Betrayed

"We are just friends," they used to say. And yet when she got married, he felt betrayed, and she felt as if she had betrayed him.....

Reunion

"Alright then, I will see you at the reunion. You are coming ...right?", and he did not know what to say....Putting down the phone he thought to himself if he really wanted to attend his school reunion. Not that he was unpopular at school or anything...He had his group of friends and he did have his share of fun at school. Just that the mention of school reminded him of Jagruti Babu, and how he used to ill-treat him.

Jagruti Babu was his maths teacher, who took an instant dislike to him for no apparent reason. If anything went wrong, he was the one to be blamed for it. Even if he did well in the examinations, it never showed up in his results due to the strange dislike of the teacher. And then his parents would never believe him when he told them that the teacher intentionally deducted his marks. This gave his confidence a major jolt, and gradually he turned into a timid and cold-footed guy, never quite sure of himself. It took him quite some time to get back to his normal self after the school days were over.

But it was such a long time ago, and he was not even sure if Jagruti Babu would be around any more....Also, it would be interesting to see how his batch-mates were doing....And so he found himself attending the reunion and more importantly liking it....It was good catching up with old mates and remembering the school days....The classes they bunked, the games they played, the occasional fire crackers in the toilets, how they "helped" each other in the exams, how they teased the girls...and the transition from there to the mature adults that they were now....Who would have thought that Rohan who shared his lunch with the girls and never ever played even a single sport would end up becoming an army-man....or that the backbenchers and major troublemakers would have transformed into hardworking professionals.....It was good to see the teachers after such a long time......Some of the old-timers were still around...All in all it was a fun evening.

But the best part for him was to see an irritated Jagruti Babu looking frantically for his lost glasses.....There was a group of students assisting him in the search and they bore the brunt of his anger every now and then....After searching for a good two or three hours, he left complaining of a terrible headache....Although he enjoyed the sufferings of Jagruti Babu, he could not help but notice the helpless look on the teacher's face which looked very old and pale....

Finally the evening drew to a close, and he planned on having a few drinks with a couple of close friends....As they were leaving someone informed them about the cricket match between the alumni and the present students and asked him if he would like to play...He agreed almost immediately ....With one of his hands in his pocket clutching Jagruti Babu's glasses, the idea of coming back to the school didn't seem all that bad anymore.......

The less fortunate ones

Sitting outside the temple they play their little games...Trying to live the times that never were and perhaps never would be....In their imaginary world they get to live their dreams....they get to be the kings, the queens, the engineers and the doctors...They drive their own cars and eat good food.. Just then, a man emerges from the gate of the temple and they rush towards him in the hope of getting something to eat and if they are lucky the man might actually give them some money to buy some bread for the night....

But the man it seems is in no mood of parting with either the sweets that he brought as the offerings, or the money. He tries to ignore their pleas and quickly move on....One of the children holds his hand in the process and his action is met with an angry "Don't touch me"....The child persists and the guy slaps him, moving quickly towards his car, leaving behind the crying child....His friends gather around him trying to console him...."You can be the king this time," says one of them hoping to cheer him up.... The crying child wipes his tears and gets ready to go back to his imaginary world, far far away from the harsh realities.......


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घॊड़ा

मैं भी एक घॊड़ा हूं िबलकुल अापकी तरह
बचपन से ही मुझे िज़ंदगी की राह पर दौड़ना िसखा िदया गया था
तबसॆ आज तक बहुत लम्बा सफर तय कर चुका हूँ
बहुत से मुकाम हािसल िकयॆ..
बहुत से घोड़ों को पीछे भी छोड़ा..
इसी दौड़ में तमाम उम्र काट दी
हाँ एक बार रुक कर कुछ देर िज़ंदगी को िजया भी था मैने..
मगर रुकना भी क्या ज़माने को रास आया है कभी
कस दी गयी लगाम..
और घॊड़ा िफर सॆ दौड़ पड़ा..

...

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What if

He stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling, having already given up trying to sleep long ago. Such sleepless nights were quite frequent given the tension between him and his wife.....as if the tensions of his professional life were not enough! Look at her snoring away peacefully after robbing my peace of mind, he thought to himself as he turned and looked at her with contempt. He got up and fixed himself a drink in the hope of easing some of the tension....

Staring at the half empty glass, he thought of all the good times....the times spent in her company....Even after so many years, her memory did not fail to bring a faint smile on his face...She was his best friend, perhaps no one else was closer to him than her.....He loved her beyond limits, but never had the courage to get down on his knees and do the needful.... There was this fear of losing her...perhaps she did not think of him that way....What if, he thought to himself....what if I had proposed to her!! Does she even think about me now, he wondered....perhaps not...She would be way too busy with her own life...Its been what...some five, maybe six years since we last met.....How time flies.....

Miles away, she looked out of the window staring into the darkness...thinking about him! What if.......she thought to herself!