THINK POSITIVE

Day before yesterday there was an evening get together of the organization where I started my working career. This is an annual affair. I was keen to attend that as it gives an opportunity to meet old colleagues. I did not want to tire myself before going there, so I thought of relaxing at home. But as the luck would have it I had to go out for an urgent chore. I had just driven 3 kms when I felt some funny behavior of the car, which is Maruti Zen Estilo only 1 ½ year half old with just little over 10 thousand kms logged. Sure enough, after wait for green signal at the traffic light it would not budge on engaging gear but engine would race well. I knew it that it is clutch problem. So I got it pushed to side with the help of passing Police PCR, which was a surprise as they did not say anything but gave help. I called up the authorised workshop where I normally go. Their service engineer was with me in a little while and confirmed that it needs to be taken to workshop. So it was towed a distance of about 12 kms. It was confirmed that clutch needs to be opened for replacing parts which had given way. So I was without car for the evening.

All this while I was busy in tying ups for taking it to workshop with no other thought in mind but after it was left there I thought “ Thank God it happened now when I could call for help, had it happened in the evening on my way back from get together I would have been stranded.”

My idea of sharing this is that no matter what the situation be one should not give up positive thinking. Everything happens for some reason beneficial to us.

PS : I did attend the get together as an old colleague staying little distance away was kind enough to take me along.

HATS OFF

Today evening while I was walking back from market I witnessed this which I want to share with you all. I was little distance away from traffic lights when I saw a motorcycle rider who jumped red light being pulled up by traffic cop. As it was close by I, to satisfy my curiosity, stopped to see what transpires.

On taking off his helmet, the motorcycle rider turned out to be a young man of may be 20 or so. Here is the conversation which took place between two of them.

Cop, after pulling out challanbook, “ MAIN TUMHARAA CHALLAN KATOONGA, TUMNE RED LIGHT JUMP KI HAI.” ( I am giving you ticket for jumping red light.)

Young Man, “ OK.”

Cop,” TUMHEIN COURT MEIN JAA KAR FINE DENA PAREGAA.” ( You will have to go to court to pay fine.)

Young Man, “ OK.”

Cop,” FINE DO HAZAAR TAK KAA HO SAKTAA HAI.” ( Fine can be upto two thousand .)

Young Man,” OK.”

Cop,” MAIN TUMHEIN CHHOD SAKTAA HOON.” ( I can let you go.)

Young Man,” TO PHIR CHHOD DIJIYE.” ( Then let me go.)

Cop,” ISKAA KUCHH KHARCHA LAGEGAA.” ( There will be some expenses for that.”

Young Man,” KITNAA?” ( How much?)

Cop,” DO SAU.” ( Two Hundred.)

Young Man,” AAP CHALLAN KAAT DIJIYE.” ( You give me ticket.)

Cop,” SOCH LO, YE SASTAA HAI.” ( Think it over, this is cheap.)

Young Man,” MAINE GALTI KI HAI, MAIN PAISE COURT MEIN DE DOONGA PAR YEHAN NAHIN.?” ( I have committed a mistake, I will pay money in court not here.)

There was no slogan shouting or holding placards but message was LOUD and CLEAR, No Paying Bribes.

I really admire that young man, he took the CHALLAN and went off. Hats off to him. How I wish we all could be like him!

SEEKING ATTENTION - PITFALLS

This happened a few years ago. I thought of sharing it with you as today in a get together I noticed a girl trying to garner attention of everyone in the group she was in. Though I came into picture at much later stage but I am narrating it as it happened.

Janki was born and brought up in a medium sized town. Her father has successful business and mother is a teacher. She has a brother younger by 5 years. She was good in studies and secured over 90% in final Board examinations. She wanted to study in some reputed college of a renowned university. So it was decided to send her to Delhi as some close relatives are there. So she joined a well known college for girls.

Everything was fine except that she developed inferiority complex because of her upbringing in her hometown. Though she is tall and very good looking but she felt that her sense of dressing and projected image was not upto standards here. So she took to copying those who were popular in dressing as well as appearance. She got into habit of seeking attention of those around her. She did not realize that at times her such efforts drew smiles as well as comments behind her back. This became her nature and she felt neglected if she was not paid attention as she looked for.

