1) Let us start with the most basic question ever: since when have you been into photography? And what made you to take it as a profession?
I have always been interested in photography (At this point, you might be going “Bah! Rubbish” but no, really!). Ever since I was a kid, it has always fascinated me. When I was too young to be trusted with a camera, I would make my family/ friends sit down, and sketch them on a piece of paper, then sketch out a little negative of it and put it in an envelope that said fotoflash on top, just like they did in the good old days. My mother has actually preserved one or two of those sketches.

2) What are your favourite locations for photography? Who is your favourite photographer?
It is very hard to pick one particular place. I travel a lot and everytime I stumble upon a place that becomes my new favourite. Right now, it is probably Kashmir, man that place is beautiful! But there are so many places I would love to keep going back to. And favourite photographer, definitely Steve McCurry! He is just incredible.

3) Tell us about your school life. Were you a total studious kid?
I was just another kid in school, no one you would take note off. I have always had a thing for art though, so sketching for my biology records and doing up covers of projects, colouring all over, that was something I loved doing. So much so, I did that for other people too. I was never studious as such, always left things to the last minute. I was and still am a big slacker

4) Have you ever been to Hyderabad? (We know that you have been! We love the picture of the Charminar):-D What are your favourite locations here?
I have been to Hyderabad a few times, but since they were on assignments, I haven’t gone around too much. I did get to visit the Charminar though because it was part of a video that I was shooting and I loved it. The streets around are always so busy, colourful and full of stories. Hussain Sagar Lake was another really nice place. I am coming back to Hyderabad soon, this time I am definitely going to explore more so that I can add to that list.

5) Do you read books? If yes, tell us which writers you adore the most. And what do you do in your free time?
I do not read much, actually not at all. I know it is not a good thing and I am missing out on a lot but it is just how I have been. I am changing that though, a good friend of mine just gifted me ‘The Alchemist’ and I think I am going to start with that. One writer I adore (it may not classify) is Bill Watterson. Calvin and Hobbes is gold. In my free time I listen to music (John Mayer, Coldplay, that sort of thing), watch a few movies and meet up with friends. That apart I am always experimenting with photography, learning or re-learning a few things

6) Do you have any ‘to-do’ list? What are the top five things in your list?
My to-do list is always current and work related. I have an extensive bucket list though. It would be hard to pick top 5, but let me try.

•  Go sky diving
• Learn swimming
• Scale Mt. Everest
• Drive flat out on Nurburgring and come out in one piece
• Finish working on my top secret project, really.

7) Where do you see yourself five years down the line?
If in 5 years I am still doing what I love and doing it as well as I can, I will be happy

You can check more of his pictures on https://www.facebook.com/AudiPhotography or www.audiphotography.com.

–Sunaina

I am a gentleman
A smooth naturally tanned man
Lean to a degree with just enough extra
To give me something to burn and work on

5′ 6″ in the height and balanced size
Not dashingly handsome but pleasing to the eyes
A man of stature and of power
Who can hold a conversation for more than an hour

I am a gentle source but understand
That gentle does not imply a weak man
I am a tender soul with a large capacity
To be whatever the right woman needs me to be

I am kind and romantic
Straight with no chaser
Passionate to a fault
Strong and driven to succeed

Walking this life
I seek for the one who beside me will take a seat
I seek for the one who wants one like me
To make her life so incredibly complete

No junk included or sought after
I am looking to provide for someone a prize catch
I do not know who you are but…
Will you marry me?

SERIOUSLY

Will you give me the opportunity to make your life grand?
Can I be your Baby, your lover, your real man?
Can I be the giver of love that is more than you can stand?
Will you marry me?

I seek one to hold, dream and pursue goals with
One to enjoy the spoils of achievement and be with
One to create a masterpiece of love and living
Will you marry me? I am full of good giving

Can you handle the one who wants to be with you?
And yet be free to do what you do
And then to do with you even more?
Am I the one who was made for?

