Royal Enfield love

Love is something I only saw in the bikes I rode. The Royal Enfield shining bright under the sun light, roaring majestically on the roads, giving me the best moments of my life. But treat her bad she will give you trouble, grease up your hand and make u work hard on her; still she could get running again. A mysterious love we both had hard to explain.

Still remember the day it all started between me and my bike. I was just above 60 kgs tall and skinny. Dad said I could never take care of her she is not the one for me. But my ego never left me; I was in bloody love with her. The gentle beauty of her body, the boldness in the sound and confidence you get when you know you own her. I assumed my bike had life, bet she also thought we are two different entities it will never work out. But insane as we both were powered by our ego, we both started our life as lovers.

We never felt strange around each other it was as the feeling of “janam janam ka rishta” filmy, but we all feel so for that one special person don’t we all. May be we rushed in, maybe we were desperate but I never waited and I knew my bike wanted It too, in one week of us being together we went for a long ride on a summer noon. Was hot and humid, living on the coast usual summer weather, but we never bothered we had waited desperately for this day.

I wanted to be with her, I wanted to ride her feel my hands gripping her turning the throttle and just speed of on the dark tar road. Its sounds aggressive but I think it was fuelled by the passion and love; I had for her, a felling of SHE IS MINE; I own her only I get to do all this with her. Besides I knew I loved her; I knew she was the one; whatever happens, I would be there for her. She made me feel like a totally new person I had a purpose, a motive to live for. I just justified using these words whenever I felt I was taking it too fast on the road.

Our first ride ended great I was smiling I could see my bikes engine sounded like it was happy too. It’s our first ride together I might have been a little rough and experimental but she played along. It was getting dusky almost 6 pm; way past my college time. Mom will be waiting, had to get back fast, imagined in my head she saying” hurry up don’t want mum to catch us ,if she did it’s all over for us” . Heard her mention her mum and just zipped off , the speed and the wind on her face but dint have time to enjoy it just raced towards her home .

Next day I woke up thinking about yesterday I knew she would be waiting for me. Got ready quickly ate breakfast couldn’t wait to see her in the morning. We go to college together that was our deal. It was like a untold promise whole day be with each other cause mum din’t want me to ride a lot. Lots of trust issues when it came to bikes, beside she never like my Enfield, said it’s too bold and a bit outrageous. Can’t keep everyone happy can we ?

We reached college 5 minutes before the bell. It’s a bitter moment, we enter the college campus; I go one way to the Mechanical department she goes in opposite direction bike parking near E.C department . I would go to the canteen every day cause we had to cross the EC department to try and catch a glimpse of her or may be sit with her.  I was greedy for every second of her life, so was she . “Over possessive” I don’t know but my feelings were true . And canteen food was horrible; it has to be true if I wished to eat it just to see her.

Another average week passed in my engineering college. College dint give us much time together just the usual lunch together or a small break where we got max 15-20 min. My friends were not too happy that I was obsessing over her but they too had learnt she meant a lot to me. A week went by busy in college got some time with her, I nick named her “JAANU”, its sounds lame but it just came out she was my life.

The felling of not spending time this week had finally got to us, bunked classes lied to our parents and finally went off on the all awaited ride , I was more greedy this time, Wanted more a lot more than last time . Maybe I crossed my limits; maybe she dint give me a sigh that the ride was going too far, at the moment she was enjoying it, we both were. I had never been so intimate before. I couldn’t stop myself; I just followed my heart carried on where ever the winding curve on the road took me. It was Saturday and it was pm we had to reach home by 1 . We rode back zipping at top speeds squeezing through traffic.

All seemed well till we reached home, at night I was hit with the hard truth, I had taken it too far it was too early in the relationship. Enfield wouldn’t start I couldn’t hear her speak to me. She was angry, she was scared; she never thought it would go so far so soon. I dint know what to say. I was in shock; I was guilty for mistakes I dint realize I was doing. How do I convince her that I wouldn’t leave her, tell her she is my life, I am nothing without her.

Things were never same it took a day or 2 to patch thing back and get her running again, but the trust was gone for lack of knowledge I had when it came to relationships, Enfield would break down probably every week she was never the same she had changed totally, my usual business would be just repair her convince her to start up and bring things back to normal. She thought I would leave her after going so far so she always broke down. I never got the logic

“If u think, I’ll leave you. Why do you break down and make it easier for me? “

 Or was she testing how much I loved her. But testing every week? It was playing with my emotion.
 I truly loved her no matter what I never let her know how hurt I was; I put a happy face on and tried to make things work. Just hoped in time she would trust me and be mine for ever. Almost a month had passed in our time together, we had a couple or may be three rides together, but it could never be compared to the first one the feeling of happiness after the ride, It was just incomparable .  It was getting messier and messier with every ride trust was dropping drastically. She had a feeling of I just wanted to use her but never love her or be with her; a cheap feeling towards me.  This feeling was just too heart breaking to handle, I gave her all I could selflessly but was hurt over a little intimacy.
Finally started striking me too, that we are two different things we are not the same, the point which kept striking her all along; but I tend to ignore it because love came above everything to me. But the hard fact is that world runs on logic, culture and rules not on emotions. Things dint seem great at the end of second month.

