THE END

09:40:05 P.M, Yesterday

             He was waiting for her. It was cold and overcast. He pulled his jacket closer. The weather seemed to reflect his mood. He touched his gun to his cheek, feeling the cold metal. He would do it today. He had to. He wanted to see those pretty eyes widen in shock. This would be the final act. His Judgment.

                She must suffer for loving him; for leaving him; and for still loving him. Just as he had borne all her wrath.  Yes, the mistake had been his, his alone, but the price he had paid was far too much. And for that, she’ll pay now; with her life.  As he was rolling these thoughts around his head, he heard footfall.

              It was her. Those round, brown eyes; like a Japanese doll. His own moonbeam. He was entranced, just as he always was.  He scurried behind some bushes, out of sight. She walked past, as if in a spell. He realized that she must be thinking about him. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. “Tomorrow”, he said to himself and hurried back. 

09:40:05 P.M, Yesterday

           The pain was excruciating. She could not bear this emptiness in her. Leaving him hadn’t been easy. She knew it never would be. They had been too close for that. Still, she had to do it. There was no alternative. She tried to drive the thoughts off her mind. The park was silent, which did not help her cause. Then she saw him crouched behind some bushes, looking at her.

             She wanted run towards him, hug him and say everything was fine and they could go back to being just as they were, but she knew it was beyond reclamation. All spoiled by one moment of blind hatred. Part of her wanted him to run to her, hug her and say everything was fine but she knew life did not work that way. She walked past him; still hoping life did work that way.  

09:30:33 P.M, Today

                  He was waiting for her.  It was a beautiful clear night, and the moon was a thin two day crescent. Jupiter shone brilliantly in the east amid the faint stars of Pisces.  Even the night was conspiring against him, sneering, reminding him of all those nights he had spent with her under this same, star-dotted dome. That seemed a lifetime ago; those stolen moments of unadulterated bliss. Now he was tensed, and felt his shirt damp against his damp skin. The park’s nocturnal inhabitants were now waking up. He heard crickets droning, frogs croaking and the rustle of leaves as a snake slithered somewhere. “Focus”, he said to himself and mentally rehearsed what he had to do, as he hid his gun in his jacket. Then he saw her.

09:30:33 P.M, Today

                The park seemed the same. She knew he would be there today too; waiting for her as always. Today she wanted to talk. This stalking had to stop. All stories had to end somewhere. May be this might end happily ever after. She looked up. Jupiter shone brilliantly in the east amid the faint stars of Pisces. He had taught her star gazing; she thought that the night was telling her how delightful those days had been; those unending nights of looking at the stars, resting on his shoulders. She made up her mind. They had to talk. Then she saw him. 

09:31:00 P.M, Today

                He came out into the path. They stared at each other; all those years between them. She ran into his arms, sobbing. She felt him stiffen, but he relaxed immediately. They hugged, still sobbing. Slowly hand in hand, they started walking back, silent. They just needed each other’s presence. No words were necessary. No words would be enough.

                He felt her hands in his, warm and soft. She was his goddess, his muse, his unborn child, his dead mother. He felt ashamed that he had even thought of a punishment. He would make it up to her, he thought, devoting his entire life for her. Just to be with her as she grew old and pale; to be always there holding her hand.

                 She felt his hand in hers, hard and strong. He had taught her to appreciate the world and life; he had made her who she was. Nothing would bring them apart now. Everything was forgotten. It was all just a hazy dream in the realms of her subconscious. She would have been happy even if the world had ended right then. They walked back to his place and got married the next day. It was bliss. It was an entire lifetime.

09:31:02 P.M, Today

              He was calm, as he took the Glock 17 out of his pocket. He saw her eyes widening, scared. She knew. And he knew he couldn’t through with it if he heard her voice. 

“I love you”, he said, his voice breaking.

Then he shot himself. 

------------

A Short Story by my friend, Bharathwaj Ranganathan, that lazy genius who refuses to write more

Go Crazy..Write a Blog

               My blogging cycle works like this: An idea occupies my mind, I get obsessed with the idea, pour it out in my blog and then torture dozens of my poor friends to read it and forcefully make them say it is good. Then laziness prevails for few months before the cycle begins all over again.

