Different yet alike or Alike yet different

He was a part of them, and yet not one of them. He looked like them in appearance but not in the mind. He appeared to be on their side, and yet always followed his own path. He was the youngest in the group, yet mature in his thoughts. He was like that as long as he could remember. 

At seven, when other young boys in the group bathed in the river and played on its banks, he dreamed about sitting with his mother and listening to her songs. At nine, when other boys in class got into fist fights, he talked to his sister. At fourteen, when others talked about girls in deriding manner, he told them stories about brave queens and goddesses that he had heard from his mother. At eighteen, when other boys mistreated their wives, he stayed mum about the way he treated his own. 

He didn't mistreat his wife. But neither did he treat her any special in public. He was educated. But not so much to be able to avoid the social stigma of being called a henpecked husband surrounded by illiterate people he called society.  

Day 3 - Picture prompt

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

World upside down

I remember that day clearly. The day my world went upside down. It was around 8 in the evening. Sunaina, my wife was on her way back home. She had been a little late from office due to March coming to a close. The weather was getting hotter. Slowly, the weather Gods would be increasing their wrath, as if testing people’s patience or punishing them for their past life’s crimes. I had reached home on time and served myself a couple of glasses of fresh lime juice. The sugary sweet taste of fresh lime juice was a perfect anecdote for the weather. Meanwhile, waiting for my wife, I had cut vegetables and soaked rice. Tonight, we had planned on having biryani. I loved devouring my wife’s biryani. Not just biryani, I loved everything she cooked. My stomach churned a little and I helped myself to a few pieces of cake she had baked a couple of days ago. I left last two pieces as post dinner dessert.

Little did I know my world was about to go upside down in a few minutes. Little did I know that I wouldn’t be able to have my last piece of cake. Little did I know that I would not be able to have my wife’s biryani that day. Little did I know that my wife would come home with a doctor’s report making me a diabetic and snatching me away from the true love of my life – sweets.  

Day 2 - Picture prompt

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

The colour of everything I knew

The first thing I noticed about you and fell for, it was the colour of your eyes. When we were on the dance floor, it was the colour of my twirling dress. When you held my hand for the first time, it was the colour of the chandelier in the restaurant. When you made me laugh lifting my spirits from its dungeons, it was the colour I saw fading from my mood. When time stopped by as we intertwined our lips, it was the colour of the sky and promises of a happy future. When you took my breath away asking me to marry you, it was the colour of the ocean below us and its reflection in my tears. 

After our first misunderstanding, because you thought I was lying to you, it was the colour of my bruises. As I sat for days and nights crying, it was the colour of the door I pleaded into. While you abused my body night after night, it was the colour of my numbness. When you asked me to cook for you over a call with a voice full of kindness, it was the last colour I saw when I switched on the stove.    

 Day 1 : Picture prompt

‘I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

Truth - 100 words

Since an hour, her mother grumbled something.

‘Why are you grumbling without reasons?’ asked dad.

‘It wasn’t me. You are mistaken. You don’t trust me?’ said dad after hearing mom. 

‘You are lying. Don’t fool me. I know it was you’ she heard her mom say.  

‘I wasn’t even at home. How could I have done this? Ask Neha, she was at home whole day’. dad said

And she realized that she could no longer hide the truth. She had to tell her mother that it was she and not her diabetic dad who had finished entire packet of rasgullas.

This post is written for 100 Words on Saturday by Write Tribe. The prompt was - ‘She realized that she could no longer hide the truth’

Haha.. Let's joke on women today as well !!

It is almost evening as I type this. I wrote about an inspirational woman here during the Write Tribe Festival and hence, my mind was still searching for clues to write upon for today’s theme. It is a weekend and my cheery mode was on activation, especially with all the wonderful messages I received and posts that I read for today. And then, I received the following message in one of my Whatsapp groups:

HAPPY MEN'S DAY!!! For the first time something on a MAN. Do read it...Who is a MAN?

