A Good day to die easy

"I need you to understand Aparna... Its not going to be possible..." whispered his son-in-law. Aparna took a deep breath for the news to sink in. She murmured back " Lets not tell him now.... though being him , he might have already known." Saket did not overhear this conversation, but knew what news was being transmitted and instantly felt uneasy and different. Sensing that her father was still gazing  from the glass window at both of them , Aparna paused the 'hush-hush' conversation , looked at her father, smiled gently and raised her thumbs. Saket just smiled back from inside. Somewhere deep within her, Aparna knew that her father knew.

Saket clad in green from top to bottom now twisted to the other side of his hospital bed and began staring at the blank wall. Uneasiness was beginning to hit him hard. He began to sweat. It seemed his body released  epinephrine, norepinephrine and dozen other fear hormones at the same time. Saket, aged 70 has been fighting his battle with a peculiar disease for which he was undergoing several tests and little treatment at the hospital where his son-in-law is a doctor.

...........

The door opened."Apologies for being late Deepak. My wife insisted on me having the dinner before I left".

"Not at all sir. No problem."

Deepak pulled a wooden chair for Raja to sit. "Not unusual that there is a huge hype surrounding it... Is it not sir ?" asked Deepak . Raja ,his superior nodded his head , looked down at his footwear, dug in his toe , and pushed a pile of dust that had accumulated in the last 15 days. "I am just proud and happy to be part of history." Raja replied. He stood up from his wooden chair, went across the storage section and caressed his hands slowly at thickly wrapped books and continued " Media does help. In our case , more money."

Raja breathed in the aroma of newly bound books.He had done the same for four previous editions of it. He bent down the racks to check whether the bundles were properly tied and in the process caused the contents of his shirt pocket(Paper bits, visiting cards, Restaurant bills etc) to fall on the dirty floor.Among the fallen items ,he picked up only his visiting cards. He blew out the dust , wiped them by caressing it along his chest and kept it back in his pocket. Other fallen items continued to lie on the floor though.

Raja thought himself to have a much more significant role in his job than the designation printed on his visiting card which read as " Raja Mukherjee : Warehouse Manager , Bloomsbury Publications India - Central Warehouse , Kolkatta ".Today he felt, he was informally given a responsibility from the management."Bring on the mattress, its time we get some sleep.. We have a busy day tomorrow. More books are on the way." said Raja with pride.  "Yes sir.Give me a minute..". Raja observed the ceiling fan above and managed to find some spider webs."Bring a wet cloth too, we need to wipe the fan before we lie under it".
"Ok sir."

...........                                                                        

Saket was game for a midnight adventure.The night was regular , like many other nights , nothing special or extraordinary. Saket had worked his way through the gates like a regular and nobody could detect. He moved without a single pause and was outside the ever crowded hospital (which represented a mall) in five minutes. Having no other option, he decided to take his son-in-law's old green-and-blue bike. 

His ride was liberating and after having traveled for over an hour, he decided to stop by an old rusted building. He looked for passerby's and found none except some sleeping stray dogs. He pulled of his coat and went to the rear side of the building and broke in. The darkness notwithstanding , he courageously strolled along. 

.........

Raja had been waiting for the second lot to arrive for close to 2 hours in the morning. He then received a call from his superior informing him that no new books would be arriving due to a policy change. There would however be a review of warehouse around noon by delegates before further books arrived. The release date had been postponed. 

Bloomberg Global , had its own reservations before releasing the book in India. The piracy market was rampant and humongous. They had also to content with the population that would be reading it online. They went ahead with a reasonable pricing strategy. They went ahead because there was demand, and there was no doubt about it. The release of the book was much talked about even a year before it was supposed to release. Delegates from the parent company were sent overnight to several Indian locations to monitor theft and piracy. No new books would arrive until the delegates reported back favorably. 

Raja went back home , had a bath. His wife had prepared a sumptuous brunch. He refused it as he had to go back to the warehouse before noon. 

.........

