Questions of an atheist

I have always questioned my parents (mom in particular) about god and his/her/its existence. She tried to explain me but I was too dumb to understand (or there were too many holes in it which I couldn't digest) Being an atheist in an orthodox brahmin family is not easy. Over the years, I have thought why do devout Hindus don't get these questions. Some of them might be childish or a question just out of ignorance or display of my attempt at sarcasm.

1. In which yuga did the dinosaurs live? 
2. God takes form of many animals and those animals are worshiped (Lion for example). Why didn't god take form a chicken? Why didn't god take the form of a Panda or a Reindeer or Giraffe or a Dodo?
3. Why are there no ancient temples in US/Africa/Europe? Why are they found is so many numbers only in India? Was god not present in those regions? 
4. Why do natural calamities occur and kill so many innocents? 
5. Why does god make people if they are to kill each other? What is the point of creation then?
6. Why doesnt taking bath in my bathroom wash away my sins?
7. An all-knowing God can read your mind, so why does he require you to demonstrate your faith by worshiping him? An all-knowing God can read your mind, so why does he require you to demonstrate your faith by worshiping him?*
8. Why is religion only for humans and not for other animals?
9. Did god know about electricity? 
10. Why did not god know that building a ship is better way to travel on sea than try to make rocks float on water?
11. Why did Hanuman's race go extinct? Or did they evolve into humans? 
12. Did god know about Cancer?
13. Did got know about petrol? 
14. How can god allow the riots in his name and death of many innocents including children?
15. If God is all-knowing, why do holy books describe him as surprised or angered by the actions of humans? He should have known what was going to happen.*
16. Why didn't god invent telephone?
17. Did god anticipate the atom bomb?
18. Has anybody heard how heaven (swargam) looks like?
19.  

This list will go on as and when I think of more questions.
 * credit: http://thomasswan.hubpages.com/hub/40-Questions-to-ask-a-Christian

(still in discussion)

“In a day so bright
An eclipse makes us wonder
In the vast sky so blue
A thunder makes us shudder
In an ocean so wide
A whirlpool brings to our mind
Why are obstacles sprinkled on every path of life?

But then, the ray of life glitters
The memory of the sweet lullaby inspires
Nothing precious is achieved without a struggle
The taste of sweet success brings us insurmountable joy


In a night so quiet
A solitary sound makes one turn
In a world of sorrow
A gentle smile gives new hope
In a life full of hardships
A moment of peace makes everything worthwhile”.

The first two lines and last six are mine and remaining lines are not mine (u guessed it right)....they are penned by a talented person, who prefers to be anonymous. Any comments on the poem will be passed on to that person.

Q & A

Why do I despair?
When there is still hope.
Why do I doubt?
When things are certain.
Why am I restless?
When there is peace all around.
Why am I worried?
When the world is carefree.
Why am I unhappy?
When everyone is in bliss.
Why do I ask why?
When I know all the answers.
Nrupesh 17/11/08

My first attempt at a short story

Hello everybody! Am back after a long gap. This time am deviating from my standard brand of humour. Below is the first chapter of my first short story. Read on and don't forget to let me know if you are interested in reading the next chapter!

Chapter 1

Neetu sighed and got back to her desk and silently uttered few of her choicest swear words. That’s all she could do of course. It was going to be late again today like yesterday and the day before yesterday and week before that. Sometimes Neetu wondered whether taking up this job was the right thing to do or to follow her dream, the dream which slipped into oblivion. She turned to her laptop and saw numerous gtalk windows blinking urging her to reply. Again Neetu wondered when was the last time she met her friends she was chatting with. ‘Wondering will not enable me to leave early’ she thought and grudgingly began the work ‘delegated’ by her manager.

