My Escape

My mornings are always greeted with an unpleasant alarm, which sounds more like a malfunctioning sewing machine. I was still rubbing my eyes, preparing to take my first yawn of the morning, when I heard someone shouting at top of his voice "Hurry Up. It's getting late for the school". As I got up from my bed, I started feeling jealous of my neighbour-next-lane taking gentle bath. I don't even remember the last time, I had a bath. Looking at my neighbours having fun with soap and water, I wish, I could be like one of them.

I halfheartedly pack my bags and get ready to be dropped to school. As I see my fellow classmates, zooming past me at lightening speed, I wish, I could be like one of them.

Time for some breakfast.

As I wait for my food to be served, the same mundane grass, I get to eat every single day, I look at the sumptuous food, being served to other classmates right in front of my eyes. As I see my classmates feasting on them, I could taste those delicious dishes one day.

As I land in my school, no body looks at me. As my classmates rush to take front seat, I feel isolated. I find a corner in a big class room to make peace with. Teachers keep coming and going throughout the day, but no body seems to be bothered about my presence. I waited for my turn, which never arrives.

As sun was preparing to wave good-bye, I suddenly heard a kiss of death. I watched myself helplessly being thrashed from all different corners by none other than my fellow classmates. I cried for help, but to no avail. I tried running away, but there was no escaping their clutches.

Time to pack your bags, folks.

As I waited for my turn to be picked up, I wondered why I am always the last one to be picked. As I see my classmates making their way in front of me, I wish I could be like one of them.

When I reached home, somebody seem to be angry with me. I was still searching for a reason, when I received a tight slap on my face. Your Punishment for the day; "Go to bed on empty stomach". While my neighbours have the luxury of sleeping under a shade, some fortunate ones even have a spacious bedroom, I have to fend for myself under an open sky. As I see my fellow neighbours being caressed to sleep with warm cotton mattress draped around their body, I wish, I could be one of them.

Battered and bruised, I lay down on my bed, nothing but bare floor. With my eyes closed, I start dreaming about the day of my escape. A dream, I know, will never materialize. But the proverbial perennial hope lingers on.

PS: This was an exercise on personalization and my pick was a discarded vehicle at a driving school.

An Inconvenient Truth Continued ...

Can you see something in the sky ?? Raj pointed his forefinger towards a non-existent aeroplane in the sky.

Gopi : No Raj, I can't see anything

Suhash : I can see some birds and blue sky underneath.

Raj (with a touch of arrogance) : It is like Arjun. Only I can see, what other can't see. Someday, I have to ride that aircraft (fingers pointing towards vacuum) and be airborne over this village.

What would you want, Sir. Tea or Coffee ?? The air-hostess's sweet voice kissed Raj's eardrums and woke him up. Black coffee without sugar, ma'm, Raj promptly replied.

Raj : Can your father give me a drop to station tomorrow night ??
Gopi: Sure, he can.
Raj: Promise
Gopi: Promise.

As the cows started coming home, Raj was busy packing his bags. It was the shriek of an owl on a mango-tree, that started worrying Raj. It was nearly 7 and Gopi's father was no where to be seen. Suddenly, he heard someone knocking on his door frantically and shouting Raj Raj, Where are you ?? Raj rushed outside only to see Gopi with his father's hand-pulled rickshaw. Are you ready ?? Yes, I am. But where is your father ?? He is lying on a deathbed running high temperature. But don't worry, I am here. Raj didn't waste anytime and boarded the rickshaw. Along the way, Gopi picked his father and had him sit next to Raj. He was barely recognizable with this face turned pitch dark, even though it was a full moon, his face was hardly visible to Raj. This is no ordinary fever, Gopi, Raj exclaimed with a concerning tone. Yes, this is no ordinary fever. This is dengue, that's why I am taking him to a doctor's place. Raj had read about dengue only in his school-text books, so he remained oblivious to the real pain, Gopi's father was going through. After plenty of anxious moments, finally they reached the station, minutes before the train left. As Gopi waved goodbye to Raj, last words came from his father : A promise is a promise. I kept mine, I hope you will keep yours.

Veg or Non-Veg, the chef's voice broke the silence inside the waiting room and woke Raj from his slumbers.


PS: These two pieces on "An Inconvenient Truth" were written as part of a writing workshop, hope to complete it soon.

An Inconvenient Truth

As Raj got down from the general compartment of the local train, he hardly noticed any changes to the railway-station, he had last seen nearly 25 years ago. As he prepared himself to incline his trolley so that it could stroll along, suddenly a 10-12 years old child came and with a pleading tone said "Aap kasht kyon karte hain Malik , Hum hain naa". This was Mohan, son of Gopi, with whom Raj had spent his entire childhood with. Gopi's father used to ferry Raj's parents and grandparents, now it was Gopi's son's turn to ferry Raj's children, even though Mohan himself was not much older than Raj's kids. As Raj looked around, he noticed the same set of sweet shops, with the number of flies comfortably outnumbering the number of sweets, same set of tea-stalls, except for a new whitewash and some new brands of packages water and namkins. Some children in their early teens were still roaming naked, playing around the discarded station-building and rail tracks.

