_______________________________________________________________________
20 CHOICE IS YOURS
I
am by nature kind-hearted and believe that for healthy eyes, we should look for the good in people and for sweet lips, we should speak
kind words. We
should stretch out a helping hand to strangers for mere cheer. For a slim
figure, we should share our food cheerfully with the hungry and walk with poise
and grace. To ease another ’s heartache
is to forget one’s own. Everyone is thus blessed.
When I was waiting for my bus, a found a beggar, shabbily dressed, stretching
his bowl for alms. I put a ten rupees
note proudly and noticed that he had already collected a few more notes
therein. I thought he was on a lucky day as his collections were quite tidy. Most of them used to hide high value notes elsewhere
and display an empty bowl to attract mercy. Anyway I was quite happy.
Meanwhile, a group of NGOs were collecting donations from the public for some
noble cause. They had posters and
distributed pamphlets explaining the purpose.
They came to me and I also put a ten rupee note in their Box. I saw that
the collections were quite brisk as I found many in the crowded area dropping
money in their boxes. At this juncture,
the beggar who was still near me did something unusual. He went to the NGO man and asked for the
pamphlet. The NGO man gave one and the
beggar began reading the printed matter with serious attention. I was wondering at the curiosity of the
beggar and also admired at his social consciousness. Once he completed the
reading, he went to the NGO man and dropped all his day’s collections into
their box. I was astonished to find a beggar dropping all his earnings into the
donation box of the NGO. I never thought
that a beggar would donate all his collections to some noble cause sponsored by
an NGO. I have seen people scolding, insulting, humiliating beggars as
vagabonds, nuisance makers and blood-suckers idlers of society. The incident was an eye opener for me. I think this beggar was now begging for
greatness; actually greatness was shining
out of him. I wonder whether he knew it.
Who is a beggar ?
You can eulogize him to exotic levels
or criticize the negative aspects. But he remains an enigmatic person. Who is not a beggar? What about a pious devotee in the temple, a
petitioner in a Court of Justice, an industrialist seeking permits…. When in
love even a King is a beggar… They are all distinguished beggars.
What about the the blind, lame, starving, sickly
old man standing at the corner of the street asking for alms.. The one just
sleeping in the parking lot, abandoned by the world. Is he the nasty, worthless beggar ?
What about professional beggars ? Do you think they have no other career
option except begging.? If you think so,
you are mistaken. There is another side
of the coin. Do you know that the 45
year old beggar at Byculla station, owns two apartments valued at around 120 Lakhs
at Virar. Are you aware that the beggar
woman at Worli temple has a Bank locker for safe custody of her gold ornaments
? The one at Kemp’s Corner has rented
out his shop to a mobile center and collects Rs.20,000 as monthly rent. Other impostors
board the train and beg as pastime till they reach their destination viz.,
target amount for the day.. They are all
highly successful professional impostors, choosing
an unconventional path as a pastime or career…
Do you know that there are almost 5
lakh beggars in the country as per written reply given in Rajya Sabha and West
Bengal is leading and topping the list;
besides more than 400,000 street children in India many of them run-aways of family
conflict. They come to live on the
streets, working for food, caring for themselves, band together protecting themselves for
greater security and often exploited by employers and the police.
You always run the risk of refusing one genuine beggar among a dozen impostors.
To beg or not to beg, that is the question for them.. To give or not to give, is your choice.
You always run the risk of refusing one genuine beggar among a dozen impostors.
To beg or not to beg, that is the question for them.. To give or not to give, is your choice.
______________________________________________________19. A S T R O L O G I C
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
18 One that flew away
__________________________________________________________
There was one
accomplished astrologer who was running an ashram where many students were
learning all the nuances of astrology. The extraordinary phenomenon of
astrology was beyond ordinary understanding and
he used to to explain how astrology is perceived to work. The successful predictions depend upon
various factors, like speculation, assumptions, intuition, symbolism,
coincidences, inferences etc., The Master
was very particular about formulating the predictions based on symbolic and ominous
occurrences at the time of enquiry by the seekers. For example, an anxious
unemployed customer is enquiring about the prospects of getting the job he has
applied for and the astrologer starts
checking the horoscope. Suddenly there
is a power cut and electricity is off . This is an omen and it has its own subtle
messages to be considered while formulating the prediction. Similarly, a
bridegroom’s party is proceeding to a nearby town to contract a marriage
alliance and they miss the train. It has
its own astrological implications to convey. As such theoretical, conceptual, perceptual and inferential points were being
explained to the students exhaustively
to enhance their expertise towards accurate
astrological predictions.
When such a class was going on, one customer came there in search of the
Master Astrologer. The Master took this opportunity to experiment the knowledge gained by his
students. So he invited the customer to come inside the Ashram and explain his
problem in the presence of his students.
The customer explained that he had a quarrel with his wife last
week. She was so angry and left his house and gone to her parents house,
never to return.. He was worried and
wanted to know whether she will come back to him. The Master was examining the horoscope
presented by the customer. At this juncture, the daughter of the Master came there complaining that the bucket
drawing water from the well, got broken
from the rope and fell down into the well. The Master sent one of the boys to the well
instructing him to retrieve the bucket from the well.
Now the Master took the
opportunity to test his students and asked them to submit their
predictions. All the students examined
the horoscope and gave a prediction that the angry wife will not come back to her
husband, especially because the message
that the rope was broken came at the time of examining the case. It was a bad omen and the inference is clear.
The customer was crestfallen after hearing this prediction.
The Master smiled at the
prediction given by his students. He told the customer, " Do not worry,
your wife will come back to you on her own. You will also come back to me with
that message " The customer was
bewildered by the contradiction by the Master.
Anyway he left the Ashram totally uncertain.
The students were
surprised. “ It was a clear case of bad omen. The message of the breaking of rope from
bucket came to us when the matter was being examined. How can you say that she will come back.?. Quite strange.. The relationship is broken, clear cut .. ”
The Master explained, " How
do you say it is a bad omen. When the bucket was being pulled upwards away from
the water of the well, the rope broke
and the bucket joined the water in the well.
The water that was being pulled
away from the well by the rope, broke
away from the rope and joined back to the water in the well. The inference is
positive. That is the way it is to be interpreted. You will have to understand the situation
that way. ” The
students were dumb founded by these inherent contradictions in drawing
conclusions from the same event.
Just because
an argument is valid does not mean the conclusion is true. A valid argument
simply means that if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true as
well. A sound argument is a valid argument with the additional requirement that
the premises (and thus the conclusion) are true.
The argument of the
students was valid based on the premises of the rope breaking and the bucket
falling inside the well.
The argument of the
Guru was equally valid based on the same premises of the rope breaking and the
bucket falling inside the well.
It is only the
conclusion drawn from the same premises that is baffling the logic of
interpretation.