During her college time she met a boy who used to travel in the same bus as his college was close by and showed a lot of interest in her. His showering her with compliments used to make her feel very happy. Her friendship with him developed without knowledge of her parents or local guardians. As it happens in such cases he gradually made her submit to his physical demands. This continued till she completed graduation. He moved to another city on getting a good job. She went on to complete MBA securing high position. Her parents agreed to her staying in Delhi and take up a job. She joined a MNC with good salary. She still had habit of seeking attention whenever she felt neglected.

Her habit of seeking attention did not go. A young smart boy and working in the same department noticed this. He started paying compliments on her appearance or work. He also followed her on social networking site giving flattering comments. She developed a liking for him and used to spend free time with him. He was staying with his married cousin in a flat which was quite close to her place. His cousin and his wife were working in reputed companies. He started picking her up in the morning from a set place and drop her back too. Many times they stopped enroute on his say so to have a cup of coffee. She started depending on him for not only attention but convenience too. After a while he took her to his place on some pretext. There she met the couple. His cousin paid a lot of attention to her while his wife seemed friendly. They fussed over her offering tea and snacks. She felt like a princess. This became a routine and she used to visit his flat once a week or so. At times they used to alone. On such occasions he used to be extra attentive and sweet to her. On one such time they became physically involved. She started thinking that he loves her so she did not refuse him whenever he asked her to come with him as they will have flat to themselves. One day when they were there in the bedroom, his cousin came in. By the time she could react she saw that he was taking photographs on his mobile phone. She started crying and asking for forgiveness. Her colleague and his cousin just laughed and told her that they will not tell this to anyone if she submits to both of them. She was so scared that she agreed and while his cousin was with her he took photographs on mobile phone.

That is when her ordeal started for not only satisfying lust of both. His cousin’s wife had gone to her parents as she was in family way. She had to bow to his demand of visiting them on some Saturdays telling her local guardian that she had to go to office.

It was her good luck that her parents found suitable match for her within a couple of months after this and she was married to a boy in Delhi. It just so happened that her husband is son of a person well known to me. He is working at good position in another MNC. His father let her decide if she wanted to continue with job. As she wanted, he made arrangement for her to be taken to office in the morning by his driver and brought back in the evening. This made her contact with that boy less. In office she tried to keep with her other female colleagues.

It was all well for a couple of months but then that boy threatened her with dire consequences if she did not do what he wanted. She refused to bow to his threat.

All hell broke loose when a friend of her husband told him that he had seen an obscene video of her on the web. He was shocked and went into withdrawal mode, even not talking to her. His father sensed there was something wrong but could not put his finger to it. That is when I came into picture. His father called me and asking me to speak to his son. I spoke to him in private and he told me about the said video. On my asking, he told me that he would not like to break marriage as she is good wife and whatever happened before marriage is ok with him if she is not into it now. I told him that I would like to speak to her without any of them except my wife with me. He agreed telling that I should not tell anyone about it. He sent her to our house under some pretext next day. I frankly told her what was the situation and she broke down. After some cajoling she told me all what I have narrated above. I called her husband and apprised him of what had happened. He stood by her as she had refused to bow down to that boy’s blackmail.

With some efforts we got that video removed from that site. I along with him met that colleague and his cousin telling them to stop harassing her. I told the cousin that I will hold him personally responsible if there was any effort to contact her by any of them and I will then narrate the whole thing to his wife who had joined back with the baby a few days earlier. On my advice she changed job after taking leave for a fortnight. Fortunately it stands sorted out.

I narrated this to say that one should not be ashamed of own background. One can make efforts to improve but not make undue efforts to seek attention.