                Today was one such day when the cycle should have begun. I had a couple of ideas in mind that I had to write about when I, fatefully, asked my bro for his opinion. He came up with the idea of me, not him, writing stories/posts on my blog and publishing it as a collection. His logic was if Chetan Bhagat and Amish can do it, why can’t I? I am also a Tech+MBA. But I am more of an analyst than a creative thinker, for which my bro came up with the catchphrase of the day,” If you dont try, you will never know what you are capable of”. Then began a deeply intellectual conversation that would put Raghuram Rajan and Albert Einstein to shame.

                So what follows is an initial list of what all one can write in a blog. 

The “Awwww.. How Romantic” Type:

                This series would have stories like “How I almost fell in love”. This is especially for people like who never fell in love but would somehow try to exaggerate every flirt of his into a looonngg and romantic love story, like the day a girl asked me if she had lost weight and I told her the truth. There can also be stories like “Why I never fell in love”, but this is for those guys who have been dumped by more than half a dozen girls. The focus should be on showing that you are above petty things like love, that you are more focused on your career or that girls are stupid.

The  “Fail!! Fail!!.” Series

                These posts can have titles something like “Falling in Love is no easy business” which is especially for those people who have always been ready to fall in love but no girl even registered his existence or every girl considered him a brotherly friend. This would be primarily because of getting tongue-struck in front of girls or the inability to stop talking the truth. Another post can be “Be a man and start crying” which is for those souls who pour out their feelings on blog because no one listens to them. Being drunk is a prerequisite for this. There is a breed of shameless men who just don’t realize the “Fail!! Fail!!” moment and carry on life as always. This can be titled, “Fallen down..no sand in moustache”. You need to be proud of your moustache to completely appreciate the title.

                For people who are screwed/insulted/failed/embarrassed in whatever they do, there is a special idea which can be named, “Hit me above the belt, please”.

The “appo, naan than out aa?” series: Roughly translates to “I am screwed, my friends are not“

                This is especially for MBAs who use none of what they studied in their work (“MBA is empty business”) or imagine they actually apply their learning (“6 reasons why you need to do an MBA”). There is also a very small breed of MBAs who work in factories wearing uniforms and are jealous of everyone else. This is for them-“Uniformed MBA in a techie world”. One common thing among all these is that these people realize that their friends without MBA have achieved more than them. 

 The “Go crazy.. Write a Blog” series:

                Finally there is this type of post that one can write called the “Go Crazy.. Write a Blog” where you write shit about nothing and waste a few mins of everyone’s life reading it, like I just did.

                Well, my brother had to go shopping, else I would have written a book on a 100 more ideas.

                Any praises (hopeless scenario) or any brickbats for this blog post are reserved exclusively for my bro.

Western hypocrisy and the forgotten people of Syria

              Power, you know, is a curious disease. It makes you feel virtuous, urges you to use that power, selectively, on imaginary threats, encourages you to build more power and more importantly makes you think you are superior to others and that you have the right to intervene in the lives of others. The United States of America is afflicted by such a disease. This contagious disease originated from the UK and France, past superpowers and faltering economies who still wish to think they are powerful. These self proclaimed Guardians of the World see no use for the designated Guardian, the United Nations, in running the affairs of the world.

                We are of course talking about Syria, a country torn due to a mismanaged version of the mismanaged Arab Spring. It is being destroyed from within and outside, with rebels being aided by the Western and allied powers and the government supported by Russia and Iran. Education system is dead, economy has collapsed, inflation has shot up, hospitals are destroyed and government mechanisms do not exist anymore.

                Compare the following two quotes.

"When you start talking about chemical weapons, in a country that has the largest stockpile of chemical weapons in the world, where over time, their control over chemical weapons may erode, where they're allied to known terrorist organizations that, in the past, have targeted the United States, then there is a prospect, a possibility, in which chemical weapons that can have devastating effects could be directed at us. And we want to make sure that that does not happen.”

"Iraq has chemical and biological weapons, that Saddam has continued to produce them, that he has existing and active plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be active within 45 minutes. . .and that he is actively trying to acquire nuclear weapons capability”

            Don’t they sound very similar and very similarly far-fetched? The second was from the speech given by Tony Blair to the British people to justify the Iraq War and the first was by Barack Obama. Yes, the only Nobel Peace Prize Winner to head a country that owns as many nuclear weapons, fighter planes and warships that all other countries combined. The Peace Prize laureate also abandoned a country they invaded with the most absurd of claims, is planning to abandon the next and lost their Ambassador in another misstep in a third.