The logic of
interpretation is therefore crucial to infer the conclusion amidst a
considerable variety of form and complexity that makes inference impractical.
______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
I went to the VENGANGA
river with my colleagues for a swim and after return I hung my swimsuit in the
balcony for drying. Within a few minutes, I was surprised to find two birds
getting busy in building their nest
inside my swimsuit. I was watching
their expertise from my bed for a longtime. Not willing to sacrifice my only
swimsuit, I replaced their nest layers
into another old one and fixed it in a strategic position for a convenient view from my bed. What a fantastic engineer-couple, the male
and female, outbidding each other in
building their nest with great finesse and foresight, even placing silk and cotton puddings as
inside layers. It was a tremendous
physical effort for the birds to fly a million times far and wide, collecting
the exact pieces of grass and shrubs and weave them with perfect technique into
a cozy bed for their offspring. When the female was out, the male used to sit in nearby branches and watch over its nest and vice versa
At this point, my earlier request for allotment of another big room, in the same row, was sanctioned and I had to move there. After moving there, I removed my swim-suit-cum-nest, to my new room and fixed it in the balcony. Next morning, I found both the anguished birds, hovering around the balcony of my previous room, searching for their nest. The female bird was so angry; it was chasing and fighting with the male bird, as if blaming it for the mishap. Feeling guilty and unable to communicate with the birds, I was desperately making gestures at the birds from my balcony, directing and showing their nest fixed in my new room. The birds did not understand. But the gardener who was working below, came up to see me mistaking my gestures that I was calling him. I told him the story. He asked me not to worry as the birds will eventually find out or ebuild another on.
At this point, my earlier request for allotment of another big room, in the same row, was sanctioned and I had to move there. After moving there, I removed my swim-suit-cum-nest, to my new room and fixed it in the balcony. Next morning, I found both the anguished birds, hovering around the balcony of my previous room, searching for their nest. The female bird was so angry; it was chasing and fighting with the male bird, as if blaming it for the mishap. Feeling guilty and unable to communicate with the birds, I was desperately making gestures at the birds from my balcony, directing and showing their nest fixed in my new room. The birds did not understand. But the gardener who was working below, came up to see me mistaking my gestures that I was calling him. I told him the story. He asked me not to worry as the birds will eventually find out or ebuild another on.
Next day when I was watching the nest
from my bed, I suddenly found the male bird making the discovery of its missing
nest and pronto flew back to bring the female, to share the excitement and thrill of finding the
lost one. I was myself feeling the
immense joy of the birds and thanked the boundless mercy of God in making the
return to their belongings possible. “
gar ayya mera pardesi ”
The subsequent days were unforgettable
moments of admiration of the winged wonders. The female used to sit or sleep over its
light-blue egg the whole night to incubate them, hatched it, fed and nursed the small wing-less offspring day
by day. I had the pleasure of playing
pranks with the offspring, whenever it was alone and unattended. The baby
started growing its wings and the mother started nudging the baby to jump from
its nest. The mother used to do demo of flying in front of its baby. I found the nest empty one day and the small one had flown away with its mother and I was cut
off from their world. Those were
precious moments in my life, now mere memories treasured fondly forever.
______________________________________________________
17. J A I H I N D
__________________________________________________--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The old lady of 65 YEARS was the chief guest of Honour on Independence Day.. Flag hoisting
ceremony on Silver Jubilee year was a proud moment for her…When the flowers
dropped on her head…she could not hold back her tears .. Memory of her dead husband flashed across her
mind.. It was because of this flag, her
husband met his death at the hands of brutal Police.
Flash back.. She was hardly 10 years of age when she was
married to Kumaran. The country was going through pangs of freedom movement,
spear headed by Mahatma Gandhi. Kumaran was a member of Desabandhu Youth
Brigade and an ardent disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. He used to hold demonstrations
against foreign goods, liquor
shops. He took part in the Salt
Satyagraha led by Rajaji. During her
teen years, he was actively engrossed in freedom and non Co operation movements. The town was organizing a big procession and
top local leaders were expected to participate. Expecting trouble, the
relatives locked up the leaders in their
house. Kumaran was also prevented by
wife and relatives but he managed to escape from them. Finally, the procession
started with only about ten activists and Kumaran was leading them. He was carrying the congress flag and they
were proceeding in the streets, shouting slogans against British rule. Crowds of people gathered in the street to
watch the procession led by Kumaran.
It was at this moment,
the shocking thing happened.
Without any notice or warning, three dozen armed police jumped on the
procession and attacked the processionists violently. Almost all of them were beaten mercilessly
with lathis. Kumaran was hit hard on his head and his skull broke and pierced
his brain. He fell unconscious with the flag clutched in his hand.. Others also
met similar fate. The shocked public rushed to help the injured and took them
to Hospital. The Doctors risked their lives in trying to save Kumaran and
others. Unfortunately Kumaran died a martyr of freedom movement. The tragedy
left his wife and parents inconsolable. His body was taken as a procession by
the public and cremated with honour as a mark of respect. The roaring chorus of
“ Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai ” “ Bharat Mata ki Jai "
reverberated at the cremation site.
The incident
triggered the spirit of freedom fighters ten fold. Mahatma Gandhi came to the town and met the young
widow and consoled her. The town and the country recognized the supreme
sacrifice of Kumaran for the country. In subsequent years Jayaprakash Narayan,
Kamraj and many others visited her house. The idolization did not mitigate her problems in facing day to day life. It was
a great relief when she was honoured by
MGR and a big sum of Rs.10000 was given to her in a public function. She used to recall it with happiness and
gratitude. She lived in free India for many decades, for which her husband had sacrificed his life.
At the age of 90 she died during the
Golden Jubilee Year of Indian Independence .
The Govt honoured him with issue
of a Postage stamp in his memory. JAI
HIND.
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16 You are Wonderful
______________________________________________________
When a father holds his son, a sense of pride and joy beams from his face. The young boy with an attachment to his dad often reproduces the same look in his eyes.. He is the man who will spank you when you are bad and then hug you afterwards. He is both lovable and authoritative. He is sweet, kind, wise, strong, funny, makes you feel safe and protected. He is an amazing intelligent man who teaches and inspires you to be your best. He sings, dances and tells nice things when you are upset. He is your Hero.. Role Model.. Cult figure.. He is the kind of man whom you want to please and not take him for granted. He is the kind of admirable man worth fighting for, worth trying for, worth waiting for. He is non pareil .. peerless
When a father holds his son, a sense of pride and joy beams from his face. The young boy with an attachment to his dad often reproduces the same look in his eyes.. He is the man who will spank you when you are bad and then hug you afterwards. He is both lovable and authoritative. He is sweet, kind, wise, strong, funny, makes you feel safe and protected. He is an amazing intelligent man who teaches and inspires you to be your best. He sings, dances and tells nice things when you are upset. He is your Hero.. Role Model.. Cult figure.. He is the kind of man whom you want to please and not take him for granted. He is the kind of admirable man worth fighting for, worth trying for, worth waiting for. He is non pareil .. peerless
The
following true story warmed my heart. It happened several years ago in the Paris
opera house. A famous singer had been contracted to sing, and ticket sales were
booming. In fact, the night of the concert found the house packed and every
ticket sold. The feeling of anticipation and excitement was in the air as the
house manager took the stage and said,
" Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due to illness, the man whom you've all come to hear will not be performing tonight. However, we have found a suitable substitute we hope will provide you with comparable entertainment. "
The crowd groaned in disappointment and failed to
hear the announcer mention the stand-in's name. The environment turned from
excitement to frustration.
