:00.005+05:30

Mmmm ... Mmmm ... Mmmm ...

"What the hell ... ?"
Mitushi opened her eyes sleepily. Something was making a weird vibrating sound, right under her pillow. She wondered what it was, then suddenly remembered.
"Damn!" she muttered. "Phone? Abhi kaun hai yaar?" She glanced at the digital clock on her table ... the digits gleamed in the dark--- 5.55 AM.
Angry at being woken up at that time, she didn't even check the number and picked up.
"'Ello?" she groaned.
"Hey Mitu? So rahi hai kya yaar?" the voice at the other end asked cheerfully. "Itni der baad uthaya?" It was Sameer, her classmate.
No, I'm sitting wide awake at six in the morning, she thought, gritting her teeth. Aloud she said, "Subah 6 baje log in general kya kar rahe hote hain?"
"Main toh jaga hua hun," Sameer went on with his usual cheer.
"Tu toh haiwaan hai ... maine general logon ki baat poochhi." Mitushi was still irritated. "Chhor ... what happened?"
"Aaj tuition aa rahi hai, na?"
"Haan, kyun?"
"Bio class ka notes le aana. Xerox karna hai ..."
"Tu class mein nahin tha? Unbelievable!"
"Well ..." Sameer sounded guilty, "Woh actually ... Sumita ma'am ne bulaya tha ..."
"Kyun?"
"Kehti hain Social Science ke liye model banao."
"Doob maro! Jab dekho she's after her own subject only ..." She glanced at the clock again--- two minutes past six.
"Main le aaungi ... ab sone de."
"Kitna soyegi?" he teased. "Class mein bhi soti hai, ghar pe bhi---"
"Tujhse permission leni padegi kya?" She was losing her temper now. Sameer seemed to have sensed it.
"Okay, okay! Ja, so ja," he said in a hurried way, so that she doesn't flare up. "Aaj phir se late ho gayi toh don't complain ... samjhi?"
"FINE!" Mitushi hung up and buried her face in her pillow.
"It's no use," she thought after a while. "Abhi kya khaak neend aayegi ... dhat! Anyways I have to get up at half past six."
She dragged herself out of her bed slowly and put on her slippers. Sunlight was already streaming in through her bedroom window. Summer mornings ... She thought of the bright, sunny day ahead and smiled to herself. She loved the summer season.
An hour later, she stepped out of her house. As she closed the main gate, she thought of what Sameer had said earlier. "Aaj phir se late ho gayi toh don't complain ... samjhi?"
"Aaj toh late nahin hone waali. Pehle se ja kar baithi rahungi," she thought. "Gadhe ne jaga jo diya hai!"

