Author is not an alien

Author is not an alien
I write because we had deleted enough

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

गाँधी ...........

आज साहेब के ऑफिस में सबने झाड़ू उठायी
मजबूरी से या आर्डर से
करने चले सफाई
बापू की याद में
हम सब देंगे योगदान
श्रद्धांजलि देने की इस होड़ में
क्यूँ ना बढ़ाये अपना भी ज़रा सा मान
पर जब आया घर से फ़ोन
और पता चला आज के प्रोग्राम का
“Bang Bang “ के बाद बाहर डिनर भी है कराना
तो साहेब भागे घर को ट्रैफिक में नहीं है फस जाना
बढ़ती population से अब होने लगी है कोफ़्त
इसीलिए तो बीवी से कहता हूँ रिटायरमेंट के बाद बसेंगे कहीं और
रेड सिग्नल पर कार की खिड़की किसी ने खटखटायी
नीचे जो किया शीशा तो 10- 20 बच्चों की वानर सेना दौड़ कर आयी
एक से लेना चाहा फूल , रूपये निकाले 100 के
छीना झपटी के बीच बापू फिरे इधर से उधर ,एक हाथ से दूसरे मटमैले हाथ में
तभी एक औरत आयी लेकर बच्चा गोद में
चार दिन से कुछ खाया नहीं ,कहने लगी बिना संकोच के
गाडी की साहेब ने स्टार्ट ,कहाँ से आते है यह भिखारी
अच्छे खासे तो हैं क्यों नहीं करते कोई मजदूरी
नरेगा में ही कुछ करे तो चार पैसे आयेंगे हाथ में
जैसे ही हुआ सिग्नल ग्रीन सांस ली साहेब ने
शहर चौंधिया रहा था माल्स के दुधीले प्रकाश में
पीछे छूट गए थे वो भूखे नंगे भिखारी
और बापू मुस्कुरा रहे थे गाँधी जयंती के बिलबोर्ड्स से..................................सहर


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

GAME OF BLOGS CHAPTER 6 - THE UNEXPECTED CALL (BY TEAM MAVERICK X)

For the previous part of story read here :

