A HK Trip to Forget or maybe, remember forever (WARNING: TOO LONG A READ):

Roaming around the streets of Katwaria Sarai at 4 in the morning with a 19.6 kg trolley and climbing 4 floors with the same, thrice, is a bad thing to do, after you had just spent about 6 hours in a flight and 3 hours in a airport deportation room with a fucked up 6 months old ‪#‎Micromax‬, praying illogically that at least one of your friends would be waiting for your release at the terminal, disappointed as you find none, as you traverse the entire airport, illogically. You start questioning yourself and the things planned for you.

A week that marks your first international trip or your first flight for that matter ought to be good, one would say. A careless market hunting in the rains with a passport, uncovered, in your bag pack, as it dripped wet spoiling your photograph marked the start of a trip that you wish would end soon.

Because of the damaged passport you spend your night roaming in the HK streets and your hotel with a can of beer, alone as your friends have the time of their life in Macau, the place you so desperately wanted to go. You are happy for the fun they had, but deep inside you regret your own undoing and the times you could have had. You spend more time alone in a college trip of 109 than you do together.

Because of the damaged passport you have to manage sneaking out of‪#‎OceanPark‬ for a couple of hours to collect your evacuation certificate and come back in that vast myriad and search your friends without a phone.

Because of the wretched trip and fucked up #Micromax, you have angry parents at home.

But as you write the parts of self loathing, you do remember the bright lights of your venture.

A Pakistani guy, who couldn't stop bad mouthing the average Hong Konger, helping you find your hotel address as you soaked in the rains.

An Indian girl who helped you sneaking in and breaking a long taxi queue.

The Cantonese 7Eleven retail guy who end up greeting you every time and wishing you goodbye and another taxi guy who went out of his way of learning English, just so that your friend who might call back would get your message.

Travelling more metros lines in HK than you did in New Delhi.

A mind blowing roller coaster that instantly wipes your every worry and makes you feel alive. By far, the best thing you ever did. ‪#‎HairRaiser‬.

And that fantastic Friday as everything appeared to fall in place as you find your friend in red in that gigantic park, without any form of communication, and cry inside with relief seeing the red as it somehow signals the stop all your the plights. You start believing - All is well that ends fuckin' well.

There were a lot more worth the honorable mentions but well...

There would be people who live a more dire life than what I just experienced for a few days. This is not a relative case study.

Just an extract of a trip that could have been so much more, if not for a moment of recklessness. It just shows that a single error can significantly trickle down and ruin everything. It also shows that no matter how low you fall, you rise again. And for sure, you will fall again. 

That is how it goes, just taking the falls and waiting to use the escalator for the way up.

A trip to remember, it is.

Aaj zindagi ne farmaya hain, Kyon na kuch alag kiya jaye,

Roz subah ki chai to mithi hoti he hain,

Aaj kuch mithas is din mein laya jayein…

Samay ki ghadi toh chalti rahegi,

Kyon na aaj zindagi jeene ka naya matlab dhundha jayein...

Log kya kahenge  - Log kya sochenge yeh toh fizool ki baatien hain,

Kyon na aaj hum kya karenge ismein jyada gaur kiya jayein…

Khud ko badalte toh humne dekh hi liya,

Fir kyon log badal gaye kehke baat bigada jayein…

Kyon na khud jee le aur dusron ko bhi jene diya jayein…

Zindagi ko lafzo mein samajhana bada mushkil hain,

Kyon na khud samajh jayien aur dusron ko bhi samajhne diya jayein..

Paribhasha sabki alag hogi, ismein hume kya karna..

Kyon na hum apne paribhasha mein jeena sikh jayein..

Asan nahi zindagi has ke guzarna…  yeh kisne kaha?

Kisi kitaab mein likha toh nahi,

Kyon na zindagi ko hi ek haseen kitaab banaya jayein..

Kyon na aaj udhte parindo ki tarah hum bhi khulke jeena sikh jayein..

Kuch baatien toh ankhein nam kar deti hain,

Kyon na aaj aane wale haseen lamho ko bandh pardon mein sajaya jayein..

AREH AAJ ZINDAGI NE FARMAYA, KYON NA KUCH ALAG KIYA JAYEIN.. 

Silver Ticks

I looked back last night...

