Women's Day Special !

On the eve of women's day , I take pride in introducing a lady from the dark. A lady who epitomizes bravery,courage and the grit to making one's life remarkable.

It was sometime in the mid of September 2012 I had come home for a weekend. My very home,Hyderabad.My folks and I wanted to be at a new place for dinner.While debating on our varied tastes,availability of exotic food and a different ambience,it struck to me about a place that my friends had suggested me about how one can dine in the dark.A concept based hotel.So the four of us headed for it with good levels of enthusiam.

On reaching the place, we inquired the receptionist about the vacancies.As it was a theme based hotel,customers were allowed inside only on slot basis.We realised that we were late for the current slot by five minutes and had to wait for forty minutes to get into the next.The receptionist then came up with an idea about paying a visit to the same theme based exhibition that was going on.She said it was a short tour of forty minutes and we would be escorted soon.We made the first four entries and in no time a bunch of college students joined us .

At the entrance , a guard took away all our watches, spectacles, phones or any item that could emit light in the dark and handed to each of us thin white canes.The nine of us were asked to form a queue and enter one by one.It was a dark zone. 360 degrees complete darkness.For a moment we thought we were lost.When we were groping for a way to move about comfortably, from the inside we heard a strong and prominent human voice that came closer to us and all of us were startled.
The voice said it would be our guide for the next forty minutes and asked us to introduce ourselves.All of us obediently told out our names and the voice asked appropriate questions.Through out,we were asked to do two things.First was to hold our canes tighter and the second to keep walking towards the voice.

The tour had started.Pitch dark.Only the nine of us and the voice.The voice said  we had entered a grocery store .We had no inkling of how to judge that so we were asked to touch and feel the greens,veggies and the fruits. All of us were bloody scared to move even an inch far from each other. Holding our hands together we moved forward to touch the objects. I touched something and shouted it was an apple. The voice chuckled and agreed. Next, we entered into a super market. We had to figure out what was to our right and left. Kurtis and pyjamas or shirts and trousers.Within a couple of minutes all of us yelled with excitement as if we had discovered some god forsaken stuff. Even Archimedes' Eureka would have sounded a little softer when he discovered the principle of buoyancy. The voice bursted out with laughter and ordered us to keep moving.All of us moved out of the market in a snail's pace and did not dare to take a step further.We were asked to halt and re-arrange ourselves in the order which it called out. Intermittently,the bunch of us and the voice asked questions to each other.We shot questions from sports, politics, cooking,education and current affairs.We were flabbergasted by the voice's response.After the chit-chat,we continued our journey.We kept moving to our left and stepped onto a wooden bridge.We were now entering a jungle.The bridge was right above a stream of jetting water and to its right was a hollow object.We were curious to know what it was and started to feel it hitting with our canes. The voice asked us to step into it. First the voice entered and slowly we followed it.It was a boat.A big round boat.Moving inch by inch,all of us settled and clinched our fists tight against the rim of the boat.The voice said that the boat was in movement and its making way into lush green forests.We could hear cries of animals and chirps of birds.All of us shivered and came closer.Our hearts were pounding.To maintain composure,one of us were asked to sing and the voice joined too.In a short while,the boat journey was over.We stepped out and moved in the direction where we heard new voices.It was a cafeteria.  The new voices introduced themselves.We decided to eat.But then to struck us on how we would know the the amount we were paying.One of us handed over a note and asked for a cup of coffee.Instantly,the voice at the counter said that was a hundred rupee note and it would tender the right amount of change.We were puzzled.After sipping coffee and having snacks,the voice that escorted us told that we had reached the end of our trip.We stood up and with our canes we fumbled for some light.

Though we had a great time, we urged to move towards the exit and get back to our real world.We moved in the direction of the voice and it stopped.At the door was a perfect silhouette of a lady.Our escort.All of us rushed  out of the exit for some light to see her.An absolutely stunning personality and a great beauty. But with twitched eyes.We were awestruck.The lady introduced herself as Nisha.