***

"Surprise, surprise!" said Sameer from the sofa as Mitushi stepped into the drawing room of her english teacher's apartment. "Kya baat hai madam? Aaj itni jaldi?"
"Tu yahan iss waqt kya kar raha hai?" she asked, bewildered. "Class start hone mein 40 minutes baaki hain, na?"
"Main toh hamesha jaldi aa jaata hun," he grinned. Mitushi shook her head. "Hopeless creature ..." she muttered to herself, sitting on the farther end of the sofa and eyeing him cautiously.
"Aise kya dekh rahi hai?" he asked, noticing her gaze.
"Main tere aas-paas nahin aane waali," she replied, waving him off. "Contagious hai ... padhai-likhai ki bimaari lag gayi toh?" She asked in mock concern.
"Chup reh," he snapped. "Bahut bolti hai ... Maano khud padhti hi--- Woh kya hai?"
Mitushi turned round to check the reason behind the abrupt change of subject. He was pointing at a weird showpiece with floral patterns, up on the shelf.
"Hoga kuch," she shrugged. "Sir ke paas toh aise namoone rehte hi hain." She indicated something else below it--- a laughing buddha figure.
"Arre, woh toh Feng-Shui related hai," he said, ignoring it. "Lekin ye toh bada ajeeb hai!" He walked up to the shelf and picked it up.
"Wapas rakh de," Mitushi warned him. "Kya kar raha hai?"
"Dikhne mein it's like ..." He started fiddling with it.
"Bola na Sameer, rakh de." By this time, he had walked up to the window and was holding it to the light.
"Bahut ajeeb hai ... kaisa dikhta hai dekh! Ekdum China clay pot ke neck portion jaisa!"
"Pagla gaya hai kya?" she retorted. "Poora pot kidhar gaya jo usski gardan yahan padi hai?" She started taking her notebook out of her bag.
"Pata nahin ... Aur kisi cheez ka part toh lagta hi nahin hai. Tu--- HEY!!" Mitushi whipped round.
"Kya hua?" she asked.
Sameer looked horror-struck. At last he muttered in a low voice, "Building se niche gir gaya ..."
"Heh?" Her eyebrows were raise in an Are-You-Nuts way.
"Haan. Haath se phisal gaya!" He started peering out of the window, trying to spot it.
"Niche chal." Mitushi's voice came from a distance and he turned to look. She was already at the door, zipping her bag shut.
"Kahan ja rahi hai?" he asked, confused.
"Uss cheez ke tukde dhoondne," she scowled at him. "Chal niche ... aur bag saath mein le."
A few minutes later, they were staring at a heap of sand outside the apartment building, right below the drawing room window out of which the showpeice had fallen. There was nothing there.
"Yahin pe toh girna chahiye," Mitushi muttered, completely lost. "Tune kahin pakad ke phenka toh nahin tha na?" She looked doubtfully at Sameer.
"Of course not!" he retorted angrily. "Main phenkoonga kyun bhala?" He started thinking seriously. "Kahan gayi ... seedha niche hi toh giri thi ..."
"Oye Sameer..." Mitushi called him.
"Sochne de."
"Sun na ..."
"Sochne de na yaar!"
"Arre idhar toh dekh!" She caught him by the arm and wheeled him around. A dog was playing in the street, rolling an object across the road ... something which had floral patterns on it ...
"Arre yeh toh wahi showpiece hai!" Sameer exclaimed, pointing at the dog.
"Haan," Mitushi sighed. "Aur yeh kutta isey lekar apni wife ko gift karne waala hai."
"Isski wife bhi hai?" he asked, unconvinced.
"Hogi ... Brahmachaari toh nahin lagta."
"Tujhe kaise pata?"
Mitushi slapped her forehead.
"Bakwaas band kar aur uss cheez ko wapas le aa!"
"Main akele jaaun?" He glanced at the dog again, this time clearly unimpressed by it's dirty looks.
"Haan, main sadak-chhaap kutton ke aas-paas nahin jaane waali. Main yahin rahungi!" She was firm on her point.
"Theek hai ... Ja raha hun ..." He slouched off slowly, the prospect was very uninviting. Still, he had no choice. He had dropped the showpiece in the first place and he had to get it back while it was still in one piece!
But it turned out that the dog wasn't really willing to help. As Sameer approached it, noticinghim, it quietly picked up it's priced possesion in it's mouth and took off towards the nearby park, leaving him and Mitushi totally dumbfounded.
"Bhagaya kyun usey?" She almost shouted at him.
"Maine nahin bhagaya, khud bhaag gaya!" Sameer seemed to be at a complete loss of what to say or do.
"Chalo," she said finally, striding off towards the park. "Ab ek kutte ka peechha karte firte hain."
He followed her, muttering under his breath, "Aur kuch nahin mila wife ko gift karne ke liye ..."
Once they entered the park, the dog was nowhere to be seen. There were a lot of kids--- playing, yelling at each other, on the swings, the slides, around the fountain ... but they couldn't find the dog anywhere.
"Ab ye kidhar gaya?" Mitushi said in an exasperated way. She walked up to the fountain and sat on it's edge, tired of the chase.
