The crop.

The farmer looked at his produce from a distance. He was happy. This year seemed better than the last year, where he made the foolish decision of growing a genetically modified variety. “Organic is the way to go.” He thought. And he was right. His hard work had paid off. The field was full of healthy little fruits. He thought that it was a smart idea to invest in the rain harvesting system, which would water the fields periodically. He called his laborers, and, on the auspicious occasion of ‘Aunte Rreb’, decided to harvest the field. He could only imagine how much money he would make this time, but more than that,he was happy that he would be able to provide his family with a better life. The tractors gently moved across the soil, plucking each fruit and carefully stocking them in the trailers behind.

The farmer was beamed with delight. His months of patience had finally paid off. As he left his farm, he looked at the barren earth behind, ready to be sown with a new crop.

Finally, the last spaceship exited the earth’s atmosphere. Every form of life on earth, from land and the oceans, had been sucked by the gigantic spaceships. The aliens came from outer space without any warning, and changed the course of mankind, leaving earth devoid of any life form.

The end.

Bhishma's story.

He lay in a pool of blood, which was his own.He didn't want this fight, but he got dragged into it. Like the wrong person at the wrong place. The night sky looked beautiful. The view subdued the smell of blood and rotting flesh around him. He looked at his injuries. He lifted his right hand and tried to remove the shrapnel lodged in
his left chest.But he was too weak.Blood oozed profusely from every orifice created by his enemies. He was alive, but so close to death. Only a miracle could keep him alive.

The sun was on the cusp of the mountains. "It will be morning soon, and I am still alive", he thought.
" Another day of endurance? Agony and pain?"
"No one come forward and took me to a doctor yet. And no one will."
"I wish i was dead".

Bhishmapithamah closed his eyes for the last time, and the eighth Vasu,who was master of his own death, lay dead.

And that's what everyone thought. The Pandavas lost their grandfather. Shikhandi was happy to kill Bhishma, but he knew that this was the end of his life's purpose.

But Bhishma, a demi god, who had defeated the great Parshurama himself, knew that death meant destruction of the soul. He decided to play dead, so that
fools could burn his body. He was glad that he was still alive, and also, tired of the vultures circling above his head.

"Bachhan saab, shot ready hai."

Bhishma loved his new body and his new role.

The end.

The Beginning.

It was 2000 years after the great apocalypse. The flood and earthquake eventually subsided. Man slowly tried to establish a new society. New laws. He tried to make sense of things around him. The hows and the whys. Inquisitive minds pondered, while spiritual minds looked for their god.

Everyone was thrilled today. The book of God had been found. This God's might was unheard of; for, after a great battle, He finally conquered evil, and got back his wife, his soul-mate. The Gods were united, and the balance of the universe was restored. Both the God and Goddess ruled over their kingdom, happily, bringing peace and prosperity to generations to come.

The book was written by a wise sage, who had seen the Gods and their magic. The book was declared sacred , to be revered and respected by all.

The sacred book was titled 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'.

The end.

The Reason.

It was a lazy afternoon.

“Nothing to do.” She thought to herself.

The loneliness was killing her. It has been ages since she went out or did something crazy.

“Shall I paint”?   She looked at the half used paint bottles, lying in the corner of her room.

“Maybe not today.” She consoled her artistic excitement.

She was at her wit’s end. Time was never a problem for her, she always had plenty.

She gently strolled around her living room, trying to figure out a way to kill her boredom.

The balcony of her living room provided an ample view of the grandeur of her garden.

“But it’s so lonely.” She thought to herself.

As her eyes wandered through the magnificence of the garden, she saw a pile of clay.

“I know.” She exclaimed with enthusiasm.

“ Lemme try my hands at making sculptures.”

And thus, God created man.

