Fall of Titans

It is pleasant weather of Nov. Festival season is at its peak. Despite having political turbulence, rising inflation, scams, economic slowdown etc. everyone in India is enjoying this season. Not only due to festivals but also due to sports. When sports in India is synonym to cricket (match means cricket match, bat means cricket bat, ball means cricket ball etc.), this Nov is witness to a fall of titan. Or should I say 'God'.

This Nov saw the God playing (playing cricket) for the last time. He completed his 200 tests on 14th Nov and decided to retire from all forms of cricket. There was only 1 news flashing on media again and again - Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement.  

Everyone was talking about him now. Despite his down-to-earth nature, his name was used time and again to gain focus. Spectators were holding his big posters just to attract the camera. 1 even painted his body with tri-colour and written Tendulkar on his belly. This figure was seen often on camera though not sure if the man behind that paint was same or different. Now after announcing his retirement, media was again busy in encashing his name. All news channels were showing this news only and following up not only him but his wife, son, friends, co-players and neighbours.

Last few years were good for Indian cricket however not personally for Him. He could make his inning big only on few occasions. Retirement was advised to him by almost everyone in cricket industry. But here he was there - undeterred. I am not a big fan of a figure as compared to the nation. A person should contribute till the time he/she is adding value. If it becomes a liability then the person should hang the boots. Now when He had world cup in his name, I thought that he will take retirement gracefully. But he continued. Then he took retirement from ODI and continued in T20 and Tests. Then came IPL 2013. His team won the IPL though he himself played very few matches. That was end for his T20 career. The longest form of cricket was still alive for him. Now, this time he was spoken again. The respect of people was returning to him again. Everyone wanted to see him playing more. But nothing is immortal - not even Gods.

The mortality stuck to 1 more titan this Nov. Less talked about but equally respected; Less rich but

equally skilled. The name is Grand master Viswanathan Anand. The titan in the field of chess. He was world champion when he was challenged by Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Where Anand was 40 years old, Carlsen was a young 22 years old champion who had defeated all but Anand. And it was obvious that Carlsen needed this win to claim his supremacy. He had to beat a person who not only had proven himself over years but also had chess in his genes. Anand belongs to India - the place where chess was invented. A game which was used not only to play but practiced to define war and political strategies by kings. This Nov saw the king of chess falling. Anand was defeated. It reminds me again that nothing is immortal. It was not a title (world champion) for us Indians but a proud which we do not own any more. But we still own Anand. We own a figure who is respected not only because of his chess playing skills but also due to his decency, his soft spoken nature, his attachment to the roots and that he is a complete Indian.

I respect Them for what They are and what They were. It was not easy to carry the burden of expectations of 1.2 billion Indians. They were our heroes and they are our heroes. May India produce many more Tendulkars and many more Anands who make presence of India felt globally in various fields. May minnows like me feel proud and get inspired.

Racism

Sep 2013: An American girl was crowned miss America. The entire world was covered with controversies - at-least USA and India were. The reason? She is a girl of Indian origin. Where some US citizens are criticizing this move, lot of Indians are responding back. News channels and news papers are full of this coverage. Indian media and Indians are blaming US citizens being racists. After all she is USA citizen and crowning her miss America is absolutely justified. People in my friend circle are also complaining and mocking about people of other country on their behavior. This gave me little unrest. How we, the Indians, are so mean and have double standards. We ourselves are most racist race in the world I believe. We ourselves are divided to the last level. A Sindhi cannot marry a Gujrati, a Marathi cannot marry a Bihari. Or to make it worse - there are divisions within state - based on cast, based on sub casts, based on God we follow etc. I remember a Telgu girl who wanted to marry a Telgu guy of her own cast. She was not allowed by her parents just because her parents were supporter of Telangana and the guy was from 'pure' AP. Is it not racism? Are we not divided by states, languages, religion, casts, place of origin etc.?

Are we not those who talk to each other using words like "south Indian, north Indian, Bengali, Madrasi, Punjabi" etc.? Do we not address any south Indian as "Madrasi", any North-East Indian as "Chinks" or anyone from UP and Bihar as "Bhaiya"? Where whites do racism against blacks/Asians/outsiders, we are racists among ourselves. Doesn't it sound more weird?

Though I am not supporter of Congress or Gandhi family or per say any political person/family/party but were those not us who created a hell when Congress party wanted Sonia Gandhi to be Indian PM? Are we ready to accept her as PM if she is eligible as per Indian law? Even Fiji had made PM a person who was Indian origin during the same time when Congress nominated her as PM candidate. We didn't utter a word then.

I have been to USA, Australia and New Zealand. I have seen people there wishing "Good Morning" to strangers (even Indians) when they see them on jogging track. Indians on the contrary wish all others except Indians. Are we scared of ourselves or is it kind of racism? We are treating ourselves as superior race and fellow Indians as "bloody Indians". I would like to quote a doha which saint Kabir had written:

Bura jo dekhan main chala, Bura na milya koi
Jab man khoja aapna, mujh se bura na koi

Which means - When I went in search of evil, I could not find it. When I introspected, I found that there no evil bigger then self.

There are people with different ideology in each part of the world. This does not give us right to finger point them. We should introspect ourselves. It is we who are racists. Let us first come out of the mental block and them complain about others.

I am not supporter of racism or per say election/selection of a person for any particular title based on a race/community/cast etc. I am also a human who is not perfect. I will also raise my eyebrows if I got to know that someone close to me was impacted by such behavior. But then I want to introspect and want to eliminate the racism in self which may hurt someone more than others hurt us.