“What happened Neetu?” Her next-cubicle-colleague Priti asked. Neetu turned and realized how her sullen face would look and immediately tried to look cheerful. It was pathetic attempt.
“Nothing much, same old story! Kalpesh …. that…..” Priti closed her ears and waited for the expletives to complete. “He wants me to do his work again” Neetu concluded.
“Hard luck again Neetu. See you tomorrow, am leaving now….bubye” Priti said packing her things. Neetu masking her annoyance bade her good bye with a smile and got back to staring at her laptop like a matador staring at the bull. With one more sigh she got back to work. At exactly 7 o clock her mobile phone started ringing and ‘Dad’ appeared on its screen. For a moment Neetu intended to miss the call and continue working. If she missed the call, her father would call again. If that call went unanswered, he would then call her company and if that call went unanswered some of her colleagues would get a call.
“Hello” she said trying to sound cheerful.
“Hello Neetu, where are you? Still at office? Are you going to be late?” Her father asked. “Book a taxi, don’t come by autorikshaw. It’s dangerous at this time of night.”
“Okay dad.”
“Do book a taxi, if you are too busy I can do it. Shall I book it at 7.30”
“Dad, I have lots of work, I will book a taxi once I am done with this work” Neetu said with an edge of irritation entering her voice. She tried her best to remain cool when talking to her dad even though her father usually ignored when Neetu lost her control.
“When will your work be completed” Her father asked unaffected
“No idea dad, may be after one hour or three hours” She lied
“Three hours?” Her father asked as if scandalized. “I will come and pick up, in that case”
“No need dad, I can come home by myself”
“Its going to be 10 by the time you leave. I will come and pick you up” Her father said in the same unhurried manner which did not do much good to Neetu’s temper.
“Dad, I will come once the work is done and I am going to come alone. You need not come” She said and disconnected the call without waiting for her father’s reply.
No sooner she disconnected call than she realized her mistake. She started to dial her home to apologize when she heard a voice beside her.
“Neetu, what is the progress?” Her manager Kalpesh asked with an air of indifference. Neetu somewhere detected a hint of ridicule. He might have heard the last piece of conversation Neetu thought.
“Just some loose ends left Kalpesh”
“Complete it and mail me the results. I am leaving now. See you tomorrow.” He said and started towards the door. He turned back when he was at the door and said with a tinge of condescension. “Book a Taxi if it gets late. It is dangerous for girls after 8 pm”.

Neetu gritted her teeth with frustration and looked menacingly at his back. If looks could kill … or at least hurt she thought. She now felt like the unlucky bull about to be terminated by the matador. With rising anger and aggravating annoyance she continued her work. At 8:30 pm she completed her work and mailed the results to her manager. She packed her things and left the office. She was angry at father for treating her like a kid who couldn’t take care of itself. She was angry at her boss who was coldhearted. She was angry at herself to have lost control. Chafing she decided she would take an autorikshaw to home today.

She came out of her office building and stood waiting near the old bus stop outside the building. There was not much light around, the only illumination provided by vehicles head lights and far off street lamps. Only one person was at the bus stop, apparently waiting for an autorikshaw too. After couple of minutes of waiting, Neetu realized her foolishness and was in two minds whether to go back to office and book a cab or call her dad, when a three wheeler came around and stopped near the other person who looked like a school boy with his back pack. Neetu could see the driver shaking his head moved ahead towards Neetu.
“Hanumantha Nagar” She told when the vehicle stopped near her
The driver accelerated his vehicle not even bothering to reply. Neetu sighed and looked expectantly at the empty road ahead. She saw the school boy looking at her but turned back ahead the moment she saw him. Neetu knew she was an attractive girl. Boys at her college ogled at her and male colleagues usually spared her a glance when they passed her cubicle or when they had lunch at the cafeteria. Her thoughts were disrupted when one more three wheeler trudged towards them. It halted near the school boy for a few seconds and moved towards Neetu
“Hanumantha Nagar” She repeated
“One fifty rupees madam” Said the driver
“Why one fifty? The fare is only eighty to Hanumantha Nagar” Retorted Neetu a little loudly than she wanted to.
“One fifty madam” the driver repeated and took off when Neetu was silent contemplating few rude words.
Neetu directly looked at the school boy ahead who was smiling sympathetically. Neetu glared at him and his smile disappeared instantly.

