Not done Mr. Srinivas

I do not hve a great fan following as far as my blog goes (and otherwise as well in fact with my new found snobbish attitude, I am only losing them like the hair on my head). But then Mr. Mishra was quite caustic with his comments on my last blog on me being "on sale". "You are getting obsessed with your depression and Madam X"... I am always open to criticism and loved the fact that I was being pointed out a grave error in my lone creative pursuit.

He was right. Over the last few months, my depression was overshadowing my writing. I am found wanting of words and the ones that are penned are nothing but re-incarnation of "morose" malencholy. Not required when life otherwise is quite depressive. I realised a few things in the process. Even though you might have the greatest talent in the world, but talent with no audience is of practically no use. A creative pursuit must be backed by an equally appreciative following. The only way talent can flower is with practice and with appreciation. You cannot be forever be immersed in your life and "dress up" your creation with your true emotions. Fans appreciate your talent in your ability to retain them by connecting with them and not by spinning out a gyrating storyline and send them on the "discovery of India". Like Vasco-de-Gama, they might just end up discovering the West Indies.

I also realised that over time my keenness to observe people was getting overshadowed by the hangover of my experiences with them. My vision was getting clouded and I started suspecting my own subjects. I found myself more interesting as I was more truthful with myself. But the truth in itself is of no use if not presented appropriately. As friends were falling off like nine pins owing to our (me and my close friends') inability to match our co-ordinates of our dynamic lives drew me closer to Madam X, who in her avatar is quite unequivocal. I wanted no one around me and she was that "no one". I have lost faith in people and it will take sometime for it to return.

One thing I will promise henceforth is that I will ensure that the quality is not held ransom to my state of mind. I will try to innovate and make the reading refreshing. My apologies for the detereorating standard. Will try to match the expectation of the few readers that I have....

Thank you Mishraji

Still depressed and not even fighting to get over it

These days I am getting snubbed all around. Clients, boss, parents, friends..everyone.... its not even a domino effect. More like a pattern now.. may be I am terribly bored as each conversation now sounds rehearsed....

So, I managed to crash my outlook inbox and with it went 3 years of my mails... like a memory sloshed.... they are recovered but retreiving them will not be an easy task.... May be its the cosmos... many people say that your mind is antennae, whatever you signal to the world, it comes back to you.... it could be that effect... I am only guessing and my guesses are seldom correct......

Talked to Madam X... Like always...no suggestions....just filling up the conversation wherever required... we exchanged a few timelines.. like which years were great and which were not...like the fat-sweaty boys in her cab who edge her out to get the window seats.....and the usual general stuff.... She quite likes the limited publicity she gets from my blog...... Hyperactive-sportswomen-music psycho-shahrukh fan ms. ratnam called up from b'lore enquiring my well being after the disastorous blog.......we exchanged notes on "Art of Living"...... her over reaction to not being allowed to consume caffeine was quite expectd given that she is a "teaholic"...... but these stray conversations have been more like passing clouds than a shower......

Somehow, I managed to pull out some mails which were dating back to the jurassic period, i mean 4 years back types..... 4 years since I started my job, 5 years since i joined my MBA, 9 years since I was out of school....you keep going back and you keep realising the loss of innocence at every point in time....

I know I know that this is all very depressing and morose...I hate being one sorry guy, full of regret....I read alot these days...mostly short stories... I quite like them.... I think most people do... they are like a small incident in a otherwise mundane life... Doesnt have a definite start and just ends abruptly.......

I am giving myself lots of suggestions to get over this manic depressive mode that I have unfortunately switched on to.... I need a small spark to sort of ward it off... I would not have to wait perinnially for that.... I got to hang on till that happens..... This one will be short before I start blabbering more..

Growing up and what comes with it

So, am imploding these days...does it matter..no it doesnt ..'cause few people know about it (pardon for the punctuations)..... but people can notice that I carry this long face with myself.... I dont talk too much..barring a few clients who hear the same bullshit from me which they hear from more smart people than me...

Well, it started the other day when one friend of mine accused me of getting cynical off late...ashwin feels that I am always looking for jugaad for getting my way out...... parents feel that I am an arrogant bastard who thinks that family is a burden and the home is a hostel....Jayant-dev-atanu-shagun combo feel that I think too much of myself that I ignore their missed calls when they so want to discuss lewd jokes.....

Very sorry to admit, but all these are correct....yes..shocking..well... not quite......