I am looking so hard but I cannot see
The special woman who was made for me
May be it is you, maybe we are the pair to be
I wonder if you will marry me

Can you say “I do” and then actually do it?
Can you start a life with me and then go through it?
Can you live in my heart and arms and be truly happy?
I wonder if you will marry me

I want the one who wants a real love affair
Unending and unrelenting, beautiful and fair
I want the one who wants passion to the utmost degree
I wonder if you will marry me

I will stand here and wait patiently for you
I will look for the one to whom I can be true
I will look up one day and I hope to see you
And I will ask: Will you marry me?

Really…

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

– Misbah Ashraf
Photograph Courtesy: Raveesh Photography 

I can clearly remember this story from my past. Megha was her name. She was my neighbour. Beautiful is the only word in the dictionary from which I can describe her. She was 17 years old then when a business family came to their house with the marriage proposal of their only son with Megha. Their whole family got together for the occasion. Her father and other males of family were discussing about this proposal, suddenly her mother entered in the room and said

Abhi to choti si bachhi hai, aur ladki ke liye shadi ki umar bhi 18 saal hoti hai, kahi police case me na phans jaye.

So after a long discussion they came to the conclusion that they will marry Megha with their son next year when she will be 18, she will turn into a mature woman and there will not be any government issues.

In the meanwhile she completed her school education and entered in college. There she fell in love with a boy. None of her family member knew about it. Time was running with its pace, and she turned 18. It was her birthday and the family who earlier came with the marriage proposal came again with so many amazing gifts. But they did not turn out that much amazing for her, she was not happy with this decision of her parents and was not in favour of marrying that guy. Her mother said

Arey bahut paise wale hain, tujhe hamesha khush rakhenge.

But she was not convinced because she knew that her happiness is in that boy whom she loved. That boy convinced her to run away from the home and she did.

Megha was sitting in the corner of dark room; her pale face was telling the whole story. The girl who was full of life was not even speaking a single word today; it was raining from the last night and cool breeze was all around but she was choked with her emotions. The words which she heard from her parents last night were coming across her again and again.

Yesterday, her mother was crying, ” This girl has made us guilty, (itne salo me jo izzat kamayi thi aaj iski wajah se chali gayi).” Sound of lightning was adding more pain to her voice. Rain water was flowing with a great flow; but tears started drying in eyes of each person present in that house.

All the people living around her house were talking about her.

Arey unki beti ke bare me suna?

Kya zamana aa gaya hai, ghar wale shadi kara rahe the aur ladke ke sath bhag gayi, aur jab wapis aayi to kisi ko mooh dikhane ke layak nahi rahi.

Ladki ko padhne bheja tha aur ye waha ye sab kar rahi thi.

Yes, they all were right, it was her fault. Ironically, nobody is blaming the boy and their families who forced the girl into an early engagement against her wishes. If they haven’t engaged her with that boy she would not have run away from house.  At one place we worship goddess Saraswati, Laxmi, Parvati and in 21^st century we are talking about women working along with men and attaining greater heights, but at other side we are still blaming girls for such things.

This is the one problem of our society and these days everyone is talking about women empowerment so we may think that things will change. But I started writing with one more problem that is child marriage. Megha’s parents refused the marriage proposal when she was 17, were they really thinking that she is not mature enough for marriage or just for the sake of rules they refused it?  They were living in the city, so they thought of rules and government once, but people who are living in villages they do not even give a thought to it.

As you can see almost whole India filled with orange color i.e. average female age at marriage is below 18 and one in four adolescent girls between 15 and 19 years of age in India is married. So this is as big problem as poverty or corruption and someone has to look into it more seriously. We have to overcome this problem for better and healthy India.

In the end I would like to make one more point: “Not that, teenage infatuations are bad but;

Even at at an age of 18 is a girl mature enough for marriage?

–Ankit Mishra

Image Courtesy: Ajay Menon Photography  and UNICEF

For some reason the name Salman comes with controversy. Be it the Bollywood heartthrob, or the Union law minister for his minority reservation jibe or more popularly the present one since 1989.

I was surprised to see that a friend who doesn’t know who the President of india is, knows Salman Rushdie. Thanks to the media crafted Rushdie movie which got interesting by each passing day. Add to this is one more political gimmick, the threat from Bombay mafia who sent hit-men to knock him down.