The stand-in performer took the stage in this gloomy atmosphere. He gave the performance with great finese and expertise…. everything he had at his command. It was the best he could… When he had finished and bowed his head to the audience, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence. Pin drop silence…. No one applauded. It was a very painful moment for the singer.
Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted,
The stand-in performer took the stage in this gloomy atmosphere. He gave the performance with great finese and expertise…. everything he had at his command. It was the best he could… When he had finished and bowed his head to the audience, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence. Pin drop silence…. No one applauded. It was a very painful moment for the singer.
Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted,
" Daddy,
I think you are wonderful "
The crowd broke into thunderous applause. Tears dropped from the eyes of the grateful
singer. The boy stood there clapping and
applauding cheerfully with the crowd.
______________________________________________________________________15 L A S T W O R D
_____________________________________________________________________
It
is believed that in the last years of
our life we should retire ourselves from our professional pursuits and devote our time on spiritual
matters. It is the deep desire of such
men to visit temples, go on pilgrimages and lead
the remaining days with total detachment to this worldly attractions and leave this body, uttering the name of the
Almighty, with a prayer as the last wish to ultimately
join him in Heaven.
Here
is the life story of a man who was running a Grocery shop, handed over
by his father when he was hardly 20 years. For many years he ran the shop with utmost
dedication, trying to please all his
customers. He used to open his shop even
before sunrise when early customers started dropping in and closed it as late
as midnight. All his breakfast, lunch and dinner was brought
by his wife or children and eaten inside
the store room of his shop. Luckily their house was nearby. The shop was managed by his wife during his
short absences. Later his son was also assisting him
frequently, to give relief to his over-worked parents. The
customers had no complaints at all, as the system of running the shop was in
perfect routine. There was no holiday at all for the shop as it was run by the
family itself. The assistants were some
of his relatives who were also getting trained in the business. Later his son
got married and the daughter-in-law was another additional help. The life of this man was totally immersed in
his shop. His grandchildren also were
getting involved in the business. I do
not think any of them went to school at all. He had no idea of cinemas, films,
TV shows, Dramas, Cricket matches or any other recreation. His wife and family
members were also the same nature. The
entire family was involved in the process of procurement, maintenance, finance
management, door-to-door distribution etc., Their brain was a store house of grocery
items, price, quantity, kg, liter etc., all up-to-date.
The
owner was now nearing 90 years and was not keeping good health but continued to
persist in his shop keeping activities. A saint passing through advised the old
man to take some interest in spiritual matters like visiting temples or going
for pilgrimage etc., It did not strike a cord. He was
finally bed ridden with pneumonia fever and the family was disturbed by this development. One of the family member
used to stay at home, to look after him and the rest were in the
shop as usual. On his death bed, in a
delirious state, he woke up one day and
asked “ Where is my wife ? ” His wife replied “ I am here in front of you ”
“ Where is my son ? ” “ I am
here in front of you “ the son replied.
“ Where is my daughter-in-law ? ” “ I
am here in front of you ” she replied. “
Where are the grand children ” “We are
all here” they replied..
He
opened his eyes in horror and shouted “ Who is there in the shop ? ”
and breathed his last. They were his last words………………
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14 DO
YOU MIND
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Mind is a
complex storehouse of conscious and unconscious feelings, thoughts, perceptions
etc., It is part of a person who thinks, reasons, feels, and remembers. The
mysteries of the human mind are unfathomable.
The mind
is fickle and unstable. The mind can
move back to the past, or forward to the
future and can recall and retrieve a six decade old scene within a fraction of
a second. It is the fastest…. Restlessness
of mind is caused by activities of senses and
senses are controlled by mind. Lot of emphasis is therefore made in Bagwat Gita, on control of mind.
If you think
you are the master in control of your mind, you are mistaken. The Mind functions on its own, with or
without your permission or control or knowledge. It is like riding a wild,
untamed horse. The fluctuations of the
mind that over-thinks look like a chaotic public place viz., a Railway station, where no one is in charge, a free-for-all, chaotic
disorder… Let us imagine and
visualize, how an idle wandering mind of a scatterbrained person works
“ Give
me four tickets to Ghatkopar ” “
The train has already left ”
“ Where
is the taxi stand” “ I am already late by twelve minutes ”
“ Do not
stand on the way ” “ Lost your ticket..You have to pay fine ”
“ Signal
is not there..” “
Porter..Porter…” “ Please move on
”
“ No
this will not stop at Mulund ” “ What is the correct time ? ”
“ Where is my bag ? I had
kept it here, ” “
Thief.. Thief ”
“ Go
to next compartment..” “ This is my
seat.. I have reserved it ”
“ Don’t push
there is no space “ “ Is dining car attached..? ”
“ Why it is not moving..It is already late..” “ I
do not know "
“ Give
him water…water please “ “ What is
your seat number ”
“ Arey…
Ghatkopar gone…” “ Go to Ladies compartment..”
“ Anybody
having Aspirin.. Urgent please “ “ God
only knows ”
“ Switch off the fan please ” “ I have no change ”
“ Cant
you see this is FIRST CLASS ” “ I
missed 7-10 fast ”
“ Why do
you ask me ? ” “ Call the police…” “
Shut up “
Having a
bustling mind kicking you around causing horrible disjunction is a curse. It is only when you take charge of your mind,
driving away all noisy and unruly disturbances, mindless jumble of everything, you will be able to restore sanity and
harmony and focus on a given situation with attention and discipline. Arjuna
says, “Verily, the mind is unsteady, tumultuous, powerful, obstinate! O
Krishna, I consider the mind as difficult to master as the wind! ” There are many ways to relax a mind, viz
short walk, playing a game, music , meditation etc., to come back to the secret
world of harmony, coherence, balanced equation and rightness that is out of
reach.
