Saturday, March 14, 2009

Season 1 Episode 4

The goons barged in and one of them said that it would not be good if the complaint was not taken back.Just then M.Venkatesh entered the scene and was asking that fellow to calm down as if to show he was a fair person.He asked Shashwath to kindly take the complaint back.Anybody who met Venkatesh would have been fooled by his sugar sweet voice,his boyish looks and cool demeanour.Nobody knew of the monster lurking inside.

Next day as Shashwath was leaving for his college which he used to rarely attend,on his bike,Sunaina asked whether he could drop her as both their colleges were nearby.Shashwath had never had a girl sit on the backseat of his bike except for his mother.He showed a bit of reluctance but Sunaina said that she had an important test that day and therefore he finally agreed.There was a lot of traffic that day as one of the political party had organised a protest rally bang in the middle of the city.

Shashwath was really pissed off by this indifference of these political leaders for the common man.The more disturbing part was that they were not even apologetic after seeing the mess and chaos they had created.Somehow Shashwath managed to drop her in time.He also attended his college after 3 months since the last time.

Sunaina's friends had seen a boy dropping her and after the test they asked her that.Now she thought that if she said that he was her boyfriend she would atleast end the back slapping comments from her friends momentarily.She said that as well in reaction to which a lot of teenage talk happened.

She started asking drop from him daily and even he slowly started getting used to the idea of a girl on the backseat.One such day she suggested that they have a coffee together in Cafe Coffee Day.He resisted.Why to go there? he asked.For him the people inside these stylish glass houses lived in their own castles far away from reality.He felt uncomfortable within such atmospheres.Sunaina was different.These were places to hang out with friends,have fun and live life.

Finally it was the girl's call.She even promised to pay for it.When the coffees arrived at the table,Shashwath as was his habit of drinking tea/coffee fast gulped the entire drink at a stretch.Sunaina was enjoying was enjoying each sip when she noticed that he had finished fast and was sitting there waiting for her to finish fast.He wanted to get out of there while she just wanted company.

She then ordered something to eat but even in that he was over with in lightning speed."You are always this fast or today something special?"she quipped.Shashwath was an impatient person and around girls he used to be shy also.He waited till she finished hers but all the time just giving her a reminder that he was getting late.

As he was dropping Sunaina near her college gate her friends talked to him as they would with their other friend's boyfriends.He was not getting a hang of what they were meaning but Sunaina managed to send him away."He doesnt speak much,does he" asked one of her friends.She just smiled and tried to divert the attention to something else.

As Shashwath and Sunaina grew a bit more friendly she asked him as to why he used to dress like an old politician.He asked as to why she was bothered about that."You dont respect others opinions only,you are so resistant to change"she said.He replied back "if i change my every trait for each and every person,then what would be left of me?".That struck a chord with her.She realised her childishness in trying to copy the trend.

She also dint want to change because it was the "in" thing but now she still had 2 years in college and for that to go smoothly she dint want to flip flop on this.So the status quo continued.

March 11th 2009:Dawn 4.00 am
Some bags were being offloaded from a truck near ShivajiNagar.The BOMBS were ready and the BOMBERS were even more.The plan was of massive simultaneous serial blasts in the crowded markets of Bangalore.Teams were divided and the plan was being reaffirmed.One team left to City market,one to Malleswaram,one to Basavangudi,One to Yeshwantpur and another to M.G.Road.

This was the sleeper cell of Jung-E-Farat which had become active after months of training and recceing.However this was being used as a diversionary tactic for their ultimate goal of entering Vidhan Soudha and holding the state and country to ransom.Rajat and Varun were about to go together for another audition in Varun's father' car.Varun' father was a government employee and was a highly corrupt officer.His vehicle had the green pass which allowed the car to enter right upto the main entrance as he was a high ranking officer.Through all their sources the fidayeens had come to know of this.

The terrorists had also taken into confidence an inside person in the Vidhan Soudha to keep all the necessary equipment ready,enter them away from the prying security eyes.Everything was perfectly planned including who would join them once they were inside.Two men approaching as Bank Insurance agents had approached Varun's father some days before and had asked his appointment in the morning of march 11th.

They came that morning to the house and asked whether they could go along with him in the car.Varun's father knew that if this contract was made his pockets would be refilled to a large extent.He greedily agreed.But he said that on the way he had to drop of certain documents in Soudha.

9.30 a.m: Bombs were in place.Everything was set.Bomb Blasts had to happen just as the car entered near the Vidhan Soudha security gate.Mobiles were the triggering device.As Rajat and Varun sat inside the car which was jampacked due to the new guests,there was insufficient place.They somehow adjusted and the car sped away.

10 a.m:As the car stood for checking,a mobile button was pressed and......

