What goes around, comes around. Or does it?

Mr and Mrs Hariharan were a delightful old couple who were liked and respected by everyone in their residential building for their kindness and good humour. They were especially good to their servants and everyone else who worked for them, known even to shoulder the responsibility of educating their maid’s children.

It was a cool Monday evening. Mr Hariharan had stepped out of the house to buy some groceries. Normally, Mrs Hariharan would have accompanied him, but today their maid, Rita, had had a family emergency. She had informed them that she would come to their house to clean utensils a little later that evening. Mrs Hariharan urged her to take the day off, but Rita said she would come. So Mrs Hariharan stayed home. When Rita did come to their house, she had a wild expression on her face. On being asked if she was alright, Mrs Hariharan got only monosyllabic replies. So she decided to give Rita her space and not pry.

Mrs Hariharan settled on the sofa in the drawing room to begin her daily praying ritual. She had read just one verse when she noticed an unusual movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up from her book and was shocked to find the usually jovial Rita looking almost murderous, standing in front of her brandishing a long knife. Mrs Hariharan recognised the knife as belonging to her own kitchen. What was Rita playing at?

“Put the knife down, Rita. And tell me what’s wrong.” Mrs Hariharan said, trying to portray a calmness in her voice that she didn’t feel. Her heart was beating fast because she seemed to be trapped in her home with a crazed Rita whom she couldn’t quite place. This Rita was completely at odds with the calm, mild natured Rita she was familiar with.

“Get up and hand over all the money in the house to me.” Rita spat out.

Mrs Hariharan froze. Her mind went on overdrive. She evaluated her situation – she was all alone at home, Mr Hariharan was not expected home for at least another hour, the neighbours won’t be home from work yet. She could call the security, but how would she do that without Rita noticing?

“Come on make it fast, I don’t want to have to hurt you.” Rita said impatiently.

Mrs Hariharan slowly rose from her seat. Rita moved closer and trained her knife near Mrs Hariharan’s throat, its point almost touching her. Though Mrs Hariharan was terrified, the dominant emotion in her was that of sadness. She could still not believe that Rita would betray her like this. After all her kindness, this was how Rita had chosen to repay her.

“Don’t do this Rita. Just put the knife down and go home. I am willing to forget this whole incident if you stop right now,” Mrs Hariharan said in an attempt at making peace. Her efforts were wasted. Rita was not going to budge.

“Save your breath, I’m not going to back out now.” Rita said, her expression cold, unfamiliar.

Mrs Hariharan decided to give in. She knew that she couldn’t fight off Rita, not with her arthritis ridden bones. The only way to get rid of her was to give her what she wanted. She would report Rita to the police as soon as she got out of this nightmare.

Mrs Hariharan felt like she hadn’t known Rita at all, if that was even her name. She proceeded to the drawer in the TV cabinet where she kept her purse. Mr Hariharan didn’t believe in keeping a lot of money in the house. Instead, he withdrew money from the bank as and when required. It was much safer that way. And how right he was, thought Mrs Hariharan as she retrieved the purse with trembling hands. There were two thousand rupees in the purse which Rita snatched away greedily.

“I want more. Is this all you have?” Rita asked.

“Yes,” replied Mrs Hariharan.

“I don’t believe you. I think you really don’t have a sense of self-preservation,” Rita said.

She was going to nick Mrs Hariharan’s neck to draw some blood, to scare her into submission when the doorbell rang loudly, startling them both. Saved by the bell, thought Mrs Hariharan. But her relief was short lived.

“Don’t move. You will not open the door,” Rita ordered.

Mrs Hariharan prayed that it was Mr Hariharan at the door and that he had thought to take his set of keys with him. Sure enough, a minute later, she could hear the key turning in the lock. Mrs Hariharan dared to hope again.

The door opened and Mr Hariharan came in saying, “Look who decided to pay us a surprise visit!”

