Sushmita’s blog

There was activity, alright. Workers were scurrying across makeshift pathways and bridges, carrying bags of cement and tools. Work had to be done. And there wasn't much time. Dirt flew up from the shuffling movements at the site and the sun shone harder as man and machine toiled endlessly. But this was only an indication of what misery lay ahead, should the two weeks pass by fruitlessly.

After all, Panthera wanted a summer palace.

Nyu-kaw gazed at this spectacle with a calm that had always helped in restoring faith in his colleagues. This project needed every bit of it. The architect was young but also one of the best in his field. A very well read man, Nyu-kaw was from a highly respectable family, one of the most ancient and feared ones in Quinwa, the country of his birth. But the architect carried none of the airs that were expected from a family that had once ruled harmoniously over most of the provinces in Quinwa. In fact, he had willingly given up a life of aristocracy to embrace the life of a commoner, that of an architect. And he carved his niche in it sooner than his peers could. His designs were the most sought after by the elite in his country. A perfectionist to the core, no client could turn down the designs that he laid for them. In short, Pye Phe Nyu-kaw had begun his own legacy.

The fact that Nyu-kaw was new to Galaea didn't perturb him, nor was it that there was a time crunch that was forcing the construction to progress at a reckless speed. It was Panthera's vague demands that seemed to perturb the young man. While he wasn't new to requests for hidden passages and rooms that were generally affordable for his wealthy clients, secret sacrificial sites were the most unreasonable. Though he wasn't highly traditional, Nyu-kaw was wise enough to know that such demands were meant only for certain temples and not for places of leisure and peace. Also, the construction was progressing abnormally. Walls were torn down almost regularly with sudden instruction from the "higher authorities" and resurrected much later. The summer palace didn't sound as cheerful as it was supposed to be.

What was most surprising was the fact that every one on the project seemed to work with a constant fear of the Queen. While they respected Nyu-kaw for his leadership and insights, the final word always came from a higher power. This fear was most apparent with the labourers who barely mingled with each other and refused to work in better conditions and with better technology that were suggested by Nyu-kaw. A lot of chaos prevailed on the site, as though planned for by Panthera herself.

After the gruesome death of seven laborers in an "accident" went seemingly unnoticed, Nyu-kaw decided to meet the Queen. 

She sat there, sullen and poker faced. The world seemed to have fallen apart. Yet again!

As boredom seeped in, she went to her favourite hideout- the corner in the room. It had been long since she had visited this spot. May be there was a new insect there. The last spot had a lizard that had stopped surprising her even by leaving its tail behind as soon as it grew to the normal size.
Yes, the last spot had lasted as the hideout for at least two tails. The new one still had some paint on the wall that could be chipped out for a week. After that, new avenues for entertainment would have to be explored.

As she lay there, tugging at her hair and settling the earth beneath her, she tried remembering the sequence of the events that had led her to this room in the first place. It gave her a sense of satisfaction, each time she remembered it, like scratching an itch, while she would eventually break down when she could no longer bear the vivid images.

But of late, she cried less. There was none to pay attention to her sobs and wails or even reproach her being a cry baby. It was no longer tempting to cry. Or emote.

All of a sudden, there was a sound at the door. It wasn't the usual mechanical click that was associated with the food tray being passed through by an unseen hand.

Muffled noises and a couple of expletives sounded like a welcome relief. Human encounters, which would have been avoided otherwise, were completely welcome now. Being scared and mute wasn't an option. She had to get out as this could be the last chance.

"Get me out of here! Get me out of here!!" She screamed.

There was a loud sound of something approaching the door, and fast. She jumped to the side, nervous and excited at such a development.

The door shattered and flew off its hinges while a dull light streamed in. A shadow appeared and looked to the side.

She fainted.

---------------------

The convulsions awoke her. Water was being splattered across her face hurriedly. The spasms tugged at her insides yet again as she regained consciousness and looked at the face of her sworn enemy.

"Eilion..", she hissed and tried sitting up to charge at the vision, but was pushed back gently.

"Here, sip this. Rest now. We shall argue later," Eilion spoke softly.