Turning over pages of lines and time,
Hoping to find meaning…

I looked back last night...
Studied things as they were,
Caressing moments with a smile…

I looked back last night...
Seeped myself under a blanket,
And tore down the pages…

I looked back last night...
Dragged the kid by the collar,
And kept punching him cold
Till he lay down wasted; dead…

Life and Times of Rajkumar Hoshiyar

With a swagger and a toothpick stuck deep inside his 27th tooth, Rajkumar Hoshiyar walked out of his bedroom. Nobody these days wore sunglasses to their bed. Rajkumar didn’t care about nobodies. He lived on his own accord. He feared no one these days. He was one of the richest men in his workplace and perhaps was the richest in the neighborhood.

He took a hot shower and applied a feminine moisturizing cream generously. A bright purple shirt and a sober orange trouser graced his skeletal frame. He then applied a loud green hair gel and organized his shoulder length tresses. Sipping up his lemon tea, Rajkumar introspected and planned. Fiddling with his recent memories of fortune, Rajkumar tried chalking out his business plan for today. Then realised he didn’t need any business plans. He never did. He smiled and looked up at the sky and closed his eyes to feel the incoming heat of the sun. Then opened them and looked back at the sun with gentle arrogance.

He drifted to normalcy, back from his trance. Did some hurried neck exercises and walked out of his palatial residence into the common street. His workplace was nearby and he didn’t need a vehicle for conveyance, yet.

He walked to his work camp with piercing envious looks following him.  His peers were clearly mad seeing him all so smug. They were mad at the thought that they screamed crazy for accumulating wealth whereas Hoshiyar just spoke twice and money came gently flowing. They made little income compared to the accumulation of Hoshiyar. But life moves on, they thought. Someday they will have their day. And they hated the fact that they had to compare themselves with dogs in an old proverb to justify the fact.

Rajkumar Hoshiyar was oblivious to the jealousy and greed of his peers because he thought he was well above all of them and their company made no difference to him. The time for business was now. That’s all he cared for.

With another one of his neck exercises, he was ready to announce his presence to the market. He licked and added some saliva to his lips. And said ‘Pyaaz le lo, Assi rupaay kilo’.

               

And he only spoke twice. 

Sentient Fools

His hands brushed up against her arms, unintentionally. Both felt a twinge of current run down their spines. The girl blushed and went a shade of deep maroon. The boy shuffled awkward for something nothing in his backpack and idled away his time.

He did not go awkward, ever, when he came in contact with a girl. But something about her was different; radically different. He knew it, he just knew it. The girl in her rusty brown attire didn’t panic, ever, when something like this happened. If she scented a pervert, she went out of her way to let her mind out like the Persians did it in Thermopylae. But she sensed something different in him, like a mist which she tried to grasp. His purple full sleeves and unkempt hair didn’t help her knees either.

The bus was slightly cramped but the stranger by her side made it more comfortable than she have had the chance to be in quite some time. The boy fiddled with his ear phones, pretending he wanted to listen to his playlist. He tried fighting within to think of something to speak out. But nothing came up. The girl tried ruffling her hair nervously and looked at him, in abrupt patches, with a sly innocent glitter. It was fun the way he fought with himself, she thought.

He was fiddling with his bottle and had a hurried sip. He knew that this was different. He had to speak up. He murmured and practiced modulating his voice to the proper tone. He didn’t want to sound retarded.

“Time?” He asked, pointing to her wrist. She smiled a big smile and showed him her wrists. There weren’t any watches, there. He felt stupid instantly. And his entire male ego knee jerked his thoughts to a halt. She took out her cell phone and informed him about the time. Seeing his own cell phone in his hand, he felt contempt for his brains even more. They usually worked fine, he thought. He thanked her, half-heartedly, and decided he would do nothing more to make a fool out of himself.

She tried looking but he was cribbing with himself, staring out the window. In his fit of foolishness, he took out his ear phones and started listening to a random Indie. The girl went nervous and tried bringing him to attention, but he went duck face for a change and stared out at the smoky messy wilderness. The bus screeched to a halt at a stop and the girl became annoyed.