"Kya pata ... idhar hi toh ghusa tha," Sameer replied, equally confused about the whole thing. "Yahin kahin hona chahiye ..." He sat down beside her.
"Ab kya karen?" she asked, wishing nothing more than to go back home.
"Pata nahin," he said and checked his watch. "20 minute aur baki hain. Agar utne mein nahin mila toh wapas chale jaayenge."
"Ghar?" she asked, surprised.
"Nahin re, tuition wapas jaayenge." She groaned at the idea ... Same old studious guy!
"Agar sir ne showpiece ke baare mein poochha toh?" she argued. "Ye nahin keh sakte ki hum abhi pahunche hain kyunki aunty ne toh hamen pehle dekha hi hai."
"Keh denge bio ka naotes xerox karwaane gaye they Main Road tak," he replied flatly.
"Par xerox toh hamare paas hai nahin ..."
"Dukaan band hai." Again came a flat reply.
"Fine!" she said, defeated. "Baithe raho 20 minute yahin pe!"
"Teri jagah uss bachche ko mere saath hona chahiye tha uss time," Sameer spoke up suddenly after a few long minutes of silence. Mitushi turned round to look--- a small kid, hardly two years old, was playing under a tree with his mother by his side who was watching over him. The kid was giggling happily, his giggles mixed up with the yells and shouts of the other kids around.
"Kis time?" Mitushi asked, eyeing the kid in a confused way. Sameer was really fond of kids for some reason. "At least, abhi toh chup raho yaar ..." she thought, irritated.
"Jab woh kutta dikha tha. Tune toh usske paas jaane se inkaar kar diya tha. Uss bachche ko dekh--- jo cheez uss kutte ke muh mein thi, usi ko lekar khel raha hai."
"Heh?" Mitushi looked at the kid carefully. Of course, he was playing with the weird showpiece they were searching for!
"Yahan pe kya baitha hai! Chal, ja kar uss manhoos cheez ko wapas le aate hain!" She got to her feet.
"Aise mat ja," he said, shaking his head in disapproval. "Woh bachcha uss cheez se khel raha hai. Agar chheenegi toh rone lagega aur usski maa daudi chali aayegi ... Casual approach better hai. Just ja kar bolna hai ki woh cheez ek sadak chhaap kutte ke muh mein thi."
Slowly, after a lot of argument, Mitushi finally decided to go up to the kid's mother. She casually walked up to the kid and watched him for a moment. He was still playing with the showpiece and giggling. Suddenly, she said, "Arre ..."
"Keya (kya) hua?" the kid's mother asked in a bengali accent. Bong, huh? Mitushi smiled to herself.
"Aunty, eta apnaar chhele (Aunty, is this your kid)?" she asked the woman in a worried tone.
"Hain (yes)," the woman replied. "Keno (why)?"
"Ei jinish ta ke niye khelchhe (playing with this object)?" Mitushi went on. "Eta toh ektu agei ekta kukur er mukhe dekhlam (I saw it just a while ago in a dog's mouth)!"
"Tai naki (really)?" the mother said in a panicky voice.
"Hain (yes)," Mitushi nodded, wrinkling her nose a bit to show disgust. "Ektu agei baire dekhlam (saw it just a while ago outside)."
"Shona, ota phele dao (sweetie, throw it away)," the mother said, hurrying over to her kid. "She pried it out of his hands and immediately he started crying. "Na Shona, ota nongra ... nite nei (no sweetie, that's dirty ... you shouldn't take it)." Saying this, she raised the showpiece and, to Mitushi's horror, threw it away! Before she could run and see where it fell, the kid's mother started talking to her again.
"Bhaagyish, tumi bolle boley (thank God, you told me)!" she said, while Mitushi gave her a polite Anyone-Else-Would-Have-Done-the-Same smile. "Eijonyo bachchader chokhe-chokhe rakhte hoy (that's why you should never let children out of your sight)." The kid was still sobbing. She took him up in her arms and said, "Cholo Shona, ghure ashi (let's go sweetie, let's go for a stroll."
Panicking about the fate of the showpiece, Mitushi hurried back towards the fountain where Sameer was standing.
"Uss aunty ne toh utha ke phenk hi diya!" she said in a helpless voice.
"Haan, pata hai," he muttered. "Seedhe fountain mein gira."
"Fountain mein?" she said in disbelief. Then brightening up a bit, she asked, "Tab toh toota nahin hoga, na?"
"Nahin, nahin toota."
"Toh hai kidhar?" She looked into the rippling water at the bottom of the fountain. It wasn't there.
"Mujhe dekh kar kya lagta hai ki main itni der kya kar raha tha?" Sameer scowled.
Then she noticed. His trouser-ends were folded up several times, he was barefoot and his arms and legs were dripping wet. Even his hair and wire-rimmed glasses were sprayed with tiny water droplets.
"Tu paani main utra tha?" She couldn't believe it.
"Tujhe kya lagta hai?" He held up his left hand to show her--- he had the showpiece!
"Hmm ... Haan, utra tha," she said, after a second or two. Then they both burst out laughing.