The trickster! The villain behind her imprisonment and the murders that she was now accused of. Oh, the horror!!

But now, the bed seemed warm and she was sure of being fed after tasting the potion. She felt unusually safe in the company of danger. Sleep overpowered her will to fight and flee.

It wasn't long before she awoke yet again. This time, the nurses moved towards her with food and drink. She nibbled at her food and sipped the broth slowly as though the ingredients would unravel themselves to her. This could be her last meal. She could be poisoned. She would, thus, make the most of it.

The nurses left as Eilion sauntered into the room. His face showed a lack of sleep and a lot of fatigue. But it was expressionless, nevertheless. The prisoner continued nibbling at the sandwich like a mouse, unaware that she was being scrutinized. 

There was a soft thud and she looked up to see the cause of the disturbance. Eilion had fallen to the floor and was sobbing uncontrollably. She slowed down on the chewing and viewed the scene with a little interest. Part of her wanted to comfort the man. But after what had happened to her when she trusted him the last time, food seemed of a higher priority, poisoned or not.

"Cartha.... forgive me.. I.." more sobs seemed to make this little speech take a while in its coming. She sat up to get a better view. The enemy looked terribly weak at that instant. She cleared her throat to signal that she was listening. Eilion looked up again and continued speaking.

"You need to listen to me. What I say may sound like a well crafted tale and I cannot ask you to trust me at this moment. But it is necessary that you know why you were imprisoned.

Firstly, you were not at fault. Ever." Cartha blinked with amusement. This obvious twist in the story, that everyone was made to believe, seemed like a cruel joke.

"Panthera tricked you into believing I was behind the massacres in the village. She tricked me into believing you were killed by her evil general, Krall. I killed him out of remorse and on her command."

Cartha put down her food and started focusing on a lamp at her bedside. She had once trusted Eilion with her life. But then, her secret laboratory, which was known only to Eilion, had been raided by Panthera's men and was completely destroyed. When she had run home to save her family, she found their bodies while witnesses spoke of how Eilion had left the murder site with singed hands. Her capture and imprisonment for the murder of Krall had become a story that she amused herself with in the prison.

She could not trust him. But she had before and there was nothing left to lose now.

"Go on, Eilion", was her curt reply.

"She offered me the post of her general. I accepted it to become an insider and partly out of greed for the power. I had begun winning her trust but she kept putting me to task. I needed to gain her trust and she needed to get rid of Krall.

But when I came to know that she had you captured and that you were unsafe somewhere, I became furious and decided to force the truth out of her. Do you remember the stun laser that you had gifted me? A perfect replica of its fatal counterpart, it was my weapon that day to threaten her.

Unfortunately, Ponderosa was already about to kill her and I had to stop the fight before Panthera could die. I shot Ponderosa first and then proceeded to scare the living daylights out of Panthera with the laser.

She gave the information but by then Ponderosa had aroused and I had to escape with the mutant before the guards could tear us apart.

Since then, I have been a fugitive and on a search for the one who was betrayed by my foolishness. Forgive me, Cartha," Eilion bent down at the foot of her bed.

"I still have my doubts," Cartha looked at him while she spoke. "I need time to think this over and rest. Please leave me alone now."

"Very well. Take your time. We can talk about this later. I'll leave you to the care of the nurses. Sleep well." Eilion spoke stiffly as he left.

Questions remained unanswered. The most perplexing of them all was why was she lying in Panthera's summer house if Eilion was a fugitive?

*** Attempt at poetry. May not be suitable for all audiences.***

There was a quiver.
To chew or not to chew?
Something glistened ahead.
Five was but, a few.
Symmetry waved in the remainder,
And long gone was the unsaid.

But, where was the start?
The old quiver stayed put.
Arrows were drawn out,
And shot with eyes shut.
'T'is right', said the aim,
The other being just the same.

The right looked mighty familiar,
Having won it all the time.
So, hand no. 2 was won instead,
In a line that did not rhyme.
Was it a break from monotony?
Not in a game so sublime!

Chewy fingers stood in line now,
And questions started to burrow.
Where did jagged edges climb?
Was that grease or was that grime?
How deep could the first cut get?
And could I get a monkey for a pet?