Road Rash

// Not my creation. Published from someone's collection

I never liked riding a bike. It always made me too tired – the traffic, the noise, the dust and the pain of driving were major factors behind it. Hence, I was always reluctant to learn driving a car. Until the family pressure almost choked me, I did not buy one either.

To my surprise, I have actually liked driving a four-wheeler and have taken driving like boredom to a corporate job. Even though initial days were quite edgy – banged my car on its first morning, jammed traffic for almost half an hour, took the car to service center for repair almost regularly during first six months but, thanks to almighty, it all has come to a steady state. Not that I do not get any hiccups now but I am more confident driving.

I used to believe that traffic is equally bad anywhere you go to in India but my last trip to Ahmedabad broke this belief. I am yet to see a city worse than Ahmedabad when it comes to this regard. In fact, I found it so scary that I have dropped my average speed of driving by a couple of notches after my last visit. However, other cities I have seen are not far behind Ahmedabad.

While CEAT, in an attempt to sell its products, claims that road is full of idiots, I would like to stop at – road is full of drivers. Drivers are of different kinds. Here are a few of them to have caught my eyes. Oh yes, before I start giving my side of the story, I would like to state the standard disclaimer – please try finding some sense in this attempt at humor and sarcasm. Any sentiments hurt are deeply regretted.

Women Car Drivers – At the risk of being termed a male chauvinist, I would like to say that women like seeking questions more than the answers. They like that quizzical look on your face. The scariest question, “Darling, am I looking fat” is the biggest example of my theory. No man can answer this question correctly. The fear of eating bitter gourd in lunch, dinner and the lunch next day stops them from telling the truth. Hence, with an extreme quizzical look on their faces, men try manufacturing the answer, which might avoid them from the wrath of bitter gourd.

This phenomenon of continuously asking questions is reflected in women’s driving too. Someone said that in order to improve, one must keep questioning himself/herself. Women take this advice very seriously.

“I’ve given the indicator to turn right, should I turn right? However, there is lot of space on the left side, should I turn left? What about the road ahead that is full of empty space? Shouldn’t I be driving straight?” is what women often think while driving. If you are driving behind such a car, I would like to wish you best of luck. Luck is what saves me on such occasions.

Women jump as high as cloud nine if they come across a situation, which gives them options. Because it again gives them a question to ask – which one should I choose.

Have you ever seen a woman in front of an empty parking lot? Well, I have seen such. With five vacant parking lots in front of her, it took her full two minutes to decide where she should park her car. At the end of those two minutes, she decided to bunk those five slots and parked it somewhere else.

Women do not like anyone passing any comments about their driving skills. They just hate it. Once I told a female friend of mine who was driving, when she turned left without giving indicator and did not change the gear when it was absolutely necessary, “You are an uncultured driver”

“All you men are same. You cannot digest the fact that a woman can drive and drive so well”. In other words, she wanted to term me a male chauvinist. She may have wanted to add one more word to the term “male chauvinist” but I would avoid writing it here.

Actually, we are male chauvinist. No matter how much we deny, we all are – especially when it comes to driving.

Street Hawks – Next set of drivers are of a different gender with two wheels lesser than the first set. I am not sure if they should be called drivers or riders. For the sake of my poor intellect, let us call them drivers.

Street hawks believe that the city they live in is Gotham and they are all Batmen. They also believe that police is chasing Batman, them, and Batman is running away on his super fancy nitro-boost attached bike. They just drive, or ride, or give jitters to everyone else who happens to be on the road. For them traffic does not exist, forget about the traffic rules. They are often in state of Nirvana where the surrounding world does not exist.

As a kid is always on a lookout for chocolates, Street Hawks are always hunting for a gap. Wherever they find it, they take a turn – damn the indicators, damn the side mirror, damn the others. They often stare at others for not leaving sufficient gap for them. They do not believe in the concept that not every gap can be sufficient to drive and even if there is a sufficient gap available, it is not necessary that one must drive through it.

Quite often Street Hawks do wear helmets. Nevertheless, the purpose of helmets is not to protect their head, which does need a fixing, but to hold the mobile phone so that they could let the world know about their bravery. Quite often Street Hawks, like their own Robin, have a pillion rider sitting with them whose sole job is to make funny faces, give threatening scare and hurl abuses at others.

If you ever come across a Street Hawk on the road, please stop immediately and let them pass. Remember, he is the Batman trying to save Gotham. Problem is that you may not be able to move at all because Gotham is full of Batmen. Irony is that even with so many Batmen, Gotham keeps burning.

Talibani Titali (TT) – A gentle reminder – pun is intended everywhere. First, let me dedicate a song to this group -

panchhi banu udati phirun mast gagan men
aaj main aazaad hun duniya ke chaman men        

Next kind is what I fondly call Talibani Titali (TT). This kind is of a different gender than Street Hawks but they are quite like Cat Women. These are Cheekas (Chics) driving their Scooty’s/Activas/Other in the similar way as Street Hawks do and grinning at the world with the saying – Why should boys have all the fun?

For some strange reasons, this group like to dress up as is they are living in Taliban’s regime. This group has their entire body covered in different form of clothing. If women in Taliban regime are allowed to show, nothing but their eyes to the world outside, this group covers even them – by wearing shades, which almost covers their entire face. The face is anyhow covered with different layering of a floral scarf. With gloves covering hands until elbow, only body part one can see of Cheekas in this group is, assuming they are wearing sleeveless Kurtas, are the biceps.

I hope you get the logic behind Taliban in TT’s name.

