A tryst with Sharman Joshi

A few weeks ago, while taking a walk around Fort area, Mumbai, I noticed a crowd gathered next to Jahangir Art Gallery. Curious, I went and became a part of it. There were whispered conversations from which one could decipher that it was a film shooting, and the star was Sharman Joshi. He came out of his van, and was having a chat with a man before they started shooting. I, being the quintessential shutter-bug immediately took a snap. Unfortunately it came out blurred so I deleted it. A man saw this and came and requested quite politely that I delete the snap saying it’s not allowed.

Telling him that I had already deleted it wasn’t enough. He wanted to see for himself. I really wanted to ask him if he’d like to go through all the 144 snaps I’d taken of Mumbai, that very day.

Ok so maybe snaps like these are taken and released when they aren’t supposed to. But do you think that it’s fair to do so when it’s a public place? For all he knew I could have been taking a picture of the cobbled street, or of the lights.

The streets belong to everyone. Or so they say.

 Apparently they don’t.

If you have a different point of view which you wish to express, please post a comment or write to me at ritealot@gmail.com. You never know, you could be the inspiration for my next article. :)

The X-Files (1)

Jasper woke up groggily. He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the dimness of the room. Soon he could make out shapes. To his horror he saw a man crouching next to him. He had an injection in one hand and a bottle in the other. “No, no” gasped Jasper but the needle had already pierced him. As he drifted back to unconsiousness  Jasper saw two more men appear. He wondered what kind of trouble he’d gotten himself into…

                                                                 Chapter 1

Jasper opened his eyes once again and tried to make out where he was. A sickly smell reached him and as he looked down he could see a dark red colour, very prominent against the light blue of his shirt. Not that it looked light blue anymore. It was dirty all over. He was near the sea, he could see the sun setting in the waves. If he hadn’t been in pain and danger he’d have stopped and admired the view for a very long time. His hands were tied very tightly as were his legs. He desperately looked around for anything with which he could cut himself free. He started wiggling around and accidently knocked over a jug. He heard sucffling of shoes outside the door, and stilled instantly, not daring to breathe. He knew if they found out that he was consious, they’d drug him again. But the door didn’t open, and the footsteps went away. Just then a glint caught his eye. There was a sharp jagged piece of glass which had been under the jug. Jasper thanked  his lucky stars and started moving towards the piece of glass. The minutes passed like years. Fortunately for him, his hands were tied in front of him, not behind. His fingers were numb, and dropped the glass atleast thrice befor getting a firm grip on it. He started methodically sawing through the ropes. It took ages, and Jasper cut himself many times. At last the ropes frayed and he used the last of his strength  to free his hands. He scowled as he  started rubbing his hands.Soon he could feel blood circulating. He then started working on his legs. Soon he was able to stand up, not steadily but he was still thought but he still thought that as an achievement. He looked down to his chest, and the amount of blood made him sick. He unbuttoned his shirt to find an ugly gash running down, narrowly missing his heart. He cursed as he buttoned up his shirt again. He limped to the window, finding out that the goons had done something to his right knee too.  He  tried the windows but they wouldn’t budge. Frustated he hit the frame and the window shuddred! He took a closed look at the screws that held the frame. They were weak, and with a little strength, could be pulled apart. As Jasper had no energy left in him at the moment, he decided to get some rest and later escape, before the sun rose.

The Crazy Class Trip (2)

After spending two days and a night in Mysore, we headed back to Bangalore to shop some more.  Stopping at a stadium opposite the entrance to Commercial Street, we were told to get back by 7 pm. That gave us around 3 hours to shop. We spilt up into many groups and went different ways. We all got back to the bus on time and started off for Pizza Hut, to take pizzas so we could eat on the train. After getting the pizza, we started off for the station.

One of the teachers just happened to take a look at the ticket. It was 8.50 pm…and our train was leaving at 9 pm!!! Apparently out guide had though 21.00  meant 11 o’clock. A mad rush for the station took place. Many of us, seasoned travellers tried calling the station. And then we suggested instead of Yeshvantpur, why not go to Bangalore Junction, where the train’ll wait for more time. But no, the teachers were stubborn, and by the time we reached the platform, our train was gone.

Now what would happen normally in a situation like this? Teachers would take charge and calm parents, guardians and students down right? But then my school is not normal. They started weeping!! And our sir disappeared somewhere! I must say that is one time my class was at it’s best. Dividing wordlessly into groups, some started calming the teachers down, two of us contacted friends in Bangalore to ask for tickets, and while I did that I also had the honour of calming down a classmate and calling up his grandfather.

We sat at the station till 11 ‘o’clock, waiting for the teachers to come to a decision. It was 15 degrees C. Two girls didn’t have jackets, and the extra cardigans were greatly appreciated. Phones were switched off to conserve the battery.

My Date with Mr.Potter

At 4.30 in the morning, the air was cool, and I was glad I had a light jacket with me. I stood with my Mom, and my friend outside Modern Book Depo. I had been asked a few days ago to read out a few lines from ‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows’ for the release in my city. A huge honor, but also quite nerve-wrecking as at least three major Malayalam news channels were covering the event.

My emotions were too difficult to separate. Nervousness, for I am a very camera shy person, happiness that I was getting such a great opportunity, and fear. Not for myself, but for the characters of ‘Harry Potter’ as they were going to face their greatest battle yet.

It was time. I did not bother brushing my hair, or adjusting my shirt to hide fat. Instead I took a few deep calming breaths as my Mom and friend wished me good luck. As I stepped out of the store room and into the area of the shop, there was a smattering of applause. Quite stunned, I took my seat. Even as I sat, a strange realization came over me. This moment was never going to come again…I had to, had to make it memorable! I smiled a real smile and looked at everyone bravely before reading out the introduction. As I started reading the first few lines, I could hardly hear the cameras clicking and the whir of a video recorder. Instead I was lost in Rowling’s words.

There was an audible sigh of relief as the crowd heard that their beloved Harry does not die, and an inaudible one as I finally finished. I got up and got myself a glass of water, all the time admiring myself for overcoming one of my worst fears- the one of facing too many people.

Sweet and charming...not the chocolates!!

As time grows, so does my affection for him. He is a great guy, one of my many crazy friends, sweet in his own way. Try as much as you wish, he just does not get annoyed. Make plans of killing him in front of him, and he grins saying that he’ll be waiting. Comment that he does not have guts and he will like that.

Tell him you want to attend the recruitment drive and miss your class trip he very honestly tells you he would love having you there but he doesn’t want you to miss your class trip as it happens only once a year while rec drives are a regular occurrence. Tell him you had a bad day at school, that you and a friend had a bad fight, that you are down; he will talk with you till you laugh and feel better.

You say what you’ve written is stupid compared to other stuff on a certain blog; he contradicts the point saying it is better that most of the articles. He wants you to make more friends, so he invites you to a party and makes sure you do not get bored or lonely because you hardly know anyone around. He picks you up and drops you back home. Knowing your love for speed, he goes as fast as he can and promises next time he’ll go even faster.Remebering how you had loved the home made chocalates he had given you, he gives them to a mutual friend so that you can get them.

What can I say? I’m just plain lucky to have a friend like him. :)