As the choices were being made,
The tools had to be tended to.
Molars would have to wait,
While the Bunnies got their due.
But the most dangerous of 'em all,
The Canines could not be let loose!

The feast was more than talked about,
When it happened and when it did not.
The details were never to be spoken of,
For the disgust they could inspire thereof.
But, for the ones who, on dead cells, dine,
It is all about cutting them nails nice and fine!

Panthera looked ahead. All she could see was a large wasteland in the pink sunset. She puckered up her nose(lips?) at that very feminine perspective one could have of such an ordinary phenomenon. All the poets in her court had been wooing Her Majesty with lines such as these. She was touchy on the topic of frilly skirts and flowing tresses. God, had she been the one to invent the Alphabet, there would have been no gender in it.

But the matter at hand needed more thought. That is why she called upon Ponderosa, her mutant Advisor-in-Chief. The mutant arrived in all her finery that seemed to be growing in layers as if to remind everyone how old she really was when compared to the young Queen.

"But Lady dearest, all the Lusks have been demolished. Every one of them. You cannot expect your subjects to grow Cannera now", squeaked Ponderosa.

"Enough, mutant. Are you telling me that my orders to get rid of those slimy marshlands was a mistake? I need the plantoid and you have exactly two moons to arrange for that to happen."

Ponderosa huffed and puffed through the mountain of clothing as loudly as possible. But the Queen just continued staring into the horizon. She had been a ruthless ruler in the past and she had no intention of changing that for the future. Cannera was what she needed and if that meant the rolling of a few heads among the masses, so be it. After all, the population was mostly male.

----------------

"You have to get rid of her. Growing that plantoid here would mean sapping us all of our intellect. I cannot wait for another 10 dynasties to regain my knowledge", Eilion commented while pacing up and down the room, pensively.

Ponderosa snapped back. "The Queen's right for once. The male species does lack some intellect. You are aware that by killing her, I die too? Here I am awaiting the day when she will speak my name and set me free while you talk casually about my death?!"

Eilion craned his neck forward and looked miserably at the ground. The mutant had a point. Her death would only mean that the masses would have to regroup and elect a new ruler, mostly, him.

He looked at Ponderosa, who kept twisting the fabrics that she wore. She had taken him in as a cub, when he was found in the Lusks during the time of their destruction. She had seen to that Panthera knew nothing of his existence and trained him well to become her aide.

A survivor of Panthera's atrocities, it wasn't surprising that the masses had warmed up to him. But he was too young for the responsibility and Ponderosa was the only one who could resurrect the fallen kingdom with the centuries of wisdom that she possessed.

"You know I didn't mean that. But, you are being too loyal to the throne. The people are in misery and we have to act soon before the Lady kills us all with her selfish addiction to that drug in Cannera. I could arrange for an uprising and hopefully banish her from here."

"Do not question my loyalty, boy. It is my failing that has led the Queen astray. She still grieves the death of her husband and two sons. Vengeance threatens to take over her heart. I have to be wiser in my counsel, that is all. Plus, a mutant ruler is not what this place needs."

With that, she looked wistfully at Eilion. The people needed a strong and wise king. They needed Eilion. But she was torn between loyalty towards her mad Queen and those who needed it the most. Oh, why couldn't Panthera speak her name and be done with it!

Unable to get past Ponderosa any further, Eilion updated her on his duties.

"We found the crotonium laser that was responsible for the deaths of the king and the princes. Cartha is of the view that if the laser is given to the culprit, he or she can be identified as it singes the hands of the murderer."

"That is true. The radioactive croton leaves behind no fingerprints or memory of the crime on the laser otherwise. Send it over to my office. I will ask Leki to look into the investigation. Meanwhile, how is Cartha doing?" The old mutant had a hopeful gleam in her eyes. Cartha was the one of the most able interplanetary-scientists who was intuitively aware of several weapons of yore and present and had lately also taken a fancy to Eilion. Ponderosa just wished that her lad had a rosy future with the smart lady.

Without as much as mumble that sounded as a croak from a lovestruck butterbug, Eilion departed to find the answers to the mutant's questions.

