The No Nonsense Blogger

I am but just a part of You A drop in this sea of humanity Brought forth into this World by You Your blood, Your Flesh, Your Name My Identity , I inherited from You An Identity this World knows me by You ARE my Creator, My Teacher, My Preserver I AM, because YOU WERE... Disclaimer: Blog may contain promotional material

I am still beating rhythmically  The beats though, supported by a machine  But I don't find myself in my usual place Can feel something freezing around me I look closely and find myself enclosed in packs of ice Looks like I am been carried somewhere in a box Am I going to get a new abode?  I wait patiently till I can feel myself getting lifted  And placed in my new abode With doctors frantically rejoining my wiring afresh My wiring fixed, I slowly start beating on my own I am welcomed with smiles all around I feel pleasantly surprised  No one asked me for my name, sex, caste, religion Or do these not matter now?  I wonder, even as I keep beating rhythmically!

I was literally running to keep pace with Dada. Dada was how I addressed my grandfather. This was the most precious part of my day. I had Dada all for myself this time of the day. It was a daily ritual for him to go out for a morning walk at the break of dawn with me clutching his dhoti tight and trying to keep pace with him. “Why are you so slow Nandu?”, he asked out loud. Slow? This was the fastest I could walk. I was sure that if I participated in the Walking race at school and could maintain this speed, no one could even come close to me!  “Dada, I am literally running! Can’t move faster”, I blurted out, completely short of breath.  “Alright, let’s take a ten minute break then”, he said smilingly.  As I sat down on the park bench with him, I could not help but admire him, my idol. He was close to seventy five, but had the energy and vigour that would put young lads to shame. All of ten years, I was completely in awe of his personality. His towering physique, the...

Examination - the word itself drives a chill down the spines of most students. Unarguably, the two most dreaded months in a school student's calendar in India are March and April, which are traditionally the months in which most schools conduct the final examinations across all classes for promotion to the next higher class. Although there are class tests and semester exams throughout the year but the final examinations in March-April are the most important. This is a testing time not only for the students but also for their parents, for whom it is like revisiting their school days all over again! Same was the case with most of my friends' parents and I somehow found it a bit funny to see that the parents were more worried and anxious than their children. "Nandu, have you finished your studies beta?" Ragini aunty asked even as she opened the door for me. I had come to my friend Ashwin's house to call him out for our evening football game in the neighbourhoo...

‘Dream Girl’ – I was only 10 when this movie was released and the audience lapped it up like crazy. The movie went on to become one of the biggest grosser of its time. I distinctly remember the mass hysteria this movie generated and how its tickets were sold in black for weeks together. Baba was totally against purchasing tickets in black and it was a good three weeks after its release that he was able to get tickets for the entire family! Going out for movies was the most awaited family event during those times as that was one of the main sources of entertainment for most families and it was the same for us. I distinctly remember all 15 of us walking down to the neighbourhood cinema hall just 10 minutes away from our house and occupying an entire row in the Balcony area of the theater to watch the movie. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie whose main story-line revolved around its lead heroine playing five different characters with the intention of stealing money so that she could ma...

Carrom for me was one sport which could be played by almost anyone and everyone. It didn't distinguish between age, sex, strength, brain, brawn or speed. All it needed was some amount of skill, patience and concentration. You didn't need too much of space for the carrom-board and it was easy to set up. You could place it over a table, a stool and if you didn't find anything, you could simply plonk it on the ground. This story dates to the golden age when there was no internet or mobile to spoil the kids; or adults for that matter. Outdoor and indoor games and activities held sway, people loved to interact more with each other than with stupid screens of various shapes and sizes. Ludo, Chess, Bagatelle, Snakes & Ladder, Scrabble, Uno etc were few popular indoor games. But my favourite game was Carrom. Our home was a mecca for many Carrom players in the neighborhood and beyond. We were a large joint family and most of the family members were excellent Carrom p...

Bully - '(noun) a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker' - that is the dictionary meaning of the word bully we were taught in school. So when Deepika mam asked me the meaning of the word in class, she was pretty sure that I would answer it correctly. Apparently 'Joginder' was not the right answer! "Nandu," she asked in a perplexed voice, "don't you remember the meaning of the word bully?" "Yes Ma'am, I do. And that's why I said Joginder because I couldn't think of a better way to substantiate my answer with an example as you always ask for." I replied even as I tried catching Joginder's reaction from the corner of my eyes. I could feel him fuming away in anger, ready to break my bones at the first chance he got. Describing Joginder is a little difficult. He belonged to that extra special breed of homo sapiens for whom brawn and brain had the same meaning! All of 12, he...

April Fool's day! I am not sure when and how this became a fad in our neighborhood but I could see that the preparations for this day was no less than the preparations for an India-Pakistan cricket match! As the D-day approached, I could see people, mostly youngsters, huddling up to devise intricate plans to befool the most number of unsuspecting and innocent victims. So much so that there were undeclared annual competitions in our neighborhood as to who could devise, strategise and execute the most innovative fool's day prank. Raju dada, my elder brother was hell bent on coming up trumps in this year's competition amongst his motley group of friends. I had been watching his movements with renewed interest over the last week or so and could gauge that he was upto some mischief. I couldn't help but ask him, "Dada, what are you upto?" He looked at me and said in a stern voice, "Nandu, you are just ten and will not understand this. And since this is ...