Prerna and Mili tried to push or rather squeeze themselves into the crowded bus. They were thankful for they finally got a place to stand (?!) After a few minutes Mili noticed a brown-shirt guy slowly moving and standing behind Prerna. Mili knew what would happen next, she tried to indicate Prerna about him but she was far from her reach. She sighed. Suddenly, the guy breathed a low-volume unworldly wail. The lady next to her stared at the guy in shock! The embarrassment was apparent on his face. He waded towards the door and got down in the next stopping! There was a small victorious smile on Prerna's face as she carefully dropped the drawing compass into her bag.
As they got down Mili couldn't control her curiosity any longer. She asked as soon as they got down in their stop.
"What happened Prerna? He seemed as though he had been bitten by a mad monkey!"
Prerna laughed "Know what? I really do have a mad monkey in here!" She pointed to her bag.
By that time they had reached Mili's home. Prerna said goodbye to a puzzled Mili. She was recollecting the incident they had a few days back as she walked towards her house.
"This is atrocious Mili, how could you let them go on like this? Something has to be done!" Prerna had said, her voice filled with aggravation.
"Cool down, yaar! This is something very common in a metro city. This is all new to you as you are from a small town. But remember, you can't survive here unless you tolerate all this!"
"Is the word 'tolerance' translating to 'cowardice' according to you, Mili?"
"Prerna, I think you are just over-reacting. How are you supposed to get inside a fully packed bus without touching other people?"
"Do you think I can't understand the difference between an accidental touch and intentional physical abuse? Don't you see there are many pigs out there that use a crowded bus to fulfill their hidden disgusting desires? Should we become a victim to them?"
" I get it. But how many people can you fight? Can you single-handedly change the whole society?"
" I know I can't change the society but that doesn't mean I should let this happen to me!"
"See it's not only about you! This is the fate of females! Not only in the case of humans but even in the animal kingdom females are the weaker sexes! This is how nature is designed! Now for heaven's sake, go home and relax."
Relax? But how could she? Prerna had been on the verge of tears as he entered her house. She hated her weak body which had once upon a time filled her with pride! She tried to take a stroll and went to her terrace. She was brooding over the number of eve-teasing cases, rapes and sexual abuses that are being portrayed with so much pomp in the new papers. Maybe the government is also taking steps in solving these problems but however that is not a huge success! What is the ultimate solution for this?
May be Mili was right? She wondered. Has nature really destined women to endure all the pain and suffering? She tried hard to concentrate on something else but couldn't. All of a sudden she heard loud barking from the street. She ran to get a glimpse of the street below. There were about 5 to 6 dogs that Blacky was chasing so fiercely. It was the neighbor's she-god, a very healthy and active 8-year-old. She could hear her neighbor explaining to her dad that the dogs were from the next street and were trying to mate with Blacky. She had once heard the same person complain that all these years Blacky has never become pregnant. She could now see why! Other dogs were running for their lives seeing Blacky on a ready-to-pounce-on-them position.
The remarkable part here was that in spite of Blacky being quite healthy, other dogs could have easily taken her had they united together. But she was smart enough to create an impression as though she was some kind of a monster and they can’t even think of getting what they want!
Something hit her hard. She felt like running all the way down and giving a big hug to Blacky, for it had given her the answer for all her questions. When a 5-sensed animal can protect itself why can’t a 6-sensed human do that? This is a kind of problem in which no one can protect us all the time; we have to save ourselves! She has seen her friends’ brothers or fathers or boyfriends accompanying them to all places for “safety” purpose. Is that real safety? One’s sense of safety should come from inside and not by external factors. If parents understand this and equip their girls accordingly, there will definitely be a change in all these crimes against women.
Prerna had immediately gone down and wrapped her handkerchief on an old compass for saving her soul tomorrow!
Monday, August 18, 2008
The story of your sole
I just came home from the college tour. Four days have drifted so quickly. Even though it was only 8:00 PM, the house was totally dark. I kept my luggage in the corner and kept looking for dad.
“Dad, I’m back!” There was no response. He might be in the terrace. That’s one place you can find him in the nights. He keeps staring at the sky. I always wondered what he would be looking at in the star-studded sky. Not only this, there are many more things about him that had surprised me. The only stuff he’s concerned about is ‘giving me food’. He has no special interests or wishes. Will you believe that he doesn’t even watch TV or read newspaper? He’ll either be in the kitchen or terrace.
“Kumar, when did you come?” He was descending from the stairs.
“Just now…the tour was too good. I never knew that the Mysore palace looks that magnificent in the night! You should see the malls in Banglore…. I had gone nuts managing my students. Few of them….”
“Will idlis be fine for dinner?” Bang…came his expressionless voice!
I sighed. Didn’t I tell you? He hardly listens to such talks. He’s concerned about food, food and food! Nothing else!!! Even during supper I tried to initiate a conversation about the tour, but he still had the same straight-faced look
I was lying in the bed totally exasperated. I knew that dad had an extremely tough time after mom’s death, when I was 2 years old. Since then he had made a living by working in a hotel nearby as a cook. I don’t have any memories of him being an extrovert. He hardly smiles. Last I saw him smiling when I gave the appointment order for my present job as a lecturer.
