I participated in the daily writing challenge of Blogchatter wherein I used the opportunity to write for a future book. However, on a couple of days, I wrote on the prompts suggested . This is one of them.
Here are the two quotes which I find very energizing and useful for effective living.
(1) Youth is not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the ease of life- Robert Kennedy, Former US Senator.
As a senior citizen retired from formal working, the above quote serves as a motivator keeping me active and young at heart and mind. Today, I keep myself engaged with a number of activities like blogging, recording songs for my you tube channel, participating in the on line Zoom sessions of Seniors Today that have programs on almost all days of the week on varied activities like discussions, singing, health, book review, drama etc.
The primary point in the quote is the assertion that youthfulness is not merely determined by chronological age but rather by one's mindset, attitude, and approach to life. Here's an elaboration on each aspect of the quote:
1. Youth as a State of Mind: The quote implies that regardless of age, individuals can maintain a youthful outlook by staying curious, open-minded, and optimistic.
2. Temper of the Will: This phrase refers to the determination, resilience, and strength of character that often characterize youth. It highlights the importance of having a strong will and the ability to persevere in the face of challenges, which are qualities commonly associated with youthfulness.
3. Quality of Imagination: Youth is often associated with creativity, innovation, and the ability to think outside the box. The quote suggests that maintaining a youthful mindset involves nurturing and harnessing one's imagination to explore new ideas, possibilities, and solutions to problems.
4. Predominance of Courage over Timidity: Youth is often characterized by a willingness to take risks, step out of one's comfort zone, and embrace new experiences. This part of the quote emphasizes the importance of couragein youthfulness, suggesting that being young at heart means being bold, adventurous, and unafraid of failure or uncertainty. 5. Appetite for Adventure over the Ease of Life: This phrase contrasts the desire for excitement, growth, and exploration with the temptation to choose comfort, security, and predictability. It suggests that maintaining a youthful outlook involves seeking out new adventures, challenges, and opportunities for personal growth, rather than settling for a stagnant or complacent existence.
In essence, the quote celebrates the spirit of youthfulness as a mindset characterized by curiosity, resilience, creativity, courage, and a thirst for adventure. It reminds us that regardless of age, we can choose to approach life with the same enthusiasm, energy, and optimism that define the essence of youth. Going forward, I would like to explore implementing various aspects of the quote to lead a fulfilling life. No wonder, this is one of my favourite quotes
(2) It is not people that are a company's principal asset, it is the enthusiasm of its people- Jack Welch, former CEO General Electric
As a person who has worked in Human Resources department in companies for many years, I can vouch that clique statements are often made such as “People are our greatest asset and we constantly take care and nurture them.” Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, on the other hand is not being politically correct here, mouthing the usual line.
He says that it is not about having human assets but an asset that is charged up and enthusiastic to ‘go for it’. Looked at this way, it also draws attention to the big role HR, senior management and influencers in the company need to play to keep the people enthusiastic. Enthusiasm and motivation of employees are the true driving forces behind a company's success.
Let us discuss the quote in more detail:
1. Emphasis on Enthusiasm: The word "enthusiasm" is more than just a positive attitude; it represents a deep sense of passion, commitment, and energy toward the company's mission and goals. When employees are genuinely enthusiastic about their work and the organization they serve, they become more innovative, productive, and dedicated to achieving excellence.
2. Cultivating a Positive Work Culture: Facilitating enthusiasm would mean providing and cultivating a positive and supportive work culture within the organization. A culture that fosters enthusiasm also encourages collaboration, creativity, and a sense of belonging among employees. It motivates individuals to go far beyond their basic job responsibilities and actively contribute to the company's success.
3. Empowering Employees: In order to sustain enthusiasm, it is important to empower employees by providing them with the necessary resources, autonomy, and opportunities for growth and development. Enthusiastic employees are more likely to take ownership of their work, demonstrate initiative, and strive for continuous improvement.
4. Driving Organizational Performance: The quote underscores the point that sustainable competitive advantage comes not only from technological advancements or strategic decisions but also from the collective enthusiasm, dedication, and talent of the workforce. Enthusiastic employees drive innovation, customer satisfaction, and overall organizational performance.
To a person such as me who worked and retired in an industrial scenario in the functional area of HR, the quote throws up many interesting insights, on why and how we could generate and retain the enthusiasm of people for driving success in the organization.
Preamble: For the Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
"Hey Majeed, do you know me? " asked an aged stranger at a wedding at his native place. Although his ancestral village was Valanchery in Malappuram district, Kerala, 15 year old Majid grew up in Ernakulam where his father had migrated in 2002 to start a shop in the Broadway area of kochi. Majid visited the hometown now and then with parents but was not familiar with the local residents.
