Until, i was 20 something, i didnt realise the respect my surname had in the indian community . everyone has a surname, the only thing which is tagged on to you before you were born in this world. the existence of you in your mothers womb is sufficent enough to acquire the last name of the family. In last few grades of the school everyone was point blank and in thier own world. i particularly had difficulty in remembering the first name of the full class, let alone the last name. Every student had an alternative name for calling them, and it should be surprising to anyone, except some girls, all 60 students had acquire names associated to thier activities, behaviour or personal traits. there was one my friends bhavesh who always talked about scientific formulas and stuff, he was named ' scientist'. a person who always bragged in front of teachers was named 'lal' (lal in hindi means a big time bragger). some of the boys given names included lata (Kulraj), goti-(Omkar), baila (anuraj), mahabali(ankur), Bhaiya (Avnish), Kauva (Kaushal), Pur-pura (Prasad), Matka (Gautam), Bakasur (Shounak), Grass hopper.. Badi Ga** (Rahul), Rahul was also teased by the sound 'Phusssssssssss' by the whole class. we were early teenagers then and didnt know what emotions meant to anyone. however ironically i never saw a friend cry or feel anything about name callings. we had accepted that names somehow as our first names. we laughed, we played, we studied, we teased and thats how school went along the way. I was named 'Anarkaali' for some stupid play of akbar, me and my clan had undertaken on one of the camps.
Coming Back to the surnames, when i enrolled into junior college, everyone started calling me, by the surname. may be one of the reasons was a film sarfarosh starring aamir khan who was acting in a character of ACP Rathore '. I hated when the name popped up in my ears . Hi Rathod, Kaisa hain ..?
I felt offended many a times,
Rathods are Rajputs who are usually warriors, breeding horses themselves for thier kingdoms. they are heavily postured due to thier royal diets.
I did use to have a look at myself and my casual wears ,
A Jersey or T's, Blue jeans , a converse in my feets, small body posture and think do i even remotely look like a Rathod ?'
One fine day i was waiting on my bike for one of my friends at the ambadi naka which is a 4 way intersection. the respective roads leaded to railway station, anand nagar, vasai goan and ambadi road. its was afternoon and quiet. on the corner due to its geographical importance, a police station existed
One of the Police Officers who was almost drunk, stationed his jeep beside me, and pointed to come towards the police station. i said to myself 'shits- i have managed to screw myself again'. my insurance had expired 4 years ago,registration papers were at home, let alone the crazy PUC Test result. he asked me for a driving license, which i hesitantly removed from my wallet and passed it to the adjoining officer driving the jeep, who had a look at it. every mumbaikar knows how the cops are, they ask documents in the order of driving license, registration papers, insurance, and PUC. I was stuck at the 2nd round. he told me to park my bike aside and give him the vehicle keys. i resisted trying to bluff, that i will go in the rickshaw and bring the required documents. the bike is in front of your police station, why do u need the keys ?.
the adjoining officer said to the drunk one' Sahab, Rathod Hain?
the drunk driver puzzled again, had a look at my license and asked my full name ..?
i did think i have been overconfident in my acting skills, and they had some personal dues to be settled with the so called Rathod's !.
He asked in Marathi , Kay re Tusa Poora Nav Kay ?
I threwed at him quickly with a middle name too..
"Umang Dinesh Rathod".
Aaah he exclaimed ,
"Rathod ahain,aani blah blah blah blah
he started in marathi which was unfortunately or may be fortunately my fourth language.
i didnt even understand an inch of what he was trying to point niether was i intrested
all i did was casual lip-locked smiles and nodding head woobbles
he said, dont wait around the police station area excuse me i wanted to say, i was standing on the adjoining road and its you who have dragged me here.
the other officer passed my license and surprsingly the drunk one threw me a smile, i kept it in my wallet and reached for my celphone to call the wherabouts of my friend. I managed to read the text he had send me . i went home thinking on my way driving slowest at 40 KMS/ hr thinking and smiling, the first unitentional use of tangible surname had saved 50-200 .
after the conclusion of the episode, i took pride when someone called me a 'Rathod'
with grim on my face
snap, snap :)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
tough to handle !!