Another day in paradise

"It's been raining for 3 days straight...",she thought.
"She must be cold and hungry. Please, one slice of bread, one tea, anything to fill her belly". She prayed.
"I dont have an ounce of milk in me for you.. I am so sorry."
She stood customarily in front of the sandwich joint.
"People always throw away the crust."
But the rains had spoilt her plans. Everything in the dustbin was immersed in water. There was nothing to grab on to.
The evening gave way to a busy night.
Her baby stopped moving.
She wished she could make her latch on to her chest like yesterday. But she dint. She was motionless.
She passed a dustbin, where she traded her beloved piece of flesh with a piece bread.
"Save the girl child", said a billboard above the bin.

The end.

The Farewell

“I cannot live without you.’’

“Neither can I. You are my best friend and I love you like no one ever will. But this cannot go on forever. Your parents are right. You won’t have a future with me.”

“Please don’t say this. How can you let me go? After all that we have been through? What about our dreams? What about our life?”

“I am sorry love. I must go away. For your happiness.”

Preeti broke down into tears.

“Please don’t do this to me” cried Preeti.

She watched in despair as her love looked at her one last time and left.

“Don’t leave me Nisha.” Preeti wept inconsolably.

“This post is written for the 110 Creative Challenge Contest, hosted by Thewhitescape“

The Rain

“It has never rained like this” he thought.

“Did I do the right thing? I should have helped the others too. What if I am wrong? What if, I am actually crazy?"

Just then, he sensed a movement.
He couldn't see, but he felt something slithering up his body.
He panicked. His heart started to beat loudly.

"If only I could see!"

Just then, another bolt of lightening. And in that moment of intense flash, he saw
a king cobra, coiled up around his body, looking right into his eyes.

"I am sorry I left your family behind."

The cobra hissed angrily.

"It’s day 40”. Noah sighed. “It’s almost over."

“This post is written for the 110 Creative Challenge Contest, hosted by Thewhitescape“

The God of all things!

Human brain is one of the most complex pieces of engineering. I said ‘engineering’ because I find it hard to believe that it could evolve from unicellular organisms. I am not a ‘Creationist’ either. I think that it ridiculously stupid to even imagine that a larger-than-life being creating us from dust. In his book ‘The God delusion’, Richard Dawkins attacked the very nerve of every religious belief saying that it is ok to be an atheist. For him, God is a misinterpreted word. God can be a powerful creator, which can be observed from a scientific, logical and rational point of view. It’s a mystery that created the universe which can be termed as god, but he is against a personal, supernatural creator with a list of do’s and don’ts.

Another book that I read a few years back was ‘A brief history of time’. Stephan Hawkins is perhaps one of the most respected physicists of recent times. Most of what he says is beyond my comprehension. But what intrigued me the most was the ‘string theory’, which should explain all the 4 forces and all the elementary particles. String theory, super-string theory, Theory of everything, Unified theory, M theory ( which talks about 11 freaking dimensions). Each theory has something new to offer, yet something is always missing. Its crazy enough to imagine the 5th dimension, or even the need for it in our daily lives. Do you know what a hypercube is? It’s a like a cube which 3 dimensions (length, breadth and height) , only that it can have 4, 5 or even more dimensions. Just try imagining that. I mean, a line is 2-D, a cube is 3-D. Can you imagine a figure in 4-D? (time is not a spatial dimension). Its possible to prove that such a structure exists mathematically, and we have studied it. What is the formula for the diagonal of a square? D(diagonal)=sq root of [a (squared) + b(squared)]. So what is the diagonal of a cube? D(Diagonal)= Sq root of [a(squared)+b(squared)+c(squared)]. Right? So what would be the diagonal of a hypercube??? Its easy now, isn’t it?D= Sq root [a(sq) +b(sq) +c(sq)+.......]. But it would be impossible to imagine one.

These are all but theories. A possible explanation. For example, if you get a missed-call alert in your phone and the number is unknown, who do you suppose the caller is? You may or may not be able to narrow it down, and will be wildly based on patterns known to you. Theories are just like that, of course, much more scientific and replicable. But the point of a theory should be to make it simple enough to be comprehensible.

