The Magical Fountain

Naina, 10 year old, stationed near the water fountain at Newgate Square, overheard a voice, “if you make a wish with closed eyes and throw a 2 rupee coin in the pond there, the wish is always rewarded if made with a pure heart”.

She pinned her ears and heart to the statement so well that she went near the magical fountain pool and gave all her attention to let the fact sink into her.

She was not surprised anymore to see abundant 2 rupee coins dazzling in the artificial water pond. She tried believing the fact that many kids like her must have come by this pool to make a wish and threw the coins into the pool.

Today, Naina accompanied her father to do routine shopping. She was too young to carry money in her pockets. The only valued stuff she carried in her frock were a half eaten lollypop and a brown bear covered in handkerchief.

With innocence on her face, lollypop in mouth and bear in one hand, she looked around to search for a 2 rupee coin somewhere on the ground but all in vain.

Her father was also indispensible. She looked around but could not find him in vicinity to where she was standing.

She prayed for her father to appear soon so she can ask for a coin as she has already decided as to what she’ll ask the Water-God once the coin is into the pond.

It’s been long since she has had chocolates. So she desperately wished for the same today.

After waiting there for a while, she started searching for her dad in shops round the corner.

While she was walking by, she observed a poor boy of her age, pale, sitting in a torn shirt and with head margined to the shape of skull, appeared as if he had his last meal years ago. He was sitting there alone sobbing the fact, “The pond is fake, it consumed the last 2 rupee coin I had. I wished food and it left me with nothing.”

Naina was baffled seeing his plight and murmurs that she left the place without troubling the boy.

Very soon she found dad purchasing stuff for mom.
She ran very close to him and asked daddy naively with all the worldly charm for a two rupee coin. Daddy was so absorbed in shopping; he left the kid with a two rupee coin in the fist. She was elated as if she won her first battle and scuttled erratically to the magical place where the fountain was.

Her eyes met the boy for the second time only to find the boy slept on the floor, after crying, all curled up in the cold weather. She felt sad for the situation and gave him her bear and leftover lollypop while he was sleeping.

As she reached the water pond, she closed her eyes, made a wish and was about to throw the coin in the pool when her consciousness stopped her to do so.

She turned back and ran to the bakery shop to buy a bun and a glass of milk for two rupees. She ran to the place where the boy was sleeping with bun in the pocket and milk clutched in both the hands.

She placed her handkerchief on the floor and divested the eatables on to the handkerchief and disappeared.

The boy woke up after an hour to discover food in front of him. He gazed around for a second to see if anyone is in possession. But, the second seemed too long for him to be patient; he soon broke his hunger and started eating posthumously with both hands.

As he raised his head, he saw the water fountain showering at the same place where he dropped the coin.

He lifted the handkerchief to find a bear and lollypop hiding below it. He always knew with the same 2 rupee coin he dropped in the pond, he could have never afforded to buy so much of stuff. He thanked the magical pond for granting his wish and went back to sleep.

Naina’s dad bought a chocolate pack when she was not around and placed it nicely in his coat’s upper pocket.
He saw Naina coming bare-handed and without bear. His first reaction was Naina must have been robbed by some mischievous boys. He ran across her as to confirm nothing went wrong with her.

She told him the entire story. He was taken aback and felt contented to hear his daughter’s matured behavior.

He took her to the magical fountain place and asked her to make the same wish again as he plummeted a two rupee coin on her palm.

Immediately the chocolate fell on to her hands and she told daddy that the magical fountain does work and grant all what so ever you wish with a pure heart.


P.S : This work is purely fictional and imaginative and is written with pure content of writing my first short story. Hope you like it and i welcome all thoughts and reflections for this blog.

I would like to thank my brother Raghav for taking out time and reviewing, editing my concept. Thanx a ton bro!!!

Kaminey : Hum Dono Judwa Hai!!!

