The power of words

The power of words changes the heart of people.

Out of Phase

Hello friends! 

How are you all? 

I am so sorry for myself and all the visitors,who had visited my blog through various sources ,only to find it  deserted and abandoned.Probably my going through aberrant phase of life might be the obvious reason.I m just waiting for tides to turn. I sincerely hope, I will over this bizarre phase of life as early as possible.

Thanks for the comments and reads 

Left Alone

I sat next to Kriti’s bed.She started to wake up.I tried to call the doctor, but she told me not to.

“you were awake” I yelled crying

“Yeah I guess”she finally said

“I wish I could trade places with you.Do you know how much it hurt’s me,to see you like this” 

“Karthik?”

“Hmm! “  Her voice bothered me.I took a deep breath

“I love you” She whispered

“I love you too”

“Tell my parents that I love them and promise you’ll never forget me .Promise me” She started crying.

“What! Stop you can’t leave me”

“I love you Karthik” she cried as she closed her eyes

“No! don’t leave me!” I panicked and yelled louder

Her dad ran in to the room, when he heard the moniter went flat.I ran out of the way as doctors and nurses rushed to Kriti’s side.

My love of life has left me all alone in this world.

Book reviews

Well  the tag “Indian Idle” suits me pretty well . Indian idle?  Oh! Let me enlighten you, I  recently completed my graduation, (ofcourse with no so impressive performance anyway ) , and been idle after that. Time is running  with a  snail speed lately. I m spending time watching movies, watching television and one thing I like the most Reading books, which  outweighs every other hobby . I enjoy reading anything other than my academics, ranging from a silly romantic one’s to a wrenching horror  one’s. So I read three novels in the last week. “Kane and Abel”, “Best Laid plans”, “Master  of game” .

I immensely enjoyed kane and Abel and Master of game. So here are the quick reviews .

Kane and Abel :- Jeffrey Archer consistently produced the best selling books at an impressive rate. I  kickstarted off reading his books with classic “Kane and Abel” . I must say, he certainly had the endowment  to spellbound his readers.  

This story Kane and Abel  is about two individuals , William Kane  and Abel Rosnovski , who were born on the same day, one in rising nation USA and the other in a less known nation Poland.Kane  is son of a boston millionaire and Abel is a penniless orphan who was adopted by a poor polish woodcutter’s  family,after his mother  is found dead in the woods.The first half of novel is completely emphasized on their careers, Kane who is living his dream, being born rich. Abel  was struggling from the pangs of the world war 1. After living a hell  ,Abel migrates to USA, started working as a waiter in some less known hotel. And as the story unfolds, he becomes a minor stake holder in the upcoming hotel chain.William grows up to become the chairman of one of the leading banks of USA.When the Great Economy downfall of 1929 is outright, they confronted each other in an unpleasant way,that follows  the series of actions by both kane and abel, to strike each other down for the next two generations.

Jeffrey archer excellently weaved the story of Kane and abel around the  major incidents of early 20^th century. It's like a ride of  fiction in the non fictional setting. Awesome attention has been paid to Character development as Archer takes us into the lives of each of the protagonists-neither glorifying them nor belittling them.The same characters keep coming again and again ,in the different parts of the story.  

What I like the most about the book is, the book is completely in touch with the happenings of the world.From drowing of  Titanic , to the world wars, even to the great economy downfall of 1929.

One weakness  in the  plot is ,the inadequate reason for the altercation between kane and abel,other wise story is pretty fast. 

Rating :- 5/5

Master of Game :-  Sidney Sheldon is really a master in capturing romance,greed ,twist,intrigue ,suspense. This is story of big business that spans entire 4 generations.The story starts with Jamie Mcgregor who leaves Scotland to South Africa in pursuit of diamonds. Jamie mcgregor’s story is worth the price of the book alone.The entire first part is about him. After a lot of struggle, Jamie finds handful of diamonds only to be cheated by Van der merwe. Later on,with the help of Banda  he steals loads of diamonds  worth a fortune from the heavily guarded van der merwe mine fields.He returns to the diamond field and destroys entire Van der merwe’s business, and marries her daughter Margaret.