She stood up gathering her haversack, to alight to the one next. The boy had a jolt out of the blue. Damn me, he thought. He hurriedly packed his earphone and tried looking at her, staring blankly. He wanted her number. He wanted something. He never did this before but he knew he had all the courage to do it now. The girl saw him with her peripherals and relished his anxiety. She was waiting to see what he did. Her stop came and she maintained her vision and kept track of his timid maneuvers. She was almost at the door to alight and turned around to look at him in the eye.

It was a moment just three seconds before the boy actually stood up. In those three seconds, the girl already alighted the bus. She didn’t look back after that. The boy did stand up and went out of his seat to go to the window to check for that last sign of acknowledgement. He would jump off the bus, if that was required. But she didnt turn.

The girl blushed to herself and smiled and walked with long steps. Her smile broke into bigger strokes. She pictured herself in a movie where the wind and the sun did their best to make her look like a female protagonist smitten by change. Light and air swarmed her and graced her, she thought. She thought out loud and pacified herself. We are meant to be together so we will meet again, she told herself smiling.

They never did.

P.S: Alternate Ending minus the last line.

Firebird

The earth crackled as she ran in unholy sprints and so did the leaves. Autumn was here and the leaves had broken down from their chains. She disappeared again from my sight. I was again close; very close.

It has been 2 years since I have been chasing her. And I have run out of patience now. I want it ended swiftly. But she has managed to outsmart me; every time. I am the hunter and she was the one that would be hunted. The mountains didn’t help me much. It would have been much easier if we were on the plains. But I have no choice here; I have to find a way.

I am Evan, 12 years old, and this is my world. I have been living this world for the last 2 years and hunting her down is my mission; my salvation. I have not yet met another living soul. I am all alone facing my nemesis. Pangs of longing and depression have hit me every now and then. But I have been strong. I crave for my freedom.

My nemesis is the Firebird; the only other moving being here. She is painted with shades of red. She resembled a peacock. She is as majestic as the dragon; as magnanimous as the lion. Her fiery red wings glitter like brittle glass. She has a golden crown perched on her head. Her beak is silver, her eyes blue. She never made a sound. She is the devil of these lands. And my freedom shall only be attained after I stab her heart.

I have my weapons; a sword and an arrow. And these shall be enough. I only need one chance and I shall succeed. Many people have tried hunting the firebird. Some have succeeded in months, some years. Some never have. The essence of this world taught me these. I had no guardian, no shining angels or voices. The essence of this world-of-no-return instilled its learning and assigned me, my one sole task.

Kill the firebird…stab the heart…

I sneaked into a small crevice and adjusted myself. The firebird had stopped near a water stream. She was about a few hundred meters from my sight; if only I had a bow. She didn’t have any powers apart from her surreal beauty and her unnatural sprint speed. I only needed to trap her in a closed space and then I might have a chance.

I slid slowly in the stream as I watched her go near the bank, opposite to the crevice I was in. I swam cautiously through the blue waters and approached the bank. When I felt land, I rose cautiously above the water and saw her standing atop the edge. She was staring the distant water fall. A calm demeanour shone on her face and I felt instant love for her. I didn’t have a reason to hurt this harmless being.

Climbing the bank in one swift motion, I jumped as I made way and swung my sword towards her in one swift deadly arc. She reacted quickly but I was effective this time. I cut her deep on her right side and now she bled silvery blood. She backed off a little as blood spurted in steady amounts. This impact swerved my sword off my hands and it fell into the stream.

She faced me. I expected wrath and anger. But her face has never been calmer. She opened up her wings in one majestic movement. I dropped down to my knees in reverence and folded my arms in a prayer.

She was standing on her two legs and her radiant red wings radiated warmth and care that I have craved for, all this time. It was like a homely light of affection. I cried.

Do it child…

I suddenly heard her. She wasn’t speaking through her lips but it was something else altogether. She was inside my head.

Do it child…Do it before people interfere with our matters…I tried my best to bring you the greater freedom of life…But my missions have failed me…You deserve the other freedom, in peace…

I wept, as things suddenly made sense and as I felt a rush of blood to the head. I nodded.

I went near her and removed the arrow from my pocket. She cajoled me with her wings. I steadied my arms and held the arrow with both arms. I raised it above my head and positioned it to stab her.

