Smile, doctor :)

I was casually surfing facebook when I came across a photo of a school friend of mine who posed with her husband for their 1st anniversary. Dressed in a green sari she looked the same plump ,short heighted but sweet and her husband look all the more serious with a grey suit. I happened to recollect a photo of her parents on her wedding day where both looked extremely proud and serious. They all are doctors rather renowned doctors.

My friend( who was the 1st girl of our school) praises her husband to always make her smile and how creative he was as he had designed their anniversary cake beautifully. I was delighted to see her writeup and wondered how is this serious looking guy contains so much humor. Well as it says sochne mein kya jaata hain I committed a big crime in commenting at her photo that I am glad that doctors do make people smile. As for my recent experience with my doctor who is grumpy and speaks nothing more than he ought to and his serious looks make me frightened, I made this light hearted comment without intending any insult to anyone.

I would say commenting in social media is a crime nowadays as people expect nothing to hear other than praises. No, no no we wont hear any of ur slightest sarcasm. We will pounce on you then. As was in my case 2 of my doctor friends(both my classmates) took my joke to their heart and argued seriously that doctors are human too and they can be funny very much.

I will sum up the long serious argument ( where I kept on saying my intention was just simple and not to insult any person or the noble profession) to be like this - the doctors are very much human but patients sometimes think them to be money laundering people, patients dont trust their doctors and in the days of google patients try to counter doctors and most importantly they complain about the fees. All these culminates to make a doctor grumpy.

We somehow ended the conversation on a bitter feeling, she thinking I have hurt her sentiments and I thinking why is she making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Later at night I was laughing at the entire episode and the fact that we seriously tried to prove that doctors are in general very funny guy but due to some unacceptable patient behavior they are forced to remain grumpy. And the dentist friend laughs and smiles at her patients which is natural because none of her patient would be in laughable condition. They would smile back once she has treated them but as she pointed out, the patients wont pay correct fees so it seemed when the patients would smile she would become grumpy again. What a cycle. Smile, dont smile and then again smile.

And all these enlightenment happened for the sake of 1 sarcastic yet harmless comment from me. Well I got my previous assumption to be more solid is what I could infer from this.

On a usual Wednesday

I was sitting in an auditorium at office waiting for the company bigheads to make some announcements or share some latest updates of what is going around the office this time. Well these type of lectures though boring yet helped me fight off the afternoon doze  just after lunch. So I was seated happily with my fellow colleagues who were busy surfing facebook and clicking selfies. To many new joiners these account updates means too little and to most of the people like me it means  " if the company is doing so good why cant you raise our salary and give promotions?"

Soon Lina my colleague turned to me "what is this going around in news these days about a school girl of 4 years old who is sexually assaulted? what is the story?" I told her all that I knew from social media and newspapers. And we both were in agreement beyond doubt that strictest action must be taken. But I raised another question to her "do you think the actions will stop the culprits from committing these types of crimes again? I do support punishment to the strictest level but can we stop this?" And as a proof to my question I did find similar examples printed on newspaper the next day and following days in multiple states. Nevertheless we didnt know the answers. But both of us agreed that as a negative side effect to this the student-teacher bonding will take a back seat as both parents and students will now be scared too much if they get a small rebuke from teacher. Teachers will definitely turn villain. So for some psychopaths we will have the entire fraternity face the heat.

Our conversation was cut short as we say a very fat lady accompanied by fat men walking towards the podium. I have not seen my center delivery head before hence was awed to see how with big round belly which clearly gives an indication of at least 6 months pregnancy (which she is not) , she could manage to wear a shirt and jeans and not caring what anyone else thinks. She called out to all her direct reportees which include several senior managers,associate directors as she couldnt find the auditorium hall to be full. And all of them had to rusk the remaining team members who were stuck in important deliverables or calls, to come for at least half an hour. After few minutes the lady gabbar (thats what I thought of her) started her speech which was neither encouraging nor interesting. Who cares how many dollar profits you have made? What do we gain in return? And she wanted this to be an informal discussion hence kept on asking people if they have any questions,issues,challenges. And mind you it was a mandatory thing. You have to ask questions to the leadership no matter how much disinterested you are. So she forcefully thrusted the mike to the senior folks who unwillingly shared few issues which they have probably shared with her before. 

Lady gabbar soon realised that others are waiting in queue to speak and hence made room for her immediate below rank director with whom I presumed she has a professional rivalry. Both of them joined together and the lady got up the ladder a bit quickly. 