Second child of Jamie and  Maggie was Kate , Kate does not get to know her father and brother as both were killed in South Africa’s slave uprising. Margaret runs the company along with Jamie's deputy  David.

The second part of the story is about Kate ,Who married David and gave birth to Tony, and how she involved with the lives of  children and grand children She is cunning, manipulative yet brilliant in business . I must say the book has lost it’s plot here,  but still it’s enjoyable. 

This book was very good , loved it

Rating :4/5

Best Laid Plans :- Sidney Sheldon again. I didn’t liked this book much. The entire novel relies on the twist at the end.  This story is about three individuals  Leslie stewart, Oliver Russell , Dana Evans . Leslie vows to take revenge on Oliver who is the president of US. And Dana evans was the reporter who works for WTE ,owned by Leslie stewart. I don’t want to spoil the fun of the reader by revealing the story and twist. 

Moral of the story? Stop obsessing and move one, revenge would only make you more miserable

On the other note I loved the twist,I never saw that coming.  But still this novel no where near sheldon’s other works like bloodline, Tell me ur dreams, If tomorrow comes

Rating :- 3/5 

  Note :- The scale is based on the ratings below 

1.         (1) My  Electro magnetics book is better than  the book

2.       (2) Ignore it

3.       (3) Good

4.        (4) I  recommend you to read this

5.        (5) Humdinger

The journey of heaven ends here...

There is nothing more lyrical in life than the last few days of college. College life is surely a bliss.infact, they are the best days of everyone’s life. I had my last final semister of my engineering ,yesterday. And yes after that we gathered  in our classroom to share one last moment together. Every one was so nostalgiac,  ,hugging ,wishing ,promising each other that they would be in contact. Ahh!  I am really going to miss  college life. The very tag “the student” is going to be despised off from my life.I  am no more a student.

I  seem to remember my first day of college like it happened yesterday.The mixed emotions, the fear , the happiness, nervousness as I stood in front of college edifice , all seem so vivid. And now when everything seemed so settled ,its time to go. These four years of engineering presented me many good memories and offcourse few bad ones too. But good memories heavily outweigh the bad ones.Yeah! the bad ones are especially the exams , they really are pain in the ass. My first year of engineering was ordinary, My batch mates - we are not that over friendly or close knit group to begin with. As the months passed by we became thickest of friends.then started the real fun .I still remember the first  bunk , we went to a movie named “Happy days” ,which was quite a sensation that time. That’s when the actual bonding started. My most memorable day was dec 31^st  of my 1^st year, I don’t know if my friends still  remember that day, we went to movie “mantra”. I don’t want to get in to details what we did after the movie .All I can say is,that was perhaps the best bunk :P

And all those countless bunks, the films during strike days, getting fired by our teachers,), running aroung taking Xerox of important answers for internals, innumerous scowls from our lecturers during classes, copying assignments just an hour before submission.the outcries whenever we hear the word “assignments” , sending messages hiding under the bench, silly excuses whenever we get caught doing that, and  those cricket matches, those birthday treats, those heated debates on each on every small thing(mostly Mahesh vs NTR and Dravid vs Tendulkar).Ohh! God I m badly gonna miss these happy days.Nevertheless, I m going to comeup with all my wonderful experiences with my  college sooner or later , atleast I could relive those memories  with the blog posts :)

 I  wish all my friends “all the best” for their future endeavours.I hope to stay connected with you all :)

Bleed Blue

            It’s been a while since I have posted here.My apologies straight away.  A lot has happened in these days . The one that top’s was definitely india’s recent world cup triumph. Finally after 28 years  long and impatient wait , India  lifted their very own world cup again . Well , the main man behind all this was dhoni, with his extremely unorthodox tactics and brilliant field placements , he literally surprised the teams and no wonder sachin has phrased him as the best captian he has ever played under. Let’s not forget the heroics of Yuvraj, who was consistent throughout the  tournament and bagged 4 well earned man of the matches along with the man of the Tournament. Zaheer,with out dubiety the pick of the bowlers with 21 wickets , he simply raised to the occasion when ever his captian looked for a miracle. Last but not the least God Sachin himself with two centuries and second in the list of most runs getters, he once again proved why he is called God of cricket.If there is any man who plays with out seeking  much attention,it’s Gautham Gambhir.He is one who scores big especially in finals.Remember the 75 against Pakistan in 2007 worldcup final ,eventually we went on to win  the inaugural T20 world cup.