Culture? Status? Etc was no match for my ego I wanted her to be the love of my life. I have the solution for all problems I told myself. As expected after our next ride insecurities started growing. She was about to break down again. But this time I was prepared; for all the pain I got every time she broke down , I was taking a bitter sweet revenge , showing her that she needs me without me to take care of her, she is nothing . We are team, we are made for each other and we have to fight against the world to be with each other; not fight with each other. The fight lasted for two days I made her realize, how miserable she is without me, and how she will actually feel if I dumped her. Two days of argument, later finally she had realized my value. I just sat near the parking lot in college after our fight mending her; I imagined her speaking to me. The most beautiful moment ill ever spend with a women no one can ever match that 2 and half hours we spent together just talking.

Time flew by engineering was finally over; was a tough time with projects ,exams ,back logs the usual drama but she was always there for me, a moral support. We finally got the free time and money for the dream ride. Waiting impatiently in the blistering cold staring at the army officer to give the clear to start journey in to Leh . A riders dream, so was mine to ride my Enfield to Laddak.

Waiting here at the check post I can only think of the good moments I had with her, the bitter moments just seems like glue in our relationship. The fights the break downs all just bring a smile on my face when I see her standing next to me nervously waiting for the ride to start.
Finally the army officer waves his hand grasping his semi automatic giving us the clear; we sit on the bike and kick it, starts just in one kick! The thundering roar echoes in the valleys of Leh, powered by adrenaline.

I twist the throttle and set off on the rugged roads of Leh.

by Shefi Mohammed

Spirits in the cold sky

That day after class I ran to the college cafeteria to meet Roohi. When she saw me, she forced a smile across her face. It was not that smile I was greeted with every day. Today was different;
 I walked up to her and pulled her cheeks and said
 “Gloria. Smile. You don’t look good like this.”

Roohi was in her easily irritable mood that day replied quite agitatedly
 “Stop calling me Gloria. I am your girl and you are calling me that hippopotamus name from Madagascar. How mean you are? If I am Gloria then you are Mr. Glory.

It was time for me to cool things down so I was into damage control mode

It’s not Mr. Glory !! It’s Melman the giraffe.

Roohi was least bothered with the film trivia, I bestowed upon her. She went silent something you don’t relate with her often.

I broke the silence between us in the noisy cafeteria.

“So, what do you want to eat? You must be really hungry after the classes.”

Roohi: Don’t feel like having anything. Not hungry.

Aakash: Have something; your boyfriend is rich today. You know today got money in the account for this month. So tell me anything I will buy for you.

Roohi: Aakash, I really don’t want to leave you and go. I will really miss you.  I don’t know how I will survive these three days without you?
Aakash: I will miss you too baby. From the past three months there hasn’t been a single day without you in this campus. But you have to go right. Your Di’s marriage, I wish I could come but what will you tell Umesh uncle?
Roohi: I will tell him something. You come. It will be fun. I will tell you are Saurav’s friend.
Aakash: No yaar. I would love to but I have lot of work here and two week is a big time span. And you know I am the co-ordinator of the movie making competition here, so no way I can leave it.
Roohi:  Yes. It’s really important for you right. Ok, don’t come. You really don’t give me any importance right. You are so selfish. I do everything for you. But you hardly care for me.
So here she begins. I dint want to get angry today because she was leaving.
I made her sit down and explained to her.
Aakash: You know right. How hard I worked to get Movie making competition approved in the fest. It was all decided right. You would go for your Di’s wedding and come back in two weeks. At least you would have told me earlier I would have come but you are leaving today and telling me, I should come. How is it possible? 
Roohi: Only two week’s right? You are so practical. I can’t be like you. I thought it was easy. But today when I sat in the class I realised, how much I would miss you. Without listening to your voice, without seeing you smile, without you teasing me. I don’t know what will happen to me without you.
I could see tears rolling out of her eyes.

Aakash: hey don’t cry. I forgot my handkerchief today.

She smiled and she said
“Why is your shirt for?”
Aakash: hey no!!!
She was sitting leaning on my shoulders. I loved her a lot. She cared for me more than I did for her. I was really lucky; I had her in my life.

Aakash:  Ok. Ok now eat something. You have to travel tonight right? What time is your bus to Mumbai?

Roohi:  11.
                                 
Aakash: Cool. What about only a cold coffee now and a dinner together?
Roohi:  You coming to drop me?
Aakash: No Mr.Umesh Gupta will come. Happy?
Roohi: Hey. Respect my dad. Why you always bring him in the middle?
Aakash: Simply.

We walked with a cold coffee to her hostel and it was decided will leave at 7 p.m.
 I was walking alone and thinking should I be sad or happy. Roohi, I loved her a lot. But somewhere I felt something was missing.  Did I hurry in getting in to a relationship with her? She loved me a lot but she was not that girl I always dreamed of. She was very dependent, she was a kid, but I always dreamed of a girl who could take care of me and who was a bit mature. On the contrary, I had to take care of each and everything about her. It was not that I hated that, but this was not the way I had dreamed. Was I doing the right thing?

I walk into my room, situated on the ground floor. My room was messed up like always. Clothes lying everywhere on the bed, books scattered, newspapers, water bottles, plastic bags all at one place. It was one big dumping ground for me. My room was one thing, Roohi couldn’t change in me. Probably because she couldn’t come here, it’s not that I liked this dump. But I hardly used to get time these days. 

I really needed a break. The last three months were only about Roohi. Morning, Afternoons, Evenings and nights she always wanted to be with me. I dint have much of a choice cause if I said no to her then she gets angry and then we fight bitterly. We had broken up 4 times in 3 months. I was really happy in a way; she was going home for two long weeks. I really need some time for myself. My friends to drifted away from me because I couldn’t spend much time with them, I decided the next two weeks were the time to set everything right. 

