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!!!
Friday, February 25, 2011
My Mind Refuses To Grow
After having lived 25 precious years of my life, I have realized that my mind still feels 16 (Not 18, but 16 ☺). After passing out of school and spending the most entertaining and fun moments with my schoolmates, for nearly a year and a half, my mind refused to accept the fact that my life had moved on. I was still hung on to the football ground, class rooms, my friends, pranks that we played in school, until I started enjoying my life even more in college. I never thought I would ever be able to enjoy my life more than I did in school and I proved myself wrong. Found the most amazing friends (rather, they found me sitting somewhere lost in my past ☺), laughed till tears rolled down, played even sillier pranks, got kicked out of classes and yet no regrets, partied, danced, had a ball. And when the moment came to graduate and leave for masters, howled and shrieked at the airport, hugging each one of them and assuring them that these were the best days of my life and that my life will never be the same.
During first semester of Masters, I was stuck to my college days and bored every prospective friend of mine with my past memories (No wonder some of them prefered remaining "prospective"). Only till I laughed even harder, so hard that I might even have pissed in my pants. I had such a ball that I borrowed my statement and said “no, no. These are the best days of my life”.
Little did I know what was in store for me in the so-called “corporate world”? I knew that life beyond this is only going to be a big struggle, where people are waiting to slaughter and run all over me. Clueless and naive, that I am, was hung on to my MBA memories only until I realized what fun I was having. We laughed, played pranks, ran like kids, bitched and loved each other. I was then forced to again borrow my statement and use it here “These are DEFINATELY the best days of my life”.
I was shifting to a place so unknown and I knew “this is it! It’s over for me. My life can not get better than this.” And to my surprise, it did. ☺ Not only did I meet the most wonderful, pleasing, delightful and lovely flat mate, I made a home in Ahmedabad. I have choked and almost died laughing, I have been pampered like never before, and I have enjoyed every single moment of my stay in Ahmedabad. And now I am again borrowing my statement and using it here “those were the best days of my life”.
Now, I am so hung up on my days in Ahmedabad, that my mind just refuses to live in the present. Waking up in the mornings is the worst. I don’t have Trishna here who would let me sleep and quietly slip out to make us breakfast and lunch. While toasting my bread, I think of how Trishna and I craved for a toaster. Watching Full House, Friends and crazy youtube videos was never this fun. Admiring myself gazing in d mirror is no more fun when she is not around to tell you how you get on her nerves. Quilling has almost come to a halt without my driving force being around. I am so stuck that my mind never stops wondering “This is not how I did it in Ahmedabad. This is how Trishna used to cook. This is what my routine used to be. This is how we labeled our masalas. This is how we would have loud music playing in our house 24X7. This is how she would cook and I would just stand there narrating the entire days happenings to her. This is how we survived summers. This is how we LIVED”. I guess, I am gonna be trapped with these emotions for the longest time now.
The point that I’m trying to make here is that I have had such a wonderful journey, that every phase has been the best phase of my life ☺
This post is dedicated to all my friends. Love you all!!!
During first semester of Masters, I was stuck to my college days and bored every prospective friend of mine with my past memories (No wonder some of them prefered remaining "prospective"). Only till I laughed even harder, so hard that I might even have pissed in my pants. I had such a ball that I borrowed my statement and said “no, no. These are the best days of my life”.
Little did I know what was in store for me in the so-called “corporate world”? I knew that life beyond this is only going to be a big struggle, where people are waiting to slaughter and run all over me. Clueless and naive, that I am, was hung on to my MBA memories only until I realized what fun I was having. We laughed, played pranks, ran like kids, bitched and loved each other. I was then forced to again borrow my statement and use it here “These are DEFINATELY the best days of my life”.
I was shifting to a place so unknown and I knew “this is it! It’s over for me. My life can not get better than this.” And to my surprise, it did. ☺ Not only did I meet the most wonderful, pleasing, delightful and lovely flat mate, I made a home in Ahmedabad. I have choked and almost died laughing, I have been pampered like never before, and I have enjoyed every single moment of my stay in Ahmedabad. And now I am again borrowing my statement and using it here “those were the best days of my life”.
Now, I am so hung up on my days in Ahmedabad, that my mind just refuses to live in the present. Waking up in the mornings is the worst. I don’t have Trishna here who would let me sleep and quietly slip out to make us breakfast and lunch. While toasting my bread, I think of how Trishna and I craved for a toaster. Watching Full House, Friends and crazy youtube videos was never this fun. Admiring myself gazing in d mirror is no more fun when she is not around to tell you how you get on her nerves. Quilling has almost come to a halt without my driving force being around. I am so stuck that my mind never stops wondering “This is not how I did it in Ahmedabad. This is how Trishna used to cook. This is what my routine used to be. This is how we labeled our masalas. This is how we would have loud music playing in our house 24X7. This is how she would cook and I would just stand there narrating the entire days happenings to her. This is how we survived summers. This is how we LIVED”. I guess, I am gonna be trapped with these emotions for the longest time now.
The point that I’m trying to make here is that I have had such a wonderful journey, that every phase has been the best phase of my life ☺
This post is dedicated to all my friends. Love you all!!!
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