Twenty minutes passed along with ten more autoriskshaws but none of them ready to go to her neighbourhood. The schoolboy never looked back once after Neetu’s glare. It made her unhappy, why she couldn’t understand though. The day at office was making her snappy first at her father and now at the kid who was trying to be good to her. Her father would be concerned now, pacing the hall, getting restless and bickering with her mother on the smallest of issues. Neetu’s mother took everything in her stride and was rarely affected by her father’s nervousness but even she lost her cool sometimes. The way things were going today she was sure her mother will go berserk.

The eleventh autorikshaw stopped near the school boy, like a ritual thought Neetu. Expecting the same, she readied herself for another ‘no madam’ when the schoolboy got into the vehicle. She cursed silently. She should have gone ahead of the school boy and hired the autorikshaw first. To her surprise the vehicle stopped and a voice asked from inside the autorishaw.
“I am going to Banshankari third stage. In case you need to go any place on the way, I can drop you.”
Banshankari third stage was one km from her place. Neetu stood there unable to decide whether to go with this stranger school boy who sounded more like an adult than a school boy.
“I am not going to eat you, you know” he said popping his head out of the vehicle.


Neetu’s father paced up and down the hall. His wife sat nonchalantly on the sofa reading one of her magazines. He wished he could be like her, but try as he might he could not. Neetu was late again. He always worried if anything untoward would happen to his daughter. The nights in Bangalore were not safe anymore, what with one incident after the other. He wanted to call her again to ask if she started or is she on her way. But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t totally understand why his daughter would be irritated with him when all he wanted was to see daughter safe back home. He supposed the work pressure at office made her talk like that and couldn’t blame her for that, though she was getting annoyed very easily these days.

“Can you call Neetu and ask her where is she?” He said turning towards her wife.
“This is the third time you have asked me. She will start when she is done with her work, she is not a child anymore and she is not the only girl who works late and comes late, there are thousands of them in Bangalore. She will be alright, lets have dinner.”

He acquiesced and strode into the dining room where dinner was arranged on the table and the food had become a tad cold. As was usual when they had dinner without Neetu, not many words were spoken; each occupied with his/her thoughts. He almost asked his wife to call Neetu again but thought better of it when the phone started to ring.


Neetu’s mother watched her husband pace up and down the hall. Neetu came late three out of five days in a week and every time Neetu was late her husband got restless. Why he was so worried she could not fathom. She continued reading the short story in the magazine, but was aware that some time soon her husband would ask her to call Neetu. She was prepared with her answer. Of course it wasn’t a novel answer; she had calmed her husband before with the same answer before only in different words and sometimes in different languages.

The question came eventually and she gave the standard reply. They had dinner together devoid of any talk. She hesitated to start any conversation with him because she knew her husband would end up trying to persuade her to call Neetu. Neetu was matured beyond her years and a good head on her shoulders. Neetu’s mother could see her daughter’s work was taking toll on her daughter. She was frostier these days than forthright. May be, Neetu’s mother thought, it was time to talk about it and take a decision when the phone started to ring.


Ravi was alone at the bus stop. He was waiting for an autorikshaw since fifteen minutes and none seem to like his place of residence. The last one said it was too far and he wouldn’t get any return fare from there. The next one just moved ahead without even replying and stopped a little ahead. He turned optimistically to see if the driver had changed his mind but what he saw was a girl talking to the driver who pushed off without answering her. He heard another autorikshaw coming and turned back to stop the vehicle.

This fellow asked double the normal fare which Ravi was tempted to accept but in the end decided to wait and asked the fellow to carry on. The vehicle moved on and halted near girl. The girl seemed to be enraged by the fare quoted by the driver and shouted at him. Ravi tried one his best smile hoping to placate her, but her look (which was amplified by headlights of an oncoming truck) made him flinch. After ten more vehicles and not one look behind one autorikshaw took pity of him and agreed to go to his locality. When Ravi saw the girl still standing waiting for an auto, he asked the driver to stop and asked her
“I am going to Banshankari third stage. In case you need to go any place on the way, I can drop you.”
No reply came, so he craned his neck out and saw her wearing an apprehensive look.
“I am not going to eat you, you know” he said.