Freedom was one stroke away…

The room 402 of the Green Field Hospital was buzzing with activity. The only child of the residential Doctor couple passed away this morning. The boy fell from their apartment’s terrace 2 years back and has been in a coma since. The state was vegetative from the very start and his vital organs never truly responded back.

There was a legal tussle ongoing for a mercy on his pain. And only yesterday did the jury rule in the favour of a clean death with a consensus made on its implementation being the following week.

Evan won.

Scare Diaries 1.1: The Night Out

A Cosmopolitan poster lay in front of us, as we gawked at the blonde model with wide eyes. She had a snake around her and she winked at us through the gloss. We winked back.

I was 14 then. And my cousin brother, of a year younger, had come to my home for the weekends. It was a routine thing back then. Sometimes I went to his place. Sometimes he did the same. On this occasion, he was there after a period of two months. My family shifted into a new house, leaving our old home after years. The old home had tons of memories attached to it. The newer one was working on making them.

The flat was basically a 2 BHK home, part of a new apartment that was in a secluded part of the area, with the hall in the middle and the bedrooms split on either side. My own room was my new den and I and my brother were using the seclusion to the fullest.

He brought an old cosmopolitan from one of his friends and that was quite something. We skimmed pages after pages in awe and amazement; puberty doing its part.

After we were done browsing, we went on to play an hour of Super Contra and Tennis. After noises of my mom from the bedroom reached our ears, we switched off the console in a rushed hurry and jumped to our beds. The lights switched got switched off dramatically. It was 1 am.

But being what we were, we didn’t sleep. We broke off into a jig of shallow discussions which consisted of only girls and a comic book thrown in between every now and then. It was safe to say that we reached an all-time low that day. We learned new things about the forbidden part of the human lives in extensive details.

We were on with it in with our hushed tones discussing in great lengths the details of the human anatomy. And just abruptly, my brother stopped and went wide eyed of a different kind. In the very next moment I did too.

From the hall outside, we heard sniffs; an act of crying; restrained. More particularly, it was a woman’s cry. And she did not stop the sorrowful expression of grief. Our neck hair went into absurd angles. It was not a loud wail and that was the worst part. It was a controlled bursting of tears.

We grew even stiffer, as we heard the woman pacing slowly up and down the hall. They were proper soft footsteps and while she paced, she continued the gloomy sobbing. The world seemed distraught as her sniffs drowned us in confusion.

My brother elbowed me and spoke in furious whispers.

"Bro! Kakima! She woke up and she heard everything!”

I looked at him in disdain. I knew my Mom. If she heard what we were speaking about, she wouldn’t take a stroll and cry out. She would come inside the room, switch on the lights and furiousity would follow in ample amounts.

I gulped stupidly.

"We should go and check." I suggested.

"I am not going to face her. My image has been tarnished for life in front of her."

Little punk. I had to live there forever, he skipped that part.

I looked at him with all the anger I could muster and went outside, cautiously placing my feet so as to make no sound. He cheered me on, grinning even.

I went outside into the hall. Apart from the things that are always there, there was no one and nothing else. The chair seemed settled on its own and the curtains waved themselves gracefully. A shot of current ran up my spine and the body went into chills. I tried to calm myself down, but a steady gush of sweat was drowning me in. I hurriedly walked towards my parent’s room to check on them.

They were sleeping like no swallow broke a sound. I went nearer to check on my mom specifically and peace never had a better description. I looked around the room and braced myself for incoming attacks and rushed to my room and locked it from the inside.

When I went inside all I saw was a cousin fast asleep like a sloth. In those few seconds that I was outside, my cousin collapsed into a deep sleep like I have never seen him do before. I tried waking him up but he stayed put. In despair and with sweats of a pig, I crept under a thick blanket to protect me from the evils outside, curling my legs to protect it from being caught from any arm that might come up from the insides of my bed.

It took me hours or maybe minutes to sleep but then I did fall asleep and the next day was behavior as usual. I asked my brother the reason why he left me stranded. He was nonchalant and said he was sleepy. When I discussed animatedly regarding the sniffs, he acted like nothing happened. The story got lost and I was the only keeper.

Times have moved on and we have changed the place and the memories of my cousin have been wiped off completely, sadly. The subtle terror of that night just didn’t tick him. Or perhaps the ghost of that woman took shelter in my brother's body and is playing tricks since then. Let’s just pretend, the last line was not read.