For your eyes only..

(The pressure project is almost over and I am enjoying the festive season now. Also have some plans to go to Munnar-Alleppy during the year-end. Thought I will delurk today to share an event. Trivial, but have to get started anyway.)

I and Kuhoo used to take short trips to Delhi from Dehradun. We were enjoying our first year of marriage. Our trips were hardly planned, most of times, we used to dump few t-shirts, jeans and a towel and head started for any place within an hour.

Dehradun Shatabdi express used to leave New Delhi around 7’o clock in the morning. Around the same time, from same platform number, another Shatabdi (Swarna Shatabdi) used to leave for Amritsar. The two trains used to stand in line, Dehradun Shatabdi ahead of Swarna Shatabdi.

As usual we reached during the last minute and jumped into the train. It was a little less crowded though. We threw ourselves on the chairs and tried to catch breath.

“I am coming in few minutes,” Kuhoo went towards the rest room. I waited for the train to start.

Even after 15 minutes, train did not start and, Kuhoo did not return.

A little worried, I went up to check. I checked all the rest rooms in adjacent bogeys, there was no sign of her. I got anxious.

I approached a TTC standing nearby. He directed me towards one Mr Sharma, a fat and aged looking person who worked for railway protection force.

By that time, I had lost my bearings; I spoke, “My Kuhoo is missing. Can you help?” (I spelled Kuhoo instead of wife. Mr Sharma thought she is my daughter.)

“Relax. Train is delayed for an hour. Have you checked everywhere?”

“Yes. No sign”.

“What is she wearing?”

“I am not sure. I red or pink top and blue or black jeans perhaps”.

“Come on, you should pay attention to these things”.

“I am sorry”. (I was trying to remember. She has a dozen of similar looking tops. It’s humanly impossible to figure out the difference. )

“I will get this announced right away. What’s her age?”

“26”.

“Is she? Oh. Your wife? Your wife is missing?” Mr Sharma suddenly appeared a little relaxed.

“Yes.”

“Have you called on her mobile?”

“I did. It is switched off”.

“See I don’t think one can kidnap her here. Please don’t mind my asking. “Were you in good terms with her? Any possibility of her running away?”

I ridiculed the question. “We love each other, and she will never run away”. (I am not that lucky anyways till today)

“I understand it’s difficult for you to search in this crowd, but keep looking. I will get this announced”.

As he turned towards the gate, I saw Kuhoo coming. I called back Mr Sharma.

“Where were you?” I almost shouted.

Kuhoo was smiling, “I heard train is delayed for an hour. I saw Komal in Amritsar Shatabdi. I sat with her inside. I was seeing you from there. What happened?”

“Yaar you didn’t tell me. How will I know?. I can’t see you in hundreds of people here”.

“But I can”. Kuhoo blinked.

Mr Sharma too smiled, “See you can’t find your wife in crowd, but she can”.

Kuhoo started towards the train. Mr Sharma came again. “Well this also means she always keeps an eye on you”. (She still does. But that's life. Isn't it ?)

Cruelty..

(A few months back (!) IHM tagged me to write on Cruelty. Blame it to the stupid projects or the stupid ways I am doing them, I have not been able to blog these days. I hope to be regular from now on.)

Some questions come when I think about ‘Cruelty’.

Is cruelty about causing pain and distress, heartlessly, deliberately? How is that measured? Is it based on the inhumanity of assaulter or the suffering of the victim or the perception an observer will carry?

I have some observations:

• My elder cousin used to bully me for chocolates, front seat, toys and for almost everything we were asked to share during childhood days. My cousin never realized that and at very few times anyone observed that. It was a cruelty and I was the victim.
• Once I threw stones on the frogs in our kitchen garden during rainy season. I did not realize what I am doing, my mom saw it late. By that time I had killed one. It was again a cruelty and the frog was the victim.
• On the first day in college, I was asked to go and get the size of b** of the girls in my section. I was slapped by some of the girls. And then I was slapped by my seniors too for missing entries. It was cruelty that my principal did not see; I almost cried while my seniors (including senior girls) laughed.
• My first girl friend left me because she had found a richer guy to marry. She had to do that; no one observed that. It was cruelty that I could not bear and I cried.

I think all of us are Cruel by instinct though some of us can be a little less cruel than others. Perhaps we are animals; at least some kind of. But we have to live with that.

We have also seen the Cruelty of nature. Again we have to live with that.

The complications are when we look at Cruelty for a reason (acceptable or otherwise).

• Consider a victim of cruelty. Consider I act back against my cousin, my girl friend etc. I found one of my friends ragging the freshers because he was ragged in his first year. But all this is still a cruelty. At least to an observer who is unaware of the past. Actually an observer can never know the complete details. His viewpoint will remain skewed towards what and how he has been informed.
• I called the Pest Control guys and ensured all cockroaches, rats and mosquitoes get killed. The rat poison chokes the air supply to rat’s heart. It comes out in air to breath and dies in open due to breathing failure. Perhaps I will never do that again; perhaps I will do that again, when rats re-start cutting the electrical wires of my car and appliances. I don’t know.
• I have seen cruelty inflicted on a daughter-in-law when required dowry could not be given. I have also seen the cruelty inflicted on a mother-in-law who was forced out of his son’s house.
• Non-acceptable reasons for cruelty are something we must watch out and react against. To increase vote bank, some politicians in my country create distances between two religion, communities and people. The most powerful country in the world creates imbalance between countries to sell arms and to gain regional controls.
• I felt so angry when a shameful incident took place in my state in a pub. Such sick people need to be brought to the law. I have seen movies on war crimes, genocide etc. This tells me about cruelty due to mental disorders.

Action against Cruelty by Instinct or acceptable reasons can be patience and forgiveness. We all have these tendencies as well, again in varying proportions.

Action against Cruelty of Nature is to care of it a little more. It may be cruel but it’s lovely too. Most of us love nature though it shows the ugly face sometimes.

Cruelty for un-acceptable reasons must be retaliated individually and collectively. Laws of society, state and countries have been drawn for them. If need be, they need to be re-drawn. We must express this in all forms.

A Wet Towel Dilemma...

Yesterday morning, I came out of bathroom, half naked. As usual I was racing against the clock to start for office. Dressed myself and came out for breakfast.

“Have you left the wet towel again on the bed”, Kuhoo inquired arranging the plates.

Shoulders down, I tried my standard answer, “There was no other place”.

She smiled like a stubborn boss, “There are lots of places to keep if you look around”. I normally don’t argue back when she is smiling; you’ll never know what is in her sleeves.

But the problem continues and here I explain.

• The bathroom is attached to the bedroom. The most visible object I see coming out of the bathroom is my bed.

• It’s also the place where my shirt and trousers are kept for wearing that day. Jumping on one leg when I put on the trousers, the bed is the only place I can throw the towel.

• And I must free my hands to secure the buttons and zip else the outcome can be worse, considering my maid can anytime barge into the room without knocking the door even once.

• The other option I have is to go jumping on one leg towards the balcony and keep the towel on the wire. But the problem is - my balcony is visible from my hot padosan’s kitchen. She is the spice of my life currently and I don’t want to be seen by her when I am not properly dressed.

• I could have attempted a Salman or even a John Abraham, but the problem is I have only one pack to show.

• Twice I gave that to Adi to keep the towel on a chair. But he tied that around his neck and started running around, “I am Per-man”.

• Once I threw it under the bed but that night I was asked to wash it.

Friends actually I don’t want to test Kuhoo patience but I am running short of ideas. Can you help?