Saket came back to his room quietly without anybody noticing but knew that his adventure will just start and will be an exciting one. What he didn't know was that he had just found more than a new friend after a long long time, the book in his hand; a friend for the remaining lifetime and metaphorically his future love. There was temptation though to read the last page. He had never done that before. And, he said to himself that he will never do it again."People who read the last page first have no life", he mumbled. He resisted the temptation and began his joy ride.

Page by page , he did read... Line by line, he did enjoy.... Word by word, he did relish.... Hour by hour.. he took six....And when the seventh had just began and he came to the last chapter....

..........

Officials from the management came to the warehouse around noon and immediately the inventory counting took place. A book was missing. Raja recounted them all. He bent down at the same place as he had done the previous night and to his surprise found the plastic cover in open mode.

                                   

The other contents of his shirt pocket were still there. Could it be the work of rodents ? Then how could an entire book vanish ?. Several questions were posed at Raja. He was perplexed and so was Deepak. A police FIR was lodged.Media broke open the news almost immediately. Needless to say Raja and Deepak were reprimanded.

.........

.....2 pages.....

Patience was running out. " Just 2 more..." he said to himself. His hands began to shiver. Tears flowed from his eyes. The concentration fluttered and he paused. He composed himself and re-read the page.

... Last page... 

He felt gloom and happiness at the same time.

... Last paragraph... 

Saket now knew that Harry lived. He also knew it much before the world knew. He had done it. He knew the end. Saket shut the book and looked upwards....... Little did he fuss for the excruciating pain that hit him couple of minutes later when life left him.

THE END

Snow Therapy...

They reached the hotel just before the nightfall.The tiredness of the journey was nullified on sight of snow.It was the first time in their lives that they had seen snow in real.Kashmir was much beyond their imagination....

They checked into their room. The night had set in.The room resembled a wood house.The walls had been painted brown and textured accordingly to give that effect.The room had a fireplace.There was no fan. Thankfully there was no TV.He ordered their dinner through room service.The room boy was bewildered... No tourist has visited Kashmir in deep winter.. On his request the room boy lit the fire at the fire place and left.The fire was soothing...

As an outsider one both loves and hates an average Kashmiri winter. The cold is severe that the hands become clammy and the chill forces one to breathe into his/her own hands to keep them warm .The warmth is temporary. One has to repeat the process a few minutes later because cold takes over again. Suddenly all you long for are warm covers or the sensation of a summer sun of Chennai..! But again,when one experiences the rise of the mercury in the valley, it is depressing. For everyone comes here to escape the heat and they hate the sun.Locals differ though.

He now turned towards her.She was admiring the hot red flames; their constant dancing was calming her nerves. They had trudged through the snow and now basked in the warmth in the cozy room. Bitter cold existed behind the closed door; and now, as she looked, there seemed to be frozen icicles hanging from the gutters. To her, it seemed, two sides on a coin; the first, the wet, miserable weather outside where only snow falling in dizzying speed existed. And in here, where one instantly felt as if they had stepped in a warm bath.The heat from the fireplace warmed them as she slowly gazed out the room window. She could make out that frost covered the edges of the window and snow was falling gently from the sky. As far as she could see, the ground was covered in a thick blanket of snow...

He went to his bed with hope as the only one thing in his mind... The Doctor had said high altitude would cure her...Hence of all the places the doctor had recommended , Kashmir was his choice...Sometimes he felt the doctor's argument irrational.Even the doctor had said once science does have limited explanations.... And.. Just before he closed his eyes, he looked at her once more. She appeared tranquil. Surely altitude has had some effect on her and he only hoped that the serenity of the place cured her insanity once for all...!

Cuddle,Break and Patch -- (Part 1 - Mistrust)

"Isn't it true ?", Rohit asked as he switched his laptop on. "That we have become some sort of data dictionaries?".

"Dictionary ?.. Data..? What Rohit ?",Priya replied.Priya then bent over her cabin and gave 'Have u become mad?' kind of expression to Rohit.