            India has consistently won all the matches under pressure and from the position where it seemed they may lose.It was always due to overall team performance and someone or the other chipping in at the right time  to make India win .With the semifinal clash the last remaining gaps in terms of weak,inconsistent bowling,performing badly in the batting powerplay and average fielding are all filled . No sooner MSD hit the six off Nuwan Kulasekara , the entire country erupted in Euphoria.Honking horns, fans spilled in to the streets on the motar cycles. I heard the crackers for each and every boundary that was scored.

            Personally my  favourite matches in this world cup were matches  with England and Australia. Especially Australia, they almost scared the hell the out of me. I was on my nerves for the entire match.Thanks to suresh raina who scored a brilliant 34 to save the match.

            I  enjoyed this world cup thoroughly,not only the matches but the Advertisements too. One ad that really amused me was Dhoni’s Helicophter shot , I was so inspired by that add ,that I tried  helicopter during our recent college match.Much to my abashment, the ball went nowhere ,except that it made terrible mess with the stumps lolz!. Apart from Dhoni’s helicophter,Bhajji’s Doosra, Kp’s palti, Sehwag upar cut(no comments on his dance :p) ,Dilshan’s scoop(the girl is gorgeous)  and Malinga’s slinga were also cool. 

           So finally leavning this famous picture before you , Actually this has been popular picture in this world cup(after ind-aus match) Lolz......

          

Let's pray for Japan

     

         Despite an elegant warning system, japan still suffered the worst tsunami .The Quake followed by Tsunami battered Japan ,swepting away everything  in its path houses,cars, and factories  setting many on fire.To add to the worst , the quake that has struck is the largest ever  in Japan, and fifth strongest  on record. 

         Hundreds of people are found dead  ,and thousands of people went  missing .This is probably the worst day for the people of Japan.We all need to pray.Some say these are the signs of times or nature’s wrath. what ever it is, the monstrous waves  showed no clemency, destroying the beautiful world . Let’s pray for the people of Japan. 

          I  came across something called Supermoon and crap , I really wonder if  it has anything to do with the earth quake.

A Diary

 

It was lovely morning  . The sounds  of  birds chirping and the commotion from the vehicles passing by, had awakened her. She rose from her bed, stretched and went to the mirror .She saw herself  in the mirror and felt something strange about her face. She then started scribbling in the  diary , which dated 13th Feb 2001. Writing diary is one of her favourite hobby and she does that every day, with out fail.

"It's my 16th birthday" She exclaimed to herself  “Hope I will have a good day ahead” .

She tied her long hair in an utmost fashioned way and excitedly went in to the bathroom . Though it’s her birthday today, She still have to go to school.Infact the thought of  school,has enthralled  her. She is so desperate to see all the presents from her friends. She then had a shower, dressed herself , packed the books back in to the bag . Suddenly the room is filled with delicious aroma of the dishes on the dining table.

“How thoughtful  Mom is, She really loves me a lot”  She exclaimed while she placed her bag on to the next chair

But she hadn’t seen her Mom yet, as well as her dad, her younger brother . “Oh! Dad must have gone to his work.My brother? I bet he is still sleeping.Mom surely went to market to prepare special food for my birthday” And she went on to dining room, to have her breakfast .

Right after finishing her breakfast , She approached her school bag ,which to her surprise is missing . “Oh! Surely I have  kept it here,few minutes before .Maybe someone is playing with me, must be my younger brother.He always makes fun of me” .  she entered in to her brother’s room to ask him about the missing school bag ,but she didn’t find him there. She thought that her brother is hiding somewhere and put some little play on her.She still have half hour to find him,she knew she can’t go to school without the school bag .