A man is the most beautiful part of God's creation who starts compromising at a very tender age. He sacrifices his chocolates for his sister. He sacrifices his dreams for just a smile on his parents face. He spends his entire pocket money on buying gifts for the lady he loves just to see her smiling. He sacrifices his full youth for his wife & children by working late at night without any complain. He builds their future by taking loans from banks & repaying them for lifetime. He struggles a lot & still has to bear scolding from his mother, wife & boss. His life finally ends up only by compromising for others' happiness.

BECHARA MARD...!?

Agar aurat par hath uthaye to besharam, aurat se maar khae to buzdil,

Aurat ko kisi ke saat dekh ker ladai kare to jealous, chup rahe to darpok,

Ghar se bahar rahe to aawara, ghar me rahe to naakara,

Bachhon ko daante to zaalim, na daante to laparwah,

Aurat ko naukari karane se roke to shak karne wala, aurat ko naukari karane se na rokey to biwi ki kamai khane wala,

Maa ki maane to chamcha, biwi ki sune to joru ka gulam..

Na Jane Kab Aayega.. "HAPPY MEN'S DAY” Respect every male in your life. You will never know what he has sacrificed for you. Worth sending to every man to make him smile & every woman to make her realize his worth!! HAPPY MEN'S DAY JO OFFICIALLY KABI  NAHI AAYEGA..

Had it been any other day, I would have laughed it off adding some tongue showing emoticons in the response. May be I would have taken this with a pinch of salt and started a friendly Men vs. Women argument. May be I would not have even responded.

But not today. Today, something irked me with the above message. I know the above message was not against women per se. But today, when the world is celebrating the women in their life, there was one man who thought of sending the above message.

I could have put up an equally strong and long message about the sacrifices women make but I am sure it would have hurt my fingers typing such a huge list. And an equally acerbic response to the way women are labeled and judged on whatever they do. But no Sir. I did not do any such thing to avoid much hurt to my delicate fingers who I thought should better be used for typing some wonderful posts. And I just responded by saying that there is a special day dedicated for men which is celebrated on 19^th November every year and that the above message was distasteful for today’s day.  

I was replied with a message that wasn’t it distasteful of me to think that we should be celebrating womanhood only on a single day rather than everyday?

Oh, what a wonderful thought it was!! So my response to this wonderful thought was something that I read today from one of the fellow bloggers - that we live every single day of our life, then why do we celebrate our birthday only once a year? If there is a particular day dedicated to celebrating womanhood, why can’t we just revel in it?  

And also the fact, that I celebrate the woman in me and wonderful women around me, every single day. It’s just that today, along with ourselves, we give the men around a chance to celebrate us.

I don’t know why any joke on women today irked me. I even sent a disclaimer warning to a dear friend saying that dare he irk me more today with jokes on women, the HALO on my head would not take time to get converted into some deadly HORNS ;)

It’s not that I have not read such jokes on women before. Trust me, there are ample of them and some are pretty creative too. I have laughed them off as well. May be, I have even sent a few around myself. But, I really don’t know why could I not take a joke on women today? I am not anti-men or something but today I just couldn’t take a joke on me. Is it because I thought that why can’t there be even a single day when women are not mocked about or something else, I really don’t know.  

I don’t even know if this post makes any sense on today’s occasion. Hope you had a better celebration of Women’s Day. To all the lovely ladies out there, a Happy Women’s Day to you.

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 7. And the theme was WOMEN.

A Bunch of 55 Fiction

In love with a Blogger:

He:   I like you and I know you don’t. I can’t force you to like me.

She: I hope you understand.

He:   Yeah. But hey, I hope you are not going to blog about this proposal.

She: Nope. I won’t.

Half an hour later

Post Title – The Proposal

*Now, what should be the character’s name?*

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The Misunderstanding:

She: Come on, she was not worth your love. Move on buddy. And what is all this shit about not getting married ever? Trust me, if you don’t marry, then an amazing woman shall loose an opportunity to have a superb husband in you.

He:  *Amazing woman? Oh my God, is she talking about herself? *

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What are friends for?

Me:        Tomorrow is first exam of our MBA. Its accounts and you are a science                     graduate. Would you pass?

Friend:   Don’t you worry. I am going to score good in this paper too.

Me:         Ok. What is a balance sheet?

Friend:   Balance sheet is where journal entries are made.

Me:         *He is going to fail*  

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Destiny?