"Yes Priya.. We all are gadgets now.We no longer have the retaining capacity.We are no longer able to keep our memmm ....". Rohit had paused... He had paused because Priya had started yawning. He would normally become furious if someone yawned when he spoke.He wanted people not to miss even a single word that he uttered because he knew that humans temperorily become deaf when they yawn and whatever movement of their face in acknowledgement would always be fake. Somehow Priya was never a target of his bad temper.He himself wanted to know why.
.
.
.
Rohit waited patiently as she yawned for a good 10 seconds.Her mouth was wide open like Lord Krishna except that there was no world inside but effect of significant cavity.Also he noticed that her teeth were turning from white to 'eastman colour'. He continued "We are not able to keep our memories. All we now do is have a memory about memory." Rohit could make out that Priya now elevated herself from hearing.She was now listening what he was saying.

"We go somewhere and then come back and actively upload all our pictures onto Facebook. We blog about our experience, we tweet, etc. etc. In short,we just upload all your memories online and forget about it.Facebook and twitter have become our pensieves'"...

"Hmmm... Yes.." said Priya.
"Then what we remember is not the exact memory..But the memories about memory..You are right...." Priya now had a raised eyebrow pointing at Rohit..
"But why are you saying this now..?".
"Just a thought that crossed my mind." said Rohit picking bunch of papers from the draw without looking at her.
"C'mon.. No thoughts cross your mind without purpose.."

Rohit laughed.He then took the bunch of papers and left the room...Priya watched him until he disappeared from her vision. Needless to say , Rohit and Priya were colleagues.They were class mates in school and college as well.And as 'whatever' would have it , they were now team mates in office too.

Rohit came back to his cabin and kept the papers in his draw.. and then turned to Priya and said...
"Come home this sunday , I will introduce you to my cousin Vijay.. He's come back from Dubai forever... And probably we will venture out... He would be expecting you as well.. Va..And... You wanted to settle in Dubai illa ?.. He'll give you valuable inputs.. Trust me.."

"No.." said Priya instantaneously after the offer... "That is only day I have got to wash my clothes... Chance ey illa.."..

"Right then.... No problem.. I thought we can have dinner at his expense.. You are wasting a chance.."

"OC..ah! Oh.. Then I am coming.." said Priya 'doing a sudden balti' like a politician. Rohit was a touch surprised. Even though he knew girls' burn boy's wallet, this was unusual from Priya..

"So what about your clothes.. who will wash them..?" snapped Rohit playfully..
"I will wear jeans on monday.. You dont worry.. I never wash the Jeans.." told Priya sheepishly.
"Not a surprise.. I know no girl does that.." said Rohit and continued laughing for 5 minutes ignoring the glare from Priya.
"Very funny.."
.
.
.
.
So.. Sunday Came.. and Priya was there at Rohit's place... Rohit knew Priya was not 'socially awkward'.Priya's definition of friendship was different. The Tea boy , the watchman ,the client , his PA , the receptionist at clients office, her maid , her scooter mechanic , her neighbour's relative ,everybody were her friends. She seemed to know everybody. And everybody knew her too. She had 1823 friends on Facebook (as per the latest 'census'.This was in addition to maid , mechanic etc who were not yet part of Facebook.Even Rohit was not part of this Facebook wave.).Yes.. Girls have more friends on facebook due to some strange reason but this was something huge..Sometimes Rohit would wonder what if all her 1823 friends turn up to her marriage along with their families. Would the marriage hall withstand.? Would she withstand ?.. He once suggested to Priya to get married secretly so that she could avoid such crowds..Priya laughed it off...
.
.
.
.
Something surprised Rohit now.. What he realised in the 15 minute conversation with all the three was the fact that he was the only person who was talking... Priya who had the ability to start a conversation with any stranger at ease was unusually silent and so was Vijay.They both seemed to agree on one thing. That they were not going out for dinner.Instead Pizza man would arrive...Yes..He did arrive on time... It seemed Priya feasted that day. Never had Rohit seen her eat Pizza with such fondness... Immediately after the dinner Priya left.. It seemed as though she came only for the OC dinner..
.
.
.
.
.
The next day Rohit and Priya (with her unwashed pair of denim blue) were back at the office doing usual routine things, that is to say other than working.