They drive like butterflies – free of fear and pressure of being the cynosure. When they drive straight, they will always give a feeling that they are about to take a turn. When they take a right turn, they would immediately turn left and drive straight. When they take a left turn, they may take a left turn or drive straight or take a right turn or stop immediately, stare at you, push their vehicle with the help of their legs for a few meters, restart it and drive again. See, they are quite like butterflies. As a butterfly spreads its wings while flying, one can see this group often spreading their legs while driving – maybe they feel like butterflies too.
Alas, Gotham has so many Batmen and Cat Women yet it keeps burning.

The Cabbies – If traffic has pushed you to extreme left of the road and you find yourself so close to the shops at the left that you might fear hitting them, there will always be a car driving through between you and the shops at the left. If you try noting down the number of that car, ten out of nine times you would find the number written in yellow background. If it is not, you can be rest assured that the number is written incorrectly.

Cabbies have god-gifted ability to drive through the smallest of gap – sometimes even Street Hawks cannot do so. They have this unimaginable ability to drive through the worst of traffic jams. They are all India’s answer to Michael Schumacher. It is a different matter than the answer does not reach him. I am sure of ever Schumacher happens to drive on Indian roads; he would surrender all his awards immediately, shoot himself in shame and would like to be reincarnated as an Indian cabbie so that he could become a better driver in his next birth.
Cabbies have such talent.
Do you know the kind of Cabbie I like most? The one has written at the back of his car – “In case of rash driving, please complain at XXXX”. I have never tried calling at any such number but would like to know if anyone has. Reason behind me not calling at such number is the fear – what if that is driver’s number. What if driver promises to address the issue, asks me my position, comes back and drives over me. I would rather take my frustration out by honking.

Common-Man – This category covers most of us if not all of us. People from both genders, or maybe all three, belong to this group but I would keep referring to every member as “he” – call it choosing this option for the ease of writing or call me a male chauvinist.

A common-man can the most dangerous driver. Because when he is driving, his mind is somewhere else. He is thinking about different things - the tiff he had with his partner, how crappy his boss is, soaring prices, war in Syria, how ruling party is looting his beloved country; his opposition party is allowing that loot, how it is all chaos at the roads, how he has to manage driving on almost non-existent roads, how he can do nothing but honk to take his frustration out. He also thinks how not just his vehicle but the entire country should be driven by him – the common-man. Alas, he cannot do anything but pray and try to drive safe.

Common-man is like the Cashier Jack Nicholson talks about in movie Anger Management. Common-man is just building up that anger in his silence and I am sure, one day he will get up and shoot everyone, take the steering/handle in his own hands and drive this country.

I am sure that day is not far away or at least I hope that day is not far away.
Until that arrives, I would like to wish all of you a very happy and safe drive.

My visit to MMEC

To all my friends of MMEC, Mullana.

I wanted to share my experience while I visited the college few days back. I heard from others that college is changed a lot, so sharing my own experience with you.

When I reached Mullana then I could see some guys waiting on the bridge asking for lift despite auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws being available. I looked at them and slowed down my car at the turn. However, to their disappointment, I smiled at them and drove ahead. I was enjoying the natural beauty while driving. The scene was so refreshing. Some farmers were ploughing while some were taking care of their lush green fields. After driving some 2.5 KM, I reached to the entrance of the college. There I could see a tea stall before entrance. It was a kind of hut with some sitting space. When I peeped into the tea stall, there were many boys and girls who were getting late for their lecture but still were in no rush to finish off their tea. However, I could not see Sachin Suri, Vikram Yadav(s), Juneja, Bhatia, Prateek or Sucheta there. I proceeded further.


I entered the college campus. There was a lawn in the front. Students were coming out of the building after their sessional exam and gathering in that lawn. They were making different faces while discussing their question paper - sometimes disappointment and sometimes as if something big has been achieved. Any new student coming out of the building was joining the gang. I waited there for 5 min and looked closely at them but I could not locate Shobhna, Anuradha or Baweja among those students.

I entered the building. Straight ahead were those computer labs where we all learnt computer and shaped our future. I went to the lab, I did not enter the lab but peeped inside by sticking my nose on a glass wall. My hands were curved forming 2 semi-circles and were placed on my face avoiding reflection of glass so that I could have a better inside view. Some students were quite glued to their monitors and a few were sitting in the lab as if they were there without their schedule. I tried my best to search Gambhir, Sapna, Jyoti or Rajiv Gupta but none of these faces were there.

I proceeded towards admin office. Pratap was sitting there talking to students. As usual, he was soft in in voice but students were still getting irritated. They had very little hope of getting answer of their queries.

I started walking back and reached to the big corridor just between labs and classrooms. A bunch of students we discussing something with a lecturer. I went close to them. They did not pay any attention to me as if I was invisible. They were discussing about some trip. The lecturer was helping them arranging it. But neither the lecturer was among Katyar and Manpreet sir nor the students were among Prashar, Aditya or Jt.

I went near class rooms. I could see a bunch of jovial folks pulling each other's leg. There was a guy having calm face. He was not participating in leg pulling yet enjoying each moment. But neither the gang involved Chhokar, Sandy, Jagtej and Ranjan, nor the calm faced person was PD. No one was pulling plaits of girls either.

Then I opened the back door of a classroom slightly. A lecturer was taking lecture. Some students were attentive but not like Chautani, Kinra, Nandu (Mukesh), Geeta or Verma brothers (Vishal and Manoj). Some students were playing pranks but none of those faces resembled Harjai, Avinash, Mamta or Reena.

