Ducks of a Pond Quack Along

The picturesque pond was indeed a sight to behold. The lush green grass, the blue waters and the light mist in the skies made it the perfect leisure spot. Herein lied the home of a bufflehead duck called Drake. Drake was energetic but quiet. He would waddle through the lake with all his speed enjoying the waters and eating to his hearts content. The light mist was indicating the end of the spring season. The air had also become mildly chilly, it was time for the ducks to migrate. Perched on top of a stone, Drake would glare at the lake for hours trying to capture all the beauty. Drake knew it was going to be a long winter alone as he knew how to swim but could not fly.

"Drake we will miss you, but we will be back to tell you all the stories of our adventure." Stella said.

"We are ducks , we cant carry. Otherwise we would have somehow taken you along." Blub said with a slight hesitation.

"See you Drake!" Blub shouted.

"Bye Drake" Stella wished him goodbye.

Blub and Stella were the only friends Drake had. Drake knew a lot of ducks but only few of them came back to the same lake. Blub and Stella would always come back ,or at least that is what Drake hoped.

"Bye , I will wait for you guys" Drake shouted while swimming after them. He watched them take the flight northwards.

As he stopped he stared back at the waters and headed back to the shore. He had to build a home that would last the whole winter. Drake wasn't scared but the idea of being alone amidst all the predators of winters was concerning.

With a wink of determination and a smile of courage Drake started to gather food. He knew that the harsh winter would make it more difficult to catch fish. The snow came down and mode the once colorful ground look bleak and lifeless. Everyday Drake would head to the waters to eat weed and catch fish , he would be content with whatever he got. Days passed by in the same manner and everyday Drake would look up to the sun as if praying to get spring back.

One day he heard a terrible sound of a loud bang , the kind of sound that once wounded him terribly. Drake knew that this was not good news and decided to hide in his bush. He could see a wounded rabbit not too far away. Ducks would not talk to other animals unless required , so conjuring some courage it went up to the rabbit.

"You have to run.The Humans have arrived. They are here to hunt." the rabbit said.

Drake could hear rumblings near the bush so he ran towards his home. He perched silently thinking about the new situation in hand. He saw one huge thing pick up the rabbit, perhaps that is what the rabbit referred to as humans. The situation presented him of two options one was to run towards the other side of the pond and the other to help the ducks who would be arriving in some time. He knew that if the ducks came they would get hurt just like him. He had to make the pond disappear. But how would he do that was the big question? Somehow he had to make the ducks think that there is no lake here. By doing that he would protect the ducks but end up being alone, probably forever.

Drake picked up the first twig and started covering the pond with it, nature also helped him by conjuring winds that would bring twigs and leaves into the pond. He knew that every inch of the pond would have to be covered. So toiling through day and night Drake made sure that the once beautiful pond was visible no more.

Spring was here ,he could see that his plan had worked.The ducks were flying further south, not coming down to the pond below. The humans choose to hunt further away, as he could not hear their voices now.

Drake would stand on top of the same stone looking at the pond. It was not the same as before. His patience and resolution was breaking. The lights and sounds of his world dimmed as every second of his life had become an infinite wait. Thats when he heard a voice , the quack he wanted to hear the most. It was Stella and Blub.

"Hey Drake how are you?" Stella said

Drake bumped into both of them as if trying to hug.

"Wow what happened to the Pond?" Blub said.

"Its a long story and its my adventure. But how did you guys return here? Was the lake visible?" Drake said in a questioning tone.

"No it was not. We never returned to the lake , we always returned to a friend called Drake. The friendship we have does not change with the seasons." Blub said.

"And this time while we were away we made friends who would help you to fly" Stella said.

Drake was quiet , it was this sort of feeling that made his wings flutter. So even without the once beautiful pond, three ducks of the pond quack along.

