A to Z Blog Challenge : Me, myself and theme

A to Z challenge, blogger number 1553 46with MI (Miscellaneous),the category – my coordinates for #AtoZ blog change as I joined to attack myself. Someone might think it is unusual to add another task in the already strangulated daily life, but in the path of reinventing myself -for the things I should have done earlier but could not, and for my new found passion - I thought of jumping into the pool to learn swimming out of here and it is fun all the wayJ.

Yes, I did push myself a bit to the brink by joining this and am pretty sure that I will make it to the end. Enroute, I hope to gain lots of friends and learn a few trade of the art from my fellow bloggers.

I got to know about this challenge through Write Tribe page where I joined recently. By The time, I received a message about it from Corinne, it was past the due date of 21^st March for theme reveal blog fest and I could not make it on time. My situation, at that point of time, was also complicated by some medical emergency.

Let bygones be bygones and as they say it is better late than never.  I will also like to follow that advice lest you should at least know the topic around which I plan to write and hope people visit my pagesJ.  Let me take this opportunity to let all of you know that I intend to write about “26 blogs to change this world”.

I will take a stab, one aspect at a time, on things that I feel are critical for our world to be a better place to live and breathe. I know that I, alone, cannot change for everyone but would like to take first step to do my bit. Next it will be to influence others if there is an agreement from like-minded people. We can then form a group, discuss, fine-tune our thoughts and propagate further.  We, surely, do need to make this earth a more loving and caring place for us and for our loving children and the generations to come.

Nature - Her Natural Friend

The images of this particular day are still vividly etched in my mind. My five year old daughter and I were sopping in the first spate of afternoon monsoons of the season - jumping between the mosaic squares on the concrete driveway trying to catch up with the water flow. When the sun came out, doling its share of rainbow glow in the horizon we followed it up chasing the spirited grasshoppers and butterflies amongst the rain drenched blossoms.

Our visits to Lalbagh or Cubbon Park used to have some bit of anxiety associated with it – to keep an eye on my daughter wandering in the vastness of the open area. Invariably, responding to the free spirit of the places, she would either start playing with the butterflies running around the trees with her toddling footsteps or get into a game of hide and seek taking shelter amongst the flowery bushes. She essentially used to be more at home in those places than at home.

Both of us have graduated through the years - our mode of expressions might have changed a bit but the love affair with nature has remained intact.

“Who doesn’t get smile on their face when touch-me-nots bow down at the mere touch of tender fingers or while watching the larvae grow in the surrounds of  the lake nearby?” my daughter, now ten years old, asked me the other day.

The rejuvenated Kaikondrahalli lake , a lifeline for all of us in the nearby community, is a soothing shelter for local flora and fauna and of course to the migratory birds from far away land – Siberia and Antarctica to be specific. My daughter is a regular visitor to this lake park from the time she has taken up nature club as her hobby.

The weekly walk around the lake is the best time spent and we, as a family long for these slots. The fresh air, the walking trails, the bird sanctuary and on top it all, the pristine water body is the hidden slice of nature in the midst of all the concrete jungles.

Our Bird House- similar to this

Migratory Birds and Grasshoppers @ the lake 

The bird house above the flower potted garden in our balcony is something close to her heart and she is not satisfied entrusting anyone - other than herself, with feeding the birds or watering the plants.

With such a deep bond with nature, when I showed up the home page of the Kissanpur to her, a bright smile played on her face accompanied by a sparkle in her eyes.

“Baba, Kissanpur looks so cool and lush green. The tomatoes are ruby red and glittering with dew….No wonder all the jams, jellies, squashes and ketchup are so fresh”, she exclaimed.

“Shall we plan to go there for few days during your summer break”, I enquired.

“Why not ? We might get to shower in the squash fountain ( a name synonymous with squash drinks in Indian household) or the ketchup pool. I am sure there will be some mystery worm or butterflies in the air around us”, her imagination ran wild with the big smile.

The more we got into exploring Kissanpur, the more surprises were in store for us. The affability of the friendly little girl welcoming us at the gate was enough to immediately bind us with the place. The lush green beauty, hardly available nowadays, was  soothing and comforting to the tired eyes of city dwellers.