Mr Hariharan and their two sons Ajay and Vijay froze for a second at the scene in front of them – Mrs Hariharan held at knife point, holding a purse in her hand and Rita holding a knife trying and failing to look menacing. Ajay recovered from his shock first and quickly got into action. He rushed to Rita and deftly took away the knife from her hands. Vijay went to his mother’s side. She had sunk to the floor out of relief and exhaustion. After seating his mother on the sofa and giving her a glass of water to drink, Vijay went to help his brother contain Rita. She had a resigned expression on her face, but she was still struggling to escape. Mr Hariharan was calling the security and any neighbours and friends he could reach over the intercom. Within a few minutes, three black uniformed security guards came to take Rita away. She was sobbing now. The guards had no sympathy for her though. She gave one last pitiable look at Mrs Hariharan and allowed herself to be led away. Mrs Hariharan couldn’t stand to look at Rita so she averted her eyes.

The ordeal was over but Mrs Hariharan was badly shaken. Mr Hariharan put an arm around her and they sat in silence, grateful that nothing worse had happened. Neighbours and friends started trickling in after the security spread the word. Everyone was shocked. One of the neighbours offered to drive Mr and Mrs Hariharan to the police station to file a complaint. His wife brought them steaming Dal Rice because she figured Mrs Hariharan wouldn’t be in a state to cook after an ordeal like this. Ajay and Vijay decided to spend the night and the next few days at their parents’ house so they could keep an eye out for them.

*********

That night sleep was hard to come by for both Mr and Mrs Hariharan, even though they knew that their sons were in the next room. They had lodged a police complaint. In addition, a society meeting was held where the security measures of the building had been updated. All maids working in the various houses of the building were now required to have a photo ID which would be issued by the building management after due background checks.

The moon was full that night, casting its white light into Mrs Hariharan’s bedroom. She was grateful for the light. It made her feel safe for some reason.

“Why did this happen to me? I thought good begets good. What goes around, comes around and all that. The entire concept of Karma, is it all just talk?” Mrs Hariharan asked her husband morosely as she was getting ready for bed. The events of the day had made her doubt herself. Ever since she was a child, she had been taught to be good and kind to others. But after today, she was beginning to wonder if being good was overrated, that maybe what she had been taught was no longer applicable in today’s dog eat dog world.

Mr Hariharan smiled as he straightened his glasses. “Tell me, are you being kind, generous and good to people out of expectation of something in return from them?”

“Of course not!” Mrs Hariharan said indignantly. “But I certainly didn’t expect Rita to behave this way.” Mrs Hariharan was quite hurt by what she saw as an act of betrayal by Rita.

“As to your question on whether good begets good, here’s what I think,” Mr Hariharan said from his armchair next to the window. “What goes around, does come around, but not necessarily from the same source!”

“What do you mean?” asked Mrs Hariharan, confused.

“Agreed, what Rita did today was totally uncalled for," Mr Hariharan said. "But think of some of the good things that also happened today:”

1) It was nothing short of miraculous that our sons and I came home when we did, or who knows what might have happened.”

2) Our neighbours all rushed to our side when we called for help. Diya from next door made us dinner. Did we ask her to? No. Yet she did and how useful it was to us, when you were too disturbed to cook. Similarly, her husband took the trouble of driving us till the police station and back.”

Why did these things happen? Maybe it was your good Karma that protected you, maybe it was Fate. We don’t know.”

“I hadn’t thought of it quite that way” said Mrs Hariharan deep in thought. A verse of the Bhagwad Gita came to her mind, ‘Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana, Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani’. This verse meant that one should concentrate on one’s actions and not worry about the results of those actions. In other words, one’s actions shouldn’t be motivated solely by the fruits of those actions. We will definitely avail the fruits of our actions, whether good or bad, but the despatching of fruits is not our department. That responsibility is solely the Universe’s.

In light of this verse, her husband’s words started making sense and Mrs Hariharan finally understood. She wouldn’t forsake the goodness of her heart just because of this one incident. She helped people because it made her happy that she could be of some use to them, not because she wanted something in return. She knew that the Universe will return the favour as it saw fit, in its own good time.