Rushdie played the protagonist in this episode with the Govt (both state and central), protesting groups and the media being the co stars. In all, there were 3 winners and one loser. Rushdie, who got free publicity (proved with example of my friend above), Media, both print and electronic, who got content to fill their spaces for a week or so and the Govt, which got political mileage by “winning” over the muslim sentiments keeping in mind the UP elections, the road to power in Delhi. The audience was the only loser with all the time that was wasted on this overhyped affair.

The streets in Jaipur, Mumbai, Delhi and several other parts of the country were festooned with warning signs, as sharp as a tack: Keep away Rushdie.

Despite such dire caveats, Salman Rushdie was determined enough to attend the event. The protesting groups opposed the scheduled visit of the controversial author and wanted the ruling establishments to keep him away through out the festival period. They, however, claim that they are not against literature but are happy about the festival coming up so well. But there is no compromise on this writer who has intentionally hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims the world over through his writings.

Undoubtedly, Literature is high art. The author spends years to produce one masterpiece. Mr. Rushdie was virtually unknown before The Satanic Verses (TSV) and The Midnights Children.

He was desperate for recognition. Recognition always helps. The Satanic Verses gained more popularity than Midnight s children did. Today, he can pursue his craft without having to worry about where his next meal will come from. He should personally thank late Ayatollah R Khomeini (some regard him as the man who changed the world) for making him an overnight superstar in a negative role all over the world especially among people of Islamic faith through his Fatwa. A R Khomeini is many things to many. For me he is a nut. And a bolt. Natwar Singh holds him in high regard for reasons unknown to me.

I cant go beyond 2 chapters of any Rushdie book, including the award winner. Salman Rushdie may be brilliant in his non-fiction. But he is a very mediocre writer who would have gone unnoticed but for TSV and definitely many of his books belong to the attic after one reading. He is so much in love with his own expertise that he is just showing off, like the mirror-in-the-gym syndrome.

I laugh, yes loudly, at the pettiness of the moronic minds who call themselves protectors of Islam etc. who banned this fool and made him the poster boy for the demand for free speech and democratic rights. The hype over his participation was overdone. Not permitting him even through video conference was height of intolerance.

Though I do not agree with Rushdie`s factious writing, I disagree with those who demanded that he be prevented from attending the festival. These self proclaimed protectors of Islam, have done nothing good to Islam but brought shame to the Muslim community, which has far more pressing issues to deal with than this book.  I will park that debate for another day.

One thing is clear; our secular democratic republic is vulnerable to pressure from religious fundamentalism. They have proved it time and again. Be it M F Husain, who died Qatari or more recent Rohinton Mistry. The protestors have forgotten that God and Faith are matters of heart and head.

The Muslim groups, Deobandis etc in our country should independently and judiciously apply their minds before giving unintentional hype to sub standard issues. Now, I refuse to bend before critics that if you are critical of Rushdie, you are anti- freedom of speech.

We must endeavor to build a liberal society that values freedom of speech in its limits. No fringe elements should hold a society to ransom. No individual however can claim in the name of freedom of speech, the absolute right to insult without reason, the legitimate articles of faith of anyone.

We all value freedom of speech but no society anywhere in the world including liberal West believes in absolute freedom of speech. If you put something provocatively in the public realm on something as sacrosanct as faith, you must face the consequences of your own action.

1)     How do you manage to write a book for every 3-5 months? It always leaves us in awe. I mean, seriously, how do you get such smashing ideas?

It’s only in the last year that I have written a book every four months, usually I take a lot longer than that. So possibly, it’s been a good year for me writing-wise. I just have a very keen eye and an equally keen ear. I wouldn’t say I have a very active imagination as most of my books are inspired from people and incidents around me. So that’s that.

2)     Who is your favorite Indian author? And why?

My favourite Indian author is Ruskin Bond and I have read almost everything that he has written. His stories are so timeless and no matter when I read it, it always leaves a smile on my face. All his stories are amazing and I just love reading them over and over again.

 3)     Deb and Avantika! We totally assume that you are Deb. So who is Avantika? *Excited!*

Let that be a secret for a little more time. But on a serious and a confusing note, I don’t know that either. *Smirks*

4)     You quit your job to be an entrepreneur, right? Were your parents against it? Or did they support you?