We wanted to put the time on hold and get soaked into every bit of what Kissanpur had to offer. It gave us a feeling of getting lost in a vast infinity of green where each moment revitalizes every pore of your body and mind.

Farm hunting – to save the nature from the wicked mongoose  is the game we liked most besides air hocky and farm fury.

On our return from Kissanpur the next day, albeit with a heavy heart not able to spend more time, we ran to the store to get the tomato seeds to start growing into our small garden.

On reaching home, she vanished for sometime and came back with below.

Love For Nature

The Orange Sun setting in the purple background,

(Here) All is quite, not a single sound.

Oh!, how this enchants me, I do say,

Everyday I love seeing nature’s play.

From the crawly earthworm to the majestic tiger,

And the red eyed ravens to the eagle fighter.

Nurturing a life in my own hands,

And taking it to Kissanpur- Nature’s land.

The smell of raindrops during the first rain,

Drenches me completely, rubbing off all the pain.

After the first showers, through the dewed grass,

Running after butterflies – the color of the brass.

Everyday I sit looking at you in leaisure,

Thank you mother nature,for giving us this treasure.

As they say, happiness grows when shared; I would like to share with you all, yet to make a visit to Kissanpur, the locations below where you will be able to gulp a scoop of the green vibrant happiness along with your family, especially with the little ones.

Kissanpur Around you

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This is a post for the #NaturesFriends contest by Kissan and Indiblogger.

Whogetsmyvote.in

At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Alok Vats to allow me to make a guest post on his website as “Please Vote : We have a responsibility” where I made a fervent plea to come out and vote on the election day in your respective constituency. Continuing with the same thought, in this post, I would like to draw your attention to the website mentioned as the post name as a handy helping tool . 

In the midst of our daily fast paced life, balancing many facets in the personal and professional front, we might not be able to give appropriate time for our own due diligence to go through manifesto of individual parties. It also requires understanding of how the content of the manifestos are aligning to our thoughts and aspiration, what is the implementation plan and how do we want to see India in future – less of corruption ( I don’t dare to say zero corruption L) and back in the growth trajectory.

Also we see a great amount of personality politics v/s policy politics this time. It looks like three prominent names – Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal are doing the rounds and getting the electorate divided in their own ways and means.

In this context, to help us take an informed and analyzed decision, the whogetsmyvote.in website is developed where you need to allocate a kitty of 100 rupees the way you want based on how you want to see next government would work. In case you want more focus on industry against agriculture, you need to allocate your budget accordingly.

Based on the choices you have made and how they align with manifesto of different party, you get to know the party of your choice.

How does it work?

The website has dedicated political analyst on its board helping the back-end team to devise the mathematical algorithm between the weightage you assign to the broad level parameters like Agriculture, Industry, Technology, Infrastructure, Idealism etc. (from the kitty allocation) with how party manifesto deal with those asks.

The platform is getting continuously updated as and when new information is being made available in public domain by the political outfits through their strategy documents or other ways.

People and political pundits using the website have agreed that it is fairly accurate in its solution against their own thoughts based on their readings.

Here is a tool that would help you in your decision making process and I request you to take advantage of the same.
* Disclaimer : The author of this blog is no way associated with the company behind the tool and has gained the knowledge through interactions with fellow citizens.

The Best Bargain Of My Life

A blog post consisting of the three words, “coupons, cashback and bargain!”  as a part of the activity by GoPaisa.com in association with BlogAdda.com.

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After passing out from the college, with colors I could hold on to -that were not flying, I landed myself a somewhat respectable job in the IT capital of India, Bangalore.  Soon, got introduced to a pretty damsel from my native state during first year Durga Puja celebration at Bangalore and was “on top of the world” on finding out that this cute-looking techie was also employed in the same company as mine. Courtship started eventually leading to walking down the aisle in next couple of years. It was the cashback phase in full swing between the DINK couple as they call it – double income no kids, where we invested in the relationship, and got surprise benefits from each other or the extended family. Two love birds were cuckooing and living their life when pressure from elderly family members started to mount slowly. Though they got ignored for some more time, it was getting increasingly difficult to discount those advices. Additionally there were ‘those’ discussions in the ladies circle that would ultimately lead to the same topic – our presence or absence did not matter.