--------------------

"Well, well. Is this where my Advisor-in-Chief carries out the duties I assign her to?" Panthera strode into the chambers of her most trusted servant with an eerily large amount of glee on her face.

"You have provided me with a lot, Lady dearest", replied Ponderosa with a tiny bow. She felt ashamed of having praised the Queen so. Had Panthera's predecessors not rewarded her well for her loyalty, Ponderosa would have had to spend all of her measly income on maintaining a decent room where she could peacefully work.

"A little too much, perhaps. But let us not waste time on trivial issues such as these. A moon has passed by. What have you done about my precious Cannera?" The young widow moved towards the window. The sunlight seemed to make her look paler and several years older. The addiction was beginning to show. Think wisely mutant. She doesn't know that Eilion is escorting the people to safety.

"I have short listed a few families, my dear Queen. We shall begin testing the effect of the plantoid's growth in their surroundings soon. And they won't even know."

Too late. Panthera's eyes were suddenly bloodshot. "They won't even know! They are my subjects and they should be proud to serve their Queen! I do not trust you mutant. You shall bring them to my court tomorrow so that I shall personally order them to my service."

There was a knock on the door even as Ponderosa tried finding a reply among several "Buts".

"Enter", the two occupants of the room chorused.

Leki entered holding a small velvet pouch. "I have the instrument with me. I am still working on the report." The usually calm scientist looked at the Queen and the mutant. He looked devastated and terrified at the same time. Amidst several bows, he placed the pouch on the table and scooted out of the room.

Panthera and Ponderosa looked at the little pouch. Before Ponderosa could whisk it into the cupboard, Panthera waved her dainty hands over the velvet sack.

"What instrument..."

"Ouch!"

There was silence as the smell of burnt flesh spread in the room. The mutant looked at her dear Queen. Panthera's hands were singed.

With a cry of disbelief, the mutant launched herself on the delicate lady.

"You! Murderer! What possessed you to take the lives of our King and of your own children?!!"

There was a lot of scratching and wailing as the mutant tore at the widow's face. Panthera ran towards the door, but Ponderosa was up behind her within a flash. She was a mutant after all. She would end this madness now. Even if it meant killing the Queen and losing her life as a result.

"Mutant, please understand! I was mad then! Why do you think I need the Cannera now? Pity me! Pity me!"

Ponderosa could hear no more. The Queen's wails were driving her crazy. She had murdered her own family! And she now was torturing the innocents on the pretext of taking revenge. She could not let this monster live.

"I have been loyal to you for too long, Panthera. But you sold your soul to the Devil. You must die."

"Do not believe the others, mutant. If I die, the men will take over my kingdom. I may be worse, but I can change! Believe me! I need you to be by my side....." Panthera kept wincing at her words. They seemed to hurt her. Was it the addiction or the madness, Ponderosa could't make out. She whipped out the crotonium laser and moved towards the mad Queen.

"Today, Lady dearest, let us give some peace to this place. You die by me and I shall willingly give my life for my people". The mutant aimed the laser at Panthera's cold heart.

"Ponderosa...." the frail widow sobbed.

The old mutant couldn't believe it. She had been set free! Panthera wanted to die!

"Why did you do that?" She looked in disbelief at the young lady crumpled before her.

"Look behind you.."

The mutant turned frail. What was this cruel joke? Eilion stood in the doorway, aiming a crotonium laser at her heart. His hands were burnt too.

"What is this? Why are your hands singed, Eilion?"

"Cartha died", came a cackle from behind. Panthera rose up, still pale, but not frail looking any more.

"The masses need me, mutant. You have cared for me well, but it is you who has lost her mind. The Queen cares for her subjects, while mutants like you keep her away from them. Also, I get to be Commander-in-Chief" answered noble Eilion.

"You know that your argument lacks logic, lad. And you plan to kill me too now. Owwww!!" Ponderosa moved few steps back as the laser hit her.

"You talk too much mutant. Now I get to live too, without you as an extra baggage in my life." Panthera had a smile on her glowing face as she cooed to the dying mutant,

"Ponderosa, dearest. What did I tell of the male species? They are the very Devil. And I just bought his soul."

