Digital Painting- Mahabali

The All-rounder

The All-rounder

The room was lit by an old, dusty tube light. The congested table was the source of a combined odor of medicines and fruit. The twins had their gaze sleepily fixed on their mobile phones.

           I was lying on a bed covered with a white sheet, in one of the rooms of a private hospital. It was after a minor accident which left my head and left hand injured. But that was not what bothered me now.

 “How are you feeling now?”

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I did not notice my mother entering the room.

“I am fine. What about him?”

“He’s got his leg sprained. He is still asleep. I do not know how he will take it. Appu! Ammu! Enough of it! Go to sleep!”

My heart started to bleed.

          My elder brother was always my role model. In fact, he was the role model for many, even my younger siblings, the twins and all my younger cousins. Why wouldn’t he be?

           He was a ‘straight A’ student and most of the time, the topper in his class. He is proficient in both classical music and martial arts. He was head boy in his school days and was studying in one of the best engineering institutes of our country. He had to quit the basketball team of his school to join the National Cadet Corps, and then became a Senior Under Officer in college. He took up engineering just because our parents and his teachers convinced him to do so. After taking up his degree, he planned to join the National Defense Academy.

          His role model was our father. Whenever anyone told him that he reminded them of him, his face would beam with pride, much brighter than any prize he had won. He was tall, with long legs and broad shoulders , and had grey eyes. Like my father, he stood out in every crowd. He had also inherited his deep and clear voice, and when he would recite mantras in the temple, a powerful grace in his voice makes it distinct from others. Our father was a General in the Indian Army and he wanted to follow his footsteps.

        But then, I had never felt comfortable with him. Especially when people compare me with him. I was never like him, nor like my father. But I tried to be like him. I joined every course he joined, and tried to inherit his mannerisms and style, but just ended up as a mere mimic. I shall improve when I am older, my mother would tell me.

       My brother was pretty short tempered. My imperfections did not go along well with my parents, and did not go along with him either. Whenever I fumble in the parade practice or turn up late or if anything did seemed untidy to him, his handsome face would turn red. I have heard a lot of his scolding, but never became immune to them. He would complain that I was clumsy and absent minded. He was a perfectionist, like my father and expected everything in our home in military standards. I would feel relieved when he would leave for his college.

      In one of his visits, he seemed really happy. He was selected for the Republic Day Parade, and it was his long time wish. He made sure that his preparations never lacked perfection.

       The night two days before the Republic Day of that year, he screamed at me for something that I do not remember now. Everyone stood on his side, and I had enough of it. I yelled back and stormed out of the house. I would never go back to that house where I was considered less inferior, I thought then.

       It was when I was walking on the pavement of a busy road, that I heard his voice. His long and fast steps got him closer to me. To avoid him, I decided to cross the road, and in the process, failed to notice a truck approaching me. Then I felt a bright beam of light and a strong pull.

     My elder brother had just saved my life, and in the process, sprained his leg. Those moments also smashed one of the biggest dreams of his life. I was certain that he would never forgive me, but had a strong urge to go to him and apologize.

    I walked into his room and saw our mother with him. He was sobbing hard on her shoulder. I had never seen him sob before. My mother stood up to leave the room, and all I heard her say was “I know you lost something important, but there are far more important things”. I chose to talk to him later.

    I refrained myself from his room later that day. The next day, I visited him. He was awake and looked okay.

  “How’s your hand” he asked me.

“It’s okay” I replied fast.

“The Republic Day’s tomorrow, is it?” he asked, his voice getting shakier, as a precursor to his tears. He wrapped his arms around me andcried softly.

“I…I’m sorry” I said, feeling guilty. He did not respond.

After a while, we talked for a long time about other happy stuff. And that was the first of many long talks we had

Read : Eating out

Eating Out

A square shaped room of a pizzeria. On the left was the kitchen, where about a dozen staff members, all in red and yellow uniform do the cooking and three staff member take orders. On the other side are tables and chairs, kept in a disorder manner, some occupied and three tables vacant. A group of teenagers enter the room.