We gave in. We had to. We were on the family way. I could see myself changing from a young adult to a man adult – struggling to stay young at heart. Don’t remember the date exactly, but on our 5^th or 6^th visit, the gynecologist, after her visit to the ultrasound chamber burst out, waving the coupons- the test results, on top of her head and flashing a big ear-kissing smile on her face. The test results were in, confirming the arrival of twins- one of each gender.

“You guys asked for one but got two. Isn’t that great?  Ek ke saath ek free! ”, quipped the doc winking at us.

Wow! Am I elated, ecstatic, taken aback, dumbfounded, at a loss? Once l gained composure, fervently thanked God. I could not have asked for a better bargain.  While there was an ongoing discussion that usually led to confusion, as to whether to plan for one child or two, this event relieved us from any future discussions.

Family life continued as usual through thick and thin. All of us grew older together holding each other’s’ hand.  Fortunately, by the grace of God, I did not have to run around for anything for my children and continued to get coupons and discounts on tuition fees, albeit on my IT certificate. As always we had to put both of them together in every activity, camps or any other similar institution , by design, we used to get some amount of discounts there too. Good for all of us with a pleasant surprise in the store every time. Every time our bank balances tipped a little less, and the children compensated each other. I could rather relate their dispositions to an e-commerce site, one of them perennially on an technological upgrade binge- with the latest electronic gadgets and the other concentrating on getting the best customer service - both of which kept us pleasingly happy.

Unlike other husbands, I did accompany my wife and children on their shopping sprees- controlled in part by the remote in my pocket -the proverbial “purse strings”, except few occasions when indulgences were allowed.

So continues the happy flow of life in our small kingdom complete with my queen, princess and prince. 

For in the words of Voltaire: Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game

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This post is a part of the Shop, only to Save More! Activity by GoPaisa.com in association with BlogAdda.com.

He saved

Write Over the Weekend theme for this week

This time we’re aiming at making it more creative! The post must revolve around ‘two material things that normally are paired together’.

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Madhu is decade old in this Salt & Pepper logistics company. Though he was employed only as an office peon, it was not very long before he could win over the trust of his other colleagues and superiors.  His amicable nature and multitasking abilities endeared him to one and all in the office. Everyone considered him an integral part of the office functioning and he has been rewarded accordingly. On a regular office day, Madhu used to care of so many things without anyone really noticing them that his absence for even a single day was very conspicuous and things would obviously get stuck on something or other. Last week, he had gone on leave for 3 days to Bhagalpur on the occasion of the marriage of his niece and it was an utter chaos in the office.  A few consignments could not be delivered on time. He is like the salt in the office- the absence gets noticed more in comparison to him being present-taking care of the things. 

It was Friday evening around 8:30 PM at night when Madhu, on his bicycle, was approaching his home at the Bose para lane in North Calcutta. A shower had just drenched the area and it was still drizzling. Usually,he would stop at the tea stall at the corner, spend some time chatting with the owner before getting back home. He noticed few unknown faces that day- some young rogues, between ages 18 to 20, in a somewhat belligerent mood. They were misbehaving with the tea stall owner for quite some time now – ordering cups of tea and refusing to do the payments.  The other elderly gentlemen chose to vacate the place earlier than usual sensing something was not right in the atmosphere there. Madhu waited for some time and kept observing them silently. Mitra uncle came to buy a pack of biscuits and these guys started harassing him by snatching his umbrella. They laughed insolently at his pleas to hand it back so that he could head home as some guests were waiting.  Madhu tried to reason with them but it was in vain. They shouted at him and Mitra Kaku calmed Madhu down so that situation did not spiral out of control.