No this isn’t the review of the movie, KAMINEY. Neither am writing this blog to appreciate how well Vishal Bhardwaj directed it nor to mention anything about the brilliant performance of protagonist Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

The title may sound confusing but honestly it’s about me and my twin brother (RG), how we were during school, me always being a nemesis of his goodwill nature, his characteristics and how he would always cover up for all my mistakes. We are identical twins who never use to stutter or say ‘F’ for ‘S’ as Guddu or Charlie from the movie, but, the only thing that was common between us was...if one of us falls sick, the other will follow after few days.

Through this blog, I’ll publish few instances of kaminapan each of us played in our childhood. Fo (So), Fit (Sit) back and enjoy the blog. No pun intended in thif (this) article.

Kaminey 1: It once happened in school when our Maths teacher asked each student to recite the tables. My twin RG was always very good in reciting tables and I was complete opposite to him. He was known for his behaviour and intelligence whereas I was famous for my lethargic, dumb nature. When he stood first in class, I stood nowhere.

We were so similar in looks that my mother bought different colour jerkins so the teachers and students in school do not face any difficulties in distinguishing as to who’s who in the class. RG’s id was always before me in the class. Teachers would never call us by names instead by roll numbers. After RG successfully delivered the table for 14 (I knew only till table 5), very soon, I realised it was my turn. RG would always sit with me (the Back Benchers) when it sounded trouble.

RG while moving back to his seat observed I was apprehensive and that’s when he decided to sit right next to me. I knew he’ll help me out from this mess somehow. As we were sitting together, we exchanged the pullovers (the sweater) and he went in for me and recited the table of 19. 19, good lord, if he wasn’t there, I knew I was dead.

The teacher except students, never ever came to know that it was always RG, who recited the tables for both of us.So as the dialogue from the movie goes, "Life ko jeene ke 2 tarike hai - fortkut (shortcut) aur chota fortkut (shortkut)"

Kaminey 2: Making girl friend in school was an in thing those days. It was a prestige issue and a thing to brag about. RG was always very studious so he never invested time or money on girls. He was so unlike me. I remember I had a very nice girl as friend when I was in 9th standard.

It was a weekend when me and my gal decided to meet coming Sunday. She called me on Saturday to confirm about the venue and timings. Mobiles were not very popular those days. So, she gave a buzz on my landline and RG lifted the phone in my absence. She wanted to talk to me when my twin hung up for a second or so and answered the call speaking as if I was on the call. She fixed the venue details with RG and he never bothered to tell me about that.

Now when Sunday came, she waited for 2 hours and returned back all very frustrated. Next day in school, she confronted and asked why I didn’t show up when we fixed the plan for Sunday. I asked confusingly, “now when did I fix a plan with you, instead, I was waiting whole day for your call and you never turned up???” that’s when I figured out it was RG who intentionally didn’t tell me about the call and screwed up things for both of us.

That’s when my first crush soon turned as my last girl friend, thanks to my very supportive twin.

P.S : Do read my bro Rg's reply to the same blog here!!!

Fibonacci Series

Life, sometimes, is funny. Well, for me, it was quite opposite; life was sometimes serious but was never very serious.

Today, I’ll share a very interesting incident happened during college. It may not sound hilarious now but from the day I experienced it, till date, I do laugh whenever it comes in mind.

It was my first year of college and Computer Science practical exam was going on at 3 in afternoon. The practical session would not last for more than an hour.

Computer’s was one subject I loved to hate and would always run for covers. It was my final practical exam before I could move into the next semester. The invigilator was an old guy like a service class employee, very lethargic in his movements and with wrinkles all over the face.

Soon after the verbal (oral) evaluation, the last half hour in the torture room was given for performing the practical. It was more of an execution room where the innocent was made to sit in an electric chair and was given shocks until dead.

On the teacher’s desk was the Pandora’s Box which had the entire C program name chits written on it and each one of us was suppose to build code on whatever chit was picked from the box in last half hour. Only half hour, I knew I was already screwed. I almost gave up.

C reminded me of Yashwant Kanitkar’s “LET US C”. Whenever I had a thought about the book, I always believed there was lot of sarcasm, wickedness involved in the way Yashwant titled it ‘let us C’ and true as everything sounded Greek to me.

Anyways those chits in the box were like evil about to unleash. My hands were trembling and water running down the spine with round circles whirling around my eyes as I lifted one paper bit out of the god-dam box.

