........................Keep reading to discover..!!

1.Save My Soul

“Beep-Beep” ….this is the most often heard sound on the cell phones of teenagers , lovers, office-goers and by far each and every person walking, sitting , standing , talking  next to you…Yes, it is to mark the arrival of the one and only SMS…which has become an integral part of  every mobile phone…One would never, I repeat NEVER come across an empty inbox in anybody’s cell phone….On the contrary one sometimes needs to deliberately delete some old ones to make space for the series of SMSs lined up….

It is this SMS which brings respite to many at times when sometimes all communications are jammed…Being the fastest mode of communication, it does the job in a jiffy, without having to adopt to any complicated methods…

During the last year’s deluge in Mumbai and also the recent explosions which made everybody shudder, people communicated with their near and dear ones…and once again the SMSs made crores of people heave a sigh of relief…

Be it when a student is stranded on a bus-stop ,or when a reporter needs to inform a crucial information to his news channel…When a daughter wants to inform home about getting late at night….or when one wants to inform that a date stands cancelled…the SMSs have always come to the rescue of each one of them…..

It just takes few presses on the keys and off it is….Your most essential information arrives on the screen of the recipient’s cell…!!

2. Send Me Smiles

   This is another significant job which the SMSs do very efficiently….Be it the long witty shayaris  or cute 1 liners….amusing picture messages  or simple a ‘hi’ from your friends….they definitely do bring a smile to your face…

When you are feeling low and exhausted, a simple joke will surely elevate your mood…

It does a work of a stress-buster when one comes across the cute SMS after a long day’s toil…

A funny SMS works wonders to alleviate your pain when you have just had a strong argument with someone and feeling bitter….

Whether you are working or studying or simply doing nothing…..the characteristic “beep” makes your heart skip a beat for a while….Even when your inbox is flooded with forwarded SMSs…..a new one is always welcome!

3. Smart Money Scam

While we admire the capacity of a small SMS to do wonders…(and it surely does)…When we comfortably send  SMSs to everyone that we know…it is the telecom companies who cash in all our smiles and relief….Behind every SMS which we send these companies happily charge us…Although its only a matter of  1 or at the most 5 Rupees for us, these companies conveniently make a huge business out of it….

But the thing which outrages me to some extent is the involvement of  News channels and other T.V channels in this whole racket….Be it just after the explosions, during the protest against the reservations, or during Indian Idol and TVS sa re ga ma….all the channels convert these happenings and events into a medium to extort money from the public…..And then, each SMS you send is charged 7 to10 rupees…. Imagine the profit they are steadily making with our…..or rather our parent’s hard earned money….!!!

All said and done,….be it this generation or the previous one….we cannot imagine to survive without the presence of this SMS…..Its has become a crucial part of our lives…Moreover with the shortcomings this technology has, it has always proved to be of great use in a modern lifestyle….It has certainly speeded up many of the operations in our day to day life….. Finally, I guess all these endless virtues of an SMS tend to overshadow the all the failings it has…!!

Tuesday evening, Mumbai met one of its worst expected nightmares ...The seven serial explosions in the local trains which killed many and critically injured many more....

Horror and panic struck one and all... The life for mumbaikars came to a standstill......especially those who were traveling by the same train....At that unnerving moment....when it was almost impossible for anyone to think straight ....when one would ideally be in a state of shock.... it was the Mumbaikar who rose to the occasion...it was the most common man who literally carried out the ‘rescue operations’ for all those who were injured ....Be it the poignant task of collecting all those lying dead or trying to save the one lying below a heap of debris....the Mumbaikar did it all....without batting an eyelid....without waiting for the authorities...without fearing the consequences.

It was the day when....Jute sacs and blankets were converted into stretchers... Handkerchiefs and ‘dupattas’ did the jobs of bandages...auto-rickshaws and taxis were transformed into ambulances...Finally,care and support from the mumbaikars did the job of a medicine... They cautiously scanned through the blood shed and the remains .. leaving no stone unturned to save and rescue anybody and everybody...