My phone rang and it was the my best mate's sister. she feared whether he would return home after his so called' last try to convince her'. it was a monsoon day, so she could niether accompany him which was unlikely due to privacy reasons nor be around him. I agreed to be around the restaurant and pick him up as soon as he's done with girl, which was kind of a relief to his sister.
He called me informing he's ready to go and apologised for the way he was behaving in recent days. i shuted him up flipping the subject, stating i had some work nearby and would drop him on my bike at the restaurant to which he hesitantly agreed . I wanted him to feel comfortable , so i didnt want to be around when the girl arrives. The girl also was my friend then.
on that particular day my best pal looked different, divine and more like a lead of 70's gangster motion film. the flicks of his hair were gone, his hair combed backwards and the jovial persona had disappeared in him. He was scheduled for a busy evening ahead at 5pm intending to fix his 6 year long love relationship which had turned sour lately. I do not intend to write anything on this girl because primarily i believe she is not worth it.
on our way, i tried to explain him to be calm and intelligent. i have learned from my life that girls are more emotional than boys. if you try to clinch the girl you love, emotionally and if you are successfull she stays with you forever. i warned him of stupid things he might do , while listening to a conversation and all that gyan which i could possibly give him on our 10 min ride !.
he unboarded around the corner of the restaurant and stood beside me. I noticed a glimmer of hope in his eyes mixed with tantamounting fears of losing her too.
he was silent, nervous and guessy ,probably calculating his moves. the moves and arguments which might win his love. the last time i saw him in that state was on an examination day. i offered him a smoke to which he instantly turned down.i wished him good luck ,told him to call me as and when he was done. i drived away towards railway stn took a 'U' turn and kept my word given to her sister.
I decided to hang around the pan patti and wait for his phone call. the entrance of the restaurant started exactly on the footpath where sabji mandi was stationed and diagonally opposite to my present location.
an hour had passed by keeping myself occupied to fagging and surfing internet on my cel phone.
i called my girl friend to say, i loved her which i rarely stated in my conversations in our 3 year relationship. its surprising, that this type of enviornment helps you remember how lucky you are to have someone around you and more importantly love you. i told her that i was waiting for him and what was going on ? she offered to come around to which i bluntly rejected. i kept an eye on the restaurant door so that if he ignores to call, i did pick him up from there.
The worried sister kept on calling me every 15 mins, as if i was a live reporter of a leading news channel picking updates and coversing what was right and wrong for his brother. drizzles turned into heavy rains in that hour, which made me smoke ,a few more.
after 2 long hours i saw them, walking out of the restaurants. the girl boarded a rickshaw which was going in the direction of her home. he kept on looking at the rickshaw, i guess as far as he could see and then reached for his celphone from his front jeans pockets near the entrance of the restaurant. i sneaked in from behind the small lane behind the panpatti and went towards the corner where my bike was parked ,which was not visible from the entrance of the restaurant. i picked up the call, and informed him that i was coincidentally nearby the place.
it had then, started to pour more heavily. horizontal rain and strong winds rendered several things like crafted tokri's and plastic sheets blowing on the streets
i reached there, and i knew the outcome of his meeting since there were no good byes when i had last seen them.
i switched off my engine.
we kept looking at each other before he broke down.
i immediately took him in my arms like a child before even getting off from my bike.
he kept on sobing in front of a mediumly populated sabji mandi for 5 mins saying, why is she doing this to me?, i love her, someone make her understand ?
at the same time, i kept on saying, its okie, dont worry everything will be fine, if she wants to go let her go. etc etc
i didnt realease him from my arms till he went quiet . some bhaiya's selling bhaji's started doubting that we were gays.
it was showering heavily and there we were in each others arms. it didnt matter to me what anyone passing by actually thought , what mattered was my best pals feelings.
Its often good to cry out your loss , which makes you feel much more lighter
I advised few things that life had taught me from my previous experiences
we directly headed to vrindavan bar,
we ordered beers, as i secretly texted his sister that things are over and he's with me.
we had our drinks silently, i tried to change the mood but i guess he wanted some space.
i realised that day that " its far easy to get into love, than come out of it".
I dropped him at his home after an hour
I gave him an hug while leaving and whispered " remember nothing breaks you down ? he nodded and gave me a confident smile
i kick started the bike to meet my grilfriend to whisper in her ears , what was long due !
