"Bloody Rascals"

I was vehemently opposing their planning to go on a picnic and they stood like rocks, obstinate in their demands. They stood in a group of 100 students and I stood beside my principal negating the very idea of organizing a picnic when the examination was on head. I asked them about their preparedness for the up-coming examination but they did little value my words of counsel. For them I was just a jar of cold water on the heat of their teen-age enthusiasm.


A girl student from the group strongly asserted that going picnic was inevitable. The more they became obstinate, the harsher I became in my dealings. However, the strict admonishments ended the planning of going out in a fiasco but it generated terrible temperature among the all the teen-aged students. They thought me as their enemy who nipped their flowers of love and romance at the budding stage.

I returned home, prayed God. I asked for divine guidance to show me the right course of action and went to bed. The next day the student unrest took another shape. With a long list of my failures as a teacher, the students encircled the principal and asked for justice. The list had mainly highlighted two words, “BLOODY RASCALS”, which I had used that day when I saw the students very obstinately insistent upon organizing a picnic when the exams were at hand.

A baby's cry

The first cry of a newborn baby is a flower of 9-month long of great forbearance and patience. A baby is priceless because he is the condensed form of great human care and love. His innocence and complete dependence on the elders inspire the highest feelings of human love. And this feelings produce the purest joys of life. In a short period, the baby’s well-being & happiness assume to be the sole purpose of the parents’ life.


A baby cannot speak, cannot complain but his little helpless cries warrant the best available care from the elders. When the parents fail to console the crying baby, they cry themselves.

In the morning, my wife phoned me and told that the baby was incessantly crying since midnight. I was nervous. I was nervous because the complaints of a baby in the form of cries are out of pure necessity. It never involves any sort of exaggerations that the elders often wrap around their petty problems. This is why a baby’s cry pricks the heart with utmost urgency.

I phoned my brother in-law and advised him to take the baby to a paediatrician immediately. And at the same time my eyes shed some tears unconsciously when I imagined the helplessness of my baby.

out of sight is out of mind

The happiness of the annual function of my college could not last long when I saw the crying faces of a few senior girl students. The teardrops were loudly describing their utter disappointment. They cried because they could not get the opportunity to stage a one-act play, which they had rehearsed for the last weeklong. They cried because all their costumes, make-up and preparation had ended in smoke.  

Anything out of sight is out of mind- it happened in their case.  Those students stood for long hours in a dimly lit remote corner when other student-groups were busy in performing on stage. That group of girl-students neither reminded nor informed the stage-in-charge of their preparedness to   stage the play. As a result, other groups performed one by one before the audience and went away smilingly but those girls remained aloof in the corner unnoticed and disappointed.  

The light and sound systems, which were hired for the stage programme, had been contracted for a certain period. Beyond that stipulated time, the light and sound system hirer had another call to attend. The time was short and the list of performers was out of proportion. There was immense pressure on the stage manager and during the hectic stage-management; the girl-students got neglected.

The short of time compelled to stop the stage-show abruptly. The declaration of the closure of the cultural programme was heralded all of a sudden and the P.A. system was removed from the stage within no time.

The public started to disappear and at that time, the girl-students appeared before us in tears.

The incompleteness and disappointment on their faces affected my colleagues and me deeply. However I felt more guilty because I was that incapable stage manager.

Yesterday, I was attracted by some elegant oranges that summoned my attention with their vibrant colours. I asked the seller about their taste and quality. The vendor readily gave a high opinion of the produce. Motivated by his guarantee, I packed 2 kilos of orange to take home. But before he tied a knot to the poly pack, I picked an orange from the pack to have an immediate relish. I peeled the rind & ate it. Now, my expression changed. The taste of the orange strongly interfered with my pre-conceived taste of the fruit. I looked straight into the eyes of the seller and asked about the taste of the fruit once again while chewing a piece of it. The seller fumbled &uttered, " This may be a little bit watery but in other respect it is o.k. Sir. " I smiled and did not tell him anything. I took out my wallet, paid him only for the single piece of orange that I had eaten and left the weighed and packed oranges in that shop for other kind hearted customers. On the way I thought I am most fortunate that the mediator who had brought the marriage proposal of the girl who is now my wife was not like that orange vendor.

