An Inconvenient Truth

I sat beside her, my legs slowly getting numb. Her hands lay heavily on my thighs, occasionally lifting the end of her sari to wipe the tears that incessantly poured from her dark, sleep-deprived eyes. I simply let her have me by her side. I stroked her hair, pulling aside the thin strands of water-soaked hair that were falling on her face.

She looked horrible. Sick.

I wiped one stream of tear that rolled down her cheek once again. I wanted to let her know that I was there for her, that I would be there for her - forever.

Forever.

But the word ‘forever’ itself sounded so cliché at the moment. Such moments of uncertainty ought not to be teased by such words. Hence, I simple gave her my company, in silence.

I felt incapable of even relating to her emotions, let alone feeling her feelings. Of course, how much can you expect from a guy who was just 2 years old when his parents passed away?

One more tear. One more wipe.

I wished I could make her feel better. But, I badly feared that this emotion might wrap her for a long time to come, making her a totally different person.

I made a sideward glance at her. More tears.

I tried hard. But the only thing I felt was a big solid lump stuck somewhere between my stomach and my throat, making me feel sore. I myself knew about the loss of my parents only at an age when I realised that a father and mother existed in everybody’s life. I was told that I cuddled into my maid’s arms weeping – weeping because she was weeping and because everyone else around me looked at me with teary eyes.

Maybe, one day I would learn how she felt.

But I dared not to think about it, for; I didn’t want to imagine a day without her – a day without that laughter, a day without the sound of her anklets reverberating our home, a day without her faint voice emerging from the kitchen in between the clattering of vessels, a day without her presence during dinner, a day which would dawn without her beside me or a night which would sleep without her warm breath on me.

That would be the day I would realize how she feels now and maybe that would be the only feeling I would ever feel throughout my life.

Blades of Beauty

Tried my hand at photography!

"The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass; it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself."

- Henry Miller

Camera Courtesy: Mask's Nikon D80.

P.S.1: Picture copyright hence remains with His Honour @ Flickr.

P.S.2: @ Mask – P.S.1 deserves a treat I guess :P

Musafir

Pom. Pom. Pom.

The bus driver honked. The bus moved rather slowly, inching its way through what must have been a heavy traffic. I held on to the support bar on the right hand side lest I should slip from my seat. I didn't dare turn to the person sitting next to me. I could smell a strong fruity fragrance from her side – a very creamy one. My guess was a strawberry flavoured perfume – definitely a very charming lady, unless otherwise.

I sat there, quietly listening to the music that reached my ears from the lady's earphones. A melodious and lovely song starting with the words Pehla Nasha started to play. My knowledge is limited to tamil music, so much so that if you sing to me one line from any tamil movie, I would sing to you the whole song. Recently, my 20 year old daughter uploaded a few hindi songs in the new Ipod that she bought for me and that’s when I have begun to appreciate hindi music.

Pehla Nasha – the music went on with a sensuous saxophone interlude. I haven’t yet watched the picturization of the song and so I let my imagination run wild as I choreographed the beautiful song in my mind’s eye. My foot began tapping the floor of the bus in appreciation.

Few minutes passed. The sound track changed. The bus rattled into a stop. The lady next to me excused herself to get out of her seat. Her voice was sweet and gentle. I turned myself towards the aisle in acknowledgement, giving her ample leg space to make her way out. I could feel her soft fabric brush my arm as she walked away. I moved to the window seat, letting my head rest on the window sill and closed my eyes.

I swayed to the tunes of the bus’ path as my journey continued. My dreams continued. I was still under the influence of the song. I told myself to remember to ask my daughter to upload this song in my Ipod.

About half an hour passed. I noticed that no one sat next to me.

Just when I was getting restless to sit anymore, the bus buzzed with activity. I knew it was my stop. Strong instincts. The driver brought the bus to a hault.

I took the stick next to me and unfolded it. Positioning it firmly on the floor, I stood up. Setting my best foot forward, I heard my walking stick tap on the rickety bus floor as it led me on my dark path.

Tock. Tock. Tock.

Tag - A for Apple

A
http://www.apple.com/trailers/ - Apple movie trailers(A for Apple–fair enough?) :P

B
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ - My recently discovered toy to play with photos :)

C
http://www.cricinfo.com/ - For live cricket scores
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/ - Cartoons for a stress free life

D
http://dictionary.reference.com/ - Quick online dictionary and thesaurus
http://www.devbio.com/ - Academics, at times :D
http://www.dilbert.com/ - Dilbert comics online

E
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page - Wikipedia

F
http://www.freerice.com/index.php - Your vocabulary could earn a few grains of rice for the hungry
http://www.flickr.com/ - Some of the best captured pictures
http://www.fotosearch.com/ - Kodak moments :)

G
http://www.gettingpersonal.co.uk/ - Mind-blowing gifts for most occasions!

H
http://www.hinduonnet.com/ - The Hindu online
http://www.hallmark.com – Hallmark cards

I
http://www.imdb.com/ - Head to tail about movies :D

J
http://www.jstor.org – Journal store online

K
http://kaysonline.blogspot.com/ - Can’t think of anything but this. Busy man. No updates :(

L
http://www.lib.nus.edu.sg – University’s library resources

M
http://mugamudi.blogspot.com/ - Set foot on my blog with a “Main Hoon Na” comment. It speaks volumes now :)
http://www.musicplug.in/ - For songs :)

N
http://www.nus.edu.sg/ - University Website
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ - Pubmed – For my academic reference

O
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml - What is the word you are looking for?

P
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php - Rib-tickling comics and so true!
http://photoshoptutorials.ws/ - A great learning platform for Adobe Photoshop freaks

Q
http://www.quotationspage.com – Just for quotes

R
http://www.rediff.com/ - Quick news (and gossip)
http://www.rd.com/ - Reader’s digest online
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ - Movie reviews

S
http://www.swarovski.com – Every girl’s desire :)
http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/ - Singapore bus guide online
http://supershanki.blogspot.com/ - The complan girl is an avid admirer of your humorous outlook on life :)

T
http://talesfromme.wordpress.com/ - I love her style

U
http://www.us.playstation.com/PSP - A recent reference for my lastest gift :D

V
www.viralx.com - Nice videos

W
http://www.words4ever.com/ - Just for fun

X
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/default.htm - Wish list :D

Y
http://www.youtube.com/ - Practically everyone’s favourite I guess

Z
http://www.zazzle.com/ - An awesome gift site

~~~

I tag Dimplicious, RSubras, Venkatesh :D

Rule:

The Tag name is A for Apple
Give preference for regular sites
Ignore your own blogs, sites.
Tag 3 People.