At about 7, she called me to tell she was ready. I went to her hostel which was at the other end of our campus. She along with her best friend Neha was standing near her hostel gate.  I greeted Neha, but Neha dint even look at me.
 I took Roohi’s bag from her and we started walking and as we reached the gate. Neha hugged Roohi and she bid good bye to her. 
We hired an auto rickshaw to Habba, our favourite restaurant in Belgaum.
The rickshaw was speeding amidst the evening traffic and Roohi’s hair was flying all over her face. She looked beautiful and innocent, like a small kid going to school after a really long vacation.
Roohi was looking at me.
 I asked her “What happened?”
Roohi: Nothing (she shook her head). Will you miss me?
I dint know the answer for that question. But I hurried with a reply.
  Yup. I will miss you a lot. Dumbo.

Roohi: I don’t know if I can call you. I am feeling really bad. The problem is everyone in the house will be around me; I won’t be able to even touch my phone.  You won’t be angry with me right if I don’t call you.

 I thanked god. Now I knew she won’t irritate me on phone also. I was worried about this part but now I was really happy. I could see she was really very sad, but I could not control my smile. I tried hard to act sad but couldn’t. I could now relate to the happiness we felt on August 15, 1947. It felt really good.

Roohi: What happened? Why you silent?

Aakash:  Nothing I was just thinking. I would be really selfish to expect you to call me. You give all your time to your family. I will miss you. But I understand how important it is for you too.

Roohi: I am so lucky to have you in my life Aakash. I feel like crying. I don’t want to leave you. You’re the best thing which happened to me in my life. I am so lucky to have you.

She hugs me tightly and cries. I feel bad, because she loves me so much and I was waiting for her to go. I was feeling guilty, but I could go any extent to have this break.
Roohi hugged me more tightly and whispered in my ears.
“If we were not in the rickshaw, I would have surely kissed you”. I told her” It’s ok. You can me kiss me even now.”  She slapped me and said “Shameless. God! I don’t know when you will be a good boy” .Roohi kissed me on my cheeks and said “You are the sweetest boy on this earth but little shameless.” 

We reached Habba at around 8. We came here so often that even the waiters recognise us and they knew what to get for us without even ordering. 
Our order never changed.
Chicken Drums of heaven, Butter Naan and Chicken Makhmalli.
 The food in Habba was out of the world. They always served the best .We finished our dinner by 10. We had one more hour so we decided to walk till Ramdev.

 The weather in Belgaum was awesome about 22 degrees throughout the year and the sky was filled with a galaxy of stars. It looked so eternal.
As we were walking holding hands and gazing at the stars.
 I felt bad, Roohi was leaving. I realised how much I was going to miss her. I really dint want her to go.
Roohi: So when you coming to Calcutta?

Aakash: Soon, money is a big problem. I have started collecting money to go Calcutta.

Roohi: Money is never a problem; it’s your will to come. If you want to come nothing can stop you.

Aakash: Even I want to come to Calcutta but its really far and I need to have a minimum amount.

Roohi: I know you are never going to come. Money you will never have because you can’t even save a rupee. I am sorry to tell you but it’s the truth.

Aakash: What happened to you? You’re drunk? What are you telling me? You know right where I spend and even then I try to save a lot but I can’t. I get only a minimum amount from my home. My father is not Ambani; he is just a government official, in his salary I have to treat you also.

Roohi: oh my god. How cheap you are? Neha was right. Today you showed your real colours. She used to always warn me about you. I never expected this from you. How can you speak like this even without thinking?

Aakash: You started all this nonsense. We were having such a goodnight for God’s sake please don’t spoil it. And Neha what problem she has with me? I dint do anything wrong to her but she is always telling bad things about me. What’s her problem?

Roohi: She has understood you very well. I dint believe when she told me, but now I have realised it myself. How cheap you are?
In the middle of the road, we were having a heated argument. I realised what we were doing, so I stopped myself.  People around us had started observing us.

Aakash: Roohi. Stop. Fighting.

Roohi: (In a louder tone) It’s you started the fight. You are speaking like; it’s only you who spend all the time. I too have paid the bills a lot. But the truth is you don’t value money. You just keep spending it, on whatever you like. You don’t think about anything. What was the need of going to Habba today; we could have had a small dinner. Your full show off, I am sorry to say that but truth is bitter.

Now she got on my nerves. I went to Habba because she loved the place.

Aakash: Ok fine. I am showing off right. Agreed, I break up with you. I don’t want to be with a person who never understands me. Whole day I am with you, listening to everything you say but at the end you always feel I don’t love you for things I can’t do for you. Even my friends are angry with me because I don’t spend time with them. I lie to my parents for more money and why dint you ask me? Why I carry this phone? I sold my phone to buy you birthday gift. Still you feel, I did nothing for you. Ok. Bye. Be happy wherever you are. But don’t expect me to come back. You have hurt me a lot today.
I walked away leaving her in the middle of the road. I was really hurt. 
It’s not that she dint love me, she dint know what to speak. She never realised, she hurt someone while speaking. All she was bothered about was about her. I decided this was the end. This could not go on any longer, there was no use carrying it forward.