She looked around the house, checked every room, but no luck . She looked at her wristwatch “I still got 15 minutes, I have to find my brother, atleast my school bag .The school bus will be here anytime by now” 

She went back to her room and found the diary on the floor. She took hold of it, and placed it back on the table,Where she notices something strange about the diary .The diary looks old,as if it had gone through many years. "I bought this diary a month back.I remember, I saw it looking neat and tidy,earlier this morning” She thought . She opened the diary and dumbfounded by what she saw. The pages were yellowish, like the pages were decade old now 

“This can’t be!” She squalled 

She looks confused coz of what happening around her .Hoping to get some fresh air,she went towards the window and got the sight of newspaper delivery boy. She remembered the delivery boy, he used to bring the broadsheets to her. This isn’t him. He is someother guy.As the delivery boy looked at the window , fears written all over him .He stormed out of that place on his bicycle leaving the newspaper bundle then and there,in no time .He didn’t even looked back and the bundle of newspapers went unnoticed 

She realizes he’s not the one, who used to deliver the newspapes before,but why the sudden rush?

She goes outside, picked the newspapers and decided to get back in to the house.

As she enters in to the house, suddenly the room is filled with queer darkness.She then realized the tall trees sheltered around the house. She never seen these trees before. How could I get out and get in , even without noticing these trees.

She goes off to her bedroom ignoring these mixed thoughts ,still holding the bundle of newspaper.She fell her body on to the bed reading the newspaper.while she was reading the front page, something has strucked her.She was dumbstricken.

She hastily opens her diary ,it was dated feb 13^th 2001 . but why the newspaper has the date feb 13^th 2011 . “Is this a typographical error “?

“This can’t be!” She couldn’t believe her eyes and fell out unconsciousness

                                                       *    *     *

The youngman on the bicycle came home and his grandmother notices him petrified  and horrified . The boy explains to her what he saw , when he passed by along the road, Where the huge bunglow lies.

 “Oh!  So you saw Arushi!”

 “Arushi?”

 “Arushi have been dead for 10 years now .She was murdered on her birthday,the case has not been resolved yet .People say that every year she used to appear around her house ,on her birthday”

 “That’s really frightening, grand ma”

 “No! you shouldn’t be frightened, let’s pray for her soul, to be at peace.

Liked Line

"What I must do is all that concerns me. This rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

My latest obsession

                            Aliens,monsters,Robots,Time machines,Spaceships,Superhuman powers, Mutants .Yes! this post is all about science fiction,my recent obsession.For the past two weeks , i have been watching science fiction movies, downloading the same genre too. dunno why? may be they are new,unique,innovative.They make me sit  in one place,and go "I love that feeling". I do think there are lot of genres in which intellectualism can be found,but for me sci fic is first and the best . Any way movies based on "Time travelling" were always interesting for me,.

                           These are my fav sci fic movies in no particular order. I m just gonna, post the outline of these movies rather than posting the whole review. Yes, to keep the post as short as possible. :p

Back to the future(1985)  :- In 1985, Doc Brown invents timemachine ; MCfly unknowingly timetravels to 1955, and he  accidentally prevents his parents from meeting, putting his own existence at stake.


Dark city(2000) :- A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans. 


Contact(1997) :-  This is one hell of a  movie.Dr. Ellie Arroway(Jodie foster), after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine.


 Star Trek(2009) :-The story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship


Twelve monkeys(1995) :-In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet

Truman show(1998) :-An insurance salesman/adjuster discovers his entire life is actually a TV show.This is Jim carrey's movie


Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind(2001) :-A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.


The Fifth Element (1997):-In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay, in the year 2300.Brucewills's movie

The Island(2005) :-A man goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a "harvestable being", and is being kept as a source of replacement parts, along with others, in a Utopian facility.If you are a scarlett johnson fan, you gonna love this movie.

Armageddon (1998) :-When an asteroid the size of Texas is headed for Earth the world's best deep core drilling team is sent to nuke the rock from the inside.Brucewill again.

Deep impact(1998) :- Unless a comet can be destroyed before colliding with Earth, only those allowed into shelters will survive. Which people will survive?