The stranger continued " I am Abdul, a childhood friend of your grandfather, Zaheer. Go ask him what was special about his wedding" he guffawed. Majid's uncle who was accompanying him, merely smiled, patted him on the shoulder and led him away to the dining area for food.
Majid's grandfather had lived in the UAE for many years but returned in his old age to home town to spend remaining days with his people . Grandmother Razia was very happy that he returned for good. During the major part of their marriage, it was just periodic visits to hometown for a few weeks. However, the visits had the feel of celebrating a festival! Everyone looked forward to the presents that Zaheer would bring, particularly in the olden days when many foreign items were not locally available.
As soon as they reached home Majid ran to his grandmother and said "We met Abdul Muthappan (Grandpa) at the wedding. He said he was grandpa's friend. Why did he say your wedding was unique grandma? Razia smiled shyly and asked "He told you that?"
Zaheer who overheard the conversation called out to Majeed. When he came in he said "That fellow Abdul hasn't changed . He is always up to some mischief. There was nothing unique about the way our wedding happened. It was quite common in the 70s, amongst us Gulf guys."
"What happened grandpa" asked Majid, curious.
" Oh nothing extraordinary. It was just that we got very few days of leave while visiting hometown. A prolonged process of seeing girls and finalizing the match was a luxury we could not afford. So what we did was see 6 to 7 girls during the visit, approve of one of them and get married, before returning to Dubai. Abdul used to make fun of us saying that we were selecting a bride like selecting a saree or shirt. Perhaps he was right in a way. But we were all victims of our circumstances".
After Zaheer had told his grandson the background story of his wedding, it suddenly struck him that he had left out something. "And the next time you meet that Abdul, you tell him that grandpa liked and approved of the first girl he saw and that was your grandma. It was only because of pressure from relatives that I saw four more girls. But my mind was already made up!"
Razia listening to his words from the adjacent room smiled.
Preamble: For the Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Yazhini's biggest concern has been her son Murugan. After the death of her husband, Palani, she struggled to make two ends meet. This was until she got introduced to a small scale garment manufacturer. After that, she was able to do stitching and tailoring from her home in Chindadripet, Chennai . The payment received from the company was sufficient to live comfortably in her modest neighbourhood. While the initial worries of Yazhani were centered around making a living, it shifted to the future of Murugan, once she was assured of a steady monthly income.
One of the concerns of Yazhani was that Murugan was not interested in studies. She thought that it was a passing phase and that he would pick up interest in some area in later years to make a living. The hope was belied as Murugan began to become even less focused as he entered his teens. Now, he was not even listening to her; spent a lot of time roaming around with his friends.
"What will happen of this boy after my time?" was her constant thought. She would have been happy had he shown some interest in the stitching & tailoring and helped her with it. It would at least be a source of living in later years. Some of Murugan's friends dropped out of school but were engaged in odd jobs like assisting as a mechanic in the local workshop. At least, these boys were learning and enhancing their skills. Murugan on the other hand wasted time, often cut his classes and was the reason for complaints from the teachers.
It was after he barely managed to scape through the SSLC (tenth class) public exam that Murugan was bitten by the crazy bug. He became obsessed with the movies of Tamil film star Vijay. He watched all his films and started dressing like Vijay and aping the haircut in his latest movie. Yazhini as a single parent was concerned with the way things were panning out. Murugan was neither interested in higher studies nor was he prepared to go to the village and engage in agricultural activities with his uncle.
Soon after, Murugan joined a "Vijay Fan Club" and engaged in its activities from morning till night. He was the first to volunteer for arrangements for a new film release. This involved putting up huge banners, pouring milk (Abhishekam) and doing pooja to the film posters etc. The fans watched the movie first day, first show and spread a good word both physically and online for the success of the movie. Five years passed this way with Murugan engaged fully with the club and with nothing else in life; increasing the blood pressure of Yazhini.
Yazhini got some key relatives to counsel Murugan but their advice fell on deaf ears. Heated verbal exchanges and cold silent battles punctuated the mother-son relationship. In the meanwhile, Murugan had been taking up more responsibilities in many other enterprises of the fan club. This included welfare activities like blood donation camps, celebrating the star's birthday, organizing promotional events & contests, selling fan merchandize like T shirts, mugs, posters & stickers etc.