The Dutta family was undergoing a crisis like situation , the scorching heat of  summer and the general elections which were round the corner was what Tara had been waiting for, no not the heat but the elections in particular. The elections would definitely prove to be a big boost in her career and take her to the place where she wanted to be since the time she was the blue eyed girl of school of journalism. A prime time chat show, debate on national and international issues with A-listed participants is where she always aspired to be.
While she was lost in thoughts of her graduation days and the long chats she had with Shekhar over the glasses of tea ,she became nostalgic. Life was such at ease then ,love with common passions can be addictive and this is what happened when she first met Shekhar .The thread of her thoughts were pulled back with Roohi’s voice when she came running right into her lap  showing her the science project. Shekhar was busy these days with unplanned tours and long phone calls , the story on which he was working was straining for not only him but the whole Dutta family. While she was appreciating her little genius work , her cell phone rang. It was her boss, she picked up to which her boss in a hurried tone told her that she had to leave for Ferozabad right away as the minister in ruling cabinet was planning to attend the Maha Panchayat  and the channel expected some “breaking news” from this Maha Panchayat.
Tara tried calling Shekhar but his cell was as usual out of reach, Ferozabad was a sensitive place .Tara drafted a quick mail, sent a sms and went to pack her essentials. She explained Roohi that she would be back by the night and she should not wake up late reading blogs. Both the minister & Ferozabad were in news lately the former due to differences with the PM and the latter due to communal conflicts ,so the interests of news channels in this Maha Panchayat was obvious.
The media van honked and Tara picked up her bag ,kissed Roohi goodbye and rushed to the van ,the van door opened and she was shocked. In her hurry she had completely forgotten about her new talented yet the weird Photographer Jennifer. Jennifer was in her usual avatar – a military print cargo, black tshirt that said “ You are right,I really don’t like you “(How did her t-shirt know what was Tara thinking),a colorful stole ,big earrings , multiple wrist bands with quirky messages and neon colored shoes
Jennifer- Helloz Tara! All set?
Tara smiled , a smile that was forced and artificial. Instead she said to god” Can’t you make life a little easier for me. With Shekhar always travelling , Roohi is constantly on my mind and here is my camerawoman who seems to be a member of metal band!!!!
On the way to ferozabad while Tara was busy asking her friends to go and check on Roohie, Jennifer was clicking pictures of rural terrain popping up one chewing gum after another. Soon they were at Ferozabad at the Panchayat venue, thousands of people had turned up ,the whispers and mild arguments could be heard but people refused to talk to the media people .Some youngsters did try to speak up but on facing angry glances from the elders the decided otherwise. Woman seemed quite amused at Jennifer’s appearance and Jennifer completely enjoyed that showing her tattoo to the little anxious girls.
The Minister came on stage to speak and suddenly from the back of the surrounding trees ,a group of boys hurled up bottles towards the stage ,this unprecedented incident opened up a can of boxes .some youngsters ran towards the group but thousands of people came out of nowhere and fired in the air. This commotion led to total chaos with women and children running for shelter , minister was taken away by his security and police was trying to control the clashes with tear gas and lathicharge. Tara and team ran for their life but could not find any shelter, suddenly  the little girl to whom Jennifer was showing her tattoo called them ,they ran towards her and she took them to her home. Tara looked for her cell phone but could not locate it “SHIT! I must have dropped it in the ensuing commotion” she thought .Jennifer offered her phone to her,she tried calling Shekhar but again with no success
Outside loudspeakers blared that a curfew has been imposed ,she remembered Roohie and went out to talk to policemen to allow her van to pass by as it was important for her to return. Policemen denied saying that they can’t allow any one to move unless ordered by DM .Curfew would be relaxed for some time when state machinery comes over ,then she can talk to them. After 2 hours It was  dark and suddenly someone knocked. The girl’s mother opened the door and one police constable said he has got orders to let their van move out.Tara heaved a breath of relief.They thanked the family  and Jennifer said “ I want to pee” .Tara felt like shooting Jennifer at that moment ”with so much difficulty they were allowed to leave ,can’t this girl pee later”. The little girl told them that the toilet is in the backyard .Jennifer was going to the back side of the house facing the fields and Tara felt that she should accompany her as the situation was unsafe.
Jennifer ,opening the door “Yucks! This toilet has not been used for the ages”
Tara: Dear madam ,we will arrange a clean toilet for you in Delhi ,will you hurry up now?
While Jennifer went inside Tara leaned on the brick wall surrounding it,she wanted to go back to Delhi as soon as she can ,suddenly she heard two people talking
Man 1 : Call them and ask why they ditched us in the last moment,what about the plan?
Man 2: (dialing ) The plan was for sending 5000 armed men, where are the arms? Why don’t you people sent us everything as was planned?
Tara was shocked  ,arms? 5000  men? She wanted to know more as she sensed some controversy. Jennifer came out of the toilet humming a song. Tara signaled her to stay quiet ,went to her and whispered in her ear “Listen I need to know who are they talking on phone” Looking at Tara’s worried expressions ,she knew something was serious.
She asked Tara to move a little away , sat on the brick wall and started crying loudly. The two men noticed her and one of them walked towards her and asked her what was the matter.
Jennifer (crying more loudly) ;I came in morning as a journalist and in the conflict that happened in afternoon I lost my phone………………..she sobbed more .One man got worried, other was still stern. Jennifer knew this was working ,she continued “ My mother is seriously ill, I want to call her and it seems I have to stay in this home all night “
Man 1 :You can call from my phone
Man 2 : (Angrily) Lets go from here, it is none of our business………….Jennifer’s pitch rose she started crying again  
Man1 – its just a phone call ,we should help her and handed her the phone
Jennifer dialed a number ,talked to her mom and on disconnecting thanked them and gave a flirtatious smile to the first man.
She moved towards the front of that house, when the two men were out of sight she moved towards the van. As the van moved out of the barricaded and empty roads amid police patrols ,Tara asked her “ Is your mother seriously ill”
Jennifer: No,she died long back ,I dialed my boyfriend
Tara : U dialed your boyfriend ,with the phone of a person that I assume to be a miscreant!!!
Jennifer :The fact that you should know is he dialed an international number
Tara: How can you say that?
Jennifer : I am too smart Tara
Suddenly Jennifer’s phone rang, she read the message and said to Tara “OMG! Big discounts this season at Select City Walk, wanna check?”
Tara cursed her boss on giving her this camera woman, she calmed her thoughts “ Jennifer were you able to see that they dialed which country? “
Jennifer –Yup! Pakistan
Tara – PAKISTAN !!!!