The day after tomorrow(2004) :- A climatologist tries to figure out a way to save the world from abrupt global warming. He must get to his young son in New York, which is being taken over by a new ice age.  


Independence day(1996) :- The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, Man's best weapon is the will to survive.

                        Predator,Equilibrium,starwar series,Jumper,Will smith's movies, Timeline , Frequency,The core,Sunshine,Apollo 13, Terminator, Resident evil series, The man from earth, are my other movies which i find really interesting. 

Valentine's day

                    Finally "V" day has arrived. The day when the heart beats more than most days for few. The day when people if single (not all singles though :p) propose, the day where the love quotient is high in the air.Yes! the V day,it is indeed arrived .This  Valentines day was actually  named after the famous christian matyr saint Valentine.


                    I must confess , being single for  last 21 years of my life , I am having a hardtime writing this post.I am glad that am not left alone, most of my friends were single.And if you really ask me about this  valentines day,it's not a "girl" and the "boy" thing. It is the day where we express love to all Closed one's ,to our parents,to our siblings ,to our friends,


                    During valentine season,the news papers are completely crammed with the discounts and offers.The malls are so overcrowded with couples .We will be seeing too many colour reds, when we get out of our homes.and Least to mention our mobile phones ,that are mercilessly  spammed with all the Valentine wishes.


                    It is also one of the best days for few political parties to score some political points.Hiding in the name of India culture,they make sure that ,the relevance remains.St valentine died longtime back and became  symbol of modern expression of love, but day dedicated for him became symbol of  resistance too for few political parties.

                    But i do think that indian culture is about love and can never be against love . what is wrong in  having a date for it .Valentine is not about one religion,but it's about symbolism .Coming to the political parties,if they have point,in democracy they do have right to raise their voice.but not in that way they kept on displaying.
                    Infact the way  these parties oppose Valentine's day,that way is strictly against indian culture.Isn't it ? .

Anyway I m glad that i m single, Happy Valentines day :)

A Regret

A woman awoke during the night to find that her husband was not in bed. She put on her robe and went downstairs. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him. He appeared to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.
 

She saw him wipe a tear from his eye and take a sip of his coffee.

“What’s the matter dear? Why are you down here at this time of night?” she asked.

“Do you remember twenty years ago when we were dating and you were only 16?” he asked.

“Yes, I do,” she replied.

“Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Do you remember when he shoved that shotgun in my face and said, ‘Either you marry my daughter or spend twenty years in jail’?”

“Yes, I do,” she said.

He wiped another tear from his cheek and said, ” You know, I would have gotten out today. ”

A jouney in the RTC bus

                           I decided to take a bus to college.There are many people waiting for the same bus,middle aged uncles were outnumbered to be precise.It was a rush hour.The bus that has stopped was already full,somehow we managed to get in to the bus.Suddenly i heard some voices from the door,Middle aged uncles started abusing Drver for stopping the bus 10meters away from the busstop.I didn't understand why people get agry for such a silly reasons.Can't a person take a pain of walking mere 10 meters.

                     Someone patted my shoulder murmuring something.I turned back and found a guy,hair uncombed,and the dress as dingy as ever.He looked like a guy who didn't knew what taking bath meant.He is a conductor .I politely showed my bus pass and minded my ownbusiness

                     As the bus was so crowded,I find difficult to hold the handle.The abuses of middle aged uncles became stronger as conductor approched towards them.Now conductor couldn't control himself,replied harshly to them.The Fight started and lasted for full 10 minutes.The abuses fled in all directions.Some took side of uncles,some took side of conductor and some people consoled both the groups.At last frustrated conductor cooled down,and never to mention uncles still frowning,murmuring something

                    After sometime,the silence that was hung in the air broke by the low agitated voices again.Now the problem was,bus is going way too slow,to top of it off,they are claiming that,the bus driver wantedly driving slow.The voices getting stronger again with each passing second.That was the most insane thing i have ever heard,Why would driver drive the bus slow purposely.if he can drive fast? What does he get by doing that?. He has been sitting on a piece of wood covered with cloth for God knows how long.his ass might be killing him.Never to mention the heat that is produced by the engine beside he was bearing.

