Mania of Maniacs - Part 2

“What happened anna? “, Trisha enquired worriedly when she saw Vikas hold the phone to his ears and not speak a word.

 “Nothing Trishu, I don’t know who was online I couldn’t hear anything”, Vikas tried to manipulate and walked to the other room.

Trishu sensed something was wrong but she trusted her brother and knew he wouldn’t break the promise he had given her.

“I need to meet you Vicky, It’s important. Please don’t say a no. I know you are bound with responsibilities but I want a favour from you….. a last one…… Please meet me at Elliot’s beach today evening by 7.” Vicky tried to recollect everything that Sashi had spoken on the call.

He walked into the bathroom for a shower. He switched on the shower and as the water splashed on him from head to toe he tried to compose himself to make a decision. A number of voices echoed in his ears. “You are all I can leave for maa and Paa………”, “I know you are bound with responsibilities but I want a favour from you….. a last one……”

His mind was caught between the love for his family and his passion, his dream.

“I would land in the asylum if I don’t figure out what Sashi wants”, he consoled himself and decided to meet Sashi.

“Thanks Vikas for coming, I knew you wouldn’t have denied a favour for me.”Sashi stood at Elliot’s beach on the shore and thanked Vikas. The waves were calm and slightly kissed their feet.

The evening sun fell on their face and Vikas turned to Sashi to reply, “Don’t thank me Sashi, I only agreed to meet you, I didn’t agree to help you.”

Sashi was stunned to see a new Vikas in front of him and was a little worried that he shouldn’t back out. He thought it would be easy to convince Vikas and have him say a yes. A “yes” to what he wanted. However, not everyday is Sunday.

“Vikas…”, He folded his hands and started weeping. “Vikas, Amma is sick, I need a lot of cash to treat her.”

Vikas couldn’t believe what Sashi spoke and asked, “Sashi, what happened to amma? What is wrong?”

“She is sick and the doctor has asked her to undergo a surgery and Appa can’t afford that. I need some cash Vikas and you are the only person who can help me out.” Sashi spoke praying to Vikas.

 “I don’t have so much money Sashi, how can I help you?” Vikas was helpless.

“You can Vicky…. You are the trump card for Jerry.  He said if the team wins the next race and won he would give all the money earned to me. And I know the team would win only if you race. Don’t say a no Vicky. It is just for my mother or else I wouldn’t have forced you.” Sashi continued.

Trisha’s voice was all he could hear. But he knew his sister would support her for this cause.

He came close to Sashi and kept his right hand on his shoulder giving him an assurance. “Yes Sashi I will race for your Amma one last time”. Sashi broke into tears and hugged his friend.

The race was a week away and Vikas had started to make all plans for it. He tuned the bike with oil and ready for the big day. Meanwhile he hid all this from Trisha. He decided to tell it to her once the race was over. He knew she would understand him. He was excited that he was going to hit the roads again. However he knew this was the last time.

The day finally arrived and as always Vikas reached the Thiruvanmiyur signal with Sashi. Jerry stood at the post to welcome his “Bishop” once again.

“Welcome back, Vicky”, Jerry hugged Vikas. “Thanks Jerry”, Vikas replied in a friendly gesture.

The three signals were given and Vikas knew he had to bring in the charisma again. He began to start his bike when he remembered that he had forgotten something very important, “his lucky charm”.

“Oh freak, I forgot to kiss Trishu before I race. How could I forget this?”He had been superstitious when it came to winning the race.

He closed his eyes and saw Trishu’s smiling face cross him. He was at peace now. The race began and as always the king ruled the race. Jerry was confident they would win with his trump card racing for him. Vikas could see his destination from quite a distance and he knew he would win it this time too.

                                              

He was just half a kilometer away, he had to cross a signal, Vikas raced his bike in a speed where he couldn’t have been able to take a sudden brake. The speed had almost blinded him and he failed to see a flash of light coming from his left. A white car headed from one of the lanes beside the signal. Both Vikas and the car were in similar speed. Vikas had to decide. He knew losing a second of time also could cost him his race. He closed his eyes and raised his speed to cross the signal before car could.

It was a close finish and Vikas succeeded in crossing on time. Vikas heard a screech and could 

hear the car hit somewhere and stop. He dint stop to look behind but kept driving to his destination.  He was driving for his friend’s mother. She was all that was in his mind. He tried to concentrate on the race again and reached the finish line just in time.

“Here you go Sashi, take this money and treat Amma. I will pray for her.” He consoled Sashi and drove back home. On his way back he crossed the lane where the car had lost control to see if anyone was there. He parked his bike below a tree and all he could see where a few pieces of broken glass. He prayed that he shouldn’t have hurt anyone.

Nearing his house he saw that the lights in Sashi’s house were still on. “Maybe Aunty is still awake, i must go visit her”, he thought and parked his bike outside Sashi’s house. He opened the grill door and he heard Sashi’s mother come running out. “Vikas, Son what are you doing at this hour? Sashi is not at home”, She spoke with ease. Vikas was confused that Aunty was speaking as though she was completely fine. “Aunty How are you? Sashi said you were not well, so i thought i must drop in to check”, Vikas enquired.

 “Who said i am not well, son? I am completely fine. Nothing is wrong with me.” She replied. Vikas was taken aback. “Had Sashi lied to me?” he murmered. He didnt want to conclude till he heard it from him. He went back home and thought he would deal with this in the morning. Parking his bike without making any noise, he entered his house to see that all the lights were switched on. His house looked like it was 12 in the noon. He entered wondering, “Did trishu find out that i went racing? Has she told maa and paa? Will she give me a chance to explain?”

His mother sat in the porch. Her eyes looked moist and her cheeks were red with drops of tears. Vikas went close, “Maa, what happened to you? Why are you crying?”