There were some posters stuck outside the walls of classrooms. These posters were about some events being conducted. I stood over there and read 1 of the poster. The event description was given in short. The names of organizers were mentioned at the bottom. I read the names. My brain was picking up the alphabets randomly trying to form some desirable names but none of the names sounded like Mohit, Swapan or Manisha.

Then I headed towards workshops. Students were involved in multiple jobs. They were dressed up in khakhi uniform. Sweat was dripping from their faces yet their eyes were stuck on their jobs and they were moving their hands slowly and carefully. In between they were asking each other to verify their work. Though none of them was skilled in his/her job but still they were giving expert advise to others very confidently. Pooja Saini didn't faint; Chandesh and Satwant were attentive towards their jobs, Megha and Nidhi Monga were not taking help from boys and instructor was happy with the jobs being performed.

I heard some noise of students from outside. The result of previous semester was out and it was displayed on the wall outside workshops. I decided to go there and read the notice board. There was a flock in front of the notice board. Some guys were returning happy, few were glum. Girls were not trying to enter the crowd. I noticed a well-built fat boy standing in front of the result-sheet. He was shouting the results to his friends and to those girls standing aside while dodging the push from other students. My eyes twinkled. I could not resist myself and started making my way towards that boy by pushing other with my elbow. After good 10 min of struggle, finally I was there. I tapped at the shoulder of that boy with excitement. When the boy turned towards me, his face didn't resemble Daddu. I moved a step ahead and scanned the result sheet twice right from top to bottom while struggling the push from others. To my disappointment Nidhi, Preeti or Tanwar were not listed among toppers.

After such a long walk inside the college building, I went to canteen to sit for a while and to have some refreshments. The canteen was full of students. There was a separate section in the canteen for college staff. I bought badam milk and tried to find a chair.

While doing this, I was looking at each table and students sitting around it. I could not find any familiar face even after long search - not even Vivek Suri, Bakshi, Abhishek, Suneet or Manu. I saw some students sitting around 1 table but they were not eating anything. They were studying from a common book. When I looked carefully then it was GRE book but the students were not Dandona or Mudita.
I found a vacant chair and eased myself over it. I started chit-chat with students casually while drinking my badam milk. They told me that Mullana is now a deemed university. I asked them if they were aware of affiliation of the college to GJU which was rolled back to KUK after a historic strike. They were not aware of any such incident, any struggle, any sacrifices, any media coverage or exemplary student-teacher collaboration.

When I came out of canteen, there was a play ground. Some matches were in progress. I went near the volleyball court and started watching the match. But the bodies which were jumping and falling to hit the ball didn't belong to Narshi, Raju or Vivek; the scorer was not Dahiya. The girl winning the sprint was not Gunjan either.

I moved towards parking as I wanted to leave now. I started my car and moved outside the campus swiftly. As soon as I crossed the grand entrance/exit gate, I could see a small hut like book shop towards my right. I was still in my own world when a sudden loud voice reached to my ears. Someone was shouting POPU!! POPU!! I looked around but there was no Hans; there was no one except me. I believe that those voices were from my past; the voices associated with all of us; the voices were still chasing me.

Others were probably right. The college was changed. Buildings, classrooms, playground, hostel, canteen, office etc. were all same however, the college was changed. Despite being so many students around, the college was lifeless. I kept thinking. Within few moments, I was clear ... I was clear on my belonging to this college. I realized that it was not "my college" but "our college". There was no sense of looking at college from just 1 pair of eyes. It was my college only when my classmates were there. Without them, it was a dead building standing. I am sure that if all or even few of us gather at any place in the world, we would create the college environment there. While thinking this my eyes became little moist. I controlled myself and drove away.


Disclaimers:
1. The incidents mentioned above are purely imaginary. If it resembles to some incident then it is purely incidental
2. The pun mentioned in the incident is intended

Trip to Great Ocean Road

Heena (my wife) was quite apprehensive when I told her about my plan of going to Great Ocean Road. And I was not unaware of the reason. It was a long drive. Both Heena and Yugam (our 2.5 yrs old son) have problem of motion sickness in car. GOR was 2 days trip and has some swirls on the way. As it was a must visit place, I tried to convince her. After a long discussion of 2 hours, finally she agreed.

I made the plan, collected all the information and then booked the car to hire. Now the only issue was to get an accommodation. As it was Easter long weekend, finding accommodation was difficult or rather I should say getting accommodation in our budget was difficult. I searched all the websites to find some decent family accommodation but no luck. Then 1 of my friend referred me to a farm house cottage. It was 30 KM away from the main stream and was quite remote. As soon as my friend stopped describing it, I decided to book the cottage. It was a proper farm house. You need to cross a beach forest on the way to reach the cottage. It was cozy and best suited for people who want to relax away from city life. I was fortunate that it was available on the planned night. I instantly booked it.

It was now last working day before Easter long weekend. I was quite excited and wanted to leave office asap but had a hard luck that day. I had to deal with some unplanned issues occurred in my server. I tried hard and finally got free by 8:00 PM. Heena had already given me phone call 5 times. All said, I reached home at about 9:00 PM and then started packing my stuff.

Next morning was quite beautiful. It was sunny but not hot. We started our trip at about 9:00AM. After a drive of 30 min, we touched the highway. Our Toyota Aurion was at 100 kmpl. Yugam was playing with Heena and Sujata. I and Saurabh were on front seats acting as driver and co-driver respectively. Soon we reached to a place where road and ocean were running side by side. The view was awesome. Blue never looked more beautiful to me, I swear. Heena was also so happy and called it “must see of Melbourne”. Now all her complaints were turning into praise. We passed Lorne now with taking stops in between and taking shots of natural beauty.

