The Love that goes into the Further

They were alone, in a dark room, a place unknown, unexplored for both of them. The place had no luxuries, no comforts, no materialistic pleasures, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the place was raw.

They remained in each other's arms and this mere presence meant everything. The fact was that the world was against their love, socially, culturally, morally and in every possible sense. But such is love, that after a point of time, you stop caring of the worldly affairs and just want to feel the love in each other. You start finding the world in the other person.

They walked hand in hand across the open fields and felt the soft breeze brush past them. The freshness of the air was a surprise. They took deep satisfied breaths every few seconds. Away from everybody they were together. It was a celebration of the very feeling of love. His hands felt strong and firm as they held hands more tightly and reassuringly.

The dawn of realization was sudden, but peaceful, nevertheless. Life after death, could be amazing. Heaven could be a better place to live than Earth. 

The Spirit of BBM: The Joy of a Start-Up

"Start-ups are cool", said someone in a random motivational talk video on YouTube. that had over a million views. In a country, where every college student wants to drop-out and every fed-up youngster wants to become an entrepreneur, it is not easy to start your own business. 

I had worked on SpringTide, an online youth magazine for 4 years and it became one of the most popular online portal for social issues and youth concerns, across college campuses and students' circles. At this point, I got in touch with one of my school juniors Deepanshu, who had just started an online news platform for global tech coverage and start-up funding news. I was intrigued with the idea and decided to help him with this. The journey which started as a mutual exchange of support and ideas, could turn into a dream, a vision, a task, was unimaginable. 

Exactly an year back, we raised our first round of funds from angel investors. Something that seemed to be a big feat to us, soon turned out to be a mountain that needed to be explored. With that, we became a part of the rapidly changing start-up ecosystem of the country. There were doubts, challenges, struggles and moments that made us feel, "WTF! Let us chuck this and get back to our routine jobs!" 

But we continued with determination and a strong will and one a single minded aim, that we wish to change the way India reads digitally. We wanted to make more and more people to read online and provide them with awesome, good quality curated online content. 

People questioned our being headquartered in Jaipur, but we never questioned ourselves even once. The city that brought us up, the city that made "us" could not be forgotten in our quest for fame and money. Likewise, I truly believe that more and more youngsters need to begin start-ups in Tier II and Tier III cities, because this is something that can bring these cities forward in true sense, and create quality job opportunities in this space. 

There were mentors and advisors who told us that we are entering into Digital Media, and we are 20 years ahead in India. But we were not shaken. We continued to move ahead.

Today, one year down the line and two rounds of funding raised, we are a 35-people strong company, with employees / interns spread across the country, we own and manage properties that include India's leading website for global tech and Indian start-ups news 'The Tech Portal' (www.thetechportal.in), the network of city-centirc websites that is bringing Tier II and Tier III cities of India online 'The Digital Network' (www.jaipur.digital, www.varanasi.digital and www.guwahati.digital), the ultimate home for hosting college fests and events 'SpringTide Stories' (www.stories.springtide.in). 

Even today, we are constantly innovating and working on two new and dynamic products that are going to change the way digital media in India has operated. We are in the early stage of development of these products - one in the online video content space and the other in Data Analysis. This, being the first ever public announcement of these products, on this (rather auspicious :P ) occasion of one year of our seed round. 

It gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction to realize that while I sit here at this moment to type down this post, someone in my team is scouting for associations, someone in some part of the country is writing hundreds and thousands of lines of complex codes, someone is working on the backend to maintain the traffic on our websites, someone is editing our content, someone is writing content for our portals, and somewhere, some college student snuggled up in his bed is reading that content on his / her mobile or tablet or laptop. That young college student is our end user for whom my whole team is working. That college student makes "India"! 

Cheers!

चलो कुछ यादें ताज़ा करते है...

चलो कुछ यादें ताज़ा करते है...

वो पहली चिट्ठी
वो गीली मिट्टी.
वो सूखा गुलाब
वो टूटा सा जवाब
चलो कुछ यादें ताज़ा करते है..

वो बचपन का प्यार
वो मीठा करार
वो हल्की खुमारी
वो लास्ट बेंच
और नज़रें तुम्हारी..
वो छुपके मिलना और मिलके छुपना.
चलो कुछ यादें ताज़ा करते है..

वो हँसी तुम्हारी
वो बात पुरानी..
वो बारिश मे चलना
वो ice cream पिघलना,
वो लंबी रातें
वो नटखट बातें,
चलो.. कुछ यादें ताज़ा करते है..

वो बुक पर लिखना नाम तुम्हारा,
वो पर्चे, वो चर्चे, और पॉकेट से मारा,
ना five star  की कॉफी, ना clubs के हाइ rates,
बस 2 ग्लास ज्यूस और एक सैंडविच वाली dates,
नोट्स के बहाने वो घर आना जाना,
और नोट्स में छुपा कर तोहफे ले आना,
चलो कुछ यादें ताज़ा करते है...

अब ना है वो मासूमियत, ना शराफ़त है वैसी,
अब बस मिलावट वाली ज़िंदगी है ऐसी,
ना बारिश की खुश्बू, ना मीठा खुमार,
ना होगा फिर से वो पहला प्यार.. इसलिए,
चलो कुछ यादें ही ताज़ा करते है..

(Image courtesy - chetankejriwal.wordpress.com)

The Lost Monsoon

I looked across the platform. We stood opposite to each other separated by a few railway tracks amidst the wild hustle and bustle of the railway station. She was talking to a girl seeming to be in an animated discussion. In between her broken sentences, she laughed, smiled, rolled her eyes and pulled back her hair to tie into a knot. 

I stood alone observing her like a long lost treasure which had slipped out of my hands. I had longing in my eyes... My blank eyes. But the blankness was not special to me. Her smile was lacklustre too. Her laughter didn't have the same freedom. Her eyes were not rolling in the same naughtiness and her hair knot was neat and not messy.. Something was wrong with her as well! 