Jia:     You know I have phobia of doctors. Just tell him that I have fever and                      cough.

Mom:  You can’t take medicines like that every time. And this new doctor doesn’t              prescribe medicines without seeing the patient.

Jia:     Then, I would prefer dying here.

*A year later on a wedding card*

Jia Weds Dr. Sushant

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Tit for Tat:

Neha:     That client Rahul is giving me such nightmares with the agreement. He                  just rejects whatever I propose.

Meera:    Forget him. Somebody coming to see you tomorrow for arranged                              marriage thing?

Neha:      I don’t even know who has been called by Mom now?

*Next Day*

"Rahul Malhotra, you are so getting rejected". *Cheshire Cat Grin*

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 6 And the theme was 55 Fiction.

Inspiring, isn't it ??

BlogAdda

Inspiration. One of the most positive words when it comes to us writers. We find inspiration in the most common looking things and in the most routine of the circumstances. Or in most ordinary people. Real people. Not just the heroic tell-tale ones. The ones, who fell down at some points of time in their lives but didn’t give up, stood up again. I know everybody would have heard this line a million times. Sounds clichéd isn’t it? But still, when you see people actually following this line in the truest form, you believe that yes, there are people like these. People around us.  

Five Years Back:

She is a friend. A college friend I met in my Business school - the place where young harbor the dreams of high-flying corporate jobs. We weren’t any different. We had similar hopes too. It was just that we entered or rather we were exiting a B-school at one of the worst times. The doomed financial year of 2008-09. The one which changed the future of many companies and along with it the dreams of many B-school students who were to pass out that year. The companies were distributing pink slips and hiring was the cuss word. And that too fresh MBAs? No. Never, said most of them. The Placement Committee (of which yours truly was a part of) worked in overdrive. Calling companies one after the other. Trying to lure them to visit the school. Just a handful few paid heed to us.

It was late January. Quite late by B-school standards of getting placed. More than half of the Finance stream students were yet to be placed. A bank had shown some mercy on our school and had come for recruiting. But, that Bank was the last hope. Because after that bank, there were no companies lined up for recruitment. Group Discussions and Interviews. We gave our best. Hoped.  Prayed. Prayed hard for getting placed. But luck had different plans. We (as in me and my friend) weren’t a part of five students that were recruited that day. Sad faces loomed around. Because as I said, we didn’t have any more companies lined up.

Everybody left one by one. We were the last ones. We were sad but none of us was in a mood to say anything. Just before leaving, at the parking, she broke down. Completely. I joined too. The ‘what nexts?’ found their place in our tear laden voices. Take up marketing jobs, may be? And then, came the ‘why does God always have to do this to me’ questions. The ones for which we didn’t have any answers. She cried about her unused law degree, her lost dreams of clearing IAS exam even after slogging for years, the fact that her younger sister was well settled in her career, the fact that when she entered the best B-school of the State she had hoped that now, atleast now her career would take a better turn. I had never ever seen her like that. Broken down, totally. I don’t remember how long we cried that day in the empty, dimly lit parking lot of a place which once held high hopes for us.   

Today:

That was some other day. Today is another. And today, my friend runs multi-crore business ventures. Yes. You read it right. The same woman who had broken down in the parking lot five years back for not getting placed in a bank, today runs business ventures giving employment to many. She runs a Credit Co-operative society with eight branches all over Gujarat and Rajasthan. She runs another business of manufacturing ready-to-eat snacks and a venture in textiles. And she does it, single handedly.

Wasn’t an easy journey for her. She eventually did get placed in one of the Credit Co-operative societies from Rajasthan at a salary most of us would not have taken. She stayed in various cities of Rajasthan away from her family for a year and half surviving in that meager salary, learnt the ropes of the business, left her job and created her own Credit Co-operative society which today is giving some serious competition to the one she initially joined. And mind you, the one she joined had been established way back in the year 1999.

The woman I knew back in cold January of 2009, the woman who cried along with me for not getting placed in a bank is the woman today who is a business woman, the woman who has learnt the ropes of the trade, who knows how to deal with people. She is the woman who has made something out of herself. Inspiring. Isn’t it?  