I pray God to be considerate and compassionate

My baby took birth on 13th of January. I first saw him on 14th Jan. Today is the 5th day with him. And now I find that his cry is a powerful siren which wakes me up instantly from my deep sleep and automatically sets me in a mood to change his wet diapers diligently as soon as possible. Now I can do this thing even in a half sleepy state. The newly acquired reflex action crept into my being in less than 5 days.


I am most thankful to my wife. Today I embraced her in her post Cesarean operation pain. She buried her face on my shoulder and I curiously felt that the responsibility of a mother is almost over and a great responsibility of a father is lieing ahead.

The relation with the new born is growing day by day. His innocent sparkling eyes are the most beautiful things on earth. A deep look into his eyes infuses the innocence of not knowing anything and that splendid ignorance readily melts my complexities of an adult life.

The night my son took birth I was anxious and half-informed of my wife's condition. At that time my wife was at her paternal home and I was at Malkangiri. These two places stood at a distance of nearly 800 kilometers. I felt helpless because I am not like Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, who could fly over 7 seas with one jump.

In my utter helplessness I unlocked the key pad to phone God but I could not determine on which number to make the call. I irresistibly felt inside me to have a direct contact with God and I did not want to waste my time. So I opened the message box and wrote an sms, "Dear God I may not be a worthy or a good husband but i send this sms to relieve my wife of pain and fear during the delivery time." I saved the sms in the draft folder and slept.

The next morning I got the news that I have been blessed with a baby boy. The pain stopped in the mid night, so the doctor had to undertake a Cesarean operation and very smoothly the baby was delivered.

My God had taken care of both the 'Pain and fear' of the mother during the delivery. Today I pray God to be considerate and compassionate to everyone on this planet who prays for his favors.

Carrying your luggage mam.

A girl studying in a city is always in want of a boy who can carry her luggage. I was travelling in the bus from Jeypore to Bhubaneswar. A stylish girl wearing jeans and t-shirt stepped into the bus, stylishly toying her hair. She carried no luggage but behind her a boy, most probably her boy friend, carried a colossal bag with back cent in heavy weight of the bag. The girl went to the seat like a queen and the boy looked like an obedient porter trying to place that bag safely on the luggage rack of the bus. The boy and the girl exchaned smiles, love-touches and byes. I looked at the girl and wanted to tell her, " Baby, if the relation turns well then the boy who is now painstakingly carries your luggage may give you a baby-luggage shortly which you may have to carry in the womb for 9 months. "

An absent-minded smile.

In the station many people saw that I was smiling absent-mindedly.They thought perhaps I was partly mad. But they did not know that I was fully mad in the love of some one who had not landed on earth yet. They did not know that I remembered my sweet wife and the baby growing in her womb. They did not know that I smiled at the thought of the approaching baby who would hold my hands in his little hands and will assure me that the world will continue.

inquisitive eyes blurred with sorrowful tears.

I looked into her eyes. Her eyes were the sea of innocence sparkling with inquisitiveness. She was perhaps a student of class nine or ten. She was chubby and reminded me of the babies often displayed in most baby powder ads.


That day, I was invited as the chief speaker to her institution to deliver a speech to those high school students. During my address I could see that she listened to my words in rapt attention. I thought her to be a very sincere student. Her eager eyes were undoubtedly a powerful motivation to me. I expected students like her in the college, where I teach.

The next year new admissions were taken for +2 First year class in our college. On first week of August the new classes started. On my first day in that new class I detected that girl sitting in the second bench. A year had passed but her face was still in my mind fresh like a morning flower.

For a moment I thought that she was destined to become my student, perhaps for that reason that day I had felt a strange closeness with her when I met her first.