“Vikas....”, she went close, hugged him and burst into tears. “Trishu’s pulse suddenly decreased by 11 in the night, We came to your room so you could take her to the doctor but you were not there. We were worried and Trishu fainted seeing your room empty. Your dad took her in the car to the hospital...” Her voice trailed and she wept even louder. Vikas tried to calm here, “Then what maa.... ? Is Trishu fine?”

“No .....”His mother shouted. “Our Trishu is not fine. On the way to the hospital near War memorial some goons were racing bikes at this time in the night.... “ Vikas’s heart started to beat faster. He wished he had not heard the next sentence his mother was about to say.

“And your father tried to stop the car and it skid hitting a tree. He was saved, but Trishu is injured.” His mother moaned. Vikas couldnt believe that the car he had hit during the race was the one which his father and sister were in. He suddenly got a call from his father saying, “Vikas we need blood of the group A1-. It is a rare blood group and we need it immediately for Trishu.” Vikas tried calling all his friends but to no avail. He then remembered that Sashi shared the same blood group.

He raced to Sashi’s house when at a distance he saw Sashi get out of Jerry’s car, he was drunk. Vikas tried to go closer when Sashi waved to Jerry saying, “Finally your right hand was caught in to our trap. Vikas got fooled just by my tears. He thought he could give it  up. No he is going to ride again and we are going to earn more and more and enjoy.” Vikas couldn’t believe that Sashi had cheated him for money and he was the reason that Trishu was fighting for her life in the hospital.

The next morning he convinced Sashi to donate blood to Trishu and then he spoke, “Sashi, thanks a lot for your favour, you saved my sister. I need another favour, Can you ask Jerry if i can ride another race? I need money for Trishu.” He pleaded in the same manner as Sashi as he really needed money for Trishu. Jerry agreed and Vikas drove another race. Jerry was all the more happy to have Vikas back. He had incurred a heavy loss in Vikas’s absence and he wanted to make all the profit he could now.

He walked into the ICU were Trishu lay and kissed her before the race.  The race began and as always RSR won it as Vikas, their HERO was back. Jerry came to hug Vikas on his victory when suddenly Jerry heard someone call him from behind, “Jerry Sequera, Sashi Chinnappa, we are officers from Thriuvanmiyur police station, You are under arrest for illegal bike racing, Thanks to Vikas for helping us in this mission.”

Vikas had succeeded in his plan, he had purposely asked Sashi to donate blood similar to the way Sashi had convinced him to race for Amma and got help from Jerry to race again and he was the one who had informed the police regarding this.

He drove to the hospital thinking, “Trishu is going to be fine soon and she will be so proud of me for getting those goons caught”. He smiled and raced on his Yamaha R15.............

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Street racing is illegal in India, however many such incidents do happen even now. These incidents pushed me to write this post. Innocent people become victims to this heinous act. Many a times the culprit stays within the walls of our house. It is upto us to be watchful. Like Vikas the youngsters of today must take a decision to stop playing with the lives of others and theirs too.

Have you thought that this story could be any of ours and we may have brothers like Vikas and Sashi? We could also become victims like Trisha. This story is a work of fiction, however, the concept is a bitter truth.

 

Mania of Maniacs - Part 1

Washing his hands after dinner he noticed his mobile vibrate. A message beeped,

“Everythingready!! The road is set!! See you at 11.00 PM sharp “

His heart raced as he watched his mobile. He had to make his movements fast. He looked at his watch to see the time, there was an hour left for him.  Everyday had become a challenge for him since he had started this game, the most daring sport. It meant life and death. But he wasn’t scared anymore. It had started with excitement, pulse racing speed, a desire to be ahead of all but now it was addiction and the sheer need to calm his burning desires.

He stealthily walked to his room and tried to avoid any conversations with the members of his family. Locking the door of his room, he switched on the table lamp and sat in the light that shone from it. The time started to pass and he waited for the final signal after which he would be gone into a different world. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice his mobile beep. It beeped a second time and he stood up astonished.

 “Assemble at the Thiruvanmiyur signal in ten minutes”

He took the keys of his vehicle and checked to see if everyone had slept at home. He walked to the door when he remembered he had forgotten the most important thing.

“I forgot to kiss Trishu”, he thought. He walked into his sister, Trisha’s room and kissed her on her cheeks and ran to start his bike. “His bike”, was the instrument in this game. He rode fast as being late would cost 

him his life.

Far at the Thiruvanmiyur signal there were members of RSR (Royapettah speed racers), boys in the age group of 18 – 25 stood with bikes making the loudest noise as possible and that were made to race. He reached the signal on time and joined the rest of the group.

                                           

The road was dark and lonely. The streets lights were bright and the wide road was an advantage to race in a spree. 10 bikers stood across the lanes. 5 in each group competing with the other 5 in the other group. The entire city slept when these bikers woke to play the most dangerous sport. Brakes were not meant to be taken, gear was the key and the accelerator was epochal.

The bet was made for Rs. 50000 and the “winner would take it all”. The race was a 12 km one from 

Thiruvanmiyur  to War memorial. Three signals were given after which the race would begin. The first signal was given and the bikers started their bikes. The second signal was given and the accelerator was raised to the most formidable limit. The third signal and the bikers set the road on fire.

 He was always the king when it meant to race. He had been trained better than the rest because he had the potential to be the best. He was the lead and when he raced he felt the road was a magnanimous mystery which had many unfolded secrets. His eyes were blind to any disturbances and disturbances meant just anything and anything that would make him use something that he hated, “The brakes”.