To be continued.......

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Season 1 Episode 3

For his good luck it seemed that the conductor almost looked through him.It seemed he could not remember who he was.But for Rahul the case or the conductor was least of his worries.He was thinking of his last 10 days of college life and his girlfriend Sheetal Bhakshi.He dint how it would be possible for him to continue with the relationship.

Everytime he imagined some sort of a future with her he could sense something inside in his head echo with his relatives small talk about one of his aunt's daughter who had married someone from another caste and their constant jibbing about them.

He had always been on the right side of the
society acceptednorms-goodacademics,cultured,caretaker,responsible etc.Now he was not ready to go against his own outer image.Last day of college soon approached and he was bidding goodbye to all his friends.As he stood near the gulmohar tree in the college ground with the old leaves lying around him and colourful leaves above,he thought of the first time he had met Sheetal in the exact same place.

They had met as strangers and they had to separate like that.She came.As he looked into her eyes,he could not believe he could not look at them again.She asked him as to what was wrong with him.But instead of learning the real reason she assumed that he was sad because he would not be able to meet his best buddies in college as regularly as before.She even went to the extent of saying that she would make sure that the guys would be meeting up regularly.

He dint want to break the sweet girl's heart by telling her that it was the last time they would be meeting.Holding her hand he said he could just mutter out "I hope i can meet you atleast more than the times i meet my other friends".She sensed something wrong.Rahul had never talked formally with her before.Before she could ask,he said he had to leave for his home as some relatives were coming by.

Before he went out of the college gate he could not help but look back at her lovely face once more.She stood there looking at him with a face that only illuminated of her love for him.He controlled himself and climbed the bus to his home.As was his regular habit,he immediately plugged into FM Radio 94.3 in the mobile.As though by coincidence but aptly "Ghajini's Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gayi" was playing.

He had heard it umpteen times before but now the song meant more than just Rahman's soulful sound.As the song played on he could imagine the time he had spent with her.Since the time he had met her his viewpoint regarding various things had changed.The night sky had changed from starry to romantic,candles meant love and not just light.He knew he was punishing himself by letting go of her but dint how to do this.He remembered the time she sent message after message to ask how he was feeling after the bus conductor fiasco.

As the various scenes flashed through he realised his stop had come and got down.Just then his mobile beeped.It was a message from Sheetal "Dont forget me" was written.
His hands trembled.This was the toughest test he was facing till then.Relationships had got more complicated than any of the complicated formula he had studied in his engineering.

As he walked past the park he saw Rajat and Varun with their respective girlfriends enjoy the evening near the park fountain.He dint know why only the rich got all they wanted without trying too hard and he had to adhere to all the society rules.Even Venkatesh's "Chokras" could talk to any girl with the people passing bye not even turning a eye."Why Me GOD??".As it is the middle class had to face the wrath of the SYSTEM the most and now even their personal life had rules imposed on them.

If one love story was on the verge of breaking up another one was just starting.Shashwath had organised a protest in front of the police commissioner's office due to the inaction with regard to bringing the eve teasers of Sunaina to book in the last so many days.The police commissioner had finally admitted the F.I.R.Shashwath had brought a copy of that to Rao household.

Sunaina had always thought of Shashwath of as a jobless person,but what he was doing on behalf of her had forced her to look at him in a different perspective.As Shashwath was leaving to his home after having given the copy,Sunaina came out to thank him.He mumbled something and went away from there.He was extremely conscious when talking to girls.

The next day Venkatesh's goons stormed into Shashwath home and..............

To be continued.......

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Season 1 Episode 2

There was a park in Shanti Nagar in which there was a room built.It was declared as a library when the park was planned out by the BBMP.But a local corporator M.Venkatesh and his goons were running it as a gymnasium by the day and a brothel by the night.

The goons used to eve tease the girls taking a walk there during the evening.Sunaina had gone there one evening and was taking a walk along with one of her college friend who had come to her house.Sunaina was wearing a pink skirt and this seemed enticing enough to the testerone heavy goons of Venkatesh.

One of them try to rub up against her when the girls were passing by.This brazen act continued with another one of them joining and trying to pull the skirt of Sunaina.She cried out and this led to a horde of people of gathering.One of the elderly rebuked the boys and escorted the girls back to Sunaina's home.

The other people knew of the power of those goons and went away silently not realising that their daughters or wives would be in the same position one day.Nobody dared to voice their opinion against the goons because of the "connections" and the power they had.

Sunaina's father was extremely angry and decided it was time to take some action.He decided that he would lodge a complaint with the local police station.However the Superintendent there was also hand in glove with M.Venkatesh.He took the complaint but no action was taken in the following days.However some of the people had begun to talk in hushed tones that it was not right for a girl to walk in skirts in that park knowing that goondas stayed there.