“ Order what you like” said Sid “But get me something vegetarian”
"You came here all the way to eat vegetarian?" Jose exclaimed.
"You know, we are not permitted to eat non veg. Well, I don't see how that would affect you guys"
"Let him have  what he wants, Jose" Alok said " A medium sized veg pizza and a medium sized chicken pizza, please"
"A medium sized veg pizza and a medium sized chicken pizza" One of the staff typed "Is that all?"
"Yes"
"That will cost you 650 rupees, sir"
Sid, Jose, Vishal and Riya handed over their money to Alok. He took a 100 rupee note out of his purse and paid the bill.
"Wait!" exclaimed Rishabh "We  shall have chicken wings, four pieces.A piece of pizza would not fill my stomach."
A bottle of juice, please" Gauri ordered.
The group then puts together two tables and arranges eight chairs around it. Sid heads to the restroom.When he came back to his place, he noticed that his friends had already started eating. Vishal smiled at him.
"Where were you?"
"I was trying to be hygenic" Sid replied.
He sat down and took a piece of the vegetarian pizza.He saw Jose devour a chicken wing and lick its bone. His face turned pale. Alok noticed it.
" Ignore it Siddharth. Just sit back and enjoy the music"
"What kind of music is this?" exclaimed a voice "Do you seriously like it?"
It was from a middle aged man, seated two tables away, with his wife and son, a boy of about twelve or thirteen.
"Well, I like the the beats" whispered Alok, slowly and took a bite of his piece of pizza.
"You know, Sid" said Vishal, biting into a chicken wing "It's bad to kill innocent, harmless animals just to satisfy our hunger"
"Yes" Sid agreed "How do you manage to eat these stuff?"
"Like you manage to hog on idli-vada- sambar" Jose said " Pure vegetarian rice stuff!"
Sid was not paying attention to what Jose said. Instead, what bothered him was what the family discussed about.
"I was not very keen on having pizza today" the man said "But just because it's your birthday, Amey..."
"So, Satish, what shall we order?" his wife asked, trying desperately to change the topic.
"A medium sized mushroom pizza"
"Shall I have some cake too?" Amey asked his father. Satish frowned and whispered loudly to the boy "how fatter could you get?"
The boy got disappointed, and Sid felt sorry for him.
"Hey, Sid" Gauri patted him "Haven't you started eating yet? Rishabh, how can you be taking selfies while you eat! It's gross!"
"It's worse than this" Riya said "The next thing he would do is to post this in facebook"
Sid nibbled on his piece of pizza.
After the group finished eating, Sid headed to the wash basin. Satish was standing there, crumpling loads of tissue paper to clean his hands.
"Satish etta" Sid said "You could've taken your son somewhere else"
Satish was taken aback.
"It's lack of manners that caused you to eavesdrop"
"You brought your family here to celebrate your son's birthday. Then you cribbed all the time. You gave all of us, including your son an unpleasant experience. Now isn't that lack of manners?"
Satish pondered on what he for a while. Then he walked out of the washroom. His son stared at them.
After some time, the family was seated again on the table.
"Okay, which cake do you want?"
Amey turned back at Sid and smiled at him.

Read : Brother

Brother

“Bye Papa! Bye Mama! Love you both!”

She switched off her cell phone and looked at the evening sky. Lavender, she thought. Yesterday, it was a pinkish red. Perhaps it may be purple tomorrow.

“Hi!” came a voice.

“You came!”

“Well, its obvious. It’s my sister’s birthday, and…”

“They let you live! I thought they were quite strict about letting boys of your age enter”

“Such boys eventually grow up. Nobody is ever going to remain as the same age as he is today. I have come here to visit you, like any other visitor who comes here to visit. Okay now, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, nothing. Okay fine, its about…..”                                             

“It’s about what?” he asked.

“Well, remember our previous birthday? We were home with our parents, happy with a cheerful cake”

“Syrup soaked, splashed with a layer of cream, embedded with dark chocolate, with it we had mama’s warm and delicious payasam and sweets…”

“Okay now, it was far better than today, I’m sure. I don’t mind parties, or cake, but..”

“Parties!” he exclaimed “Who needs parties for being sixteen! We didn’t have a party last year!”

“That’s not my point. It’s our first birthday without our parents and….” She burst into tears.

He held her hand.

“And there you go again! You cry more often than a character in a soap opera! I wouldn’t like my baby sister to cry on our birthday!”

She wiped her cheeks with her palm and looked at her brother. He was tanned, and had the same curly hair and brown eyes as she had.

“Oh, besides, happy birthday!” she exclaimed and gave him a handmade card.

Then his face fell

“Oh, I’m sorry sis. I forgot about the gift”

“Never mind, you came here and that is more than enough for me”

Then they the bell ring, and she gave out a sigh “Oh, it’s time to study!”

“Well then, see you later, and yes happy birthday!” He smiled as he left.

