Turned Table

FICTION


Jack was feeling anxious already. He knew it was a mistake to go in place of his
friend to meet a girl as a blind date but he had agreed to do it on a whim, maybe he was too irritated that day, he cursed himself again. He wouldn’t make such promises again, now that he knew how uneasy it felt to do this .

He didn’t wear any fancy clothes, thinking she wouldn’t be much worth it, whoever she is.. ‘must be desperate, otherwise nobody would’ve agreed for a blind date..hope I can escape without talking to her somehow. He absentmindedly scratched his head. Well here I am ,at the restaurant right at the time ,at the right table…hope she wont turn up, I can lie to him anyway later.

Then he saw a beautiful girl entering the restaurant. To his eternal surprise she started walking towards him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. It was as if things bloomed around her. His heart started beating fast. He had never felt such a rush before. He knew in a moment that she was made for him. It was as if all his fantasies came true. He could think of nothing else for the moment. He noticed he was sweating. She made her way towards him slowly. Came near him and asked , with widened eyes ‘hi ,are you john?’

Jack was in a dilemma. He knew as per his previous idea he had to say yes to that question. But now he was not so sure about it.
He suddenly made a decision. And started talking, oddly his tongue felt dry..he could mumble few words incoherently.

‘Beg you pardon?’ she asked again..now sounding not so sure in her voice
“h…hi listen to me please.. I ‘m jack and I came in place of him ..he had challenged me and I accepted foolishly. Will you please sit with me?? I can explain it better..I don’t want our relationship to begin with a lie so I am telling you the truth. “

She was taken aback for a second and she smiled. what a perfect smile!!
‘ Guess what jack? I also came in place of my friend…never thought it will turn out this way. I liked your way of being truthful . lets talk ‘

As the young couple got immersed in a world of their own, cupid smiled from heaven..he had scored one more trophy ..

way of survival...

Over the last few months , so many things have happened in my life. I had to face so many tough situations. But now as I have faced them successfully, I feel ever more confident in my day today life. I think the challenges have toughened me up , also they have made me more practical, analytical and less emotional. I had always wondered how on the earth some people manage to keep their cool in tense situations, well now I know how……
It’s the previous experience which helps you out. If you had been in a tense situation before and managed to get through it, it will give a certain type of confidence that you’ll some how pull through this situation too..This helps in conquering the fear about the future..I can even say it’s a way of controlling your mind from thinking all the absurd stuff which will prevent you from doing what you are capable of doing. I would like to remember the thought that in life in facing any kind of situation you have two choices, as they say in hindi ‘bhaag lo (run) ya phir bhaag lo “(participate)!!.

Ramblings of a coherent mind..

This is just ramblings of my mind put directly into words. I haven't been writing recently since I m facing stressful situation. I‘ll be back in January since my exams will finish and I’ll have some free time . . Now the things coming in my mind.

Stress
Stress is a natural phenomenon . You do need some amount of stress to function properly . But the line separating good and bad stress is very thin . You need to draw the limit yourself. You know the amount of stress you can withstand or which you are comfortable . You do have to make your own choice . Once you have made it never ever regret it, since it will be in your best interest . Nobody else knows more about you than yourself .

Achievements
About achievements my idea is that one can achieve absolutely anything he wants to achieve, provided he's willing to pay the price . . Yes nothing comes free in this world! You do have to sacrifice in order to achieve your goals .Most of the time it is something very dear to you. But only by making what you want to achieve as the most dear thing will you be attaining the eligibility of an achiever. I always believe that behind great achievements there are untold stories of great selfless sacrifices . I could quote many examples here but time doesn't permit me . .

Trust
Now something about trust . Its absolute belief in a person or institution or phenomenon. I had read a nice example somewhere . Its about a baby when you throw it above, it laughs loudly since it completely trusts you that you'll hold it when falling! Its an important issue that whom should we trust. My idea is time will tell you whom to trust . . Always the people who have been with you for long time are more reliable . Don't open up to people who try to be close in a hurry . As they say the faster they rise the sooner they fall. . Most of the time these people will be trying to manipulate you for their gains. . My idea is first trust yourself, then trust god ,then trust parents and then your friends . . It works well . .

Back up plans
This one is good . I took this idea from a children’s fantasy book! Artemis fowl series to be precise . . Well the idea is not committing yourself into one single plan or route . Always have a back up plan . Even though it sounds silly but i found it highly effective. You'll be better prepared to face the situation if you have a back up plan although you may not use it. It boosts your confidence . It makes you think about situations more clearly and in more detail . . Basically life is unpredictable and change is the one constant thing in life . . This provides a shortcut to adapt yourself into new situation optimally . .
I d like to write more about this later. . All the things written above are my personal opinions and you are free to disagree . . Will be coming back after a short leave . . So see you next month .

That was a lesson well taught Ma'am

A teachers day special from my side. How I learnt to be a topper in class.

This happened when I was in 3d standard, I used to think myself as a big boss of the class, I used to get good marks too but I wasn't the topper in class. There was this class teacher of mine, her name was Philomena teacher. She used to take special interest on me I don't know why. . She must've seen something special.
And so it was exam time. class test in science I think. I didn't study for it but simply went just like that! I was overconfident there. Amazing to say that I still remember the questions of that exam! It was the structure of a plant and one question on environment . I hadn't studied well so I made a diagram of whatever that came to my mind. So that was it.