Three days later.. Hundreds of calls, till I decided to switch off my phone. She was calling Shrikant, my roomie  and crying. He was pissed with me and he wanted me to speak to her. That day in the morning Shrikant woke me up and handed me his cell.At last I decided to speak to her. I asked her what she wanted. She was crying and telling sorry repeatedly. I told her nothing can be done, I will never go back to her. She was crying and she told I am heartless; she was blaming me for everything. She was repeatedly crying and telling me how much she loved me and how I left her in the middle of the road in the night. I knew, what I did was wrong. I dint know what to do. I couldn’t listen to her crying, but these fights were going worse .Like the Mariana trench is an endless abyss and so were our fights

Aakash:  What’s the point in having a relationship, where we fight every alternate day? It’s better to not have such a relationship; I know our relationship won’t last long. Why should we torture ourselves?  Its better we break up and remain friends rather fight.

Roohi: You said every alternate day, Aakash. That means even you know that one day we are happy. I am fighting for that one happy day, that day is the happiest day of my life. Millions of people never get to know what happiness is.  I and you are happy for a day, is it not enough a reason for me to fight for you.

Aakash:  Roohi, I loved you a lot but really I don’t think I can carry on like this. I am really sorry. Its better we move on in life. For every person there is somebody made for them and I am sure we are not made for each other.

Roohi: I feel we are made of each other. Everything is so perfect you and me but fights happen in every relationship but why can’t you act like a man and face the situation running from every situation.

Aakash: I don’t want to waste time on things which will never work out, I am sorry. Bye. I am keeping the phone.

 I was reminded of all the good times we spent together. I still remember that magical night when we decided to become a couple. We mutually fell in love with each other, the third night of our first meeting. I can never forget that night. I will never ever be able to forget it.

In the other hand, I was reminded of the continuous fights we had, just in fourth day of the relationship for smallest of the smallest reason. She tried controlling me and changing me, in every possible way she could. But I was not ready to change for someone. She too never gives up on her efforts and that led to fights. I decided we had to end it.
I could only see her, everywhere. The magical moments, the trouble she is used to take for me to wake me up early in the mornings so that I could go jogging, how she used to come running to the third floor to see me during ten minute breaks. I had tears in my eyes. I felt what I was doing with her was wrong. She had gone for her elder sister’s marriage and she had spent three days crying for me. I dint want her to cry, I wanted her to enjoy the wedding.

So I called her back. This time it was not her on the line. It was a new voice. I asked for Roohi but she replied why is Roohi crying here? She has been crying continuously for the past three days. What’s the reason beta? I was shocked “beta” as to who was on the line. She continued “I know fights happen but somebody has to compromise not sit with ego for days.” 
“hello!”
 I could hear Roohi’s voice now. I asked

 “Roohi. Who was that?” 

She told me it was her mother” I was shocked and I told her to give her phone back to her mother.

Aakash: Aunty. I am really sorry, but it’s not only my mistake. She says anything without thinking what others will feel. 

Aunty: It’s ok Beta. Fights happen but we should not prolong it. We should finish it as soon as possible. I know Roohi gets angry very fast, you should take care of her.

Aakash: Yes aunty. I will.

Aunty: Ok Beta, so how is your dad and mom?

Aakash: They are good aunty.

Aunty: what is your caste beta?

Aakash: I am a Malayalee aunty.

Aunty: Nair? Ok.

Roohi came back online. I heard her saying 
“Hello”.

Aakash: Hey Gloria.
Roohi: I am not Gloria. Don’t call me anything Mr. Glory. I hate you.

Aakash: I hate you, like I love you. I know it’s bad. I am really sorry.

Roohi: it’s ok. Even I am sorry. I should have not spoken to you like that.

So we patched up. But I knew it was not for long because I had decided this had to end. I just was waiting for her to come back.

Pearls of Magic

Long time ago, two kings ruled over India. Two kingdoms, one situated in the Marwar region in the north and another in the Malabar region of the south.  Even though different in locations and cultures both the kingdom were plagued by draught. Farms had gone dry, food supplies had been exhausted, rivers and reservoirs were evaporating.

 The people of both the Empires ran to their kings, to find a way out of this calamity. The king’s consulted their Rajpurohit's who asked the King's to send their eldest sibling  in the search of jaaduuu Ki moti found in the far by mountains. But the kings reject their respective Rajpurohit's advice because they couldn’t let them go alone as it was too dangerous. So ask the Rajpurohit for another solution. But the Rajppurohit’s stay firm on their decisions because they felt it was the only solution to this problem.

But conditions worsened day by day for the people, who become restless and they started questioning the king’s commitment. To save their fathers pride princess of the Marwar and the prince of Malabar leave their kingdoms in the quest of jaaduuu Ki moti. This journey was not a short one it was a journey which could take years to complete. Princess went southwards to find the jaaduuu Ki moti in the Vindhya Parvat and the Prince went northwards to find the jaduuu Ki moti in the Himalayas.

They walked all their way. They felt it was an opportunity to do something for their people. They walked every step with a sense of joy and pride. Days passed by, their enthusiasm shrunk as they were crouched by the scorching heat which made them weaker. Every step they took it felt like a gigantic stride.

On one fateful day, the prince and the princess met at a place called Midland having not met a person for weeks they feel happy to see each other. The day was nearing an end, so they decide to spend the night in Midland. They spoke to each other the whole night. They bonded like they were long lost friends. They slowly realise that they are so much like each other and they had never met anyone so similar. They discuss about their journey and the sacrifice they did for the people. Listening to each other they felt like listening to their inner conscience.