There was no space for distinctions and discriminations...Religion, caste creed was not not a barrier.....the rich the poor did not matter....At that time only two categories existed.... the injured and the rescuer...Only one religion prevailed.....HUMANITY

 ...Those hurt and wounded were moved to the nearest hospitals for treatment....those deceased were shifted to the morgues......Their belongings were taken care of...Their families were informed... All this was by and large carried out by the local citizens single-handedly .....without the aid of the police...the fire brigade or any such authority...

The helping spirit of the Mumbaikars was also seen in their gestures when people from all areas came out of their respective houses with drums full of drinking water and packets of biscuits for those who were stranded.....Aged and young....rich and poor all made their way to the main roads with a helping spirit in their hearts...

These explosions made an impact on the ‘backbone’ of Mumbai...the local trains.... The number of people stranded on railway platforms was humongous....There was chaos everywhere.... Life remained disrupted for a couple of hours....But that was it....The railway services resumed to some extent by midnight....Life was gradually coming back to normal....Within a day or two, everybody saw that Mumbai was steadily recuperating...

Such is the nature of Mumbai and Mumbaikars....It is the city with tremendous resilience...Here, people have always stood up to the occasion...be it after the blasts in March 1993....or the deluge in July last year......Whatever the calamity, the city assures that you are not left alone...

p.s: The lives lost in the explosions were priceless...The city experienced  immense pain and I am a part of it....I deeply mourn the demise of the  all innocent souls...And pray that the guilty be severely punished for their inhuman acts.....in this life only....

 I HOPE THAT  READER’S DIGEST HAS REALSIED WHAT A GRAVE MISTAKE IT HAS DONE BY CALLING MUMBAI ‘RUDE’.....

Boarding a bus to reach my college is not much of a problem for me except for crossing the extensive east-west bridge to reach the stop...The depot  being the place from where I get on the bus, there has never been a situation of it being overcrowded...with people hanging from all corners and moreover I have always had a preference of  picking the best seat to perch on....

23^rd November was one such monotonous day when I had to reach college by 8 o’clock  for an extra Maths lecture.... Not being the regular timing of my college I left a bit early lest I miss the bus. After a long wait of  nearly 15 minutes the bus arrived and I heaved a sigh of relief...

After my usual encounter with the conductor  for  buying the tickets et al was over....i adjusted myself comfortably on the ‘ladies reserved’ seat. These few seats are ideally located from the point of view of alighting...especially when you are in a hurry and not going in the bus for a joy ride.....

The bus proceeded, halting occasionally at the bus-stops and simultaneously  struggling to find its way through the terrible traffic-jam ahead...The seat besides me was still empty...I was lost in my own world casually listening to the FM on my cell phone when I suddenly heard an indifferent.... “excuse me..” right behind my shoulders...It took me a while to register that it was meant for me.....basically to make place for this young girl to sit next to me...

“Oh, sure” I replied as I  moved inside....

To my surprise my action was responded by a  pleasant smile on the girl’s face...a gesture which is exceedingly rare in today’s fast paced life....I responded too....more because of the thought that it was coming from a  young girl of nearly eight years....who may not even realize the worth of a smile...She did it just  involuntarily or plainly out of her habit.

She sat next to me and placed her school bag neatly on her lap. Then she cautiously took out her fluorescent pink purse with a  Mickey mouse cartoon...Opening the zip she carefully counted 5 rupees required for the ticket...I watched her keenly. I always like to  observe young self-sufficient kids...It only strengthens my belief of how clumsy and careless I was as a kid.

Handing it over to the conductor, she bought the ticket and again followed the same ritual

Open the zip-Fold the ticket-Keep it inside-Close the zip.

 After a while I noticed that her hair ribbon was coming loose...I touched her arm and pointed it out to her....Still she looked questioningly at me... “Tumhara ribbon nikal gaya hai”....I finally told her...Without waiting for a minute she opened the innermost chain of her bag and hunted for something which turned out to be a comb....within minutes she was done with the entire process of  undoing her hair-combing it-tying a plait-and finally carefully tying the ribbon....