This was quite an epiphany for Mrs Hariharan - that Karma does exist, but it works in mysterious ways. The boons or banes of Karma strike at the unlikeliest of times and we are almost always taken unawares by it. Smiling to herself, Mrs Hariharan fell asleep watching the flickering of Mr Hariharan’s reading lamp.

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

Brand 'You'

The world we live in is a cruel, unforgiving one. A world spoilt for choice. A world where we are being constantly evaluated and are expected to prove our worth: by the society, our friends, colleagues, bosses, even our own family. Where an impression can make or break our career. Where people would like to know, as quickly as possible, why we deserve their precious time and attention when there are so many other equally if not more capable people out there. What differentiates us from others?

Thinking about the answer to this question reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago with a relative of mine who had come to visit. At the time I had just completed my formal education and was nervous about the prospect of entering the big, bad world having lived in a protected environment for so long. I was greedy for any advice that she could give me. The wise lady merely told me this: “Any task that you take up should be done to the best of your ability. Let there be no compromises, because it is after all ‘You’ who are doing it. Whether it is a menial task like dusting a shelf or something more intellectual like writing a program or giving a presentation, pour your heart and soul into it. The difference will definitely show. It will also give you a high like never before, the high of a job well done. This is the key to happiness and success.” I was blown away by her simple yet profound words.  I will always remember them.

If we come to think of it, the lady was talking about what we have come to know today as branding. So what exactly is branding? It is a marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. (http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/branding) This term can be extended to ourselves too. We’re all unique. We matter. We have been put here for a purpose and we can make a difference. But the world doesn’t know this. In order to show the world what more we can bring to the table, we need to follow the wise lady’s advice. We need to start building and nurturing the brand that is us, so that we are remembered, even long after we’re gone.

The tricky question is, how one can go about doing this. Here are a few thoughts:

1. There is nothing you do that isn’t sending a message, one way or another. – Steve McKee (http://growthpress.net/15-branding-quotes-will-inspire-take-brand-next-level/) Our every move is being scrutinised by someone or the other. So we might as well give them something good to look at by always putting our best foot forward! It may be exhausting initially, but it will always be worth it. Our work will soon begin to be identified by the uniqueness that only we can add to it.
2. The way it has always be done, is not the way it must always be done. – Steve McKee (http://growthpress.net/15-branding-quotes-will-inspire-take-brand-next-level/) ‘Thinking out of the box!’, ’Innovation!’, ‘Imagination!’, ‘Creativity!’- We’ve all heard these words more times than we can count. They stem from human tendency to quickly tire of what is routine and monotonous. That’s why we’re always looking for newer, faster and more efficient ways of doing things. People who are able to step out of their comfort zone and look beyond the tried and tested ways to tread the less travelled path make it big in this world.
3. An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind. - Mahatma Gandhi. Treading the path of goodness and righteousness may be scoffed upon in today’s dog eat dog world. But personal vendettas and grudges never did anyone any good. A kind deed never goes waste. What goes around does come around, though not necessarily from the same place. This is something to think about.
4. No one likes a whiner. Anyone can complain about what’s wrong in the world, but not everyone can come up with ways to right what is wrong. So instead of whining, focusing one’s energy on devising and implementing solutions to various world problems can go a long way in setting one apart from others.
5. Happiness is infectious. It is true that life is not a bed of roses and that there is unfairness galore in this world. People who are happy and enthusiastic despite the gloom that surrounds them are sought after. Smiling, laughing people are often considered more agreeable and are welcome anywhere they go, because they lift the spirits of those around them.  

Finally, creating a brand for ourselves doesn’t mean losing our identity to what the world thinks we should be. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. It is about embracing our uniqueness and using it to do some good from which the world can benefit. Thus the world needs us to step forward, into the limelight. We’re all works of art, which up till now never got to see the light, as Selena Gomez sings in her song, Who Says. So pull up the blinds, open up the windows and let the world see and experience: Brand You!

On Forgiveness

On picking up any book on self development and happiness, we'll find that one of the primary ways to stay happy is to forgive: forgive those who have wronged us and most importantly, forgive ourselves.