She sat down, and glanced at the numerous and thick books piled on her desk. The day was in its last hours and, like any other day, meant to end in the same monotonous manner. Then her friend approached her

“Hey there, are you done with Botany?”

Then she looked at the card and read the text written with glittering blue ink

“Happy Birthday, dear brother… You had a brother?”

A story of kindness, and sincere devotion

Finding Lord Krishna

After a seemingly long journey from his school, Madhavan poured some water on his feet from a kindi , and entered his home. His grandmother, who was busy reading The Bhagvad Gita.

“How was your exam?”

“Amma, I’m hungry”

It was easy for his mother to understand. Madhavan had his terminal exams, and that day, it was Mathematics,. It was not one of his favorite subjects, and that day too, the experience was unpleasant.

“ You must not get used to your exams being tough” said his mother “That is a bad sign”

“ What can I do, Amma? They always do this to us”

Madhavan’s  younger brother Mukundan was busy munching some appams.

“Kannan’s exam was easy” his mother said.

Madhavan looked at his younger brother again. Multiplication and division was still easy for him.

“How was it for your classmates?”

“It was tough for them too”

“Did you ask Shankar and Rahul?”

He expected that question. Shankar and Rahul were the toppers of his class. He actually used to ask them about their exam. They would tell him that it was tough, and then end up with some ninety five percent and above.

“Kutta? Will you accompany me to the temple?” Madhavan’s grandmother asked.

“I’m coming!” he replied, to avoid further quizzing by his mother. They went to the temple where his father worked as a priest. He was busy with his pujas.

“Bhagavane ! “ Madhavan prayed “I still do not understand how it would do any harm to me if the paper had been easier. And all that was asked were to ‘ integrate this’, ‘integrate that’!. I just hope that the evaluators show mercy while correcting our papers”

As he kept complaining about the exam, he noticed a frail, boy of about six or seven years old, praying. The innocence on the boy’s face gave it a pleasant glow, and then, Madhavan felt his voice being audible.

“Bhagavane! Bless the kind people who come here to pray. It is because of them that I got to pay my school fees”

Madhavan kept staring at the boy, who walked away in a slow, quiet manner.

As they stepped out of the temple, he saw his grandmother place a 100 rupee note in the palm of an old woman.

“Isn’t  100 rupees a bit too much to be given as alms?”

“Kutta, what do we have for dinner everyday?”

“Well, sometimes rice, and otherwise chappathis”

“Would it cost more than 100 rupees to buy rice, spices and vegetables altogether?”

“Well… yes”

“Then 100 rupees is very less. I’ve seen financially sound people give such small amount of money, like 50 paise, or one or two rupees as alms, as if they’d done a great work of charity, and then they go and buy useless trinkets. Moreover, that poor old lady has a grandson to feed”

That night, Madhavan’s thoughts were about the boy he saw at the temple. Paying his school fees was such a problem for him. Well, he did not know himself how much his father would pay for his studies every month. Then he brushed aside these thoughts, and lay down on his bed. The holidays have arrived, and it was such a relief.

But on the following days also, he saw the boy. As he helped his father with some work in the temple, he got to know more about him, who was orphaned when he was a toddler. The boy and his grandmother lived in a space between four dilapidated walls, which they called, their ‘home’.

But then, he noticed that the boy’s grandmother had not come to beg near the temple for a couple of days. What must have happened to her? Was she not well? The boy still visited the temple regularly.

He saw the boy again, one morning, as he poured payasam in small packets. The devotees would get a receipt for it and then receive it as their prasadam. The boy looked much weaker than usual, but still, his mind seemed to be much immersed in God.

Then, as though by some instincts, Madhavan got a receipt written for him and paid for it himself. Then he went closer to the boy and patted him.

“Come with me” he said.

The boy, startled, kept following him. Then Madhavan handed over a packet of payasam to the boy.

“But  Cheta, I haven’t paid for it”

“It’s paid already. Take it home”

The boy stared at Madhavan, with moist eyes. He walked away slowly, and on the way, turned back to look at him.

Poor boy, Madhavan thought. He must not have eaten for days, as his grandmother had not come begging for days. But, was a packet of payasam  enough for them?

He followed the boy quietly as he walked to his home.

“Ammama” he said “We’ve got something to eat”

“Who gave you this?” she asked.

“A boy in the temple” he replied “He gave this to me, and I did not have to pay for this”

He paused for a while

“Ammama, you tell me everyday that God would listen to our prayers, and help us in need.