If it had been a hindi movie of my choice, I would have run off to her and hugged her tight and cried. But now things had changed. Circumstances defeated purpose, fate defeated will. After having felt that I was being taken for granted in a relationship, I had given up, feeling lost. 

I looked down and then around, trying to concentrate on anything but her. My heartbeats raced as I had seen her after two whole months. However, time is not a remedy to a broken heart, and it hurt more to see her laugh. 

While a million dots tried to connect in my mind, my eyes wandered back to, what seemed to be like their final destination. But to my bewilderment, she had vanished like a falling star! I looked around but could not spot her any more. The place where she had stood a few minutes ago in her light yellow t-shirt, was now occupied by a street vendor looking for a customer. 

I heaved a deep sigh of disappointment. Watching her from a distance was a treat for my senses. I kicked an empty bottle of water lying around on the railway tracks and turned around to walk away. 

"In a hurry to leave?" A voice that I could recognize even from a million mile distance called out behind me. I turned slowly trying to avoid a heart attack out of shock. 

"I thought we could share an auto back...", she said raising her eyebrows. "We need to discuss a few things over."

"Is there anything still left to discuss?" I asked, trying to make sense of her words.

"Yes.. Just one thing.. That i can't live without you. And I know, my ego is big, but no so tall so as to over shadow the strength of my love for you. Can you give me another chance?" 

Those words were the purest music to me. Suddenly, the first few drops of monsoon fell on my empty palms.  

The Lonely Road

She looked for an auto around. The road was dark and it was already 10 pm. She knew she had to hurry as the national capital was not safe for girls at any time of the day. It was one of the poshest localities of New Delhi and she had just left the pub after a re-union party of her school girlfriends. She had no one to accompany her, she felt a little agitated. She could call her boyfriend but it did not make any sense to call him during his work hours, which continued till midnight.

She finally found an auto. The driver looked a little kooky, and eyed her from top to bottom almost scanning her. This was a usual happening in the city and she decided to ignore it like the rest of the girls. She had no other choice, but to take the auto. Her apartment was a 20 minutes drive from the pub and she wore a red off-shoulder dress. The driver continuously gaped at her from the rear view mirror. She felt uncomfortable and shifted in her seat, silently praying to God.

The driver took an unusual turn which was not supposed to be the correct route. She immediately became alert and asked him with strength and confidence in her voice, "Where are you turning?"
The driver gave an eerie laugh looking in the rear view mirror and took a sharp turn into a narrow deserted lane. She got scared out of her wits and her mind went numb. She immediately took out her mobile phone with an intention of calling any of her loved ones. She suddenly felt a thump and her mobile was snatched from her hands and thrown away into the darkness of the night.

What followed this was a nightmare. Loud shrieks escaping her mouth went unheard. It felt as every breath she took was taken on a loan. But, her soul remained intact, untouched. She was left abandoned in the middle of nowhere only to be find by a few rural ladies the next morning.

There was no God up there in the skies listening to her cries. People would accuse her of coming from a pub and being drunk - yes, she had had a few beers. Some would say it was her fault as she was wearing an off-shoulder. A few would go to the extent of blaming her of being provocative. The police would ask humiliating questions, trying their best to harass her. Political parties would try to gain mileage out of this. A few NGOs will try to popularize it, maybe with a good intention but no substantial result. Her parents would plead for justice, which would be delayed and might even be denied. This is India. A handicapped judicial system, a corrupt bureaucracy, a humiliating and useless police administration and a law which allows a juvenile to roam free after committing the most heinous crimes of all. This is India - A Land of no Gods!

Let me Paint a Picture Today...

Let me paint a picture for you,

Paint it real and paint it true.

Sketch it out from flesh and blood

Draw on the canvas- red soaked mud.

The tale of follies of the mankind

Of Good and Evil- all rewind.

Of War, politics and state affair,

Of men and women in despair.

Let me color it red, black and white

Color the gloom, terror and frightful sights.

O Look how the ink fades,

For it fears its own shades.

I paint a lady who desired throne for her womb

For which a warrior cast his own doom.

I color him black- the blind man born

His shades the kingdom mourned.

I color him pale- the desired king

Cursed to be deprived of love’s swing.

Among them I paint a princess-stolen, forsaken

Swore to take revenge;

Stood in a battle against the laws,

A fragile Eunuch became a death’s cause.

Another Princess- I paint red,

For she encountered five wedding beds.

Staked, shared, won and lost,

Honor disrobed- her anguish tossed.

I paint a mother- silent and blind,

Love for hundreds absorbed her mind.

 A stroke of white and pastel hues,

For a woman who feared the land’s abuse;

Restrained- Regretted- abandoned a son,

Did she fail or she won?

Painting this my fingers sore,

Still the canvas wishes for more

It sings to me- ‘You missed a slash,

A figure with flute-dark as ash’,

I paint him blue-gold and all colors bright

The only savior- the only light.

The player who conspired- won and lost,

On the dead canvas a divine crimson glossed.

The tale is one of sorrows and twist,

Of puppets locked on Fate’s wrist.

Many lives killed- many foul plays,

Men played war at blood-stained ways.

- A Guest Post By Apoorva Haritwal 

The Movie Theatre Theatrics!

Watching a movie in an Indian theatre is no less than an enriching experience, a joy ride in itself. The whole of Indian society comes alive represented in different types of people around you.
The last night, I went for a movie which was one of the most awaited movies of this season. I never anticipated that it would turn out to be a *facepalm* outing for me!
There are certain kinds of people you happen to knock into cinema halls. With the close knit family systems in our country, you are bound to meet a long lost relative or an old friend, the one you wanted to meet the least! Also, the chances of bumping into a relative is directly proportional to your chances of being with your girlfriend. The old friend who you always ignored would suddenly scream a "Hi Bhai" at you from the other end of the row, making all the heads turn into your direction and giving you a straight face, with some people giggling at you.
If that is not embarrassing enough, you may meet your neighbourhood aunty, who would cynically ask you about the movie when your parents are around the next day.