"Why were you so timid to start a conversation with Vijay..He's a nice guy.. He would have helped you with your travel plans..illa..?" asked Rohit.

"Rohit... Was I timid..?It was your cousin who was timid...And.. Moreover..I am not interested anymore in going abroad..I am going to settle here...I have given it a thought and... Yes.. India.. Sare jahaan se accha..." replied Priya with her trademark one sided 'half grin'.

"Its your wish then..You know best.."

"So..Tell me..How do I look.." asked Priya suddenly.
"What the ".. Rohit was taken aback..
"Ya.. How do I look.. ? ... I mean you look at girls.. Dont you?. You rate them is it not ?..Like that I mean.."said Priya standing up as she spoke..

"Why suddenly.. And moreover.. I have never looked at you that way.. And I have got lot's of work.. Don't spoil it.. No time for your jokes on me now.." snapped Rohit.

"Right.. Carry on.."..

Rohit thought Priya was pretty. She looked good(except her cavity affected teeth)..She was no Aishwarya Rai or Monica Belluci but she could give some good ones tough competition... Rohit unfortunately was of this good breed of boys who looked for 'inner beauty' and never really cared much about looks... For him Intelligence in a girl mattered most than good looks. Even though Rohit thought Priya was intelligent , he never felt a crush on her.. And he guessed this was the case from the other side too.
.
.
.
Time passed by and there were several instances of get together happening between the three. Soon both Priya and Vijay started speaking freely with each other. The initial inhibition now disappeared.The three started to freak out every weekend and life was good.They would catch up all the new releases.. The three became good friends and seemed to enjoy the company.. Not a place in Chennai was left unvisited...Life seemed to be good..
.
.
.
.
.
However there was one problem.. Vijay even after several months of search could not find a suitable job...He became dejected and depressed.He even avoided the social gatherings the three had planned earlier.He began distancing himself from Rohit and Priya..Rohit noticed that even Priya was not interested in the get together's after a point of time.. And suddenly one day...Vijay left to Dubai again to continue at the same job he once quit..

At the same time Rohit was moving up the ladder in the office... His work timings got awkward and sometimes , he would just doze off in the office... Priya somehow did her work on time.. and spent the remaining time by browsing matrimony websites to find a groom.. This was baffling for Rohit since Priya knew almost everyone in her locality and was popular and yet for her marriage , she had to seek the help of Internet...!

Time Passed by...
.
.
.
Vijay suddenly called one day to Rohit..
.
.
.
“ Macha,I want to tell you something.. I hope you don't get angry. Listen.I have been through tough times.I was into a relationship... It did not last long.. I had a terrible terrible break up...Things do not always go as we plan.The good news is I am now OK..."

Rohit did not know what to say... and said "You were in a mess here.. I knew there had to be a reason.. I never thought the reason would be a break up.. I am happy you are Ok now... But...why did you feel I would get angry for this..?"

Vijay paused for a moment and then said
.
.
" The girl.. The girl... I was in a relationship with was Priya....I knew her even before you introduced her to me.. Once when I called you ,she had picked up the phone.. So got to know her... from that.. and then.. she was the one who asked me to come from Dubai... I came for her.. Things were nice initially.. and.. and.. she just could not... " Vijay continued to speak.. Nothing entered Rohit's ears though.. He was in complete shock that he did not show any emotion..He was just too stunned to speak anything more.. The least he expected from Vijay was an humble apology which he never received throughout that call ... and... that was the day Rohit last spoke to Vijay...
.
.
.
Rohit understood a lot of things that day.. He had infact been a "bear in Shiva's Puja" all along.. He had been used.. Why they both hid it from him , he never could understand.. If only they had said it to him , he could have helped.. He now understood why Priya behaved unusually when Vijay was in chennai... He understood a lot of things.. He took leave from office for a week. Where he went no one knew. He came back refreshed.. He tried to put the past behind him..
He began to concentrate on his work...
.
.
.
.
12 MONTHS LATER
.
.
.
.
.
Priya and Rohit have now got new promotions.They are still in the same team... They both still come up with great projects when they team together.They both know one another's working style and complement each other very well... All is well now.. And... Rohit makes sure he never raises the topic of Vijay during his conversations with Priya... Some part of him wants to ask Priya why she did not confess that she knew Vijay much before he had actually 'introduced' him to her.He was disappointed that she also 'hid' her relationship with Vijay. Yes..He was angry with her..But..Somehow Priya was never a target of his bad temper...He himself wanted to know why...