Loud laughter cackled through the chilly night as the skies over Galaea turned hazy.

He awoke with a start. This was not the first time he did so. He couldn't afford his occasional bouts of sleep. Not in the land of the Tsantsa hunters.

He was everything that could put a price on his head. A member of the rival tribe, he had hunted in their woods, spied on their women and had sacrificed one of them to his rain Gods. But most of all, he was one of them. The mere thought of becoming a feast to one's own kind made the palms clammy.

He wouldn't be found. It was a decision that sounded to him as absurd as the thought of eating fruit. Both were equally difficult to imagine.
He had never thought he'd get stuck in a quagmire like this. Hell, he had been the most sure footed in his tribe. That was his name too. Luchikawa.

Going back was not an option. The path to his hamlet was not unknown, but was surely unwelcoming now. Famine and subsequent death of the leader had led every one of his friends astray. His return would only burden them now. And now he had lost his name, his identity.

Enough thought. He had to stay alert. In the last few days, sleep had turned into his worst enemy. Every long spell of it was followed by a numbness in his body. The hallucinations that accompanied it were now becoming shameful to admit to. Even to his brave self that had once lain his soul bare for his kind. The fear in each awakening dream had begun overwhelming him.
One more sacrifice. The visions he had had and the sounds that had haunted him for long asked for one more human soul. Freedom awaited. Fear would desert him.

Sleep not, brave one.
What I seek is near.
O'er the waves of despair,
Lies one soul to sear.

He smirked. These voices were his only friends, at least for now, he hoped. It wasn't difficult to keep one's eyes open, though. The sunlight streamed into his eyes through the stuffy layers of air that had long stopped cooling his skin. The ground was wet and lush with undergrowth that chafed his scrawny feet. He had also become hygienic, in his own manner.

Mentally ticking off items that caused maximum discomfort, he seated himself to conquer all enemies.
The wait for the unknown became upsetting. Several hours had passed by with not a single movement taking place. The lights were growing dim and matters of the stomach had earned their priority. But fear lurked around at close quarters and he decided to stay put.

Nothing had happened yet. Perhaps he had imagined too much. Like the wise men in his village had always done and then failed to save them all from misery. A warrior needed rest and he had always been the bravest one of them all. He was his own responsibility and hence, his conscience was clear. Luchikawa sprawled himself on the forest floor as mightily as he could and tried gazing into the sky.

The canopy above shielded him from the stars that would tell his future. Funny, he had to think about the future when he was living every moment of it now. The thought was heavy enough to weigh his body down to sleep.

It wasn't  long before it happened again.
The awakening.
Frozen limbs and a face that couldn't turn around to see where danger was coming from. Move, head, move!!

The sounds were loud and pierced through his ears like an elephant's trumpet.
Again and again. Move!!

Through the corner of his eyes, he sensed a sharp movement among the trees. A figure emerged, not the least bit stealthily. Wasn't he awake? Couldn't the stranger see him awake?

But fear had already returned uninvited. It was like never before. The hallucination was too close to reality. He reminded himself. But his body didn't understand him. The heart continued pounding loudly like before and he could feel his blood pooling into a knot in his stomach. Run!!

The stranger fished out his small axe and in one swift movement brought it down to the sleeping man's throat. Luchikawa jumped up and fell backwards. He was surprised at the ease with which he did so.

And then he looked down. The stranger didn't lift his head to see him. He had hardly flinched. The air in the woods stayed still as Luchikawa watched while the sharp edges of the axe slid past deftly across the pale skin of a thin neck wreathed with a beautiful necklace made of tiny bones. His neck.

Blood oozed out like the wine he had not known of. The stranger looked up at him, intoxicated by his success.

Luchikawa smirked again into the darkness. Fear had finally set him free. 
 

The chocolate wrapper folded in slowly. The sound was divine. Cars and trucks raced in an out. But it was all outside the soundproof box that made it safer. It couldn't get safer than this.

A stray canine friend bent in to sniff a hello.There was a temptation for a friendly lick. It didn't happen.
Footfalls? A blind man with his stick? The pounding on the ground could'nt be placed accurately. A ticklish sensation passed up through the feet. Oh. A leg existed. May be there was another. Nearby?