Then, one day, even as Yazhani was engaged in tailoring a dress with the usual sad expression, Murugan came home earlier than usual. He sat his mother down on the sofa, prepared tea for her, opened a box of sweets and announced "Amma, I have some good news! In our fan club meeting today, it was discussed that the activities of the club had increased manifold. The club was earning good money from the sale of merchandize and have a comfortable bank balance.
Therefore, the members took the decision to appoint a full time manager for our club with a starting salary of Rs 50,000 per month to be reviewed from time to time. As one who has worked with full dedication for so many years and well versed with all aspects of its operation, they have requested me to take charge as the first manager of the club."
Yazhini did not know what to say. Finally, a big smile broke out on her face - Her first smile in many months. It was as if a big weight was lifted off her shoulders and a big concern from her mind.
Preamble: For the Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Xavier Fernandez was an ex service man. He claimed to have worked in the infantry battalion of the Indian army. After premature retirement from the army, he joined public sector companies one after the other. He stayed in a company for about three years and then moved on. The first role was that of a sports officer. However, he changed roles to security and then sports again depending on the requirement of the organization. One thing he ensured was a higher designation and higher pay each time he moved.
Wherever Xavier worked, he was known to be very popular with colleagues and employees. Any free time (freely available in PSUs in the 80s) and Xavier would regale them with his heroic and adventurous operations while in the army. Many youngsters admired him and looked up to him as a role model. They wanted to have a similar healthy physique and also have the ability to tell entertaining stories like Xavier.
The stories related by Xavier were breathtaking. Some of them involved daring attacks behind enemy lines, navigating through hostile territory and evading enemy patrols. Others were about daring rescue operations to rescue our officers or soldiers trapped in enemy territory. Challenges of defending a strategic position under siege by the enemy that involved surviving with limited food, ammunition, medical and other resources were all stories that were a hit with his listeners. By the time people got used to his tales or they were no longer evoking the same enthusiasm , Xavier would have quit for another company.
If a visitor to the company was a serving officer in the army or an ex-serviceman, they sometimes asked Xavier questions about his colleagues or details of his battalion. Xavier appeared to be uncomfortable on such occasions and seemingly evaded answering on the pretext of attending to an important work.
Then, the mystery of Xavier's disappearance or leaving within three years of joining a company appeared to have got solved . This was after Xavier had recently quit as the head of security of an electronics company in Bangalore. The new incumbent, an ex service man on seeing Xavier's photograph remarked that it was a familiar face. Surely, he had interacted with him in one of the units that he had worked. However, he was not able to say exactly where and when.
It happened on the third day, after they had finished lunch in the canteen. The new Head of Security exclaimed " Ah , I can place him now. He was in charge of the mess operations in our unit at Jabalpur!"
Preamble: For the Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Waheeda was born as the eldest of four girls and a boy to Jafar and Jameela. They lived in the Mehdipatnam area of Hyderabad city where Jafar had a retail and whole sale business. Waheeda remembers the early years of her childhood as 'very happy'. They had many relatives and an active social life as most of the relatives lived in suburbs of Hyderabad. Waheeda was good in studies and had dreams of becoming a teacher. Both her parents were so happy when she passed the Teacher eligibility test (TET) and became a primary school teacher in a Government school.
The happiness was short-lived though since soon after, Jafar became ill. He was not able to concentrate on the business. By and by, the entire responsibility of the bread winner had fallen on the tender shoulders of Waheeda. In view of her interest to study more , she acquired qualifications of B.Ed. and other additional certifications that helped her get better salary. After the death of her father, Waheeda managed all the affairs of the house, educating all her siblings and arranging for their marriages.
This was a period when time flew. Steeped in her responsibilities, Waheeda had no time to think of herself, of her own marriage or a separate family for herself. Her family was 'the family' left to her by her father. With passage of time, the sisters and brother had their own lives to live. They could not visit her as often as in the initial days. Waheeda also did not notice this so much as she had her career as teacher that kept her busy in the day time. It was only in the evening that she sometimes felt lonely.
Then it happened; Waheeda's retirement. After the garlands and sweet words on the last day of working, she had to return to an empty home and empty days to follow. Waheeda's siblings dropped in some time with children and grand children but these had been mostly restricted to the festive days like Eid- al- Fitr.
The worst experience was during the lock down period since Waheeda was living alone. It was a challenge to buy basic essentials and run the household while maintaining social distancing. This was the time though when Waheeda came to know of a seniors online group called "Seniors Today" that met on zoom and engaged in various activities like singing and reciting poetry. Waheeda , being a teacher was a poetry enthusiast. She used to visit the various mushairas in the city. Now with social distancing and age catching up, the online Zoom meetings were godsent.