Oh, no. They were okay with it. They had apprehensions when I first told them, but within minutes they were like, ‘So do you have to have an office too? You need to furnish it?’

So they were very supportive. Actually, they have confidence that I would fail and eventually do something that normal engineers and management graduates do. I think they are waiting for that. But overall, they are pretty immune to my nonsensical ways and equally supportive too.

5)     Your books are whopping best-sellers always. How do you promote them?

I really don’t have a marketing budget (I wish I did). So, for now I only put up status messages for my books. Having said that, I am supportive of all the authors who go out and hire PR agencies to spread the word around about their books. That’s the need of the hour. A book that has been written has to be read too. I think it is very childish of those who disparage authors who try to market their books. After all, books are also a form of entertainment that needs to be sold, right?

6)     This month, we have a theme-Exam time panic. Tell us how you were in school and college. Nerdy and studious?

Pretty much so.  I haven’t been an extraordinary student, but I have done all my education from premium institutes which have tough entrance examinations. Yes, the odd extra mark here and there usually used to make my day. I wasn’t studious but very nerdy, if you know what I mean.

7)     What is your favourite genre? Are you ever going to write something entirely different from what you are writing now? 

My favourite genre is fantasy though I doubt that I would ever write a fantasy novel. There is a crippling fear that I would make a complete fool out of myself.

I might write about something different, but for now I am going to stick to my genre. Maybe, I will grow with time and the natural progression will make me write something different. I am eating eggs for my breakfast today and that is all I know about the future.

8)     What is your passion? And what would you do to follow it? 

I have an undying passion to be content and happy. And I totally believe in that. Yes, a big car and nice house is nice, but not caring about these things is nicer. I try to be as carefree and content as possible (not saying I am there yet). But that is what I follow with all my heart – to have fun in whichever way possible.

–Sunaina Patnaik

Well, I was sleeping with my legs stretched and all on a 3 person seat. So, it was occupied, doesn’t take a genius to figure it out! I was travelling to home from college for some vacation or something in a bus. The bus was almost empty, so it pissed me off a little, out of all those god damn empty seats in the bus, someone was crying for my seats!

What does it look like, were the words that would have normally come out of my mouth if only that person wasn’t a girl!

I was on a night out. I am always on a night out when I need to go home. How else you’re gonna catch a 7am bus in the morning from Ahmedabad?! As you may have already heard, “In DA-IICT, it’s so damn easy to be awake till 7am then to wake up at 7am!”

Anyway, if it wasn’t for a girl, I would never have opened my eyes, you know. That’s what pisses people off, I mean when they ask you to move a little so that they can sit on the empty seat besides you and you pretend like you’re in a deep coma or something and eventually the other person runs out of patience. So, they either get the fuck outta there or try to wake you up from a god damn fake sleep, you know if they are bitchy or something! That whole situation, its kinda fun, if you ask me!

So, I heard her voice and I was sure, she must be a hell lot of a girl. You can tell a lot about a girl (if she’s hot or cute or semi cute or semi hot or not hot at all  ) just by her voice. That’s what I had read somewhere, anyways!

But, given the experience of travelling in ST bus for 4 years, I had rarely seen a girl travelling through ST bus from Ahemdabad to Bhavnagar, let alone a hot one! So, just to make sure ki I wasn’t day dreaming or something, I opened my eyes and I couldn’t believe what I saw, neither would you if you haven’t seen twins in real life yet; that too girls and that too both of them as beautiful as them goddesses!

I still couldn’t believe my eyes! I mean, for 3 and a half fucking years, you don’t see a single decent girl, you know someone who makes you feel good, someone who is soothing for your eyes, someone who makes you feel happy just by looking at her face or OK, sometimes assets!   And suddenly, there are two and them twins!  Couldn’t get better than this, right?!

Anyway, I was feeling sleepy like a god damn child. Don’t know why, I mean it was not like I was a rookie or something, I mean at night outs. It’s part of every engineer’s life, right?

“So, are you going to say something or not”, said the other one.