From the time I graduated from college...CBS i.e.....I used to write about Life being this and that....without having nill experience experience of what the world was all about..... with my feet flying high, I just had one way to go.....down



I met many people who turned me over to the other side of life which was quite different from the premise I was holding on to... I think it was the start of MBA when it all started... Suddenly found myself surrounded by people who were pouncing on every little opportunity of pulling you down..."thats life".....Well quite a shock for me.....

We were quite a close knit group when I left college and the distance made it difficult to participate in day to day issues where friend's opinion mattered...While I tried to hold on to these friends, they preferred to graze on greener pastures...... I met Madam X, who thought that one must always give room to individual space...I disagreed.....and realised quite late as to how true it was..... These friends of mine met people who went about their own business minding little about those around them...live the moment and people around you...no strings attached...you wanna cry, then find somebody else...call me only if you want to have fun......so, they changed accordingly...... I was a little slow in these matters.....

I constantly struggled to define my boundaries with people as too much proximity was leading to disasters...professionally i realised that basically people are corrupt and you just have to find the right price for them...price??? I thought to myself.....even though I tried hard to distance myself from the malice...it just kept growing over me.....business or no business...it was all about finding the right price....monetary or emotional......each time you met somebody you were judging the person, trying to know the one point that will crack the person.....

I also then overtime became extremely adept at lying...it came very naturally....and i realised that people were happier if you lied to them.....clients, friends, associates, relatives, parents.....everywhere it worked like a well oiled machinery..... despite getting sick of this, it was my easy way out of difficult situations.........

It soon became a habit, everywhere I went the moment I met new people, I would start to analyze their behavior...quite needlessly...judging them....needlessly.....trying to find a fault in them...May be to make myself feel better about the whole thing......

Part of the problem also lies with the fact that I am far too nice and adjusting......While people would shout at me, I would listen to them, calm them down, in some cases even apologise to ensure the relationship hung on.....I, may be wrong, have come to realise that I was wrong....about the whole fact of having people to talk to , to listen to you....well there is no point when the responsibility to save it rests with only one person... I felt betrayed on many occassions...so many of them that I do not feel wont of those people any more.....

I have this really bad habit of "self-persecution".......if I feel that from what I expect is a very basic expectation and that remains unfulfilled, I ensure the destruction of whatever little I have.... its quite cynical I know, but I cannot hang on to something which constantly reminds of the fact that it remained unfulfilled....... It not about all or none... I do not know how to define it...

Its quite unlike me or like me or the other blogs were unlike me.....Really its difficult to know which one was me.....

Yesterday, me and my sister drove down to "165 c, timarpur"...... Trying to locate ourself on the little ground that was in front of the house, or the battered letterbox which my sister would check at 4:30 every single day, or the little pavement at the end of alley to our house where I would sit in confused emotions of anger and fear of running away from home, or the little garden where we grew ladyfingers, or the edge of the elevated ground from where I have fell on numerous occassions and bruised myself many times, or the....(the thoughts break with a voice)

A little girl: Are you looking for somebody?
Me: Just trying to find out if I am still alive here...some where......

Religion, God and Faith : Madam X unplugged

So, Madam X sent me a link to an animation which drew parallel to Sita's ostracization by Ram to a lady being dumped by her boyfriend. I was quite apalled at the whole thing. Madam X told me that I might not appreciate a feminist point of view to the whole Sita episode. I said, the perspective could be subjective , but must be presented in a mature fashion so as to be able to communicate the exact view point. I sent Madam X a detailed reply :

"...... Wht do you get when you superimpose a picture over another one.... either its too beautiful or its total confusion...

I think the animation is totally confused... it just uses alot of , "possibly or may be or this or that... too many assumptions in a story that is already filled with assumptions....


It was not funny, not empirical, nor analytical, not critical.... I do not know what it was...


May be you want to call it "a point of view" or an "interesting observation.."...... Its just quite a churlish act of creativity...thats about it...wouldnt give it too much importance...


Though am not religious myself nor proclaim to be a "Samaj Ka thekedaar", but I do feel that traditions, stories, myths which have ramifications over faith of people must not be ridiculed or desecrated in any manner..... It alright to have a different view to "art", 'cause thats the way its supposed to be you know.... "Art" is how you want to interpret it... But you cannot be giving too much importance to an item which is based on assumptions and deriving comforting justifications from related civilizations....