Waheeda managed to tide over the lock down period and was now hooked to the "Seniors Today" group. They had increased their activities to sessions like Guftagu (a chat session), health & meditation, acting, gardening, numerology, anthakshari and many more. Waheeda found that she could not only keep herself engaged whole through the week but interact on Zoom with familiar faces who had become dear friends. They would enquire after her health and know if she felt lonely or down in spirit on a particular day. Waheeda's siblings also noticed the change and were happy that "Apa now is so full of life, even after retirement."
The latest addition to the 'Seniors Today' sessions is a weekly program on "Pet care". Now Waheeda is seriously considering adding a pet to her household. Nothing like having a "living being" around as you go through the day...
Preamble: For the Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Hello folks this is me Vishwas! Remember me in that story starting with the alphabet 'Q' ? (Read Here) In our world here, there was a lot of discussion that a story has been written on my wife and that the author had even referred to her by her college nickname of the 'Queen'. I do not resent any of that. She was a noble soul and deserved being portrayed in a positive light. I do not even resent the fact that I came out as a negative character in the story. But, it is necessary to know how things unfolded- what happened in my life too. I got in touch with the author and he has graciously permitted me to tell my story in my own words and style. So here goes...
When I was born in the year 1936, not only were my parents but the entire extended family were overjoyed. I was the first boy in my generation; all the siblings on my father's and mother's side having given birth to girls . I am told that there was a grand celebration in my grandfather's house in the ancestral village. Growing up, I moved and lived in many places as my father was an officer in the police force of the princely state of Mysore and later the state of Karnataka after India's independence, on the officers being absorbed into the Indian Police Service.
My father was always busy and had little time to spend with me as his work commitments stretched beyond the normal working hours of a civil servant. My mother not only made up for it but in a way spoiled me. She would give me anything I wanted; be it food or toys. I only had to ask for it. By the teen years I had started getting into bad company of boys who were into smoking and drinking. This was nothing short of blasphemy in the 50s. But my mother covered up for me and never let anything negative reach my father's ears.
Another factor that helped me was that being a rolling stone, moving periodically from one place to another on dad's transfer, there were no relatives around to keep tabs on me or admonish me. On the rare occasion that I met them there was only love and 'awe' for me being the son of a police officer. In 1960 , when I got my job in a large factory at the age of 24, I was already into regular abuse of alcohol. The only difference was that I now did not need to depend on mother for money. I lived in style, spending most of my earnings drinking with friends and playing cards at the local officer's club.
The rest of what happened is detailed in the "Queen story" (Read here) . My slide was seemingly gradual yet, sure and swift. I was unfit to take care of my wife and children. There was just enough money to drink with things getting desperate towards the end of each month. I began to get into acts of corruption. In the last stages, I lost all shame and asked money from employees or junior officers who came to my official chamber.
I do not know how much my wife Preeti and daughter Lavanya hated me. But one thing was clear. They wanted to keep me as far away from them as possible. Lavanya's wedding was the darkest day of my life when it should have been happiest for the bride's father. I was totally ignored by everyone be it family or the guests and I had to run away once again to the comfort of the 'cursed' bottle.
The bottle that gave me pleasure in adolescence and youth, gifted me cirrhosis of the liver in middle age. Doctors advised me to stop drinking knowing fully well that I had become incapable of following their instructions.
I wanted to tell my story as well, not to put focus on myself but to serve as a deterrent to the youngsters who today have so many more substances of abuse to choose from. Do you want to be another me or a happy, accomplished, professional and family person? The choice is yours!
Preamble: For the Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
As they had planned since a long time, Urmila and Vivek took the flight for their honeymoon to the "Paradise on Earth". This nick name was earned by the Kashmir valley on account of her stunning natural beauty characterized by lush greenery, snow capped mountains, serene lakes. houseboats and vibrant culture.
Urmila and Vivek had fallen in love while in college. Unlike an earlier generation for whom "Love was blind", being representatives of the intelligent "New Gen", they went in for a 'planned' love affair. Both of them made sure that the other was from equally strong financial background, from the same caste and educated equally as they were pursuing engineering in a reputed college in Kochi, Kerala. This way, there could not be any objection from the parents to their union.
As expected, they got the green signal for the wedding without any hitch. Being from business families, there was not even a delay on account of the need to secure a job. Vivek was slated to take over his father's business. Therefore the wedding was fixed shortly after they became qualified engineers. Urmila and Vivek were excited to go to the Kashmir valley for their honeymoon. It was a dream they had discussed many times during the courting period.
