Sadanand

Sadanand bhau (Brother Sadanand)

 

 

“Dear, please do something about the electricity! There is no power and Sachin will find it very tough to study!” Sadanand’s wife Tukabai told him at dinner.

Sadanand barely earned enough that exceeded his family’s needs. It was always a battle for him to earn as equal as needed. A clerk in railway office, Sadanand was an aam aadmi (common man) of Ambernath, a small place in Maharashtra. A Marathi manoos (man), Sadanand was in his mid-40s. He was characterized by white khadi shirts with white banyan visibly covering his village body. He had no body hair; he was a short, thin person with the world easily understanding his monetary status. He wore black pants, hairs nicely done with oil, not black but without a single bald patch and wore spectacles with frame’s thickness telling you that they were made some 10 years ago.

Sadanand was a huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar like every Indian and he kept the name of his son ‘Sachin’. This was the only significant decision he had taken after his marriage. Rests were taken by Tukabai as she was smart, much more confident than him. But she always supported Sadanand and this was the secret of their marriage. Sachin had taken more of his mother’s genes for the sake of society’s matter. He was the smartest kid in the local. A tall teenager now, he scored well in studies and even helped his parents in daily chores with whatever little he could do. They say a name has a lot to do with your personality. Sachin was very fond of cricket and a class player of his school.

Sadanand was proud of Sachin. He was grateful to God that Sachin had an authoritative personality which he did not have. But with years, Sadanand’s life was the definition of monotony. Wake up and the same struggle of earning began for him. It was not as if opportunities never came! Whenever there were opportunities, he did not take risks. And whenever he was ready for risks, the ‘Sun of favors’ was covered with clouds of bad timing! There were times Sadanand’s mind asked him ‘Will my life be boring like this till the very end?’ Sadly, there were no answers.

 **********

‘Just keep moving on. There is no other option!’

‘You blame! You cry! You complain! Even though you are right, nobody will listen. You better keep your feet moving!’

Sadanand somehow knew this already. He expected these kind of instructions on reaching the checkpoint. Reluctantly, he kept walking.

It was wonder-filled path. Fully green, country-side path, leaves dancing in wind which was blowing after rains! The check-point was wooden, the board being attached to the ground permanently. It was a typical scene of completion of a stage in an adventurous video game. ‘Must be one of the inner paths of Ambernath which Sachin would be knowing surely!’ thought Sadanand.

“Sir, it takes two days for all the steps to complete. I assure that there will be no power cut in your home after two days. But you will have to bear for two days as you have paid your bills late!”

“Take this 500 Rs. Note! I can’t afford power cut as my son has to study.” Sadanand said.

The official in light office: (laughs) “Sir, my charge is Rs. 300 but still I can’t take it as I can’t do anything about the power cut in your house. It will take minimum a day to forward your request through bribe. You better wait for two days officially.”

Sadanand never used to pay bribes. But with time, he learnt that to survive, he had to drop values more often than never! Now even the concept of bribe was failing. ‘People treat me so insignificant. Looking at my stature, people feel pity. Tuka said just look after upbringing of Sachin. I trained my mind to work hard so that Sachin can have a better future. I never had any wishes for my own-self so that Sachin can reap the benefits of what I do! Still, life gives only dukha (sorrows) to people like me. We are the symbol of sadness created by God!’ Sadanand’s mind was sad. He had stopped walking.

The checkpoint reappeared. This time the instructions were not predictable to Sadanand.

‘Sadness is a dangerous emotion. It makes you fall in love with it very easily. Just be sad for a single thing and get lost. No sooner you will enter a helix of sad thoughts with infinite loops. You will enjoy sadness! You will enter a comfort zone!’

‘I will take Sachin to the railway office with me. He can study on my chair. I can use the extra chair in the room. It is usually there. No worries even if there is no electricity in the home. There is always a way out.’ This idea stuck in Sadanand’s mind. Sadanand realized that if you stay sad for a long time you will enter your comfort zone. And to move on, you will have to come out of your comfort zone! He started walking.

 

**********

It was breakfast. “But it still involves monthly cost of at least more 10000 Rs. And, in India becoming a successful cricketer is like counting the exact number of stars.” Sachin said protesting his mother when she told Sadanand that their son was selected for advanced training in the sport by the school.