There was a style in which the entire team rode; it was a zig-zag fashion and not a linear one. This style was maintained to divert the opponent and anyone who missed the fashion ended up giving his life. Sparks of fire were emitted from the bikes which was a sense of pride for every raced.A myriad of images gazed in front of him when he rode and the road was his fantasy. When he rode, he rode with a zest and passion as thought he was born to rule the roads.

 The destination was not far and he had already decided in his mind that he would make it and victory would be his. As the finish line approached he was sad that his drug would come to an end and he would have to wait till he would hit the roads again. He cherished the last minutes of his celestial journey which he finally won. He raised the accelerator in his right and held the clutch with his left hand and watched as the opponents stared at him and his charisma.

He picked up his cash that he had earned and walked towards Jerry, his mentor and his master. For Jerry, he knew his “bishop” would win the game for him. Jerry hugged him and paid him for his win.  His mission accomplished, he knew he could rest in peace.He drove back home and opening the door of his house, he stood astonished as there was someone waiting for him. The person who according to him should have been the last person to know about his late night mystery was standing in front of him with inquisitive eyes.

 “Vikas anna, would you please oblige and tell me where were you so long at this hour of the night?”, Trisha his sister enquired with gleaming eyes.

 “Trishu, I had some important work outside. Listen just let this be between us don’t take it to Dad and Mom”, pleaded Vikas.

 “Okay anna, I promise I wont tell it to Dad and Mom, but on one condition that you have to tell me truth about your whereabouts”, Trishu played her card right.

Vikas thought about the deal, it was a difficult decision to tell everything to the person whom he loved the most. His sister had always been his life since she was born. But racing was none the less important to him. When he weighed his love for both of them he realized that he could give up all his aspirations to the girl who sat in front of him.

 “Trishu, I was street racing!!!”

The words hit harder than a thousand bells rung together. “Anna, are you kidding me, I knew biking and bikes were your passion, but does that mean you can risk your life and others too?”, Trishu reminded.

She glared at him and walked off to her room. Trishu was more than his little sister. She meant more than anything in the world for him. He had waited for 7 long years for her to be born and ever since she was his most important responsibility.

Vikas sat in the porch of their house and focused on what Trishu had just said.Many a time he wanted to give up this madness, but now racing had entered his blood and veins. He gazed around and his eyes fell on his bike. His thoughts ran back to the time when he was 15 years old. He had watched Sashi his neighbor race the bike and ever since then he wanted to own one. He waited till he was 18 to get a license and even scored well in his engineering exams as this was the condition put by his father if he wanted a bike.

It was his 18^th birthday and the day his dream had come true. Trisha had tied his eyes with a scarf and led him to the porch where he now sat. She had screamed in his ears, 3….2……………….1 ½……………..1…. and pulled the scarf from his eyes. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a Stylish black and blue Yamaha R15 standing in front of him. He walked and knelt beside it. He touched it as though it was a new born baby. He was going to cherish it for a lifetime. And since then his bike had been his all, his love, his life and his passion.

“Vicky, you ride really well, why don’t you show your skills to my friend, he loves bikers”, Sashi suggested to Vikas. Sashi had always been an inspiration to Vikas when it came to bikes. Sashi introduced Vikas to Jerry. Jerry had heard a lot about Vikas and wanted him in his group in any cost. Jerry owned the RSR group and he was always in search of bikers. He showed Vikas a whole new world of biking and Vikas was overwhelmed and decided to drive for RSR.

                         

He got his bike sophisticated with a lot of essentials from Puddupet the land for bikers where they enhanced the ability of bikes and gave them extra effects. Vikas had done well from the very first race and had held a special place in Jerry’s heart. He was Jerry’s right hand and his trump card as well.  Ever since then there was no looking back for Vikas. The roads and his bike had become his life.

The next morning Trishu behaved a little abnormal with Vikas and this hurt him. 6 months back Trisha was diagnosed with leukemia and Vikas had almost died when he had heard the doctor say this. He knew it would give her more pain if she had heard her brother woke up every night when she slept and risked his life on the streets. He gathered courage to speak to her and end the silence.

“Trishu what is wrong with you? Why are you not speaking to me?” he enquired.

“Anna, dad and I met the doctor yesterday, he said my chances for survival are vey meager. I don’t know how long am I going to live. You are all I can leave for maa and Paa, but instead of being responsible you are ruining your life on the streets” , Trisha spoke without a pause.

 “You have to promise me Vikas anna that you will give this up and never take up this dangerous game again”

Vikas took time to reply and again the love for his sister outdid his passion and he promised to give it up for her. At the beginning it had been difficult for him to forget his addiction but he slowly started spending more time with his family and came out of the death hole. He had almost forgotten everything when one day he received a call from Sashi..……

What could the call have been? Will Vikas go back to the streets? Will he break his promise?......

To be continued……….

 

The Perfect Summer Romance

He raised the accelerator of his bike and raced away leaving behind dust particles on my face. I walked the whole way home wondering if I had a second chance to save my relationship. But I knew it was over. The answers that I would have to give my parents were lingering in my head.

“I told you to be careful”, my mother would say.

“How would I search another suite for you?” my father would accompany.

Making up my mind to face everything bravely, I walked into my house and sat in front of my parents.

“Beta, Kyahua, why do you look so upset ?” My mom asked me lovingly. (I knew her love would go to ground zero when she would get to know my answer)

“Maa, paa, Rahul rejected me, He says I don’t look as beautiful as I looked in the photo that was sent to him a few days back. He says it would be shameful for him to go out with a dark skinned girl like me.” I said this and heaved a sigh of relief.

“I told you to take care of your skin, you are always playful. Tomorrow I will send your photo to another boy and he will also reject you. This is what you want right?. You never listen to me”, my mother screamed. (Exactly as I had thought and in the same tone)

“It’s ok beta, you compose yourself, I don’t think he is a suitable boy for you”, my dad convinced me.