A girl returning from tuition in the same locality was just crossing the stall when one of the unruly boys, in inebriated state, leered and advanced upon her. The frightened girl, in her attempt to flee, dropped her books on the pavement and Madhu ran towards her to help and protect her from them. The gang of boys had crossed the limit and all hell broke loose as far as Madhu’s patience is concerned. They started using slangs and taunted the girl, one of them even going to the extent of trying to grab her dupatta. 

Madhu could not tolerate any more and pounced on that misbehaving boy. On seeing this, other companions of the boy came rushing towards the scene with kitchen knives and short wicked daggers drawn out.  While other people were hurriedly scurrying away from the place to distance themselves from the commotion and danger, Madhu alone stood up against those goons making sure the girl is sent safe on her way. People around were not familiar with this side of Madhu -the otherwise cool and friendly person, fighting like a man possessed. Soon the 9 pm beat constables were heard arriving and the boys fled, but not before one of them had stabbed Madhu in his abdomen. In the pouring dark night he lay writhing in pain while the pool of blood got washed down the flowing rivulet of water in the street. Due to the incessant rains, that had inevitably triggered traffic snarls, Sanjeevani ambulance got delayed and Madhu had succumbed to his injuries by the time help arrived.

Madhu’s alter ego- the self of the pepper was in action that fateful day.  He is the quintessential salt and pepper guy-the nice and amicable gentlemanly self was like salt that was noticed only when he was absent that had coexisted with the peppery self which did not keep any stone unturned on the critical night to save the girl.

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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Tied in a game

Three disparate objects

Rahul, aged 12, joins Shalini’s birthday party exactly about 30 minutes late in a baggy shirt and a casual looking trouser.  Shalini, looking graceful, in a wine red dress opens the door.

They are friends from early childhood, living in the same apartment complex and going to the same school. Now, with their teen maturity, birthday celebrations are low-key affair with only the close family friends. Decorations and other paraphernalia have given way to more of discussions, schools, preparations and the things happening around.

Apparently Rahul is not carrying a gift, which makes Shalini angry.

Shalini obstructs Rahul at the door and asks with a tinge of anger and mischievous smile on the face: “Where is my birthday gift?

Rahul answers with a naughty grin:  “I was busy the whole day and did not manage time. Will make sure you get it next time”.

After little more chit-chat and banter, Rahul is allowed to enter. He plops himself unceremoniously on the bean bag at the corner, which was in Shalini’s possession till now.

Then, he slowly brings out one small tear drop sized ear ring from his back pocket and hands it over to Shalini.

Rahul: “Here is your gift”.

Shalini (utterly shocked): “Only one!”

Rahul (promptly with a smirk): “Gave you the other one last year. Have you lost it?”

This makes Shalini angrier and she is at a loss what to do with this boy while other friends are amused.

Shalini after few minutes, as if nothing has happened and in a cool disposition, hands over Rahul half a piece of cake on a plate.

Rahul (with a veil of innocence on the face): “Only half, is there a shortage?”

Shalini (disguising smile): “Be happy that you got the other half three days back in the school on Sudip’s birthday “.

Shrugging his shoulder, Rahul, says “Ok, ok”, being satisfied internally that his plan has worked that Shalini is now trying to take revenge in some way or other.

Friends and other family friends are quite familiar with these bitter-sweet verbal dual between these two and everyone enjoys as it never gets ugly and both know where to stop and draw the line.

However, Shalini’s mother jumps in and tries to cool down the warring folks by hugging both of them together trying to divert the topic to something else.

While on the rounds to meet others around the house, the picture of the WoW prompt on Shalini’s study table caught Rahul’s attention and he enquired about it.

“Interesting”, says Rahul after getting the details from Shalini’s elder sister- a writer and blogger for quite some time now. Few other friends also joined them at the study.

Rahul (addressing everyone): “Let’s put our brains to work for a fun game.  Let’s connect all these three either through a common word or sequence of events.” Everyone seems to like the idea and agreed, including Shalini, who was so far sulking at everything Rahul was talking about.

Abhi, a gadget freak amongst the friends, comes up with the idea that the ear ring is actually a Bluetooth device which gets paired with the smart phone to make an order for a birthday cake.

