The Lost Strangers

Scene 1

Characters- Young Lady, a middle-aged woman in a cotton salwar

Ext. Road-Noon

The young lady lost in a new place looking for some help.

Lady: Excuse me! Which bus will take me to Ashok Nagar?
Woman: 5E.
Lady: (in Hindi) Kitne der mein aayega?
Woman: Next stop (Tamil accent)
Lady: Oh! you mean, bus yahan nahin aayega?
Woman: Nods her head to say no.
Lady: Kitna dur hai yahan se woh next stop?
Woman: Little hai. (The lady gives a smile trying to hide her amusement)
Lady: Thank you.

Scene2

Characters- The young lady, an old man (other people pouring in at the bus-stop)

Ext. Road-Noon

Adyar bus-stop down the bridge, quite busy at noon. An old man in white khadi clothes is standing under the sun eagerly waiting for a bus.

Lady: (I guess, this old man could be of some help- should understand some English) Excuse me!
Man : Yes? (In heavy Tamil accent)
Lady: When will the next 5E come?
Man: It left just now.
Lady: Oh, is it? (She damns her bad timing. She already had had a lot since morning) How long will it take to come back?
Man: Not long. You wait.
Lady: Yeah, thank you.

Scene3

Characters- The young Lady, another young lady and a young chap

Int. Bus-Half past noon

The young lady finally gets into 5E after waiting for 20 minutes for it to arrive at the bus-stop. She manages to push herself through the crowd and gets a seat beside a 'typical Tamilian' woman.

Lady: (I hope I find someone who speaks either English or Hindi. This isn't going to take me anywhere)

The woman gets down at the nest next stop and a young working woman occupies her seat.

Lady: (Now confident that the woman next to her would definitely speak English) Excuse me! Could you please inform me when the bus nears Ashok Nagar? Actually, I am new to Chennai and I do not know any place here.
YWoman: Well, I am sorry. I myself don't know much about the places here.
Lady: Oh! At least, will you please tell the woman in the front seat in Tamil to do the favour? I can't speak Tamil.
YWoman: Actually, I too don't know Tamil (She smiles at her)

('Two strangers lost in a similar way sitting beside each other') Both have a hearty laugh.

YWoman: Ok, wait. I will try to help you out of it.

She bends over the front seat and says something to a woman in faltering Tamil. The woman nods her head in confusion.

Lady: (Sees a young chap standing next to their seat) Well, I guess, he should be of some help to us.
YWoman: Who, he? Okay.
Lady: Excuse me, will this bus go to Ashok Nagar?
Chap: Ashok Nagar? I don't know, but it will go to Udayam Theater.
Lady: (More confused and lost now. 'Where's this Udayam Theater? i want to go to Ashok Nagar')

Meanwhile, the woman in the front seat waves her hand to confirm that she would help us

YWoman: Yeah, don't worry. She will help you find the place.
Lady: Hopefully

The young lady spends the rest of the time trying to read the names of the places from the hoardings above shops, unable to trust anyone anymore. After sometime, she finds 'Ashok Nagar' written everywhere at the shops in a particular street and pats herself for having thought of a good idea.

Lady: Listen, I think I need to get down here.
YWoman: Are you sure?
Lady: Yeah. I remember the street there, the place where I have to go.
YWoman: Okay. You sure?
Lady: Yeah. Two hundred percent. Does the bus stop here? Ok, I will ask them to stop.
YWoman: Yeah, do that.

The lady tries to make her way out of the heavy crowd of women trying to grab her seat. She suddenly stops and turns back as if to complete something and smiles at the young stranger who helped her a lot even without doing anything for her.

Lady: Bye!
YWoman: (Smiling) Bye.

The lady gets down as the bus stops at the corner of the street.

(The two strangers get lost again, now far from their unknown friend)

The Lost Strangers' Last Meet.

Ab alvida hi kehna...

We couldn’t have celebrated Independence Day in a worse way. Everything went well until we decided to go out to a movie (It’s just another holiday for most of us :( ). We chose one of the recent releases – Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and, for us, it turned out to be an Independence Day lacking freedom. We got stuck in the hall for three and a half hours and the doors were opened only after the end of the show. I never cursed myself so much while watching a film. The question is why one should waste some crores of rupees in making a film like KANK. Moreover, it was a really lengthened movie.

The first thing I expected before the start of the film was the national anthem. Can’t you play it at least once a year? I remember watching a video of our national anthem at one of the theaters in Mumbai last month. It was such a wonderful video –twelve renowned singers of the country together rendering the national anthem. I felt disappointed even before the start of the film. And, the next three and a half hours consumed all my enthusiasm and energy. I always used to be skeptic about Karan Johar type films – utterly sentimental, high drama and no story line. (You may have to carry a few handkerchiefs with you if you are one who gets moved easily).

The music wasn't good either except Mitwa. It was rehashed, particularly one song (I don't remember the lyrics) which sounded exactly like a song from the movie Kyon Ho gaya Naa. No wonder because the music director trio is the same for both the films.

After watching it, I clearly understood the reason behind choosing that title for the film. Karan Johar is trying to tell his audience, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Please do not stop watching my films after this one). An apt title, I guess! :D I felt Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was a lot better than this one (I personally couldn’t appreciate KKHH though). Looks like, he is diluting his films with time. On the whole, a nap at home instead would have been good for me. Alvida.