I am sure, that it was Bhagvan himself who gave this to me. I found him today! I found our Bhagvan today.

Madhavan felt deeply touched by what he heard. Slowly, Madhavan smiled through the window, and knowing that he was far from their attention, quietly walked away.

FROM ANOTHER WORLD

FROM  ANOTHER  WORLD

The sky was wide and still,

With a multitude of glittering stars

And a smiling moon, ever so bright

As I stared from the window sill.

A fragment of the eternal dark

Of the calm and peaceful night.

I stared further, and there, I saw

A little speck of white

So tiny, but proclaimed its presence

Like a drop of milk on black granite.

A strange presence, I thought amongst

A thousand blazing stars

Like the fire, in the oil lamps lit,

Radiantly for hours.

But this little white wonder

Who never strained much

Gave me a thought to ponder.

Its eyes, like my sight

Had the power of flight

To see through the dark clouds

And throughout the endless night

Higher than our home, and reach the height

And find will I there, a world like ours

Find will I there, I might.

There will be flora and fauna, land and water

And weather, maybe colder or hotter.

People, who sleep at night and work all day

And children who laugh, cry and play.

Perhaps they have schools where they learn

Arts and sciences, so they may earn

More from their own world.

Now may be, a little child

Thither may stare from a window 

And smile and think if there might be

Like theirs, another world.

Niagara Falls- Nik Wallenda made historic Tightrope Crossing over the majestic Niagara Falls

That's me admiring the Majestic Niagara Falls.
Aerialist Nik Wallenda made a historic tightrope crossing over Niagara Falls on Friday night, stepping onto safe ground in Canada to wild cheers after completing his journey through wind and mist on a 2-inch (5-cm) cable.


Great Feat!

Shirley and her Angel Kittens..Soon to hit all book stores

Shirley and Her Angel Kittens...6

Shirley felt the wave of fresh air brush her hair, despite the mayhem and noise, as she rushed out to the lawn adjacent to her classroom.  She felt a strange feeling of calmness –like the silence before a major storm. It was the ringing of the school bell, the last time this year, signalling the onset of the vacation, and sent the children into pandemonium.  The children surely were overjoyed after the long stress of Annual exams.

This book is due to hit all book stores... Your prayers and good wishes shall make my maiden book a SUCCESS.

Read and Enjoy : “The Curious Kids” by arathi menon

The Twins

by Arathi Menon

‘Hi. I am Deepika. My friends call me Deepu. I am from Shalimar Colony where ‘anything’ can happen. I have had many experiences which seemed extraordinary since I shifted here. Well, this is one of them.

          That night, when it all began, I was home with my best friend Keerthi, my neighbor Razia, and my snooty cousin Shreya.

 “Do you remember our night shuttle challenge?” Keerthi asked me “The team who wins will get a box of chocolates and rise in their pocket money. This time, Razia is in my team”

“Okay then” I said “Shreya will be in my team”

                 Shreya might be a snob, but, I have to admit, she plays shuttle very well. Moreover, I knew she had other plans that night.

“I am not into any game tonight” Shreya said “I have to watch ‘Twilight’ tonight”

“It will come again on T.V” I said “Besides, you spend too much time in front of the television”

Shreya hesitated. “By the way, what is ‘Night shuttle’?”

“It is just shuttle!” Keerthi said “Played at night”

“Oh really” Shreya said “I am sorry, but my racket will not work at night”

               Shreya was used to make lame excuses. So she left me with no other option than to drag her to the backyard.

               We started the game very well, but Shreya smashed the cork, straight into Kumar uncle’s house, I mean ‘Terror-tory’. That’s where all the kids, especially I, fear to go. He will somehow get us grounded; by telling our parents some false complaints like ‘Sneaking into the kitchen’ or ‘Breaking the window’ or ‘Throwing a ball on his head’ (Even though they were all true for me).

“Shreya” said Keerthi “You smashed the cork there, you get it for us”

Shreya hesitated. Then we all forced her to go to the ‘Terror-tory’. So she climbed the wall and ‘Oops’ she fell.

                                                       We climbed the fence to see what happened. We found out that Shreya had fallen into a stinky compost pit.

“Urrgh!” cried Shreya “Get me out of here!”

“Not until you get our cork” said Keerthi

“Maybe it will be outside the pit” said Shreya.

“No, it’s not!” exclaimed Keerthi “It’s right there!”

Shreya picked the cork. At the same time, we heard someone laughing. It was a girl, about our age, laughing at us in the balcony of Kumar Uncle’s house, a two storied building chalked out by the moon.’