As the day of the wedding neared, Urmila was in a state of day dreaming, wild imagination, full of excitement and wonder. Oh the seven heavenly nights prior to the wedding! Nights engaged in dreaming with hardly any sleep! And the pictures in the dreams were the same; fun and frolic with her beloved Vivek- throwing snow balls at each other, skating together, drinking warm ginger tea from the same glass.
Finally, the wedding ceremonies were over; the guests had left and it was just the two of them on the flight to the valley of their dreams. On the first three days they had so much fun. It was to put it mildly a 'heavenly experience' exactly as Urmila had imagined. They explored the capital city of Srinagar visiting the lovely Mughal gardens of Shalimar Bhag, Nishat Bhag and the architectural wonders such as Jama Masjid and Shankaracharya temple. The lovebirds took a ride while in Gulmarg on one of the highest cable cars in the world with a panoramic view of the snowcapped mountain peaks. More fun and adventure were planned for the remaining seven days of the honeymoon.
On the fourth day, they had joined a group of tourists to explore the scenic landscapes of the Pahalgam town and also experience pony rides and nature walks. The guide advised the group to stick together. "The bus will leave sharply at 4 PM. It gets dark after that and it is not safe for tourists to be here", he said. Urmila and Vivek were so immersed in themselves as they walked hand in hand that they were oblivious of the time. Before they knew it, it was already 6 PM and the bus had left.
Then it happened. A group of masked men approached them. Vivek, the coward that he was, simply ran away leaving his newly wed wife to fend for herself. The next day, the brutal gang rape was reported in all the major newspapers. Vivek, now wanted divorce. But then, Urmila had already made up her mind. "Who would want to live with such a man even if he had wanted to continue the facade of a marital relationship?". For Urmila, a joyously planned event had turned out to be a nightmare. Its tremors would remain whole through the rest of her life.
Preamble:During Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Thejus knew from a very young age that his destiny was tied to music. He was born into a family of musicians. His grandfather, father and elder brother were all known names in Hindustani music. However, by a stroke of luck ,more fame and recognition came the way of Thejus. In India the interest in the ghazal genre of music increased triple fold during the late seventies, just when he entered the music scene as a young man. Thejus found that he was a natural when it came to this form of music. While earlier, film music was perhaps the only way for popular recognition, ghazal also became an important avenue for instant fame & success. The market for ghazal singers opened up in a big way in the country in the form of albums .
A number of music albums sung by Tejus became hits and he became a highly sought after artiste for giving live performances in the country and abroad. During this period, Tejus started collaborating extensively with established and promising new poets. The collaborations contributed immensely to Thejus's success.
Amidst huge popularity came a lot of awards and recognition including the prestigious national civil honour, the Padmasri. Another thing that happened during this phase of life was an increase in the number of sycophants who followed Thejus around. The main activity of these people was to praise him to the skies and ensure that they remained part of the celebrity's inner circle.
With more and more demands on his time by the professional commitments and by the sycophants who hung around late into the night, Thejus found he was having less and less time for his wife and family. Ramesh, his bosom pal since college was a co-traveler in the journey and had taken on the mantle of his manager. Ramesh also objected to Thejus's changed lifestyle wherein he was not setting aside enough time for 'Riaz' or practice of music. A lot of time was being wasted on the 'Hangers-on' who were not adding value but serving as stumbling blocks to the main goals of the singer.
Seema who was single handedly managing all affairs of the house demanded that he spend more time with the children at least two days in a week. Fed up with the lack of responsibility and empathy on the part of Thejus, Seema filed for divorce and shifted base to Nagpur where her parents lived. The children were admitted to the school in that city. Even at this stage Thejus was oblivious to the fact that his life was slowly and surely slipping away.
The singer had lately taken to drinking more and more in the company of the sycophants. In their eagerness to flatter and lavish praise on their idol, they began to suggest that all his success was solely on account of the singer's silky voice. The people with whom he had successfully collaborated over the years didn't matter. Why pay them more and share credit with them when he could do equally well collaborating with just any new comer is what they put in to Thejus's head.
Ramesh found that his counsel to reduce the drinking fell on deaf ears. He was also admonished on one occasion by Thejus telling him that he was overstepping his position, that of an employee. Deeply hurt, Ramesh also decided to leave. He had been getting offers to work with bright promising talent. An alcoholic Thejus was equivalent to a 'perished' artist, as good as dead.
Thejus was upset by the double blow of his wife and long time friend & manager leaving one after the other. "I don't care! Get lost! I will win alone. I am "the one and only Thejus!" he screamed at Ramesh when he came to say a final good bye.