When Nisha was a three year old kid,she was suffering from a brain tumour.During treatment her optic nerves were impacted and lost her vision.Despite all the hardships,she chose to be well educated and stay strong against all the odds.Right then as a kid,she accepted her fate of life and till date she has been striving hard to carve a niche in the society.This brave lady has not only set herself as an example to the general public but also to all those who are visually impaired or handicapped.

In our daily routines,we come across various people but experiencing their kind of adversities in the appropriate environment certainly makes a difference. For those who haven't been to this place,excuse for breaking out the thrill.For those who might not get to pay a visit ,its a piece of gyaan and for those who would go in near future, please do come up with your versions of stories.

Venue:  Dialogue In the Dark
             InOrbit Mall, Hi-Tech City

PS:I am glad to write this testimony to Nisha and I hope it would reach her some day ! :)

Show up !

For  people who consider passion divine,this one is a small piece of poetry..


Ceaseless dreams and emanating love
Effortlessly, genuine passion from yourself you shove
Why be sick and bleak of the public's jeer?
For your passion is true,why fear ?

If you believe that every cause has its effect
For every action it would take time for success to manifest
The prejudiced world shan't have the perspective right
Baffling  hard through times,everything will be set alright !

A new dawn would unveil after every dusk
When the sun shimmers,confidently lay back and bask
Stay strong when critics consider your contribution sordid
Every deed being fair, with all your heart you did !

There is never a wrong time for the right thing..
You never know what every opportunity would bring
So hold on to your dreams, my friend
Stand up for yourself and show that the endeavor has a beautiful end !!


PS: Criticism encouraged ! :-)

In Celebration Of Being Alive !

We often come across a few petty happenings in our day-to-day lives,still its very less of a probablity that we actually feel the magnitude of it.Travelling is most a times irrritating,tedious but for a wanderlust its just a beautiful way of looking at the world.Here,I have penned down a few of the scenes in which people have actually made me look up to their actions and admire their passion inspite of leading lives that are hitting really  hard on them.


14-10-2011,6:27pm(Vijaya Nagar):

               I was on my way to Koyambedu when I witnessed the happening.It was a pleasant day and for a change the bus did not carry more than 70 passengers so it was pretty easy for me to look through the window and smile .

  Stood on the main road,a tall building defended with two huge black strong gates guarded by two watchmen.One of the watchmen waved at the other with a phone in his hand.

       Watchman 2:  Enna??
       Watchman 1:  Photo ! Photo !!
       Watchman 2:  Enge?? Enna photo?
       Watchman 1:  Bhai ! Photo le mera !(Already in pose)

  As soon as he clicked a photo,both of them hugged and headed towards their respective gates.

18-10-2001,12:45 pm (Dandeeshwaram):

        Unlike the normal winter days,it was scorching heat that made people show disgust on the sweat that was pouring down their faces.The bus was at a halt as the roads were high on traffic making it difficult even for the two-wheelers to make a move.I was one of the lot who simply despised travelling on such days and in such extremely crowded buses ,untill a person caught my attention.From the chaos,emerged a man on his tricycle that carried huge amounts of water cans which could have moved only if pulled by two men.To my surprise,this man held one part of the tricycle handle in one hand and in the other was a melting mango duet ice cream which he slurped and happily drove away leaving the bus stranded.

1-11-2011,4:00pm(Velchery) :

         The climate showed the onset of rainy season in Chennai.Nevertheless of a drizzle or a heavy downpour the vegetable,fruit and fancy item vendors were all scattered on the dingy roads waiting for the passersby to have a look at their collection.Of the entire set,was a woman in her late thirties sitting in the proper Indian traditional style with an umbrella that gripped to a box which contained the day's earnings.It started to drizzle,people ran hither and thither in search of shelters except for this woman who remained seated.Carefully she removed a lipstick and a mirror from the box , wore it with great enthusiam and continued to yell the prices of onions and tomatoes.