And the man started. At an age of around 45 he is pretty cool and maintains his physique  well. He just spoke for 5 minutes and congratulated everyone for their hard work and achievements. He appreciated that it is for them that today they are moving to the pinnacle of success and have been successful in their business. He inspired people to perform more and much more and of course made himself available for any kind of issues any one would like to report without their immediate supervisor consent (though these were hard core lies as stuffs like these dont happen). And with that he ended followed by a room full of applause from even the most sleepy person sitting there. Needless to say the lady gabbar was gritting her teeth because she didnt get any similar response. 

What amused me was the reaction of other leadership members but what amazed me was that how cool and approachable can a person make himself so that people would try to be comfortable in their zones and deliver more. The importance of positive speaking and friendly behavior is what makes him popular. He is strict at places where is needed but I havent seen him saying anything without logic. A person who has in depth knowledge about sports, business and economic times with most glizt and glamour outside but a devil from inside is what people who have dealt with him reported. Nevertheless outward appearance matters first and I posted a praise for him in my twitter quickly while the lady gabbar resumed again.

Late confession

It was raining heavily when Akash entered his house. He has got bail after the court couldnt find substantial proof of his crime. He hated his house now that his mother is no longer alive and with his father he has hardly spoken since birth.

Akash slowly entered the drawing room and was utterly pained to see a big garland on the picture of his mother hanging on the wall. It was hard to believe that she still awaits his son's homecoming just as before but this time it is her picture and not the real person. Akash loved his mom too dearly and she was the only source of love. Never in his life has he got that love and care from anyone. He had been teased and taunted by all and specially by the girl Rupali. It enraged him to such extent that he had to commit the crime. The crime was done on one but it was as if he was answering everyone. He didnot feel any remorse for that because he felt it to be worth his sufferings. He wanted people to know that he too can be dangerous if not treated properly. His actions will now instil fear in people's heart and they would at least let him live in peace. And thus the crime was committed. He was clever enough to leave no evidences and thus prove himself innocent in front of the court. It was easy to cook up a story saying the duo were in love and whatever happened was on mutual consent. Akash's mother who was present on the trial knew the very truth and couldnt bear his son's actions. She committed suicide. Thats where Akash felt he has lost again.

Akash was thinking all when suddenly a sound from the other room disturbed his tranquillity. He slowly walked towards the room only to find his dad sitting by the window side and crying. He had never seen his father drop a single tear in all his life and now this old man was shedding tears and that too for whom? He didnt have a healthy relationship with his mother. Both hardly talked, hardly socialised together and hardly slept with each other. But somehow Akash's heart melt at the scene. After all he was his father.

Akash sat beside him and slowly asked "dad, are you ok?" His father looked towards him with moist eyes. He heaved a sigh and said " I wish beta I had been convicted then your mother would have been alive today. All these years we have been together, I never needed her presence and now when she is gone I am dying to get her back. I wish to bring her back at least for 1 day, for few hours. I have so much to tell her. I have to apologise for everything- for her, for you, for us" and he cried again.

Akash was bewildered. "What is he talking about? Is he mad or drunk?" His father continued "You know beta years ago when I met your mother in our village, she was one of the prettiest girl I have seen. I instantly fall for her. But she rejected me. I couldnt take that and couldnt bear her to be someone else's wife. I committed the same crime as you did today. Her parents quickly got us married in fear of shame. She gave birth to you. But we were never in talking terms. She had done all her duty and raised you with all her might. She shielded you from me, from anyone who tried to harm you. She wanted you to be different, to be successful in life. The one person who ever could make her smile and forget everything was you. She kept  no relations with her parents, sisters. She never believed in our marriage and I couldnt force her anymore. All these years I thought I have done the right thing as I have got the girl I wanted. How could she say no to me when I loved her so much? How could she be so audacious? But in reality I never got her. Her soul, her spirit was beyond my touch. And on the day she found out that you have repeated the history she couldnt take it anymore. The next morning I found her hanging. I recovered her diary where she had written that she has failed in life as a daughter, as a wife and now as a mother. You turned out to be me - the person whom she had hated all her life. You know beta today I want to tell her that it wasnt she, it was me who is the failure. I failed as a person, as a man, as a husband, as a father. I failed to give her respect, love . I failed to love you, teach you how to be a worthy man. I know beta what you did was out of anguish. And that was because of me. Before I die I wish to confess my crime to your mother and take the punishment whatever she grants. I want her back" and he kept crying inconsolably.