***

"Aaj late kaise hua?" their Almost-Reaching-Sixty english teacher asked, as Mitushi and Sameer entered his apartment at five minutes past eight. "Sujata ne toh kaha aap donon pehle hi aa chuke ho?"
"Woh sir ..." Sameer hesitated. "Baat yeh hai ki---"
"Sir, actually ek problem ho gayi thi," Mitushi cut across him. "Main aapka ek showpiece dekh rahi thi---" Sameer blinked at her at this point, not understanding a word "--- aur woh mere haath se gir gaya. Wahi khonjne gaye they niche toh der ho gayi." She held up the weird object to show him.
"Ohh ... Ye?" their teacher laughed. He took it from Mitushi. "Yeh toh bass ek China clay pot ka neck portion hai. Isska baki hissa meri poti ne khel-khel meintod diya. Ajib andaaz mein bana tha issliye baki hissa toot gaya aur bass yeh reh gaya. Isey toh main aaj khud hi phenkne waala tha." And saying that, he flung it out of the drawing room window. A second later, a soft thud told them it had landed on the heap of sand.
Sameer and Mitushi stood rooted there in stunned disbelief. Then Sameer said, "Maine kaha tha, na?"

YIPPEEEEEEEEE.......!!!!! ^_^

2008-12-17T18:45:00.001+05:30

Exams over...:) though m not in a mood to write today...so bubbye!

AFTER 11 O' CLOCK :)

2008-12-03T12:05:00.002+05:30

I know all the trouble that I cause,
I'm the biggest jerk that ever was,
I know you wanna snatch your hair and yell,
But, all you say is, "What the hell?"

The wee little mistakes that you make,
The huge offences that I take,
Like dadi ka nakhra, in that new ad,
"Seventy-nine candles, aur itna chhota cake?"

But a fight with you, it makes me sad,
I feel guilty, I feel bad,
So, after eleven O' clock at night,
I call you up to set things right.

Then there's "I'm sorry","It's OK...",
"You're still pissed?","Main theek hoon re...",
And I tell myself, "Don't be upset",
Though I'm a big cry-baby, and my eyes go wet.

But an instant later, it's "Puh-leeze!",
"Chor...","Idiot!" we are at ease,
And when the last-minute-beeper screams,
Unwillingly, we say, "Good-night, sweet dreams..."

Hmm...Drew It Just Like That! :)

2008-12-02T10:53:00.001+05:30

Apologies, Apologies and Apologies...

2008-11-20T17:01:00.002+05:30

Well, my exams are coming...so, I won't be posting anything for a while. It's not that all this will make any difference to my results :'( but according to my parents I "should study and not waste time". Hmm...so much for education. ;)
See ya!

Wind...well that's what I think she signifies!:)

2008-11-12T19:04:00.003+05:30

Monster Mermaid...:( ...:D

2008-11-06T14:51:00.003+05:30

Hehe... See? This one is not pretty...^_^

AND SOME MORE... :)

2008-11-02T15:58:00.005+05:30

Never mind...I know I draw weird stuff! Hehehe...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE AROUND ME?