Next day they both wake up but both of them felt they would rest for a day or two in midland and then proceed with their journey. They explore midland and they fall in love with the place.

Soon the prince and the princess feel very close to each other. They feel incomplete without each other but they know their relationships has its own limitations because even if they want they would never be able to meet each other because travelling from Marwar to Malabar took a lifetime even then they wouldn’t reach because they had to go back to their kingdoms to give the jaaduuu Ki moti. So they remain good friends and one day they decide to go their own ways.

Next day the princess leaves the prince while he is asleep and starts walking to the Vindhyas. She doesn’t tell the prince because it would be difficult to face him. She walks faster and faster, to go far away from the prince so that even if there is a change in her decision she can never return. Inside her she discovers a longing for the prince and she knew she loved him. But it could only add up to her woes and she already carried the burden of the expectations of her peoples hope.

She keeps walking in the scorching heat without even bothering to rest, but as time goes by she feels weak and every step becomes a milestone for her. Tears roll down her eyes she realises how big a mistake she is doing. She feels she can’t live without him. She thinks if she continues this path she won’t even be able to get close to the jaduuu Ki moti. She has only two ways to go from here, two walk front towards her death in sorrow or to go back to her life. It was her choice with the weight of right and wrong weighing heavily on her back. She decides to follow her heart and blind herself to her mind.

She turns back and this time every step faster than the other.  Her feeling of being weak vanishes, but the thought of not seeing the prince lingers in her mind because it was months’ time she left him. She feels he too must have left to the Himalayas in the quest of jaaduuu Ki moti. 

Deep down in her heart she feels that he will be there.  As she comes closer to midland, her heart beats faster and louder in anxiety. With every step she feels weak, she wants to meet him. She wishes he hadn’t left. She feels how foolish she was leaving him and not assessing the consequences it followed.

 She reaches midland and everything there looks calm and serene like always. Everything was stationary and she decides to go towards the mango tree as her last attempt to find him.

As she moves closer to the mango tree she could sense somebody sitting under the tree. As she goes nearer she sees him.

 She runs towards him and kisses him. She hugs him tightly the prince tells her “I know you would come back one day”

The princess asks him “Were you not angry when I left without even letting you know. I thought you would have left to the Himalayas”.

He replies” I knew whatever you would do will be right so I tried but I couldn’t go forward I felt I was leaving something incomplete. I realised soon I was incomplete without you.”

  

The prince asks her “Who am I to you?”

 She replies

It’s not a question I have not asked myself,

It’s a question, for which I never got an answer,

Who are you? Who are you to me?

You are not the most important priority in my life,

You are a season of never ending joy in my life

When you aren’t there it feels empty,

You are like the rains for me,

When I am dried and I can’t sustain any more life in me,

You arrive fill me with life,

I in turn give life to the whole world,

Still you are not everything in my life,

I have more important priorities in life,

Cause it can’t rain always,

Rains also floods.

You have to go and come back soon,

When I am all dried and evaporated

Only you can make me feel this way because

I love the rains

I love you

I love being with you

I want to be with you.

He replied “Can’t you stay here and live together? Is it necessary to go? I know will never meet somebody so perfect for each other. It’s our life. We have every right to live it our way. I know there are people waiting for you. But if they were your only priority ,why did you come back to meet me.”

“I don’t know. I even don’t want to know. I felt like coming to you ,to see you.”

He said “That’s it? “

“Ok then let’s go tomorrow”

Even though she wanted to go away, she dint think the prince will let her go so soon. She felt terribly bad, tears rolled down her eyes but she tried controlling them. She was confused she dint know what she wanted but all she wanted now was the happiness of our people.

Next day, the prince went towards the north and the princess travelled towards the south. After many days both reached their destinations.

The princess went inside the cave of jaaduuu Ki moti and got the jaaduuu Ki moti. The jaaduuu Ki moti is only visible to the heiress of Marwar dynasty who travelled all the way all alone. That was the tradition and belief.

She goes back with the jaaduuu Ki moti to her kingdom. On the way she keeps looking for him. When she reaches midland she waits two days for him because that was the meeting point for both of them but he didn't turn up. Third day she leaves because she dint want to delay it more. In few months she reaches her kingdom and she hands the jaaduuu Ki moti to the Rajpurohit and after lot of prayers.  The northern kingdom gets rain and people begin celebrating. All the people in the kingdom start dancing but the rains hid the tears in the princess eyes. She knew she had paid a big price for the happiness of her people. She felt she had realised everything she set to achieve but it felt so incomplete without him.

Days pass by and the people in the northern kingdom regain their past glory, rivers get filled and farms all fertile but they find their princess was gloomy all the time. They couldn’t see the princess sad so they wanted to know the secret of her silence. Through some close friends of the princess, the people come to know about the prince of Malabar and they come to know about the sacrifice the princess did for them. They think it’s their duty to make their princess happy and make her meet her prince. They think of ways to reach Malabar but they knew it will take a lot of time and most probably never reach there. Therefore they think about alternatives and they come up with a plan to make a boat and travel through the newly formed river. Villagers came together and made a huge boat to take their princess to her prince. They set sail and they start travelling. But success was not assured but still they travelled after many days of travelling they think of stop at a river bank and coincidently they stop that place was Midland. The princess realises midland had become more green because of the rains

 One villager comes running and alerts there is another boat on the end of the bank.