Two days later it was the result time and she started distributing answer papers. To my ultimate horror I found out that she had failed me! I had never failed in an exam before. . . I felt so ashamed and humiliated that time.

Then she was giving two beatings with scale to those who failed. When it was my turn , I held my hand out and started crying . I still think cried pretty badly there ;-) she gave me one beating and then she took me into her arms and consoled me. She told where I went wrong and that all was not lost .

She said I could come first in class if I wanted to, just that I had to work for it . That was a lesson well taught and well learnt. I never looked back after that , I started reading with the zeal from that day . I was a topper in class all through my primary, high school and pre universities . . Nice to remember now that all my successes began with that failure! I am ever grateful to her for opening my eyes at such a young age and lighting the fire of knowledge inside me .Thank you madam..

Lets Meditate!!

I'd like to share my views on meditation with you. I think the concept of meditation is ever more relevant in 21st century .In the present world full of hectic schedules and deadlines and lots of other stresses and strains, one should try to calm his mind otherwise he is sure to get hypertensive or diabetic. Also incidence of heart attacks in young people is on the rise. So all of us should try to get hold of our emotions and behavior otherwise we might be in a high risk situation later in life.

I have to tell you why I turned towards meditation. My day to day life was full of stresses and I used to feel very bad about myself at the end of the day . Also that I felt alone most of the time and that used to depress me a lot. From this year beginning I started getting migraine headache also! So I had to do something about it . To tell you the truth I didn't like to start meditating , I thought it was old fashioned .

But one day as I was talking with my classmates I found out that many of them were practicing meditation. I was surprised and then even I wanted to do it ! Peer pressure you see, I never thought my friends would be doing it, but once I found out that they also did it then I didn't have any inhibitions.

I referred many books before starting and once I started meditating I realised what all I had missed! It was such a wonderful experience! I have been practicing it from last two months and I have noticed myself thinking more clearly, being more calm and I have better control over my emotions now. My headaches have subsided . Although its too early to declare success , I am very confident that my personality will improve .

I have realised that I had a very wrong perception of what meditation is when I started doing it. Meditation is not about controlling your mind like a remote, you don't need to concentrate to meditate , you don't have to sit in difficult postures and you don't need to do it for hours. Rather my understanding of meditation is that it is a science of observing your mind . Its not about control but about release of pent up emotions and thoughts .Its a scientific method, has nothing to do with religion. If you want to meditate you'll have to learn to allow disturbing thoughts but not being affected by it. Restriction never helps. .

You can practice it sitting in a chair or cot. I meditate only 10-15 minutes per day but even this little does help . One of the easiest methods is to sit in calm surroundings and observing your breath . So concluding my article, I'd like all people to try meditation as it is easy to learn and doesn't take much of your time and has many benefits.

A rendezvous with the forest king

This event happened four years back. It was holidays for us after the end of yearly exams in pre university college. As usual we had planned an adventure .

The idea was to visit the Nagarhole wildlife sanctuary. We went till there in a quails and when we reached the place to our utter dismay we came to know that their safari vehicle had already left. Also the costs were high so we decided to cross over to Kerala and see the forest from that side.

It proved to be very good decision since we were able to see much of the forest for a longer time at half the price.

Coming to the main point, as we went inside that forest we saw many animals there, all kinds. I still remember some of them , for eg: Malabar squirrel, bisons, deers and many others. As we were moving in the jeep, we were confronted by a single male elephant.
That was one hell of an experience for me. The elephant was towering over us, waiting for us to make the move. There it stood in that majestic manner in which only they can show. It was the king of that forest and was not pleased at us invading its territory. The tension was palpable in the atmosphere. Then our jeep driver slowly started to move the jeep in reverse gear. The elephant trumpeted lifting its trunk, dismissing us.

We moved back for next 10 minutes expecting it to attack but it didn’t come. We used an alternate route to see other places inside the forest.

After that incident I have seen so many elephants in the captivity but none of them had that imposing personality and the fearsome attitude like this one.Deep down I have this doubt that I never will see such an animal again. .

To be carried or not...

Here's an good zen story which I read long back and still remember.

Long time back there was a famous zen guru. He was constantly travelling from one place to other , helping people and preaching religion. He had few disciples who followed him . One day while travelling, they had to cross a river. The flow was high . Also by the riverside, was a beautiful young woman, alone and worried . She also had to cross the river but she couldn't swim.

The disciples ignored her, since they had sworn celibacy . The guru saw her, suddenly went near her, took her in his arms, carried her across the river and left her on the other side.

The disciples were astonished and angry. How can our guru do this ? Being sworn celibacy how could he lead us in wrong path? They were angry but didn't have the courage to ask him directly. So they continued their journey .

The next day, senior most disciple gathered his courage and asked guru ' master , after being sworn celibacy , why did you touch that woman ? ‘

The guru simply said ' oh I left her on the other side of the river, I can see that you have been carrying her all the time till here!'

The disciple immediately understood that he had mentally thought of her all the time, where as his guru had seen her as a just another human being sworn in need of help. He bowed to the guru, feeling ashamed.