Tukabai was very keen that Sachin take training in cricket as the school suggested that he had in him.

‘In life, all you get is that one chance! That one strike! Grab it! Else somebody surely will!’ There was no checkpoint. There was no green filled path. Yet Sadanand could read it. He pinched Tukabai. “Oouch! Kai kartas? (What are you doing?)” Exclaimed Tukabai. Sadanand realized he was not dreaming. It was morning.

Sadanand said, “Beta (son), go for your training! Never ever sacrifice your dreams for the sake of your parents. I have been working for so many years, I will find some way out. After all, what is the goal of my life?”

Tukabai was surprised, happy! She answered on behalf of Sadanand: “Your success son!”

The fan started running and light tube was suddenly ON.

Sadanand: “Ohh wow! The power has finally come. And surprisingly in one day. Dear Tuka, put off the light! It’s still morning.”

********** 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           







Too Costly!

TOO COSTLY!

Teacher to Garima: How can you see with your eyes?

Reena was the only one to raise her hands. Getting the chance to speak, she answered “The light from the source, say a tube-light falls on the object. It gets reflected from the object and falls on our eye which is a lens.”

Everybody was amused with Reena’s smartness.

Garima, after a few moments, just after the teacher praised Reena: Then, how can owls see only in the dark?

Teacher: Reena, any idea?

Reena was quiet, pondering over the query. Some students were excited with Garima’s return war on Reena.

Teacher: Anybody else?

Seeing nobody with an expression of getting the answer, the teacher said: Well, first of all, we are interested in studying the characteristics of light and not in vision of animals. But Garima, different animals have different sensitivity of the eye. Owls have night vision unlike humans. Nevertheless, I asked the question to see what you can think about vision.

Garima was irked with the teacher not praising her. But she was happy that she was able to put forth a question which Reena could not answer.

The students were used to such kind of battles between the two girls. In fact, Vikas and some other naughty lot of students were maintaining a diary. They recorded each battle and who won them. Garima was the topper in last two UTs. Reena was just a mark below Garima in UT2. But Reena boasted of her dancing skills being far superior than that of Garima’s and her team’s win in basketball over Garima’s team. Also Reena’s beauty being the talk among boys was something which Garima’s profile lacked.

Vikas: So who’s won the battle today? Considering that the teacher did not show much hurray to Garima, Reena deserves the win.  

Kushal: But what a question by Garima! How the hell can one think of an owl so quickly! Even if not today, she is the Serena Williams, the champion!

The entire gang busted out in laughter. Vikas said, “Reena is definitely Sharapova then.” All echoed “Yeah!!”

Reena: This Garima will never stop being jealous. What the hell was she proving by asking the stupid question of owls! I swear I will beat her in UT3. I want to win every battle with her.

Shweta, Reena’s best friend: This talk of ‘battle’ irks me! I mean, the competitions between you both are OK. But, what the fuss with this stupid rivalry! And in every little thing! I find this stupid.

The other day Sagar and Reena were decided as partners in a dance competition. Sagar was arguably the best looking guy in the class. He was also a great dancer. As Sagar was a newcomer and his academic profile did not match to the standards of Reena’s, there was never much interaction between the two.

After the evening dance rehearsals in school, Sagar asked Reena, “How are you going home?”

Reena: My home is near. I go by walking.

Sagar: I have my bike. Should I drop you?

Reena: No, thank you! I will be fine.

A little smile flashed on Reena’s face. It was a little blush. As the days passed, there was attraction building between the two. They were the prime dancers and were the centre attraction of the entire sequence. They guided other dance couples. One of the junior student asked guidance to improve academics in between breaks between rehearsals. Sagar told him, “Buddy, ask princess Reena. She is the topper, a true scotch!” Reena: (smiles) Yeah! I am the only scholar!

The day of final dance performance came. The function finished late. Sagar: Reena, it’s late. I will drop you home. Reena just smiled. Both were off to home on the bike. It started raining. The two stood under a shade. Sagar: I love rains. It is so romantic season. “What romantic! So many puddles get created. People cannot even go out”, Reena said. “So you don’t want farmers to be happy. You don’t want reservoirs to be filled princess”, Sagar flirted. “I am not princess.” Reena smiled. “Garima is the real princess of the class.” Sagar said, “You are amazing!! You remember Garima in this lovely weather!! See, even rain God stopped pouring rains. Reena laughed and both were headed home.