Long live 'Its' glory

Happy Independence Day to all.

In memory

Today is the 65th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, the revolutionary movement that drew in a great victory for India under the British rule. It all started on the 9th of August in 1942 and went on till the 15th of August, 1947. It is sad that the day is being celebrated as just 'Raksha Bandhan' and not in remembrance of Quit India, the significant crusade that involved every Indian irrespective of caste, creed, religion or region and that which reminds us of the oneness that held the country together 'once upon a time'.

Creative answering

I would have loved to write something like this in the answer paper but fear of a 'Fail' grade had always kept me away from it. :D

Short Story

This was the first story that I penned down as a child. A short story for children (by a child :D) published under the children's section in an annual souvenir of a library. The unevenly split sentences and other small mistakes should be overlooked since it was written at the age of eleven years. I am reproducing the same here without any changes.

It was a cloudy night. Nobody was in the house except Ramesh and his servant, Bhima. Ramesh was studying in sixth standard. His parents had gone to a function. Ramesh and his uncle were in the house. On receiving an urgent phone call, his uncle went to his office. Ramesh was about to sleep when the door bell rang. He went and opened the door. There stood his dear uncle with a packet of chocolates in his hand. He ate some and went to bed. After some time, his uncle heard some sound coming from his study room, where he had kept his income in a safe. His uncle went to the room. He was stunned to see a man wearing an overcoat with cross buttons and a mask over his face. The man was going through some files dealing with important matters. His uncle shouted, "thief-thief". The man took a pistol and pointed at Ramesh's uncle. His uncle moved forward and the thief hit him on his head. Ramesh's uncle became unconscious. Ramesh woke up on hearing the noise. He became suspicious and thought something fishy was going on in his uncle's room. He slowly crept out of his bed towards his uncle's room. Suddenly, he was stunned to see his uncle unconscious. He also saw a man taking something from the safe. He quietly went near the telephone and rang up the police. The police came and arrested the thief and removed his mask. There stood Ramesh's dear servant, Bhima. Bhima said that he was innocent, but some outlaws had kidnapped his daughter and demanded that if he wants his daughter back, he must go and get those important papers from Ramesh's uncle. Bhima did as he was told. But, he was caught. Then the police asked him whether he could give any clues to catch the outlaws. Bhima, along with the police, went to the place where the outlaws lived. After a fierce fight, the outlaws were caught. Bhima got his daughter back. When Ramesh's parents returned home, they were proud of their son. His uncle was also very happy for saving his important papers. Ramesh got a reward for his bravery. He became a hero in the eyes of his friends.

Back on track

I am currently back on track reading,

The Hungry Tide - by Amitav Ghosh

The novel primarily revolves around the characters- Kanai Dutt, a literary translator, Piyali Roy (Piya), a cetologist and, Nirmal and Nilima, a couple running a welfare trust in Lusibari. The entire story is predominantly set in Kolkatta, Canning and Lusibari in West Bengal amongst others.

The Hungry Tide won the Hutch Crossword Book Award for the best work in English fiction in 2004. Amitav Ghosh is also known for his novel The Glass Palace.

The Dream Land of India

I never had any serious thoughts or dreams of landing in Mumbai. I went there last week to spend some time with my brother and also to shun my boredom. I might not have got to experience the real Mumbai in the short time that I spent there, but I have my share of opinions and impressions about the city. The first being the hugely damaged roads due to the heavy down pour in the city last week. A journey in an auto-rickshaw can make you aware of the innumerable potholes made by the fall on the roads. You just cannot escape the roller-coaster rides on the roads. No wonder how much you would suffer if you choose to travel through narrow lanes, leave alone the pukka concrete roads.

And, how can one not say anything about the heavy traffic in the city when talking about Mumbai? Gosh! You better start at seven in the morning to reach office at nine. We travelled for 25 minutes to cover a distance of half a kilometer. Need to say anything else? Such a rush is confined not just to the roads, but one experiences it even at hotels and restaurants, especially in the weekends. We went out for dinner on Sunday at 8:45 PM and were called in only at 10 PM and, I just can’t describe how difficult it was for us to wait empty-bellied until then.

It drizzled twice or thrice daily and the climate wasn’t that bad when you compare it to the soaring heats in many other parts of the country. The skies were mostly cloudy all through the day except for some time during the midday. But, the humidity in the atmosphere can make you feel exhausted. A few minute walk would be well enough to drain the water out of you.

I returned on Tuesday morning and the serial train blasts took place in the evening. It’s such an unfortunate incident. Both the Kashmir and the Mumbai blasts occurred on the same day. How can anyone kill so many innocent people? I feel such cases arise when one tries to hold others responsible for one’s plight - inexplicable vengeance. And, I am really surprised at the way the Mumbaikars have handled it with such resilience and, of course, Kashmir has always been a tacit target. But, is it really good to get along with such insane terrorism every time it strikes you? Should we not look at getting over it forever?

Market chaos!

This is a really funny cartoon depicting the possible confusion that might have sent the market sizzling down a few weeks ago.

Investing in a crashing market

This is a decent article that I have come across on Rediff.

The art of investing in falling markets

And, MoneyLife is an upcoming business magazine. The print copy is really good, but the online one is not being updated properly. The June issue has an interesting article on the study of investing in art.