Everyone is an art

The canvas was filled with most erratic patterns and colors. No one around her could make out what the 11 year old Zua painted. Her parents had asked her many times but she just would not tell. Instead she would just smile and continue with her drawings. Her father had the most liking for Zua's art, so he kept providing all the materials that he could. An ardent admirer ,her distant observer. They were about to have a new guest, who would stay with them for 4 days. Sambhav knocked on their door.
"Hello Uncle, Hello Aunt - Where is Zua?" Sambhav said in an excited tone.
"Hurray-Puffffff-Burrrrr here is my favorite brother. I have to show you everything" Zua came running and shouting on top of her voice. Zua didn't have her own brother and Sambhav was closest to her.
"So you have been busy painting!" Sambhav remarked.
"Yes and this time i have done so many of them." Zua showed Sambhav 18 of her drawings. "Wow they sure are a lot Cheeku." Sambhav said.
Sambhav was determined to find out what the little Zua was actually trying to make. All the drawings were dissimilar and unique. Some had lines criss crossing,some had a single color background,some had many colors and one had a particular stair going up in the air. The stair painting also had walls on top and bottom of the stairs, just like a sandwich with the walls being the bread and the stair being the stuffing. Sambhav didn't have any problem understanding this one as the first time he could interpret one of Zua's drawings.
"Looks like in this painting someone is trying to reach to the top." Sambhav said in a confident tone.
"No. How can he reach to the top when there are walls on the top and bottom." Zua said.
Sambhav couldn't believe but Zua actually made sense. Suddenly it struck to him that the paintings could depict a persons state of mind or a person himself.
"But now i know that the person is a "he". And also that the person is trying to climb up or down.I also know that all these drawings are about people and their state of mind" Sambhav said.
"Wow, so you got it right. I knew that you would understand. But you also need to guess who this painting is about?". Zua said.
"It must be about your father or that boy that you like -humn humn!!" Sambhav said overjoyed.
"NOOO ... He is a little young for me." Zua said smiling. They both started laughing. Talk about who is young Sambhav thought.
"So who is it about?" Sambhav thought while Zua was fiddling with his hair.
"Its about me,isn't it?" Sambhav said conclusively.
"Yes indeed, and i wont tell you what it means. You have to figure out on your own." Zua said.

Sambav kept the drawing and started to look at others during the course of his stay. He knew why Zua made that painting. He often told her about his problems while he was away, and most of the times the problems were self created. Although he was amazed by the accurate representation. The same night he took a sheet from Zua's paint book and started to think in the same lines as that 11 year kid. He realized that "everyone" is indeed an art. He wanted to draw a picture of Zua, her thoughts. It was so hard, much harder than he imagined.

Summary
Children are good at reading people, they spend most of their time analyzing them. They analyze them with facts - very broad facts - very accurate facts. For them the rate of application of knowledge is much higher , for us the input rate of knowledge exceeds our application which makes us ineffective. On the other hand Grown ups also have in built prejudice driving their conscience ,leading to a very detailed but sometimes highly inaccurate judgement. The prejudice that has built up over the years from listening and learning from grown-ups,teachers,parents,friends etc. Prejudice is the complexity of a solution or idea , which should be converted to simplicity of thought.
The next time i make an important decision i will sure consult a child.

Inspiration
My cousin sister. I still have a painting which she made for me. I cant stop her from growing up, but i wish her prejudice is not like mine.

