I often feel amused when most of us men, like to think we are self made. I mean what is even the most powerful man in the world in front of his mother. He may own half of the world, but to his mom he is just one of her boys. She would have changed his nappies, bathed him, brushed his teeth, spanked him when he deserved it and most of all, loved him with all her heart like no other. And that love, selfless, unconditional, and unparallel forever in his memory, is enough to bend even the most powerful man to his knees. Men who like to think they are self made often forget to thank the women around them, their mom, their wife who would have brought their child to this world, without whom they were just a vagabond on the street. The sisters who they grew up with, who covered all his exploits, all his stupid love affairs, all his street fifths and what not. The friends who stood by him in his ups and downs, who gave him his perspective of the things around him, and so on. On the other side I have often seen the women very much self made, but they don’t like to make a big song of it and dance. I mean when a girl walks into a relationship and walks into a strange house and takes it as her own. What did she go in with? And what did she make it into? This story is inspired by a true story of a neighbor who married a man with love in young age, and suddenly one day the driver of the car of her life with two children on the back seat suddenly walked away (passed away) leaving her incharge on the driver seat, with her not knowing what is the wheal and where is a gear. (Part 1) The story starts in a small town called Bhusawal, the girl Kinnaree is a shy, seventeen year old, a middleclass girl from a comparatively well-to-do family. Kinnaree—- a teacher calling a role call in a crowded classroom, and a lost girl with a ponytail hanging from the back of her head suddenly awakened to her name being called says, -YES! Yes sir… The girl on the next seat asks -where are you? -Is it some boy! Or something else… An angry Kinnharee protests at being linked to some boy. -You know I m not into boys and stuff. But the fact was that that she was preoccupied with a man she met a day before at the shop nextdoor and his simple, stupid and obvious flirtations had haunted her all the night before. She had already made up her mind that if she came across that man again, she would teach him a lesson. She was sure that she could deal very well with roadside romeos and she was all charged-up to dealing with him. But it was equally true that she looked forward to seeing him again and she was waiting to go back home and to visit the same shop again. As she reached home from her collage she quickly changed and rushed to help her mom at the kitchen, things were moving at a feverish pace at the kitchen, her mom Prema asked her to bring some sugar from the shop nextdoor. By now Kinnaree had forgotten about the man that she met the earlier day, and there were other things on her mind the heap of cloths she had seen, that she would have to wash, the pile of utensils she would have to help her mother with. The novel she bought from the library that she would want to return. And all the things had put her on a high speed mode and she did not bother to see who was at the shop and who was not, she asked for a kilo of sugar and rushed back home, and just as she was returning she thought she was missing something, but she bullied herself back home. Later that evening after a nice afternoon nap she drifted towards the library to exchange the novel she was finding hard to digest. She called up a friend to accompany her to the library. But to her total surprise she saw her friend accompanied by the same man who was flirting the earlier day. It turned out that he was a distant relative of her friend and was called Raghu. Kinnaree because of her dearness to her friend was very quick to call him ‘uncle’. Kinnaree was very happy with her own achievement; she was secretly smiling to herself on the way to her friends place. As they reached home it turned out that Raghu was a businessman and had come to Bhusawal for some business dealings in the town. Next few days they kept bumping into each other and Kinnaree made her resistance for him very obvious and he made his intentions for her very obvious as well. It turned-out that he was a very unpredictable person, warm hearted and witty, and always wore a sensitive smile on his face. Part 2 Raghu was trying everything under the sun to see her as often as he could; he had an engineering supply agency in Mumbai, and was a frequent visitor this side. Kinnaree’s friend Lalita was now able to smell rat in Raghu’s insistence on accompanying her again and again. So Raghu had invented another way for his need. He had a few associates in the government department and he got the collage that Kinnaree was in to provide cleaner water for the students. He was now to provide assistance to the institute with better storage of water, filtration etc. This made him a frequent visitor to Lalita and Kinnaree. Every time they wanted to take a break from the collage he somehow fitted in, Raghu’s effortless charm was winning him lots of admirers in Kinnaree’s friend circle. And his honest and innocent appreciation of Kinnaree had started affecting her. The wax had started melting under the flame; she has started observing Raghu more keenly. But that did not reduce the open display of resistance for him. Kinnharee was a typical Indian woman when it came to displaying resistance to adventures men. And moreover her opinion about men was not all that good; she had learned it from the mistakes of her friends. She was wiser with the knowledge that, men often got what they wanted, and then the relationship became an obligation for the men; Kinnharee was quick to learn from other people’s experiences. It had become a routine experience for her during the garbha festivities, when all her friends would travel to Ahmadabad or Vadodara for playing garbha, and during the nine nights she would be a watchdog for her elder friends as they ventured into voracious exploration of new found adulthood. The girls would be laughing and bragging of how much they were wanted and make her feel like a child. But while returning back to Bhusawa they would be heartbroken and bitten by heard reality, and then, she would be laughing at them. It was a typical Monday morning that day and she had not seen Raghu the earlier day as she had gone to one of her relative at Dhule. She was looking for him in the collage all that morning and even till late afternoon there was no sign of Raghu. She finally inquired with Lalita. - Your cousin, Raghu is not visible today, I had borrowed his pen, and I want you to return it to him. Lalita smiled and said. - Yes sure, but I ll have to go to Mumbai to do that. Kinaaree was surprised, and she was even more surprised at her own reaction to the news. She was honestly very sad inside, but she somehow wanted to avoid showing it to Lalita. - Oh that’s why he is not to be seen since morning, what happened did he go or your father threw him out of your house. Lalita Laughed - No, he had to suddenly rush back for some important work. He said he will be back next month. She suspiciously looked at Kinaaree and added - I don’t know if he has some work this side or he has someone this side.