Friendly Paws returned. This time around, some effort was being made to detach the hands. The hands were outside the box too. It was a funny thought. There was a joke in it somewhere and that was enough incentive for a smile. For once, the action didn't hurt much. It couldn't hurt when it couldn't happen. Another joke! Today was perfect for laughter.

And then it began. A series of images started flashing before the eyes. Irrelevant ones, definitely. The speed was slow though. Movies certainly had too little time to tell a story. They would never know what story to tell in any case. The ones who knew, couldn't tell the story. That left us all equal at the end of the day.

The movie turned boring and Friendly Paws had departed too. He would return with more friends. The feet were feeling very uneasy and would definitely need to be soothed. The head was feeling a wee bit empty, but that was alright. It had always felt dirty with all the things inside before. Thoughts were moving around in circles, and contesting with each other to be The Thought to be thought of. It was an interesting fight for there was no referee as always, and these were going to be the thoughts that one would cherish forever.

Happiness was shortlived as someone turned on the lights.

"Hey there. Can you hear me?"
Of course I can, you trespasser. You turned off the match!
"Shoo! Stupid dog! Stop growling. Now, now. Yuck. Someone come in here!"
"What happened? Any luck?"
Great. Now I could never get back to seeing my movie with my pals.
"Yeah. This one's pretty bad. And someone get rid of these dogs. They are eating them alive!"
Eating? My leg never felt better, you nincompoop!
"Do we leave this one here? Its a goner, I s'ppose."
"Yeah, and the face too. Lets try hauling it up anyhow."

The next action made the chocolate wrapper crumble a little louder. The crackle was never heard.

And so, we have Violet Hill by Coldplay, given away as a promotional song.
Hailed as exceptional and as one of their strongest songs, the song failed to impress me.
Inching towards more guitar riffs, something that the band was not very associated with, Martin whines through yet another song, with perhaps the same passion as before, but falters at the peaks when the absence of the orchestra can be painful on the ears.

Just the other day, a friend of mine declared that poems with rhyming words are too ordinary, and not in vogue.
May be ordinary is the new extra-ordinary. Violet Hill attempts to be that and loses grip thanks to some awful music.
Will it grow on you like you had hoped with their older songs? If it does, then mediocre has just achieved a new low.

In any case, gimme "123, nenoka Kantri..". Atleast the long drives from work don't feel that exhausting.

So I need to get up for class at 9:15 a.m. Set the alarm for 7 a.m. You know, there may be an important article to read, or a chapter to be skimmed through for the next class.

So, 7 it rings. My happiest dream is on and I am in the most comfortable state. The alarm I had set sounded like the smoothest melody ever. How did it turn so noisy all of a sudden? In the days of technology, I decide to snooze the damn thing.

Unfortunately, I do not remember which button activated the snooze. Comfort awaits in the pillow that initially threatened to change the structure of my spinal cord. And, ah, the dream. I have no inkling of what it was. Stupid alarm. Wish it never rings. So I do the wisest thing that would differentiate me from the apes. Turn it off.

The next thing I remember is the class looking down upon me (literally, as I happen to be a first bencher), the professor loooking through me as if the chair behind me is the most fascinating object to have sprung out of the earth, and myself trying to figure out the time.

A minute past 9:20. Wasn't class supposed to start at 9:30? Did'nt the professor tell us in the last class, that the class timings were now earlier than the previously set 10:00 a.m.? Professors these days! And what about the students, I say! No sense of timing!

Getting thrown out of class was never so dramatic. Three bumps on the ground, with a springiness I had never imagined was a quality of either me or of the earth, was hardly what I expected to occur in Eastman colour. I must be growing old I guess. It is 2019 , isn't it? Sheesh, when did I stop keeping track of time?  And why does a post graduation campus look like the ancient convent I had studied in?

Gasp! Which end of the world am I? And my marks in that paper, whose name I vaguely remember starting with a T..e......i?

What time is it? 9:05! There goes breakfast! And I woke up without an alarm! What if I had slept on by another 8 minutes?

Alarming indeed.