Two names of the same Game

The blue sky was giving way to the orange shades of twilight. Sambhav had been selected for a prestigious university. He was happy all those years of effort finally paying off, but he would have to leave country for two years. He would have to leave a life which he felt so proud of and start one somewhere else.
"No Fara our love is not immortal.We cant break the cycle of time" Sambhav said.
Fara was also happy about Sambhav getting selected but internally she coudnt bear the pain of Sambhav leaving.
"So what if it is not? Its up to us to live this moment. To relish what this time can give us." Fara said ,looking deeply into the eyes of Sambhav.
"Fara ,Don't worry i will figure out a way to immortalize our love. I know i can. We will never part - Ever - Forever" Sambhav said in a determined voice.
Sambhav knew that he had taken up an impossible task. How could he immortalize a feeling, which sometimes cant even be seen by the eyes?
"Fara ,Lets meet tomorrow,same place same time" Sambhav said.
Fara could see the sensitivity on Sambhav's face. She knew he was up to something.
"Take care of yourself and don't do anything silly" Fara said smiling to Sambhav.
"Yes i will" Sambhav said holding her hands, smiling.
After a good look at each other they parted ways. They have been together for 12 years now.Sambhav kept on thinking about the ways he could accomplish that task. Music and Paintings could get victimized by nature or get critically judged by humans. Wall and stone carvings are for nincompoops. Statues are for gods or people with courage and dignity. Nothing seemed to be coming to him. He lay down on his bed, recalling everything he could about Love.
Next day he woke up to a shiny morning.He was still thinking of the same question and prayed to GOD to get an answer. He greeted his parents who were bustling to complete the cycle of the day. He knew that for dad love was his work and for mom it was to make sure that everyone is setup for a nice day ahead. Both mom and dad loved each other by doing what they could for others and themselves.What did they exactly do for him?
Sacrifice
He felt that sacrifice was a part of love and the act of it somehow made it stronger and yes ---- partly immortal as the feeling has transferred from one individual to the other. So what could he sacrifice for Fara that would make their love immortal? He had the answer and yet he grew hesitant. He decided that he will not leave, he will stay here with Fara. Somehow he didn't feel sad or disappointed. He now had sacrificed a thing he wanted the most to be with the person he wanted the most. He told his parents about it and they were convinced about his decision. They told him that "Sacrifice gave way to Love and Love gives way to everything".
Impatiently he ran to meet Fara. He landed on her door , greeted her parents and knocked at her rooms door. She opened it up slightly.
"You..Here..so early in the morning..thank god i have something that i need to tell you" Fara said.
"No something i need to tell you as well" Sambhav said ecstatically.
"I will go first but for that you need to come inside and close the door." Fara said.
"Best day indeed" Sambhav giggled.
Fara suddenly turned serious and said " I will go with you. I will forfeit my life here.I will somehow manage my parents."
Sambhav had realized that she would really do it. He was not the only one who was thinking or sacrificing, she was doing it as well.This made him feel so perfect. He felt relieved that they had what is called love and understood its significance.
He went ahead and conveyed his decision as well. Fara understood it without saying anything. Both of them knew that there is so much more they could achieve without causing turmoil in their families.
They now could understand the word "sacrifice". They would never leave people who sacrificed for them - "their parents".
Summary
Love itself is the emblem of eternity or immortality; it confounds all notion of time; effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end and what fuels it are mortal acts of sacrifice.

Dhaba on the Highway

This dhaba had witnessed a lot of people and situations in its life of 22 years. It had seen rich people, poor people and people who wanted to take no sides between either rich or poor. It was time for the dhaba to witness a rather unique person , SAMBHAV. Sambhav was a self learnt , happy go lucky guy who knew that the road travelled was more important than the distance itself. Sambhav's car stops in front of the dhaba, which was empty during the very early hour.

"Come Sir have a seat" Dhabawala said.

"Thanks. I will give the order in a while" smiled Sambhav.

Sambhav takes the seat and looks around for the mens room. It was a long drive indeed. He returns and sits on his seat again.

"What will be your order ,Sir?" Dhabawala said.

"What do you have for me in this menu?" Sambhav replied.

The dhabawala started to recite the menu melodiously. Sambhav interrupted.

"What do you have here thats just for me?" Sambhav said.

"We dont have anything special at the moment,nothing outside of the menu..Although there is something i always wanted to try to make." Dhabawala said in a smiling tone.

"What is it?" Sambhav replied.

"Paratha stuffed with aloo, mint leaves and honey". Dhabawala said.

Sambhav smiled and asked " I will have that. By the way who stopped you from making it earlier? . You seem to be a good cook and the dhaba seems to be yours ,isn't it?

"Yes Sir, No one had come up with such a request earlier. Everyone wanted a subtle change like more salt , chilli or spices. No one wanted an entirely new thing." Dhabawala replied.

Dhabawala enjoyed the new challenge that he had just received. He wanted to cook this paratha for a long time. He earlier cooked it for himself , but today he was doing it for someone else. Dhabawala noticed that Sambhav is indeed unique. Dhabawala quickly got the arrangements done and cooked the meal. He made some for himself too and decided to have it with Sambhav.