I went into my room, locked it and stood in front of the mirror. I touched my face and thought, “Had it not been for the trip to Goa, my skin would not have got tanned and Rahul wouldn’t have rejected me?” Thread of thoughts got entangled in my brain when my phone rang.

“Hey  Meghna, wassup? How are  you girl?” It was Kyra on the call. (We had become friends on my trip to Goa.)“Hey Kyra, good to hear you. How are you doing?” I enquired.

“Well, good !!! But you don’t seem to be good what’s wrong.” Kyra smelt something fishy in my tone.

I narrated the entire incident and said, “You know ! Kyra, the sun in Goa was bad and I got totally tanned. Wish Rahul gave me a second chance.”

“Chuck it girl. You will have better options. I got a ticket extra for a trip to the Andamans. Join me na. It will be a great experience. And don’t you be reluctant because of your tan. I’ve got a special magic for you.”

She gave an idea for an exciting adventure and hung up.

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“Hey Kyra”, I caught a glimpse of her at the airport terminal in the Port Blair (Andamans)

“So good to see you Meg, I am so glad you made it”, Kyra hugged me and introduced me to the other members of the group.

“So where are we going first” I enquired

“We are going to check-in to the hotel and then drive to Corbyn beach” Kyra announced.

And we checked into the hotel  whereKyra and I shared the same room. We freshened up and started to get ready for the beach.

It was a 15 minute ride to Corbyn beach and on reaching the beach my excitement had died down. The hot sun shone brightly and I was all the more reluctant to step out of our car. Seeing me in a state of “Whether – to-get-out-of-the-car-or-no”, Kyra asked, “What’s wrong with you , Meg? Aren’t the waters inviting?”

“No Kyra, I am scared to get out in the sun.You know the whole Rahul thing right?”, I replied.

Kyra came close to me trying to take dig for something in her handbag, she said, “You remember the other day I spoke about a magic, this is it. She came and handed over the magic.”

“Lakme Sun expert?” It read on the outside. “Yeah this is my magic. You know why everyone calls me a sunshine girl? You know, Why I love travelling even in the hot sun? Its because when I have this magic with me, why worry about petty things like skin tanning?” Kyra concluded.

 Assured with Kyra’s faith in her magic potion, I applied Lakme Sun expert for the first time.  The evening sun fell on my face and to my astonishment it hardly pricked. “Was I imagining or was the magic actually working”

We were enjoying in the water when something caught my eye. “Coconut Water!!” I screamed.

“What happened Meg?” enquired Rohini, a member of the group. “My grandma always told me that the best way to beat the heat is to drink coconut water” I suggested. “That’s a good idea Meg”, Kyra replied.

We gulped the water and discussed out plan for the next day. We went in for a oil massage too to keep the body cool and not suffer from a sun burn.

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Ross Island was our plan for the next day. Situated in the Andamans, we had to take a boat to reach this island. Water was the only medium of transport. Tall trees, dilapidatedchurches, a museum were the adorning features of this island. (That’s what I thought, but little did I know that there was something else unusual that was going to happen)We had some Amla that was sold in that island. Again this was my mother’s technique to save myself from the heat.

The sky roared and suddenly it started pouring like cats and dogs.Me, Kyra and the entire group found shelter under the shade of thatched coconut tree leaves.We were playing with the drops of water falling from the shade of dry coconut trees. Our vision was blinded due to the fierce rain but something very unusual caught my eye. In the shade next to ours stood another group similar to us and amidst the rain I heard a voice which had once been very close to my heart, saying “Kritika, come and join us, it’s fun.”

My heart skipped a beat when I heard him. I turned to see him holding the hands of a girl and calling her.

“Kyra, see that’s him”, I pulled Kyra’s arms pointing my finger in Rahul’s direction.

“Oh, that’s Rahul, he is a stud though. Well, who’s  the chick with him, trying to miss the fun”, Kyra retorted. Thoughts of Rahul and the girl lingered in my mind when I heard someone call me.

“Meghna”, A young man waved his hands towards me.

“Yes”, I replied turning to see someone wave at me, whom I hadn’t seen before.

“MeghnaSahai, the high spirited girl, the topper of school, How have you been?” He spoke in a flow. Taking a closer look I realized that it was Akash, my best buddy at school. (who had been my childhood crush too)

“I am doing good Akash, It’s been so long. What a pleasant surprise to have seen you inthis paradise”, I replied.

Akash and I caught up onold stories when he happened to introduce me to his friends and that was when I saw Rahul again, “Meg, this is Rahul, my friend from office and this is Kritika, his fiancé..”

 Turning to Rahul he said, “Rahul, this is Meghna, my school buddy”, He introduced me to the person who had lost his identity in my life. I ran searching for Kyra to tell her what I had heard and I tried not to cry all along.

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I sat with Kyra in our hotel room still filled with memories of the evening when my phone beeped. It was Akash. I felt my pulse take a hike seeing his call. He said he wanted to meet me and hung the phone saying, “Meg, I have something to say. Will tell you when I meet you in person”

I looked at the mirror with another fear of dejection. Kyra enquired on what Akash had said and she tried to soothen my negative thoughts, “What is Akash loves you, Meg? What if he proposes to you tomorrow?”

I had no answer to give to Kyra and slept off hearing “KabhiKabhi mere dilmein……” on my ipod after having a glass of butter milk

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Akash had said that he would meet me at Jolly Buoy island. It was 1 hour ride in the ferry from Port Blair. Kyra dressed me in a knee length white dress with a noodle strapped shoulder. I didn’t forget to use the miracle(Lakme Sun expert) that Kyra had given The miracle had worked over a period of time and I realised that the tan because of which Rahul had rejected had actually gone.Akash stood near a coconut tree on the island and I had seen him while getting down from the ferry.