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 5 where we had to share an inspiring story / a personal experience that will inspire.

The Palace of Illusions - Review

Now, before you go ahead with this review, let me warn you this is the first time I am putting up a book review and had it not been for the Write Tribe’s prompt, I would mostly not have attempted reviewing a book in near future.

But now that we are here, let’s begin. The book I am reviewing today is ‘The Palace of Illusions’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Let me tell you that I am not at all a mythology person. In fact, mythology to me is literally kaala akshar bhains barabar :P  And hence this is the first book that I read on mythology after some serious recommendation by a friend. I was pretty sure that I would give up after reading first few pages. But this book kept me hooked. And hooked like anything.

The Book:

The Palace of Illusions is the epic tale of The Mahabharat narrated from Panchaali’s eyes. The book is written in first person and throughout the book, Panchaali narrates incidence after incidence beginning right from her abnormal birth, her lonely childhood, her mysterious friendship and relationship with Krishna, her feminist thoughts, her married life with Five Pandavas, relationship with her mother-in-law Kunti, her distinct role in keeping Pandavas together, her insecurities as a woman, her secret and strange attraction to Karna, motherhood and her journey all through the while fulfilling every word of the phrase of ‘the woman who shall change the course of history’ spoken at the time of her birth.

Some amazing lines and their significance in today’s times:

There are so many instances and beautifully woven lines that you would find relevant even today. Putting together just a few of them here.

Relationship with her Mother-in-law:

“I wasn’t going to give my mother-in-law the satisfaction of thinking that she’d reduced me to tears, though in fact I was on the verge of weeping with frustration."

"Had we remained in Hastinapur, in her husband’s palace, I am sure she would have fought me fiercely for control. But the Palace of Illusions was my domain, and she accepted this, spending her days in the cool, fragrant garden listening to the bulbuls sing. Or was she a better actress than I gave her credit for, bidding her time, waiting for the mistakes she knew I’d make?”

Now, who says the ‘coveted’ saas-bahu fights were made famous by Ekta Kapoor. Reading the above lines made me grin thinking that this bitter-sweet relationship existed from the days of the yore.   

Her Feminist Ideas:

“Nor was I particularly delighted with the virginity boon, which seemed designed more for my husbands’ benefit than mine. That seemed to be the nature of boon given to women – they were handed to us like presents we hadn’t quite wanted.

If the sage had cared to inquire, I’d have requested the gift of forgetting, so that when I went to each brother I’d be free of the memory of the previous one.”

These and many such lines bring out her frustration of being born into a man’s world. This yet again proves that we, women have been fighting this battle of feminism since ages. Sigh !!

The Practical and Sharp Women in Her:

The photograph on the right speaks volumes about the way Panchaali thought about herself and her importance in the life of Pandavas. Ofcourse, she was a woman and just like today’s women she took the fact about her husbands’ marrying other women with a pinch of salt, however, at the same time knowing her true value in their lives.

The Verdict:

Now, who hasn’t heard about Mahabharata? We all have. But unfolding incident after incident from Panchaali’s point of view was such a refresher. So many small incidents woven together in bringing this epic tale alive seen from Panchaali’s eyes. The Palace of Illusions depicts Panchaali as a powerful, courageous and a practical woman who knew her way in the world of men. The book is written in impeccable English with carefully chosen words.

Summing up, I enjoyed reading this book thoroughly for its fast paced narrative, amazing writing style and beautiful words. This one has actually inspired me to dive more into mythological books.

I don't know if the above can be called a proper review or not. But I hope I have done enough justice while putting up the above. And as I said, this review is a first timer. Suggestions are welcome. Ciao J

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 4 where we had to put up a Book Review.

At the Festival of Words !!

In love with the written word

We love getting emotions stirred

Stringed together by a common passion

Coming together for some creatively stimulating sessions

Off we go with the trigger of the prompt

Giving birth to poetry, fiction or any other form

We read, get read, comment and get commented upon

Finding new blogger friends to devour their works from thereon

From our comfort zones we are pushed out sometimes

Unconsciously helping our words reach new sublimes

Yes, at Write Tribe Festival of Words we are

And this time, we shall just raise the bar !!

