Monday Blues

He crashed himself on the sofa in his shorts with his bowl of cereals. Without turning to his side; he let his hand fall on the remote to start the Tom & Jerry morning show.
Yes, it was a Monday and no, he was not going to take a bath right now. He was free to be lazy on his sofa or to sleep till noon or to watch tv the whole day or to loiter around the city as he pleased.
However; knowing that it was a Monday made him feel captive. All the friends he met on weekend would be back in their offices today. So, it would be no friends and no job again for the entire week. It was not all that appealing to be the only unemployed guy amongst all friends.
He was having Monday blues again.

The reason

She was torn between rationale and emotions; between the heart and the mind.
Maybe her friends were right. He was definitely not a greek god or a hollywood star. Calling him average looking may be a bit generous. And her family members were not wrong in their opinion too. She did earn a lot more than him.
Why did she want to be with him anyways? She could definitely find someone better; more suitable as they put it.
Her thoughts were disturbed by the buzzing sound of her cell phone vibration. She checked the message which had just come in. "I love you :)" - it said.
She smiled and kept the phone back in her purse. She knew exactly why she wanted to be with him.

आज़ाद शहर

इस शहर में भीड़ बहुत है।

इधर उधर घूमते फिरते जाने कितने लोग
यूँही मील जाते है, दौड़ते भागते,
मानो खुदसे ही आगे निकलने की कोशिश में हो
पर फिरभी कभी सुबह की दौड़ के लिए
कोई साथ चाहिए तो साथ नहीं मिलता

बड़ी बड़ी इमारतों में बसते लोग
मानो कई कसबे, कुछ ग़ाव, दो चार मोहल्ले
जोड़ दिए हो साथ में
मगर जाने क्यों यहाँ कोई वक़्त बेवक़्त
यूँही दरवाज़ा खटखटाकर चीनी नहीं मांगता

जब चलते हुए सड़क पर ठेस लग जाती है,
कोई यहाँ हाथ पकड़ कर सड़क किनारे
पेड़ की छाव में बिठाता नहीं
ना ही कोई थोड़ी सी हल्दी ला कर घाव पर
जोर से भीस के दबा देता है
लोग बस गुज़र जाते है पास से

वह चौराहे के पेड़ के नीचे बैठे ताऊ,
वह पड़ोस से चिल्ला कर आवाज़ लगाती मौसी,
वह नुक्कड़ की दूकान वाले चाचा,
वह सारे भैया; सब भौजाई;
यह सब कोई रिश्तो का बंधन नहीं यहाँ;
बड़ा आज़ाद है यह शहर;

कभी कभी अकेलापन लगता है यहाँ;
पर ज्यादातर इस शहर में भीड़ बहुत है।

- प्रियांक शाह

Five conversations on your birthday

If you are young (as young as me atleast :P) and in India, these are five conversations you are bound to come across on your birthday.

- Hi there! Happy Birthday
There will be forgotten friends and aunts and uncles who will ressurrect themselves on your birthday just to wish you. And rest back in oblivion again for the next one year.
Specially with advent of facebook; there would be people you don't know and who don't know you getting happy on your birthday.

- Have a Blast
That's the most common greeting now a days! And it is alright if you are anywhere else in the world but when you are in Mumbai and someone tells you to have a blast, you just imagine an unattended bag in the train going BOOM!!!!
Not a right greeting, is it?

- Where's the party?
This is a mandatory question.
Dude, your birthday was just two days back and there was no party!!! DOESN'T MATTER
Lady, you are somewhere in the iced igloo of Alaska and I am in the tropical desert in India! WHO CARES?
You are the loner who doesn't even like parties. You crib about cooties and too many people when there are 3 people having dinner... NOT VALID POINT
Crux of the matter -》Party to banti hai!!!

- What Plans??!!
That is the next question asked by everyone. And dare you say 'Nothing as such, usual day'...
Their eyes will pop out and they will get breathless; some weak-hearted might even faint. How can you not have special plans on your birthday? It's not like you can make plans on others days too; you can make them only on birthdays, right?

- Deciding your future
This is predominantly done by family members but some friends are also lame enough to be in this clan.
Oh! You are 24; now you should get married; it's about time...
Oh! 28, so planning for a child? It's about time...
If you have any such relatives, next time when it's their birthday, try this!
Oh! 58, have you made your will? It's about time...

Anyways, people are as they are! Can't help it... Waiting for all these conversations to happen once again with me!!

Wasting time

She opened the book with shine in her eyes and excitement in her heart. She chewed the words one by one, relishing their feel on her tongue and their taste in her heart. She plunged into the story and engulfed herself into each character as they came to life in her mind. She was the protagonist at times, fighting off the bandits or the villian plotting against the innocent. She felt the romance developing in the heart of the leading lady and the pain that the kid in the story felt on losing a beloved. She bit her nails on the suspense and a shiver ran down her spine on the cruel climax. She did not just read the book; she lived it.
He went for the movie that was inspired from the same book. Ingenious that he was, he completed the task in two hours as against the week that she took. "Reading is such a waste of time", he said. The taste of popcorn was what lingered in his mouth when he left the cinema hall.

Finding Peace

"Damn", he cursed as the ear-plugs dropped out of his ears. They don't fit too well in my ears, he thought.

The chirping of the birds in the garden he jogged filled the air. It was as if they were all summoning the morning and embracing the first rays with their voices. The sound of laughters of elderly who had gathered for their morning laughter club regime blended well into the affable sounds of the bells on the kids' cycles. There were various "Good Morning"s floating in the air from the other joggers.

He picked up the fallen earplug and thrust it back in his ear to stop the noise around and for some peace while jogging.

Gender Discrimination

"Dekh ke chalo naa, Idiot!!", he yelled at the girl who brushed her shoulder against his on the crowded railway platform. The girl was shocked, people around smirked, some put their finger on the side of their forehead to indicate that he had lost it; loose screw as they say.

Another lady confronted him and asked, "Kya problem hai? bheed me lag jaata hai".   To this he said, "Itni samajh tab kaha jaati hai jab aap kisi ladke ko yehi kehte ho"

A passerby went to the guy and said, "Chhod na bhai, hum ladko ki koi izzat nahi hoti; Izzat to sirf inki hi hoti hai."