Some even had gone to the extent to say that she might have gone there on purpose to seek attention.Sunaina's parents had made sure that she dint get to listen all this as they knew she was a very sensitive girl and she may take it wrongly.Though Shashwath had strong dislike for Sunaina he went along with Sunaina's father to the corporator's home but he dint ask them to sit as they were not "powerful".

Sunaina's father was feeling helpless.The association meeting happened and all took an unanimous decision to restore the room in the park to a library.They sent a memorandum to the BBMP but empty promises were many but again nothing happened.Soon the fracas was forgotten by everyone else but the scars for Sunaina and her family dint go away.

Neha was a pillar of support for Sunaina and she dropped Sunaina to college everyday as Sunaina dint have the spirit to go alone.Neha was not feeling right about the inaction by the authorities.She decided to take the media route.She contacted one of her contacts in TV9 and compelled them to air a program about this issue.

However the channel aired the program in such a manner that Sunaina's character was also doubted.Sunaina's parents had started getting calls from their relatives and the usual mocking and cynical questions followed.They could not take it and they were angry with Neha and Sunaina for having done this without their knowledge.Sunaina's father wept and asked Neha to leave them alone.

Rajat was told about this episode but as always he was lost in his own world.He and his friend Varun had auditioned jointly for the role and the results were about to put up in a few days.In the mean time they had gone partying to a pub.Neha had also come along with her friends.Some of her friends were drinking.Rajat saw this.Although he used to act all cool and never had any biases about girls going to pubs and all,he went over to Neha and asked "Hey dont drink yaar,you know girls...i mean girls drinking doesnt look right you know??"

Neha looked with a puzzled face.It was a surprise as the "cool" Rajat could ask this.Although she did not drink she found Rajat a hypocrite.She dint know why girls having their share of fun was looked through a tinted glass.She thought about it on her way back home.

Meanwhile Shashwath had convinced Rahul to lodge a complaint against the bus conductor.Two days later Rahul climbed a bus back to his home from college.To his surprise it was the same conductor!! They looked at each other and ...

To be continued......

Thursday, March 5, 2009

SEASON 1-Episode 1

"Bhaiyyo aur Behno,We are the change you have been looking for,we are a party with a difference,we are for the aam admi".Shashwath woke up with a thud.He still remembered the leader's words during a rally held in his college grounds.He was so impressed by the oratory skills of the leader that he had decided to join the party as a member of the youth division of the party.It was 3 years ago.He was beginning to realise the purposelessness.

He had been fooled as had the billions of other aam admi by the false promises.He did not believe in the party idealogy any more as the party itself was not following it.Realising the selfishness of the leaders he wondered whether not giving priority to his studies,being smirked at by society and not even enjoying the work, was worth it.

Just then he heard his father speaking to his mother in the other room about his doomed career.His father was an honest government lower level official.He could hear his father say that he was humiliated when his friends talk about their children who were software engineers or doctors and their six-figure salaries and how he could not proudly talk about his son.

In the morning Sunaina came to ask for milk to his home.They both used to not like each other as he was everything she was not looking for in a boy and she was just a girl who was pretty with no brains for him.They had not bothered to understand each other.Plus her indifference about the society only angered him.

Sunaina gave him a twisted face look and went away from there.He could not believe how could the other youngsters only think about themselves and nothing about the society.He dint like this lackadaisical attitude but what could he do,he was swimming against the tide.

Sunaina on the other hand did not know where her life was going,not that she cared.Valentines day was approaching and she dint have a boyfriend to show off in her Girls-only college.It was the norm and she was feeling the peer pressure.

But she dint want to fall in love with some random guy,but wanted to have the kind of love shown in SRK movies.She was a huge fan of his.Her parents were highly learned people and she being the only child to them wanted her to go for higher studies but Sunaina just wanted to get out of the student mode.

Rahul was packing his bag for college.He was in the final semester of engineering.Everything was going right for this son of a bank manager.He had a rocking career, a dream job and thinking of going abroad for his further studies,a sweet girlfriend about whom he had not told his ultra conservative parents(although they had doubted why his mobile used to vibrate so frequently during the night hours.)

He climbed the bus to college.The conductor took the 10 rupee note for the ticket of 8 rupees,he wrote "2 to give" on the back of the ticket.Rahul then saw the conductor giving change to other people.When he confronted the conductor,the latter abused him with the dirtiest of language.

The conductor said he knew the youth have hot blood and spend their father's money on drinks and cigarettes.Rahul could not take this abuse and retorted back.The recalcitrant conductor virtually threw Rahul out from the slow speed running bus and threw the 2 rupee coin on his face and the bus drove away.

