Becoming ONE !

So there was SHE in blue dress with a white shade in between resonating Her shine. Her short stature did not shield the inner persona in any way but was in fact highlighting and reflecting it. Her steps were slow and short with an erect posture and body movement. Although I was seeing Her after four years but a mere glimpse brought back whatever remembrance I had of Her and the mind easily correlated and accepted it.
The occasion was preplanned and arranged. It was a get together of the two families at a hotel which was not far from my residence. After some time into conversation snacks were offered which played whatever role they could in breaking the ice between the two families. After some food and drinks the time came to have an individual one to one conversation with Her in the adjoining hall.
Saying a simple Hi was the most that could have been done at that moment. I seated, after offering Her the adjacent seat. It was not a date but it looked like one. The cool ambience that the hall provided with dim mercury lights and soothing music of a hindi film song made the moment more serene.
This time the mind was free from any judgments, beliefs and prejudices. It had no aim or target to achieve. It was in no hurry to have any conversation. Nor was it weighing any pros and cons it generally does before arriving at any decision.
But the conversation had to happen even if it was to be done for its own sake. The talk when started gave an ample reason to decipher the persona through the eyes. The eye contact was straight and sharp but discreet sometimes so that it did not fall in the category of stare. Her voice was very soft to the ears and the words spoken were evenly spaced and in fine balance..
Expressions through words have a limit and they cannot be solely relied upon. In fact it is the feel with the other person that is more important than to know about him as an individual. That feel can only come if it is equally reciprocated, if it is equally shared and if it leads to a feeling of belonging with the other. A feeling that comes automatically and without knowing and with which one becomes comfortable with.
An exchange of thoughts was now taking place and gained momentum with both of us playing their part even if it was just to keep the conversation going. One part of the mind was saying to let it continue; the other part was ready to blurt the approval made long ago. And then it came in no uncertain terms when I said – “From my side it is a Yes!”
It was accepted there and then with a smiling gesture.
The very next day I received a mail from my friend asking me when I was ending my bachelorhood and becoming Two from One!!
My reply was instant –“I have met my other Half yesterday and will soon be becoming ONE” :-)

Capturing it BIG

(Click to enlarge)

Its a new year once again according to the calendar and the winters are at their peak and no matter how much I avoid not being out during these days I somehow passed one of the longest night last week at a place that to me often brings a feeling of deja vu - RAILWAY STATION.

A place where people (and even animals) from different strata of the society (and even who are outside of what we call society) come together, see each other, think about each other and make views about each other according to their own mental make up and prejudices. One can view different sets of personalities, dressing sense and different habits and behaviours. Our subconscious mind is always analyzing the stuff constantly developing around us. If one's senses are active and working one cant help but retain his or her observations in the mind for future reference.
So I was there on a chilly night, the temperature falling to the season's lowest as I was told by somebody. The developing fog was clearly visible. The train was to arrive at 2220. Initially it was late by 1 hour. Then it was announced that it will be late by 3 hours. When you expect something and you also have a feeling of fear in you that it will be a one time opportunity (in my case boarding the train) what do u do?

STAY AWAKE. And that was what I was struggling to do. Cups of tea and coffee which we like to have during this kind of weather had by now lost their relevance. Feeling a little shivery I vowed to find out the brand of my inner vest once I reached home and never to buy that one again in my life. At around 3.30 the ting tong lady announced that the train is expected to arrive shortly.It was during this time that I heard some uproar some distance away. If the reason had been something else I would have gone there to actually know what was happening but this time I just moved my head in the direction from where I heard the noise and literally I stood still for a few seconds.
The first question that crossed my mind was Who is He? Certainly not a human being. But he had all the necessary functions to be called one. And Oh! He is walking too! How is he doing it? Long and large hands and legs. A large big face. Its really an extrordinary thing to watch a person as tall and large as He was in real life. How does He handle himself?. I started walking and went a little close to him. Wanting to capture the rare opportunity I took out my mobile and focused it on him. He showed an angry face when he saw me taking his picture. Realising that I immediately kept my mobile inside. The people nearby asked him some questions but they fell on a deaf ear as he sounded illiterate and did not respond much. Although I did thought of taking a snap with him but could not muster the courage to do so. By this time my sleepiness had gone and I heard the horn of the train.

If the train had been a bit early I would not have got the opportunity to watch and capture one of God's rare creation. The wait for the train now seemed worth. :)

In the picture above compare HIS height with the people standing nearby. But as they say Seeing is Believing.

O-HO !!

Recently I was asked to go on an offical tour to some nearby regions of Amritsar and Tarantaran of Punjab. As it was the first time I was visiting small towns of Punjab I was very anxious.I reached Amritsar by bus at around 11. Already late and no time to get to the hotel I placed my luggage in the cloak room and went to the local bus station to catch the bus to a small town Othian some 15-20 km away. The bus was already standing but it was almost empty. I was waiting for the bus to start so that I could climb on it.