Well.. There are some people in our lives with whom we just can't be angry with or worse even fake that we are angry... Is it not ?
.
.
.
.
.
TO be continued.... (sometime later)

-x-x-x-x-x-


P.S.Suggestions welcomed on how you would like the story(if any) to continue..(which I wont guarantee will certainly be incorporated..)

Water Danced but Mudra Blushed...

Sitting at opposite sides of a corner side wooden table on a noisy , lousy discotheque bar is probably not a beautiful setup for romance.However there were two souls who where absolutely not bothered about their surroundings. There they were immersed in love unaware of the commotion around them but aware of the commotion within them.

However something was wrong. He was drunk and was speaking about cricket.She was hearing and not listening. She realised he was going somewhere off track. She wanted him to talk something relevant. Something about them.Something about how they fell in love.(Eventhough they have re run this part everytime they have met). So... When he gave a pause. She entered..

"Why did u fall for me??..Why ?" .. she asked him.
"Well... Natraj smacked his lips and continued "for the same reason , you fell for me"came the reply.

And as it always happens..Mudra blushed.

Mudra liked him. She liked his frankness. She liked his sense of humour. She liked him for his looks.She liked his shyness. Natraj liked her. He liked her because she was intelligent.

It was in this very beach side bar on the ECR that they both met for the first time. Natraj had come in with his colleagues then. Natraj was neither new to alcohol nor night life. However when his colleagues asked him to accompany them to this only bar in Chennai where girls dance , he was apprehensive.Apprehensive not about whether he must visit the bar but rather about the way he must project himself before those girls. He was a loser in girl matters. He knew it himself. Should he project himself as a playboy ?. Should he be pretend to be good?.Is it manners to tip the girl after a dance?.What would the girls think of him?

However when he entered the bar and saw the dance floor ,all his doubts melted.He saw Mudra . He instantly knew this was the girl he wanted to dance with.To his surprise , he quite easily approached her.She looked at him with grace and accepted with a nod of head.Then they danced under the cold shower with loud jarring music which both of them could not understand.

After some unsuccessful attempts.. his mouth finally released sound when he spoke.
"I am a shy person. This is new to me.."
"Dont worry.. This is my first day too on this job... I am as nervous as you are.." replied Mudra instantaneously.
He remained silent.. The dance was getting mechanical.. There was no chemistry in it. The confident Mudra spoke to break the ice..
"So... you say you are shy with girls... and how come you are here..?" asked Mudra. Natraj guffawed and then spoke by shaking his head horizantally. "I only said I am shy.. I never said I am not a man ". He ceased shaking his head all of a sudden and looked into her eyes... and said.. "do u know..? no man is innocent.. everyone is a pervert."

"Women are too" - said the inner voice of Mudra.
She gave a grin. She was not surprised by the replies from Natraj. After all she knew men speak truth when they are intoxicated.Here was Natraj half enthralled by wine and half enthralled by Mudra. She drew him across a table and looked at his eyes.
"Can you take me from here" asked the confident voice of Mudra.

From 6 am the next morning both of them had become more than just friends. Mudra left the job. A job that lasted only a single night.

That was an year ago...

Now after several of several meetings.. Here they were back to the original bar to celebrate their anniversary very late on a saturday night. Infact it was early hours of sunday morning.