Reena was enjoying the attention from Sagar. By now, the class knew about the sparks flying between the two. The two of them ate together, walked home together. They planned to study together for the UT3.  One evening, Reena and Shweta met in the park. “Did you start preparing for UT3?” asked Shweta. Reena replied, “I am preparing with Sagar. This time I will show to the class that I can have a boyfriend and still top the exams.” The uninterested Shweta said “Hmm.., I got to go. Mom has some work. See you!” Surprised Reena asked “Then why did you call me to the park?” “Forgot about Mom’s work!” replied Shweta while walking away. Reena doubted Shweta’s sudden exit. Slowly walking, Reena, in thoughts, left the park too.

It was Geometry exam the next day. Sagar: Thanks Reena for teaching me constructions. Also, we have discussed every chapter. Let’s revise everything.

Reena: I have to do the extra sums.

Sagar: But, they don’t ask out of the book questions.

Reena: I have to be prepared extra if I have to beat Garima.

Sagar: It’s already late. You can’t complete all the extra questions before morning.

Reena: I will give it my all. I will at least go through the extra sums and then revise the book.

Sagar was scared when he saw Reena study all day long. He doubted his own preparations. To avoid his lack of confidence, he told Reena that he will study on his own for the remaining exams. He was happy with his academics. He did not want to disturb his contentment with the marks he used to get. He was not interested in Reena’s commitment to work hard. He started losing interest in her. The top status of Reena never baffled him but rather now he was disturbed by it.

Reena thought, ‘I will show them all. Sagar cannot digest my will to shine. It hurts him. Even Shweta seems to be affected with envy on my status.’ Reena worked overtime. She managed to beat Garima in UT3. She was very proud of herself. She invited Shweta to the park for some time pass in the evening.

Shweta: Nobody cares who comes first in exams. It’s great to be on top. But you are taking it too seriously. You have programmed yourself too much into academics. You will only lose smartness and not gain anything.

Reena: Don’t worry. This is not as serious as you think.

The two enjoyed chatting for some time. Reena knew the genuineness of Shweta’s friendship. She was happy with her achievement but it was true that the UT3 had exhausted her.

Reena’s uncle: Drop this packet in the post box while going to school.

Reena: I don’t remember any post box coming in the way.

Reena’s uncle: It is near the Hanuman temple. You have not seen it even once!

Reena: Ok, I will get it done.

After some time Reena comes back finding no post box.

Reena: Come on, there is a rashan store, Vicky ice cream shop, a few more shops. Where the hell is the post office!

Reena’s uncle: Oh God! Girl, I am talking about the red post box, not the office. Come, I will show you.

Reena’s uncle takes her to the post box, the opposite corner of the temple. “What, you are a topper! And I have to come with you for this little thing!” said Reena’s uncle in a taunting way.

But this was the eye opener for Reena. She was paying too high a cost just for being on top. 

Breathless

Breathless I was!!

That epic moment when Amitabh Bachchan made me breathless!

“Sonia tumhe pata hai ye revolver khali hai, mujhe pata hai ye revolver khali hai;

.. Lekin police ko nahi pata yeh revolver khali hai!”

(High pitch background music following this dialogue: something like ‘Tain Tain!!’)

I was 13 years old in 2006 when my dad sat with me and made me watch the 1978 classic Don. It was the time when Shah Rukh Khan starrer Don, a remake of the former classic was going to release. Dad thought why not revisit the old classic before watching the new one. Dad was 13 when he watched the legendary Shri Amitabh Bachchan’s Don. I was 13 when the legendary Shah Rukh Khan’s Don was releasing. A sort of history was going to repeat! I was not quite inclined to watching old movies naturally as every kid. But here, I was quite excited as the character Don was stuck in my mind!