======================================================================
13 D O O M S D A Y
======================================================================
During their exile in the jungles, Sage Markandeya visited the Pandavas. Yudhishtira asked Sage Markendeya “ What willl happen in Kaliyuga ? “. Lord Krishna who was also present there smiled and urged the Sage to explain. Sage Markandeya spoke “ In KRETA YUGA everything was free from deceit, guile,avarice and covetousness, the four pillers of virtue. In the TRETHA YUGA, sin took away one of the pillars and virtue had only three pillars. In DWAPARA YUGA, [ the contemporary Mahabaratha period] sin and virtue are mixed half and half. In the coming dark age of KALI YUGA energy, intelligence, strength and life-span of human beings will decrease. Anger, avarice, covetousness, ignorance will rule the minds of men. They will become atheists and thieves. At the end of the Yuga, enmity and violence towards each other will overtake and all systems will be overturned. Children will disobey their parents. Girls will choose their own husbands. Men and women will be totally free in their conduct and adopt their own standards of behaviour. The Kings will rob their subjects. Mutual intolerance will increase. Spiritual darkness will envelop the earth. There will be famine and shortages. People will eat anything and deceive one another in buying and selling. People will be cruel and destroy rivers and trees. They will be addicted to intoxicating drinks. Friends, relatives and kinsmen will help only in return for wealth. At the height of this calamity, a Brahmana named KALKI will be born. He will be possessed of great energy, wisdom and prowess. He will restore order and peace in this over-crowded world. That effulgent, intelligent Being will be the destroyer of all and the Maker of the new YUGA.
12 ROCK and ROLL
We were all curious when
the new Deputy Manager assumed charge,
It was the first time we were going to experience the official
atmosphere under an younger man, as most of us
were already middle-aged. He was
so cheerful, young and energetic and
loved to conduct meetings and interact with staff. Within
a week we already had three lively meetings, full of excitement. Quite a strange experience in a dull and
drab official atmosphere , full of
complaints, criticism and warnings. The
tense and serious atmosphere vanished and
enthusiasm and eagerness to attend
his meetings became a trend. He would
encourage free discussions leading to
innovative suggestions and sudden improvements in day to day work. Coffee and biscuits enlivened the atmosphere
and sometimes the discussions went berserk and nobody understood what topic was
going on.
When the discussions digress to euphoric levels, I
found him getting excited and start
rocking his chair back and forth. As the
discussions got hotter, his rocking of the chair would get wilder. Even though a big table was in front of him,
his rocking of the chair was attracting my attention more. At frequent intervals, his rocking would
appear to be increasing to dangerous
levels and I was losing interest in the topic under discussion., more out of
fear of what is likely to happen to him at this rate. I was apprehensive and tense. I was worried that he was likely to crash behind his seat with a little
more wrong or careless push. It was
strange that no one else appeared to bother about him. I
was getting neurotic about it.
What I feared everyday, happened that day. Instead of his usual rocking the chair from
slow to medium in a gradual
momentum, he was in an unusual high
spirits right from the start.His rocking was already abnormal and the staff, especially
the “ chamcha ” type, were at their best to
excite him to hysterical levels.
The rate at which he was rocking unconsciously was sending alarms signals
to me. At one stage, he almost over did,
to my shock, but managed to pull back from disaster. I missed my heart beat for a few seconds. Within seconds, he did it again and almost
lost his balance and was about to crash behind.
I got up expecting the worst…. Somehow he managed to retain his balance cleverly.. My God… He seems to be an expert…The
climax came within five minutes. I was
expecting it to happen today.. He lost
his balance and was going to fall flat on his back.
I sprang from my seat.. expecting him to
crash. But he came forward from his
crashing position and asked, “What is the matter?” He had somehow managed to hold the drawers of
the table in front of him with his toes in a precarious effort to hold on. Utterly confused, I raised my hand pointing my finger at him, signaling him not to risk anymore. But he mistook my action for something else
and said " Yes.. You can go..”
11. angel or devil
Gyani was conducting a religious programme in which discourses and bhajan were going on. Many people were attending the programme. A particular singer was performing extra ordinarily and captivating the audience. All his songs were heard spell bound by the audience and the Gyani was happy. He sang with great devotion and reverence, enhancing the spiritual and religious atmosphere in the gathering.
A person sitting next to the Gyani quietly confided to the Gyani “ That man who sings devotional bajan is actually a thief. ” The Gyani quietly replied “ He sings with great devotion “
After a while another person came to the Gyani and
said, “ That singer is a great devotee
“ The Gyani quietly replied “
That singer is a thief ”.
A person who witnessed both the conversations was
upset. He asked the Gyani “ Why are you speaking such contradictory
things ? “
The Gyani replied
‘ How can we judge others as good or bad. Good and bad are really arbitrary words. It is absurd to divide people into good and
bad. There
is no one in this world who is either good or bad. No
man ever lived an entire life without making a mistake. The truth is, there is good and bad in everybody. We have to understand that. We all have a face behind a face. Good and the bad, Happy
and sad, Sane and insane. We are good wrapped up in bad or bad wrapped up in good. We
all have an angel and the stranger inside us and we all have the choice. For every bad, there is a good. We have to deal
with it. “
My fascination with horses must have something to do with the cow-boy films of John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and others which I never missed to see in my college days. When I entered the Race course for the first time, the parade of horses before each race, the announcement “ the horses are in the paddock…and they are off..” and the thrilling race of galloping horses, followed by a car and ambulance, hysterical cheers of the spectators and the spectacular finish etc., sent inexplicable thrill to me for many times. When I saw film star Raj Kapoor rushing ahead of me, I could not believe my eyes. The great “Beandaz” and “Hard Held” owned by Mehmood won all races undefeated. “Parthenon” “ Malibu” and other horses kindled my academic interest on those names. My wonderful tryst with that spot came abruptly to an end.. One day I was shocked to see my Boss there and from that day I discontinued my pastime.
My
Boss was squint- eyed and most of the time in “high spirits” even during office
hours. When in high spirits, he could not even read a written document properly. When I gave him a neatly type-written speech
about the activities of our recreation club, to be spoken during the Recreation club celebrations, he read ‘cricket ball’ as ‘cricket bomb’ and
‘Art show’ as ‘Horse show’. I thought it was due to his squint-eye. But my friend said it was because of “high
spirits”. The Chief Guest who came to
enjoy the Annual Day performances, was in splits while my Boss was addressing
the gathering reading my speech.
Once in a meeting he looked at me and asked a
question. My friend who was sitting in another row somewhere, also thought that he was looking at him.
SQUINT-EYE. When both of us got up to answer, he told me sternly “Sit
down. I didn’t ask you”….. I could
not believe because he actually asked me only.
I was upset for no fault of mine.
He
was a regular race-goer. Once he was dictating a letter to a prominent
VIP requesting him to preside over a
function and did not know how to conclude the request. He said ‘with’ and was
struggling for the word. I said ‘GRATITUDE’ and his face beamed suddenly.