2008-11-02T14:21:00.002+05:30

I seriously don't know what was wrong in Data Structure lab last day (Saturday)... Our sweet SBA ma'am (trust me, when I say SBA ma'am is sweet, she's almost like an angel on earth^_^ seriously!) decided that we needed to practise more programs on Linked List. So, we people ended up with 9 more stubborn programs (stubborn because these programs are hell-bent that they won't get solved by us) with an insane AC (insane because it was freezing everyone like crazy, I dunno what was wrong with its temperature control mechanism)for company. Sudeshna suddenly went bonkers in the middle of all that and demanded that the AC be switched off. But, our Sir (sorry, I dunno his name) was like, "Well, I can raise the flap of the AC, but I can't switch it off... It will be really suffocating if I do that..." He was right. I can't cope with the smell of God-knows-when-they-were-last-washed socks. Medical science still hasn't found a cure for that I think. Anyways, where was I? Yeah, programs... Basically, there was nothing I could do, being average at DS and PPL. I was just sitting and staring at the screen, Sola in turn was staring at me, Mona went to sleep with her head on her arm and Ma'am had gathered all the people in our group whom I rarely see in class now-a-days (they are present for the last two days for submitting the exam form) and was explaining something about Binary Trees (it looks like a family tree, the elements are called children and parents and God-knows-what)... All of a sudden, I see Mona waking up. First of all, she looked mad with her hair out-of-place and a red patch on her nose, where she had pressed it against her arm for a long time. Secondly, without reason she switched on her comp and ran a random program. When it got stuck in the middle of execution, she started pressing the keys on the keyboard as if it was a piano, like some Dracula look-alike! With that, I heard some weird squeaking sound also, like some song... I turned around to find Sola singing, then muttering to herself, and when I looked really bewildered, they both burst out laughing. And I was like, "I always thought I'm the only nutcase around here!" What was wrong???

Now That I Know...

2008-10-29T20:47:00.003+05:30

... how to add images, here are a few more. :)

I'm not that good ... still ^_^

2008-10-29T20:06:00.003+05:30

Well, this is the most time consuming sketch ever! Did it long back in 9th grade i think... :) You guys judge it for yourself.

HAPPY DEEPAWALI...

2008-10-28T14:22:00.002+05:30

Just wishing you all a very happy and mind blowing diwali... that's all. I'm not writing anything nowadays. I've become lazy, you know. I hope to write again soon enough... Ajkal toh topic bhi nahin milta likhne ko. Dhat! :)
See ya, bubbye!

Boring Class and a New Timepass...

2008-10-18T19:14:00.001+05:30

Well... this is about yesterday. Actually, I blog only once a week, that's why I'm writing about it today. :) Can't help it... Dad's rules! :( Never mind. Where was I? Haan! Yesterday, Circuit Theory class. Let me tell you, Circuit Theory taught by a chalta-firta museum is the worst thing that can happen to you... seriously! In our case, this chalta-firta museum is JKS, a guy who's over 60 years but still hasn't retired (woh itne boodhe hain ki unke gaon ke saare bhoot-pret mar gaye O_O, believe me!) may be because teaching is his ultimate passion, who knows! So, now-a-days me and my two friends- Sola and Mona- have a new timepass in that period. We take a sheet of paper, one by one we write a line (whatever we feel like) on it and fold that portion so that the next person can't see it. When the page is full, we unfold it and read it, the outcome is darn funny. ^_^ We did it for the first time yesterday and this is what we got in the end:

This JKS budo (old guy) bothers us so much!!
This budo is maha-khadoos! Him and his extra brain! (He has got one lump on his forehead, Shyam told me its his extra brain!)
This JKS with his extra brain and this r****l Pritam- I will bang their heads together and JKS will be left with no extra brain.
Dunno what all crap he is writing on the board, total Hebrew!!
Let's run away, this place is infected by Laughing gas (two girls were continuously giggling at the back)! :(
Looking blankly at the board is so irritating.
Pritam has got brown-black hair and sloping shoulders...
Thought of a song- Who snuffed his brains out? Foo, foo, foo foo!
From tomorrow I'm taking energy tablets from JKS.(He is over 60, still climbs up the stairs to 3rd floor to teach us!)
This new guy (we don't know his name) has got Maple leaves on his shirt, that too dry ones.
And then I run my fingers through his dark hair... (Ahem! Ahem!)
These 3 padhakoos at the front- b*****ds!!!!(Can't write the next line, sorry)
Sir is fair fair na? The girls at the back are kinda pissing me off. (They were still laughing)
And then I get down. I've been riding him for so long... (Heh? O_O)
All chhagols' (goats') coming, mine not coming :( (Coming??? Not coming??? Oh, answer to the numerical...)
Lonely, I'm so lonely, (now, where did this come from?) I have nobody... :'( ... OR NOT!!!
Ahem! If anybody's listening, I was talking about a HORSE!
Dhat! Feel like jharofying all the padhakoos!