So what exactly is forgiveness? It might not come as a surprise to know that Google actually has a definition for it: "Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well." In simpler words, forgiveness is when we let go of feelings of revenge and resentment in response to an offense against us.

Forgiveness has many merits. Almost every religion professes it. The important question that comes to mind is, what can be forgiven and what cannot be? Can the parents of the girl ever forgive the man who raped their daughter, can the world forgive terrorists who killed so many people in various instances of terrorism? On a more personal level, can we forgive our parents, friends, colleagues for the various ways in which they wound us?

In order to answer this question, it is important to know what forgiveness is not. Forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting or excusing the seriousness of the offence committed against us, or releasing the offender from legal accountability. It can improve damaged relationships, but doesn't mandate reconciliation. It does not obligate us to have positive feelings towards those whom we forgive. (See reference)

However, to forgive is easier said than done. Our pride plays a big role in this. We equate forgiveness with giving up our stance, our point of view, which we so strongly believe in. We ask ourselves why we should be the ones extending the olive branch every time, why other people can't realise 'their' mistake and apologise, atone?

No matter how justified we may be that the other person is wrong, we must swallow the bitter pill and forgive. Here's the best reason to do so: "for our own peace of mind!" We keep walking around with the heavy burden of hurt pride and feelings, anger and resentment. These negative feelings eat us up from inside and gradually seep into everything we do unless we take measures to stop them. When we forgive, the burden of negativity gets lifted off our shoulders and we feel lighter. Forgiveness empowers us to recognise the pain we have suffered without letting the pain define us, thus enabling us to heal and move on. (See reference)

"The opposite of love is not hate, but apathy, where you simply don't give a damn!" This is a very profound line I read in The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi. We should aim for apathy when we forgive: forgive with all our heart and then never look back on the incident again. It's over and done with. We can't change it now. We should never hold grudges, because having grudges means we are still affected and that we haven't forgiven ourselves.

Forgiveness is not for the faint hearted, as Mahatma Gandhi has rightly said. It is an attribute of the strong. Thus, we should never feel that by forgiving someone, we are being weak, that we are sacrificing our pride and self respect. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Forgiveness is not easy, but we can practice until it becomes second nature. We will then know true happiness and peace of mind.

Reference: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/forgiveness/definition

Picture Courtesy:
1) http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/forgive-others-not-because-they-deserve-forgiveness-but-because-you-2.html

2) http://www.allthingspossible.biz/what-is-it-costing-you-to-hold-onto-your-grudges-2/

3) http://www.motivationmagazine.com/articles/the-power-of-forgiveness

On Taking Criticism

Criticism is a word we are all too familiar with, having been on the receiving end too many times to count. It could be our parents telling us that they were so much better than us when they were our age, our superiors telling us to pick up our game or face dire consequences, the boss who picks out faults no matter how hard we work and threatens not to promote us, the mother-in-law who thinks no girl could ever be good enough for her precious son, the spouse or partner who blames us for the failed relationship. The list is endless.

We don't care for it. Not even a tiny bit. After all, who would like to hear non flattering things being said about themselves? (Even if they had some truth in them. Only some truth, mind it. :-P) In his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie writes that all of us crave appreciation. It is a basic human need, like the need for food, water and air. No matter how much we claim to be thick skinned and aloof, criticism always stings. The severity of the sting, however, varies from person to person. And even a little appreciation acts like a soothing balm on our bruised ego.

The moment we encounter criticism, we instinctively get defensive. How dare anyone criticize us? Isn't it said that before one points a finger at others, they should point it at themselves first? I follow this, so why can't everyone else?! These are the questions that immediately come to mind. However, after we cool down a bit and replay the entire event in our head at least ten times, we come up with some questions that are more difficult to answer. Why am I being criticized? Is the criticism genuine? Should I pay it any heed? Will it really help me or is it just aimed at bringing me down? Should I take the criticism lying down or lash out at the person meting it out? Let me attempt to answer at least some of these questions.