Seema conjures up with a short story that they went out for celebration at Dominos on her baby sister’s birthday last month. The cake has just arrived when her sister started having a pain in her left ear from the recently done ear piercing. To relieve her of the pain, her mother took out left ear ring thinking that will take care of the matter in next few minutes. When the ache did not ease, her father used the smart phone application to find out the nearest doctor for a quick visit. The party started in full swing once they came back. 

While everyone is busy with what can be the possible stories or events, the author-Jay, incidentally present at the same birthday party to pick his daughter comes up with an idea of involving everyone in a picture dumb charades.

 Jay will provide the connecting clues and everyone has to guess the connection.

With that, he holds out the ear ring.

When someone says “ear ring” amongst other guesses like “small”, “beautiful”, “jewelry”, he points to the “ear ring” and gestures to break it into parts in the way one does as per the rules on dumb charades.

They decide on to consider the second half that is “ring” and then Jay imitates a music player playing a tune.

After different attempts for few minutes, Tua, holding out the smart phone from Shalini’s mom, comes with “tone” which completed the word as “ring tone”. That makes sense to everyone and they settle with that answer. Everyone is satisfied and happy that ear ring and phone got connected with the common word “ring tone”.  With that being done, the cake is left, pushing everyone’s brain into a spin to dig more on to what can be the next connection.

While everyone is aware of various kinds of ring tones as piece of music, jingles, the next indication from Jay comes in the form of decoration around, balloons, babies enjoying a party.

The way Jay presents the clue with his immaculate mannerisms-it was not difficult for everyone to get to the famous “Happy Birth Day To You” song as the ring tone from the phone indicating that cake follows just after the song.

With glee in their faces and content at being able to ultimately decode the connections, everyone thanks Jay to come up with this teaser in the short span of time he is there. They all look happy, satisfied. Rahul and Shalini did not notice when they forgot the initial acrimony that they both were feigning at each other and got involved into the hilarious flow. 

Dinner is served by now. Everyone gorges over the delicious food and enjoys the blast in the party.

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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

This weekend we have a picture prompt for writing.

This Library comes to my dream- the way I want it

Ting, Tong.

As soon as the sensor detected me at the door step of my library and made the bell ring inside, there were hushed discussions amongst the inhabitants of my den. Over the little commotion in next few seconds, they arranged themselves in a disorganized mode to suit my liking. Yes, I like them all disorganized lying here and there just like they would behave over a pot of grass.

They are my friends, my closest ones – my books with the audio system, the simple wooden ebony-black furniture, oak-paneled table of 6”X10”, 4 chairs with high back rest and leather seats, olive green carpeted floor in this cozy place of relatively large size. They understand me, keep track of my mood swings and present themselves accordingly. The hue of the room, the melody on the audio, the brightness of the lights – all tune to me the best. Before I need to tell them anything, they are ready and dressed for the occasion. The stage is set for the rendezvous and yes, you guessed it right, this is my library.

Times get locked and books get read in a cheerful and jovial mood. My dear puppy, Angela, sits there motionless - all ears to the novels and fictions. All the books that I have yearned to read for such a long time get to come first. After a chat with them briefing them with the reasons how my busy professional life had prevented our tryst, I immerse myself into the blissful world of reading as time flies by.

This is the library that I desire most in my dream.

On a day of solitude, I would spend hours together in this alcove of mine, in my very own way, alone. On some other days, friends would meet up there, in my study, for hour long discussion on politics, cricket, society, arm-chair strategy of our country – in one word, meaningless “Adda” (generally used in Bengali for long discussions) over uncountable number of cups of tea and smoked fish fingers.

While I have a penchant for reading, I am an utter failure to the term of an ardent reader-not able to manage time knowing very well the fault is within me. There are many others, in a similar situation as mine, who still manage to carve out a good amount of time for books. I am amazed at how my wife and daughter make merry (eat, sleep and drink) with books and a tinge of jealousy certainly crosses my mind. As I am not able to do justice to reading, I have somewhat curbed my strong craving for new books- non-fictions and other genres, to get to the typical smell from them. They really can be a person’s best friend and provide the much needed break from the mundane day to day activities.