This post is written for Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 3. The prompt was Free Write

Pouring some Blog Love :) :)

I so wanted to write this post since long. Have you ever come across a blog where its posts have been the kind that You have wanted to write? I have. And trust me it can get eerie at times. Now, as you know, we the writers have the habit of getting ideas to write upon at weirdest of times. And hence I have a habit of writing those tidbits of thoughts in my phone to be developed into full-fledged posts later. Some get developed into proper posts, while some lie in the drafts folders of your phone.

But what if I told you that you see posts written on those lines at somebody else’s blog and that too in a manner that you wanted to write. And mind you, it can be a coincidence once or twice but so many times. There has to be some connection with the blogger, isn’t it?

And I share this kinda weird spooky connection with Sreesha Divakaran who blogs at Petrichor and Clouds. And the connection I feel with her is so strong, I have named her as my kumbh ke mele mein bichhdi hui behen.

Take for instance the Halfway post that I wrote. And read hers ‘Figments Of My OverlyActive Hopelessly Romantic Imagination.' Both the posts are written in a different manner but the story line is so damn similar. I was shocked at reading this. And I type this, I am even scared that I can be blamed for some kind of plagiarism :0 But, trust me, I didn’t even know Sreesha Divakaran when I wrote Halfway.

And then I was almost awed when I read this post of hers called ‘Our Silent Game of Hide and Seek’. Because I had something on these lines drafted in my phone. It couldn’t get spookier. Wait. It can. She wrote ‘The Unintelligent Life Form’ and I was nodding my head all through the post because just like her I too was thinking why didn’t I study Literature.

She is the kind of writer who calls a spade a spade. I mean there are times when I really want to write something harsh or bitter but I hold back. Simply because I think I wouldn’t be able to handle some sensitive topics. But this girl is raring to go. For example, read these posts called ‘Why So Furious Lets Put That Tissue In Its Place’ or her ‘The Backstabber’ She seems to have her teenage rebellion back in action with some of her posts ;) And while I was searching for the links for the above posts, I caught hold of this one – ‘The Big Fat Indian Wedding And Bride’. Go dig.

And Sreesha’s poetry is to be devoured. I just love her for those amazing verses. Go enjoy them here. If you are a fan of horror in a teeny weeny format, she has that too on her platter here.

And before I start crying, all I would like to say to her is ‘Sreesha, darling stop scaring me with your spooky posts :P’ Lots of love from your kumbh ke mele mein bichhdi hui behen ;) Mmmuaaahh

   

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 2. The prompt was ‘Blog Love - show some love to another blog or blogs by showcasing them on yours. ’

The Childless couple

Struggling for so many years as a childless couple, Rehaan was the apple of our eyes. I still remember how he came into our lives as a five year old and how colourful our life became with his vivacity and cute tantrums. We never thought that we could feel so much connection with a child we had adopted, but as they say, all good things come to an end and so did ours.

One fine Sunday evening two years after his adoption, we found ourselves drugged and looted of all our wealth along with our son. We panicked that our son had been kidnapped, got a police complaint registered; I still remember how distraught I was at the thought of losing my son.

But look at the folly of our fate that we had been drugged by our son who we loved so dearly.

I couldn’t believe my ears when the police said that we have been victimized by an adoption racket that my child, that my Rehaan was a part of and who was constantly in touch with his real parents or whoever they were.

The dirty racket which plays with the emotions of childless couples like us and looting them not only of their wealth but also our capability of trusting somebody again.

What else can you expect in a country full of cons but another con like this !!

This post is written for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – Day 1. The prompt was to come up with a 9 sentence fiction.

Little did she know - 55 Fiction

She never told him how crazily she loved him because she wanted to wait till their

marriage. She was even secretly penning their love story into a book as her wedding gift for the man who always made smile reach her eyes. Little did she know that their love story would never reach its destination!

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While searching job portal, she remembered her placement day when she had

refused corporate communications profile because she had studied Finance. Little did she know that two years later, she would find her calling in communications and would do anything to trade her present job for the one offered to her at her campus placements.  

This post is written for Write Tribe 55 on Friday. The prompt - “Little did she know”