Liar liar pigs on fire

I woke up the next day, my head heavy with dreams which I cannot describe without evoking strong comments from my readers. Did I say Harsha would call him the next day, the day after next? Well I exaggerated a bit, as a matter of fact, Harsha did not call me the succeeding week nor the week after that. During the second day of the third week, this is what happened:

"Nagesh...... I called you 3 times since morning, tell me whether you can send the report" My manager was on the phone sounding frustrated and resigned. He hung up the phone a moment later and turned to me with an expression which meant.... you have to do a job which you may.....not may..... will not like.
"Nrupesh, I have a job for you. You have to lie. You have to call this company up and ask for a report on "Industry Insight - Pig farming in India" and talk to them as if you are the owner of a pig farm in Hyderabad. Never mention ABC consulting. These research companies don't give their reports to consulting firms like us, since we use the data and then charge heavily to our clients." he said.
"Whats the name of my pig farm?"
"Use your imagination Nrupesh"
"Gluttonous Pig Farm Private Limited"
"What? gluttonous? I said use your imagination, not mind. Tell them you are from PK Pig farms"
"Okay, and where is it?"
"Hmmmm.......... Shamashabad, near the new airport"
"How many pigs does my farm have?"
"Hmmmm.......... How many noses do you have?"
"One sir"
"If you want to retain it, start now and get me the report, the address and phone numbers are in the mail which I will send you"

Somebody said, if you can't avoid it, enjoy it. With thought I was parking my two-wheeler at the research company premises when a familiar voice said "Hi Nrupesh".
As my intelligent readers might have guessed it was Harsha who strode up to me after the loud greeting which made wish I was invisible. Without waiting for a return greeting, he said "Hi dude, long time no see? Glad to see you here Nrupesh. What are you doing here?"
"Hi Harsha, we met two weeks back, isn't it? Anyway am here to collect a report." I said and added "What are you doing here?"
"Me? I work in that building" he said gesturing the opposite complex. "I came out for....... hmmmm........" I guess he forgot for what he had come out.
I filled in the silence by "Would you like to come with me?" as a matter of courtesy, expecting Harsha to decline it, and then realised my fatal mistake. It was bit late to take than back, because Harsha said "Okay" in a flash.

At the doorstep of the Company, I realised I had made a potential blunder. I grabbed Harsha by the cuff before he could step in, took him near the end of the corridor and said
"Harsha, hmmm....... how do I explain this to you....... I own a pig farm in Shamshabad"
"Pig farm? oh.. a Pig farm... but...." I did not let him complete the sentence and hurried on with my explanation.
"I am pretending to be an owner of a pig farm to buy a report titled 'Industry Insight - Pig farming in India'. These guys are not selling to consultancy firms like my firm."
"Oh!"
"And..... you are my associate, my partner in the my pig farm. By the way the name of the farm is PK Pig farms"
"Wow! I am your partner now! How many pigs are there in our farm?" said Harsha excitedly.
"How many noses do you have?" I said with obvious frustration creeping up.
"What?"
"Never mind, inside let me do all the talking. You speak only when spoken to."
"If you say so Nrupesh, but I have lot of knowledge on pigs, I could help you."
"Please Harsha, I beg you, please do not"
"Ok" Harsha said dejectedly.

