Junkyard

I & Dad were sitting in the waiting room.
It was just 5 minutes before the surgery.
Dad assured me that it won't give any pain (after all the doctor had mentioned that he would give local anesthesia)

Alas! I was admitted in. : P
A nurse asked me to lie on the bed.
A variety of electronic devices were situated beside me.
I was made to roll over and face those devices. (Frankly, it’s no treat to watch them because they remind you of any classic Hindi movie…where some heart patient’s heart beats are shown!)

So, I lay there for some time.
I sensed that my cell phone was still in my pocket.
I thought I should have kept it outside the room.
A nurse and a ward boy were discussing with each other that:
In such surgeries all they do is cut and pull and stitch. (That’s ‘exactly’ not the words one would like to hear, seconds before surgery!)
I wished they would somehow shut up!
Then, he said something sensible – “Let’s switch on the radio.”
And it was hard to believe, but the whole operation was performed with Radio Mirchi as ‘background music’.

The radio played: “Goli maar bheje mein..!” : (
And that’s when I felt, “O What a GREAT Song!”

The surgeon entered, and I was distracted from the radio because of the clanking sound of knives and scissors. : P
The surgeon re-assured me that, “It won’t hurt.”
He gave anesthesia and left the room.
And the radio played, “Nagada….Nagada….”
What the heck!

I strained my ears to listen to something else. But failed at it.
The doctor re-appeared looking, a bit more, what can I say, Confident? : P
And then it finally began.
I suppose, the local anesthesia had worked. The portion went numb.
I couldn’t feel anything.

And the radio played, “Haule Haule…”
I love that song. But, it’s funny how the RJs play exactly the wrong songs @ the wrong times. I wanted to get out of the room as quickly as possible!
But it continued, “Haule Haule!”  : (

Everything went well.
(Well, it had to! Or how else would I be typing here right after coming back home.)
I could feel that he was putting the last stitches.

Later on, when I was leaving the room, the radio shouted, “Chak de…Chak de India!”
And I grinned : O

Mom’s worried face became visible. And I felt relived.
Dad said that the surgeon was appreciating that I didn’t scream during those injections or cuts! So brave of me! : P

All’s well that ends well.
But, I want to wish that this would be my first & last surgery ever!

Being a girl, I can go on & on about how “girls” are. But being a girl, I feel hurt when people hold any kind of assumptions against girls. These notions do not correspond to any particular country, creed, race, caste, color or gender. In fact, people from any combination of above factors believe this without verification. And I think it’s horrible.

Not all girls are similar. There always are exceptions.

Sometimes, these people should get to know that they know only ‘half-the-story’.

When I hear someone repeating one of the following statements, the mercury in my body shoots up to the brain and is about to explode. But, I prefer to keep cool. What’s the point in pointing out, eh?

No.1: Girls take hours to get ready.

(I have been on tours & camps. And I can remember how every morning I sat outside all packed and ready to leave. But, waiting hopelessly for that 1 kid, guy or uncle to turn up!)

No.2: Girls are ‘beauties with no brains’.

(I have heard boys saying this 1000s of times.) My advice to all the boys, who believe it as if it were a ‘law or rule’ is: Shut up Idiot! Don’t you have anything better to do than making these all-shit statements?

No.3: Girls are not tough. (Or not tough enough)

They can’t stand challenging situations or tolerate horrifying scenes. That’s exactly what you think, isn’t it? Next time check thrice around you before saying it aloud so as to prevent getting your eye blackened.

No.4: Girls are very, very sensitive.

In short, give her a shoulder to cry on & she will surrender. That’s a bluff. That point wasn’t even worth mentioning.

No 5: Girls love flowers.

She can’t get a bit about stunning bikes or sports or repairing machines or what they call ‘Boys-Toys’. Come out of it friends. It’s the 21^st century we are talking about, where everyday we see girls getting doing the feats making the nation ‘proud’. Do you think that they do it dreaming about flowers?

No.6: Girls are difficult to understand.

One can never make out what’s on her mind. (Can you believe people say that? Is it so easy to read the boy’s mind?)

No.7: Girls always get all kinds of privileges.

(For e.g.: The traffic police never stops a girl for not wearing helmet OR The teacher won’t ask her to kneel down for incomplete homework OR They always provide separate queue for women.) Considering all this to be true, I can say only one thing, “Thank you!”

No.8: Girls like love stories.

(This one is the worst of all. I don’t know what to say about this. It’s pointless. On the counter part: I know so many boys who have watched ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ about 30-40 times! And I can’t manage to watch it even for half an hour.)

No.9: Girls can’t drive properly.

Why then have I witnesses about ‘n’ no. of accidents where the boys go smashing their already empty heads on cars, trucks or fellow bikes.

No.10: Girls gossip day-in day-out.

This gossiping all-the-time thing has become rotten. Why don’t we try something new?

I’m sure our fertile brains can think of many other reasons to abuse girls. Come on people, Look to your own flaws! And GIVE US A BREAK!

I took basic violin lessons some 5 months back. My batch was the early morning one. The worst part was, I had to balance my violin between two legs on my saffire carefully (so that it did not fall :P) And make my way through to my class. Nevertheless, I enjoyed them to the fullest.

Gade sir was and is the best music teacher around. He taught the 'Basics'.

From observing him, I learnt the small but the MOST important things like: Holding violin in correct position, the bow position & inclination etc.

And it was the gloomiest feeling to leave the class. (Hell lot of reasons, things occurring all at once :( )

One of the very important things in the learning process is t o know how to tune the instrument. I had not yet learned it. :( That was a horrible mistake.