With the expertise that she was handling the entire procedure of traveling alone in a crowded public transport I thought that she must be a regular commuter

I was just admiring the little girl to myself  when she suddenly called out... ...

“Didi...aap kahan utroge?”...(“Didi, where will you get down?”)..

Without waiting for an answer she asked again...

“Didi jab Andheri aa jayega to batadoge...please?”....(“Will you please let me know when Andheri comes?”.)

This time she waited expectantly for a “yes” from me....

Inspite of my nodding she seemed impatient....Ultimately I assured her by saying a loud and clear ... “haan...batadoongi...chinta mat karo”......(“Don’t worry...I’ll let you know”)..

“Vaise, tumhara naam kya hai?”....i asked her...(“Whats your name?”) ....

 “Chutki, didi”...she replied with a lot of pride....

She seemed satisfied with my assurance and started looking vaguely at the people standing ahead...

For a girl of nearly eight years, traveling alone by BEST was itself an achievement and it was pretty normal for her to get flustered as far as her bus-stop was concerned, I thought to myself.Minutes passed by and the girl grew increasingly impatient constantly asking me whether her stop had come....Perhaps she was getting late for her school, I wondered.

As the bus reached Andheri, I dutifully made her realize that her destination had arrived...

She looked at me....smiled and reciprocated with a warm “Thank you, didi”

Hurriedly, she dodged her way through the overcrowded bus till she finally managed to reach the door....

I lost track of her as she alighted and got lost in the crowd...Putting my headphones back into my ears I casually looked out of the window......As the bus slowly moved ahead I spotted the same girl who was sitting next to me.....Only this time....with a WALKING STICK!......

Horror struck me at the same time as realization dawned ......young Chutki is BLIND...

My heart was filled with mixed emotions of being angry with God and parallely I marveled at the young girls courage to fight back the situation...

Such was her ‘Blind faith’ towards the society....the system and HERSELF....

The day started of with a mild drizzle and twitter of birds in d background...People hurrying to office clutching their umbrellas and young kids proudly showing off their new raincoats on their way to school ... For a day in the month of June...nothing seemed unusual and nothing appeared out of place.... “Apparently, the weather gods  are taking some rest after the 26^th July deluge last year”, my cousin told me....With a cup of steaming hot tea in our hands and occasional bites of the new orange flavored Marie...standing in the balcony ,we contemplated whether to go all the way from Bandra to Lower Parel..(Phoenix Mills) for her birthday shopping...Confused souls that both of us were...we FINALLY decided in the affirmative...(And perhaps....somebody up there was smiling at us...!!)

After nearly 90 minutes of our never-ending rituals both of us were all set to venture out in the rains and find our way to our most coveted destination at that point of time....the bus stop...We climbed down the stairs of the building with a lot of excitement in our hearts...( Pssst...It was 1 of those rare occasions when our parents had allowed us to shop alone...)..only to witness a flooded compound waiting to welcome us...We exchanged irritated looks...Wading through the accumulated water which was a haven for all the creepy underwater creatures...was a strict no-no. Nevertheless, within a minute we found both of us  amidst the ‘pond’ with our jeans folded up...trying to carefully dodge our way through the water...Perhaps, we were dominated by the ‘nothing-can-stop-me’ attitude at that moment....

Once we were done with our ‘dodging’ lessons...we walked outside the gate with a sense of triumph! We were next headed to ‘destination: bus-stop’...After the walk for nearly 15 minutes which was equally tricky...more because we had to cautiously avoid the auto-rickshaws from giving us a second ‘bath’....

we arrived at the right bus-stop....And the scene we saw there was the most satisfying one...especially after the trial we had gone through so far...The bus-stop was not at all crowded....which was absolutely a delight to our eyes...We waited patiently for our bus no.80 which was supposed to be our transporter for the journey...Time flew by and as our legs started screaming we realized that we had waited for nearly 45 minutes for the bus...As we were about to change our mind and hail a cab...we saw our ‘heaven’......

