Pens and Pages

They say “Our fears are more numerous than our dangers, and we suffer more in our imagination than in reality.”   They say “Dangers bring fears and fears more dangers bring”. I understood what they meant by these, two months ago. I was driving my car to home when I experienced something that, I believe, I will never forget, certainly not in this life. I was worn out by the day’s activities and I felt like I could drive no further. My eyes were too drowsy to be alert. “Only 30minutes more to reach my bed”, I consoled myself. It was 9:00pm that I left my office for home and the never-sleeping city of Mumbai seemed busier today with streets flooded with legion vehicles. Its then I realized that it was a Friday night, the most awaited night of the week, when we find relief in the fact that we do not have to wake up early morning the next day, the night we enjoy to the fullest. Life has been hectic since the last couple of weeks for me due to my recent promotion at work and I...

As expected, it was raining heavily in the cold October evening. I ran towards a bus while the wind flew my umbrella away. It was dark and I got totally drenched in the rain- not a comfortable situation for a 14-year old returning from her tuition classes, who was now searching for a seat in a city bus crowded with drunken men. Luckily enough, I found a seat with only one passenger sitting on it. I went up to him and asked “Shall I sit here?” He was a man in his mid-fifty’s wearing a grey shirt and what looked like a carelessly worn bleached white dhoti. The man politely nodded and uttered a ‘yes’ but to my surprise he did not give me way to sit near the window nor had he left enough space that I could sit near him letting him sit by the window; he was sitting right in the middle of the seat made for two. Miffed by this indecent behavior of his, I told him harshly to move to either of the two sides of the seat. He moved to occupy the aisle-seat entirely while telling me to take t...

“Madam, your fare?” the bus-conductor asked the lady sitting beside me in the bus I took from Jalukbari to Panbazar yesterday. The woman handed out a ten-rupee note and got back a couple of coins.  I had a fifty-rupee note clutched between my fingers to give to the conductor. Although, the fare is only seven rupees, I did not have any other notes of less value with me that day. To my surprise, the conductor moved on to the next seat to ask for fare without taking mine. Perhaps, he confounded that I had given my fare already.  Undoubtedly, I was delighted by the fact that I had my seven bucks saved and I could spend it on a candy bar. But, deep within me, there was guilt that I was doing something unjust.On one hand I was euphoric that I had deft enough not to let anyone know that the reason of the smile on my face was that I was travelling without a ticket. On the other hand it made me feel debauched as I was entirely aware that the conductor forgot to ask me. Considering my ...

Well, this may be the effect of watching the movie “Mujhse Fraandship (not sure how many R’s and A’s are there) Karoge” but I do think that there are some people who are “Chat karo to koi aur hai milo to koi aur hai, it’s almost like he is not the same person”. There was this guy in my Economics tuition. He would never talk to me during the classes. Whenever I told him anything, he would reply with a nod of his head or, sometimes, could manage to make a “hmn” sound. That was the time when we all were new to social networking sites and would spend almost half the free time we get, on the internet (as if it ain’t true now). So, there was his profile amongst one of those whose friend requests I got. Since I knew him from tuition (and actually this made me sure that he knows me too), I accepted his request. Now here comes his chat: “Hey gurlie!”. :-o. For a guy who could barely talk to me even if I start the conversation, this was never expected. Immediately I shoved the feel...