“Man you look gorgeous Meg” He walked towards me. “Thank you”, I blushed.

“Meg it’s been in my heart since we were in school and when I saw you yesterday I decided that this time I won’t let you go. I was crazy about you in school Meg but never had the guts to say it to you. While packing my bags for this tour I never thought I would meet you. But you know how lucky I am to stand in front of you today and to actually tell you my feelings. I love you Meg and It has always been only you and no one else. Will you marry me?”

 I heard this, paused for a while and hugged him accepting his proposal.

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Kyra was sitting beside me in my flight back to Mumbai. I looked at her and thought, “Had it not been for her, Rahul would not have rejected me, My trip to Andamans would not have happened, The miracle of Lakme would not have worked for me, and finally I would not have met Akash, the love of my life.”

I sat back smiling and turned to Kyra and winked at her, thanking her in my heart( of course Kyra was wondering about my wink J)

This post has been written as an entry to the contest Lakme Diva Blogger Contest . If you are a part of Indiblogger, please vote for my post

How are you ?????

                              

Here is another post from my German Diaries. When I published my previous post from my German diaries (Where is your partner #@%#@% ), one of my very good friends called me and said that my post was quite informative. And hence I decided on sharing any information I get to know from my German tutor.

Who knows one day the information you read here may help any of you if you land in Deutschland J ?

So here goes my post J J.

This week my tutor started the class by telling us that he had missed out on something very important. And he went on to say, “How would you greet a person in German?”I was smiling J as I knew the answer but alas the question being too easy the entire class responded, “Guten Tag!!” (meaning “Good day”)

And what would you say for “How are you?” my tutor questioned the class. All of us immediately(like sincere students :P)  started translating the three words “how”, ”are” and “you”. We were successful in translating it into, “Wie Sind sie?”

“Wie meant how”, “sind meant are” and “Sie meant you” in German. The tutor asked one of us to write it on the board. My friend wrote, “Wie sind Sie?” on the board.

“So when someone askes you ‘How are you?’ how would you respond?” enquired our tutor. My friend Ravi responded, “I am good.”

“Ravi can you translate it into German and write it on the board?” the tutor requested.

“Ich bin gut”, Ravi had translated it from English. “What could be the alternate answers for this question?” our tutor questioned.

(I was keeping my fingers crossed. “My tutor should not ask me” but as you know luck generally does not favour us Land I was asked to give the alternate answer)

“Ich bin sehr gut”, I wrote it on the board which meant, “I am very good”

“Ich bin nicht gut”, was another alternate answer given which meant, “I am not good”

My tutor went to the board and said, “You can never translate a language completely into another. How are you in English means ‘How is it going for you’ in German and hence your question should be, ‘WiegehtesIhnen?’ “

Well, we were all surprised with this explanation but somewhere we thought so what yaar  if the question that we translated was wrong, the answer ‘Ich bin gut‘ is correct J . Alas we were wrong L. My tutor went on to explain, “If you go to a German speaking persona and say, “I am good” in German it means you are telling him, “Hey I look good or hey my physique is good” or “Hey I look very good “

The entire class burst out laughing. And I think everyone must have reminisced the third answer in their mind “I am not good :P” That second I wrote in my diary, “I think I should blog about this”.(Good idea wasn’t it J )

So dear readers, next time you visit Germany or meet a German speaking person think twice while saying “Ich bin gut” or “I am good.” Or even asking “How are you?” in German………………J

Just a click away...... :)

“Wheeesh”, Sushma opened the curtains of her bedroom window early in the morning. The rays of the morning sunlight fell bright on her face and her fair skin glittered. Opening the window she closed her eyes and smelt the fresh air. She breathed in and out and tried to save the fresh breathe in her chest. This was her meditation as she had a long day ahead.

“Beep beep”, rang her mobile, she smiled hoping it would be the person she loved and picked it up to check.  “Good morning dear, Have a nice day. Last day to pay the electricity bill”, it was her husband, Raunak. He was out of the country on an official visit and Sushma had to manage the entire house on her own. She wondered “This Raunak does not even ask me how am I, he directly reminded me of the bill” She sulked as she hated standing in long queues to pay bills and this department of household chores was Raunak’s.

“Okay will take care of it darling ”, she messaged back to Raunak.
Sushma turned to see the clock, it was 7.00 AM. She made her morning tea and went to open the door for her newspaper. She was always a freak when it came to news. Her mornings were incomplete without her newspaper. But alas today there was no newspaper. “Oh my, yesterday was a national holiday, I totally forgot”.


She sat on her couch and suddenly it flashed her mind. “So what yaar, I have a TOI app on my mobile, cool I can check out the latest happenings on it”, She picked up her mobile and started reading the headlines. She got lost in her morning tea and taaza khabar.

 “Oh my god, I got to wake up Rohan”, she screamed looking at the time. Rohan was her 8 year old son.

She was making breakfast and waking up Rohan at the same time when she received a message on her Whatsapp messenger, it was her boss, “Sushma need you in office in an hour with the client presentation, I forgot to inform you last night that the meeting has been advanced and it is going to be at 10.00 AM.” Sushma couldn’t believe what she was reading. The presentation wasn’t ready and she had to reach office in one hour after getting her son ready to school.(And yes we forgot, dear Sushma had to pay the electricity bill that her dearest husband had asked her to do :P)


She told her auto-driver to race to the electricity office and then to Rohan’s school. As bad luck would have it, the queue was even longer than she had expected.
“Oh God, If I wait here, I am sure I will be sacked from office today”, she told herself.