He called me informing he's ready to go and apologised for the way he was behaving in recent days. i shuted him up flipping the subject, stating i had some work nearby and would drop him on my bike at the restaurant to which he hesitantly agreed . I wanted him to feel comfortable , so i didnt want to be around when the girl arrives. The girl also was my friend then.
on that particular day my best pal looked different, divine and more like a lead of 70's gangster motion film. the flicks of his hair were gone, his hair combed backwards and the jovial persona had disappeared in him. He was scheduled for a busy evening ahead at 5pm intending to fix his 6 year long love relationship which had turned sour lately. I do not intend to write anything on this girl because primarily i believe she is not worth it.
on our way, i tried to explain him to be calm and intelligent. i have learned from my life that girls are more emotional than boys. if you try to clinch the girl you love, emotionally and if you are successfull she stays with you forever. i warned him of stupid things he might do , while listening to a conversation and all that gyan which i could possibly give him on our 10 min ride !.
he unboarded around the corner of the restaurant and stood beside me. I noticed a glimmer of hope in his eyes mixed with tantamounting fears of losing her too.
he was silent, nervous and guessy ,probably calculating his moves. the moves and arguments which might win his love. the last time i saw him in that state was on an examination day. i offered him a smoke to which he instantly turned down.i wished him good luck ,told him to call me as and when he was done. i drived away towards railway stn took a 'U' turn and kept my word given to her sister.
I decided to hang around the pan patti and wait for his phone call. the entrance of the restaurant started exactly on the footpath where sabji mandi was stationed and diagonally opposite to my present location.
an hour had passed by keeping myself occupied to fagging and surfing internet on my cel phone.
i called my girl friend to say, i loved her which i rarely stated in my conversations in our 3 year relationship. its surprising, that this type of enviornment helps you remember how lucky you are to have someone around you and more importantly love you. i told her that i was waiting for him and what was going on ? she offered to come around to which i bluntly rejected. i kept an eye on the restaurant door so that if he ignores to call, i did pick him up from there.
The worried sister kept on calling me every 15 mins, as if i was a live reporter of a leading news channel picking updates and coversing what was right and wrong for his brother. drizzles turned into heavy rains in that hour, which made me smoke ,a few more.
after 2 long hours i saw them, walking out of the restaurants. the girl boarded a rickshaw which was going in the direction of her home. he kept on looking at the rickshaw, i guess as far as he could see and then reached for his celphone from his front jeans pockets near the entrance of the restaurant. i sneaked in from behind the small lane behind the panpatti and went towards the corner where my bike was parked ,which was not visible from the entrance of the restaurant. i picked up the call, and informed him that i was coincidentally nearby the place.
it had then, started to pour more heavily. horizontal rain and strong winds rendered several things like crafted tokri's and plastic sheets blowing on the streets
i reached there, and i knew the outcome of his meeting since there were no good byes when i had last seen them.
i switched off my engine.
we kept looking at each other before he broke down.
i immediately took him in my arms like a child before even getting off from my bike.
he kept on sobing in front of a mediumly populated sabji mandi for 5 mins saying, why is she doing this to me?, i love her, someone make her understand ?
at the same time, i kept on saying, its okie, dont worry everything will be fine, if she wants to go let her go. etc etc
i didnt realease him from my arms till he went quiet . some bhaiya's selling bhaji's started doubting that we were gays.
it was showering heavily and there we were in each others arms. it didnt matter to me what anyone passing by actually thought , what mattered was my best pals feelings.
Its often good to cry out your loss , which makes you feel much more lighter
I advised few things that life had taught me from my previous experiences
we directly headed to vrindavan bar,
we ordered beers, as i secretly texted his sister that things are over and he's with me.
we had our drinks silently, i tried to change the mood but i guess he wanted some space.
i realised that day that " its far easy to get into love, than come out of it".
I dropped him at his home after an hour
I gave him an hug while leaving and whispered " remember nothing breaks you down ? he nodded and gave me a confident smile
i kick started the bike to meet my grilfriend to whisper in her ears , what was long due !