We wanted to reach to our cottage before sunset. And we were aware of it that we had to pass through a forest to reach the right spot. Just before Apollo Bay, we took a turn leaving Great Ocean Road and headed towards the cottage. Soon we entered the beach forest. It was thick dark forest with hardly anybody visible. The route was curvy. Motion sickness was sure for Heena and Yugam. When Heena was restless to reach cottage, Yugam was sleeping without giving any trouble to us.

After driving 20 km in the thick forest, Saurabh and I thought that we are on some wrong way. Saurabh took GPS system and fed the address of the cottage. Initially we thought that GPS would not have map till cottage as it was quite remote but GPS proved us wrong. A sweet female voice came from it “Drive 9 km and then turn left”. GPS was smiling at us and we were smiling at the lady who was guiding us through the forest. It was getting darker and colder and speed of car was increasing with every passing moment. Yugam was still sleeping comfortably.

At about 6:30 PM, we reached the cottage. Ah, what a relief!!! Without wasting any time, we parked the car and rushed into the cottage. The owner followed us and started guiding us. The cottage was as comfortable as our own house. It had 3 big bedrooms, 1 big drawing room and a big kitchen. Being a small town boy, I was missing big houses which are difficult to find in big cities. By this time Yugam was out of his hibernation.

We lit fire in fire place enjoyed the warmth as any filthy rich foreigner would have enjoyed. After some chat, we all went to our respective rooms. Next morning we had to start early. I wake up at 7:00 AM and went for a morning walk. The scene outside the cottage was so beautiful that I never wanted to get back from there. Lush freen fields, small grassey hills, jersey cows erverything was looking damn beautiful. I enjoyed the natural beauty and the returned to the cottege. By that time Heena and Yugam were also up. All of us got ready & then left for the remaining journey.

Next stop was tree-top walk in the beach forest. It was a mettalic platform built 20 mts above the ground level. You were really on "top of the trees". This was the best experience of this trip. From there we headed for 12 apostles. After 2 hrs of drive, we were there. It was 12 big rocks in between the ocean. The scene was as beautiful as you could imagine. Just like watching in some romantic Hindi movie. Port Campbell was our next stop; last destination of the trip. It is a small town with a beautiful beach. Best thing was that there was a small garden on the ocean side. Yugam was enjoying to its max. We had lunch there, spent some time and then started for Melbourne.

Yugam again fell asleep on the way. We reached back at 10:00 PM. Had dinner at a good resturant and returned home.

My first day in Melbourne

The day I got news from my organization that I'll be going onsite to Melbourne for long term, I was on cloud 9. I started dreaming about living style of Aussies, culture, dollars I'll be earning etc. I even cancelled so many planned expenses like AC and Washing machine. You will definitely think that whats the big deal. If someone is going abroad for 1 year then buying AC worth 20k is nothing but stupidity. But here I would like to mention that the news was not confirmed. In IT industry, any travel news is not comfirmed till you reach the destination. Incidents have happened where employees were called back from airports. But as I was on 7th sky, I cancelled all the plans of such expenses or atleast posponed for a couple of months.

My instict clicked correctly and finally my tickets were booked. I decided to travel alone initially as I had to arange for accomodation and other petty stuff before my family (wife + 2 yrs old kid) could join me. I knew that finding a good accomodation will be tough. My flight landed at 7:30 PM. After all the formalities, I headed to get a taxi. One taxi driver met me at the exit of the airport and without wasting my time in getting the details, I settled in the taxi. Driver was a Turkey citizen. On the way we shared few things about our countries. To my surprise, he had totally anti-west mentality. He told me that Mahatama Gandhi was very famous in Turkey. And Gandhi was not given Nobel peace prize because Nobel prize belongs to west and Gandhi fought against western government. We kept on chatting on various topics and soon we reached the destination.

The hotel was old but comfortable. After such a long flight I can bet that even bench of any park in India would have given me comfortable feeling. I spent some time watching TV, unpacking some essential stuff and then fell asleep. As next day was Sunday, there was no need to get early in the morning. Sunday morning (after noon to be precise) I started exploring Melbourne. It was not very different than what I thought. Only few people on roads (compared to India), nice trams and trains, clean roads, hi-tech buildings etc were looking as nice as these could be. I found lot of Indians on the roads - talking in their regional languages. Other thing I could see across the road was Mc Donalds beautifully shining in red. The big smile of mascot was like welcoming a foregner in Australia. I found a small market near by. By this time it was 4:00PM. I gave a phone call to 1 of my friend who was living in Melbourne somewhere. To my surprise his apartment was at a walking distance from my hotel. Now I had something to do for rest of the day. Without wasting any time, I took the instructions on how to reach to his place and rushed. After good 20 min walk, I was outside his building.

My friend made me understand lot many things of Australia. Time flew so fast and soon sun proceeded to take a nap. Both of us cooked the dinner, watched TV and then I headed for my hotel. Next day both of us had to go our offices.

My first day was not something great but it was very nice. New place with old friend is something which can make any day the best day in the life.

