Devtaa Aur Asur

Devtaon aur Asuron ke beech, Varchasva ki ladaai sada se hi chali aa rahee hai.
Donon hi Kashyap Rishi ke vanshaj hain, aur dono Devtaon aur Asuron ko janam toh unhone hi diya hain.  Devtaa unki pehli patni 'Aditi' se janme the, aur Asur unki doosri patni 'Diti' se janme the. Devtaaon ne Dharam ka maarg apnaya, aur Asuron ne Adharam ka marg !!

A mother's embarrassment

The schools had opened after the long winter vacations. I was in 2nd Standard. The first class was that of Geography. It was a room full of maps of different sizes and vibrant colors. Since it was first day of school after the winter vacations Mom was unable to wake up early enough to prepare my lunch.

My Tiffin box had 4 compartments 1 for rice, 1 for vegetable curry, 1 for curd and the last one for salads.

After a lot of soiling and toiling Mom prepared and packed my lunch box. Mom headed off to School to hand over my lunch box to me.

The Geography teacher's face resembled that of Medusa. She sat near the World map with a stick in her hand, pointing at different places on the map. When she opened her mouth, it seemed as if she would swallow all the children without even a burp. She would point at the map, and name the place;

all the students would repeat after her. She now got blood thirsty, and decided to test what she had just taught. She pointed her stick on the Map and began to ask the students, the name the places.

The cruel Witch now eyed me with her blood thirsty eyes that gorged out of their sockets. Her tongue came out as if wanting to taste my blood. She asked me to stand up and pointing at the map asked me to name the place. I didn't know the place, and kept quiet. The witch lost it, came over to me and asked me to put my hands out. She lashed on both my hands with her stick. I got a burning sensation on my hands, and the wintery chill made them pain. To embarrass me further in the class of 50, she asked me to keep standing.

My puppy love too looked at me with disgust in her eyes, and I hung my head in shame, as if I had done a crime. The witch began to edify the class. After a while I saw that my Mom was standing at the classroom door, with my Tiffin in her hand. She looked at me, and came inside the claasroom, and then looked at the witch. My Mom could not stand the sight of her child standing amongst 50 students in the class. Her heart became heavy and tears started rolling down her cheeks. I just stood there watching tears rolling down my Mom’s cheeks.

I felt like strangulating the evil witch, gorging her eyes out and chopping her evil hands for making my Mom cry. The witch had realized by now that the lady with tears in her eyes, was my Mom. She asked me to sit down, and went to my mother and began consoling her. My mother stooped crying and the witch asked me to go out of the classroom, to speak to my Mom. I went out of the classroom and apologized to my Mom, for having caused her all this pain. I didn't tell her anything about the lashes. But I wished, I had told her so that my Mom would confront the witch for imposing such a corporal punishment on an 8 year old. It still is fresh in my memory how I caused so much embarrassment to my Mom. And, I thank God that corporal punishment to tiny tots is banned in Indian schools. 

Circle of Life

A family man draws a circle around him, for his kids & spouse.

A good man draws the circle around him, for his kids, spouse, parents, brothers & sisters.

Only a legendary man draws the same circle for his kith & kin; & the the community at large.

Quote UnQuote

1. We should never look at one misdoing of a person; against his hundred good deeds
   
2. A hundred misdoings cannot be undone by a good deed.
3. Judge a person by his deeds and not by the wealth he has amassed.

Family

A Family lives its individual lives;
but unites together in times of peril & need.

Excuse me Mr. Rao

Genuine people don't carry a mark on their foreheads saying "100% Genuine with a lifetime warranty". The story goes way back to 2006, when I was on an official trip to Bangalore from Delhi.

I caught my Kingfisher flight & took the aisle seat. The flight was pretty much empty; probably nobody wanted to take an early morning flight in the Delhi Cold. The flight soared into the skies, & the Seat Belt Sign was turned off. I had to give a client presentation some final touches, so I took out my Notebook, & started working on my Presentation.

The Kingfisher Flight attendants dressed in a red skirt & a white shirt with a red half sleeved jacket were stylish, pretty & fashionable; that is what made the airline a hot seller 'but not hot enough to beat the Delhi cold'. The Flight Attendant came to me with a bunch of magazines & newspapers; I don't know thinking what (since I was already working on my Laptop). Obviously I let her down & didn't take any; I finishing my work.

She came back in sometime with the breakfast tray which I accepted; returning her a smile. I started thinking how come they can smile all day long (maybe fake it till you make it). If I had to smile the whole day, my jaws would surely droop down dead.

Every time she passed by me, she would throw a smile. This happened many times, till she finally broke the ice. She came up to me & said, "It's very odd to ask; please don't mind; but are you Mr. Rao". I didn't expect her to try these filmy lines that guys usually try on gals, so I firmly said “No, I am Shali”.
She froze stood there for a moment & then said, "Oh! I am sorry I mistook you for one Mr. Rao".
She left for her cabin & soon I realized the magnitude of the damage I had done, by letting a pretty girl swoosh away from my hands. I closed the lid of my laptop & started cursing myself for being such a wimp.

The flight landed, & with it crash landed a loser. While de-boarding the flight we exchanged gazes, & she said "Thank you Mr. Shali".

A quote fitted that moment very well, "Life is like a train of opportunities; you catching the right Bogie, at the right time & at the right Platform".