The villagers of Malabar were travelling to the kingdom of Marwar. They were travelling for their hero, their prince who saved them from drought and who sacrificed his love for the people. To show their gratitude the villagers built a boat to take their prince to his princess.

When the villagers realise that the prince of their princess was in Midland. They carry their princess in palanquin to the prince. The princess steps out and sees the prince. The prince kneels down and shows his respect and announces if he had ever done something good in life it was all because of her inspiration. It was because of her, he learnt to live for others dreams and became a hero of his people.

He thanks the people of both the lands for helping him to meet his princess and announces he and his princess will stay in Midland for a lifetime because it was the place they discovered love and it was the place which made them meet.


They build a beautiful house together and live rest of their life happily ever after

Please drop in your valuable comments

You can also read my other story titled " An evening to remember" @ http://amarcinekatha.blogspot.in/2012/07/an-evening-to-remember.html

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An Evening to Remember

I was looking at the sapphire coloured skies of March, she resting her head on my shoulders. It felt perfect, for the first time I felt it was there to last forever. I am standing with the girl of my dreams. I couldn’t believe why luck bestowed upon me all of a sudden, it was not a path less easy but traversing it was great joy, sometimes accompanied by her and sometimes left all alone trying to figure the disfigured life I lived. We had come a long way since we met for the first time last year in the week of valentines. Every morning since that day it was only her thoughts which woke me up. It was with her I saw my dreams, even though I knew very well it rests upon air which holds nothing. I wanted those dreams to stand tall someday. I was lost in thoughts looking up at the sky.
I felt it was time for me to do something in life. This new feeling of responsibility and urge made me feel really good about the way my life was shaping up. It felt like the most romantic moment of my life. I looked at her; she really looked like an angel that day . It felt my life was on track. I can’t explain how good it felt. But I also felt scared, I dint want this to end. I knew this moment would end but I dint want this magic between us to ever end. I would do anything to be with her. I wanted to stop being lazy and try hard for the placements next month, Till this moment my engineering life was aimless. I really dint know what to do. I dint even care to think about it. This moment I felt it was not only my life I was living, my actions was attached to so many lives. If I dint pull up my socks now then I would lose her. She was my life. It’s a cliché I know, but so is love. I never felt this way for anyone first time cliché, first time love. I felt I had fallen many times in love but she defined love for me.

She looked at me breaking the silence in the otherwise pin drop silent terrace where the only noise was children playing in her society.
She said “seems like something is cooking in your mind?"
I looked at her and shook my head and said “nothing”.
She kept on asking and I just smiled back and shook my head.
"Aakash please…” She was like a small kid, her expressions changed so fast from happy to a question mark on her face.
I have every right to know what you thinking about. You are in my favourite adda. I am the boss here.
You better say or else?
"Or else what? “ I laughed again it was fun seeing her like this.

Her face becomes serious and she removes her head from my shoulder and goes away. I try holding her back but she escapes. She goes to the corner of the terrace as I follow to her there. I hold her hands and look at her but she removes her hand  from the knot of hands and looks away from me. It was time for me to do damage control, I had to change the topic, that was a safe bet."
"Hey . I like your city. I am already planning to stay here for the rest of my life. Really never seen a city so perfect. Just awesome. “I look at her and she was still like a sad smiley.
I couldn’t control my laughter she reminded me of my one year old cousin .Even though Sia is 21 sometimes I really feel she is like a small ignorant kid . And sometimes she made me feel she was a very matured person with all the wisdom in her words of life well lived for generations together.
I had to do something to lighten up her mood.
"Ok i give up. But before that Mmmuuah... (I kissed her cheeks)"
"Aakash you are mad.What if somebody sees".
I look at her eyes and I say
"I will miss you when I go Bangalore. I will really miss u. I don’t know how these two days passed. The best days of my life.”
“Even I will miss you alot.”
Ok now .Tell me what you were thinking that time?"
I don’t know how to say it to her. I was feeling shy to tell her.
I disseminated all my thoughts to her.
SIA-"oh my god!!You were thinking about all these stuff I thought you were
thinking about something romantic"
AAKASH- "romantic?"
SIA- "Ya something light. Let’s live this moment to the fullest.
Tommorow will see tommrow.What happened to you Aakash? I really miss my old ultra-romantic Aakash."
Aakash-"Sia.i felt it was the most romantic thought of my life.”
Sia smiles and pulls my cheeks.
Sia-"My baby don’t take too much tension. Chill yaar. You like my city right will stay here only forever and yup my father my father is rich so u can become ghar jamaai. (She laughs out loud and starts running).
I run behind her.
SIA-"ok Aakash its late will go down or else mom will be angry."

 As I climb down the stairs. I think for myself I used to tell all those beautiful lies ,things which would never happen in real life and she loved that but today I told her the most beautiful truth of my life and she felt it was boring. Today I realised, Girls loved to live in their fantasy land and they hated the real world that was the reason she loved my unreal world I created for us, but I knew life was different and no fairy tale. For the first time, I liked this burden on my shoulders even though it’s pushing me far away from myself.