Its nothing to do with Hinduism or anything that I was hurt when I saw that video, but I think I would be equally hurt if somebody pokes fun at Islam or Christianity or the Sikhs.. I mean there is no harm in a little humour..... but not going overboard by presenting a serious view to subjects underlined with religion......"

Madam X responds:

"...............Thanks for taking the time out to read & present your views.

As I understand, you would disregard ‘alternatives’ to established scared elements unless scientifically analyzed & ‘proven’ through evidence. That’s fairly logical. Intellectual dishonesty by any standards is not acceptable. Using intelligence to seek the truth & allowing the evidence to lead to a particular conclusion instead of deciding what the truth is and then rationalizing preconceived ideologies is the right way to approach it.

With that sort of an approach, I am sure you go beyond established sacred elements to see why they were established in the first place. Because accepting an established standard may be comforting but attempting to know more about the past may be more satisfying from the above perspective. And people like us who have a ‘curious’ nature may have an advantage to be more satisfied! Don’t you agree?

I’m sure, you’d argue that you and I have no business debating religion/culture/tradition because we simply don’t know enough about the topic! After all, between you & me, what we do know about Valmiki’s version of Ramayana is primarily what we saw Ramamand Sagar create for the Television and Amar Chitra Katha comic books. You may also argue that ideas generated by ‘non-academic’/’under-educated’ people like us are oversimplifications or merely superficial! I couldn’t agree more.

When I sent this link to you last night, I reiterated that it’s someone’s hypothesis, i.e. a proposed explanation not proven explanation. My idea of sending you the link was to suggest that there may be many other views to the same historical story. Not to say that Mr. Aiyar’s version is even remotely correct. But simply that ‘principally’ there may be many alternative explanations for most things. Just that. Perhaps I should have picked a better example!

As expressed yesterday, no offense or malice meant. It’s an attempt by a curious, untrained mind (read mine) having genuine and reasonable doubt and a desire to know more about our ancients. So don’t be hurt. Hinduism is too ancient a tradition to be visibly changed or wiped out at least in our lifetime! About poking fun at religion. Yes, anything that is blasphemous, volatile or provocative and might offend the religious faith of others must be debated before it is released. Not because it’s ‘wrong’ to do so but simply because it ‘hurts’ people.

Lastly, to quote MK Gandhi, I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. To make this quote relevant in this context, let’s keep our minds & hearts open as far as possible! .........."

Uncouth, unearthening the ground smell

It was in November 2008, when "kisaan" announced that he was getting married. "Kisaan" is Sandeep Gupta. Sandeep was my room mate in mumbai. For our common interest in melancholy we became thick friends. Even after I shifted to Delhi, we would say to each other, "Yaar tum aa jaao, kaafi baatein hain...adhuri hain...kahin adhuri na reh jaaeen..."..Being typical Kanpuri, I learnt alot of ways of the world from him. Despite being rubbished by most of our room mates in Mumbai, he still turned out to be the more responsible and sensible amongst all of us. I named him "Kisaan" in Symbi for his uncanny resemblance to a farmer in an old "DD" ad on contraceptives and difference between two children. The name spread like fire and soon the whole campus knew him as "Kisaan" and not as Sandeep Gupta. His marriage was in Kanpur.

We took a train to Kanpur. The guest list was quite limited - Me, Dev, Atanu and Srinath. We are all erstwhile roommates of "Kisaan" from Mumbai. We reached in the afternoon and as usual I began cursing the state of Urban infrastructure in Kanpur till Dev shut me up, "Boss, this is India, keep your economics to yourself..enjoy the earthen India in its flavor..."..As we cramped ourselves in a speeding Bolero that took us from station to our hotels. All of us are in love with our slumber and the compromise in the early morning was a cardinal error which we were desperate to correct. Wait a second.....for a sound sleep, we needed a catalyst..We searched for the nearest pub. After gulping down a couple of beers, we were ready to crash.

By the time we woke up, Sandeep's childhood friend had arrived with Sandeep's marriage promise - A bottle of whisky. In our group, I am "British". Sitcking always to processes and procedures. I said, "Ohh Shit, how can we drink in the middle of a marriage". Dev's instant response was, "Dekho, yeh UP hai, bina saraab kaise majaa aayegi..piyo jaani piyo..."