He was so happy with that word and I was
myself grateful for remembering that word at that moment. My friend clarified later that GRATITUDE was
the name of the champion horse of the season, which was reason for his beaming
approval.
9 TRUTH PREVAILS
______________________________________________________
This is an old
story about “ good “and “bad”, mere “labels” branded indiscriminately on people. In those days, a bad person was shown as ugly,
dark, long mustache, thick eye brows, crude, uncouth, strong and what not. One such man was easily identifiable. It was so simple during those good old days.
Anyway, such a man
was admonished by an old pious man, to change his ways and lead a good life.
The bad man who was a lair, thief etc., was actually willing to listen and
reform himself but expressed his difficulty.
The old man persisted and cajoled him to at least speak the truth always
and avoid telling lies, as a first step towards change. Truth is fearless..It
will set you free.. It will do good for him.. The bad man agreed.
The next day,
sorry night, when the bad man was prowling in the streets, the King who
was in disguise, was able to notice him and recognise him as a thief. It was
so easy in those days. The King in disguise asked him “ Who are you ? What are
you doing here?” The bad man recalled
the promise made to the old pious man. “ I am a thief..I am planning to
steal..Will you join me..?” The King was
astonished. Wisely, he agreed to join him.
The bad man took the King to the palace and very cleverly entered the
secret room where the treasures were kept. He opened a box and found three rare pearls
inside. He was about to take all the
three pearls, but his arithmetic sense told him to take only two so that he can
share it with the King without any problem. Mark his gradual progress towards Goodness.
So he left one pearl in the box and shared one with the King, took
one for him. They parted company later.
Next day, the King called his Minister and complained
about the theft and asked him to check.
The Minister went to the secret room and checked the box. He found one pearl inside. The willy Minister
promptly pocketed the pearl for himself
and reported to the King that all three
pearls are missing. The King was
astonished. He was hearing a lie, when he already knew the truth.
Now it is easy to understand, why the crooked Minister
was dismissed and the honest and truthful thief was appointed as a Minister by
the King. Truth ultimately
prevails.
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8 where is the full stop ?
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My immediate boss was an English-fanatic, carrying the family
torch of his father who was an English teacher. It was always interesting to
hear him speak with great eloquence and articulation, with special emphasis on accent in pronouncing
words of English, even in day to day normal conversations. I found a match in him, with my own long lost
expertise in the same field, as my previous bosses were not up to the mark in
English. We excelled each other in embellishing the official correspondence to
such high levels, that the top brass in the hierarchy had to refer to the
dictionary frequently. He used bombastic language even in casual telephonic
conversations. Once at the height of his mood, he was struggling for an appropriate
word while on phone, and I happened to be there to supply it. He paused and looked at me disapprovingly. A
junior helping him…. He did not like to use that word prompted by me and wasted
some more time to invent and use his own word, rejecting my offer. To prove his
mastery, of course.
Once I submitted a case spread over two pages and starting with
the word ‘That’. Quite and unusual
presentation. He kept it for two days
poring over it and called me finally and asked “ where is the full stop ? ” I showed it at the end of the second page, as
it was just one sentence. It was my proud moment. “Are you sure it is correctly
written?” I replied “Yes. Sir.” And to irritate him further, I continued “ If
it is wrong, you can correct it.” I was in cloud nine, having achieved one of the rare moments in my official career
in a dull and drab job. His ambivalence
kept it for one more day, signed it finally and sent to our Chief Boss who called him promptly
and inquired “Are you sure it is
correctly written?” My immediate English-Professor-Boss confirmed but the Chief
Boss asked him to split it into at least five sentences and make it simple. “
This is not a treatise for Ph. D.” Finally my dream product came back to me, split
into five separate sentences with five full stops, by the
English-professor-boss and approved by the Chief.
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7 KNOW THYSELF
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SELF DELUSION,
misapprehension, misunderstanding, mistaken belief, misinterpretation etc.,
bordering on mental disorder may seize some people, at some stage in their
life. They may continue to socialize in
a normal manner and their behavior may not seem odd or bizarre for quite a long
time. Generally, such patients with delusional disorder remain coherent,
sensible, reasonable and totally convincing as genuine. Once discovered, it
makes us laugh at life’s realities. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living;
it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. However an idiosyncratic belief or impression maintained and
sustained despite being contradicted by reality or rational argument should be
evaluated as a disorder and it becomes necessary in such cases, to cleanse and
renovate the mind and make them see things as they are. The destructive
potential and its tendency to grow to grotesque visible or invisible levels
rendering life unlivable makes it a
serious problem to be tackled adeptly. It is easier said than done. Sanity is the ability to tell the real from
the unreal and it can sometimes drive you mad. I suppose it is much more
comfortable to be mad and know it, than to be sane and have one's doubts. It is
very tricky to find the right key to order, sanity and peace of mind.
I think the following
story may help you understand better, the above vexatious issue:
The King was very
strong, powerful and the people were happy. Suddenly the King started feeling
sick. He was not comfortable. He was feeling pain on every part of his
body. His Doctors checked him thoroughly. Everything appeared to be normal but
the cause of the pain could not be diagnosed.. King continued to suffer pain. Specialists also checked and could not find
the cause The King was desperate to find a solution to his problems.
As good
luck would have it, a very old wise man observed and examined the King for a
long time and gave a solution. The King should take bath on the blood of Twenty
10 year old boys for two hours and all his sickness will vanish. The King was
astonished and shocked to hear this. But the wise old man guaranteed. The King was disturbed. He was not willing. Why kill 20 boys, to be cured of his ailment?
For two days he could not sleep. Slowly
his Ministers advised him to try. After
all, he was King and people will not mind. The King could not accept the advice.
After one week, they again persuaded the King and the volunteer boys were
available for helping the King. The King reluctantly agreed but did not fix the
date for the treatment. After a fortnight of nagging, the date was fixed to
kill the boys, to collect the blood for the King’s bath. The date fixed was next Sunday. The King
could not sleep or concentrate on any official matters and the face of the boys
was haunting him day and night. He had nightmares. By Saturday he was desperate and on Sunday,
King ordered that the boys should not be killed. All were disappointed and disturbed
by the incident.
The old wise man who heard about the cancellation came to the
King. The King was in a highly disturbed state about the incident. The wise old
man observed and examined the King for a very long time and declared that the
King is now free of all his ailments.
The King also realized suddenly and found no trace of his ailment. The
King was surprised and wondered how it all happened.