As Raj made his way through the station on a hand-pulled rickshaw pulled by a minor, he wondered : Though the world continues progressing, the law of natural progression seems to have deserted this village. The village almost defies the law of nature. Who is responsible ?? He murmured. Deep down, he knew the answer, but he was too ashamed and frightened to admit it.

Giant Goggles at Google !!

When we first told MAD children that as part of Placement Activity, we are going to visit offices of Google, almost all faces in the classroom drew a blank. They had seen Goggles, on their favourate hero/heroine's eyes, but never heard anything about a company called Google. So we had to explain a bit.

• Google is like a book available to everyone for free, which can be used for searching anything and everything. The number of pages in Google "book" is way more than anybody's imaginations, we could see some confused faces, as if to suggest it would definitely take some effort to carry the Google "book" :-)
• Google can tell you how far your father's office or your home is from your school. Now, we could see some interest building up.
• Sitting right inside your room, you can take a tour of entire world, including places you have never been to, places you always want to see. We could see some excitement in the class.
• Google is a dream company for most of the people, working in IT firms. 

Now we could gauge the mood in the class, almost everybody was ready, all they wanted to know were the dates of Google campus visit !! And when we told them about the SECRET SANTA gifts for the kids during the visit, their excitement just increased many-fold. Only later, we came to know that as many as 75 kids had written letters to Santa, some of them as many as 10 days prior to the visit.

So, here we go to Google campus with a batch of MAD students,with their eyes filled with dreams ,faces lit with smiles & hearts full of happiness & Joy. When we stepped in Google's awesome campus, kids were amazed that people work here (They thought, why would someone waste his or her time working, this was a campus tailor made for playing !!). Once we completed the tour of Google campus, we had an awesome lunch inside Google Cafeteria. This was followed by some very good career oriented sessions from heads of different departments at Google, like Facilities , Security , Catering and House-Keeping. The educational session was closed by a 1 hour session by one of the Senior Manager (Director) at Google, which really motivated our kids a lot. They also got a chance to know more about Google's products like Google Maps, Google Earth, which truly amazed them a great deal.

Once the "classes" were over, it was time for fun and play !! They walked into Google Theater room and started watching lot of videos, cartoons on a Big Screen. It was also an occasion to put theory learned during prior sessions into practice. They started taking a tour around Bangalore using Google map. They started exploring the world using Google Earth. Starting with the great Taj Mahal, they saw all wonders of the World and many other places, they get to hear about/see only in books and stories. Their adventure was complete with a great homecoming with their Hostel's building (including its lush green playground) in a Big Screen :)

The jaw dropping silence, the Oohs, the Aahs, the Wows were a treat to watch for all the fellow MAD volunteers.

But picture abhee baki thee, The Google story was far from over, there was more to come in form of a secret Christmas gift for all the kids. Any guesses, who was going to give them these gifts ?? Santa, ofcourse !!  So on the D-day, when they finally got a chance to meet their Santas, the joy in their eyes was absolutely priceless.

We were somewhat skeptical of how the children would feel at the end of the day. Will they be in awe of this great company called Google and amazing environment inside Google campus ?? But at the end, it turned out to be one of the most exciting and awesome Placement Activities at MAD. Thanks to Google for giving us an opportunity to MAD children, Thanks to MAD for being a facilitator for these under-privileged kids’ and last but not the least Thanks to all MAD volunteers for putting up a wonderful show and instilling the belief in all MAD students that "Don't Stop Believing" !!

This blog post was submitted as part of my application for "Blog Admin" for an awesome organization called MAD (Make A Difference). The task was to clean up the following sample post, make it presentable, and ready for the internet audience and this was to be done without changing the original intent of the author.

Sample Write Up
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"Eyes filled with dreams , Faces lit with smiles & Hearts full of happiness & Joy :)" all of this happened in during one of the most exciting and awesome Placement Activity at Google.

People working in the top IT firms dream of working for THE GOOGLE. When the kids were told where they were going, their excitement was inexplicable.

When we stepped in Google's awesome campus kids were amazed that people work here . We had awesome lunch with our kids in Google and then very good career oriented sessions from Heads of different departments of Google like Facilities , Security , Catering and the 1 hour session by one of the Senior Manager (Director) which really motivated our kids a lot.

Then kids watched lot of videos , cartoons in Google's Theater and got a chance to know more about Google's products like Google Earth which was really amazing , they saw all Wonders of the World and many other places and also their Hostel's building  via Google Earth in a Big Screen :)

The Oohs and Aahs and the wonder in their eyes were a treat to the eyes of all the volunteers.

The Google story dosent end there... it had a Christmas gift for all the kids. And who was gonna give them those gifts? Santa, ofcourse !!

