Local train wonders...

   Sitting in the train, my thoughts wandered everywhere. People rushed inside the train as I flipped the pages of The Times Of India. I made enormous efforts to stay focused on my column of interest. The luxury of sprawling the newspaper all over my lap was taken away in a matter of minutes. The train crossed Dadar and I had to fold the sheets into four crooked parts. The continuous chirping of people grew into a huge pandemonium with the growing advances of the stations. Ladies with lapping babies outnumbered the population of my compartment today. Few children rushed to the window and stood right in front of me forcing me to fold my paper into another fold. The growing cries of babies and the even higher pleads of the mothers to stop their babies from crying while trying to make a comfortable place for themselves had given rise to an atmosphere of complete chaos.
   Looking around me I realized, the scenario was nothing new... there are always such typical characters in train, or as a matter of fact, in any such crowded place. If you look around casually, you will find, there are always one of such kind found easily everywhere.

   -The touch-me-not ladies!
There's always a lady shouting at the others around her and accusing them of intentionally pushing her, the accused lady denying the accuse and fighting back like this accuse was capable of denying her the rights of heaven and putting her through hell!

   -The lady with the over-sized bag!
You may find them in the trains very often. They have not just one but many huge over-sized and extra stuffed bags. They occupy more space, thanks to the many numbers of bags they carry, and disturb everyone around them if they get into or get out at a crowded station.

   -The baby-sitting ladies!
These ladies are seen with a bundle of babies. The youngest of all wrapped carefully in sheets and towels resting in her arms, while the size and age of her off-springs goes on increasing. These ladies are always busy shouting orders to her children and keeping her herd from swaying in all different directions!

   -The I-don't-care ladies!
These ladies are generally found to be over-weight, and they use this as an advantage to bully the other passengers. They will simply stand in your place and you cant say a word or you will be shot-dead verbally, and if at all you are successful in enraging her then you might as well get a few elbow-blows from her!

   -The I-know-it-all ladies!
These breed of women have an opinion on almost everything happening around them. Not just that, they will also be ready to fight you tooth-and-nail, in-case you don't seem to agree with their opinion. And if you dare to be different, then you can be sure she will not shut her opinion-pot till the time she gets out of  the train!

   -The I-want-a-seat ladies!
These are the largest breed of everyday passengers. They start asking you your destination the very moment they enter the train. They claim your seat and when you get up, you are expected to bestow your seat to that particular person. In-case you forget 'that' person and give it to someone else, mind you, that maybe just the beginning of World War III!

   And there is a class of passengers like me too! We are called the 'silent-observers'. We generally have a book, newspaper or magazine in our hand, headphones in our ears, sitting/standing silently at one place, smiling at everyone whose eyes meet ours, nodding at those who ask for our opinion on their opinions, helping the ones with over-sized bags and plethora of kids, and obediently remembering the 'one' who claimed our seat!

So next time you find yourself in such a spot, you know being what is the best for your health! ;) 

Too old to cry......!

                YOU ARE TOO OLD TO CRY...!!

      I have been hearing this sentence from as long as I can remember. The days I didnt get my favourite candy, the days I didnt get permission to go out and play at an odd hour, the days when I fought with my friends and came home sobbing, the days when I fell down and scrapped my knees and elbows, the days when the teacher scolded me, the days when a street dog chased me on the road, the days when I fell off while climbing a tree or a boundary wall... people would say, 'you are too old to cry, only children cry, you are a big brave girl, dont cry!'

      I have grown up hearing these words. Since childhood, I have been taught that crying is a sign of weakness, a sign of failure, a sign of losers. Only the weakest of all cry in a situation. Crying is a sign of being helpless and surrendering to the situation. 

      But come to think of it, does crying only means being helpless, being weak, being a loser? Isn't crying one of the best ways to release the tension and free yourself from guilt and pain? Do you really have to be small to cry? Can't grown-ups cry too?! Why don't people let someone cry their heart out and get rid of all the dirt from their soul? Why dont people cry whenever they feel pain and free themselves from the emotional baggage instead of taking them forward? Its time people take the tag-line of fast-track seriously and cleanse themselves not just physically but also emotionally and MOVE ON!!

     Too many questions about crying, isn't it?!

      But after all these years, I have concluded, that, crying is not bad at all... Infact, I have promised myself, that whenever I feel the baggage of emotion too heavy to carry forward, or feel pain that I can't keep within myself, I will cry. I will cry and not be slave to that sad emotion. I will cry, cleanse myself of the thought bothering me and move on!

      To all the people who run into an empty room or a lonely corner to cry... Why hide the fact that you are pained? Why try to convey to the world that 'I am a grown-up and I dont cry?' Why??

      So next time you feel like you can't control your emotions, or you can't take it any more, or you simply are pained... don't hesitate! CRY!

      Trust me, you will feel better. You will feel happier, relaxed and lighter.

      And heyy... you don't have to be a child to cry...... grown-ups too cry!! :) 

Pristine pleasure!

   Today after lots of discussion over where we should hang out after college, I suggested we should go to Oxford bookstore and browse a few books. After a few disagreements we decided that we will follow my advice and head to Oxford, even if it is only for a brief time!
   Once there, we drifted off to our areas of interest... science, fiction, literature, comic, art, economy, history and of course Enid Blyton! I having had my share of fiction (atleast for the time being!) headed to the literature section and found myself flipping through the pages of the compiled text of Khalil Gibran! Eyeing the enormous book in my hand my friends gave me many 'oh-are-you-planning-to-read-THAT!!' look... but it lasted only a few minutes since by the time we found ourselves a seat on the floor near the overcrowded shelves, we were all lost in our own books.
   Sitting there and reading in the pristine silence broken only by the slow music flowing in the air I could feel a growing sense of relaxation. A feeling I hardly felt over a long time in the growing pandemonium around me. At that moment I felt reading books with soft music and nothing else falling on your ears is the world's only panacea! It was sheer happiness to be left alone with a book.
   In a while it was time for me to head to my TIME class and had to detach myself from my heaven and head back. Just while leaving Oxford, I made a point to find time to visit this heaven as frequently as possible in the hustle-bustle of life!!