[This is just the first part of one of curious Deepika’s  experiences which she had with her equally curious friends.  For the remaining part of the story and her encounters with the unknown: Please wait until the next episode of:“The Curious Girls and the Twilight Twins”.]

Your Blessings and comments are welcome....

Contd..

The Curious Girls and the Twilight twins(contd…)

“You!” I cried “What are you doing here in this ‘Terrortory’? When Kumar Uncle finds out, you’ll be in trouble!”

“I don’t  think so !” she said gleefully “I am Reshma, his niece. Rohan! You got to come here!”

A boy of her age came to the balcony.

“Wait!” he said “let me pluck off this tooth. It hurts!”

“Well, this is my twin brother, Rohan” Reshma said “Rohan, we have some friends here”

“Ah!” he said “Got it out”

He threw the tooth, right on Shreya’s head.

“Oops” he cried.

“You have the whole backyard, and you just got my head to throw it on!” shouted Shreya furiously.

“Ignore her” I said “Where is Kumar Uncle? Please do not tell him that we were here”

“You need not worry about that” said Reshma “He is…….. out of town. We are alone here”

“Now that’s good news” cried Razia

“But still, I will miss his scoldings” I said.

“Reshma..” Rohan said “You should have tasted it. It was hard to bite him, but it was juicy”

“You finished it, right..”

“…..Yes”

“Now get me another one!” shouted Reshma

“Hey girls!” shouted Rohan “Why don’t you stay for a while!”

“Later!” I shouted back.

Just after we reached home….

“Hey Shreya!” shouted Keerthi “ There is something in your head. I will take it out for you”

Keerthi held out the thing. Surprisingly, it was an animal tooth.

“Hound tooth!” I cried

“Rohan’s tooth!” cried Razia

“Vampire tooth!” cried Shreya

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“Those twins are vampires!” she exclaimed “They looked spooky and I’m sure they have eaten Kumar Uncle. They tried to eat us too”

We looked at each other and we burst into laughter.

“Okay then, We’ll find out tomorrow” I said

The next day at school,   Keerthi and me were discussing about yesterday's strange incident.

“Are you sure that they are vampires” I asked her

“Not sure of it” she replied “but,I have found two points which can prove it. First, the tooth and then the fact that Kumar uncle is out of town”

“One more” I said “Kumar Uncle doesn’t like kids. Then how can he let them stay there, in the house alone”

“I guess, we should find out more about vampires” said Keerthi.

We rushed to the school library.

“Where will we find reference books?” I asked the librarian.

“You will get it in the shelf on the right” she said

We searched the whole shelf. Then Keerthi said “Surprising!There are books about almost everything, but not vampires”

The librarian looked at us as if 'we were ordering mutton kababs in a vegetarian restaurant'. Then she quickly hid her expression and said “You may try the shelf in the left. You may get what you want”

We selected a Vampire storybook and left the library. A teacher, who sat next to librarian, was still puzzled.

“Aren’t they weird?” the teacher asked the librarian “Why aren’t you surprised?”

“Why should I?” the librarian replied frankly “Last time, they came here searching for a book about operating magic lamps!”

When I got back home, Razia came running to us.

“What’s the matter Razia?” I asked her.She told me the matter and I wasn’t much surprised.

“They are Vampires!” she cried “Their hands were cold and they read my mind”

These were just the facts about a real vampire. I made up my mind to do something about it.

That evening, I went to their house

“Rohan! Reshma! You are busted!”

The twins came out , surprised.

“I know that you are vampires!”

The twins burst into laughter.

“Beware!” I cried “I have garlics!”

“Who's shouting there” a familiar voice called out. It was none other than angry Kumar uncle. The twins told the matter and Kumar uncle laughed out loud.

“Kumar Uncle!” I exclaimed “You’re alive!”

“Yes” he said “What makes you think that they are vampires?”

“Now I’m convinced” I said, not to be laughed at  any more “Would you mind them coming home?”

“Yes” he said “If you don’t mind letting vampires in!”

I fled the place

The ‘Vampire’ story spread like fire in the colony. One day, the twins came to visit us.

“What a co-incidence!” Shreya exclaimed “You had all features of a vampire. How did you get it?”

“We’ll tell you later” Rohan said “Come home for dinner. We’ll enjoy eating you for sure”

They smiled, showing us their big teeth. Then ,within seconds, they disappeared. We paused for a while and then, somewhere in the dark..an owl hooted....we screamed!!!

The End