The private conversation in the public place now entered into the next level.
"What is your sun sign?"asked Natraj all of a sudden.
"Virgo... and you?"
"Pisces...."
He smirked.Mudra knew something was coming...
"Can I tell you something.. We both wont get on well with each other at all.. We are not made for each other atleast astrologically..."
"oh.. how come may I ask sir.."
"Yes... we aren't.. Your sign is an earth sign. Mine Water."
"So what ?"
"You are earth and I am water ..and.. All we would be doing together is nothing but making mud.!"

Mudra roared with laugher.

"You know.. This is what I like about you.Your jokes.. even though they are dry , they make me laugh..".

Natraj giggled.

"Remember.. I joked about water.. Is water dry..???"

They both laughed out loud.She gave him the quick peck.In the 12 months in which they were in a relationship, this was the first time.It was special.

"What do men like?.." quizzed mudra.
"Men like women.. thats science.. Men like sports.. thats adventure....Hmmm.. In short..Men like balls.."

And as it always happens.. Mudra Blushed..

"Why is it you always speak well when you are intoxicated." enquried mudra.
"I like being watered....Infact as we speak I need it.."

Natraj called out the waiter.

"H I J K L M N O please..."
The waiter stood still..
" I dont understand sir.." said the helpless waiter.
Natraj smiled and said.." I asked for water.. H to O.. H20..please.. ".
The waiter gave back a smile and obliged..
"Now H20 cube please.."
"What is that sir?"
"I meant ICE".
Mudra was watching this conversation.She felt angry and humorous at the same time.
The sun had come out.

"Hmmm.. lets play a little word game" said Natraj.
"Ok..."
" Fine... I will ask you a question..and you must reply in a single word but in additon to the answer it must mean something else.."
"deal"
"So lets begin.. Can Vijay dance ?"
"What ??"
"Can Vijay dance?"
"Obviously he can. Thats the only thing he's capable of"
"I said one word answer"
"I dont know. I dont understand the game of yours"
"hey its simple.. Its Vijay Cant.. So it becomes Vijaykanth.."
"Aiyo..."

and as it always happens... Mudra blushed.

"Now..Easy one.. Can Rajini dance?"
"Rajini Cant....hussss... Rajinikanth.. I feel like slapping you.."
"wait .. wait.. final one.. Can water dance?"
"Water dance ah?.. There's nobody by name waterkanth.... is it not?"
"But there is something called Water Can.."

He laughed loud.He showed the bisleri bottle the waiter had just delivered.

"Bisleri bottle.. Water Can.."... He laughed again.
"We will stop this game.. Its spoiling my intelligence.."
"Ya.. I love you because of that... Lets not spoil that.. we will stop the game..."

and as it always happens Mudra Blushed.

It was at this juncture that they heard the sound of water rushing in .. They felt the thorns pricking their feet...They heard the people scream...They heard the rushing water break open the gates...They felt the rush...They sensed the panic...

.
.
.
Water had indeed danced... Tsunami had occurred.
.
.
.
.
.

Natraj woke up a day later in a makeshift hospital.Mudra had succumbed. He saw her being taken away by the waves. He could not understand why he was alive...
.
.
He was still strong with remorse..
.
.
He started to walk home.....
.
.
.
As he walked there seemed to be a darkness at the end of the east coast road. He extended his hands, pointing it to the dot of black hole. Being used to the balance of his life, the road ahead was too rocky for him. Then, like death, he had memories flowing around his head. The vision of the ghosts he saw in his childhood dreams. The anxiousness when his dad came home. The beauty of the morning sun. The ridiculous thing called education. The awesome winter rains. The parent teacher meetings. The mom`s kisses, the sister`s hugs. The friend fights. The first crush, the first rush of blood because of lust. The futureless present, the past less future. The recognition of beauty. The realization of music. The happiness on balancing a cycle, The first college, the first love, the first moment of satisfaction, the first moment of complete dissatisfaction, the first job, the first salary, the first roommate, the tears, the pain, the unrealized love, the unforgettable moments, the beauty of a child`s smile, the innocence of a child`s tear, the love from the family, the days in no man’s land, the days of exploiting labour, the crooked way to where he was. He remembered everything. He did not cry. He knew he had just has seen the worst . He stood up and walked towards the darkness. His mind was still fresh with yesterday's bad humour.He mind was saying."Take it EASY YAAR on ECR....".He felt like slapping himself. Extending both his arms, hoping to grab someone or something along the way. He walked to the ends of the endless road ..... and then the inevitable .. a flash.. the innocent face of blushing Mudra cut across his mind...