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A memorable incident at malad stn
2.45 am showed at the lower right corner of my deskstop at 3rd level of infinity towers in the heart of mindspace, malad. my shift usually ended at 4 in the morning on everyother normal day. I decided to have a chocolate milk shake from the coffee machine and return to home walking through small gully's to malad rly stn . I had lost quite a money in the financial turmoil which made me feel awkward to spend money on my luxurious commuting like rickshaws and taxi's. the first train in the morning was at 4.57 so, even if i did travel in rickshaw's. it didnt mean anything as still i would get the same train. the distance even by crawling standards from my work place to rly stn was approximately 20 minutes , which means i waited for the train for atleast a half hour every day.
the lonely walk always scared me, but i was always determine to save in those tight wallet days.
i always feared thieves in those narrow gully's or stray dogs who barked at me till i walked by them. one of the many things i have learned at *home *(@Anuj) is when you pretend to talk on your cel phone at late nights while your walk, street dogs do take you as a noble human or a tress passer. i did that almost everyday not to mention the irony that it was always god who was on the other line to me. in short, i pretended to talk to god.
i hit the streets around 3.10 am. i walked my way through the small gullys where i was surprised to find not even a single dog. when a 3 road intersection came i started my morning prayers on my celphone, i always feared a white and brown patched dog who did force me to change my route. i did came close to be bitten by him on one particluar night. he usually layed and rested under the truck parked on the corner of the intersection. it was a relief that, i didnt hear a bark from him, which possibly meant he was sleeping. the pretending stopped when i reached ,which i call a safe zone. "SV Road". it was a semi - crowded busy street as it linked the entire suburbs of andheri.
i walked in to railway station . the thought of having tea emerged at almost the same time as followed that the canteen might be closed. railway canteens on platform no. 1 started around 4. he started the stove and i ordered a cutting chai which was affordable to me. i always had my chai with pride as a prize for saving my late night fares attributed to my courage to fight my battle of fear.
i had a few chats with Ram (Canteen boy) asking him cricket scores which i already knew, not to mention that i was my favourite topic to hit the conversation. i had my chai sitting on the bench just attached to the canteen having a conversation with him. Ram was a skinny, averagely tall 13 year old. he had left his education in andhra pradesh. i will never forget the answer i got from him which was so realistic when i objected to his child labour.
he said" sahab,main aapki baat samajtha hu aur mujhe school jaana chaiye ?
(i understand your opinion and i should go to school)
lekin mujhe teen behne hain .. aap ek kaam karo mujhe school ke paise maat do .. lekin main apni kamse kam 1 behen ki shaadi kara sakoo, utne ka intazaam kar do.. main pakka school jaunga ?
(dont sponsor my studies i will do that myself if u get me some money so that i can help my parents to marry my elder sister)
i replied squintly giving him usual 3 Rupees for my cutting chai and appreciated the intelligence the young fella possessed.
it was still 15 mins to go, when i saw a leper near the canteen. he asked the other canteen boy whats the price of a pav ?. he looked like he was good for nothing, so ram arrogantly asked for money first. he passed a couple coins which i think must have been good for 2 pavs.
he had a strong determination in his eyes. he pleaded for some small chillies which canteens give free of cost as a spicer which adds to your snacks and to add to his misery ram didnt have the fried ones. i walked down gently to him from the bench and asked if he would have chai. he rejected. here was a man who was only having dry chillies and pav with water after every feed, which simultaneoulsy brought water drizzling down his eyes.
Honesty and self respect as seen were at impeccable levels in the behaviour of that old man
i really felt small and unaffectable on that particular night. my train arrived at its scheduled time. i boarded the train and took a window seat facing the platform.
the faces of the childrens of the orphanage where i made visits once a year to feed them stared my thoughts on poverty.
i thanked god for whatever,he has given me. i couldnt take my eyes off the old man.my eyes started to feel heavy then. my achievements looked smaller in compared to his principles. the train started to move slowly, and i gave a prolonged gaze to the old man admiring him again. the train left the platform and started to gain momentum, cool breeze flowed onto my face giving a sense of gratitude making my eyes shred a drop.
the lonely walk always scared me, but i was always determine to save in those tight wallet days.
i always feared thieves in those narrow gully's or stray dogs who barked at me till i walked by them. one of the many things i have learned at *home *(@Anuj) is when you pretend to talk on your cel phone at late nights while your walk, street dogs do take you as a noble human or a tress passer. i did that almost everyday not to mention the irony that it was always god who was on the other line to me. in short, i pretended to talk to god.