 “Bhaiyya, take me to Lovedale school”, she told the auto-driver.
“Maa, why don’t you pay the bill through internet on your mobile, that day my friend was saying that his mom uses the internet for paying bills as well”, Rohan gave his mother an idea that Sushma couldn’t deny that it was a bad one.
“Hey Rohan beta, that’s a wonderful idea”, she patted Rohan’s head and logged in to the website where she could pay her bill. It took not more than 5 minutes and Sushma crossed her first hurdle for the day.
                                             

Rohan got down at school and Sushma's office was a half an hour long drive. “How am I going to complete my presentation in 45 minutes, I just don’t know”, she kept blabbering. “I think I can inform my junior, that’s a good idea Sushma :P”, she patted herself but her time to praise herself didn’t last long when she realized that her junior was on leave today. Disheartened she kept fiddling with her android phone trying to figure out some solution. She missed her husband. He had been out only for two days yet it seemed a whole year for her.
On the same day a month back she remembered an incident. It was their 10th wedding anniversay and Raunak had surprised her with something special. She opened her eyes that morning to see a parcel waiting for her. Opening it she found that Raunak had gifted her a smartphone.
"Wow Raunak, I so needed this ", she screamed and hugged him.

"Did you like the surprise baby?" Raunak asked.
"Oh yes dear its lovely", Sushma said in excitement. 
Raunak continued to describe the features of the phone, " It has an 8 megapixel camera, an android mobile, you can check mails, it has the best internet connection of Vodafone, it makes presentations.........", her thoughts suddenly stopped and she drifted back to the present seeming to be baffled.
 “Oh yes, why didn’t I think of this before, I can make the presentation on my mobile. Raunak had told me. How could i forget!!!!”

“I hope this product would bring equal appreciation to your firm as well as ours”, she stood in front of her client and her manager and completed her presentation.
"Thats a great work Sushma, you did it in such a short notice" Her boss congratulated her for giving an amazing presentation. She looked at her mobile, blinked and thanked Raunak deep inside for having given her an awesome gift.

Relaxed that the presentation was successful she returned to her cabin. She sat on her desk when someone knocked at the cabin door."Hey Sushma, i wanted some details about Ramnath Engineering College, your friend is a professor there right", Riya, Sushma's colleague enquired.
"Yeah you are right, I do have a friend but i have lost touch yaar.", she replied reluctantly feeling bad that she couldn’t help Riya who was very depressed lately.
"Oh that's sad, I relied on you for that yaar. I am leaving for admissions for my son and I was confused between Ramnath and another college." Riya spoke continuing, "Wait a second, is she your friend on Facebook?"
                                                    
"Yeah Riya she is, I can contact her right away through my mobile", Sushma sent a message to her friend and got the information for Riya in no time. Providing the message to Riya she got back to her office work. It was a long day ahead and Sushma got lost in her work when her boss knocked the door of her cabin.

"Yes please", replied Sushma.
"Sushma you have to leave immediately to a site to get the details for the next project, I hope you get the deal sanctioned", ordered her boss.
She left off to this remote village where she had to sign a deal with the client.
"Oh my I left my laptop in office, how can we view the documents regarding the deal?" exclaimed her client
Sushma remembered her boss's words that she had to get the deal sanctioned.
She picked her mobile to see if she had coverage and yes, :) she did have. Her client logged into her mailbox and the deal was sanctioned. Sushma returned to office and was astonished to see her entire team congratulate her on the deal. :)

       

The clock struck 6.00 PM and Sushma was ready to leave office when she received a call. "Sush, what's up, How are you?" It was her cousin Sonia on line.
Sushma was very excited to hear her, "Haan, Sonia tell me? How are you? I am doing good."
"Hey I am in town, and very close to your house. I am dropping home thike", Sonia told Sushma and hung the call.

Sushma who had been very excited about Sonia coming to meet her a few minutes back, suddenly realised that she hadn't made anything for her dinner. She rushed back home from office. On her way she picked Rohan from tennis classes which he attended after school and also did something very useful. She logged into a famous Punjabi restaurant's website and ordered the food online all for her dear cousin, Sonia who loved Punjabi food. 



Sushma and Rohan welcomed Sonia and relished the dinner with her. Sonia was delighted to have her favourite food with her favourite cousin. After dinner Sushma and Sonia sat on the couch discussing their life and work when Sonia received a call.

"That's so bad, I will catch the flight right away and come there, you dont worry." Sonia answered the phone worriedly.
"What happened Sonia? Is there any problem?" Sushma consoled Sonia.
"Yeah Sushma, my mother-in-law has been admitted in the hospital for chest pain. I have to leave for Mumbai immediately" Sonia replied
"Oh that is insane Sonia, don't you worry. I will check for the tickets", Sushma told Sonia to get ready while she booked the ticket for her through her mobile. Sonia thanked Sushma for all the help and left to catch her flight. Sushma prayed for Sonia's mother-in-law.

Sitting on her bed alone, thinking of Raunak she decided to give him a call.
"Hello Sushma, I've missed you, How was your day?" Sushma was relieved to hear Raunak's voice.
"I missed you too sweetheart. There is so much to tell you." She went on to tell him the happenings of the day.
"I must say your anniversary gift is awesome Raunak. My day would have been so different if not for my phone. I can't imagine how my day would have been without my phone"
She thanked Raunak and lay on her bed pondering. Her mobile suddenly beeped and she had received a message.
“Thanks a ton Sushma for the timely help. Admitted my son in Ramnath. Feeling so relaxed.:)” Riya had messaged and Sushma was smiling.

