We called him “The Jalebi boy”, for he reminded us of the guy from Dhara- Jalebi ad. His smile was to die for. His eyes dripped naughtiness. He would leave no opportunity to play a prank and yet he managed to reserve a place in people’s heart instantly. Even though he was hardly 6 years younger to me, I made it a point to find him in recess (in school) and made sure he called me “Bua” (Aunt) and bowed down to me, in front of his friends, else I would complain to his folks. Yes, I’ve always been a bully.
Years later, we met at my wedding. He had grown into this handsome 19 year old with the same naughty look and a killer smile. Full of life and energy. We met nearly after 6 years, but he still remembered to bow down and call me “Bua” (with a blush this time). He was everything for his grandparents. His grandparents could never stop talking about how lucky they have been to have such a loving and caring boy as their grandson. His dad had high hopes from him. He was a genius too. He was a feather in our family’s hat. Even though he was loved by everybody, he was the closest to his sister.
He lived his life to the fullest. That smile never left his face. While he was preparing to enter the armed forces and serve our country, he also knew how to live in the moment.
Two days back he uploaded a few pics from his recent trip to Hyderabad on facebook. He seemed to be having a gala time with our cousins. Partying till late night, enjoying the streets in an auto rickshaw, posing for the camera, modeling his new pair of glasses, and what not. And today, he’s gone. A person who existed till a day before, who was laughing and enjoying till yesterday, is no more today. He’s gone, leaving his family to grieve forever.
When he left the house with his friend for a drive, his family wouldn’t have realized that they were seeing him alive for the last time. Well, not really. His father did get to see him alive breathing his last breath. He got their just in time to see him close his small eyes forever. He departed his soul in his father’s arms. Imagine a father’s plight, who dreamt his son to be a successful Air Force officer, who nourished his son to being a wonderful human being, who always held his hand through thick and thin so he could be their supporting pillar when they need it the most, seeing his son covered in his own blood.
After screaming under my pillow, howling and weeping in my room for days, sleepless nights, I can’t help but wonder what his last thoughts were. I wonder if he was scared. I wonder if he wanted to see his family for the last time. I wonder if he was relieved to see his father. I wonder if that smile on his face was still there. Guess I would never know. But one thing I can be sure of, that Inder Jamwal (IJ), will always be missed.
It's been 3 days now, but I still feel he would reply to my messages on facebook. I still feel I would wake up tomorrow to realize that this is just a very scary dream. I still feel everybody is mistaken and this is not true.
Inder, please come back :(
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Near Death Experience!!!
Lately, my life has been so exciting, I could write a book and I bet it would be a best seller… “The Adventures of Deepali” (Tintin would be ashamed of himself after reading this).
Gone are the days when men were macho. Then they started coloring their hair… a few did the nail polish… some wore shirts with frills… and some got their ears pierced. As men were sucked into the lady’s domain, the average lady entered the macho world. Getting tickets for speeding, watching cricket, enjoying sci-fi action movies and bungee jumping.
I happened to try my hand at bungee jumping too. It has been on my “to-do” list ever since I knew I wanted to be an astronaut. And then I wanted to be a postman, then an engine driver and then Miss World. While my ambitions changed, Bungee Jump always topped my “to-do” list.
I don’t wanna be a jerk and scare you guys, but it is worse than it looks. I’d rather lie flat on railway tracks and die with a heart attack waiting for the train than jump from 215 ft leaving my life to the mercy of a mere rope.
While the staff was buckling me up and preparing me to jump, they tried their best to engross me in small talks. Maybe they smelled my fear and wanted to distract me so I don’t change my mind (or maybe they were concerned I would back out and ask for a refund), but all I could think of was, “who the hell, talked me into this?”
Standing at the edge of the cliff, I remembered how scared I was of heights. I remember that one time when my dad lifted me on his shoulders and I threw up (wonder why no one volunteered lifting me up after that?). All these scary thoughts were crossing my mind, I didn’t even make a final call to my parents, I haven’t embarrassed my sister enough, I am yet to witness Ashish and Mishti (for those who have been irregular to my blog, Mishti is my pet dog) bond.