Bus no.80 was desperately struggling to make its way through the traffic ahead...Within a matter of few minutes it halted at our bus-stop...Both of us rushed to finally get inside the bus....We did manage to acquire an empty seat only to realize that it had  drenched our jeans....(at all the odd places...   )....However, we endured the long journey and at last reached Phoenix Mills...

“Guess, our suffering has come to an end”, I told my cousin....We walked into the enormous compound of the mall...about to release a sigh of relief.... only to find a huge board hanging on the gate... “WILL OPEN AFTER 2 P.M.....SORRY FOR YOUR INCONVENIENCE”....We immediately peered into our watches...it was just about to strike 1.

Instantaneously, our ‘sigh of relief’ was replaced with a ‘sigh of frustration’....One hour is not too long a time span when your board exam is just about to begin but at this moment it seemed as an eternity outstretched...Anyways, we somehow even managed to cross that barrier....And now finally it struck 2....we waited with bated breath for the guards to open the gates....

As we hurried towards the gate...

I unmistakably heard somebody call my name....

p.s: We somehow managed to demonstrate a brilliant show of ‘patience unlimited’ that day...... When we returned home....jostling our way through every second obstacle... we never even took a second look at what we had bought..... what stole the limelight was the ‘unforgettable’ experience we had...Honestly, we shopped till we DROPPED...

Well 2 b honest, I’m guess dat I’m suffering from d most dreaded disease in world of bloggers….

The ‘BLOGGERZ ITCH’…          

Okies.... let me b a li’l more precise n enlighten u bout dis awful malady....

What is Bloggerz itch ??:

Well, It’s a syndrome wer a blogger is always ITCHING...(literally SCRATCHING... his head..) 4 new n original ideas but is always short of ‘em…N believe me its d most IRRITATING thing wen ur so so desperate 2 update ur blog after ages….(Basically, u’ve been avoiding 2 update it cz of d sole itch...lol)...

Where did I get Bloggerz itch from??:

 Its actually a contagious infection....mostly wen u drop by other fellow bloggerz                 ‘spaces’ n c dat der hasn’t been an update since ages.... or possibly wen u notice dat d ‘copy n paste’ option is used quite indiscriminately... At dat instant itself....hold ur breath...u’ve caught it...

 The Symptoms:

1.      Every second issue u set ur eyes on seems to b d most repulsive 1....

2.      U feel dat ur creativity has completely deserted u....

3.      U lie totally bare...wid simply nothing sensible n constructive 2 write....

4.      U start getting n ‘inferiority-complex’....cz sum of d fellow bloggerz r regularly updating wid something new n.....original

Symptoms of Bloggerz itch can be mild or severe. In more progressed stages of d syndrome, d affected is literally frustrated at his own predicament n even starts getting nightmares bout d same...

Do I need to see a doctor about Bloggerz itch?:

Frankly speaking....NO intensive diagnosis is required....since d affected knows d EXACT cause of d ailment...n is also aware of d onset of d syndrome...

How do I get rid of Bloggerz itch?:

The best treatment 4 Bloggerz itch, is prevention.....(If u jus wanna fill ur blog....go ahead n use d ‘cut-copy-paste’ technique...it may give temporary symptomatic relief...lol) If you're reading this, it is likely that this particular step of treatment has either been passed, or has not worked--keep reading! Once you do get rid of Bloggerz itch, you're going to want to know how to prevent it from happening again in the future....

 Though d syndrome  is quite obstinate n 1 doesn’t get cured easily.... it does disappear after a certain span...only 2 relapse n make d ‘oh-so -devoted’ bloggerz life more n more miserable.... Well, well....Bloggerz itch is something which no blogger can avoid...It kips on striking back on n off n d affected jus has 2 kip up wid it....!!!

p.s:I assume dat most of u who r reading dis must have gone thru a similar situation.....Do enlighten me bout ur novel experiences ....I wud luv 2 hear ‘em out...