Well, of course I would only if you two weren’t so damn hot, I thought!

“Yes, of course; please sit down”, I said trying to be polite and all, you know. I was nervous. Girls make me nervous, especially those hot ones. It’s like hotter the lady, more nervous one feels. Man, you can’t help it; especially not when there are two beauties sitting right beside you!

I was sitting at the window seat. I always seat at a window seat, doesn’t matter if it’s the first row or the last. I mean, I like window seats, that’s all. Not because, it’s so damn beautiful on the sides of the highway, it’s just that it is better than what is usually inside, you know!

“Can you please switch seats with me?! I like window seat”, said one of them.

Well, of course you do. Who doesn’t like a window seat?!, I thought. Out of all those god damn things, she asked for my window seat! Man, that bugged the hell outta me! I would never give up my window seat; not even on my dead body, only if she weren’t a girl!

So, now that I was seating in between two twins, I decided to look cool, you know try and get some attention. I put on some music and started reading the book, “The catcher in the Rye”, which is my favourite book, BTW. Yeah, that’s right, that’s exactly what I did. I am an idiot, I know. I mean, most of the time, you find boys saying situations like mine happens only in Bollywood movies. Only if it happened in real life, I too would have at least a girl friend, by now, that’s what we all are assured of. Now, that it was a real thing, what did I do? I started reading a god damn book! Ironic, ain’t it?!

I had read, “The catcher in the Rye” like a million times but still, now that I was seating in between two goddesses, I couldn’t get past the first page!  I mean, what’s up with that, right?!

“Excuse me”, the window girl said. FINALLY! Anyway, I was glad she started the conversation, once again.

“I think it’s none of my business, but are you reading or listening to music?!”, she said. Sounds pretty dumb question, right? I mean, I was reading with music on, that was it. That’s exactly what I told her.

She said, “Not to brag, but too have a habit of reading. I read a lot, actually. And you know what I read recently?! “, she asked. I waited for her to answer the damn question herself. After a minute or two of long pause, I figured, she was actually expecting an answer from me! I mean, I just met her, for Christ’s sake. How the hell, in the world would I know what she read a few days back?!

“So, what did you read?!”, I asked trying to smile and look cool and all that stuff, you know.

“She said I read an article recently that said, there is nothing called multitasking when it comes to human brain!”  Holy shit, beauty with brain! So, it’s not a paradox, after all!

“Recent study had revealed that although you seem to read the book and listen to music at the same time, your mind is actually concentrating at ONLY one thing at a time. So, in short at a given time, you’re either listening to music or reading, not both. Got it?!”, she smiled.

That smile killed me! It still does!

I mean, only if we had professors like her, I too would want to be a 10 pointer!

So, well of course, I got it. I mean, who wouldn’t right?! It’s not every day that you find someone as  beautiful as Preeti explain stuff to you like that, right?! Yeah, that’s right Preeti was her name. The other one was Neha, not that it matters who’s who, I mean you won’t be able to tell, right? ‘Cause they were twins?!

God, you can tell just from my face, I was trying so hard to come up with a line to chat with her more.  But, the problem was all I could think of was, I like your smile, will you marry me?!

“So, what are you reading, anyway?!” She (Preeti, the window girl) came up with a line, once again!

“It’s my favorite book called The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Sallinger. Heard of it?”, finally I too had something to say!

“No, I guess not. Can I borrow it? But first, tell me is it any good?!”

Now, that killed me. It was my favourite book, for Christ’s sake. It bugged the hell outta me. It really did! It was only after a while that I realized she was just messing with me!  So, I gave her the book, and she started shouting, “Oh, thank you, thank you very much, Dhiren. You made my day. You are a very nice person”. And then she smiled! Oh God, that smile! It kills me every time!

So, it didn’t took me long to fell in love with this girl. I mean, I know I fall in love with every other girl I see, but boy, I could tell she was the ONE! Suddenly, I started thinking about that SRK movie Rab Ne Banadi Jodi, and thought maybe this is a sign! Rab was trying to make my love story!