While living my life the way it is now, I do dream and long for having my own study cum library and make use of all the time I will have in a relatively less loaded period of my life- during my sunset years. I visualize myself in white hair, house coat over the pajamas and gown along with the sandals getting into a place of my own and spending time as long as I want, in the way I want.  That dream is still alive and I water that every day, drop by drop.

This post is written for Indispire in indiBlogger for following prompt
“What would your dream library look like?” #DreamLibrary

My Thoughts: You Can Light Up Raghurajpur

My Thoughts: You Can Light Up Raghurajpur

You Can Light Up Raghurajpur

The story about Raghurajpur @ DoRight.in could not come  at a better time.  Believe it or not- I was just dabbling with a similar idea with one of my close friends of resurrecting a dying art of handicraft of our state through help of technology.

My friend narrated me a story about one of his close acquaintances from school days - some 25 years back. It revolved around how difficult it was, financially, to rent out a gallery in those days to display handicraft and art items from wood, brass and other different materials - with fine grained artistry. Though the skill and dexterity behind those fine pieces of art form ran in his family and they did not know any other means of livelihood, it was increasingly becoming difficult for them to sustain the occupation against the threat and competition from their more opulent, easily available but with less artistic cousins. His sole intention to come to city was to connect with a larger customer base which was not being possible staying there in the village and his failure was hitting the family and the village hard. They were at the brink of accepting menial work leaving behind this great form of art in the face of hardship and other challenges of basic amenities.

That story, then, and today’s story of Raghurajpur, near Puri, Odisha , similar in nature, evoke a sense of failure on the part of our society as a whole - how we are failing to protect and survive these rare capabilities which, at one point of time, used to be a significant differentiation of our country.

The above picture says it all – how involved and the intense the work is. After all these, there cannot be worse irony if they get cheated by middleman or don’t find buyers in time. The video here clearly brings out the sordid state of the affairs at Raghurajpur where the clan is trying to make their ends meet in an honest and just way.

I commend this initiative of DoRight.in, as a first step, to come up with a website for creating a worldwide awareness about this heritage art form and the village.  It will surely drive up the demand for these and will directly connect the artists with their customers-worldwide.

Having done my part to support the cause to the best of my abilities, I take this opportunity to request all my friends and all of you reading this story to do your bit here towards supporting the initiative. 

Additionally, may I request all to remember to spread this message, at the minimum, by sharing this post in your networks or tweet about it ?

Every bit of help from all of us will go a long way in shaping the lives of many - a village community altogether. Let’s join hands to do something better.

Moreover, I plan to offer my services - drawn from experiences in my profession, to help taking this whole initiative to the next level where it can be transformed to a self-sustaining business model - run and managed like a well-oiled private organization. With bit of planning on training the villagers, hosting and storage capacity , monthly maintenance model, logistics, e-commerce and above all marketing through social media and other channels , the initiative would transport the village to a world of happy customers in a perpetual basis. Doing it right the first time will result into having a happy customer returning back multiple times. 

In the Fantasy Land

I have been travelling for days now but not an iota of life around me.

Everything around me is in a fixated state. All lights are gone barring a moving green pearl shimmering in the tunnel, its rays creating an envelope of mesmerizing beauty all around. Through the sideways and alleys, I see males, females and children, all in a state of daze and motionless- as if someone was playing a game of statue and everybody got fixed to their positions. It was clear to me that once what used to be a happy kingdom with the usual din and bustle, colors all around, beautiful gardens with trees in full bloom, flowing rivers and green pastures –was now motionless, stuck in a limbo of perennial immobility. Was it due to some blight or bane that life has paused here and is ready to be in motion just at the touch of a magic wand?

I remember getting into the tunnel towards the center of the earth from the midriff of the beautiful Sarovar where I was playing by the bank. Someone, probably a messenger from Heaven - a Debdoot, called me and I just followed him towards the middle of the lake. As soon as we reached the middle of the lake, an arrow appeared from nowhere, parting the waters and creating a deep tunnel in the middle. I just followed him and continued walking. Though I am the son of King Aradha of the Himalayas, and am considered to be the crown prince of this planet, I was feeling homesick and terrified and tears welled up in my eyes. How do I survive here?