She came and studied like other students. Two years passed away imperceptibly. She appeared the test examination. The result was declared. And on the day of result publication, I found her crying at the notice board. I enquired about her tears. My question triggered the tears to roll down more profusely. She broke down and uttered, “I have failed in the examination, Sir.” The things stunned me. I could not find any co-relation between my initial impressions about the girl and the newly discovered fact about her dismal performance in the exam.

I saw those inquisitive eyes now blurred with sorrowful tears.

As a teacher, I could have averted such unpleasant situations if I had given a little attention to the girl. But I had never done so because I always checked my feelings towards her. I kept a distance from her lest some weakness in my heart should develop.

Just for a moment think that you are 12 years back - A story

Many sentiments, once that dazzled with much prominence and urgency, fade way with time or they attain altogether different forms. Human sentiments show kaleidoscopic changes with time and situations. A chunk of my life to confirm this truth......

That day I was a participant in the college song competition. I do not sing so well but I had participated. For me participation was just a further discovery of my talents. Like me, many students cluttered the stage and used the microphone to amplify their hoarse voices. Only very few good singers occasionally appeared among them like brilliant flashes who swayed the audience with their melodious voices. My turn came. I gave my performance. It was full of spirit and energy but was of average order. I was the 33rd Number of participant.

I was daily coming to college from my village covering a distance of 50 Kilometres. The last bus to my village would pass by my college before 4pm. That day I was late to catch the bus to my hometown. I was reluctantly leaving the spacious auditorium because there all the teen agers had gathered and a strong current of romantic feelings was flowing in and through the auditorium. I was unwillingly stepping down the stairs leaving the bubbling auditorium behind me. Like other teen-agers, I was also in search of a beautiful face in whose beauty I could forget the tyranny of my subjects. Young boys and girls were expressing their intense love-feelings with heart-rending gestures while they sang many popular romantic or poignant songs. It was enthralling to witness powerful expression of young emotionality breaking the monotony of educational institutions. I was one among them but I had to leave the place because the private bus will not wait for me. While I was about to cross the entrance of the auditorium, a child like female voice sang a song whose meaning was ‘life lived in isolation is meaningless’. The unusually beautiful voice allured me to discover the owner of the voice. I turned back and rushed to have a glimpse of that girl. From a distance, I saw her. She was a beautiful short-heighted girl with double pigtails and plump cheeks. Her appearance rang bells in my heart. I was dumbfounded for some moments. After her performance, she smiled at the audience and her dimples invited the longest clapping from the audience. I still remember that among the audience, I was the last one to stop clapping.

That day I missed my bus and stayed in a friend’s hostel room.

Mornings came and days passed away but I could never meet the girl once again. When I could not see the girl again, I wanted to listen to that song that she had sung that day. I went to many music stores to get the song. However, I could not tell the lyrics of the song exactly to the shopkeepers as a result I failed even to get a copy of the song as a token of her memory. I could get neither the girl nor the song linked to her magical appearance in my life. Slowly and slowly, her memory receded from the conscious working of my brain but occasionally she would pop up like volcanic eruption from some corner of my mind and would silence my whole being in some strange forgetfulness. This process continued for one or two year.

After 12 years, one day my son was playing with the remote control of the television set. He was aimlessly switching from one channel to another channel. At one music channel, he stopped for a moment. A song was on the screen. My heart responded to the music instantly. I took the remote in my hand, turned up the volume. Eureka! I had found the song, which I was desperately seeking 12 years back. The high volume of the TV made my wife rush from the kitchen like a bulldozer. She shouted angrily, “Have you gone mad? For your kind information, the sound is beyond my toleration.” I answered her, “My dear, just for a moment think that you are back into 12 years and in the college auditorium you are singing this song with a smiling face and I am in the audience.”