I feel jealous about my friends who used to complain about their dad’s talking endlessly! In fact I tried to do some talking with him about the weather, politics, music, movies, books etc. but he had never reciprocated. I wish I could also take him out for temple, or movies. My notion of changing him had failed!
Since I wasn’t feeling sleepy, I thought of skimming through a magazine. In the first page, a dermatologist was addressing about the problems occurring in the foot. A person had enquired about a remedy for her sole being hard and numb.
“The sole by nature is soft. But when it is exposed to harsh surfaces, in the beginning it hurts…due to its sensitivity. If the exposure to the same surface continues it looses its softness and becomes totally numb. It’s an involuntary action. Since the pain is no longer felt, people don’t see that as a problem and hence end up neglecting it. To get rid of this, pamper it with, say, an oil massage. The most important of all stay away from rough surfaces.”
Hmm, nowadays people are more conscious about taking care of their sole rather than soul! I wonder whether this ‘sole’ story is true for ‘soul’ too! Lets see, I’ll read that paragraph again.
Soul is generally soft – agreed
When soul encounters hardships for the first time, it hurts – agreed too. (That’s the reason your first love, if failed would have hurt you more)
When soul is facing more troubles, it no longer pains as it had become insensitive –
for a second Dad’s expressionless face flashed before me. I can’t believe this!!! Is THIS the reason he has become numb? That’s TRUE! He had only faced thunderstorms and lightning in his life---all this just for my sake. They involuntarily turned him into a robot.
Had his soul become numb that it could no longer feel the love I express! Tears tingled down my cheeks. I felt like crying out loud “Dad I love you! You had been born a human but turned into a machine because of me! But I’m going to bring you back, dad. I know you’ll definitely regain the sensitivity when I keep showering you with love and affection. And after that I swear that I’m not going to let anything hurt you. You’ve already seen enough. I want to ensure that your journey till the end of life is as content as possible.” Before I went to sleep, I made a to-do note to book tickets for Illayaraja’s concert. Dad’s going to love it, you know?
“Dad, I’m back!” There was no response. He might be in the terrace. That’s one place you can find him in the nights. He keeps staring at the sky. I always wondered what he would be looking at in the star-studded sky. Not only this, there are many more things about him that had surprised me. The only stuff he’s concerned about is ‘giving me food’. He has no special interests or wishes. Will you believe that he doesn’t even watch TV or read newspaper? He’ll either be in the kitchen or terrace.
“Kumar, when did you come?” He was descending from the stairs.
“Just now…the tour was too good. I never knew that the Mysore palace looks that magnificent in the night! You should see the malls in Banglore…. I had gone nuts managing my students. Few of them….”
“Will idlis be fine for dinner?” Bang…came his expressionless voice!
I sighed. Didn’t I tell you? He hardly listens to such talks. He’s concerned about food, food and food! Nothing else!!! Even during supper I tried to initiate a conversation about the tour, but he still had the same straight-faced look
I was lying in the bed totally exasperated. I knew that dad had an extremely tough time after mom’s death, when I was 2 years old. Since then he had made a living by working in a hotel nearby as a cook. I don’t have any memories of him being an extrovert. He hardly smiles. Last I saw him smiling when I gave the appointment order for my present job as a lecturer.
I feel jealous about my friends who used to complain about their dad’s talking endlessly! In fact I tried to do some talking with him about the weather, politics, music, movies, books etc. but he had never reciprocated. I wish I could also take him out for temple, or movies. My notion of changing him had failed!
Since I wasn’t feeling sleepy, I thought of skimming through a magazine. In the first page, a dermatologist was addressing about the problems occurring in the foot. A person had enquired about a remedy for her sole being hard and numb.
“The sole by nature is soft. But when it is exposed to harsh surfaces, in the beginning it hurts…due to its sensitivity. If the exposure to the same surface continues it looses its softness and becomes totally numb. It’s an involuntary action. Since the pain is no longer felt, people don’t see that as a problem and hence end up neglecting it. To get rid of this, pamper it with, say, an oil massage. The most important of all stay away from rough surfaces.”
Hmm, nowadays people are more conscious about taking care of their sole rather than soul! I wonder whether this ‘sole’ story is true for ‘soul’ too! Lets see, I’ll read that paragraph again.
Soul is generally soft – agreed
When soul encounters hardships for the first time, it hurts – agreed too. (That’s the reason your first love, if failed would have hurt you more)
When soul is facing more troubles, it no longer pains as it had become insensitive –
for a second Dad’s expressionless face flashed before me. I can’t believe this!!! Is THIS the reason he has become numb? That’s TRUE! He had only faced thunderstorms and lightning in his life---all this just for my sake. They involuntarily turned him into a robot.
Had his soul become numb that it could no longer feel the love I express! Tears tingled down my cheeks. I felt like crying out loud “Dad I love you! You had been born a human but turned into a machine because of me! But I’m going to bring you back, dad. I know you’ll definitely regain the sensitivity when I keep showering you with love and affection. And after that I swear that I’m not going to let anything hurt you. You’ve already seen enough. I want to ensure that your journey till the end of life is as content as possible.” Before I went to sleep, I made a to-do note to book tickets for Illayaraja’s concert. Dad’s going to love it, you know?
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