With the intention of trying to find someone to talk to, I moved around a bit more but wherever I go, it is the same deserted, forlorn story. It just looked to me a simple touch is what they are all waiting for to bring them back to life.

Is it that I am the last person to live in the world - the feeling itself is as eerie as it sounds? But then do I have a secret of my own to do something about it, me being the prince of world? 

Suddenly it struck me that I still have one more boon left with me- two others had already been used to rescue Gods from the clutches of demons and to prevail over Saturn to spread love in the world.

I got into action to invigorate the power of the third boon and got deep into prayer and meditation. After a long hour, I opened my eyes to find a golden magic stick in front of me and could hear a voice from behind.

Following the instructions, I went inside the palace, turned to the north-east corner, went up five stairs, turned to my right, got down ten stairs and walked for ten steps in the front. There was an urn lying enclosed in a small wooden chamber. I was told not to touch the chamber lest the power of the wand vanished. Very carefully, from a distance, I used my golden magic stick to take out the urn using the knotted string tied in its’ throat without touching the chamber and not allowing a drop of nectar to trickle behind.

Once in my possession, I spread the nectar all over the place bringing them back to life. Everybody was back to their usual selves with smiles all around. I was pleasantly surprised by the utter absence of misery and pain, cruelty or jealousy in that land that saw only happiness all around.

The grateful King of the land met me that evening and proposed marriage to his daughter. We lived happily ever after making sure – with our vigilance that our beautiful planet doesn't go to that sordid state again.

*Thoughts influenced from stories read on Fantasy Land (RupKatha) during childhood days.

Pankaj Mishra- Winner of the Windham Campbell Literature prize

The thought behind the post is not to repeat whatever is already available on Internet (@ http://www.pankajmishra.com/) about Pankaj Mishra – the author-writer, but only to celebrate his winning this prestigious award from Yale University in the non-fiction category. There is a sense of elation inside me today.

Yes, I felt proud after following Pankaj for some time now. The distinctive flavor that he brings in his books - specifically Asia as a territory and craftsmanship of thought-grouping amongst Indian, Chinese, Muslim and Ottoman countries, bring freshness to the post second world-war thought processes regarding the region.

"Pursuing high standards of literary style, Pankaj Mishra gives us new narratives about the evolution of modern Asia," the university said in the statement while announcing the prestigious honor.

While few might argue that his essays and articles being published in all leading journals and publications, this might be nothing more than just another feather in the cap, but to me – like many of his followers, this is fortifying recognition of the contemporary Asia  and its dominance in many facets of today's life along with a new look into rebuilding processes of modern Asia after all kinds of oppressions from West through different approaches – be it colonialism or subjugation in many other fronts.

"Such delightful news! As a freelancer obliged to make a living from writing, you are always scrounging for bits of time in which to write the next book, and this wonderfully generous prize will help me secure a long undistracted period," Mishra said.

From my limited capability and a little bit of audacity, I wish Pankaj all the best.

Lovely Love

Below is my submission under 400 words @www.figment.com on the topic: Reader and Character are falling in love.

“Hi, what is your name?  Will you be my friend?” a husky wafted voice came out of nowhere.

I was at page 31 of an old thriller, based on 18th century France, that my grandfather acquired during his visit to countryside. It was gathering dust for quite some years  in the musty corner of the naphthalene smelling attic. Carefully I was turning the pages -turned yellowish brown and cleaning them while straightening the creases.

“I see you are taking good care of me for some time now. Thanks for taking me out of that cloistered shelf with dimly lit  space and almost no air to breathe”, rattled the voice.

Being baffled and confused with the suddenness of the situation, I closed the book hard to silence it. Thinking it might be some paranormal activity, I threw the book down. A beautiful girl of 12 years with an angelic look in a blue floral frock, brownish hair neatly plaited was smiling there in front of me. With golden complexion and medium built for that age, her big dreamy eyes were telling me so many things. 