I know it's a waste of time and doesn't make any sense at all, BUT it's better than Circuit Theory class... So, my point is--- May be now you get an idea of how boring it is... *yawns* Even blogging about it makes me feel sleepy... *snores* Bubbye! See ya when I wake up...

About The Last Post...

2008-10-16T07:45:00.000+05:30

Whatever I have written about Durga Puja, somebody asked me "Tujhe Durga Puja se itni chidh hai?" after reading it. Well... seriously, don't get the wrong idea here! I hate HOLIDAYS... and I got to hear the same thing from two of my friends "I LOVE kids!" ... I wish I could agree. :( Baap re!

DURGA PUJA HOLIDAYS...

2008-10-04T18:17:00.000+05:30

The first word that comes to my mind when I think of HOLIDAYS is BORING... It's interesting as well, but the first word is boring... for me. Not for the rest of Engineering students may be. Mainly because of two reasons--- (1) I don't get to go to college and since I don't go out much, I have to sit at home and STUDY, which is not exactly interesting for me. (2) My cellphone balance gets low, really low, during this time (for me getting a recharge is not that easy, even with the EASY RECHARGES, read reason (1) again to know why). Still... it's the festive season--- DURGA PUJA after all, the biggest Autumn festival in the whole world (some radio channel told me that, I honestly don't know), so... so... so... I guess I shouldn't grumble about it. At least, not about Durga Puja Hols! I have never been very enthusiastic about this festival, but since I live in Kolkata now (not in Mughalsarai) I should learn to respect and enjoy it. I am trying to do that... seriously! I am already done with the first step in that direction--- shopping for clothes and talking about what I got from which store, generally termed as PUJA SHOPPING (I always love brand new t-shirts, who wouldn't...). And the second step--- PANDAL HOPPING--- I'm working towards that as well, but it depends on my parents. Actually, the night before last, dad was watching the news--- BLASTS IN AGARTALA--- and then he was like, "terrorists may be aiming for Kolkata during this Puja...", "you shouldn't go out...", "stay at home and keep outta trouble...", etc etc. I understand his concern, still... I'M GOING OUT ON PANCHAMI, DUH! I just hope I can go. The last step is I think VIJAYA DASHAMI, generally termed as SHUBHO BIJOYA here... Ooo! That is something! Relatives and neighbours pouring into your house (I hate crowds!), half a dozen kids making a lot of noise (I hate kids, especially the noisy ones!), people coming into your room and commenting on your height (how tall was Napolean, huh?), you suddenly discovering that your room has been converted into a guest room and you have to sleep in the same bed as your grandma (I hate sharing my bed!) and in the end, sweets, sweets and more sweets... (I hate sweets!) Whew! I hope it doesn't happen. Three steps to celebrate Durga Puja! Well, no. It's not always like this for everyone, but every year I end up facing all this (why me? Gawd!). I'm hoping this time it's different. I'm simply HOPING FOR THE BEST AND PREPARING FOR THE WORST (like I did last Holi... People came to play with colours and I locked myself up in my room! I'm damn scared of colours! Yeah, I know... I am one heck of a spoilsport). Let's see what happens...

RAIN...

2008-10-04T18:15:00.001+05:30

Pitter-patter-pitter-patter...
I listen to the rain.
Sitting by the open window,
Memories flood my mind again.

All these years, the things unsaid,
And the jokes we still share,
Inspite of the love and affection within,
The show of "I don't care".

That look, that smile and knowing glance,
And all those casual chats,
Of how you got late that morning,
Or how much I hate cats!

And all those silent, awkward moments,
Whenever we get to speak,
And the countless times you comfort me,
I feel my heart go weak...

All the times I get upset
And ask you, "Why is it so?"
You answer me, "You can't always
Get what you love the most, you know."

That is something you made me believe,
It always echoes in my mind.
God's almighty, God loves us all,
But life--- his gift--- is not so kind.

Still, I think of the day we parted,
And hope that I will meet you again.
I smile and slowly close my eyes,
And go on listening to the rain...

