Bewilderment...

“So, I may take it as a yes. Good choice, I must add. Don’t worry, the money shall arrive at your residence in a day. Make us proud.”

He had greased a palm of an innocent budding Cricketer, “Anvay”. Poor chap, had nothing else to do but accept it or pay the price of getting killed. They wanted him to under-perform for the much awaited India under 19 World Cup Final Match against Netherland.

On the D-Day , he played his shots. Looked in great touch.. But the very feeling of the consequences marred his intention. He could almost foresee the outcome of his ‘good play’ and ending up in a graveyard.. He was a fighter and lead a life of principles. The ideals failed to avoid the inevitable though. He gave away his wicket and was out for a decent 22.

“The match fixers must be delighted”, thought he, “sending flying kisses to me”. He was torn apart. It was the last thing he had ever imagined. But, they say, when it comes to securing Family Future, everything is fair. India Under 19 team lost the match. Anvay was their trump card.

Prior to the match, Fixers played a bet game on Anvay mentioning that he would flunk big time in the final and be out in the twenties. Seeing the form Anvay depicted, it was next to impossible. Well, the betters i.e. the fixers won a huge amount. They succeeded. Anvay was dejected by the performance he had to show. The sense of guilt could not allow him sleep for days.

So far so good.

But the scene was not so rosy as it appears. An inquiry was called off to investigate what led Anvay to give away as a “hit - wicket” (when the batsman accidently hits some part of his body or bat to the stumps in attempting for a shot) .

Anvay kept mum.  He spoke about none. He knew what would have happened had he attempted. His behavior towards family changed. He was not that jolly person after the match. But then family hoped it as an one-more-post-lost period…

A week later, the evil heads, fixers, sold the tape of bribing Anvay to a media channel. He was bribed by people wearing some masks and speaking with a modulated voice… The case was out leading to Anvay's arrest straight away...

Anvay was caught in a soup. He was behind bars the very same day. His dreams, aspirations and everything broke into shards.. On the other hand the baddies, fixers enjoyed the luxurious life… They had played a double game and earned hefty amount from the media too.

Anvay tried defending his stand for the kickback.. He is in jail for now.. The case is still on and the file is somewhere shelved in the storeroom dust… Anvay’s jail room is his world now. Family keeps visiting hoping for the judiciary system to deliver….their only hope ! But with the pace, the system crawls it seems not to occur soon...

 Poor chap Anvay, caught in the web of this forged politics !

Freakkkkkkk !

Oh! The comfort of lying down under a thick blanket in the chilly rainy mornings, warming every bit of your body, this has to be my idea of bliss. One fine morning on Sunday, after an amazing dream, I opened my eyes to enter into another. And my mind swayed back in the past towards that part of the brain where childhood memories are stacked and preserved.

There I was, in the bed, cozily slumbering on a Sunday. Just then, Tin Tin, Snowy and Captain Haddock’s 10,000 Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles woke me up.. Always wondered how promptly alarms work (TV alarm)…. It was 5 am and I and my younger Bro, Akshay used to kick start our Sunday in this fashion.. Yes, we were cartoon freaks..We still are.. Cartoon Network was my life.. I owe a lot to it, for being such a good companion no matter what the weather was!

An hour of Tin Tin, followed by The Adventures of Scooby and Scrappy Doo held me in the bed, needless to say , everyone in the house was still asleep … Julie, my Pomeranian Bitch (for all those with the raised eyebrows, bitch here means female dog ;) ) disturbed me with her bark, she demanded her breakfast early in the morning.. Served her during the break and was back into my heavenly soothing bed..,.

Moments later, Popeye and Bluto appeared on the Channel to contest for Olive, the girl with bamboo legs  :P She just had enough skin needed to shield her bones.. :P… I must confess my love for spinach was merely due to Popeye..

The day then went on to witness The PowerPuff Girls, Tom and Jerry and other shows too… And for a cartoon freak like me it was an extravaganza..

My mind travelled large distance returning back to reality, where I did lay on the cot, rain splashes hitting the eardrums and me thinking about those good old days.. Ah! I miss ‘em all..

Duck Tales, Talespin and Johny Quest always enthralled me.. Sometimes I even personified Mowgli and had words with Julie..  My love for gadgets then was at peak when I used to see Batman and Swat Kats perform some amazing feats.. Always wished to be at the tranquil residence which would be ruffled by Courage the Cowardly Dog’s crazy activities…  The love between Peter Parker and Mary Jane was my favourite love story then..  I always hoped , someday I discover the gummy bears and request them for the gummy juice which could enable me to jump far distances in no time..

Captain Planet not only entertained but also taught me the way to deal with some useful environmental issues, so that we make this place , our earth a better place to live in.. Dexter's Laboratory was my childhood goal ! Loved the way, he used to treat his sis, Didi ! ;)

Often , When I was alone, I used to slide a box in an open space in the verandah and enact like I was taming a ghost to enter the box , just like , Ghost Busters did…  I could go all day long to write about my love for cartoons, but I stop here.

Ah! What a time it was, golden days of one’s precious childhood, I must say..

These days, I feel like a weird nostalgic bum, craving to go to the past but the slap of this cruel present wakes me up bringing me back to the senses.. Could not wait for 14^th November to let the child in me speak aloud.. Felt like sharing..

Hope, it reminded yu all cartoon freaks about the fabulous part of life.. . Well sometimes , exploring the past again, is truly a walk on the air! No?!!! J

Phobia..

They say, it takes one, real guts to do a dare devilry act, but more than that to overcome one’s fear.

He always felt jealous of people who used to go diving into the water, holding their breaths to eternity. To him, even a petty dip in it was next to committing suicide. Once the water filled up the nose, ears and what not, he felt like some one’s playing drowning games with him and pulling him down.

Not anymore!

One tiring day, he was invited by his senior employees at office to join them at a river nearby for a dip; he could not refuse, though he didn’t want to go. A day passed, second day passed and there he was, just enjoying the cool river running water. He preferred not go far inside, so preferred to be at the bank, wetting his legs. One fine day, he thought of doing the unusual.

He was an optimist; he bounced back whenever he was pushed to limits. That day, he was determined to overcome his so called aqua-phobia. And so, the next time, he tried to hold breaths under water. Whhooop Dupp! And there he went inside water, he could feel water entering his ears, hitting his eardrums, that too in a rhythm. He did it, once, twice, and thrice. Holding a breathe didn’t seem difficult to him under water, he let his body sway away by the water current,  this was one of the most amazing things witnessed till date for him. He went on like a fish covering several distances downstream. Though he knew no swimming, he could enjoy the running water. Several feats he tried, neophyte though, he felt like a kid enjoying his first cycle ride.

It is amazing how the water pulls you down when you are on the surface and pushes you when you are in it !

He was stopped by the seniors who were quite amazed by the childish behavior. They then urged him to open his eyes under water and have a look into the world beneath. Refrained it earlier, but then he tried it on. A thing that seems trivial to many, one can enjoy it to the farthest if he is doing it for the first time. Just then, his eyes could watch the beautiful under water view. He was dazed to the core.Emotional enough to let a tear or so to drop. He thought of his friends and could see them smiling then. He felt proud, accomplished. Complete!

P.S: That ‘he’ is me, yeah, and I am not aqua-phobic, not anymore!
J