With a feeling of impending doom, I entered the reception area with Harsha in tow. It was an opulent looking front office, with finely designed furniture and exquisite interiors. I inquired of Nagesh with the fat receptionist (who uncannily resembled a ......a......) and was asked to wait for sometime. I thought the spare time can be put to better use by filling up gaps of why I was was here to Harsha, but before I could comfortably sit on the plush sofa a portly man strode in from one of the cabins. He had a bulbous nose, with a thin mustache and balding head. He was dressed quite decently with a crease less shirt and a matching tie. He said in a voice which matched his belly
"You must be Nrupesh from the PK pig farms. I am Nagesh. You look quite young...... from the phone call I expected ........ well to be honest I did not expect this. Its always better to catch them young"
"Did he mean pigs or us" Harsha whispered.
"Just keep quiet" I whispered back before turning to the newcomer. "Hello Mr. Nagesh, as I mentioned on the call, I would like to buy your company's report on 'Industry Insight - Pig farming in India'"
"Sure sure...you have come at the right time Mr. Nrupesh, the report will take some time to be updated with the latest figures. You know how difficult it is extract the numbers in our business. This will give us time to know you and your firm better and how we can be of better service to you later. Please come inside."
We sat down in a comfortable meeting room. I introduced Harsha to Nagesh and told him that he was my associate. He wanted us to have the special tea which the company's vending machine brew. How can a vending machine produce a 'special tea' was beyond me. However, we wisely settled for a glass of water.

As soon as we were comfortable Nagesh began by
"At our company, we just do not sell reports, we build long term relationships with our customers. We wish to help you extract value from our services, help you realise your market potential, to be partners in your growth and drive with your until you become the leaders in the market space." And then added "Please tell me about your firm, I am hearing it for the first time"
Bracing myself, I began what my manager directed me to do. To lie.
"Me and my associate here started our company 6 months ago. I hold the majority shares in the company. After a lot of discussion on our growth strategy we have decided to expand out business and in that respect we need the report of yours for our strategic decision making"
"hmm..... Do u like pigs Mr. Nrupesh, Mr. Harsha"
"Yes." We said in unison, though my 'yes' paled in comparison to the other. Harsha's eyes light up and the conviction with which he gave is assent was remarkable.
"Yes .. Yes... I see the spark in you young kids. I have dedicated my life to pigs" What?? I thought, trying to keep my face straight. "Such noble animals, but history has mistreated them. Never projected for what they are worth. Let pigs be pigs in pig habitats. It makes me happy that there are some, who still believe in the noble art of pig farming. Don't you think.....'if wishes were pigs, beggars would eat' is a better proverb. You know what Sir Winston Churchill said about pigs? He said 'I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.' You may not know this, but pigs were objects of worship in some primitive religions. Pigs beat dogs in using computers. If that is not enough there are movies in which pigs play the lead role!" He took a break to digest the expression on our faces. I am sure my expression was not encouraging, but he seemed to think other wise and continued.
"Research ranks the pig as number two among intelligent beings on the planet. Others suggest humans; primates (apes and monkeys); dolphins and other whales; and next pigs. What matters is that researchers insist that the pig is a bright animal and very sensitive"
"Who is number one then?" Harsha asked. His question went unanswered because Nagesh hadn't finished .... yet.
"Its a sweet and sensitive animal, has organs that may be transplanted to humans, the size and build-up of its intestive organs come close to those of humans, the skin may look a bit like human skin at a distance, and so on.........." He seemed to realise at last, that it was going a bit too far and decided to end it....temporarily. "Well I can go on about pigs till the pigs come home."
It was like sitting on a roller coaster ride, with a pig for a companion. I had to grab that report and get out of here as fast my legs would take me.
"Could you see if the report is ready Mr. Nagesh?"
"Another 20 minutes and its ready Mr Nrupesh and sorry I have been doing all the talking, when it comes to pigs ..... you have seen what happens to me. Any way how many pigs do u have in the farm of yours? It still surprises me that I have never heard your company's name before."
I gulped and begin to throw some arbitrary number when Harsha jumped in
"Fifty five as of today." I turned and gave him my warning glance, which slid off him without the slightest of affect. Meanwhile Nagesh continued his questioning.
"Hmm....what are your expansion plans?"
"We have plans to acquire the adjoining land and build a centrally air conditioned, properly ventiliated pig farm which can house upto 150 pigs, ensuring minimum fatalities and increased productivity. You might know that pigs susceptible to heat stress, and all pigs lack sweat glands and cannot cool themselves." To this Nagesh nodded vigorously and my mouth dropped open a couple of centimeters in amazement. Harsha did not stop there. "We also plan to install the state of art drip water systems, which have to be imported."
Nagesh was ..... elated, like a father on hearing his son scored the highest in a subject in which he had failed. "How about the food arrangement for the extra population?"
I wisely refrained from answering. Harsha was on a roll and Nagesh ..... completely awestruck by him.
"Pigs are naturally omnivorous and we feed them a combination of grains and protein sources - soybeans, or meat......." Harsha continued and Nagesh continued on methods on farming employed by our farm, breeding etc.,
It was like Halley (yes... the guy from Halley's comet) and Newton discussing the circumference of Earth. Two scholars discussing about Pig farming methods and related criticism.

