Whispering Shadow

While I was sleeping Mumbai was returning home As were its tired and sleepy souls Theirs was a routine journey So should have been their homecoming But little did they know They will be scarred again In a way like never before. While I was sleeping Bullets were fired By cowards and liars Self-righteous mercenaries of terror The bullets pierced bodies Whose souls went to meet their Maker To ask Him, “Why us?” To ask Him, “What gave them the right?” While I was sleeping Symbols of Mumbai were burnt Guests of the city were taken hostage To be used as human shields The same shields they chose to tear The same shields they now wear Conscience is not what you look for In these agents of death.   While I was sleeping While I was dreaming Mumbai was burning Mumbai was bleeding At those very places I have once been I can imagine how it would have been If imagining the ordeal is so painful I will be lying if I told you “I know how it feels.”

Once upon a time, there was a Hare. She was powered by a noisy 6 cylinder engine and wore an untidy look of bright red. Her arrogance reflected in the fact that she had B.E.S.T. printed on it in bold. She thought she'll give two Tortoises a lift home. "What can these two slow coaches do? They will never reach home in time had it not been for me. I am faster and more energetic than the two of them put together." The Tortoises had had a tiring day in office and in no mood for a show of strength. So they decided to jump on the little crammed space remaining on the otherwise spacious Hare, who told them it is only a matter of minutes before she gets them home. But little did she know what great obstacle lay in her way, the dreaded monster called Traffic. He had broken the morale of many like her before, but this Hare of ours was not the one to give in. She continued the grand show of high-handedness. The Tortoises were tired after a long day at work, and the last thing they n...

There is life beyond good days and bad days. And sometimes, it goes far beyond the days of mundane existence and mere achievements, days where you feel you are invincible. No person can hurt you. No thought can enter your mind. You are blank, as empty as the sands of a barren desert. Yet, you don't feel parched. You are at peace, with yourself and all the variables around you, in every wordly equation that is yet unsolved. You think of those who love you, those who have prayed for you and those who have given you luck and realise that with so much positivity surrounding you, there can be no space for a pessimism. You start believing in yourself like you never have. An aura surrounds you, like an armour that takes all the blows when you are fencing your enemy off. Your are overwhelmed by a sense of objectivity. Your mission is to defeat your only enemy - panic. Life gives you second chance, but you are worthy of it only if you have lived upto yourself in your first attempt. Your att...

It is one day to go for the mother of all exams (if you didn't know, it's CAT I am talking about), but here are a few questions I definitely am trying not to think about: How is the paper going to be tomorrow? How am I going to attempt it?  What will the paper pattern be like? What if I get through? How will I get through? Can I get through? What if I don't get through? When was the last time I said this was not a serious attempt? When was the last time I said there is always hope? What is my chance of getting lucky, when 269999 others ask for luck on the same day? Do I need luck? What if my friend gets through and I don't? What if I get through and my friend doesn't? What if the paper pattern changes next year to an online test? What if the paper is leaked? What if I forget my hall ticket at home? What if I wake up and realise it is 11:30 already? What if there is a curfew tomorrow? When was the last time I tried to not think so much?  Luckily, CAT has only five an...

My new office location, to put it in one word, is far, so far that we have given christened it ''Kalapani", which was a colonial era prison on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The fastest we reach there through any combination of means of transport (one is not enough) is 1 hours and 15 minutes, but then we live in a world where traffic could get stuck under a flyover long enough for you to complete your grocery purchases and return to your car without the need to park even park it. Sometimes, I wonder if a passerby would look at it as a road, or a parking lot! Since we are sincere employees and we love our work, we put up with all the hurdles that the travelling poses in our path and tirelessly keep looking for new alternatives to reach our final destination. Today, we tried a car, no actually a jeep, Maddy's jeep. And if you think we only drove to work, think again. I bet you could not have made your first drive to work so memorable as this. Continue reading to know w...

You might be wondering where I have been so long. I have just returned from a holiday to Dubai and Sharjah. The trip was not exactly a long vacation but it was a vacation well-spent! I lived like a tourist for a change. I also have captured bits and pieces of it through the pictures I clicked. Here's a glimpse of my photolog. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 1: Almost There Dubai truly represented the city of blinding lights, looking pretty in colours of gold and tungsten. Day 2: Burj Dubai This building is so tall that I couldn't fit it in my camera frame. I was around half a kilometer away. And guess what, it is still under construction. No wonder, it's the tallest man-made structure in the world. Day 2: Burj Al Arab from Jumeriah Beach Jumeirah Beach is one of the oldest and the most beautiful beaches in Dubai. It overlooks three hotels, Burj Al Arab (by far the most elegant), the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, ...