Then, there are always couples who throng the theatres. Although the chances of a couple being found are more in a movie that is meant to flop at the box office. These are the same kind of people who take judicious advantage of the opportunity when a train passes through a tunnel. If your day is worse than your normal days, then you might even hear slurping sounds of kissing and sometimes even more perplexing moans that will make you look around as if you are thinking something really hard.

Another common type of people who happen to be around you in a movie theatre are the ones who have extremely loud ringtones and surprisingly those are the ones who get the largest number of calls. All the business deals of uncles and maid-management of aunties back home is done during those 3 hours of a movie. Sometimes, such people are accompanied by their kids, who undoubtedly decide to cry their lungs out or feel hungry or want to pee thrice during the movie itself. These kids often mistake the movie theatre with a playground and happen to run around, mostly falling flat on your feet and almost giving you a fracture.

Moreover, there are always those uncles who have already seen the movie and they narrate the whole movie in advance to the ones accompanying them just like the Kurukshetra war was being described to King Drithrashtra. You would truly wish that they keep saying "Spoiler Alert" every now and then so that you can at least close your ears on the cue!

There are those youngsters who come to create a ruckus and these are actually the reason why we are generalised as 'anti social'. They would pass derogatory remarks on scenes, pseudo-humorous comments and then laugh their heads off, high-fiving each other as if they were the reincarnations of Ravana. Some of these are too vile and don't hesitate in dancing to their heart's content on songs like 'Munni badnaam hui'.

Some people don't think twice before keeping their legs up on the seat in front of them as if their dad is the partner in the theatre! More often than not their shoes/socks smell so bad that you feel nauseatic. Some of them even burp loudly filling the air around with a stinking onion smell, giving you a deja vu of a Public toilet on a bus stand.

There are people who enter the theatre loaded with food stuff as if this would be the last time they are eating and we will encounter an apocalypse as soon as the movie ends. Your nostrils are filled with the smell of samosas and popcorns if such people happen to be around you.

If you can connect, either you are one of these or you had an encounter with them relatively recently. By the end of the movie, you come out relieved and thank the founders of Torrent, because aise logo ki Condition Serious Hai... 

(Visit - https://www.facebook.com/cadbury5star)

An 'Awwwsome' Condition

Aww - Response to a compliment; A sound made generally by Females when they come in contact with something they find very attractive.

Awwwwww - Pertaining to Aww, (You can add as many ‘W’ as you wish) the use of ‘W’ is directly proportional to the degree of attraction/pity/affection et al.

A frequently used word on social networks, ‘Aww’ has become a trend worldwide. If you don’t add the word to your comment or your response you are a cruel, callous, insensitive heartless fellow. The pronunciation of ‘aww’ is very similar to the noise that a pet dog creates when it is locked in a room for a long time/tempted by a bone or just trying to gain attention.

Some well-known uses of ‘Aww’ - 

•          You post a picture of a new born baby. 8 out of 10 comments will begin with ‘Aww’.
•          Post a picture with your pet or post picture of any pet or any animal alone. 10 out of 10 comments will begin with ‘Aww’. (P.S. - It is mandatory to go aww if you see any animal or else an animal rights campaign may get you arrested for being ungenerous to the poor creatures).
•          When you do anything amusing for a girl (no matter if she likes it or not) she will always respond with an ‘Aww’ but DO NOT fall in the trap; She may not like you and may say it out of pity for you.
•          A picture with family/boyfriend/best-friend cuddling, kissing or hugging is surely to make audience go ‘Aww’.
•       The most dangerous of all 'Aww's is the one that Friendzones you. For example, when a guy tells a girl, "I like you more than a friend and I think we will hit it off". The girl may often reply, "Aww, but I have always considered you a friend". (The guy may later kill himself the same day)

I hear from my little birds that the International Dog Association is furiously working to get a patent of their ‘sound’.

“The current trend and over use of the sound is offensive. We invented it and they don’t even give us the credits!!”, says Tommy, the neighbourhood Dog.

Let’s not make them vulnerable. Help Tommy and his friends. Munch on a 5 star and replace “Aww” with an “Ummm” and visit https://www.facebook.com/cadbury5star. 

By: Apoorva Haritwal, a Guest Post for my blog [(awww :')] 

Why Can't we have a F.R.I.E.N.D.S on India Television?

The other day I was watching an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S for the umpteenth time, and laughing out loud literally. Watching any random episode of the American TV series is the best time that I spend with myself. I realized that we do not have a single show worth watching on the Indian television for a youngster. It is truly saddening to see the state of Television industry of our country as we hardly have an intellectual, witty and high-end show running at the moment. With Navjot singh Sidhu and Archana Puran Singh laughing their heads off like devils on cheap comedy shows, and saas-bahus fighting over petty familial matters, TV in India definitely brings alive the literal sense of 'idiot box'.

There are a few reasons why we can never have a show as spontaneous and 'alive' as FRIENDS on Indian TV, and here I mean, exactly like FRIENDS, i.e. the same quality of humour, the same level of acting and perfection. One of the prime reason I can deduce is that Indian television viewer is not mature enough to understand that the world has moved into the 21st century and things like live-in relationships are not a big deal any more. Most of the Indian viewers would have opened their jaws as wide as the Indira Gandhi Canal in shock at seeing a baby out of wedlock, probably to the extent that a few 'Sainiks' would have attacked the sets of the show and some people would have filed a suit against the makers for hurting 'Indian sentiments'.

Besides, it is a well stated fact that India is a country sans sense of humour. Not even the people who run our country have a sense of humour (in fact they are the last ones to understand a joke). Our religious sentiments get hurt on little jokes, someone gets offended or someone raises objection. Besides the subtle sarcasms and satires that reappear in FRIENDS every now and then would have gone unnoticed and Chandler would have become a non existing character for Indians.

