Nostalgia

    Diwali has come and gone but I didn't have the excitement and the fun that I usually did. I didn't want to wake up early, didn't want to burst even a single cracker (which can be considered good and Eco-friendly) and didn't feel like wearing new clothes! Diwali used to be so much better.

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   A few years back when all my neighbors were there, Diwali was all about bursting as many bombs and walas as possible and wearing new clothes. We would wake up as early as possible and burst crackers so that we would be the first in our street to burst them. We never got bored of them. Never! We would burst crackers all morning and collect all the paper around the place, burn it and make it look like some kind of a bonfire and dance around it. Crazy times it were! We would try different tricks every year. One year it was bursting bijili on the wire post. Another year it was lighting the bijili in hand and throwing it in the drainage at the right time so that the waste water will splash on the person right next to it! Disgusting right? But we found it fun and I still do.


   Then we would change to a more traditional clothing and give sweets to everyone. There would be a hidden of competition of who wore the best clothes and the most number of clothes. I know it sounds childish now but then we were children back then. Lunch (or should I say sweets) and then a short nap in the afternoon so that we would be fresh enough for the next round of bursting crackers.

     This was how Diwali used to be. But now things have changed. All my friends are in a different place. Two of my friends did come to my house but it wasn't as much fun. Things have definitely changed! This Diwali all we did was remembering all that we did and hoping for a Diwali with everyone in one place. After all Diwali is the festival of lights and joy and whats is joy without people to enjoy with?

-Shreeji

Why blog?

    When I tell someone that I write a blog, all they ask me is what is a blog?. One or two person is fine but then most of them? I'm surprised! It makes me wonder why people blog when no one reads it.

   

    I met this person recently who has been blogging for over a year now with more than 20 posts but just one follower. And it seems that, that follower is his brother and he is following him just because he had to. So I asked him if he wouldn't feel frustrated or annoyed to see that no one is reading their blogs for which he replied with a mere 'Not really'. We simply changed to another topic and didn't discuss it anymore. 

   I gave it a lot of thought to why people blog. There are people who earn money from blogging. Such are people who write really good blogs which are useful for others unlike mine. There also people who blog just for the sake of it and others who blog just because they wanna express what they feel. That's it. 

  Blogs has become more like a substitute to the good old leather bound diary in which people put their thoughts in words. Of course it has the major difference that diaries aren't meant for people to read it. But then those were the days when people where too shy to express and admit what they feel.

   Everyone has to let out what they think one way or the other. We update status in Facebook, tweet, some gossip, etc. to do just this. I blog just so I can let the world know what I feel. I don't care if people read it or not. I have let it out of mind and it is up to the rest of the world to listen.

-Shreeji

iNQUEST

What's wrong with the world?

Or Is something wrong with me?
Is it how it is?
Or Is it how it appears to be?

I look around to find;
That things have changed.
I see not my friends;
But images that are arranged.

Is this the universal truth?
Or Is it just a case?
Is this how it's gonna be?
Or Is it just another phase?

I keep asking these questions,
And I find not n answer.
I keep searching for them,
But i haven't got any closer.

-Shreeji

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    She imagined the scene over and over again in her mind. They both would be sitting on a bench on a pleasant evening, talking about general stuff like college. At one point of time when they would have nothing else to speak about and when there is this awkward silence she would break the ice. In a shy and soft way she would ask him "Do you still like me?". And then he would ask "What do you mean?" for which she would reply "You know what I mean." Her imagination would stop right there. Her only wish was to hear a yes but isn't sure if that would be the reality.

   It all started four months back. They were really good friends. One night all of a sudden he said "I need to tell you something private. Promise me you 'll keep this conversation discreet". With all excitement she said a yes thinking he was gonna tell about one of his past girlfriend or someone she could tease him with. He went on saying that he doesn't want the result of that conversation to put their friendship in jeopardy. Confused, she said "Sure. It won't". After a short pause he said "Over the years I have developed feelings for you. I have kept them bottled up inside me because I didn't know how to say it. But now the load has got unbearable and I needed to get it off. I will respect your opinion on this". The words struck her mind like a spear. She just cut the call and switched her phone off. She didn't know what to say. She never thought about him that way. She couldn't sleep that night.
    
   The next morning she got a few text messages from him but decided not to reply for any of it. That night after giving a long thought to what had happened she text him asking not to have contact with her. She wanted some time to forget what had happened and like that the days went. She hadn't spoken to him for more than a week. She started liking him for respecting her wishes. The very thought of him gave her a smile. Days went by like this and at one point of time they started talking as if there were no such conversation between them.

   One night, she asked him "You didn't say anything for what I said that day". A very vague question it was but they both very well understood what it meant. She knew that they would be really good friends if she said a no but if she told that she liked him too things may get really weird. And she didn't want that.  She said "I just want us to be friends. Nothing more, nothing less". And just as he promised he never spoke another word about it again.

   But now things have changed. She knows for a fact that he is interested in a girl of his own college. If only she had said a different answer that night. She doesn't like what she did but neither does she know if its opposite is what she wanted.

-Shreeji

P.S. This is my first imaginative piece. Please let me know how it is. :)

Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai..!!!

    Such a nice phrase. But gen X don't understand it. For the past few months I've been going out with a different set of friends every weekend. This weekend I was supposed to go out with my new "college" friends. But mom didn't let me. She was like "I don't understand your concept of friendship! How many friends can a person have? And I don't think they will be with you forever. But the knowledge you gain at this age will help you forever." I, on  the other hand didn't understand any of her questions. I socialize a lot and I want to have fun. I don't care if they 'll be with me till doomsday but I just wanna enjoy as long as it lasts. But for a moment I thought if my mom was right. Was it right to have a huge gang of just friends and no one intimate? A few days later I caught this really good song in an ad for airtel. The song starts like this "chai ke liye jaisa toast hota hai, vaise har ek friend zaroori hota hai" (every friend is important just like we have toast with coffee). Who was I kidding when I thought if it wasn't right to have so many friends? It fits just fine!

     I do accept that teenagers today don't have the "We'll be friends forever" type friends, although we do send everyone texts which says beautiful quotes sometimes boring ones too. I'm sure at least a few really good friend 'll stick with me till the end. But I'm also sure the whole lot won't have contact with me till the end. But who cares! When my mom on the one hand didn't understand the concept of  having a lot of friends, I didn't understand the concept of having just one friend. Isn't there a proverb which goes like this "The More The Merrier"? I have different friends with whom I share different interests with. With some I share the same taste of music, with some I share my secrets, with some I discuss stuff related to studies so on and so forth. We all have a hi-bye friend whom you just see everyday and just greet them but a friend none the less. And if that person throws a party for his or her birthday why shouldn't I go?

    This is the day's trend. The ad has rightly cited today's youth in the best possible way. I'm really addicted to the song! My mom gives me a stare every time I sing that song (which isn't because of my bad voice), but then har ek friend zaroori hota hai yaar! :)

-Shreeji