Sushma heaved a sigh of relief and switched on the television. To add to the events of the day she saw the advertisement of VODAFONE, it displayed at the end,"Wherever you go our network follows". It was so true. If not for the network and the internet connection on her mobile would she have survived the hurdles in the day.
She wondered with deep thoughts,
"Would my day have been the same without the INTERNET ON MY MOBILE???????"
                                                
She had the answers to all her questions. ”I paid my electricity bill, I completed my presentation, Facebook, Newspaper...... The entire world is in a palm sized instrument called a mobile phone. Thanks to Vint Cerf and Alexander Graham Bell. I no longer have to rely on wired cables and desktops to finish my work. I do not have to worry about anything when life is ---- "JUST A CLICK AWAY...."


This post has been written as an entry to the contest "Internet is fun on Vodafone"". If you are a part of Indiblogger vote for my post here

Dancing to the beats of life - Part 3

“Whooooooosh, broom, zoooooooom raced the wheels of Bolero SLX”, the backlights of the huge vehicle flashed on Sushant’s face as he tried to follow it. 
“Shucks, What the…….” Sushant wailed as he hit a stone and fell down.  His conscience was urging him, “Don’t leave them Sushant, get up Sushant, run……” His legs hurt, he could barely keep a step further.

He felt something vibrating in his pocket. Drops of sweat were falling from his forehead; he wiped it and tucked his hand into his packet. 
“Maa calling”, displayed on his mobile as he pulled it from his pocket with his shivering hands.
 “Beta, leave them, come home please, Jaane do unhe”, his mom pleaded crying on the phone.“Maa but…..” Sushant’s voice trailed off.

“I can’t explain the situation here, beta, I can’t handle this”,he could hear his mother’s voice filled with worry and anxiety.

“Thike maa, I am coming, please take care of yourself”, Sushant replied.

A few minutes earlier his mother had opened the door hearing the bell ring. On hearing her scream Sushant ran out. Sushant saw a boy push a girl outside from the Bolero.He ran towards her, lifted her to see her face and shouted, "Maa........". Sushant chased the Bolero which sped off in seconds and was still chasing when his mother had called him. He then took an auto back home after his mother’s call.

He ran out of the auto-rickshaw into the porch where his parents were sitting. His mother ran to Sushant as he entered. "See beta, she is just sitting without responding to anything.",she tried to explain to Sushant as he tried to caress his mother.

He went closer and sat next to her.  Her eyelids were closed, lips dry and hair messed up. Her dress was tattered and she was barefoot. Sushant went closer to hold her face when he realized that she was unconscious. He picked her up with his hands; he had picked her up the same way when she was born. He was holding the girl whom he loved more than himself, his sister, “Rakshita”. She lay motionless.

 Laying her on the bed in her room, Sushant caressed her forehead and consoled himself and thanked god to have finally brought her back home. He turned to his mother who was standing leaning on her husband’s chest.
“What has happened, Sushant? Why is she not replying to anything?”  His father questioned worriedly.
 “I don’t know papaa, let her sleep for now, we will wake her up in the morning”, Sushant requested.
“I will sit with her, you both go and sleep.” They left to their room and Sushant sat next to his sister gazing towards the stickers of stars that Rakshita had stuck on the ceiling.
He tried to reminisce and his thoughts ran back to the happy days with Rakshu. “Bhaiya, I am your angel na, so these stars show you that I live in my celestial world”, Rakshu had jumped like a kid when she was amazed to see the radium stars in her room,“Yes Rakshu, you are our prettiest angel”, Sushant had replied and Rakshu had hugged her brother.
Drop of tears fell from his eyes when he saw her lay motionless in front of him. He tried not to make himself weak as he had to take care of his family at these grievous moments. He caressed her forehead and said, “Don’t be afraid my child, your bhaiya is near you and he will take care of you”. The chimes that had made Rakshita sleep once, played a soothing melody and Sushant got lost in his sleep.

{Around 100 kms away from Rakshita’s house, two boys were discussing about the happenings. “I don’t think what you did was right”, exclaimed the boy with a French beard. “No she deserved it, how could she deny something that I wanted so badly”, replied the other guy who had a small scar in the right side of his forehead.}

 The clock struck 6.00 the next morning and Rakshita’s mom was in the kitchen trying to cook something, but her thoughts ran around her daughter. She kept the milk to boil and didn’t realize that it had spilled over, until her husband came and switched of the stove.
“Leela, what are you dreaming about?” enquired Pranoy in an angry tone.
“What else ji? About Rakshu only.” She began to talk and her worried face showed lines on her forehead, “What must have happened to her? I hope it is not what I am thinking.” She began to say something and Sushant who had entered the kitchen hearing the conversation spoke up.“No maa, nothing would have happened, I have called a doctor home to check Rakshu”

 A white maruthi swift sped into the compound of Rakshita’s house and a young woman in her 30’s stepped out of it. She had a white coat on one hand, a stethoscope around her neck and a black bag in her other hand.
“Hello Doctor, thank you so much for coming”, Sushant came running outside to receive her.
 ”Take me to Rakshita, I want to see her”.Sushant took her to Rakshita's room. On seeing her condition the doctor gave a worried look and turned to Sushant and said, "Mr. Sushant can you leave us alone for a few minutes?"

Sushant agreed politely and left the room to join his parents outside. 
 It was a 15 minutes long wait and the doc finally came out.“I am sorry to say this Mr. Sushant, Your sister has been raped. Her internal organs have been shattered and I am afraid she can never give birth." 

Sushant and Pranoy were baffled to hear this. Leela burst out into tears and closed her face in Pranoy's arms. 

“I understand what you all must be going through. But you are the only strength she has. I would say you are blessed to have got her back alive. I will take care of all the medical treatment that will heal the wounds that are visible. But the wounds that she has received mentally will take a lot of time to heal.” The doctor explained and patted on Sushant's shoulder trying to console him.

As the doctor had said it took almost 5 months for Rakshita to be healed from the internal and external physical wounds. The best medical treatment had been provided to her. However, in these 5 months Rakshita had never spoken about what had happened to her that month when she went missing. Raveena would visit her every day and try to make her talk, but all Rakshita would do is try to change the topic or start screaming at her.