Five years went by since the departure of Seema and Ramesh from the life of Tejus. He began to realize that his life had been beautiful and thriving because of their presence in it. He also began to miss his children for whom previously he had no time. At one time, they were at arms length craving for his love and attention.
The career of Tejus had also begun to nose dive. Three new albums released by him bombed. People stopped calling him for shows after it became public that he had become an alcoholic. The sycophants also began to disappear one by one and Tejus ended up alone and lonely. In the last two years, he took stock of his life and had stopped drinking all together. But it appeared that no one believed him. Tejus did not get any invitation to concerts in spite of writing to his old contacts and associates of his changed, disciplined lifestyle.
Finally, in the year 2010, Tejus received an invitation from the Sangeet Natak Academy to perform at a small venue in Nagpur. Tejus had butterflies in his stomach. Although he had been pursuing for an opportunity for a comeback, when it actually came, he was feeling weak in the knees and lacking in confidence. After all it was a long time since he had faced a live audience on stage.
The D day and time arrived and Tejus was on stage. He commenced the first song of the evening with apprehension. But on receiving a cheering response from the audience Tejus felt reassured like a fish in familiar waters.
As the evening progressed Tejus was on fire and the audience in raptures. At the end of the last song of the evening, they gave him a standing ovation. Tears of joy flowed down the cheeks of Tejus. It was then that he noticed the face of Ramesh in the third row. He was clapping and cheering away. Tejus was overjoyed and his only desire was to hug his old friend who had come to witness his moment of redemption. Weaving through the mad frenzy of fans, Ramesh finally managed to reach Tejus.
When they were in a tight hug lock, Ramesh smiled and said " I am not alone. My Bhabi (sister in law) , your wife is sitting in the last row waiting for you. It was she who insisted that I witness your comeback performance. "You were like Ram- Lakshman. It is high time that the gap is bridged between brothers" she had said. I told her I would go if she also came along . Tejus just did not know how to respond. He thanked God for the best day in his life, a day that he would cherish forever!
Preamble:During Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Everyone was scared of Sunita's husband Sheru. His real name was Raja. But the people of the basti (crowded colony) in which they live in Dharavi, Mumbai gave him that name. Sheru was known to be ruthless with enemies. He started as a gang member very early in life engaged in unlawful activities. After he proved his street smartness and dexterity with weapons, he started his own gang and was now a terror in his 'territory' of operation. Sunita's friends jokingly ask her "How do you live with this man? Are you not scared of him?".
Although she had known only poverty in life right from childhood, Sunita was determined to make her life better. She fought with her father to go to school and then plus two. Initially, her father mocked her. "what will you do after study in school ? Just get married and start a family, so I can play with my grandchildren". Later, seeing her dedication and persistence he gave in and let Sunita study. But after plus two, Sunita's father put his foot down and insisted that she marry.
Sunita turned down her father's proposal to marry Sheru whom he believed was an enterprising young guy who was making 'good money'. Sunita outrightly refused to marry an uneducated muscle brain. He may be the local hero for those who valued physical show of strength but Sunita was not impressed. Even after the refusal, Sheru continued silently to adore her in his mind and kept a watch over her from a distance like a guardian angel. His opportunity came one day when Sunita was returning home after purchasing grocery from the neighbourhood store, at around 8 PM.
Two guys approached her, asked her something and tried to grab her. Sheru appeared as if from no where and beat them to pulp. Sunita started to take notice of him after the incident although Sheru maintained a safe distance from her. The feelers came again for marriage two years later and this time, Sunita accepted. Given the circumstances under which the two got together, there was no reason for Sunita to be scared of her husband.
He was in a way in awe of her as one of the few in the colony who had studied and could read books in English as well. Sheru always spoke to her politely and treated her well. Then it happened .One day Sheru came home drunk. Sunita said he could not share her bed and that he could sleep in the verandah. Hard words were followed by a hard slap on Sunita's face.
The next morning she disappeared. When he came to his senses, Sheru rushed to Sunita's parents' house only to find that she hadn't gone there. When she did not return even after a week , Sheru began to get desperate and went about searching for her frantically. Sunita was finally traced to her aunt's house in the village. After many apologies and assurances Sunita returned but made it clear such behaviour was not acceptable to her no matter how big a 'Rowdy image' he had.
Sheru hit her one more time. This time she disappeared for six months and by the time Sunita returned to Dharavi, Sheru had become a total wreck. It was made clear to Sheru that there will not be a third time. Thus, Sunita was given the title of the "fearless" by her colony residents. If anything, it was Sheru who was fearful of her. He had to carefully monitor his behaviour whenever she was around...