Archive for the ‘Writing’ category
Kinnaree. A story of a mother (Part 1&2).
June 22nd, 2010The great G8 eye-wash.
July 6th, 2009 It is sad but true the leaders of the world are taking the world for a ride. About climate change, about nuclear arsenal, about the reforms in UN. About climate change. They have tried to push the issue under the carpet by passing the buck to India and China, and on very un-scientific points. Even someone who knows school science would say of the amount of warming caused by water vapor and CO2 their correlation, and change by increase in CO2. The real culprit is the fluorocarbons and related sprays. I think India and China should take a lead, and ban the consumption and production of such sprays, and bring out proper guidelines for the disposal and use of compressors in cooling. Because by 2050 to cut emission by 80% is a typical political promise, and everyone knows the truth about it, but worst is that, we also know its effects on the world. There is no point in projecting India and China as villains in their game, its important all the world leaders be serious. Nuclear arsenal and UN reforms are related topics. A bunch of politicians, because of some world war-II heritage, think themselves to be heading the world as some privet organization. Where was Asia and Africa when the UN was constituted? The world and its politics have to become modern. It is high time that we dismantle the UN, and form a new organization with equal rights to all nations and a democratically elected head. As about the use and production of weapons for civil destruction. All this CTBT and NPT are useless if we don't have such weapons. I don't understand what is the point in developing and holding such weapons, if they don't intend to use them? The message is very clear and that is. They want to kill civilians if they want to. Otherwise, they would intend to say that the use of nuclear weapons is against an advancing army. That is not true, because they have enough to protect them self's, the weapons of civil destruction are just power toys. And sadly, toys that kill. .
And meetings like this are a waste of money, of the people of the world; they should use it in something more useful.
Shiny-Shiny If one goes by the Darwinian theory of evolution, man was a mere monkey, hanging upside down in the forests of the world. As we got civilized, more and more refinement came in. The aspiration for higher and higher values of life took us further and further away from the resemblances to our ancestors. But I guess behind the face of our refinement and polish, we still hide a substantial amount of our past. In India we always had a system of education called a Gurukul, where a student was taught, not how to earn a day's bread, but how to differentiate between good and bad, along with a few other useful things. Times changed life changed; today we have schools and colleges. Today the focus is on how a collage can make students, who can make money. Best schools are the once that crack most marks, and in higher education, colleges are known for fattest pay packages in campus placements. Our schools and collages resemble factories in some sci-fi thriller that make robots. And often these robots have a malfunction in their data, and we have a bit of our past peeping in. Educated people today get into everything that any person without it would do. So what is the contribution of our education? Or is it education? or just literacy. Today most crimes are done by people who are educated, robbing, corruption, rape, murder. Even governments are made of educated people, so why do people still kill whales? Why is the ozone-layer depleting? Why do they not stop killing in the name of war, it is 21 century and they are not able to ban nuclear weapons yet. What have civilians got to do with wars, why should the civil society pay the price for the lack of education of their leaders? Let the armies of the world fight amongst themselves if they have nothing better to do. Why don't they leave the civilians alone? I think we need to take a serious look at the holy cow, we call education. Because if our schools teach, instead of just spreading literacy. Why should there be crime? Why should governments become criminals? Why should the world be divided in different names, and educated people make money out of death and pain of the people of Asia and Africa?