I mean, if you really think about it: first, two cute girls in the ST bus on my route, then they happen to seat right beside me with almost half of the bus empty and then, the girl I fell in love with was insanely beautiful + a reading habit + an awesome sense of humor! That’s something, right?!

It was definitely a sign, you could tell!

“Are uth ja bhai. Bhavnagar, last stop aa gaya”, and I was like what the fuck happened to Preeti’s voice. So, I woke up and found out that the whole bus was god damn empty!

Turned out, I was sleeping for last 3 hours and the bus reached Bhavnagar 15 minutes ago!

All I could think was, where the hell is Preeti and her sister?! I jumped out of bus window, just for the hell of it; and looked everywhere for them. Couldn’t find it!

It depressed me a lot. I mean, finally the only good thing that happened in my life, lasted for what like half an hour?! That’s really unfair! I mean, Why, God, why?! Why the fuck did I sleep?! It wasn’t like I didn’t sleep for days. It was just one night out, for Christ’s sake!

It was a sad moment. Depressing as hell, for sure!

Then, just when I was about to give up on my wife (well, soon to be  ), I saw something written on my hand. It wasn’t my hand writing for sure. It was very bad writing, to be frank. I was confused whether it being Peeti’s hand writing will be a good thing or bad?! I mean, it would be bad because, she was perfect in almost everything just a moment ago, with everything about her so awesome and all. And, now you find out she had a very bad writing! I mean, it felt good too, to finally find something to tease her, you know if I see her next time, if there is a next time!  And, the good thing being if it was really her, she must have left a message or something for me!

I tried to figure it out. It was so damn messy, but I got it anyways!

She had written, “Find me and take me & your book, both with you“! Man, was that a joke or something?! I mean, the only thing I knew about her was her name and that she was awesome, that’s it!

Then, there was something written on my left had too. It said, “BTW, I know you go to DA-IICT!”

It really took me a while to figure out how she found that out! Tuned out, I wore that Synapse co-ordinator  T-shirt!   Man, was she awesome! She was so full of life and all that! God, I already started missing her! Why do all good things come to an end?!

Hell, I miss her every single day! That half an hour I spent with her is still photographed in my mind. For the first time in my life, I felt like complete. No bullshitting! I mean it. For the first time in my life, I felt alive!

Its been months yet I haven’t figure it out! Who was she, really? Where did she live? What did she do?! Not a single clue at all! Just that she was so damn good with me. I mean she was so beautiful and pretty and polite and all. And that I fell in love with her and all! That was all, sadly. If only I was Sherlock Holmes or some other god damn spy!

Now, all I can think of is: I just want my book back ’cause that seems the only way I will ever see her again!

– Dhiren Velari (http://dhirenvelari.wordpress.com/)

Photograph Courtesy- Girl by Raveesh Dalvi (http://www.facebook.com/pages/RaveeshPhotography/184949348213772)
                                          Book by Utkarsh Singh 

(The Holy Bible, Psalms 91: 11-12)

One day when I was a kid, I broke a tooth off and cried aloud. My grandma told me to keep that broken tooth beneath my pillow while sleeping and said that an angel will come down from the firmament to turn the broken tooth into a chocolate by using her magic wand.

While going to bed that night, I asked my parents, ”Do angels really exist?”

Without a pause, my mom said yes and my dad said no. Both of them stared at each other immediately after answering and I got my answer.

From that day onwards, I kept on asking the same question to every new person I met. Most of them answered in affirmation with a smile and when I was asked the same question I replied “Yes, and I can prove it too.”

If you ask a child to portray an angel, he would probably draw a girl in cute pink frock and wings, with a magic wand in hand. But believe me when I tell you, this isn’t  the standard dress code for angels, but yes they all have a definite motive to imbue our lives with happiness.

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, to teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or what you want to become.

You can never be sure about who these people might be – a roommate, a neighbor, a student, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger, but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way. These people are angels.

There is a second kind too, A few people you never had much of an interaction with, affect your life in such a manner that you couldn’t  have perceived. They tiptoe into your life and disappear in the same manner, casting an indelible impression of them on your life.

I am going to tell you a story about a similar kind of an angel which came into my life and played a silent but an important role in making me what I am today.

