Visit here on Oct 1st for link to new location.

Wishing you (a wishing) well.

Thanks,
Deepti

The most extraordinary of things happen from out of the most ordinary of circumstances.

Do anything different from what you did earlier, and – however faint – you will learn.

I WAS TOLD: *When you purse your lower lip in your upper front teeth and release it, it is V. When you round your lips and exhale it is W. Phonetics! Elementary, dear Watson! *

Thanks Mr. Amandeep Sandhu!

“I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind bars of contempt – “Everybody will laugh at you!”

Remembering that’s what happened to Galileo and Leonardo Da Vinci, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of blood – “This is our legacy. This is what you we have been doing for generations.”

Understanding it’s a transcultural hybrid global world, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of experience – “I have 40 yrs of experience in living! I know what works and what doesn’t in this world! And this will not work.”

Observing age does not equate wisdom in those who speak ‘I used to dream like you’, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of love – “We don’t want to see you ruined. We want to see you live respectfully.”

Knowing if I DON’T do this my dreams will be ruined and true respect is self-respect, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of gratitude – “If you love and care for me and be concerned for all that I have sacrificed to provide what you have today, you must repay it in the way that makes me happy.”

Thinking ‘If I spend first half of my life working for you, second half for my children, when will i break the cycle to live for myself? Don’t I leave a legacy of my own?’ “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of doubt – “You? Can you do it? Do you know what it takes to get there? Huh.”

Reeling in self-esteem and faith, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of ignorance – “I don’t think this is possible. I have never seen or heard such a thing before.”

Fully aware of my path towards the destination, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of opportunity – “I’m sorry you’re too late. We’ve given it to someone else.”

Reminding that this moment too shall pass, “I want to do this,” I say.
I was put behind the bars of my own mind, “I can’t take this any longer.”

“I want to do this,” I say finally. And I will. Behind the bars is the place for the guilty. I want do something, and I declare myself, “Not guilty.” I am free.

Contest first witnessed at Ajay’s blog.

———————————
Other people who took interest to pen down something for the contest:

“Beyond my Window” by Ian Holliday
“Retribution” by Ajay
“Dungeons & Dragons” by Vivienne Tuffnell
“Crime Never Pays” by Dewey Dewster
“Player to Pawn…Player to Pawn – You’ve been Duped!” by Oorvi

God is ‘hope’ personified.

Every mind with folded hands in front of the idol inside a temple: “Dear God. Please let me get through this. Please make everything happen without troubles.”

A child heading towards the race track: “O God! Please don’t let anyone demand that I remove my shoes. You know my socks stink and have holes, don’t you?”

A guy startled out of his wits: “OMFG (no pun intended)! What a creation!”

A girl after a particular ordeal that has upset all the careful preparation of herself she made at home: “Oh my god. Look at me!”

Notice the only thing you demand from God is something that makes you feel good? And you want things to happen that way?

Which is why we pray to God before we start anything. A good thought of optimism – including a conscious belief that there is unrelenting support even in times of despair – can make the human mind achieve wonders.

Since this optimism has proved itself time and again by bringing results, we rely on it savagely – often losing out the simpler version called hope to a superlative abstract idea of our imagination called God – in our confusion.

As I sit down here spending my last minutes seperated from packing, shopping, calling up to find out what people want, packing, shopping, eating, and trying to avoid closing my drooping eyes at all costs, I realized these are probably the last moments I might be free enough to put something down.

Now the reason I’m coming back is because I believe in my decisions – it was my decision to come back for a while. The facts that I’m missing India too much, I’m doing nothing different from what I was doing back in India, and was a general annoyance throughout my stay may or may not have influenced my decision and caused sleepless nights to those around me.

So. Exactly two months ago, on June 17th 2010, I headed for America and thought, “I have no clue what I’m going to do after June 18th.” Two months later, I have no clue what I did after June 18th. The two months just whooshed away, with no apparent purpose.

Again, I do not know what I’m going to do from August 21st 2010. Not a clue.

But you agree, even a stopped clock is right twice in a day. There must be some purpose for this trip, some things I could claim were worth happenning a million times again. Needless to say, I did practically nothing different in America than what I did in India.

And so I wondered – what could be those trip defining moments, where I suddenly felt purposeful and almost human.

The following, I think, are those:

We get a battered old DVD player, and my bro and I watch Quantum of Solace together – one of the 2 dvds that have been rented from the dvd store, and have not returned them yet.

Dad + food = awesome awesomer AWESOMEST!

Dad's special. Nothing like it in the whole world.

A banana milkshake everyday.

Double omelette. Bro's staple diet.

When you have a hungry side-kick... The corners vanish okay.

When you dare and give your side-kick the total control...

... It can only get worse. Yeah, I have been telling my dad to ban me from the kitchen from a long time now. But dads are dads.

So I've stuck to chopping.

Bro says: “Dad. Can you make TWO omelettes this time? This girl (E pilla) here eats half of my omelette all the time, she can have one.”
And when the look on his face said, “I’m starving!” because he was saving his omelette for the rice that was happening later, I give him my half and say, “Have it.”

Mom says: “You really enjoy this writing, don’t you? I think you should take this seriously. Do you want to?”

Days spent watching Mind your Language, Yes Minister – interest transmitted from the sibling.

Parting words while my brother headed for the door: “And get rid of that insomnia of yours.”

You know what I realized? That I’ve got a beautiful family I like to love and hate – just like everyone else.

I never thought I would say this, but I think I’m going to miss America. Ahh yes.

Oh well. INDIA! Here I come!

When you decide you can manage with two spoons instead, you pick up one spoon and one fork.

Your dad will then inevitably exclaim, “Oh! You finally found the other fork? Good.”

Oh the recursion.

How you want things to be, is what you are going to use to define perfection.

India, then, put on its mantle and hence has been fighting its next great war of “development” she has foreseen since that fateful day of Independence. Yes, we now do not need instructions to put finger on the lips. India has learnt to think, react, and take decisions on its own. Now, that is independence. Congratulations, India, on keeping the spirit of the word “Independence” alive. Well done. May you be independent all your life.

Let us all, Indians + those happy to hear about India being freed, celebrate this spirit of freedom. India is deep in many a troubles, but this is not the day to think about them. Let us pay tribute to the reason why we mark this day down in our calender.

May our soldiers’ lives live and rest in peace. Inquilab Zindabad!

Click to play:

Also, there is a certain sentence that troubles me. “I’m proud to be an Indian.” Happy – extremely gratefully happy – Yes. Proud, no. It would make for a separate blog-post, but for now I want you to read Neo Indian, who explains in his own way: http://neoindian.org/2010/02/02/why-it-is-meaningless-to-say-youre-proud-of-being-an-indian/

Jai Hind.

*Image courtesy: Google. Audio: beemp3