Please drop in your valuable comments

You can also read my other story titled " Pearls of Magic" A fairy tale of romantic feelings.
http://amarcinekatha.blogspot.in/2012/07/pearls-of-magic.html

A letter to my Grandfather

dear ajja,

how are you ajja?Three years have passed by and i have one year more to be called a civil engineer.If you were here today I think you would have been very excited and very proud of me just like you were when i got selected to do civil engineering.I dont know from where to start this letter.The great times i had with you or the days i missed your presence in this earth.I think the latter it happened very less i still think you are watching me play around.I think you might be slightly disappointed by the ways I am dealing with my life.Yes i have dealt very badly.Trying to improve each and everyday.Making up for my mistakes.I am sure one day i will be successful the way you wanted me to be.But the way i am traversing now is slightly blurry and sometimes i too dont know what i am doing.But i know you are not angry with me YOU are an optimist and yes just like i am trying to mend my ways you too are guiding me somewhere even though i cant see you.The memories i share with you is so fresh.Everything seems like it happened yesterday even though three years have passed by.

I still remember the last few minutes I got to spend with you on that evening on that k.s.r.t.c bus I dint know it was the last time I would be seeing  you.I have seen you after that but it was only your body,for us  you were a symbol of life and an inspiration to live.We couldn’t imagine you not speaking to us and just sleeping even though we were crying around you. If I ever knew it was the last day I would be spending with you I would have never let time fly by so fast on that day, 3 years behind.

I woke up late about 10:30 a.m that morning. I saw you entering the house returning from of  students weddings.You explained us the problems you had parking the car and about the watchman who dint let you park the car properly.As you finished you told me when I go to my new college in belgaum I should cultivate the habit of reading newspapers daily.YOU explained to me what i had to do when in hostel and you told me you would call me often when i was in hostel.But you never called me ajja.I tried calling you to our kasargod landline number whenever i remembered,But you never picked the call.I wish you picked the call once and spoke  to me .I had so much to tell you but you left early. i wanted to tell you, i loved you so much ajja.Whenever i had a bad day i wished i could hear your voice.The love you spoke to us, that healed every wound in us made us feel we were not alone in this world.

But that day 3 years behind i was lost,I wanted to be on my own.I think that feeling of restlessness had something to do with  he turn of events later that day.

As I returned after taking bath that day we were set to leave for kasargod to a relatives reception before that we had to drop in at  another relatives funeral.As we left for jeppu,I remember office amma,kumbla amma joining us to go to the funeral house.As we reached there i remember You,mummy and the ammas going for the funeral and i sitting in the car with my mobile.I remember You walking back briskly to reach before others so that you could speak to me for that small while.I dont know if anybody had such a loving grandfather.I dont think so. You were the biggest gift i ever got from god.Whatever good i am.Whatever qualities everyone love me for is all because of the love you gave me I could never give you back that lovewish you had stayed longer.Its not that i loved you less.I though you were there with us for much longer time,You never let us feel that you had plans to leave early.

As we travelled and reached manjeshwar, you were speaking about vinnu mamas death.About how it happened?I dont know why we were speaking that thing on that particular day may be because you had to meet him later that day.Something i realised later connecting the dots.

As we reached kasargod,we went to the reception hall.I remember being lost in the crowd.I dont know what was happening to me.I dint want to meet people I wanted to be all alone that day.

On the other side I saw you meeting relatives with great zeal and enthusiasm I think you were bidding good-bye to the people gathered there in your own style never letting others know the journey you were taking that night.I think you hated people showing sympathy on you so you never let anyone do that to you even on your worst days.You were always the same.You held your head high, yes not always you looked down at times so that you missed the sight of the people you dint like to see.It was not a bad thing to do ajja.It was the way you were.We loved you that way.

Whatever mistakes we did you have always forgiven us and never even made us feel we made a mistake.

I still remember the day we went driving few months before this day, 3 years behind.I was learning driving then and I was not perfect,only you had the courage to take me to the highway.When the car stopped cause of  my bad driving(something to do with the shifting of gears and acceleration which I had no clue about when I encountered a series of potholes in kasargod-mangalore highway).

One can imagine  the traffic i would have encountered if u have been to that part of the world. The rush at 7 a.m in the morning.The commotion of students of various colleges,schools,the daily office going crowd and numerous other people going to do various business in mangalore.

Reading this description might have given you ideas about  the honking of horns and the traffic block I had caused in the national highway 48.I dint know what to do but You told me to stay calm and start the car with no hurry.I tried to start the car,with less success.the honking and traffic increased even more.You seemed to be more relaxed then before I think you were trying to be like that you were to slightly irritated but you had done this earlier you had taught students like me various lessons of life But I dont think anybody had put you in such a road block.You repeated the words again start the vehicle normally take the vehicle forward.I tried, yes with some divine intervention the car moved through the pot holes and yes the traffic block was cleared off.The thing I liked most about you was that you dint get angry on me and you dint even show me that I had commited a mistake.

Even if daddy was in your pl ace he would have scolded me and would have never let  me drive again but you built confidence in me  never made me feel I had done something wrong.I think only you could be so cool in that situation.It was because you dint want me to lose confidence.Today think i drive good better than before atleast.When i take your car out sometimes when i am driving alone i wish you could see me drive confidently and be proud of me.I missed that ajja.

