The Green Page

Bon Appetit   The smell of ‘Butter Naan and Paneer Butter Masala’, lifted my spirits. Just when I thought of taking the first bite, a hand stopped me. ‘Wait! Let’s take a picture, tag the restaurant’s location and post it on Facebook’, told my friend. It was a long time since I caught up with my school mates. It reminded me of the school lunch break, where nobody minded thrusting at least three hands in each other’s tiffin box. It never mattered if it was Biriyani or just curd rice. The joy of sharing and fighting for food, was all that mattered. Now, I’m sitting here with the same people and yet, they seem different. I missed those days where nobody waited a second to start eating after the tiffin box was opened. But now, I’m patiently waiting for my friend to take the picture of our meal, choose the right filter and post it online with a thousand hashtags. Finally, after we started eating, my friend remarked that this meal was no match to the ones that we brought to...

The Twenty-Two Yards        The Sun was merciless. Equivalent to a ‘Mathematics’ teacher, it was hated by everyone. Just when people were locking themselves indoors and quenching their thirst with butter milk, a loud cheer resounded from the adjoining barren land. Braving the heat waves and challenging the scorching sun, the children were armed with cricket bats, ball and stumps. Despite the pool of sweat and parental warning, the only thing that mattered was winning the cricket match.      The cricket mania never ends. It isn’t much of a surprise when someone skips an exam or take a day off from work, to watch their players rule the twenty-two yards.         What is so special about it? Is it because of the celebrity endorsement or its major media attention? It’s neither.      The twenty-two yards vanquishes gender, age and status. From listening to the radio commentary to getting...

Trapped Soul      ‘Have passion, take action and magic will happen’ sounds inspiring but beneath every human, there is a talented soul that had to reconcile with the societal norms to live in harmony.      Every time the businessman passed a book store, the writer inside him shouted on top of his lungs. The singer who was trapped by a home maker, sighed whenever she saw a music director. The artist died with a faded canvas, inside the engineer. The photographer behind the accountant, dancer inside the clerk, actor buried by a dentist and the journalist masked by an insurance agent regret and struggle every day to fit in .      Their passion which should have turned into a profession, did not even exist as a hobby anymore. Remarks like, ‘There’s too much competition’, ‘There’s no job security’, ‘You won’t make much money’, ‘It’s not up to your status’ and ‘It’s just a hobby’, arrested the talented souls forever.     ...

Small Accomplishments There comes a time, when we’ve felt heavy hearted for not being successful enough in life. A dejected feeling of not being good enough lingers in our mind. What measures success? Is it a high profile job with a six figure salary? Or owning a big house and a luxurious car? We tend to look at the big picture, forgetting our small accomplishments. Remember the time when we learnt to balance a bicycle? Or the first time we’ve travelled alone? I’m pretty sure we’ve all experienced a sense of triumph after getting the teacher’s final signature in the record notebook. Walking out of the exam hall after the final board exam is obviously the best feeling ever! Oh, wait. What about the time, when we’ve cooked something delicious and imagined ourselves as a great chef in a white hat?  Learning to swim, instead of floating like a frog in the water, is a feeling that’s beyond words. From winning pen fights and friendly cricket matches with friends to signing our ...

The Time Machine Time machines that feature in science fiction movies seem really exciting. The idea of escaping to the past or jumping into the future seems adventurous. What happens when the machine stops halfway through the journey? The traveller should choose between the past and the future. At this point, most travellers would love to go back in time to do things in a different way. The wary ones would go far in time to see the red herrings and their destiny. This seemed like a tricky business to me. It's a tough choice to choose between the past and the future. I pondered over this for a long time. It took me quite a few days to realise that being stuck in the time machine is the best decision.  Without the regrets from the past, there are no lessons learnt. What breaks us, makes us. Without the slightest clue about the forthcoming days, we move forward and hustle harder. So, the next time I watch a science fiction movie, I'll toss the popcorn packet i...