When we arrived at the spot of the barat, we were all high and ready for the dulaah. Kisaan knew we were drunk, so the moment he saw us, "Deepak babu, baraat aage jaane dena...". I said, "Dulhe raja, kuchh hamen bhi maje lene do jaani.....baraat to ab aage nahi jaayegi.."....I still remember the horror on his face. He knew that I am uncontrollable after liquor as far as dancing in concerned. When he got on the horse, the band was bland...... playing as though it was a mere formality.... a job bestowed upon them by life to earn their livelihood...... waiting to excite them. For a while I waited, and then I jumped in.

Jumping, snake dance, bhangra, break dance.....suddenly the band came alive to the occassion..Dev joined me...so did Atanu.........the party came alive....While I was still in trance and Dev was throwing away "tenners" like he was a farmer on a field sowing seeds, I saw that Dulhe's chacha, mama, taya, bhabhi, bhaiyya were silently clapping away to glory.........Overpowered by the music and the dhamaal, both me and Dev dragged the ladkawala's before the poor ghodi.......By the time they started to enjoy the music....we pulled out.....we were like a car without fuel...panting like dogs we realised age had finally caught up with us.....

With a few hi-fives and cold drink, we felt much better. The dinner was awesome. When I got back to senses, I was like, "off..Deepak, how could you do that??" But the rest of the junta sure enjoyed it and had fun.........

I am always a little reluctant and hesitant about enjoying myself to the hilt and letting my hair down(Dont have much left to let them down anyhow..). It has got nothing to do with liquor though. I normally underplay myself, whether its party or life...but there are occassions when I just let the flow blow me away....that when I really am Deepak......

A perfect life...yeah whatever...

The Other day, while sipping on a cold coffee at Barista in Mumbai, I was meeting an old friend. Quite a character as she managed to attract the maximum attention in her hey days and even today does not seem to be bothered as far as attention is concerned. Currently doing some research work at an MNC she makes frequent trips abroad. Posing before foreign monuments with firangs walking in the background makes you wonder what is the camera supposed to capture most. I presume these are all arbid statements that even if put together give an impression of a meaningless collage than a defined modern art, but then writing in itself does not necessarily has to follow a set pattern (Deepak....where is this blog heading, get back on track..yes yes I will now)

Getting back, she seemed disgruntled with her current job (nothing new, Even Lord Krishna was bored of his job of hunting down papis on earth and found ways to amuse himself..... my apologies to the almighty if he didnt like my sarcasm) and was in pursuit of something creative. Like acting. "Acting is not everybody's cup of tea. Sure you are beautiful, smart etc etc, but then there is more to acting than merely looking like a doll." She made faces and said, "You are just jealous" I was mum or may be I would have grinned with sarcasm as I usually do when people comment on me being jealous.

I went back in time to find out an instance when I really found somebody's life close to perfect.

It was one of those late nights at Mumbai during the rainy days of October 2006. I was waiting outside the HSBC office at fountain under an umbrella. Marvelling at the beautiful building I managed to catch a glimpse of the big shot of HSBC - Ms Naina Lal Kidwai. I smiled and bowed my head in acknowledgement of her presence. Reluctantly she smiled back, trying to find her driver to her Honda Accord. As she passed I said to myself, "kya baat hai".

Those were the few days that Mr. Shagun ((k)night rider in Delhi) spent with HSBC. Dev was also working in the same office. Shagun used to give us a lift back home. As we boarded his car, he lighted a smoke. As we shared the somoke on the rainy day, I asked, "what are you waiting for? Lets leave." "No, yaar I am waiting for one of my seniors to join us back home". Here onwards I very distinctly remember the entire conversation. It went like this -

Amit( Senior of HSBC) - Hi Guys. Hope I didnt keep you waiting.

(Even at the end of the day, Amit was impeccably dressed, with gelled hair and was smelling musk. And of course who can forget this "Big Swinging Dick" not carrying a laptop)

Shagun: Sir, how did u get so late?
Amit: Actually Naina ma'am ke saath meeting thi. Some strategic issues you see...
All of us in chorus: Ohhh
Amit was not too old as I had thought he would be. Probably a couple of years elder to us....

Journey begins and Amit open his laptop, attaches the Net USB. Three years back net USB was a luxury. Shagun is ever curious with anything that happens around him. His curiousity could range from how to drive his sales force better to the best SPAs and massage parlours in Delhi. Even while gyrating through the busy and unruly traffic in Mumbai, he managed to catch a glimpse of what Amit was doing in his backseat.