Believe it or not, there is something known as positive or constructive criticism. It comes from our well wishers, people close to us like our parents and friends. This type of criticism stings more than usual because we think that these are the people who are supposed to love us unconditionally. When they criticize us, we feel betrayed. However, in this case, heeding the criticism may do us a lot of good. This is because these people have known us for a long time. They know how we operate. What they tell us is for our own improvement. So, even though we may be hurt and indignant at first, we should try understand why they said what they said and take corrective measures. If it is due to some negligence on our part, then we would do well to be more careful in future. Why to give anyone an opportunity to tell us off? We can avoid such criticism by being alert and mindful of what we do.

Now comes the case of unfair criticism. The kind which instills in us a sense of being wronged, which makes our blood boil and sometimes even makes us want to cause bodily harm to the perpetrators. Take the example of being unfairly criticized by our boss. Our mind tries to make us feel better by showing us one revenge fantasy after another. These fantasies are mostly inspired by movies like Horrible Bosses and Wanted. Remember that scene where James McAvoy hits one of his colleagues with a  keyboard so hard that some keys fly off? These keys form the two words (which begin with F and Y) that express his thoughts about the colleague exactly. And what's more, while on their trajectory, the keys manage to take away the colleague's tooth! :-P It sure would give us immense sadistic pleasure to do this in real life to everyone who has ever wronged us. But this is just a fantasy. What would be a mature way to handle the situation?

Such criticism is definitely a blow to our pride. The key thing to do here is to not lose confidence in oneself and try to understand the reasons behind the criticism. Personal prejudices, general frustration, stress and even bad weather are a few possible reasons. Most of these factors are not under our control. Say the boss had a bad start to her day at home. She vents out her frustration by criticizing or humiliating us. Then there could be the case of the other person just not liking us, plain and simple. They will scrutinize our every move, just waiting for an opportunity to bring us down. Even a single tiny slip up and they'll be all over us. No matter what we say, we're always wrong. And our hands are tied as they are in a position of greater power.

So what do we do? I think that we should stand up for what we believe in. We can't be wrong every time. Some anger is justified and even necessary. Just imagine, if Indians of the pre-independence era hadn't gotten angry and decided that enough was enough, we would probably still have been a colony under the British.

When we are being unfairly criticized, reacting to the situation with an emotional outburst may sometimes not work in our favour. It would look like we are being defensive. Instead we should listen to everything that is being said very carefully, take it all in and understand the reason behind it being said. Then we should prove the other person wrong, not by saying anything but through our actions. After all, actions speak louder than words. Also, it would be great to make it amply clear to the other person through our body language and tone of speech that we don't care for being unfairly judged or criticized. The challenge is to do all this while maintaining utmost politeness, so that try as they might, they won't be able to fault us. There's also the plus point that this will annoy them greatly! If we're rude, there would not be much difference between us and the other person.

Taking criticism and responding to it appropriately is an art. Some people are born with it. Others need to be put in such situations a few times to get the hang of dealing with them. Knowing how to deal with criticism is very necessary to maintain our peace of mind in this big, bad world, where unfairness is rampant and expectations are sky high

Picture courtesy:
1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-labermeier/negative-impact-of-criticism-_b_3829346.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in
2. http://conniedavisjohnson.com/2013/08/14/when-to-heed-or-disregard-criticism/

For Women's Day

Source: http://fearlessleon.com/2012/03/800/

Today is the International Women's Day. It began as a celebration of women attaining the right to vote. But in most places, it has gradually evolved into a day of celebrating womanhood and everything a woman represents: endurance, beauty, love and quiet strength. Now is the time to introspect how far we, as a country, have come in empowering women. From the look of things currently, I'd say we still have a long way to go. It is true that today, there are more women in the workforce in various professions, right from the army to politics, than there were fifty years ago. Women now have the right to vote, they even have a lot of representation in the government. However, these are just baby steps forward. Social malpractices like dowry and honour killing are rampant. So are heinous acts like female  foeticide and infanticide. Security of women in this country leaves a lot to be desired.