Gettin back to that day 3 years behind us today.I then remember going to cochin bakery and having a chikku juice. Ajja dint have anything there.Mummy drove to the k.s.r.t.c bus stand so that we could return to mangalore in bus.As we reached bus stop,we got down told bye to ajja,ajja wished i could  stay back in kasargod.But having very few days left to go to Belgaum,It was not possible for me to stay back.Wished i could cause when ajja had got the heart attack i could take drive him to the nearby hospital.If wish that could have helped to save him.That would  have really been meaningful.Atleast i could drive him to the hospital.It would have been like a guru dakshina to my guru who taught me driving.  to be continued soon……

Rise of the son

In the Malayalam film industry the son never rises. There are various instances from the very existence of Malayalam movie fraternity proving this. There have been of late the rise of Prithviraj and Indrajit but they were sons of a popular antagonist. The scene in other parts of our country had been different; the acceptance of star sons was quite easy. While the Malayalam audience always stood by talent. Malayalam audience have never shied from lapping talents like Mohan Lal and Mammootty making them the torch bearers of Malayalam cinema for years. As the actors aged the question raised who next? Popped in all the minds but never could find a suitable inheritor to these legends The M & M of Malayalam cinema.

At this juncture Mammooty's son Dulquer's decision to enter Malayalam movies excited me because this was an interesting scenario. Yes the audience in Kerala had changed but were they actually ready to lap up their favourite actor's son. The signs of acceptance outweighed this time cause Malayalam movie standards had gone to an all-time low. An industry which used to inspire other industries to churn out movies had forgotten the importance of the story and went behind the money churning Formulaic masala movies. It worked, yesteryear successful movies were rehashed nth number of times and were modified into Money making ventures devoid of any story or creativity just like the neighbouring film industries run by powerful families.

In between all of the Mass masala reign there mushroomed talented film makers like Lal Jose, Ranjith, and Blessy who tried to make different movies stepping aside from the regular larger than life hero subjects. These makers kept alive the real essence of Malayalam movies by churning out movies of the ordinary Malayalee with a golden heart or nanma neryana movies like Arabikatha,Kazcha,Pranchiyettan and the saint to name a few. Malayalam movies were always about ordinary people and their goodness in them for e.g. movies like Chitram, His highness Abdullah, Dasharatham,Gandhinagar second street etc. The movies made by these makers were always accepted and turned out to be small profit earners stating the Malayalam audience still had taste but they were devoid of new story ideas which made them lean to the entertaining masala movies but when given a good film they were always ready to lap it up in a big way.

"Traffic”, the first Malayalam movie to bring a everlasting change. The success of this movie called a multi-starrer, actually had no big stars and even then turned out to be a very profitable venture and gave courage to new film makers to come up with new stories. The rest was history Salt n pepper, Chaapa kurish, Ee adutha kaluth, 22female Kottayam, Diamond necklace becoming very successful ventures and encouraging producers to make good cinema and all the so called mega budget superstar ventures bankrupted the distributors.

In this pendulum of tastes of Malayalam audience Dulquer made his entry. Ideally one would have expected him to make a mass movie showing his dancing skills beating around gundas with big budgets and glamorous north Indian heroines to complement him. The easiest path to traverse his father’s road of superstaedom.On the contrary Dulquer made his entry with a very new type of movie which had a story told many times but a presentation which was very raw and very close to reality. This was a risky move, Dulquer was playing with his first impression which always means the best impression and he went with a completely new director and cast. This was a sign Dulquer was. no ordinary star kid who wanted to become a star but he wanted to be part of the Malayalam industry which makes good cinemas.

Second show releases and we realise Dulquer took the right step forward by travelling his own path not aping his father on the contrary Dulquer's role more on the lines of Mohan lal. Second show was accepted by the audience not because a son had risen because a good movie was made. That’s the secret and Dulquer showed his skills (everything except dancing, waiting for him to dance on screen with baited breath)

Dulquer turned out to be a fresh lease of life to the Malayalam industry and he proved that he had lot of variety in his first movie itself. I don’t remember such a confident debut by any actor recently.

Second show was not universally acclaimed but then came Usthad Hotel which reinforced my belief in this son.

Five days after the release of Usthad hotel has turned out to be a blockbuster in every sense but again this was not a commercial movie. It was completely a risky choice and a clever choice because Dulquer has won our hearts and reinforced Second show was no fluke and it was time for a SON to rise. But then again not as the son of a superstar but the inheritor to the hearts of audience who love good cinema

My review on Usthad hotel would like to have some comments @ http://amarcinekatha.blogspot.in/2012/06/review-of-usthad-hotel.html

Review of usthad hotel

Ustad hotel is a movie about 4stages of life.Beautifully written and directed.This movie is very carefully excecuted and is very much within the frames of a commercial malayalam movie.But luckily doesnt  end up being only a commercial movie.Actually it never ends.It just goes on like the waves of the ocean.The movie begins with Feyzee,his quest to breakfree from his businessman father to a life he has setup for himself. A life a young man would love to have but as the story progresses its told to the viewer that it was all a short lived and shortsighted dream. Usthad hotel is Feyzee 's journey to understand the real meaning of life. There lies the novelty of the subject. This movie underlines the four stages of life. Dulquer playing the youth,Sidique playing the middle age and thilakan playing vaanaprastham.The movie tells us whatever you have in your life still your life is incomplete. Usthad hotel bridges the gaps between our incomplete life without being preachy teaches you to live.Dulquer shines in a restrained performance never trying too hard or trying to be a comnercial hero.Nithya Menon is good.Thilakan shines in his role,the real hero of the movie.
Kudos to Anjali Menon for such a meaningful story.Anwar rasheeds conviction and brilliance to direct a different topic. A superb movie. Loved it. I think the movie will be a hit,cause Malayalam audience are a thinking audience and they dont need to be spoonfed.