Read the next part of story at http://silentlyexpress.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/chapter-7-the-rebel/

“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”

Monday, September 15, 2014

Game of Blogs chapter 4 from the team THE MAVERICK X- The imperfect Click

This story continues from the previous post ,read the previous part of story here :

Part 1 of story ,read http://wordcoiner.com/game-of-blogs-chapter-1-the-flagpole/ 
Part 2 of story ,read at http://transitionofthoughts.com/2014/09/13/game-of-blogs-chapter-2-down-the-memory-lane/ 

Here goes the fourth chapter - The Imperfect Click
"The same evening   which sprayed orange and red colors on the canvass of sky ,nearby in a resort a family was enjoying their long deserved break. As Tara came back to the room from her ayurvedic spa appointment all refreshed and relaxed  ,to her utter disappointment she saw Senior and Junior Dutta engrossed in their laptop and tablet .While Shekhar was frantically noting down something in his diary too ,Roohi was lost reading something on her Tablet ,the tablet which her papa brought on her birthday in spite of Tara’s disapproval.
Tara: and I thought we were on a holiday .I was always accused of being superbusy and look at my sweet gadget struck family oblivious of the beautiful sunset
Pointing towards Roohi ,she  said ”Beta why don’t we go out to the beach and play”
Roohi did not flicker,to which she turned towards Shekhar “Shekhar ,I always opposed this idea of introducing children to these gadgets at such a young age but you and your “Let the child learn from his own mistakes “ theory ,most of the time she and her tablet are inseparable.
Shekhar smiling and still noting down something said ”You know what’s the problem is. We have to face the truth that as a society we do not exhibit concern for what our child is interested in. We just try to mould these little clays into what we want. Roohi is a child whiz , she reads blogs ,learns programming gaming and lest we can do is to discourage her .
Tara: Ok! Ok! My lord .  Now will you keep that machine  off so that we can have a nice coffee on that beachside cafe .
Shekhar- I am really sorry dear .Some important work cropped up and you know freelancing is all about deadlines .Why don’t you two go and I will join you in an hour.
Tara: Ok dear ,turning to Roohi she said ”Beta when we were of your age ,we used to play a lot outside ,no computers ,no tablets ,lots of games ,outdoor games”
Roohi: But why mumma?
Tara: Because we enjoyed it and physical activity is good for your health too beta
Roohi (Giggling) : Naa mama, because tablets were not invented then and computers were not introduced in India.
Hearing this Shekhar and Tara burst out laughing .Embracing her innocent yet genius child ,she pulled her out towards the beach and Shekhar went back to his work.
                                        Under the same sky which was becoming orange to red and as darkness was slowly making its way ,Anne and Cyrus were bulding castles ,castles of a happily married life together .With the sun setting in backdrop ,Cyrus wanted to wave goodbye to his tumultuous childhood and have that perfect beginning with Anne .
Anne- If you are done with your beer ,can we go to the cultural center to watch the kathakali performance as you had promised.
Cyrus –No, do you really want to move out of this perfect romantic setting to watch a classical dance performance.
Anne- Yes sweetheart ,the setting is not romantic its your presence that is more romantic and you can’t backtrack from your promise ,you know how much I love discovering the cultural diversity
Cyrus- As your wish madam
Anne smiled and hugged Cyrus at his little gestures of love .Back in the resort as Cyrus was taking a shower ,his phone rang ,she picked up to see who it was and shouted “ Cyrus, its your dad calling “
“Ignore it” replied Cyrus ,the phone went unanswered and when Cyrus dressed up for the cultural center ,Anne asked “23 missed calls Cyrus ,why don’t you talk to your dad .There must be some urgency. “
Cyrus: There is no urgency , he just enjoys troubling me
Anne: I know you both are not in very good terms , but please answer his call just for my sake
Cyrus took his phone and went in the balcony to call his dad, the one thing he could not do was to say no to the girl he loved the most in the world ,There in the room ,Anne knew how difficult it is for him to do that and she made a silent promise to herself ,never ever let go of the love that they shared. The pitch rose accompanied by long silent pause and when Cyrus came back into room ,anxious Anne asked “What’s the matter Cyrus? Is everything ok? “
Cyrus stood silent for some uncomfortable minutes and then said  ” He wants me to return back “
Anne – when?
Cyrus – Tomorrow  ,but we are not. Let’s move out , its suffocating in here .