Preamble:During Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Rajesh Kumar was known for his sense of humour right from childhood. After all, his birth place was Tenali, in Guntur district Andhra Pradesh .Tenali is famous for the legendary figure of Tenali Ramakrishna , a poet and advisor in the court of Emperor Krishna Devaraya of the Vijayanagara empire. The town's reputation for humour is tied to the tales of cleverness and quick wit of Tenali Ramakrishna.
Rajesh studied at the Hindu college Tenali, traditionally known to encourage its students in various forms of art and culture apart from the mandatory curricular activities. Rajesh had a gang of friends who met regularly to crack jokes and get appreciation from the other members. If no one laughed at a joke, the particular member was debarred from presentation for two weeks to enable him to sharpen his skills. It was this association that helped Rajesh to make a mark on the film sets when he moved into the cine industry to try his luck as an actor.
Those days the whole of south Indian cinema was based out of Madras and many struggling actors and technicians became friends cutting across the language differences. Although Rajesh worked in the Telugu film industry, he had many friends in all possible groups and was a hit during the get togethers. Everyone appreciated his sense of humour and ability to tell stories. The camaraderie continued even after the Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries shifted production base to their home states.
The stories of Rajesh were only half true ; he tweaked them to create humour and at times made up far fetched tales such as a romance between co- artists. Most people who knew Rajesh well, took his tales in a lighter vein and laughed it off when they came to know the actual truth of the matter months later.
Once Rajesh told a lady artist working with him " Anjali, I hear you are doing a double role in a Tamil movie."
"Yes brother. I am so happy to get this opportunity."
"You are getting double payment for your double efforts isn't it?"
"No" The poor girl answered. "Do you normally get paid double ?"
"Yes of course! After all you are putting in double the work."
Anjali enquired about this with a couple of friends during lunch time and she became the laughing stock and source of mirth for everyone on the sets for the entire fortnight 's schedule of the film's shoot!
Rajesh continued to be the centre of attraction of meetings when there was no work or when they were travelling abroad for a shoot. It was during one of these travels that Rajesh told a funny story of Captain Naidu a relatively new member to the film industry . Captain Naidu entered the industry donning the role of a villain after taking premature retirement from the army.
Rajesh's story goes like this: They were all staying at a star hotel for the shoot of a film. As there was early pack up on one day due to bad sunlight, the actors and crew returned to the hotel at 4 PM. At around 5 PM when people were having fun at the hotel's swimming pool, Captain Naidu ogled at a pretty woman in the pool. When this continued for about 15 minutes a man said to be her husband and a Superintendent of Police, appeared with a gun and shot at Captain who rushed to his room on the ground floor and bolted it from inside.
Everyone was imagining the funny scenes of a fleeing Captain and had a hearty laugh. Usually, whatever Rajesh said amongst friends was enjoyed for the moment and they forgot about it, as they moved on to the next assignment. On this occasion though, a waiter who happened to overhear the conversation passed it on to a film magazine. Then all hell broke loose. Captain threatened to kill the offender. He said his remarks had created marital discord and a wedge between him and his wife.
Two years later. Rajesh checked in to the Ritz, the best hotel in the city . At round 12 noon, he was relaxing at the lounge near the reception . His shooting would start only the next day. Some local friends had invited him for drinks & dinner. He was looking forward to an enjoyable evening.
It was then that he saw the captain! The burly man took one look at him and started moving menacingly towards him. Rajesh got up and immediately ran for dear life, followed in hot pursuit by the panting captain. Rajesh first had no idea where to run. Finally he ran up two flight of stairs to the safety of his room. He could hear fierce thumping on the door by the captain and his angry words rending the air. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, the staff came and took the captain away.
The hotel staff passed on the information to people they called "friends of both the actors". A team landed up in an hour's time and a meeting was arranged at the King suite , the best accommodation in the hotel. .During the discussions and after mediation, Rajesh apologized to the Captain and said he had not intended to cause any harm and that whatever he said was in jest, for the fun of the moment. However, Rajesh hastened to add that in future, he would never ever tell a story about captain. The two actors shook hands and the matter was treated as closed.
Truce had been achieved with the intervention of some noble souls. The actor had managed to save himself by the skin of his teeth. Yet , given his basic nature, perhaps ten, fifteen or twenty years later, Rajesh may relate this very incident on a public platform to regale the audience! Who knows?
Preamble:During Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
Every girl in the college was envious of her. She came from a comfortable economic background with a senior bureaucrat for father. She was also good in studies and was very pretty in appearance. There was always a spring in her walk and her dazzling smile was a passport to most hearts. Although her real name was Preeti, the boys called her the 'Queen'.