When the staff was done with buckling me up, I realized, it was just a rope tied to my ankles. No life jacket, not parachute, not jumping with a professional. It was a free fall. Nothing to hold onto. “Why would anyone do such a thing?” “I can’t even jump off the diving board, I most certainly can’t do this”. I wasn’t even done making up my mind that they started their countdown. They didn’t listen to me when I wanted to chicken out.(Bloody bullies!) 5..4..3..2..1 and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…….
I jumped. I remember the feeling. I was so scared that if I weren’t hanging upside down, I would have wet my pants. I almost had a near death experience. This was exactly the feeling that you sometimes dream of. That you are falling off the cliff, there is nothing to hold on to and now you are going to die. But luckily, the moment you fall, your mind gets alert and you wake up.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t a dream. I was sure this wasn’t, because I even slapped myself to wake up, but nothing worked. There was pretty much nothing I could do, so I screamed my lungs out. Like I have never screamed before. Hoping for a super man or a spider man (or even Krishh for that matter) to hear my dreadful screams and come flying to save me from the horror. But no one heard me, rather I heard my sadist husband laughing at my expense. I could even see the life guards laughing at me. They were stunned how a girl of my size could scream that loud. (Even I’ve got certain talents!!! )
Wow! That was some experience. Every time the rope bounced back, it got even more scarier and my screams kept getting louder. But I was happy it was over. One thing off my “to-do” list. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience (trust me, I’m never doing it again). Sky-diving’s next!
Those of you laughing at me, watch my video to have an even harder laugh!!!
Gone are the days when men were macho. Then they started coloring their hair… a few did the nail polish… some wore shirts with frills… and some got their ears pierced. As men were sucked into the lady’s domain, the average lady entered the macho world. Getting tickets for speeding, watching cricket, enjoying sci-fi action movies and bungee jumping.
I happened to try my hand at bungee jumping too. It has been on my “to-do” list ever since I knew I wanted to be an astronaut. And then I wanted to be a postman, then an engine driver and then Miss World. While my ambitions changed, Bungee Jump always topped my “to-do” list.
I don’t wanna be a jerk and scare you guys, but it is worse than it looks. I’d rather lie flat on railway tracks and die with a heart attack waiting for the train than jump from 215 ft leaving my life to the mercy of a mere rope.
While the staff was buckling me up and preparing me to jump, they tried their best to engross me in small talks. Maybe they smelled my fear and wanted to distract me so I don’t change my mind (or maybe they were concerned I would back out and ask for a refund), but all I could think of was, “who the hell, talked me into this?”
Standing at the edge of the cliff, I remembered how scared I was of heights. I remember that one time when my dad lifted me on his shoulders and I threw up (wonder why no one volunteered lifting me up after that?). All these scary thoughts were crossing my mind, I didn’t even make a final call to my parents, I haven’t embarrassed my sister enough, I am yet to witness Ashish and Mishti (for those who have been irregular to my blog, Mishti is my pet dog) bond.
When the staff was done with buckling me up, I realized, it was just a rope tied to my ankles. No life jacket, not parachute, not jumping with a professional. It was a free fall. Nothing to hold onto. “Why would anyone do such a thing?” “I can’t even jump off the diving board, I most certainly can’t do this”. I wasn’t even done making up my mind that they started their countdown. They didn’t listen to me when I wanted to chicken out.(Bloody bullies!) 5..4..3..2..1 and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…….
I jumped. I remember the feeling. I was so scared that if I weren’t hanging upside down, I would have wet my pants. I almost had a near death experience. This was exactly the feeling that you sometimes dream of. That you are falling off the cliff, there is nothing to hold on to and now you are going to die. But luckily, the moment you fall, your mind gets alert and you wake up.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t a dream. I was sure this wasn’t, because I even slapped myself to wake up, but nothing worked. There was pretty much nothing I could do, so I screamed my lungs out. Like I have never screamed before. Hoping for a super man or a spider man (or even Krishh for that matter) to hear my dreadful screams and come flying to save me from the horror. But no one heard me, rather I heard my sadist husband laughing at my expense. I could even see the life guards laughing at me. They were stunned how a girl of my size could scream that loud. (Even I’ve got certain talents!!! )
Wow! That was some experience. Every time the rope bounced back, it got even more scarier and my screams kept getting louder. But I was happy it was over. One thing off my “to-do” list. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience (trust me, I’m never doing it again). Sky-diving’s next!
Those of you laughing at me, watch my video to have an even harder laugh!!!
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