At times she would get nightmares and scream in her sleep, “Leave me please, I beg you, leave me.”

(Her mother could not bear to see her daughter in this situation. How a mother’s heart wept to see her daughter in this state.)

Sushant who was equally worried now beseeched Raveena for help,“Raveena, we have to find out what exactly happened to her in that one month. Only when we find that out we can help Rakshu”. Sushant knew Raveena was the only person who could help him. “Bhaiya, you had the video of Rakhita’s dance performance at the International dance competition right? I think dance is the only way we can help her. Dance is her meditation bhaiya”, Raveena had given a brilliant idea and Sushant ran to bring the DVD of Rakshita’s dance.

 Rakshita watched the DVD almost every day. At the beginning, she would cry watching it but later slowly she started getting out of the bed and performing a few steps. She started leaving her room and walking around the house.

Raveena’s idea had worked when one day early in the morning rakshita came to Sushant’s room and said, “Bhaiya, I am going to participate in the International Dance competition this year too”Sushant  was flabbergasted hearing this.

 He got up from his couch and hugged his sister. “Yes Rakshu, you can and I am sure you will do well this year too”

Rakshita smiled and said, “Thanks bhaiya”, and walked back to her room. From the next day Raveena took care of Rakshita’s practices. Rakshita found it difficult in the beginning to dance with the grace the way she did before but later she picked up fast and day by day started improving in her performance. She started smiling again and gathered herself to face the world again. Deep inside she was still suffering from all that had happened to her.

“Rakshu, I know you are trying your best to get back to your normal life. I also know that this won’t be possible till you don’t share what is in your heart. Tell me Rakshu I promise you will feel better.” Raveena pleaded.

Rakshita who was sitting next to Raveena all this while, got up in anger and screamed, ”What do you want to know Raveena, How was I raped? I do not have the strength to recollect it all Raveena. It will be like living those moments again if I start telling you”.

Raveena got up and went to Rakshita, stood in front of her and held her face between her hands, “Rakshu, listen I want to know what happened that night after the competition, calm down and tell me. I know this is going to be hurting but it is the only way you can forget everything”.

“That night I came searching for you in the parking, you were no where to be seen, I walked to the other end and saw you facing the opposite side.”, Rakshita started crying as she said this. 

 “I started to call out your name when someone came and held me from the back and put me into a huge vehicle. I tried to scream, we crossed you, but you didn’t notice us. 

I tried to wrestle with them but they blindfolded me. After travelling for around 5 hours they took me to a house in some remote village."

Rakshita's voice choked as she continue to reveal, "One of the guys came and pulled me out of the vehicle and led me to a house. It was when they opened the cloth around my eyes that I realized that it was Varun who had bought me here. "

"What!!! was it Varun?",Raveena enquired shockingly.

Rakshita continued, "Yes Raveena, At the beginning for a few days he would come and warn me that if I didn’t love him the way he did, he would assault me. I was scared initially but I tried explaining him silently that I did not have feelings for him but he never seemed to understand."

She took a pause before continuing, "And finally, 3 days before he could bring me here he raped me everyday........ every single day Raveena,  for 3 days continuously.”, she finally revealed everything and collapsed on the bed.

“Rakshu, I am sorry I made you speak, but I had no choice.”, Raveena tried to console her. 

 “Raveena you wanna know the reason I was quiet so long. If I hadn’t kept this pain inside me I wouldn’t have had the guts to stand on my feet and dance again. I will come up in life again Raveena and live my normal life. I have taken a long time to be strong and I won’t fail easily”, Rakshita replied and went back to practice.

Meanwhile Raveena went and told Sushant everything that Rakshita had said. He was filled with rage and anger. He immediately went to the police station and lodged a complaint against Varun. The police spent no time in tracing Varun’s whereabouts from the information given by Rakshita and finally hunted down Varun and his French bearded friend who had accompanied him in this entire plan.

Varun finally gave up and agreed to have raped Rakshita. He also agreed on dropping her outside her house on the 26th may early in the morning.  Varun was imprisoned on charges of rape, assault and abduction. 

30th of April finally dawned, Rakshita got up and prayed. She switched off her morning alarm and went to take bath. Her clothes for the performance were kept on her bed. She came and sat on her bed and touched her costume. She thought of her dream to make it to the exchange program. She got dressed and walked out. Her family and Raveena stood outside to wish her. Her mother walked with the Aarti thali and blessed her, “Be happy child, May you get all that you desire”. Rakshita touched her mother’s and father’s feet for blessings and went to her brother.

“All the best my angel, God bless you”, Sushant hugged his sister and said this.

The stage was set and as always Raveena and Rakshita’s family sat in the second row to watch her Dance. She finally walked in and everyone was surprised to see her perform after everything that had happened. News had spread about her rape which made them even more surprised to find her perform. She danced in more elegance and style than before. The confidence on her face gave her an extra advantage to perform better. As soon as her performance got over the entire auditorium was quiet. A woman in the crowd got up quietly and started a small clap. Seeing her, the person next to her joined her and to everyone’s amazement the entire crowd was standing and applauding.

Rakshita knelt in appreciation and looking at the sky said, “I have finally won the first battle.”

Present day:  Rakshita stood at the Delhi international airport. Yes she had been selected for the foreign exchange program. She was going to live her dream at “Julliard School” in New York.Wearing a light blue T-shirt and denim, she looked perfect and beautiful; Sushant was accompanying her to New York. She had succeeded in dancing to the beats that life had played; now, she was going to dance to the beats of music.

She turned back and waved her hand to her parents and walked into the airport smiling to start her whole new life.