                    Now the low agitated voices targetted the conductor again,they were angry coz conductor stopped the bus in each and every stop.Now this is really insane,a few moments back they were angry because the driver has stopped the bus 10mts away from the stop,now they were trashing conductor for making all the stops.

                     I just couldn't wait to get off the bus.My stop came,I can still hear the voices,Some were abusing ,some were demanding.The conductor and driver faced the angry agitated group.

                     Besides they have own problems to worry about other than people,the bus engine is old and not working properly,and the gear lever is not at all smooth.The conductor having a hard time to manage change,for every 100 rupee note that was showed up.He then had a piece of paper to fill up after each and every stop,he had to look if everyone had a ticket or bus pass.

                      As i walked after getting from the bus.I couldn't help but think about the conductor and the driver,how can someone take pains every day and still go on with their work,saying nothing.What could they be thinking? Do they spend every minute of their cursing.

                      Now i am really sorry for them,From now whenever i take the bus,I will smile at driver,think if is the first smile he had seen in months or years

Life sucks

Life Sucks .
Low scores in gate. hadn't been placed in any company yet, not a great academic percentage
Lowest in my life ,to the core really :(

Republic day

I wish all my friends a Happy Republic day . Hope we get a better democracy,

Here is a video that gives a short but an important message, do watch  it-

An Endless love

                       She was crying .  Her love of life was no more.He is now an immobile pale corpse resting in the coffin.As she saw her dead husband, a deep grief knotted her stomach , and her salty tears flowed down the cheek incessantly.

                       After the cremation, she turned back and heading to her home,still sobbing, she felt a kick in her womb. She then reminiscent his words "where ever i might be, a part of me will be always with you". Tears suddenly stopped and smile widened .

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
55 Fiction :- 55 Fiction is a form of microfiction that refers to the works of fiction limited to a maximum of fifty-five words.

My Indi rank

                 This is a great start to my blog . Indi ranks are out, and surprisingly my blog has got 50th rank, not bad , not bad at all . I have been waiting for this moment from two months. Anyway I m so happy with my blogging frequency and posts too.I feel i deserve that rank and now i have to be  carefull about my writing skills.


                  Actually i didn't thought of writing this, now that i started writing a post , so i must share my interview experience of HCL comnet, ofcourse i will keep it short coz there is nothing much to boast  about myself . I got rejected in the 3rd round. Our college is CM engineering college and it is one of the institution of malla reddy family, so we have combined placement for almost 6-7 institutions.For any placement , be it a Bpo or software companies , there will be atleast of 1000 students competing for some 10-20 odd openings. We have Hcl comnet on 21st,there were about 1200 students who attended Written test.The rounds were Written test,self introductory ,GD n atlast HR,  comnet drastically eliminates people in these rounds.


                  I cleared the first two rounds with an ease , i din't have much problem . Coming to GD, we have to be carefull while speaking , any small mistake and you are out. our topic is "Mercy Killing" . I raised one point and sat silently for the rest of the discussion, I heard that too much active participation may jeopardize the impression  of campus recruiter. After 10 minutes we have our results , i was one among the other 4 people, who didn't make it to the next round. I was so depressed , later i came to know the real mistake i have done, and it was "eye contact" .I have to make eye contact with all my mates while discussing, instead i stared at our HR . Nonetheless it was a very nice experiece, a learning experience i must say.I congragulate Gk, Megha n Sindhu  for making in to the final HR round .


                I read a Sci fic novel "The Andromeda strain". It was one of Michael Cricton best works.And now he entered in to very shortlist of my favourite authors.
                            

PM And the Speech-writer

This awesome piece of writing was published in "TIMES" on Aug 15th 2010, this was an exclusive article written by Chetan Bhagat on an account of Independence day.And about story, this is how out nation is being run by the bureaucrats,on their mercy and plight , it is truly shamefull and disgrace to the people and even to the nation. Go through the story,you will come to know :)


                                                    *    *   *


On August 14, 2010, inside a quiet, leafy, guarded bungalow on Race Course Road, a stressed old man shifted uncomfortably on his sofa. A young man next to him offered solace.