                                               While Tara was sitting at the beach side and enjoying the coconut water with her princess listening to her never ending stories , she thought how much her daughter missed out talking to her and with elections to be announced ,she was going to be more than busy. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, “Papa “ screamed roohi with Joy
Tara- Thank God you are here ,the hotel staff told me about the scheduled Kathakali performance at the cultural center today .why don’t we take Roohi there today and dine out at some local eatery?
Shekhar- One bad news dear, we need to return back
Tara- BACK! But why? And when?
Shekhar – One important story that I have to cover, today night itself
With that disappointing look , they returned back to the resort for a hurried packing.
From God’s own country to the financial capital ,everyone got back to their work. With election rallies ,campaign trails Tara became very busy. She called her mother in Kolkata but when she learnt that Dad was not keeping up well , she refrained from asking her mother to come over.

Two weeks passed since they returned from Kerela and when she returned back home one Saturday ,she found Shekhar at home. She hugged him as all these days she hardly saw him
Tara: when did you come back ? And as I can see you two have not taken your dinner?
Shekhar- This evening only . you freshen up so that we can have dinner together
On dinner table Tara complained about Mumbai’s harsh weather and then she yelled “Why doesn't the maid can cook laal maans properly? In which language do I have to tell her not  to overcook the meat and look at the rice ,it looks like a soup”

Shekhar sensed something was troubling her ,he said” What happened? Why are you so pissed off? Its certainly not the Laal maans?

Tara- Yup, its my new cameraman or rather I should say camerawoman .Durjoy who was accompanying me to cover stories since two years resigned god knows why and boss told me this girl Jennifer will take her place . Election season is so crucial Shekhar ,and now working up with a new girl .Boss said she is very good with camera and you know when she walked into my chamber she looked as if she has just walked out of a rock concert “ Multiple accessories of which I lost count of ,cargo pants ,a tattoo which she said is of phoenix  ” .My first reaction was “ lok Sabha elections and she would be my cameraman”

Shekhar- Your camerawoman sound intresting (* winking*) and now you are breaking the golden rule ,no talks of work at home ,look what I have for you
Shekhar pulled out a photo frame with a picture and placed it on the tea table ,Tara picked up and she exclaimed with joy” AWW ! its of kerela that perfect evening when the phone battery died out “

Admiring the picture ,she suddenly noticed “ Look that guy ,one who was wanted to sue ,he has come into the background .Oh he spoiled this nearly perfect picture”

Shekhar- Sometimes little imperfections make the moment more beautiful”

Tara smiled and lovingly looked at that picture
“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”