The largest viewership of Indian TV comes from household 'aunties' who watch the daily soaps all day. They would never have loved to see 'aaj kal ke bachhe' doing all that cheap kissing and stuff. It would have spoiled their Raju, Bittu, Bablu and would have inflicted torture on their young minds (as if Raju, Bittu and Bablu will remain saints for a very long time *evil grin*).

Also the professional and financial independence that is enjoyed by the protagonists (including girls) in the TV series is something beyond the family and cultural system of India. An Indian parental mindset can never imagine their kids as a chef or a masseuse for instance. A large portion of our country (especially TV viewers) is still in Tier-II cities, and the change is a very gradual process here. I do not complain about this part, but the faster we move towards a global society and broader mindsets, the better it will be.

But it is a vicious cycle. Basically television reflects the society and vice versa. Television shows what society sees. As long as the aunties are enjoying the saas plotting against the bahu in monstrous ways, hail the daily soaps! Meanwhile, instead of dreaming of an Indian version of FRIENDS, it would be better to just watch the same epic series again and again on our own PCs and have a good healthy laugh. They have definitely become a part of an Indian youngster's life as well. The success speaks for itself! :)

The 'Bhaiya' Banter: The Guest Post

Youngsters of India face a lot of genuinely 'serious' problems and challenges in their everyday lives. From study pressure to the Facebook distress, life is truly a joy ride for them. In my new Guest Post on the widely read blog - Whitescape, our expert 'Bhaiya' tries to provide some straightforward (read: twisted) answers to some widespread problems of 'Youngistaan'.

An excerpt from the Guest Post goes here -

Champa, 20 years, New Delhi: There is a constant problem of paucity of funds and the cost of living, for a youngster like me is ever increasing in an urban city. I have to get my mobile recharged for talk-time, then there is the 3G data pack, then the message pack and that is just the mobile part. Moreover there is shopping to be done and hangouts to be managed. At an age like mine, what can I do?


Bhaiya: Hey Champa, doesn’t that sound like a perfect time to make a boyfriend?


Chikna, 22 years, Pune: Hey buddy, I have to buy a gift for my new girlfriend. I have to, like, totally impress her, but I cannot think of anything. Please suggest me something that will help me score with her; though I don’t want to spend much!


Bhaiya: You want to score with a girl and don’t want to spend. That must be the cheapest and most frugal line ever. Since times immemorial, occasions have been crafted and developed in a manner such that women can extract gifts from men with different excuses. When you buy a gift for a girl and it hurts your pocket, just try to look at it in a way that you are helping the economy by spending (and of course helping Archies/Hallmark to break-even). Nevertheless, for cheap gifts you can choose to gift her something really cheesy like a hand-drawn card or a self-made cheese sandwich. Such ideas always work, although you might not earn yourself a night with her, but definitely an ‘aww’ for now. All the best!


Meena, 17 years, Bhopal: It is truly horrifying to see the number of like on my Facebook pictures go down. The more depressing fact is that, my classmate Seema keeps getting more FB likes than me on every picture that she uploads. It is truly humiliating and very disappointing. Please help!


Bhaiya: It is the right time to upload a pouty selfie in front of the mirror with..................




FOR THE COMPLETE POST, VISIT - http://thewhitescape.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/the-bhaiya-banter/


RATE THE POST ON A SCALE OF 5 IF IT HAPPENS TO BRING A SMILE ON YOUR FACE and SHARE IT. :) Feedback is always appreciated! Cheers!

Going Loud in a Crowd!

It is a challenge in itself to board a metro from Rajiv Chowk during the peak hours of evening. It is that time of the day when each one of us brings alive the Ravana inside us to get on the train, and doing all the possible pushing and pulling that it takes, almost molesting everybody around and paying a tribute to Mary Kom with our acts, we finally manage ourselves into the train.

One such day, when I was feeling like a victorious warrior on having entered into the train at the earliest, the guy who was sitting right next to me got a phone call. At a time when most of the people have earphones plugged in or are talking on phones, it was a normal phenomenon. But in a matter of few seconds, I realized that the guy was a loud talker or maybe he had a knack of talking loud and showing off! Suddenly his voice took a very serious tone while the sentence "Yeah, my iPhone 5s also had this thing" came almost about five times. I took a note of the fact that he actually did have an iPhone 5s and so his motto of showing off had accomplished as I couldn't help but feel irritated.

While his bragging about his phone took to new heights of gloating, I wondered why he didn't just fly back home on his phone. Suddenly, I realized that he was telling his girlfriend over the phone, about the new Rs. 20,000 shoes that he bought without any planning because he had 'liked' them in the first instance.  I mentally calculated that my net worth at that moment was not even 1/4th of the value of his shoes. He then moved on to discussing the trip to Paris last month where he had, had a drunken banter and done some "really wild" stuff. I couldn't help but manage a straight face somehow although now my interest had risen to a great height.

Most of his anecdotes started from "when I had got drunk" or "I spent Rs. ...". I assumed that he was either the CEO of Microsoft or had a superbly rich dad (where the chances of the latter definitely seemed to be much higher). His tales of 500 likes on his new Facebook photo to his next "supa kewl" wild party made him totally naked in front of me as far as his character was concerned. I am not one of those who judges anybody, and honestly I don't give a damn to how people manage their lives, but by the time my destination arrived (after what seemed to be the longest time ever), I got to know that he had an amazingly patient girlfriend and I had a badly aching forehead! Bless the braggarts! :\

(Aisi logo ki condition sach me serious hai - https://www.facebook.com/cadbury5star)

(Image courtesy - Google)

The Red Tulip...