He fell down.. and started crying. Warm tears started flowing...It seemed it could never cease. The cry became louder and louder as he came to terms of the fact that there was no Mudra to blush at him and console him...

Mudra blushed but water had danced.

Oops..

Tomorrow was February 14.

He laughed to himself feeling a twang of a much deserved victory. “HA!” he added, for that extra punch. And so he read.The feeling of victory came down a few notches with every broken rhyme and unfinished thought. There were nearly 25 crumpled sheets in the waste paper bin.And late in the night finally he emptied the bin only to refill it with the sheets in which his handwriting was better. He finally had done it.

The 'learned' Brahmin looked down at the final fruit of his effort – 10 pages of the Devanagiri script. She had stressed it to be handwritten .Oh how she would love it!, he thought.She was the only reason that he was living. He loved her a lot. She was a damsel.

He slept with such satisfaction of having done something so utterly beautiful for someone who mattered so much to him. Tomorrow, he had to give it to her....
.
.
.
.
Early morning she dashed into his bed room ; hoping to find it there .
She looked at him. Asleep, with his legs awkwardly sprawled across the bed. How much more imperfect can one get, she mused. How she hated his dressing sense.She looked at the crumpled sheets of paper in the dustbin.She then looked at the papers on the bed neatly folded .She picked it up.She read it.She was not impressed.
.
.

And...
.
.

She left before he woke up.
.
.
.
.
When he woke up , he saw that the papers that were kept beside him were missing. A sense of happiness engulfed him.

It was around 8 when he walked to the kitchen to grab a bite before he left for work. As he walked to the refrigerator to get some bread, something on the kitchen counter caught his eye. It was a plate. With a simple sandwich. “Wow! Breakfast! Since when did this happen?!” And below the plate was a note.

It read simply, “You should make your promises more carefully the next time. I know the sandwich is a little stale; I made it at 5 in the morning while you were snoring away like a pig. I’m just being nice to you today because you took efforts to write something..Did I not say to you that it had to be really good. Neway that was a big ask from you."

"I think I'll be just able to manage a 4 on 10 in my internals with this piece of 'you know what'!.I'll never delegate my homework and assignments to you again Dad !"

He had to admit at last.

The Sanskrit essay on love was really Bad.

'Kid'napped...

"The subscriber cannot be reached at the moment. Please try again later". Keshav's mother heard the sweet recorded voice of a woman for the nineteenth time that evening.The mobile was switched off. Time was 8 pm. Keshav Dass had not returned from college. He was normally back by 5:30.As usual his parents were worried.

Suddenly ... Mr Dass's mobile rang .. The caller Id did not reveal the identity . It was a number . He picked it up and before he could say hello , an eerie voice spoke..
" MR Dass , Listen carefully , & do not interrupt in the middle . Your Son is Safe . Bring 50 lakhs to Port trust grounds at 9 pm and take back your son ." The Phone hung up...

Mr Dass was startled. There was something wrong with the kidnapper he thought. He had not warned Mr Dass to not to go to the Police. It was unusual. Nevertheless , Mr Dass did not want to go to the police. He placed 50 lakhs in a travel bag and also took his Pistol which was fully loaded(though he wasn't sure why..?).He started his 'Chevrolet' and....

...." Operation 'Save My son Keshav'" officially began.