Kids were all excited when we told them about the SECRET SANTA  theme for the kids. So 75 kids wrote letters to Santa some 10 days back . And today they got a chance to meet their Santas.

It was a just awesome to see the happiness in their eyes whole day

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Project 5 Speech at Toastmasters - Your Body Speaks

My morning was greeted with a a Breaking News and surprisingly it was not my wife (pause). It was an idiot box, predicting the unthinkable, a submerged London, and a largely inundated Mumbai by 2100. My wife was overly concerned, but I was as cool as a cucumber. I glanced through Bangalore Mirror and noticed a full page advertisement about some people dressed as super heroes and heroines, claiming to be Earth Warriors. I had heard enough about warriors in Indian mythology and history, even Star Warriors, but Planet Warriors ?? They seem to belong to species, worried about anything and everything around. worried about the air, worried about the water, worried about the soil, worried about insecticide, pesticide, food additives, green-house gases, saving endangered species.

Good afternoon fellow toastmasters and guests, Let me tell you about endangered species. Saving endangered species is just one more arrogant attempt by humans to control nature. Over 90%, way over 90%, of all the species that have ever lived on this planet are gone..Whoosh..They are extinct. We didn't kill them all ?? (pause) This list includes monsters like Dynasours and small/tiny creatures like Dodo. They just vanished !! That's what nature does. Even today as we speak, they are disappearing at the rate of 25 every day. So regardless of our behavior, 25 species that are existing today, will be gone tomorrow. Let them go gracefully ?? Leave nature alone. Why interfere in nature's affairs ??

How about global warming ?? It will surprise you that in 70's and 80's, people were worried about global cooling. Now it is turn of global warming !! And just in case somebody questions their claims, they renamed it back to Climate Change !! If you look at earth's temperature over the past 1000 years, it has remained more or less constant. There has been an increase of about one degree Fahrenheit (half of one degree Celsius), I will not be surprised if this deviation is because of insufficient data, wrong assumptions and could very well turns out to be a human error :-) Remember your college day Eletrical Engineering Experiments where you had equipments showing their efficiency more than 100% :-) The earth has natural cycles of warming and cooling that have more to do with sunspots, solar wind cycles, and volcanic/tectonic activity. And we think the car that we drive (pause) the autos we ride (pause) the refrigerator we use (pause) the tissue papers that we use and throw are causing all this!!
 

Everybody around is busy saving something.
  Save the water, Save the paper

  Save the trees, Save the bees

  Save the whales, Save those snails

and the greatest arrogance of all, Save the Planet. What save the planet ?? Are these people kidding me ?? We don't know how to take care of ourselves, but we make an overly pompous claim of saving this planet !!

I am tired of these so-called environmentalists talking about saving the planet all the time. I am tired of hearing about Earth Day, tired of these Go-Green activists. The only thing, I am not tired of, is all those good-looking models, going nude to increasing awareness; about what ?? environment conservation !! Going nude for planet, (pause) I am sure there are better ways to save the planet !!

And besides there is nothing wrong with the planet, absolutely nothing wrong with the planet. Compared to ourselves, Planet is going great. Planet has been here for 4 and 1/2 billion years, and we humans have been here for what 100 thousand(pause) may be 200 thousand years. And we have been engaged in heavy industries for only about 200 years. Do your maths, folks; 200 years versus 4 and half billion ?? And we still concede that somehow we are a threat, somehow we are putting into jeopardy this beautiful little blue green ball that is just floating around the sun, as if to suggest that humans are the worst thing to have happened to this planet.

Planet has been through a lot worse that this. It has been through earth quakes, volcanos, sun spots, magnetic storms, hundreds and thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids, world wide floods, fire, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice-ages.

And we think some plastic bags ;(pause) Some aluminium cans ?; (Pause) Some extra trees are goiing to make a difference ??

Planet is not going anywhere, We are !! We are going away. Pack your bags, folks, because the planet will be here for a long, long time, even after we are gone. It will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, because that is what is does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if we think, plastic is not degradable, it will find a way to recycle it. After all, Plastic came out of the earth, could possibly the ONLY reason why nature allowed HUMANS. It wanted Plastic for itself, didn't know how to make it, so invented humans :-). But when we humans do go, for the planet, this will be just another failed mutation, just another closed and biological mistake, just another step in evolution.

Now let me give you somethings about state of humans
  One out of 4 kids worldwide is malnourished, by 2025, this number is going to increase upto 450 million.
  Nearly half of Indian population don't have access to toilets
  Millions of people go to bed with an empty stomach every day, not knowing what they will have during next day lunch either
  1,00,000 kids are being forces to fight a war each year
Are these stats serious enough to warrant our attention ?? They surely are. In fact, to be honest they are frightening and should scare the hell out of us. I am not saying we should stop bothering about our Planet, but I am sure there better things to be done, there are bigger fishes to fry. Let's try to save ourselves first, the human beings. Planet knows how to save itself !! It is the humans who are at threat more than the planet !!

Over to you Toastmaster.