She stood in her balcony looking at the stars above and feeling the frigid breeze on her face and arms. A soft romantic track played on her laptop which was kept beside a cup of hot coffee on the wooden table, which had now turned cold due to the complete ignorance that it had faced. Her mobile beeped with another Facebook notification as another best friend of her's added a couple selfie with a 'Happy Valentine's Day' post. The Facebook timeline was strewed with such updates. She locked her phone with mild irritation and got lost in her own thoughts again.

Oh! How she missed him! He was 1000 kilometres away, probably screwed up amidst thick files and huge scary numbers as usual. They loved each other more than the word 'love' could even epitomize. Her work had taken a back seat today, as the day got engulfed in the romantic arms of the darkness. She wanted to spend some time with him, in his memories. He had promised he would call as soon as he would get free from work. She waited with anticipation, and composure, as she had always been a type of partner who loved seeing her beau working like crazy. His being a workaholic was the biggest turn on for her.

They had never believed in the over hyped stereotype of Valentine's Day, and never had they exclusively celebrated it with cheesy red roses and white chocolates. Yet, seeing all the social media updates and couples thronging the hang out joints on her way back from work, she did miss him really hard. She missed being in his arms, losing herself to his strength, his soft kisses on her forehead and his poetic moods.

She checked her messages once again but there was nothing. She started to feel a little ignored but again she reminded herself of the fact that he was working. In last four years of relationship, she had never felt like this on a Valentine's day. She did not know why this year was any different. But it was... it had been six months since she had seen him last. Distances surely created a gap, a gap which was almost impossible to fill. But there was an unsaid, unspoken yet undeterred confidence in each other that kept them going. He had his dreams to chase and she had her's.

She was a strong, feminist, high-headed, "Valentine opposing" girl to the world, but inside she was a little kid who was craving to be with him at the moment and feel his breath on her neck. She texted him out of anxiety, and wrote to him about her dream last night where she had been in this very balcony, looking above at the same stars, with the same cup of coffee, but... with her head resting on his lap. The dream that she had been thinking about all day and that she felt was ironic to appear on Valentine's. She described it in details in her text hoping for a romantic reply soon.

She came out of her own fantasy slumber with the harsh door bell sound. She was suddenly reminded that she had to change the battery of the doorbell! She rushed to the door expecting her room mate and waiting to share her loneliness with her.

She opened the door and went numb for what seemed to be like a decade. He stood there, formally dressed, with a handsome black coat and a red tie. He clutched to the gift he had got, like a treasure he had found. The gift, she had been wanting since ages... a red tulip. He came close to her, looked deep into her eyes as she still could not muster the strength to say a 'Hi'.
He held her hand, winked at her and whispered in her ear, "It's no longer a dream!"  

कुछ दर्द अभी भी बाकी है

एक हवा का झोंका आया

और मैं तुझसे कुछ कह ना पाया

रास्ते अपने यू जुदा हो गये पर

कुछ दर्द अभी भी बाकी है...

बातें थी ज़ो कहनी थी

अब दूरी और ना सहनी थी

आगे चाहे जितना बढ़ गया हू मैं

कुछ दर्द अभी भी बाकी है

बारिश की गुम्सुम बूँदों मे

मेय है, नशा है, साकी है,

कुछ कहने को ना आज मगर

कुछ दर्द अभी भी बाकी है

ज़माना वो अब गुज़र गया

जब साथ ज़माना चलता था

अब मिलके भी तुझसे, बेचैनी है, खामोशी है,

कुछ दर्द अभी भी बाकी है..

रात का अकेलापन आज मगर ये

मुझसे धीरे से कहता है

भूल गया सब जो कहा था उसने

बस कुछ दर्द अभी भी बाकी है...

(An evening of Romantic Poetry "Ishq-e-Inayat by Pawas Jain" in Jaipur on 13th February 2013 at Cafe Kalapani - https://www.facebook.com/events/1403169543270697/)

Bring on Love-izza with extra Cheese(iness)!

The month of February has finally disembarked upon us and suddenly the expression of love has become a market from various cafes giving discounts and e-commerce website giving 'valentine deals' [Big Deal(s)!]. After all it is the month of displaying your love... or rather, publicly displaying your love. The populace of couples would suddenly seem to swell and don't freak out if you find out Kama Deva himself being reincarnated in every corner of your city. The couples would soon be thronging the discos, pubs and other not-so-happening places and would be searching for appropriate places to express love without the fear of Shiv-Sainiks beating the hell out of them (Yeah, it is also the time for them to reinstate everybody's faith in Indian culture). 

The number of couple selfies might shoot up on your Facebook timeline and you might have a sudden urge cropping inside you to stab yourself with rose thorns for being single. People might also go to an extent of posting about their respective proposals (although they might not have even got a single Facebook friend's request in their entire life) or bragging about their couple-y hangout on social media websites. Some of your really mean (yeah, actually callous) friends might also ask you to fix up with someone and accompany them to the super cool couple party they are going to (they do it deliberately to make you feel inferior, trust me!). 

Once again the cheesy pick up lines like "Do you have a sunburn or are you already this hot?" might find their way into the conversations, whereas the sale of roses are bound to get doubled and quadrupled. Tequilla will be the hottest liquid of the season and the sale of contraceptives might go up by leaps and bounds (hopefully). If you are an unfortunate single, you might be turned down when you ask your friends to meet for a coffee during these days. Seven days before Valentine, a series of such (may I say) idiotic days would start and the sale of chocolates, teddy bears, roses would be higher than ever (only if hugs were chargeable :'( )

On a serious note (yes, very serious) I have nothing against Valentine's or those who celebrate it. As long as there are no wars and only love, I don't really mind. However I am a strong believer of the school of thought that love is not an ephemeral feeling for a day, a week or a month. Let it stay, grow and pass through its own share of ups and downs. Yes, it sounds boring but every day is a day of love, every day you should remind your partner how much you love them or rather respect them, for that will make them feel loved and blessed (a diamond ring or an expensive wallet on and off would also work for that matter). 