"You'll be fine. You've done it before. It's only the Independence Day," the young man said as he stacked sheets of paper.

"Do i have to give a speech?" the old man said, "I hate to talk."

"But you are the prime minister," the young man said, "And i am here, your speech-writer. Why worry?"

The PM remained uncomfortable. He looked at his phone. No calls or messages from high command. Without direction, life was extra hard.

The writer continued, "It's mostly school kids who attend. There is no Q&A at the end. Unfurl the flag, stand for the national anthem, take the gun salute, read the speech it is standard stuff."

"Everyone gets a holiday on Independence Day," the PM said, "why can't i?"

The speech-writer was speechless. He changed the topic.

"Should we talk about the content?" the writer said, "what do you want to focus on?"

"I don't know. What do you suggest?" the PM said. "Is there anything worth talking about?"

The speech-writer paused to look at the PM in disbelief before he spoke again: "So much has happened. Just in the past months."

"Like what?" the PM said.

"Like the Bhopal verdict no real punishment."

"Yes, but i don't have to talk about that," the PM said, "that story has died."

"Along with the thousands," the writer mumbled.

"What?" the PM said.

"Nothing. How about the crazy inflation? People are truly sick of it," the writer said.

"Really?" the PM said.

"Really what? That there is inflation or people are sick of it?" the writer said.

"Both i guess. I never buy anything. People do it for me. And i can't talk about inflation. It's too sensitive an issue."

"But it affects your people," the writer said.

"Next," the PM said.

"Corruption? Look at the Commonwealth Games full of murkiness. Why don't you resolve to put the criminals to book."

"Criminals who?" the PM said.

"The politicians and officials who did it," the writer said.

"But they are important people," the PM said.

"They've broken the law. Isn't the law the same for everyone?" the writer said.

"It is?" the PM said.

The writer could only raise his eyebrows in response.

"It can't be the same law. Have you ever seen any high-profile official in jail for corruption?" the PM said. "Any?"

The writer shook his head.

"I don't like to make false promises," the PM said.

"Of course," the writer said and cleared his throat, "how about Kashmir? Violence has flared up there. Or maybe we can combine it with the Naxalite disturbance and talk about internal strife?"

"Talk what?" the PM said, "why do people like to talk? Why?"

"Talk to show you care," the writer said, "and talk about solving the issues, of course."

"Is that my job?" the PM said.

"You are the prime minister. The most powerful person in the country. You can make things happen," the writer said.

"Stop making fun of me," the PM said, "other topics?"

"India-Pakistan relations," the writer said.

"I am not allowed to talk about that," the PM said.

"Not allowed?" the writer said, confused on who could disallow the PM. The PM raised one eyebrow to the framed pictures on the wall above. The writer saw the person the PM was referring to. Both exchanged half smiles.

"It's OK. I am used to it now," the PM said.

The writer stretched his arms out. "I'm out of ideas. You guide me, sir. We don't have that much time."

"General topics," the PM said, "just make it broad enough that there is no controversy. But not so boring that the guards and kids go to sleep," the PM said.

The writer bit his upper lip to mull over the PM's suggestion.

"Like i'll tell you," the PM explained, "talk about poverty reducing it, of course. And education. And stuff like we won't tolerate injustice and inequality. Oh, and use the word superpower a couple of times just don't mention a specific issue or put a real opinion."

The writer nodded slowly as he absorbed the instructions.

"OK, sir, in that case, all i have to do is look at last few years' speeches and cut-and-paste to make a new one."

The PM's eyes opened wide as he shook his head. "Don't!" he said, using his rare loud voice, "don't do that. The TV channels catch on to the cut-and-paste. Who's that feisty TV anchor?"

"Barkha Dutt?" the writer said.

"Yeah, her. She'll rip it apart. Not to mention that Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami and Deepak Chaurasia. They track all the copy-paste stuff, they'll talk non-stop about it," the PM said.

"OK, OK, won't refer to the past speeches," the writer said.