He reached the port trust grounds on time and waited for signs of a white Omni.( The official kidnapper's vehicle , he thought).However after 10 minutes , he saw an Auto-Rickshaw rushing towards his direction . It stopped 60 feet before him and a Man with 'Mask' stepped down from it. The 'Kidnapper' approached him..&..

Kidnapper - " er... hi... Is the money inside the bag..?"
Mr Dass - " yes.. yes.. Where's My son ..? "
Kidnapper - " Be patient you old man , Give me the money and I will release your son"
Mr Dass - " No way..., No way... Is he in that Auto ..? "
Kidnapper - " yes.. he is there.. Tied up.. ".

Mr Dass's suddenly put his left hand inside the pocket and took out the pistol and pointed it towards the kidnapper..

Kidnapper - " No... No.. don't shoot me.. wait...Listen to me.."
Mr Dass - " You filthy bastard .. I am not going to give you 50 lakhs.."
Kidnapper - " Wait ... no... I am..."
Mr Dass - " No.. do not speak.. Your time is over... "

And he shot the kidnapper right in the middle of his chest .He died instantaneously.

Then Mr Dass ran up to the auto to fetch his son.But he was not there...
Mr Dass did not know what to do. He was sweating profusely ..

He ran up the kidnapper to see whether he was alive . He checked his pulse and heart beat.He was dead for sure.. He removed the mask that the kidnapper was wearing and gasped for his breath.He could not believe what he was seeing .

He had just killed his son.!!!

The Escalator

Sunil got the news that he has been waiting for. His company's tender has been approved by the Railway Ministry. He and his company are now responsible for installing escalators at four of the overhead metro railway stations in chennai within two months .

Sunil desparately needed this Rupees 10 lakh contract to revive his company that has been in hibernation for some time now.Sunil picked up a piece of paper. He began to write ...

Contract price = 10 lacs

less:-
Steel & Rubber = 2 lacs
Labour = 1 lac
Friction foot grip = 1 lac
Electronic Items = 50k
Emergency valve = 50k
Reverse up/down = 10k
Miscellaneous = 40k

therefore , Profit = 5 lacs

He smiled...

He at the beginning expected a profit of 5 lakhs . He thought he had achieved it. However his happiness was short-lived. He almost forgot that he had already paid around Rupees 1 lakh(underground) to railway officials in order to get a firm grip on the "Overhead Metro Escalator contract ".He himself knew that '1 lakh' was the only reason that secured the contract in his favour. There was nothing special in the tender. Dissapointed he picked up the paper and continued...

less:- Bribe
Contract charges = 1 lac

therefore , Revised Profit = 4 lacs .

He hated the word bribe.

A month passed by . More bad things happened.The Inflation in the market soared up the prices of Rubber and steel . They now cost him 3 lakhs. His profit was also the same figure now.
He wanted a profit of atleast 4 lakhs. He had to compromise on quality. He thought that no one would either notice or be affected by these faults since the metro rail was having a poor patronage.

He decided to dispense with "Emergency safety valve" which stops the escalator immediately on accidents and the "friction pattern foot grips" which prevent the sarees's , slippers from getting stuck in between the moving staircase.The installation was complete and only 2 days were left before the escalators were dedicated to the public.He would recieve his payment 5 days hence.

A day before...
Sunil went to test check a escalator that he had installed.The station was deserted. He climbed up and down & was immensely satisfied with its performance. He was happy. This happiness made him to act childish. He began to climb up the escalator that was moving down. "A good exersice for obese people like him" - he thought . Every time he was up 5 stairs he would be down again. In desparation,he tried to skip every alternate step and reach upstairs. Unfortunately while doing so , his shoes got stuck in between the moving staircase. It was pulling him inside. Fear gripped him. He screamed for help.No one arrived. There was no emergency valve which would stop the escalator.His feet got cut. He was in pain. Within seconds the staircase collapsed at the bottom. His body was smashed and the escalator stopped . It was too late. He perished.

The 'Escalator' had escalated his soul to the heaven or maybe hell(???!!!).