Dosti aur Mohabbat

Rohit aaj bahut excited thaa. Purani yaade uske dimag par haavi thi. 5 saal baad aaj woh India aa rahaa thaa. Kabhi woh apne mata pitah ke baare main sochta to kabhi school ke dino ko yaad kartaa. College ke masti bhare din koi kaise bhool saktaa hai. Woh canteen, lectures, exams ki tension, teachers par crush, woh dosto ki mandali aur woh pehla pyaar Shaalu. Shaalu ka khyaal dimag main aate hi Rohit ke chehre par muskurahat aa gayi. Uske dimaag main abhi bhi woh sab aise taaza thaa jaise mano kal ki hi baat ho. Bahut pyaar kartaa thaa woh Shaalu se. Lekin ab to Shaalu aur Arvind apni family main bachho ke saath khush honge.

College main yeh 3 dost - Arvind, Rohit aur Shaalu. Teeno main gehri dosti thi. Rohit ekdum seedha sadha ladkaa tha. Har cheej main average - padai, sports, extra curricular activities etc. Chote chote sapne the uske. College ke baad koi achhi si job karna aur fir job main promotion lena. Bas ek hi cheej main avval thaa Rohit - dosti nibhane main. Dosto ke liye jaan bhi hajir thi uski. Wahin Arvind bahut smart tha. Handsome, padai main avval, sports main bhi achha. Bas thoda gusse waala tha woh. Shaalu dekhne main bahut hi sweet thi jaise koi masoom si pari. Padai, sports sab main average lekin sapne bade bade. College ke baad USA se MBA karna chahti thi aur fir wahin settle hone kaa plan thaa.

Fir ek din Arvind ne apne mann ki baat Rohit ko batayi. Arvind Shalu se pyaar kartaa tha. Lekin usse samajh nahi aa rahaa thaa ki woh apne mann ki baat Shaalu ko kaise bataye. Ghar aa kar Rohit iske baare main sochta rahaa. Rohit ko mann hi mann main lagne lagaa ki Arvind Shaalu ke liye usse achha jivan saathi hoga. Rohit ki nazar se dekhe to Arvind Shaalu ke liye perfect match thaa. Usne decide kiya ki woh Arvind ke mann ki baat na sirf Shaalu ko batayega balki har tarah se unki help karega. Yeh faisla asaan nahi thaa Rohit ke liye. Apne haatho se apne pyar ko apne dost ko de rahaa thaa woh. Jaha uska dil udas thaa wahi usko is baat ki khushi thi ki woh koi nek kaam karne jaa rahaa hai. Apne dosto ki help karne se jaada khushi usse kabhi nahi hoti thi.
Rohit ki kurbani rang layi. Jaldi hi Arvind aur Shaalu ne college ke baad shaadi karne kaa faisla kar liya.


College khatam ho gayaa. Teeno apni apni rah par chal pade. Arvind ne busness ko career bana liya. Shaalu India main hi reh kar MBA karne lagi. In dono ki life planning se chal rahi thi. Rohit ki life main chota sa change aaya. Job karne ki jagah woh MBA karne USA chalaa gayaa. MBA khatam ki aur fir wahi par ek MNC main achhi naukri bhi mil lagyi. Arvind aur Shaalu se uska contact bhi bahut kam ho gayaa thaa. Fir ek din usse pataa chalaa ki Arvind aur Shaalu ne shaadi kar li hai. Idhar Rohit ne soch liya ki woh zindagi main fir kabhi kisi se pyaar nahi karega, kabhi bhi nahi.

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Ek din 1 store main Rohit ki nazar 1 pyari si bachchi par padi. Bahut hi masoom thi woh bachchi. Aisa lag rahaa thaa jaise shararat koot koot kar bhari ho usme. Lekin fir bhi bahut shaant lag rahi thi. Shayad daant ke dar se koi sharat nahi kar rahi thi. Jab Rohit ki nazar uski mummy par padi to woh hairan reh gayaa. Uske saamne Shaalu khadi thi. Rohit ke dil main Shalu ke liye pyar abhi bhi zinda thaa. Lekin uske liye uski dosti jaada mayne rakhti thi. Woh seedha Shalu ke paas pahucha.

- Hey Shalu, How are you yaar? Long time naa!!
- Rohit!!! kaise ho?
- Main bilkul theek hoon. Arvind kaisa hai? Yeh tumhari beti hai?
- Haan, Shruti.
- Apna mob no bata jaldi se. I'm so excited. Milne kaa plan banate hain.

Rohit jitna khush thaa Shalu ko dekh kar, utna khush Shaalu nahi lag rahi thi. Rohit ko kuchh theek nahi lag rahaa thaa. Shaalu kaa no lene ke baad woh apne ghar chala gayaa. Ghar jaa kar woh Shalu ke saath apni mulakat ke baare main sochta rhaa. "Shaalu mujhse mil kar khush nahi lag rahi thi. Kya baat ho sakti hai? Yaa fir yeh uska vaham to nahi? Akhir Shalu ki ab family life hai. Time bhi bahut ho gayaa hai. Phone karke coffee par invite kartaa hoon. Fir aram se baate karenge." Yeh sochte sochte usme Shaalu ko phone lagaya.

- Shalu, Rohit here. Busy to nahi hai? Sunday ko milte hain, kuchh plan to nahi hai?
- Rohit, woh ... thoda busy hoon Sunday ko ... Shruti ka homework karvana hai
- Arre yaar, homework subah karva dena. Shaam free rakhna. Sunday ko Arvind ki bhi chutti hogi. Shaam ko 5 baje milte hain
- Thoda mushkil lag rahaa hai
- Yaar, tum ladkiya kitne nakhre karti ho. Chal Arvind se baat karta hoon. Baat karva
- Ok. Sunday ko milte hain

Rohit soch rahaa thaa ki pata nahi kyo Shalu hichkichahat mehsoos kar rahi thi. Par socha ki 1 baar milenge to sab theek ho jayega.