But, I didn’t know back then, that I won’t be able to rejoin my classes soon enough.

The violin stood for many days in its usual place (a corner of my room) Sometimes, I used to stare at it and wonder if I will be ever able to play it. On very few occasions, I took it out from the case & tried to play tunes. But, all I could do was, produce loud (often shrieking) sounds and screeching due to the friction between the bow and the strings.

I felt offended & hurt. :(

Days flew by. My Dad (himself a real good instrument player) more due to my ignorance and less out of his usual habit put it on the loft. It lay there for months untouched and full of dust. :(

A few days back, I woke up and I don’t know why, but I felt like now I could do it. (Strange things happen :P )

I climbed up the loft took the violin out. Cleaned it & started tuning it. It must have taken about one hour. But, somehow I managed to tune it, all on my own! :D And I seriously think that this is bound-to-sound like magic. :)
But for last few days, I am trying all possible songs I can think. And to my utmost surprise, they are playing fine. I mean, (That’s an achievement!) people can recognize what I’m playing. :D
I feel GREAT!

Many people think that violin plays only sad songs. :-/ (Even I thought the same way) But, I have been always attracted to violin and felt respect towards people who play it fantastically. When I listen to some tunes like Ave Maria by Schubert or the Japanese orchestras, I feel that the notes reach directly to one’s heart. In other words, I think it’s very soulful and expressive music. And now that I am able to play it, I like it even more!

Keep your nerves cool.It helps. But, it is not working for me.

I am always very excited.Or should I say, I get excited very easily. Most of the times, it shows on my face and in my behavior. Sometimes, it doesn’t.

But, at all times, I am all excited. :D

Now, does excitement mean that I lose my mental ability to think & act & decide normally? I really don’t know.

But, excitement enters my head almost naturally.I can’t prevent it. Like, when I see something very huge, very beautiful or very terrifying, I get excited.

I vividly remember all those events, when I am or was super-excited.

• When I had the first glimpse of the night-view of the illuminated “Petronas Towers” in Malaysia, my jaw dropped.

• When I saw the snow-clad mountains, the valleys and the gushing river all-in-one shot, my ever excited mind’s joy knew no bounds.

• When I watch a horror movie or scene (essentially comprising of ghosts) my face goes white, eyes bulge out and I am about to start nail-biting. :-P

• When my dream of having a tour of the Big Animation Studio came true, I can’t describe how I felt. But, surely I was dumbfound.

• When at the Bhonsala military camp, I desperately wanted to do a physical activity (that was crossing a river valley with a single rope by hanging on it upside down.) When asked, I shot my hand up, almost out of sheer excitement. I did it. And later found that I was the only girl to do it on the camp!

• When I got my only precious gift on my 18^th birthday, I was so excited that my mind went blank on how to express my feelings to the friend.

• When I am really inspired by reading a book or find the suspense or thrill of the character actually inside me, I am lost of words for a long time after keeping the book away.

• When I was able to ride bicycle at full speed without anybody’s support and felt the wind blowing by my ears, my heart was about to explode with happiness.

• When I get a new idea about some plan or project to be an entrepreneur, I am so excited that I choke up my throat while drinking water. :-P

• When I am doing nothing but suddenly my mind flashes memories (happy or sad) to me, I drop objects in my hand, I stumble, I fall or sometimes even hit objects nearby!

Well, these are just a few things in my long-list of exciting things and memories.

At home, whenever I don’t talk for long, my mum comes to inquire, thinking that something is wrong with me. :-P

Well, she is right most of the times.

But, what comes after it is that, she keeps me telling that if I don’t talk or make faces, or describe events or tell my ideas (or just do something in excitement) for long, she feels that the house becomes quiet and the so-called ‘charm’ fades away. So, according to her it’s OK to be excited.

My brother says, whenever he calls me he feels good on hearing my excited voice over the telephone (& even says that I am his chief-motivator! Am I really Dada?)

So, that’s why however hard I try to keep my mind cool, it always seizes to listen to me. But, I have experienced that excitement works. It gets things done with passion & I enjoy doing them more.

But, still is being excited all the time right?

Yesterday I watched NDTV’s famous journalist Barkha Dutt’s all popular,
one hour show WE, THE PEOPLE.
(Ignoring the fact that I had my semester paper a day after :-P)

It was a special episode on the current terror attacks with guests from different spectrums be it television, police force or just another celebrity and of course the common people.

It was named:
“Enough is enough: India's 9/11”

This show has always been providing loads of information and has been a thought provoking one for me. :)

On the show, people not only shared their grievances being the victims (like most other channels) but wanted to find a solution (by hook or by crook)

Many interesting facts were laid down.
People talked openly about their anguish regarding politicians.
They openly stated that India really has had ENOUGH!
People criticized as well as gave an open ear to others views.

I have always found an amazing charm in the way Barkha Dutt conducted this show. :D

This show surely brought about what needs to be done.
Though nobody speaks about “How it needs to be done?”

Within the last few minutes of the show Simi Garewal (a guest) says something like, “Last time America was attacked (i.e. the actual 9/11) they showed with proper tactics that they are ready for a war. They proved that their lives cannot be meddled with.
And see, they never suffered that kind of a terrible situation again.”

She meant that we don’t have to be sufferers all the time.
The image of our country has been like: “Come. Kill us. We are open 24 hours.”

But to my astonishment, a young man sitting on the show got agitated.
He criticized her saying,”War is not the solution. People like her are responsible for such thoughts.”

Well, He later apologized.
But that leaves many unanswered questions. :|

The show is available here:
Enough is Enough