As I was tried to figure out exactly what was mentioned in the slip, a heavy voice like that of YAMRAAJ came from behind. Soon I realized lords' from hell has come to take me away with them. As I turned, it was my invigilator asking for what program was mentioned in my slip. I slowly read Fibonacci series followed by a loud uproar from the teacher saying, ‘’Go to your desk and start writing the code on F series’’. Without lifting my head and eyes stuck on to the paper, I stumbled upon my desk. It’s not I was mentally engrossed in thinking the logic for the program, in fact, was actually trying to figure out the meaning of the word FIBONACCI.

The guy sitting next to me, Rajesh, was a quiet guy who knew computers more than me, at least.

I thought he’ll be my saviour and I slowly whispered to him, “Dude, any idea what does Fibonacci series mean?” Rajesh took more than expected time in replying, “Dude! Fibonacci was a Chinese who discovered geometric progression series: 2, 4,8,16...” My immediate response was, “Discovered???” Rajesh exasperated, “u want to know or not”. But was he sure, even Rajesh didn’t knew. Anyways, his reply came as a signal of relief for me but for a short span.

I again glanced at my slip and found some random numbers written at the bottom with OUTPUT as the word describing those numbers. I showed it to Rajesh and his immediate response was, “dude, u r screwed...”

I started cribbing some stdio input output codes on the blue screen.

It was the last ten minutes of the session when the invigilator decided to visit each student’s desk and evaluate him/her on the basis of code written. When I and Rajesh were left for the final evaluation, suddenly, the bell rang stating the end of session. The teacher announced, “Please show me the final outputs now as your output will determine your logic’s design.” Soon after Rajesh’s brutal evaluation (as his output was all blank black screen, unfortunately), the teacher paced his steps towards me and observed me pressing the compiler and debug controls on the screen. As he came across, the black output screen popped and Fibonacci series was generated. The teacher was enthralled to see the outcome and prompted, “Son, you’ve learned your concepts very well, am proud of students like you!!!”

But how did I manage to print that output. Well am writing the same code I used in exam and now, will surely never forget for the rest of my life.

The Fibonacci code:

#include
#include
void main(void)
{
int i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s;
clrscr();
i=0;
j=1;
k=1;
l=2;
m=3;
n=5;
o=8;
p=13;
q=21;
r=34;
s=55;
t=89;
printf("%d\t%d\t%d\t%d\t%d\t%d\t%d\t%d\t% d\t%d\t%d\t%d\t",i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t);
}
getch();
}
So was the corresponding output.

A Drunken Soul

This poem is dedicated to all the drunkers' of the world!!!

It was a Friday night,
I kept all my office work aside,
Went to a pub, and, had, on-tap red wine.

Got drunk till midnight,
When, the bartender escorted me to the parking light.

With 100% wine in me and 1% me in wine,
I rolled the bottle down the parking line.

Damn, the pole suddenly hit my van?
Before an oldie yelled, “he is a DEAD MAN!!!”

The weight of wine in my eyes, made, the whole world, for me blind.
I reached 100 on the highway, before I realised, I was out of my mind.

Reached home at morning 3,
Hid my van under the lemon tree.

I slipped in room as I slammed the door,
And my mobile bumped on the floor.
The room was blur, and, i saw,
The poster on the wall in my room read “HELL-O”,
Is not my girl friend but of the bunny rabbit from “Donnie Darko”?

I relaxed, had water (I remembered) from a fish bowl,
My mouth blew bubbles and stomach growl’.

Mobile buzzed when I almost slept right,
A friend invited for the party tonight.

After few beers,
I could not walk,
I could not talk,
I slept at some place called “DRINKER’S DEN”,
Hell, I didn’t knew, the club was closed since 1991.

Next day,
Had puked on my shirt,
My eyes were ‘Dracula red’ and head till toe was engaged in the hangover fight,
That’s when the cop pulled over and tries to figure out,
What the f*** happened to him last night???