So go around, date people, help the cafes and restaurants break even, be responsible and don't be a fool, cover your tool!

(Image: Google)

'Three' Cheers for JLF!

The recently concluded Jaipur Literature Festival was, as always a five-day heaven on Earth for literary enthusiasts across the world. The magnitude of the festival was larger, the organization was flawless and the crowd was huge. Of course the majority of people who thronged the festival were there either to take selfies, or to eat at the food stalls or to browse through the festival as if they were health inspectors or simply to update a 'check-in' status at the JLF 2014 for a style symbol on Facebook.

But my applause goes especially to the three primary things that made me love JLF 2014 like never before, three special points that need a special mention, and therefore, here are my THREE cheers for Jaipur Literature Festival 2014 -

1. Creating Controversies is easy, curbing them is not - For a festival as enormous in dimensions as the JLF happening in a country like India, controversies are bound to happen. But it is totally amazing to see that JLF and its producers do not ride on controversies for popularity. With the anti-Ekta Kapoor slogans being shouted at the session against her TV soap 'Jodha Akbar', the police and the security ensured that the protesters were pushed outside the venue in a matter of few minutes and continuing the session without any disruption. The event was not highlighted at all and was surprisingly taken in a stride by Ekta Kapoor as well.

2. Absence, but persistence - This season of JLF witnessed a lot of big celebrity sessions being cancelled due to the absence of the speakers, but they were very swiftly replaced with other speakers and sessions which maintained the charm, and no one actually bothered about the absence. With crowd-pullers such as Javed Akhtar, Shashi Tharoor and Mary Kom not turning up at the last moment, JLF rightly justified itself being the World's largest free literature festival.

3. Rain, Rain go away, not an issue even if you stay - The heavy and unexpected downpour in the city of Jaipur early in the morning of 21st January 2014, which was the last day of JLF created an air of doubt among the participants about the management at Hotel Diggi Palace. But on reaching the hotel, everybody realized that the venues had been immediately shifted and backup plans had been effectively enacted upon. In fact, to make the rains even more lovable, a special counter for hot tea with dal ke pakode was set up in no time. The organizers presented an exemplary presentation of 'The Show Must Go on'.

These were the five days of the year which are truly awaited literally like a 'festival'. Going into the sessions and which one was the best or had most to offer would take up a lot of space and time. But kudos to the organizers and a huge cheer for the festival directors for holding yet another successful season of Jaipur Literature Festival.

I also attach some self-clicked pictures of JLF, there are no selfies, no high definition shots, no food stalls, no fashion statements in the following pictures. Just pure, pristine and the real essence of JLF and a glimpse of a few sessions -

The First day at JLF, the crowd starts to throng the venue!

An esteemed panel of C.P. Deval, Mahmood Farooqui, Arjun Dev Charan, Prahlad Shakhawat and Irrfan Khan discussing the epic storyteller Vijaydan Detha

Somnath Batayabal, Raj Kundra and Arghya Lehri about their respective books on white collar crimes and thrillers.

Discussing Bollywood: Vamsee Juluri, Irrfan Khan and Meghnad Desai

A beautiful photography workshop by Dayanita Singh where she beautifully established a link between photography and literature

An intense discussion on 'Why India Votes' by Manvendra Singh, Mukulika Banerjee and Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay in conversation with Sudhir Chaudhary

A jam packed writing workshop by Jerry Pinto where the crowd was literally ROFL!

The most awaited session - Amish Tripathy is a candid conversation on a chilled morning

Amish Tripathy launched "Book of Spice" by Vikas Khanna

A fiery session moderated by Ravish Kumar on 'Raj and Samaj: Democracy and the People' with a panel of Kalyani Shankar, Navin Chawla and Pavan Kumar

A full house at the session "Blue Planet, Green Earth" by Shekhar Pathak, Suman Sahai in conversation with Ahmad Rafay Alam

A session for just laughing out loud - by Indrajit Hazra, Shovon Chowdhary and Bachi Karkariya

"Each Others' Stories" - a session by the TV queen Ekta Kapoor

A soulful session by Sonam Kalra on Finding your Voice!

Not a very clear picture, but a glimpse of the grand finale debate on "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest" moderated by Sanjoy Roy with reputed speakers such as Murli Manohar Joshi, Shazia Ilmi (both can be seen in the background a little blurred), Indrajit Hazra etc. 

FOLLOW ME ON https://twitter.com/PawasJ

This post is about "SEX"...

Maybe the title of the post was enough to give you a shock for once, and then look around you to see if anyone was watching over your laptop screen. Of course, we have been raised in a society where talking about sex is a taboo. Sex is like that bad itching area, which everyone wants to scratch but no one wants to talk about it in public. Obviously, talking about sex in public is against our so called "culture", it is filthy for young children and maybe it will brand you characterless.

But few people will realize that the major lacuna in our upbringing is the lack of formal sex education. And of course, a country where talking about sex brings misanthropic smiles or bestriding looks, you cannot expect to impart sex education. In fact, girls are almost considered to be asexual when it comes to their sexual desires and explicitly discussing sex might not make them a very good prospective daughter-in law.

The question is why did I bring up this topic at all? Basically because I wanted to put spotlight on the taboo aspect of openly discussing sex and sexuality. Yes, it troubles me to see that the highest judicial court of our country fails to acknowledge a form of sexual orientation altogether. Yes, it is very disheartening to see that a girl on menstrual cycle is made to sit in isolation and (in some very orthodox households) to an extent of not even entering the kitchen because she is 'impure'. However we have been extremely unsuccessful as a society to acknowledge the basic facts that people of different sexuality than ours also co-exist and menstruation process of a girl enables her to give the most beautiful gift to the world - the gift of life!