In me was a strong desire to capture all these moments but they just happen in  time that one cannot afford to lose for it takes much more time to get the camera settings on.These are of course life's small instances that do not bother the general public but certainly they are "The little happenings" that makes one smile without a great reason. It is said that a pic speaks for itself but I chose to put it down as words so as to describe the nuances of human life.


PS: I owe to Dr.Christian Bernard for the plagiarism :P

A tribute to an extinct soul

      Dated 16-06-2003.Manasa was her name.A bubbly,prompt and an excited girl whom I had met on day I had enrolled myself into a new school.She sat next to me on day1 and gave me a pleasant smile but I hesitated to even grin.It was then in me the pride of an andrewite and I choose to remain an introvert to the new ones.Days passed and I still continued to hold on to the same temper..she smiled again till she saw a proper curve on my face..i took the initiative to accost and ask her whereabouts..we chatted like crazy..the whole day we discussed about our common likings..I got to know her..I got to observe her..she was one of a kind!An artist! A dancer!A lover of mankind!n yeah ...sometimes a nerdo!
      It was after a month or so that I found in myself some state of happiness for meeting a girl who loved to learn,loved to share and loved to love.We travelled,played and prepared for exams together putting in all our sincere efforts to learn more and grow more.We just got along so well.Though I was then a reserved kinda girl,I was glad to find a friend to whom I could express all my ideas,feelings...n yeah..to depend on!We passed our tenth exams with flying colours and celebrated on the happy note.It was time for us to decide upon our careers and the two of us wanted to be doctors!I was crazy for the tag "M.B.B.S"and she was a girl who wanted to pursue her bachelors in medicine as she had an inexplicable liking towards the poor and the disabled.She confidently took up BiPC and expected me to do the same but I faltered.Her dream was real..She breathed the air in optimism that one day a disabled person would have a breakthrough in life and be honoured because of her.She lived every moment!!!
        It was a bright sunny day when she called to tell me that she wouldnt be attending the class that day for which I asked her if she wanted to chill out sitting in a cool room .. she said she was admitted in a hospital because of malaria.I met her after a couple of days in a govt hospital of the railways department...the premises were bad and I doubted on the treatment they provided...all that I could do was to give her more courage and hope that she would be fine and we would meet and chat regularly as before...I left the place..I was missing her..she was away from college for 15 days and things around me just appeared insipid.
        When things all appeared normal ..through one of my other friends I got to know that her body started degenerating...liver failure..excess skin pigmentation and extreme low haemoglobin levels..I was flabbergasted when I realised that she hid the fact from me for so long and avoided meeting me as much as possible..I was so desperate to see her and rushed to a private hospital where she was admitted...after a long altercation with the ward  in-charge I stepped into the room.. I saw a girl with extreme hair loss having a frail and a pale figure equipped with a dialysis machine..I choose to ignore and my eyes were in search in her unless I met hers and she waved at me..It was her!!!I was dumbstruck to see her in the most pathetic condition I had ever seen a human...she was suffering from white jaundice..a disease that was misinterpreted as malaria and hence given the wrong treatment..All wretched and disheartened I went back home hoping for a miracle to happen..I was haunted by nightmares that night and had a restless sleep..the next day somehow I managed to go to college and to attend a math class..I was struggling to crack a tricky trigonometry problem..my thoughts were all about her..our togetherness was shattered...
      It was the 12th of july..unexpectedly I was called by the principal..I was informed that this beautiful soul was freed from the shackles of materialistic world and was liberated to the heavens.To the love of God,I cried till I had no more energy to shed even a single drop.In a way I was happy that she did not have to suffer any more ..I was left alone to myself.My friend!My stalker!My best companion I ever had!I love her!
      At the start,I had no courage to think over all that happened and put it down in words but today I am glad and proud to be touched by her.For all the times I fumed and fret..she consoled.i call her a friend..indeed a "true friend".Her purpose of living was over.She inspired those around her and spread the aromas of cheerfulness!Now and forever I shall always love her and keep her memories close to my heart and be grateful that I still have her friendship all alive!