A few small steps, a story of deceit.(part I&II)
June 6th, 2009 This is a story about a beautiful young girl called Sita. Sita a simple person, slightly shy, polite, soft spoken, and an amazing personality. No one could know enough of her. If someone looked at her, it would be difficult for them to switch their eyes from her. Nothing special about her face, a simple girl with the 'girl next door' type of looks. But a subtle glow, as if it reflected the depth and the silence of her personality. The look of her face was like watching a still ocean on a dusky morning, it stretched as far as your eyes could take you, and deep as much you could drown. She lived like a hermit in a forest in a small hut with her husband Rama, and his brother Laxmana. One fine morning, she had just come back from bath, her hair dripping on her sari, her kitchen smelling with fresh wet mud in her oven. She pushed some wood chips in the stove and stroked the fire. As it was the first fire of the day she made a lamp in the room, sprinkled a handful of grains in her window for the sparrows who would just go on and on. Her hut dense in smoke, she walked out of the main door and put a few cloths to dry that she had washed at the river. A usual friendly squirrel who would accompany her almost every day in her garden, as she stroked the fabric and tented them on the bush, she took the towel spared on her shoulders and tenderly rubbed her hair dry. Came back into the kitchen pushed some more fire wood in the stove, and made the breakfast. Soon she softly asked Laxmana to call Rama as the breakfast was ready. It was just another day, like all these days they had been in the forest. But it was not always like this for her. She was also called Janki, as she was the daughter of the great Rishi and King Janak. She had a comfortable childhood, with all the pampers of a princely life. But destiny had brought the three of them as guests of this beautiful forest. The forest was inching towards an afternoon, laxmana was trying to make the roof of the hut, and Rama and Sita were sitting by the rock discussing something. Suddenly a deer passed them. Sita saw the deer but Rama was too busy explaining something to her. Soon Rama realized her mind was somewhere else, and because she was not the kind who would interrupt a discussion, he asked her what was bothering her. She told him she saw a deer that had the skin shining as gold. Rama said he had never seen or known of any such thing in the forest. But she was determined and absolutely certain. She had never asked anything from Rama in her life, and the funny thing was that she wanted nothing from life, all she wanted was to stay with Rama and she was happy. Rama was a great man of commitment. He was the first one in his time to have invented the concept of having only one marriage. Polygamy was the rule of the time and a single marriage almost sounded like an invention. He had immense affection for Sita he could have done anything in his capacity to see her happy. It was the first time she felt tempted to something like a child wanted a toy. And Rama would have done anything to get her that. And moments later she pointed and Rama saw, it was a deer with a golden skin. Chapter-II
He was amazed. He had never seen anything like this before, and for a moment he thought it was too good to be true. But the deer was clearly visible and he was split to believe what his eyes saw or listens to what his heart said.
He was certain that there was something more to it that just a deer. He had a bad feeling about this.
Sita told Rama that the deer was so beautiful that she wanted it as a pet. And with expectant eyes she told Rama to please bring it. Rama was in a dilemma, he had to go and he could not tell her what was bothering him.
He said ok, but that she should not leave the hut, and stay in the protection of Laxmana.
He called Laxmana and explained him where he was going. Laxmana wanted to go instead but Rama requested him to stay back and not leave Sita alone even for a moment.
Laxmana had seen his brother from the childhood and he had never seen him split by a thought. He had never seen him bewildered by his own self before.
Rama quickly walked on, living behind Sita with an expectation on her face and Laxmana in a puzzle.
Rama wouldn't have reached a furlong and they heard Rama's voice coming from a long distance calling Laxmana for help.
Sita was shattered and Laxmana was shell-shocked. He was put in a quandary as what to do. He had received clear instructions from Rama not to leave Sita for any reason. And on the other side was Sita herself, with tears in her eyes asking Laxmana to go and help Rama. And Laxmana was a brother himself worried for his brother, and in a fix of what to do.
Laxmana had to go, the situation was Overvelming on him.
He looked at Sita, she was in so much anguish that she could have pushed him and asked him to go, if she could.
He told her that he would make a mental wall around the hut. And that line would be a fortress for her and for no reason what so ever she should cross the line.
Moments after Laxmana went, she was disturbed by calls of a bihkshuka outside her hut, she peeped out, and he looked like a mendicant to her. The man was very learned he was speaking details of Vadic literature that she had only heard from her Father.
She wiped her tears gathered all the food she had in her house and went out. The man was tall, dark, with soft looking face. He was singing in an exceptionally melodious voice as if he was an artist, very rare and erudite explanations of the Vadic knowledge.
It was unbelievable for her that such a learned man and an absolute artist had come to her cottage.
As she came out the man greeted her with great humility and respect. In anguish he told her that he had not eaten for many days, and that he wanted to come inside but was stopped by something when he came near the line. and he would be greatly indebted if she crossed the line and gave him the food as a guest and not as a beggar.
She was surprised at this demand, she explained him that she could not cross the line as she could not break a promises she made to Laxmana.
He said he would go away without having any food rather than have food like a beggar.
And he made a last request to her with pain in his voice and crying, referring her as 'Amma'(Mother) and requested her again like a child.
Sita was heartbroken; she actually felt a flood of maternal emotions to the pain in his voice.
Sita was going to make the biggest mistake in her life, she was going to cross the line, it was not that she was naïve, or that, she dint know what business men had with women, or the ways of the world. But to her, trust was the basic human right of every person.
With a berth of prayer she crossed the line and on the other side was a different world waiting for her.
The man reveled himself as the powerful King Ravana. And he had come to take her as a token of vengeance against Rama.
She told him she did not expect this from him.
Such an educated man is supposed to act with wisdom.
He said he was doing nothing wrong, it was only a Pisatch Vivaha, and he was entitled to it.
She broke his argument and said she was already married in a lawful marriage, and he should not lie to himself and accept the burden of guilt while undertaking such an adventure.
Ravana was taken by surprise, at her erudition and courage.
He laughed loud in guilt, grabbed her hand, and dragged her away.
And so the trust of a simple woman was broken forever.
Ravana tried everything to overcome his guilt and one day became the victim of his own guilt.