The wise
old man disclosed, “ It was because I chose the right key for your
treatment. I found that for some inexplicable reason your mind and your brain
believed with certainty of your ailment and the mental frenzy of your feelings
became the reality. You started suffering
from chronic anxiety and panic day in and day out to the point of
paranoia. As nobody else can feel the way you feel, it was difficult to bring
you back to reality from this daily
grind of worrying and other ailments you were always thinking, imagining and
aggravating yourself. I therefore decided to change and pull you out of this
attitude and suggested an atrocious method of treatment which would totally
distract you from your habit of self-suffering and focus your mind on something
else other than you.The fate of the 20 boys occupied your mind all these days and you were gradually
released from your own trap. Now you are free from ailments because you never
had any ailments before. All that you suffered were of our own imagination.. Take
care…GOD BLESS YOU."
6 JUST THE MOMENT
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Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only
today. Harness the power of today. Seize
the blessings of today! Live fully for
the present moment. Let your awareness be completely centered on the here and
now. When you live in the present, you are living where life is happening. The
past and future are mere illusions, they don’t exist…... Etc., etc.,
In a
flash-back, these words reminded me of a real incident which I witnessed. When
a newly married young lady was interviewed for a Job,
the Board of Selectors asked her a few questions and she appeared to be very nervous and extra cautious and attentive while giving her answers.
She desperately wanted this job.
the Board of Selectors asked her a few questions and she appeared to be very nervous and extra cautious and attentive while giving her answers.
She desperately wanted this job.
" What is
your name… ? ”
“ Mrs.
Priya Kumar…”
“ Oh.. You
are married..? "
“ Yes Sir…”
“ What is
your husband doing now.. ? "
She suddenly looked at her watch and answered promptly
“ He is
sleeping Sir "
The Board of Selectors were stunned and flabbergasted for a
minute. They did not know how to proceed with the next question. Husband sleeping…?
“
Why.? Why is he sleeping..? ” One of the
Selector stammered.
“ He was in
night shift yesterday.. Now he is sleeping..Sir”
A sigh of relief
pervaded the entire room, while the lady was anxiously waiting for the next
question
Later when
I asked her why did she answer that way, she said “ They asked me what he was
doing now.. And that is what he was doing at that time “
Nothing
could be more appropriate than living in the present moment. And I am sure that
the total concentration, awareness and involvement in the present moment, of
the lady, was absolute to the brim. She
got the job.
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5 WE ARE FAMILY
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Mr. Kavlekar was an youngster, brimming with drive and dynamism especially after two years of career in a Govt Dept. That day he was going through the newspaper, while sipping a cup of tea, and was disturbed to find a familiar face appearing as a photo in the obituary column. It was Mr.Rodricks, his ex- boss in his previous appointment in a private company. What a nice man he was, who liked him so much, guiding and helping him in his apprentice days. He decided immediately to attend his funeral, which was the only way he can repay his obligation to his benevolent ex-boss. He went to the cabin of his boss and stood before him asked for permission to attend the funeral, after showing the newspaper. The boss was overwhelmed by Kavlekar’s devotion/respect to the previous boss. And asked him to apply for leave and go. Kavlekar applied for one day leave to attend the funeral of a relative and gave to the Head-clerk and proceeded. The Head-clerk, a nosy and difficult old man said he will show to the boss and get his approval. Kavlekar told him not to worry as he had already obtained his permission and left the office to the utter consternation of the Head-clerk.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Kavlekar was an youngster, brimming with drive and dynamism especially after two years of career in a Govt Dept. That day he was going through the newspaper, while sipping a cup of tea, and was disturbed to find a familiar face appearing as a photo in the obituary column. It was Mr.Rodricks, his ex- boss in his previous appointment in a private company. What a nice man he was, who liked him so much, guiding and helping him in his apprentice days. He decided immediately to attend his funeral, which was the only way he can repay his obligation to his benevolent ex-boss. He went to the cabin of his boss and stood before him asked for permission to attend the funeral, after showing the newspaper. The boss was overwhelmed by Kavlekar’s devotion/respect to the previous boss. And asked him to apply for leave and go. Kavlekar applied for one day leave to attend the funeral of a relative and gave to the Head-clerk and proceeded. The Head-clerk, a nosy and difficult old man said he will show to the boss and get his approval. Kavlekar told him not to worry as he had already obtained his permission and left the office to the utter consternation of the Head-clerk.
By afternoon there was an unusual visitor to the 0ffice, searching for Kavlekar. The Head-clerk told him that he has taken leave and gone out. The visitor who was his father, was surprised and wanted to know where he has gone. The Head-clerk told him that Kavlekar has gone to attend the funeral of his relative. The father was shocked and could not believe it. The Head-clerk showed him the application to satisfy him. The bewildered father left the 0ffice and started visiting many of his relatives in the town to find out where the mishap has taken place.
But his visit to the office created a bad impression about Kavlekar for having taken leave on a false ground. The father returned home, dog-tired having found every relative hale and hearty. And Kavlekar returned home and clarified about what happened that day.
Next day when Kavlekar reported to 0ffice, the Head-Clerk admonished him sternly for taking leave on false grounds. Kavlekar who was taken aback told him that he really went to attend the funeral and it was a fact. The Head-clerk bounced on him, telling about the visit of his father and that no there was no funeral of any of his relative that day. When Kavlekar showed him the Obituary news of his ex-boss, the Head-clerk shouted that his boss could not be his relative. Kavlekar also lost his temper and retorted that his Boss was also his relative and the Head-clerk and all his colleagues were also his relatives. “As long as we are all working together we are all relatives. We are all maintaining our relations with each other and we are not strangers . This is what my previous boss taught me and I am surprised that in spite of your seniority, experience and age, you are not aware of this. Instead of appreciating me you are unnecessarily finding fault with me every time. For your information, our Boss knows where I went yesterday because I have already shown this Obituary to him and he really appreciated me. I do not care, if you do not care for me, but note this, I will definitely not attend your funeral since you do not consider me as your relative.” The Head-clerk was taken aback and realized that Kavlekar did not commit any misdemeanor but only used a wrong word in the application.
The Head-clerk called the agitated Kavlekar to his side and explained about official language and what relative means in official terms. He took out the 0ffice Manual and showed him the definition of the terms “family”, “relatives” etc., He told him that he is now working in a Government office where he should apply the words correctly in their usage as per the definitions given in various Manuals and instructions. He advised him to go through the Book and understand the terms in usage. It was only after a long time spent reading the manual. That Kavlekar understood the implications of the word relative. He also realized that in his agitated mood he even used strong language by declaring that he will not attend his funeral. He felt ashamed and apologized for the inadvertent remark, out of ignorance. The head-clerk accepted it graciously and from that day their RELATIONSHIP was restored to cordial terms.
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4 Reader's DIGEST
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Hobbies can bring you joy, sharpen your eye and mind for
detail, expand your creativity, help you learn skills, forget boredom and what
not. There are many advantages in having a diversion in your life through
hobbies..