While I was making efforts to take my mind away from what just happened, she was pulling me towards her. Almost in a trance, I had to give in and picked up the book again. I asked myself if this is really happening and what Rowling wrote about life being imprisoned in a book is unfolding in front of me.

She eventually started telling me her story.

“You know, I have started liking you a lot - you are of my age and none has touched me so delicately so far. You must be a good person at heart. Only thing I remember about my early days is that we used to be a happy family and now I can’t recollect even my parents. I have not been loved for such a long time” said my new friend as she clutched my hands tightly.

Dumbfounded I was sitting there motionless listening to her with a liking growing inside me- like a flame of a slow burning candle. My first interaction with adolescent love - did not realize how sweet it is. I was just getting drifted towards her and entangled in her persona with each passing moment.

With an effort to hug her, I fell down from bed bringing me back to mundane earth shattering my sweet dream.

Bouquet of Beauties

They say sharing something good doubles the happiness. 
These are some of those from my prized collections of past from Bangalore's own Lalbagh Garden.

Oftentimes they provide me with much required mental piece and solace just by being there. 

Staring at them makes me think "How could these be so beautiful ?" Thank you, my Beauties.

Hope you would enjoy!!!

Happy They Are

 Beautiful Roses-As Always 

                                                  

 One Can Spend Hours In Front Of These.







India's Fight Against Polio and Rotary

While fight against Polio continues all over the world amidst stiff resistance from countries like Pakistan (http://tribune.com.pk/story/677988/anti-polio-drive-karachi-town-residents-refuse-to-get-children-vaccinated/), India is a success story.

India’s fight against the disease is very aptly chronicled by Dr. Harsh Vardhan - one of the rare respected politicians and champion of India’s model Pulse Polio Initiative, in his book as “A Tale of Two Drops”. (http://books.google.co.in/books/about/A_Tale_of_Two_Drops.html?id=5CiQSuN1uJ4C&redir_esc=y)

We, the Rotarians, take great pride in joining hands with Government in this crusade.
Below is my reporting on the recently concluded Pulse Polio Day - 23^rd Feb, an abridged version of which was published in a local newspaper @ http://cityplus.jagran.com/city-buzz/rotary-club-organises-polio-drive_1393673855.html.

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Rotary International (RI) is in relentless effort to eradicate polio from world. Since taking the pledge in 1985 to exterminate this debilitating disease from the face of the earth - its’ biggest project till date, RI has stood like a rock beside the local governments and health agencies of all affected countries in this effort.

The Rotary Club of Bangalore (District 3190) Lakeside (RCBL) is proud to carry the mantle of its parent body for last five years since its inception – covering from Mahadevpura in Whitefield to Agara in north-south direction and Kodichikkenahhali to Outer Ring Road bordering the east-west boundary. RCBL, in conjunction with three public health centers namely at – Doddonekundi (near Total mall towards K R Puram), Doddakenelli (on Sarjapura Road after Wipro gate) and Agara, reached out to more than 17,000 children, through 225 volunteers, to administer the two drops of the vaccine on last Sunday, 23^rd Feb, 2014. Highlight of this years’ initiative is that around 15 + volunteers from newly formed Rotaract club shouldered the responsibility of supporting the Agara public health center - managing booths personally and visiting nearby slums with help of mobile booths to serve the purpose.

Dr. Sumathi, Dr. Sudhakar and Dr. Latha – the medical superintendents of the three health centers wholeheartedly appreciate the support extended by Rotary all these years - to exceed their targets of reaching out to so many children.

Pranabesh Das, a non-Rotarian, contributing his bit in every national immunization day for last three years is grateful to get involved in this world wide movement.

It will be indeed a proud moment for all the Rotarians and Government official when World Health Organization will ultimately declare India as a polio free country by March 2014.

While there has not been a single case reported in India for last three years, we cannot afford to be complacent and need to remain focused in the battle against this crippling illness. RCBL requests likeminded people from the neighborhood to join the club and be part of Rotary – the most renowned worldwide social services platform. Interested ones can contact Rtn. Anantha Bhat (babhat@yahoo.com) or Rtn. Jayanta Tewari (Jayanta_tw@yahoo.com).