"No you can. Just make sure it is from speeches at least 20 years ago, before these anchors started work."

"Oh, OK," the writer said, "the content is the same anyway. Fine sir, you'll have it in two hours."

The writer stood up to leave. The PM escorted him to the door.

"You are a quick learner, i wish you all the success in life," the PM said.

"Thank you sir. I wish you...well, what can i wish you? You have everything."

"Wish me freedom, real freedom," the PM said, looking at the writer in his eyes as the door shut between them.

The writer is a best-selling novelist.

A balloon

         
             It was evening ,Sampath laid down in the veranda, staring blankly at the blue sky . He was lost in thoughts. The thoughts about his life. The journey of his life in never been a rollacoasta ride. He is a sophomore, with very low grades.And at the moment his brain is malfunctioning coz of the never ending project , that he has to report by tomorrow evening .He has end semister exams in store , in the next week.He haven't ate anything from the morning, thanks to his so called project

               This is him-during day time, He is a student. During   evenings he is an employee,He works to make his living, to buy his academic books, to fund his college fees. He often envy those students, who can afford an elegant lifestyle,without even worrying about the funds for their college fees, food, parties. That's the clout,they enjoy being born for the rich parents .

               Every thing around him was so depressed , weak frail body , low grades. He is done with his life, he couldn't able to resume his journey.At the moment, he gave up. It's impossible to keep shooting the star , waiting for the miracle to happen. He has no courage and strength left with in him, to pursue his dreams. He is now prepared to waive a banner and go home as a looser.

               He stood up and wanted to go back to his room, to pack all his things, then he saw the balloon ,which is flying high as if it  has no worries to think about. The ballon was in blue colour, and it was ascending slowly to reach the topmost part of the sky. He thought it will keep on gliding , without any interruptions. ofcourse there wont be any obstacles, who can stop a blue ballon,which is at 500 meters above the earth.

                Nevertheless, when it was on it's way up, a strong wind blocked it's path, and the ballon tossed to and fro. The wind suddenly seemed vulnerable , and the ballon might pop out at anytime. He is watching all the drama intently, "I am sure,that  the ballon will protrude in just a few minutes" he said to himself . But surprisingly, the blue ballon keeps on rising ,though it is soaring along with the wind.

              A five minutes later , a small drizzle has started and in a few moments it turned in to rain drops.Sampath saw the balloon again,which is fortunately rising towards the sky ,he thought "'This time, I'm very sure, you will be put to death. With the heavy rain, you little balloon will be put toruin'. It is obvious  that the balloon will pop out  anytime because of the  rain, a conclusion that is universally accepted and ofcourse proved". 

        

              But surprising him, the balloon remained stand still , but it no longer keeps soaring. After some time, when the sun shed it's light entirety, the rain is no more. The balloon resumed it's jouney to the way up .

            He was amazed by the balloon's jouney, how it went on fighting it's challenges in the midway, and survived reaching  the top part of the sky. With the split of a second, he correlated his life with the balloon . "I am the balloon who tries the best to reach it's goal. I thought going through my dream is  quite easy...with out interruptions at all . Nevertheless , on my way up  I have to face challenges , some are minor just like the wind .., and some are major like the drizzle which turned in to rain drops . All I have to do is go slowly and steadily and keep on chasing the goal"

          He thought "At the moment, I am facing the major problems of my life, work pressures, low grades, never ending projects.weak body. Do i have to give up? or chase my dream fighting all the challenges and surviving. The former is the easy way to do , the later one which is exhausting , but the best possible way to do. What shall I do then? Like the balloon, maybe I can stop and contemplate - contemplating on my vision, my inspiration together with the effort which I have already poured . Yes now I m gonna fight and I will pursue my dreams" . And he gave up the idea of  "give up" and started chasing the moon .

                         IT WAS TWO YEARS BEFORE

      Now Sampath is one of the successful and inspiring student of his college . He is now placed in top  companies like Infoysis and Cognizant , with lucrative offers .This has all happened because of his hard work and determination and ofcourse the blue balloon that has changed everything.

Fly
Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.
~Langston Huges~