Dono Sunday ko ek coffee shop main mile. Is baar bhi Shaalu ke saath Shruti thi lekin Arvind nahi. 'Arvind nahi aaya?' Rohit ne poochha. Shaalu khamosh thi. Rohit apne sawaal ke jawab ke liye Shalu ki aur dekh rahaa thaa. 'Arvind has expired in a car accident' Shalu ne dabi awaz main kaha. Rohit ke raungte khade ho gaye.

- 'Kya!! kab?'
-'2 mahine pehle'
- 'Oh my God.'


Bas itna hi keh paya Rohit. Woh samajh nahi paa rahaa thaa ki Shalu ko kaise sympathy de. Sahi shabd dhoondne ki koshish kar rahaa thaa. Ab usse samajh aaya ki kyo Shalu is tarah se behave kar rahi thi. Vaapis aa kar Rohit isi ke baare main sochta rahaa. Usse Poori raat neend nahi aayi. Uskaa dimag kuchh bhi sochne main uska saath nahi de rahaa thaa. Bahut saare sawaal aur vichar uske dimaag main aa rahe the.
Agle dine bhi woh usi soch main dooba tha. Soch rahaa thaa ki aisa kya kare ki Shalu ki zindagi main khusi aa jaye. Bahut sochne ke baad Rohit ne faisla kiya ki woh Shalu ke saamne shaadi ka proposal rakhega. Rohit Shruti ko apnane ko bhi tayar thaa. Lekin Shalu ke mann main kya hai yeh kaise pataa chalega usse. Abhi Arvind ko gujre 2 mahine hi huye hain. Kya yeh sab baate Shaalu se karnaa theek rahega? Usne yeh baate apne mata-pitah ko batayi. Unhone saaf inkaar kar diya.

- Samaaj kya kahega?
- Maa, shaadi mujhe karni hai. Vaise bhi to main USA main hi rehta hoon. Yaha log kuchh din bolenge fir chup ho jayenge
- Tujhe koi bhi achhi ladki mil jayegi
- Papa, aap Shalu ko achhi tarah se jaante hain. Woh bahut achhi ladki hai aur aapko bhi pasand hai. Arvind ke accident ke baad wohi ladki khraab kaise ho gayi?
- Tujhe wohi ladki kyo pasand hai? Ladkiyo ko kami hai kya?
- Kisi anjaan ladki se shaadi karne se achha hai ki main Shalu ke saath shaadi kar loo. Kam se kam khush to rahunga
- Lekin beta, uska 1 bachha bhi hai. Tu apnaa payega usse? Tere apni family kaise expand hogi?
- Yeh to proven fact hai ki ladko ko yeh sab adjust karne main problem nahi hoti. Ladies hi pyar ke maamle main selfish hoti hain. Main Shruti ko apni beti ki tarah rakhuga.


Mata-pitah ko apne bachho ki khushi se badkar kya ho sakta hai. Rohit ne aakhir kar unko raazi kar liya. Woh khush to nahi the par Rohit ki zid ke aage unki 1 naa chali.Rohit ne Shaalu ko phone kiya aur baato baato main uski planning jaanene ki koshish ki. Lekin Shalu ko kewal Shruti ke liye jeena thaa. Rohit ko samajh nahi aa rahaa thaa ki woh is baat ko kaise aage badaye. Usne ek tarkeeb nikali. Usne Shalu ko milne ke bahane uske ghar jaane kaa faisla kiya. Woh Shalu ke mata-pitah aur saas-sasur se ek baar baat karke jaanana chahta thaa ki woh kya soch rahe hain. Rohit ne baato baato main Shalu ke saas-sasur se poochha:

- Ab kya plan hai aage kaa? Kuchh socha hai Shalu ne?
- Kehti hai ki naukri karegi aur Shalu ki parvarish karegi
- Dubara shaadi kaa koi vichar .....
Thoda jhijhak kar Rohit ne poochha. Situation ki nazukta kaa andaza thaa usse.
- Beta, hum to chahte hain ki aisa ho jaye lekin marzi to Shalu ki hi hai.
- Aur Shalu ke mata-pitah? Kya woh bhi yehi chahte hain?
- Shalu kaa ghar bas jaye to aur kya chahiye unko bhi. Lekin aisa ladkaa dhoondna mushkil hoga jo Shruti ko apni beti ki tarah rakhe. Hame to koi ummeed nahi hai aisa ladka milne ki.


Rohit ko roshni ki kiran nazar aa rahi thi. Kam se kam parivar ke logo ki soch achhi thi. Usne apne mata-pitah ko Shalu ke mata-pita se baat kare ko kaha. Lekin is baat kaa khyal rakhna tha ki yeh baat Shalu ko pataa na chale. Baat karne par pataa chalaa ki Shalu ke mata-pitah Rohit ke liye raazi the. Rohit ko woh bahut pehle se jaante the. Jab unko pataa chalaa ki Rohit Shruti ko apnane ko tayar hai to unko rishte se koi apatti nahi thi. Shalu ke mata-pitah ne Arvind ke mata-pitah se baat ki to unko bhi Rohit achha ladka laga. Ab bas Shalu se baat karne ki der thi lekin iski himmat koi nahi juta paa rahaa thaa. Akhir kar Shalu ke mata-pitah ne usse baat karne kaa faisla kiya. Baat karne par Shaalu ne saaf inkaar kar diya. Woh bas Arvind ki yaado ke sahare hi zindagi guar lena chahti thi. Lekin sab ke dabav daalne se woh sochne par majboor ho gayi. Sab ne usse Rohit se ek baar milne ki salah di.