Right from when the movie started, my eyes were glued to the TV screen. The entry of Big B, the wonderful dialogues, the way Don spoke, the way he walked! It was all over my mind. Don killed Ramesh and his fiancé Kamini was here to take revenge. The set up for the song ‘Yeh mera dil pyar ka deewana..’! Kamini removes bullets from Don’s pistol much to his disguise. She seduces him till the police arrive for Don’s arrest. The song ends with Don seeing from the window, several policemen waiting to arrest him. Understanding Kamini’s intentions, Don brings up his pistol from another room. Kamini tells her that she had already emptied the pistol. In a series of dialogues between smart Kamini and Don, Kamini tells Don that it was no way out for him and he will have to surrender. Finally, Don tells the dialogue which I wrote above, making me jerk, leaving me completely breathless!

‘Wow!! Simply awesome… What a dialogue!’ I said. Not only the dialogue which was so witty, so suspenseful; the Kalyanji Anandji music at the end of the dialogue gave me a sudden jerk. I was left breathless with the magic of Big B’s aura. I watched the full movie that day and Don was on my mind for many many days to come! This is how I became a fan of ‘Sadee ka Mahanayak’ Shri Amitabh Bachchan. After Don, I watched many of ‘The Angry Young Man’s cult classics: Deewar, Trishul, Kala Pather, Sholay to name a few. Every movie made me even bigger fan of Big B and each movie left his charisma on me. His dialogues, his style, his aura left me breathless every time.

I was contemplating and recollecting the moments that made me breathless. I was walking towards my home today, coming from a class. I was sweating and the polo T-shirt I was wearing was the one without buttons. I felt that my chest hairs were revealed to the on lookers. Also I have not shaved recently. While I was walking past girls, my walk changed to a confident, stubble young man who doesn’t give a damn! I was showing of, creating an impression! The image of Big B in his young days came to my mind. I suddenly recalled the epic scene of Don which first made me breathless watching the legend on screen. I was like Wow! What an epic moment to remember! I was all smiles!!! J J

The Paraglider

THE PARAGLIDER

"Welcome to the 'All India Duet Singing Championships' Misterr.. Ritesh Bahl and Miss Swati Arora; what would you like to present?", said judge 1 as other judges welcomed the participants with smiles.

 

Ritesh was an instinctive genius. He loved spontaneous challenges, was never nervous on big occasions. He was from a well to do family. His father owned a large general store in the city market; a single destination for all home stuff, grocery to stationary, rice to soaps to toothpaste! Ritesh had a pot belly; was hairy, though not too much; he loved wearing a cap. He never used to come in the awe of situation. But he also never used this quality to his benefit. He was careless, had no ambition, no purpose in life. He drifted in the direction life took him.

''Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa toh nahi", said Swati.

The judges nodded and both of them begun the song. All was going well until...

Ritesh: Tum jo kehdo toh aaj ki raat, chand..., chand hmmhmm nahiii, 

             chand ko rok do (singing this line really quickly)

Ritesh went offbeat. He had forgotten the line. This made Swati nervous. She was not prepared for this. Upon her lines, she reacted...

Swati: Tere bina zindagi... se koiiii... shikwa toh nahi, toh nahi... 

She stopped singing. Ritesh tried bringing her to life again. But the look of judges was enough for her to resign in the moment. 

The judges obviously shown the doors to the medium sized, amicably dressed in shining black outfit, serious Swati; and her best friend Ritesh, dressed casually in white T-shirt, blue jacket, blue jeans and his trademark blue cap.

It was Ritesh's error which made Swati nervous and succumb to the occasion. She was very excited to come on TV as the show was meant to be broadcast. But this performance meant that both of them would now become victims of bullies and jokes by the people when they see the show. The exact happened. The channel regularly showcased how they were rejected by the judges, in advertisements, to generate TRPs. Swati was depressed. It took her time to be normal. Her friendship with Ritesh was affected. The chemistry was no longer the same. This made Ritesh sad as he could not bring the equation with Swati back to normal.

Ritesh's father decided to handover the responsibility of the store to Ritesh. He felt it was the right time. He struggled a lot to rebuild the shop after floods devastated the market six months ago. Although the shop did not boast of the glittering appearance it used to, Ritesh's father had managed to re-establish the shop decently. But now he handed over the job to Ritesh.