Somebody knocked on the door and the intellectual conversation stopped abruptly. The irritation on being interrupted was evident on their faces. The guy who knocked entered and carried a bound book of around 1000 pages. I heaved a sigh of relief. At last....... the report.
"Sir, the report is ready" he said addressing Nagesh. He did not notice Harsha or me. It was as if the room was empty excepting Nagesh. He handed over the report and left without a word. I imagined I would become like him, if I was going to be in the meeting room for one more minute.
"Thanks Mr. Nagesh" I said loudly, gave him the cheque and grabbed the report. I lost my balance and would have fallen on Mr. Nagesh if I had not regained it. The report was quite heavy!
"What's the hurry Mr. Nrupesh, I am still getting to know about your company and I thought I knew all about pig farming and Mr. Harsha is a marvel here."
"Actually Mr. Nagesh, we have a luncheon meeting with some investors and we don't want to be late for it." I said and hardened my voice and said "Dont't we Harsha?" with a piercing look at Harsha.
After a moment of indecision, he said "Yes yes, we have got to go, I almost forgot. Thank you Mr. Nagesh. We will meet some other day and discuss intensive piggeries that represent corporatization" What ever that meant.

On my way out, I glanced at the receptionist and then I realised she uncannily resembled a PIG! Out of building, I thanked Harsha for his help. With out him I would have been a lost pig....I mean a lost lamb.
"How do you know so much about pigs Harsha?"
"It was on Discovery yesterday night. Two hour special and I did not miss a minute" Thank god!
"Okay then, see you. I have got to rush to office"
"Don't we have a meeting with investors in an hour?"
I waited grinding my teeth till comprehension dawned on him and bid him farewell and set off back to my office.

Back at my office, I handed the report to my manager, when his phone started ringing.
"Its from Nagesh, lets see what he has got to say." he said and switched on his speaker phone
"Hello Mr Gautam, the Industry Insight - Pig farming in India requested by you is ready. Do you want me to mail it to you?"

After a long time!!

Its been a long time since I have posted. I have always taken inspiration from something which has happened with me and turn it into a humourous account of events using my imagination. During these last four months, hard as I might try, I could not convert my experiences into something funny, which is, I know hard to believe. Due to my inability to rely on my personal happenings to produce amusing bits of stories anymore, I have decided to rely only on my imagination alone to come up with posts. I know it might be difficult, but as somebody said - on the other side of difficulties is success.

I love the character of Lord Emsworth from the Blanding series by P.G Wodehouse. My new posts will center on conversation and situations with someone who is like Lord Emsworth and Me. I will be narrating the story of course.


1. An introduction to Harsha

It is imperative that, you should know how Harsha and I met and how we came to be friends. So here it goes:

"Its a tricky situation. Prasad has to apply all his experience."
"What do you think?" The guy who was standing beside me said loudly. Almost everybody in the crowd looked at this guy with an expression that indicated - one more word and you are a dead man. And that look transferred to me, because the guy addressed it to me, as if I had something to do with this guy shouting loudly.
I looked at him and pleaded him to lower his voice and concentrate on the screen.
And suddenly the entire crowd started shouting wildly, like a tribals preparing to sacrifice before their beloved gods. It took a moment for me to realise what happened and joined the celebration with a scream.