Shagun: Sir, What are you doing..

Amit, With one of his eyebrows raised, pursed lips, carrying the look of a National Security Guard having zeroed in on his next target, was mentally pre-occupied with his Microsoft Outlook.

Amit: Did you say something Shagun? ( I was like grr.....)
Shagun: Sir, What are you doing..?

Amit(still in thoughts): aaaactually, I am expecting this very important mail.... (I thought to myself, "Of course we dont expect you to surf porn while going back home") ....(Says to himself)...there you go...

Shagun: Sir, so you are coming to that sales meet on Monday??

Amit: No...I am a little tied up

Shagun(Shocked, petrified...): Why???

Amit: Well, I am going to China this Sunday for a roadshow..will take about 15 days..

All of us in chorus: Ohhhh..

I tried to change the topic...

Me: So, Amit where do you live?

Amit: In Vashi

Me: (Smart Ass, finally something to pull him down) Must be quite a distance, Locals are really crowded you know.....

Amit(Cut me in between): Actually, My Swift has gone for servicing and Locals are a little claustrophobic...so...

All of us: Ohhh...

Dev: So, How big is your apartment?

Amit: Its five BHK..

All in chorus: WHAAAAAATTTTTT?

Amit: Yeah, its the latest apartment that has come. Its got a gym, a swimming pool, a small garden and the apartment overseas a small hill and we are able to see the sunset...if we reach in time that is...(and he let out a very very huge laughter that was oozing with sarcasm..)

Me: The rent must be very high..

Amit: Rent?? No No, We own the apartment

All of us in chorus: Howwwww??

Amit: Well the flat was damn cheap at about Rs. 60 lakhs. I had about Rs. 20 lakhs as my last year bonus from ICICI, my father pitched in with another Rs. 20 lakhs and we got a loan of about Rs. 20 lakhs....

I said to myself, "So, thats a real easy math...hmphhhhh"

Me: The EMI must be very hard on you and your wife..

Amit: No No, We got the loan at a very subsidized rate from ICICI and .....(gives a wierd pause..) My wife doesnt work..she works part time for an NGO...

All of us: Ohhhhhh..

Amit: Actually before marriage I told her- you dont need to work after marriage. work-life balance gets really upset...you may work if you want...no compulsions....and...rest is upto you

Me: Arranged marriage????

Amit(Takes off his spectacles, wipes it with his handkerchief...smiles): Love marriage, we met at MBA...dated for a couple of years.....then looked like it was getting somewhere.....then one day I popped the question...and we are happily married for the last two years...

All of us: Ohhhh..

Amit: Shagun, drop me there..I will catch a cab from here.......

Amit: Yeah...thanks guys..it was lovely talking to you guys...all the best....shagun see you in 15 days......

As he walked off with that laptop hanging from his shoulder, All of us shouted in chorus: I need a smoke......

Shagun never met him again as Shagun left the job in next week and is doing very well for himself these days in Delhi.....But given his exploits in Post grad and Grad is still very much single and longs for company every weekend night...

Dev got married in January 2007 and is still happily married with a small baby....not excited with his current job though....

As for me ....Well in 1998 my life was just perfect, since then its always been that elusive "99"....never quite there where I am content and happy......

Amit's life did seem quite perfect and unbelievable didn't it.....Life is like this roller coaster...moving up and down.....When down, you are waiting for that momentum to take you back up there and when its up there, you are living in this eternal fear of if the next roll of wheels will take you downhilll.....At least it better than staying stationary.......Is anybody listening out there??

I need my summer holidays back

When my office was in Gurgaon, just behind our office there was a smallish ground. At just about 4:30 pm kids used to come out there to play. They used to play football. Nowadays these kids wear branded T-shirts with some arbid number and name of some renowned footballer written at the back. (My knowledge on football is close to pathetic. The other day, somebody said Ronaldo is the best player, I disagreed and said, "Sachin at 36 is still the best.")

While I am merrily typing away this blog, I realised that I truly deserve a summer holiday (for at least two months). I was reminiscient of my summer holidays when I was in school.

Typically the day before the closure of the school, we used to organise a little get -together at school. Everyone used to bring some speciality or the other. It used to be an exciting day. No prizes for guessing why. And the day was punctuated with holiday homeworks being loaded on by teachers ensuring that the misery of the school shall continue. May be the logic was to keep the brain well oiled throughout the holidays, so that little brains dont go dead. Quite an unrealistic assumption. Later I realised that in India, we are constantly trying to guide children into structures and patterns.