Akash was aghast. It was as if someone has pulled off the ground from underneath. Never even in his wildest dream could he imagine his mother to be such. He had seen her pain, her gloomy face but she never ever told him the reason.

The next morning Akash was found dead in his bedroom, sleeping peacefully clutching his mother's picture. On the suicide note it was written " Dad, I am going to meet mother and tell her about your apology. Dont worry she will forgive you and we can unite again in heaven. I dont want Rupali to be like mother. I am convicting myself guilty of the crime and thus leaving this earth for good."

My take on unusual love stories

The idea about liking an unusual love story was brewing in my mind for few days. Reason for the same can be funny. I happened to watch a local tv serial few years ago which was based on a couple's love hate relationship. The serial was a huge success and needless to say was a sort of a dream for many.

I started watching it recently on hotstar and instantly fell in love with the story and characters. (Yeah I kinda love dwelling in my utopia and dream about these fantasies) . The story involved around a business tycoon who was arrogant as well as rude and a simple middle class girl who was fun loving and full of life. They do not match each other in terms of education,societal status but somewhere their nature strikes the cord and they fall in love with each other. It starts with hate which at the same time starts culminating to love. Nothing unheard of. Instead I have seen these love hate relationship in real life as well. So now the question is what was there in the story that hooked me so much?

The answer was pain and sympathy. As you see the girl was always a victim of something or the other and the guy would always shout and blame her only to regret things later and sort them out. I kept on thinking isnt pain a thing which we love more? I mean if we shed tears and think our life to be miserable, hopeless and then suddenly something good happens or someone happens to show care towards us, isnt that what we silently crave for? Pain as said can be beautiful as it challenges you to push yourself beyond limit and also keeps your feet firmly on ground. But a relationship where you know you have feeling for a person but you cant express at the same time you are not ready to accept the person's tantrums isnt one of the lovely relationships? (Probably yes only if you know that at the end it will bear fruit and that too a very sweet one). Yes every relationship should have mutual respect , trust etc etc but if the start of it is rather unusual such that it forces you to be absolutely sure before you give in to cupid's arrow is worth living and worth having.

Coming to reality yes these things dont happen. Nobody would pester around rude people and neither the rouge will be kind enough to tolerate you further. But who says fairy tales cant be true? Where's the harm in dreaming? If it happens then good else its just another good feeling to be happy with. We can smile and dream about that life and be more happy inside rather than thinking all negatives and stressing ourselves.

Bahubali 2 movie review

The biggest blockbuster of Indian Cinema which have mesmerized thousands and holds a revenue of around 12k is none other than Bahubali 2. Almost every person I am meeting has seen Bahubali at least once whether they have liked it or not. 

I myself had not seen Bahubali Part 1 and had no idea what the story was about. It was after the 2nd part got released and all friends thought of going out for a movie did I get along to see the mythological fiction. The movie starts from just where the Part 1 has ended. We enter into the kingdom of Mahismathi where the leading lady of the family Sivagami was carrying a bowl of fire over her head with which the demon should be killed (similar to dussehra where Ravan is being burnt). And of course the walk should be continuous. There comes some obstraction and thus enters Amarendra Bahubali to help his mother complete the journey and remove the obstacle from her path. I started to think why of all the films did I chose to see a fantasy movie.

My thoughts were soon proved wrong. The next part dealt with Amarendra Bahubali, a fierce warrior , a great prince and a human being who is now asked to travel across kingdoms to get a glimpse of the state of common man before he is crowned as a king. Thus he set of with Katappa, the slave and army general of Mahismathi to different regions and finally landed in Kuntala kingdom. He is awestruck by her brave princess Devasena and immediately falls in love. To get her approval he did not reveal his identity at first but eventually the princess did come to know about him and his extreme talents. In the meanwhile Bahubali's brother Bhallaldeva proposed to marry Devasena and Sivagami thought her to be the perfect match. However Devasena refused to the proposal and went back to Mahismathi along with Amarendra without knowing whose proposal it was actually. And all the hell broke lose after the duo arrived at Mahismathi. Amarendra was made army general and Bhallaladeva was crowned as prince. Then Bhalladeva struggled to get him out of the palace and royal life and asked Katappa to kill him. This was the answer to the question "why did katappa killed Bahubali?" He was duty bound and could not disobey the King. 

Then comes Mahendra Bahubali to avenge all the wrong done and regain the kingdom of Mahismathi.