i hit the streets around 3.10 am. i walked my way through the small gullys where i was surprised to find not even a single dog. when a 3 road intersection came i started my morning prayers on my celphone, i always feared a white and brown patched dog who did force me to change my route. i did came close to be bitten by him on one particluar night. he usually layed and rested under the truck parked on the corner of the intersection. it was a relief that, i didnt hear a bark from him, which possibly meant he was sleeping. the pretending stopped when i reached ,which i call a safe zone. "SV Road". it was a semi - crowded busy street as it linked the entire suburbs of andheri.
i walked in to railway station . the thought of having tea emerged at almost the same time as followed that the canteen might be closed. railway canteens on platform no. 1 started around 4. he started the stove and i ordered a cutting chai which was affordable to me. i always had my chai with pride as a prize for saving my late night fares attributed to my courage to fight my battle of fear.
i had a few chats with Ram (Canteen boy) asking him cricket scores which i already knew, not to mention that i was my favourite topic to hit the conversation. i had my chai sitting on the bench just attached to the canteen having a conversation with him. Ram was a skinny, averagely tall 13 year old. he had left his education in andhra pradesh. i will never forget the answer i got from him which was so realistic when i objected to his child labour.
he said" sahab,main aapki baat samajtha hu aur mujhe school jaana chaiye ?
(i understand your opinion and i should go to school)
lekin mujhe teen behne hain .. aap ek kaam karo mujhe school ke paise maat do .. lekin main apni kamse kam 1 behen ki shaadi kara sakoo, utne ka intazaam kar do.. main pakka school jaunga ?
(dont sponsor my studies i will do that myself if u get me some money so that i can help my parents to marry my elder sister)
i replied squintly giving him usual 3 Rupees for my cutting chai and appreciated the intelligence the young fella possessed.
it was still 15 mins to go, when i saw a leper near the canteen. he asked the other canteen boy whats the price of a pav ?. he looked like he was good for nothing, so ram arrogantly asked for money first. he passed a couple coins which i think must have been good for 2 pavs.
he had a strong determination in his eyes. he pleaded for some small chillies which canteens give free of cost as a spicer which adds to your snacks and to add to his misery ram didnt have the fried ones. i walked down gently to him from the bench and asked if he would have chai. he rejected. here was a man who was only having dry chillies and pav with water after every feed, which simultaneoulsy brought water drizzling down his eyes.
Honesty and self respect as seen were at impeccable levels in the behaviour of that old man
i really felt small and unaffectable on that particular night. my train arrived at its scheduled time. i boarded the train and took a window seat facing the platform.
the faces of the childrens of the orphanage where i made visits once a year to feed them stared my thoughts on poverty.
i thanked god for whatever,he has given me. i couldnt take my eyes off the old man.my eyes started to feel heavy then. my achievements looked smaller in compared to his principles. the train started to move slowly, and i gave a prolonged gaze to the old man admiring him again. the train left the platform and started to gain momentum, cool breeze flowed onto my face giving a sense of gratitude making my eyes shred a drop.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Oz Down Under
i candidly never thought that i will ever come to australia. the good news is, i am not on a student visa nor a tourist visa and niether a temporary visa of any other kind. my father has been issued a family visa for permanent residency upto 5 years which brings me to this wonderful country.
my mom was very much afraid to come here and on the otherside couldnt resist the comforts which australia had in store for her. She did have few racist bad dreams in india such as our family being attacked by a group of teenagers. in some dreams i was stabbed ,kidnapped or nearly killed.
However life seems contrary here as we had thought in india. i have no doubts whatsoever, that indian media is to be blamed and held responsible for sour international relations between india and Australia.
well to be honest, australia is just the contrary of what is shown on india media channels. i dont find it racist. When was the last time, an stranger walking on the streets gave me a smile in india. the answer is i dont remember and probably such cases were once in a blue moon. well, it happens here practically every otherday with me and my family.well some people may have turned bad in a frustration over job losses to indian students, then doesnt mean you have the right to label the whole country going ghun go accross the globe. i think indian media should be more responsible and shouldnt blow issues out of proportion.