It is ironic that ours is a country where so many female deities are worshipped and yet, women are treated like dirt. People actually believe that, if a woman goes out at night and gets molested, it's entirely her fault and that she deserves what happens to her. So it's a woman's fault that she was out at indecent hours (if 8 p.m. can be called indecent. And what about all the rapes that happen in broad daylight?), her fault that she dressed provocatively and seduced the unsuspecting pervert who did this to her. Some people also hold the opinion that, when a woman is attacked, she should not even fight back, but should enjoy it!

It is always the woman who is told to be careful when she goes out. She must not do anything to attract unwanted attention. She should keep herself covered up, she should not be out after dark. She must be proficient in self-defence, be armed with pepper spray and pointed objects, because who knows when these might come handy. She must accept the everyday groping and ogling while travelling as a part and parcel of being a woman. No one thinks to tell the animals (yes animals, because people who commit crimes against women don't have even a shred of humanity left in them), to behave, to understand that when a woman says no, it freaking means no.

We hear of rape and molestation everyday. It is not that such incidents have increased in recent times. It is just that more of them are being reported. The most disturbing thing about them is that the perpetrators of the crime do not feel any remorse. They would do it again and again, without any sense of wrongdoing. There is no fear of the law, because the punishment meted out is not severe enough. 

I used to believe in the internal goodness of people, that when people do wrong, someday, somewhere down the road, they realise that they have been wrong in the past. They then try to make amends. But in reality, this almost never happens. We live in a big, bad world, where people have to fight for their rights. If we don't express our displeasure, some people will go on treating us like a doormat. We need to speak up, even in times where we shouldn't have to speak up. One would think that safety of women is fundamental, not something that one would have to fight for. But the sad reality is that, women are responsible for looking out for themselves.

So ladies, the next time someone misbehaves, do not shrug it off casually. Stop the delinquents and shame them publicly. Show them that you won't put up with their nonsense any more. Most offenders don't want to draw attention to themselves when they commit the crime. So scream, shout, raise your voice, report it if you have to.

One reason why things have gotten so bad is that people assume the role of mere onlookers to a crime. Maybe it is because they fear for their own safety. Or maybe it's because they just don't care, plain and simple. Whatever it is, the victim can expect no help from them. This is why the wrongdoers have become bolder. They know that even if people see them, they won't do anything about it. Now imagine if the society joined hands to curb this menace, if people came together to rescue the victim, to fight off or at least condemn the wrongdoers. It could become quite a force to be reckoned with. It could make predators of women think twice before attempting anything.

There is something to be said about creating awareness. People need to be made aware about what is acceptable and what is not, on the ways that they can help to make our country safer. Many people think that such incidents happen only to other people, in only rural, secluded places. They need to be made aware that even cities, filled with educated people, are not safe any more. Children should be taught right from school itself, how to live and let live so that they don't become a danger to the society when they grow up. The media can play an active role in spreading awareness far and wide.

Having said all this, I would like to stress the fact that it is neither fair nor right to club all men in the same category. We all have fathers, brothers, friends, who care for our safety and have always looked out for us. Male bashing isn't going to do us any good. An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi himself. And as Kalki Koechlin rightly said in an interview, we are humans first and then a gender.

There is hope for us yet. All we need to do is take a stand and take proactive measures the next time we witness such an incident. Because there will be a next time. And when it comes, we need to be ready to take the offenders down, so that it becomes a warning for potential offenders. Here, taking the offenders down, doesn't mean taking the law into our own hands. Then we would be no different from the criminals themselves. It means doing whatever is in our power to do in order to prevent the crime, while staying within the reach of law. It could be something as simple as being alert and notifying the police about suspicious characters or gathering several people and confronting the criminals to buy time till the police arrive. If each one of us shoulders even a part of this responsibility, our country can become a much safer place for women.

A Rainy Day

Cirro-cumulus

When I woke up this morning, it promised to be an ordinary day. The sun was shining brightly, the day was warm. Not warm enough to be uncomfortable yet. However, the heat was building up. By afternoon it would get stiflingly hot and humid. A few hours later, as I was going about my day, I happened to glance out the window. The sky was a surprising grey instead of its usual azure.