It was then when I saw an old sikh man. He must be in his 70's. I immediately understood that he was a villager. He was wearing a white turban which was not neatly done and I thought that he must have hurriedly tied it. A second thought came that a neat one would have been out of place on his overall dress. He was wearing a wrinkled white kurta and pyjamas. He had a nice flowing white beard. Seeing me, he came to me and asked "Othian layi kedi bus jayegi ?"(Which bus will go to Othian?) "Ay ho bus jayegi menu v uthe hi jaana hai, aao" (This bus will go. I also have to go there, come.) I replied and climbed on the bus and he followed. He took the window seat and I got seated next to him. I could easily smell the odour one gets from village folk.

The bus started and I hoped to reach my destination soon. The driver put the cd of punjabi songs and the music started blaring. I gave up the idea of listening to music on my mobile which feels great when one is watching the green countryside. Cool wind was blowing outside I could see the flowing white beard of my companion from the corner of my eye. Why do we shy away from getting into physical contact with people who are not of our class or position or who are so different from us in many respects. I thought.

I positioned my elbow in such a way so that I could remain in contact with his body for a while. Inspite of having a small conversation earlier I had not seen his face completely. I turned my head and saw outside from the window so that I could see his face too. He had sparkling eyes which were a little moist. The moistness we often see when one is happy or sympathetic. The wrinkles were clearly visible and the curve below his eyes said that he smiled too often. I imagined him playing with little children and having a hearty laugh.

The ticket collector came and thinking that the ticket might not be costing more than a few bucks I asked him for two tickets to Othian. A hand grabbed my wrist. "Is tarah ni kareda bachhe"(One doesn't do like this my child) and he passed the money to the collector and took his own ticket. I saw him taking out the money from his pocket. He had one hundred note, a few ten rupee and few coins. He kept the ticket in his pocket looked at me, smiled, thought something and moved his head away and started looking outside. The destination was not far off.

The lady on the next seat ws inquiring about the daughter in law of the other lady whom she had met for the first time. How easily we forget the interactions we have with other people. What can we do to really turn an interaction into a pleasant experience? I will go my way and he will go his. I thought.

The bus now was bustling with village people and the music shifted itself into the background and was hardly audible. Seeing the name Othian on the shops outside I got up and told my neighbour that the destination has come. Both of us together with some other passengers got down.

He got perplexed after getting down as if something nasty had happened. He immediately went to a nearby shop and inquired if that place was Hothian. I was stunned and speechless. I on my part asked a person nearby if there was a place by the name Hothian. He told me that it was very far from there. "Tuanu hothian jana si ? "(You wanted to go to Hothian ?) I asked the old man in my crooked punjabi accent. "Haan"(Yes) he said. "O-HO !" I exclaimed.

"Ohi te! tu O suneya te mein Ho kahea !" (Yeah! you heard 'O' instead of 'Ho' !) . I saw a big smile with a grin on his face with twinkling eyes. But I felt ashamed and unforgivable. It was due to me that he was there at that stage. Later I gathered that I did heard Hothian when he inquired about it at the bus station but at that time I thought he didn't knew the exact name. But I was wrong. I was already late and didn't knew how to help him. May be the only solution for him was to catch the bus going the other way and spend some more money and time. I had no courage to give him money for the ticket. Nor I felt like saying him goodbye.

"Hune idronh hi vaapsi di bus aayegi tusi o le laina" (A bus will come back through same route take that one) is all that I said to him not thinking that he already knew it. I remembered him all day long and till my stay in Amritsar I was reminded of him whenever I went past the bus station. He might be somewhere now and probably I will forget him soon.

Missing the target !

This is an incident I had a few years ago when I was in Kanpur. The winter had just started and I preferred keeping my windows open so that fresh air can make my sleep more enchanting. I generally am in the habit of covering whole body from head to toe if its chilling outside.So there was I, sleeping soundly. There comes a time in the morning when although we are sleeping we unconsciously know that the morning has come and its time to wake up. So it was during this time that something hit my face with a bang. The sound of it was too loud for me to understand what was it. Although living alone generally I dont fear moving into my empty house even when it is dark, but this time it was different. I just laid there. The sheet was still covering my face but the hit was real nasty and I just couldn't comprehend what was it. Has the fan above me fallen down? No its so big, it cant be. Has one of the wings broken. No I can still feel the air of the fan. Two minutes gone then five minutes. I was really worried. Or is it my windows are open and may be some bird has accidentally got inside and got hit with the fan and now it lays their. oh shit! is it some crow? sparrow. Oh my! these thoughts ran fast through my mind.Then finally I took courage and very fast I lifted my blanket to really see the thing. Fear and curiosity both were ruling inside my mind by then. What was it ? Where is it? I couldnt locate anything. I got up and then walked a little to the window.

There it was lying just behind the door. Well Oh! its the folded newspaper with a tight rubber band on top. Now I got more curious. To my amazement the windows had iron bars and something can get inside only if it is thrown almost straight from outside but my flat was on the second floor and the newspaper vendor always has to throw it from below. Only this time he missed the target which till then was always my balcony. :)

Now I was getting more curious. I then did my own research. In the end I came to the conclusion that there's only one way that it can really enter through the bars. All the permutation and combinations pointed out that only when the object (in this case folded newspaper) is approx 45 degrees titled and also takes one more turn when half of it is already inside the bars of the window that the object can enter. It was a highly improbable thing and I was able replicate the action only after doing some hard work by really working it out.

Since then till I stayed in Kanpur I never covered my face while sleeping or whenever I did I took care that the windows are closed. :)