Rest in Peace, Ritu Ma'am

I read somewhere-

Life is a submissive slut, and death, its most priced customer.

And of course, if the bloody demon is paying like HELL, he would make sure he got the best. And that’s why all the good people go up first and the earth is full of assholes. As Kamal bhai says – “Saare harami niche rahe jaate hain.”

Why suddenly I’ve adopted truck-driver vocabulary? YES! I’m in SHOCK! It’s as if the truth hasn’t quite sunk in yet. The unnerving and untimely demise of our beloved Hindi teacher has taken a heavy toll on my mental well-being, something I never thought I would feel.

Death is something you just can’t get used to. Today while going for the exam, I still sustained a foolish hope that I would meet her in the corridor and greet her with a “Good morning!” I actually postponed writing this as felt that maybe this was someone’s filthy idea of a joke and I had absolutely no intention of making a fool of myself.

Ritu ma’am, we all knew, was very weak since like, forever. But that didn’t prepare any of us for what happened. I got to know that she had a kidney problem since past one year that finally lead to- well I can’t even bring myself to say it! She had always been good to me. She never lost her temper. In the 2 years she taught me- 7^th and 8^th, I never had any complaints- not even the foolish ones each kid has towards each teacher.

Not even one Montfortian is ready to accept this news. Why, oh why! To someone so absolutely lovely? I can name a hundred people who could have gone instead-I know I shouldn’t be talking so-but anything I say now will be an understatement.

The cruel game of fate.

The whore called life.

And the fucker called destiny.

The one above, if He even is there, has a creepy, filthy sense of humour.

Ritu ma’am, Rest In Peace.

Outcry for Japan

I feel ashamed when I’m sitting here at ease

My heart cries out for the Japanese

I remember when Tsunami hit India I was in Goa

I can never forget how much I thanked destiny

That I could live to see today

And now that a stronger one hit Japan…

It was the only thing on news that Friday

8.9, gosh, it was scary

And the helicopter shots looked so lethal

As if I was watching a video game

Lame, but the speed of water and the heat of fire

Had the same air of unreality to them

The ships, planes and cars photographed from above

I swear looked like a floor littered with a careless child’s toys

I don’t want to believe it was anything but that

Developed over the years and shattered in a 2 minute disaster

I don’t know why im getting all patriotic about a country that’s not my own

Maybe coz I understand the suffering as I nearly avoided?

Still something surprises me, more than anything else

The people were prepared

The government action was instantaneous

Evacuation successful, well as successful as you could hope for

This didn’t happen in India

Mitigation was only dealing with the aftermath

Very little, what was left

Warnings, none

Even in the harsh time, I plead the Indians to learn from our fellow Asians

We here think regular drills are a joke

Are we so naïve as not to understand their importance until disaster strikes?

Why bother when everything’s alright?

Jab hoga tab dekha jayega attitude

Jab hoga tab dekhne ke liye zinda bachoge?

They just don’t realize

Learn from the Japanese, my fellow Indians

I sincerely hope for the best for the victims and revival of Tokyo and all other places hit by the aftershocks.

Ameen

Cry, cry...

"मेरे मालिक सुर बक्श दे |सुर में वह तासीर पैदा कर कि आँखों से सच्चे मोती कि तरह अनगढ़ आँसू निकल आयें |"

- Bismillah Khan

Your tears make my day

Call me callous, call me sadistic

They are so true that I crave for more

So just cry me a river

Coz I don’t know why

But I love to see you cry…

Every single teardrop of yours is a glittering speck on my armor

When you sit in that corner alone, with tears streaking your face, leaving salty paths on your pale cheeks, you look heavenly. I just wish I can stand all night and just keep looking at you, smiling. Leaving you to yourself. It gives me immense satisfaction. Watching you slowly, painfully, recover from the spell I cast on you. I love it when you feel saddened, as if I’m making the worse actually happen to you.

I love your pain. I try my best to induce it.

“Stop it!” you might want to shout, but actually never wanting it to end. Ever.

The tears should weaken you

Only to make you stronger later

Hurt you

But increase your tolerance for pain

They must make you sad

Making you realize the need to make a difference

And then you will be happy

When you are as satisfied with yourself and what you’ve done as I am

It is every artist’s dream to instill in his audience an emotion that makes them cry. Every drop of that brine is a medal to his achievements.

“All I want is to make you cry

Give me tears, and I shall give you all I have…”