Rohit soch rahaa thaa ki baat kaha se shuru kare. Lekin woh pehle se jaada comfortable lag rahaa thaa.

- Shalu, please don't misunderstand me. Main India shaadi ke liye koi ladki dekhne aaya thaa. Lekin mujhe samajh nahi aa rahaa thaa ki 1 din main kaise kisi se shaadi karne kaa faisla kar lu. Tum to meri itni achhi dost ho. To socha tumse achhi partner nahi mil sakti mujhe. Main Shruti ko bhi apni beti ki tarah rakhunga. Baaki tum batao.
- I'm not prepared for marriage.
- I understand. Tum mujhe achhi tarah se jaanti ho. Jo bhi decision logi mujhe manjoor hoga.
- Meri zindagi main Arvind ki jagah koi nahi le sakta. Main isi shehar main rahungi, Arvind ki yaado ke saath.


Dono ki mulakat jaada lambi nahi chali. Shalu ne abhi tak kuchh bhi faisla nahi liya thaa. Usse waqt chahiye thaa. Lekin fir bhi Rohit ne India main hi shift karne ka faisla kar liya. Isse woh Shalu ke kareeb reh sakta thaa. Shalu bhi yaha se kahi aur nahi jana chahti thi.
Idhar Rohit ki chutti khatam ho gayi aur roh vaapis USA chalaa gayaa aur idhar Shalu par shaadi ka dabav badhne lagaa. Rohit ne India main naukri dhoond li aur 6 mahine baad India shift ho gayaa. Shalu doosri shaadi bilkul nahi karnaa chahti thi lekin uske ghar waale us par dabav banaa rahe the. Akhir bina mann ke usne haan keh di.

Dono ki shaadi ho gayi. Lekin Shalu abhi bhi khush nahi thi. Uski purani yaade taza hone lagi. Honeymoon par bhi woh Rohit ki jagah Arvind ko hi expect kar rahi thi. Arvind ke saath bitaya huya har pal uske saamne fir se aa rahaa tha. Rohit usse ghoomane ke liye kahi bhi le jata, Arvind ki yaade uske saath hoti. Shaadi ke baad Rohit uska poora khyaal rakhne lagaa. Usse kabhi bhi jhagda nahi karta. Shruti ko bhi bahut pyar karta tha. Shalu bas apne aap main khoyi rehti thi. Keval Shruti ka hi dhyan rakhti. Rohit ki taraf uska lagav bilkul nahi thaa. Rohit Shalu ke liye pareshan rehne laga. Usne socha ki kyo naa Bangalore shift ho jau. Shayad nayi jagah jaa kar Shalu main kuchh badlav aaye. Yeh soch kar usne Bangalore transfer le liya.


Bangalore main Shalu ki halat aur bhi bigadne lagi. Usse lagne lagaa ki Rohit usse sab se door le jaana chahta hai. Rohit ke liye uske mann main nafrat bharne lagi thi. Shruti ki taraf bhi uska dhyan nahi rehta tha. Rohit hi Shruti kaa khyaal rakhta. Woh yehi sochta rehta ki kis tarah se apni 'dost' ki zindagi fir se khushaal kare. Usne apne kamre se Arvind ki tasveer bhi hata di. Lekin Shalu ko yeh bhi manjoor naa thaa. Woh to Rohit ko khud ka dushman bhi maanane lagi. Rohit ne bahut koshish ki Shalu ko khush rakhne ki. Jo usse pasand thaa woh sab kiya - Shruti ka kyaal rakhna, Ghar par time bitana, family ke saath ghoomne jaana etc. Yaha tak ki usne Shalu ke parents ko bhi beech beech main Bangalore aane ke liye raazi kar liya thaa taaki usse unki kami mehsoos naa ho. Arvind ke parents bhi Shalu se phone par baat karte. Lekin uske sabhi prayas nakam hote nazar aa rahe the. Naa khane kaa hosh aur naa hi kisi ki parvah. Shalu ki halat paaglo jaisi thi. Rohit ki har ek koshish bekar saabit ho rahi thi. Woh Rohit ke saath baat baat par jhagda karti. Bas ek hi baat se santusht thi woh ki Shruti Rohit ke saath khush thi. Rohit Shruti ka khyaal rakhta tha.

Ek din Rohit ko office main phone aaya ki Shalu kaa accident ho gayaa hai. Rohit jaldi se hospital pahucha. Shalu kafi serious thi. Who ghar se bahar sadak tak aa gayi thi aur 1 car se uska accident ho gayaa tha. Doctors operation kar rahe the. Rohit ne phone karke Shalu ke mata-pitah ko bhi bula liya tha. 3 ghante ke operation ke baad bhi doctors ne kuchh bhi kehne se manaa kar diya. Bas sab log Shalu ke hosh main aane ka intezar kar rahe the. Shalu ne aankhe kholi. Usne Rohit ki god main Shruti ko dekha fir side par rakhi Arvind ki tasveer ko. Shalu Shruti ke liye santusht kag rahi thi mano Rohit ki ehsan-mand ho. Aur fir uski aankhe hamesha ke liye band ho gayi.

Rohit samajh nahi paa rahaa thaa ki Shalu ki maut kaa jimmedar kaun hai – Arvind kaa pyar, halaat yaa fir Rohit khud. Rohit ne faisla kiya ki who ab keval Shruti ke liye jiyega aur kabhi kisi se pyar nahi karega, kabhi bhi nahi.