My neighbor had
the habit of reading newspaper. But he
was not buying or subscribing for daily supply of newspapers. He used to borrow
it for reading and return. He used to
wait for hours, watching the newspaper lying unattended at the door of my house.
I was not aware of it, until one evening
he knocked on my door and asked for it.
“ I will return it tomorrow morning” he said when I gave
it to him.
This was going on regularly and later on I used to drop
it in his house, after I finished reading it, so that he can read it earlier,
instead of waiting for the evening when I returned from office. I could
appreciate his keen interest in reading from top to bottom all that is printed
in newspaper, updating himself with current events, economy, sports, politics
etc., Compared to him, I was only throwing cursory glances here and there in a
careless manner and would not even know in detail what exactly I was reading.
We were away for about a fortnight on some errand and I
had completely forgotten about my neighbor..When we returned, I found all the
old newspapers lying within my compound wall unattended. I took them inside and
dumped them somewhere.
I think, my neighbor must have noticed that we have
returned, because there was a knock on my door. When I opened, he was there as
usual and before he would ask, I knew what he wanted. So I located that day’s newspaper and gave it
to him.
“ If you do not mind,
can you please give me the old newspapers also.. “
I was taken aback..and asked him “ why do you want the
old newspapers ?”
“ I want to read them
..” he said
“ You mean, you want to read the old newspapers also..”
“ Yes” he replied.
I could not believe what he said.
“ Why do you want to read the old news now “
“ Why do you want to read the old news now “
“ Why not… I just want to read “ he
insisted.
“ Why..? “
“ It does not matter… I just want to read..” he said
“ What is the use of reading old obsolete news ? “ I asked
“ You mean reading newspaper is useful…” he replied.
I was surprised at this remark.
“ I thought it is useful to you and if it is not useful,
why do you read it at all “ I inquired.
“ I thought it is useful to you and if it is not useful,
why do you read it at all “ I inquired.
He looked at me blankly…and said
“ This is my favorite hobby.. I have no other vocation or pastime.. I do not read for any purpose.. I cannot remain without reading newspaper…. I can read any newspaper...... I can read even an year old newspaper… I always read from top to bottom, each and every page and that is my habit for years together…. It is useful to me only as a hobby because I have not practiced any other hobby…. And if I do not read newspapers for a day, I become uneasy and restless, until I get some newspaper to read... No cursory or careless reading....…. I read it thoroughly with full concentration…. It is handy and suitable to me ….. I think, that is what a hobby is for…”
“ This is my favorite hobby.. I have no other vocation or pastime.. I do not read for any purpose.. I cannot remain without reading newspaper…. I can read any newspaper...... I can read even an year old newspaper… I always read from top to bottom, each and every page and that is my habit for years together…. It is useful to me only as a hobby because I have not practiced any other hobby…. And if I do not read newspapers for a day, I become uneasy and restless, until I get some newspaper to read... No cursory or careless reading....…. I read it thoroughly with full concentration…. It is handy and suitable to me ….. I think, that is what a hobby is for…”
I collected the bunch of fortnight old newspapers and
handed over to him reverentially. As he went away happily with all the old
newspapers, I was wondering what exactly I was doing myself reading these
newspapers…. all these days….
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3 GHOST my HOST
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am an agnostic. I don't believe in super natural events or ghosts. Queer and bizarre incidents need not be understood irrationally. Ghosts taking possession of body happen in rural, remote areas.
All this is mental aberration......trash........I was quite pragmatic, until a weird thing happened to me.
You know I am a Table tennis player and it was my heart's desire to win a championship. I never could. One day I met Aranjay, winner and champion of Western India and he agreed to play with me a few games. It was my chance to try and win him in the game. We entered the Hall to play the game. Typically, the room was dark enough to play Table Tennis under the three focused lights just above the Table. Despite my best efforts, I could not win the first game. His strokes and spin was too good to handle. I was desperate and determined to somehow win the second game, when a weird feeling came over me.
You know it was a lonely and dark room. You also know, I don't believe in ghosts. But I felt some strange, foreign thing taking over my body. I was no more myself. I think I became "possessed" and began moving like never before. I retrieved one of his best shots, followed it with a smashing shot.. My shot rattled him and I noticed a look of surprise in the face of Aranjay. I had a queer feeling that something has taken over my body. Aranjay became aggressive and tried some of his expert shots. I was beginning to respond well and I could not believe myself, accosting the shots with an expertise unknown to myself. A mystic power had taken control of myself and I could even discern a stranger inside me. I became hysterical. I was in a trance.
I began to feel like a champion of the world. I smashed a ball smartly, sending it away zooming in darkness towards the shadowy figure of Aranjay. I heard a shrill cry of shock from the dark end of the Hall. I had hit the ball right, and mind you, it was like the vicious shot of a World Champion. I was myself stunned with astonishment about my own new born mastery. My muscles and limbs functioned superbly in an unfamiliar rhythm. My second shot was unusual and totally un-Indian, in style. My God.. The shot turned into a vicious top-spin, swung a little over the net, struck the table and took a sharp turn, like a cobra, towards the extreme corner of the hall, far away from Aranjay, the erstwhile hero of Western India. He looked at me with a foolish and frightened face.
I shuddered from head to foot. The stranger in my body was no ordinary one. Whoever he was, he knew what he was doing...I was smashing the ball in all unpredictable directions and Aranjay was in total disarray. There was a threatening silence in the hall, except for the sound of the ball and rattling noise of the fleeting feet of Aranjay. I won the game. Instead of joy, I was scared of myself. I thought some ghost of a dead World champion, haunting in this hall, has taken over my body and playing ito its hearts content. I was worried and uncomfortable and found myself in a dangerous and critical situation.
"Let us play the finals" challenged the hurt Champion.
I
was scared, not of the challenge, but of the unpredictable things to
which I might be subjected to by the ghost inside of me. I was
palpitating and scared of even looking at my shadow. There was no one
around, except the two of us, plus the invisible ghost. The hall was in
pitch darkness.The atmosphere was eerie, charged with tension.
To my bad luck, the ghost inside me resented the challenge. I apprehended some vague trouble and looked around for help. Suddenly, I found my hand and legs moving in an awkward and unfamiliar manner. I discovered myself picking the ball. I served. I did not know what was going to happen. When Aranjay returned the ball, my whole body was forced to undergo a violent spasm. I found myself banging the ball viciously in the most unusual and ugly style.
The ghost was now violent and every part of my body ached. It was the most fantastic action. I was actually raised above the ground quite unexpectedly and unable to balance myself, I crashed to the floor. I got up frantically with an injured nose.