The human brain is a brilliant piece of engineering. But compared to what? Compared to our own understanding of ourselves? That's a bit myopic. I am not a theist. I also believe that there are certain limitations of our brain. Bruno is our family dog, and sometimes he sits in front of the television and stares at the screen. I am sure the facts are in front of him. There is electricity, there is a remote control,there is a screen, there is a switch to turn it on, there is a set-top box, etc. But to expect that one day, Bruno would be able to understand the precise mechanism of how the TV set works, is wishful thinking.

I think humans are just like that. We are trying to comprehend things that are way beyond what our brains are designed for. Imagine the tiny spot of algae residing in a corner of a swimming pool. Humans are just like that speck of algae, trying to make sense of the pool and beyond.

Judge-mental.

It is human to make judgments  Of course, ‘Judges’ do that as a profession, but I think they should not be called so. ‘Logical deductioneers’ I would call them. If that were a word. This word has a negative connotation… as if the derivation was made based on some bias. It normally is. We judge people based on the color combination of their clothes, hairstyles, grooming habits, money, internet history etc. But isn't it as shallow as calling ourselves sane? We do that on every occasion, sub-consciously, and consciously. So the thin guy with a feminine voice has to be a homo, ain't it?

I never met Russel Brand. Nor do I know him or any of his works. But somewhere, I was ‘led’ to believe that he is a douche. I cannot, for the love of my life, think of the origin of this conclusion. One word. Katy Perry. But if there were to be a ‘Match the column’ test; and ‘Russel Brand’ and ‘arsehole’ were in opposing columns, I would make them neighbours. But today I happened to see few of his interviews, and a synopsis of his book. And I must say, he was not what I expected. Smart and intelligent. He would know the difference between those two words.
So, back to judgement. The younger brother of ‘stereotypes’. “All horses are animals, but all animals are not horses.” That’s a ‘judgement’ embryo.

A day without deodorant stinks!

Kamasutra. That’s the name of my deodorant. Yes it’s strong, and smells great. And there hasn’t been a single day in my life (that I can remember) where I have decided not to spray some industrial strength BO blockers on me. My armpits. That’s 90% ME. And I have been through an array of brands… from the one claiming to attract girls wildly to the one claiming to attract girls wildly. The ads always convinced me that I need not be genetically endowed to attract female admirers.… It only costs about Rs 200 a month. Spray and your sprayers would be answered.

Now what I dint know is that a deodorant doesn't only hide your BO, but it also diminishes your olfactory senses. I swear it’s true. Now how do know this? Simple. I experimented. Actually, I forgot to spray myself today morning. Ok honestly, I dint have anyone to impress today. So I thought… what the heck. Let my manly effervescence rise to the occasion. And it did. It rose, and it enlightened.

I might have actually got sensitive to my surroundings, I believe. Thakorebhai, my 60 year old work colleague, does not believe in his own flatulence. It’s a myth for him…he says he’s not into peer pressure. Or like the lunch that some guys have. Cabbage can have difference meanings to different people.

Whenever I am in an elevator, or a closed cabin, I check myself to see if it’s me who’s stinking. It can be my damp shirt during the rain, or the cow poo that I accidentally stepped on, which is holy. Or that ungodly smell at your friend’s place who has pets or great-grand parents. Every thing has a smell. For as humans with a nose, we can smell a lot. But the thing is, as soon as we get used to the smell, our brain ceases to process it as a nuisance. Have you ever passes by the milk factory at Anand, or the industrial belt in Bharuch? People living there hardly notice it. It takes a few weeks to get uses to. Just like oppression.

In the last two years, the price of gas has risen almost 100%. The chai that I had for Rs 4, costs Rs 7.Without ginger. A vada pav costs Rs 20, and a bottle of mineral water is almost touching Rs 20. Prices of real estate are out of my future plan. But my salary has remained constant. Like the apathy of this great democracy. 

There must be a bigger deodorant at work.