CONFESSION

2008-09-20T17:53:00.000+05:30

Well... I'm really sorry but I have to take the poem off the blog. Don't mind, I might post other poems as well later. Kinda busy right now. So can't write regularly... *sighs* See you later, bubbye! :)

Why Did He Do This?

2008-09-04T16:46:00.000+05:30

Today was good except for this small incident. After recess, Shubha went off with Sulagno to South City Mall (I think so... hehe!) and Sola went off to watch "Rock on!" with her boyfriend (he's a senior). Me and Mona stayed back to attend AS sir's class (Maths teacher, he teaches probability, and half the students prefer not doing his classes, well... actually more than half the students!) along with a few others. I was silently sketching some faces on a piece of paper which had other face-sketches as well. I do that most of the time, drawing faces to see which will suit which character of the stories I have thought of. Well, this paper had two good sketches and I was applying pencil-shades to one of them. Suddenly this guy, Sailender, came, got hold of the edge of the paper and tore it clean off! I got to my feet and hurled a handful of insults at him, but then, there was nothing I could do to repair the damage... I threw it away and didn't say anything. But I felt as if the characters got murdered or something. Why did he have to do that? Tearing off my imagination into two! This was one of the meanest things anybody has done to me... that also, without any reason.

Today's Special- Chakka Jaam!

2008-08-29T19:20:00.000+05:30

West Bengal and strikes seem to have an intimate relation for some reason. Seems like every other day people have a date with disruptions. Like today... Chakka Jaam. No vehicles plying on the city roads from three to five in the afternoon. College was kind of confusing, seriously! People didn't know whether to attend classes, especially since college gets over around 5 pm and inspite of the assurance of traffic normalcy, every single place will be crowded like crazy (which turned out to be correct, later on when I ended up waiting for half an hour in the line for an auto). Shubha sweetie didn't come, since she preferred "Rock On!" over classes! Me and Sola did classes, but she was sleepy and unfocused half the time. But something good happened after recess. We got a notice that the classes were suspended 2:30 pm onwards. Our poor circuit theory sir, JKS, well... he got upset. And it's not exactly nice to be in his vicinity when he's upset, since he has got a really squeaky voice. Temporal torture! He didn't have a choice though, and me and Mona landed up in Sola's house. There, we got into an argument, all three of us. Sola thrust two skirts into my and Mona's arms and asked us to change, the only explanation being, "Ma said, you two will be better off in skirts than your damp jeans. It will be more comfy." But thankfully, we managed to dodge that request. Around 5 O' clock, we started to leave. But Sola's house, and leaving without having anything is not an option. Mona had an "Upwaas" (fast) and didn't touch a thing. I, reluctantly enough, had tea. But later while walking back to Tollygunge, I was grateful for it, it was refreshing. But as soon as my eyes fell on the line for Sakherbazar auto, I lost all my energy. There were almost fifty people in the queue... Gawd! I managed to get back home before 6:30 pm, and I'm feeling darn tired... and sleepy! *yawns* Sayonara... *snores*
(By the way, JKS found a valentine! One of the guys in our class, Shyam Kumar Jha, he went up to sir when he was explaining something to three-four students huddled around his table and bent low real close to his face, close enough to kiss him! When he realised how close he was to sir, weirdly enough he found it very funny and burst out laughing at his face. I'm surprised sir didn't say anything, though may be he didn't even notice... You know, he's old with a completely snow white hair. But his agility defies his age... Hmph! Comes to teach every single day.)

Shubha? It Was You!