It is this repressed sexual desire that leads to horrendous crimes like rapes and child abuse. The lack of knowledge of protected sex is the primary reason of the spread of HIV AIDS. Two inter-related facts that I read somewhere highlight this - it goes that in Karnataka, only 30-35% women know about female condoms and another study reveals that Karnataka has the highest percentage of HIV AIDS affected population of our country!

People who know about protected sex also fail to comprehend the usefulness once they are married and see it as some kind of power to assert. And the same people when leave their houses shout out loud, 'God, there are so many people around here in India!'. Whoa! Welcome to India!

It is sad that the land of 'Kamasutra' is today engulfed in a thinking so narrow and cramped, that it is almost disgusting. Khushwant Singh once said, "Indians have sex in their heads and not between their legs!"
I can't help but agree, because we think about it so much, that our actions have become furtive now and sex has become something dirty, filthy and tabooed. So let us not ignore the topic with our future generations at least. Let us move towards a more open society which is safe for women and liberal for people with varied sexual orientations. There is nothing wrong in SEX, let us see when the change comes about!

 

Counter Strike-Global Offensive: Will it take the legacy forward?

It might be a little late to be reviewing something as epic as a new version of Counter Strike, but some things never get stale and we always love talking about them. Counter Strike to our generation is not just a game; it is a fierce neck and neck battle, it is a legacy. Global Offensive came like a storm for all CS veterans. For all the CS lovers, Global offensive would be like revisiting their old school canteen or probably meeting an old friend after ages. You will notice some miniscule and some major changes but the basic instinct, the character, the style remains intact.

With few new game modes, new maps and modified old maps introduced for the first time in 15 years, CS GO is going to keep a crazy player like me on his toes. The teams are small, guns are lethal and rounds are shorter but the power and adrenaline rush is much higher and takes the game-play to new heights of awesomeness. Arms race, which is a new death-match based mode, rewards a player with a new weapon on every kill and the player to get a kill with every weapon is the winner. This mode is very exciting and is a definite treat for every CS lover. It's the most frenzied and care-free mode in Global Offensive, with players throwing caution to the wind for the sake of climbing the kill ladder as quickly as possible. It's a disappointment that there are only two maps in Arms Race.

There are new escape routes to discover even in old classic maps (look for the underpass choke point in de_dust). Such minor changes are going to enthral and surprise the hardcore fans. The look and feel of the game is modernized with path-breaking graphics and amazing first person shooting experience. But even in today’s trend of genre evolution and fierce market advancements in technology, CS remains true to its original style, appeal and character........

(Full article with grading and verdict published on http://www.thetechportal.in/Articles/Gaming/CS-GO%20Review.html) 

Visit India's first weekly tabloid dedicated to Technology - http://www.thetechportal.in/ for more such reviews and latest tech buzz! :)

एक नयी सुबह ...

आज धूप में कुछ बात है,
ये नये समय का आगाज़ है,
नयी सोच की रोशनी में,
ये आशावाद का उल्लास है...

नयी पीढ़ी का यह जोश है,
अब नही हम बेहोश है,
ये जीत की गूँज है,
ये बरसों का आक्रोश है...

छ्ट गयी अब रात है,
ऊँचा सुनने वालो की ये मात है,
ये बदलाव की शुरुआत है,
आज धूप मे कुछ बात है...

Book Review: Syahi - Power of the Pen

I got a tremendous opportunity of reviewing the latest short story anthology - "Syahi - Power of the Pen", published by Triumph Publishing and edited by Aman Sharma and Nehali Lalwani. The book is an amazing collection of stories of different genres written by very talented budding authors coming from varied backgrounds. It is a positive trend in the publishing industry of giving new authors a golden opportunity like this to be published at a nation-wide level.

I am hereby posting my story-wise review along with an individual grading of each story on the scale of 5. I would not play the spoiler and will not be revealing the plot of any story to let the readers enjoy it themselves.

Disclaimer: I will be very honest in my reviews, but that anyhow does not mean that any writer is bad. A negative review just means that there is a scope of improvement and the one I got to read, was not the magnum opus of that writer. All writers in this world are gifted people with a weapon in hand! ;)

1. Inspiration, An Odyssey of Discovering Life... Again - By Apoorva Arora
The writer in this story, had a beautiful message to tell regarding raising of a child by a single parent. But unfortunately, the complex story and the weird turn of events leading to that message was totally not required. The story had loads of grammatical errors which made it very difficult to grasp the story and made it monotonous to reach the end. The story could have been shorter and still the strong message could have been put forward. I am sure the writer has some beautiful thoughts in her mind, which can be expressed in abridged and simple forms.
Rating: 1.5/5

2. Better Late than Never - By Hitakshi Bawa
The story is very simple and beautifully written. It is a well written adolescent love story with some nice lines which will leave a lovely impact on the reader. The descriptions in the story are nicely done and the writer deserves a clap for expressing a girl's thoughts in such a nice manner.
Rating: 2.5/5

3. Letting Go - By Aman Sharma
It is a very heart warming story which will make you feel the pain of meeting your ex-lover after your breakup. The awkwardness, the silence, the thoughts, the coldness that you experience on such a meeting have been beautifully described. The supposed monologue in the end of the story is also very emotional and you can literally experience what the protagonist must have gone through. The best part I liked about this story was how the writer has explained the importance of "letting go".
Rating: 3/5

4. 26/11, A Dark Twilight - By Nehali Lalwani
It is a very sad story expressing the unthinkable loss of someone who loses their loved ones in a terrorist attack. However, I just feel that so much has been written about 26/11 already, that it would take something path breaking to gather a reader's attention now. The story is simple, but lacks on emotions a little. The story is long enough but lacks warmth. On this premise, something much more heart-wrenching could have been woven.
Rating: 2/5

5. Life, A Vague Mystery! - By Khushi Gupta
Here is a writer who never fails to astound me. When an 11th standard student, writes amazingly about the feelings and thoughts of a neglected child in a broken home, it has to amaze you. The expressions are flawless, the use of words is perfect and the ending just leaves you in awe (or maybe 'aww' :p ). I would particularly like to mention the scene in the park towards the end, just seems so believable and yet very soothing and of course the epilogue - mind blowing! Kudos to the young writer!
Rating: 4/5