After a couple of minutes, the thrill died down and I started becoming aware of where I was. I was in front of a TV showroom watching the Indian cricket celebrating the win on one of the numerous televisions on display. And the hero of course was Venkatesh Prasad, the Indian fast bowler who hit 3 runs of the last ball to take India to victory (of some series I don't remember).

"You are from Om Vidyalaya right - 97 batch?" asked the guy who was standing beside me as the crowd started to disperse. I replied in the affirmative and asked "Do I know you?"
"You were my class mate in sixth......and you are Nrupesh.... aren't you? You and I were partners in building a model of a village with a wind mill and a bio gas plant"
"u.... huh" I said with some difficulty. Who could remember with such alarming details of events of nearly 8 years before?
"I am Harsha" he said with his right hand propped up. I shook his hand trying to recall why did I ever make a model of a village with a bio gas plant.
After some more introductions of what he was doing and what I was, exchanging our mobile phone numbers (which has become a common practice as saying bye to an acquaintance), I was planning to say good bye.
"Great partnership, wasnt it?" he said and I said yes. Without the crucial partnership between Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath the match was as good as lost.
"We scored 5 upon 5" he said
"What?"
"The village model, Annapurna ma'am was really impressed by it"
"Oh ..... ok, I thought you were referring to the cricket match"
"What cricket match?"
I looked at one of the television screens on which the presentation ceremony was being conducted. Following my lead, Harsha directed his attention and for 3 to 5 seconds, his mouth was open staring at the TVs.
"Oh...this cricket match" he said with the conviction of understanding a complex mathematical theory.
I was planning, for the second time, to say good bye when Harsha uttered a curse which made the dispersing crowd stared at us....... again. An elderly man gave a look that could have meant either we were better of unborn or if it was up to him, he would have hanged us upside down and give a thrashing of our lives.

"What happened?" I asked
"Somebody flicked my wallet" he said and frantically searched all his trouser pockets. He was tensed like I did before I gave my X class exams and the trouser was a cargo which had at least 10 pockets. "I should have been careful. Shit man, my mom is going to kill me. what shall I do Nrupesh?"
"I think your wallet is in shirt pocket" I said when I saw it just before he questioned me.
He took out his wallet and the relief spread across all his features as fast as ink spreads on a blotting paper.

I was planning, for the third time, to say good bye and before I could, he said it this time and turned muttering something unintelligible with out waiting for me to return his farewell. He walked away very fast without giving me any opportunity even to catch him up.

I returned to my home. The face actually looked familiar, though I was unable to place it. I slept with Harsha out of mind, though little did I know that he would call me the next day, the day next to that and almost every other day!!

My trip to Goa with two……... Part 2 (pls read part 1 first)

To describe me as utterly shocked to the core is like throwing a dart as close to the bulls eye as possible. One can also describe me as spellbound and speechless partially because Mr. Manikant, who seemed to share my feelings, in his booming voice pounded questions at the driver who also looked shocked by the influx of so many queries. I guess Mr. Mohit was not shocked because he sat motionless, oblivious of what was going on with his huge tinted sunglasses on. May be he was taking a nap!

After the barrage of questions the hapless driver was finding it difficult to drive on the already damaged highway. The answers given by the driver did not elicit any new information.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” the pessimist resurfaced again. “It’s not as bad as it looks like, you still have your phone, internet and some books. They should keep you afloat for the next week” the optimist always seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

We reached the client location after travelling 20 minutes from the Goa-Karnataka border. The entry gate was unassuming. The moment we entered the factory premises, a cold breeze swept into from the car’s air conditioning on to my face, silence engulfed the vehicle different from the silence during the 2.5 hrs ride, a distinct peace settled into my heart, the surroundings could have inspired Robert Frost to pen something immortal. Involuntarily I reached for phone and to my horror I found there was no network. The cold breeze withdrew, silence during the ride took its rightful place again, the peace which settled itself on false pretences was kicked out and Robert Frost would not have dreamed of entering such a place.