It started when I was in 6^th standard.  I used to wait for my school bus at the bus stop every morning. I used to carry a water-bottle around my neck and a traditional heavy bag pack on my shoulders. Though every other student was accompanied by their mother or father, I used to wait for the bus alone. I didn’t want them to accompany me to the bus-stop because I considered myself a big boy and big boys don’t bother their parents for such small things.

It was 7’o clock every morning when I used to wait for my school bus to pick me up and drag me to school. The same was the time for our society sweeper and his son, Sonu, to arrive. MY sweeper uncle was appointed by the Society Management for sweeping the society blocks clean every morning. Sonu was of my age and used to share the workload with his father. My father is well known for his co-operative nature and hence the sweeper uncle always used to spare some time to talk to him about issues that confronted him. My father with all his patience used to solve his problems.

It became almost a daily routine that whenever he entered our lane for sweeping, I was there at the bus stop waiting for my bus to arrive. He often used to come and stand beside me with Sonu accompanying him.

It was something I didn’t like back then. May be that big boy was incommodious about the routine of having a conversation with the sweeper of the society, that too when my friends and their parents were watching me.

“Kaunsi class mein aa gaye ho babuji?” he always initiated the conversation with this question.

As an answer to his query I replied ‘6^th”

He then used to utter his common remark “Bohot achhe beta, bohot padhna tum, bade hokar afsar banna.”

He would then turn to Sonu saying  “Seekh kuch bhaiyya se, school jaya kar.”

Sonu would reply with the most innocent smile possible.

This began to happen on a routine. Many a times I would look through the window of my home and wait for the sweeper uncle to pass that bus stand before I reached there. Now the encounters were seldom, say once in a month or twice, but he didn’t change a bit.

Every time we met during my schooling, he asked the same question,“Kaunsi class mein aa gaye babuji?” and leave after conveying same wishes,“Khoob padho beta, bohot bada afsar banna.”

I ended school and went to boarding later, and am pursuing my engineering now, but some mornings I feel that he is still somewhere around me, that he would show up with his son any moment and ask me the same question. The frustrated and the childish thinking has gave way to a loving and more impulsive one.

There was a time when I failed a few classes and decided to leave my studies mid way, but every time when these kind of negative thoughts crossed my mind, sweeper uncle’s face flashed in front of me, saying,“Beta khoob padho, bohot bada afsar banna.”

Its been quite a time since I’ve seen him. I don’t even know if he is alive or not. My mother told me during my last visit at home a few days ago that he was seriously ill. I couldn’t gather courage to visit him, I was doubtful if he would recognize me or not. The irony is that his son Sonu has now taken up his father’s job and sweeps our society clean every morning.

When I saw Sonu sweeping, I understood the reason of his innocent smile as a kid. Both, the father and the son, knew what was coming to them. I saw a man aware of what his son had in store for him in future. And that father still unquestioningly showered his blessings lavishly over me. I don’t know a word in any language better than ‘angel’ to describe him.

JOAN W. ANDERSON once said that when people think of angels, they think flowing robes and halos. But in the Bible, they also look like ordinary people. Why not today?

They say angels appear to help us come out of a bad situation. They say angels appear as an answer to our prayers. But, I wasn’t in a bad situation and I didn’t ask any questions. My angel appeared well ahead of his time and gave me a lesson for the lifetime. Keep entertaining people in whatever way possible, who knows you might have entertained an angel and paid back a long overdue debt.

By: Aman Chawla (Read more of his work at http://muktimantra.com/)

Photograph By: Ajay Menon ( http://www.facebook.com/ajaymenonphotography/)

It was the 81^st death anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. One of my friends shared a video of ‘Ae Watan Ae Watan Humko Teri Kasam’ on facebook. Thanks to the inspiring lyrics, the feeling of patriotism filled within me and with that zeal of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, I started reading about Bhagat Singh. As soon as I did that, I started noting down some qualities of Bhagat Singh to think over them later. So here are some:

1. Revolutionary: While everyone was following the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence, he refused it. And it’s obvious once you choose the path which is less followed you will face the criticism. He considered criticism and independent thinking as the “two indispensable qualities of the revolutionary.” For him no man is great without criticism.
2. Heart Follower: He took the steps which according to his heart were the best possible to make India a free country. He believed in his way and stuck to his policies till his death.
3. Thinker: After the Chauri Chaura incident, Bhagat Singh aligned himself with Young Revolutionary Movement. He thought of the Core Competency of India i.e. Youth, and tried to involve them in the movement. He also wanted to see India as a growing and stable economy.
4. Management: He along with Batukeshwar Dutt planned to detonate the bombs inside the assembly, and they accomplished it. Planning this bigger task and Executing with just one person, SIMPLY SUPERB.