The film is entertaining since beginning. The Amarendra Devasena love saga is the most beautiful part of it. The most funniest part was that the trees were extremely flexible and could bend at whichever angle you pull it. Amarendra Bahubali was a skilled civil and mechanical engineer and also finds out innovative ways to automate manual process (he should have been to IT industry :) ) The son Mahendra bahubali lacks his father's charm and is more of a shadow of him . Prabhas has played a marvellous role and needless to say our villian Bhallaladeva is equally competent and praise worthy for his actions and acting.Overall a must watch movie. You will not get bored at all.

Whatsapp guys?

I was watching tv and enjoying my leisure time when suddenly I saw around 10 or more notifications of my family whatsapp group(the group has family members including all my aunts,uncles,cousins) and all there concern was who were missed at a family function. To elaborate there was a family occasion whose pictures were doing rounds in our group and subsequently eating up my memory space. Those who couldnt make it kept on posting "Oh what a beautiful picture, we missed it". To that somebody else replied "yes, we missed you too." And subsequently somebody else commented "was I not missed?" and so on and so forth.

To make things better a cousin posted that we missed everyone in the family who couldnt be present for their obvious reasons. To that the eldest one commented that she felt glad someone has truly missed her and mentioned her name. Now my temper was slightly rising and I started feeling irritated. I typed "didi please stop all this. You couldnt make it for ur unavoidable conditions but there are other occasions lined up and we will surely meet." And needless to say the person got furious on me and blurted out all her frustrations. I politely retaliated because being younger it might not look nice if I give her fitting replies. I took it casually.

Immediately my dad called me up asking me not to speak to her anymore. He is agitated but did not pitch in though. My mom gave me gyan as to why on earth did I write anything in group. I was amazed as to what wrong have I done. I just couldnt take all the dramas and asked them to be practical. And that being a whatsapp group what is wrong if I commented. But no I got all the wrath from everyone.

Discussing this with my husband, he commented that it is very natural to take any other meaning as whatsapp being virtual , you always fail to gauge in what manner anything is being said.

The things did rounds as all my relatives silently supported me but no one dared to do the same at front.And on the next occasion when we did all meet, the eldest person had forgotten it and was busy pulling my legs over other matters.(Being the youngest has its own share of pros and cons)

Needless to say I found all the drama entirely illogical. First , nobody actually misses you anywhere. Second, why do you need people to mention that you are missed? Why is that recognition required?Third, what is harm if you can write your opinion to the people whom u have seen since birth? Fourth why is social media becoming such a place where you are expected to say only nice things and not anything slightest "not nice".

And in facebook everyday do I get updates from relatives in horrible english sentence and spellings. The height being a "tie and die" saree. Another aunt of mine once posted that she wants to become a diamond and only she needs a weapon to help her becoming so. I was so amused that I commented "do u mean a diamond polisher or cutter as weapons dont make diamond".

Others commented "will you give me gold once u become a diamond?" "What weapon do u want AK-47/56"
But the aunt politely messaged me asking not to insult her like this as that message was meant for her business group which runs on the social media. And I was like "WTF" . I replied her back that it wasnt an insult and if u had meant it for others please put a disclaimer and we will refrain from liking or commenting.

Uff too much drama this social media has. So please refrain from commenting even if u find things funny or utter stupid. Give a like or a smiley at the least and move on.

Dreams

I once read a passage by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam "Dreams are not what you see with your eyes closed. Dreams are what do not let you sleep" but the fact is I am a full time dreamer. I dream with open eyes,closed eyes -- I love to dwell there. With open eyes I dream about something I desperately want and with closed eyes they are all sort of rubbish.

One dream that I frequently see is that of exam. I used to get nervous the night before any exam but I dont remember myself to have examphobia. I often dream that there is an exam today or may be next week and I havent studied a single chapter. Why the hell was I wasting time? As the bell rang I started writing answers only to discover that I know nothing about that topic. Its when I wake up do I realize that I have left the student life well behind me and have moved on. I fail to understand what is that it is trying to depict...my anxiousness of not getting things done at the right time or something like that. I dust it off like a nonsense and carry on with the day.

People try to decode many of their dreams and try to find out if any peril is coming. Dreams do signal that. Its interesting to know that your mind plays the scene which your heart fears and cant ignore the possibility. The subconscious mind takes full responsibility of the same. However as I said there are stupid dreams and of course some like my above dream which I dont understand why it haunts me till date.