Christmas @ mini Hogwarts

Merry Christ mas!

We’re having this big party and everyone’s here. I kinda expected this party to be wild but looking around I’m thinking, WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE WORLD!

In one corner is Mayu bhai discoursing on the philosophy of Christmas with a gang of followers from which I conveniently excused myself earlier.

Another corner is occupied by Adi with a gang of girls around him. He is holding a public reading of Harry Potter because for him it’s the same as Bible. In their midst in Anam di who is constantly tweeting live excerpts form the reading, oblivious to all the girls sitting around her, dreamy eyed.

Then there are Yencee and Shri, dueling, Rajnikant style.

Nc – Yanna Rascala!

Shri – Mind it!

And then they do a juggling sequence with their toy guns.

A separate group of girls have their heads bent together, obviously gossiping. They have Aakuh in the centre who emerges every few minutes for a – “awwh” or “eeeepp!” or jumping up and down clapping her hands frantically.

Obviously we have Nik and Rahul in a heated debate about which gang of girls to approach first by counting the number of blonde heads. Probably discussing tactics and pickup lines and all too.

Priyansh can be seen playing Gobstones (pebbles) with his friends, cracking PJs frequently and mistaking the SHUT-UP-OR-I’LL-AVEDA-KEDAVRA-YOU stares as looks of admiration.

Pooja can be seen playing with her dolls, that little chick. She is pestering her brothers to hold a doll each and help her with making up a nice doll-marriage story.

I and Rutaba were piling up stink pellets and dungbombs and plotting SIRIUSLY as to who is gonna be out next target while eyeing Nipun meaningfully all the time.

And at last, at long long last! There was the doorbell. SANTA! Both the gangs of girls rushed past me for chocolates pushing me into the now empty space beside Adi. Bitches.

And I did get my sweet revenge eventually. Guess what, NO CHOCOLATES! HA! By now you might have guessed the identity of Santa- Rohit! The girls sighed “hmn” collectively to which Ro just sighed and asked for something to eat.

That was that. It ignited Shri’s temper. For those who know him, you will realize how special it is. He launched at Ro swearing loudly in a language only Yencee could understand. We got to witness a very amusing fistfight between an overstuffed Santa and lean little Shri.

(“Mahn, food is such a driving force! You see since millions of years this has been the law of nature….”, droned on Mayu bhai to anyone who would listen.

The fight continued into the night with people betting on how much stuffing could Shri beat out of Santa. (I went home with my pockets considerably heavier as I bet on Shri winning the duel. I always had faith in my unkil.)

By the end we almost died laughing. Atleast now we had finally emerged out of our own separate worlds and come together to celebrate, thanks to Shri.

Now that we had died laughing, it must put an end to the story.

!Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year.

Unmasked

Does everyone wear a mask?

Yes, I do

And not just one at it

A new one for each person I meet

It’s because I don’t want them to know me

Until I permit them to

Until I’m sure the knowledge lies in safe hands

You may remember my status not long ago

To know who you are without any delusions or sympathy is a moment of revelation that no one survives unscathed. Some have been driven to madness by the stark reality. Most try to forget it. But as much as it gives another power, so you may gain power over yourself, if the truth doesn’t break you.

The concept of masks is best explained by sir Paulini in this book (unintentionally?)

He says that a Rider has 2 names. One is his real name and the other is the one with which others know him. The real name is hidden, even from himself. It is only after an enormous amount of deliberation can he know his own reality. Only few have the courage to undergo this deliberation. Even fewer survive it.

The knowledge of your reality has the power to destroy you. Do you really consider it wise to vest it in unworthy hands? Or in any hands for that matter? Because, in a moment, intentionally or not, they may completely destroy you.

Taking the risk of revealing yourself is sheer stupidity. The mask gives you the confidence of survival. The mask can be altered. The mask is convenient.

We ourselves must master the skill of controlling our masks. The act of thinking and the precision of execution is a step towards invulnerability. When none can guess, none can predict, none can conquer. Basically, you need to be a good Occlumens. Shut your mind and shut your mouth. For your own safety.

You may argue, what about trust? If we trust someone with our lives, surely we can trust them with our identity.

Not quite. When you yourself are unlikely to survive the encounter, how can you expect another to handle it well? It’s just too much information.

The mask, although may slip. It’s acceptable. Just an inch or so, to reveal your eyes. Eyes are the biggest giveaway. Eyes are the epitome of all that it true. Not even an accomplished liar can control their activity.

Now while you ponder over this stuff I will go design myself another mask. Now I hope my brother, I answered you well.