"Here is your paratha Sir. If you dont mind can i have breakfast with you?" Dhabawala said.

"Yes sure, that would be a pleasure" Sambhav instantly replied.

"Who are you sir and where are you heading?" Dhabawala asked.

"I am a lost man who is on a journey to discover himself and in the process make other people realize what they truly can be." Sambhav said.

"You sure made me realize one thing sir." Dhabawala said.

"What's that?" Sambhav replied.

"When i was young and was learning to make the correct choices in life, i made a few choices as what others said.All the items in the menu are a result of that. They were not wrong but they were not the best either. Today you made me realize again that the best choice is not interdependence but independence." Dhabawala said.

"Yes thats it. Life is indeed like a menu card with people demanding things from it. The items that will be economical and quick to make will be demanded the most. You will get love , respect and recognition as the value for those items. But the best item will be the one thats not on the list. Waiting for someone to explore it or help you to explore it. Once it has been explored then it permanently gets added on to the menu card. I am on the hunt of adding on items in my menu card." Sambhav said.

"Sir,this is fascinating and i can see the menu card in a different light now. Sir , every time you come here the treat is going to be on me." Dhabawala replied.

Dhabawala felt almost like a new man. Sambhav knew he had done his job.

Summary

All their life was spent not in laws, statutes, or rules, but according to their own free will and pleasure. They rose out of their beds when they thought good: they did eat, drink, labour, sleep, when they had a mind to it, and were disposed for it. None did awake them, none did offer to constrain them to eat, drink, nor to do any other thing. In all their rule, there was but this one clause to be observed,

DO WHAT YOU WILL.

It Rained On me

The dimming light made for an excellent playground. Sailesh was absorbed in the spirit of finding his friends, who hid themselves in the bushes nearby. He pounced consciously on one of his friends to scare him, only to find that the friend was already looking scared.
"What is it?" Sailesh said.
"I found a talking rock" Mukesh replied lifting that small rock up to Sailesh's face.
"Get it off me, yuck …. Euuu .. Throw it away" Sailesh said.
"No really Sailesh it talks ,go on say something to it." Mukesh replied.
"So what can you do Mr talking rock..do you give wishes? What kind of rock are you? Are you volcanic?" Sailesh giggled.
After a moment of silence Mukesh broke out awkwardly.
"Yes it is..How did you know Sailesh?"
"I didn’t know it I just joked about it.. And how come you know?" Sailesh said.
"I know cause it talked back. Coudnt you hear it?" Mukesh said.
"Nopes .. I guess it dosent talk to me. What exactly did it say to you anyways? Sailesh said.
"It said that ..its volcanic and it can manufacture rain.It even says that it might rain on you tomorrow." Mukesh said in a serious overtone.
"Oh come on , how can it rain on me alone?" Sailesh said.
Somehow Sailesh knew that his friends were picking on him. Rocks cant talk, can they?
Sailesh snatched the rock from Mukesh and threw it away. In the certain look of awe and shock Mukesh ran out to retrieve the rock. Sailesh was surprised at the sudden show of emotion from Mukesh.
Mukesh ran back to Sailesh.
"Never ever do that again." Mukesh said.
This statement followed their separation to their respective homes. Sailesh in his total sense on ignorance thought that someone played a trick on Mukesh. Everything started to connect that ways. Sailesh thought that if Mukesh wanted to convince him, he better prove it first. The night passed away as if nothing extraordinary had happened. The next morning Sailesh woke up and was getting ready for school. He smiled at the bathroom shower remembering what had happened earlier. He knew it couldnt be the shower Mukesh was talking about. He got ready , finished his breakfast and headed for the bus stop where he saw Mukesh standing.
"So whats up Mukesh. Are you mad about yesterday?" Sailesh said.
"No. Whats there to be mad about? Mukesh smiled shaking hands with Sailesh.
"Huh .. so you are really pretty OK about it .. never knew you were so understanding." Sailesh said.
"I just wanted you to believe in the stone without looking at whats obvious or whats not. Or if not , you could have believed in me. But i guess that's OK . Its a little weird to talk to a stone after all. I wont justify myself. " Mukesh said happily.
"Good .. Its just a stone." Smiled Sailesh.
Is rain just symbolic? Does it mean something else? It couldn't rain today. Sailesh checked the skies to confirm. Blue and spotless , just what Sailesh wanted. He soooo knew that he was right.
It was the fifth period in the class just after lunch and everything was going as Sailesh had planned. He had a free class , what a day, couldn't get better. Suddenly his ART teacher shows up and asks him to take charge of STANDARD 2 children. He felt proud. He was good at ART. So he went in between the bunch of kids and asked them to draw whatever they wanted to. Seeing all the kids hustling and bustling around the class uplifted his mood. The 30 minutes given to kids flew by. He collected the paintings. He was clipping all the paintings when his eyes noticed a strange one.
"Shruti whats this?" Sailesh asked.
"Sir its YOU STANDING IN THE RAIN." Shruti said.
"Wait a minute. How did you think of this?" Sailesh said.
"Our teacher talks about you .. I think you are cool .. as cool as rain in a mid summer day. So i drew them together. I didn't think that much. Is it OK? Shruti said.
Shruti looked as cute as she could and that gave Sailesh away. Sailesh collected himself and graded each drawing ,constantly thinking about what had happened.It rained on Sailesh. Sailesh realized that "To have something special , you need to believe that its special". Sailesh knew he had to apologize to Mukesh, he hugged Shruti for making him "Believe".