It was actually fascinating to observe how “evidence” of chemical use by Syrian government flowed from “traces” to “mostly credible” to “undeniable” over a couple of weeks. The evidence is anyways based on Israel’s intelligence, questionable sources amongst the rebels and the fact the UN officials were too late to reach the spot. Interestingly, Al-Qaeda is fighting with the rebels as is the USA. Till recently, Al-Qaeda was Enemy No.1 for the US, but now has apparently been usurped by the Hezbollah.

So, what are the less absurd reasons that US has now to attack Syria?  

•  Syria has violated the Chemicals Use convention which it never ratified anyway
• Syrian weapons will land into the hands of people who may hurt United States and its allies. This obviously means Israel, but no-one seems to remind the President that Al-Qaeda can also end up controlling the weapons
• Iran will become more powerful, an obvious paranoia that Israel is obsessed with
• The President’s ego is at stake. Syria has refused to heed his warning, it has to be punished. Well, yeah, Obama is the presiding deity of Syria
• The UN Security Council motion will be vetoed by Russia and China, which, in essence, means they won’t be deceived like with the Libyan Resolution

And what are the reasons quoted by the US politicians and media against US unilateral military action? 

•   American soldiers’ life will be at stake. John Kerry has this wise solution that we will bomb Syria from our safe Nuclear warships stationed all across the Mediterranean Saudi Peninsula 
•  This is an action without a plan
•  Will put tremendous stress on the US economy
•  We do not have UK to share our burden
•  But McCain takes the cake here. He says that the action is not hawkish enough, that the attacks have to be heavier, more disproportionate

        Did any of you here notice that Syrian people, their well being or their wishes have not been mentioned in the entire discourse at all? At best, it appears as a footnote.

What is the plan of action? What will happen after you destroy the chemical weapons? What if Iran gets involved in the War? What do the people of Syria want? What about the rebels? What after Assad? Do we have any plan for the Syrian people’s health or education? What about Democracy in Syria? What are the lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya?

There are no answers to these. Actually, the western powers act as if these questions don’t exist at all.

             Amidst all this, two questions arise. If a couple of countries can assume control of the world, what is the United Nations for? If the IBSA countries have to rise above the current level of emerging nations, what is their role in these conflicts? Does it end with statements like “exercise caution” and “adhere to people’s aspirations”?

              

           Well, as I said, Power is a curious disease. Rome, Greece, Spain, the Papacy, Britain and USA have behaved the same way. 100 years hence, when China or some other country rules the world, I am afraid they will behave the way. History repeats itself.

When (and if) the BJP comes to Power...

            I am of the firm opinion that the BJP and Congress are right now engaged in an epic battle – the battle of mediocrity. While Congress is trying their best to become the worst ruling party ever with all their blunders (forget it, I am not even mentioning them), the BJP has given them tough competition by being the worst opposition party ever, matching the Congress on every scale possible. So come 2014, the fortunes of the country would more or less be decided by such dependable and trustworthy characters like Mulayam, Mayawati, Mamata and Jayalalitha.

            But, with all the hype and hoopla around Modi, assuming the BJP comes to power, I have some apprehensions.

            Will Veer Savarkar statues start mushrooming in the country? Will Veer Savarkar and Hindu Nationalism again become part of the Indian Independence Struggle in the history syllabi of schools? Will the chapter on Indian festivals fail to mention a single Muslim festival?

            Will Bajrang Dal, Sri Ram Sena and all the other fringe groups of RSS gain some prominence? Will anti-Valentine’s day threats and other such social policing become prevalent? And will police, of course, remain as silent as ever?

            Will terrorism increase? And when there is a terrorist attack, will it be responded with unnecessary anti-Muslim sentiment?

            What will happen to India Pakistan relations? The next time a border skirmish happens, will we build forces along the border and threaten disproportionately and needlessly?

            Will Hindu festival rallies increase and clog traffic? Will similar rallies of other religions be rejected permissions?

Will Gujarat riot cases and other encounter cases suddenly end? And will Sikh riot cases reopen?

Will the dream of Lokpal be crushed permanently? There is no way a strong Lokpal is going to be created with NaMo on top, after all the drama in his state.

            After Congress bored us to death with hundreds of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru schemes, yojanas and missions, will it now be the turn of Sardar Valabhbhai Patel and AB Vajpayee schemes?

            The list goes on. But, thinking about it, if better roads are built, corruption is reduced, manual scavenging is stopped, economy improves equitably, diseases are tackled, essential services are delivered efficiently, I wouldn’t actually be unhappy with BJP. The trade-off between the concerns and the benefits, I hope, works to the country’s betterment.