The Magical Expression

The year is 3020 .......

The Earth is now ruled by apes. The last families of humans were all bred in captivity. The Apes were perplexed by the strange behaviours of the humans and conducted lot of experiments on them. The biggest hindrance they faced was understanding the human language, which was pretty complex for them. Finally after lot of work, Rheamus, the Ape-scientist was able to map the human language with their language.

Rheamus ran towards the cage where he had a human family in captivity. When he reached there he saw that the guard was torturing the male with his magnetic stick. He observed the game for a while. Whenever the guard poked at the male, the human winced in pain. But whenever the female and the child cried, the male gave a strange expression. There was something magical in that expression. The female and the child would calm down on seeing this expression. Rheamus had not mapped this expression till now. Curious, now he summoned the guard to stop his game and push the male to his examination. Once again, the female raised her voice, causing the male to give the same expression again.

Rheamus asked in the new language he had decoded: Human, what is this expression that you give to your loved ones ?

Human: It is man's greatest gift. It is the only thing that saves us from the hard life on earth. In our language we call it Smile.

The Chaukidaar

Once again, a relevant tale adapted from Vikram Betal.....

Sharan was the Chaukidaar in the patrol post in the outermost frontier of the country. There was hardly any activity in those high mountain ranges. Occasionally cries of migrational birds disturbed Sharan's sleep which was his favourite hobby.

During one of his siesta's Sharan saw a dream that the frontier was in heavy attack. The enemy across the border had sent a huge army, with the latest MIG's to cover the infantry. The border was too unprotected to handle such a heavy attack from the enemy. He woke up with a start. He checked his watch. It was 4.00 a.m. He ran to the watch tower and picked up his binoculars. No one around. But the dream haunted Sharan throughout the day. It made his restless. He thought of what his mother told him once. That dreams early morning are bound to get true.

He reported his dreams to the regional base post and the news spread to the center. The government launched spy drones in the area to track the movements of the enemy. The reports were really shocking. The drones reported heavy enemy movement near the border. A high alert was sounded and war preparations were in full swing. Meanwhile, Sharan was summoned to meet the Commander-in-Chief.

Commander-in-Chief: How did you come to know of the development ?

Sharan: I dreamt of it.

Commander-in-Chief: Good. You are awarded with Rs 5,00,000. Your information helped to avert a major danger to the country. Today we are prepared in advance to face their attack.

Sharan: Thank you Sir.

Commander-in-Chief: OK. The reward will be sent to your village in Hajipur.

Sharan: Hajipur ?

Commander-in-Chief: Yes, You are dismissed from Indian Armed forces from this very minute.

The boy with the shiny eyes

She noticed the stare the first day she entered silently in the class. The stare was strong and directed at her bindi, for some reason. She is used to boys staring her, she knew she was beautiful; but this was different, she felt a ting of uncomfort, like never before. There was a strange but beautiful shine in those eyes. However she was ignored it for the moment. Silently she occupied the desk along with the bottled-glassed girl. As the semester progressed, the number of students in the lecture hall dwindled. Only she and the boy with the shiny eyes remained in the lecture. They used to discuss the subjects and exchange notes and of course some smiles.....

The semester end was really painful for her, because that meant that she cannot see him for 2 months. She had a shared auto with other girls to her hostel, so she couldnt wait for him and see him. On the final day of the exams she waited alone at the college gate. She waited till all he students had left, but couldnt find him. Dejected she went back to hostel and next day early morning she caught the train to Haridwar. When she reached home, a bitter surprise awaited her. Her father had arranged her education in a college close to her home and she was to attend that from the next semester. All formalities were complete. Painfully she attended that college from the next semester.

She never saw him for a long time, but whenever she saw her brother play with shiny little marbles, her mind went back to the memories of the boy with the shiny eyes.

The girl with the black bindi

A silent shadow entered through the door, so silent that almost no one noticed her entering the classroom, except Rohan. He eyed her through the corner of his eyes, observing her black bindi very carefully. Never seen her before. She seemed to be surrounded by a cloud of calmness. Silently she occupied the desk along with the bottled-glassed girl. As the semester progressed, the number of students in the lecture hall dwindled. Only Rohan and the girl with the black bindi remained in the lecture. They used to discuss the subjects and exchange notes and of course some smiles.....

The semester end was really painful for Rohan, because that meant that he cannot see her for 2 months. He searched her after the exams but couldn't find her. It only added to his pain. At last all the exams were done, but still he couldn't meet her. Painfully he went back home. He spent 2 months of vacation thinking about her. With lot of resolve he decided that when he meets her next time he will propose her. On the first day of the new semester he reached to college by 6.00 am. She didn't come. He waited another day. She didn't come. He enquired at the office. They told that she has left the institute.

He never saw her for a long time, but whenever he saw a small black spot, only one thing came to his mind, the girl with the black bindi.

New Shoots

Continued from "Flowers by the Window" posted on January 31, 2010.

It was true that Manoj spent a few sleepless nights thinking about the colours that he missed, but life did not allow him to think too much. Office work and other issues made him aloof of the things he lost. But yeah, there were moments of isolation when he closed his eyes and found darkness and when he opened his eyes, he found darkness again. On such days he would go to the window and caress the wilted flowers which have turned from pale red to pale white, almost translucent in the bright March sun. And slowly they peeled away, petal by petal leaving a skeleton behind. A memorial of the colourful days. Manoj stopped visiting his window.

It was time for the monthly cleaning. Manoj pulled down all the curtains and opened the window panes for cleaning. It was then that he spotted it. New shoots coming out

Fresh life was starting, without him realizing it. It was small and tender, but held lot of promise. And it was heading straight for his window! He was lost there dreaming in the bright Sun, woken up by the cries of his room-mate. "What happened" Manoj asked ? "My girlfriend and me had a bad fight and we broke off. We decided we will part ways and never meet each other again".

Dont Worry, Manoj said, "Very soon new shoots will spring up".