SOME HUMOUR

It has been sometime since I shared some humour with you all. So here I go :

One afternoon a young lady got a call from some relatives that they would be coming over for dinner. After telling them Ok, she realized that she needed some items urgently to prepare dinner. She quickly changed into shorts throwing a t shirt over to rush to the market. She dragged her 3 years old son along. He said, “ Mom, I want to tell you something.” She said, “ Later dear, I am in a hurry.” When they got into car he again repeated the same thing and got the same reply. In the market he said same a few times to be rebuked and told the same reply. When they got home much later, he was quiet, so she said, “ Ok, now tell me what is it?” Son said,” All I wanted to tell you was that your zipper is open.”

A young man was feeling affects of newly married life, so they went to doctor. Doctor after asking some probing questions advised that they take it easy for a while and do it only on days with r in it. A few days later early in the morning his wife snuggled up saying “ Let’s.” He asked,” What day is it.” She replied,” Tuesrday.”

A young boy took a girl on blind date. They went to fair. After roaming around for some time he asked her what would she like to do next. On her saying that she would like to get weighed, he took her to weighing machine and had her weighed. Some time later he asked her again as to what would she like to do next, and on hearing the same wish he again got her weighed. This happened once again and he got annoyed. He took her back to her place and left her there. When she called up her friend who had set up that date, she was asked as to did she have good time. She replied,” Wousy.”

Three French boys aged 3, 5 and 7 were walking is secluded part of a park when they saw a young couple making love behind a huge bush. 3 years old asked,” What are they doing?” 5 years old replied,” Hush, they are making love.” 7 years old said,” And doing so badly too.”

AGE CATCHING UP

Time does not wait for anyone. Age catches up no matter how much one tries to keep it at bay. Some age faster while some do it slowly due to their regulated life style. I think I can say this with conviction as I turned 66 this month. With age comes experience as well as an attitude of being KNOW ALL. Former is to be shared while later is to be avoided. The former too should be not forced on to someone but only when asked for and in a way of making suggestions letting the involved person take own decisions. With age the battery does get low as one cannot do what one could years earlier. This is happening to me too and I find myself though willing but not able to visit my friends here to read what you all write. I have a habit that when I visit, I do not just read the latest post but like to catch up with all pending ones too which makes me even slower in making rounds. So please bear with me, I will be there as soon as I can.

Now after this preamble let me come to what I have in mind. I was reflecting on years gone by vis-à-vis what I said in my previous post about we do not know what lies in store the very next moment. All of you who gave feedback opined that it is so true and most said that live life as it comes today. I have not been a saint but at the same time I have not been a rogue. I learnt from my mistakes and followed my conscience always. I could never be a YESMAN but learnt to give my dissenting views diplomatically. I do enjoy my drink in the evening, love good things in life and also appreciate beauty – of nature or human, later within limits, of course. I did flirt but only to lift sagging spirits of someone who needed it. What I want to convey now is keeping in view that we do not know what lies in store for us, WHY DO WE DO SOMETHING WHICH WE DO NOT WANT OTHERS TO DO TO US? You may blame this question on my age catching up.

DO WE KNOW WHAT NEXT MOMENT HOLDS?

Do we really know what is in store the very next moment for us? I am not referring to Bomb Blasts but in normal course of life. We may feel so secure but what happens is something which we really never expect most of the times. To substantiate my view let me tell you of an incident which occurred a couple of days ago.

I was walking back from market in the late afternoon when there was a loud noise like big cracker burst. When I looked towards to direction of the noise, I saw a rickshaw toppling on its left side. The rear left wheel rim which was very old and rusty had buckled up leading to tyre burst. As the rickshaw fell on its side a child of about 3 years fell out crying. While rushing towards the site I saw an elderly woman tumbling out while second one was stuck in the buckled up rickshaw. A number of other persons also rushed to aid. The child was picked up by a woman who started consoling her. The elderly woman was not hurt but badly shaken. The rickshaw puller who had fallen on side got up and made efforts with others to extricate the woman who was inside the wreckage. She was taken out in a couple of minutes and had no visible injury except she was rubbing her shoulder. She took the child in her arms to stop her from crying. Luckily the traffic was light and there was no major mishap. On seeing that everything was under control and no major damage done, I moved off as I did not want to add to the crowd.

My question is would those who were in the rickshaw have ever dreamt of what was going to happen in next moment?