After six months of Ritesh occupying the shop, the sales had gone down. The earnings were affected. People preferred to purchase from the new downtown mart, although it was far from the market. The regular customers were now seen rarely in the shop. Ritesh excused that floods and the new mart had affected the business and it was normal. He argued with his father that they are still far from the situation of taking loans and a little less income should not be an issue.

One night, Ritesh and his old man had an intense discussion. Ritesh was very defensive about his approach to work. But Ritesh had no answer when his father told him, "I am proud that you don't get affected by the sudden storm. You are always ready to face the changing winds. You are a paraglider who knows that sky is not always the same. But remember son, this alone is not enough. A successful paraglider knows how much to steer the glider when the winds are opposing." That night his father passed away and his words were etched in his mind. 

Five years later...

The Grand Resort Hotel was shining as ever. The lawns was the busy place where media and press men were waiting. There was a constant buzz as to when will the glider land. It was the occasion when the head of 'Bahl Marts', a nationwide chain of general stores, Mr. Ritesh Bahl, on a record paragliding journey, was to land. He was to complete a record journey of 500 kms to mark the growth of his company which had reached a figure worth of 500 million dollars.

It was the end of March. But to everyone's surprise, there was lightning and heavy rains gatecrashed the occasion. Tension mounted on everyone's face as this was certainly not predicted. Such an environment was definitely not suited for paragliding. The sky made transition from light blue to dark in no time. Every thunder of lightening increased the worries on everyone's face. The topic of the occasion changed from the company's success to hope for a safe return of Mr. Ritesh Bahl.

While in the sky, Ritesh, held his calm. He remembered his father's words. After a healthy struggle with the winds and of course the lightning, he successfully landed. He calculated his risk in the flight of how much to steer and how much to exploit the wind. His risk paid off. The charming, well built, amicably dressed in black suit Mr. Ritesh Bahl arrived. His success story and obviously his paragliding journey hit the newspapers everywhere. He was talk of the moment everywhere in the media. He was now a symbol of inspiration.

The morning after the paragliding journey...

"Sir, there is a message from the 'All India Duet Singing Championships'. They want you to grace the finale occasion by being their special celebrity judge", reported the manager.

Ritesh: (smiles) I would love to...

Dreams are Magic!

DREAMS

We all have dreams. Rather, we all dream. No matter we are ambitious or not, we are in 'love' or not; we all imagine stuff; stuff, which is not in reality. Dreams are often co-related with ambitions! An ambitious person often speaks in this way; "My dream is to..."; and we all go 'Awww...' But, isn't the word 'goal' more appropriate in such a case! Also those in love imagine situations and circumstances with their partner and it leaves a gentle smile on their face. In both ambition and love, dreams are an integral part of life; dreams are the building blocks of encouragement, happiness, self-being!

The other very common emotion associated with dream is 'fear'. We often get shocked in movies when protagonists wake up from sleep taking deep breaths; making us realize that all the incidents shown were the protagonists' dream. Once I dreamed of failing to appear for an exam, and getting a 'zero' in the second attempt of the same exam! It was dreadful, more so because the subject was taught by the teacher I feared the most in school days!

Dreams are weird! The very basic characteristic of dreams is their weirdness. That which is not real, is weird! Dreaming about the school teacher teaching an engineering subject and failing you is weird. Dreaming about having kids with your crush is weird too! Though it gives happiness, it is not existent. Hence, weird! While dreams in the day are more realistic, or I should say more structured; night dreams are total mad! I reach the position of my Dad and sign my own cheque; I become self-reliant and purchase my favorite car; and more such imaginations we do in day are structured, realistic. All my college classmates sitting in my school classroom being taught by my Mom is so unrealistic! It has never happen and will never happen. Night dreams are mingled in multiple lives of ours. They simulate environment which is a mixture of non-overlapping incidents. But they are invoked by our emotions; joy, fear, love, anger, disrespect, etc. 

Dreams are 'hope'. Dreams are 'goals'. Dreams are 'fear'. Dreams are invoked by our every emotion. This power to dream can make us feel on the top of the world and even in the bottom of a never ending valley! Dreams thus can drive us in our lives. They give us the inspiration to convert goals into reality. They make us realize what actually fear is! We dream our hopes and our hopes make us pray! Dreams are thus the evidence of suspense that life is, the evidence of unexplained, the God!