Cumulus

I like sunny weather as much as the next person, but cloudy days have their own appeal. When the Sun is obscured by the clouds, in the dull light, even the ordinary becomes mysterious. The clouds themselves are a delight to observe. I love looking at clouds and imagining them resembling elephants to cars to people. In school, we learnt that there are different types of clouds. Cumulus are the most commonly observed clouds.They are cottony, cauliflower shaped. Stratus clouds have horizontal layering. They look like parallel layers of clouds in the sky. The low lying dark grey clouds which shower us with rain are called Nimbus. The word nimbus itself is Latin for 'rainstorm' or ‘rain cloud’. The thin, wispy clouds seen at high altitudes are Cirrus.

I find that afternoons are the best time for cloud gazing. As I looked up at the sky this afternoon, I tried to recognise the clouds. They were menacing and dark grey, seeming almost to touch the top of the cell phone tower in the distance. They had to be Nimbus. It definitely looked like it would rain. The temperature had noticeably dropped several degrees. It was a welcome relief from the heat. There was a light breeze ruffling the long stems of bougainvillea bushes in the garden outside. I threw open all the windows to let the cool breeze in. In a few minutes, sure enough, it started drizzling gently. Tiny specks of rain dotted the ground, not enough to make it completely wet. The air was filled with the refreshing scent of wet earth. I breathed in deeply and took in the view before me. A couple of pigeons had taken refuge from the rain and were sitting on the grill outside the window, sheltered by the parapet. The plants in the garden looked greener, the flowers brighter, as if they'd got a fresh scrubbing. Just the day before, they had been dusty and drooping. Today, dancing along with the breeze, they seemed to have come alive to new life. It had grown quiet. The sound of vehicles on the road outside was muffled by the rain. The faint laughter of children playing in the rain was the only other sound to be heard. As I stood at the window, with the cool, damp breeze on my face, I felt content and at peace with the world. I could spend hours, just standing like that, basking in the beautiful weather. I wanted to capture the scene before me so that I could look at it later and reminisce. I took a few pictures, but they were nowhere near as picturesque. They couldn’t replicate the vivid colours of the surroundings, the sudden chill in the air and the now fading smell of wet earth.

There's something to be said about listening to music on a rainy day. The notes of the song mingled with the soft pitter patter of rain lends a surreal quality to music. As I was singing along with the radio, I felt my spirits soar. Rainy weather, good music and a good book to curl up with, constitute my idea of a perfect afternoon. Add to this, piping hot ‘dal vadas’ and ginger flavoured tea, and what we get is, my equivalent of the high life. :-)

The Zerocks' Warning

It all started on that fateful day, a week ago, or was it a month? I don’t know, I’ve lost track of time. I was doing my daily chores when suddenly there was a blackout. I ran out of the house into utter darkness. I could hear voices of my neighbours nearby. Everybody was as confused as I was. Suddenly a dazzling light followed by a deafening roar attracted everyone’s attention skywards. The source of this commotion was a gigantic UFO which was hurtling towards us at an unbelievably fast pace. There were excited and nervous noises from the people around me. Some people even started frantically clicking pictures of the flying saucer.

But my intuition told me that something was not right, this UFO certainly didn’t bode well.

Now the UFO was very close to landing and I realised for the first time how huge it was. The very sight of it sent chills down my spine. It was spherical having millions of windows which emitted light of various colours. Faintly, I could make out grotesque silhouettes of alien creatures. The UFO finally landed in a large, open wheat field. The crop burnt on impact. People rushed forward to get a closer look. I tried to stay calm and watched the proceedings from a distance.

A strange thing happened. The upper part of the spherical UFO drifted upwards and about ten aliens glided towards us. The creatures were taller than us having three large protruding eyes, about a hundred crooked teeth in broad jaws and ashen green skin, an oblong head, pointed ears, about eight feet tall and wearing billowing black robes. I took note of their arms and hands which were longer than an average human’s. Their hands had four fingers, including a thumb, complete with nails. In spite of their hideous appearance, they looked intelligent and ... evil.