Think of a country with so many persons having qualities like him. The country would be the ‘Largest Economy’ or ‘World Power’. Isn’t that our aim? We are trying hard to become one, but do you think the PACE by which we are moving is good enough?

So according to current scenario I think India needs more Bhagat Singh’s. Of course, India is a free country today so I am not talking about freedom fighters or the political leaders but I am talking about the people who can revolutionize the country, Entrepreneurs. They are the Bhagat Singh’s of Free Modern India.

Confused?

Read the qualities of Bhagat Singh which I have mentioned, again. Aren’t they same as of the entrepreneurs? Indeed they are!

“An entrepreneur is the one who comes up with some revolutionary idea, faces criticism, believes and works on that one idea by using the core competencies around him and his perfect managerial skills; moreover he follows his heart and passion.”

I would like to just end with an appeal “Today we need more Bhagat Singhs, and I call them entrepreneurs, to make India largest, fastest growing economy and a world power.”

Also, I would like to say thanks to my teammates in TalEx Arnav Mohan, Shubham Choudhary, Akshay Pamnani and Abhay Shukla for being a joint force in being a Bhagat Singh!

—–Ankit Mishra 

Image Source: Internet

A Rendezvous Of Aspiring Writers And Bloggers

Freedom is to be able to express the thoughts that linger in your mind. But how far do the ripples of your thoughts flow? To how many souls do your feelings and your words reach? How many minds do you want to tell your stories to? May be a million?

In first of its kind events to build a closely-knit community of writers and readers, TalEx is organizing a bloggers meet in Hyderabad which will showcase young authors like Harsh Snehanshu, Sagarika Chakraborty, Anuradha Goyal and N. Nivedita.

Harsh Snehanshu (http://harshsnehanshu.blogspot.in/): Author of two bestsellers, ‘Ouch that hurts’ and ‘Oops I fell in Love’ and Co-founder of TheWittyShit.com.

Sagarika Chakraborty (http://endowedwithmetis.wordpress.com/): Author of ‘A Calendar Too Crowded’ a collection of 25 short stories and poems on a woman’s life, she writes articles concerning women and children and disparities that surround them. She is a graduate from National law university, Jodhpur and currently pursuing her Masters from ISB, Hyderabad.

Anuradha Goyal (http://anuradhagoyal.blogspot.in/): Travel writer and Innovation consultant. Her blog ‘Anuradha Goyal Travels’ has been rated as one of the 50 best blogs on travel around the world and it constantly features in the best blog lists of India.

N. Nivedita (http://nnivedita.com/): Co-Author of ‘Ah! Poetry’; a collection of poems by ambitious poets on social network and a collection of short stories ‘Anthologies’

Starting as a blogger who constructs thoughts and writes small-stories, quotes and poems, these writers eventually turned into the authors of bestselling books and today they have a strong reader base. Their passion compelled them to choose writing as a full time profession which requires a lot of courage, creativity and determination.

The 3 hour event will not only expose the aspiring writers to the personal journey of each of these authors but also enable them to meet and interact with the writers’ community who share the passion of writing with you.  For aspiring novelists, writers and poets, the talk will also be followed by a panel discussion through which they can get advice or ask any specific questions that are bugging their creative minds.

The event aims to nurture and build a community of creative writers who can meet and share their rich experiences with the likeminded people. Event will be at Beyond Coffee on 4/4/2012; 5.00PM – 8.00PM.

For registering for the event follow the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewformformkey=dDdKVE5ibURUaXdrVmxxb0hXZ0dhbXc6MQ