The next day was to be a new day & planning would begin on full swing. The kid who would have to be hustled out of his cozy bed and made to stand with droopy eyes with a toothbrush laced with an equally drowsy looking toothpaste, the same kid would be up and running with a bat and ball at sharp 5:30 am. I was one of them. We would play till 9 and return home dirty and tired. After lunching it was time for some holiday home work. Oh, How much I hated it. There was a time in school, when I had to do something called "Cursive handwriting", which would run into pages. Why do they torture the kids with that, rather it could have been given to the Doctors who scribble on a letterhead decorated with alphabets they call "degrees" and then call it a prescription.

One would try to finish these repetitive jobs as soon as possible to have a more peaceful vacation. There was also time for a really long and never ending afternoon nap. By the time, you were awake, Mother was ready with a thirst quenching drink - it could be rasna, nimboo paani or aam panna. In the intermittant time between this late afternoon and evening, you would want to finish off those lingering holiday home works. (Silly teachers I must say).

Evening were set with matches with cricket teams of nearby colonies. They were tense and emotionally draining. (I started the trend of exchanging players for our internal matches and over time we were able to master them......Before Lalit Modi it was me who started the cricket league). When we returned, we could peacefully watch two hours of uniterrupted TV. DD ruled the roost and the audience lapped it up whatever came their way. But whether it was holidays or not, food was served at sharp 8 (Surprisingly we still follow that rule). And post that we would take walk in the night around the colony. Over time the seemingly innocent paths of night walks found their valid reasons of diverting them strategically behind the colony girls.

In between, we would also visit my cousins. Those were fun. Me and Aravind(at our age today) are still considered the most insane pair of cousins to have ever taken birth in the family clan (if at all we can call the world our fiefdom...but then of course nobody respects our fiefdom....lol). Our most infamous incident is when both of us finished an entire crate of panneer soda (Rose water soda) at my cousin's marriage. The soda was meant for the cooks who were getting parched inside a kitchen where food for about 500 people was being prepared with a fireplace in peak June heat and that too in Srirangam....There are other horror stories of how our senseless debates would undermine the most urgent work at hand (I guess, thats why both of us are not fit to be superheroes...god save the universe then...). We would also visit our more affluent cousins in Delhi where my little wants of exotic toys would get fulfilled ...even if those were for just a week, but I guess I never wanted those toys for more than a week anyways....

Every two years, we would also visit Chennai and nearby places as part of my father's LTC. The journey spanned 36 hours and gyrated through the beautiful landscape of mera pyaara bharat. It was an experience in itself. The day we are to leave, Mom would spend the whole day making food for the journey, so that we could spend as little as possible on eatables outside. Dad would call for the Taxi at least 3 hours and we would be at the station at least 2 hours before the departure. At the station we would shop for magazines and eagerly await our train. The whole build up of excitement waiting to board a second class compartment as compared to today's executive class journey in airplanes is still a million miles away. The whole concept of LTC for home town was quite a misnomer as far as we (me and my sister) were considered. For us, Chennai was alien land, where people spoke a foreign language, wore lungis, were perinnially drenched in sweat and smelled of Jasmine flowers. By no means I am demeaning my Tamil land. But we were a confused identity.

By the time the vacations would conclude, the sweet memories of vacations would get bulldozed by the piling holiday home work. Alot of it would consist of making charts and wierd looking science models which were eventually marked and dumped by the school stuff (Only certain privelged ones had theirs pasted on the walls of the class rooms. Well, your truly was a legend as far as chart making was concerned). The last few days were spent relentlessly in shopping for shoes, stationary, uniforms, school bags, pencil boxes and of course the most coveted possession of all - "Milton Water Bottle".

And thats how I spent most of my summer vacations. Today, I am pushing myself out of the bed at 7:30 Am, fighting the traffic for an hour to somehow make it to office by 9 am, from 9 to whenever time the day ends I am earning my bread and fall dead by the time I reach home.

Today morning I met Ishan, "Hey what are you doing downstairs so early?"..Ishan replied, "I have my summer holidays, I can do whatever I want....."...And then my mother cried from behind, "Here is your lunch, you are getting late to office...."....the smile on Ishan's face and the despair written over mine, just about underlined my misery