The
ball had struck the table and rose up like a launched rocket and took
off in a zig zag angle into the roof , sky and darkness with a zooming
sound. Terror and panic overwhelmed me. I yelled out at Aranjay a shrill
cry and threw away the racket. It was a spine chilling sound from my
throat Bruce Lee type. I ran helter-skelter towards the door, which I
could not locate in the darkness. It was the worst and desperate
moment of my life, in a haunted building with a Table Tennis Ghost.
I got a glimpse of Aranjay escaping from the door.
I pursued him frantically in mad haste, shrieking meaningless sounds..
2 P U P P Y L O V E
When we moved to our new house, the brown dog came to visit us. By his looks and conduct, he appeared to be in charge of the area. A few days later, he brought a bitch with him, a black + white beauty, as if to introduce us. Looking at my friendly gesture, the bitch swayed her tail left and right and in a few minutes her entire body was swaying in happiness. I gave her something to eat. A few days later I found her with her litter, behind my house. There were eight puppies, the bigger one in brown and the others black and white. They had not opened their eyes yet. Normally the mother will be very protective and ferocious at this time, but I was exempted and could move in close quarters.
After a fortnight, she started going out for her rounds leaving the puppies alone. She came back at regular intervals to feed the puppies. I kept an eye on them during her absence. When the rains came, I made a shelter for them and shifted the puppies. As they grew, I started playing with the naughty puppies and had a wonderful time.
One day my friend came with his grandson and they played with the puppies. The boy wanted the brown puppy and they carried it in a bag stealthily, without attracting the attention of the mother. The bitch came and fed the puppies and I was surprised that it did not notice the missing brown puppy. If she had missed it, she did not show it. Everything appeared to be normal sans hue and cry for the missing puppy.
My friend was staying three streets away from my house. In the night I went and saw the boy playing happily with the brown puppy. I was happy that the puppy found a caring home. Early in the morning, my friend phoned to inform me that the puppy is missing. I went to his house and they were searching everywhere. He had kept it under a bamboo basket outside his house in the night. The puppy was moaning the whole night.
I was very angry with him for having left the puppy unattended. Perhaps some cat might have carried it away. My friend was feeling guilty. I did not know how to face the bitch. I went home totally dejected. I saw the bitch wagging her tail as usual at my sight, quite unaware of the mishap. I was upset with culpable feeling at her blissful ignorance of the catastrophe. I went to her shelter and to my surprise; I saw the brown puppy there. I was astonished. It was there playing with his siblings with great abandon and frolic.
I phoned my friend and broke the good news. He came
running to see. The black beauty was swaying her tail, as usual and I was able to understand from her looks that she knew everything about the missing puppy. No wonder, she went sniffing around the colony and located the moaning puppy and brought it back safely, all the way to her shelter, by holding it in her mouth. If she had anything to complain about the questionable episode, she did not even show any sign of it.
HATS OFF TO MOTHERS OF THE WORLD.....
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
1 REPTILE WORLD
My dear RAJA and UNAY, I hope everything is getting on well at your end. Here the rain Gods have finally descended and we are having a wet spell, which is a great relief from the scorching heat and humidity of summer. The whole scenery has changed. All the dry and yellow landscapes have slowly changed into lush green, lending a cool and soothing spectacle to the eyes, especially the hills behind my MESS. . The birds and animals are wild with joy. This place is abounding with numerous varieties of birds, insects, scorpions and snakes, especially after a downpour.
The
first snake I saw was at the Scooter stand, which someone had already
killed. It was a small baby python, brown skinned, with all its black
lined square design and supposed to be harmless. Later when I was coming
out of the Factory, I found one of my friends standing in the middle of
the road, holding his motorcycle. To my horror, I suddenly noticed a
poisonous KRAIT lying like a bundle of rags, right in front of my
motorcycle. As the snake did not make any movement at all, I quietly
withdrew my vehicle back to avoid any encounter. Meanwhile, two
youngsters came very fast in their bicycles and in spite of my desperate
shouting, ran over the snake unknowingly. They stopped to find why I
was shouting and were horrified to see the snake running wildly. They
gathered their wits and chased the snake and killed it.
Within a couple of days, while returning to 0ffice after lunch, I found a large crowd, in the middle of the road, looking upwards at the sprawling branches of a gigantic tree, where I saw a very long snake, over six feet long, dangling in the branches. I presume, it was already scared of the crowd and trying to escape. People were throwing stones and it was slipping from branch to branch and coming down. A security jawan came with a big sword and threw at it. In a split second, the snake escaped into the bushes. The whole crowd ran helter skelter in utter confusion and fear.
Within a couple of days, while returning to 0ffice after lunch, I found a large crowd, in the middle of the road, looking upwards at the sprawling branches of a gigantic tree, where I saw a very long snake, over six feet long, dangling in the branches. I presume, it was already scared of the crowd and trying to escape. People were throwing stones and it was slipping from branch to branch and coming down. A security jawan came with a big sword and threw at it. In a split second, the snake escaped into the bushes. The whole crowd ran helter skelter in utter confusion and fear.
In
the evening, when I was riding up a small hillock where our CLUB is
located, I was stunned to find a snake passing through the road from
left to the right side. The snake was gray in color and was so long that
it covered the entire breadth of the road and was accelerating to
escape from my motorcycle. I had no time to stop my motorcycle and was
also afraid to stop in front of the snake. There was no alternative but
to ride over it. I was scared out of my wits and I knew if I ran over
its tail, it would strike at me. The snake was guided by ground
vibrations of my motorcycle and was speeding to escape. WHAT A WRONG TIME AND PLACE FOR BOTH OF US TO BE.
I simply lifted both my legs and crossed the snake whose tail was
almost under my wheels. My whole body was shivering and I knew that the
snake escaped unhurt. Even when I alighted at the entrance of the club, I
was worried whether the snake was coming after me. I think it was a
touch and go for both of us.
The
other day when I was waiting in my Balcony for the milkman to arrive, I
noticed a snake crossing the path and settling under the bushes, right
under my nose. I was worried because, it was the spot where the milkman
used to keep his bicycle and that is where it was hiding. The milkman
came late and when I was alerting him about the snake, he thought I was
angry for his late arrival and without listening he kept the cycle where
the snake was hiding and started explaining about his late coming. What
a scene. What suspense… Later when he came to know about the snake, he
refused to go down anywhere near his cycle.
The SCORPIONS are plenty here and indeed they are weird looking and venomous. Most of them are black and large enough. They start moving around during nighttime in search of insects, especially after a good shower. Their favorite place is under street light where insects and moths swarm around. All the hillside and rocky areas are full of scorpions and one can find them marching in groups in roads, especially during night.
The SCORPIONS are plenty here and indeed they are weird looking and venomous. Most of them are black and large enough. They start moving around during nighttime in search of insects, especially after a good shower. Their favorite place is under street light where insects and moths swarm around. All the hillside and rocky areas are full of scorpions and one can find them marching in groups in roads, especially during night.