Summary:
So if anyone says to you that it will rain in a mid summer day.. just believe him/her.. you never know when and how it might.

KAHAN HUN MAIN

dard jo har din badha hai..

har ek lamha jeena pada hai..

jhuth ke bikhre kaantoin mein ..

sach ki wo rahat kahan hai..

dusron ki mehfilon mein khush tha..

aadhi neend mein jagta hun main..

tu bata de aaj mujko..

tu kahan aur kahan hun main..

--------

raston ki manjileen nahi hai..

tum kahin ho hum kahin hai..

waqt ke behte leher mein..

tham chuki wo boond kahin hai..

jo khwaab aankhon mein saja tha..

uski parchai se bhagta hun main..

tu bata de aaj mujko..

tu kahan aur kahan hun main..

---------
dar chuka hai, ro chuka hai..

paas aa kar dur wo ho chuka hai..

ghir kar tu is chakrvyuh mein..

Dil shahid tu ho chuka hai..

baat jo tujhe na pata tha..

raaz ki wo aawaz hun main..

tu bata de aaj mujko..

tu kahan aur kahan hun main..

-----------
logon ne mujse kaha hai..

asha dheeraj aur dua hai..

pyaar ki saachi kahaniyon main ..

dard hua hai par acha hua hai..

dard had se aage gaya tha..

zakhm ab khata hun main..

tu bata de aaj mujko..

tu kahan aur kahan hun main..

-------------

Go Tiger

The verdict is out - yes, the tigers are disappearing from our jungles. The Aircel ad indicates that only 1411 of them are prowling in India. Imagine if they do go extinct , India will not only loose its national animal but in a way it will loose its national identity. The ad with the message is really wonderful, specially with the icons endorsing it. The little cub in the ad is not only looking for its mother but is asking a question to us - is their extinction justified? Their right to existence in not any less than ours.

Tiger as an animal symbolizes grace,beauty,agility and fierceness.They resemble the Indian way of living and thinking in so many ways, perhaps that is why they are our national animal. They are highly adaptable, Some live in grasslands and some even in swamps. They have nine further subspecies like our various cultures. They share their food just like our family values. Male tigers show their dispute by intimidation rather than outright aggression, don't we treat our neighbours in a similar way :). Their cubs are well taken care of by their parents, just like value system at our homes. Every time it appears on TV you pause for a while to admire and look at its antics, they are beautiful whatever mess they stay in. They are something that you would get scared of, but you will also love to keep a tiger soft toy in your car or home.

After all i am not stopping you from eating tiger biscuit (ting ting ting ting), all i am saying is " save them , restore faith and return the tigers pride". Please visit them in wildlife sanctuaries in India. Save them , initiate "project tiger" again.