I rushed forward. The alien creature who seemed to be their leader took out a strange instrument which was cubical and made of a metal which I was sure wasn’t found on earth. The leader grunted something to his kinsfolk who grunted back. All of us stared on in utter shock and anticipation. The alien leader pressed a button on the instrument and a strange sound filled the atmosphere which sounded vaguely familiar to the bird calls of a thousand birds, all jumbled up. This was odd. Birds are found only on Earth, right?

This sound was queerly pleasant to hear and I began to feel drowsy. My mind started getting clear of thoughts. People around me were experiencing the same kind of feelings. We began to feel a strange sense of relaxation, like we had been freed of all worries and tension. We began to forget who we were. It was then that I panicked. But there was nothing I could do about it. The intensity of the sound increased and it had drastic consequences.

We didn’t know who we were or where we were or where we belonged. We couldn’t do anything except what was put into our heads. We simply behaved like robots used to fulfill selfish motives. We had forgotten all about it until a crash came and the spell broke.

Our drowsiness was washed away and we began to come to our senses. The leader of the alien group addressed us saying, “Hail Earthlings!” We were now able to understand what the creature was saying. Probably, the pleasant music that emanated from the cubical instrument enabled us to do so.

I went forward to face the alien leader, who said, “We, the Zerocks from the planet of Xena have come here to Earth not to destroy it. In fact, we have great regard for Earth. It nurtured our ancestors trillions of years ago. Our ancestors later migrated to the planet of Xena which is just a few light years away from Earth. The history of our race goes back to time immemorial. For a long time, we had been living on Xena, which was bountiful.  It provided us with everything we needed. But then, we started exploiting the resources recklessly. Xena wasn’t going to bear this ill treatment for long. When her fury was aroused, she sent terrible dust storms, volcanic eruptions, cyclones of swirling masses of poisonous gases and quakes. In such a situation, life wasn’t possible on Xena. So our ancestors began to look for alternative places to live. They found Earth to be the most suitable planet for life, after Xena. Thus, for about a century our ancestors resided on Earth. By then the fury of Xena had subsided and our ancestors returned to Xena.

“Since then, we have kept Earth under tight scrutiny. We observed the evolution of  humans and other organisms. Disturbingly, you humans are repeating the mistake we committed. You are destroying your Earth, Mother Nature and her resources. Already crises such as global warming and ozone layer depletion are causes for great concern. Their consequences can be really disastrous.

“I, on behalf of the entire race of Zerocks, want to warn you, Earthlings. Be careful! Should there be a day that the conditions on Earth are no longer suitable for inhabitation, all species of Earth are welcome to Xena, which is thirty times as big as the Earth. Atmospheric conditions in Xena are similar to Earth’s. I am just expressing my gratitude to Earth for what she has done for us by protecting our ancestors in their hour of crisis.

“If you are in need of our help, just press the red button on the box,” he said, handing the cubical instrument to me. “My name is Zurin Zorh.”

I was speechless. This was so amazing, so shocking and also so amusing. All my fears had been in vain. These hideous creatures had actually come here to help us by providing an alternative place to live, not to capture us and take us away to some spooky planet. I was so relieved that I began to laugh. I couldn’t stop myself. Suddenly, all the people around me started laughing too.

Finally when all the laughter had subsided, I thanked Zurin who was watching us in surprise.“Thank you so much, Mr. Zurin Zorh,” I said. “We would be glad to avail your help. Our scientists are trying to figure out ways to combat global warming but they are not making much headway. Give my regards to all Zerocks.”

Zurin nodded and said, “We leave in peace then. Farewell.”

“Farewell,” I said, “on behalf of all organisms on Earth, and thank you.”

The Zerocks were already gliding back to their spacecraft. The sphere suspended in thin air got attached again to the main craft. With a deafening roar, the UFO rose in the air and soared away to Xena.

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