THINK BEFORE TAKING SUCH STEP

Jaibhagwan was with me in one of the organisations. We were together for a number of years. He was looking after stores and dispatches. Very honest and upright man basically because of his upbringing and semi rural background. A staunch believer in values. He kept in touch with me even after I moved out to another organization. He too settled down in Delhi after retirement. We speak to each other a couple of times a month and meet once in a couple of months or so. We attended marriage of his son about 6 months ago. He is manager in a reputed MNC. She is in HR of a reputed organization.

His unexpected visit about a fortnight ago was a pleasant surprise. He looked a little worried. After some time he told me he wanted to discuss something in private. We went into bedroom where he told me that he needed help in a very difficult situation and he was confident that I can find solution as he knew my way of working. He told me that I was aware of his son going abroad about a month after marriage for office work. He was to return in 3 months but it got extended and he was still out. His wife could not go because of her office. He said that she normally comes back at 10 pm. Few days earlier he had to go out for some work and when he was returning around 10 in the evening he saw a car parked near the gate of their locality. The road is very isolated and almost dark at that time. He saw a couple standing on the off side of car and kissing. As he moved a few steps further he saw them breaking off. She walked towards the gate while the man got into the car and drove off. As she neared the lights on the gate he was shocked that she was his daughter in law. He thought his eyes were playing tricks but on reaching home he found her in the same dress. He was dumbstruck to say anything. Next day he again went out at the time of her expected return and positioned himself behind a tree near the same place where he was on the previous day. Again he saw the same happening. He sought my advice as to what to do. I was quite taken aback by this. This brought back memories of an earlier sad incident which I had shared with you all in February this year. I did not want any repetition of that. I told him that times have changed a lot since our days and most of the youngsters do get into relationships before marriage. I reminded him that did we too not harbor feelings for some girl or the other in our younger days. Some find it little difficult to come out of that after marriage or are emotionally blackmailed. I told him that no girl will admit such thing after marriage and it will be futile to confront her. I promised to help him.

So a couple of days later after confirming that she had gone to office, I went to his locality late in the evening. I called him out to the gate. I told him not to tell anyone that I was there. On his showing me the spot, I parked my car a little distance away at the appropriate time and sat in a way that I was unnoticed. A while later I saw a car driving up and parking short of the gate. A girl got out of passenger side while a youngman came out of driver seat and moved towards the girl. They embraced and kissed for a while before she moved towards gate and he drove off. I followed her in the car and intercepted before the gate. She seemed scared to see me there at that time. I asked her to sit in the car as I wanted to speak to her. She quietly got in and I parked near their house. I just looked at her without saying anything and she started crying. She asked me not to tell anyone what happened. She told me that she was in relationship with that boy for about 3 years and they were very close. His parents did not agree for inter-caste marriage and he did not want to disobey them. She consented for marriage as per her parent’s wishes. She tried to move on and did not keep in touch with him though he kept calling up or sending messages. After her husband went abroad, she felt little lonely after two month of separation. One day he visited her office and requested her to meet him after work. She spent some time with him that evening in a coffee house. That meeting opened floodgates of her pent up urges and emotions. She met him regularly thereafter and redeveloped their old relations. I asked her if she understood consequences of what she got into. She said that she was aware that this would lead to messy situation and maybe divorce but she could not control herself due to feeling of loneliness and his show of love. She added that she knew that he cannot marry her. I advised her to get out of that without any further loss of time. I asked her to take leave for as long as she can get and stay home. I further told her to utilize time for some productive work to divert her feeling of loneliness. She agreed. She asked me to call up that boy and tell him not to contact her as she might not be strong enough to do that. She gave me his mobile number. So I went with her to their residence. There I told that I was in the near vicinity and on seeing her coming home I accompanied her. I called him out and told him that he should not speak about whatever he had seen and give her a chance to get over that. He promised that.

I am so glad that she took leave for a month and is coaching her sister in law for her upcoming MBA examination. I told that boy to keep off or I will have to do something drastic. She has confirmed that he never called up after that day.