With his shirt all messed up and pant slightly torn he could not believe a person who was right could be treated like this,let alone how a human being could treat another!!He decided to go back to his home.On the way back he met Rajat.He was all decked up with a swanky shirt and torn jeans.He was auditioning for a role of a youngster in a new tv serial.

The casting directors had come to his acting school for the auditions.When Rahul told what had happened to him,Rajat carelessly asked as to why he had to take panga with the conductor for two rupees.

"This is India dude,you have to adjust!!,you are not James Bond man!!" was the answer.This was typical of Rajat.He told this and went away from there.When he reached the gate Neha was leaving for her Arts college.She told that he could go to the "always free" Shashwath and ask his help whether they could lodge any complaint against the conductor.Rahul said that all this drivers and conductors have a powerful lobby and he did not want to invite trouble for his family.

Neha advised him to not tell about this incident to his best friend Shashwath as he would force him to lodge a complaint.Rahul then went to his house and was nursed by his very angry mother.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Diaries of a Common Man-A New Revolution

Welcome to the life of the AAM ADMI. We are a funny bunch of people.We are the hardest working people and take the oppression imposed on us by well "funny" politicians with the phrase "Thoda Adjust karo".10 people sit on a bench meant for 2.We drive through potholes on roads never once asking for accountability for the taxes we pay.We have big dreams,big aspirations but dont want others to have the same.We go green with envy when someone else from our society buys a new car.

We want the surroundings clean but only in front of our houses.Other people can go take a hike.We think a lot before helping anybody-"What favor can i ask in return?".We spit,shit and do all other dirty work but get hyper critical when we see others do the same.Sometimes i dont know whether the rules were meant to follow or break.We worship our cricketers like demi-gods but then hate them as devils when they lose two matches on a trot.

We buy things not according to our need but just to show to the society that even we are there in the league.We are the worst behaving people when we travel abroad and are the worst hosts too.We sometimes walk for 5 kms just to save a rupee but dont mind spending obnoxiously on our weddings.We dont mind having slums in our neighbours but yell our lungs out when a foreigner makes a film on it.

We are all this and more,we have more negative qualities than any stupid blogger can write but you know what we are the Great Indian Middle Class. We are 700 million strong,independent minded.We face all the obstacles which most in the world dont face and yet are LIVING.

Welcome to the Diaries of a Common Man.Welcome to Shanti Nagar.This area's people face the same adverseries that many of us face.But then they took destiny into their own hands.This movement was started by the youth of the area and that resulted in a chain reaction.

Well let me introduce the main characters of Shanti Nagar:
Shashwath Nigam: The boy with the most vocal political voice.All he cares about are the injustices that the people face.He was a rebel and an anti-establishment kind of person.But he was very poor at academics and had become a figure of ridicule in the area and his relatives.Everyone looked down upon him as a fakir with a 3rd rate hobby of politics and his dhoti-kurta style only emphasized that.Although he used to help out the elderly and the women with their troubles his status did not change.He wanted to get into politics and bring about a change.But only he believed in his dream.He belonged to the old school of boys.

Rahul Jaiswal: The blue-eyed boy of Shanti Nagar.He was a topper in studies and a fantastic athlete as well.All the mothers who were due to give birth wished their children to grow up as an allrounder like him.Where there is praise there is envy as well,so some of them even secretly wished that he could no longer be at the pedestal of success.Everything was going right for him.
He wanted to go abroad for his further studies.

Neha Malhotra: The dream girl of the Shanti Nagar boys.Her dressing style had become quite a rage among the girls both in her college and Shanti Nagar.The boys used to try out various ways to flirt with her but Neha was conservative in the core.She liked to have fun but by not crossing the boundaries.She was fairly good at studies but was more good at designing dresses.She wanted to be a fashion designer but her orthodox parents did not want her to get lost in the maya jaal of the fashion world.

Sunaina Rao: She was the average Jane.She was waiting for her dream man to come to her.She was a hopeless romantic.Also a sentimental cry baby-crying at the smallest of remarks or retribution.She was a dreamer and her dreams did not go beyond Mills and Boon type romantic thoughts.Academics was of last priority to her and her parents were always giving the example of Neha and how she was not a patch on her.

Rajat Patel: He wanted to be an actor.He was from one of the richer families of Shanti Nagar.If you ask him he would not even know the Prime Minister of India but would know the name of the assistant director of even a B-grade movie.Such was his prowess in the knowledge of entertainment business.He was trying to get a break in one of the roles of a new Tv serial. He was a floater,always minding his own business and acting dumb about the rest.

This was what they were but what they became and their journey to this will be told in the coming parts.Come join me in their journey of destiny.