Escape

The daemons are coming. I felt them before I heard them. I knew what they wanted; I knew what they wanted to do to me. I shudder. I look around -desperate to hold on to something. Anything. In a daze, I begin chanting. It works for a while, buys me some time. I start planning a distraction. Reality kills my plans. I know that those plans will never work. I still try, mostly because of a lack of options. I think they can sense fear, the daemons, I mean. They gather courage , edge closer, cautiously at first and then with increasing manic energy. I don’t want them to come closer. I pray. I hear laughter in my head, praying? Really?, I wait for an escape. The daemons are closer now, I can feel them in my skin. Pain. Fear. Anger. Where is my escape? “Go away, you are not welcome” , I beg. More manic laughter.

I give in. They consume me. Agony. Rage. Tears.

And then comes my escape. I embrace it eagerly, It fills me. Creeps into my veins , quietly. Takes over my consciousness. Bliss. I breathe evenly, unconsciously. The strain seeps out, little by little. I feel secure. Oblivious.

Then they awake, the daemons. More vivid and dangerous. This time, I don’t have a choice. I let them ravage me, unable and unconscious to put up a fight. I hear laughter, the manic kind. Silence.

There is no escape.

Sometimes.

I stood there looking out at the lake, the breeze was gentle and brought with it the fragrance of flowers far away. The kind that lifts your spirit and puts a smile on your face. She will sing for you, if you have the time to stay and listen. The breeze- she whispers, barely audible. But wait; listen, let her talk, she has amazing things to share. The things she says will make your day.Not just this one, maybe other dark and gloomy ones too. High up above,within the bright blue sky; a bird in flight. Focus.Is it really a bird? It changes direction rather abruptly. Yes, definitely a bird. I look down. Beautiful blue water, suggesting undiscovered mysteries within its depths. Still and serene.Yet powerful too. The wheat stalks sway, gently at first, but with increasing excitement as they dance in tune with the breeze.

Suddenly,I feel like a part of the whole scene in front of me. I take a deep breath and feel the air fill up my lungs. I watch until the view fills up my senses and stretches into my mind, until it occupies the entire landscape of my consciousness. I feel like a jigsaw piece falling into place. Peaceful and quiet. And like a part of the whole.

Sometimes I wish photographs were three dimensional.

The View From The Top

Yes. That's what I am looking at.

The Name is Bond, James Bond.

Her Majesty's very own dry-cleaners!

Of Bomb Blasts, Work Places and Arcade games.

This post is a few days late. But it is a good thing that it is, my opinion of the blasts has undergone a few changes since the day they actually happened.

Friday, the 25th of July

I was sitting at my desk and working, when I get a call from my friends.

"Come home"

"huh?! why?!"

"haven't you heard? There are bomb blasts in the city, 7 so far! come ASAP"

"huh?!My God!"

After that call, I was dazed and, well, I'll admit it, a little bit scared. I got up from my seat and walked around the office and found most people still busily working. I thought this was very odd and asked sharan, a fellow intern, if he has heard of the blasts. He said yes, and gave me a few details; the office was still very calm.

A few minutes later, some people stuck their heads out of their cubicles and started talking. Most of them had big grins on their faces. I could hear people laughing and joking. Most of them were still immersed in their work. At this point, I was Pissed!! people's lack of concern was unbelievable to me. I couldn't do much about it though; I just glared at everyone and left for home.

Saturday,26th of July

Bomb blasts in Ahmadabad. My friends played Arcade games online while the news played in the back ground.

I didn't know what to make of it.

Sunday,27th of July

18 live bombs, diffused in Surat.

I went out for lunch and watched a couple of movies on my laptop.


I am not so upset at people's apathy anymore. I understand. Everyone in sensitized to it. All the violence, border disputes, terrorism has become part of everyday life and people dont care anymore. Even so, I cant help but wonder,"Where is humanity headed?"

Options

My mom always told me to be a "professional" and get a "professional degree". She told me that during their time, there were not many options. She didn't have the right exposure to pick a career that would make her happy. She just had to pick a job, any job, and help support her family.

Its been 25 years since that scenario. I am sitting in my chair at my PS station and thinking about my options. Yeah, I do have my degree, i have two in fact! an M.Sc. in Physics and a B.E. in EEE. The thought in my head is "so what?" how has it made a difference? Yeah I do know that a MOSFET has 3 different regions of operation. But that doesn't make me happy. :|

Ambition. Every child has an ambition right? (well, at least all the Asian and Indian ones do). Mine was to be an astronaut. I was fascinated by the thought of Zero gravity.15 years later,today I am an Electronics Engineer and am as far from being an Astronaut as as monkeys are from learning to fly.

And I am considering my options.

Aato!

The city of Bangaluru(hope I got the spelling right) has taught me a lot of things. But the most important lesson I have learnt so far is the versatility of the auto rickshaw or as our brothers,the south Indians, would call it - the aato. Move over Ferraris and Lambhorghinis, the aato is here to take over the world!

I have found the following to be true about them :

1. the fastest way out of a traffic jam is traveling in an auto (of course, the fastest way to get anywhere in Bengaluru is to walk :|)

2. on the rare occasion of finding a traffic-free road, the auto-driver will provide an adventurous, nerve -jarring,life-threatening, back-breaking, high-speed ride. Well, if all you wanted was a safe ride home....u MORON!why did you get into it?!

3. The battle of wits. Yes, it is a battle of wits, and the opponent is worthy. The auto-diver is a master of psychology and can sense levels of weakness, tiredness etc. and after complex calculations, will come up with a sure way to rid you of a lot of money.

4. lastly, who can ever do that(see pic) with any other vehicle on earth?!

I was traveling in the auto when it ran out of fuel and the driver flagged down another auto and towed it to the nearest petrol bunk, which was a good 2 kms away with his FOOT!