Does it need a description?

I am back after a long time! I was wondering what to post next; my life in a hostel, my experiences as a doctoral student or just my rambling thoughts on some insignificant issue. I chose the last option.

We were having a class on philosophy, one of my favourite courses at K. There was a mention by the professor of values and ethics in journalism, especially the visual aspect of it. The discussion moved on to a very famous photograph in 1994. A Pulitzer award-winning picture, the image was taken during the famine in Sudan. The photographer, Kevin Carter committed suicide a few months after taking the photograph.

A lot has been written about the turmoil Carter must have gone through after the episode. No one knows till date as to what happened to the little girl. Carter initially mentioned to a journalist that he shooed away the vulture and the girl continued her crawl towards a food camp one kilometre away.

Later on he has been quoted as been "smoking and crying" while sitting under a tree, soon after the picture was taken.

Once published, the picture was much talked about and a lot of aid was pumped into the famine-struck nation.

Why do we need such shock to realise how worse off our fellow human beings are?

As an average unsympathetic person, I know that it really wouldn't matter anything to me if the girl was really spared by the vulture or not. Perhaps I would have been interested to know it only to spice up my next discussion with others like me.

Why is it so difficult to feel kind and show sympathy? Why does one need to try so hard to be good while being indifferent comes so naturally?

Questions galore.

Whats in your neighbourhood? Why did I get this question?

Well, we had this subject called environmental studies(or engineering, I never could remember the last name for that subject :-)) and it so happened that on the last fateful day that all of us engineering students pick up fresh and clean text books for studying, I "read" the book. No, not learnt the words by heart, and definitely not for academic interests, but like I would read about how Paris Hilton ended up in jail! Yes, I confess that I read that subject out of pure interest :(

But thats diverting attention from my question. When was the last time that you found yourself not day dreaming and actually observing the sights and sounds coming from those ordinary trees near your house? I know there was that new dress to be bought, and of course, that lab-report that had to be written. But you knew that you'd definitely finish it in record time irrespective of when the last date of submission was. And the dress ...well..weight loss sounds like a good idea now.

In the meanwhile what was that squeak you heard? The spanking new tap that Mom had predicted would live up to its fragile looks? Not the DVD writer!..surely..you replaced the needle(*chuckle*). The Massive Monthly Monsta???! ..A big wide grin..and its back to the environ-Mental text. A flutter among the leaves and a species is forgotten.

Its an even greater pity when you do not know the names of some( most ) Birds or insects. The small shiny black bird has to be an exotic African cousin of our brown skinned sparrow. The green and red headed bird that goes hoppety-hop to ten places in 2 seconds cannot be indigenous! Land of the dry Deccan Plateau and crows, and so much variety? Impossible. Someone must have opened a cage. Where were you now...um yes..item no. 61..the Assam rabbit...that sounds cute!

Interruption again. This one is huge. It looked like a hornbill but this was grey! And the squeak??? This one ScrEeched like the pterodactyls on T.V.! Return of the dinosaurs? Why was it bawling so much!? And what was that protrusion on its head! REd eyes too!! Dad gets a why-didnt-u-get-me-the-digicam-when-I-asked-you  look from you. You stand rooted to the spot. Half hoping that Dinobird shows its fangs, half hoping that birds don't pick on final year engineering students. And then you realise that there are large black grills between the balcony and the coconut tree. Major disappointment. 10 full minutes and you realise that Dino(hehe) is surely lost. The wild screeches now sound painful to you. Dad's rummaging through your pile of text books.

"What are you doing?"

"Telephone directory..Blue Cross"

Cold hearted, dog hating, no-pets-allowing DaD???

Mom's wide-eyed and silently clearing up the balcony. Rest for the poor thing. You stay where you are. Laziness doesn't seem to leave you even in peril!

And then the inevitable happens. Glorious Dino isn't perched on the treetop. "ScREEch!" You rush to the other end of the flat towards the sound and are left staring at a blank wall. The three of you exchange uniquely sheepish looks and you return to that grey little text book. Grey.

The test paper next day asks, "What is biodiversity? Write about the conservation of biodiversity."

Marvellous Osmania.