“There is no network here!!” I blurted out.

“Only BSNL phones work here, sir” the driver said.

“I don’t use a mobile phone. People become slaves of mobiles.” declared Mr. Manikant.

“Only BSNL, shit man” I cried out

“Everybody has a mobile phone these days; they pay money to get enslaved, to loose their independence.” interpolated Mr. Manikant again.

“Only BSNL, are u sure” I asked driver, in a tone which in itself was the answer to the question I posed. The driver sympathetically nodded his head, to indicate that I was not the first one.

“Addiction……young people get addicted to mobiles. In my days the landline was only a mode of communication” concluded you know who.

First mode of transportation, now mode of communication. Before I could think of any other modes, I realised with yet another shock that no network meant no internet, since I used my phone to connect to the net. Despair…….yes despair would just about sum up my situation.

For the next three days, my elderly colleagues did what they did best and I did what I don’t do the best, which is, appreciating the greenery around, enjoying the tranquility of the place, soliloquizing, gazing at office furniture and stuff like that. At the end of the third day, while having my dinner, a brilliant thought stuck me – what if I can go back to Hyderabad (my home town) for the weekend, instead of travelling back to Delhi. The more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed and before I finished my dinner, my spirits were on a new high.

Next day was beautiful. I could hear the birds chirping, experienced a gentle breeze and I heard Mr. Mohit talk. Just when things were going great, I was informed that Kapil was trying to get in touch with me. With a definite feeling of foreboding I dialed Kapil’s number. The long and short of the phone call, which you might have already guessed is not good news, is that ‘we’ have to go to Bhuj in Gujrat to another factory, for three more days.

What does a man do when his hopes are crushed and has to look forward to few more days of dread and horror? He sulks. And that’s what I did; I sulked for the whole day, succumbed to the inevitable and landed in Bhuj on Sunday morning.

What is the first thing, which comes to your mind when you hear about Bhuj. Yes….earthquakes! And what are the odds of an earthquake on Monday morning when I am fast asleep? At about 5 in the morning, an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale (for the information of readers, no damage to property or life was reported) shook Bhuj. A nice ‘Welcome to Bhuj’ gift, isn’t it?

This client location had the almost the same characteristics of the previous one with one exception. Unlike Karwar which was endowed with ample greenery, Bhuj was totally dry. Only weeds grew in abundance in Bhuj. From experiencing a new high a few days back, my spirits plummeted to a new low during these days. But all was not lost; I could still go to Hyderabad this weekend if I was not sent to another godforsaken place, though I was not too optimistic about it and who can blame me?

My fear was not misplaced when Mr. Manikant cornered me on the third day at Bhuj and informed me that we were going to Jamnagar next for ‘only’ two days. Compared to all previous blows, this piece of news was taken by me pretty well; the primary reason being he also asked me to book the tickets for Delhi on Saturday.

Two days in Jamnagar were a mere blur; with ticket to Hyderabad (I booked a ticket to Hyderabad instead of Delhi) in my hand, I entered the airport on Saturday. Could anything go wrong from here? I asked myself. Looking back at the two weeks anything could happen, but it seemed that gods were in a happy mood over the weekend partying somewhere in the heavens.

I spent two days blissfully in Hyderabad and on Monday evening I was on the flight back to Delhi. What I was about to face in Delhi was nothing compared to the last two weeks. But that’s another story!!

Epilogue: I like the word ‘Epilogue’ and that’s the reason I am writing one and whether this is an epilogue or not I have no idea. When I landed in Hyderabad I realised that Mr. Mohit had never been with us in Jamnagar. Back in Delhi I was told that he returned after the trip to Bhuj.