My wife could not understand why I responded so imaginatively and emotionally to her enraged voice. She got confused for a moment but later gave a heavenly smile. In her smile, I was lost in dreaming that same auditorium, same gathering, same song but this time my wife had fully replaced that girl...........Somebody shook my hand. When I came to life from my daydream, my 4-year-old son asked me, “Daddy, you will be standing at the audience and mother on the stage but where shall I be?” I lifted my son into my arms and told him, “You would be in my shirt pocket, very close to my heart, son.”

A father

The pending loans and the impending instalments had eaten up the man internally. He is struggling hard to make both ends meet. Growing age and deteriorating health condition cannot deter him from supporting his family. For 34 long years, he has raised the family and still he is supporting his family. Throughout his life, he shouldered the burden of the family and still at his retiring time, he stands tall and gives shade to other members.


To be a father is not easy!

Lesson from a flying bird-a story

The bird in the sky moved its wings repeatedly and went to a height. And from that height it glided slowly and slowly with its apparently motionless but fully spread wings. The movement was like that of a still mind exploring the different layers of consciousness one by one with each circle.


Vima was laying on a grassy land with his face skyward. He looked at the bird, which was pleasantly gliding making circles in the yonder sky. The bird was enjoying a meditative rest and the earth was acting its force on its movement. The bird rested in the lap of nature while the flying body was slowly descending down. The bird enjoyed the gentle wind as the wind buoyed its feathers up. The evening sky splashed all its golden touches on the bird. And the circling bird seemed to represent the joy of the creation.

Vima, got up. The skyward gaze and his oneness with bird filled his life with enough inspiration. Mr. Vimshankar Birla alias Vima was a millionaire but he had no peace of mind. He was only moving his wings frantically to rise higher and higher. In the mad upward ascend he had forgotten to commune with nature. He had forgotten to fall freely under the motherly pull of nature. He had forgotten to rest in the lap of his creator. The bird taught him the lesson of little rest to enjoy the world.

The bird’s fall is a state of inactivity filling the gap in between two cycles of intense activities, where the soul finds harmony with the forces of nature.

A baby at play.

I was travelling in a chair car compartment of a train. I was comfortably seated and by my side a small family was seating with a small attractive baby-girl. The baby in the lap of his father intently looked into different things around the world. She looked with the seriousness of an adult to explore the world that was so new to her. Her hands slowly played over the zip of a gentle man’s bag. She ran her little fingers on the knob of the zip and inspected with all attention. Saliva dripped from her mouth and wetted the collar of her warm cloth she had worn. She was like a tiny scientist.


Before the baby could complete her exploration, the station arrived and the couple in a hurry assembled their luggage and went away. The father held the baby tightly in the rush and distanced the baby from the bag and the zip. The baby was looking fixedly to feel the zip for some more time and the zip was missing the genuinely interested human touch of a clear conscience.

NEW YEAR MUSINGS : MAN and EARTH

The earth completed a revolution around the sun and the year 2010 left the world stage waving its hand and playing a fading farewell smile. During the allotted 365 days, the year unlocked many mysteries and at the same time it also put many fresh questions which miserably confirm the ignorance of man.


The enigmatic difference between man and earth is that the earth moves round the sun like a stoic. No rush, no imbalances, very streamlined, obeying the laws of nature. But man on earth hurries throughout his/her life till he falls flat on ground. Overburdened, incomplete, always antagonistic to the laws of nature, he finally meets a hollowed end.

It is true that the preceding years never appear before the fast galloping human race. But it is always educative and wise to feel the shadow of past years because they teach a lot about our follies. There should always be ‘a looking back’ in every forward progress. More or less, ‘LOOKING BACK’ is a human compulsion as it assures us that we are not disintegrating in a state of inevitable rootlessness.

The days turned over like the pages of a book. The year 2010 dawned and whizzed past swiftly. But man is handicapped and helpless because the swift movement of time is unidirectional. In memory he may pine for the moments that have passed by but he cannot relive them.

The best thing with a book is that you can go back to the previous pages of a book. But this freedom is not granted with time. Time is irreversible and the greatest pity of life is that you cannot sail back on the ocean of time. It is a bloody one-way traffic.