2008-08-26T18:24:00.000+05:30

Today classes were a sleepy affair. I was up till 2 am last night reading a Sydney Sheldon book (now that I think about it, I feel I should have gone to sleep!). So, you can probably guess my condition when I woke up in the morning at 7:30... Gawd! Seriously haggard! Still I managed to reach college without any accidents. Whew! Shubha also, as usual, missed the first period (her idea of back-up, the same message to three people- "First period proxy, please!"). When I asked her about it, she told me the same thing, "I'm darn sleepy, yaar!" and we ended up bunking ND sir's period (the maths teacher) and listening to mp3 sitting on the stairs. Suddenly, Shubha told me, "Hey! Listen to this song. I know it's slow but I think you'll like it." She pushed both the earphones into my ears and told Sola she's next in line. I listened quietly, trying to understand which song it is. It was "You say it best, when you say nothing at all..." I had never heard it before and liked it quite a lot, wondering who is the artist. I said to Shubha, "It's damn nice, man! Who's the artist?" And she answered, "Me."
It took me and Sola a few long seconds to register what she had said, and when we did, all we could do was gape at her. She smiled and said, "I recorded it for Sulagno, he liked it." (By the way, today completes three months of their relationship. This guy even got her a cake to celebrate! So sweet!) Sola grabbed at the player and started listening. The more she listened, the more pronounced was her "Wow!" "How did you manage to do it?" I asked. "I mean, the music and all..." "Just downloaded the karaoke file from internet, played it and sang along," she said simply. And here I was, wondering if its Avril Lavigne! Hehe... :)

Rakshabandhan... Whew!

2008-08-16T17:09:00.001+05:30

Well, today is Rakshabandhan. It was nice as well as weird. Nice because I love tying my brother Rakhi ( and getting something in return ) and weird because me and my friends did all sorts of weird stuff at college. First of all, I was supposed to get up a bit early in the morning, around 7 am, have a quick bath, get a Rakhi from the nearby shop and tie it on my brother's wrist ( his right wrist, actually). Now let me tell you one thing, I am a LATE RISER. I can't get up early even to save my neck, leave alone Rakshbandhan! So, I, well, got up around 8 am, managed to get the Rakhi by 8:45 and arranged everything. Then when it came to tying the Rakhi on my bro's wrist, I messed up. Instead of tying it on his RIGHT wrist, I tied it on his LEFT one ( I figured that out when I saw the video on my dad's laptop)! Gawd! Anyways, I left for college soon after that.
Now, I've got many friends at college, but here I'm going to mention only three of them. SOLANKI HALDER ( whom we affectionately call SOLA), SHUBHANGINI S ( SHUBHA, the S is actually her surname) and MONALISA PAL (MONA). When classes got over we three decided to check out a nearby shop. Sola was supposed to buy a Rakhi fro her brother Bob ( I can't believe she didn't tie it in the morning!), I was supposed to get a hair-clutcher for myself ( something like a clip, I have run out of rubber bands, its SO unfair) and Shubha and Mona were simply accompanying us. We entered the shop and instead of asking for a Rakhi and a clutcher all four of us started drooling over the showcase of earrings which was just beside the entrace of the shop! We were so excited that the shopkeeper thought we had come to buy earrings... *sighs* When he found out we weren't buying any, he got a bit pissed. Never mind that! In the middle of all this mess, Shubha got a phone call and headed back to college. Well, me and Sola remembered what we had actually come for and asked for Rakhis and clutchers. But didn't find anything good enough and the price seemed too much. We left the shop disappointed.
We managed to find another shop some distance away. Sola got a Rakhi at last ( she was more worried about her brother's choice than hers) and I bought two clutchers. Even Mona who was just accompanying us, got herself a kajal ( I can hardly tell the difference between that and an eyeliner).
Got back home after that and now I'm writing this crap. Well, my dad is scolding me about food again, so I've to go and eat. See you later... Bubbye!

I, Me and... All the Crazy Things That I Do! ^_^

2008-08-15T16:26:00.002+05:30

Well ... I am Shama Kollya from Kolkata, India. I haven't ever blogged in my life till date... so I don't exactly know how to begin. Recently I saw a blog by a friend and thought it might be good, writing about things online so... I started today. Today is anyways very special because its our Independence Day after all... Oh! Well I am supposed to give my introduction here... almost forgot. I am actually a college student, very thin, I don't eat much (and my parents scold me a lot for that), a big fan of Anime (Japanese animation...you can tell that from my profile picture), studying and all, having fun with my friends, staying with my family... doing B.Tech you know. I'm not exactly a very bright student but doing my best... I am hoping to be a better writer (my compositions are awful, you know...) So, I guess I 'll be blogging for a while. Anyways, see you soon... Bubbye! :D