In spite of all the attention she got from the students and teachers, Queen did not allow all this to go to her head. This was during the sixties in India. A time when the most the boys could do to express their admiration was to give the girl a flower or two. It was a given that when the time came to acquire a life partner, Queen would wed someone chosen by her parents in an arranged marriage.
The parents of Queen were also keen to get the best possible match for their darling daughter. They finally zeroed in on an engineer, son of a Superintendent of Police and employed in a prestigious public sector undertaking. The boy, Vishwas was handsome, well qualified with bright chances to visit Germany for training. Most of the machines were purchased from Demag, a company based out of that country.
The wedding was a grand show with the presence of many bigwigs in society. The young couple settled down to a happy marital life. Initially , Queen did not notice the tell tale signs of her husband being an alcoholic. By the time she was sure of it. they already had two children, a girl and a boy. It was not long before Queen realized that most of her husband's earning was being spent on liquor. Initially she covered up for him and did not reveal the sad state of affairs to her parents. Eventually, there was no other alternative but to tell them. She had to save her children from starvation and also meet the basic needs of the house.
As Vishwas had a dashing personality , with the gift of the gab to project himself in good light, he continued to get promotions and reached the position of a senior manager. But socially and in his personal life he had reached the lowest ebb. After starting out as one drinking high class liquor, he had come down to the level of patronizing cheap bars. Many of his alcoholic friends were workmen working in his own company. Preeti had ceased feeling like a queen since ages. With marriage, her whole life had taken an unexpected slide for the worst. She was diffident and embarrassed about meeting old college mates to whom she was still the 'Queen'. Preeti made conscious efforts to avoid meeting any of her old friends.
When her daughter was old enough to be married, all the wedding expenses were borne by Queen's parents. Vishwas was completely sidelined during the event. He just about made a brief appearance and disappeared. Three years later, the inevitable happened. Vishwas who was grappling with cirrhosis of the liver succumbed to the disease. No one seemed to have missed him, not even his bosom 'drinking pals'. Preeti and her daughter who had suffered the most on account of an "alcoholic head of family" was in a way relieved. Drunken men would no longer be coming and knocking on their door in the dead of night.
Strange are the ways and the twist and turns of life. Who, from those dazzling college days could have ever predicted that the 'Queen', envied by one and all, had such a sad future in store for her...?
Preamble:During Blogchatter's A2Z challenge during the month of April 2024, I am writing mini stories on various subjects and characters on each day of the month except on Sundays. The name of the protagonist shall begin with the alphabet assigned for the day.
A small start up automotive company in Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh decided to start a canteen for its employees. Although the company was not required to run a canteen as per statute in view of the number of employees being less than 250, the management wanted to introduce it as a welfare measure. The lowest quotation was won by a party from a far away district of Rajahmundry. The contractor however, was confident of providing efficient service and also making profits for himself. Prakash aged about 52 years came as the supervisor of the canteen contractor.
Although genial most of the time, if and when a wrong button was pressed, Prakash could take offence and be really angry. On such occasions, you find him switching language from Telugu to English and revealing a little about his past. " You know I was a senior level officer with a loving family and a comfortable lifestyle. It is life's leela ( play) that I gave it all up when a call came to me to retire to the caves in the Himalayas. It is another matter that I could not continue that path as I became seriously sick while atop the mountains forcing me to return". The story goes that although Prakash returned from the mountains, he found it awkward and delicate to return to his family and old way of life. After all he had bid them 'Good bye' and had openly relinquished his worldly life.
It is another matter that he had not only come back to this world but presently, also work to keep starvation at bay. Sometimes, he lamented at the financial struggles he was facing and recalling the 'comfortable' life he had led and would have continued to have, had he not left for the Himalayas. When you are neither in this world nor in the other world of the sanyasis , at times thoughts of dejection enters your mind. You also end up feeling a strong sense of loneliness as relationships with people build over many years had become unavailable and lost forever. It's like a person becoming incognito losing all sense of identity. Prakash confessed to having suicidal tendencies at times.
Then it happened. One day during the morning shift in the factory there were hushed discussions amongst the employees. It seemed that Prakash, the canteen supervisor had died the previous night. As he had no known relatives , the canteen contractor took the onus of cremating the mortal remains. One of the guys in the group commented " What a strange journey this person Prakash's has been on. Even if we want to renounce and become a sanyasi, it cannot happen just like that. It happens only when you have God's will and blessing on your side."
As they say "Man proposes; God disposes" quipped another guy.