well take this for a matter, a 13 year old standing in front of sparsely populated class with a white rectangle shaped cardboard written "i love sagar" (sagar is my younger sibling who studies in 7th grade in Brunswick Secondary College). the above incidence gives u a glimpse of OZ. now, our media channels may claim it as an obsecene and indecent. but i claim it to be love ,sweet love.
i have not experienced anything till date, which brings me to a conclusion of what those channels claim. i also completely agree to the fact that there are problems sometimes which some indians face here. i mean one off in an incidents are always possible but you cant expect governments to take a stand and fight it off.
i am really beginning to love the country and its culture. i am really beginning to dream a life, a life away from jam packed local train communiting and dull mud playgrounds with no grass.
my mom was very much afraid to come here and on the otherside couldnt resist the comforts which australia had in store for her. She did have few racist bad dreams in india such as our family being attacked by a group of teenagers. in some dreams i was stabbed ,kidnapped or nearly killed.
However life seems contrary here as we had thought in india. i have no doubts whatsoever, that indian media is to be blamed and held responsible for sour international relations between india and Australia.
well to be honest, australia is just the contrary of what is shown on india media channels. i dont find it racist. When was the last time, an stranger walking on the streets gave me a smile in india. the answer is i dont remember and probably such cases were once in a blue moon. well, it happens here practically every otherday with me and my family.well some people may have turned bad in a frustration over job losses to indian students, then doesnt mean you have the right to label the whole country going ghun go accross the globe. i think indian media should be more responsible and shouldnt blow issues out of proportion.
well take this for a matter, a 13 year old standing in front of sparsely populated class with a white rectangle shaped cardboard written "i love sagar" (sagar is my younger sibling who studies in 7th grade in Brunswick Secondary College). the above incidence gives u a glimpse of OZ. now, our media channels may claim it as an obsecene and indecent. but i claim it to be love ,sweet love.
i have not experienced anything till date, which brings me to a conclusion of what those channels claim. i also completely agree to the fact that there are problems sometimes which some indians face here. i mean one off in an incidents are always possible but you cant expect governments to take a stand and fight it off.
i am really beginning to love the country and its culture. i am really beginning to dream a life, a life away from jam packed local train communiting and dull mud playgrounds with no grass.
Monday, February 18, 2008
whats life ? thats a million dollar question probably everyone's asking to themselves. why are we here?I am a firm believer of sri sathya sai baba & Sri Krishna who believe that we are here to help people, spread happiness & share sorrows
everyone's busy building thier careers . some want to be professionals, some want to be entreprenur's. everyone want to be a money-making machine. how many milionaries have taken thier wealth to the heaven's? well the answer is none. First they were dying to finish college so that they could start working. Then they were so Busy accumulating wealth and getting immensly rich that they forgot to spend time with friends and loved one's , some birthday party's werent attended just because they were busy in business meetings , some were so busy that,that they even forgot to chant the almighty's name even once a day, And when they will be retiring so that they may finally do all the things they always wanted to do,they will be dying... and suddenly they will realise that 'they forgot to live'. life is all about helping and living in harmony with each other. we all should see to it that we spend valuable time with our loved one's before we run out of time. this however doesnt imply that we should be partying all the time with friends, just wanted everyone to know ".. money is something,but its not the only thing". its important to have a huge chunk of money to do good deeds. its just that dont be late in realising that what are we here for ? Make sure that the purpose of u r existense doesnt get defeated itself.
sai ram
everyone's busy building thier careers . some want to be professionals, some want to be entreprenur's. everyone want to be a money-making machine. how many milionaries have taken thier wealth to the heaven's? well the answer is none. First they were dying to finish college so that they could start working. Then they were so Busy accumulating wealth and getting immensly rich that they forgot to spend time with friends and loved one's , some birthday party's werent attended just because they were busy in business meetings , some were so busy that,that they even forgot to chant the almighty's name even once a day, And when they will be retiring so that they may finally do all the things they always wanted to do,they will be dying... and suddenly they will realise that 'they forgot to live'. life is all about helping and living in harmony with each other. we all should see to it that we spend valuable time with our loved one's before we run out of time. this however doesnt imply that we should be partying all the time with friends, just wanted everyone to know ".. money is something,but its not the only thing". its important to have a huge chunk of money to do good deeds. its just that dont be late in realising that what are we here for ? Make sure that the purpose of u r existense doesnt get defeated itself.
sai ram
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