A Night To Remember

Soon after the FIFA confederation cup 2009, William and family decided to come and visit Raj’s place for dinner. Raj spoke to William in morning and confirmed the party starts at 6 in evening. Sophie (5 yrs.), the youngest daughter was desperately waiting for daddy’s return from work.

William phoned at 6 to apologize as he was held up at work. Raj had no plans to postpone the dinner as most of the preparation was done for the kids, so he decided to wait.

William arrived at half past 9 in evening. Not only Raj but Sophie, Anna (8 yrs.) and William Jr. (6 yrs.) were annoyed with him for delaying the festivity by three hours. Mrs. William told Raj, Sophie slept near the window waiting for daddy’s car till it was dark.

As soon as Sophie got out of the car, she looked around and came running towards Raj with open arms. He lifted her and gave a warm welcoming hug. She whispered in his ear, “I am sorry, daddy came home very late.” Raj replied, “Its ok baby. Sorry to keep you waiting but we’ll enjoy every minute now at my place and I’ll scold daddy for being late and he won’t get the supper tonight.” Sophie was smiling once again while she cuddled in Raj’s arms.

In short span of time, the living room was with smiles and cheers. Sophie looked up and asked Raj to sit next to her. Mrs. William responded immediately, “aaw, Raj, she likes you a lot.” He replied, “Yeah, now she’s my baby, right Sophie?” She nodded affirmatively. Each one in the room was pleased. Raj got chocolates, muffins, cake, pastries and ice cream ready for the kids. But before all this, he wanted everyone to taste the Indian tea. All of them, including the little ones, had tea twice. William agreed, “This Indian tea is an addiction, nirvana, but unfortunately am not blessed with an Indian wife who can make such a nice cup every day for me.” Before Mrs. William could reply to Mr. William’s statement, Raj offered 1 more cup of tea and the method of making such a tea to Mrs. Williams.

Anna, William Jr. and Sophie wanted to see the apartment. Sophie was tired, so Raj picked her up and showed the rooms. Raj and kids were so engrossed in chatting and playing, that they lost track of time before Mr. William tartan at his watch and it was half past 11. The kids were tired and their belly was full. So Raj served Indian cuisine for Mr. & Mrs William. Sophie came in kitchen rasping an eye and said, “I want to sleep Raj.” He apologised Mr. William and asked him to serve himself until back. He picked her up, she crossed her arms around Raj’s neck and asked him to carry her to the bedroom. There was an angelic innocence in Sophie that Raj could not resist in pampering the adorable beauty. She asked Raj to be there with her till she’s slept.

As Raj rested, Sophie slept on him. He covered her with the duvet and slowly rolled her on the bed but her hands were in his jacket pockets. She was a little angel who just didn’t want to leave Raj. He kissed her on forehead and blessed her with a good night sleep.

Meanwhile, William and other kids were enjoying the desert in the living room. At around half past 12, William decided to leave. Raj gave chocolates, cake and stuff to kids and Indian tea powder and recipe to Mrs. William. Mr. William took Sophie and dropped her in the car. As she woke up, she asked her dad, “Why are we leaving right now? I want to stay here for some more time.” William promised Sophie that they’ll come here again someday as he also wants to taste the Indian tea again.

Raj went across the car and gave hug to all three angels. As they were about to depart, he observed a tiny tear formation in Sophie’s eyes. As she winked, the drop trickled on Raj’s hand. He doesn’t know what was happening but she offered her arms and he lifted her from the car into his arms. She put her hands around Raj’s neck, head on the chest and legs around the waist and hugged him tightly. She kissed and said, “Raj, I’ll wait for you to invite me once again to your place.” Raj kissed and promised her that he’ll meet his darling baby very soon again. As the car started moving, Sophie took her head out of the car and cried in soft tender voice, “I’ll MISS YOU Raj.”

He waved till the car disappeared in street’s light.
Next day afternoon, Raj got a call from Anna saying thanks for the dinner last night and now they are waiting for the next visit. Sophie came online to wish Raj and whispered “I LOVE YOU, Raj.”

P.S: The real names of the characters are unacknowledged and hidden in this story. it's a real incident that happened with me couple of days back!!!