6. Shattered Tatters - By Ayush Agarwal
There are average writers who sometimes come out with awesome stuff and leave you amazed, and then there are awesome writers who maintain their record. Ayush Agarwal comes in the latter category. I had high expectations from the story of Ayush and undoubtedly, he fulfilled them. A very moving story of a little kid Keshav living in jhuggis, Ayush makes it into a riveting tale of loss, social ills, thrill and a thoughtful ending. It is one of those stories, after which you remain absorbed in thoughts for a few hours. A special mention to the scene describing child abuse - only a writer with great talent can pull off such a scene with such level of intensity.
Rating: 4.5/5

7. Sometimes it's not simple - By Neoni D'Souza
This story is an unimpressive tale which tries very hard to keep the reader engrossed, but fails. The ending has been made into a sudden twist but with a weak backdrop and premises, the twist fails to leave any impact.
Rating: 1.5/5

8. The Survivor, U'Khand Flood Disaster - By Omung Goyal
This story is a shocking tale of a survivor of the unfortunate Uttarakhand floods which created havoc in June 2013 taking lives of thousands of people. The writer amazingly expresses the journey of survival of the protagonist. I really do not know if this was a real personal account of the writer or someone close to him, but he does make it sound very believable and captivating. The imageries are poignant and disturbing, but very nicely created. However, only had the grammatical errors been fewer and dialogue composition been better, the story could have simply been one of the best written accounts of the disaster.
Rating: 3.5/5

9. 3 Sins - By Salli Shah
This story is very disturbing as it expresses the weaker side of a woman. The story does not impress and tries to instill pity for a woman in the mind of the reader. The story has a depressing end, which seems to be totally mislead, almost expressing as if suicide is the only option and ends up making you feel sorry for a girl. It could have been a much better story, had it been focussed on women empowerment and discussing about bouncing back of the girl in the mainstream society even after having faced such hardships. The story is disappointing.
Rating: 1/5

10. It all started with a key - By Shrutee Parekh
It is a very disappointing story with an insensitive handling of an issue as delicate as AIDS. The story could have had a better premise. The story shows the protagonist deciding to marry a guy after a day of cheap stalking and without knowing the guy at all. For an AIDS infected patient, life is a challenge each day. It could have been shown with a lot more consciousness and delicacy. Moreover, the grammatical and spacing errors, and flawed placements of inverted comas in dialogues made it very difficult to keep a track in the story.
Rating: 1.5/5

11. It's never too Late - By Aman Sharma
This is a very old-school story line with nothing fresh to offer. It seems to be a bit immature at various points. The fact that a girl who is at the top of her career decides to return to her childhood romance, a guy who abandoned her after one fling of physical love making ages back, it all seems to be impractical and not in line with modern times. After the earlier story of Aman Sharma, the expectations were high but to some extent he fails to deliver. Had there been more of romance, heartbreak or flow of emotions, which seems to be Aman's forte, the story could have been really great.
Rating: 2.5/5

12. A Lesson for Life! By Nehali Lalwani
Reading this story was a real pleasure. It is one of those stories that make you feel very optimistic and blessed. Beautiful choice of words, soft turn of events, descriptions and images that leave you spellbound, are the features of this story. I finally found the typical-Nehali story which I had expected from a writer of her capability. This story was enriching and more of a learning experience.
Rating: 4/5

13. Un-destined Love By Salli Shah
This story is very naive and has been dragged with no content. With the premise that was being set-up in the beginning, the story seemed to have something interesting to offer. But the story disappoints towards the end when two people in love have to part ways owing to religious differences. This is one of those stories where you keep thinking that something is going to happen now, but nothing does.
Rating: 2/5

14. You Amaze Me - By Ayush Agarwal
This is a magical story more like a garland woven together with words. The development of the plot line, the premise, the expression, the turn of events, everything is very well thought and put forward in a beautiful way. This is a masterpiece of a story with an ending that leaves you with a smile, you don't know, is sad or happy. Very Moving! Hats off to Ayush Agarwal!
Rating: 4.5/5

15. That Night @12 By Neoni D'Souza
It is a fairly gripping story with a well thought storyline. Although not as spine chillingly horrifying as you would expect from the story build-up in the beginning, but still a fairly good attempt at a story with positive ghosts. With grammatical correctness and a little editing, this story could have been even more enjoyable.
Rating: 3/5

16. To be Hanged, Till Death - By Omung Goyal
This story is a very engrossing legal-crime thriller which ends up thrilling you even more. Very few writers can write crime-thrillers with that ease, but the writer has done a commendable job. Although, had the pace been a little faster and with a better editing, this story could have been a wonder! Nevertheless, a very fine attempt at crime thrillers where a boy is accused of murdering his parents. Read the story to find out if he comes out tainted or is buried with no charge.
Rating: 4/5

Best Writer (on the basis of writing style, choice of words, and grammatical correctness) - Ayush Agarwal
Best Story (storyline, development of story, story premise) - Life, A Vague Mystery By Khushi Gupta 
Most expressive story (with depth of thought, clarity, philosophy and concept) - A Lesson for Life By Nehali Lalwani

Overview - Syahi is an admirable collection of stories written by authors from different walks of life. Stories from different categories, flavours and moods have been put together. Having said that, I would mark the importance of grammatical correctness, because at some point, it does spoil the fun of reading and makes it monotonous. Nevertheless, it is a fun read with some very exceptional stories and after all I truly believe - every reader is a critic. So grab your hands and read for yourself as there is something to take away from every book you read in your life.

Final Grading (on scale of 10) - 

6.5

Grab your hands on this short story anthology here - http://www.snapdeal.com/product/syahi/2028273247?pos=0;1